The World Of Jadeey

As is often the case on my weekends, I didn't do half the things I was supposed to do today. I did go to the gym, so that's a plus. But I didn't do a whole lot of other things i'd planned to do. The problem is I always want to spend my weekends in a state of total relaxation. This often means I avoid the things I should be doing.

Luckily there's always tomorrow.

Last night I went to Kayla and Josh's for dinner. Aimee came along too, which was super awesome because I haven't seen her in ages. Kayla cooked us a delicious dinner, we talked to Malakai, we played Harry Potter Scene It (I won) and we chatted about anything and everything. It was a really great night.

Tomorrow night I'm going to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I'm in a state of fear about it. I adore the book, it's probably my favourite of the lot, and I'm not looking forward to watching it be butchered. I understand that the film makers can't put everything in, but it still disappoints me when things that I considered important are left out. Not to mention I've heard they completely ruin the last scene, and that just happens to be one of my absolute favourite scenes of the books.

One day, somehow, I will learn not to get my hopes up about movie adaptations of books.

Labels: books, friends, Harry Potter, movies

I'm going to see Star Trek tomorrow night. This time I won't be thwarted by a sold out cinema because I have booked the tickets online. I've now been trying to see this movie since it came out like 3 weeks ago or something. I hope it's worth it!

In other exciting news I managed to do Eye of the Tiger on Guitar Hero at medium level. I'm very proud of this achievement. At least it means I'm improving!

Labels: lame blogs, movies

I'm finally going to go and see Star Trek tomorrow night. I've been wanting to see it since it came out, but still haven't got around to it. But yay, tomorrow night I will.

I seem to have a mental block about seeing movies on my own. I don't know what it is, but for some reason I can never motivate myself to go to a movie alone. All my friends went off to see Star Trek without me so it's taken me a while to find someone who wants to see it and still hadn't got around to it either. Thankfully I found someone. And thankfully he's someone I actually like.

So yeah, Star Trek here I come! :D

Labels: lame blogs, movies

I went to Fujiyama Tepenyaki for dinner tonight and then to a movie. I never get tired of Fujiyama - and the one in the Hutt is actually yummier than the one in town. (And cheaper.)

The movie we watched was Ghosts of Girlfriends past. It is.... Not good. Not good at all. Actually, pile of crap movie would be the most accurate description. We should have gone to Star Trek instead!

Labels: lame blogs, movies

Kat and I went to Wolverine tonight. I really liked it. The funniest bit, though, had to be Kat before the movie even started. (She's going to kill me for this.)

A couple of important things you need to know before I start this story. The first is that people do stupid things at the cinema all the time and the staff laugh at them. The second is that Kat used to work in a movie theatre, in fact she worked in many movie theatres over a period of quite a few years.

So, Kat had our tickets and told me we were in M1 and M2. She'd worked in the cinema we were at a few years ago so I checked with her which side 1 was on. She pointed it out and off we went to find our seats. We find row M and there is someone in our seat. Annoying! I hate when people don't sit in their allocated seat. So we say to him that we are M1 and M2 and he replies that he is also M1. At the old cinema I worked in this double booking thing used to happen occasionally so I was convinced that's what had happened.

We talked for a bit and then Kat handed me my ticket and I started to try and read it. The guy very helpfully offered his cellphone so I could see. The problem? M was actually the rating of the movie. We were in O1 and O2 which Kat had read as 01 and 02, as in 2 digit numbering.

Hmmm maybe you had to be there, but I promise you - it was very funny and we laughed for a long time.

(Had our row been anything other than O, I don't think Kat would have made the mistake. When you think about it it's a fairly easy mistake to make.)

Labels: humorous, movies

I'm off to watch 17 Again tonight. I don't expect it to be a great movie, but I do expect to enjoy it. I get a sad amount of pleasure from movies like this.

I do wonder at the casting though.... Why would they make the teenage version Zac Efron while making the adult version Matthew Perry? Don't get me wrong, I like Matthew Perry - but he's just not hot. He's cute, but not hot. Zac Efron is hot. It just doesn't work for me.

I think the adult version should have been played by James Marsden. Now he is hot!

Labels: celebrities, movies

Tonight I watched the documentary Helvetica. It was really good. And yes, before you ask, it is a documentary about a typeface - but Helvetica is the best font so it's perfectly understandable that there is a documentary about it. I'd been meaning to see the documentary for ages. It was at the film festival earlier this year but I missed it because I was busy the only night it was on. It was worth the wait.

What is so great about Helvetica? It's the typeface used for EVERYTHING. Street signs, packaging signs, t-shirt printing, shop signs. And my personal favourite - The Office logo.

Enough about fonts, you say? Fine.

Is everyone excited about the new Gmail themes? I am. I've been using one of the ocean ones for the past few days. But Kat just pointed out that if you use the 'tree' theme then it changes with the weather. How cool is that! I'd been wondering why it made me specify the city and country I lived in, now it all makes sense.

Yeah, I'm a geek. I'm excited by documentaries about fonts and gmail themes. I think I really need to get a job soon. :P

Labels: i'm a geek, movies

We are having a dvd night tonight. We just finished watching August Rush and now we're about to start Jumanji.

As hard as it may be to believe, I haven't seen Jumanji before. I've seen half of it, but had to stop half-way through for some reason that I can't remember. I'm hoping to finally see the end tonight!

Labels: lame blogs, movies

Out of the Blue is the latest film from director Robert Sarkies. The director best known for his work on the 1999 film Scarfies and the television show The Strip once again does not disappoint.

The film is based on the real-life events that happened in the South Island town of Aramoana in 1990. Most New Zealander's who were old enough at the time to have any comprehension of what was going on remember the horror of the 13th and 14th of November 1990. The country awoke to the news that, overnight, a gunman had gone mad and begun shooting up his town.

Robert Sarkies gives us an overview of the events leading up to the massacre and draws us into the horror of the people of the Aramoana township as they became aware of what was going on. As with most New Zealand films, some of the acting leaves a little to be desired at times. However, Matthew Sunderland excels in the role of killer David Grey. He has the audience believing right from the outset that he is a slightly deranged, not to be trusted man who is likely to snap at any moment.

Also, as is the trademark of a New Zealand film, the scenery in Out of the Blue is exquisite. There are plenty of long, lingering shots of beautiful lakes and hills, making you wonder if, in fact, you are watching a glorified travel ad. Of course, the content of the film soon assures you that you are not.

I had two major gripes about this film. One is that Sarkies and cinematographer Greig Fraser appear to have shied away from the use of a tripod. I'm not sure why this is, I personally love the tripod. The end result is a very shakey, slightly nausiating film as the camera moves around so much.

The second gripe I had is that, at times, it got very confusing. Time jumped back and forth a lot at the beginning. One moment David Grey would be sitting holding his newly purchased gun, the next he is at the shop purchasing that same gun, the next he is using the gun to kill his one-time best friend.

As well as the confusion with time I found the soundtrack slightly disconcerting and confusing. There were a number of times when you could hear the dialogue of characters who were not on the screen. This in itself is not usually a problem in film, the audience are smart enough to understand that conversations can be happening off-screen. What Rob Sarkies does wrong is to overlay conversation that is happening in an entirely different location. The worst example of this is when the killer is slinking around we can hear a police officer talking. I kept thinking the killer was going to turn around and start shooting the police officer, but it turned out the police officer was miles away in a car so in no danger of being shot.

Overall it was an excellent film. It certainly recaptured the horror of the events is it was based on. But, as with so many New Zealand films the production value leaves a lot to be desired.

Labels: movie review, movies

Didn't get much sleep last night

Those lyrics apply more to yesterday than today. I started work at 5.30am yesterday which was just craziness. Even worse was that I stayed awake a lot of the night listening to the cricket. (Which we won by the way!!)

Needless to say, I was rather tired yesterday. In a brilliant mood though so all is good.

I watched Karate Kid part one last night. (I bought all three a while ago but hadn't got around to watching them yet). I was obsessed with all the Karate Kid films when I was young. Actually, I had a huge crush on him. I had good taste as a kid (still do) - he's not bad looking you know! He's a bit dumb though. He keeps getting mad at his girlfriend for absolutely nothing then getting all sulky.

I loved him so much I begged my parents to let me do karate so I could be like him. Well, like him AND the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Hehe I never got as good as Daniel-san (Shouldn't that technically be Daniel-kun? I thought kun was used for boys and san used for girls. Can't remember what the exceptions to that rule are) or the Turtles unfortunately.

I love that this has been a short week. It's Friday already - yay! This year is racing by though, it's going to be Christmas before I know it.

Even better, and at the same time worse, it's going to be my birthday before I know it! Better because, well, it's my birthday! Worse because then I'll be 25 and that just sounds old to me.

I shouldn't get excited (or worried) about my birthday yet anyway. There's a lot of good stuff to look forward to before that.

Alright. Film rec time.

1/ The Karate Kid I would recommend all three. They're still fun all these years later.

2/ Garden State Zach Braff's first attempt at directing (JD from Scrubs). Very clearly the work of a guy who has been to film school. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The story is simple and sweet, the direction good and the music perfect. This is a film I could, and do, watch over and over without getting sick of it. The directors commentary is worth a listen too.

Labels: getting old, movies

So, recently I have got back in contact with a number of people from my past.

First was Sam (no, not that Sam. Although I can see where the confusion comes in, you should have seen my flatmates face when I mentioned him! Priceless. From now on that Sam will have to go back to his real name. If I ever deign to mention him that is.)

Then there was Kelly and now Kea. It's truly awesome.

Sam was a guy I chatted to on the 'net when I was around 15. We met at some point at a cricket match and I think, lost contact after that. I don't really remember.

Kelly was my best friend in primary school. We lost contact after 7th form but she is back in Wellington for her wedding. She then gave me Kea's email address who was another friend from primary school, one I haven't seen since I was about 11 because she moved to America and has been living there pretty much ever since.

It's funny how people can move on with their lives, and never even really think about each other. Then, out of the blue, the friendship comes straight back. I love it.

In honour of all this past coming back to haunt me my film recs for today are 2 of my favourite films as a child. (and believe me, they are still awesome)

1/ The Lion King I had my first real date to this movie. He turned out to be a weirdo who, even though we were only 11, wanted sex. But I still have fond memories of the film. I think I saw it about 8 or 9 times at the movies.

2/ The Fox and the Hound Oh how I loved this film. Just thinking about it almost brings tears to my eyes even now.

Tod: "Copper you're my best friend"
Copper: "You're mine too Tod."
Tod: "And we'll always be friends forever. Won't we?"
Copper: "Yeah forever."

Then later

Tod: "We're still friends right?"
Copper: "Tod, those days are over. I'm a hunting dog now."

For me, that just epitomises childhood. We all thought we were going to be friends forever. But things happen and people move on, move away. Thank God for the memories.

By the way: If anyone ever finds The Fox and the Hound on DVD and is at a loss as to what to buy me for a present? I don't own it but would love to. Buying it for me would elevate the person to position of 'Holly's favourite person in the whole wide world'. I found it one day but made the mistake of not purchasing it straight away. I've never found it since.

Labels: movies, the past

Relationships suck. That is my verdict from my own experience and listening to friends.

I have a friend who is married and has a couple of kids. She just decided one day to up and leave her family and move to Australia to live with a new guy. I'm not sure how well she knew this guy but it shocked me. I know the decision came out of the blue cos when I last saw her she hadn't said anything about it.

Then I have another friend who wants to get out of her current relationship but doesn't want to hurt the guy so she's probably just going to stay with him even though she's not happy.

I have a multitude of other friends who are also having relationship issues at the moment. Maybe it's just that time of year.

We lost the cricket and I'm gutted so I'm not going to dwell on that too much right now. Basically, we played shockingly and did not deserve to win. Hopefully we do better on Wednesday or the Champions Trophy is all over for us.

I have a couple of oldish films to recommend today.

1/ F for Fake This is an Orson Welles documentary about fraud. I far prefered this to Welles' very well-known Citizen Kane.

2/ The Shop Around the Corner They don't make romantic comedies like they used to. This film was remade into the atrocious Tom Hanks rom-com You've Got Mail. Unlike that piece of filth The Shop Around the Corner is a lovely film and is actually hilarious. Don't let You've Got Mail put you off, I promise you'll like this if you watch it!

That's it for now. I've gotta go do some serious shopping for Phoenix's birthday.

Labels: movies, relationships

I've always found politics a dangerous subject to discuss with friends. It's fine if you have similar political views, but if they're different? Watch out.

Unfortunately this morning I did not heed my own advice and had a discussion (argument) about politics with a friend of mine.

It started because of this whole Labour election spending debacle. My friend said that it proves Labour is a crap party and shouldn't be in government. I firmly disagreed and said I thought it was dumb but could see why it happened and it doesn't really change my opinion of them. Now, I knew he voted National in the last election so didn't really want to get into anything anyway as he's an argumentative fella at the best of times. Alas, avoidance wasn't working so I got dragged into it.

He asked why I supported Labour when i'm a business woman and a fairly high income earner so (technically) my loyalties should lie with National. This is something that gets asked of my father a lot as he is in the top 5% income bracket in the country but is still a staunch Labour supporter. I answered in pretty much the same way he always does.

I support them because if I support National then I am essentially saying I want to be treated well at the expense of those in this country who can't afford to be treated badly. I would much prefer paying a few extra percent in tax so that those who don't have as much money as me can have decent and cheap health care, schooling etc.

Where do National supporters think the money they save on taxes is going to come from? It certainly ain't gonna come from the politician's pockets. It's going to be taken from the places that are actually in need of the money.

Don't worry, I'm not a saint and I desperately hate seeing how much of my money is taken away in tax. But when it really comes down to it, I don't want other people to suffer just so I can have a few extra fancy meals out each year.

My friend did not agree. He said it is their problem they can't get a job, not his. To a certain extent I can see where he's coming from. Without doubt some people on the dole don't need to be there and could get a job if they wanted. My flatmate was on the dole for at least 6 years purely because he liked it and didn't want a job. Some of his friends still are on the dole for the same reason. I would love it if there were tighter controls but when the government tried to bring in the Work for the Dole scheme it went down in a pile of flames.

There will always be dole bludgers but there are a hell of a lot of people out there who need government support for genuine reasons and it is for them that I am willing to pay extra tax. It's just a damn shame that those who don't deserve it also get the benefit.

Anyway I won't go on since I'm sure no-one really cares all that much about my political opinions and I really could go on all day if you let me. I'm sure everyone is hating me right now for the fact that all I've written about recently is cricket and politics. But I don't care cos you are all useless commenters! I've received 3 comments ever. (Thank you Ruwan, Sam and SpaceMonkey - although SpaceMonkey's was very mean)

For those of you who are just here for the movies I have a New Zealand film and a Polish film for you today:

1/ In My Fathers Den This is a New Zealand/British film commission joint project. It's bloody brilliant, by far my favourite New Zealand film ever. The story is powerful and the acting is outstanding. Oh, and it was based on a Maurice Gee book.

2/ Dekalog This is actually ten one-hour films (or tv docos according to imdb). Each one is based on one of the ten commandments but they are not religious films. They are stunningly shot and the kid is Dekalog 10 is actually the cutest kid in the whole wide world. I wouldn't recommend watching them all since that's ten hours of watching right there. But you should watch number 10. It's the coolest.

Labels: Labour, movies, politics

Well no they don't. But I'm drinking mello yello right now so it seemed appropriate.

I have a ton to write about today but I might not write it all. I'm planning to spend the afternoon working on either my Innocent script or my R & J story. Writing in here is a good way to get me warmed up and ready to focus on writing.

First a couple of movie recs. I found the course outline from one of my film papers which listed all the films we watched. There is one I have to put on here even though I don't think anyone will be able to get hold of a copy. My reasons for putting it here? Well for one it was a great film but mainly because of who the producer was. It amused me greatly when I noticed this morning because I know someone with the same name.

Okay without further ado I present todays film picks.

1/ One Potato, Two Potato This is a film from 1964 about a white woman who divorces her husband and then falls in love with an African American Man. The film is hugely powerful and masterfully directed. If anyone does ever manage to get their hands on it then please let me know as I'd kill to see it again. Oh, and IMDB as usual messes up and doesn't list one of the producers, Sam Weston. Sam was a director of adult films back in the 1960s and 70s. Yup, I do mean porn. :)

2/ Hudsucker Proxy An hilarious film. Very typical of the Coen brothers, if you like their work it's a must. If you don't know their work then you might want to give Intolerable Cruelty a try first cos it's a lot more mainstream (although, in my opinion, not one of their better films). Once you've weaned yourself onto the odd brand of humour the Coen's bring to their films give Hudsucker a try, you won't be disappointed.

Labels: film making, movies

I really am. Let's see, I play video games, I spend far too much time online and I obsessively watch movies. Oh. And I have a blog. 'nuff said.

Although - in general I hate science fiction and don't know a huge amount about computers so that may exempt me somewhat.

I'm currently watching Forrest Gump for about the millionth time. I love it, Tom Hanks is so brilliant in it and the soundtrack is awesome. I'm sure anyone that knows SpaceMonkey knows that it was her pick. For those of you who don't know her - she plans to marry Tom Hanks some day which will be neat really cos it means she will be my mother-in-law since I'm marrying Colin Hanks. Of course, she's 3 years younger than me so calling her mum will be funny.

I don't really know why I'm writing in here. I have nothing to say but I feel like writing. For her birthday I bought SpaceMonkey Tom Hanks on Saturday Night Live. It's HILARIOUS!

There is a really funny skit where they are at a nude beach. Jon Lovitz plays a new guy who apparently has a small penis. All they do the entire time is talk about their penises. Then they sing a song about penises.

It goes a little something like this. "I once had a penis sing to me and when it sung to me it was a penis song. Penis penis penis penis penis. Penis penis all day long" It's kinda dumb when it's just written. I tried to find it on youtube but couldn't so too bad for you.

Someone pointed out to me the other day that, because I watch so many films, I should use this blog to make dvd recommendations. The trouble is - I'm so bloody crap at remembering the names of films that I won't be able to.

However, here are two films I would suggest to anyone and everyone:

1/ Rushmore If I was forced at gunpoint to pick my favourite film this is what I would say. The ending gives me goosebumps everytime I see it. It is, in fact, one of the most perfect moment of cinema ever I reckon.

and

2/ Dancer in the Dark This is a must for any Bjork fan as well as any film fan. (and can I just show off for a moment that I saw Bjork in concert when I was 14. How cool am I!)

I'll do my best to come up with some others over the next little while.

Labels: celebrities, humorous, movies, video games

Colin Hanks is HOT!!!

I managed to score myself a ticket to the official King Kong after-party. I didn't get to see many famous people because for the most part they hung around in the VIP lounge upstairs. I got to talk to Colin Hanks though. Richard introduced us, said to Colin "Colin this is Holly". (Richard didn't actually know him, just is able to talk to everybody). Colin then said "Hi Holly I'm Colin!" He shook my hand then asked if I was enjoying myself. I said I was and that was it. Great though - he's really quite cute!

Haven't seen the movie yet. I'm going to see it at the competition on Sunday night. Will be in total comfort though so I don't feel too bad!

Other than that good night I'm pretty depressed really. Yesterday was also the aniversary of something that puts me in this mood every year. I need a holiday (always do at this time of year thanks to this damn depression). Got no time though. I'll get through, I always do. Anyway this is not the place for this sorta moaning. Will put on happy face now!

That's it though for tonight - I'm exhausted from last night still so need an early night.

Catch you all next week, same time, same bat channel.

Labels: celebrities, movies

It's Sunday night, the end of another weekend. Doesn't really feel like it cos I was at work all day yesterday but oh well.

I went and saw Four Brothers last night. It was actually really good. I had been expecting nothing but crap so was pleasantly surprised.

I also made a decision today. I'm not going to go for guys in the film industry or have any interest whatsoever in the industry. This might sound crazy to some, after all who better for me than a fellow film geek right? Wrong.

One reason for this decision is that I am SO sick of going to movies and having to talk through how it was shot, how it compares to similar movies, why that cut was used etc. Last night was a breath of fresh air - the guys I went with are not into any of that, they just wanted to watch a movie. I hadn't even realised how sick of it I was until I didn't have to go into any of it. It was great to just sit and watch the movie for what it was, a simple act of escapism. Not that I actually do it a lot anymore anyway, the person I go to the movies with the most these days is the perfect balance for me. But I still remember going to movies with my film class friends and being expected to make a huge number of insightful and intelligent comments.

But realy I just like to become immersed in the story as much as possible. . A throw-back to my Sam days I think since before him I was a talker but he wasn't. He was a film student that just loved films. He didn't mind discussing techniques afterwards but NEVER during.

With non-film geeks I'll get no-talking cos what is there to talk about during a film but the film techniques? So that's it - new boy=non film geek (but prefereably still likes watching movies!)

Haha as usual I have someone in mind. I will keep my avid readers posted as to how it works out!

Labels: boys, movies

I started writing again about a week ago, script writing that is. It's a fantastic feeling getting back into it.

I'm gonna try and finish "Love Hurts" as well. I really enjoyed writing that script, and while it's totally Hollywood I think it could be good.

Ok better go shower and head into work. I've got tons to catch up on and can't seem to keep away from the place!

Am going to see the Bollywood film Guram Masala tomorrow. I will give an update on how it was tomorrow night.

Labels: film making, movies