Let's see ...

http://www.impactstudio3d.com/IMAGES/film-roll.jpg

OK, what can we look forward to on the big screen in 2009?

(Films are not ordered in alphabetical or any other order known to mankind. It's haphazard.)

Twilight, of course, though it's a 2008er. I loved the book and from what I've read about and seen from the film so far tell me that I'd enjoy that, too. My main concern with films based on books is consistency and faithfulness to the style (in broad sense) of the book, not so much comprehensiveness. A whole book cannot fit into a film, no matter how long the film or how short the book, when it's a novel, I mean.

Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince has already been delayed once, so my expectations are huge-ish. The task of the filmmakers is no easier because of the fact that the sixth book is possibly my favourite, though it is hard to choose the best among equals. It is certainly the book that made the greatest impression on me. How come? It's the horcruxes. The idea of splitting your soul by the most violent act--murder--and capturing the pieces in in/animate objects got me. It may not be completely original, but it doesn't matter, I haven't heard of it before. It made sense to me. Premeditated murder is the ultimate act of evil going two ways: taking the victim's life splits the soul of the perpetrator. Multiple murders means multiple splits until the soul is so destabilized it can hardly heal. And yet, the book says that there is a way: deep and sincere remorse. By extension, any evil damages the doer's soul as much as it damages the other person (potentially even more so, because taking someone's life does not entail taking their soul). That realization, in a so-called children's book, struck me the most. I hope the film does justice to that idea.

The Changeling is a tale of a mother's quest to find her lost child starring Angelina Jolie. Based on a true story, if I remember correctly. Some comfort after A Mighty Heart failed to make an appearance in our cinemas. I'm not sure I'll like The Changeling, but I think it would be worth seeing it.

Revolutionary Road starring Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, the Titanic couple. I love them both and the trailer looks promising, so I think this would be a film of some substance and next to zero special effects.

Duplicity http://www.duplicitymovie.net/: just spotted this one, so I thow in that link for more info. Right, Tony Gilroy is the director. I like his style; he mixes up the plotlines, so it's a bit difficult to follow, but comes up with very multi-layered characters. He did Michael Clayton, which I watched a few times (always a good sign with me), so I'd look out for this one. Julia Roberts and Clive Owen starring. Out in March in the civilized world:)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button http://movies.zap2it.com/movies/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button/170920 is about aging backwards, growing younger instead of growing older. Intriguing. Goodlooking. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett directed by David Fincher.

Much talk around State of Play. Always good to know what Russel Crowe is up to, even if it's a bloody thriller. To be released in April.

I'll stop here leaving the door open for more films to come in :)

A travel into the unknown...when, due to lack of interest, tomorrow is cancelled

I suggest that anyone who enjoys fantastic photos and likes to revisit the beauty around us, check out this blog:

http://www.zaveqna.blogspot.com/

More often than not, we miss out a lot of our everyday world: we see it, we talk about it, but we doesn't really stop to think. This blog does:

http://societyproduct.com/byronesque/

P.S. I'm happy to say that I know the creators of both blogs and they are wonderful, sparkling personalities. Keep up the creative work :)

'A Life Lived in Fear is a Life Half Lived'*

http://www.australiamovie.net/

Oh my, would you look at that site! On opening it, I expected the typical film website, you know, cast and crew info, trailers, gallery, downloads perhaps ... However, this one looks like a fan website: it's got news, videos, its own forum even!

Anyways, back to the film itself. It's been a while since I've seen some drama, so I'd be a tad more positive about it. (I've recently revisited Legends of the Fall, but that doesn't count as it's not new and I've seen it numerous times. Heartbreaking film, but it's another story). It seems that the heady mixture of war, death, romance, wilderness, race and ethnicity is not every director's cup of tea. Of course, it's been done before, but it's a slippery slope: Pearl Harbour (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213149/) has got quite a number of unfavourable reviews.

Regardless, World War II still fascinates filmmakers. Understandably so, it changed the balance of power in the 20th century world at the cost of millions of lives and thus providing millions of potential plots. This is one of the reasons, I think, we'd continue to see more World War II films made. It's such a complex human experience that I don't think its continual on-screen representation would wear down, become boring, lessen its significance, etc. At least it shouldn't.

Australia takes place mostly in the early years of the War, but it's background until the Japanese air attacks on Darwin when the main characters' lives are seriously threatened. There's more than enough of explosions and soldiers, but I find it a bit stylized and lacking detail. It doesn't bother me so much as the focus of the story is not the war itself, but of 3 people following their own agenda and caught up in the middle of it. As so many civilians are ...

I think Nicole Kidman did a great job with her Sarah Ashley: she's got the looks and she pulls off the emotions convincingly. I've never seen her as a versatile actress; I think she leans towards more personal-tragedy-prone characters. Nothing wrong with that -- she plays them beautifully.

As for Hugh Jackman, I like him generally, though he isn't in any of my favourite films. I'm not an X-men fan, The Fountain was original in a weird way. In Australia, he does the macho-like cowboy aspect of the character very well, but I am not swept off by his performance in the more dramatic scenes. I think he's got a good face for comedies, though.

The boy, Nullah, played by Brandon Walters, was a masterstroke. Luhrmann made a great casting choice. He hijacked many scenes from Nicole and Hugh, in my view. (OK, I admit, I'm biased, deep, dark eyes mesmerize me. I believe this is what people call fathomless eyes). Having him as the narrator of the story was brilliant, too. It adds authenticity.

All in all, I enjoyed Australia and would see it again, if I get the chance. It can be easily criticized as being melodramatic, but it doesn't go to extremes, so I don't see it as a drawback. After all, you can't be dispassionate in love and war.

* used in the movie Strictly Ballroom (1992) and also in the very beginning of Australia.

I festively swear I'm up to no good today!

and tonight:)

Home Sweet Home

As Margaret Fuller says: "A house is no home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body."

So on a festicious note:

Want a fireplace in my house some day:

Cat for traditional crafts: rugs, wicker baskets ...

Wouldn't mind having such a ceiling. Wood creates such a homey atmosphere!

Winter Theme

Most of these are from the small town of Tryavna. With the gently falling snow, it felt like you are in a fairy tale ...

The Twilight Movie

http://www.twilightthemovie.com/ says the Twilight movie will hit us as late as February next year!
My, they're taking their time. I don't see what's the good in missing out on the Christmas season ...

Name Diary

I love the names in the Twilight series, especially Esme, Carlisle, Emmett, Jasper (it's great when they call them Em and Jazz:) And Renesmee is a very clever one as well.

I wonder if they mean anything ...

P.S. I forgot to mention Seth, Leah, Jared and Quil:)

Breaking Dawn

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilightseries.html

SPOILER WARNING!

I just thought I'd throw in a few things about about Breaking Dawn. It's been a while since I finished it, but I had to chew it over, and now that I finished the series, I turned to the fandom to check what's going on over there. I still have a lot of catching up to do on that front:)

I've read that one almost overnight, literally, it was riveting.

In the first two books I felt very badly for Jacob. His pain was almost heartbreaking. Prior to the book, I wondered how things with him will turn out. It didn't look likely that Bella would choose him over Edward; if she has never met Edward, then maybe, but as it is ...

It was very clever of Stephanie to make Jacob the narrator in the second book. We got a clear view of the extent of his love for Bella and his suffering because of it. We also got some of the pack dynamics firsthand (or firstpaw, should I say). He was more or less a helpless witness through Bella's quick pregnancy and transformation; I don't know what he would have done with himself for the rest of his life if he didn't imprint on Bella's daughter.

Although Edward and Bella didn't like this at first, I find it a perfect solution: it's as if Jacob's Bella and Edward's Bella split in two persons: one remaining Bella (Edward's Bella) and the other, Jacob's Bella -- becoming Renesmee. After the transformation, Bella admits that she no longer longs for Jacob; she dismisses her need for him as some human weakness, but maybe she feels that way because that part of her went into Renesmee.

I must admit that Bella's transformatiion in a vampire worried me a bit because of all the things about newborns that we learnt in Eclipse. Bella herself was worried, too, at one point -- about how she would not be able to think of anything else but her thirst, how that can even obscure her love for Edward, how she would not be able to see her parents or any human friends.

But her trasnformation exceeded anyone's expectations. True, she felt thirst, but it was not anything like blinding obssession. My explanation is that Bella's chief motive for becoming a vampire was her love for Edward. This somehow kept her mind focused, this was the core of her being and so she managed to keep it through the transformation. What's more, her llove and desire for him became even stronger as her mind and abilites expanded when she turned into a vampire. It suited her perfectly, which made me accept it more easily. Her gift is remarkable. Finally, we have an explanation why Edward couldn't read her thoughts or the Voulturi torture her. It turns out that her mind carries a kind of protective shield which does not allow any outer influence, manipulation, illusions, nothing from the outside. Ultimately, it was her gift that saved them, or at least significantly contributed to their saving from the Volturi. At first glance, it doesn't look like a powerful talent: it doesn't sound as cool as reading minds or foreseeing the future. Its power is protection not intrusion or attack.

I liked the ending very much: finally Bella got what she wanted and managed somehow to bring all the people she cares about together. She is with Edward and the Cullens, she has her daughter, she sees Jacob and the other werewolves, the treaty is upheld. She bridges the gap among humans, vampires and werewolves. She even manages to see Charlie, and to keep the secret from him at the same time. No wonder the Volturi wanted her. She's eons away from the average girl she saw herself as at the onset of Twilight.

It's always good to have a big showdown towards the end, but I find that the Volturi overreacted; surely, a single vampire child (as they saw Renesmee) couldn't pose much of a treat for them. OK, the werewolves could be a problem for them as well. They like to show off, but still ... it just a bit patched up to me.

Overall, I enjoyed Breaking Dawn enormously. It's a great end to the series.