We’ve reached the top 20 films of the ’00s!  This is the 2nd tier, or those films that would be numbered 11 – 20.  As with the previous group, I don’t notice any unifying theme to this group of movies so on with the countdown we go.  In order of (United States) release date:

11 – 20

• American Psycho (2000) – Mary Harron’s film is both an adaptation of and corrective to Bret Easton Ellis’ novel.  Reconfiguring the book’s horrific misogyny and looking with a scrutinizing eye at the psycho himself, Patrick Bateman, Harron’s film is more of a slyly feminist satire than a horror flick.  The film still carries through many of the book’s themes, but Harron’s take on the material is fantastic.

• The Son (2003) – The Dardennes’ film is at once simple and immeasurably complex, a quiet but compelling story about a carpenter’s multifaceted relationship with the boy he takes on as an apprentice.  Shot in a bare bones realist style with spare dialogue and naturalistic performances.

• Kill Bill (2003/4) – Vol. 1, a bloody, ultra-violent love letter to kung fu cinema, tells a straightforward revenge plot in which action is the language used speak about the characters and their shared histories.  Vol. 2 draws more from the Western genre, humanizing itself as it draws to its conclusion.  Tarantino is another polarizing director on this list; I happen to love his style, and he brings it in spades for this epic two-part film.

• Maria Full of Grace (2004) – This story about a young Colombian woman’s experience working as a drug mule is another example of the neorealist (or just plain realist, or whatever A. O. Scott wants to call it) tradition that thrived in the ’00s.  Catalina Sandino Moreno makes this movie with her amazing, naturalistic (frequently silent) performance.

• Volver (2006) – Penelope Cruz gives a career-defining performance as Raimunda in Pedro Almodovar’s Volver, a tribue to the women of the director’s childhood.  Ms. Cruz is supported by a talented cast; how nice it was to see Carmen Maura working with Almodovar again.  The story is a haunting and beautiful melodrama (that manages to have a sense of humor).  The characters are so lovingly drawn that it’s hard not to fall under the director’s spell.

• Zodiac (2007) – Zodiac faithfully recreates the events of the Zodiac Killer’s crimes in San Francisco and other areas of California.  David Fincher’s best film to date, the pic builds its feeling of anxiety in a slow, controlled fashion all the way to the uncertain conclusion.  The film may be considered a blend of several genres, and Fincher combines these elements with his usual attention to detail but while also exercising a restraint not seen in his work up to this point.

• Eastern Promises (2007) – The ’00s were a fruitful time for David Cronenberg (keep your eye on the forthcoming top 10 list), and this dark crime drama packs a punch.  The pic weaves a tight narrative around fully conceived characters; yes, it’s a mafia story, but beneath the surface you’ll find some unsettling notions about sex(uality) and violence.  Viggo Mortensen gives possibly his finest performance to date.

• No Country for Old Men (2007) – This movie is the Coen Brothers masterpiece.  Occasionally funny but more often dark and serious, the pic boasts exceptional performances (Mr. Bardem is frightening) and beautiful lensing.  A Western-but-not-a-Western, a violent crime/chase story framed by the sincerest cinematic depiction of the “I’m getting too old for this shit” policeman cliche.

• Persepolis (2007) – Another excellent animated film in the ’00s (there will be one in the top 10–stay tuned).  Marjane Satrapi worked with Vincent Paronnaud to bring her own autobiographical graphic novel to the screen.  A visual wonder, Persepolis is Satrapi’s own emotional coming-of-age story, set against the backdrop of the Islamic Revolution.

• Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) – A lighter side of Mike Leigh that brims with optimism and is still as humanistic as any of his films.  Sally Hawkins is perfect as Poppy, and Eddie Marsan is hilarious (when not frightening) in the role of Poppy’s tightly wound driving instructor, Scott.

The idea that a cultural movement begins or ends with the flip of a calendar is, of course, fallacious. ”60s Music” is an identifier of a specific strain of popular music that really refers to the time period, between 1965 (mid-career Beatles) and 1976 (The Sex Pistols). What we think of as the Golden Era of 70s movies began, arguably, with The Graduate in 1967 (or Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? the year before) and ended with Raging Bull in 1980.

For now anyway, the 2000s can be called The Netflix Decade, a time when, in theory, more movies were more accessible to more people than ever before. That doesn’t necessarily mean everyone took advantage of this opportunity. Still, the idea that a movie, even one from say, Romania about abortion, can have a second life on video is encouraging. If you’re a stickler for lists, consider this the 90 (or so) best movies of the last ten years. What this era in film will ultimately be called is anyone’s guess, but, many films in this list, particularly those made in the US, reflect life in the Age of Terror, where the country was led by a man whose ambition far exceeded his abilities.

4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days – Over the last ten years there has been a rush, in relative terms anyway, of films from countries that were formerly behind the Iron Curtain. The best of these was a heartbreakingly frank film about the moral and practical dilemmas of abortion while Eastern Europe crumbled in the late 1980s. A movie of unflinching honesty. (2007)

8 Mile – Don’t laugh. Yes, Eminem played himself, but great movies put the viewer in a time and place and Curtis Hanson’s impeccable direction gives life to the hopelessness of Eminem’s Detroit ring of despair. The performances of Kim Basinger and Mekhi Phifer are first-rate.  The movie looks even more authentic now that Eminem has faded from the limelight. (2002)

21 Grams – The title refers to the amount of weight we lose after we die. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s follow-up to Amores Perros brought together a math professor (Sean Penn), a grieving housewife (Naomi Watts) and a re-born convict (Benicio Del Toro). The story isn’t arranged chronologically and the morality of what’s taking place is apparent before the full impact of the plot.

The 25^th Hour – Spike Lee’s least bombastic work. Three men (Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Barry Pepper) one of whom is preparing for a prison stint, re-assess their lives in New York City while terrorist occupied planes still echo in the background. The request made late in the film by Norton will make you gasp, but then nod in agreement with his logic. (2002)

About Schmidt – When Jack Nicholson’s wife dies he decides to rent an RV and drive around trying to avoid the realization that he’s a selfish creep. Alexander Payne’s portrait of aging shines even brighter when compared to the emptiness of another Nicholson film about old age released several years later—The Bucket List. Hope Davis is brilliant as Nicholson’s estranged daughter. (2002)

Almost Famous – The best fictional account of the rock and roll life this side of Spinal Tap. Billy Crudup hits every note as an ambivalent guitar hero. Philip Seymour Hoffman is hysterical as rock critic Lester Bangs. Cameron Crowe’s movie also launched the career of Kate Hudson, who plays a groupie. Don’t hold that against it. The “Tiny Dancer” sequence on the tour bus is sure to put a lump in your throat. (2000)

Amelie  – Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s fable starring Audrey Tautou is certain to become a beloved classic if it hasn’t achieved that status already. Jeunet and Tautou occupy a world that looks much like our own yet is eminently more just, hopeful and full of love. Engaging from any number of perspectives. (2001)

Amores Perros – The three-pronged story about how lives have been irreversibly altered by a car accident can only be described as awe-inspiring. It introduced the world to the massive talents of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Gael Garcia Bernal and the progenitors of Latin American Cinema. Much as Amores Perros is a child of Pulp Fiction, it is also the father to the acclaimed City of God. (2001)

Away From Her – This tiny movie about a woman (Julie Christie) coming to grips with Alzheimer’s raises challenging questions about the true nature of love, honesty and companionship. That Sarah Polley was only 27 when she directed this counts as a miracle. (2007)

Babel – Whereas Amores Perros’ and 21 Grams’ centerpiece were a singular event, Innaritu’s Babel centers on a singular feeling brought on by a digital, wireless age. It’s one of mutedness. We can speak to more people in more places than ever before, yet we still have no clue what to say. The characters’ eyes tell us everything we need to know about their hollowed-out existences. In Babel, continents are little more than land masses that separate people trying to cope with this new world. Brad Pitt has never been better. (2006)

The Beat That My Heart Skipped – Romain Duris dreams of becoming a concert pianist conflict with his father’s desire that he follow his footsteps into a life of low-level street thuggery. Director Jacques Audiard brings together the disparate physical and emotional universes that Duris occupies. Paris, probably the most-filmed movie locale in the world after New York, is presented in a new, fresh way. (2005)

Before Sunset – Nine years after Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy fell in love on a single night in Vienna they meet again. Except now they’re in Paris. But time has passed and things have changed. Or have they? A great idea executed to perfection by director Richard Linklater and the two leads. (2004)

Black Hawk Down – Mark Bowden’s searing chronicle of the US Army’s disaster in Somalia. Ridley Scott and a strong ensemble cast capture the frantic efforts of well-intentioned men in one impossible situation after another. (2001)

Bigger Faster Stronger* – A straightforward documentary about steroids and American culture by a first time director and former devotee of the weightlifting/bodybuilding scene. (2008)

Bloody Sunday – Made prior to United 93 and The Bourne movies, Paul Greengrass’ re-creation of the events of January 30, 1972 in Derry, Northern Ireland seethes with anger. (2002)

Borat – Far and away the best comedy in recent years. Although it dutifully serves its  function as a biting social satire, it’s the bar which other comedies strive for: “Yeah, (title) was pretty funny. But it’s no Borat.” (2006)

Bowling for Columbine – With the school shootings still fresh in the public mind Michael Moore’s film about America’s obsession with guns is a tour de force of filmmaking. It’s become the template for countless other issue-driven documentaries, but the original is still the best. Who could forget Moore emerging from a bank, gun in hand as gratitude for opening a new bank account? (2002)

Capote – I tend to resist portrayals of historical figures little more than overwrought imitations, but there are some performances that just throw you back in your seat. Philip Seymour Hoffman’s depiction of the caustic, gifted, tortured Truman Capote is such a performance. (2005)

The Dark Knight – One of the major secular features of Bush Era was rampant self-involvement. Facebook has turned the personal into the global scale. In a landscape where fame goes to those who are willing only to be more extreme than their predecessor, Heath Ledger, as the sadistic Joker tapped perfectly into this pathos while living up to unprecedented pre-release hype. Everything, onscreen and off, about The Dark Knight reflected the culture of entitlement. Mostly though, The Dark Knight delivered on all its promise.  The movie has flaws; Christian Bale’s smoky (or is it gravelly?) voice is an unneeded prop and the stunt make-up of Aaron Eckhart’s character is unnecessary. That said, it performs the near impossible—a summer blockbuster whose story and message stays with you for days, if not weeks. (2008)

Darwin’s Nightmare – A documentary about the perch in Lake Victoria that shows the social and political effects of an ecological nightmare. While An Inconvenient Truth was the environmental movie that bagged the awards and attention, Hubert Sauper’s movie chilled and moved. (2005)

Eastern Promises –  David Cronenberg re-emerged with A History of Violence, but its follow-up was far more entertaining. Naomi Watts’ London midwife stumbles across the Russian mob, as personified by Viggo Mortensen, cultures clash, mayhem ensues–including a grisly fight in a steam bath. (2007)

Edge of Heaven – The best movies of the decade made outside the US addressed the blurring of boundaries among class, race, ethnicity or sexuality. Fatih Akin’s film about a German Turk who moves to Istanbul in order to find his half-sister makes you wonder if maybe boundaries aren’t such a bad thing. (2008)

Elephant – Gus Van Sant’s take on school violence is haunting. The impending carnage looms over the characters to such a degree that, as an audience member, you want to shake them by the shoulders and tell them to run before the bullets start flying. (2003)

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room – The best of its type. A traditional talking-heads documentary that harnesses the national outrage of the Enron collapse and the subsequent dominoes that fell. Names are named and we’re given plenty of reason to hold those mentioned in absolute contempt. (2005)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – I resisted this as too gimmicky at first and I don’t buy Jim Carrey doing anything serious, but on a second viewing it struck me as a thoughtful consideration of how memory relates to romantic longing, especially considering it’s a major studio release. The rare instance of  when a blend of a potentially toxic mix of artists–Carrey, Kate Winslet, Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman results in a coherent final product.  (2004)

The Fall – A suicidal stunt man, an eight year old Eastern European immigrant girl who speaks accented English, Charles Darwin, Alexander the Great and many, many others people populate Tarsem Singh’s follow up to The Cell. Reportedly made without CGI, it’s unlike any film ever made. (2008)

Finding Nemo – A father clown fish loses track of his son clown fish. In desperate need of help in finding him, he is assisted by a pang fish with short-term memory. That the movie somehow takes a parent’s worst nightmare and turns it into something cute is a testament to its many charms. Edged Ratatouille and Up for a spot behind WALL-E on this list. (2003)

Garden State – While it’s easy to dismiss the movie as a tool for Zach Braff’s navel-gazing, Garden State appealed to people of a certain age, pre mid-life, who wondered, “What’s it all for?” It owes massive debts to The Graduate and the work of Wes Anderson but it’s a movie of and about its time. (2004)

George Washington – David Gordon Green’s somber sketch on poor black children in North Carolina plays like a Miles Davis number. The movie is all mood, but by the end, you feel like you know the kids in this movie intimately. (2000)

Gone Baby Gone – This may be a blasphemy in some quarters, but Ben Affleck’s directorial debut does Clint Eastwood better than Eastwood himself. It confronts many of the same issues as Million Dollar Baby and Mystic River the difference is the performance of Amy Ryan, as the world’s worst mother. (2007)

Good Night and Good Luck – George Clooney’s paean to an era gone by was meant to be a body blow to the modern media, where rumor and innuendo flourish. More than David Straitharn’s uncanny impersonation of Edward R Murrow, most the high points are the elegant singing of Dianne Reeves that served as a bridge scenes of increasing tension. (2005)

Goodbye Solo – Souleymane Sy Savane is  Solo, a Senegalese cab-driver in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (the Tar Heel State is a new hot spot for American Indie Cinema). He picks up a weary, southern man who asks that a few days from now Solo take him to Blowing Rock National Park, no questions asked. Ramin Bahrani’s movie is so loaded with symbolism it’s easy to overlook what an assured, confident piece of filmmaking it is. If there’s any justice, Savane will pick up an Oscar nomination this year. (2009)

Happy-Go-Lucky – How far does attitude go in life? At first glance Sally Hawkins’ Poppy is gratingly optimistic, but as Mike Leigh’s small masterpiece unfolds we see that Poppy is far more sophisticated than we’ve given her credit for. Furthermore, I can think of no film of this or an era that so lovingly presents a friendship between two women—Hawkins and Alexis Zegerman. They’re co-workers and have each other’s backs in ways that the girls from Sex and the City would never understand. (2008)

The House of Flying Daggers  – Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon set a standard that Zhang Yimou’s exhilarating epic set in the Tang Dynasty surpassed. That’s Ninth Century kids. Two police officers, with differing motives, force a gorgeous dancer to go undercover and infiltrate The House of Flying Daggers, a group of militants who steal from the rich and give to the poor. There’s a sequence where…ok forget that, watch it and you’ll instantly recognize why this movie is on a “Best of” list. (2004)

In America – After WALL-E this was the movie that stole my heart. Jim Sheridan directed a script he wrote with his daughters about a family a lot like their own. It’s the magical story of a family overcoming the loss of the youngest child through great sacrifice and a move to Hell’s Kitchen. Sarah and Emma Bolger, who play the precocious daughters, will steal your heart too. (2003)

In the Bedroom  – Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek have a son (Nick Stahl) who gets involved with an older woman (Marisa Tomei) estranged from her husband. When Stahl gets killed by the husband in a jealous fit Wilkinson must face his own thoughts of revenge in this wrenching drama directed by Todd Field. (2001)

In the Mood for Love – It’s 1962 Hong Kong and Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung are neighbors who suspect their spouses of infidelity. Wong Kar-Wai’s film is in the grand tradition of a love story set against a society in upheaval, but simmers with a lust and eroticism all its own. Runner-up to Y Tu Mama Tambien for sexiest film of the decade. (2001)

In the Valley of Elah  – When Tommy Lee Jones’ son goes missing shortly after returning from a tour in Iraq, he sets out to find him. In the course of his quest he’s aided by Charlize Theron and the movie becomes a layered treatise about the war in Iraq, the military and family. In his best roles, Jones face says far more than any word could and that’s certainly the case in this movie, which takes its title from the site of David’s biblical battle with Goliath. (2007)

Into the Wild  – After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta, Chris McCandless, the child of well-to-do parents, gave away all his possessions and hitchhiked across America en route To Alaska. A wonderful companion to Jon Krakauer’s elegiac account of McCandless, Sean Penn’s movie brings together sweeping natural panoramas, marvelous supporting characters (Hal Holbrook especially) and a pitch-perfect score from Eddie Vedder. (2007)

Junebug – So many films about the clash between urban and rural ways of life resort to easy stereotypes, but Phil Morrison’s movie strikes just the right tone. Now living in Chicago, a son brings his art gallery-owning wife (the stunning Embeth Davidtz) to meet his parents in rural North Carolina. He re-acquaints himself with his brother whose wife (played by Amy Adams in the breakthrough performance of the decade) is pregnant. New conflicts arise as old wounds are re-opened. Celia Weston is delightful as the family matriarch. (2005)

Katyn – The legendary director Andrzej Wajda may have made his best film in his 80’s. It’s the heretofore untold story of the slaughter of thousands of Polish soldiers at the beginning of World War II by the Russian Red Army. Wajda focusses on how the Russians lies about the massacre left a permanent stain on the Polish psyche. The final twenty minutes of Katyn put your heart in your throat. (2008)

Kontroll  – Nimrod Antal’s film about life in the Budapest subway system defies easy description. Every scene and piece of dialogue seems loaded with literal and metaphorical interpretations. And the metaphor can apply just as easily to the main characters as to life in Hungary after the fall of the Soviet Empire. (2005)

 Lilya 4-ever – Abandoned by her mother, 16 year-old Lilya must fend for herself in bleak, gray Estonia. She meets a young man different from the abusive thugs in her neighborhood. He is kind to her and promises to pull her out of her dire circumstances. Hopeful and desperate, she trusts him. Thinking they will run off to a slice of heaven, Lilya is instead lowered into a kind of Hell that can only be borne from the minds of the truly evil. Lukas Moodyson’s film muscles its way into the pit of your stomach and stays there for days.

Little Children  – The decade’s best movie about suburban dystopia and arguably Kate Winslet’s best performance. She plays an educated mother whose marriage is passionless. She begins an affair with Patrick Wilson –The Prom King, as he’s dubbed by the neighborhood mothers—whose marriage is  deteriorating while he attempts to pas the bar exam. Most memorable, however, is Jackie Earle Haley, a sex offender trying to start a new life while under the watchful eye of self-appointed moralist. (2006)

The Lives of Others – An engrossing film about the horrors of life on the front lines of the Cold War. Ulrich Muhe is a member of the Stasi in 1984 who listens in on the conversations of a playwright and his lover. His own life being one of boredom he becomes increasingly engrossed in those of his subject. Florian Heckel von Donnersmarck crafted a film of personal destruction while addressing contemporary issues of privacy in a time of unparalleled freedom. (2006)

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – It will be hard to explain to future generations the impact that this series of films had on a populace put on perpetual edge in the age of terrorism. Thousands of people lined up to watch the entire trilogy, nine hours in total. It did not take much imagination to see the similarities between Peter Jackson’s sprawling epics and the state of world affairs. The stories of honor, mysticism, fellowship and duty in the face of an indefatigable enemy bent on an engineering an apocalypse resonated with millions of people who had never even heard of JRR Tolkien. (2001-2003)

Memento  – How Christopher Nolan began the decade. The taut Guy Pearce is covered from head to toe with tattoos. He’s also written himself hundreds of notes. The ink on both the paper and his skin is critical because he has no short term memory. In normal circumstances this would be quite the conundrum, but it’s worse because Pearce’s wife has been murdered and he’s trying to figure if he did it or if someone else did. Memento was that rare, visceral movie that left the audience in their seats after the house lights came up, catching their collective breaths. (2001)

Michael Clayton  – Where Good Night and Good Luck was a clarion call to a lazy media elite, George Clooney got back in front of the camera in this tightly written drama about corporate malfeasance. He’s a fixer who keeps small problems from becoming big ones. He must prevent an old friend gone crazy (a manic Tom Wilkinson) from jeopardizing a billion-dollar project while keeping the company lawyer (a scathing Tilda Swinton) at bay. Tony Gilroy’s movie recalls 70s classics like The Parallax View and Three Days of the Condor. (2007)

Minority Report - The back end (after Artificial Intelligence: AI) of a Steven Spielberg double-dip on the dire possibilities of the near future, blisters with energy. Tom Cruise plays a pre-crime officer—criminals are arrested before they commit their crimes—who finds himself caught up in agency politics that have far-reaching implications. Watch it again just to see how prescient it is, based on a Philip K. Dick novel. (2002)

Monster’s Ball  – An extremely graphic sex scene featuring Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton (ick) generated buzz, but Marc Forster’s depiction of troubled lives in the south is harrowing. Heath Ledger, Sean Combs and Peter Boyle are excellent in support of Berry’s raw performance. (2001)

The Motorcycle Diaries – Before he became a face on a t-shirt, Ernesto Guevera was called “Fuser” by his friends. As a student, he and a buddy traveled through South America on a beat up Norton 500. Gael Garcia Bernal is Che in Walter Salles’ exquisite travelogue about idealism colliding with reality. The Machu Picchu sequence is breathtaking. (2004)

Moulin Rouge! – Unapologetically over the top, Baz Luhrman’s was the best musical of the past ten years. A courtesan (Nicole Kidman) falls in love with a would-be poet (Ewan McGregor) much to the chagrin of a duke. This triangle is resolved in a splash of song, color and double-entendres. Jim Broadbent won an Oscar the following year in Iris, but he deserved it for his role as the ringmaster here. (2001)

The New World – Terrence Malick’s lyrical, contemplative rendering of the affair between John Smith (Colin Farrell) and Pocahantas sweeps you up and carries you off to a place that only he seems to be able to construct. When the duties of colonization become too much, the stability of their relationship is threatened. (2005)

The Notebook – The moment you say, “Oh, come on! That would never happen!” you’ve missed the point. Every character in the movie is of a type and that very broadness is what makes the film such a timeless love story. (2004)

No Country for Old Men – Javier Bardem’s Anton Chigurh immediately joined the pantheon of cinematic psychos but Tommy Lee Jones is outstanding as sheriff trying to make sense of killer whose weapon of choice is a cattle prong. Josh Brolin is up to Jones’ lofty standards as Chigurh’s main target. Kelly MacDonald turns a potentially forgettable role as Brolin’s wife into the moral center of the film. While the movie may have caught fans of the Coen Brothers off-guard, it fits nicely in the canon of the makers of Miller’s Crossing, Fargo and Blood Simple. (2007)

Once  – Set in modern day Dublin, Glen Hansard is a Hoover repair man and Marketa Irglova is an immigrant caring for her mother and daughter. They are both amateur musicians and gradually they write songs together that reflect their growing feelings for each other. A small treasure. (2007)

Pan’s Labyrinth – In order to escape her sadistic stepfather in Franco’s Spain, a ten year-old girl imagines a secret world where she must perform three tasks to prove that she is, in fact, a princess. Fashioned by Guillermo Del Toro, who spent the decade creating worlds that exist just beyond the reach of our own. (2006)

Requiem for a Dream — Four disparate characters succumb to drug abuse. Most frightening in Darren Aronofsky’s film is the descent into madness of a woman collecting social security played by Ellen Burstyn. Far from a lecture, the movie shows in explicit detail how different people become addicted for different reasons.  (2000)

Sideways - In celebration of his philandering pal’s upcoming nuptials, Paul Giamatti takes him on a tour of California wine country. Like any good road movie, Alexander Payne’s film contrives one scenario after another in order to reveal something about the characters. What made Sideways different was the intensity of Giamatti’s portrayal of a man consumed by his own self-loathing. (2004)

The Station Agent – A thoughtful independent film from Thomas McCarthy about a dwarf (Peter Dinklage) who inherits an abandoned train station after his best friend dies. He’s subsequently harangued into friendship by a chatty hot dog vendor (Bobby Cannavale). The unlikely friends then encounter a woman (Patricia Clarkson) who is in mourning. Well-deserving of the many awards it picked up on the festival circuit. (2003)

Taxi to the Dark Side – Of the many righteously indignant documentaries criticizing the Bush Administration Alex Gibney’s was the best. It’s the story of an innocent Afghan cab driver who was tortured and killed while in US custody. He’s not a casualty of the madness of war, but rather, the victim of carefully vetted policy.  (2007)

There Will Be Blood  – P. T. Anderson’s sprawling epic of greed, oil and religion has a problematic ending but who could forget the opening scene, where Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview, without saying a word, grunts his way into our psyche. He plunges one hole after another into the ground through the force of his personality, creating to a fortune but and future that will, most certainly, be bloody. An instant American classic. (2007)

Traffic  – The War on Drugs from the peripatetic camera of Steven Soderbergh. In his most complete film, he inspects many, if not all, aspects of the struggle and concludes that the effort has been a colossal failure. Sturdy performances by Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Quaid, Don Cheadle and Michael Douglas anchor a somewhat chaotic enterprise. (2000)

Waking Life – Richard Linklater’s mind-massaging meditation on truth, reality, dreams and just about everything else washes over you like a hot shower. The fact that it merges animates live action characters pushes it to the stuff of legend. An exponentially better “alternative reality” film than Mulholland Drive. (2001)

WALL-E – The other major secular strain brought on by the reign of error that was the Bush presidency was conspicuous consumption. Remember that he suggested we go shopping in the weeks after planes were crashed into the financial and political capitols of the country. And we did. Boy did we spend. The magicians at Pixar presented the down side of this approach to calming our collective nerves, while telling a tender love story. If you didn’t go “awwwww” at least once while watching WALL-E may God have mercy on your soul. (2008)

Waltz With Bashir  – Perhaps the first and last of its kind. An animated documentary about an Israeli soldier’s memories of a battle that occurred some twenty years earlier. Ari Folman’s autobiographical story of The Lebanese War had the unique distinction of reminding you of several other films while still being thoroughly original. (2008)

Y Tu Mama Tambien – The sexiest movie of the decade. Maribel Verdu joins Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna on a road trip from Mexico City to a mysterious beach with no strings attached. Much steaminess follows. (2002)

You Can Count on Me  – Before starring in Kenneth Lonergan’s movie Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo had minor roles in minor movies. They play a brother and sister who are connected by a tragic event from their past. Each day is a struggle as they to overcome their flaws and make something out of their shiftless lives. Linney was nominated for an Oscar as a single mother trying to build a life out of perpetual setbacks. The soundtrack features several songs from Steve Earle, who knows a thing or two about turmoil. (2000)

Zodiac  – David Fincher’s story of the serial killer that spooked the Bay Area in the 1970s. Jake Gyllenhaal is a newspaper cartoonist who starts out trying to decode the murderer’s cryptic messages and ends up more obsessed with finding the killer than the police officer (Mark Ruffalo) assigned to the case. Fincher gets the grisliness out of the way early and delivers an unsparing crime procedural; the inclusion of Donovan’s Hurdy Gurdy Man on the soundtrack is inspired. (2007)

They barely missed the cut: High Fidelity, Oldboy, Adaptation and Up

Best Releases Three or Four Decades Late

Army of Shadows – Jean-Pierre Melville’s classic of The French Resistance, released in Europe in the late 1960s made going underground heroic and cool. It ushered in a much-deserved reassessment of Melville’s place in The French New Wave. (2006)

Killer of Sheep – the life of a Los Angeles slaughterhouse worker in black and white with one of the best scores in film history. Charles Burnett’s film sat in a vault at UCLA for 30 years until it was released on video by Milestone/New Yorker Video. (2007)

Underrated, Forgotten or Worth a Second Look

24-Hour Party People – Steve Coogan nails it as the riotously self-possessed Tony Wilson, the television host who sired the Manchester music scene in the late 1970s. Michael Winterbottom adeptly recalls a flowering cultural moment that was both depressing and inspirational. (2002)

The Bridge – Eric Steel’s documentary about why the Golden Gate Bridge has become Ground Zero for suicides. More than that though, it’s about those left behind and trying to make sense of the profoundly tragic. (2006)

The Cell – The acting isn’t much (Jennifer Lopez playing a psychologist and Vince Vaughn playing it straight) and the plot machinations are absurd but Tarsem Singh’s movie about the subconscious of a serial killer is loaded with visual explosions from start to finish. (2000)

The Claim – When you sell off your wife and baby daughter for a gold mine it’s just a matter of time before it comes back to bite you, even in the pre-Information Age. There’s no escaping karma on that one. Michael Winterbottom’s version of Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge is unforgettable. The icy turn-of-the-century Canadian landscape is the ideal backdrop for this morality tale. (2000)

The Dish – What role did Australia play in the first moon landing? Well, the country put up a satellite interface in a remote desert. Sam Neill plays one of the technicians who helps the locals prepare for and cope with their day in the, uhh, sun. Patrick Warburton is winning as the American liaison. (2001)

Everything is Illuminated – The movie based on what might be the best novel of the decade barely registered at the box office. Eugene Hutz steals the movie as Elijah Wood’s linguistically-challenged guide and Liev Schreiber’s debut behind the camera is extremely faithful to Jonathan Safran Foer’s source material. (2005)

Heaven – It came and went in the blink of an eye, but Cate Blanchett is a bald vigilante aided and abetted by police-officer Giovanni Ribisi. Impossible to categorize as an action pic for the art house crowd (or is it vice versa?), Tom Tykwer’s movie merits another consideration. (2002)

Idiocracy – Mike Judge’s futuristic comedy about what happens to a society that spends decades rewarding impulse and hubris over intellect and honesty. Sound familiar? (2005)

The Illusionist – In pre-World War I Vienna Edward Norton plays a magician who astonishes and taunts royalty (Rufus Sewell) and law enforcement (Paul Giamatti). It was overshadowed by The Prestige which was released the same year, but it is better shot, better acted and without the cop-out ending of Christopher Nolan’s film. (2006)

Innocence – After his wife dies a man looks up his lost love from over forty years ago. She has married and is living a comfortable life. Now in their 70s, they try to pick up where they left off. Paul Cox’s film of hope, death, loss, regret and risk tugs at your heart and never lets go. (2001)

Last Orders – A London butcher (Michael Caine) instructed his best friends (Tom Courtenay, David Hemmings and Bob Hoskins) to throw his ashes into the water at Margate beach. His son (Ray Winstone) joins them as they make the journey, recollecting about what was and what might have been. The type of small, touching film that big stars don’t seem to make anymore. (2001)

LIE – Paul Dano, in a pre-There Will Be Blood role plays a teenager who sits on a bridge above the Long Island Expressway. He has nothing, so when a dubious character, the slimy Brian Cox, offers him some semblance of normalcy, he takes it. (2001)

Made – Jon Favreau’s comedy is a follow up to Swingers which again features him and Vince Vaughan. This time they’re playing wanna-be mafiosos hired by Peter Falk to cut a deal with Sean Combs. The repoire of the castcast is terrific and the movie is even funnier with the audio commentary on (by Favreau and Vaughn). (2001)

Our Daily Bread – A dialogue-free documentary about the mechanized, industrialized nature of food production. Make sure you eat before viewing. (2006)

The Proposition – Set in late 19^th century Australia, the underappreciated Ray Winstone is magnetic as a frontier lawman determined to bring peace to his town. A group of four brothers has terrorized the locals and Winstone urges two of them to turn in the oldest, who is the ringleader. This sounds like a traditional Western but Nick Cave’s bloody and depraved script is accompanied by a setting that invites comparisons to Antonioni. (2006)

Reign Over Me – Almost all of Adam Sandler’s comedic characters are emotionally-stunted man-boys. His character in Mike Binder’s film is also a shell of a man, mumbling his way around New York City on a scooter, donning headphones to keep the outside world away. Don Cheadle is his usual superb self playing a dentist, trying to find out what’s gone wrong with Sandler, his old college roommate. In the course of reaching out to Sandler, Cheadle must face problems in his own life. (2007)

Sweet Land – In 1920s Minnesota a beautiful German woman arrives to marry a Norwegian farmer. He speaks little English and she speaks none. This is the least of their troubles as her ethnicity, in light of World War I, gives the rest of the community pause. Ali Selim’s feature debut is quiet, elegant and assured. (2006)

The Widow of St. Pierre – Patrice Leconte’s tale of redemption set in the (then) French colony of Newfoundland in the 1850s. Emir Kusterica plays a drunk sentenced to death for a murder. But time passes before the guillotine can arrive from France. Slowly, the community, represented by Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil, comes to see the murderer in a different light. (2001)

The Yards – James Gray’s story of corruption in the Queens rail yards was unjustly ignored by audiences on its release. Perhaps it was because the star, Mark Wahlberg, was an unproven quantity as a dramatic actor (Ok, some might say he still is), but he more than holds his own among James Caan, Ellen Burstyn, Faye Dunaway, Charlize Theron and Joaquin Phoenix. (2000)

A Double Feature About Women Living on the Margins

Frozen River and Wendy and Lucy -  Melisso Leo and Michelle Williams try to save their son and dog, respectively, while staring some hard truths in the face. (Both released in 2008)

Actors of the Decade—Gael Garcia Bernal and Philip Seymour Hoffman

Actresses of the Decade – Cate Blanchett, Laura Linney and Kate Winslet

Directors of the Decade – Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Christopher Nolan

Overrated

Brokeback Mountain – A movie more concerned with its message than advancing the story in a cinematic way. The script is clunky (saved by Heath Ledger’s performance) and for a movie intended to bust stereotypes, it’s comprised of supporting characters who are exactly that.

Knocked Up – Where The 40-Year-Old Virgin was a sweet, bromance about the complexities of dating, this was self-indulgent. A stoner who lives with other porn-living potheads hooks up with a successful television producer? That’s a shaky premise to begin with and impossible to ignore whenever the two leads start talking about child rearing. Why weren’t women insulted by this movie?

Lost in Translation – Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson are displaced Americans in Tokyo. It’s a Jim Jarmusch movie done by Sofia Coppola. One Jarmusch is plenty thank you very much.

Mulholland Drive – What’s this movie about? No, really somebody tell me.

Movie that’s aged the worst – Crash. Only five years old and the tale of race and circumstance in Los Angeles already feels quaint.

And what of Wes Anderson? – His four films (three live-action and one animated) are entertaining, but they’re all riffs on a similar theme—highly stylized portraits of fractured families done to great soundtracks. They all made my best of the year list when released, but Anderson, so far anyway, has been content to have his characters talk about their struggles rather than show them.

Television (Still a vast wasteland)

The conversation begins and ends with The Wire. If you haven’t seen it you have deprived yourself of storytelling on par with Charles Dickens, but more visual. There’s no point in spilling more cyber-ink on it as countless others have extolled its virtues. So watch it. Now. You’re welcome.

The two best documentaries of the past ten years originally aired on television. Martin Scorsese’s No Direction Home revealed every available side of Bob Dylan including a few that Mr. Zimmerman would rather have kept under wraps. Scorsese seemed to talk to everyone who ever had anything to do with Dylan.

The other great doc was Spike Lee’s agonizing, thorough, poetic story of the debacle and failure of our government’s response to Hurricane Katrina. It’s not hyperbolic to call When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts an act of public service.

OK…if I must choose…a baker’s dozen…(I actually already tipped my hand above by adding a clip after the summary)

WALL-E, Amelie, The Dark Knight, Memento, Amores Perros, In America, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Moulin Rouge! There Will Be Blood, The Lives of Others, Waking Life, You Can Count on Me and Lilya 4-ever.

China Glaze knows how to make a girl swoon. In the midst of a snowstorm, I saw a promotion for their spring 2010 collection, “Up & Away.” What a lovely reminder that spring will eventually come! Warmer temps, blue skies…it’s a nice thought for these long, dark nights.

This collection is pure fun. I love how comprehensive this group is, with 12 colors in all. I really feel there is something for everyone here, from gals who like to keep it neutral to girls who love a bright flash on their nails.

View the entire lineup after the jump.

Sugar High is a perfect pastel pink, and Something Sweet is in the same pretty pale family. Heli-yum is a vibrant hot pink on nails; very pretty for a pop of fresh color. Re-fresh Mint is similar to Essie’s Mint Candy Apple (a shade I love). Lemon Fizz is a pale, creamy pastel yellow that looks absolutely fresh and unexpected for a manicure. What could more spring-y than lemons?

Who is the happiest person in the world?

Hmmmmmmm …. So this thought was itching in my head for a long time now and it wouldn’t go until and unless I put it in writing…..So who do u think is the happiest person in the world? Will it be the one who has a lot of money and can fulfill his wishes at any cost or the one who is very intelligent and who gets satisfied when he has his Ego boosted? Well I dont know who is happy among the the thwo categories of people ……But strongly believe that I am the happiest person on earth…….No wonder I am always cheerful and with a whole lot of confidence and I consider my self lucky……I’ve experienced so many emotions in my life…..Be it joy ; sorrow ; love ; hatred ; betrayal ; loyality ; pleasure ; excitement or anything……those were a very few I mentioned…..For me that is happiness.. There is only one life to live ……… and so many emotions to experience.one whole life wudn’t be enough for that….I enjoy each and every thing I experience and what more do I ask for…..And most importantly I love my self .I find happiness in my little things …… and when I am in trouble and sorrow I make it a point to observe carefully whatever I am going through and what my reactions and and feel lucky enough to have experienced new things emotionally, physically or mentally. I think that is enough to lead a happy life and to become the happiest person living on earth…….Now I don’t expect U to take an INSPIRATON and lead a life like me…I know u can’t coz there can be only one happiest person and that place is reserved for me in this life and I know that none of you can be like me or think like me….But ya u can definetly try and atleast make a small difference for urself……..
So wishing all of you a HAPPY LIVING ….

Spent half the morning on the internet looking for a decent(read:cheap) brand of whisky as a  present for my uncle. Unfortunately when I got to the offie I panicked.  I was meant to get a scottish blended whisky. Ended up with an irish single malt. Why is that always happening? But with 40% it should give a reasonable buzz, and honestly, after a glass, who gives a damn about the taste? I used to drink whiskey back when the world wasn’t so hard-hearted. I half-remember a week in Dublin when I was twentyfour. Apperently alcohol has some strange effect on one’s memory. That should be looked into.  Now I only ever drink in really dull or serious company. One simply has to.

Watched Happy Go Lucky. Rather enjoyable. About a 30-year old  Poppy who loves her life, and why shouldn’t she? Great friends and an optismistic attitude is all everyone needs really.  I’m working on my attitude . The trick is to concentrate on really silly things and ignore ideas like pension plans and dying alone. The friend-part… Well, I think I’m just too suspicious of people. Thank heavens for my hobbies, eh? DVD’s never vanish into thin air. Unless you lend them to someone. Funny about Happy-Go-Lucky though. Elliot Cowan was in it(my favourite Mr Darcy btw) and had a role so small I had to take out my magnifying glass to see him. Wierd. I sat there waiting for him to step up as the male lead. DISAPPOINTED.  But it was a decent movie. Sally Hawkins has finally stepped out of the Victorian Drama and fits better in these kind of realistic comedies.

More sloppy film reviews to come, I’m sure.

Stay safe and happy.

So I’m writing a post from work today because I was going to write it yesterday at home but actually did stuff like clean out my fridge and wash towels instead. I had a really good weekend. Anyway – today I’m going to talk movies that have stuck in my head for the past however long, and I’ll start with the more recent that I’ve watched.

So let it begin.

The Saturday just gone my sister and I watched How To Be because we are total dorks and Robert Pattinson fans (I swear it’s the only thing me and the world agree on). As for the movie, I liked it but found it a little bit painful to watch. Not painful as poor acting, I didn’t mind the acting at all. It hit a little close to home and reminded me of a point of life I feel like I’ve only just come out of and don’t particularly want to run back to. My take on the film was that it was about that point in life where you’re really confused and beginning to finally understand what being an adult is.  I remember talking to my Dad with similar questions to Art with his, and hitting similar realisations. It was a bit Seinfeld and a movie about nothing while also being about everything. I loved the lack of high note it ended on. I loved the character Nikki – that guy made me forget that the movie had Robert Pattinson in it and I couldn’t help but think that guy (that stereotype) is always in Irish Pubs in Brisbane. I thought the friends would have made a really good BBC TV show. I understand why it wasn’t pushed in theatres everywhere and why it was hard to categorise. It’s a strange film that leaves you feeling a little strange. It in part reminded me of I Heart Huckabees with those really strange moments the self help writer would appear under a light that turned on. And when dealing with the mother character in the movie it felt a little bit theatre and less film. I think I liked the pub scene the most, especially when the new boyfriend is nice and starts to list off his awesomeness. I thought the movie really understood the ‘loser’ without really putting judgement on it by making a miraculous recovery into coolness – there was no ‘he got a hair cut and wrote a good song and all was right in the world when you become cool’ ending. And that is all I’m going to say.

Next. Something I watched recently and hadn’t been able to stop thinking about was Happy Go Lucky. I didn’t watch it from the beginning and I missed the end because I had to pick up the husband but what I did see of it I LOVED and can’t stop thinking about it. Again it’s one of those strange movies that are about nothing as far as events go, and I’m not even sure of the message of the movie. All I know is that the driving teacher was spot on – although mine was Scottish so on top of being a little angry about things I couldn’t understand a word he said. I loved the lead character and how she did very odd things, like following that homeless guy (this is the last part I really got to see) to see if she could help because sometimes I find myself following someone to see where things lead too. I like how the lead character giggled all the time and watching her relationships with family and friends – it left me feeling happy. Now when I see Sally Hawkins in other films I always think of her as Poppy in Happy Go Lucky. I really want to see it again, all the way through.

Ok. Next. Away We Go is one of the movies I saw at BIFF this year and again with being stuck in my head, every now and then themes from this movie sneak into my head and I can’t stop thinking about it. I have to say that I really loved this film. If there was a type of film that got made over and over it would be like this. I love real space, real emotion conveyed. I like actors/directors that at least try to be authentic with their stories. I’m not saying being entertained is fun, I love to be entertained too. But I think these films are just as important as books. One thing I found with Away We Go is that it parallels a little bit of how I feel in my life since I’ve have CP with the Husband. We moved here to Brisbane a few years ago but without the intention of settling, so what we have is a life that needs to be settled without the means to do so yet – so I liked that they found theirs. Another thing I loved about Away We Go is that it didn’t feel over styled. You didn’t feel like they were selling a doona cover or wall lamp to you through it, and movies often don’t really offer you that anymore. And like with The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (the train hi-jack scene with the light through the trees – the beauty of the movie haunts), the images from the film flick in my head – like the end scene where they look outside from the house, it was beautiful. I hope we see more films explore lifestyles that are different.

Action. Star Trek was really fun and it got my entertained double thumbs up fonz style. I have trouble with time travel films because it gets you thinking about alternative realities and what’s improbable, and because lately I’m feeling very answerless I find those kind of questions a little too much (not to mention I don’t have any education/understanding of those concepts). But the action was great, the cross cultural representation was quite pleasant and could they have picked a better person to play Scotty? I love Simon Pegg. Friends came back from London with Spaced, which was funny but then when his movies started to flood us I was lost to Mr Pegg forever. Back to Star Trek, it was great, cheesy and fun, my only complaint was that it was such an introduction to do a series of films. And Bana as a bad guy was hard for me to deal with after seeing a lot of his butt in the Time Travellers Wife.

Which reminds me. A movie I rented a little while ago and fell in love with was Charlie Bartlett (the lead actor also in Star Trek). I loved this movie so much. I mean it had so many things to comment on but I can’t really think of much right now. Mr Jr. as a principal, hello – best looking principal of all time. Would have totally fantasised about my principal if he’d be anything on Mr Jr., but we had a guy named Fuller who we couldn’t help but draw parallels with Skinner (Australians are the reason the Simpsons still exists I swear, it’s like a religion to us – House of the Simpsons where we pray in ‘Doh’s). I thought the honestly the Mr Jr. brought to his characters’ alcoholism is in part why the man can have such a huge “comeback” (because he has skills – honest to god compelling to watch him skills) and I look forward to buying my tickets and renting his films. My favourite scene in the film had to be when Charlie Bartlett freaked out on Ritalin and played piano in his undies. I totally googled that actor after falling in complete love with the character. I loved Kat Dennings in the film, but I think she’s quite a loveable actor for me. I quite like the girl who represents a girl a little different and I think she held up as Mr Jr’s daughter, there was some honesty to a relationship there without an incestuous vibe (incest vibe: see Heroes and the chemistry between cousins Claire and Peter). Charlie’s house was amazing (love a good house in a film) and the old car he was driven around in reminded me of Wes Anderson stuff. I did find myself drawing comparison between Rushmore and Charlie Bartlett, although they are different. Man I loved Rushmore. Jason Schwartzman is sort of my ideal guy, apart from the fact that he would be way too cool for me to ever know, even when he’s not cool. I mean his family is reason enough of being too cool. His sense of humour is dreamy. I could go with being with a guy that was like him, but the real him would make me feel like a rock next to a mountain. I think I friended him on myspace which is weird. I don’t know why I do that. I like to use myspace to bookmark bands I like but I also seem to have added people like Ashton Kuchter etc. as myspace friends.

And now I’m trying to match myself to famous people I’ll never meet but add (on a strange impulse I can’t explain) to my myspace friends although I’m happily married with a young child and if said actors were standing in a line up with my husband I would always pick the husband because even though sometimes he makes me want to smash him in the head, I passionately love the guy.  So because of the change from poor movie review to devotion of love – I’m going to end my blog before it becomes a fan letter to Jason Schwartzman begging him to never change and lobby for Wes Anderson to make Rushmore 2.

I had a teacher that once said that drama is for feelings and comedy is for thought. At first I dismissed this idea because how can a movie like Little Nicky or Dickie Roberts: Child Star be thoughtful. But if you think about it, although they are horrible movies, they are indeed thoughtful. The former deals with living up to your father’s expectations, while the latter is about the effects stardom have on a child.

For this reason comedy is my favorite genre. Can you make a drama about a girl trying infiltrate a clique of popular girls to bring them down, and eventually becoming one of them? Yes you can, but it does not have the same effect as a comedy. So, I was quite excited about compiling a list of my favorite comedies of the decade, but it turned out to be harder than I thought. I’m sure I left out a few good ones, but I feel happy with the way it turned out.

Here’s my list for the 10 best comedies of the decade:

10. Shrek

Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson | 2001

I saw this without having seen any sort of promotional material for it (how I managed to do that, I don’t know), so imagine my surprise when the movie started. Shrek is a clever take on fairy tales that has jokes coming in very often, and they never get old. Will the movie age well? Probably not because of all the pop culture references, but I will always have fond memories of it.

9. I Love You, Man

John Hamburg | 2009

A great story about friendship sewn together by great chemistry between Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. Together, they make some poorly written lines and situations work. The rest of the cast also does a pretty good job of making this work, among them the always reliable JK Simmons, Andy Samberg, and Rashinda Jones.

8. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Adam McKay | 2004

This movie came out at the peak of Will Ferrell’s popularity, that is when he used to do the things he still does, but with good scripts. The story is inpired and a perfect fit for Ferrell’s comedic abilities. The sight gag are great and the dialogue (which is rather good) is delivered perfectly by the cast. And I believe that this is still Ferrell’s best performance.

7. Ratatouille

Brad Bird | 2007

This movie is full of sophisticated and innocent humor. Prior to this it had been a while that I had not seen a non-Pixar animated movie that was hilarious and had clean humor. Yes, there is a poop joke, but that fits the personality of the character that is involved in the joke. Ratatouille made once again made the messy kitchen, the food to the face, slapstick feel fresh once again.

6. School of Rock

Richard Linklater | 2003

Jack Black gives his best and funniest performance here. Yes, the plot has been done before, but the way the story is told, and the earnest performances from the young cast, makes this stand above the rest of other movies with the same plot. Plus, the ending is pure magic.

5. Mean Girls

Mark Waters | 2004

Before “30 Rock” and Sarah Palin made Tina Fey a house-hold name, and before Linday Lohan started doing drugs and ruined her career, they made this movie. Lohan, along with Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfriend, and Lacy Chabert, make Fey’s creations come to life in a great way. The movie is full of your typical Fey dialogue, and that alone makes it stand above other comedies.

4. Hot Fuzz

Edgar Wright | 2007

The love that Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg have for bad action movies shows here. And only them could they make an intentionally hilarious action movie like this. The biggest laugh, however, don’t come from the spoofing, but rather from the small moments, like the old man being stabbed in the foot, or the crossword puzzle dialogue exchange. Just great stuff all around.

3. Happy-Go-Lucky

Mike Leigh | 2008

Some do not think that this is a comedy, and I can see why they think that however, since this made me cry because of all the laughter, it definitely qualifies as a comedy. No other movie made me laugh this hard this decade. This is all thanks to Mike Leigh’s great writing and direction, which fleshed out every single character, even those who are on-screen for only a few minutes. The movie also works as a comedy thanks to Sally Hawkins’ amazing performance.

2. Knocked Up

Judd Appatow | 2007

One would think that it would be hard to find comedy in an uncomfortable situation such as an unwanted pregnancy. However, Judd Appatow did, not in the actual situation, but in the fall out from it. Seeing these two people and their families trying either help them or trying to tear them apart is funny as well as seeing them trying to make things work when they are clearly not meant for each other. While his direction may not be the best, Appatow’s script makes the movie work, and one of the best comedies of the decade.

1. In Bruges

Martin McDonagh | 2008

Like Knocked Up, In Bruges finds comedy in a situation that would not necessarily require it. This time it is two killers hiding out after a job goes wrong. The comedy here is mixed in with the anguish that the main characters are feeling, and it works. On one hand we have Ray (Collin Farrell) feeling bad about what he did, and on the other we have him, and his partner Ken (Brendan Gleeson), getting into all sorts of trouble with their boss, a local drug dealer, Canadians, Americans, thieves and a midget. Even when things get awfully dark, the movie keeps it’s sense of humor, and that’s why it is the best comedy of the decade.

Honorable mentions: The 40-year-old Virgin, Role Models, Superbad, WALL-E, Amelie, Cheaper by the Dozen, Shrek 2, Blades of Glory, Juno, Little Miss Sunshine, The Spongebob Squarepants Movie, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Shaun of the Dead, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited

Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment about this list.

Cine B: Happy Go Lucky

Por Christian Quezada

(Titulo en Español: Un Cuento sobre la Felicidad)

Dirección: Mike Leigh.
País: Reino Unido.
Año: 2008.
Duración: 118 min.
Género: Comedia Dramática.
Interpretación: Sally Hawkins (Poppy), Alexis Zegerman (Zoe), Andrea Riseborough (Dawn), Samuel Roukin (Tim), Sinéad Matthews (Alice), Kate O’Flynn (Suzy).

Sinopsis:

Poppy (Sally Hawkins) es una joven profesora de primaria muy divertida, abierta y generosa. Un espíritu libre que se toma la vida tal y como viene, pero siempre con actitud positiva. Cuando le roban su bicicleta, decide que es el momento de ir a sacar licencia de conducir. Su profesor de manejo es un tipo pesado y amargado pero, a medida que se conozcan, Poppy acabará enseñando al instructor mucho más de lo que él puede enseñarle a ella acerca de como afrontar la vida.

Comentario: Esta es una película, como se dice, de esas de la “escuela de la vida”. Aparecen muchas situaciones cotidianas pero que gracias a la protagonista, hacen que esta película te queda dando vueltas y te deje pensando. Muestra la manera más fácil y hoy por hoy, no muy utilizada por todos, para resolver y afrontar las problemáticas de la vida, como lo es por sobre todo, la felicidad. Una herramienta que con el paso de los años y la carga del sistema está quedando de lado y nos hace afrontar muchas veces los problemas como verdaderos ogros, seres despreciables y grises. Esta manera que muchos usan además contagia a los demás. Por eso es emocionante ver a esta chica y ver, como transmite felicidad a donde quiera que vaya.

LINKS DE HAPPY GO LUCKY

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Trailer Subtitulado

ENTRADAS ANTERIORES DE CINE B:

Cine B: “El Primer Día del Resto de tu vida”, un cable a tierra

Cine B: “Knowing”, el riesgo de conocer un poco más.

Syysloman alkajaisiksi vuokrasin elokuvan, joka on ollut katsottavien listalla odottamassa vuoroaan jo jonkin aikaa. Se oli elokuva Happy – go – lucky ja kertoo luokanopettaja Poppysta, joka rikkoo mukavasti perinteistä, melko ahdastakin, kuvaa meistä opettajista. Poppy on jopa minunkin mielestä melkein rasittavan hyväntuulinen, eläväinen ja puhelias; suoranainen ADHD-tyyppi! Ensivaikutelma Poppysta ei välttämättä  ole “turvallinen aikuinen”, mutta lapsikeskeinen opettaja Poppy on, ja haluaa, että kaikki olisivat onnellisia.  Joitain yhteisiä piirteitä tunnistin tässä kollegassa: flamenco-tunnilla Poppy näytti varmasti suurin piirtein yhtä rytmihäiriöiseltä kuin minä itse parikymmentä vuotta sitten, kun kokeilin lajia, autolla-ajotyylissämmekin saattaa olla jotain yhteistä ja hauskin samankaltaisuus paljastui, kun Poppy askarteli luokkansa kanssa lintupäähineitä paperipusseista. Meilläkin oli yhden luokan kanssa eräänä keväänä lintuteema; tunnistimme muuttolintuja, kuuntelimme Taikahuilua ja kevätjuhlaan harjoittelimme linturunoja ja tätä esitystä varten askartelimme huovasta lintupäähineet. Tämä askartelu ja juhla ovat jääneet mieleen siksi, että eräs pieni koululainen kommentoi ennen esitystä asuamme: Kaikilla muilla on asialliset asut, pitääkö meidän laittaa nämä päähineet!? Ja silloinen enkunope virnisti esityksen jälkeen mulle: Hauska esitys; näytitte kyllä vähän pyöveleiltä… Poppyllä on vielä yksi, ja tärkein, yhteinen tekijä kanssani. Hänen eräs repliikkinsä elokuvassa on: “Lapsia voi vain rakastaa.” Johon hänen kollegansa ja kämppiksensä hirtehisesti vastaa: “Niin, muuten ne tappaisi.” Hienon roolin elokuvassa tekee myös autokoulunopettaja, jonka Poppy saa avautumaan “ärsyttävällä” käytöksellään ja päästämään höyryjä ulos, ehkä liiankin pidäkkeettömästi…Kaiken kaikkiaan Poppy ei ole niin kevytkenkäinen kuin ensivaikutelma antaisi olettaa, ja elokuvassa käsitellään myös tärkeitä yhteiskunnallisia aiheita.

Viikonloppua vietimme leppoisasti esikoisen opiskelukaupungissa lautapelin, keilaamisen ja perhe-elokuvan merkeissä. Kävimme katsomassa Up, Kohti korkeuksia. Se oli monella tapaa kiva elokuva: ensinnäkin animaation sankarit ovat poikkeuksellisesti vanha leskimies Carl ja pieni ylipainoinen vähemmistökansalaisuutta edustava poika Rasmus. Ellin ja Carlin lovestory kerrotaan koskettavasti heti alussa. Ellin haave muuttaa Etelä-Amerikkaan korkealle vuorelle putouksen äärelle jää toteuttamatta hänen eläessään, mutta kekseliäs Carl lentää sinne taloinensa kuumailmapallojen kuljettamana. Mukaan joutuu myös Rasmus-poika, jonka erätaitomerkeistä puuttuu vain vanhuksen auttaminen. Aikamoisiin seikkailuihin kaverukset joutuvatkin, ja apu on puolin ja toisin tarpeen. Elokuvasta jäi hyvä mieli; se peräänkuuluttaa mm.sellaisia arvoja kuin pysyvien ihmissuhteiden merkitys ja vapaan luonnon kunnioittaminen. Elämä on aina seikkailu!

Hmm..

Couple of days ago, I’ve decided to give this up.

I mean what’s the point in holding to it anyway for I know I might never get it in the end.

Besides..

I’m getting hurt from time to time, huahahaha..

But today,  I read someone’s post in her blog.

She said that it wasn’t about choice but sometimes it was a matter of decision.

And I guess all these times I’ve been listening to my head so now I guess it’s only fair to give my heart a chance before in the end I need to learn how to combine those two in action, hehehe..

Soo.. my heart, just go and feel whatever you want to.

Even when it means that I might be the one who’s crying in the end.. I won’t regret it, I promise.

It’s time for you to do your job.

I want to feel again.

I want to become alive.

And I know it now that I still want it anyway although I only have very slim chance, ahahaha.

But that one has captured my heart from the very first.

And I’d only be lying to myself if I say that I don’t want that anymore, hihihi..

Somehow I know I can only learn my lessons this way for my “ending” hasn’t reached its destination yet but this one’s a valuable subject to learn and there’s no better way to learn than to let my heart does her job

So let’s learn how to smile and cry, hihihi

Have a nice weekend to you all..

Ciaoo..

-Indah-

Hari ini itu sebenernya hari yang campur aduk buat gua.. dipenuhi dengan canda tawa  yang bikin gua ngakaaaak bangets and ditutup dengan adegan tangisan yang walau ngga sedramatis film2 Bollywood tapi cukup menguras persediaan kantong airmata gua, wakakakak..

Yupp..

Siang menjelang sore ini lumayan bikin gua cengar cengir ngga jelas, ahahaha..

Abisnya yaa ‘boo..  tumben2an aja githu mulai “ramai” lagi dhe hal yang dulu sempet gua rindukan, and aww.. don’t know dhe apa namanya but yang jelas bikin gua senyam senyum sendiri, hihii..

And pulang abis menghabiskan such a nice wonderful time with my friends, gua dihadapkan ama acara pengurasan airmata yang emosional, huhuhu..

But sisi positifnya adalaahh..

Beban gua sebagian besar udah berkurang.

Gua mulai diingatkan kembali akan hal yang seringkali gua lupakan.

Gua mulai melihat sedikit titik cerah for my newly future, hehehe

And dari kemaren itu gua mendapatkan banyak masukan yang mencerahkan.

Mulai dari soal kesialan dan keberuntungan yang kadang ngga sesuai dengan apa yang kita liat dengan mata kita.

Terus soal following my own rhythm and not get caught up in others.

Terus apalagi yaa?

Hmm.. malamnya gua banyak terkenang2 ama lagu2 lama, hahahaha..

And my songs of the day adalah : “What Good is A Heart”-nya Code Red ama “A Mind of Its Own”-nya Victoria Beckham, ouuuccchhh.. liriknya, maaann!!

Kena bangets di gua, wakakakakk..

Well.. somehow somehow I feel like I’m on the right track of my learning process.

Walaupun kadang sakitnya ngga tertahankan tapii.. mungkin ini semua gua perlukan to shape me, hihii..

Sutralaahh..

Pastinyaa..

Hidup ya seperti ituu.. selalu ada waktu untuk menangis and ada waktu untuk tertawaa.

And datangnya kadang ngga terduga

Soo.. prepare ourselves aja to enjoy every moments of our lifes ^o^

-Indah-

Oohh myy.. I wouldn’t have dared to even imagine that this would back again that soon!!

Ahahaha..

I have another “magical” moments, hihihi :p

Seemed last Saturday wasn’t a good day for me for it sucked out all my energies and leaving me exhausted, hihihi..

Oohh I know.. that might be because of the lack of sleep, ahahaha..

I hadn’t slept at all on Fridayy.. I slept at 8 pm on Saturdayy, no wonder I had such lousy mood, hihihi :p

But after having those beauty sleep for more than 10 hours, I woke up today felt fresh, olee..

And today turned out to be quite nice for me.

I ate my favourite meal in my favourite restaurant, my bro’s treat for his birthdayy :q

And after that when I went home, I had those “magical” moments again, oohh yeaahh..

Well.. thanks to both of you who made me experience those magical moments again cause I wouldn’t have them without youu, hihihi

Even though only for a short while but I lovee those feelings and I miss it already now, ahahahaa :p

-Indah-

Hari Jumat tanggal 2 Oktober 2009 kemaren bisa dibilang salah satu hari paling menyenangkan di tahun 2009 ini, huehehehe..

Udah lamaa rasanya gua ngga ngerasain hari seperti itu yang mana seharian itu waktu berlalu dengan lancarnya tanpa menemui hambatan yang berarti and my mood terjaga dengan baik sepanjang hari, hihihihi..

Banyak kejadian yang menyenangkan di hari Jumat kemaren.

Salah satunya tentu aja koneksi internet yang lumayan lancar.

Lumayan aja udah senang ya, apalagi koneksinya ngaciiirr, ahahahaha :p

Selain ituu.. malamnya gua chatting dengan beberapa orang sekaligus, 3 tepatnya, salah satunya sepupu gua yang udah jadi semacam kebiasaan tiap malam buat chatting ma dia sambil menunggu kantuk tiba yang biasanya baru datang setelah jam 2 pagi, huahahahaha..

Selain ama sepupu gua itu, gua juga chatting ama si Brii.. udah lamaa bangets ngga chatting ama dia, I mean selama ini kita sering online bareng tapii ya ngga pernah bener2 ngobrol panjang lebar seperti kemaren malam.

Lucu yaa.. gua pikir antara gua ama Bri itu emang miriippss dhe aww.. ahahaha.. bukan mirips yang kasat mata dalam artian kita berdua bagaikan pinang dibelah dua ya itu sih ngga mungkin lah yauu berhubung kita dilahirkan dari rahim yang berbeda, hihihi..

Tapii.. apa yang kita bicarakan tadi malam ituu.. samaa bener daahh ama apa yang gua rasakan selama inii.. and “rencana” ke depannya itu bisa samaa benerr ‘boo!

Walau ngga diomongin seeh, hehehe :p

Chat satunya lagi ama si Onit, oohh myyy.. kita udah lamaa bangets ngga chatting bareng yaa, Nit, and ternyataa, Saudara/i, alasan utama kenapa kita terputus kontak chattingnya adalah karenaa..

Gua lupa ngasih tau dia Yahoo id gua yang belakangan lebih sering dipake buat chatting, hihihii.. duduls amat ngga seehh?!

Selama ini gua pikir dia lagi sibuk ama thesisnya makanya kita ngga pernah online bareng, sementara dia mikirnya gua sibuk ngegame di FB (which is true sih, hihihi, tapii gua khan udah biasa multitasking jadi kalo cuman main doanks maahh berasa garing juga kalo kelamaan, hihihi ;p) jadi kaga sempet buka2 YM padahal selama inii.. ternyata kita saling buka YM tapi berhubung belon masukin id masing2 di YM-nya jadilah masing2 ngga mengetahui status online satu sama lainnya, wakakakakak :p

And semalam jadi sesi curhaaaattt panjaaaaaaaaaaaaanggggg, hihihihi..

Mostly talking about our “problems” which in a way quite similar walau tentu aja detailnya maahh beda laahh :p

Nice chatting with yaa again, girlsss!! *hugs*

And semalam juga I had a wonderful chat with my cousin, ‘boo.. aslii dhe aww.. elo kok semalam itu udah kaya cenayang seehh!! Gua khan ngga pernah nyebut nama tapii kenapa elo bisa nebak dengan bener orangnya yang manaa?! WOW!! Just WOOOOWW!! Ahahaha..

You should teach me sometimes how you could do that, otree?!

And kemaren, yaa hari Jumat kemaren juga ada kejutan menyenangkan di siang hari pas gua lagi main ama Angelicious, kejutannya berupaa.. mmm..

I guess I’d rather keep this one for myself, wakakakakak..

Cuman yaa.. ngga nyangka aja seehh..

And gua ngga nyangka juga ama reaksi gua yang kegirangan, wakakakakak..

Well, I guess it was all part of the Friday’s charms.

Friday’s charms yang membawa so many “magical” moments within a dayy..

Yang membuat senyum merekah di wajah sepanjang harii, hihihi..

Yang sayangnyaa.. mulai kehilangan pesonanya ketika waktu telah beranjak berganti harii..

I knew it, I knew itt..

Somehow I kneww.. gua lebih menyukai sesuatu yang masih berselubungkan misteri karena ketidaktahuan bisa memberikan semacam sensasii rasa yang ngga bisa elo dapatkan dari fakta, ahahahaha :p

Mungkin itu salah satu penyebab kenapa gua malas browsing kalo lagi pengen tau sesuatu karena sometimes too much informations and facts can really spoil the fun, maann!

And todayy.. I shouldn’t have let myself to go that far karena terbukti it ruined the magical moments yang masih tersisa diawang2, thanks to Friday’s charms, but today all those leftover magics are gone *poff* lenyap tanpa jejak di udara.

And I was left feeling like : this was it?! :p

Oohh well.. maybe after I can get over these feelings, I might have experienced some other magical moments, rasanya mungkin ngga sama seperti kemaren but bukan berarti ngga bisa sama menakjubkannya bukan?

Well anywayy.. Fridayy.. thanks for all those magical charms the whole day long ^o^

And I can’t wait to have those magical moments again, hihihihi..

Until then..

Ciaoo..

-Indah-

Poppy from Happy-Go-Lucky by educatedpony featuring Rick Owens

this is my very first polyvore collage, please don’t make fun of me. i only recently discovered www.polyvore.com which is pretty much exactly like playing grown-up paper dolls, only with high fashion. so i obviously became obsessed with it.

polyvore is a little intimidating, there are so many options (you can seriously find almost anything on there) and a lot of beautiful collages posted by long time users that look like they could be clipped right out of vogue. plus, as i am not as tech savvy as many of these up-and-coming fahsionistas, so it took me a few mos to figure out how it all worked. but i think it’s great! really, really fun. and i will totally be using it in the future, hopefully with increasing dexterity.

i chose for my first polyvore collages, sally hawkins from happy-go-lucky, which is one of my favorite movies in the past few years. i loved it because the movie made me actually feel happy and hopeful. funny because it was kind of pitched as “oh there’s this obnoxious woman who is always in high spirits and she drives everyone around her crazy” and when i watched it, i really saw poppy (the character played by sally hawkins) as a kind of lighthouse for some of the sad people around her. i saw her as the type of person who didn’t compromise her own joy and who didn’t feel ashamed of living life on her own terms. and i found that incredibly uplifting. i can’t reccomend this movie enough.

and i loved how poppy dressed! she was such a free spirit! shawls and big clunky boots and crazy patterned tights and vibrant colors. i wanted to do a blog post on poppy’s fashion a while ago but could never find the right pictures. but polyvore provided me with a platform to convey what i liked about her style.

Poppy from Happy-Go-Lucky in Blue by educatedpony featuring Rick Owens Lilies tops

of course it’s her style through my eyes so it’s a little more fitted and a little more conservative (…grey somehow found it’s way in there…can’t imagine how!). like if i went out shopping to look like poppy what i might buy. if you click on the links below each image set, you’ll be taken to my polyvore page where everything in the collage is listed in a neat little side bar with designer and price.

here is a link to a girl whose movie collages for polyvore make mine look verrryyyy amateur, but that is okay, you will be really inspired to make some on your own after checking her out and that is really the point of this whole darn blog so here you go:

http://www.polyvore.com/movies/collection?id=243845

This is something that should probably be saved for my two year blogiversary coming up in November, but I’m inspired right now. I re-read my very first post. A couple quotes that struck me:

“I decided a couple weeks ago to apply to MFA programs in writing… so I figured I really ought to start blogging. Aside from the fact that I’m a totally geeky blogger-fangirl, it’s probably not a bad idea to just write and get some feedback. Here’s the kicker: I’m super shy online and hate the vulnerability of keeping a blog. In fact, I hate knowing people are reading what I write… I don’t know how I write so many papers for class. So consider this the first step to overcoming that fear.”
Did I apply to MFA programs? No.
Am I still shy online? No.
Do I hate knowing people are reading what I write? ABSOLUTELY.
Have I overcome my fear? Probably.

“So, recently, I decided that being a children’s book author would be the coolest. A far cry from law school, yes, but that is probably a really good thing. Honestly, I’d like to write kids’ books, own a coffee shop, and do some activism on the side. One step at a time… I just freaking love coffee shops, though.”
Am I a children’s book author? No.
But am I a writer? Yes.
Do I own a coffee shop? No.
But do I spend all my time managing a super fantastic coffee shop? ABSOLUTELY.

I tried my hand at a few different things… thinking I wanted the recognition of an advanced degree, or that I wanted the recognition of a prestigious job. But then I scrapped it all and did the one thing I knew makes me happy — coffee and writing.

I’m not just writing for my own little blog any more. I’ll be embarking on a social media journey with the lovely Jamie soon and some fabulous Chicago ladies. In addition, my coffee shop has a Twitter and will soon have its own blog. I’ll be sure to let you all know!

And, well, coffee has become my passion. Even when things break down and Mr. Grumpy Customer gets angry with me. Sometimes coffee requires big girl pants. But I got those. And I’ll rock my big girl pants (and apron) for the love of coffee (and the discount).

May you always be true to yourself and your passions. And may you eventually recognize what those passions are. And may you have the GUTS to pursue them.
Happy weekend!

(Be sure to check out the upcoming Gar-blog sale I’m going to head up. Details on 20SB.)

A year ago today, I found out that I was, in fact, happy.

Not that I suddenly became happy. It’s just that, at that moment, I realized that I had reverted back to my happy self. After about twelve years of forgetting how to be happy.

Here’s the backstory before the story itself…

In the summer of 1987 began the first period of intense happiness. At age 15, I became happy. Not joyous, pleased, chirpy… Profoundly happy. Happiness as a process in which I was able to cope with almost anything. Every second of my life, I felt good. Even when I was sad or hurt. There was an underlying feeling of well-being. Serenity. Then.

It started very simply, but the start of that process was the end of another one. For a few years prior to that moment, I was having something that others might have considered a somewhat typical “adolescence crisis” but which was, in my mind, a full-fledged existential crisis. I was literally digging into existential issues through tools like philosophy classics and existentialist literature. As I was reading, say, de Beauvoir, Heidegger, Vian, Maupassant, Camus, Descartes, Sartre, Nietzsche, and Freud, my own approach to Life, the Universe, and Everything began to emerge. It may seem that my reading was necessarily naïve and superficial, since I was a teen at the time. But, to this day, I feel awed at how profound the process was. Nowadays, I can’t read as deeply as I did then. I understand most of what I read, of course, and it’s much easier for me to read stuff which is deemed difficult. But my “comprehension” isn’t nearly as thorough as it was then.

I didn’t necessarily feel unhappy, at the time. But I was going through a specific kind of crisis. I felt troubled by the fact that I was unable to make sense of the many things about which I cared, including such “trivial” things as the meaning of life.

Then, things changed rather radically. It all made sense. In the sense that life not making sense suddenly made a lot of sense.

This, to me, was a lesson from one of the least-acknowledged existentialists: Boris Vian. Vian, who died almost fifty years ago, isn’t usually considered a philosopher. But I read him as one. I gained as much insight through Vian’s work as others might through Foucault’s œuvre. To me, there was (and still is) deep wisdom in quotes like this one, my favourite:

«Doué d’une naïveté maladive, il vivait plus que les autres.»

“Compulsively naive, he was living more than others were.”

Not sure I read this quote before or after that 1987 moment, but Vian was clearly at the back of my mind as I first found out my happiness, on that fateful day.

Here’s how it happened.

I had been spending some time in Switzerland with my father, his companion, and her daughter. The first part of that trip was mostly devoted to social activities which were somewhat dismissed as «mondanités» (“fashionable gatherings,” “niceties”…). To me, these were a period of fascinating discovery, especially in terms of food and drinks. As a proto-hedonist, I was “tasting” life in a new way. We were also having an intense social life, which suited my sense of social well-being. As a child, I was often ostracized, despite my sociocentrism. This period, during the summer of 1987, was an occasion for me to feel accepted.

The second phase of our Swiss stay was devoted to hard work. My father and I were collaborating on setting up some things for my grandmother. My father’s mother is one of my rolemodels and the notion that I was contributing to her well-being certainly played a part.

So is the fact that I discovered coffee at that time. This one may seem, again, trivial. But it clearly had an impact on my life. I can live without coffee (I’ve done so, for extended periods of time), but being a coffee lover is an important part of my life. That summer, coffee was a way to get a “boost” so that we could work efficiently after waking up at dawn, my father and I. But it also became a part of me: my hedonism, my social life, my intellectual stimulation, my personality.

Something I haven’t thought about much until today but which was probably significant as the onset of my first happy phase is the fact that I was able to spend some quality time with my father. In the US, the stereotypical equivalent would be the father-son baseball session. In a Swiss context, it’s fitting that it had to do with work.

So, the time I spent in Switzerland had prepared me for something. I didn’t fully realize it at the time, but it was there.

Switzerland helped me be happy. And I have the t-shirt to prove it.

What’s funny is that, at the time, I was suffering from a series of ailments which were later diagnosed as hepatitis A. A few years prior to this, I got mononucleosis. My memories from that time have more to do with the comfort of sleeping all the time than with any malaise. My hepatitis was fairly similar.

And, as I got back from Switzerland, I got what I tend to call an “airplane cold,” a common cold which comes from the closed environment associated with air travel. Though I know it makes no sense in terms of epidemiology, I tend to think of “airplane cold” as if it were a specific type of virus.

But I digress…

I got back to Laval, Qc, with this benign cold. And I felt, generally, really tired. Possibly because of the hepatitis, jetlag, and the hard work I had been doing over the latter part of my Swiss summer.

So I slept for something like 28 hours over the course of two days. Seriously. I don’t remember the specifics but I remember waking up after something like 16 hours to do a few things before going back to sleep for another twelve hours or so.

When I finally got up, I felt very rested, obviously. But I still had that cold.

While I was in Switzerland, my mother was in Greece. From there, she had brought back a blue and white striped cotton sweater that I tend to associate with mariners. It’s quite possible that those sweaters aren’t typically worn by mariners, in Greece. But it was my «pull de marin grec».

This was during the dog days of summer and I had a cold. Based on an idea that sweating is a way to get rid of some symptoms of the cold, I decided to wear my sweater as I went out of the house to run a few errands in downtown Montreal. Though it was made out of cotton, that sweater looked much warmer than it actually was.

So, there I was, in downtown Montreal, wearing a sweater on a very hot day. As I was walking on Crescent toward St. Catherine, I remember thinking that others might find it strange to see someone in this attire. Maybe someone even looked at me in a strange way. That, I don’t remember.

But I do remember my realization: I simply didn’t care about people thinking about me as strange. After all, this notion wasn’t hurtful to them. The only their opinion might affect me is if I let it affect me. And I really didn’t mind it if their opinion of me were based on how strange I looked. My empathy for humankind was even enhanced in this whole notion that I was allowed to be strange. I wouldn’t try very actively to be as strange as possible, but it was then possible for me to take people’s opinion of me with “philosophy.”

Which made me realize that I was happy. I felt “good in my skin” («bien dans ma peau»).

And I remained happy until the summer of 1996.

This 1987-1996 backstory I’ve been telling on several occasions. In a way, this is almost the “canonical” version, even though I don’t care for canons.

But there’s more.

Briefly on the 1996-2008 period….

I didn’t really become unhappy. At least, it didn’t feel as if I were unhappy because I was “too busy being happy all the time.” But I forgot how to be happy. For twelve years. From the period surrounding my 24th birthday to a few months after my 36th.

Which gets us back to September 23rd, 2008, at 10:24. The point at which I broadcast the fact that I got my groove back.

What’s the story for that one? Come to think of it, I’m not sure this is the right time to expand on it much. But it does involve a sense of purpose, despite all signs to the contrary. It also involves coffee. And a set of social relations. Contrary to the “Greek sweater” episode, the triggering event wasn’t that straightforward. It was actually a set of circumstances including a colloquium on intersubjectivity in ethnographic disciplines, contacts at Café Myriade and at Brasserie Benelux, the Podcamp Montreal unconference,  a teaching workshop, and a bunch of amazing people.

The awesome thing is that I found my soulmate almost exactly four months after finding my personal happiness. Which means that, in the same week, I get to celebrate our eight months “anniversary” (I call it “mensuversary,” because it’s in months) and my happiness anniversary.

Who could ask for anything more?

Så. Jag har ännu en gång sett Happy-Go-Lucky och njutit av engelsk, flummig diskbänksrealism igen. Mike Leigh vet verkligen hur man gestaltar ett talspråk på film. Det vet Ken Loach också. Helt fantastiskt i Looking for Eric. Nu ska jag nog kunna skriva en recension på den också, Happy-Go-Lucky alltså.

Jag har verkligen saknat Vapnet. Vapnet, höst och te. Inte riktigt fulländat, men ändock en bit på vägen.

Dirección y guión: Mike Leigh.
País: Reino Unido.
Año: 2008.
Duración: 118 min.
Género: Comedia dramática.
Interpretación: Sally Hawkins (Poppy), Alexis Zegerman (Zoe), Andrea Riseborough (Dawn), Samuel Roukin (Tim), Sinéad Matthews (Alice), Kate O’Flynn (Suzy), Sarah Niles (Tash), Eddie Marsan (Scott), Sylvestra Le Touzel (Heather), Nonso Anozie (Ezra), Jack MacGeachin (Nick).
Producción: Simon Channing Williams.
Música: Gary Yershon.
Fotografía: Dick Pope.
Montaje: Jim Clark.
Diseño de producción: Mark Tildesley.
Vestuario: Jacqueline Durran.

Esta historia narra las andanzas de una mujer de treinta años (Poppy), que ha desarrollado la gran habilidad de la imperturbabilidad. Durante toda la película se la ve riendo, y es que casi nada la saca de su visión del mundo, ni siquiera un niño perturbado.

Esta película fue nominada en varios festivales y ha sido muy bien valorada. Por esta razón no quiero hacer una crítica objetiva.  Pero si quiero expresar mi opinión.

Creo que el personaje de este film, es muy repetitivo, siempre está riendo y ni si quiera le molesta que le roben. Durante el transcurso de la película Poppy no cambia ni evoluciona, y en mi parecer podría ser inhumano. No siento que sea real, es demasiado optimista y a veces raya en la irresponsabilidad. Claramente se puede ver cuando habla con un vagabundo con problemas mentales, es decir ni siquiera su integridad le preocupa.

Puedo decir que esta película me deja desazón, porque si pienso en alguna persona como Poppy no encontraría a ninguna en este mundo. Ahora bien, si existiera creo que nunca se podría acomodar a nuestra sociedad. Es decir lo que caracteriza a los seres humanos es la capacidad de sentir diferentes emociones, y Poppy lastimosamente carece de muchos. Por ahí he oído que hay que llorar para después reír.

Bueno, no recomiendo ver esta película si antes no se han visto otras del mismo director. Creo que todas sus nominaciones se debieron a que esta película pareciese la visión de otro.

La recomiendo para las personas súper optimistas y  con pensamientos utópicos que creen que todo es felicidad en el mundo, pero para personas un poco más razonables puede resultar irritante.

“An Education” (BBC Films)

1. If you’re a cute, confused and conflicted 16-year-old girl looking for a lying, thieving, pedophilic old man, this is the love story for you.

2. See #2 from this review.

3. First, let me say that I’m probably gonna get some shit for this next statement. Originally written as a memoir by Lynn Barber, the screenplay was adapted by English author Nick Hornby. This made me remember something: I just don’t like Nick Hornby. I know people love him, and I’m sorry, Hornby lovers, but I thought High Fidelity was boring.

4. Even though I wasn’t big on the movie overall, the cast had some superb talent. Alfred Molina and Emma Thompson are always great, but Carey Mulligan (who played Jenny in the lead role) and Olivia Williams (who played Jenny’s teacher, Miss Stubbs) are two actresses I will definitely keep an eye out for in the future. Also, a brief cameo by an almost unrecognizable Sally Hawkins (“Happy-Go-Lucky”) was a nice surprise. For me, the problem with “An Eduation” wasn’t its cast, but the story that they were thrown into.

5. A song was used in the middle of the movie that I instantly fell in love with. Not sure of what it was or who it was by, I quickly pulled a marker out of my pocket and scribbled down the chorus on my arm. When I got home, I Googled the lyrics and found out it was a funky little number called “Comin’ Home Baby” by, of all people, Mel Tormé. And so I leave you with The Velvet Fog himself.

Another movie starring the Dread Pirate Sarsgaard,

-Shady

Sally Hawkins as Poppy in "Happy-Go-Lucky"

Unrelenting sunniness can be very irritating. At first glance, it can come off as unnatural, most likely forced, and given closer scrutiny, it can be much worse. For some who insist upon acting in a state of perpetual cheeriness, it can feel smug – an enforced disconnect with the rest of the world, self-serving in the way it fosters one’s own gratification without engaging others beyond a superficial level.

The great beauty of this film is how Poppy is none of these things. Characters like her court disaster, especially when they comprise an entire picture, but Sally Hawkins and filmmaker Mike Leigh have created someone that’s bright and engaging as she is rich and complex.

Eddie Marsan and Sally Hawkins in "Happy-Go-Lucky"

The film has certainly drawn its share of detractors, but I don’t think they’re giving Poppy enough credit. There’s nothing insular about her nature – her blissful disposition is marked by a deep curiousity towards others, one devoid of condescension. It’s especially clear in key private moments, when there’s no one else but her and someone she doesn’t easily relate to. She puts up no walls and rarely treats anyone like a peripheral figure merely passing through her life.

In what’s possibly the oddest, most memorable scene of the whole film, a rambling vagrant is neither the subject of open amusement or something to be avoided. Her curiousity towards him becomes as much about caring as anything else. It’s these people, the “difficult” ones, that she ultimately connects with, or at least tries to with absolute sincerity, and the same quality in her gives full weight to the picture’s climax, when a complete lout’s heartache is actually felt as real tragedy.

Happy-Go-Lucky may seem atypical of Mike Leigh, better-known for dark, brutal masterpieces like Naked and Secrets & Lies, but the harsh lessons in those films make this one possible. Real happiness doesn’t exist in a vacuum, nor does it get forced into being. Its realization is a road marked by pain, not just one’s own but others’ as well. For Poppy to acknowledge that and, in her kindest moments, to reach out to those lost in darkness is a remarkable display of compassion, the kind that’s always in need but rarely asked for.

There aren’t many characters presented in movies that are seemingly eternally optimistic and inspirational to others, while also not being in some way “special”. There’s characters like Benjamin Button, Forrest Gump and Chauncey Gardener, who are all seemingly able to have a positive or non-cynical outlook on life. So, that’s what makes the main character of the movie HAPPY-GO-LUCKY so refreshing. Sallly Hawkins performance as “Poppy”, is a funny, eternally cheery and still completely realistic depiction of a person that’s not special, really, in any other way.

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY starts with Poppy riding her bicycle through the streets of London, and parking it outside a book store. She goes inside, is ignored by the clerk – while continually trying to get some kind response from him. When she eventually leaves, she walks up to see her bicycle has been stolen. It’s her response here, that gives us an indication of who this person is. She laughs, smiles and says, “I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

The movie follows Poppy through a number of different places. We see her at work – as a primary school teacher, who has to deal with a little boy that’s started hitting other kids. At home, we see her with her flatmate – Zoe, played by Alexis Zegerman – and her sister, Suzy (played by Kate O’Flynn) as they drink, talk naughty to each other and drink. Poppy taking Flamenco dance lessons, with a co-worker and finally Poppy’s experiences with her driving instructor, Scott (played by Eddie Marsan). Scott, who presents himself as a fascist instructor who strives to embed his mantra (used in the title of this post) and talking conspiracy and religious nut-baggery.

The movie, written and directed by Mike Leigh, is not as positive as the title might suggest it to be. There are familial problems, there’s the hints of child abuse, and Scott’s own inflammatory temper and as the movie goes on, his seeming obsession with Poppy. Leigh never gives Poppy an easy out, but she is also never really put through the paces. There’s one scene in particular, where it really just seemed kind of weird that Poppy would stay, and even as the situation gets very odd and looks like it could be going in a bad direction, in the end Poppy comes out unscathed. Which, there’s something to maybe the positivity of Poppy to inspire the good in others – even if they’re a crazy, homeless guy – or maybe just this one time she got lucky, instead of the worse happening.

And it is the other performers, and characters, that help to keep this movie from being over the top and syrupy sweet. We see Poppy’s sister Suzy, in a spat with her boyfriend. We meet Poppy’s other sister – who is married, pregnant and has a new house in the suburbs. There’s a moment where the sister starts scolding Poppy for not having a pension, a mortgage and not having had kids yet. This is seen through by the younger sister, as just the unhappiness of the sister that seemingly “has it all”. Zoe, who has been Poppy’s roommate for a decade, we don’t get to see much of her life apart from Poppy; but we get that she’s not quite as happy with her life and romantic prospects, as Poppy is. Even the Flamenco instructor seems to be focussing her energies into dance, instead of trying to cope with her own problems – which reveal themselves, hilariously.

But, the breakout character – and performance, other than Hawkins’ – is Eddie Marsan’s Scott. There is a repression and loneliness to Scott. He’s someone that seems to like what he’s doing, but at the same time has a high – if not unreasonable – standards for his students. He continually gets very upset by the fact that Poppy wears boots with heels when driving. He emphatically repeats his mantra of, “en-ra-ha, en-ra-ha,” and in a moment that left me (and Poppy) taken-aback; while stopped at an intersection two black men ride past on bicycles and Scott says, “lock your doors”. Poppy looks at him and says, “I can’t believe you said that.” To which Scott tells her that there’s more than one, so lock the doors. Then there’s their final confrontation. Scott, reveals that he’s been trying to impress Poppy and feels that she’s been flaunting her body to him (by wearing the boots) and his misinterpretation in things that she said.

The final moment of the movie, we see that there’s not been any real change to our main character. She didn’t learn that she can’t be funny all the time, or that sometimes optimism is a pain in the ass, or even that her fashion sense is pretty awful. Instead, she’s rowing a boat in the middle of a pond with her roommate, and cracking jokes and just happy with life. And yeah, by the end of the movie, she’s even got a love life…

So, while it’s not a message movie, or even a slap-stick comedy, I have to say I really liked HAPPY-GO-LUCKY and the character that it introduced me to. Poppy is a fun girl that loves life, can see the upside to just about anything and is generally someone that we could all use in our lives, to show us it’s not all serious or as important as we can make things out to be.

Ayer escribí una crítica (a mí manera) para una película que me gustó mucho. Se trata de Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), que en España se tradujo como Happy: Un cuento sobre la felicidad.

Como mi comentario apenas contiene datos técnicos os dejo un enlace con esa información por si lo queréis consultar. Para los que se fijan en el tema premios, estos son los que se ha llevado:

• En 2008: Festival de Berlín: Mejor actriz (Sally Hawkins)
• En 2009, Globos de Oro: Mejor actriz – comedia/musical (Sally Hawkins).

Solo diré que se trata de una película británica de las buenas (y muchas lo son), realizada en clave de humor (hasta cierto punto) por Mike Leigh, el brillante director (en la foto de abajo) de las memorables Secretos y mentiras (1996) y El secreto de Vera Drake (2004) entre otras.

Sally Hawkins ejerce a las mil maravillas de optimista incombustible y Eddie Marsan de  desquiciado y amargado.
Al principio os resultará chocante (casi absurda), dadle una oportunidad y, si sois del 50 por 100 que ve el vaso medio lleno, no os arrepentiréis.

Y si sois del otro 50 por 100, mejor no la veáis ni sigáis leyendo…

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Empatía es la clave

Happy no es para todo el mundo. Esta claro que los amargados recalcitrantes deberían abstenerse, a no ser que quieran verse tan retratados que terminen con una úlcera de estómago.

Que la película no está del todo estructurada y tiene altibajos, ya lo han dicho muchos y con razón.
Que la Hawkins y el profe de la autoescuela están genial… qué duda cabe…

Aparte de esto…
Veo unas mujeres nuevas que saben asumir nuevos roles con naturalidad y alegría.
Veo gente que sufre porque su infancia no es o no fue feliz.
Veo gente que sufre porque hizo como que creía en un modelo de vida, para al final darse cuenta de que todo fue una mentira… una mentira de las que más duelen.. de esas que nos decimos a nosotros mismos…

Por cierto, también veo a un vagabundo al que los espectadores no parecen comprender. Se trata de un personaje que ya conocemos… solo que tiene otra edad y se encuentra en una ‘etapa’ distinta de su miseria.
El niño pelirrojo, a la vez maltratado y maltratador, el profesor de autoescuela, cobarde y resentido, y el viejo loco son, efectivamente, el mismo personaje.

La protagonista y su compañera de piso demuestran que la alegría no está reñida con la responsabilidad, ni la responsabilidad con la diversión, ni la diversión con la solidaridad o la empatía…

Por cierto, empatía es la palabra clave.
Sí… Esa capacidad para ponerse en la piel de los demás…. La protagonista tiene mucha, especialmente con los sufridores y amargados…

Y es la misma empatía que necesitarían muchos de los que odian a Poppy (dentro y fuera de la pantalla).

El otro día miraba a una chica que conversaba con una pareja. De pronto soltó una sonrisa grande, amplia. Era una carcajada. En esos instantes, sin duda, ella fue feliz.

Una sonrisa puede tener muchos significados. Muchos sonríen de contentos. Otros de nervios. Algunos de cólera. Pero casi siempre una sonrisa tiene consigo una dosis de felicidad, aunque sea pequeña.

La sonrisa puede curarlo todo. O casi todo. Este no es un manifiesto de positivismo al extremo. Para nada. Es solo una reflexión que nace a partir de una película.  

El film británico “Happy go lucky” (La felicidad trae suerte, del director Mike Leigh) se paseó por las salas de Lima hace poco. El personaje principal de este largometraje, “Poppy”, magistralmente interpretado por Sally Hawkins, se ríe de todo: de sí misma, de los problemas cotidianos y pretende solucionar con una sonrisa los inconvenientes que se le cruzan en el camino.

Esto, desde luego, es imposible. Los problemas del mundo no pueden arreglarse con una sonrisa, ni siquiera con la de Julia Roberts (una de las más bellas del planeta). Es más, la felicidad que invade a Poppy, parece, por momentos, ser el elemento que compensa sus carencias.

Algunos de los personajes que se topan con Poppy (su hermana casada, un vendedor de libros y desde luego el profesor de manejo –vea la foto que acompaña esta nota-) parecen ser víctimas de la felicidad de la protagonista y esta situación le da vida a una figura que pretende ser crítica con la realidad de una sociedad malhumorada.

Sea como fuere, ver sonreír a Poppy resulta gratificante. Quizá no para todos, pero estoy casi seguro que para la mayoría sí (el cálculo que fundamenta mi irresponsable afirmación es producto de lo que percibí en los espectadores el día en que vi la película).

No sé si la felicidad trae suerte. Pero pienso que sonreír sí rinde sus frutos: trae felicidad. Pruébelo.