mama mia / el naufragio de los hombres

movie review time.

mama mia

fantasy
jubilant
emotional
funny
cheesy

a young girl getting married at a tender age. not knowing who her real father is, she sends out 3 wedding invitations to 3 possible 'candidates' taken from her mother's diary. the trouble ensues when the mother finds out at bad memories seep in amidst the jovial singing and dancing.

i think the musical part of the story sets the tempo of this film. most of the songs are fast exciting songs so the movie progresses quite fast though there are a few twists here and there. it seemed like taking a rollercoaster ride blindfolded because you never know when they will break into song. it's like those bollywood films but more exuberant and flashier. overall its quite easy to understand if you put all the distractions (songs) away. then again, im not a person that enjoys watching musicals.

the setting is immensely beautiful. the island on which this story took place is like a haven. a mini paradise if you suppose. the funny thing is, its crumbling apart in the story. its essentially a place you would want to go to, when troubles are boggling your mind. the colours were the people if i can recall. their many colourful costumes add most to most of the colours in the film.

the films characters were very fun to look at. each of the 3 'fathers' had totally different personalities and its funny how men seem to get along pretty fine even though they have their differences, unlike women. the dynamos were also pretty funny to watch. their costumes tell a great deal about their character. one of the uptight fathers business like personality is shown by how mostly formal he looks. pierce brosnan is portrayed as this charming man which is reflected by his clothes.

personally i think the film is ok. its just not my kind of film but i think its good. just needs to be less cheesy.


el naufragio de los hombres

dream-like
mystifying
slow
fantastical
meditative

this is about 'the small figure of man standing amidst a great expanse of vast, beautiful and also at some level, terrifying, natural landscape'. the artist finds it a way to bring about the realisation of global warming and globalisation. the story is quite easy to follow and is very calming and pleasing to the senses. though it is a slow-paced film, it grabs your attention and holds it firm till the end of the movie.

the landscape is amazingly beautiful. the play of light and shadows is extremely vibrant. the textures are also beautiful and mesmerising. the splendour of the background is simply unreal, like it is nowhere to be found on earth. the beauty of mother nature indeed.

the characters in this film are meant to portray god/ghost-like figures. they are clad in black and their identities are unknown. in the film they are seen somewhat floating across the water effortlessly. and in some parts of the film they are just standing on rocks, moving just so slightly. they are mysterious and brings a sense of mysticism.

i love this film. it is so simple yet so beautiful. there is meaning behind it and the use of nature inside the film is astounding. i like it even more for the fact that it is unedited and this requires much much patience to accomplish, having to wait for the right moment and the right time to capture such beauty.

humans

just a thought.

ive always wondered. why cant we all just get along? why cant there be compromise instead of fighting over whats right or wrong? and why cant everybody just respect everybody else's point of view?

the answer i think is simple. its just human. it is said that no two human beings are equal. some are passionate about things some are moderate. some aggresive some defensive and others, like me, are just passive. pacifists, aggravists and the likes. debaters, loners, loudmouths. etc.

what makes a human being isnt just limited to the biological structure of cells and whatnot science content. it is the things like cannot agreeing with one another or fighting over a different perspective. without all these qualities we are not humans. we are just animals. the ability to think for oneself and act accordingly, willingly.

this is what makes us human. the bad things about us, is actually the good thing about us. it is what makes us who we are. not getting along with the other, having a diverse point of view. thats individualism. the better things like being passive, getting along and all that. i think its easy to get along but it takes more effort to stray from the pack.

art and drums

i found this video link through a metalhead magazine kerrang! while browsing at the esplanade library.



its like a sculpture i think. interesting concept. a sculpture that involves interaction and feelings. emotions like fear (afraid of so many things all at once) anticipation (cant wait to play that!) confusion (ok so what do i hit first?). i personally like art that involves the audience. and then the weird thing is, it goes from a visual art to a performing art.

bosch

my history of visual arts lecturer once questioned me, "do you consider hieronymus bosch a fantasy artist?" sadly i couldnt answer her question at that point of time cause i didnt even knew who bosch was. so i decided to do some digging.

i stumbled upon a book in pageone at vivocity. something like the works of hieronymus. it wasnt the complete works but i understood what she meant when she posed that question. bosch's work is, to me, fantasy-like because it portrays the imagination. the secret garden and my personal favourite was this scene when he ponders what would have happened if adam and eve were still in paradise? a multitude of creatures filled the canvas, amidst a very whimsical portrayal of paradise itself.

"We marvel at the extraordinary fantasy of the artist. We also feel that the man himself must have been very morbid to have been so concerned with pain. Although his pictures, with their weird animals and monsters, look as if they belong to the Middle Ages, they are not too unlike some of the paintings that are being produced today by painters who are called surrealists. They too paint a world of fantasy. Bosch lived at a time when the medieval period was giving way to a new age. His paintings undoubtedly reflect his concern for a changing world. Looked at in this way Bosch and his fantasies are curiously up to date. "

"But whereas the Flemish painters created a world of serenity and reality, the world of Bosch is one of horror and imagination. His Vision of Tondalys both amuses and frightens us. We see a strange animal forcing a sharp stick through a large ear. A creature with a great head stretches open its mouth to show a table with people both behind and under it. A man caught in a big hat finds that one of his legs is sprouting roots. People fly through the air. In the background fire lights up the sky. "

here are some pictures,




sources:

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/bosch/

surrealism appeals to me because with it because there is no right or wrong. i have a personal tiff agaisnt the idea of having a 'right and wrong' because being right and wrong is generally opinionated. but without it i guess there wouldnt be LAW would it?

forced art

the general assumption is that art is a freedom of expression. or a form of expression. a medium in which we show our innermost feelings. art can also be regarded as a tool for communication. a tool to bring about a message we want the world to know, or only a target audience.

but what if art is forced?

what if we force ourselves to draw. to paint. to sculpt. what would it be then? would it be an expression? the only expression that comes to mind would be anger or boredom. but if thats the case would it still be art? i can only imagine the misshappened figures or drawings, distorted and contorted because the artist is too lazy to observe proportions. or the crazy lighting, due to the same reason.

but isnt that art? when is art NOT art then? when there is no meaning? or aesthetic value? in the case of andy warhol it is all about the aesthetic and not the meaning. whereas some contemporaries have a lot of meaning but little aesthetic. then again aesthetics are all opinionated. subjective.

so forced art is still art. not only because the word art is there but. where aesthetics and meaning come into play, i guess it still is.

brom

Here is another fantasy artist, Brom. Brom is mostly known for his haunting art and his step into illustration has brought him many involvements, from novels (Michael Moorcock, Terry Brooks, R.A.Salvatore, E.R. Burroughs), Role-playing (TSR, White Wolf, WOTC), comics (DC, Chaos, Dark Horse), Games (Doom2, Heretic, Diablo2, World of Warcraft), and film (Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, Galaxy Quest, Ghosts of Mars, Scooby Doo, Van Helsing).







I am a big fan of dark fantasy. Brom has delivered a world that is rich and somewhat original in my opinion. He uses bold dark colours for most of his work and the amount of fine detail is amazing. I like how he paints the complexion of his figures. They are pale surprisingly pale but not unhealthy as how we would associate pale to be. His visions are morbid yet elegantly painted.

frank frazetta

To me, nothing can and will beat Frank Frazetta, one of the world's most influential fantasy illustrators.