I just found the most endearing photo of Mr. Rupert Grint: Him in a shirt that says 'I ♥ Tom Felton' at The Rise of The Planet of the Apes premiere (A movie that Tom Felton aka Draco Malfoy is starring in). Bromance! ♥
Friday, 29 July 2011
A little bit of Drama: An introduction
So, I admit to having a guilty pleasure.
I enjoy watching asian dramas. A little too much -________-;;
If you're familiar with the franchise, you'll know that it's, er, formulaic. If you've never watched one in your life, think of a romantic comedy, but lengthened into 16-20 episodes.
The boys often have Mr Darcy syndrome - in that they're good looking, popular, rich and idolised, but will start off being nasty and arrogant (But they'll later turn out to be brave and charming with a heart-of-gold and a torch-of-love that will never go out for the leading lady -____-;;)
The girl will usually be hard-working, bright and optimistic despite being poor, 'average' looking (though these are asian actresses we're talking about, so they're never average looking :P) and in unfortunate circumstances that she has to work through.
Anyway, through fate, these two people will meet, hate each other for a while, then fall madly in love due to fate pulling them together and ripping them apart and then they will (most likely) live happily ever after. No joke.
The boys often have Mr Darcy syndrome - in that they're good looking, popular, rich and idolised, but will start off being nasty and arrogant (But they'll later turn out to be brave and charming with a heart-of-gold and a torch-of-love that will never go out for the leading lady -____-;;)
The girl will usually be hard-working, bright and optimistic despite being poor, 'average' looking (though these are asian actresses we're talking about, so they're never average looking :P) and in unfortunate circumstances that she has to work through.
Anyway, through fate, these two people will meet, hate each other for a while, then fall madly in love due to fate pulling them together and ripping them apart and then they will (most likely) live happily ever after. No joke.
So yes, I know the stories pretty well -_____-;; But I still like to watch these fluffy little shows because they're relaxing. You don't have to stress about figuring out the plot or anything like that - it's just laughing at all the silly scenes and getting lost in all the fluffy stuff that comes with romantic-comedies. A lot of the time it also helps to improve my language skills because I have to listen to them banter on in Chinese.
Anyway, I'd like to talk about this stuff, but unfortunately for me, no one else has as much free time or interest in this stuff as I do...so the only place where I can reel off about how wonderful (or completely terrible) a drama is, is on a forum or blog. Which is why I'll be here in the near future talking about them. Be prepared, there's a lot I can say on this trivial form of Asian pop culture :D
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Film story: Jess+Moss
Life, to me, is one big story with little stories in it. In this blog, I'm going to look at all the little stories that add colour to my life. I'll divide my reviews and comments into little story sections to help classify my entries. I hope you'll forgive my bad writing too as it's been aaaaaages since I wrote anything worth reading :s
Anyway, as I work in an interesting cinema space and enjoy watching movies, I'll be reviewing quite a few films on this blog. I thought I'd start with Jess+Moss, which is a great little indie film doing the rounds at all the major film festivals at the moment. It was played just today at ACMI as part of the Melbourne International Film Festivals.
Stars: ★ ★ ★
In one word: Experimental
Ramble: I first came across Jess+Moss when I was looking at the film guide for the Melbourne International Film festival (MIFF). I was trying to decide which film I should use my free pass on and this one made it through the first cut, but not to the last - I ended up using the pass to see Submarine (another fantastic film that I shall write about in the near future.) But lucky for me, this was one of the films I got to usher at work today for MIFF, so I ended up watching it!
The first thing I thought as the credits rolled, was that this film was simply beautiful. A sequence of soft, pastel vignettes, this film lingers on the innocent, idle and dream-like state of adolescence, as well as its darker moments of confusion, lonliness and despair. It explores the idea of memory, with scenes set in a predominantly non-linear sequence and dialogues frequently repeated to establish that the film we view is a glimpse into Jess and Moss' memories of a lonely Summer together, where they grow in the strange absence of relatives and close friends.
Shot on 30 varieties of 16mm film stock, the cinematography for this film is fantastic. It is one of the most aesthetically pleasing films I've seen this year. What you see on screen leaves you feeling nostalgic for the wonders of youth and sad about the possible alternatives that both characters could have had. I'd like to add that the soundtrack does a good job of bringing out these feelings with its soft and echo-y choice of sound and music.
In terms of narrative, the film is very slow to come to any solid conclusion about either character. Jess is painted as the darker, more complex character of the two. Her actions made me feel rather uncomfortable at times and I wasn't the only one - a number of people walked out of the cinema after watching some of her more controversial scenes and did not come back. Moss, on the other hand, was a very pleasant character to watch with his innocent, gentle ideas about life.
Rather than a story, this film operates as a mood piece, taking us back to a time of confusion and blurred lines. This subtle story is visually stunning, with wonderful cinematography and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys mood pieces.
Should I go? Yes: Well worth the watch, for its beautiful nostalgic feel and its exploration of lonliness, alienation and the stretches of memory that haunt our lives.
No: This might not be your thing if you're impatient and don't like mood pieces, slow, subtle narratives, open endings and themes that may be suggestive. There were a lot of hipsters in the cinema too...
You'll like this if you liked: The Virgin Suicides, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind
Anyway, as I work in an interesting cinema space and enjoy watching movies, I'll be reviewing quite a few films on this blog. I thought I'd start with Jess+Moss, which is a great little indie film doing the rounds at all the major film festivals at the moment. It was played just today at ACMI as part of the Melbourne International Film Festivals.
Jess + Moss
(USA, 2011, Directed by Clay Jeter)
(USA, 2011, Directed by Clay Jeter)
Stars: ★ ★ ★
In one word: Experimental
Ramble: I first came across Jess+Moss when I was looking at the film guide for the Melbourne International Film festival (MIFF). I was trying to decide which film I should use my free pass on and this one made it through the first cut, but not to the last - I ended up using the pass to see Submarine (another fantastic film that I shall write about in the near future.) But lucky for me, this was one of the films I got to usher at work today for MIFF, so I ended up watching it!
Shot on 30 varieties of 16mm film stock, the cinematography for this film is fantastic. It is one of the most aesthetically pleasing films I've seen this year. What you see on screen leaves you feeling nostalgic for the wonders of youth and sad about the possible alternatives that both characters could have had. I'd like to add that the soundtrack does a good job of bringing out these feelings with its soft and echo-y choice of sound and music.
In terms of narrative, the film is very slow to come to any solid conclusion about either character. Jess is painted as the darker, more complex character of the two. Her actions made me feel rather uncomfortable at times and I wasn't the only one - a number of people walked out of the cinema after watching some of her more controversial scenes and did not come back. Moss, on the other hand, was a very pleasant character to watch with his innocent, gentle ideas about life.
Rather than a story, this film operates as a mood piece, taking us back to a time of confusion and blurred lines. This subtle story is visually stunning, with wonderful cinematography and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys mood pieces.
Should I go? Yes: Well worth the watch, for its beautiful nostalgic feel and its exploration of lonliness, alienation and the stretches of memory that haunt our lives.
No: This might not be your thing if you're impatient and don't like mood pieces, slow, subtle narratives, open endings and themes that may be suggestive. There were a lot of hipsters in the cinema too...
You'll like this if you liked: The Virgin Suicides, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Hello and welcome! :3
Hi! My name is Jen and if you've somehow stumbled into this space, it means you're reading what will hopefully be an interesting and lively blog about things that I am passionate about. Throughout the years I've had a number of blogs, but none of them have worked due to laziness, lack of time or personal reasons :C
But lately I've been perusing through other people's drama, food, travel and fashion blogs and I feel like it's time to give it another try :) I like to write, give reviews and share links and photos. It drives all of my facebook friends insane because I spam their walls with my life. The solution: find a little plot of cyberland to plant all my thoughts and photos.
I enjoy reading books and magazines, travelling, cafe-hopping and bar-hopping, exploring the city, watching interesting films, indulging in asian drama series, finding new music and making new friends...so this blog will be about these little things that make my life worth living!
But lately I've been perusing through other people's drama, food, travel and fashion blogs and I feel like it's time to give it another try :) I like to write, give reviews and share links and photos. It drives all of my facebook friends insane because I spam their walls with my life. The solution: find a little plot of cyberland to plant all my thoughts and photos.
I enjoy reading books and magazines, travelling, cafe-hopping and bar-hopping, exploring the city, watching interesting films, indulging in asian drama series, finding new music and making new friends...so this blog will be about these little things that make my life worth living!
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