Ang Lee has eyes of a stranger when it comes to making a movie about his own country. The same went true to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. And his themes are always spinning around the love like Brokeback Mountain.
This time he shows what love is all about using tiny little bit of historical facts but his intention doesn't have any relation with the history itself. It's just a means to an end. His intention was expressed by some subtleties like the expression of Tony Leung and of Wei Tang especially through their flirtation and love-making. But the problem is that those erotic scenes was prolonged too much and sometimes out of focus. Another problem was so simple patriotism, specifically around the theater. It was simplistic approach to his own history. That's why I think that his movies about Asia are made in the eyes of westerners.
FOCUS FEATURES
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
On two new albums of Robert Pollard
Robert Pollard released Standard Gargoyle Decisions and Coast to Coast Carpet of Love at the same time last month. I happen to have a chance to listen to them at Merge Records website.
It's said that two different sides of his music style are dissolved into these two new works in some written material at that site, which I agree with. His style shows some regular pattern which starts with a beatlesque one and ends with a noisy one. As far as I'm concerned I prefer the former even though I don't like that much of the Beatles. Thus Coast to Coast was pleasing to my ears compared to Standard Gargoyle. The mixture of them reminded me of some of the highlight of Guided by Voices' career because I listened to those albums in a row.
ROBERT POLLARD OFFICIAL WEBSITE
It's said that two different sides of his music style are dissolved into these two new works in some written material at that site, which I agree with. His style shows some regular pattern which starts with a beatlesque one and ends with a noisy one. As far as I'm concerned I prefer the former even though I don't like that much of the Beatles. Thus Coast to Coast was pleasing to my ears compared to Standard Gargoyle. The mixture of them reminded me of some of the highlight of Guided by Voices' career because I listened to those albums in a row.
ROBERT POLLARD OFFICIAL WEBSITE
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
On Breakfast on Pluto
Last month I watched the Brave One which Neil Jordan made recently. That movie can be controversial because it may justify the possession of weaponry no matter what happened to Jodi Foster and his future husband in the movie.
I love the narrative of the director and screenwriter. The first half of this film reminded me of the Butcher Boy and sometimes of Mona Lisa, especially when Stephen Lee made a scene after Cilian Murphy was dragged out of that magic club by Charlie. It also made me think of him when he starred in the Crying Game. Another actors like Liam Neeson, Ian Hart and Brendan Gleeson who frequents his film and singers such as Bryan Ferry and Gavin Friday played small roles.
: : Breakfast on Pluto : :
Sony Pictures Classics : Breakfast on Pluto, a film by Neil Jordan
I love the narrative of the director and screenwriter. The first half of this film reminded me of the Butcher Boy and sometimes of Mona Lisa, especially when Stephen Lee made a scene after Cilian Murphy was dragged out of that magic club by Charlie. It also made me think of him when he starred in the Crying Game. Another actors like Liam Neeson, Ian Hart and Brendan Gleeson who frequents his film and singers such as Bryan Ferry and Gavin Friday played small roles.
: : Breakfast on Pluto : :
Sony Pictures Classics : Breakfast on Pluto, a film by Neil Jordan
On the Black Dahlia
Brian de Palma is one of my favorite directors. He has some magic to show audience how the main character tries to deal with his or her desperate situation and how he or she fails to do that. For example, John Travolta did everything to save the ex-wife of this director but she was eventually killed in Blowout. I guess that happened on 4th of July with those fireworks, which makes me so sad. I realized that this director knows how to use that kind of contrast in the tragedy.
I expected the similar thing to work in this 2006 film. But neither Scarlett Johansson nor Hilary Swank could be femme fatale. Maybe one of them was supposed to be someone similar to the main role of Chinatown. Aaron Eckhart and Josh Hartnett succeeded in representing the emotional Fire and the not-so-cold-blooded Ice respectively.
The Black Dahlia on DVD
I expected the similar thing to work in this 2006 film. But neither Scarlett Johansson nor Hilary Swank could be femme fatale. Maybe one of them was supposed to be someone similar to the main role of Chinatown. Aaron Eckhart and Josh Hartnett succeeded in representing the emotional Fire and the not-so-cold-blooded Ice respectively.
The Black Dahlia on DVD
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
A friend from Netherlands
Last week when I was about to quit my ex-company, I've got a call from a long-lost friend. Actually it wasn't that long. About a year and a half ago, I guess.
He was in Holland, so I didn't send an invitation to him. He couldn't come to my wedding ceremony but I made a phone call to him during my honeymoon. We're supposed to meet in Paris but he arrived there later than expected. Thus it didn't work at that time. I delayed my departure in the last minute but that one day can make it happen. Neither because of that. In fact my wife really wanted to stay there for one more day and I was glad to postpone it.
He said he's been living together with his girlfriend and that makes me think of many things. I was a little bit depressed when he had to leave his wife a couple years ago. It was a complicated situation which none can help but thinking of escaping from his own reality.
I happen to meet him exactly when I need to, which I think it's a kind of coincidence. These days these things happen three times including this. I don't know why but it's retrospective moment for me.
He was in Holland, so I didn't send an invitation to him. He couldn't come to my wedding ceremony but I made a phone call to him during my honeymoon. We're supposed to meet in Paris but he arrived there later than expected. Thus it didn't work at that time. I delayed my departure in the last minute but that one day can make it happen. Neither because of that. In fact my wife really wanted to stay there for one more day and I was glad to postpone it.
He said he's been living together with his girlfriend and that makes me think of many things. I was a little bit depressed when he had to leave his wife a couple years ago. It was a complicated situation which none can help but thinking of escaping from his own reality.
I happen to meet him exactly when I need to, which I think it's a kind of coincidence. These days these things happen three times including this. I don't know why but it's retrospective moment for me.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Two things in a row
Something strange happens again now. Just a few day after I met across my drum master, I saw an old colleague at Kyobo bookstore.
She was a video editor who worked in some other team. At that time I was working for some publishing division which needed to have a license for localizing Rolling Stone magazine into korean.
It was my first week at that workplace but she asked me if I am gay. I was so shocked to hear that because there were so many colleagues. I denied that but she didn't believe that. What a strange dialogue for two people who was about to get acquinted with each other.
That company had some financial issue after some months. Thus I had to quit. It was a musical performance agency and I liked it so much. Those people whose main interests were music and live performance from famous bands. I was into it. So sad. We were never to make some contract with those bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Blur, Rage against machine and No doubt. Those were my icons during my college years.
She was a video editor who worked in some other team. At that time I was working for some publishing division which needed to have a license for localizing Rolling Stone magazine into korean.
It was my first week at that workplace but she asked me if I am gay. I was so shocked to hear that because there were so many colleagues. I denied that but she didn't believe that. What a strange dialogue for two people who was about to get acquinted with each other.
That company had some financial issue after some months. Thus I had to quit. It was a musical performance agency and I liked it so much. Those people whose main interests were music and live performance from famous bands. I was into it. So sad. We were never to make some contract with those bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Blur, Rage against machine and No doubt. Those were my icons during my college years.
Drum master
A few days ago I met my drum master at some store on Sun-in electronics market. I was with two colleagues from work. I joined those two who used to take a walk after lunch as usual. And he was looking for some storage.
He looks much older than the last time when we met. It was ten years ago when we watch a Pat Metheny show at some Olympic stadium. Was it gymnastic something? I'm not sure. We had some talk after that in the bar which one of his band member owned at that time.
I started to play drums in 1990 and it lasted about six years. He taught me how to play them with some teaching material that is used in Kyunghee University. It was such a boring one, like the first time you learn to play tennis. It requires praticing simple patterns again and again. I wanted to sit on a drum right away and he didn't let me do that. But I didn't listen to him and sneaked around to play some tunes with my friends. After some years my skills didn't improve a lot and had to quit because I couldn't keep up with many drummers at my age.
In 1992 he started some club located around Hong-ik University but after some months he had to close it maybe because of money. However that's where he met his wife who was nurse at that time. We lost contact after that show in 1997.
He said to me to drob by his band mate's club located around Hong-ik University. Should I go there or not? I don't know. It was just like ten years ago and the same thing happened back in 1992. I thought my life has changed since then but still the same after all, I guess.
He looks much older than the last time when we met. It was ten years ago when we watch a Pat Metheny show at some Olympic stadium. Was it gymnastic something? I'm not sure. We had some talk after that in the bar which one of his band member owned at that time.
I started to play drums in 1990 and it lasted about six years. He taught me how to play them with some teaching material that is used in Kyunghee University. It was such a boring one, like the first time you learn to play tennis. It requires praticing simple patterns again and again. I wanted to sit on a drum right away and he didn't let me do that. But I didn't listen to him and sneaked around to play some tunes with my friends. After some years my skills didn't improve a lot and had to quit because I couldn't keep up with many drummers at my age.
In 1992 he started some club located around Hong-ik University but after some months he had to close it maybe because of money. However that's where he met his wife who was nurse at that time. We lost contact after that show in 1997.
He said to me to drob by his band mate's club located around Hong-ik University. Should I go there or not? I don't know. It was just like ten years ago and the same thing happened back in 1992. I thought my life has changed since then but still the same after all, I guess.
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