Winter's Bone (2010)

Winter's Bone (dir. Debra Granik) is one of those films that needs to steep in your thoughts before you truly realize its power. Set in the Ozarks of Missouri, it stars Jennifer Lawrence as Ree Dolly, a beyond-her-years 17-year old looking after her two younger siblings, as her mother is mentally/emotionally incapacitated, and as her father, a meth cooker/dealer is missing, though required to appear in court. Since their father put their house up on bail, the need to find him becomes ever pressing as Ree questions his old cohorts and other people in town in her determination to have her family survive. And here comes the arsenal of genuinely terrifying 'redneck' characters. Amazing performance by John Hawkes who plays Ree's uncle Teardrop - a man who is basically the epitome of the dregs of society, yet underneath the menacing, violent exterior shows a glimmer of a heart of gold, to help his niece. Also Dale Dickey, who plays the matriarch of the local crime lord (?) who threatens Ree when she comes around asking too many questions. It has been a while since I noticeably cringed and feared for a character because of the unpredictable nature of the ones surrounding her...

And Jennifer Lawrence sets a new precedent for a female heroine - unflinchingly determined, compassionate and driven by the need to survive, she sets the mood and tone for this slow-burning, haunting film.

The King's Speech (2010)

The King's Speech was fantastic. I feel like it's quite late to the game to give a real critique, but I loved all the performances given by Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush, and Colin Firth. Colin Firth melted into his role, so much that I wasn't even thinking this was the same guy who played Mr. Darcy, or the cuckolded lovesick fool from Love Actually, etc. (I haven't seen much of his meatier roles :X). The cinematography and excellent usage of wide-angle shots to make the audience feel the crippling discomfort of Albert or 'Bertie's' anxiety when speaking had a completely immersive effect. Most of all, I loved how I really cared about everything that happened, how I could feel sympathy, compassion, frustration and triumph for all the characters involved. Really uplifting and inspiring.

doctor who

I made this for one of my best friends whom I can give sole credit to for getting me into Doctor Who, although since she's left the country I've inevitably stopped watching. Anyway 2 years ago I set off making a little dolly of the Doctor (the tenth reincarnation of him, played by David Tennant) and it was super fun if not indicative that my sewing skills could significantly improve :X. I stumbled across this photo recently (and a ton of other old photos that never appeared on the blog) and felt a tinge of nostalgia. Funny/odd.

Unknown (2011)

Did you enjoy 2008's Taken with Liam Neeson? If so you probably thought Unknown would be of a similar caliber - slightly ludicrous but so full of action and badassery therefore unforgettably great. Liam Neeson is a total badass as usual, but the story had too many plot twists to make it enjoyable. Too much of a 'Hitchcock' flavor and no one can do Hitchcock but Hitchcock. I did immensely enjoy Bruno Ganz's character Jurgen however. I didn't realize until the film was finished that I had seen him in Wings of Desire a few months ago so seeing him again, older but still brilliant was so amazing. It reminded me of Edge of Darkness - it could have been really cool if not for the tiring absurdity, yet with the addition of certain memorable characters it wasn't a complete waste...

I Am (2011)

'I Am' is a documentary (well, more like personal non-fiction film) by Tom Shadyac, director of such screwball comedies as Ace Ventura, Liar Liar, and more recently Bruce/Evan Almighty. After he suffered a personal crisis, Shadyac asked two questions: 'What is wrong with the world? and What can we do to fix it?' Shadyac went on to sell his multi-million dollar homes and most of his belongings, realizing that money was not making him happy. He set up interviews with world leaders, scientists, philosophers and poets to discuss the human race and its tendencies and how basically love is the answer to healing the world. Or something like that. The message gets a bit muddled when interspersed with Shadyac's own story, which isn't AS compelling as the anecdotes presented. The film is cheesy and feel-good at times, but a nice perspective of one man's now-changed views and ideals. On a production note, it is very impressive that the feature was made with only four people, and some of the insight given was incredibly thought-provoking.

Cedar Rapids (2011)

Cedar Rapids is very much a 'love letter to midwestern insurance.' The story centers around Tim Lippe, played by Ed Helms, an insurance salesman from Wisconsin, who has never left his hometown, is 'pre-engaged' (his own words) to his former third grade teacher, and plays everything in his day-to-day life by the book. He is sent to 'metropolitan' Cedar Rapids, Iowa as a representative for his company at the annual Cedar Rapids Insurance Convention where he experiences life and perspective-changing adventures. He meets and befriends several other insurance agents played by Isaiah Whitlock Jr., John C. Reilly and Anne Heche, who all show him how to push his boundaries a little and enjoy life, and as he grows he begins to shed some of his naivete yet still act upon his principles.

Something I enjoyed about the film was that it didn't play to the cliches of Midwestern culture. The characters were very well delineated, and the actors portraying them were all fantastic as well. Director Miguel Arteta (Youth In Revolt, The Good Girl, Chuck & Buck, The Office), said he finds something beautiful in the instance of meeting someone who afterward will always be your friend, and emphasized his fascination with films of people who are extremely damaged and then somehow learn to confront their problems and make themselves better. The film is, as far as I know, honest, poignant and straightforward, but manages to be funny and enjoyable too on top of all that.

pho with mom

Yesterday was definitely pho weather, so after class I went home-home to get a bowl with my mom at Vietnam House in San Gabriel. I always get the #8 with all the fixings! I ate until I was uncomfortably full and proceeded to pass out for the night only to rise early for a 5 am shift!

happy valentine's day

Apologies for the obnoxious overload of Valentine's Day imagery. Funnily enough every single item pictured comes from Trader Joe's! All of this could be had for about $22. Unintentional plug for the store there... I had a really rough weekend and made it awful for someone else and for that I am remorseful but determined to make things right. And once again I have realized I have an amazing support system in my family and at work (school is missing because I've withdrawn my interactions there... bad huh). So anytime I declare I feel alone or alienated I need to give myself a good slap in the face! Even though it is good to look closer, we definitely need to zoom out and look at the bigger picture constantly.

Love to my friends, family, dear ones. I'm dysfunctional without you...!

the solar system

I picked up this book at a sleepy little thrift store on my way out of Mammoth last summer. I think it was a school astronomy textbook! I was always enamored by the creativity and vision that artists had to have when doing the paintings/renderings of planets they didn't have the technological means of seeing. Now with amazingly detailed photos sent by space stations and rovers, as well as with the advanced digital renderings these to me are a lost art. The power of imagination is incredible and so I still find value in these old images.

hurry up spring!

I'm tired of this monotonous hibernating feeling!

all I want to do is...

Sleep, sleep, sleep. And dream. And dream about sleeping.

graphic ramblings

It still needs work but this diagram on the suburban vs. rural edge I was toying around with caught my instructor's eye and was the ticket to redemption from the terrible critique/diatribe I received Monday. I'm planning on making the inset a really detailed line drawing, with no grey circle blob trees and making the inset bigger? And maybe not having it cut into the context drawing. I'm favoring a bolder, cartoony-er look because I hate the clean&slick-but-stiff or ethereal, dreamy fetishizing of data that we see in graphic design these days (I'm horrible with words at this moment), but I don't want to simply reduce everything to street sign icons, I'd like to create my style's own identity please. I mean as best as I can, because nothing is original anymore right?

Still needs a lot of work...

drained

I started this week seriously thinking everything would crash and burn by Friday. I'm relieved to say I was proven wrong, but it has been, to say the very least, emotional.

Random thoughts:
- Having slept 7 hours total in the past 40 or so I'm feeling like I'm going to collapse, but it feels familiar.
- I cooked myself dinner though, my tummy was happy.
- I lost my metal water bottle and am irrationally sad over it.
- Also I'm really irritated by the SMALLness of people, how petty and selfish we can be.
- I have too many army coats.
- I really need to find a job before I graduate.

funny friend

Joe forgot to make his base image a mirror of how he wants his final text to look like. Hilarious! Joe really likes my oak tree print and since my letting him use it to stamp his newest ep means he won't use a pre-made stamp my tree will be the art for it. Once again tricked into helping Joe G. Damn! One of these days I'm gonna come to collect...!

Sanctum (2011)

'Sanctum' is an independent Australian film that was funded by Americans, bought by Universal Pictures and of course, executively produced by (who else?) James Cameron. Based on a real-life underwater cave-diving incident experienced by writer/producer Andrew Wight, it's a fairly typical throwback to the high-stakes adventure drama, where inevitably a crew of cave divers, some highly experienced, others fledglings, get blocked in by the water flooding the caves from a freak storm, and so the only way out of the cave is to dive deeper, 'following the river' until it leads out to the ocean. With lots of melodrama and crappy dialogue the film is rather mundane, but it is a sight to see for the underwater camerawork. I am being a little unfair as I'm tired but determined to finish writing this out, so I'll attempt it again. For the first half of the film I couldn't stand the characters - the 17 year-old main character Josh (played by Rhys Wakefield) first appears having run away from the Esa Ala cave system to escape his cold, overbearing 'cave-manic' father Frank (Richard Roxburgh), to meet up with the financier of the expedition Carl (Ioan Gruffudd) who left the expedition partway to bring his girlfriend Victoria (Alice Parkinson) back from the States. The stereotype of the pompous, arrogant, self-entitled American businessman is deeply overplayed and was actually distracting. But anyway, I felt myself not caring about the any of the characters' predicament once they found themselves trapped in the cave. Only when Frank's nature as a caver (caver?) really began to show did the film begin to redeem itself a bit. Be warned, some of the scenes get claustrophobic (especially in 3D) there's some grisly deaths and some language. At one point I ripped off my 3D glasses, put my fingers in my ears and shut my eyes, but otherwise it wasn't too bad. The director, Alister Grierson came off as a really cool guy, and was self-admittedly a little nervous in front of our large class (cute!) and it was apparent he was very passionate and involved in the entire production. It's funny because, since I liked him, I hated the film a little bit less. Sanctum releases in Australia Feb. 3rd and in the U.S. Feb. 4th.