Lux Lisbon

Sounds like a name for a famous restaurant or hotel. Who names their kids Lux?


















But oh... how "I wish I were a woman of 36 dressed in a black satin dress and a string of pearls"

And again....

Sept 13

I still have only seen 10 films this whole year! Yeah, I'm slacking... but I should pick it up this week. Update of what I'm anticipating:

1. My Blueberry Nights

Comfortably holding its ridiculously large margin. Its subject breathes youthful pop culture vibes and a strong sense of longing and freedom. Also by far, the most interesting cast and crew of any film this year. Although it may not be the workings of a masterpiece, it has a far more appealing subject matter than most generic studio pictures this year (which appear even more generic, with the long list of terrorist/political/war films coming out, than in previous years). Also, films like Eastern Promises seems too blatantly reliant on its typical "personal auteur style" to come out as really groundbreaking material.

2. Lust, Caution

The trailer was not spectacular, but one of the better trailers of the year. Despite the possibility of seeing an unfocused and bloated epic, this film's appearance suggests a strong sense of sexuality, elegance, and nostalgia. Tony Leung/Ang Lee could potentially be the strongest and most talked about duo this entire year and Tang Wei elicits strong newcomer star status and audience curiosities.

3. Summer Palace

Don't know too much about this film. My anticipation is strictly from its appealing subject matter. Also, I love my romances, especially idealized romances backdropped by time and youth, such as the premise of its college setting.

4. The Darjeeling Limited

The trailer is ho-hum and the actors are too redundantly used in Wes's previous pictures. Yet, this could very well be one of the most entertaining and brilliantly witty films of the year.

5. The Kingdom

Exciting trailer, has Mann influence + potential to be greatly entertaining. This Saturday, hopefully

6. Interview

Has the appearance of intimacy and bond, and Sienna Miller looks pretty good in it. Scheduled to see it next Wednesday.

7. I'm Not There

While still not drawn by its subject matter, the overall hype and its artistic allure is hard to avoid. In addition, I grossly admire Todd Haynes.

8. La Voyage du Ballon Rouge

Gradually losing anticipation. I'm predicting a cute a piece of foreign fluff, a film that Hou is just looking to "make" rather than "explore." In any case, it can't top his previous efforts this decade, as it seems Hou is taking a lighter approach to filmmaking.

9. The Age of Tattoo

Until I get more information about its subject material, my anticipation remains solid, but not strong. Assuming the title is consistent with the film, it seems like an exotic exploration of a bygone time period. Usually fascinating material.

10. Cassandra's Dream

Will be a typical Allen, but.... I can't say no to a Woody Allen film, especially having even seen Scoop in theaters.

I need a clever title

Having covered every year except pre-1930, these are the six films that Irini, Vicky, and I agree are the Best Motion Pictures of their respected years.



Rebecca (1940)























Casablanca (1942)



































The Third Man (1949)
























Rear Window (1954)





















Vertigo (1958)


























Annie Hall (1977)





















If you disagree with any of the above choices, chances are you're probably wrong.

2007: The films that matter

Irini's top 11?? most anticipated
1. my blueberry nights
1. sleuth
3. funny games
4. cassandra's dream
5. lars and the real girl
6. sweeney todd
7. i'm not there
8. lust, caution
9. silk
10. mister lonely
11. the darjeeling limited

Mine
1. my blueberry nights
2. lust, caution
3. summer palace
4. the darjeeling limited
5. la voyage du ballon rouge
6. i'm not there
7. the age of tattoo
8. cassandra's dream

And if I like you enough, I might add your list on here

Top 10 Films About Urban Alienation

Being that my current mood starves for this theme... and the fact that it reflects my own feelings at this current moment:




1. L'Avventura

















- About the confusion and misguided lives of a group of elite upper class individuals weary of their life of materialism and easy-living. Monica Vitti's expression tell all.




2. La Dolce Vita




















- About a newspaper reporter directionless about his place in life. He roams the Rome nightlife in consistent pursuit of pleasure, meanwhile pushing away his future, his life, and all the world's knowledge around him. The last scenes are a moment of "self-discovery" for him.




3. 2046

















- WKW's fairy-tale ode of unrequited love and romance idealizes the textbook common man. In his writings, marked by deep personal feelings reflecting his own life, he remarks about the stories of past romances and unrequited love affairs. And yet.... his life is an escapable conundrum of loneliness and search for love and peace, one of which he never finds.




4. Miami Vice






















5. Heat


















6. 8 1/2








































7. Lost in Translation

8. Millenium Mambo



















9. The World

10. In the Mood For Love

Give me someone to argue with

I'm tired of the lack of excitement of anything online

One more week until

Summer sucks...

Solitude and tranquility > physical and temporal excitement.

Going to the theaters every Friday night during Oscar season? Metroing across the quiet outskirts of San Antonio? Getting your first apartment? Better than life itself.

Season of art > Season of rollercoaster parks and beaching.

Fall is art. Summer is for physical activities and extra computer time. It's the proscrastination of life, substituing thinking and doing for utter laziness. Does anyone actually take vacations anymore?

Season of beginnings > Season of waiting.

Everything begins in the fall. If anything, summer stops everything.

Season of expectations > Season for stomaching disappointment.

Yeah, it was a disaster semester last year, the summer didn't really help, although it did put off school and I admittedly was too discouraged to not hope to put off school as long as I can, but hell if that helped. One good thing to come out of this summer is the new 6 week interning job, even at the expense of taking summer classes. (but fuck your average idealistic collegiate attitude)

Living alone > living at home + dorms

So, dorm life? Yeah, I got what its like. Fuck dorms. Oh and screw living at home.




2 and a half more weeks, and I am out of here. I'm over last semester. I'm ready to move on.

My Top 45 (Slightly Altered)

1. "Casablanca" (Michael Curtiz, 1942)

2. "Vertigo" (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)

3. "Lost in Translation" (Sofia Coppola, 2003)

4. "Heat" (Michael Mann, 1995)

5. "2046" (Wong Kar-Wai, 2004)

6. "Rear Window" (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954)

7. "2001: A Space Odyssey" (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)

8. "Tokyo Story" (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953)

9. "Paris, Texas" (Wim Wenders, 1984)

10. "Once Upon a Time in the West" (Sergio Leone, 1968)






















11. "Brief Encounter" (David Lean, 1945)

12. "The Rules of the Game" (Jean Renoir, 1939)

13. "La Dolce vita" (Federico Fellini, 1960)

14. "Princess Mononoke" (Hayao Miyazaki, 1997)

15. "In the Mood For Love" (Wong Kar-Wai, 2000)

16. "Annie Hall" (Woody Allen, 1977)

17. "North By Northwest" (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)

18. "Wings of Desire" (Wim Wenders, 1987)

19. "Stranger Than Paradise" (Jim Jarmusch, 1984)

20. "Sunset Blvd." (Billy Wilder, 1950)

























21. "L'Atalante" (Jean Vigo, 1934)

22. "Seven Samurai" (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)

23. "Lawrence of Arabia" (David Lean, 1962)

24. "Blade Runner" (Ridley Scott, 1982)

25. "Raging Bull" (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

26. "Hiroshima mon amour" (Alain Resnais, 1959)

27. "Ugetsu monotagari" (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953)

28. "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" (Steven Spielberg, 2001)

29. "Fanny och Alexander" (Ingmar Bergman, 1982)

30. "Pather Panchali" (Satyajit Ray, 1955)

31. "Marie Antoinette" (Sofia Coppola, 2006)


32. "Au hasard Balthazar" (Robert Bresson, 1966)


33. "Miami Vice" (Michael Mann, 2006)


34. "Sabrina" (Billy Wilder, 1954)


35. "The Apartment" (Billy Wilder, 1960)


36. "Manhattan" (Woody Allen, 1979)


37. "Raise the Red Lantern" (Zhang Yimou, 1991)


38. "Chungking Express" (Wong Kar-Wai, 1994)


39. "Scenes from a Marriage" (Ingmar Bergman, 1973)


40. "8 1/2" (Federico Fellini, 1963)


































41. "Notorious" (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)

42. "Rebecca" (Alfred Hitchcock, 1940)

43. "Goodfellas" (Martin Scorsese, 1990)

44. "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" (Philip Kaufman, 1988)

45. "Kiki's Delivery Service" (Hayao Miyazaki, 1989)

Approaching August

I have still yet to see anything remarkable this year, with the exception of the remarkably entertaining Ratatouille (8/10). So far, this year is shaping up to be a pretty awful year, even last year when I was away for half the summer and saw almost all blockbuster before the summer, the two years are about equally mediocre. Still, the weekend of July 27 was the turning point last year for films and may very well be this year as well. (with the release of Sunshine and Rescue Dawn to wider theaters) I might watch either one of those or both this weekend.

My top ten most anticipated films for 07: (changes abound)
1. My Blueberry Nights - ?
2. Lust, Caution - Sept 28 (Limited)
3. The Darjeeling Limited - Sept 28 (Limited)
4. Paprika - Released, but not to a non L.A. or N.Y. audience yet
5. Summer Palace - November (Limited)
6. The Golden Age - Oct 12
7. Le Voyage du ballon rouge - ?
8. The Age of Tattoo - ?
9. Sunshine (this weekend or the next, *oddly not that looking forward to it) - July 27
10. Cassandra's Dream - November 30 (Limited)

2006 Razzies

Keeping in mind that I've only seen 68 films from 2006, and rarely watch bad comedies, horrors, or IQ-less mainstream blockbusters.

Worst Picture
Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders
Basic Instinct 2
The Break-Up
Ask the Dust
Art School Confidential

Worst Director
Robert Towne - Ask the Dust
Chris Fisher - Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders
Michael Caton-Jones - Basic Instinct 2
Ron Howard - The Da Vinci Code
Brett Ratner - X-Men: X-Men United

Worst Actor
Vince Vaughn - The Break-Up
David Morrissey - Basic Instinct 2
Colin Farrell - Ask the Dust
Hayden Christensen - Factory Girl
Patrick Wilson - Little Children

Worst Actress
Sharon Stone - Basic Instinct 2
Jennifer Aniston - The Break-Up
Natalie Portman - V for Vendetta
Salma Hayek - Ask the Dust
Maria Bello - World Trade Center

No supports.

Worst Original Screenplay
SherryBaby
The Break-Up
Basic Instinct 2
Rampage: The Hillside Stranger Murders
Confetti

Worst Adapted Screenplay
Ask the Dust
Little Children
Hollywoodland
Art School Confidential
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus

Worst Cinematography
Ask the Dust
Basic Instinct 2
Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders
Hollywoodland
Open Window

Worst Art Direction
The Da Vinci Code
V for Vendetta
Ask the Dust
Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders
Basic Instinct 2

I don't know...

I often feel that art (or my cinematic life in general) is 1/4 of my inner being, but I'm so far into my cinematic life that I'm certain that, before I die, I'll see everything. And yet, with so much cinematic experience, I can hardly say I still have the enthusiasm of a begineer's film buff or to not be apathetic to most things cinematically wise, or most things in general, unless it's often projecting myself into the belief that I'm part of a Wenders film or listening to the 2046 soundtrack religiously at 2:00 A.M.

The films I will see in July

July 13 - Interview (because of my recent Sienna Miller love)

July 20 - Sunshine


And I would like to see The Transformers, but Michael Bay is usually irritating beyond words if not mildly entertaining and the film is 2 hours and 30 minutes long, even if does have an addicting appeal to it, mainly in the visual effects and its "cool" robots. Not a Harry Potter or Simpsons fan, so skipping those definitely.



Films seen in June:
Paris, Je t'aime - 7/10
La Mome - 5.5/10
Ratatouille - 8/10

My current favorite iconic screenshots

Beauty, poetry, and art..... in the visual form.

New Top 10 Most Anticipated

After a half of year into 2007, I've established that My Blueberry Nights is 2007 for me, and there's no other, none even close.

Anyways, I'm definitely going to pay to go see all ten, but apart from #1, I don't intend to watch the others twice until DVD and probably won't look that hard to find them all in theaters.

After half a year... my top ten most anticipated: (Arms and the Man is no longer in production)

1. My Blueberry Nights
2. Summer Palace
3. Paprika
4. Ratatouille (June 29)
5. Le Ballon Rouge
6. The Age of Tattoo
7. The Darjeeling Limited
8. Sunshine
9. Se Jie
10. Cassandra's Dream

Plan on seeing these before August:
Sunshine
Ratatouille
La Mome
Transformers (possibly)

no interest yet in any others.

P.S.: Spidey 3 was "meh"

LOL

Awwwww

Look closely.....

And tell me that's not the most beautiful thing that you've ever seen.

Slight Decade Lists Update (40s-00s)

A little out of order, but the lists are accurate.