Long ago in the Underground Realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a princess...
I downloaded a bunch of generic emo songs by bands I've never heard of from this site that has legal free downloads, hoping to find something I liked. I'm really into "Curtain Call" by Cheswick, and "Saying Sorry" by Hawthorne Heights.
So, my mom did not agree to drive me to Guelph, citing her fear of the highway as an excuse, despite the fact that I came up with an off-highway route for her. I ended up taking the GO Bus instead. Hence. what should have been a two hour round trip turned into a five hour one. But everything went very smoothly, found the place I had to go no problem, and worked on an overdue essay on the bus.
Then I had date #2 with the cute guy from the party - who will henceforth be known as RD. The trend of the conversation consisting of him asking me questions, and me telling stories and rambling about my views on various topics is continuing. He seems interested, which is gratifying. But it's really got to stop. I need discourse. I'm going to make him talk about himself next time. We went to see MPan's Labyrinth, which I discuss below. And the date ended with a hug. Which is a step up from the handshake we ended with last time. He's cute.
The movie totally lived up to the hype.
First of all, the cinematorgraphy was lovely. The whole movie had a darkness to it, but it wasn't an oppressive darkness. There were some sequences where the editing was notably effective as well... the scene where the Captain was shaving, and the camera kept moving around him - I think they must've used wipes between cuts to achieve that effect, which is something I remember learning about in grade 11 media studies. :-) . I wasn't very impressed with what I saw of the special effects in the Oscar clips, but actually seeing the movie, I thought they were wonderful.
The story itself is very skillfully constructed. It never lagged. It didn't pull any punches, and it delivered on the expectations it set up wonderfully. You suspect the Captain is a sick bastard when he's introduced, and then his first on-screen act of brutality confirms that, without being any the less shocking and horrific for that side of him being apparent from the start. It acheives a sense of realism in how bad things get for the heroes, but the audience still gets the satisfaction of seeing the bad guy getting totally pwnd (and not just once, but twice!). And it's fantastic how the ending is both tragic and happy at the same time. Also, the level of graphic violence was very effective, it went as far as possible without getting to be too much, IMO.
The interplay between fantasy and reality was perfectly balanced -- I liked how motifs from the "real world" story (the key, food, the father figure) were reflected in the fantasy story. Overall, it was interesting how the "fantasy" world was a reflection of what Ofelia was going through at the same time as it was an escape. It was as dark and disturbing as real life, with the difference being that the fantasy world contained the promise of something better. The tips that maybe the fantasy world wasn't quite so unreal after all -- the effect of the mandrake root, how Ofelia escapes her locked room -- were great. They weren't so strong as to make the "real life" story seem unreal, but they kept a sense of ambiguity going, which was needed.
The characters were great too. They weren't exactly subtle, but I don't think that mattered. They were archetypal. The psychotic military leader is something we've all seen before, but the Captain was uniquely frightening -- which I attribute to the beating-the-peasant-to-death scene. It showed that he wasn't just callous about shooting people, which you see often, but also about more personal violence, killing with his own hands.
Mercedes is my hero. Her defiance and determination is inspiring. I almost cheered out loud when she cut up the Captain. And again when she told him that his son would never even know his name -- that was perfect pwnage, taking away the one thing he cared about. And at the same time she's compassionate. She's fantastic.
I love the doctor too. How he was, really, a pessemist, but helped the resistance anyways. How it wasn't about fighting for one ideology or another, but staying true to himself. The way he told the Captain why he disobeyed him was great -- like he wasn't insulting him or telling him off, but just stating a simple truth. And like he didn't fear anything, because he had done the right thing. And then after he was shot, how he just took off his glasses and kept walking... that was just... I'm tearing up. The doctor is my hero too.
And then the Faun. He's a brilliant creation. He walked the line between being creepy and threatening, and being so ancient and natural as to be beyond good and evil. It's great because, for me at least, I wanted so much to trust him, but I was never sure if I could. And then when he demanded that Ofelia hand over her brother, the message of the film seemed dark and cynical, because this fantasy of hers enabled her to be defiant and heroic, but then demanded that she give up her free will and succumb to the fantasy world. So she returned to the real world, which held absolutely nothing for her, and on top of that her sacrifice was in vain. But then it turned out that the Faun was a good guy all along, and she succeeded in her quest after all, and... it was just beautiful. I'm crying again.
I made icons!
Images are from the official website and this site here. Take, comment, credit!
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
So, I only just noticed that locker_monster tagged me for this meme, three weeks ago. So I'm doing it now
Leave a picture or describe your work area (home or office). List 10 gadgets/items you can't live without. Tag 3 people.
Unfortunately, due to space restrictions, my work area is my bedroom On my bed. Which makes it far too easy to fall asleep while working, or to take nap breaks. My room is boxy, has poor ventilation, and too little space, and may very well constitute a health code violation, it's that messy.
1. Laptop. I'm on it easily 8 hrs a day, most days of the week.
2. Cellphone. Without which I would not have contatct with the outside world, due to my inconsistent email-checking.
3. Polar fleece blanket. As I said, there's poor ventilation in my room. The door is closed to shut out the noise from the rest of the apartment. So the window needs to be open so that I don't suffocate. In winter, that means it gets pretty cold. And my polar fleece blanket comes to the rescue.
4. Notebooks. Random notebooks containing lecture notes, essay outlines, random thoughts, and creative writing, all mixed together. Writing things down is a necessity.
5. My OAC art project. Or at least two of the five paintings I did for my OAC art project. Especially my rendition of that icon of Mary and Jesus that every Orthodox/Eastern Rite family seems to have in their homes. The idea was to be kind of expressionistic, looking at the subject and painting the colours I got a vibe for, instead of the actual colour. It turned out more Lisa-Frank. And they have smiley-face faces. But I still like it, and my classmates liked it, and it brightens up the room.
6. My guitar. Yes, I haven't actually played it in a long time. But it's good to know it's there, incase I feel like it.
7. It's hard to come up with ten things. Um... my clock radio. Because it tells me the time and plays music.
8. The floor fan. For the summer, because only the living room has airconditioning.
9. My shelf. Without it, the things on it would join other things on the floor.
10. Sudoku. For when I need to think of nothing but numbers.
Now I tag biggrstaffbunch, dnalalal , and shamoogity
So, my mom did not agree to drive me to Guelph, citing her fear of the highway as an excuse, despite the fact that I came up with an off-highway route for her. I ended up taking the GO Bus instead. Hence. what should have been a two hour round trip turned into a five hour one. But everything went very smoothly, found the place I had to go no problem, and worked on an overdue essay on the bus.
Then I had date #2 with the cute guy from the party - who will henceforth be known as RD. The trend of the conversation consisting of him asking me questions, and me telling stories and rambling about my views on various topics is continuing. He seems interested, which is gratifying. But it's really got to stop. I need discourse. I'm going to make him talk about himself next time. We went to see MPan's Labyrinth, which I discuss below. And the date ended with a hug. Which is a step up from the handshake we ended with last time. He's cute.
The movie totally lived up to the hype.
First of all, the cinematorgraphy was lovely. The whole movie had a darkness to it, but it wasn't an oppressive darkness. There were some sequences where the editing was notably effective as well... the scene where the Captain was shaving, and the camera kept moving around him - I think they must've used wipes between cuts to achieve that effect, which is something I remember learning about in grade 11 media studies. :-) . I wasn't very impressed with what I saw of the special effects in the Oscar clips, but actually seeing the movie, I thought they were wonderful.
The story itself is very skillfully constructed. It never lagged. It didn't pull any punches, and it delivered on the expectations it set up wonderfully. You suspect the Captain is a sick bastard when he's introduced, and then his first on-screen act of brutality confirms that, without being any the less shocking and horrific for that side of him being apparent from the start. It acheives a sense of realism in how bad things get for the heroes, but the audience still gets the satisfaction of seeing the bad guy getting totally pwnd (and not just once, but twice!). And it's fantastic how the ending is both tragic and happy at the same time. Also, the level of graphic violence was very effective, it went as far as possible without getting to be too much, IMO.
The interplay between fantasy and reality was perfectly balanced -- I liked how motifs from the "real world" story (the key, food, the father figure) were reflected in the fantasy story. Overall, it was interesting how the "fantasy" world was a reflection of what Ofelia was going through at the same time as it was an escape. It was as dark and disturbing as real life, with the difference being that the fantasy world contained the promise of something better. The tips that maybe the fantasy world wasn't quite so unreal after all -- the effect of the mandrake root, how Ofelia escapes her locked room -- were great. They weren't so strong as to make the "real life" story seem unreal, but they kept a sense of ambiguity going, which was needed.
The characters were great too. They weren't exactly subtle, but I don't think that mattered. They were archetypal. The psychotic military leader is something we've all seen before, but the Captain was uniquely frightening -- which I attribute to the beating-the-peasant-to-death scene. It showed that he wasn't just callous about shooting people, which you see often, but also about more personal violence, killing with his own hands.
Mercedes is my hero. Her defiance and determination is inspiring. I almost cheered out loud when she cut up the Captain. And again when she told him that his son would never even know his name -- that was perfect pwnage, taking away the one thing he cared about. And at the same time she's compassionate. She's fantastic.
I love the doctor too. How he was, really, a pessemist, but helped the resistance anyways. How it wasn't about fighting for one ideology or another, but staying true to himself. The way he told the Captain why he disobeyed him was great -- like he wasn't insulting him or telling him off, but just stating a simple truth. And like he didn't fear anything, because he had done the right thing. And then after he was shot, how he just took off his glasses and kept walking... that was just... I'm tearing up. The doctor is my hero too.
And then the Faun. He's a brilliant creation. He walked the line between being creepy and threatening, and being so ancient and natural as to be beyond good and evil. It's great because, for me at least, I wanted so much to trust him, but I was never sure if I could. And then when he demanded that Ofelia hand over her brother, the message of the film seemed dark and cynical, because this fantasy of hers enabled her to be defiant and heroic, but then demanded that she give up her free will and succumb to the fantasy world. So she returned to the real world, which held absolutely nothing for her, and on top of that her sacrifice was in vain. But then it turned out that the Faun was a good guy all along, and she succeeded in her quest after all, and... it was just beautiful. I'm crying again.
I made icons!
Images are from the official website and this site here. Take, comment, credit!
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
So, I only just noticed that locker_monster tagged me for this meme, three weeks ago. So I'm doing it now
Leave a picture or describe your work area (home or office). List 10 gadgets/items you can't live without. Tag 3 people.
Unfortunately, due to space restrictions, my work area is my bedroom On my bed. Which makes it far too easy to fall asleep while working, or to take nap breaks. My room is boxy, has poor ventilation, and too little space, and may very well constitute a health code violation, it's that messy.
1. Laptop. I'm on it easily 8 hrs a day, most days of the week.
2. Cellphone. Without which I would not have contatct with the outside world, due to my inconsistent email-checking.
3. Polar fleece blanket. As I said, there's poor ventilation in my room. The door is closed to shut out the noise from the rest of the apartment. So the window needs to be open so that I don't suffocate. In winter, that means it gets pretty cold. And my polar fleece blanket comes to the rescue.
4. Notebooks. Random notebooks containing lecture notes, essay outlines, random thoughts, and creative writing, all mixed together. Writing things down is a necessity.
5. My OAC art project. Or at least two of the five paintings I did for my OAC art project. Especially my rendition of that icon of Mary and Jesus that every Orthodox/Eastern Rite family seems to have in their homes. The idea was to be kind of expressionistic, looking at the subject and painting the colours I got a vibe for, instead of the actual colour. It turned out more Lisa-Frank. And they have smiley-face faces. But I still like it, and my classmates liked it, and it brightens up the room.
6. My guitar. Yes, I haven't actually played it in a long time. But it's good to know it's there, incase I feel like it.
7. It's hard to come up with ten things. Um... my clock radio. Because it tells me the time and plays music.
8. The floor fan. For the summer, because only the living room has airconditioning.
9. My shelf. Without it, the things on it would join other things on the floor.
10. Sudoku. For when I need to think of nothing but numbers.
Now I tag biggrstaffbunch, dnalalal , and shamoogity