GHOST TOWN: FELT LIKE A HOT FUNNY SOUP

Loved Ghost Town. I was about ready to retire to bed when I felt like watching something "romantic-comedish". I wanted to watch High Fidelity but got tired looking for an online copy, so I picked up one of my neglected DVDs, Ghost Town.

I wanted something refreshing, love-related and funny. This movie nailed all of them in a way that I didn't expect it to. The main character will put Scrooge to shame. I love how you'll hate and love Ricky Gervais' character all through out the film. I'm not a big fan of dry humor but this one got me laughing out loud about some very nerdy, well-played out dental joke. Not my kind of humor, but it was sooo hilarious I had to replay it thrice in the middle of the film to maximize whatever there was to maximize. It spiraled from then on. I definitely enjoyed the prick that Gervais was in this film. It was pretty reminiscent of David Schwimmer's Big Nothing. It's pretty hard to find RomsComs that aren't that generic anymore. This one's unexpectedly enjoyable and endearing. I love how films have an essence of Little Miss Sunshine to them, wherein the moral is creatively weaved into the fiction, you hardly notice the smile creep down your face.

I'm a real Gervais fan now. I'm imagining the dinner-with-Richard scene again. That was really good!

PUT YOUR ARMS AROUND ME

One of my life's simple pleasures is finding a special song from a good movie. It goes something like this:

"i was slicing up an avocado, when you came up behind me
with your quiet brand new sneakers, your reflection i did not see
it was the hottest day in august, and we were heading for the sea
for a second my mind started drifting, you put your arms around me."

jens lekman's your arms around me, carla bruni's quelqu'un m'a dit, julie delpy's waltz for a night, and chantal kreviazuk's feels like home to name a few.

it struck me how making love underwater is a struggle and a teeny bit stupid. but the way drew barrymore filmed it on Whip It is a suspension of disbelief at its finest. there is always something magical about ellen page. she reminds me of natalie portman by virtue of talent and wit and size. Whip It was the answer to my love of little-miss-sunshine-ish kind of movies.

NY I LOVE YOU

After much anticipation, I finally watched New York, I Love You. I liked the film. But no doubt I liked Paris, Je T'aime way more than New York, I Love You. The former was just more emotional, more free-flowing. NYILY was a bit too calculated for my taste. It had some wonderful moments but it left me wanting to watch Paris, Je'Taime again. I suddenly remembered the mimes, the vampires, the gay sequence, the dying wife, the father-daughter and the old divorced couple. Paris, Je T'aime felt like a fresh basket of fruits and veggies. New York, I Love You, on the other hand, I hate to say, was just okay.

Probably the most striking story in the bunch was Shia LaBeouf and Julie Christie's segment. It was directed by Shekhar Kapur and written by Anthony Minghella. Probably the only one that stood out (which maybe good since it's remarkable and bad in the sense that it doesn't fit smoothly into the total selection) as it portrays a woman's innuendos of suicide, death or a memory of both, which then left me with questions as who or what exactly just happened. Shia's performance was quite impressive. I love the whole mise-en-scene where the white curtains are billowing coldly into Julie Christie's room, while she herself is dressed in this pristine, white gown, holding a bouquet of violets. An operatic voice could be heard in the background, which seals such a melancholic air into this seemingly quiet hotel. I just loved it.

Apart from that, I enjoyed Yvan Attal's segment starring Ethan Hawke and Maggie Q, Brett Ratner's "prom story" starring Olivia Thirlby, and also Joshua Marston's "old couple" segment starring Eli Wallach and Cloris Leachman. The first one caught my attention because of the dialogue; the second one's twist was good enough because it made me google what method acting really is; and lastly, old couple story just makes up pretty nicely for the "slice-of-life" kind of short. I wasn't really a fan of the videographer who was supposed to meld all the sequences together. It just pushed the contrived factor too much.

I would be interested to see a Tokyo, Rome (any Italian city actually), Shanghai, Moscow I Love You (or I Hate You) series next!

PARIS, ILOVEYOU (A LOT)

Sitting there, alone in a foreign country, far from my job and everyone I know, a feeling came over me. It was like remembering something I'd never known before or had always been waiting for, but I didn't know what. Maybe it was something I'd forgotten or something I've been missing all my life. All I can say is that I felt, at the same time, joy and sadness. But not too much sadness, because I felt alive. Yes, alive. That was the moment I fell in love with Paris. And I felt Paris fall in love with me.

I have found love in Paris, I Love You. No other word can describe this film but love love and more love.

18 short films (really short ones) that feature the different facets of love set in no less than (almost) everybody's dream city (of love). If you haven't watched it, please do yourself a favor. If you like artsy fartsy (with stress on the fart---sy), slice of life, moments, particular moments, color, poignant sequences, imaginings, nostalgic music, and love... this is it. Did I mention love? Okay, just checking.

FRIDAY THOUGHTS ON A SATURDAY MORNING

I always have a penchant for telling stories about "last night" or "this morning". So, last night I went out to watch a couple of movies. I was able to see The Proposal and Public Enemies (in that order). So instead of having a laugh at the end of the night, I was haunted by the memory of John Dillinger.

So what do I have to say about these films? The Proposal is obviously not ground-breaking but definitely recommendable. Sandra Bullock's film was like an upgraded episode of Friends' Ross and Rachel that I was more than happy to relive. Again, Sandra is in her element and after watching her do several screwball flicks in the past, I still can't get enough of her. It's the type of film where you know you'll probably forget but still you end up laughing and enjoying it.

Public Enemies, on the other hand, had me at Johnny Depp's romanticized portrayal of the great 1930's bank robber John Dillinger and Michael Mann's incredible (and noticeable) film techniques. I don't even know where to begin. It's this mixed feelings I have when I see a film I like that is similar to what people say you feel in meeting "the one": you just know it. It is reminiscent to my being pleasantly surprised by great Hollywood flicks like The Dark Knight and Transformers. What I mean is that I don't usually go for these types of films but I end up appreciating them because they are just superbly done. Johnny Depp sometimes felt like just-Johnny Depp while portraying the equally charismatic character of Dillinger. But I am buying it. It's a 1920s James Bond meets Robinhood meets the the charming fugitive kind of c***. I read Dillinger's biography online and though there were some alterations in the film it was pretty much what Dillinger was all about. Technically, I loved how Mann used this sort of crisp like film where you can almost see all of the actors' pores on the big screen. That's how clear it was. The shoot outs were void of music which made it realistically brutal. And did I mention I love those big black trench coats, vintage shades and fedoras on set? I don't care if the real Dillinger wore them or not, they were a feast to my senses along with the jazzy 1920s music played during Dillinger's softer moments.

Two things I realized from all these: 1. I really like biographies and autobiographies that sometimes I end up neglecting the artist or author's work because I'm more pre-occupied by the real person's life behind all the greatness (or the failings). 2. this applies to films too.