Obviously Losing

Name:
Location: Los Angeles, California

Monday, August 28, 2006

Busy...

Wow. This first week of school was crazy busy. And it looks like the whole semester will be this way. On top of journalism classes, I now have 62 Daily Trojan film writers to be in charge of.

So my blog will probably not be updated as much as it was during summer. Or who knows... sometimes I get a lot more accomplished when I'm overwhelmed than when I'm relaxed. We shall see.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Booyah...

I just bought tickets to Beirut's Oct. 21st performance at The Troubadour in Hollywood. It's gonna be one hell of a show and should make up for missing them in NYC.

O Pluto, Where Art Thou?

I find this whole "Pluto is no longer a planet" thing amusing. I don't really care if it's considered a planet or not, for I will always like Pluto. It has done me no wrong. It's even a bit cute.

And I like these two Photoshop images regarding Pluto's demotion:



Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Coca-Cola Machine

This commercial has been playing in movie theaters, and it's one of those things that makes you feel all happy and fuzzy inside.

The Illusionist


Neil Burger's "The Illusionist" is a surprisingly engrossing picture. Its story of magicians, Vienna, and love grabs you from the onset, and the direction weaves a delightful web of trickery. It's not hard to guess the ending, which I guessed perhaps halfway through; but, I found myself enjoying how the movie reaches its conclusion. Furthermore, if we are to consider its ending a "twist ending," it is at least a twist ending that is appropriate for the characters. We're dealing with a magician, after all.

Maybe I just like magic more than the ordinary person. Maybe I appreciate Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti's acting capabilities more than I should. Maybe I'm a sucker for period pieces with impeccable art direction, cinematography, and a splendid Philip Glass score. Or maybe "The Illusionist" truly is one of the year's best films. You decide.

Friday, August 18, 2006

CNN: The Network of Fear Mongering?

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Beirut @ Bowery Ballroom

Why do I always find out about concerts when it's too late? I was in NYC the night Beirut & Jens Lekman played at the Bowery Ballroom; alas, the show was sold out.

Still, behind this clip's shoddy image & sound quality, I can tell this had to have been one damn special show. If only I were there...

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Your Room - Episode 1

Caught on the Bound has unveiled a series of short films called "Your Room." I'm hoping these episodes will unearth the secrets hidden deep in the dark and dangerous abyss known as the college room.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

PS3 vs. Wii

The Descent



The two hardest film genres to pull off are comedy and horror. The latter has suffered in recent years due to an overflow of PG-13 "spooky" films, usually remakes of Japanese hits, aimed solely at bringing in teenage girls (and their male protectors).

Yet, these films usually disobey the golden rule of the horror genre - reveal your monstrosities slowly. "Alien," for example, is an exemplary example of how to do horror; Ridley Scott gave us only glimpses of his creature, thus allowing the audience the chance to imagine something far worse than what the puppet/creature-suit turned out to be. Most modern horror films start killing off characters minutes into the movie, and what we end up with is a CGI freak fest devoid of any suspense or chilling atmosphere.

Not so with "The Descent," the best horror film I've seen since, gosh, a long time. I will not reveal if there are or are not creatures in the film; that's beside the point. The point is that "The Descent" gradually builds an atmosphere of claustrophobia, paranoia, and undeniable doom. It works on both a physical and psychological level, and it gives us characters that actually surprise us.

And thus, it comes as no surprise that "The Descent" is not an American film. Leave it to foreigners - in this case, the British - to remind Hollywood how horror films are supposed to be made.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Mel Gibson's Signs

Imagining the 10th Dimension

An excellent visual explanation of string theory's ten dimensions can be viewed here.

Monday, August 07, 2006

People Art

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Guillemots

Yup, it's confirmed, the Guillemots are an awesome band.
Here are 3 music videos:





Saturday, August 05, 2006

OK Go on Treadmills

Conor posted this on his blog... very sweet music video.

New "Borat" Trailer

The new trailer for "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" has arrived. I'm so excited for this movie... Sacha Baron Cohen (aka Ali G) is a comedic genius.

Click here.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

12 Minutes of Bliss

And out of nowhere came the Guillemots' debut album, Through the Windowpane. The album is, as Borat would say, "niiiiiiiiiice." But at the end of it is this little song called "Sao Paolo," which is quite simply a fucking masterpiece. Oh, and it's 11 minutes and 42 seconds long. And it builds and builds and builds until reaching a cathartic climax and release. And yes, that sounds likes a sexual metaphor to me too.

I've uploaded the song here. Enjoy!

(Note: sometimes Putfile.com freaks out and only plays a snippet of the song. Reload and try again... hopefully it'll work.)

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Uber Cool