Gossip Guy(?!)

I haven't blogged for a while... and I'm back! miss me? I have been quite occupied with uni for a while, but now everything turns out fine. 

My title isn't film related this time, it's more tv oriented. I think the Brits over here are also getting the GG vibe, but anyway, I just came across this from El blog mas chic and this from Rykiel Homme's collection 08/09 just reminded me of someone. 

I can just imagine Chuck Bass in that suit and the coat! maybe some of you may think it's more of a Nate style, but I still think that rough edge/refined style kind of suits Chuck more. 

thanks for the comment from hrose, I really like your blog as well. Keep it up! they're so amazing, because every post from yours has something that I like in it. xx

in case, anyone would like to check out her blog, it's http://www.capturethecastle1.blogspot.com

have you ever thought that actually guys gossip just as much as girls do? this week I've seen public entries from male friends who're actually getting a little jealous and have also heard about a certain player's description of his views on "love". Sometimes people think girls are being bitchy about stuff, but guys, they are just as emotional as we are, it's just that they have the bitchy part taken out of the equation. 

alright! enough of that GG obsession (actually I prefer Dirty Sexy Money more from abc, the ppl in there are more glamorous, intriguing and human to me) 

I'll move back to my film reviews soon, since lately I want to do quite a lot of reviews after watching some films... perhaps after next wednesday when I'm done with my last exam. I came here and found that I haven't written anything for a while and it makes me feel empty. I just want to share as much as what I have read on all those lovely blogs out there. 

some are old and some are new ones. 

- Les Chansons D'amour 

- Changeling (one of the best films from Clint Eastwood, because he's not really one of my favourite directors but this film has changed my perspective of the world, of motherhood and of Clint's directing style) :P 

- Priceless (Hors de Prix) 

- The Factory Girl (have I done that before?) 

- Tell No One (this is a thriller, really excellent one, directed by the multi-talented French hottie Guillaume Canet) 

For this Christmas season, I think everyone's going to watch the epic Australia (the thought of the the clothes, Baz Luhrmann, Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman just blows off my mind, albeit that the plot sounds cheesy like a WWII version of Gone With the Wind), and I'm looking forward to watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (you could never miss a Cate Blanchett film esp when there's Brad Pitt in it!) and hopefully Vicky Cristina Barcelona will be released in the UK soon (dying to watch it). 

Quantum of Solace (2008)

Bond is back after two years. 

This time the film picks up one hour after Casino Royale (2006) where Bond shoots White in the arm. So the whole plot is Bond trying to avenge for the death of Vesper's and he meets an ally on his way, Camille, who will lead h

im to another clue, Dominic Greene, leading him to the answer of Vesper's betrayal. 

[spoiler]

I won't say I love it nor hate it, but I'm starting to think Daniel Craig may be the best bond ever. 

The thing that is not appealing in this movie is the shakey scenes where they fight. my reaction was something like for god's sake, just focus and let me see Daniel's face!!! the cinematography is so-so, but the beautiful locations make up for it. They had been shooting the film in Haiti, Russia, Italy, London (as usual) and Austria, and those are really nice places. Makes me want to visit Siena : )

What I love about the new Bond franchise is that they make Bond a more human and vulnerable figure. In the past 007 films, we can only see the reserved and cold side of Bond, but he's actually a man with internal struggles. That fragile side just makes James Bond more attractive I guess. But since it's a sequel to Casino Royale, so I think they'll try to make him more emotionally unsteady. You can actually see him transforming from that person in Casino Royale to a bit of a different person in QoS. 

Don't let the action scenes turn you off, actually they're quite good. Time is different, things have to change. It won't hurt to watch the film if you're a fan of Daniel Craig or James Bond either. The action is different, but Bond is still Bond. 

The Duchess (2008)

It reminds me of Marie Antoinette, but the Duchess is a more political and inspirational film, and it ends more abruptly than M.A.... it makes me wonder... were all aristo women back in that time acting like that?

one thing I'm quite disappointed with this film is that Keira is being typecast as period drama heroines, although her ethereal beauty is cut out for those roles, but I'd be more happy to see her in modern films. 

The Duchess is not those girlish movies like M.A., it's about politics, love and marriage in a more grown up sense. The most intriguing thing that astonishes me is the menage a trois among Georgiana, her husband and her best friend. What is, seriously, the problem with this couple? Doesn't she has the power to drive away her friend from their house?! Georgiana has to take the blame for some reasons that she can't give up her friend for her marriage. what a sensible woman... 

Wife. Husband. Friend. Lover.

The Edge of Love (2008)

it's nothing like Atonement (Whoever says it looks like Atonement seriously needs to rewatch the whole thing) except for the fact that it's set in the war time, and it involves Keira Knightley and her speaking "come back". 

The theme is broad- platonic love, obsessive love, familial love, passionate love... Everything is in there. 

The story chronicles the life of Dylan Thomas, a Welsh poet and the relationship between he and his wife, Caitlin (Sienna Miller), his childhood sweetheart Vera Phillips (Keira Knightley) and Vera's soldier husband William Killick (Cillian Murphy). 

It's a beautiful and moving bio pic about a group of people who are entangled in a relationship that is only clear to them, and the script is written perfectly. Although I still have to admit that I like Joe Wright's filming techniques and everything (The scenery is superb and the music as well!!!) John Maybury's film dazzles me when he doesn't go the way of filming a cliched war epic. It's heartbreaking but it's also bohemian-ish and playful, you can actually feel the female bond established by Sienna and Keira in the film. 

Cillian Murphy's role is a bit psychotic. He can't adapt to the environment that Dylan lives in after he comes back from the war, showcasing the mentality of soldiers back then who were traumatised by the war. 

and I never knew Keira can sing like that! I mean she has the style of a 40s cabaret singer. It reminds me of those songs sung by Edith Piaf and Ella Fitzgerald, all cheeky and romantic and soft. 

Overall, I'd give the film a 8.5/10 rating for its script, cinematic grandeur, in-depth portrayal of characters' minds and its broad range of theme that everyone can respond to even in this day and age. From the film, I just get to know more about Dylan Thomas and how great a poet he is. 

One of my favourite quotes:

"First love's alright as far as it goes, but last love, that's what I'm interested in."

-William Killick

It's become something of a motto for me. Some people can't get over their first love like Vera Phillips, but come to think of it, when you have gone through the feverish period of having a first love, you'll always be on the search of someone that you can hold on to forever, no matter how many breakups you have gone through, and that's the essence of the line.  

The Dark Knight (2008)

TDK is not really my favourite Batman film in the franchise, but Nolan sure did recreate a cast of characters that is esentially dark and flawed.

Bruce Wayne is no longer the really just n' good guy in the previous films. you can also view him as a man tortured by the fact that he's trying to be an equal of Dent, the much loved DA in GC. Heath Ledger's Joker is more neurotic and much more of a psychopath, and he could send a chill down your spine when he laughs with that disturbing and eerie voice. Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent is seen as a destroyed and disillusioned man, one who fights for justice - the White Knight of Gotham City - but ended up tortured by fate. I was kind of destroyed too... when all the time I thought Batman would save Rachel Dawes - it's more of a symbolism in saving Dent, because by that it means Batman tries to restore justice and fairness in the world even to the extent of forgoing his own world.

Sometimes, the truth is better not to be known.
and the lines lead to a series of thoughts in my mind, questioning our existence in this mess of a world.

is chance the only fair way to decide in an unfair world?


"madness is like gravity. you only need a little push."

"You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

really wish there would be a trilogy. wanna see more of Two Face (Aaron Eckhart!!!) and there are rumors that Ewan McGregor is going to be the Riddler. Maybe Chris Nolan is really trying to re-establish a new image to each and every character in the franchise. but definitely not Catwoman and the Penguin, as it's heard that he would never do a remake of those two, Tim Burton still rules!!!

Jeux d'Enfants (2003)

saw it from Soir-de-fete's blog.
Guillaume Canet et Marion Cotillard.
are you still playing games from your childhood?
Julien and Sophie are. but theirs is not an easy game for the those who lack courage and flair.

Are you game?

Emma (1996)

"I rode through the rain! I'd - I'd ride through worse than that if I could just hear your voice telling me that I might, at least, have some chance to win you."
- Mr. Knightley

out of all the Jane Austen movies, Emma is perhaps my favourite, or it is a close second to Joe Wright's P&P (I chose it soley due to the fact that Joe Wright is directing it and Keira Knightley is in it) Emma as a much better plot and a heroine that I like and that I can sometimes identify with, and Mr. Knightley, shall I say he's one of the most charming men in Austen's novels, after Colonel Brandon and Edward Rochester (but he's a Bronte's character) nevermind that.

going to a theme party on this coming friday and everyone has to dress up as movie characters. I'm still thinking which one I should be (considering the troubling fact that I haven't got a costume and it's hard to find a nice one in HK) usually you hv to hv them custome made and I don't have much time. argh. I've been thinking of a few possibilities.
1. Alice in Alice in Wonderland
2. Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz (just because I have a pair of red shoes)
3. Wednesday Addams (the plaits are easy to do compared to the blonde wig I need to get for Alice's character)
4. Helen of Troy in Troy
5. Olympia (Angelina Jolie's character in Alexander)
you see I'm going for the toga ones cuz I really want to have a toga party
6. Holly Golightly
7. Celia in Atonement
or just any flappers in the 20s