Posts Tagged ‘ sad ’
today, Mumbai was attacked by terrorists once again in a multiple bombing, which left over a dozen people dead and nearly 100 injured. this hurts my heart because it’s Mumbai and it’s where all my Indian relatives live. Also, I was there when the attacks in 2008 occurred and that was a scary experience. Read more about the recent events here.
an·a·phy·lax·is
noun.
a severe and often life-threatening allergic reaction to an antigen previously exposed to the body.
i just found out i’m allergic to cow’s milk and cod fish… Now, I don’t usually eat cod fish, but I do eat a lot of other edible fish like tuna, halibut, etc. and apparently I could be allergic to those as well. Basically my life is over cause my whole being is about eating. Milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, spicy tuna on crispy rice, honey roll, etc. make up the loves of my life. I live to eat and eat to die. I don’t know what I’m going to do but I will figure it out. And for those of you who care about my eating habits, I will keep you up to date.
south african girl.
for me, this film read like a symphony. Or maybe an art installation. It was life-enriching and it was boring, a little bit of both and that’s okay. I think Terence Malick, after all I’ve heard about the history of the filmmaking of this movie, knew exactly what he wanted and certainly achieved it. When you sit down to watch this film you have to be prepared to just sit. It’s worth it, for all intents and purposes, it’s obviously Malick’s masterpiece and it’s respectable. I love the idea of a filmmaker doing what he wants and getting away with it. Of course, I only love it when applies to actual, real-deal filmmakers. Malick’s dissertation is filled with beautiful cinematography arranged against a harmonious soundtrack. With as little dialogue that is involved, the performances were still quite powerful. Sure I sat there and laughed a little bit at the overly dramatic moments, especially any scenes that featured hands… I thought that was a little much but I understood what he was doing. Also, I had a problem with Brad Pitt’s character. When all is said and done, he wasn’t that bad of a father or husband so why is the young Sean Penn character so angry? Maybe cause he was becoming an adolescent? Overall, the children in the film is what blew me away the most. I’m used to great work by Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, and even Jessica Chastain wasn’t that bad though she did irk me from time to time. The kids is where it’s at. They should be nominated for their performances. I am always fascinated when babies act and it comes across so real and powerful. lastly, I really liked the movie, I didn’t fall in love with it, but I could really use it to go to bed (that sounds like an insult but it honestly isn’t) or maybe keep watching it to extract more of what Terence was trying to say… 
i love this film. i felt transported to the 90s and then back again. There was something really special about this movie that is not totally describable. What I can say is that everything from the simple vision to the rich yet muted color palette brought a sense of heaviness and heartbreak to the storytelling. The cinematography was wistful and thoughtful… This was seriously some of the best camera work (Adam Kimmel) I’ve seen in a really long time. There was a lot of handheld but it wasn’t distracting, it just felt real and purposeful but not gratuitous. The reason I mentioned the 90s earlier was because that is my favorite type of filmmaking- the look, the stories, etc (Ashley and I call it “epic filmmaking”). However, the best part for me, is when you have elements of 90s cinema incorporating with modern filmmaking techniques so that you feel like you are watching a contemporary film. In any case, the film was beautiful. Luckily, I got to see a screening where the filmmakers did a Q&A afterwards. Mark Romanek (director) had pointed out that the palette had meaning: it began very rich in color and throughout the 3 different phases of “life” in the story, the color began to deplete. It was pretty brilliant in its subtlety. You never felt like you were being beaten over the head or forced to feel a certain way. Not only would I lend that to the “look” of the film but also the performances, driven by a great cast. First, I should admit that Keira Knightley was my big turn off to watching the film. I’m not a fan but she did pretty well in this role… Never seen Andrew Garfield before this and he was pretty good as well. But for me there was one stand-out: Carey Mulligan. Love her. I loved her since I saw her in An Education and I continue to enjoy her performances… I think she’s a true actress and it’s pretty refreshing in the current scene of model girls playing actresses. She played her character (Kathy) so well and with this quiet hopelessness that was very wrenching. Kathy can just sit there, listening to her cassette tape, and you are completely heartbroken for her. Mulligan is so talented. I see her career going in the path of Kate Winslet. She will be one of those that withstands the test of time. The other stand out member of the cast was the girl that played the young Kathy. Romanek mentioned that they scoured several schools and saw thousands of kids and this one girl in particular had never stepped in front of a camera before. She was phenomenal and acted and looked so much like Mulligan it was bizarre. Romanek said he achieved that semi-seamlessness between generation jumps by having the adult cast run through the children’s scenes so the kids could watch. I found that pretty impressive and an easier way to nail down that character/actor “aging” integration that is usually difficult to make feel believeable. The story is adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, which is about clones who will one day donate all their vital organs. The adaptation (by Alex Garland) was supposedly very true to the book. At the Q&A both Kazuo and Garland were present and it was apparent that Ishiguro approved of Alex’s adaptation. Kazuo also pointed out that Garland was around while he wrote the novel so Alex felt a sense of ownership and connection to the book and knew he would later write it as a screenplay. What’s most interesting about the story is the fact that no one really runs away, no one fights the system or rebels against the path that has been set for them. When questioned about this, Ishiguro said that there have been many stories told where the slave breaks free of his imprisonment. He felt that it would be more interesting to see what would happen if the characters decided to stay and live it out- the bravery in that and what it would look like. I loved that. I felt there was true brilliance in that because it not only shies away from the many possibilities of the science fiction aspect but it really just hones in on what was actually important about this story: the characters. I think this film is definitely worth seeing but it is not light and it will leave you feeling maybe a bit hopeless… But that’s just my style.
mila: This is sad… About a young woman, 25, Eva Markvoort, who journaled her fight with cystic fibrosis and MSRA. She began her blog on July 15th, 2006. I just started reading it (from the beginning) as I just found out about her death today. So far it’s been really great, insightful and she makes you feel like you’re one of her friends. Eva was a great writer and it’s going to be really interesting reading what happens- even though I know the ending. 
mila: I have to admit that right before I put the DVD in, I was already hating the film. But then I realized I was being a hater so I cooled my jets. There was not one good reason to hate it, I just hate when things are hyped up cause then I can’t really seem to thoroughly enjoy it… In any case, the title sequence was kind of awesome. I love the birds-eye shots of the United States… It’s something I’ve always been obsessed with since I was a child, every time I fly, I like the window seat so I could see the crop circles, the sectioned bits of land, the wiggly lines of rivers, the car ants, the rough texture of mountains… I also thought the opening song was a very different choice, and I’ve definitely never heard it in a movie before (This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie) and it sort of laid out the idea of the story… When we first see Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) we get the feeling that it’s not going to be a film that makes you feel all cozy but is gonna make you feel pretty crappy, like how real life does! What’s great about Ryan is how he loves his lifestyle and all the perks that come along with his job, which is flying and traveling non-stop. I think what depresses me the most is that I relate to him- I would love to always be on the go, seeing new places and meeting new people without having to really get to know any of them (that sounds bad…) and living in freedom. When Ryan first meets his "kindred-soul-mate" Alex (Vera Farmiga) I must have looked away from the screen because it felt a little bit contrived the way they struck up that ping-pong coversation about their travel endeavors. Who knows. Maybe I’m wrong (even though I don’t think I am). In any case, I like Vera a lot, I felt like her performance was natural and I believed her to be a woman on the go with some sort of lurking secret… Surprisingly, I liked Anna Kendrick who played Natalie Keener, that typical smart girl out of college who thinks she knows everything about life and work. Sadly, I was like Natalie once in my life as well. The relationship between Ryan and Natalie was very well-written, I’m sure that is what Jason Reitman’s focus was while writing the screenplay. I could be totally wrong but what I noticed to be the best dialogue and story points was definitely between these two characters. I wasn’t really sure how the dicodomy would play out between Clooney and Kendrick, but I think she did a great job holding up against him. I think I could just go ahead and give credit to the director for that one. I did find some moments really strange that didn’t make sense to the story and sort of came out of nowhere (1. partygoer asking Julie if she wanted a Xanax – very strange 2. the bizarre cameo of Young M.C rapping "Bust a Move"- made me sad really). Overall, depressing, real and sad. So I liked it. Oh, and I loved the font for the city titles…
