The Big City Pop Culture

13 Tzameti and The Quest for Money

2015-01-09T13:49:00.001-05:00

My husband was trying to make me watch this movie for a quite some time, probably an entire year. Maybe more. We made a first attempt once, but it backfired, and we stopped watching after 15 minutes. This past weekend we were finally able to finish it.

When I was watching the trailer again this morning, I noticed that Hollywood produced their version, with that guy from ‘The Expendables’, the one that looks like Vin Diesel. No idea what his name is. I watched the original version, the one in French with black and white pictures.

‘13 Tzameti’ is the story of a blue-collar worker who steals a letter addressed to his deceased employer and goes on a blind quest for money. Without any backup, preparation, or time to think, he goes down a dark rabbit hole, hoping to come out the end a rich man.

My first thought was that this was a movie geared to men. A male audience would appreciate the storyline. I think. I mean, there’s only one female character and she’s only seen in the first few minutes. After that, it is man, after man, after man. One man does something stupid, then another man does something stupid, and then yet another man does something even stupider. My apologies to men.

Needless to say, you’ll be surprised by what the main character gets himself into. But it is also needless to say, the suspense will keep you hooked, from the opening scenes to the final credits.

I have a feeling most women would say it is silly to pursue money at any cost, but, knowing my husband, I am not sure our fellow men would agree.

This Craft of Verse and The Craft of Writing

2015-01-08T14:10:00.001-05:00

I purchased this book last year on one of the many Sunday afternoon trips I used to take to the little bookstore close to my apartment. Those trips would always end up getting cut short due to my husband’s impatience. I guess not everyone can spend hours on end just looking at books. Go figure.

The only thing I recognized when I first saw it was the author’s name. No one had ever recommended it to me, or did I even know it existed. Prior to that orange autumn afternoon, I was oblivious to the fact that it would change my life. Yet again, a book would change me.

I live for finds like this. Those countless hours spent walking around bookstores, looking at the books on the shelves, smelling that new book smell, browsing for something new and intriguing, feeling the presence of all those wonderful titles, it all has a purpose. At least that’s what I tell my husband when he’s trying to rush me.

I am happy to say this unpretentious little book carries much more weight than its amount in grams. Okay, perhaps not that much more weight if you don’t aspire to be a writer. But if writing is in the stars for you, you must hold on to this one.

The Craft of Verse is filled with inspiring sentences that have been serving as great inspirational quotes for me. Those days when I am not feeling my most confident, I open this book and read over one of the many paragraphs highlighted, and everything gets magically better.

Writing is a lonely task, and as such, it can become a very discouraging one. By being alone all day, I often let my neurosis get the best of me. Which means, I am in a constant battle of trying to encourage myself to keep going, to keep writing; and surrendering to the fear.

Borges has helped me with that.

The Aspern Papers and The Search for Beauty

2015-01-07T14:33:00.000-05:00

This book was sitting on my bookcase for quite some time before I decided to read it. I am not sure exactly why that happened. It just did. And that is to no demerit of this novella.

I’ve read some of Henry James’ books before, and I’ve always enjoyed them. Even though this book is not one of his most famous, it is still a very well written and interesting read.

The Aspern Papers tells the story of a man who is obsessively looking for some letters from the deceased poet Jeffrey Aspern. At first, it seemed strange that someone would go to such lengths just to get their hands on someone else’s writing; but after a little consideration, I realized that I have done the exact same quite a few times. Okay, perhaps not the exact same. I have never spent all of my savings renting an expensive room just to stay close to someone’s ex-lover. But, nonetheless, I have done some weird stuff to get my hands on certain pieces of literature.

I have several times gone to different bookstores, sometimes having to travel for miles on end – by public transportation, I must add - looking for a specific book. I have also made special orders on Amazon, having books shipped from all over the world, just so I could hold, own, smell, an early edition of Dostoyevsky. Once I bought a used book that had to be mailed all the way from Belgium. Okay, that may not be strange if you live in Europe, but living in Canada, it seemed pretty surreal at the time.

The appreciation of good art may be a learned trait, but once you’ve acquired it, there is no turning back: you will forever do whatever is in your power to achieve such aesthetic pleasure.

Catch 22 and Never Being Able to Win

2015-01-06T13:17:00.000-05:00

Catch 22 is a classic. Period. If you haven’t read it yet, you must. But that being said, this was a tough book for me to finish.

The novel is set during the last months of the Second World War amongst American soldiers that are stationed in Italy. The main character is a pilot whose job is to bomb any given target, no questions asked.

But of course, a novel would not be a classic without some heartache.

Once the main character starts questioning the nature of his work, he begins to contemplate his own mortality. And contemplating his mortality makes him want to go back home, leaving the army, and the war.

The beauty of the story is: the character is stuck in a Catch 22. If he stays at war, he runs the risk of being killed in combat; if he leaves the war, he runs the risk of being killed for abandoning this same war. Either choice he makes, he runs the risk of being killed. He can’t win.

What’s interesting is that this happens so often in our lives that we end up not even acknowledging it. If we eat healthy, we’ll look better, but we’ll miss out on that amazing red velvet cake. If we stay home on a Friday night to study, we’ll do better on the test, but we may miss out on meeting the men of our dreams. If we choose to have a child at the age of 20, we’ll win a best friend and accomplice for life, but we’ll have to give up those long weekends hanging out with friends. If we choose to have a child at the age of 35, we will be able to stay out late as many times as we’d like, but we will not have enough energy to run around with our baby.

Life is a give and take. Full of choices. We never know what the next chapter will bring. What worked for our best friend may not work for us. We will never know if we are making the right decisions until we begin writing tour life’s next chapter. All we can do is hope for the best.

Joyous Health and eating healthy

2015-01-05T14:54:00.000-05:00

I got this book as a gift for my birthday this past December and I must say it has inspired me. I will try to eat better. Yet again.

One of my closest friends is a holistic nutritionist, and she’s always trying to make me eat healthy foods, trying to teach me about nutrition and what the right type of food can do to improve our health. I must say, this time she is very close to succeeding. I’m not sure how long I’ll be on this bandwagon for, but it has worked so far, and for that I am grateful.

The idea behind this approach to nutrition is that no one should “diet” in order to live a healthy lifestyle. What one must do is change their eating habits, and the rest should take care of it self.

What makes this idea promising is the premise that we should not, at first at least, remove anything from our diets. What we should do, in contrast, is add certain foods to our daily meals. Foods that are full of nutrients and that will ultimately benefit our bodies. And this is music to the ears of every overeater out there, now isn’t it?

Don’t get me wrong; I am just as much a fan of fast food as the next girl, but this book gave me hope. Of course certain parts sound just like preaching, and these were the bits that I chose to ignore.

As I sit here eating a bowl of edamame, I can’t help but wonder: will I ever be able to stop craving chocolate, cake, candy, cheesecake, ice cream, chips, and pop?

Maybe only in my dreams.

Magic in the Moonlight and the courage to admit when we’re wrong

2015-01-02T12:57:00.003-05:00

What better way to make my come back than with Woody Allen? Some of you already know that my friends back home used to compare me to Woody. Needless to say, my neurosis comes close to that of the man who married his own daughter. Yes, close. But hopefully without the obvious incest. Gross.

I still love his movies, though. But I must say I liked it better when they had New York as part of the story. The romantic European sceneries don’t pay tribute to my craziness. I mean, who can be depressed while in Rome or the south of France?

Now back to the story.

This movie is about a British magician who is set to disprove that this American girl has psychic powers, despite the fact that she has fooled everyone. All he is able to prove, however, is how much he has fallen in love with her.

She seems to know details about his life, his past, his ambitions and desires that would be impossible for anyone to know. This will eventually make this rational and scientific man to publicly admit that he has been wrong all along; that what he once believed to be impossible, is in fact, very much possible and has started to change his life.

Of course, the story doesn’t’ end there, but I’ll try not to spoil it.

Admitting when I’m wrong is an impossible task for me. Not only because it is difficult to admit when I’ve made a mistake, but also because I hardly ever acknowledge that I do. I honestly believe I am always right. I’m not kidding here or trying to make a point. There is nothing I do that should be seen as an error, or even a miscalculation. Never. Why should I admit to something that I don’t agree with? Why should I admit to being wrong when I don’t believe that I am? It makes absolutely no sense. And I, of course, am also right on this one.

Anyone out there as delusional as me? Not only I never admit to being wrong, but I also never apologize. And I mean never. The world could be ending and frogs could be falling form the sky, and I would still be playing the victim.

I know. My husband deserves a medal for putting up with me.

The Wave – Movie Review

2012-07-28T08:07:00.003-04:00

This is a very cool German movie. It’s nothing like anything I’ve ever seen before. And there’s no better place for a story like this to come from than Germany.

When you think of Germany, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? The Nazis, right? I’m not trying to be mean, but that’s just the way it is. And this movie is going to debate exactly that: the dictatorship regime that gave Germans their not so great fame, and that from their point of view.

This is the story of a high school teacher and his new class project. He has to teach the class what a dictatorship regime is, and he decides to simply show them. He becomes the dictator, and the kids are his followers. Things start of as a simple change in clothes – everyone wears a white shirt-, but then it escalates completely out of control.

The group of students name themselves The Wave. And with that, they become a tight unit: they protect their members, as well as separate themselves from the rest of the school, and the rest of their peers.

It’s very interesting to see and to better understand what happened at the beginning of our century in Europe. It explains why regular German folks were now killing hundreds of people in the name of a cause, in the name of Nazism.

I know reading subtitles is not for everyone, but perhaps you should give this one a try. It’s worth the look. It’s definitely worth the look.

The Dark Knight Rises – Movie Review

2012-07-26T14:22:00.001-04:00

This was the second movie of my night on Tuesday. I was a little tired, but the desire to see Batman was almost a necessity by now. After my boyfriend and I left the theater where we watched To Rome With Love, we went across the street to try our luck for the second time with The Dark Knight (we came to the theater earlier, but the next two screenings were sold out, so we ended up having to watch something else). But now it was 10 o’clock at night, and we had hopes we would be able to get our tickets.

I just didn’t know this was a 3-hour movie! Which means, we arrived back home after one in the morning. Okay, I’m old. This is too late to go to bed on a weeknight. Just too damn late. I was exhausted. I almost fell asleep twice while still in the theater. I’m not proud of myself, okay, but there’s no need to laugh about it either.

So, the movie, well, it was okay. I mean, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. I guess I was expecting something extraordinary, at least to justify all the fuss about it. I wanted to see lots of special effects, and cool gadgets, and romance, and adventure. But no. All you see is a beat up Bruce Wayne trying to get back on his feet. Sad, so so sad.

Don’t get me wrong; this is still a Batman movie, which means it is still a movie that we should all see. No doubt about it. I just wish the director, or the producers (not sure exactly who) had paid more attention to this particular production, because I felt like they were only setting up for the other two movies of the sequel. If the sequel was their only concern, than job well done; but if it was not, than they left me hanging.

To Rome With Love – Movie Review

2012-07-25T14:58:00.001-04:00

Last night’s movie experience was quite an adventure. To start of, my boyfriend and I wanted to try this cute hip sandwich place by our apartment. I was super excited to go, since I had heard good things about it, but he was skeptical, and I think it’s because he thought a sandwich wouldn’t be enough to sooth his hunger. Yeah, the man needs his food.

I must say, we were both pleasantly surprised. It is a very nice place, but only if you have money to spend. So so so expensive, it’s not even funny.

After that, we walked across the street to the movie theater. It was half an hour before the beginning of the screening of The Dark Knight Rises (what we were planning to see), but it was already sold out. The one after that was an hour away, and was also sold out. The one after that was four hours away (that one wasn’t sold out). We thought, ‘okay, we’re not going to wait four hours, that’s just ridiculous, so let’s watch something else. No big deal. We can watch Batman on the weekend.’

So there we went, to the theater across the street, to watch Woody Allen’s, To Rome with Love. Funny thing was that, when I told my mom I was going to the movies to watch Batman, the first thing she said was: ‘Oh, you’re not going to watch Woody Allen?’ I guess she saw it coming.

I think this is the first of Woody’s movies set in Rome, after the last one set in Paris, all the others are in the States, most of which in New York City. This was a change of scenery, and a change of cast. I think Penelope Cruz is the only cast member that has acted in a Woody Allen movie before.

So this one is a mix of different stories that not always interconnect. There’s the regular Joe who suddenly becomes famous. There’s the American girl who falls in love with the Italian stud, and her parents, and his parents. There’s the music producer who discovers a new talent. And there’s the newly wed couple and their struggle to remain faithful to each other.

Woody is great acting in it, funny as always, perhaps even funnier. I’m a fan, as I guess most of you already know. A definite must see people. A must see.

Senna – Documentary Review

2012-07-24T09:31:00.001-04:00

I’m sure many of you have no idea who this person was, but he was an absolute phenomenon in his home country Brazil. I can’t remember my country suffering so much with the death of a public figure as we did with Ayrton Senna’s passing.

Senna was a racecar driver, a Formula One driver, back when the sport was still about the quality of the drivers, and not so much about the mechanics and technology of the cars; or better said, more about talent, less about money.

This is a story about overcoming obstacles, about dealing with injustice, and about giving your heart and soul for something you love. The story of one of those special people who come to make the world a better place. An absolute genius. And I dare say, no one in the history of this sport, past of present, has ever compared to the talent of this man. He had the heart, and he had the courage to make his dreams a reality.

Even if you don’t know whom I’m referring to, or you don’t like racing, you still should take a look at this documentary. This is one of those stories that will stay with you, even after you’re old and wrinkly. Last night, after I finished watching it, I was making dinner and thinking about what I had just seen. Thinking about finding the strength to move forward with my dreams, to not let set backs distract me from my path; to keep fighting until the day I die.

Afterwards – Movie Review

2012-07-23T09:11:00.000-04:00

I had a busy and obsessed weekend of watching Lost for the second time. Yeah, that’s right, second time. That’s how much I enjoyed that show. My boyfriend never saw it, and I thought he couldn’t go on living without watching it at least once. It took me a while to convince him, since he hates watching something that I’ve already seen, but after a few months, yes, months, he finally agreed.

But that’s not really what I want to talk about here. At least not yet (we’re still on the second season, for crying out loud. I’m not insane, …, yet). We stopped for a while on Saturday, at the end of season one, and we thought it would be nice to watch a movie. Obsessively watching series is something we’ve done so many times to know that it’s good to breath a little, and take a break, before we get too attached, and then we can’t even stop to go to work on Monday.

So we ended up watching Afterwards. Why did we choose this particular movie, you might ask, well, because Kate is on it, God dammit. (You know Kate, from Lost? Okay, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s time for you to go watch Lost right now. Don’t waste any more time. Go! Do it! Now! It’s worth it.)

Back to the movie, not to the future, to the movie.

The main character is a French actor, who I’ve never seen before, and Kate is his wife. John Malkovich also plays an important part. The French guy had a near death experience when he was a child, and the fact that he came back from the dead, gave him a special ‘power’, an edge, some might say, and that’s what Malkovich is there to teach him about.

This is not the greatest movie ever made, but it is definitely worth the look. I mean, it won’t change your life completely, but it can make you reflect on your relationships, especially the relationship with your significant other. And that’s something worth putting the effort into, isn’t it?

Puss is Boots – Move Review

2012-07-21T09:17:00.001-04:00

Okay, this is more of a “have a great weekend people” movie, than an actual movie review. I know sometimes we just go to the theaters to see cartoons to have some fun with the kids (for those of you who have them to use as an excuse for liking to watch cartoons. For me, I have to take the embarrassment).

This one I watched at home, however, on a Sunday afternoon, with my boyfriend. Yes, it’s summer and sometimes we stay home during the weekend watching movies. And? Do you have something to say about that? I didn’t think so. You probably do the same thing yourself, am I right?

But back to the movie. This character is from Shrek (awesome!), as the name already implies, the character is a puss, a cat, who wears boots. Adorable, I agree.

Here, we learn more about his background story, and the facts that made him who he is today: such an efficient thief. There’s also a female cat and an oversized egg as the other main characters. The plot is similar to the one from Jack and the Beanstalk. We all remember that one, no?

So, if you feel like watching something just to have a laugh, without having to think too much or solve life’s mystery’s in the next two hours (I know, it’s sad, but we all feel that way sometimes. Oh, you don’t? You must be a very special person. Well, maybe it’s just me then), this may be a good option.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, the person doing puss’ voice is the same from the Shrek movies: Antonio Banderas. And he does a great job.

Play it again, Sam – Movie Review

2012-07-20T09:19:00.001-04:00

Another Woody Allen. I know, I know, but I really enjoy watching them. I understand though, not everybody does, but, what the heck. I’m writing this to make myself happy, correct? It’s not like I’m getting rich doing this or anything.

So, this is a movie from the 70s, that decade where Woody got his fame. When we hear people describing Woody Allen’s work, these are the movies they’re talking about. With the difference being, this one is not set in New York. Instead, it’s set in San Francisco.

The main character is played by Woody himself (like we didn’t know that already). His female counterpart is Diane Keaton (back then, it was either her or Mia Farrow, am I right?)

Woody plays a film critic, whose wife just left him saying he was too boring. He feels devastated, and begins to rethink his life. His workaholic best friend and his wife try and help him get through it. But what happens is, he and the wife will fall in love.

I won’t tell you what happens after that, since it will completely spoil for those who still haven’t seen it, or just don’t really remember it correctly. Instead, let me talk about what makes this movie interesting.

Woody talks to Humphrey Bogart in his head, the Humphrey from Casablanca (therefore the title, a quote from the movie) while he’s trying to be with a woman. He admires Bogart’s power over women, and the fact that he’s such a cool dude. Woody wishes he was cool like Bogart, but he’s so not cool, that he can’t even manage to keep a drink down without passing out.

The last scene is a play on the last scene of Casablanca, but instead of being romantic, it’s funny. And this is the set up for the entire story: Woody being the funniest I’ve ever seen him being. A total classic.

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley – Book Review

2012-07-19T12:39:00.001-04:00

I finished re-reading this book last week, and I must say, it wasn’t as I remembered. I first read it when I was still in high school, I think as a school assignment. And we all know how bad such assignments can be (am I right?). I remember reading books for school on the afternoon before the exam. Of course these books were never properly appreciated, but at least I got the job done.

I have also seen the movie all the way back then, I don’t know if you’ve seen it. I remembered more of the movie than I did of the book. But as I was reading now, I kept thinking of Robert De Niro and the terrible make up he wore for the movie in the nineties. Yuck! Disgusting.

This time around, I found out that the author, Mary Shelly, was only 18 when she wrote this story, and writing an entire book by such a young age is an accomplishment on its own. That being said, however, the writing could have been a bit better.

Not only this is 17^th century English, but also the pace of the story is a little weird to me. I mean, I wanted to hear about how hard it was for the monster to learn how to speak; or his mind set when he figured out he had a creator, which made him so different from everyone else; or what was he thinking and feeling (if he had feelings at all) when he was killing all those people. There’s not much psychological investigation. When we first hear the monster speak, he already sounds perfect, pretty much the same as his creator, Victor Frankenstein. Isn’t that strange? Instead, all we hear are Victor’s thoughts, and how bad he feels for having created such monster. But, c’mon man! If you feel so bad, why did you leave the creature to wander around the city by himself? Why didn’t you do something to help him?

But again, I give Miss Mary Shelley all the merits in the world for creating such a powerful story at such a young age, as well as for being the precursor of the science fiction genre that I so much admire.

Shrink – Movie Review

2012-07-18T08:32:00.002-04:00

I had a few expectations when I started watching this movie. I don’t know if all of them were met, to be honest with you.

The main actor here is Kevin Spacey, and we all know how great he can be. Let’s just remember American Beauty. Am I right? Robin Williams also has a small part in it. The rest of the cast, it was the first time I was seeing all of them.

This is the story of a therapist, therefore the name, whose major clients are Hollywood celebrities. Not sure why that’s even relevant to the story, but there it is. His wife commits suicide, we’re not sure exactly how long ago, but we see that he’s having a hard time coping with it. Duh! Who wouldn’t? Therefore, he spends his days with his patients, and his nights drinking and smoking pot. What a way to cope with the death of a life long partner.

Things seem to be going south for our buddy Kevin, until his father sends him a new patient, which he reluctantly accepts: a high school girl whose mom also just committed suicide. That’s how Kevin’s healing begins.

It was interesting for me to watch because of the whole therapist in pain kind of scenario. I was once being trained to become one myself. It’s one of the hardest professions known to mankind. Seriously. It may look easy; you may think that all therapists do is sit around talking to people all day. Well, there’s much more to it than that. Trust me.

So, what I’ll say is this: watch this movie, it’s worth it. Not because of all the interesting characters or the intriguing plot, but because the fragile condition of human beings is something worth attending to.

Mr. Popper’s Penguins – Movie Review

2012-07-17T12:19:00.000-04:00

It’s true people. Sometimes, I watch bad movies. Movies that are as dumb as a donkeys can be. But also movies that make you feel so good at the end that you realize you are a good person after all. I’m only human, for crying out loud!

I’m sorry if that portraits a picture of me that contradicts all those wonderful pre conceived ideas you must be making of me by now: “Oh my God, this girl is so smart, so insightful, full of awesome ideas about the world!” Yeah, I know, I’m also a mind reader.

But now, let’s get to it, shall we?

This is a comedy that has Jim Carrey as the main character. Duh, you just saw the cover right up here. But, anyway, he plays a workaholic real estate agent/sales person (is that really what he does? Please help me, because I don’t have a clue). What I know is that he’s trying to buy an old restaurant from a woman who doesn’t want to sell it, so that his company can destroy it, and then build something new and modern on top of it.

The side story is his relationship with his dad, or lack of it. His dad ends up dying and the only thing he leaves him is this group of penguins. Like, really dad? Our relationship was already shaky, and this is how you repay me for putting up with your bullshit?

But again, this is a feel good movie, so the penguins will be a blessing in disguise.

He has two kids and an ex-wife, and the penguins will end up saving his relationship with them. Isn’t that lovely? Oh, but it really is. It’s cute seeing his little boy get excited about the penguins, or Carrey’s face when he see his teenage girl looking all grown up in a pretty dress.

I wouldn’t say this is an awesome movie, but if you have Netflix, and you want to watch something light, that will give you that fuzzy feeling inside, perhaps you should give this one a try. Just keep your expectations to a minimum, and you won’t be disappointed.

Carnage – Movie Review

2012-07-16T10:44:00.002-04:00

This is a Roman Polanski movie, and I don’t remember ever seeing any of his movies (I know, shame on me). When I read who was it by on Netflix, I knew I’ve seen that name before, but I wasn’t sure from where. So I immediately had to go ask my best friend google, and he told me that he is the same director from Rosemary’s Baby (which I still haven’t seen – I know, I know, shame on me twice) and The Pianist.

I read a bit about Polanski’s story, and it makes a movie that I would love to watch. First of all, he was a Jewish kid during the Second World War. Both of his parents were taken into concentration camps. His mother died in Auschwitz, his father was takes to a different camp, and ended up surviving. At age 7, young Roman was left to wander alone the streets of Poland, trying to pass as a roman-catholic child visiting relatives. And this is how he managed to survive until the age of 12, when he was finally reunited with his father.

Yes, this is his life story. Insane, uh? And to top it all of, his second wife was murdered, after only a few months of marriage. How does this man survive and still manage to make such beautiful and psychologically intense works of art? Well, I guess that is precisely why.

But okay, back to our movie. There are only four characters (two couples) through out the whole story, and only one set, one scenario. Everything happens in the living room of one of these couples. They are meeting for the first time because the son of the visiting couple hit the son of the hosting couple with a stick, making the kid lose two of his front teeth.

These people spend an afternoon discussing the situation, and whether or not they end up solving the issue, or only making things worse is beyond the point. What matters is following all the psychological turmoil they go through, and the way their previous relationships get affected by one another.

This is an incredible comedy of manners, and if you, like myself, haven’t had the pleasure of watching Polanski, I suggest you get on it right away. You won’t regret it.

Seeing, by Jose Saramago – Book Review

2012-07-13T10:38:00.003-04:00

This is the sequel to Blindness, but I must say, it has nothing to do with it. That doesn’t necessarily means it’s not a good book, just means that it’s different.

Okay, I didn’t like it as much as Blindness. There, I said it. It’s for someone else’s taste, like my mom, for example. She’s the first person I thought of recommending this book to. And I was right. She did enjoy it.

But back to the book. Blindness ends as the white blindness epidemic finishes, and everybody is seeing again. Seeing starts on election morning, where people from the same made up country should all go vote for their favorite candidates. But things are not happening as they should.

It takes all day for people to get to their voting places. The entire day goes by and no voters, just flies, until the last hour, when everybody seems to be waking up from their day-dreaming and deciding to go vote. Almost like zombies, really.

But when the authorities begin to count the votes, they realize something totally unexpected and never seen before happened: it’s an epidemic of blank votes. The authorities don’t know what to do, since the enormous amount of blank votes will annul the entire election.

This is an interesting story if you enjoy politics, and if you understand and follow it. Sometimes I feel like I live in an alternative reality, because I never know what’s going on in the world. But I’m not everybody, and some of you out there enjoy using words like international affairs, state, public knowledge, authoritarian regimes, democracy, and all that mambo jambo that makes me hate my life as soon as I start hearing it. Yes, it was very painful to write these words.

But again, not everyone is like me. So if you’re not, definitely give this one a try, because reading Saramago is always a good idea. Always.

Blindness, by Jose Saramago – Book Review

2012-07-12T10:50:00.002-04:00

This is one of my favorite books of all time. I just love the way Saramago questions our society’s status quo through the use of some crazy, pretty much impossible, made up scenario (you know how much I love these almost sci-fi plots). To me, it gives interest and dimension to a story that would otherwise be told in a straightforward way. Without the craziness, it wouldn’t have the same impact, that’s for sure.

So this is the story of an epidemic of white blindness (not sure if that’s a real thing) that goes on in this made up place, which could be anywhere really (I think that’s the whole point of the made up place). Instead of seeing everything black, like regular blindness, these people see the world as bright as light, like they have never seen before. And that’s a metaphor in itself (am I right, or am I right people). Now that they are blind, they see the world more clearly; they see each other’s true colors. Isn’t that poetic? And also true, for the most part.

None of the characters have names, being simply named as the doctor, the doctor’s wife, the cab driver, and so on. Names that name what they do, but ultimately hide their deeper identity.

The two most interesting characters, in my opinion, are the doctor’s wife and the blind man. She is the only person among the blind who wasn’t affected by the epidemic, so she can still see, and has the responsibility of guiding all the others through the white darkness (who would want that?). And the blind man, who was already blind before the epidemic, so he had learned how to live his life as a blind person, having skills and knowledge that the others don’t.

Sometimes, people from the same family was put in this asylum without even knowing that they were so close, which again, makes you think about how close and yet so far away from our family and friends we really are.

This is a story about the human condition in both its beautiful and its ugly ways. A story that will definitely keep you awake at night reflecting about your own human condition.

The skin I live in – Movie Review

2012-07-11T09:35:00.000-04:00

This is an Almodovar movie, and as in all of his movies, I dare say, there’s something crazy going on. This one isn’t any different. Seriously, I don’t know where this guy gets his ideas from. They are so incredibly twisted, that I wonder how many years of analysis did he go through to get to that extreme of his unconscious. I mean, mine is buried so deep down that I feel like its afraid of the light, or something.

So, this is a movie about a plastic surgeon, played by Antonio Banderas, who loses both his wife and his daughter in a tragic way. And at the same time as we’re finding these things out, we see that he has a woman dressed in a skin color leotard locked in a bedroom inside his house.

Why is she there in those clothes and what is he doing with her, you may ask, well, that is for you to watch the movie and find out, and for me to know. Bazinga! (If you don’t know what this reference means, you need to start watching The Big Bang Theory right at this minute. You don’t know what you’re missing. It is the absolute BEST sit com currently on television.)

I understand that this is not a title for everyone (it’s in Spanish for once, Oh dear Lord!). You have to pay close attention to absolute everything, to all the minor details, because if you miss something, you may miss the whole point of the story, and then you won’t get why they’re all there doing what they’re doing. There are very subtle clues that make the writing very special, really one of a kind. And these are the cues you cannot miss.

An absolute must see. Just don’t think your visions on life will remain the same afterwards.

Husbands and Wives – Movie Review

2012-07-10T10:02:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was an incredibly busy and productive day. And today already feels like it’s going to be the very same thing, and some more. It’s nice when you have an idea that you want to see it through. The amount of time and effort you put into it may be incredible, but it feels like rewarding work. It feels like it may actually take you places. It feels like, it feels like, I dare say, like I’ll finally find exactly what I’m supposed to be doing with my life.

I still want to make things moving forward here, so I’ll keep on doing what I am absolutely loving to do, which is write about my humble opinions, in the hopes of one day creating this giant library of books and movies.

So what I decided to talk about today is another of Woody Allen movies, this one called Husband and Wives. This is the story of a married couple that starts to question their relationship after the long time marriage of their best friends ends.

Gabe, played by Woody himself, is a University professor who is married to Judy, played by Mia Farrow, who is Woody’s first wife and his second wife’s adopted mother (we’ve all heard about this scandal, but at the same time we all love some good old gossip, just admit it people!).

The movie has a documentary kind of style, with interviews of the characters, which gives us the opportunity to get into their minds a little more. Maybe it’s a cheap trick to be done by such a renowned director, but it works, I guess. This quick and easy solution makes the story line flow nicely.

Even though I believe easy solutions are not the way to go, just these past few days I saw myself wanting to have one. Remember when I talked about that huge argument my boyfriend and I got into? It was going on and on for days, and I was getting completely fed up with it. I just wanted to have it over with, so that our lives could get back to normal again. I saw myself suggesting that we forget about what had passed, and started fresh again, started over, as if nothing had ever happened. (Insane, no?)

I know that could never be, but at the moment it felt like the right thing to do. And today, I fell good about having my life back to normal again. I can finally concentrate on things that are going to propel me towards the future, instead of holding me back.

The Front – Movie Review

2012-07-09T09:30:00.000-04:00

So, most weekends I watch so many movies that I have enough reviews ready to go for the entire week. This weekend, unfortunately, was not one of those weekends. One of my friends from Brazil came to Toronto to visit her brother (and me, of course), so I spent most of my spare time catching up with her.

Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely LOVE seeing my friends from back home, but the consequence is that today I’ll have to write about something I’ve seen perhaps last month, during my Woody Allen frenzy week. So I’ve decided to write about The Front.

This is a movie from the 70s, when Woody is starting to make his most interesting movies, at least in my lonely and humble opinion. It’s the story of a grocery store cashier, named Howard Prince (played by Woody himself), who poses as the front for a few Jewish television scriptwriters who weren’t able to keep working, during the Hollywood blacklist period. Bottom line, he helps these guys make their work public, giving them the money he gets paid for the scripts.

However, things don’t go completely as planed. Obviously. This is a Woody Allen movie after all. So people start being suspicious of this new super talented scrip writer, who no one ever heard of before, and he starts being investigated. Howard doesn’t back down, though. He keeps on helping his friends and the cause that he so much believes in.

The last scene shows Howard taking a stand when he’s in front of the investigative board, the people who will ultimately decide if he is the one actually responsible for the scripts, or not. Howard is in big trouble here. He risks getting arrested and charged with a crime. But he feels like his life now has meaning, that he finally found his purpose. So he never backs down, and ends his speech to the committee in an act of defiance that ultimately gets him charged with contempt, punishment that he accepts with pride.

This last scene is definitely worth watching, even if you don’t plan on watching the whole movie, or if you’ve seen it years ago. You can easily find it on YouTube. Just type the name of the movie, and it will pop up immediately. At least that’s what I did.

This is a great, great movie about believing in a cause, and seeing your beliefs till the end.

Another Earth – Movie Review

2012-07-06T09:55:00.001-04:00

What if there was another you out there? With the same face, same parents, same DNA, only living in a completely different planet, in another Earth. Would that person be any better than you? Would she have made the same choices as you have? Would she have made the same mistakes?

This is the subject for this encouraging, and yet heartbreaking little movie.

It tells the story of a 17 year old girl who, in a night of partying, makes the biggest mistake and the biggest regret of her young life: she’s the one to blame for a car accident that causes the death of a young child and his mother, leaving the father in a coma for years.

She spends four years in prison, and when she gets out, she’ll try to get her life back on track. But life as she knew it doesn’t exist any more. All that people manage to talk about is this new planet Earth that appeared on the skyline. Another Earth, another world, another planet full of new possibilities.

And she sees this new world as her chance to start fresh, to make things right, to erase the past. Also, she tries contact with the surviving father, in a moving and inspiring story of two people trying to cope with adversity.

I’ll leave you again with my favorite quote. It’s a bit of dialogue between the girl and the man who survived the car accident and they are talking about her wish to go to this new Earth: he says: “You don’t know what’s out there.” to which she answers: “That’s why I would go.”

Embrace the unknown and all the wonderful possibilities that can come out of it. Don’t be afraid to follow your heart.

The Book of Illusions, by Paul Auster – Book Review

2012-07-05T09:59:00.004-04:00

Okay folks. I got my reading groove back on! I’m finishing a 300-page book in two days again. Not sure how long it’s going to last, but let’s all hope that a very long time.

I’m a fan of Paul Auster’s writing. I think the first of his books I’ve read was a sort of biography, called The Invention of Solitude. I remember even telling my mom to read it, and I only do that when I think a book is really worth it.

So, The Book of Illusions is about a scholar who is obsessed with an actor from silent movies, named Hector Mann. The interesting thing is that this obsession is saving his life. Let me explain. David Zimmer just lost his wife and two young children in a freaky plane crash. He’s lonely, depressed, drunk, and anti-social. And investigating the life of Hector Mann helps him get through it.

Auster’s writing is fluid, and the pace kept me interested, kept me wondering, without going so fast that if you get distracted for one second, you have to go back three pages and start over.

It’s emotional, without being over the top. It’s intriguing, without making you pee in your pants because you can’t put it down even to go to the bathroom. It’s a story about grief, without going overboard.

It is definitely a must read.

And on a second note, just an update from my post yesterday: still things are not great with my boyfriend. We had a long conversation last night, but things are not resolved yet. But I think we made some progress, because at least I let him sleep in bed with me tonight. I think I felt bad because Toronto is under another heat alert, and the bedroom is the only place in the apartment with air conditioning.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World – Movie Review

2012-07-04T15:48:00.000-04:00

I was really excited yesterday to watch Steve Carell. He’s just hilarious, and I knew that even in a dramedy he would pull through and make me have the best laughs I’ve had in a while. If only I had been right.

Okay. It wasn’t that bad. It was funny. But I was expecting something else entirely. More along the lines of making fun of the end of the world, than falling in love with a girl half your age just because you don’t want to die alone. C’mon! Give me a break. Who thinks it’s possible to find the love of your life under those circumstances? Steve’s character even says he doesn’t have time to meet someone new when a friend tries to set him up. Well, I suppose Keira Knightley is special. (Bullocks!)

Oh, and on a second note. Before I went to the theater, I had dinner in a restaurant that serves only grilled cheese sandwiches near Eglinton Avenue, in Toronto. Really? Do they actually make any money? Fine, their grilled cheese is pretty good, but so is my mom’s. And she doesn’t think that this is an interesting and full of potential business opportunity. Who would think that really? I guess there are crazy people everywhere.

And then, to top it all of, I get back home just to get into a huge argument with my boyfriend. Oh lord, why me? I hate confrontation, I hate raising my voice, I hate waking up the neighbors, I hate going to bed upset. I’m pretty upset still, but now I’m here, and he’s all the way across town at work. He texted me earlier apologizing, but I don’t fell ready to forgive yet. Hopefully I’ll be felling better by the end of the day today. Hopefully.