Midnight in Paris

Director/Writer: Woody Allen
Stars: Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates
Year: 2011
IMDB

My Rating: 7/10

As an admirer of Woody Allen's works, I feel a little unsatisfied and disappointed with this movie. Taking about pseudo-intellectuals, this is a perfect movie for pseudo-intellectuals. Just name-check all the great writers, painters, artists... put a picturesque montage of Paris in front, then there you have a highly artistic and intellectually stimulating movie. Well, I don't buy it. I wonder how these great writers would feel if they knew that after 90 years, they were going to be acted out in a fantasy, time-travelling movie.  And, the movie is not that funny...

Good things now, yes, the picturesque montage reminds me of Manhattan, how Woody Allen used to be blabbing about how great the city is. Owen Wilson is great, being the neurotic stand-in for Woody Allen. Marion Cotillard is simply stunning, it's crazy how so many French actresses are so pretty and talented. About Paris, I... personally don't have any feelings toward it yet.

'Upside Down' - The Creation Records Story

For me, I've already known most of the story. It's good to see these people reflecting the glory days, though I could only understand half of what they are saying. It's a must-see documentary for those who love creation records artists. I feel... the documentary is a bit too short, I wish to see more footages of them, riot live gig, crazy backstage, people stoned with E, or whatever drugs they were taking. Well... too bad you don't really get to see much new. Nonetheless, the ending message is good, "you see, it's a fallacy. our dreams are so huge, enormous and vast, we can never fully meet them. The rule really is to be grateful for everything." indeed.

Absolute Classics - II

Artist: Television Personalities

Album: ...And Don't the Kids Just Love It

Label: Rough Trade

Release Date: 1980
Genre: Post-Punk, Alternative Rock

Television Personalities (TVP) 的歌跟主唱 Dan Treacy 的命運一樣，玩世不恭，卻充滿了悲傷。而他們對於上一輩的樂團甚至影響其大 （現在很少聽到提及 TVP 的樂團，除了MGMT，還寫了一首歌送 Dan Treacy）。根據 Creation Records 老闆 Alan McGee，如果沒有 Television Personalities，就不會有 Creation Records。而如果沒有 Creation Records ，又哪來的瞪鞋樂？

TVP的音樂製作相當的粗糙，寫的歌曲也保有了天真的一面；就像畫筆在小孩手中，自由隨意的在畫紙上遊走。比起九零年代的低傳真風潮，他們早在十年前就在玩這樣的音樂了。曲風上融合了一些迷幻，龐克和流行的精神，做出了既不龐克也不流行的音樂。而這就是他們的特色。他們的音樂是直覺性的，或許沒有很悅耳，但他們做音樂是為了發洩，為了表達他們的想法，不一定是為了讓人喜歡。這不就是搖滾的精神嗎？這是他們的第一張專輯，還保有些龐克的精神，雖然也有不少慢歌。但是後來的他們寫的歌就比較 indie pop，特別是 Sarah records/C86 的風格了。關於 TVP 還有很多可以講，像是他們的現場表演，Dan Treacy 的毒品問題。不過，就先在這打住，聽歌吧！

Eyes Wide Shut

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writers: Arthur Schnitzler (novel), Stanley Kubrick, and Frederic Raphael
Stars: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack and Todd Field
Year: 1999
IMDB

My Rating: 8/10

Frank Ocean got me into watching this film. He effectively quotes the movie, makes reference in his songs. The combination kind of interests me - R&B singer + Stanley Kubrick.

The film is a very fine production, just look at the opening tracking shot, flawless. This is about... reality vs. dreams, the fantasies and burdens of sex, secret society, and things you'll never understand. Great film, a masterful work of art, and a good way to end a prolific career

And I hate Tom Cruise, he's such a prick. Maybe I've project too much reality into his character, but he's not that good actor, a good faker though.

La Grande Illusion

Director: Jean Renoir
Writers: Charles Spaak, Jean Renoir
Stars: Jean Gabin, Dita Parlo, Erich von Stroheim and Pierre Fresnay
Year: 1937 (France)
IMDB

My Rating: 9/10

This film was made long time ago, but it's still so fresh. It's funny, it's sincere, it's a different way of looking at things, which is always good. Timeless, indeed.

Naked Lunch

Director: David Cronenberg
Writers: William S. Burroughs (novel), David Cronenberg
Stars: Peter Weller, Judy Davis and Ian Holm
Year: 1991 (UK)
IMDB

My Rating: ???

Exterminate all rational thought.
Um...right, I have to admit I don't quite know how to rate this movie.
But it's definitely a very different experience, cinematically speaking.

I remember I borrowed this book from library, but didn't finish it, and I can't remember what it was about, oh drugs or something. I don't know, maybe william s. burroughs is just not for me...

The Leopard

Director: Luchino Visconti
Writers: Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (novel), Suso Cecchi d'Amico (screenplay)
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale
Cinematographer: Giuseppe Rotunno
Music: Nino Rota
Year: 1963 (Italy)
IMDB

My Rating: 10/10

This is really one of the rare films in history, that looks after every little detail in every frame, for nearly 3 hours! Yes, you have heard of expression like every frame is like a beautiful picture, but for this film, you can study the details of beautiful pictures frame by frame. Stunning and epic cinematography. I think the fact that Criterion Collection restored it, makes it even more grandeur and extraordinary.

The story fascinates me too. It's a profound study of a man in a position of power facing the changing times, and seeing his culture and fortune wane in the face of new generations. Burt Lancaster did an absolutely amazing job as "The Leopard". Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale are both great at their supporting roles. This is seriously an awesome film, you don't often see that everything in a film (script, actors, art, editing, music...) come together so well.

Things will have to change in order that they remain the same.

The Adventures of Augie March

What a masterpiece!

This book actually took me quite a while to finish, and I enjoyed very much. Saul Bellow has become one of my favourite novelists, his writing always gets me. He discusses things like fate, death, family, love, power, sense of belonging, all the topics that I'm interested in. Interestingly, the story he told about brothers, more or less happen to me in my life, I feel like I'm reading my fate. I guess history has a funny way of repeating itself, only when you look back on it, you see how little difference you're entitled to make. True, a man's character is his fate.

“Everyone tries to create a world he can live in, and what he can't use he often can't see. But the real world is already created, and if your fabrication doesn't correspond, then even if you feel noble and insist on there being something better than what people call reality, that better something needn't try to exceed what, in its actuality, since we know it so little, may be very surprising. If a happy state of things, surprising; if miserable or tragic, no worse than what we invent.”

City of Women

Director: Federico Fellini
Writers: Federico Fellini, Bernardino Zapponi
Stars: Marcello Mastroianni, Anna Prucnal and Bernice Stegers
Year: 1980 (Italy)
IMDB

My Rating: 7/10

Fantastical as usual, as you'd expect from late Fellini.

So, this is Fellini's answer to feminism, mid-life crisis, and sexual fantasy. I can see Fellini was trying to capture of the glory from his days of La Dolce Vita and 8 1/2, but it just doesn't work that well in this film. Anyhow, I think it's still worth seeing.

The Tree

Director: Julie Bertuccelli
Writers: Judy Pascoe (novel), Julie Bertuccelli
Stars: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Morgana Davies and Marton Csokas
Year: 2010 (Australia)
IMDB

My Rating: 6/10

Two leading actresses were outstanding. The cinematography was terrific, capturing the beauty of Australian countryside. Other than that, another average film. But I love Charlotte Gainsbourg, she acts like a woman, and loves like a woman, just like a woman...

Absolute Classics - I

Artist: J Dilla

Album: Donuts

Label: Stones Throw

Release Date: 7 Feb, 2006
Genre: Hip-Hop, Instrumental

選這張當經典專輯計畫的開頭是有原因的，因為當時我正是聽著這張專輯想出這個計畫的。這張專輯經典的程度已經不僅僅侷限在嘻哈樂而已，影響了更是現在新一代的電子樂，包括 dubstep 和 chillwave 這兩個最近很火熱的樂風。從 Flying Lotus 到 Burial，從 James Blake 到 Air France 都可以聽得到 J Dilla 對音樂上解構／結構的深遠影響。

在聽過幾遍之後，可以發現幾個很明顯的特徵。這裡面的曲目大多都沒超過兩分鐘，而且結尾都是直接切斷。感覺像是當拍子已經完美了就可以切掉，所以可以融入三十一首不同的曲子。裡面有很多人聲的取樣，特別是靈魂樂歌手的。但這些人聲在歌裡有時候不只是歌聲，而是融入了拍子的一部分。像是現在很多電子樂會一直重複一句話，或幾個字。我以前聽會覺得，為什麼要這樣？聽起來不會覺得很煩嗎？但在 J Dilla 操控下，取樣的聲音真的是融入拍子之中。而且以一位嘻哈樂的製作人來說，J Dilla 的強項不只是能做出好聽的拍子，還能把感情注入節拍裡。不需要饒舌歌手的詞，光曲子本身就是一件完整的作品。這是我覺得他最了不起的地方。

這張專輯基本上可以算是 J Dilla 製作人生涯中的預告片，也是最佳入門的專輯。儘管他製作的手法相當粗糙。如果喜歡這張專輯裡的拍子，應該去多找些他其他的專輯，還有他幫不同饒舌歌手製作的歌，像是A Tribe Called Quest, Common, Slum Village 和 D'Angelo。其他專輯裡，曲子都比較長，而且也比較完整。

另外，我想 J Dilla 自己也會認同我說的所謂他的預告片。製作這張專輯的他，早已經多病纏身，並長期的待在病房裡。發行專輯的那天正是他 32 歲生日，三天後就撒手人寰。所以，或許製作這張專輯時，他早有意識到他所剩時間有限，而做出這樣一張如此緊湊，充滿變化，並能代表他的，一張情感豐富的嘻哈專輯。

Absolute Classic - Prologue

這個部落格已經慢慢的變成專門記錄電影的了。因為我自認不是樂評，對於音樂有敏感的耳朵，但沒有俐落的文筆，所以比起寫些自己鄙視的東西，到不如不要寫算了。不過，雖然現在很少寫音樂，但聽的東西卻是越來越多，曲風也越聽越廣。

今天忽然想到這個想法，每個禮拜寫一張我自認為經典的專輯。介紹可能不會寫很多，但絕對值得聽（如果你還沒聽過的話）。至於介紹的專輯，應該會偏向大家可能比較不熟悉的好專輯。曲風的範圍相對的也會比較廣。我一直強調專輯是因為，我認為聽單曲有點像是瞎人摸象；只有聽完整張專輯，你才能知道這樂團有沒有淺力，有沒有才華。或許有些人覺得有幾首好聽的歌就值得喜歡那個樂團，那也行。只是我比較龜毛而已。期待嗎？

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Director: Wes Anderson
Writers: Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, and Ronald Dahl (Story)
Stars: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray and Jarvis Cocker
Year: 2009
IMDB

My Rating: 8/10

This is probably my favourite Wes Anderson film. Oh, I have seen quite a few of his films,The Darjeeling Limited, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, and like them all equally. But they all have awkward moments, where I don't know exactly what to make out of them. With Mr. Fox, everything flows, very funny and lovely. Plus, a super cast! And The Beach Boys! And Jarvis Cocker! Anyway, I think Jason stole the show.

Kicking and Screaming

Director: Noah Baumbach
Writers: Noah Baumbach, Oliver Berkman
Stars: Josh Hamilton, Eric Stoltz, Olivia d'Abo and Samuel Gould
Year: 1995
IMDB

My Rating: 8/10

This is a story about what a bunch of friends do in uni after their uni graduation. These people do nothing all day, but talk about books and movies wittily. Amusing losers. I like that.

I'm already a postgrad, and yet I felt like I achieved nothing, much like what they are in movies. There are a lot of good dialogues in the movie. At the moment, I'm the same as the age of these characters, I can relate a lot to the movie, their love life, their purposelessness, their loss of direction, who knows, maybe this is all that what we are. You can only clinch to these moments by moments. For me, I think it's a really nice movie, a smart comedy which projects our reality in an interesting way. Oh, the soundtrack is great too!