Quote Junk and Thoughts

"  The finest qualities of our nature, like the bloom on fruits, can be preserved only by the most delicate handling. Yet we do not treat ourselves nor one another thus tenderly."   - Henry David Thoreau

Come to think of it, why do people hurt each other? They treat orang utans, and such, as their own babies, but treat another as if they were irrelevant. I mean, what's going on? Am I missing something?

Quote Junk

"However mean your life is, meet it and live it: do not shun it and call it hard names. Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage. Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends. Things do not change, we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts. God will see that you do want society" - Henry D. Thoreau

This is pretty much contradicts my moral grounding, but still partially resonates my understanding of the society.

Movie Review : The Informant! 2009

"Matt Damon is The Informant!"

7 out of 10

Matt Damon in The Informant! plays as Mark Whitacre, a seemingly normal family guy. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, with a few well-known actors, is a movie about Mark Whitacre helping the FBI to uncover the price fixing scandal in a big company that processes corns, ADM. It is loosely based on a real story (and novel) in the 1990s, when I was about as old as the Rugrats.

I spent the last 5 minutes of credits scratching my head. I didn't really get it at first, so I googled some of the stuff mentioned in the movie. I've never read the book - I didn't even know it existed -, I didn't know the scandal because I was still literally sucking my thumbs in those years, and I had no desire to search for some information on IMDB before I watched it either. So yes, I saw this movie with no expectations. And I got lost. Particularly because the movie sets in the main character's point of view. No, it's not that I'm dumb, I just don't want to spoil the fun here. You're listening to the voice-overs and seeing things from his point of view. He is not an average family guy. Let's just say that there is something wrong with him.

One thing I like from this movie is the cinematography. It is so 1990s, I love it. And the pink subtitles as well, it really took you back in to the '90s! I also love the voice-overs. It's like we're hearing what's in his head, you know. Even though he is facing a bad situation, his mind is somewhere else. Just like us. There is no voice-overs that explain what is happening with him, there is only his random thoughts. Like this for example : "When polar bears hunt, they crouch down by a hole in the ice and wait for a seal to pop up. They keep one paw over their nose so that they blend in, because they've got those black noses. They'd blend in perfectly if not for the nose. So the question is, how do they know their noses are black? From looking at other polar bears? Do they see their reflections in the water and think, "I'd be invisible if not for that." That seems like a lot of thinking for a bear." And this is happening when he is in a meeting with CEO of other companies, in other country! See how random that is? Praise for the writer. And praise for Matt Damon as well, for delivering a believable performance. I have never liked him, I never intended on watching his movies before, but I changed my mind after I saw this. Very subtle performance. I give it a 7 out of 10, because it has some plot holes. Yea well I'm not going to spill it here though, I have no intention of giving some spoilers here.

I recommend this movie to anyone that's not searching for a laugh-out-loud type of movies. Although it is listed as a comedy, it doesn't give you a Hangover-esque gags. The humors are all dry and dark - which I like. Well, that's it from me. Ciao!

My New Idol

Please welcome...Alexa Chung!

Yeah yeah, I know she's been around for quite some time. I just knew her "fashion-forward-quirky-attitude"-ness a few weeks ago. Frankly, I didn't give a damn about her before I found her. But then I saw this *pointing at the above picture*, I fell in love in an instant. You can say I got a girl crush on her. I mean, look at her! I love the way she wears her clothes. Well, not exactly because she has her own stylist. so I guess that means I love her stylist? But whatever, it suits her perfectly. She was a model for a few years, so that explains her good taste in fashion. And good taste in guys too. Yumm Alex Turner...

ehm. Okay that's it from me now. See you later! Ciao!

I AM...

BORED AS HELL.

PLUS, I'M HUNGRY.

CAN SOMEONE FEED ME, PLEASE?

DAMN I MISS MY CATS

FOUND A QUOTE!

I found a quote from the movie Little Miss Sunshine, and it's written me all over it. But first, pardon the language.

"You know what? Fuck beauty contests. Life is one fucking beauty contest after another. School, then college, then work... Fuck that. And fuck the Air Force Academy. If I want to fly, I'll find a way to fly. You do what you love, and fuck the rest" - Dwayne

Your Only Presence Comforts Me..

"People feel like they don't deserve love...walking away quietly into empty spaces trying to close gaps to the past"

That, slapped me in the face. Awakened me from a very long sleep. Shook my entire universe (oke lebay)

Where did I find that? Why did it do so to me? 

I found that quote from a forum in a website about Christopher McCandless, the Supertramp. Someone was asking what that quote meant. I read the reply, and it was exactly the reason why I was so astounded reading it (you can read it here)

no, I wasn't abused. And no, I wasn't ostracized for being different. Well, at least that was what I thought. Maybe, because of rejection? Maybe. I can't recall one time I was being rejected. But maybe it happened under my conscience. Maybe someone had rejected me, without me knowing...without me, understanding what happened. Maybe I was taken aback. I refused to know that I was rejected, so I lied to myself. Deluded myself from the truth. Thinking, "oh everyone went through that, I'm not the only one treated that way". Maybe, that was only a lie I created for myself, to protect myself from getting hurt.

I've always thought of solitude, without knowing why I thought of that matter. I've always been too comfortable being alone. Maybe, that was the problem : I avoid rejection, so I chose to be alone.

and yes, I don't talk much when I'm around people I know. Even with my friends, I don't talk much unless I'm forced to talk. But you know what, their only presence has already comforts me. I don't need them to talk to me, I only need their presence.

But sometimes, they can't accept that. They don't want to be around someone they can't talk to. So yes, they do leave me. And that, made me feel rejected. But I was so deluded that I considered it as a normal behavior of them.

Dammit, I feel so pathetic right now. I pity myself. Good thing no one reads this blog.

found this picture from the internet. pretty much described what I feel right now.

Lone Day

first of all, I just wanna ask one thing : IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE THAT HAS BETTE DAVIS' MOVIES ?

fiuh, what a relieve.

Lone day. yep, not lonely, just...lone. Spent the day by myself today. No parents, just me. So, I had nothing to do. And even though I have piles of DVDs I haven't watched, I spent the day slacking around. Surfing the internet. Opening facebook, my blog, my friends' blog which they haven't updated yet. I also googled Emile Hirsch, you know, from my previous posts I have been saying how talented he was, but really. I didn't know a thing about him. so I googled him. 

let's just say that I stumbled upon a few videos of him - mostly were interviews about the movie he starred in. I never really knew he is such...a goof ball. He's really funny. He threw jokes in interviews I watched, and they were pretty hilarious. I hope he doesn't jump into comedy though. He's very talented. Not that I'm saying that comedy is not for talented people - I mean, look at John C. Reilly - but I think it's a waste of his talent.

DOES ANYONE HAVE A DVD OF A MOVIE THAT STARRED BETTE DAVIS ???? WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE ? JEZEBEL ? ALL ABOUT EVE ?? NO ???? OR MARLON BRANDO ??

ehm. well, let's end the day with a quote : "Success only breeds a new goal" - Bette Davis

ciao!

Movie Review : MILK 2008

"Hello, I'm Harvey Milk, and I'm here to recruit you!"

8 out of 10


First of all, I just wanna say that I'm not familiar of the work Gus Van Sant. I know his works are usually not mainstream, but I have never seen his works before.
Before I watched this movie, the only thing I know about Harvey Milk is that he was a gay-activist living in the era of 70's, and that was about it. So I pretty much had no idea who this man was.

MILK, directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Sean Penn, is a movie about a gay-activist fighting for gay rights. His name was Harvey Milk. The movie takes place between the late 60's to 1978. He once said to Dan White - the man that shot him - "that it's not about jobs or rights, that it's their lives that they were and still are fighting for." Up to this day, he was considered to be a hero for many gay people and the gay community. His story inspired many people throughout the years. His story, touched me.
I'm gonna lay it out for you. Before I made this review, I googled Harvey Milk, and watched his interviews on youtube just to see how he was really like. I paid attention on little details, like his mannerisms, the way he talks, the way he sits, the way he laughs.
And then off to Sean Penn's performance as Harvey Milk. Throughout the movie, I wasn't even thinking that I was watching Sean Penn, it was like I was watching somebody else. After I saw the real Harvey Milk, then I knew that I was watching Milk himself, not Penn. It was such a great performance by Penn, he really disappeared in his character so well. He really captured the essence of Milk, and what made Milk, you know, Milk. And he didn't make Milk as that perfect hero, he made him as realistic of human being Milk was. Brilliant performance.

But I think I must give the biggest compliment to Josh Brolin as Senator Dan White. He gave a fascinating performance. Brolin doesn't make Dan White the evil villain, he gives us different aspects of White. I was rather sympathetic of his character, actually. Not that I'm justifying what he did, it's just that I think Josh Brolin gives us the non-stereotypical bad guy in this movie.

Emile Hirsch, as Cleve Jones, gosh this guy has talent! He completely went through it. I mean, I almost believed that he was gay!
James Franco deserves the credit too, as Milk's lover.

Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, James Franco - with a group of actors like that, you can never go wrong. A beautiful film, though not a masterpiece, but it is almost getting there. I was hoping I got more insights on Diego Luna's character though. I wasn't sympathetic enough with him. But still, a great movie. Worth the watch, unless you're not homophobic and ultra-conservative.

P.S. : Castro is the place where Milk started his campaign, and the place where all the gay people gathered to give support for him. In this movie, Castro is a major plot of the movie. Without Castro, this story couldn't be told. When I was about 9 or 10 years old, I always passed Castro, you know, just walking along the pavements, or going somewhere with my family. I always passed Castro. Too bad I didn't notice that it was an historical place :(