At the movies

I finally got around to going to see both Samson and Delilah and Bastardy this week.
I loved both of them and if you haven't already, GO SEE them.


This documentary portrait of Jack Charles is of a funny, eloquent and very stylish man. The film has its distractions, but it felt very special to watch him, put together in his tweedy coat with his shock of amazing silver hair. The tragedy in his story is balanced by his warmth and charisma, he's made for the screen, and knows it.


Jack Charles with Director Amiel Courtin-Wilson

Samson and Delilah is an intimate portrayal of shy teenage romance, on the outskirts of remote Central Australia. It's stunning, so beautifully shot, with amazing performances from all of the cast but especially the young lead actors, so much more difficult and real than anything I've seen in ages. That said, it's not totally despairing either and leaves you with hope.



I hate to be preachy but we here need to see more films like these. Australia.

Mary and Max

We went to see Mary and Max last night. It was well worth the trip out into the cold rainy night. I am not the biggest fan of cute, quirky claymation, but even so, I loved it. It's beautifully made, sad, sweet and funny. And for a lover of letters, and the art of writing them, it's a reminder of what treasures they are. In an age of easy flippant communication, the wonder of a letter traveling across the world and actually getting to you, the time taken to write, the hand and thoughts and stories wrapped up in it, not to mention the squashed chocolate bar, is a wonder, I hope not forever lost.

It opened at Sundance Festival this year, and this is from the Sundance website.

This film explores friendship, autism, taxidermy, psychiatry, alcoholism, where babies come from, obesity, kleptomania, trust, copulating dogs, sexual and religious differences, agoraphobia and more, and is rooted in a very personal relationship. Proof of why we go to the movies - a truly exceptional portrait of compassion and love.

Go see it! People I know actually got work animating it. And the animation is gorgeous, Max thundering away on his typewriter made my heart skip a beat. Help them make more films.

entertaining the monkeys

We've been watching Metalocalypse, in between annoying old LOST... pretty good... Metalocalypse that is... Dethklok Dethklok DETHKLOK... They have such good faces for cartoons...

Adam is nursing some injuries, trying to cultivate impressive bruises... He is also playing some game with persistent atmospheric loops and horsey sounds, and when I look over his shoulder I just see a flapping cape (bad sign) in the woods, a sword fight with a lady in a swimsuit and some smoking fires, and I ask about the object of his game, and he doesn't know... 'maybe just to kill the others...'

Anyway it's kinotag so we are going to the movies... OMG big screen... Like tv... But bigger, and more discerning, kinda.

* we just saw 'be kind rewind' and have vague plans to swede a music video or something... Also, I am a little in love with Mos Def and Michel Gondry...

hello dreamer

We went and saw Bob Dylan last night, 'I'm not there'... I loved it...
Sleeping is for Dreamers!

We walked through Teirgarten to the bright shiny beacon of Potsdamdamer Platz, all the while discussing where the Zombies were going to emerge... From the black inky canal, from the shadows in the trees, from the seat by the path... We have been watching way too many splatter movies from the internet... We are hard up for entertainment...

Having a tv in the hotel room in Garmisch last week was quite an eye-opener... Even if we were only watching hopefuls in 'The next Uri Gellar' reality tv traincrash... the horror! reality horror!

I Think I would learn the language* much quicker if we had one... But all the dubbing is frustratingly hilarious and distracting... Just think of watching 'The Simpsons' with approximations of vocal character in speedy german, the only one even remotely believable for mine was Moe but I have to admit I found it difficult to watch...

Anyway, we have been dosing up again on David Attenborough documentaries, on the Ocean, and on the Jungle... SO GOOD... So amazing... Birds of Paradise and time lapse footage of insects being taken over by species specific parasitic mushrooms, making me wonder what the parasites have developed for us, but I'll stop that line of thought right there as you all know I'm incredibly weak stomached and overactive in the imagination department...

Anyway, the world IS an amazing place...
I miss you SBS!

*Is Ad language better or worse than no language?

questions

Kareoke oke.
Atrocious singing, public embarrassment.
When will i ever learn?
I met Sadie and Scout and OOH and AAH'ed. So LOVELY. so teeny.
I saw 'The Italian' at Nova, and cried. Heartbreaking and beautiful. That boy killed me again and again.
So did Adam with his chilli choc-top coughs.
I dusted the whole wall of books in our bedroom.
Yes, I tidied, our bedroom is all bright and white and much better.
I NEED new clothes? What shall i make?
I perpetually have nothing to wear.
I have NO money. And no JOB. Again. Any ideas?
I must make something.
And discard and abandon a slew of half-finished, once-worn disasters of past efforts.
Why am I always bored of things before they are finished properly?
I did make this pot o' gold though. She's like a rainbow.

Is New York art dreaming really a waste of time?
Why aren't playschool calling?

the science of sleep

I saw it last night in a very sleepy state. I'm renowned for falling asleep in movies. But I didn't sleep, I loved it.
Schizo-metric. HA.
I love Michel Gondry and his all over the shop mentality and sweet sense of humour. Even if it turns out to be a rambling shambling creature, it is charming.

Adam and I were doing research for sleepclub. We have an exhibition coming up in june. oooooh.

Besides, I love sleeping. I might marry it.

cold beverages

you know you're in trouble when you are leaving the supermarket in a daze with 5 types of drink. especially the scientifically formulated re-hydration type beverages. TROUBLE.

oh. our detox lasted about three days. i missed coffee too much, and decided my lifestyle isn't really TOO toxic, so i've since been trying to prove that wrong.

but, i think i'm better today.

we watched 'me and you and everyone we know' last night. i loved it more the second time. less annoying and more inspiring. 'some kind of monster' was like some kind of marathon car crash disaster, fascinating but long and appalling too.

it was my nephew's 13th birthday yesterday. i love that boy like nothing else. time really flies with the kids. jesus, he already has a car and probably a girlfriend. while i still don't even have a licence. now that makes me feel OLD and a little under qualified for life.

a thousand parties

ronan said he felt like he had been alive for thousands of years and had thousands more still to go. turtle.

I have always felt like I DON’T HAVE MUCH TIME. regardless of how it pans out, it certainly affects the way I do things.
maybe once I have been alive running around like a crazy thing for a thousand years I will be able to slow down and take it all in…

anyway. on the weekend of a thousand parties, I saw a lot of art. I had plans for sleep and plans for work. both of which were undermined by my un-quenching desire for a hangover. yes, I love that shit.

ALSO I had important stuff like friends leaving, & friends returning. oh beautiful andrea, I LARVE YOU... but I pity the poor man who witnessed our reunion, shouty crying ooooaaahhing girls.

there were also hot-tub parties and hours & hours on the dance-floor and horrible combinations of nasty nasty alcohol to attend to.

I developed a bit of a new crush on that dancefloor. but also realized there is not one of my current crushes that I actually want to sleep with. which is a crying shame. ‘cause that would be nice right now.

no. REALLY all I have a hankering for is a hot bath and some big brother. oh yeah, i still like the idea of a miniature donkey… SEE.



that baby bear and his bottle is damn cute too. but I saw Werner Herzog’s ‘grizzly man’. did you?