Directed by CANADA; Trying To Be Cool is one of the most ambitious music videos I’ve seen in a long time — it certainly helps that the song sounds great too!
We’ve all tried to exude coolness around someone we liked at some point in our lives:
Would you believe that this performance video was shot live! Though there were cuts between two separate film crews, the music video took place in real-time from start to finish, alternating between cameras. The giant countdown clock visible in the background of many of the shots was used as a practical device for the two crews, telling them how long they had to film their scene while the other prepared to capture the next — Extremely smooth:
I’m going to do that thing I try avoiding when I blog and mix things into one post — I’m reminded of Death Cab For Cutie’s “You Are A Tourist,” which was directed by Tim Nackashi who also directed another favourite of mine, Neon Indian’s “Polish Girl.” This one-take-performance-video isn’t exactly a new concept, but when it is pulled off well the results are undeniably engaging.
Wow… Is this what is called faith-healing? I’m sure this doesn’t make sense to me purely because what I’m seeing is taken out of context, right? The context being of course, that… Errr, for spiritual purposes, Benny Hinn’s jacket is laced with holy chloroform?
No really, someone please explain this to me using logic and reason! I liked how Benny took on the bonus stage, but I’m so confused right now — I’ve been mindfucked! Here’s the longer 12-Warrior Edition if you want to see more no-holds-barred pastors unleashed:
Competitions can be fun. If you have no desire to enter this comp, why not vote for my friend, please — DaisyL has a cake story that could win her a Breville Mixer and a sweet selection of Chelsea products. I’ve tasted her baking, its delicious, and it would mean a lot if you could give her your vote. Why not help a baker out:
There are plenty of cake stories to choose from. One contestant is the clear leader with over 850 votes already, which is BS and unfair if judging is based on public votes alone. None of my aunties entered this competition so Daisy got my vote by default pretty much 😀 Sorry D, but truth is truth. A universal fact, even — Family baked goods sit on the pinnacle of the food pyramid, everyone knows that. …Ahem, GO DAISY!!!
Second week of the second semester and I’m already behind on my required course readings! I feel as if I shouldn’t complain because I’ve had the books for the past week now and I still haven’t read halfway into them, and also because a girl from uni last week mentioned she was behind and I may have come off like I was making fun. Sorry, Sasha 🙂 I was envious. You’re onto it. I need to get my A into G, as it’s said.
I’m already behind, and worse is the fact that I can’t seem to separate myself from these damn computers! And Candy Crush!!!
Shane Carruth’s UPSTREAM COLOUR is a sophisticated and pioneering science fiction story about — what I believe humanity has not yet come to address and romanticise — implications of grassroots biotechnology and the ability to misuse and biohack unsuspecting testees. An ingenious premise. How Carruth manages to tell a tale of love and bring the intimacy of two people to the fore of this clever and profound thriller-esque film, is entirely his masterstroke.
UPSTREAM COLOR’S structure reflects the protagonist’s emotions so well that the effect of the overall movie in the end feels very cathartic, even as it leaves you still pondering well into the credits what it all means. Are the peculiar mannerisms expressed by the characters, side effects of their induced and forgotten ordeal, or do their behaviours mean much more than humanly comprehensible?
UPSTREAM COLOUR is one of the most unique films at this year’s International Film Festival, in structure and style. It has been a long time since I’ve left a movie screening hypothesising the magnitude of its narrative. Watched it with my dad too. We both loved it.
All right stop; here is Vanilla Ice’s one hit wonder (before my time thank goodness) “Ice Ice Baby,” sung by an assortment of movie stars and their dialogue, snipped & spliced together from exactly 280 different films:
As meticulous an effort this is (3 months approx), sadly, it still doesn’t make the song any better.
YESSSSSS! This is definitely my favourite time of the year. I was talking with a friend about watching movies and she told me she had never seen a film by herself before, which I actually thought was weird — I wonder what she thought of me? If you love something enough to show it then you’re a geek, part of which means not being ashamed of how much you like something 😀 and I surely like a good story, regardless of whether I’m alone or not.
Watching a good film on the big screen is something special indeed, an ingenious fad of the 1880s that many once believed would fade away, has become one of our most treasured destinations for escaping reality to journey on an epic adventure. The way our minds accept such a form of glamorised simulation to the point of catharsis is quite extraordinary. Sigmund Freud probably had something to say about that, but I like to believe that it’s because we are all storytellers at heart.
As a small child, my dad used to take me to see the animated shorts section of the festival. Some were great stories I still remember to this day, while others were wild and otherworldly even for the kid that I was to comprehend any logical narrative. I would describe those ones to my dad as being like a fever. But every year, my dad still took me along. It helped that he was a technical manager at Aotea Centre; I saw so many wonderful plays, events and things.
Even towards stuff (and sometimes people) I love, I always get analytical (It’s my nature I guess) and every year I ask myself whether I want to spend my time and money on seeing this many movies alone, and the one thing that convinces me that I should is the thought that, this is what I do. It has become a part of who I am — and who am I if I don’t?! Hmmm, how can I summerise this so I don’t sound so geeky? …I LOVE YOU NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL!!! Yeah.
Not in any particular order; these are my definite picks, thus far:
33 years after Alfred Hitchcock left our world, he still manages to shock and amaze audiences. Dial M for Murder is Hitchcock’s classic claustrophobic murder-mystery thriller, filmed in 1954, and much to my surprise, was originally shot using a M.L. Gunzberg’s Natural Vision 3-D camera rig! Film festivals were made to showcase gems like this. How will I feel being a voyeuristic accomplice to murder? I shudder to think.
Blancanieves is an inspired Spanish retelling of the fairy tale, Snow White. Enough said, really. This looks visually compelling and it just all-round sounds cool, and by ‘sounds’ I mean description wise as this was made as a silent film. I look forward to it.
Carmencita (our Snow White) is a feminist heroine – pure in motive, adventurous and unconventional. Daughter of a flamenco dancer and a bullfighter, she is no passive spectator lying around waiting to be saved.
Replacing the spooky northern European romanticism of the Brothers Grimm classic is a rich 1920s Andalusia setting with luxuriant forest landscapes, mansions and matador arenas.
Upstream Color is written and directed by the multi-talented, Shane Carruth, who also stars in it and composed the soundtrack, which is all I need to know. The story has something to do with bioengineered narcotics and two lost souls finding each other, or themselves…I’m intentionally avoiding reading up about this so to control my expectation level. Carruth made a super ingenious, low-budget time-travel film 9 years-ago called Primer, so I trust Upstream Color will be just as clever and thought-provoking.
The East are a group of eco terrorists who target immoral corporations and give them a taste of their own medicine. Sarah is tasked with infiltrating this group to gather intelligence against them. You’re correct if you thought that the premise sounded vaguely familiar — Brit Marling played the time-traveling cult leader in last year’s Sound Of My Voice (which she also co-wrote), only this time round she plays the undercover infiltrator. With Ridley Scott as producer, The East is a grander scale espionage story, or as the San Francisco International Film Festival put it, “a thinking-person’s Bourne Identity…”
A Band Called Death is a rockumentary and family love story about three black teenage brothers who started a band in the early 1970s playing punk-rock music before punk-rock was even a phrase/existed, and they were doing it in the era of motown music, completely shattering the racial stereotypes of the time — and they were damn good too. This is what originality sounds like.
Playing music impossibly ahead of its time, Death is now being credited as the first black punk band (hell…the first punk band!), and are finally receiving their long overdue recognition as true rock pioneers.
Tim Gunn of Project Runway & Liz Claiborne, Inc. reunites with geeky actress Jennifer Ewing and comic book historian Alan Kistler.
Despite the fact they only talk about Star Trek for three minutes, I like these geeky discussions about pop culture and comic fashion:
Considering the attire worn throughout the Star Trek universe and the millions of superhero characters living among us today, I don’t doubt they’ll have more discussions on this very important subject matter. Go easy next time though, Baileywick, seriously, Star Trek is awesome!
This great pioneer of computer science, American engineer and inventor Douglas Engelbart, also known as the “father of the modern PC interface,” died earlier this week aged 88. This man invented the computer mouse. Enough said.
Thanks for helping boost humanity’s collective IQ and making knowledge of the world we live in more accessible.
Second week of the second semester and I’m already behind on my required course readings! I feel as if I shouldn’t complain because I’ve had the books for the past week now and I still haven’t read halfway into them, and also because a girl from uni last week mentioned she was behind and I may have come off like I was making fun. Sorry, Sasha 🙂 I was envious. You’re onto it. I need to get my A into G, as it’s said.
🎭 
