iSphere
Random Ramblings - almost always cinema related///
E.T. The Extra Ordinary
Published Sunday, August 14, 2005 by Blogpur.
I really don't know how I missed this one during my childhood. I really don't know why, when, where. All I know is that it is an enchanting experience that should be mandatory for every child regardless of whether they are 5 or 55. I never knew why E.T. was so liked until i saw it, after I saw it, I cried, laughed, smiled and loved every minute of this absolutely rivetting masterpiece. While cinema purists are never going to induct this film into the annals of cinematic legacy (that is reserved for hardened celluloid such as a Woody Allen film), I can't see a single person who won't be touched by E.T.
Like so many of Spielberg's movies, this film follows the travails of a rather precocious young boy and his love and admiration for an extra terrestrial object. The "alien" is of friendly nature and both the boy (Elliot) and the alien tune into the same frequency and indeed live synchronsously thereafter. The ending is as wonderful as any film is going to get, it is a magical experience. Nonetheless the plot is remarkably simple. Probing into this film isn't going to get you very far, but then this film isn't meant to question the nature of the world. It is tinged with religious references, the finger of ET touching Elliot on the cover being the most ostensibly obvious.
I have absolute admiration for John Williams for his work in this movie. It's miracolous work. The moment the bicycle takes off you feel your heart jump, tears swell and its all thanks in great part to the wonderfully pneumatic score. Williams took home an Oscar for this one, I think he should have won 2, it simply is a legendary effort and works so well with the movie it's sometimes hard to hell whether the "Flying Theme" is better or the lines "ET Phone Home".
Of course, to do something like this you need the boyish brilliance that Spielberg has on display. Spielberg has done better works, his best being A.I. Artificial Intelligence, yet none of them (with the exception of Schindler's List) have the ability to pull you in and keep you enchanted under his wonderous directorial touch. The boyish magic is missing from Spielberg's latest works and while he has matured, it could be said that E.T. is one of his most mature works. There is not going to be a single person on this earth who will not cry during certain sequences.
Obviously Spielberg has filmed this using low camera angles. It's all from the child's viewpoint. It's all about how children can relate to it, and when I see, I see myself being transported in time at that height at that age. It's all about the dangerous world of the adults against the sublime and enchating world of the children. I have heard it said that Harry Potter transportss parents and kids alike into various worlds. If it can do a better job than E.T. I'll give them all my money.
In a world where the next scifi action blockbuster is going to litter the cinematic asphalt, I was taken aback by the simplicity of the ongoings of E.T. No flashy graphics, no DTS remix, no digital filmmaking. It's traditional, yet it could provide what no movie today can: utter and unadulterated magic. It's damn good stuff. It's E.T.: The Extra-Ordinary.
2046 in 2005
Published Monday, August 08, 2005 by Blogpur.
Wong Kar Wai's 2046 will hit our shores soon. It looks absolutely phenomenal, I really can't wait to say. Absolutely sumptous and seductive. You can see the trailer at the Apple site. Wai's 1994 Chungking Express remains one of my favourite movies and I was never able to see his other works in between that and 2046. It brings me great pleasure to know that 2046 is getting a release here in Australia (albeit for about 1 week in 1 theatre) - that is good enough for me.
Can't wait.
Dukes of Crap
Published Saturday, August 06, 2005 by Blogpur.
James Berardinelli has an absolutely hilarious review of the Dukes of Hazard posted up at his site. He absolutely slams the "money is the end of all things" attitude of Hollywood producers. Slams a few actors and directors and attacks the mentality of teen movie goers. Absolutely rivetting stuff. A must read.
Mighty (??) Mouse
Published Friday, August 05, 2005 by Blogpur.
Apple recently released the new "Mighty Mouse". With all the talk about Mactel changing the way the world uses a Mac as well as how this is going to affect public percpetion, I thought perhaps more than the Mactel deal, the 2 Button (effectively) mouse is big step forward for Apple made products.The end user is going to use the mouse as an interface, the processor and all the internal hardware operate the system (along with the Software) but people use the the monitor, mouse and keyboard the most. Although Logitech and other manufacturers have been making 2 button mice for Apple for a while now (since they launched mice on USB), it's nice to see Apple do something about it. The way they have done it s quite clever.
The Mighty Mouse bypasses all patents, yet it is effectively the same thing as any other 2 button mouse. The Apple site is a little over the top. I don't see the Mighty Mouse as a revolutionary step forward, its good to be accurate but nothing great. It's about time aswell...
(Pod)casting
Published Wednesday, July 27, 2005 by Blogpur.
Apple is damn clever. They used a relatively small idea and turned it into another marketing feature for their massively popular iPod range. I tried podcasting - I hated podcsasting. Podcasting more than anything else, is extremely clunkuy. You have to download the content, then upload to iPod. It's far easier to receive the latest news through the radio or TV or even the net which is so easily available everywhere.
I, however, must give credit to Apple over the content. Many sites including some great blog sites have weekly and/or daily podcasts with some extremely good content. It is really impressive. But unfortunately as I wrote earlier, its near impossible logistically. So I just listen to all the podcasts on the computer.
Podcasts - good for one thing - not good for the intended purpose.
KAT with Attitude...
Published Sunday, July 24, 2005 by Blogpur.
This picture represents my life-long relationship with Garfield the most wonderful, SADistic, nihilistic, sardonic, ethereal, egalatarian CAT I've ever known. As a kid I used to have heaps of his cartoons in the form of books, along the way they got lost. I never cut the cartoons out of the paper (unlike Alexa) - I so wish I did though - when I'm 60 they would be worth a fortune.
Well anyway the point of this was to tell all of you that you can purchase Garfield comics from most bookshops in the form of either Sunday-Strip compendiums, treasuries or FAT-CAT Three Packs - the last option is definitely the most value for your dollar and I bought two of them myself. If of course, you don't want to shell out cash to catch your favourite cat in action Garfield.com is a great site. It has every single Garfield strip since 1978 for your viewing pleasure.
Check them out - the CAT is BACK.
The State of Affairs
Published Wednesday, July 13, 2005 by Blogpur.
Have you noticed the quality of newspapers, TV news and radio news recently? It's appalling. Other than the a few exceptions (notably the wonderful NY Times), the quality of articles on newspapers as well as the news they are reporting are extremely sub- standard. Most broad sheets are lowering themselves to a standard that the so called tabloids exhibit. Take a look at the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald - it has the world changing news about Tom Cruise and his affair with some other actress, take a look at the Australian - who cares about Brad Pitt and his 50th marriage? I certainly don't and I'm sure my opinion is a reflection of thousands of other men and women. In fact good broadsheets are becoming so rare that the art of reading a fully opened broadsheet is slowly becoming extinct.
Articles have also been dipping in standard - the Good Weekend was once a good refreshment on the weekend with some insightful articles and interviews, its now advertisment fodder. It's not matter of truth distortion (ala Frontline) it's a matter of delivering quality news, quality editorials and having something called quality control.
I've noticed in the past 10years TV 6:00pm news has pitiful. Back in 1996 the news used to have a length of 20mins, followed by about 7 or 8 for sport then 2 or 3 for weather and the quirky fact of the day. In 2003 I saw Channel 7 news which lasted for 10mins - had 18 devoted to sport and then 2 mins to weather. From that day I have stopped watching TV news (indeed I have stopped watching TV altogether). ABC and SBS seem intent on delivering something - ABC is too politicised for my liking and SBS has its priorities all mixed up. As far as cable news is concerned BBC and CNN are quite good - FOX news is perhaps the single worst channel airing "George Bush has made a wise decision in not signing the kyoto protocol" is a quote i always remember from that horrid channel.
Radio news is far too commercialised for my liking and the radio reports that often air are so pitiful that major world events often turn into jokes about Howard's eyebrows.
In times like these I wonder how to be informed on major world events, get proffesional opinions, enjoy reading world class editorials and be enlightened on a day to day basis - the number of publications offering such facilites are dwindling but still we have hope - as long as The New York Times exists there might even be some proper reporting. (gasp).