Pride and Prejudice

Like any self-respecting gentleman (and closeted romantic) I love LOVE love Pride and Prejudice in almost all shapes and forms. Of course the BBC miniseries (with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy) is fantastic, but I’m still partial to the Joe Wright adaptation too. Especially the music and the art direction are better in the Joe Wright version in my opinion and I really love Judy Dench as Lady Catherine de Bourg and Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennett.

Also, I just like Joe Wright’s style, which is why I also love Atonement and Hanna too (Hanna is very much style over substance, but with that much style, I simply don’t care and I simply love that movie to death).

Anyhow, recently a new adaptation appeared that is Lizzie Bennett’s video blog, and, as is evident from its name, it is a modern time adaptation. By now they are at episode 15, and I still think it is a pretty neat adaptation that does things quite fine on a limited budget.

Projects like this really show how remixing allows for a wealth of content, which is why I think that the current tendency to extend copyright over and over again at the urge of big content providers is very harmful, because right now we can only freely remix content that is over 70-100 years old in most cases, and Disney (who has been the biggest remixer of public domain content out there) has been notoriously effective at lobbying for copyright extension whenever Mickey is about to hit the public domain.

Who sampled?

Talking about remixing, I recently stumbled upon the fantastic site; whosampled.com. This site shows songs that contain samples site by site with the original songs and it is really cool that not only they show the origins of vocal samples, but also samples of percussion, riffs, etc. etc. Given that some of the artists I love (DJ Shadow, the Avalanches etc.) make heavy use of samples it is great fun to browse through this site and see how some of the songs I love get deconstructed into the original parts.

Absurdia

While browsing around whosampled, one the frontpage they also showed the origins from Power by Kanye West. I already thought that Runaway was an (unintentional?) surrealist masterpiece, but with Power he has managed to push the same amount of insanity into a 2 minute music video, impressive:

Music video fun time

Now we’re on the subject, I also saw a new music video for Church in the Wild, from the collaboration album between Jay Z and Kanye West and it is classic Romain Gavras

In the beginning you mostly see the viscerality that you also see in the Born Free video (NSFW)

While towards the end it somehow transforms into the joy you see in a video like Bad Girls (also, when is the new M.I.A. album coming out? This song really makes me excited for the rest of the album).

It is also interesting how riots become more and more prevalent in popular culture. Of course there was Livi’s riot ad (quickly canceled when the London riots broke loose last year)

but also in various movies you see that people protesting and rioting become more and more prevalent in pop-corny movies like In Time and The Hunger Games. Personally I thought the District 11 riots was one of the strongest scens of the movie, so that made a pretty big impression on me.

Banksy remixed

You are not Banksy – Flowers

Of course Banksy himself is already known for taking ideas from previous artists like Blek le Rat and turning them into his own style. It is only appropriate that photographer Nick Stern has taken this one step further and has turned some iconic street art pieces from Banksy into photos. Love, love love it.

January 27, film 16: Juno

Trailer is full of spoilers, but actually it doesn’t matter much for this movie.

What?
Juno quite literary, fucks up during sex with her friend, and gets herself pregnant. She now has to decide how to deal with the consequences and make decisions that generally only adults need to make.

Where?
Parents’ place.

With?
My mom

Why?
Because I watched Whip It! a while ago, I really wanted to revisit that other movie with Ellen Page in it. I really loved it the first time I saw it, and wanted to see if it is still as good the second time I see it.

Worth it?
For some reason the market for teenage pregnancy films has been more or less cornered by cheesy dramas about hopeless white and black trash that get impregnated by people that don’t care for them. The great thing about Juno is that this for a change is a movie that is really about people that care for each other. The stepmom is not an evil witch, but instead is a really warm and caring person, and there is a great scene scene where she stands up for her “irresponsible stepdaughter.” Last time I saw this film, I hadn’t seen The West Wing yet. Now I have seen it, it is even more awesome how Allison Janney uses some of the attitude that CJ has in the West Wing to convincingly portray a nail technician instead. And it is not just one or two characters that carry the movie, but it’s all of them together that make the film an organic tale about real people. This film may have some flaws, but it really brings a smile to my face.

8/10

January 26, film 15: The Darjeeling Limited

What?
Three American brothers who have not spoken to each other in a year set off on a train voyage across India with a plan to find themselves and bond with each other — to become brothers again like they used to be. Their “spiritual quest”, however, veers rapidly off-course (due to events involving over-the-counter pain killers, Indian cough syrup, and pepper spray), and they eventually find themselves stranded alone in the middle of the desert with eleven suitcases, a printer, and a laminating machine. At this moment, a new, unplanned journey suddenly begins.

Where?
Parent’s place

With?
My mom (until she walked out) and the dogs.

Why?
I must admit that this was an Anderson film I hadn’t seen yet. When I talked to Alex about my movie project, she told me that I should see this one and that she loved this one most. Naturally I had very high hopes that this would prove to be more Wes Anderson genius to love and enjoy.

Worth it?
Frankly, I must admit that this movie is the strongest disappointment that I have seen up to now this year. While there were some moments of pure genius, and most of the production design was awesome as usual, there were too many moments that I just saw a bunch of jerks that I couldn’t care less about doing things I don’t really give a damn about (I tend to tune out when people start talking about spirituality).

Mostly it was once more Wes Anderson doing his absurdist thang with dysfunctional families, and this time around it really didn’t work for me.

5/10

January 25, film 14: The Fugitive

Sorry about the wrong aspect in the trailer, this was the best Youtube could come up with.

What?
A doctor gets wrongfully accused of and convicted for the murder on his wife. When he manages to escape, he sets out on a quest to find the real murderer of his wife, while being chased by the US Marshalls.

Where?
Parent’s place.

With?
My mother.

Why?
This is one of those films everyone seems to have seen, but I have somehow managed to miss it all the time. It was on tv, so it was the easy option too. (It also served as a good reminders why commercial broadcasters suck; too many ad breaks :S)

Worth it?
It’s a pretty good yarn, well paced, solid action, generally more or less believable characters and good chases. As far as action movies go this is about as good as it can get. Nevertheless there were a number of plot holes and continuity issues that kinda spoiled the film for me and interfered with my suspension of disbelief. It’s definitely worth watching if you stumble upon it, but not as special as I had expected.

7/10

January 23, film 13: Children of Men

Warning: trailer is a bit heavy on spoilers.

What?
It’s 2027. The youngest person on the planet was born in 2009. Hope has run out, most of the world has collapsed under it’s own weight. Only the UK is holding it more or less together, but in the process it got a dictatorial regime and the whole world appears to be fleeing to the last place on earth that has a semblance of civilisation left. All of a sudden Theo (Owen) gets contacted by his ex (Moore), whom he hasn’t seen or spoken with in a decade. She is in an activist movement that promotes equal rights for immigrants, and she needs him to arrange papers so a girl in their group can travel.

Where?
At parents’.

With?
My mother (and the dogs).

Why?
I saw it once before, and thought it was pretty good. Also, recently I saw a special in io9 about long shots in movies and it mentions one scene that seems more or less impossible to have been shot in one take, but yet that is the case, and it is brilliant. The quality is a bit crap, and there might be a spoiler or two, but it’s still worth watching.

Worth it?
First of all a word of warning. I had forgotten about the ultraviolence in this movie. It might not be the best idea in the world to watch it with your mother… Nevertheless. Wow. It was as good as I remembered. There are few dystopias as bleak as this one, and it really succeeds at making you wonder what in life is worth living for if there will be no one left to carry the torch. This film is full of memorable scenes, one of the best is close to the end when people respond to the sound of hope. The only downside to this movie in my opinion is that it is a bit heavy-handed in it’s social commentary of nowadays  Brittain, but it’s still very very good.

8/10

January 21, film 12: The Royal Tenenbaums

What?
All the Tenenbaum children were child prodigies in their own ways. Now they have grown up into very troubled people. Now the family is coming together because the father, Royal Tenenbaum has announced that he has cancer.

Where?
At home

With?
On my own

Why?
I was discussing with a former colleague, Alex how I was doing this movie project and that I had revisited The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, an old favorite. She told me that that film never did much for her and that she prefers The Royal Tenenbaums, so I figured it was time to revisit this film too.

Worth it?
The main strength of The Royal Tenenbaums is that it has an amazing comedy cast that hardly ever jokes around. Their strong comedic timing is always around, and manages to make pretty sad situations actually funny. Also the set and costume design is amazing, and Wes Anderson is doing the thing that he is really good at: he is portraying dysfunctional families. Nevertheless, for some reason I feel much less of a connection with this film, than with The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, that still reigns supreme in my humble opinion.

7/10

January 20, film 11: Lawrence of Arabia

What?
A misfit army lieutenant manages to get himself an assignment into the desert to assess the feasibility of creating a Arabian revolt against the Turks in WW1. As he gets closer with the Bedouins, his allegiances begin to split.

Where?
At home

With?
On my own

Why?
It was on television, and once in a while I feel guilty about not having seen enough of the ‘classics’.

Worth it?
For some reason I always expect movies to be much slower than modern movies, and I always fear that it will cause issues with emotional involvement with the main characters. Yes, it’s slow, but it’s also majestic, and the main thing I loved about the movie is that generally I believed the characters. Also, the music is great, and mass scenes with real people just have that little bit extra that modern CGI generated battle scenes lack.

8/10

January 14, film 10: Sense and Sensibility

What?
After their father dies [insert names] don’t get any inheritance worth mentioning, so they get kicked out by the family members that inherit the family fortune. This film follows the [insert name] as they settle in their new environment.

Where?
At home (woohoo, I’ve moved back to my own place at last!).

With?
On my own.

Why?
It was on TV, and I love Pride and Prejudice, so I should watch more Austen movies. (a superb cast with Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, and the fact that it was directed by Ang Lee helped too).

Worth it?
One of the things I loved most about Pride and Prejudice was the underlying tone of snarkiness that all characters have. Unfortunately Sense and Sensibility lacks that tone, but is a more classic costume drama. It /is/ very good though. The acting is very good, I (a dude) actually noticed how good the costumes were, and it is absolutely worth watching. The only thing I get really fed up with is how the Jane Austen heroines always have to marry lawful good men. At some point that gets kinda boring. I think it would be more fun if the men in the movie were a bit more human.

8/10

January 12, film 9: Innocence

(Added Japanese trailer, because it is so much more poetic than the American trailer)

What?
A series of androids, designed to be used as sexbots, all of a sudden disobey their programming, and start murdering their owners. Unit 9 starts to investigate the cause.

Where?
At parent’s place.

With?
On my own.

Why?
After seeing Ghost in a Shell, I felt like seeing Innocence again (which I remembered as being the better of the two films).

Worth it?

This is the first time that I saw the film and I could follow (and contain) the story from beginning to end. It is as good as I remembered it to be. I had some favorite scenes that I looked forward to, and they were still as good as I imagined them to be (one is the scene where Batô goes on a rampage in a mini-mart, the other the scene with the feverish music in the house of the hacker). It was still astounding how full the movie is with images and ideas, and how much it stands the test of time. Also, the opening sequence of this film is extremely good, so I’m just adding it in for your enjoyment.

9/10

January 10, film 8: Ghost in the Shell

What?
It’s 2029. Most people have cybernetic enhancements, and crime has evolved alongside. Unit 9 has been put on a case of a defecting programmer and a mysterious hacker called ‘Puppet Master’

Where?
Parents’ place

With?
On my own

Why?
Ghost in the Shell is one of those I like to revisit every once in a while. It is one of those original movies that a lot of modern movies and television series are still referring back to.

Worth it?
For some reason the storyline in Ghost in the Shell doesn’t ever really stick in my brain (GitS 2: Innocence has the same issue). Nevertheless I never get bored of seeing this film. The atmosphere is great, it’s funny to see where the Wachowski brothers got the title sequence design for the Matrix from, and it still leaves you with lots to think about, esp. when it comes to what defines humanity, and whether machines can be human.I love the work of this director, and I didn’t remember that the posters with the dog (that have an important role in Avalon) showed up in this film too. Time to put Innocence on my to watch list.

8/10