stalker...

so... finally got a chance to watch "stalker" by tarkovsky last night at anthology... my first tarkovsky experience... and it was just fabulous... yes, it's a very slow and meditative movie... yet each scene, i mean every single scene was so breathtakingly beautiful and thoughtful, it didn't feel slow... well, maybe the last 20 minutes just because you knew that the ending was coming...
first of all, the set designs were just perfect... and how he showed them through long shots, either zooming in or out or just going back and forth... was a real work of art... even from the very first scene where the camera slowly zooms in through the open door... when it showed the bedroom, it was just like a gorgeous yet dark painting... made me think how cinema/movie has become the new real art form of this century and the last... it's not painting, not photography, not literature but all combined... and it has even music and sound...! the way tarkovsky utilized the subtle changes of hues, sounds and expressions showed this guy's true genius... and the script... wow... didn't get everything since all the lines are quite philosophical but some of the ones i got were really though provoking and touching... then after reading a bit more about the movie on IMDB.com, i was even more intrigued about his symbolism... especially with the meaning of zone... which grants your inner most wishes that might bring you even death...
definitely going to see it again in near future and hopefully will get even more out of it... sorry zwyeback that you had a bad experience seeing this film for the second time but i don't think i will... i might not be able to watch it in one sitting though...

me and korean language...

it was fall of year 2003 that i moved to boston to go to school... almost 13 years ago... it's not a short time... the first 7 years i spent in boston, i had more links to korean people and language... had few korean friends and even lived with one of my baby brothers for 4 years... still english became my main language that i used more...
then after moving to new york almost 6 years ago, my usage of korean language declined even more... didn't have any korean speaking friends around and even now still don't... most of the korean people i know and hang out are korean-americans who speak almost zero korean... then after my brother went back to korea from boston 3 years ago, it became rare that i spoke korean at all...
then the problem arose that i started to feel awkward speaking korean... not to my family but to people that i don't have any personal relationships with... for example there are tons of bodegas in new york operated by koreans but when i go to one, i feel awkward speaking it... a friend of mine who is korean-american thinks that i'm embarrassed but i'm not... i feel like that i'm not speaking it in the right way... see, in korean there are many different level of politeness according to the situation, age, social status and so on... and since i still have that stupid good-girl complex, i am frightened to use any words or sentences that are not appropriate... also when i speak in korean, i (almost need to) go into a different mental stage which even changes my physical demeanor... to the one from my teenage period which i grew out of long long time ago... as if speaking korean makes me feel that i'm that awkward shy teenager again... if i was talking to someone for 5 minutes and more, then i'm ok... because it gives me enough time to make the transition and figure out how to speak to that person... then also more vocabulary come back to me that i feel less stupid...
but then also i think it'll be a bit weird that i start speaking korean to all the people in bodegas just assuming that they are fluent in korean...
then also that i feel like i lost a real connection to korean language... as you know language doesn't stay still... it evolves with the culture... and since i've been so away from the culture for such a long time (i haven't been home for 8 years, yep) it's rather obvious that i lost the touch... so whenever i tried to read korean news on line, i have to read at least twice to really feel what it means... it's like my brain understands the words but my heart doesn't really...
yikes... i'm MIA in a massive pool of languages and cultures...

ace in the hole... paradise now... and human interest...

hmm...
saw this movie about 6 years ago for the first time at a friend's house and it left a really big impression on me... directed by billy wilder starring kirk douglas... as a part of billy wilder retrospective at film forum, this one was the one i couldn't miss...
and it was great second time around...
probably i was able to appreciate the movie even better than 6 years ago especially after watching many older movies plus reading a bit more about billy wilder himself...
this is a story about a newspaper man charles tatum who has been fired by many major newspapers around the country for numerous reasons, left only with his cocky attitude and desire to go back to the real town, new york... after working at a newspaper in albuquerque, new mexico for a year, he grabs a chance of his life time when he learns a cave-in accident and encounter the victim, leo minosa... and with his own personal ambition mingled with other people's desires, this incident creates a media frenzy...
while the story develops, billy wilder shows how greedy and selfish people can be... and how we take many of the news as some sort of entertainment... there's line kirk douglas says, something like, "it's better to have one victim than having 18 people because it makes the story more personal"... and you know what, it's still true... how pathetic is that...? when it's a bombing in iraq or israel that kills many people, it's one of yet another bombing... but when it's a "human interest" story that involves one person, we tend to pay more attention... well, i can only speak for myself... i admit it... after the world cup was over, i was more interested in finding out why zidane butted that italian player than reading what the hell was going on in israel... is it because it's easier on our conscience...?
also i watched "paradise now" a couple of weeks ago which i absolutely loved... it was about 2 palestinian young boys who are assigned for suicide bombing mission... and the movie depicted both sides of people who live there dealing with the issue in their daily lives... it was very powerful and beautifully made movie...
then i also had to ask myself why does it make bigger impact on me when it was presented to me as some kind of "entertainment"... the same thing goes for "an inconvenient truth"... i'm glad i saw those movies and got to think about those issues at least a few more times than i would have if i hadn't watched those movies... but also made me feel a bit shamed...
still i think it's really great that there are many movies dealing with such great subjects... and educate people like me... hmm...

breakfast at tiffany's...

watched "breakfast at tiffany's" for the first time since i was 10 or something... don't ask me why but it was one of the silly ideas i had while i was feverish... wouldn't that be nice to watch a romantic comedy to make me feel better... audrey hepburn with that little black dress holding a long cigarette holder with that sweet smile... and george peppard from my childhood favorite "the A-team"...
as the opening credit went by, i was pleasantly surprised to see that patricia neal and martin balsam were in it... impressive... then mickey rooney... hmm... as a japanese guy... then it was based on truman capote's novella... wow, didn't know that...
then the movie began... cute, sweet, pretty to look at with many weird details... like holly (audrey hepburn) having been married to a horse doctor when she was 14... ok... and gets paid 50 bucks to go to a powder room... ok, whatever that means... then paul (george peppard) has a rich older girlfriend (patricia neal) who pays for everything including an apartment full of luxury items such as a gold toned telephone and fancy beaded drapes... ok... and the story is, i guess, cute... about love conquers all... two people in situations they don't want to be in anymore and want things to change... then finally george peppard's love reached audrey hepburn's tender-but-self-observed-heart and made her feel what really being in love is like and give her some sense of hope... think that's what the movie was trying to show...
however i didn't feel any warmth from the movie... somehow it felt distant, a bit shallow and too cute... ok, audrey hepburn's holly is cute, adorable and every little thing she does with her eyes are pretty amazing, especially when she's trying not to cry... but i couldn't connect with her... same for george peppard's character... i think it's because the characters seem to want to change their lives but wasn't necessarily "tormented" by it... george peppard's paul didn't seem to feel all that bad about getting money from patricia neal for his service... ok, he tries to write stories and seems to be offended when patricia neal writes her "last"check for him... but he doesn't pack his stuff from the apartment... well... it wasn't dark enough to be light...
so...
it didn't make me feel better... eh... should have watched "the apartment" again...

maybe not as sick as yesterday but still... how about some ice cream, eh...?

call me crazy... but i had this craving for ice cream while i was sick as a dog for last few days...
so i went out today for the first time since saturday and went to this new ice cream joint in east village... sundaes and cones on east 10th street between 3rd and 4th avenue... don't know why but i was excited about the place when i saw it a couple of weeks ago... so went in and was delighted to see that they had many "exotic" flavors such as taro, sesame, wasabi, honey & ginseng and corn... i tried corn, sesame and green tea... my rule of thumb is to get the same flavors from all different places so i can compare... my verdict...? very disappointing... their ice cream is sooooo gummy... personally cannot stand gummy ice cream... it leaves weird taste while it's melting in your mouth... well, corn didn't have so much flavor unless you really try to taste it... green tea was about the same... very gummy and not such a great balance between sweet and bitter... then (black) sesame tasted dusty...! sorry but i couldn't even finish it... 2 scoops for about $4.... not worth it... rather walk all the way down to chinatown to go to chinatown ice cream factory... they still have good taro, decent red bean, good almond cookie and a couple other flavors i like... yes, their green tea is awful... oh, sobaya on 9th between 2nd and 3rd avenue has a great assortment of ice cream... their sesame and honey wasabi kick ass... and still my favorite green tea is from takahachi on avenue A between 5th and 6th street... and clinton street bakery on clinton below houston carries ice cream from brooklyn ice cream factory... their vanilla is good...
eh...
as far as i'm concerned ice cream should melt in your mouth, not sticking to the ceiling of your mouth...

... sick day no. 5... hopefully the last...

feel funny... sluggish... my left eye is having hard time focusing... no more fever at least...
yikes...
watched "hondo" with john wayne in it... maybe it was the 3rd time...? love western movies... it's a very nostalgic art form... there's a good guy, bad guy, indians or native americans, old values, guilt, cowards, headstrong woman and horses... and justice... of course there are many dated, politically incorrect views represented but i'm not interested in dissecting these movies in those 21st century terms... for example in this movie, john wayne plays this half white, half apache named hondo, falling for geraldine page who lives in a house in the middle of apache territory...
eh...
why do i always feel more attached to what's happened 50 years ago... why am more into old movies... black and white movies... nostalgic...
well...
then i watched "singles" by cameron crowe... another favorite from my high school... more enjoyable because now i get all the dialogues... and i've been in more relationships... still cute and certain scenes touch me in a very bittersweet way... also that car door thing... waiting to see if the girl unlocks the door for you... sweet... funny because chazz palminteri used that in "bronx tale" too but i knew it wasn't original... also cameron crowe used "what took you so long?" just the right way... felt my heart choking for a second when scott campbell said it...
after that it was "philadelphia story" with katharine hepburn, cary grant and jimmy stewart... hard to believe but it was the very first time i've watched it... jimmy stewart rocks... he's just perfect in this movie... he's just so damn good at playing subtle things with his gestures... and the voice...! i always go back and forth about katharine hepburn but this one she was great... especially when she has those teary eyes while talking about her being like a goddess... surprisingly cary grant's role isn't all that appealing to me...
uh...
now i have "an american in paris" on... gotta love oscar levant... that 15-minute-long ballet sequence is absolutely brilliant... gene kelly might have been a total control freak and tyrant but still left a great body of works...
hmm...
cannot say i'm feeling great...
i feel like ranting but i'm still cyber-shy...
...
feel old... not aged but old...

sick day no. 3 & 4...

so...
sick day no. 4... sucks... missed the fireworks... not that i really care...
been staying home, not going out... thought was gonna die yesterday...
watched many movies... mostly old VHS tapes i have... let's see... finally watched "the bronx tale" which was pretty sweet... especially chazz palminteri was great... he wrote the thing too... of course there were a couple of those "cute" moments but in general the movie was warm and sincere... too bad about the kid who played the main character... might face murder charge in real life... music was ok though...
then "this gun for hire" for the second time... with alan ladd and veronica lake... she's gorgeous... at first alan ladd seems a bit stiff but he grows on you... nice story by graham greene... hard to go wrong with his stories, right...? "the third man" and "the fallen hero" and so on...
hmm... then what did i see... oh, one of my favorite cary grant movies, "mr. blandings build his dream house"... it must have been the 10th time i saw it... well, just yesterday i watched it twice anyway... cary grant has the best timing and facial expressions for this kind of comedy... he knows how to be subtle and when to move his eye brows... wow... also the lines are hilarious... i've used it a couple of times for my voice mail... like "The next time you're going to do anything or say anything or buy anything, think it over very carefully. When you're sure you're right, forget the whole thing." myrna loy and melvyn douglas are fabulous too...
then also watched "house of bamboo", sam fuller's movie filmed/based in japan after the world war II... well, except the fact that it does have many japanese cliché especially regarding japanese women, it's pretty good... you can always expect robert ryan to deliver... well, there a couple of loop holes in the plot i wasn't crazy about but still, it's pretty fun to watch... hmm... then later i learned that shirley yamaguchi who is the main actress was in pro-japan propaganda under her fake chinese name in manchuria, i got a bit weirded out... she was even married to isamu noguchi... interesting...
then today...
tried to watch the world cup but my tv was off... italy won i hear... must have been a pretty good game...
watched "the paper" by ron howard... i don't know why but i always liked this movie... came out in 1994 starring machael keaton, robert duvall, glenn close, marisa tomei, randy quaid... really a great ensemble cast... and it's funny and warm... it's not "broadcast movie" that hits your heart but it's a sweet movie...andd i think that fight scene between michael keaton and glenn close is really hilarious... yes, yes, yes, it's very hollywood... so what... at least they used to know how to make it...
then "moonstruck"... hey, i'm sick... already feel like shit so i'm not going to watch apocalypsee now"... needed something light... and "moonstruck" was a perfect choice for that... cher is great in this movie... and have to admit she does look pretty good too... i'm sure it was after a couple of face lifts... i don't know... and nicolas cage, olympia dukakis are great too... whatever happened to nicolas cage... haven't seen "lords of war" yet but hear it's pretty good...
then "madame x" with lana turner... big time tear jerker... when i saw it for the first time when i was in elementary school, i cried and cried... this time not... but lana turner is great... would have been a perfect douglas sirkvehiclee... but he didn't make it... they knew how to break your heart then...
am i missing anything...?
hopefully i'll be better by tomorrow so i can get out of the house for a change... ah...

another rant from hallo, hallo, hallo...

went to this korean restaurant twice within last 5 days... it's called sura, on east 9th street between 3rd & 4th avenue... went on my friend andy's recommendation and it was pretty good... lunch special goes on until 5:30 which is a plus... had dol-sot bibimbap with multigrain rice which was sizzling hot and tasty... yum... and kimchee stew was pretty good too... one thing is that i wasn't too crazy about their pajon (pancake) which was only crispy around the edge but rather soggy in the middle... the best korean pancake is still from kum-kang-san in flushing... very crispy and chewy... yum...
then went to see... oh, my, god, i forgot to mention that i went to see army of shadows and it was absolutely stunning...! jean-pierre melville is just brilliant... i've watched only "le samouraï" before which i absolutely loved it... especially for the subtlety of it and his storytelling skill through only visual details... this movie was another great example of his genius... plus all the actors are just amazing... so much of the emotions are not spoken or shown but you can just feel it... wow... absolutely amazing and powerful movie... and the plot is pretty amazing... and the music... really hope it gets to come out on DVD sooner than later... i see that now it's showing at quad cinema...
well, i was going to say that i went to see pandora's box with louise brooks and it was really beautiful... it's crazy that movie was made in 1929 with no sound... but what a story and visuals... and louise brooks is totally mesmerizing... you just cannot take your eyes off from her... it was only a few months ago i saw "diary of a lost girl" which was also directed by g. w. pabst... both had just fabulous visuals... and yes, her hair style kicks ass... she can portrait an innocent young girl and a tramp at the same time with no sense of contradiction... how is that possible...?

yikes... sick day no. 1 & 2...

cannot believe i've got flu... yikes... sucks cause it's been so damn nice out... eh... stuck at home, drinking tons of water, juice... going to bathroom every half an hour... yesterday watched both world cup games plus some shitty + ok movies on tv... thought the game between portugal and england was amazing... everybody was really playing their 110%... maybe except a few of them... cannot say i was impressed by beckham for example... thought the goal keeper of portuguese team was fantastic... then brazil vs france was a bit less exciting... brazil's defense was really not happening... they couldn't pass through france's tight defense and most of times it ended up with thierry henry dashing toward to the brazilian goal keeper... wow... amazing how they can run nonstop... i'd die...
meanwhile, i got to watch, thanks to my tv's good mood, TNT showing all scary movies... "what lies beneath" with harrison ford and michelle pfeiffer, "the others" with nicole kidman, "the haunting" with lili tyler and catherine zeta-jones... oh, even watched a bit of "domestic disturbance" that vince vaughn plays a bad step father... well, except "the others" which i've watched a few years ago already and liked quite a bit, the other movies were pretty bad... yikes... well, maybe "what lies beneath" wasn't so bad... definitely certain scenes were very scary... especially later in the movie... and i do like michelle pfeiffer a lot... think she's really great, unique actress who doesn't get so many good roles... and she looks amazing... "domestic disturbance" was so awful couldn't believe it was directed by harold becker who's made "sea of love" with al pacino and ellen barkins, one of my high school favorite movies... i just hate when they throw in such cheap psycho analysis into their shallow dialogue hoping it'll turn a movie more "intellectual"... also thought "the haunting" was awful... even the effects were bad... well, i think lili tyler in general is an interesting actress and catherine zeta-jones can be very good, but they are totally wasted in this movie... owen wilson was unbearable and liam neeson was wooden as easter island statues...
then today feeling even worse than yesterday, tv was not behaving and couldn't watch anything on tv... really wanted to go to see "barry lyndon" at moving image though... so watched ken russell's "the devils" with vanessa redgrave and oliver reed... gee, there's a scary movie for you... a total vision of hell on earth... 17th century france when religious battle/witch hunt was going on non stop... wow... it was just unbelievable... and all the amazing actors... of course those two mentioned above were phenomenal... oliver reed personally said this was his best performance ever... and he sure is amazing... but michael gothard who plays witch doctor/priest is unbelievably intense... and all the supporting characters are just great... also visually it's stunning... also the set of the city of loudon where the movie is set is very futuristic... beautiful white brick fortress surrounding the city... and the convent... too bad it's not out on dvd yet... funny to read that oliver reed was a total macho man who once (maybe more than once) said that his woman shouldn't work outside home... wow...
then tried to watch "masculin feminin" but couldn't really concentrate on reading subtitles because i was too sick... but the parts i got were very interesting... should watch it again on a good day... didn't realize that paul, the main character was played by the same actor in "400 blows"... wish i could understand french... it sounds so damn beautiful...
ah, hopefully i will be feeling better tomorrow... eh... otherwise, more movies to go through... which isn't too bad...