Monday 3 June 2013

Seen & heard May

Seen...
 


1. I am still not quite sure what I thought of Ruby Sparks, about a young novelist with writer's block who invents a character, Ruby, who then comes to life as the seemingly perfect girlfriend.  In parts it was funny, but it wasn't as clever as it thought it was (I thought the Will Ferrell film Stranger Than Fiction did a better job of a similar premise) and some parts were downright disturbing and misogynistic.

2. Appropriately, I thought that The Great Gatsby was a triumph of style over substance. A visual feast for sure, but I wasn't wholly captivated by the performances and was disappointed that the much-hyped soundtrack wasn't more prominent. 

3. The Boy and I watched Goodbye Lenin in preparation for our trip to Berlin, and it was a great introduction to the city's recent history.  Dealing with the days immediately before, and then the months after, the end of the DDR and the fall of the Wall, it was a funny and moving film about a son's quest to recreate life under communism for his ailing mother after she wakes up from a coma.

Heard...


I've been listening to summery tunes from Metronomy and Tame Impala, I'm still obsessed with Beach House's Bloom, and have rediscovered Joan As Policewoman's gorgeous album of love songs, To Survive.  Plus I'm still listening to the Bleached album a lot, and enjoying Tegan & Sara's sexy, electronica-tinged recent single, Closer.

4 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed The Great Gatsby, although I went in with the lowest of expectations having seen the mixed reviews so that might have had something to do with it. I agree with you about the soundtrack though.

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    1. I completely loved the scene with New York State of Mind playing over the cityscape, but then it just seemed to fizzle out. It all seemed a bit half-hearted: if you're gonna go for a concept like that, then you need to really GO for it.

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  2. I had the same reactions to Ruby Sparks and The Great Gatsby - but Ruby did at least spark (urk - that wasn't meant to be a joke) a big debate between a friend and me about how much change it's acceptable to push for in your partner (my take being none) which I guess is something.

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    1. Yeah, it definitely got us talking too. I found some of the stuff towards the end of the film almot unbearable - the scene where she's jerking around as he types? Horrible stuff, and I didn't feel he was sufficiently punished (or, actually, punished at all) for treating her so badly. He completely abuses this woman and is rewarded with a best-seller AND possibly another chance with her? Not a great message.

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