Unborn, Undying

Sex and the Second City: Secluded Places

Oooh boy...

posted by WM @ 10:52 0 comments

Tagged!

Looks like I'm "it" so here goes.. Thanks for the warm welcome(s) Mama Junkyard!


Total number of films I own on DVD and video

The last film I watched

The last movie I saw at the cinema was Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. A great improvement over the last 2 films, and arguably an improvement over Return of the Jedi and those indescribably creepy, furry Ewoks. The Ewoks cartoon they used to show on KBC was much less creepy, even enjoyable in parts, maybe because I can deal with weird things in cartoons more easily...
Last movie I saw on TV was Bubble Boy. I do love that Jake Gyllenhaal something fierce. Not the best demonstration of his acting range, but he does give a very warm and emotive performance that arguably carries the whole movie. Hard to do in a large latex bubble.

Last movie I rented/ borrowed was Kill Bill volume 2. If there ever was such a thing as an instant classic, this would be it. Swords, blood, plucked eyes, live burial and all....


Five films I watch alot, or that mean a lot to me

Kaze no tani no Naushika

How do I begin to say what this movie means to me? I saw it for the first time when I was 7 or 8 years old. I had asked my parents to get some cartoons for me from the video place at Sarit in Westlands. What was it called again? Anyway. Usually it would be a mish mash of classics like Bugs Bunny, Popeye (yechh), some 80s fare like Transformers, and the like, and I expected it would be much the same. This time, it was an entire movie, and I didn't know what to expect. It must have been a Friday night because Mum had made fish and chips, and she always made fish and chips on Friday night even though we weren't Catholic. So after dinner I settled down on the livingroom floor to watch the movie, and from the opening credits, I was hooked. There was something about the colour, pacing, storyline and music that just worked a spell on me that hasn't faded over the years. That movie made me cry, it made me hope, it made me happy, it made me melancholy, and quite frankly, it changed my life. It showed me another world of imagination, emotion and being that seeped right into my bones. I could never look out on the world again without seeing it through new eyes, and for that, I am grateful to whoever dubbed that movie...
Needless to say, I've been an anime fan ever since.


Donnie Darko

Hard to believe, but he did this film in the same year that he did Bubble Boy. Those roles could not be farther apart. This movie is impossible to summarize in a paragraph, and I doubt 20 pages would get much further, it has to be seen to be experienced. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the main character, Donnie Darko, a high schooler with a talent for drawing, a penchant for sleepwalking, and just maybe, is a paranoid schizophrenic. Or is he? If you love movies that make you think, this is the one for you...


Shichinin no Samurai

Kurosawa Akira at his very best. Seven samurai are hired to defend a village from bandits, that at least is the main story arc, but much much more happens over the course of the movie. Much of the movie is driven by Mifune Toshiro's excellent performance, but Kurosawa's eye for colour, sense of drama and exquisite pacing complete this excellent package. If you see one scene in this movie, see the one where Kyuzo reluctantly fights a challenger... His later work Kakushi toride no san akunin, inspired George Lucas to make Star Wars: A New Hope, and is a thoroughly entertaining movie as well.


Matrix Revolutions

The most philosophical movie of the trilogy, and oddly enough, the most Buddhist. The idea of a reincarnating salvific figure, cycles of world history, the potential for individuals to liberate themselves, are all very deeply Buddhist. I know the Wachowski brothers publicly speak about Gnostic influences for the trilogy, but I think the Buddhist resonance is much stronger. Besides, I'm a sucker for the "little-girl-as-saviour/destroyer-of-the-world" trope.


Kill Bill

Don't mess with women. Do a woman wrong, and she will wreak terrible vengeance on all those who stand in her way. No portrayals of her as weak, emotional, needy, man-hungry, stupid, "blonde" or any of the not-so-subtle messages that women are bombarded with these days. In a moment of crisis she reaches for her blade, not a hanky... :-)


Tag five people and have them put this in their journal

This could be difficult, seeing as I'm so new... I have no choice but to tag at random! Cirdan the Shipwright , Mshairi, delusions of grandeur, Thinker's Room, My-Own-Private-Mews

Phew! After all that, I think I need a nap...

posted by WM @ 12:43 0 comments

Senate panel considers apology to American Indians - Yahoo! News

And about time it passes too....How many times does this measure need to be brought before Congress before it passes?

I'm not that surprised. After all, the British have never apologized for colonialism in Africa, let alone for the misery and suffering they inflicted on Kenyans at places like Manyani, or during times like the Emergency, when millions of Kenyans were either in detention, or just released. I tried reading Imperial Reckoning by Carole Elkins but I had to stop after just 30 or so pages because I couldn't take it. The accounts of the torture that these poor souls underwent at both Kenyan and British hands was just too much. How is it that human beings can be so cruel to one another? Does it take that little for our empathy and human feelings to be turned off?

The North has much to apologize for. This is just a start.

As always, Republic of T has a very thoughtful piece on this. Genocide? How could it be anything less? 30 million dead, lands occupied, people decimated, culture destroyed...

From the scientists that brought you phrenology, prejudice is now an evolutionary adaptation!

There's still some sense to be found in Texas...Thank you, Senfronia Thompson.

Oh the irony of looking to Germany for socially progressive politics. The leader of Germany's Liberals could head the next government.Oh, and he's gay. What will they call his boyfriend? First Partner? Heee.. :-)

Gaaa! My eyes! What happened to my eyes! I can't seeee!! Oh. Oh, shit..

posted by WM @ 10:41 0 comments

Netflix: Welcome To Netflix

I'm addicted to Netflix. Fast shipping, great movie selection, and best of all, I do not have to deal with real people at a real store. The fewer people I have to interact with on a daily basis, the happier I am (friends and family excluded of course).

My hatred for 'people' stems from the fact that 9 times out of 10, they turn out to be dumb, Republican, or both. They block you in the aisles, nearly run you over in the crosswalk, talk shrilly about Kenny Chesney concerts, plaster their cars with "Support the Troops" stickers, never miss an episode of "Will and Grace" but vote against gay rights...

Unfortunately, I have to deal with my students twice a week *gag*, which doesn't help my people phobia at all. Netflix, however, does. That is why I love Netflix. And self-service anything.

posted by WM @ 11:37 0 comments

I think I'm going to start posting here again. It's been too long since I've had the time or the will to vent. Perhaps joining the Kenyan Blogs Netring will get me off my ass :-)

posted by WM @ 10:58 4 comments