Black Swan.

Beautiful thriller, yet seducing.
Ballet itself is so elegant yet painful, with all the standing and twisting movement on toes. Ouch.
Just like the movie. Mixture of feelings.



Natalie Portman's performance is definitely amazing.

Inspirational movie.

An inspirational movie.
Especially for those who has forgotten the dreams they once had.

Dreams have value.
But, it'll come true if you believe.

Dran

Discovered this artist Dran . Please click on his name to his website! Interesting!

In the beginning, I saw these artpieces of him in Hookedblog:







- from his "I Have Chalks" exhibition.

And I think, 'Ahh.. interesting. Who is Dran?'
So there it is, Dran's website.
Eccentric x abnormally attractive.

Min Wae Aung

During my Myanmar trip, i was so surprised to see so many brilliant local paintings hanging in the hotel corridors and street markets. The local artists are celebrating their own beautiful culture, in their own different styles. Here is Myanmar artist, Min Wae Aung. He is quite well known with his simple, bold and elegant style.

more of his works here

Min Wae Aung was born in 1960 in Danubyu, a river port city in the Irrawaddy Delta. His father hauled goods for a living. Min Wae Aung spent much of his childhood playing at a nearby monastery, a second home of sorts, where he befriended novices and helped the monks with their tasks.

Today, Min Wae Aung—one of the country's most celebrated contemporary artists—is best known for his stylized depictions of Buddhist monks in vivid, burnt-orange robes on striking gold backgrounds. Faces are rarely shown, because Min Wae Aung likes to emphasize the monks' movement, and he says their anonymity helps convey how they are "leaving humanity behind" and going to "a peaceful place, like Nirvana."

---- taken from Wall Street Journal

Watching the Detectives.

Saw this movie when I surfing on the tv channels.
The info says: A film geek's life is turned upside-down when he met the femme-fatale. Something like that.



I missed the front part.

What I saw is, from the middle part to the end, the guy break up with the unpredictable girlfriend because he couldn't stand it with all the dramas but later he feels the life is so dull without the adventures.

One of the review says: many great laughs in a shallow pond. Agree!

The IMDb page is so considerate by quoting the lines/conversation/script, whatever you call it, in the movie. One of those interesting:

Neil: Oh god Lucien, she's ruined it for me Lucien. I mean it's all so boring now!
Lucien: Hey, hey let's put in a movie?
Neil: No, no more movies. It's no use, it's not enough anymore, ya know? It's just all so mundane and so predictable Lucien. Oh hey look! It's Jayson. Jayson's going to come in here and he's going to hand me a package, and then he's going hand me his thing, and I'm going to sign the thing and I'm going to hand it right back to him, and then he's going to get in his truck and he's going to drive of. Oh, it's... it's so predictable Lucien, it's not enough anymore, ya know? Where's the... where's the adventure, you know?
[while signing Jayson's package]
Neil: there's no adventure man. Where's the adventure Lucien?
Jay: You signed it Neil Adventure.
[Neil signs it again]
Jay: You crossed out Adventure and wrote adventure again.
Neil: What does it matter Jayson? Huh!
[Neil walks away]

Further info:
Neil - the film geek.
Lucien - Neil's friend.
Jay - some delivery man, not important.
She - the unpredictable girlfriend of Neil.

Anyways, a light movie but not as shallow as it seems.
Nice, i think.

Eat Pray Love

"You were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight." — Elizabeth Gilbert

I have mentioned this movie earlier and finally I saw it!

Despite the suprisingly low rating of the movie in IMDb and the negative reviews (yes, I am curious with the ratings and reviews, how bad it could be?), I personally think that it is a good movie. I haven't read the book, but I just can't wait to get it immediately right after the movie, I know I'm slow. Sadly, the bookstore I went, they told me it's out of stock!

Many people don't really like the movie because of the character of Liz, they think that she is so selfish in love and self-centered, by abandoning her husband and lover with the reason which many people think is not sensible. Some of them think that the movie are much less than the book. Some say that there are other books, instead of this, with more interesting plots to be filmed. Some say it's boring.

Ignore all that, the stories do give us some lessons.
We could always learn from the good and ignore the bad, no?

It's inspiring. We shouldn't afraid of changing or losing. Ruin, is the path for transformation.
Let go yourself, listen to the heart and follow it, not afraid to change, not afraid to enjoy the silence and to enjoy doing nothing.
Most importantly, enjoy life!

Tim Burton+Johnny Depp

Today, finally, I came across this movie.


Edward Scissorhands
Christmas, dark, Johnny Depp, weirdo, unreal....everything makes me feel "Tim Burton".

Under curiosity,I googled the movie and ta-da! It was a 1990 movie by Tim Burton.
I have some kind of addiction over the eccentric matters. This might be the reason for my obssession over Tim Burton+Johnny Depp.

Tim Burton has made seven films with Johnny Depp: Edward Scissorhands (1990), Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), and Alice in Wonderland (2010)



Ed Wood
This seems to be very interesting.
Want to watch!


Sleepy Hollow
Uhm, may not be the best, but just don't wish miss anything by them.

Others are quite well-known to people, I think.
Sadly, I'm a little bit disappointed for the lastest one, Alice in Wonderland. I don't see enough darkness and weirdness which was expected, but undoubtedly, it is beautiful. The costumes in it are very high fashion tho'. Big smiley:D
Maybe, we really shouldn't have any expectation before movies. This way, we will feel happier and be more open-minded for the movies.

A young photographer who is loud through images.

This photograph was shot by a girl aged 17.
Nothing special?


Boring?
Normal?


How about this, which was shot by a girl aged 16.
Still not attractive enough?

Well, this was shot by a girl aged 14/15.

All of these are by Nirrimi Hakanson. (More photos to be found in her website)
Forgive me not uploading more photos of her, because there's copyright and I couldn't copy her photo from her Flickr. Please check it out yourself. You may find some inspiration.

Anyways, it may be normal for most of the people out there.
But hey, do you still remember what were you doing while you're aged 14/15?

No doubt, she has the talent. Also, I like her attitude:
"i like pretty young things that i pull from the streets and film (i call what i shoot digital film, because it still has the colour). the sun is my lighting, the clouds my diffusers and i find studio images bland. if you want to be original you have to shoot outside the (literal) box. i want be a traveller and live, photographing realness."

"last year i became agency signed, shot a commissioned editorial for my favourite magazine and came first in the photography division of qantas spirit of youth and youth week awards. this year sees me shooting in new york and releasing a book. and next i want to write and create films. live dreams + be real!"


Btw, I actually get to know this from the PAPERFASHION blog, which I've introduced earlier : )

Je t'aime vs. I love you

Lately, I have watched some movies.


So far, I really like this movie.
New York, I Love You.
Seriously, it's more than the trailer suggests. Watch it!! :)
Nice, nice, nice!
What more to say?
It's pretty intersting too with many directors shooting one film, MANY! 10, 11? Owh btw, I think they call this anthology film.

(ps: I want to thank my dear friend for sharing it and now it's my turn to share)

However, there are quite lots of negative reviews for this movie.
Although I agree that the storyline is flat, all love stories being connected together, the connection somehow makes the flat love stories beautiful and romantic, at least there are some space for you to interpret the story yourself, it is not too directly played.

Maybe, nowadays people are getting hopeless in a pure romantic relationship.
As I saw one of the reviews suggesting that romance is not all about one person attached to another and there is lack of tension/seduction/confrontation in the movie.
That is sad, very sad, but people love all the dramas and this is the reality, don't they?

Or, maybe, the negative reviews are true that the earlier film, Paris Je t'aime, by the same producer is much better.
Comparison and expectation.



Indeed, the trailer seems better.
I won't judge it too soon tho' until I've watched it.

Destruction. Cornelia Parker.

Earlier, I came across this piece of art by Cornelia Parker.
I was stunned by the real thing. Believe me, it is much better and fascinating in real. I don't mean the photograph is not good, but you know, it's always the best to experience it by one self rather than seeing it through others' eyes.
I don't have the chance to take the picture I perceived through my own pinhole because there was the 'non-photograph-sign'.

It really calms me, like a dream, although with the destruction of the intruments.
I think the artist does really enjoy the destruction of objects and the aftermath.

"There’s a lot of violence in the making of these things, but a quiet aftermath. I take things that are worn out through overuse, that have become clichés, like the shed, a traditional place of rest and retreat, and I give them a more incandescent future. Explosions are very familiar from films and the news, but how many of us have seen one or even touched a piece of the debris?" She said.

The shed, the garden shed that was exploded under her request were recollected and re-established into another piece of art called Cold Dark Matter.



Destroy and rebuild? Consider it to be another way to see the 'dead things'. Or maybe, not a dead thing as it is given new value, probably a reborn.

Although I am not sure whether the artist was thinking that way, I recognise that she has special feeling towards destruction, while normally people do not even want to touch the charred pieces.


While Cornelia Parker working on the "Hanging Fire"


"It's sort of to do with fear," says Parker. "There's a lot of violence in the world, we're surrounded by potential catastrophe all the time. And somehow making calm installations about destructions, it sort of calms my fears."

I guess, the unique thinking of artists make them the artists and different from others whom the majority consider as 'normal' and 'reasonable'.

Does destruction mean more than destroying?

The Royal Tenenbaums

This is one delightful movie to watch!

First of, i love it because all of the signages of buildings, covers of books (except one or two- but the director has his reasons), and headings- every word there is in the movie for that matter!-are set in Futura.

Secondly, i love the characters and their own oddnesses (is that a word?). I can feel the obssession of the writers with each and every character, they made them perfectly imperfect.

also!! the setting of this movie is so beautiful, every still is like a vintage photograph composed carefully to tell a story.

to me, The Royal Tenenbaums can be a very serious, deep thinking movie, or a very light and fun one to watch.

enjoy~!

[第36個故事] - 价值。Value.

每个人对每件事或每一样东西都有着不同的价值。
价值会随着年龄心理人生经验而改变。
那就是，影片里的“心理价值”？

If you're questioning about the value of your dream or your life, this movie might be a good one to put you into a deep thought.
P/s: might not be applicable to very rational people.Lol.



我不常看台湾电影，也不特别爱好偶像剧。
不是偏见，只是个人嗜好不同。
但，这部电影，很不一样。
画面也很柔很美。有想像空间。

对自己的梦想的价值存在怀疑吗？
自己坚信的，但却对别人而言不切实际不务实的想法
该放弃，还是该继续相信自己的那个心理价值？





“在你心里，什么是最有价值？”
影片里，穿插着街头访问，蛮有趣的。
反映出每个人对价值有着不同的定义。
其中一位，提起‘纯真’最可贵。
因为社会的不同价值而抹煞最初的那份纯真，梦想都变得那么的遥远吧。

非常不错的一部戏。
值得观看!

然后，电影里的歌曲也很好，‘雷光夏’得作品。

“给我我想要的生活...”

最后,以电影里的一句对白为这篇画上句号：
“事情常是这样，不会都照着的你的意思走”。

Dreams and Unreality by Tim Walker.

I've introduced the fashion illustrator Kathryn Elyse from FASHIONPAPER in my last post.

Yes, this is her another illustration but, not to worry, I'm not repeating myself here about her. So, she was inspired to draw this illustration because she likes the photographer, or likes his works. Well, this is according to her. And because I like her works so much, and this particular illustration left me a 'wow!', I went on to search for the photographer by whom she was inspired - Tim Walker.

I did not regret for spending my time on searching him in the google.

He is a fashion photographer, done works for Vogue and also I've seen his works before in the i-D.



Like the above picture, is like a painting.

He said in an interview that he got no other choice to be a photographer because he is not good in studies.
However, he stressed that he is comfortable at art, not good at art.

The reason he chose fashion photography because that's the only aspect where he can create fantasy, create the unreality and play with that.

So here goes the 'unreality', huh?



Here is the interview I watched. I agree with him that only the unreality is interesting. Dream is always beautiful. Who says that unreality can't be real? He is the evidence that the 'unreality' can be created!



"Fashion photographer Tim Walker doesn’t seem to belong to the world of you or me. He’s a Peter Pan, a daydreamer, a fantasist. His pictures are mirages, telling stories conjured directly from an imagination that most of us left behind in childhood. Looking at Tim’s photographs is like following the white rabbit into a world where elephants are painted blue, horses are dusted lilac, paintings come to life and pretty girls with Thirties faces are transformed into marionettes or abandoned princesses.

Tim creates photographs that evoke wonder – a skill as rare and fragile as one of his butterflies. In presenting his imagination to us, his photographs remind us of our own capacity to dream. And, even though his images are pure whimsy, they feel true because thy have been meticulously executed." - by Charlotte Sinclair, 2008, British Vogue. (The full article could be found in Tim Walker official website.)

Lastly, quoted his words to end this post:
"Only, only ever photograph what you love."

PAPERFASHION.

This is Tavi, a very young and well-known fashion blogger, which her blog is titled as Style Rookie.


This is also Tavi. She is so famous that I think many people already heard of her before or already actually become fans of her blog. I adore her but, well, this post isn't about her.

This post is about the person who did the illustrations for her, as shown above - Kathryn Elyse. She is a fashion illustrator who owns the blog PAPERFASHION.

Here are just some works of her that I've simply copied from her blog...





and, that's her and her workplace, A.K.A her house..



Find out more in her blog!
And you may also get to know many fashion information or get some fashion inspirations from her posts!

Enjoy!:)

ghost world

you might be wondering. well, Ghost World is not a horror movie. nor a corny romantic chick flick, and... its not one of those laugh out loud comedies that you just watch and forget (not that those are not good, but it's just not one of those). i stumbled upon this movie when searching more about American Splendor (previous movie post) in this spanish movie review website called "Movies 4 Indies". (however after browsing thru, i found that it also features some mainstream hollywood movies like Terminator Salvation and Sherlock Holmes and hmmm.. Alice in Wonderland- well, cant say i didnt enjoy them, but.. they aren't Indie!)

The story is about two best friends, Enid and Rebecca, who just finished their high school. Enid is the main character, who is impulsive, cynical and bitter, she seems to know what she doesnt want, but doesnt know what she want in life. Although she is more outspoken than Rebecca, she is quite lost with her life. Rebecca, Enid's best friend, is more passive and naive than Enid. She has a more mainstream personality but eventually matures into a sensible young woman.

this movie left me with some thoughts. is fitting-in and growing-up more important than finding what we want and saying "no" to what we dont want? the beauty of this movie is that it doesnt show which is "correct" or "right" in the end. it's all so subjective and personal...

enjoy the movie!
trailer of the movie :)

the comic strip

Luzinterruptus.

Discovered this amazing street art in Hookedblog (another blog mostly about street art).

Back to the point, the art posted is very magnificent, which held in Booklyn. If not mistaken they used about 800 books with lighting to do this.


And I kinda like this interpretation by another blog titled Rebellion:

"How powerful are books? Well they can apparently stop traffic if there's enough of them. "

And this impressive work is done by Luzinterruptus team.
There is the link to their blog but too bad it's not in English. Anyways, from my observation, their works are mostly done based on the lighting.
Anyways, there are more pictures in their blog and I have copied some of their photos from their blog, another series which attracts me, as shown below:







For more, please visit their blog :) and google them for English explanation. lol.

Enjoy!

American Splendor

When comics were all about fantasies, heroes, adventure and action, Harvey Pekar chose to write about his own life. "Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff" he said.

Harvey Pekar is an underground comic book writer wrote about his own life. American Splendor was the title of his comic book. He described it as "an autobiography written as it's happening. The theme is about staying alive. Getting a job, finding a mate, having a place to live, finding a creative outlet. Life is a war attrition. You have to stay active in all fronts. It's one thing after another. I've tried to control a chaotic universe. And it's a losing battle. But I can't let go. I've tried but I can't."

Harvey Pekar couldnt "even draw a straight line". So he wrote his stories and asked other artists to draw them for him. and therefore, he has many comic versions of him.

"Harvey let his readers know he had so many issues; he was anxious, obsessive, pessimistic. But one issue he never had was self-conciousness; he was 100 percent himself. Harvey was Harvey unrepentantly, and this relentlessly being himself inspired others consicously and unconsioucly, even when he exposed his foibles and fuck-ups or especially when doing just that, to be more themselves."

- from the Pekar Project, Long Live Harvey Pekar.

Harvey Pekar was inspiring and loved by alot of people, especially artists that worked with him. Here's one of his tributes by Garry Sharman, an artist who got commisssioned to illustrate Pekar's stories. More can be found on Pekar Project, a site that features works of Pekar and a team of artists.

Harvey worked as a hospital clerk until his retirement. He died last monday, 12th of July 2010. I just got to know him and his works. How he lived his life with ups and downs, and found his own creative outlet and do his art his own way.

American Splendor, a movie based on his comics. A truly lovely movie about a not-so-lovely man.

Rest In Peace, Mr Harvey Pekar.

I Love You Phillip Morris

Jim Carrey, after the very famous movie, the Mask, he gives people the impression that he is good in comedy movies. Indeed, he is.
However, I think, instead of pure comedy, he also keen on those based-on-true-story-movies.

After the movie Yes Man where he acts as a man whose life is changed totally when he say ‘yes!' to everything. A pretty interesting movie, although there is nothing very special about the shooting style, I do think that movie teaches people something.
Anyways, back to the point, he then now also acted in another movie titled I Love You Phillip Morris, which is also a true story. The story itself is very unbelievable. Jim Carrey carries the character with his sense of humour, I can really be attracted by his expressions. Some scenes are quite ironic and funny.
If you're looking for something light, this would be the one I would introduce.
However, this movie did not really provide big great life lesson or inspiration, if it did then I think it would be love is the greatest thing which is able to provide powerful strength to a person to do anything crazy! lol.
And this makes me think of a quote which is good to end this post:
"I have loved to the point of madness; that which is called madness, that which to me, is the only sensible way to love." by Francoise Sagan.