Twenty-Ten

November is half gone and Thanksgiving is this week. Where has the time gone? I hear the clock ticking as the year comes to a close. I can't wait for 2009 to be over and for 2010 to begin. Twenty-Ten. It has a nice ring, don't it? Say it with me. Twenty-Ten. Not bad. This year has been filled with so many random questions filling my head. I'm just hoping that it will all get better from here on out. I'm still optimistic and hopeful and all that jazz. I think positive thoughts and send good vibes to help me through the most tough times. I do believe that it does play some kind of role in affecting the things around us. Yet, sometimes I feel that the way things are, it's not enough.

Then doubts set in and that's something I don't want plaguing my mind. There have been times when I wished I knew what the future held for me. The magic crystal ball we all wish existed. Oh magic crystal ball, what does 2010 have in store for me? But then again...I like not knowing the future.

Anyway, here's a little something to (hopefully) put you in the Christmas and holiday mood. A little classic song by Nat King Cole that never fails for puts a smile on my face. Enjoy!

Flying Birds (Flugufrelsarinn)

I love the Kronos Quartet. Actually, I love the sound of 4-string quartets in general. Flying Birds. Or if you're from Iceland, Flugufrelsarinn. Say that ten times fast. The original song was by the group Sigur Ros with the Kronos quartet doing the string arrangements in the background. I first heard the rendition of this song several years ago. I was immediately awestruck at how moving it was. How much emotion it can invoke. I love music especially instrumentals and classical. I grew up listen to whenever I could. I always found it to be very therapeutic at times to put a little Chopin on the speakers. Yes, I even listen to a little Yanni on the side. I ain't ashamed of that. His "Live from the Acropolis" CD is actually pretty good.

I keep the Kronos Quartet version of Flugufrelsarinn on rotation on my ipod. You can find it on itunes if you're interested. When I'm stressed, I put that on and it soothes away the troubles even for a few minutes. I found a performance video on youtube of the song, so that you can experience how awesome it is. Oh, forget the images on the screen. The images of flying birds added by the person who posted it gets distracting from the performance footage. Just turn up the volume on the speakers, close your eyes and listen. Feel the music and it's emotions. It's truly a beautiful rendition.

Flugufrelsarinn by Sigur Ros. Performed by Kronos Quartet.

Inside

I just realized that November is here. That means Christmas is just around the corner, then the new year will be here in a blink of an eye. But I don't want to think of that just yet. Let's just enjoy of what's left of this year. On the career side of things, it's been pretty calm. I've begun putting together a little pitchbook for the script I wrote several months back. A good way to entice those interested. Have I mentioned yet that I really want to shoot it? I'll say it again. I really want to make this film. On the scale of 1 to 10, it's an 11. I'm still optimistic. When have I not been? The visions in my head are becoming clear each day as to how the finished film would look. I've been playing it over and over again like I was in a darkened theater with a bag of hot buttered popcorn and soda looking up at the screen seeing my words come to life.

I remember watching this short film a while back. I don't recall from where I had heard about it, but it sure remained in my mind since them. It's called Inside. Directed by Trevor Sands with Jeremy Sisto as the lead.

I've actually enjoyed many of Jeremy Sisto's performances. He's a really good actor. Last I recall, he was in one of those Law & Order shows. Which one it is, I don't know. The film is 5 minutes and very well made. A simple and effective story with a clever ending. Enjoy!

A Red Cliff Over Daylight Savings

Don't forget to set your clocks back an hour. Daylight savings is oh-vah. The sun will come out earlier, but the days will get darker sooner. Hopefully the weather here in SoCal will begin to cool a bit so that it actually matches the season. It's a little over a month into fall and yet summer still lingers a little bit longer than it should. At this point, it has outstayed its welcome. Shoe-fly don't bother me and comeback in 2010.


This week's trailer

Red Cliff

Directed by John Woo (Mission: Impossible 2, Face/Off)
StarringTony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Fengyi, Chang Chen, Hu Jun, Lin Chi-ling and Zhao Wei.

Synopsis via IMDB:
In Autumn of 208 AD, 100,000 peasants fled with their beloved leader Liu Bei from Cao Cao's million man army. With the aid of heroes like Zhao Yun (the subject of the new "Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon" film) and Zhang Fei, they escape across the Great River (Chinese 'Yangtze') to take refuge with Sun Quan, the leader of the south. As Cao Cao prepares his huge navy to invade southern China and destroy them both, geniuses like Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu devise a grand strategy. They hope to destroy Cao Cao's 10,000 ships with fire upon the river, but must first trick Cao Cao into chaining his ships together, and then change the direction of China's famous and freezing North Wind. While these two struggle to put aside the rivalry between Liu Bei and Sun Quan's forces, they must hatch their legendary schemes before Cao Cao is ready. This synopsis is based on the events of the 600 year old story - "Romance of Three Kingdoms" - the favorite novel of over 1 billion Chinese people and the most famous novel in Asia. 

I've enjoyed John Woo's work. He's done some great film over the years. So it's interesting that he's back with an epic film that's along the genre of Crouching Tiger and Hero. Well, basically a lot of well-crafted technically produced films coming from China. They've mastered the art of epic filmmaking, I tell ya. Mind sharing some of that budget with little me for my film, China? I don't need a lot.

Video Killed the Radio Star

Today, we're going to take a trip down memory lane. Remember the days when MTV actually played music videos? Now-a-days, they're just something else altogether. I don't even want to get into that. Now. Think back two decades ago. Way back in the 80s when the thought of a music video seemed like someone was taking crazy pills. Let nostalgia set in for a moment. Go ahead, I'll wait.

... ... ...

Ok. now today's look back at the early 80s is a classic and very memorable song. Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles. This was the first every video played on MTV back in August 1, 1981 at 12:01am. They made TV history with that and thus entered into a new era of music promotion. The days of super low-budget cheesy and sometimes meaningless videos. I miss those days.

The song was originally released in 1979, around the time when disco began to die out. Here's another tidbit about the video. Composer Hans Zimmer can be seen playing the keyboards in the background near the end of the video. He wears a black suit.

Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star
Uploaded by jpdc11. - Explore more music videos.

5:55 with Toys

This past week has been a pretty hectic one. I had plans to go watch Where the Wild Things Are and put write up for today, but as plans go, things don't always happen they way you want. But on an upside, I got to celebrate my godson's first birthday. Yippy on that! I'll try to catch the movie during the week or at a matinee showing. Plus, I think it's better to watch movies when there isn't much of a crowd around. I value the silence in the theater. I really do. Remember that saying, "silence is golden"? As much as I like to see things on opening weekend, I'm not fond of crowded theaters. I do on a rare occasion, for a movie I desperately want to see, will brave the eager crowds.

Anyway, I was listening to Charlotte Gainsbourg's album 5:55 earlier this week and I love it very much. It's actually been on rotation on my ipod for the past couple of years. She is the daughter of famous French singer Serge Gainsbourg and British actress Jane Birkin. She has also done quite well for herself in the acting department with films like 21 Grams, The Science of Sleep, I'm Not There, and, more recently, AntiChrist, of which she won Best Actress at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

I remember watching the music video for 5:55 and there's just something to it that I love. It may be the simplicity and subtlety of it. You don't see a whole lot, yet it plays to the imagination. Directed by her husband French actor, Yvan Attal (the cab driver from Rush Hour 3), who also plays the man in the video. It's a lovely song. There's something about her singing that makes it really appealing. Well, I wouldn't really call it singing. You know, she may not have a singer's voice, but she does have that soft-spoken, whispering quality to it. It's beckoning you to come and listen. Apparently, I did and still listening.

This week's trailer:

Toy Story 3


From the creators of Toy Story 1 & 2. Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, Annie Potts, John Ratzenberger

Synopsis via Wikipedia:
Andy is now a young adult, departing for college, and his toys, including Woody and Buzz Lightyear are being sent to storage. Before the rest of the toys can be put in the attic, they are accidentally thrown away and are picked up by the garbage men. The toys find themselves at a local day-care center, where they must try to survive the pre-school children. Woody attempts to save his friends and find themselves a new home, but matters are further complicated when Buzz is damaged during an escape attempt, causing him to revert to a Spanish version of his original delusions of being a genuine space ranger.

Buzz and Woody are back! I love the first two movies. I was actuallly excited when Disney re-released the first two in 3D these past couple of weeks. Intoducing these two loved movies to a whole new generation. I was a bit surprised when I found out that actually had made a third movie. I guess they weren't sure when Disney and Pixar wanted to release this at the time when the two companies were still deciding about continuing the working relationship. I'm glad they did and we now get to see the adventure continue. This trailer looks really great and I'm excited for this to come out.

Opens June 2010

The Holy Grail and Power

When times are down, sometimes all you need is a good laugh to perk up your spirits. Whether it be a good joke or something you've seen, laughing can do wonders in relieving stress. It can even keep you youthful. Or so I've heard from somewhere. But I like to think that to be true. It's good to have a chuckle at least once a day. It doesn't have to be side-splitting, belly aching funny. Life would be pretty boring, wouldn't it?

This week I'll leave you with a classic scene from one of my favorite comedic films. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I love Monty Python. They brought comedy to another level with their show, Flying Circus, and, of course, with their movies. Once in a while I'll catch a rerun episode on BBC America. I guess there's always been something about British humor that's always appealed to me. The scene below is one of many hilarious scenes from the movie. It is between King Arthur and the Black Knight. If you haven't seen this movie, go watch it. It's definitely comedy at it's finest.

This week's trailer:

Adventures of Power
Written, directed, and starring by Ari Gold. Also starring Michale McKean, Jane Lynch, Shoshannah Stern, Chiu Chi Ling, and Adrian Grenier

Synopsis via Wikipedia
"'Adventures of Power' is a comedy about a mine-worker named Power whose love of drums and lack of musical skill has turned him into the ridiculed "air drummer" of his small town. But when Power's union-leader father calls a strike at the mine, Power discovers an underground subculture of air-drummers who just might hold the key to changing the world. Power's journey across America brings him face-to-face with his town's greatest enemy, and allows him to discover the beat within his own heart."

Just when you thought air guitar was "fo shizzle," how about air drumming? That's right, air drumming. Come on, admit it. You've tapped those non-existent drumsticks in the air and hit those non-existent snare, toms, and symbols like you just don't care. I know I have. (*insert grin here*) The trailer looks really funny. A throw back to all that cheesy 80s fashion, a bit reminiscent of Napoleon Dynamite. But I don't think Napoleon could have rocked the gym short shorts like Power can. I loved the Asian lady's reaction. Plus, there's some awesome 80s music. 


Opens Fall 2009.