Superbad..

Watched Superbad yesterday.. (warning: some spoilers) What's there to say, yet another teen comedy about teen boys and their dreams about girls? True, but it has it's moments as well. We follow the story of two guys, seniors, best friends, who are getting separated due to different collages. All they want to do (at least one of them does) is have a great party and get laid before the high school is over. Of course, the moral person inside them wakes up and they change their plans a bit. There's also a third character (my favorite btw) who, in a way, is the one that can make things happen or ruin their party plans all together.
It's a teen comedy, lots of cursing, alchocol, dreaming of girls, police element, fantasy theory where a chubby guy ends up with the cutest girl in school.. yeah, right.. Overall, not bad to watch, I'd give it 7/10.

Iceland

I had a strange and strong fascination with Iceland for the past few weeks. Not sure why or how, but I just got very interested in the country and all that. A lot from photographic point of view as well, those black beaches and green fields, glaziers and lakes, contrast, nature,.. must be great for photography..
Been reading all about it, checking tourist information, getting the activities and things to see down on paper. I've ordered (and now received) a bunch of brochures from Reykjavik and Icelandic tourist board. Have to say, they do have things organized and well presented, online and in paper form. Almost have my whole future trip set up :)
Don't know, I guess I should really go over there in the near future.
Photo: ©HKVAM @ Flickr

Azuloscurocasinegro..

Azuloscurocasinegro or DarkBlueAlmostBlack is another movie some of you might like to watch. Directed by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo, it show a life of Jorge, who's stuck in a job he doesn't like, having to take care for his father after his stroke, having issues with his (girl)friend/neighbor, dealing with his brother while he's in and out of prison and having to impregnate his brothers girlfriend.
It's a easy movie, there's no one really big climax or center point, but it's in no way boring either. It has a steady pace, great transitions, equality on all sets and segments. It pulls you in, often makes you try to identify with the main character and at least one of the problems he faces. Acting is really good, script is well written, makes it really hard to find a bathroom break.
It's a life story, from ups and downs as we all know them. I'd give it 8/10.

Photo, pp, PS,..

I've been browsing through many dozen of my Flick contacts today, checking their new stuff, getting some thoughts down.. it's just amazing how talented some people are. It's scary really when you thing about it. How can someone make a really amazing art photo from a simple coffee mug, tennis shue, paper clip, leaf or something like that. We all know that creating a truly amazing image for commercial use is no longer limited to just the photographic talent. More and more post process and Photoshop skills come up front. But that always make me wonder, is this a photo? Can we even call it a photo with all this post process done on it? Some don't even stop there, it's a full blown montage, combining 2-10 images into one image. I personally don't have a problem with that, but I think "photo" is the wrong term for this.. creation, don't you? Hmm.. what's next I wonder.
Just glad to see, there still are truly talented photographs out there, which don't need all this computer skills to leave their mark.
I'll post some images later, way too many to choose from.

Scary movie(s)

I've read somewhere a few days ago, that the scariest movie of all time is The Exorcist by William Friedkin (btw: Amazon has a whole new set of 5 (!!) Exorcist movies for around $19 atm). Now, don't get me wrong, I own a copy of that DVD and I do "like" the movie, but the scariest movie of all time? Hmm.. When I think about the fact that the movie was filmed in 1973, I can imagine it caused a stir back then. Not to mention it became the benchmark for a lot of horror movies over time.
True, some scenes in there are disturbing even today, but overall, I wouldn't really call it THE scariest movie of all time. It's in top 5, no doubt. I guess our generation if a bit more used to disturbing imagery, massacres and suffering all over the world. There are also a lot of new and good movies in this category, that were made in the past 10-15 years as well. I know for a fact, that during a particular Grudge scene, my heart stopped for a minute or two. There's also The Ring which has it's elements as well (original and american versions). The Shining comes to mind as well, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, The Thing, Nightmare on Elm Street,.. and many more. But anyhow, in a way it's interesting how movies like that appeal to us, how we like to be scared. Matter of opinion really, I know I like it.. sometimes..

Paris Je T'aime

Ok, here's another quirky movie for you: Paris Je T'aime. You take 21 directors, give each 5 minutes, set it in Paris and base it around "love". The result is an interesting representation about love and Paris from different points of view. I remember reading about this movie a year ago or something, when I was still a big Natalie Portman fan. It features great directors like Tom Tykwer (True, Run Lola, Rum,..), Isabel Coixet (My life without me, The secret life of words,..) and Wes Craven (The nightmare on elm street, Scream,..), among many. The actors list is impressive as well: Steve Buscemi, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Juliette Binoche, Willem Defoe, Nick Nolte, Ludivine Sagnier, Bob Hoskins, Elijah Wood, Emily Mortimer, Natalie Portman, Gerard Depardieu,.. to name a few. There are a few sections that are a bit strange or odd, but it's just 5 min, you can get through then, believe me. I'd give it 8/10.

The secret life of words

I've been read some interesting stuff about this movie and thought I should keep an eye on it. Well, I finally saw it. And I liked it. In a way it's a mix of one of my favorite movie Lost in Translation and An Officer and a Gentleman. Starring the lovely Sarah Polley and Tim Robbins, it show the story about getting through life's obstacles, either physical or emotional. It's a "dialog" movie, there are no special effect and stuff like that, just great script and great acting. Directed by Isabel Coixet and produced by Pedro Almodóvar. If you get a chance, check it out. I'd give it 9/10.

Disclamer..

I guess I shoud explain some stuff, give you some background info about me and this blog..

Atm I'm 28. I had internet connection since I was in junior high, way back in 1992 or something. Back then there was only one "network" - Arnes (academic research network) around here. We used those 9600kbps modems, were happy at the download speeds around 1KBps and were amazed about the internet overall. Time passed, connections got faster and faster, in no time I became a beta tester for Siol (Slovenia On Line; biggest ISP) and it's dsl broadband lines. In six months or so, I became a commercial user of adsl. It's now about 7-8 years since I have broadband line.
I had my first webpage when I was about 14 years old. Been posting and chatting with people around the world, when most folks didn't even know what the internet is. Saw the birth of google and youtube. Been reading blogs when most people couldn't even pronounce the word. In a way, I consider myself an active internet user with quite a lot of millage. So this brings me to the point of this post (finally you could say).. my thoughts about blogs.
This is now my fourth blog. I started the first one about 4-5 years ago. I posted in there virtually daily for about a year. Then I stopped. Took a break, then started another blog. And so on and on till this one. Why I stopped, you might ask? Well, there are different reasons really. Before I start a blog, I get really hipped about it, spend few days designing it and so on. Then after it's done, I post for a few months, but soon I get borred of it. I don't like the design, I don't like the structure, I see half of the posts as useless, etc.. so I stop. Another reason is, that I always have mixed feelings about posting my "private" thoughts for the world to read. At a point I just think it's stupid to do it, so I stop. I've also had some strange experience when people knew me from my blog and acted like they know me in real life. That kinda bothered me, so I stopped again.
On the other hand, I often have things to "say", either about a great movie, music, art, or just some random thoughts and feelings, and nowhere to put it. I have my last two blogs archived on my server and I often find myself reading about thing that happened years ago. And it's fun, I must admit. So here I am, again, starting my fourth blog.. will try to keep it going a bit longer this time, don't know about the posting frequency, since it appears: the older I am, the busier I am. But anyhow.. The main purpose of this blog is for my own benefit, so can't always promise you coherent posts, but will try. Anyhow, welcome visitor, whoever you might be..