MUSINGS: The Great Gatsby (2013)

Known for his spectacular and flamboyant style, Baz Luhrmann does not disappoint us for an eye-candy treat with THE GREAT GATSBY.

But it's also this excessive and over-the-top trademark that messes the subtleties that are masterfully offered by F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic.

It's a dead give-away, spoonfeeding viewers with every move rather than letting them relish and explore the bittersweet masterpiece. Alas, everything is spelled out for you-- the visuals, the dialogue (whatever happened to minimal VO rule?)

Fans of the book would perhaps be horrified how the screen adaptation reduced the characters into mere caricatures, making them emotionally flat or how the story was endlessly romanticized, going a bit overboard and melodramatic.

And though I get it that in Hollywood, they hype movies by teasing the public with astounding and lavish visual effects (now in 3d!!!), there are times that it just didn't work for me especially when the scenes call out for intimacy and mystery. I think it ruins the moment.
 

As for incorporating a well-loved classic with a modern twist, it can be tastefully exotic but also quite baffling and yes generally odd, especially when you see 1922 New York while Jay-Z and/or Beyonce music is blaring in the background. (why use such? See credits

Yes, Luhrmann establishes his anachronistic style once more. Remember Moulin Rouge?

(I have a theory Jay-z is inspired by Gatsby. If you've watched his Bio or read his Wiki page, then you'd know why)

This screen version is probably designed for the young audience (hello, #throwback generation!!!)

We do appreciate innovation and spectacle but as they say, sometimes, simplicity works just fine.

Bookish: Street Arts

Who says bookworms are plain boring and nerdy? That's just stereotypical. Until you meet people who convert their 'bookish' taste into awesome street art.

No copyright infringement intended.

Indulge.

Alice in Wonderland

Charles Dickens

Franz Kafka

William Shakespeare

Ramblings: Happy December!

Wait, let me just kiss November good bye! I welcomed December, writing scripts - yet again! And eternally revising them! But what's really good to note is that the Grammy Awards' nomination ceremony is just a few hours away, and the Victoria's Secret's Fashion Show is about to be shown in CBS, slated for today's release as well! Did I just hear about a $2 million bra? Wow, you gotta put a lotta investment THERE! Haha.

For the Grammys, I read that Adele may be rolling in the deep with the most number of nods ever! And Lady Gaga + Nicki Minaj might be in the running for many nominations as well. Let's just wait and find out the breaking story soon!

As for the VSFS, someone linked me up with this behind the scenes write up when it was taped last November 9 at Lexington Avenue Armory in New York City. So excited to see this year's ceremony because apparently, it set the trend to combine the best trends in fashion/lingerie + good music, all LIVE! Remember when Katy Perry and Akon, among others performed there? Or the time when Usher and J.T., rocked the stage, with the latter bringing 'sexy back'? Hmmm. Nice! Nice view! LOL

Well, that's how I started my December! Including a chance to enjoy several downloaded albums! And to name some, I've got the original soundtrack of Bridget Jones's Diary, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, The School of Rock, and High Fidelity to name some!

Well, apart from 'burning the midnight oil' so to speak, it was a good way to welcome December nonetheless! How about you?

Synecdoche, New York (2008)

Category:	Movies
Genre:	Drama

A creative pursuit gone visually wrong.

In the most recent work of Charlie Kaufman, writer of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, he does not only write for the screen but this time also directs his work in Synecdoche, New York.

In the movie's first part, Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a theater director who resides in Schenectady, N.Y., is seen leading a surreal life. His wife (Catherine Keener) leaves him, taking their daughter too, while he develops this mysterious degenerative illness in vague poles, introducing him to various surgery procedures (premature ageing, pustules). In this part, Hoffman clearly manages to exude his brilliant acting chaps: from his character going quite demure to wildly intriguing.

But in the movie's second half, Caden stages his life as a play, looking for actors to play his life (and in that pursuit, finding others to play other people too. Weird? That's how exactly Charlie Kaufman's works are). In the process, Caden piles up his theatrical-turned-life-changing experiments.

Tales of fear, family ties, and all visionary Kaufman stuffs make up this movie. And as always, the lead actors are always challenged in a Kaufman film (just like John Malkovich, who played a lot of him in the 1999 movie Being John Malkovich). Hence, Hoffman's acting is tremendously highlighted in the film. Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Hope Davis did stimulating performances too.

In a simple way, the movie can be expressed as a creative pursuit in challenging people to embrace reconciliation, ageing and death but with Kaufmans's always unconventional flair-to the point of uber-vagueness and tantamount obscurity and visual labyrinths- the film is snatched farther from its main point, sometimes too far away from the real concept.