Dang this is funny
Step 1!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Friday, December 29, 2006
Rundown
Not much has happened in the last few days
Tues - Stayed home to avoid bankrupting myself at the sales, practiced cycling.
Wed - Spent the whole day at uni re-sectioning and then went home to practice cycling
Thurs - Went to AL's place for the Big Breakfast party she was throwing that turned out to be lunch, went to uni at 1pm and spent the rest of the day sectioning, visited Akina at work, had dinner with Thai, had drinks with Amandine
Fri - Practiced cycling
The only really interesting this is I saw a snake and a lizard when cycling today.
Tues - Stayed home to avoid bankrupting myself at the sales, practiced cycling.
Wed - Spent the whole day at uni re-sectioning and then went home to practice cycling
Thurs - Went to AL's place for the Big Breakfast party she was throwing that turned out to be lunch, went to uni at 1pm and spent the rest of the day sectioning, visited Akina at work, had dinner with Thai, had drinks with Amandine
Fri - Practiced cycling
The only really interesting this is I saw a snake and a lizard when cycling today.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Movie Review - Casino Royale
I am a fan of the James Bond films. I am one of the many who think Sean Connery is the best one. So where in the scheme of things does Casino Royale stack up to me? Well. Very well.
Casino Royale is the 21st Bond film (in the official EON lineup), and the first to star Daniel Craig. Like a number of other recent films which followed established franchises (Batman Begins, Superman Returns), CR goes back to tell how Bond became 'Bond'. Based loosely on the first novel by Ian Fleming, Bond is attempting to take down the villian Le Chiffre, 'banker to the terrorists', by bankrupting him in a high-stakes Texas Hold'Em competition at the Casino Royale in Montenegro. As befitting the re-load status of this film, a lot of the things which denote a Bond film has been taken away, such Q and his gadgets. But on the flipside, we see Bond acquire the accoutrements of 'Bond', from the '00' status (in the opening sequence), the car (the classic Aston Martin DB5 and new Aston Martin DBS - ooh lala!), the tux, the vodka martini, the name introduction and the womanising.
There was a measure of *oh, this film is gonna bomb* thinking around CR following the dumping of the popular Pierce Brosnan and the casting of Craig's was met with a general 'who!??!' as well as media revelations that he couldn't drive manual, and had to turn up to a press conference wearing a lifejacket. This is probably the lowest profile Bond cast in ages following the casting of Eva Green, another not so high profile actor (especially considering the shortlist for the role allegedly included Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, Aishwarya Rai, and Scarlett Johanssen), and Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre. But you know what? High-profile people, who gives a damn so long as the actors are convincing in their roles! (Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist? WHATEVER!!!) And they are convincing! Craig doesn't go throughout the movie with a permanent smirk, instead he's quite good at showing the semi-psychopathic tendencies that might belong to someone who hides their true identity and kills for a living! Eva Green is BEE-YOO-TEE-FUL as the Treasury agent Vesper Lynd, nicely icy when faced when Bond is annoying, but also vulnerable when made to face what his career actually involves.
But it's more than just hiring the right people which makes this movie so effective. For one, the plot is actually believable compared to some of the more recent ones (e.g. the Media Baron starting a war so he can increase profits in Tomorrow Never Dies). Le Chiffre set up the game because after losing over $100,000,000 that belongs to an African Guerrilla guy of some sort, he REALLY NEEDS to win big quickly. Bond is less of the flip joker and more an actual spy whose actions potentially affect the lives of many people - his eyes are on the prize and he even gives up seducing a woman to chase a terrorist! That's not to say he can't be funny - the scenes when he confronts Vesper about the suit she ordered for him, hilarity in a purely normal way. However, if there is a fall person, its M - a degree of humour comes from Bond breaking classified information about her. The action sequences are less stunt-laden and cartoonish (e.g. the invisible car in Die Another Day). And man, when this movie starts the action, it doesn't let up! But the real tension comes the poker game itself! It was just like watching the tennis sequences in Wimbledon.
Casino Royale is a great movie that takes something that had become a cliched parody of itself and made it new. I don't know if its the best Bond ever - it has a lot of nostalgia to beat - but it's certainly one of the better ones and one of the better movies of 2006.
8/10
P.S. The song is pretty nifty too
Casino Royale is the 21st Bond film (in the official EON lineup), and the first to star Daniel Craig. Like a number of other recent films which followed established franchises (Batman Begins, Superman Returns), CR goes back to tell how Bond became 'Bond'. Based loosely on the first novel by Ian Fleming, Bond is attempting to take down the villian Le Chiffre, 'banker to the terrorists', by bankrupting him in a high-stakes Texas Hold'Em competition at the Casino Royale in Montenegro. As befitting the re-load status of this film, a lot of the things which denote a Bond film has been taken away, such Q and his gadgets. But on the flipside, we see Bond acquire the accoutrements of 'Bond', from the '00' status (in the opening sequence), the car (the classic Aston Martin DB5 and new Aston Martin DBS - ooh lala!), the tux, the vodka martini, the name introduction and the womanising.
There was a measure of *oh, this film is gonna bomb* thinking around CR following the dumping of the popular Pierce Brosnan and the casting of Craig's was met with a general 'who!??!' as well as media revelations that he couldn't drive manual, and had to turn up to a press conference wearing a lifejacket. This is probably the lowest profile Bond cast in ages following the casting of Eva Green, another not so high profile actor (especially considering the shortlist for the role allegedly included Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, Aishwarya Rai, and Scarlett Johanssen), and Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre. But you know what? High-profile people, who gives a damn so long as the actors are convincing in their roles! (Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist? WHATEVER!!!) And they are convincing! Craig doesn't go throughout the movie with a permanent smirk, instead he's quite good at showing the semi-psychopathic tendencies that might belong to someone who hides their true identity and kills for a living! Eva Green is BEE-YOO-TEE-FUL as the Treasury agent Vesper Lynd, nicely icy when faced when Bond is annoying, but also vulnerable when made to face what his career actually involves.
But it's more than just hiring the right people which makes this movie so effective. For one, the plot is actually believable compared to some of the more recent ones (e.g. the Media Baron starting a war so he can increase profits in Tomorrow Never Dies). Le Chiffre set up the game because after losing over $100,000,000 that belongs to an African Guerrilla guy of some sort, he REALLY NEEDS to win big quickly. Bond is less of the flip joker and more an actual spy whose actions potentially affect the lives of many people - his eyes are on the prize and he even gives up seducing a woman to chase a terrorist! That's not to say he can't be funny - the scenes when he confronts Vesper about the suit she ordered for him, hilarity in a purely normal way. However, if there is a fall person, its M - a degree of humour comes from Bond breaking classified information about her. The action sequences are less stunt-laden and cartoonish (e.g. the invisible car in Die Another Day). And man, when this movie starts the action, it doesn't let up! But the real tension comes the poker game itself! It was just like watching the tennis sequences in Wimbledon.
Casino Royale is a great movie that takes something that had become a cliched parody of itself and made it new. I don't know if its the best Bond ever - it has a lot of nostalgia to beat - but it's certainly one of the better ones and one of the better movies of 2006.
8/10
P.S. The song is pretty nifty too
Monday, December 25, 2006
Merry Christmas, y'all!
I know this may sound like sacrilege, but I don't put much stock in Christmas cos as kids we never really celebrated it so there's no history of gift giving/receiving. It was just a day off when the shops were closed and tv programming was terrible! That's kinda changed as we got more integrated into society and while there's still not gift exchange and the TV is still bad, we sure do celebrate it with a big family get together!
This year it was bigger than usual - there were ppl present I swear I haven't seen in 20 years, and even some I'd never met before. Here are some pics:
Some of the food
And we discovered that 'Milly has an unexplicable love for Spuey - choosing to go to him instead of her own MOTHER! - and using him as an adventure playground.
I'd also like to mention these mince pies that Cam gave me as a present. I'm not sure how they were decided to be *exceedingly good*, but that labelling sure gave me a laugh.
This year it was bigger than usual - there were ppl present I swear I haven't seen in 20 years, and even some I'd never met before. Here are some pics:
Some of the food
Dad frying more (why he's wearing that plastic thing, I don't know)
Lobster heads for all! 
Random people eating
We don't see many babies and spent a lot of time playing and photographing ourselves with them:
Random people eating
And we discovered that 'Milly has an unexplicable love for Spuey - choosing to go to him instead of her own MOTHER! - and using him as an adventure playground.
E also somehow discovered how to take photos of himself. How asian!
In all, much fun.
All photos are online (soon) at http://mallymoodlespics.shutterfly.com (pword = 12345)
In all, much fun.I'd also like to mention these mince pies that Cam gave me as a present. I'm not sure how they were decided to be *exceedingly good*, but that labelling sure gave me a laugh.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Learning to Ride
For the past 25 years and four months, I have not been able to ride a bike. That changed this month when Poosy declared that after 27 years, she was finally going to learn and would start by actually buying a bike. While I've never felt a burning desire to learn I have conceded that so long as I never could ride I would probably never be able to compete in The Amazing Race, so now that a bike was in our possession, I decided it was also time for me to learn!
My announcement to people that I was going to learn was met with bewilderment that I had never learned as a child to welcoming enthusiasm and flat-out amusement. I got a lot of comments such as "Are you gonna use training wheels?" Haha. "No really! Man, I'd love to see an adult bike with training wheels!"
Pooey began by practicing riding up and down the 15-20m path in our backyard. About a fortnight ago, I first climbed on the bike about and amazed Pooey when I immediately rode about 5-10m. Now that Pooey is gone, I've decided to be more dilligent and soon the path became too small. So today Spuey and I took the bike down to our local bush park where there's a path about 1.5km or so long. And I kept riding it until I could do the whole course without stopping. And now I can!
Hooray!
It was kind of galling to have kids a fraction of my age passing me though. Grrr.....
My announcement to people that I was going to learn was met with bewilderment that I had never learned as a child to welcoming enthusiasm and flat-out amusement. I got a lot of comments such as "Are you gonna use training wheels?" Haha. "No really! Man, I'd love to see an adult bike with training wheels!"
Pooey began by practicing riding up and down the 15-20m path in our backyard. About a fortnight ago, I first climbed on the bike about and amazed Pooey when I immediately rode about 5-10m. Now that Pooey is gone, I've decided to be more dilligent and soon the path became too small. So today Spuey and I took the bike down to our local bush park where there's a path about 1.5km or so long. And I kept riding it until I could do the whole course without stopping. And now I can!
Hooray!
It was kind of galling to have kids a fraction of my age passing me though. Grrr.....
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Thursday, December 21, 2006
New personal best!
Six hours (11-5) on the cryostat today!
Although I suppose I should remove 30 minutes I took for lunch and however long I took to dissect an eye for sectioning...
I've got seven blocks to go before I can restart the staining!
Although I suppose I should remove 30 minutes I took for lunch and however long I took to dissect an eye for sectioning...
I've got seven blocks to go before I can restart the staining!
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Never heard of this character
Your results:
You are Iron Man
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test
You are Iron Man
| Inventor. Businessman. Genius. |
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
The honeymoon is OVER, baby!
Omg...first big hurdle of my PhD has just been thrown into the mix - the cell counting that I've been doing for the last few months have to be repeated right from the beginning. I have to recut the sections, restain, recount.
O.
M.
G.
Well, I don't have to rekill the animals, I guess that's a small blessing
O.
M.
G.
Well, I don't have to rekill the animals, I guess that's a small blessing
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Played it last night at Kahunas! And I had fun! I think I might break my no-consoles rule!!!!
The Marriage of Figaro
I have a new favourite opera performance!!! I've written previously about my oft misunderstood enjoyment of opera (here) but if there's one that everyone can enjoy, its The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart/daPonte. I saw the revival of the 2002 Neil Armfield production (costume and set design based on Goya) last night and it was absolutely brilliant!
A short synopsis for the people too lazy to click the link, the story takes place about five years after the events in The Barber of Seville, on the day that Figaro, former barber and currently valet for Count Almaviva, is about to marry his sweetie Susanna. Susanna is the personal maid to the Countess, Rosina, whom Figaro brought together with the Count in Seville. As times have changed, the Almaviva is now an unfaithful husband with Susanna as his next target, but also terribly jealous of any man who may have an eye for his Countess - particularly the pageboy Cherubino who has just hit puberty. Hijinks ensue as Figaro, Susanna, Rosina and his tenants attempt to thwart Almaviva's plans to debauch Susanna and send Cherubino to the army, while also returning him to the Countess' loving arms.
Watching the production unfold, I remembered what a funny story Figaro is, and I guess that's one of the drawbacks of listening to opera on CD. Watching the acting and translation with the music - soooo many lol moments along with the enjoyment of so many familiar arias! Richard Alexander and Tiffany Speight were terrific and equally matched as the quick-witted Figaro and Susanna running rings around Almaviva. Alexander was just the cheeky and slightly rotund Figaro I always picture in my mind! Leanne Kenneally was fantastic at portraying Rosina's sadness that the good times between her and Almaviva seem to be gone in the aria Dove sono? but also shows her backbone of steel for wanting to exert a bit of reveng on him. Joslyn Rechter had Cherubino's male walk and loose limbs down pat, but the real star of the show is Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Almaviva.
Cheating bastards aren't usually my thing but Tahu Rhodes plays him with such charm and charisma that you kind of feel like Barbarina who'd give in to the seduction when he promises you everything! From the moment he walks into Susanna's room barefoot with his shirt open and wearing a velvet robe, you see this is a guy who is not normally denied anything he wants. Act II is even better as he storms around Rosina's chamber using every wile he possesses to make her open the door to her dressing room where Cherubino is hiding, from seduction (pictured) to breaking it down with an axe. And upon finding Susanna in the closet, to be so shocked as to just let the axe drop! But he doesn't have it all his way with buffoonish moments such as in Act III his *Omigod, don't talk about this now!* reaction when Barbarina mentions his promise in public to coerce the Count into allowing Cherubino to stay, and when Susanna under Rosina's orders turns on the seduction to get Almaviva to meet her later in the garden...the way the 6'5 Tahu Rhodes mimicks the coquettish dance around the props, sheer hilarity!
Figaro is probably one of the best operas you can be introduced to due to the hilarious storyline and familiar music. And it is familiar because seriously, the music from this opera has been played everywhere. As Ruilin said to me after the first act: "I wanna buy a subscription!" Yeah! (Now maybe OperaAustralia will put more productions on in Melbourne *grumble grumble*)
A short synopsis for the people too lazy to click the link, the story takes place about five years after the events in The Barber of Seville, on the day that Figaro, former barber and currently valet for Count Almaviva, is about to marry his sweetie Susanna. Susanna is the personal maid to the Countess, Rosina, whom Figaro brought together with the Count in Seville. As times have changed, the Almaviva is now an unfaithful husband with Susanna as his next target, but also terribly jealous of any man who may have an eye for his Countess - particularly the pageboy Cherubino who has just hit puberty. Hijinks ensue as Figaro, Susanna, Rosina and his tenants attempt to thwart Almaviva's plans to debauch Susanna and send Cherubino to the army, while also returning him to the Countess' loving arms.
Watching the production unfold, I remembered what a funny story Figaro is, and I guess that's one of the drawbacks of listening to opera on CD. Watching the acting and translation with the music - soooo many lol moments along with the enjoyment of so many familiar arias! Richard Alexander and Tiffany Speight were terrific and equally matched as the quick-witted Figaro and Susanna running rings around Almaviva. Alexander was just the cheeky and slightly rotund Figaro I always picture in my mind! Leanne Kenneally was fantastic at portraying Rosina's sadness that the good times between her and Almaviva seem to be gone in the aria Dove sono? but also shows her backbone of steel for wanting to exert a bit of reveng on him. Joslyn Rechter had Cherubino's male walk and loose limbs down pat, but the real star of the show is Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Almaviva.
Cheating bastards aren't usually my thing but Tahu Rhodes plays him with such charm and charisma that you kind of feel like Barbarina who'd give in to the seduction when he promises you everything! From the moment he walks into Susanna's room barefoot with his shirt open and wearing a velvet robe, you see this is a guy who is not normally denied anything he wants. Act II is even better as he storms around Rosina's chamber using every wile he possesses to make her open the door to her dressing room where Cherubino is hiding, from seduction (pictured) to breaking it down with an axe. And upon finding Susanna in the closet, to be so shocked as to just let the axe drop! But he doesn't have it all his way with buffoonish moments such as in Act III his *Omigod, don't talk about this now!* reaction when Barbarina mentions his promise in public to coerce the Count into allowing Cherubino to stay, and when Susanna under Rosina's orders turns on the seduction to get Almaviva to meet her later in the garden...the way the 6'5 Tahu Rhodes mimicks the coquettish dance around the props, sheer hilarity!Figaro is probably one of the best operas you can be introduced to due to the hilarious storyline and familiar music. And it is familiar because seriously, the music from this opera has been played everywhere. As Ruilin said to me after the first act: "I wanna buy a subscription!" Yeah! (Now maybe OperaAustralia will put more productions on in Melbourne *grumble grumble*)
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Book review: Train Man
Last Friday, Pooey and Jade needed to go shopping and drinking but I didn't really feel like coming along so I sequestered myself in one of my favoured bookshops and waited for them to get ready to eat. They say you should never judge a book by its cover but while I was perusing the shelves I found a book that looked so cute, I had to pick it up and read it! And the book was really cute!!!
Train Man (Densha Otoko in the original japanese) tells the story of a 22yo otaku (computery anime geek) who one day intervenes when a drunk starts hassling women on the Tokyo metro. After the drunk gets arrested, the women ask for his address so they can thank him...and imagine his surprise when the young attractive one sends him a pair of Hermès teacups as a present. The book chronicles his metamorphosis from a guy who has never been on a date (or possibly even looked a girl in the eye) to a more confident guy who gets the girl.
Sure, I know what you're thinking Oh, it's just another Mallymoodle romance book. WRONG! What makes the book is that it's a translation of the real forum postings that Train Man wrote on 2Channel and the advice, comments, and reactions of his fellow board posters. I said he was a computer geek! Being somewhat geeky myself, I could really see the reactions of the fellow posters and cheer on Train Man as he went after Lady Hermès. And you've got to admit to the warm fuzzy feeling when you realise that all these strangers are cheering on someone they dont know and probably never will.
It's hard to describe what made the book such a great read. I can imagine that people might find the postings difficult to read or even gimmicky. There's no 'characterisation' in the formal sense. Whether or not the situation seems credible or not will depend on your personal mindset, I suppose. What is realistic is when the various geeks wait for Train on the forum for updates, how they band together in mock battle as Train shares the details of various dates, and share in turn their tales of woe as they marvel at how Train's little acts of confidence deliver for him. It's almost enough to be a little more forgiving of the various people who hit on me. Almost. There is also the question about authenticity. The identities of Train and Hermès have never been publicly revealed...but when I typed in the urls listed in some of the postings, they really existed. There is also a lot of geeky things like ASCI art so that might annoy some too.
But seriously. Its a cute book and an entertaining read. I'm not sure how widely available it is here, but read it if you can!
Train Man (Densha Otoko in the original japanese) tells the story of a 22yo otaku (computery anime geek) who one day intervenes when a drunk starts hassling women on the Tokyo metro. After the drunk gets arrested, the women ask for his address so they can thank him...and imagine his surprise when the young attractive one sends him a pair of Hermès teacups as a present. The book chronicles his metamorphosis from a guy who has never been on a date (or possibly even looked a girl in the eye) to a more confident guy who gets the girl.
Sure, I know what you're thinking Oh, it's just another Mallymoodle romance book. WRONG! What makes the book is that it's a translation of the real forum postings that Train Man wrote on 2Channel and the advice, comments, and reactions of his fellow board posters. I said he was a computer geek! Being somewhat geeky myself, I could really see the reactions of the fellow posters and cheer on Train Man as he went after Lady Hermès. And you've got to admit to the warm fuzzy feeling when you realise that all these strangers are cheering on someone they dont know and probably never will.
It's hard to describe what made the book such a great read. I can imagine that people might find the postings difficult to read or even gimmicky. There's no 'characterisation' in the formal sense. Whether or not the situation seems credible or not will depend on your personal mindset, I suppose. What is realistic is when the various geeks wait for Train on the forum for updates, how they band together in mock battle as Train shares the details of various dates, and share in turn their tales of woe as they marvel at how Train's little acts of confidence deliver for him. It's almost enough to be a little more forgiving of the various people who hit on me. Almost. There is also the question about authenticity. The identities of Train and Hermès have never been publicly revealed...but when I typed in the urls listed in some of the postings, they really existed. There is also a lot of geeky things like ASCI art so that might annoy some too.
But seriously. Its a cute book and an entertaining read. I'm not sure how widely available it is here, but read it if you can!
Monday, December 11, 2006
Adey's 26th Birthday blowout
(I didn't think my words could do justice to this party, but Kirms has requested this entry.)
On a horridly hot, muggy, smoggy day, the night started off at The Metropol at 7:20pm because Marta, Krijn and I were early. A jug of sangria later, we sat back and watched the crowd and waited for Adey + mates to roll up.
And roll up they did! Pretty much as soon as he arrived, the festivities (i.e. us trying to get him drunk) began. There was also ice-cream cake which was awesome but quite difficult to eat due to the difficulty of us finding a staff member who could/would get us knives, plates and spoons. There is a photo of Adey giving up and actually drinking the cake somewhere.
Another note about the Metropol - don't order the tapas. Not because it's bad, its quite good, but because each serving has about 3 items on a giant plate *eye roll* and it was hugely overpriced. It was recommended that 3 plates is enough for 2 people to share. We ordered 15 plates for 5 people...we had to order extra food due to our hunger and to line our stomachs for the alcohol. The tapas might also have been the reason why we had to wait ONE HOUR for the food to arrive. There was a lot of questioning the staff about whether they had our order ready or not.
Anyway, since the crowd was standard St. Kilda - little girls in little dresses...many with questionable fashion taste, the boys were in heaven. Marlene and I on the other hand complained about the quality of the males. Tsk. Around about midnight or so we decided to find ourselves a classier crowd of people...but we went to The Elephant & Wheelbarrow anyway :-P
There....things got a little bit more raucus. There were more shots, a *body shot*, a huge line to get into the ladies' loo, a lot of smirnoff blacks, I remember hitting Ash in the face, and a bunch of guys rubbing their 1, 2, 3 and 5 day growths against my face when I complained about someone being hairy.
I pulledup alright the next day, but two days later, Adey, Ash and Kirm are still eating deep fried foods. And with that, I declare the party a job well done!
On a horridly hot, muggy, smoggy day, the night started off at The Metropol at 7:20pm because Marta, Krijn and I were early. A jug of sangria later, we sat back and watched the crowd and waited for Adey + mates to roll up.
And roll up they did! Pretty much as soon as he arrived, the festivities (i.e. us trying to get him drunk) began. There was also ice-cream cake which was awesome but quite difficult to eat due to the difficulty of us finding a staff member who could/would get us knives, plates and spoons. There is a photo of Adey giving up and actually drinking the cake somewhere.
Another note about the Metropol - don't order the tapas. Not because it's bad, its quite good, but because each serving has about 3 items on a giant plate *eye roll* and it was hugely overpriced. It was recommended that 3 plates is enough for 2 people to share. We ordered 15 plates for 5 people...we had to order extra food due to our hunger and to line our stomachs for the alcohol. The tapas might also have been the reason why we had to wait ONE HOUR for the food to arrive. There was a lot of questioning the staff about whether they had our order ready or not.
Anyway, since the crowd was standard St. Kilda - little girls in little dresses...many with questionable fashion taste, the boys were in heaven. Marlene and I on the other hand complained about the quality of the males. Tsk. Around about midnight or so we decided to find ourselves a classier crowd of people...but we went to The Elephant & Wheelbarrow anyway :-P
There....things got a little bit more raucus. There were more shots, a *body shot*, a huge line to get into the ladies' loo, a lot of smirnoff blacks, I remember hitting Ash in the face, and a bunch of guys rubbing their 1, 2, 3 and 5 day growths against my face when I complained about someone being hairy.
I pulledup alright the next day, but two days later, Adey, Ash and Kirm are still eating deep fried foods. And with that, I declare the party a job well done!
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Shoe dilemma
I was going through my closet cos tonight is Adey's 26th birthday party and I was looking for a suitable outfit when I came across these lovely shoes that Miss Pooky gave me as a present last year.
The reality of these shoes is that Miss Pooky bought them out of love but discovered that the angle combined with the heel size meant that she couldn't actually walk in them. Knowing that I'm a handy traveller in impossible shoes, she gave them to me, I proved my ability by traipsing around in them from her place to FM Karaoke, and back again. The fact that they don't match my general wardrobe colours (comprising of blacks, reds, pinks, and other bright jewel colours) and the right shoe needed an extra hole punched into them limited their wear by me.
But times have now changed and I've got a bit more white and blue in my closet...although I was thinking of pairing them with a plain black dress. I got the holes punched into them today so I was trying them on in the bathroom...when I caught of sight of them in the mirror. They actually look REALLY painful! Please ignore my disgusting feet and the dirty tiles to check it out:
I don't know what to do know cos I have a feeling we'll be out for a while tonight.
The reality of these shoes is that Miss Pooky bought them out of love but discovered that the angle combined with the heel size meant that she couldn't actually walk in them. Knowing that I'm a handy traveller in impossible shoes, she gave them to me, I proved my ability by traipsing around in them from her place to FM Karaoke, and back again. The fact that they don't match my general wardrobe colours (comprising of blacks, reds, pinks, and other bright jewel colours) and the right shoe needed an extra hole punched into them limited their wear by me.But times have now changed and I've got a bit more white and blue in my closet...although I was thinking of pairing them with a plain black dress. I got the holes punched into them today so I was trying them on in the bathroom...when I caught of sight of them in the mirror. They actually look REALLY painful! Please ignore my disgusting feet and the dirty tiles to check it out:
I don't know what to do know cos I have a feeling we'll be out for a while tonight.Thursday, December 07, 2006
SATC complete series on DVD!
Here is a pack of the thing that has financially broken me. And below is the stuff that came in the kit!
Totally worth it!
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Skint
Omg, only one week into Christmas shopping and I'm already broke! Admittedly a few of the presents are for yours truly *cough SATC complete season *cough* but it's still a shocking state of affairs!
Monday, December 04, 2006
Funny day
Mondays can get pretty strange due to the re-jigging of routine after the sloth and alcohol of the weekend, and today was pretty weird.
It started with me waking up at 6:30am thinking I was late. The really weird bit is that I didn't have anything that was concretely planned that had to be done. I got to the bus stop at the adequate time of 8:30. We passed a bus on the way to the stop so I felt pretty confident that I would get it. When we got to the stop, there was a bus already sitting there and I walked towards it. Imagine my surprise when it pulled away. *No matter,* I thought, *There's always the one we passed.* Then, imagine my horror when it didn't even stop!!!
There were a few more strange happenings today that I can't be bothered going into, but one that is a bit amusing...despite it being Monday, I still somehow found myself drinking hard spirits at 6:30pm. Go figure. And a nosebleed at 9pm. Interesting day.
And before the day is through, I'd just like to wish Lydia a happy 23rd birthday. Hooray!
It started with me waking up at 6:30am thinking I was late. The really weird bit is that I didn't have anything that was concretely planned that had to be done. I got to the bus stop at the adequate time of 8:30. We passed a bus on the way to the stop so I felt pretty confident that I would get it. When we got to the stop, there was a bus already sitting there and I walked towards it. Imagine my surprise when it pulled away. *No matter,* I thought, *There's always the one we passed.* Then, imagine my horror when it didn't even stop!!!
There were a few more strange happenings today that I can't be bothered going into, but one that is a bit amusing...despite it being Monday, I still somehow found myself drinking hard spirits at 6:30pm. Go figure. And a nosebleed at 9pm. Interesting day.
And before the day is through, I'd just like to wish Lydia a happy 23rd birthday. Hooray!
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Sumi Jo, Ravel and Childhood
Well, I spent another evening listening to a highly publicised opera singer who sang a few pieces, and an orchestra that played a lot.That's not to say that Sumi Jo didn't sing well (indeed, she sang her roles beautifully) but the main role, The Child, in the choral piece presented to us L'Enfant et les sortileges is for a mezzo.
No matter. I really enjoyed it and liked the theme of childhood, particularly the 'Toy'Symphony by Leopold Mozart. Very cute.
In a fortnight, The Marriage of Figaro!
No matter. I really enjoyed it and liked the theme of childhood, particularly the 'Toy'Symphony by Leopold Mozart. Very cute.
In a fortnight, The Marriage of Figaro!
General stuff
I have decided to switch to the beta version cos I like how the archiving shows up as individual posts...should anyone (snort) decide they want to read over back entries, its a bit easier now!
In other news, it was an unfulfilling week in research. I did a lot of lab work that was ok (connexin stainings), inconclusive (blood vessel vs pericyte staining), or downright didn't work (calcium loading). So here are some photos.
Ok, the arrows in this pic is pointing to labelling of cx43 - a molecule that occurs at the junctions of particular cells. We are of the belief that these junctional molecules disappear in the disease. The bad thing about this photo is that i really had to jack up the background colour so that we could see the location of the dots in relation to everything else. Next time, I'm gonna use a counter-stain.
This one labels for cx26 - similar to cx43 but not dotty. We wanted dots.
This is a whole mounted retina labelled for NG2, and shows blood vessels. The lumpy things sticking out of the vessels are cell bodies. Huzzah for geeks!
In other news, it was an unfulfilling week in research. I did a lot of lab work that was ok (connexin stainings), inconclusive (blood vessel vs pericyte staining), or downright didn't work (calcium loading). So here are some photos.
Ok, the arrows in this pic is pointing to labelling of cx43 - a molecule that occurs at the junctions of particular cells. We are of the belief that these junctional molecules disappear in the disease. The bad thing about this photo is that i really had to jack up the background colour so that we could see the location of the dots in relation to everything else. Next time, I'm gonna use a counter-stain.
This one labels for cx26 - similar to cx43 but not dotty. We wanted dots.
This is a whole mounted retina labelled for NG2, and shows blood vessels. The lumpy things sticking out of the vessels are cell bodies. Huzzah for geeks!Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Movie review - Borat
Hmmm, very rarely do I ever walk out of a movie thinking *omg, how on earth am I going to review this?!?!*. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is one movie that certainly takes the crown. So to make it easier, it has been suggested I write it in Borat-speak
Borat, reporter for Kazakhstan tv, take us to see people who live in Borat home village of Kuçzek and we see his hobbies table tennis, sunbathing and watch ladies make toilet. When Kazakhstan goverment tell Borat to to learn culture of greatest country in the world, U, S and A so can be used in Kazakhstan, Borat go to New York with producer Azamat Bagatov to make film. Here, we see Borat when he introduce in the traditional Kazakh way to ordinary american, learn how to make american joke, why american let woman who have brain like squirrel go to school, and after watching Baywatch, his trip to California to make Pamela Anderson his wife and take her vazhin.
(Ok, that was really hard so I'm reverting back to english.)
There's not much analysis I can give about the acting, plot, or script. The sight gags, absurdist humour, and gross-out factor is present from the beginning when Borat presents his home village, but everything is taken to another level in the US. All I can say is that it is truly admirable what Sacha Baron Cohen can and will do on camera - I can only say two words: Dallas, Texas. Baron Cohen's ability to stay in character is amazing! And it is also amazing what people will say and do in the guise of being polite (e.g. the Driving Instructor), when pushed to their limits (The Dinner Party), misguided 'kindness' (the Rodeo guy), or just because theyre stupid (the Fratboys). There are so many jaw-dropping, *omg, they did NOT say that !' moments...But that's not to say that the entire movie is ridiculing the US population. Although it is difficult to tell what scenes were staged and what are natural, there are several bits which show how small kindnesses can result in the most surprising things. Key moments are when Borat takes Luenell the prostitute on the town after the Dinner Party refuses to admit her, and when he approaches what appear to be menacing gathering of African-American teens on the street at night and they turn out to be quite funny.
Equal parts side-splittingly hilarious and unbelievably cringeworthy, Borat is good film. You see it. High five!
8/10
Borat, reporter for Kazakhstan tv, take us to see people who live in Borat home village of Kuçzek and we see his hobbies table tennis, sunbathing and watch ladies make toilet. When Kazakhstan goverment tell Borat to to learn culture of greatest country in the world, U, S and A so can be used in Kazakhstan, Borat go to New York with producer Azamat Bagatov to make film. Here, we see Borat when he introduce in the traditional Kazakh way to ordinary american, learn how to make american joke, why american let woman who have brain like squirrel go to school, and after watching Baywatch, his trip to California to make Pamela Anderson his wife and take her vazhin.
(Ok, that was really hard so I'm reverting back to english.)
There's not much analysis I can give about the acting, plot, or script. The sight gags, absurdist humour, and gross-out factor is present from the beginning when Borat presents his home village, but everything is taken to another level in the US. All I can say is that it is truly admirable what Sacha Baron Cohen can and will do on camera - I can only say two words: Dallas, Texas. Baron Cohen's ability to stay in character is amazing! And it is also amazing what people will say and do in the guise of being polite (e.g. the Driving Instructor), when pushed to their limits (The Dinner Party), misguided 'kindness' (the Rodeo guy), or just because theyre stupid (the Fratboys). There are so many jaw-dropping, *omg, they did NOT say that !' moments...But that's not to say that the entire movie is ridiculing the US population. Although it is difficult to tell what scenes were staged and what are natural, there are several bits which show how small kindnesses can result in the most surprising things. Key moments are when Borat takes Luenell the prostitute on the town after the Dinner Party refuses to admit her, and when he approaches what appear to be menacing gathering of African-American teens on the street at night and they turn out to be quite funny.
Equal parts side-splittingly hilarious and unbelievably cringeworthy, Borat is good film. You see it. High five!
8/10
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Bryn Terfel and the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra
I've said before that I *heart* opera and when my brother and I found out that Bryn Terfel, considered the world's leading bass-baritone, would be coming here for a recital, we shot out and bought tickets!
We weren't allowed to take photos so here's a photo of the programme and Terfel's new CD of Mozart arias. Terfel sang Mozart's Cosi dunque tradasci'...aspri rimorsi atroci (Concert aria K432) and Io ti lascio, o cara, addio (Concert aria K245/621A) and Wagner's Wie todesahnung dammrung deckt die lande (Tannhauser) and Die frist is um...wie oft in meeres tiefsten schlund (The Flying Dutchman). Brilliant! For encore, the Melb. Welsh Men's Choir (gee, I didn't know there was one) were present and accompanied him on a welsh song (natch), and then he sang something in italian that involved him coming off the stage and hanging out flowers to women in the audience. It was really funny, especially since an old woman sitting behing me (we were in the back of the stalls) kept yelling out "COME HERE!!!"
We weren't allowed to take photos so here's a photo of the programme and Terfel's new CD of Mozart arias. Terfel sang Mozart's Cosi dunque tradasci'...aspri rimorsi atroci (Concert aria K432) and Io ti lascio, o cara, addio (Concert aria K245/621A) and Wagner's Wie todesahnung dammrung deckt die lande (Tannhauser) and Die frist is um...wie oft in meeres tiefsten schlund (The Flying Dutchman). Brilliant! For encore, the Melb. Welsh Men's Choir (gee, I didn't know there was one) were present and accompanied him on a welsh song (natch), and then he sang something in italian that involved him coming off the stage and hanging out flowers to women in the audience. It was really funny, especially since an old woman sitting behing me (we were in the back of the stalls) kept yelling out "COME HERE!!!"
But possible the real star(s) of the show were the orchestra itself. It's a youth orchestra consisting of members from around the world (although most of them come from the US) where the members are between the ages of 17 and 29. The pieces played were the overture to Le Nozze di Figaro (which I'll be seeing in a fortnight, yay!), the overture to The Flying Dutchman, selected pieces from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, and as encore Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King, and a hungarian dance whose proper name eludes me now. It was just really...wow...and my hands were sore from all that clapping.
Next on the list of classical music to come, Sumi Jo next week! YAY!
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Outrageous
I went to a wedding of some friends today and it was a nice ceremony, very sweet, except for one point that offended me so much that I must comment on it. (Relax, this is not something the bride and groom wrote, so I still extend my felicitations towards them.)
The person delivering the Address was talking about how sometimes one must sacrifice things for their partner. The groom is notable for playing World of Warcraft quite a bit and it was mentioned that perhaps he should sacrifice a bit of his time from playing that to listen to his wife as a sign of his love. Fair enough. The bride is a physiotherapist and it was said that should they be blessed with children, she may have to sacrifice her career as a sign of her love.
WHAT?!?!?!
I don't have a problem with stay at home mothers, that is not what I'm taking issue with. What offends me is the drawing of parallels between two hours of computer gaming versus a person's livelihood. I was just so flabberghasted that someone with a tertiary degree (I know cos I met the Addressor at uni) could actually come to this conclusion, and I know I wasn't the only one. All I can say is that good thing she's a health professional which is generally sympathetic to people who may not work in their fields for extended periods of time.
The person delivering the Address was talking about how sometimes one must sacrifice things for their partner. The groom is notable for playing World of Warcraft quite a bit and it was mentioned that perhaps he should sacrifice a bit of his time from playing that to listen to his wife as a sign of his love. Fair enough. The bride is a physiotherapist and it was said that should they be blessed with children, she may have to sacrifice her career as a sign of her love.
WHAT?!?!?!
I don't have a problem with stay at home mothers, that is not what I'm taking issue with. What offends me is the drawing of parallels between two hours of computer gaming versus a person's livelihood. I was just so flabberghasted that someone with a tertiary degree (I know cos I met the Addressor at uni) could actually come to this conclusion, and I know I wasn't the only one. All I can say is that good thing she's a health professional which is generally sympathetic to people who may not work in their fields for extended periods of time.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Jack
After being here for six months to learn english, Jack is returning to Korea. And here he is looking happy. Good luck! 
Thursday, November 23, 2006
U2's With or Without You, covered by Hikari Utada
After being inspired by Pooey's U2 entry, I was surfing youtube to find something to listen to while doing some typing.
And I came across this.
I'm not sure if I really like it or not (I feel like she's holding back on the screaming parts, other times I think its a bit whiney), but I will admit that it gives me a prickling feeling. Thoughts?
And I came across this.
I'm not sure if I really like it or not (I feel like she's holding back on the screaming parts, other times I think its a bit whiney), but I will admit that it gives me a prickling feeling. Thoughts?
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
NOT HAPPY, SMEE!!!
Smee is taking away my oldest play-buddy, Poosy! Poosy is going to London to hang out with Smee for the next two years.
Well I have something to say about that!!!
Leave some space on the floor so I can sleep over :P
Well I have something to say about that!!!
Leave some space on the floor so I can sleep over :P
Sunday, November 19, 2006
The Story of Stingy
Pooey compared her blogging output to mine and was much displeased with my Daggy entry. So I'm writing something else to please her.
This here is a little toy I keep on my desk, on the best piece of carpentry EVER, my homemade monitor/speaker shelf.
We call him Stingy. Stingy believe it or not has a somewhat interesting backstory.
Originally starting life as one of those Happy Meal toys that comes in little plastic bags on which kids to whom Happy Meals are marketed can choke on, Stingy used to belong to Loveable Kitty herself, Roxy. I'm not sure how long Stingy lived with Roxy, but in 2004 when Rox decided to move to SF for work, she could not bear to make herself pack up her house. Which was where I came into the story. I believe that after a dinner at Hard Rock Cafe celebrating the closure of Roxy's time in Melb., she invited me, Takyn and Roy back to her place to help her clean out.
And clean I did! Although I did nearly make her break out in tears at the thought that my whirlwind was *throwing her life out*, we did manage to get quite a few rooms packed up and found a good deal of money that Roxy had secreted in various parts of her house and then forgotten. We also found a lot of little knick-knacks and toys that we were told to welcome ourselves to. Stingy here caught my attention on several points.
1) His weird little face - do stingrays actually look like that?
2) His weirdness in general - why were Maccas handing out stingray toys? There are far more cuter animals out there.
3) The fact that he vibrates. No smutty jokes here, please. If you see in this photo:
there's a little ring coming out of Stingy's back. When you pull then release the ring, he vibrates! A vibrating stingray just struck me as so weird that I had to add it to my pack-rat collection, something to which Roxy happily acquiesced.
So there we go, the story of how I acquired Stingy.
This here is a little toy I keep on my desk, on the best piece of carpentry EVER, my homemade monitor/speaker shelf.
We call him Stingy. Stingy believe it or not has a somewhat interesting backstory.Originally starting life as one of those Happy Meal toys that comes in little plastic bags on which kids to whom Happy Meals are marketed can choke on, Stingy used to belong to Loveable Kitty herself, Roxy. I'm not sure how long Stingy lived with Roxy, but in 2004 when Rox decided to move to SF for work, she could not bear to make herself pack up her house. Which was where I came into the story. I believe that after a dinner at Hard Rock Cafe celebrating the closure of Roxy's time in Melb., she invited me, Takyn and Roy back to her place to help her clean out.
And clean I did! Although I did nearly make her break out in tears at the thought that my whirlwind was *throwing her life out*, we did manage to get quite a few rooms packed up and found a good deal of money that Roxy had secreted in various parts of her house and then forgotten. We also found a lot of little knick-knacks and toys that we were told to welcome ourselves to. Stingy here caught my attention on several points.
1) His weird little face - do stingrays actually look like that?
2) His weirdness in general - why were Maccas handing out stingray toys? There are far more cuter animals out there.
3) The fact that he vibrates. No smutty jokes here, please. If you see in this photo:
there's a little ring coming out of Stingy's back. When you pull then release the ring, he vibrates! A vibrating stingray just struck me as so weird that I had to add it to my pack-rat collection, something to which Roxy happily acquiesced. So there we go, the story of how I acquired Stingy.
Daggy?
I am known to have a somewhat eclectic taste in music. I don't have an ipod (might wait to see if I can get one for free from a conference or chem company!) but the playlist on my computer ranges from Dance/House to Merseyside to Opera to Cantopop. I like to play music while doing work (usually if I'm on a microscope) but as my machine started to belt out Elton John's I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues, someone who is probably a good...20? years older than me screamed out "Ohmigod!!! You ARE NOT playing Elton John! HOW CAN YOU PLAY THAT?!" I clicked next and it landed on Phil Collins, to which I got "Not Phil Collins!! How old are you?!?" I think I then landed at RnB and all I heard then was a heartfelt sigh.
Later I got an email requesting either jazz or The Beatles for the next time I'm there.
Later I got an email requesting either jazz or The Beatles for the next time I'm there.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Real Data!
This one is for the real science geeks out there:
I have been working all year to get an image similar to this. This is a photo of a whole mounted retina taken by a con-focal microscope using a water-immersion lens. It shows astrocytes (the spidery looking cells) loaded with a calcium dye. And the great thing is that you can clearly see their processes extending to the blood vessels! But even better, when we put some potassium chloride (a stimulant) into the buffer, the cells changed their brightness!!! That indicates that intracellular levels of calcium increases within astrocytes in response to stimulation, a finding that has been found by others! Now all I have to do is figure out what that means...
But regardless, a big step forward.
I have been working all year to get an image similar to this. This is a photo of a whole mounted retina taken by a con-focal microscope using a water-immersion lens. It shows astrocytes (the spidery looking cells) loaded with a calcium dye. And the great thing is that you can clearly see their processes extending to the blood vessels! But even better, when we put some potassium chloride (a stimulant) into the buffer, the cells changed their brightness!!! That indicates that intracellular levels of calcium increases within astrocytes in response to stimulation, a finding that has been found by others! Now all I have to do is figure out what that means...But regardless, a big step forward.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Under the Coverslip 2006
I've been going increasingly crazy for the last few months trying to do experiments while at the same time organising the UCS2006 competition. This all came to a head on Monday when it opened and Tuesday when I had to deal with the wash up. All in all, despite the huge stress and the fact that the committee (of two - me and Ash) had about two months to organise it when in the past it took a larger group who started begging for money from about April, I think we did a-ok.
There were some problems - not getting the official go-ahead from the Uni until September, getting a fraction of funding compared to previous years, completely blowing our budget, getting a phone call at 8:30am from the person who was giving the Opening address saying he didn't know he was giving the address and could I give him some dot points, etc. etc. - somebody told me that knowing the chaos that went on in the time preceding the opening made the exhibition more successful in his opinion. (Personally, I would have liked to have budgeted for more wine at the opening.) After receiving all entries on Friday 10th, Ash and I spent Monday morning furiously getting the images ready for the judging at 10am, and with Fowler at 3pm furiously getting them ready for exhibition. Or at least I was furious - damn Ash was pretty calm! And despite all my fears: no one would enter, no one would turn up, too many people would turn up, not enough food or wine, it was all good. We had 40 entries (although some got disqualified for various reasons), a good number of people turned up, all the food was eaten barring some nuts and dip...I still think we needed more wine.
There were some problems - not getting the official go-ahead from the Uni until September, getting a fraction of funding compared to previous years, completely blowing our budget, getting a phone call at 8:30am from the person who was giving the Opening address saying he didn't know he was giving the address and could I give him some dot points, etc. etc. - somebody told me that knowing the chaos that went on in the time preceding the opening made the exhibition more successful in his opinion. (Personally, I would have liked to have budgeted for more wine at the opening.) After receiving all entries on Friday 10th, Ash and I spent Monday morning furiously getting the images ready for the judging at 10am, and with Fowler at 3pm furiously getting them ready for exhibition. Or at least I was furious - damn Ash was pretty calm! And despite all my fears: no one would enter, no one would turn up, too many people would turn up, not enough food or wine, it was all good. We had 40 entries (although some got disqualified for various reasons), a good number of people turned up, all the food was eaten barring some nuts and dip...I still think we needed more wine.
And so here are some photos from this afternoon when Ash, Adey and I went to take it all down:
The exhibition space.
The first and third winning entries.
The popular image winner - it wasn't just my favourite! Mmmmm, donuts....
Adey giving his entry the thumbs up.
The view from the lectern where I did my welcoming and MC duties. Sure, it looks ok now, but I had to fortify myself with a glass before and after talking!
I mistakenly thought that since the big stuff was on Monday, Tuesday would be calm enough for me and Erica to do some experiments (more on this another time!), but I instead spent the day dealing with the media unit of the uni about publicity of the event and publication of the images in between exps. But everything went awesomely. So yeah.
Start getting your entries for UCS 2007 ready now!
The exhibition space.
The first and third winning entries.
The popular image winner - it wasn't just my favourite! Mmmmm, donuts....
Adey giving his entry the thumbs up.
The view from the lectern where I did my welcoming and MC duties. Sure, it looks ok now, but I had to fortify myself with a glass before and after talking!
I mistakenly thought that since the big stuff was on Monday, Tuesday would be calm enough for me and Erica to do some experiments (more on this another time!), but I instead spent the day dealing with the media unit of the uni about publicity of the event and publication of the images in between exps. But everything went awesomely. So yeah.Start getting your entries for UCS 2007 ready now!
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Movie Review - The Departed
A remake of the 2002 HK supersmash, Infernal Affairs (Mou Gaan Dou/Wu Jian Dao) Martin Scorsese's The Departed is good....but not as good as the original in my opinion. Spoilers abound here - I tried to do the white-out edit but then half my review and analysis was just white.
Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a cop in the Massachusetts State Police. A former altar boy, he's good at what he does, with a flawless record. He was also groomed from youth by leading Boston gangster Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) to be his mole within the police force. On the other side is Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) who joins the force to atone for his petty criminal family. With his criminal links, task force leaders Queenan and Dignan (Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg, respectively) decide to send Costigan to work as a mole in the Boston Underworld, with the hopes of taking down Costello. Queenan and Dignan are the only two within the force who knows that Costigan is really a cop. Costello's gang steals some microprocessors and attempt to sell them to the Triads. Queenan's group attempts to use this as a point to bust Costello. Sullivan alerts Costello to the goings on. Costigan still manages to get the location of the sale to Queenan. Either way, the cops and the gangsters both realise that their groups have been infiltrated and it becomes a race to see who will squirrel out whom first.
Apart from the obvious differences, The Departed very closely follows Infernal Affairs - so much so that many of the memorable lines from the first one are replicated in the second. So, do I think it's the masterpiece some critics have been hailing it? Quite frankly, no. It's a good movie - well scripted, generally well acted, well shot, but there's something which holds it back. I've thought about this and did a bit of reading of other peoples' opinions before deciding what it was. The problem with The Departed is the pacing and the depiction of key scenes, and thematic exploration.
Infernal Affairs is a 90 minute movie. The Departed goes for 152 minutes. That speaks for itself. While the characters of Sullivan, Costigan and Costello are more fleshed out than they were in the HK version (that was done in the prequel Infernal Affairs II), the first hour where they analysed each character goes for too long, too slowly. The key scene where Dignan throws Costigan's background in his face before stating that as the exact reason as to why he's the perfect undercover candidate simply goes for so long that it loses its punch factor. The HK reason as to why Shaun Yue/Tony Leung goes undercover? Cos he's a smart guy.
It wasn't until the second half of the movie when the plot more closely followed Infernal Affairs and eveything became more tense did I begin to enjoy the movie more but even then, I couldn't help comparing the new depiction to the old. The extending of scenes to emphasise what's going on happens several times and each time, I couldn't help thinking that HK did it better. For example the Superintendent Wong dies after being thrown off a building. In the HK version, all you see is the person slamming into a car top. It's quick, loud, and unbelievably stunning to the audience and to the people on the crowded street who see it happen. In the US version, we see Queenan falling slowly (kinda like the Falling Man), before landing in a deserted alley at Costigan's feet. Sure, it's still shocking, but the true horror of the event I felt is lessened by drawing it out and changing the environment.
A number of the key themes that made Infernal Affairs much more than an ordinary good vs bad movie in my opinion are not as well emphasised in The Departed. In particular...
1) The Paternalistic relationship between the mains and loyalty. Sullivan's codename for Costello is Dad, but when the time comes, Sullivan disregards it to cover his ass. The equivalent characters of Costigan and Queenan in Infernal Affairs have a genuine personal concern for each other, as seen where SP Wong gives Yan a birthday present. The death of SP Wong is terrible for Yan, not just as the last person to know his real identity, but also the loss of a trusted friend and fatherfigure. This is is not done well in The Departed.
2) Dual Identities. Two opposites playing a role that is their exact opposite. Costigan/Yan and Sullivan/Ming have been working for years (10+) to establish how good they are at their respective jobs to the point that they begin to question who they really are. In comparison, while going on drug busts and solving a few murders suddenly qualifies Sullivan to head the internal investigation/anti-corruption group, it only takes Costigan A FEW MONTHS before Costello suddenly trusts him with his life. In the HK movie, it is not clear cut whether each character is fully *good* or *bad* and their internal struggle is obvious. In the US, while Costigan is clearly *good* but capable of *bad*, but he was breaking up after only a year compared to Yan's DECADE. Likewise, Ming turns on Sam because he wants to erase his past to become a good person, but Sullivan turns on Costello to cover his ass upon hearing that he's a long-time FBI informant and because he's tired of Costello's demands.
3)Redemption. Both Yan and Ming attempt to get themselves out of their personal hells. Yan is *good* and does well in undercover because he is good, but the longer he poses as *bad* the more he loses himself to *bad* and tries to redeem himself by taking down the biggest fish in the criminal world and thus releasing him from undercover work. Ming, a puppet of the big fish, realises that he is more than what he has been assigned, and tries to release himself by killing Sam and painting himself forever as a hero in the eyes of his colleagues. While the title of The Departed alludes to Purgatory, again, rarely do we see this as the motivation for a character's actions. Costigan never wanted to go undercover and tries to take down Costello so he can become a normal citizen (not even a cop). Sullivan does whatever Costello wants until he realises that he's not as indispensible as he thought.
Despite all my criticism, I'm not saying The Departed is a bad movie. It's not. All the performances are pretty top notch, Leonardo DiCaprio is particularly impressive, but I must say a word about Jack Nicholson. I can understand that once you reach a certain level within the criminal world and considering the moles you've planted in the police force, you probably wouldn't care about what you look like or how you act. That's understandable. But Jack Nicholson plays Costello as one of the most decrepitly dishevelled and crazy weird guys ever. While I can understand that his minions may fear him due to his erratic behaviour, considering the things he demands of said minions, I wouldn't really want to be putting my livelihood within his hands. I don't know if its the genius performance some people say...I mean, it's something but...I dunno. Especially compared to Eric Tsang's slimy, calculating, and intelligent Sam. One of the great scenes showcasing Sam is the drug bust/cross - when confirmed that the drugs he's buying are good, Sam's your chubby buffoon, but the instant he's realises there's a mole in his organisation he's coldly fearsome and you recognise how this guy could hold a criminal organisation.
The Departed is an good movie, but given the taut storyline and thematic complexity of the movie upon it was based, it suffers in comparison. I saw it with Poosy who really hated this movie and is of the opinion that if she saw the remake first, she would not see the original first because it was so unenjoyable for her. I'm the opposite. I think if I had not seen Infernal Affairs and enjoyed it so much, I probably would have liked The Departed more.
The Departed - 6.5-7/10, Infernal Affairs - 8/10
UPDATE - An update on this review is found here
Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a cop in the Massachusetts State Police. A former altar boy, he's good at what he does, with a flawless record. He was also groomed from youth by leading Boston gangster Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) to be his mole within the police force. On the other side is Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) who joins the force to atone for his petty criminal family. With his criminal links, task force leaders Queenan and Dignan (Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg, respectively) decide to send Costigan to work as a mole in the Boston Underworld, with the hopes of taking down Costello. Queenan and Dignan are the only two within the force who knows that Costigan is really a cop. Costello's gang steals some microprocessors and attempt to sell them to the Triads. Queenan's group attempts to use this as a point to bust Costello. Sullivan alerts Costello to the goings on. Costigan still manages to get the location of the sale to Queenan. Either way, the cops and the gangsters both realise that their groups have been infiltrated and it becomes a race to see who will squirrel out whom first.
Apart from the obvious differences, The Departed very closely follows Infernal Affairs - so much so that many of the memorable lines from the first one are replicated in the second. So, do I think it's the masterpiece some critics have been hailing it? Quite frankly, no. It's a good movie - well scripted, generally well acted, well shot, but there's something which holds it back. I've thought about this and did a bit of reading of other peoples' opinions before deciding what it was. The problem with The Departed is the pacing and the depiction of key scenes, and thematic exploration.
Infernal Affairs is a 90 minute movie. The Departed goes for 152 minutes. That speaks for itself. While the characters of Sullivan, Costigan and Costello are more fleshed out than they were in the HK version (that was done in the prequel Infernal Affairs II), the first hour where they analysed each character goes for too long, too slowly. The key scene where Dignan throws Costigan's background in his face before stating that as the exact reason as to why he's the perfect undercover candidate simply goes for so long that it loses its punch factor. The HK reason as to why Shaun Yue/Tony Leung goes undercover? Cos he's a smart guy.
It wasn't until the second half of the movie when the plot more closely followed Infernal Affairs and eveything became more tense did I begin to enjoy the movie more but even then, I couldn't help comparing the new depiction to the old. The extending of scenes to emphasise what's going on happens several times and each time, I couldn't help thinking that HK did it better. For example the Superintendent Wong dies after being thrown off a building. In the HK version, all you see is the person slamming into a car top. It's quick, loud, and unbelievably stunning to the audience and to the people on the crowded street who see it happen. In the US version, we see Queenan falling slowly (kinda like the Falling Man), before landing in a deserted alley at Costigan's feet. Sure, it's still shocking, but the true horror of the event I felt is lessened by drawing it out and changing the environment.
A number of the key themes that made Infernal Affairs much more than an ordinary good vs bad movie in my opinion are not as well emphasised in The Departed. In particular...
1) The Paternalistic relationship between the mains and loyalty. Sullivan's codename for Costello is Dad, but when the time comes, Sullivan disregards it to cover his ass. The equivalent characters of Costigan and Queenan in Infernal Affairs have a genuine personal concern for each other, as seen where SP Wong gives Yan a birthday present. The death of SP Wong is terrible for Yan, not just as the last person to know his real identity, but also the loss of a trusted friend and fatherfigure. This is is not done well in The Departed.
2) Dual Identities. Two opposites playing a role that is their exact opposite. Costigan/Yan and Sullivan/Ming have been working for years (10+) to establish how good they are at their respective jobs to the point that they begin to question who they really are. In comparison, while going on drug busts and solving a few murders suddenly qualifies Sullivan to head the internal investigation/anti-corruption group, it only takes Costigan A FEW MONTHS before Costello suddenly trusts him with his life. In the HK movie, it is not clear cut whether each character is fully *good* or *bad* and their internal struggle is obvious. In the US, while Costigan is clearly *good* but capable of *bad*, but he was breaking up after only a year compared to Yan's DECADE. Likewise, Ming turns on Sam because he wants to erase his past to become a good person, but Sullivan turns on Costello to cover his ass upon hearing that he's a long-time FBI informant and because he's tired of Costello's demands.
3)Redemption. Both Yan and Ming attempt to get themselves out of their personal hells. Yan is *good* and does well in undercover because he is good, but the longer he poses as *bad* the more he loses himself to *bad* and tries to redeem himself by taking down the biggest fish in the criminal world and thus releasing him from undercover work. Ming, a puppet of the big fish, realises that he is more than what he has been assigned, and tries to release himself by killing Sam and painting himself forever as a hero in the eyes of his colleagues. While the title of The Departed alludes to Purgatory, again, rarely do we see this as the motivation for a character's actions. Costigan never wanted to go undercover and tries to take down Costello so he can become a normal citizen (not even a cop). Sullivan does whatever Costello wants until he realises that he's not as indispensible as he thought.
Despite all my criticism, I'm not saying The Departed is a bad movie. It's not. All the performances are pretty top notch, Leonardo DiCaprio is particularly impressive, but I must say a word about Jack Nicholson. I can understand that once you reach a certain level within the criminal world and considering the moles you've planted in the police force, you probably wouldn't care about what you look like or how you act. That's understandable. But Jack Nicholson plays Costello as one of the most decrepitly dishevelled and crazy weird guys ever. While I can understand that his minions may fear him due to his erratic behaviour, considering the things he demands of said minions, I wouldn't really want to be putting my livelihood within his hands. I don't know if its the genius performance some people say...I mean, it's something but...I dunno. Especially compared to Eric Tsang's slimy, calculating, and intelligent Sam. One of the great scenes showcasing Sam is the drug bust/cross - when confirmed that the drugs he's buying are good, Sam's your chubby buffoon, but the instant he's realises there's a mole in his organisation he's coldly fearsome and you recognise how this guy could hold a criminal organisation.
The Departed is an good movie, but given the taut storyline and thematic complexity of the movie upon it was based, it suffers in comparison. I saw it with Poosy who really hated this movie and is of the opinion that if she saw the remake first, she would not see the original first because it was so unenjoyable for her. I'm the opposite. I think if I had not seen Infernal Affairs and enjoyed it so much, I probably would have liked The Departed more.
The Departed - 6.5-7/10, Infernal Affairs - 8/10
UPDATE - An update on this review is found here
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Pirates and Emperors
I'm not going to comment on the political implications of this clip (for that you should read the book by Noam Chomsky), but the song is really catchy! I've been singing it for a while!
*Well there are...pirates and emperors but they're really the same thing!....*
*Well there are...pirates and emperors but they're really the same thing!....*
Friday, November 10, 2006
ACB goes to the races!
Ahhh.....one of the great things about late October/early November is the arrival of warm weather and the Spring Racing Carnival. Of course, one of the great tragedies of late October/early November is that exams and final papers are also due, cancelling out the likelihood of a bunch of geeks attending the races. Well, as post-grads and employees, we're no longer subject to end-of-semester exams, so ACB went off to celebrate! Unfortunately Cup Day is not a uni holiday so we all had to be here on Tuesday...but Ash, Fowler, Kathryn, Lydia, Cam, Marta, Krijn, Krijn's friend with an unpronouncable name, and myself shifted the plans to Oaks Day!
Fowler and Cam
Kathryn, Ash, friend + Krijn getting into the spirit
The weather was fantastic, the atmosphere electric, food was good (heaps of it), and the alcohol flowed freely. So here we are, celebrating the races!
Our view of the track from our picnic spot - go you little horse!
Celebrating Miss Finland's glorious victory!
Our food + bottles!
I can't believe I didn't take a photo of the whole group.
Marta, Lydia and myself
Fowler and Cam
Kathryn, Ash, friend + Krijn getting into the spirit
The weather was fantastic, the atmosphere electric, food was good (heaps of it), and the alcohol flowed freely. So here we are, celebrating the races!
Walking under the famed roses
Our view of the track from our picnic spot - go you little horse!
Celebrating Miss Finland's glorious victory!
Our food + bottles!
More photos are can be viewed at
http://mallymoodlespics.shutterfly.com
(password = 12345)
It was a friendly crowd - Marta made friends with a bunch of people nearer to the fence and they gave us betting tips...that didn't work. Oh well. A great day was had by all, and like our two fellow revellers here,
bring on the next batch of celebrations!
http://mallymoodlespics.shutterfly.com
(password = 12345)
It was a friendly crowd - Marta made friends with a bunch of people nearer to the fence and they gave us betting tips...that didn't work. Oh well. A great day was had by all, and like our two fellow revellers here,
bring on the next batch of celebrations!Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Gambling pays off!
In celebration of the day where everyone gambles, I put $2 on three different horses.
And one of them came second.
So it paid off!
YAY!
And one of them came second.
So it paid off!
YAY!
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Laundry run
For some reason, I thought this was going to be an alcohol-free, restful weekend where I'd get a lot of writing done. It hasn't quite turned out that way.
Despite the core group of ACB drinkers being generally absent and me staying at my desk until 7pm (Ash and Kitchener can vouch for that!), I still managed to go drinking with Cam and co. on Friday night followed by dinner at Stonegrill, all subsidised by him (Thanks man!). After being woken up at the ungodly hour of 10am on Saturday by some damn Jehovah's Witnesses, I bummed around the house before heading out to meet the Undergrad Sci crew for dinner. Despite swearing that I would leave for home at midnight and actually drawing a map of some bars located on the southern end of the grid that don't have a Saturday night covercharge...I still ended up taking the group on a bar tour and rocking home at 2:30am. With only one Bloody Mary to fortify myself! Given my drinky/punchy rep, I'm quite proud of that last fact!
And so today I've managed to do three loads of laundry, hence the title of the post. Yay!
Despite the core group of ACB drinkers being generally absent and me staying at my desk until 7pm (Ash and Kitchener can vouch for that!), I still managed to go drinking with Cam and co. on Friday night followed by dinner at Stonegrill, all subsidised by him (Thanks man!). After being woken up at the ungodly hour of 10am on Saturday by some damn Jehovah's Witnesses, I bummed around the house before heading out to meet the Undergrad Sci crew for dinner. Despite swearing that I would leave for home at midnight and actually drawing a map of some bars located on the southern end of the grid that don't have a Saturday night covercharge...I still ended up taking the group on a bar tour and rocking home at 2:30am. With only one Bloody Mary to fortify myself! Given my drinky/punchy rep, I'm quite proud of that last fact!
And so today I've managed to do three loads of laundry, hence the title of the post. Yay!
Thursday, November 02, 2006
LoveCake
Pardon my lack of entries, I've been stuck between a mixture of working too much or sleeping too early. Well today was a momentous day in the Hons year - Defence of Thesis Day! ACB run theirs a little different to how mine was run last year. Path gave everyone 15 mins talking time plus 5 mins for questions and they were spread over two days. ACB gave everyone only 10 mins talking time, and all 20 (?) students were crammed into one day! Defences started at 9am sharp with Marlene, and ended at 3:30pm with Marina. I don't know if it actually ended at 3:30...I just assume it didn't.Anyway, I was late to the seminar and ran into Devil's Childe James and somehow we decided I was going to make a cake for us all to eat/celebrate on Friday. But it couldn't be just any old cake, it had to be my chocolate cake or as Childe calls it, the LoveCake. There's nothing particularly special about the LoveCake. It's just an ordinary chocolate cake in my opinion, but Childe says that when he eats it, he can feel the love I put in when I cook it. O-kay...
Anyway, just for anyone who wants to know what LoveCake tastes like, here's the recipe.
Cake 125g butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence/extract
1 egg, beaten
1.5 cups SR flour
3 tbs cocoa (I use Cadbury Bournville)
1 cup cold water
Pre-heat a fan-forced oven to 170 degrees celsius.
Cream the butter and sugar together.
Add the beaten egg, vanilla, and water to the sugar mixture and mix in. Try to make the lumps as small as possible, but it won't form a smooth paste.
Sift in the flour and cocoa straight onto the sugar mixture, alternately stirring until the mixture resembles a smooth brown paste.
Pour the mixture into a cake tin - I use a 20cm springform tin. This produces a cake that's about 5cm high after baking. Also, because the mixture is quite wet, I recommend covering the bottom of springform tins with foil to stop the mixture from seeping out.
Bake for 1 hour, cake is ready when a skewer comes out clean.
Cool in the tin for 30 mins, then cool on a wire rack.
When eaten warm straight out of the oven (as I have done), it tastes a bit like chocolate pudding. But since most people don't do that, after experimenting with various icing recipes, I've found that this chocolate frosting one works best with the cake. There's plently of frosting left over so if you want to be careful, make only 2/3 of the mix.
Frosting mixture
3 tbs cocoa powder
3 tbs hot water
125g butter at room temperature
250g icing sugar
Dissolve the cocoa powder into the hot water, stirring it to make a smooth paste.
Cream the butter into the cocoa mixture.
Cream the icing sugar into the cocoa/butter mixture until completely smooth.
Apply to cake when the cake is cool.
Garnish with strawberries for a brown/red colour and sour/sweet flavour contrast.
Since this is a frosting mixture, it doesn't set hard so you might want to store it for a little while in the fridge. Also, because the cakes are only about 5-10cm thick, I experimented once with making this a dual-layer cake with cream centre and a setting icing (i.e. one that went hard). It worked well (getting the icing all over it was a bitch though) but it was REALLY rich. I mean everyone still ate it and said it was good, but I sure felt sick after one slice!
So there you go. The recipe for my LoveCake. Eat it well and feel the love!
Monday, October 30, 2006
Evolution
I don't know how many people have seen this video, but it's a compelling commentary on the perception of beauty and its usage in advertising.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
A Plea for A Product
When I was in Europe in 2004-2005, I was very hesitant to buy makeup products just in case I ended up really liking them, but never able to get them again. Eventually I broke the vow and bought things I knew I would be able to purchase again, if at a hugely inflated price. Well, except for one product.On my second day in Paris, I realised that I really did need a specific facial cleanser because while I usually just use water here, the pollution and amount of walking we were doing meant that I could feel my skin getting icky and had nothing but soap to clean it. And so during our allocated lunch time, I went into the Bazar Hôtel de Ville (BHV) on Rue de Rivoli and had a conversation with the shopgirl about what I wanted. I impated that because I am prone to eczéma, my peau is assez sèche and since I was australienne I needed a marque that was internationale and pas trop chère. She suggested I get the Evian Affinity Fluide Démaquillant originel because since the mixture is a crème it would be more gentle than the gels
And she was
So this is a plea to my readers in overseas (if any), what's the likelihood any of you would be able to become a source for this product?
Thursday, October 26, 2006
My bad :-(
You might remember that I got myself Toshi about five months ago to help myself deal with the rigours of postgraduate study. This past fortnight has been...heavy...compared to the first few months, and this has necessitated my carrying toshi to and from uni to do homework.
Well, that fortnight of carrying it around in a backpack without proper padding has produced unfortunate side-effects, as seen in this picture.
Man, I really underestimated the amount of scratching that carrying a laptop around with the plugs in the same bag would do. I'm sorry that I made you ugly and no longer beautiful, toshi!!! *sob sob*
Well, that fortnight of carrying it around in a backpack without proper padding has produced unfortunate side-effects, as seen in this picture.
Man, I really underestimated the amount of scratching that carrying a laptop around with the plugs in the same bag would do. I'm sorry that I made you ugly and no longer beautiful, toshi!!! *sob sob*
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Relief!
Hooray! I have completed the Neurogroup presentation, and while I dont think I carried myself off with as much aplomb as I did during my Defence last year, I think I did ok. The areas that I need to improve on are slowing down my talking speed (although a Dept. lecturer did tell me he thought my speed was adequate) and knowing my shit a bit more so I don't die during questions. My cake and cookies were fine.
On a different note, if you attend Melb Uni and are a postgrad or Hons student within the Faculties of Science, Engineering, or Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences, we'd like to invite you all to enter the *Under the Coverslip Competition*.
For details and entry form, go to http://www.anatomy.unimelb.edu.au/coverslip/index.html
On a different note, if you attend Melb Uni and are a postgrad or Hons student within the Faculties of Science, Engineering, or Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences, we'd like to invite you all to enter the *Under the Coverslip Competition*.
For details and entry form, go to http://www.anatomy.unimelb.edu.au/coverslip/index.html
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Movie review - Malena
I've written before about how I love Monica Bellucci in a totally lesbian way as well as my hopelessly inept attempt at learning italian. These two were united as I watched the 2000 movie Malèna. Spoilers abound in this review, so watch out!!!
In 1941, Maddalena Scordia, known simply as Malèna, arrives in Castelcuto, a small town in Sicily, the new wife of a local lieutenant. When he is sent off the fight in the war, her beauty and aloof manner keeps her separate from the local populace: the men don't hide their desire for her which enrages the women. The only people in the entire town on her side are her elderly father who teaches latin at the school, and Renato (Giuseppe Sulfaro) a shy 12 year old boy for whom Malèna is the ideal woman. Everyday as she walks from her seaside home, through the central piazza, to her father's house, Malèna deals with the catcalls and jealous gossip while Renato tries to ride his bike near at various parts of her path. After news that her husband has died reaches the village, the tensions that Malèna arouses in various parts of the populace reach boiling point, mirrored by the political climate of the time, as Renato looks helplessly on.
This film is beautiful and depressing in so many ways. The story is essentially a coming of age of Renato - he literally begins to feel himself becoming a man on his first glimpse of Malèna during one of her walks - the director, Giuseppe Trovatore, has indicated that it also serves as an allegory of Italy before, during, and after WWII. We see the story through Renato's eyes, and so while we're given glimpses of humour as he imagines himself as Malèna's hero in via movie roles (Tarzan and Jane, Stagecoach), we're also made witness to the various indignities that she's put through, her ostracisation from the females and harassment from males, her rape by the lawyer she hired to defend her in a divorce case, being beaten and shorn by the women in the piazza after the Allied Forces arrival, and her leaving and eventual return to Castelcuto. And while we and Renato want to intervene in what he witnesses, we are constantly reminded that he is only a boy and there is little he can do. There's an absolutely heartbreaking scene when he spies her crying after the news her husband has died and Renato imagines himself climbing into her room to comfort her with the words "From now on, I'll be by your side. Forever. Just give me time to grow up." So he takes revenge against the townspeople in little ways - spitting in the drink of a man who boasts, and urinating in a bag of a woman who calls her a slut.
The acting. I can not rave enough about Giuseppe Sulfaro's performance. With his great puppydog eyes and semi-broken voice we see all of Renato's feelings. Amazement at first glimpse of Malèna, relief at discovering that the person she gets dressed up to visit everyday is her father, his anger and despair when things start spiralling out of control, and of course, lust. His best scenes in my opinion are when he goes to the local church and going from saint to saint, trying to decide which would be the best to light a votive candle for the protection of Malèna. After having sprained his arm and leg falling from a tree after witnessing the rape, he returns limping to the church, and in a quiet manner, absolves the saint before quickly striking and breaking off the plaster statue's hand in rage that the saint didn't keep to its side of the bargain. For Monica Bellucci's performance, she does well in a role without much dialogue, her performance mostly being almost solely action. I present this clip:
Destitute (as seen by the broken shoes) and having been coerced into cutting off her hair as payment for food, she decides to turn to prostitution for food and income. I love how in this clip, we see her giving the entire town the proverbial finger by her strut into the piazza, casual crossing of legs, and waiting for the townsmen to light the cigarette. It's a change from the way she usually walks through demurely, head and eyes lowered. But also in this scene, we see her vulnerability and unhappiness that it's come to this by the way she won't meet anyone's eyes once she's sat down and the stiff hold of her shoulders and face.
I'd just like to make a comment about the music. The score by Ennio Morricone is brilliant and contains a several bars of music that have since been turned into the song *You're Still You* by Josh Groban, the lyrics of which attest that while time has been cruel to the person in particular, he knows the person inside is still the person he fell in love with. With regards to Renato's feelings for Malèna, knowing the song was a nice touch.
Moving and thoughtful, humourous yet unflinching of more serious themes, Malèna is a wonderfully and hauntingly beautiful movie. I'm not sure how much italian I got out of it, but I know that I'll recommend it to people who aren't interested in the language.
8.5/10
In 1941, Maddalena Scordia, known simply as Malèna, arrives in Castelcuto, a small town in Sicily, the new wife of a local lieutenant. When he is sent off the fight in the war, her beauty and aloof manner keeps her separate from the local populace: the men don't hide their desire for her which enrages the women. The only people in the entire town on her side are her elderly father who teaches latin at the school, and Renato (Giuseppe Sulfaro) a shy 12 year old boy for whom Malèna is the ideal woman. Everyday as she walks from her seaside home, through the central piazza, to her father's house, Malèna deals with the catcalls and jealous gossip while Renato tries to ride his bike near at various parts of her path. After news that her husband has died reaches the village, the tensions that Malèna arouses in various parts of the populace reach boiling point, mirrored by the political climate of the time, as Renato looks helplessly on.
This film is beautiful and depressing in so many ways. The story is essentially a coming of age of Renato - he literally begins to feel himself becoming a man on his first glimpse of Malèna during one of her walks - the director, Giuseppe Trovatore, has indicated that it also serves as an allegory of Italy before, during, and after WWII. We see the story through Renato's eyes, and so while we're given glimpses of humour as he imagines himself as Malèna's hero in via movie roles (Tarzan and Jane, Stagecoach), we're also made witness to the various indignities that she's put through, her ostracisation from the females and harassment from males, her rape by the lawyer she hired to defend her in a divorce case, being beaten and shorn by the women in the piazza after the Allied Forces arrival, and her leaving and eventual return to Castelcuto. And while we and Renato want to intervene in what he witnesses, we are constantly reminded that he is only a boy and there is little he can do. There's an absolutely heartbreaking scene when he spies her crying after the news her husband has died and Renato imagines himself climbing into her room to comfort her with the words "From now on, I'll be by your side. Forever. Just give me time to grow up." So he takes revenge against the townspeople in little ways - spitting in the drink of a man who boasts, and urinating in a bag of a woman who calls her a slut.
The acting. I can not rave enough about Giuseppe Sulfaro's performance. With his great puppydog eyes and semi-broken voice we see all of Renato's feelings. Amazement at first glimpse of Malèna, relief at discovering that the person she gets dressed up to visit everyday is her father, his anger and despair when things start spiralling out of control, and of course, lust. His best scenes in my opinion are when he goes to the local church and going from saint to saint, trying to decide which would be the best to light a votive candle for the protection of Malèna. After having sprained his arm and leg falling from a tree after witnessing the rape, he returns limping to the church, and in a quiet manner, absolves the saint before quickly striking and breaking off the plaster statue's hand in rage that the saint didn't keep to its side of the bargain. For Monica Bellucci's performance, she does well in a role without much dialogue, her performance mostly being almost solely action. I present this clip:
Destitute (as seen by the broken shoes) and having been coerced into cutting off her hair as payment for food, she decides to turn to prostitution for food and income. I love how in this clip, we see her giving the entire town the proverbial finger by her strut into the piazza, casual crossing of legs, and waiting for the townsmen to light the cigarette. It's a change from the way she usually walks through demurely, head and eyes lowered. But also in this scene, we see her vulnerability and unhappiness that it's come to this by the way she won't meet anyone's eyes once she's sat down and the stiff hold of her shoulders and face.
I'd just like to make a comment about the music. The score by Ennio Morricone is brilliant and contains a several bars of music that have since been turned into the song *You're Still You* by Josh Groban, the lyrics of which attest that while time has been cruel to the person in particular, he knows the person inside is still the person he fell in love with. With regards to Renato's feelings for Malèna, knowing the song was a nice touch.
Moving and thoughtful, humourous yet unflinching of more serious themes, Malèna is a wonderfully and hauntingly beautiful movie. I'm not sure how much italian I got out of it, but I know that I'll recommend it to people who aren't interested in the language.
8.5/10
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