2010 Tracks

A Man and A Woman

Director/Cinematographer: Claude Lelouch
Writer: Pierre Uytterhoeven
Cast: Anouk Aimée, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Pierre Barouh
Year: 1966 (France)
IMDB
My Rating: 7/10

I like this movie, beautifully shot. Such a nice little lovestory.

Somewhere

Director/Writer: Sofia Coppola
Music: Phoenix
Cast: Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning and Chris Pontius
Year: 2010
IMDB
My Rating: 5/10

I felt cheated by the trailer. Seriously, what is this? You stuffed all these glamorous models and pole dancers into a film, where nothing really happens. What's the point? Family? Okay. I get it, but it's just not that good. I like the music though, I guess that speaks something about family too.

Midnight Cowboy

Director: John Schlesinger
Writers: Waldo Salt (screenplay), James Leo Herlihy (novel)
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight and Sylvia Miles
Year: 1969
IMDB
My Rating: 7/10

A very interesting film. The whole film feels sad to me. From the moment, the Texan boy set out for New York. But, boy, can Dustin Hoffman act!

Tokyo-Ga

Director/Writer: Wim Wenders
Year: 1985 (Germany)
IMDB
My Rating: 8/10

This film is a documentary of Japan, inspired by Yasujiro Ozu. It reminds me a lot of San Soleil, another great documentary of 80s' Japan. But I guess this is strictly for Wenders' fans, and maybe people who like Ozu's works. I am both, and I love it. Wish it was longer though.

2010 Other Albums

2010 Albums

Synecdoche, New York

Director/Writer: Charlie Kaufman
Music: Jon Brion
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton and Michelle Williams
Year: 2008
IMDB
My Rating: 7/10

this movie is bizarre, in the right direction, in an ambitious way. but i think this movie could be better. it has its moments, but overall it's really testing viewers' patience. in my opinion, the movie didn't strike the balance between entertainment and art... great actings nevertheless.

Harold and Maude

Director: Hal Ashby
Writer: Colin Higgins
Cinematographer: John Alonzo
Cast: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort and Vivian Pickles
Year: 1971
IMDB
My Rating: 10/10

I have never seen a film so full of LIFE! This is magic, ta la!
Cat Stevens' soundtrack is awesome too!

An Autumn Afternoon

Director: Yasujirô Ozu
Writers: Kôgo Noda (screenplay), Yasujirô Ozu (screenplay)
Stars: Chishû Ryû, Shima Iwashita and Keiji Sada
Year: 1962 (Japan)
IMDB
My Rating: 8/10

My first Ozu colour film, so nice!

Wings of Desire

Director: Wim Wenders
Writers: Peter Handke, Richard Reitinger, and Wim Wenders
Cast: Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin and Otto Sander
Cinematographer:Henri Alekan
Year: 1987 (Germany)
IMDB

This is poetry in films. Visually astonishing, and dialogue is as dreamlike as the scenes. Story itself is something new too, a great romance. But, what I appreciate the most, is that the profound feeling the movie gives you about being alive. Life is beautiful, in essence, sometimes.

My rating: 8/10

I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.
- Muhammad Ali

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

看了小說，終於知道為什麼會有這麼多人讚揚 Gonzo journalism。這東西太瘋了，太容易令人上癮，不用嗑藥，就有藥效。不過在這瘋狂的世界裡，用瘋狂的生活點出現代社會的病，有人能比 Raoul Duke 做的更好的嗎? 我應該要再找電影再看一次，還有找其他Hunter S. Thompson的書來看。

Lysandre

我喜歡 Girls，單純的因為他們的音樂好聽，對於媒體的炒作，對於特別的身世，我都沒有興趣。而且我只喜歡 Girls 的慢歌，因為主唱 Christopher Owen 的聲音很適合這種悲慘的第一人稱歌曲。要唱快歌，像他們的主打 Lust For Life，就會聽起來很娘炮。我還記得，他們剛出第一張新專輯，我看過主打的音樂影片後完全沒有想要聽這個團。這種歌完完全全就是給硬地雅痞跳舞用的歌。不過真的讓我去找這張專輯來聽，是在一場演唱會中場時間無意聽到了 Hellhole Ratrace（那時候也不知道是他們的歌）。從聽到第一句話 "I'm sick and tired of the way that I feel"，我馬上就認定這是一首好歌。我想真的 brilliant 的 song-writing 應該都是要這樣的，在你第一次聽就能揪住你的心，不，不只是你的心。聽了專輯後，有點失望，並沒有期望中那麼多好聽的歌。新發的 EP 也是。他們好歌的比率就以目前的產量，差不多是 30%。

上面的影片是新 EP 特別不收錄的歌曲－名叫 Lysandre 3，應該會留在專輯吧。又是另一首一聽鍾情的歌曲，還有另外一首 Lysandre 8。兩手都是在拉斯維加斯的高級飯店裡的浴缸錄的。為什麼他唱起歌來會這麼楚楚可憐？至於他會在那，是因為參加 Matador 二十一周年慶在那辦的音樂祭。眾星拱照，包括 Sonic Youth 跟 Pavement。如果有興趣的話，去 Pitchfork 看他們拍的影片。

今天晚上 Girls 會來我的城市演唱，在離我家不到兩百公尺的地方演唱，而我沒有買票。我打算待在陽台，聆聽穿越兩百公尺空氣的音響和掌聲。比起要去和硬地雅痞一起跳舞，我還是寧願待在家。

I was about half in love with her by the time we sat down. That's the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty... you fall half in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are. - J. D. Salinger

Seven Samurai

Director: Akira Kurosawa
Writers: Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, and Hideo Oguni
Editor: Akira Kurosawa
Cinematographer: Asakazu Nakai
Cast: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura and Keiko Tsushima
Year: 1954 (Japan)
IMDB

My Rating: 10/10

The English Patient

Director: Anthony Minghella
Writers: Michael Ondaatje (novel), Anthony Minghella (screenplay)
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche and Willem Dafoe
Year: 1996
IMDB

My Rating: 6/10

After The Rehearsal

Director/Writer: Ingmar Bergman
Cinematographer: Sven Nykvist
Cast: Erland Josephson, Ingrid Thulin and Lena Olin
Year: 1984 (Sweden)
IMDB
My Rating: 8/10

This is a very good short film (72 mins), if you like Bergman's works.

The American

Director: Anton Corbijn
Writers: Rowan Joffe (screenplay), Martin Booth (novel)
Stars: George Clooney, Paolo Bonacelli and Violante Placido
Year: 2010
IMDB

Before I was going to see this, I already heard the negative reviews of this movie. But, come on, Anton Corbijn and Clooney? How bad could it be? I was wrong. It's not terribly bad, but rather dull. I think mainly it's the problem with storyline. Anton somehow assumes his audiences all know what happened to Clooney before, but we don't (unlike Control). And the pace is very slow, and really not much going on. If he can elaborate the story more, it might be better. Good cinematography in the beginning and at the end. That's about it.

My Rating: 5/10

Late Spring

Director:Yasujirô Ozu
Writers: Kazuo Hirotsu (based on the novel "Chichi to musume" by), Kôgo Noda and Yasujirô Ozu
Cast: Chishû Ryû, Setsuko Hara and Yumeji Tsukioka
Year: 1949 (Japan)
IMDB

My Rating: 8/10

Maybe I'm old-fashioned, that's why I love Ozu's movies. He used the art form called movie, to recapture what he thought of best human natures, and even beauty of human. For me and probably for him, the relationship between Mr Somiya and Noriko is really the most precious love of all kinds, unconditional.

The Rum Diary

Fuck, this book is fucking insane. A bunch of drunken journalists doing crazy things. I can't believe Hunter S. Thompson wrote this book at the age of fucking 22!? I think this is a very mature novel, the story have twists and turns, ups and downs, pretty much a extremely exciting thrill ride. Although everyone behaves like retarded high school kids, it never kills the fun for me. And guess what, there's an adaption movie coming out next year, with Johnny Depp in it! This is the second time he played in a movie adaption of a novel by Hunter S. Thompson, last one was the another insane ride - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I hope this movie turns out to be as good as Las Vegas, if not better.