penny July 2nd, 2008
I sported a very bad headache this afternoon. I had meant to meet with an academic today, but by some fate issue (don’t ask me what I mean, I know I’m cryptic, I’ve been told many times) we ended up in two different suburbs. So anyway, the headache. It literally felt like my head was a tree trunk with two axe blades wedged on it. I spent some time walking in Parramatta streets to get some air. I ended up spending a lot of time in a shop called JB Hifi.
It’s mostly an electronics shop with all the merch I can look and handle all day. Today I hovered over PSP games, DVDs, CDs, earphones, headphones, desktops and laptops.
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- Audio , Computers , DVD , Gadgets , Gaming , Geeky , Hobbies , Movies , Music , Random , Raves , Sydney
AJ Jorge March 16th, 2008
While Pen was coding her sideproject in their UNI for 2 straight nights, I watched another Ryan Reynolds film last night. I watched a relatively low-key film of his from last year -The Nines.
It is low-key in the sense that it didn’t create any fanfare in the box office or any promotions when it was shown. But it is touted as one of the best movies in 2007 that you didn’t watched or heard of. It also passed my radar and didn’t know of this film until I read that article. I’m glad that I was able to catch up and watched this film.
Why it’s Great: Although it’s hard to suggest this as I wasn’t too fond of it, I can’t help but include it because of how unique it is. Ryan Reynolds is outstanding as three different people in three almost unrelated plots. If you end up catching this, I’m certain you’ll find yourself drawn in to figuring out exactly what’s going on as well as searching for all of John August’s cartefully placed nuances. By the end you’ll be a changed person for experiencing The Nines.
True enough, the film is unique. It somehow asks the question of our existence.
Profound.
I literally have to google for answers after I watched the film. The director, John August, said that this is not a film where you ‘get it’ the moment the film ends. It begs discussion and questioning. If you are not into discussions after a film ends, don’t bother watching this. I still cannot comprehend the whole essence of the film. More googling around to know the message and meaning.
Ryan Reynolds was great in acting three characters in this movie. You can easily detach one character from another. It’s as if there were three actors acting the different roles.
He played a troubled actor, a television writer, and a videogame designer. Each character is different from another and Ryan Reynolds was able to do justice for the three roles. Another feather in the cap for Reynolds.
Do watch the film if you have time and energy to scrutinize the details. If you are not into these kinds of movies, no harm done if you don’t watch it.
AJ Jorge February 27th, 2008
With Pen’s recommendation, I finally gave in and watched this movie over the weekend.
Kakaibang movie. May pagka-weirdo pero surprisingly, i liked it. Stars Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Elijah Wood and Kirsten Dunst. Love story gone wrong then gone right and gone wrong again. Astig pagkakagawa. Galing ng editing. One of those movies na hindi chronological ang order. May flashback, may dreams, may current time. Sa una nakakalito ang timeline pero magegets mo rin yung tunay na current time pagnagtagal. Maganda sya kahit na parang B-movie ang pagkakagawa. It has won the Golden Globe awards for Best Comedy or Musical, Best Actor for musical or comedy, Best Actress for musical or comedy (Kate Winslet rocks!) and Best Screenplay.
penny February 4th, 2008
Heard of Billy Elliot? He is a boy in the story of the same title that is now both in a film and a stage production. Billy’s story involves an unconventional story about a boy who dances ballet, and as once can imagine, goes through a hellish time with his father and brother coz of his ‘talent’. Some months ago, the media was all up and about when Billy Elliot, which is from the UK, came to Sydney for a run of auditions to find boys who will play the role in the stage adaptation of the story.
Last night Billy Elliot was on TV, following the premiere of Australia’s own So You Think You Can Dance. There weren’t any surprises in the story, coz it unfolded the way you’d expect it to. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it a lot.
The film was like a cross between “Footloose” and “Oliver!”. Though watching actor Jamie Bell (Billy) tapdance was more refreshing and fun, and I thought it was a pity there was so actually very few dancing scenes. I imagine if this was for stage, there would be much more dancing, and that would be more enjoyable.
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penny January 21st, 2008
Ok, I’m too nuts about actors.
Some time ago I featured John Cusack in this blog as part of a group of actors in the 80s (the likes of Kevin Bacon, Emilio Estevez) who were the ‘it’ crowd, especially to teens and tweeners at that time. I then thought, who are those guys analogous to them in the 90s? They were the guys I distinctly remember as the ones I always wanted to see in movies, and ridiculously believed I can somehow blow a wishing flower to wherever they were. And wish what? What else but for them to come from far away to sweep me off my teenage feet, i.e., Prince Charmings. Well… not all of them, maybe just Ethan Hawke and Noah Wyle hehe. Anyhow, it was fun seeing them then, and quite interesting to see them in some projects today.
This is as much a list that I can come up with now. With their names I put down my favorite appearances in the 90s and more recent ones I can recall.
Robert Sean Leonard - Swing Kids and Dead Poets’ Society in the 90s. He plays Dr. Wilson in House!
Christian Bale - Swing Kids and American Psycho. Recently Batman Returns!
Noah Wyle - Swing Kids. He became more recognisable in ER, leading to guest starring in an episode of FRIENDS with George Clooney.
Jude Law - Gattaca. Quite recently in The Holiday and Closer.
River Phoenix - Young Indie in The Last Crusade. He passed away really young, unfortunately.
Christian Slater - Mobsters, Interview with the Vampire.
Ethan Hawke - White Fang, Dead Poets Society and Reality Bites. Recently, Training Day.
As plainly seen, the main reason I thought about them is because I came across the movie “Swing Kids” that I have not seen for so long. I saw it play a mere one time on TV, and enjoyed it very much. It’s set in WWII, and tells the story of young men entangled in war, music, friendship, hatred, betrayal, and so much more. It has a somewhat strange and ‘baduy’ mix of swing dance and Nazi uniforms that can be a bit off-beat. The backdrop after all was extreme, with swing music being banned in Nazi Germany during the war. I recommend seeing it and judging it on one’s own. A word of caution though, if you are a watcher of WWII films, do not expect tone that is as in The Pianist and Schindler’s List, as this is a totally different frame of focus.
penny January 13th, 2008
Let this day be remembered as the day I cried my eyes out to the film.
Must have been the timing, or just the sheer gloominess of this Sunday afternoon, that this movie just broke me down and reached down my throat. I half-expected each scene and predicted the ending, but I didn’t care.
I’m done with the bawl now, and it was a good one. =) Another love story set in New York in the bag.
AJ Jorge July 17th, 2007
In honor of the forthcoming much anticipated Simpons movie, everyone is encouraged to make his own Simpsons avatar here.
I had a hard time making my traits with the limited selection over at the site. This is the best I can come up with. [pen edits with hers too]
penny July 16th, 2007
Fiennes was reluctant to take the role of Lord Volemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). In a television interview on AMC’s “Sunday Morning Shootout” (2003) (November 20, 2005), he claimed to have been unimpressed with the previous three Harry Potter films. Fiennes was apparently nonplussed at the idea of appearing in the fourth film of a series and stated that he had “never bought into [the] world” of Harry Potter. Family members urged him to take the role while other friends counseled against it. He eventually changed his mind after Goblet of Fire director Mike Newell showed Fiennes preproduction conceptions of what the character of Voldemort might look like: “The little kid in me that likes to dress up and be bad went ‘Yeah! I want to do it!’”.
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There is something about this man that is uber fascinating. His presence onscreen captivates, whether it’s a role of good guy or bad guy…
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AJ Jorge July 6th, 2007
After selling KITT from the hit show Knight Rider, it seems we will be seeing a reincarnation of KITT in the big screen.
The 80s fads are catching up on us. I’m not complaining though as long as they don’t destroy my childhood memories. Come to think of it, a cool talking car in the 80s was really awesome. But in this day and age, can they pull it off? We already had Fast and the Furious movies, Dukes of Hazard, Starsky and Hutch, etc. How will Knight Rider be any more different from theirs? Put and AI on the car and let it say one liner witty lines?
It is also rumored that the producers want Ben Affleck portray Michael Knight.
penny June 29th, 2007
Autobots, roll out!
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AJ adds…
Pardon my Cathay evidence. This is the best I can come up with using my K610i.
Transformers FTW!!!
The Cathay
Sat Jun 30, 2007 12:20pm
Hall 7
Trans Dig PG
Mov-Line
$9.50
D10
