Subjective Review of Breaking Dawn pt 2

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Breaking Dawn, Entertainment, films, Reviews

The picture of Pearl has nothing to do with the film I saw last week and am writing about now.

I enjoyed the movie and I’m very choosy.  Actually I don’t see many films and while I’m likely missing some that I’d like, I don’t see many that I don’t like.

The locations are beautiful as is true of the first three films. The fact that I hadn’t read the book made the ending a delightful surprise that I didn’t see coming and that was enjoyable. I tried to read the books and simply couldn’t bear them although I’m happy for the success of other people. By now I barely recall the first three films although I noticed that it’s no longer amusing to despise the acting of some of the cast now that some of their real life human pain has skirted near the edges of my awareness.

Viewing BD pt 1 was not enjoyable for me. The cinematography while Bella was giving birth gave me vertigo and whatever technology and makeup they used to make her appear so thin was all too realistic as almost anyone who’s watched a loved one die of a terminal illness would know.

This is what I liked: That Charlie Swann now has love and companionship. The beginning of the credits when they showed the names of the actors along with their images including those from the previous films. That Bella the Vampire is way more likable than she was as that annoying wishy-washy human.  And the way they show that Renesme communicates differently. O.K., she isn’t human but there are many different ways humans communicate even though some ways are validated and valued more.

It was an extremely busy week and the bit of time I spent in the theater got me far away from everything which is something I expect from a film even though I might barely recall it a month later.

My Favorite Machinima

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art, creativity, Entertainment, films, machinima, Story Telling, values

There’s Work That Needs Doing

Most of the followers of my blog aren’t in Second Life. A few of them who actually read the posts, seemingly like the pictures and this post is for you. Any Second Life resident who happens to read this knows about machinima, and this points the way to my favorite one in the recent The Machinima Expo 2012. To be honest I’ve only looked at the short ones and that will work for this blog post. How has it come to ten minutes being to long to watch something? The one I’ve selected is less than four minutes long.

Machinima is cinematic production using real-time 3d computer graphics. Most of it seems to have to do with computer games, of which I know little about. This one is from Second Life, which really isn’t a game.

It’s called The Last Syllable of Recorded Time by Tutsy Navarathna. I don’t know how long these clips will be available but it’s well worth a look. This film looks and sounds amazing and I agree with the message. I like to watch it full screen.

I wish I could do this. (/me sighs.)

Samsara ~ A Subjective Film Review

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Consciousness, Entertainment, films, life, Reviews, Samsara

Pearl visiting a beautiful home in Second Life which has nothing to do with this real world film.

Last Friday I went to see Samsara, a film by the creators of Baraka which you might  have heard of. Our real, human world looks more amazing and unusual that the virtual world of Second Life sometimes.

I loved this film. It was about an hour and half and seemed longer, in a good way. There’s no narrative with the original music and shows stunning images from all over the globe. It was shot with 65mm film according to the actual movie; the website says 70mm. Shot in twenty five countries over a period of five years, it screened at Sundance last year and is in select theaters now. I saw it in a small art house theater; it must be even more awesome on a bigger screen.

There were unusual things I found beautiful, things I was surprised that I wasn’t disturbed by and I had to examine my feelings about quite a lot of it. It isn’t judgmental and while everything looks artistic it isn’t all pretty.

The natural world shown is beautiful, of course. Some of the areas of civilization that have been affected by natural disasters some time ago and have not been reclaimed are eerily beautiful, interiors frozen in time. I was particularly moved by an old house that was partially filled with silt and sand.

There are people in the film, often staring right at the camera for a long time, mostly unblinking and unsmiling. I don’t know how the creators were allowed to film some of what is shown.  There are amazing shots of ancient, sacred places with modern buildings having satellite dishes nearby. There are shots of crowded, poverty stricken areas with luxury high rise condos next to them, pools on each  balcony.

Many of the beginning scenes have a timeless feel and then there are more images of modern humanity rushing about in a very patterned and creative way, all set to music that is kind of hypnotic. I noticed that I wasn’t feeling too awful about that but the people were beginning to seem….less human. The life-like Asian robots were a little creepy and I began to be on guard somewhat. Then came the scenes in modern factories, food production in poultry, dairy and other meat plants, all looking choreographed and set to music.

There ares scenes of workers in what looks to be a sulfur mine, ladyboys in Thailand and poor, young children sorting through mountains and mountains of disgusting trash, all non-narrated and with the wonderful, original music. Responsibility and awareness regarding interpretation seem to be required of the viewer, which I like.

One of the most amazing scenes to me was a huge group of prison inmates doing a dance routine in the yard. Another was of African villagers that looked as though they’re from another time with traditional huts, all the paint and body modifications yet some are posed with guns–men, women and children.

The military scenes are sobering as are young men on guard duty with clenched fists.

The cinematography is amazing and I was reminded of the wide diversity of expression in this world. Humans seemed to be more fragile and temporary in these settings yet I wasn’t really disturbed or feeling burdened by the time the film was over. A woman near me said that we’re doomed but I didn’t see it that way at all. Likely everyone will have a different perceptions and I can see that this isn’t for everyone. I’m pleased that I got to see this.

A neighbor and I were talking this weekend about the film Cloud Atlas. He made a remark about how intelligent and deep I must be (he didn’t seem to be sarcastic) because I get something other than confusion from these kinds of films. There are many kinds of intelligence and tastes in the world and since I’m trying to not be overly critical of myself I didn’t tell him about how hard it was for me to figure out how to clean the different filters on my new vacuum cleaner.