Haunting

"I can’t take my eyes of you.."

I kinda, sorta, did a review of the movie “Closer” in a previous post.
But I missed out the best part of the movie: the soundtrack, or more specifically the song “The Blower’s Daughter”, by Damian Rice.
It plays at the beginning and at the end of the movie, and I tell you, it made the movie.

Quiet
Introspective

Understated
Raw
Bleeding with emotion

And that mournful cello…ahh, that just kills me.

How do you describe a song that makes you feel like crying every single time you hear it?
Sigh, and I don’t even understand the song!

For me the measure of a great singer is not in the range of their vocals, or how many high notes or low notes they can reach, or how powerful their voice is. Rather it is in the use of a unique voice and that indefinable ability to take a song, own it, and move the listener.

The mark of this singer songwriter, in this particular song, is to be able to repeat the same line (first line of this post) soo many times throughout the song and never have it sound boring.

I’ve got Damian on repeat.

"And so it is."

To listen to the live version of Blower's Daughter: http://www.damienrice.co.uk/music.asp

(but try to take a listen to the original recording)

Moving Out, Moving In, Moving On

I’ve moved soo many times in the past 2 years that my friends have refused to take down my latest address cos they say I’ll just move again before the ink is even dry. Hrumphh!

This nomadic existence is the penalty I pay for renting which, given the circumstances, is a necessary evil.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. Sure it’s a drag, but this constant moving around ensures I don’t start sprouting mould and prevents me from being on a 1st name basis with the spiders that spin cobwebs around me. Yup!, complacent old me.
My sis is already making dire predictions of how she’ll need to prise my cold fingers from the TV remote, drag me kicking and screaming outside to air me out once in a while. (Me? a TV addict? Who said? Where got?!!)

Jokes aside, once I get through the pain (literally) of moving, I’m always gripped by a sense of excitement & endless possibility. I suppose I fancy myself quite the mini interior designer, albeit with a damnably miniscule budget. Still there’s always lotsa room for improvisation, creativity and make-do.

But aside from the obvious changes that can be made to the surroundings, personally moving also feels like a new beginning for me. I imagine I’m embarking on an adventure, and the world opening up to strange new frontiers. I suppose you could say it symbolizes hope. And who doesn’t need to be reminded of that every once in a while?


PS: And all this from moving house? Oy!

"Would you please like me too?"

Oh, woe is me.

I MISS him. We’ll technically I should say I miss seeing him, cos it’s not like we talk or anything.

He’s my brown-eyed boy (seriously, he’s got brown eyes) and he’s soo…. swoon-able. Ahem. Please excuse me while I nurse my teenage-like infatuation.

Beautiful, quite so.

Why doesn’t he talk to me already? The damn ball is in his court, so why doesn’t he fling it back??!!

Sigh.
I don’t really blame him. Truth is, chance meetings are far and few between. And I do have this misguided & uncontrollable tendency to scuttle quickly past him with nary a glance when they do present themselves.
So yeah, who could blame him?
‘sides, I’m the one that likes him, but who can tell what goes on in his head?

So this has to stop or change at least.

I do now solemnly swear (thru mightily gritted teeth) NOT to ignore or run from him again…ack!..gulp!..

Instead, I shall:

Stop,
Smile,
Say “Hi (…would you please like me too?)"

Dilemma

I can’t decide.

Should I or shouldn’t I?

I suppose it boils to what I want. And that’s the damn problem!

Urghh.


Why in the world did I start this blog anyway?

Where to begin?

(in no particular order)
1. I always wanted to write (but have always been to lazy)
2. For the fame? (I’m such an idiot)
3. For the adulation? (Idiot with a capital “I”)
4. Ego? (It’s a yes)
5. “If you can, so can I” (What an ass I am)
6. To fulfill my resolution
7. To try be honest, to tell the truth, no embellishments. (“try” being the operative word here)
8. To come out from behind the mask, to be unafraid of the judgment of others

Hence my dilemma:

Do I let my friends know about this blog?
If I do I’m afraid I’ll feel compelled to censor myself, to fit the mould they’re used to. I’m afraid I’ll be incapable of honesty. I don’t want to write with my audience in mind. I want to write driven only by my own voice.

Or do I retain my anonymity and leave it to strangers if and when they do visit?

Either way I go, I have this uncanny feeling both paths are mired with pitfalls.

Closer than you think, further than you can imagine

Watched 2 movies last nite. Back to back. Till 2am. I’m a maniac. Especially when I know full well what a zombie I’ll be like the next day. Duh.

Closer.
Being Julia.

Hmm…. Am considering whether I should do a double review, something along the lines of comparing one to the other. Or better to take it separately? I gotta stop thinking out loud, “Jackie! process in ze brain before putting it down on ze paper…and stop talking to yourself!”

Ok, focus.

I’ll take “Closer” first.

My head tells me it’s good. I was certainly entertained. By entertained I mean that it held my attention, that it was interesting. Dialogue was pretty damn brilliant; witty at times, always sharp and brutally honest. And yet, and yet, I can’t quite decide whether I like it, but then again maybe that’s irrelevant.
I think the problem lies in the fact that I could not identify with the story or any of the characters. I’m not sure whether the flaw lies in the story/actors/director or the missing piece lies in me. I do believe though, that like for everything else there’s an ideal place and time for it. What leaves you cold now, may take on a different light years down the road, when you are more ready, more whatumaycallit, primed perhaps.

Oh, damn… what in the world happened to the review? Shit.
Ok, here’s a 1 line sypnosis:
Everyone fucks everyone else and gets fucked up in the end.
And if you’re the type that absolutely must strip everything down to an all encompassing moral-of-the-story, maybe this would be a fitting one:
Love alone is not enough.
Like Clive Owen’s character says “You never understood love because you don’t understand compromise”. Umm..right. I’m still mulling over this one.

On another note, Julia Roberts and Natalie Portman are among my least favourite actresses, and this movie does not do anything to change that bias-ness. Not that they weren’t adequate enough though. Jude Law is perennially beautiful as always, but somewhat lame and ineffectual in his role. The one I did like was Clive Owens character. He was unpalatable, rough, raw, openly flawed, but redeemingly honest and therefore easiest to identify with and feel for.

Technically, I loved how the story flowed seamlessly through time. There’s sometimes a lapse of a year between 2 scenes and yet it is never jarring nor do you feel lost. It was a skillful little trick to cut out the unnecessary fluff of blissful love (of which we have soo much of in sappy romantic movies) and stick to the bare essential drama of their meetings and break-ups. Nice.

Verdict: Recommended (but only so I can discuss with others how they felt about it)

WARNING: Hopeless incurable romantics, stay away from this one, unless you fancy having nightmares of no more ‘happy-ever-afters’.

PS: Sod it. Being Julia’ll just have to wait.