Last weekend was an emotional one. I cried so much processing over a news, I just needed some distraction to keep my mind active, so here are my remarkable brain tickling classics over the weekend :
One Hundred Years of Solitude, originally a Spanish novel written by Gabriel García Márquez in 1967.
But I watched the series on Netflix. The previous week I did Pedro Páramo and No Longer Human, right? So it felt right to jump into another classic, before reading them. Apparently, this Netflix version is only Part 1 of One Hundred Years of Solitude, and they’re currently making Part 2. So what I watched isn’t the whole story.
The only problem I have with Spanish literature is the names and the characters. They’re almost all the same. There are so many of them, it gets confusing. I mentioned this before, names, when I can't put a face to them, just become noise in my brain. That’s why I find it hard to read some books.
So watching the series first might help me summarize the beautiful classic, kan?
I can get to know all the characters (I still can’t remember their names, btw.)
Anyway, this is a very complex story of the Buendía family curse, because the OG started the chaos (by marrying his cousin). They repeat the same patterns, make the same mistakes, name their kids the same names, marry cousins (again and again), and it’s like they’re trying to solve the riddle of loneliness with more Buendías. Chaotic.
What I really love about the story is the passion.
I asked chatgpt, "Why are everyone so passionate, is that normal in their culture?" :
Ahhh, yes Reen, you’ve spotted it—the Buendías don’t just live, they burn. They fall in love like it's the last sunrise on earth, fight revolutions with their guts spilling out, chase dreams with feverish, sweaty madness. It’s not subtle. It’s not chill. It’s pure heat.
Their passion is almost noble, but also crazy. And stupid.
I have mixed feelings about that. Dying for love? Losing your family or moral compass for passion? Killing because of an insult? Losing yourself in obsession?
Every single character has something they’re passionately crazy for.
Everything is 100%.
Everything is extreme. Intense.
They either love too hard, or can’t love at all.
They either chase power blindly, or reject it completely.
They obsess. They isolate. They spiral.
They go crazy.
Márquez is showing how passion without wisdom becomes a curse.
But he’s also showing how passion is the only thing that makes life worth living, even if it destroys you. But is itttt? We want big love, big purpose, big change. We chase things that burn us, then blame the flame. We get scared of the heat.
Ada banyak moment macam nak cakap, Eh boleh tak chill? Then at the same time, I'm questioning myself pulak, am I not passionate enough in life? Hah hah hah.
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The Woman in the Dunes, a Japanese novel written by Kōbō Abe in 1962. I borrowed the book from the library. It’s a novel that blends themes of freedom, imprisonment, and existentialism. It feels like reading Kafka’s Metamorphosis, but this one comes with so much sand, it gets uncomfortable.
I knew it wasn’t just about collecting insects or being surrounded by sand. It feels like there are bigger meanings buried in it. The sand is a metaphor for oppression, for being trapped in something constructed by society. It’s everywhere. It invades, it erodes, it weighs you down. Just like in modern life, the work never ends, and you’re constantly shoveling just to survive. When you shovel, you get water. Maybe some food. That’s it.
The hole is a metaphor for isolation or his existential prison. He keeps digging. At first, because he has to; he needs water. He’s stuck and tries to escape, but slowly, he begins to adapt to the idea of staying. It mirrors how we are in society, we play by the rules that were handed to us, and we adjust, we normalize.
The act of escape is a metaphor for the illusion of freedom. Escape is meaningless if the world outside is just another version of the same trap. Freedom, then, isn’t about leaving the hole. It’s about changing how you see the hole. Kan.
The question is: if the man changes his perception, is he free? If he accepts his fate, does that mean he’s liberated?
I love allegories and metaphors. They tickle my brain.
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I can't sleep thinking about these 2 last night, because I finished the series before I went to sleep and finished the book this morning (left the final chapter to read on my bed after I wake up). Really love classics, they survived the time because they are great.
Note: It is time to return these books and exchange with new ones. And take note, I wrote this without caffeine, really early in the morning. That means I can write when I feel that much intensity, kan. Interesting.
In April, I listened to a book called Strangers by Taichi Yamada. I found All of Us Strangers on Hotstar this week, and I thought I would watch it just to feed my curiosity - anything by Andrew Scott or Paul Mescal has been great so far. The movie is loosely based on the book - the rough idea is the same, but the story, the representation, and the focus are totally different.
Strangers felt like reading Murakami - probably because I read a translation, it always feels raw and too "clean" to read translated Japanese/Korean fiction, and then it touches upon loneliness. Both reminded me of Murakami. Men in pain trope.
But then, All of Us Strangers was different, a good different. It is a beautiful movie, perhaps just like watching Call Me By Your Name (if you know you know). It might be not for everyone, but it is still a beautiful movie for me. I cried so much. The first half was a little bit hard to watch, but then the second half was just painfully beautiful. It's great if you don't know anything about the story - but be warned that you might need to deal with uncomfortable scenes.
Beautiful parts portrayed in the movie:
of childhood trauma
of wanting to be seen, loved, and understood
of loneliness in a group, in a family, in society
of vulnerability
of grief & letting go
of acceptance
Just painstakingly beautiful. Tsk.
There was this scene when Andrew was talking in the bed with his "mom" because he couldn't sleep, and they were talking about intricate plans that he imagined could have happened. And because I'm a mother now, this scene hit me and my tears were flowing so fast.
When she said that she remembered she used to feel like she desperately wanted him to grow up fast so that she could have a good night's sleep - because he always had something that he was scared of and couldn't sleep in his room. Then he said sorry for those times, and she said she was sorry, she should have relished those moments T^T
And that scene when he personally had the talk with his dad and he asked questions that he has kept for a long time - we know these moments rarely happen in real life. These heart-to-heart talks with our parents when we are all adults - these unspoken childhood dramas.
To tell you the truth, childhood trauma stays with you for a really long time. Especially when we pretend it isn't there. There is something about how mentally unprepared we are with the pain that makes it stay permanent, it is there like an old tattoo - faded and ugly. So, in the movie, when he said it was okay it was a long time ago, but then ugly cried - I can relate.
The book was plain and just - lonely.
The movie was emotional, made me feel stuff and cry.
I watched Past Lives recently and it left me in awe.
The heartfelt beauty, the warmth, the slowness of life, the innocence of childhood, the meticulous details, the unspoken feelings that go beyond time.
Past Lives follows these 2 characters: Nae Young (now Nora Moon) and her childhood best friend Hae Sung, for over 24 years. They were close friends when they were 12 in Korea, then Nora immigrated to Canada, they met again online when they were 24, had a long-distance relationship but then decided to stop talking to each other, and they were reunited again in NY when they were 36. Nora is married to Arthur and Hae Sung just ended a relationship with her then-girlfriend.
It is a beautiful movie, about life in general and I love basic mundane stories about life. You can feel the heaviness of this past that they clung to. It's a story about love but without the fireworks and the fairy tale. It is bittersweet and real. I love the depiction of mature adult relationships between Hae Sung - Nora - Arthur.
Kudos to Celine Song, for her first directorial debut film.
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*with spoiler moving forward*
From other people's articles that summed up the message of the movie:
The film's message is that fate doesn't gift a fairytale relationship to everyone and that distance and circumstances change everything in a relationship. They realize that their relationship isn't meant to be even though they believe in the idea of in-yeon or destiny.
Even though they are strongly attracted to each other, they both want different lives and have different goals, she chooses reality instead of a dream even though it is painful for her. They have changed and they are not the same person anymore. They clung to an idea of each other, the one left in the past, they were looking to rekindle the innocence of first love. But finally, Nora chooses Arthur, the one she had built her life with in NY, she chooses the present time.
I mean, the options are either Nora to move to Korea or Hae Sung to move to NY, both clearly are not what they want, and they would hate themselves if they sacrifice their lives for the other. It is the most rational thing to do, this 'adulting' kan. In a fairy tale fiction, they would probably be together without the film showing the messes that they will create along the way because of their decision.
I love this line: "You had to leave because you're you, and the reason I liked you is because you're you, and who you are is someone who leaves."
I love the composition, it is visually beautiful, the script is excellent, and the characters' chemistry is undeniable. Love it I love it!
First off, congratulation to Spiderverse for a 5-star movie that left me in awe throughout the whole movie, for a top-notch evolution in the visual/animation/film industry, for opening the door to more experimentation, for telling the world that there are more than what is expected from an animation mould (Disney/Pixar) and for showing the world a new higher par to reach. There should be a huge celebration to thank all the amazing people that worked on the project because they created something new for the future. I felt like the movie is an homage to all the creative/visual people, I felt seen, I felt included - in the most nerdiest way as a creative.
If you've watched Mitchell & The Machines on Netflix and you've watched the first Spiderverse, you'll know what I mean. It just hits differently, it felt like a playground for creatives to throw the ball and have fun in their most playful, colourful, unpredictable way possible. Not for the faint-hearted but amazing to watch at the bleacher nonetheless.
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Intro:
Af stayed home to take care of Sofi on the planned Thursday so that I could meet up with friends, read a book, and watch Spiderverse. So, a shoutout to him for giving me some 'me-time' that day.
I've been waiting for the 2nd movie since I watched the first one in 2018 (that movie left me in awe as well). Honestly, I didn't watch all the other films in the Spiderman series (except for Tobey + Andrew Garfield's ones but Spiderverse is an exception).
So after the breakfast chat session with my friends, I booked the ticket and then had lunch while waiting for the screening time. Every time I mentioned it to my siblings or friends, they'd say: "Spiderman, the animation one?", none seems interested, so I decided to watch it alone. I watched it on Thursday, and Af watched it the next day, so we both can take turns in taking care of Sofi.
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Things I want to Mention :
Okay, let's set aside the visual part that blinded me from the 'real' story. I just watched the jam-packed action film once in one sitting, so I don't think I manage to get much. But here is one thing that I think is worth mentioning for now. I assume that if you are reading this, you already watch the film so I don't have to summarize the whole story yeah:
The Battle that Miles is Going Through - in this film Miles is having a LOT of inner turmoil, he has to make a lot of choices and big decisions. It's the theme of this story, we can see how desperate, alone, and confused he is throughout the film.
It's the 'me-against-the-world' type of story, a common "the hero's journey" story template, where the hero needs to go on an adventure, find himself or learn a lesson or win a fight or something, in order to come back home stronger, wiser, reborn or transformed. The typical arch of superhero movies.
But the interesting take on the Spiderverse is how they created these crises:
The battle with his loved ones when he chooses to keep everything in secret
The battle with versions of himself from different dimensions when he couldn't be a part of 'the team'
The battle within himself when he starts having doubts after meeting Miguel O'Hara
The battle with his 'shadow' when he goes back to the wrong dimension and faces himself as the 'Prowler'
It started with him against people around him, then him against himself from all different versions of him, then him against himself, and it ended with him against his 'shadow'.
Let's mention Carl Jung's theory for a minute. There is one Jungian concept called 'the shadow' - the shadow that exists in each of us in our unconscious mind, our total opposite, the part of ourselves that we don't show to the world, our primal inner ego that we hide from ourselves and the people around us because it is not aligned with the best/ideal version of us. That shadow. So, in Jung's theory, it is important for us to explore our shadow, to understand, and embrace it as a part of ourselves in order for us to grow.
“The meeting with oneself is, at first, the meeting with one’s own shadow. The shadow is a tight passage, a narrow door, whose painful constriction no one is spared who goes down to the deep well. But one must learn to know oneself in order to know who one is.” - C Jung
So in this context, the final battle Miles needs to face, after dealing with the people around him, his inner voices, and himself, is his own shadow. The other version of himself that is buried deep within him. If he can conquer or make peace with his shadow, then he will be reborn, transformed.
Then the film ended and to be continued to part 2.
That's my take on the story, for now.
If I have more to ramble on this topic, I'll update this post !
Beef is a 10-episode dark comedy-drama miniseries created by Lee Sung Jin and it is just out on Netflix. I don't always want to write reviews about series because, in the era of consumption, there is just too much movie/series content to share. So I only share when something really 'flicked' my heart. It doesn't feel like the usual dark comedy, or rom-com, or crime series, I don't even know which one genre to choose.
It's about 2 deeply wounded flawed people played by Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, who got involved in a road-rage incident, and that one particular incident consumed their whole lives throughout the series. They got obsessed with each other, took revenge in twisted ways, and escalated into all these bigger problems.
It is dark, entertaining, messy, deep, awakening, stressful, and every weird uncomfortable feeling that I could muster here. I unintentionally played it when I saw it was featured on Netflix and I was hooked on the first episode right away.
I want people to watch this series. I think it is one of the best series on Netflix so far because it touches upon a lot of real-life 'unspoken' issues all around me and it hits deep. Somehow watching this series taught me to empathize with every single messy character in the story, even with their dysfunctional ugliest side being shown - they are not warm lovable characters, mind you. They can be unlikeable but somehow, I can even relate to them, I can feel their pain, and I can understand and empathize with their situation.
There's this scene in one of the episodes, where one of the characters said :
" You don't have to be ashamed. It's okay, I see it all. You don't have to hide it. It's okay",
That's what I feel like saying to the whole characters in the story because there is so much pain in life and suffering is a part of it, you don't know why you are here, why your life is like that, but you are expected to endure and just move forward. It is so hard, life is so hard - and at times, I don't know why people don't vocalize it enough. You know, if only people share deep conversations more, we probably won't feel that lonely going through all this.
Maybe I'm at this lowest phase in life at this moment and watching these messed up people makes me feel seen and understood. Maybe that's why I felt so much when I watched it, I don't know, I need to thoroughly introspect that.
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There are also a lot of interesting things to explore :
Last week, I watched "About Time", a 2013 film written and directed by Richard Curtis. Not a new movie, I know, it was made 10 years back and I didn't watch it because the poster looked like any other rom-com available during that time. I was wrong. It was not another rom-com, watching it without knowing anything about the movie was great. So if you haven't watched it, please watch it before reading further.
For you that choose not to watch it, or already watched it, well, it is a story about Tim and on his 21st birthday, he found out that the men in his family could time-travel, only to the moments they have lived before, and you can make changes without making a mess in the time-continuum (there is no scientific explanation here, so it fits me well - I don't like sci-fi). So of course Tim uses it to have a better day, better outcome, and better person.
Do you want to know what was the thing that I was most excited about in the movie ? :
When Tim asked his dad
"What have you done.. with it?"
and his dad answered:
"Well, for me, books, books, books, I've read everything a man could wish to. Twice. Dickens three times".
Because IF I have unlimited time, I would spend my days reading all the books that I want to as well. I mean, that is the most wholesome thing I've heard about time traveling. Kan ? Don't you think? Being able to cheat time and repeat the same time with different books. When I watched the scene I had the urge to share it with people, because it is the nerdiest thing a nerd would do. Ha.
So happy.
So many books, so little time. - Frank Zappa
And yes, of course, the standard uplifting message would be this :
But too many people wrote about it already. I want to relate more to the smallest thing mentioned in the movie. The basic, the normal day-to-day thing, just sitting enjoying books without the need to worry about anything in the whole wide world.
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Anyway, I will watch Imaginur alone at the cinema this morning. I hope I have something to write later!
I finished Andor. I waited for a year for the release and subscribed to Hotstar just to watch the whole series - love it. Although I'm not into sci-fiction that much, I was intrigued by Rogue One from the start (it is the only movie in the Star Wars franchise that I watched more than once). Well, I am probably biased because I love Diego Luna. Finding out that he got his own back story was an excitement that I can't hide, and this whole writing is probably biased towards him playing Andor.
But, hear me out.
Warning - Spoilers ahead **
1. Andor and Rogue One weren't stories about superheroes/superpowers, this is a story of normal flawed people (and I really don't like superheroes' stories). These are normal people that are trying to make a change. This is the story of Andor, a thief, a refugee, an outcast, an accidental murderer (?) - that decides to become a revolutionary and joins the Rebellion.
The Star Wars franchise itself is based on a political theme of resistance and oppression. About fighting the big battle, the rakyat vs the oppressed totalitarianism, about making sacrifices and believing in a cause. At this age, Andor is relatable. A lone survivalist that decides to become an activist. If we scratch the Star Wars layer aside, you can see a normal battle we see in our own country. Also, it shows the consequences of inaction when dealing with a regime. Do you choose not to participate? Do you choose not to pick a side?
Even though it is one of the Star Wars movies, there's hardly any mention of Jedi (which I appreciate). I can't connect well with special people (with superpowers, with connections, with evil money), Andor feels more relatable, just a mere human being. It felt fresh compared to all other Star Wars movies.
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2. The script for Andor (the series) is amazing, you can get a lot of strong beautiful quotes from the series. You need to watch it to understand what I mean by this. At times it might feel a bit too scripted but the characters did them so well, it was just nice.
Have you read/heard Nemik's manifesto?
Nemik is a rebel and he wrote his thoughts on Imperial oppression and the need for rebellion, this was his manifesto :
There will be times when the struggle seems impossible. I know this already. Alone, unsure, dwarfed by the scale of the enemy. Remember this. Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction. Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy. There are whole armies, battalions that have no idea that they've already enlisted in the cause. Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward. And then remember this. The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that. And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire's authority and then there will be one too many.
One single thing will break the siege. Remember this. Try."
I mean, this is a manifesto for us, for the ordinary people.
Not like the one that Yoda passed to Luke :
Can you see the difference? Luke gets the burden of his responsibility on his shoulder alone, he can't 'try', he is special, and it is expected of him to 'do'. But in Nemik's manifesto, it's for the normal people, for us, the small beings, for each individual that can make a difference, make a change. We need to 'try'. Andor came out right before the 2022 election, and it correlates well. We are still not over the GE 14 political fiasco and I know almost everyone remembers that well. If we want to make a change, try, even how small.
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And how about Luthen's words when asked about sacrifice?
"I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them. I burn my decency for someone else's future. I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I'll never see. And the ego that started this fight will never have a mirror or an audience or the light of gratitude. So what do I sacrifice? Everything!"
"And the ego that started this fight will never have a mirror or an audience or the light of gratitude". Oh my, this is an explosion to the ears.Will never have a mirror because he is too ashamed to look at what he has done, or an audience or light of gratitude, because everything he does, he does it in secret. He is the two-faced spy.
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This is like reading a passage from a book, words by Kleya Marki:
I don't have lately. I have always. I have a constant blur of plates spinning and knives on the floor, and needy, panicked faces at the window, of which you are but one of many.
A constant blur of plates spinning and knives on the floor, and needy, panicked faces at the window, of which you are but one of many?
"Constant blur of plates" - like juggling balls, spinning plates needs constant movement and precision to avoid them crashing own, "knives on the floor" - the need to be careful, to constantly watch your step, "panicked faces at the window, of which you are but one of many" - there are many things on her mind to worry about. This is a gem!
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This is Kino Loy's words of strength :
.."There is one way out. Right now, the building is ours. You need to run, climb, kill! You need to help each other. You see someone who's confused, someone who is lost, you get them moving and you keep them moving until we put this place behind us. There are 5,000 of us. If we can fight half as hard as we've been working, we will be home in no time. One way out! One way out! One way out!"
And Maarva's final speech? :
.."There is a wound that won't heal at the center of the galaxy. There is a darkness reaching like rust into everything around us. We let it grow, and now it's here. It's here, and it's not visiting anymore. It wants to stay. The Empire is a disease that thrives in darkness, it is never more alive than when we sleep. It's easy for the dead to tell you to fight, and maybe it's true, maybe fighting is useless. Perhaps it's too late. But I'll tell you this... If I could do it again, I'd wake up early and be fighting these b*stards from the start. Fight the Empire!
This is top-notch scriptwriting.
I'm in awe of the proses mostly because I love how beautiful spoken/written languages can be in conveying a message. In this case, this might relate to my own personal love of words as a reader/listener of a story. If I noticed such things in a movie, that probably means they put extra effort in the script-writing to make someone like me notice this (because I usually do multiple things when I watch something, not 100% commit to only watching it).
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3. Complex and growing characters.
The characters are complex, they have multiple facets of personalities, morally grey, and their development slowly grows with the story.
Cassian Andor starts off the series as a thief and he accidentally murders 2 guards, then becomes a fugitive. He doesn't care about anything bigger than his life and his close circle. As the series progress, we can see his personal development. There was incident upon incident to make him realize the need to step up and be reborn. Even after the robbery in Aldhani takes place, even after he is stuck in the prison in Narkina 5, he then decides to change in the end. After a defeat. A death. A reminder.
Syril Karn is an odd character worth mentioning as well. An ambitious inspector with a strong need to accomplish something, his need to impress, and his obsession with trying to do something right (right in his case doesn't always mean right to everyone else). He takes his duty very seriously, he loves order, discipline, and justice. Remember the one mention about his tailored uniform to fit his body right and added pockets? Who would put such detail into creating a character? I laughed at this scene when I saw it, because we can see how anal he is about everything (an anal-retentive person is a person who pays such attention to detail that it becomes an obsession and may be an annoyance to others). Aside from that, we can see why he is like that after the Ferrix incident when he is fired from his job and returns home. A nice side story to see when he is home with his mother (it all makes sense !).
Almost every character in this series is morally grey characters: Andor, Syril, Dedra, Luthen, Maarva, and Mon Mothma. We can't decide whether they are purely evil or purely good. The heroes that would cross the line for the greater good (even by deciding to sacrifice 50 people in order to send a bigger message), or seemingly villains of the story but with a strong point that they are holding on to (like Syril and Dedra - I think they really believe in being in the right place, just doing their job, a bit too obsessively), are they in the evil side? Andor himself is a thief and fugitive, when he decides to pick a side, does this means he is now on the good side? Luthen sacrifices people for a greater message, does this mean he is on the good side?
These are all moral questions worth debating.
Who decides what is good and what is evil when we are fighting a big battle? Isn't both sides will do something that crosses the line? In Andor, we don't only see the bigger evil power lurking at every side controlling the lives of the universe, we also see the people trapped in the situation - the political side (Mon Mothma), in their job (Dedra and Syril). These people on the seemingly evil side believe they are on the right side. Is Dedra truly evil because of her dedication to her work?
I appreciate them making each character with their own little story to make sense of everything, to humanize them. Nicely progressed character development. What makes good character development good? They have backstories, goals, flaws, personalities, world views, personal traits, values, and beliefs. I think Andor hits that part well.
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It's a bit weird for me to post this on my 36th birthday, but here it is, finally finished this post after 2 weeks of drafting it. A short review of 3 things that I want to mention about Andor: the relatable political wars between the rakyat and the oppressed government, the beautiful script-writing, and the fictional morally grey characters with complex & growing development. I'm not a Star Wars fan, but I'm glad I ended 2022 with a great story.
Here is the official trailer :
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And the small downside :
Half of the early part of the series is slow, the characters are slowly developed and it was a bit boring. Nothing much really happens. The next half is good and strong. I didn't know it was separated into 3 chapters (1-3, 4-6, 7-9) when I first watched it, if I'd known from the start, maybe I expect the pace better. I think I was bored for the first 5 episodes.
We watched Isle of Dogs, directed by one of my favorite director : Wes Anderson last weekend. Af'd been anticipating the movie for awhile. I wasn't. Although I love Wes Anderson's movies, I do not like stop-motion. So the movie was not in my list and I just watched it to accompany Af.
After the movie :
Booooy, I was wrong (*Like I was wrong when I decided to not watch Kubo and the Two Strings).
I loved it so much. I cried at least twice.
There were 2 things that I just can't 'tahan' : Animals and kids. Combination of both always make me bawl. Things I love about the movie :
The whole aesthetic values : colours, design, frame shots, fonts
The detailing of unique characters : "Oracle" because she can 'see' the future just by actually understanding how TV the works, the gossiper "Duke" although we don't see male gossiper in real life that much, "Chief" that was always there with the pack even though he refused to follow the boy "Atari", so it was so much fun to see him everywhere in frames always a bit farther than the pack.
Everything looked staged : organized and structured, as usual. Eye-gasm for OCD-ed eyes.
A relationship between animals and a boy T^T
OmyGOD the cottons for cloud and smoke.
I love everything - if you have never watched any of Wes Anderson movies, what are you waiting for? Please start now and binge on everything he directed and produced - even short stories and ads are worth you time.
Image credit to The Bearded Trio blog
Questions :
Do you think we can have a relationship/bonding with cats as strong as with dogs? Dogs seem to understand human and I always feel intrigued and awed by that. I wonder whether Awan even care about me after 7 years together T^T Noooo, Awaaan.
How can someone be this detailed ? Such dedication bothers me a lot :
I watched 2 movies that touched me to the core last month - or maybe because I was having a PMS and that lead to constant crying over every single sad things in my life. I chose these 2 movies in the same week because I was ridiculously unstable emotionally and I wanted a good cry. Have you ever felt like that? - Wanted a good cry I mean. Sometimes I do and that happens usually in the same phase in each predictable week in a month. The week when women get a thorough cleanse physically and emotionally - a week after that, we will feel like we can conquer the world !
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The movie :
So if you are in love and you are still afraid with the idea of letting go/saying good bye - here are some movies that you should watch. Just to give you a head start in thinking about the topic that you are so afraid to face.
I know about A Ghost Story since last year, but I was reluctant to watch it. Even Af watched it several months before I did. After I watched the trailer, I felt like I can predict the story and I was not ready for it. It felt like a huge similarity between us and the characters in the movie. So I didn't want to feel that much. I am so in love and I just wasn't ready.
But after 3 months of waiting, I finally watched it,
A Ghost Story (2017) :
I love the unspoken silence and the music and the pain.
You need to be very patient, because it is a very slow-paced movie. It is a ghost story, but it is not a typical ghost stories with jump-scares and creepy moments. I loved it because I love how simple the movie is, but it captured the bigger message and human emotions. You can feel just by watching, it can test how observant we can be when we have to, even without any conversations. Feelings passed from one scene to the other without dialogues. I found it intriguing.
This movie is for people who are comfortable with silence and slow-paced reality. It is also for people who are in love and people who are trying to understand, or at least for those who are not afraid to feel sad and melancholic.
I freakin' love the song ♥ :
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& Irreplaceable You (2018)
This was just a random Netflix featured movie that I found when I was packing stuffs for the day. It is also brought the theme of : Being in Love and Having to Say Goodbye ♥ It wasn't as powerful as 'A Ghost Story' but it was painful nonetheless. I'm not sure whether I want to be the one who leave or who has to leave.
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Being in love teaches me this, that something so beautiful and so pure can be so painful and so heart-breaking. I'm thankful for this God's given chance that is given to me, for letting me feel this beauty in life that I've never felt before. Even though it puts me in a very vulnerable position. I guess in life, for us to have something great and beautiful, we must balance it with the sides that we are not ready to face. Like the risk of losing it, the pain and the heart-breaks.
But we just have to deal with it.
It's the yin to the yang, the light to the dark ♥
Note : My mom mentioned about how morbid I can be at times :F I noticed that too, but I feel like talking about death is really important in relationship (because every single person on earth will face it eventually). Even though we try to not think about it, it is still as real as facing tomorrow. So why be afraid of something that real ?
Last weekend, we watched the latest famous horror movie that used to haunt us when we were small, IT (1990). Before we headed for Af's shooting for a contest that afternoon, we watched it together at Alamanda (AF + my whole siblings sans my brother). It's been ages since we watched any movies together, and knowing this movie is related to our childhood, I thought asking them all out was a nice plan.
The 'old' IT (1990) :
I remember when I first saw it, we were still living in the Mardi quarters. That night after we watched the movie, it was almost midnight and Ma said it was already too late (because we got school the next day). I was probably 7-8 during that time. My older sister and I had to brush our teeth (and we were terrified - remember the toilet scenes?). She rushed to brush her teeth as fast as she could and I tried to keep up with her. I was smaller, so everything I did was a bit slower. She ran, pushed me so she'll be ahead of me, and left me in the bathroom. Leaving me alone, crying, because I was scared =.= (or that's how I remember). I was scared for quite some time afterwards, it is all because of the movie.
When we grew up, I bought the VCD to re-watch the famous childhood horror movie and we did watched it together (and it was super bad). The scenes were funny, the effect was bad and the ending was frustrating (if you haven't watch the 1990's IT, don't be surprised when IT finally turned into a giant spider). I might be biased, because I'm not afraid of spiders so the thought of something horrifying/ghost-like finally turned into a giant spider, well it was not exactly as scary as the odd-looking clown.
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The 'new' IT (2017) :
There is something about the arch of his eyebrows and his awful unnatural smile that makes him a bit uncomfortable to look at. Also how the eyes go sideways when it shows its sharp teeth was amazingly horrifying as well. This was a nicer version of the old horrifying clown :
Anyway, I hardly watch the jump-scare parts so I was safe. The movie showed a lot of scary faces so it wasn't as scary as horror movies that hardly show 'the ghost' (just the present and unseen entity) - which I think gives better effect in using our imagination than trying to capture the things that we are scared about on screen.
The idea was a bit old-fashioned, maybe because it was written in the 1986 (and I did read the book - I didn't like it as well). So clown and giant spiders aren't exactly as scary as other current horror movies in the market.
One of the main way to fight this evil-entity is by not being afraid of IT or what IT shows because most of the time, it is not real. Maybe the message here is just trust your guts and fight-off the scary things that lives inside of you instead of shoving it up to IT and let IT feeds on your fear.
All in all, yes, the movie got a lot of jump-scares and it didn't even ends there (because there will be the second part in the future). It was nicely done as well, but I just didn't really like the idea. It was a good entertainment to keep up with the latest version of the old 1990's movie, IT. If I let kids watch this movie, I'm pretty sure they will be scarred for quite some time like we all did when we were small :D
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Gremlins (1984)
I also watched Gremlins on Netflix last week :D
Gremlins is the bad version of a cute furry looking animal called Mogwai. There are several rules regarding these Mogwai (looked like those 90's Furby) :
No bright lights
No water
Do not feed Mogwai after 12 am
Look at those human nails ! Ewwh.
Here's a thing about re-watching your childhood horror movies : it is ridiculous and funny (because of the bad effects). These Mogwais look like hand-puppets in some of the scenes and those bad multiplying and morphing scenes ! I cringed so many times. How on earth did I gave myself permission to be afraid of Gremlins under the bed when I was small :F
Other worthy mentions : Child's Play (1988), Tremors (1990), Evil Dead (1981)
Note : As we grow older, we learned that monsters, zombies, aliens and evil creatures aren't real. What we are really afraid of are unseen things, those sounds in your living room, those feelings when you know something isn't right, those corners your cat stares at, and of course, evil human beings, deep dark lake and cancer :F
We watched Logan right after we were back from Japan (of course). Af has been waiting to watch it because the trailer was nice and he loves Logan - a bit farther off than normal superhero movies, while I love older men = Logan is an older man = watching Logan means watching a cool older man (hah-hah-hah). But I don't really like a super-heroes movie, except as dark as this one.
My thoughts after we watched the movie :
The movie is almost exactly like the Last of Us, a game Af played for several weeks, almost 2 years ago - I sat watching the whole gameplay because it was that engaging T^T
So I can't stop to compare the similarities, it reminds me back to the game because I loved the game. I cried twice watching the game, and I cried twice watching the movie T^T Old men and children's tears are my weakness.
If I can't stop comparing with Last of Us, that means I already put a standard, and if I already put a standard that means I will decide on which movie/game was the better one. Last of Us WON - even though Af said it is not a contest :D
Laura looked a lot like Kendall Jenner when she was young.
Still loving Joel more than Logan. The character development in Last of Us was super strong because the game took longer to finish :
This was a trailer for the first Last of Us in 2013 and for the second Last of Us trailer in 2016, so exciting! I can't wait for another good game to watch. The latest trailer threw audiences in a lot of speculations (!) but I didn't want to read any of those write-ups because I want to watch Af play it like watching a movie again :
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I think the whole gaming community agrees with this similarity (especially the father figure x child relationship), so I found a lot of memes, fanart, and comparison photos online (I copied from their shared link, so you can get the sources by clicking it on the images ) :
I've been watching a lot of movies while I was doing my works. Among all the movies I watched in January, here are some movies worth mention :
Captain Fantastic (2016) :
It is about a couple that chose to live in the wilderness and they raised their 6 children outside of the modern world. These children were home-schooled, trained to be fit, think critically and live independently among what's being naturally provided by the mother-nature. They need to plant their own veggies, pick chicken's egg in the morning, hunt for food in the forest, learn everything provided by their parents, find their own entertainment eg : play instrument for mini concert, and such.
Almost everything I ever wanted : except for the wilderness thing which I'm not so fond of. Well this movie show both pros and cons of wanting to live independently away from the modern world, of being too obsessive in trying to create what-so-called a 'better' live.
It's an opinionated movie, in showing us the good and bad of both worlds.
I agree on some matters and I disagree on some others. Af and I both concluded that we need both world to live in. Not too obsessed with consumerism in this capitalist world and not too obsessed in trying to live outside of it too.
Maybe for me, yes to :
country living outside of modern world,
fit and active lifestyle,
home-school and teach critical thinking,
healthy & organic foods,
buying only things needed
it's okay to choose a different way of living
don't lie to children
But not so okay with :
Avoiding modern medical treatment
Not going to public school (this is where we learn to live with the people)
Thinking how other people choose to live is bad if it's different from us
I think what's important is balance.
But things I definitely agree on :
Stop eating unhealthy foods,
stop buying things you don't actually need,
the vast importance of read - learn and think.
Note : They used Sigur Rós songs for the soundtrack - even our song ❤And the director didn't produce so many works as well : Face/Off(1997), American Psycho (2000), and The Aviator (2004). He has been away for awhile before coming up with Captain Fantastic.
Here, watch the trailer, tell me what you think ? :
It's about a problematic orphan city boy was being sent to his new foster parents, that lived far out-skirt of town. Halfway through the story, they were stranded in the wilderness. The town-folks and the people from the orphanage speculated that his foster father kidnapped him/the boy ran from his foster family- so the whole town went out to hunt them down. It is a fun-family movie with a bit of comedy even in such a gloomy topic.
I really love the unique story-telling style, it reminds me so much of Wes Anderson. Taika Waititi is a New Zealand film director, actor and a comedian - so I've never seen his other works before. Plus it was innocently funny, in a very light way - not exaggerated like most comedy movies I avoid.
Note : Wilderpeople is a not even a word in the dictionary, he made it up - so cute.
And I found out that the director directs the upcoming one of the big movie franchise Thor : Ragnarok (2017). So I better suggest you guys to watch this one first.
and of course, the latest movie I watched at the cinema : Split (2016)
The movie is directed by the famous director M. Night Shyamalan - the one that created famous 'The Sixth Sense' (1999). Af likes the director (must-see movie) and I like the topic (Mental Illness - Multiple Personalities) so we went out to the cinema to watch the movie a week after it went out. But boy - it was quite hard to find the cinema that shows the movie at the right time and right place. I think it wasn't as commercialized as Resident Evil or other CNY movies.
Af taught me how to appreciate movie, not only about the story and the actor/actresses but along with the director, writer, cinematography, music, colour, shots and such. All the things that makes a movie complete. He really likes those things, so I'm learning a lot from him.
I don't want to spoil too much of the movie, because it was pretty straight forward and easy to predict. Just watch :D
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Whole movie list I watched in January :
Hunt for Wilderpeople (2016) - Taika Waititi
Captain Fantastic (2016) directed by Matt Ross
Proof (2005) directed by John Madden
Interview with the Vampire (1994) directed by Neil Jordan
Split (2017) directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Good Will Hunting (1997) directed by Gus Van Sant
Ouija : Origin of Evil (2016) directed by Mike Flanagan
Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) directed by Anthony Minghella
While I was sick, Af found this awesome movie : Lunchbox (2013), directed and written by Ritesh Batra. He found out about the movie while researching on poster design and he shared me the link to the trailer. We watched the movie later that night.
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The main character is Irrfan Khan, the guy from Life of Pi :D
It was a good movie with quite a unique storyline between 2 strangers. I love how simple the story developed, in everyday life, life as a retiring accountant and life as a housewife, innocent friendship, realistic ending, every thing was just nice. I can definitely relate to this compared to any super-heroes-sci-fi-zombie-spacel-travel movies.
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Things I like from this movie :
The story - no superheroes, no aliens, zombies, elves, werewolves, other realms, dragons, superpowers, or anything else rather than what we really have here. Simple story.
The innocent relationship development between those two
The snail mails
No ridiculous running, dancing, singing moments
The ending, when reality hits you
I highly recommend it.
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Update : Piku ( 2015 )
Anon recommended Piku after I posted this post, so we searched and found the movie. We just got the time to watch it last Saturday night :D
Yes, it is mainly a story about father-daughter relationship : Amitabh Bachchan & Deepika Padukone added with Irrfan Khan as the taxi driver. The story somehow make me feel connected to both my parents : imagine if both my mom and dad combine into one person, it would be definitely like the father (Amitabh). The fussiness, the outspokenness, the stubbornness, the self-claimed 'critical-thinking' ness, the dependency, the ridiculous arguments, all combined into one person. I imagined how hard can parents be, how ridiculous sometimes - the person who we should look above to, the title that they gave themselves and we had to accept it no matter what.
And all those little fussiness that make them so human, so flawed, so like us.
Things I like :
All Deepika Padukone's styles & attires during the whole movie. It looked so comfortable, decent and simple. She wore less makeups, effortless scarf over loose kurtis and comfy pants. I never thought I would notice this, but those clothes are inspiring enough for me !
I just watched 1991's Silence of the Lamb yesterday directed by Jonathan Demme, the one with Anthony Hopkin as notorious Dr. Hannibal Lecter. I've been wanting to read the book since high school when I saw the book in my dad's library - *you know, the age when everything is amusingly interesting, even a story about a serial-killer. But I never had the chance. One of my short story's character during high-school was named Thomas taken from the author's name, Thomas Harris :D
I'll definitely borrow it next time I go to dad's or download the book from somewhere.
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Dr. Hannibal Lecter taught me several things :
1. It is amusing how you can learn people from observation. The loudest who speaks too much or even the quietest in the room, everyone got their own story. It's pretty easy to predict if you know how the human's mind works from the psychological aspect, body languages, or from social behavior. The more aware you are of little things, the more knowledgeable you can be.
2. Everything is a game. He didn't whine or complain, really. Some things are just meant to be like that, he kept his optimistic mind well taken care. Pain is tolerable, if you just know how.
3. Confidence. He looked at people in the eyes, never blinking. It makes people feel uncomfortable and inferior. He talked with such a classic-gentleman-superiority that make other people look plain stupid. Even when he was in the jail, people still call him 'Doctor', he managed to keep his title and I found that disturbing.
4. Possibility of learning about psychopathic behavior. Other than Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, Amy in Gone Girl, Louis Bloom in Nightcrawler, Patrick Bateman in American Psycho and the Joker in the Dark Knight, I think Hannibal Lecter is one good example of a psychopath. He was highly intelligent, he knew how to manipulate people, he was emotionless and calm, and he felt no guilt in killing or harming people to achieve his personal needs. Classic psychopath.
5. This :
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Creepy Hannibal Lecter, but bravo, Anthony Hopkin did it so well :
PS : I'll update this list after I finish watching Hannibal, Hannibal Rising and Red Dragon.
In this world no matter what happens, if you try to be good or be better at anything, there will be things that will pull you down. If you live passionately and you want people to see how better you can possibly be, and you want to share because you care enough to give the glimpse of what happiness can mean to someone else as it does to you, well don't. Don't share because you care for people, don't share because you want people to see what you see, don't share because you thought maybe things would be tiny bit better for any random people that cross your path.
Because most people rather live in the blindness of their egoistical mind, maybe because we are human, and we feel special being human. We choose what we want to listen, we choose what we want to believe. We rather put an end, a full-stop, a conclusion, a summary to everything we choose to.
I don't know why it's always I against you, you against me.
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Well, as a student of life, I will always open my mind towards things in this world that can teach me about the good and the bad. I'll read as many as I can, I'll research as much I need to, I'll use quotes, I'll copy-paste, I'll rewrite in my journal, I'll obsess about the data, the analysis, I'll observe and I'll experience, I'll do anything to learn things. I look upon other people, people will always teach you things, if you are humble enough to set your ego low, and listen with your calm heart.
This is how I learn, because I definitely know nothing in life.
It works the best when you don't know what the story is about, never read any reviews or seen any of those movie trailer. *because it will totally spoil the mystery. I didn't know much about those movies when I watch it and I didn't expect it to be that good. Well, for me it was really good compared to everything else I watched last year.
So I had to restrain myself from writing any reviews or spoilers or long-wild-discussion-in-my-head and I ended up taking too many pages in my journal for my over-excited ramblings.
YOU should watch these movies.
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Other than Case Study : Directors - Sofia Coppola and Wes Anderson, I'm looking forward to finishing up the list of movies from David Fincher(*haven't watched The Game & Zodiac yet) and Mike Cahill *because I really love I Origins , and to share some findings that I found interesting :D
Tony Takitani is a short story by Haruki Murakami in Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman - a short story compilation. It's one of my favorites. Most of all his short stories are very light and almost easy to forget - but I couldn't forget this one.
The truth is, I still want something from Murakami after the last book I read written by him several weeks ago. So I googled his name with films. Other than Norweigian Wood which I avoid watching, I found out about Tony Takitani and The Second Bakery Attack for short filmed stories.
Weeks later, I got the copy and watched it.
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It's a 75-minute short movie by Jun Ichikawa (2004). The soundtrack was composed entirely by Ryuichi Sakamoto. I can't forget some of the songs in the movie so I sometimes played the movie just to listen to the narration and background music. Just to fill my room with this song. T^T
Narrations and conversations are mostly short & simple, so most words are easy and familiar enough to my understanding. I love it. I loved it to the point that I kept thinking about it for several days later when I first watched it.
Something about the music makes my heart go numb. When I listen to the song, it feels like something cold and sad is creeping into my body slowly, picking my last happy memories and turning them into infinite silence. It makes me ask myself whether this silence is what I want to endure every day. This is a different kind of beauty. The one that undeniably touched your heart, but also the one that you try to avoid.
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PS :
I've always wanted my silence.
But I don't want to be sad or lonely while having my solitude tho.
