Wednesday, October 30, 2013
The Week That Was: A move to Darwin, Fassbender-fest and crossbow cat
0 comments Posted by Katina at 8:00 PMA belated week that was. It was a huge week for me personally!
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Last week I chose to have a mini Michael Fassbender-fest and watch the two films he's done so far with British director Steve McQueen.
Hunger and Shame are two pretty intense films, but it's all for a day's work, which resulted in the article below. Watching him isn't all that hard though really. He's fair amazing.
With 12 YEARS A SLAVE now in theaters, @Katiinkaa explores what makes Steve McQueen so great. http://t.co/QqdWp96KJt— Movie Mezzanine (@MovieMezzanine) October 21, 2013
Captain Phillips (M)
THE SUBJECT of war has become a flexible term in the new century in the context of overall conflict. While bigger wars rage in the Middle East over weapons and Syria with its people, smaller wars not in a physical state also cripple nations.
In Greece the lack of economy is stifling its position as a habitable nation, while in African countries blood is shed as rebels fight for diamonds. Even in Australia, there is a war of words and political promises about gay marriage. It is an inescapable part of today’s existence.
At sea, Captain Rich Phillips (Tom Hanks) is aware, but not alarmed at the risk of pirates targeting his American cargo ship off the coast of Somalia. His biggest problem should be dealing with a new crew during the voyage between Oman and Kenya.
The threat of modern-day pirates becomes all too real much too quickly for the captain to accept, but to his credit he keeps a cool head and prepares his crew for what is to come. He is faced with four armed Somalian males, one still a teenager, and negotiations become sour.
Paul Greengrass has become something of a niche specialist in international action since his days filming war zone documentaries. His exploration of war’s multiple facets ranges from the fictional Bourne world to modern history’s most pivotal moment in United 93.
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| Photo: hollywoodreporter.com |
His focus on the true story of Captain Phillips lies with the titular character, a man who truly believes he is doing what is best in the situation that befalls him. His relationship with pirate leader Muse (Barkhad Abdi) is a centrepiece of humanity in between the chaos around them, something to draw you in as a reminder that even the most callous of people still want connection.
Both Phillips and Muse are strong men within their respective circles, thinking similarly about how to best get their desired outcome realised. That both should grow weaker as the severity of the situation increases and still maintain a strange mutual respect for each other is perplexing but logical. Hanks and Abdi take Billy Ray’s script to an engrossing state, creating a commanding mood.
Greengrass' speciality in realism grows stronger with his films. For this powerful story he makes it hard to look away, even for watchers not in favour of handheld camera work. The rough seas add a mental queasiness to a highly tense situation.
The adaptation of Phillips and Stephan Talty’s book A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea has received backlash from crew members adamant their captain was reckless and travelled closer to the Somalian coast than instructed.
While anything of the sort is not alluded to, Greengrass has delivered a fine action thriller still very relevant on a grand scale. Hanks produces one of his best performances as a man weakened by a deadly threat, with his final scene leaving you to check your breath.
Rating: 4/5
*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post, Midstate Observer (Orange) and Rotten Tomatoes from Saturday 26/10/2013
*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post, Midstate Observer (Orange) and Rotten Tomatoes from Saturday 26/10/2013
MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEW? See what I thought of Prisoners.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
7.05am: Makes an informed choice to wear the brightest top she owns. The day's set to be a stinker at 35 degrees, and nothing's going to stop her from shining today.
11.12am: Hands in letter of resignation. It was harder than she thought, for perhaps the few seconds of revealing her news. But the managing editor understood her reasons for leaving, and proceeded to tell her about his own adventures concerning the same company. Use of remaining time in lieu, and therefore official end date, to be confirmed.
12.22pm: After continuing to let selected people know, she feels ready to burst. Mostly from being excited and happy, but there's a hint of nervousness. She tweets a song lyric, rare but appropriate to express how she feels.
Coz I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me rooooaaarrrrr #empowered #greatday
— Katina V (@Katiinkaa) October 22, 2013
1.37pm: Runs into the local cinema manager. He lived in her new location for six years and wasn't taking the piss as could have been the case. Said he loved it. She feels confident.
1.51pm: At lunch with her friend, she discovers a friend of her and her partner's lives there. And they want to visit. That's at least the third time the topic of visits has been mentioned for the day. Just about more than the total amount of times in two years for her current location.
1.59pm: A call from an unknown mobile number. She answers. A chief of staff from a paper she was previously interviewed at wants to discuss a possible opening in their production department. No writing involved, but using online/social media and editing skills as part of a team.
After declining the opportunity, she discovers the position for grabs back then was decided after 'very tough competition', and receives a lovely congratulations and best wishes before the call ends. She ponders the sheer randomness of that call when considering the lack of contact for about seven weeks after an interview from her home city.
3.10pm: Anxious about her use of remaining time in lieu, she asks the managing editor if he has sought necessary information. She has to wait until the next morning.
5.07pm: Walks out of work after a busy day, deciding to have eaten lollies and not go to the gym as a reward. She feels satisfied, and ready to reveal her news to the world.
7.26pm: After breaking the news on Facebook, she writes about her day. Laughs about the sheer SHOCK that has come from everyone on finding out. And then realises there's so much to be done, but just wants to watch Big Brother instead.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Prisoners (MA 15+)
DESPERATION is a theme known to all of us, something that can't be escaped, avoided or underestimated. It comes to those with the strongest of faiths in a god and those with no beliefs in the hardest of times, showing itself in a million different ways. Denis Villeneuve has recognised the power of emotion and turned a story of desperation into a grim picture of human nature.
Religion plays its part in desperation as help towards finding a way out. Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) is a believer, a man taught to be prepared for everything that naturally comes to us in life. His world is destroyed when daughter Anna (Erin Gerasimovich) and her friend Joy (Kyla Drew Simmons) go missing, and naturally he and wife Grace (Maria Bello) are completely lost.
Alex Jones (Paul Dano) is brought into custody as a suspect, but inconclusive evidence leads to his release without charges. Keller's desperation comes to the fore when he believes Alex holds the truth, and sets his own plan in motion to seek it. Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) is at odds with Keller, not out of his doing, and his frustration increases as his solid reputation for solving crimes does him no justice in this case.
Keller is a formidable figure, losing his strength and turning to violence against those he believes have wronged him. He looks to God for his salvation and the return of the girls, and is one of many to play the blame game. Keller and Grace are more obvious in their distress than Joy's parents, Franklin (Terrence Howard) and Nancy (Viola Davis) - but they too have their strong views on those they see as responsible.
Aaron Guzikowski has thrown characters of all sorts into a story about family, trust and helplessness. His screenplay weaves Detective Loki's investigations with Keller's own journey to find the truth, adding in the impact the kidnapping takes on both of the families as well as Alex and his aunty Holly (Melissa Leo). Everyone is a prisoner, whether behind iron bars or in their minds.
Jackman is vulnerable as Keller, a man so scared of how his situation came to be he becomes someone else. Bello as the grieving mother is heartbreaking, and Gyllenhaal is great to watch as a bad-arse detective filled with doubt. But Dano's creepy suspect Alex is simply frightening, conveying with so few words a picture of secrecy and fear. Scenes between Dano and Jackman are the film's highlight.
With child kidnapping a contentious topic, films such as these show how easy it is for a family to collapse under its foundations. Villeneuve gives his cast a big opportunity to explore those emotions of helplessness and desperation, and they grab it. This tense thriller shows the strengths and weaknesses of family units as well as individuals when an unseen force comes from nowhere.
Rating: 4/5
Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) and Rotten Tomatoes from Saturday 19/10/2013
MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEW? See what I thought of 2 Guns.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
The Week That Was: Bushfires, Ridge returns and popcorn power
0 comments Posted by Katina at 9:46 PMMy Prisoners film review can be accessed on here, but I'll be putting it up tomorrow in full. That's a promise. Meanwhile, my news of the week.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
My review of Prisoners will be published tomorrow.
Sticking with tonight's usual theme though, you get two articles I wrote for Movie Mezzanine during the week!
After the site's reveal of our top films of the 1970s, I took the liberty at thinking about how lists come to define many people's movie-watching - myself included.
ICYMI, @Katiinkaa wrote about "anarchy disguised as order" when it comes to our obsession with making lists. http://t.co/BfepVGtozsAnd then I had something to say on the Fifty Shades of Grey production...
— Movie Mezzanine (@MovieMezzanine) October 18, 2013
Could Charlie Hunnam's decision to leave Fifty Shades of Grey end up saving his career? @Katiinkaa thinks so. http://t.co/DYCYIuNpLZ
— Movie Mezzanine (@MovieMezzanine) October 18, 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Today I had a moment of clarity.
I went to purchase a ticket to an event for this Saturday night in Dubbo, but on exiting the building realised I hadn't actually paid.
I stepped forward a metre or so as this slowly dawned on me, and then stopped.
I stared at the ticket. My first thought? Score!
Then I looked at the bottom of the ticket: All profits from the event go to Pink Angels (a Dubbo charity). I couldn't deny a charity my money.
And as amusing as it seemed in my head to rip off Dubbo Photo News (my paper's rival), I turned around, went back in and paid the $20. The last note in my wallet, I may add.
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| Photo: thesoulreader.webs.com |
I knew on exiting for the second time I'd done the right thing. Not because society tells us, but because I've been dealt some ongoing bad karma this year (from my own doing). It's not something I'm prepared to go through again.
Doing good deeds don't have to pay off in the way of physical gratitude, but just have to make YOU feel good about yourself. I did get the gratitude, but that's just a bonus.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
The Week That Was: Crazy hats, remembrance and a new coach wanted
0 comments Posted by Katina at 8:22 PMSaturday, October 12, 2013
2 Guns (MA 15+)
WHEN corruption within the US government is presented in film, more often than not it has to do with the country’s president. This film by Baltasar Kormakur doesn't touch on that for a change, but still shows corruption on multiple levels to say that everyone’s the bad guy.
Bobby (Denzel Washington) and Stig (Mark Wahlberg) are a team that liaise in deals with Mexican drug kingpin Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos). They rob a bank meant to be containing Papi’s money as a revenge plot for a double-cross before Bobby is found out by his partner to be a DEA agent. Stig’s no different though as a naval intelligence officer, and while the double double-cross is usually a bit of fun, it creates a snowball effect of confusion for the plot that follows.
The script mistakes its flaws as suspense. Characters are introduced without proper explanation, and a failed relationship between Bobby and fellow agent Deb (Paula Patton) serves only to get Patton topless.
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| Photo: digitaltrends.com |
There’s plenty of shoot-offs and menace from everyone involved. Bill Paxton and James Marsden get their hands dirty as government and military officials respectively, while Olmos gets a bit of a laugh out of it all.
What is evil then? In this case it’s everything - the film is not clean in character, story or look. Two guns recur as a motif throughout the film but don’t give us anything to draw from. It’s a mindless journey with typical, but still disappointing, results.
Rating: 2/5
*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) and Rotten Tomatoes from Saturday 12/10/2013
MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEW? See what I thought of Gravity.
Friday, October 11, 2013
I've had a couple of self-awakenings this week.
First, I feel really disgusting if I sleep for a 10-hour period (which I never used to be able to do, and will not let myself undertake again).
Second, I really do eat too much sugar.
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| Photo: art.ngfiles.com |
Chocolate is the main culprit. I've written before about my excitement for Asian confectionery and baking chocolate cakes, and it's something I believe hereditary from my paternal side.
I drink chai lattes and hot chocolates as an alternative to coffee when out with friends or in need of a hot drink. I put Milo on my Weet-Bix (NOT weird, it actually does taste amazing. Don't knock it until you try it.).
***
A couple of weeks ago I thought about all of this, and then combined that with friends' views/experiences on a no-sugar diet.
While I could never go totally without sugar, I decided to look at what I was doing wrong.
First was the Milo. It's been off my cereal for nearly two weeks and it's staying off. I usually try and have fruit with my Weet-Bix when I can, and because blueberries are cheap right now they're great to chuck in - and a bit of fun too...
Is it weird that I have @DisneyAnimation's Hercules in my mind right now? #film #planetsaligned #toogood pic.twitter.com/ky4sbik7co
— Katina V (@Katiinkaa) October 2, 2013
Next is not consuming chocolate all day. Now, with this I often have high ebbs and flows in that I binge for a while and then go off completely for a bit. I've had too many film nights with friends lately to give myself that chance though, so I'm really pacing myself.
I didn't have any sugary/junk food from Sunday to Tuesday, even passing up chocolate mud cake at work (my FAVOURITE). On Wednesday, my day off, I succumbed to an iced chocolate. And you know what? It didn't taste as wonderful as I expected. Still good, but not entirely satisfying.
Then I went and won some chocolates while wearing a crazy hat that night at dinner, ahead of today's Hat Day (great initiative by the way, look it up). But I didn't eat them. They're being saved for a rainy day.
***
The point of all this is really to say that I'm thinking a little bit more about the sugars I'm consuming and how it relates to my general energy levels and wellbeing. I believe if I do eat less chocolate and don't feel tempted to eat as many cakes at birthday parties then I'm on a winning run. And I think I've taken off OK.
Sugar will never leave me, but at least I can control the level of the high.
***
You are whole. You are complete. You are total in every moment that you're alive.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Today is World Mental Health Day, and while I am promoting affirmations regularly this year in my posts I hope this helps anyone affected by mental illness.
***
Your ability to be a winner 100 per cent of the time is based upon giving up the notion that losing at anything is equivalent to being a loser.
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| Photo: ablogtowatch.com |
If you're suffering in your life right now, I can guarantee that you're somehow attached to how things should be going.
The more you work at just being yourself, the more likely you'll feel purposeful and significant in your life.
The universal principles will never show up in your life until you know they're there. When you believe in them, you'll see them everywhere.
You don't get abused because there are a lot of abusers out there. You get abused because you send out signals that say, "Abuse me, I'll take that."
What you have to learn to do is fall in love with what you do and then sell that love.
You can spend the rest of your life, beginning right now, worrying about the future - and no amount of worry will change a thing.
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| Photo: asiasociety.org |
If you depend on others for your value, it's "other-worth", not "self-worth".
In Western civilisation, we're accustomed to believing that what we produce and what we get for ourselves is a measure of who we are, when, in fact, that's a dead end.
When you're ready, whatever will need to be transformed will be there.
When you're just like everyone else in the world, you have to ask yourself, "What do I have to offer?"
Happiness, fulfillment and purpose in life are all inner concepts. If you don't have inner peace and serenity, then you have nothing.
Only a ghost wallows around in his past, explaining himself with descriptors based on a life already lived. You are what you choose today, not what you've chosen before.
A successful person isn't someone who makes a lot of money. A successful person brings success to everything that he or she does, and money is one of the payoffs.
Sunday, October 06, 2013
The Week That Was: Mark Darcy gone, US shuts down and eight-year-old sex
0 comments Posted by Katina at 8:28 PMSaturday, October 05, 2013
This. Film. Was. Amazing.
Just go.
Gravity (M)
LONELINESS and isolation are feelings which make life a
struggle, but the situations we feel as humans on Earth are all relative when
compared to the vast unknown that is the greater universe. For a limited number
of our planet’s inhabitants, that isolation is felt on a level the rest of us
can only begin to imagine.
Alfonso Cuaron toys with loneliness and isolation as he
places a medical engineer in space who finds escape in zero gravity from the
problems that wait for her on soil. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a woman
extremely out of her comfort zone, which we are reminded of gives way to
heightened emotions when there’s no foreseeable end.
She is on a mission that sees her research come to fruition
through the installation of new technology on a spaceship. Joined by astronaut
Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) while making repairs, they come under duress
when debris from destroyed satellites is coming their way. And then the real
fun starts.
Cuaron creates an ever-expansive view of space with a
breathtaking 17-minute opening shot. Establishing the characters in as intimate
a way possible within this realm, the focus is drawn to them and how minuscule
they are in such grand surroundings. That either of them could be at all calm
is a miracle.
Ryan is not though, and Cuaron’s close focus on her
throughout the ordeal of trying to get to a surviving station to launch back to
Earth is a masterstroke. Her worst fears are brought to the fore in what
becomes her moment of truth.
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| Photo: empireonline.com |
The film provides a number of reminders about where humans
sit in the grand scheme of existence, though it rids itself of any
overwhelmingly moralistic moments by introducing constant obstacles in Ryan’s
ordeal. Her attempt to reach the final destination is as hard in space as it
seems for us for anything on the ground.
While minimalist on dialogue, the same refuses to be said
for the rest. This film, quite simply, is big. Constant sweeping shots and a
highly affective score make the film faultless. The 91 minutes are drawn out to
feel like a lifetime to suspenseful effect, tense and convincing. Bullock and
Clooney together share poignant scenes jokingly discussing life stories, while
alone Bullock is the star. She plays Ryan as a woman scared to face her
problems, and afraid of the consequences of letting go.
The picture is startlingly crisp, no doubt aided by 3D
technology. The use of 3D works to Cuaron’s favour, not allowing the audience
to become complacent with the story but still creating a mesmerising image. He
intertwines moments of terror with sadness repeatedly and to the film’s
benefit, toying with his viewers’ emotions as well as that of Ryan.
Cuaron’s creative control as director/producer/writer is
genius. In space no one can hear you at all, and that’s the scary truth.
Leaving you in absolute awe, this is unmissable for fans of sci-fi and cinema
alike.
Rating: 5/5
*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) and Rotten Tomatoes from Saturday 5/10/2013
*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) and Rotten Tomatoes from Saturday 5/10/2013
MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEW? See what I thought of Runner Runner (also reviewed for Movie Mezzanine).
Thursday, October 03, 2013
Last night I attempted to try corn-flavoured confectionery.
Yeah, this stuff...
And - it was OK. Creamy corn. It was more the liquid that tasted flavoursome, the jelly itself ultimately became rather tasteless but still nicely chewy.
I love trying new foods.
***
I got to have a do-over last night, as I wrote my second review of Runner Runner in a week. I think I like the Movie Mezzanine version better. Check it out and if you've read both tell me what you think.
RUNNER RUNNER -- a world of beautiful people and corruption you hardly care for. Our review by @Katiinkaa. Read on: http://t.co/ILUkjGDykM
— Movie Mezzanine (@MovieMezzanine) October 2, 2013
Wednesday, October 02, 2013
Runner Runner (MA 15+)
IT'S hard to believe Justin Timberlake once wooed the pigtails off Britney Spears when you know the paths their lives both took in the aftermath. But we were all young once. Some would say young, dumb and foolish - no matter how much we try to avoid being so.
Richie (Timberlake) is that young guy. He's at Princeton University though, so he's more often than not one of the smarter ones. Working as an affiliate for an online poker site, he gets cheated when he has a go. He knows he's been cheated. Then he turns foolish and decides to fly to Costa Rica to try and meet the site's creator Ivan (Ben Affleck).
For anyone else, things would not have ended up well and they would've been deep in it. For Richie, his smarts get him a job with Ivan and the attention of assistant Rebecca (Gemma Arterton). He brings his friends along for the ride, and it all goes great for a while.
The film tells you right off the bat that for some life is not worth living unless you can risk it all. Everyone can risk something, but taking that a step further to make it really pay off, or really hurt, is where a daring minority tests itself.
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| Photo: The Telegraph (UK) |
Brad Furman (The Lincoln Lawyer) plays on the increasing popularity of online gaming from his opening scene as news bulletins document what is becoming a global concern. Furman doesn't waste any opportunity to glamourise the underworld beneath the digital poker tables, showing Richie's step into the big league as lavish and extravagant surrounded by beautiful people and plenty of money.
Regular collaborators Brian Koppelman and David Levien (Ocean's Thirteen) offer a screenplay that focuses on the three major players and leaves a lot of potential action behind. This is more of a talker, good for those wanting a film deeper than A Good Day To Die Hard, but not great in overall substance.
There's a lot packed into an hour-and-a-half considering the story moves at a generally steady pace, but little things that don't add up or aren't given enough time to be explained become an annoyance. You know there's something big coming but it takes its time in getting there with filler plot.
An interesting cast releases a bit of that tension from the shoulders. While Arterton is given maximum opportunity to look beautiful (and succeeds), the boys don't scrub up as nice. Affleck is smarmy as Ivan reveals his playing cards bit by bit to reveal the cracks he thinks Richie can fix. Timberlake gives off a sense of impressionability as the central character, that young and foolish kid. His appearance assists that, but Timberlake is learning his way to bigger things.
Furman's chance to play big could itself seem foolish, with using big names against a so-so story. He manages to present a feature that keeps you interested, but only until the credits roll. Distributors should have thought about using a poker term as the title more thoroughly.
Rating: 2.5/5
*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) and Rotten Tomatoes from Saturday 28/9/2013
MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEW? See what I thought of Turbo.
I was lucky enough to receive some Chinese confectionery from my friend Carina a few weeks ago, who had gone over there to discover a bit more about her family and where she comes from.
It's a lovely assortment of chocolates and jelly shots, all of which I'd never tried before.
As Asian junk food in general is not known to me, I have been intrigued and pleased with what I've had so far.
Until this.
Midway through my conquest of the lolly bag, I am attempting to eat a CORN flavoured jelly shot. The picture shows little corn cobs in a cream sea, see?
It won't open for me though... almost as if to say to me, "No, eat your dinner first, then me," or, "I'm too weird to eat, weeeird."
You will find out how it went tomorrow.
***
On another note, I will publish my movie review in a separate post shortly. It will not be neglected!
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