The area surrounding the "Fresh Provisions" supermarket in Mount Lawley seems to be, since ever, a heaven for graffiti, stencil and sticker artists. I always pay attention when I walk by this area, and there is always interesting, cute and creative material. However, the examples showcased in the slideshow below are remarkable. Despite its simplicity, the messages in the stickers are poetic, witty, cheeky, thought-provoking, and even philosophical. Fleeting thoughts of a talented artist/writer who can turn a traffic sign pole or a rubbish bin into something interesting to look at.
4/08/2013
4/07/2013
"Dopamine" by Marc Decena (2003)
The main characters are Rand -a computer animator working on a project of a virtual pet- and Sarah -a schoolteacher-, who are convincingly played by John Livingston and Sabrina Lloyd. They really have great chemistry on camera.
Sarah believes in love, from heart to heart, and in a committed relationship. Rand, is very influenced by his father's teachings on human biology and chemistry, according to which most human emotions -love included- are just the result of biochemical reactions in our body. Love, in that regard, is directly connected to a high production of Dopamine in the brain. However, Sarah is rough, edgy, and unpredictable, while Rand is a sweet sensitive guy.
+ The good things about the movie are:
+ The story is very engaging and believable.
+ The acting is good and the main actors have chemistry.
+ The characters are all well-drawn and grounded - believable.
+ The dialogues are great, fresh and thought-provoking.
+ The story is never straightforward or simplistic, and shows the difficulties surrounding men-women relationships from a new perspective.
However,
- The pace of the movie is too slow.
- The music is forgettable. I don't even remember it!
- The colours, cinematography and texture of the film used for the movie are not visually engaging or attractive, which is a pity as the movie was shot in the colourful bright San Francisco.
- The ending is predictable.
The movie won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, and it is not your usual love story. It is not a proper chick flick, or perhaps it is a chick flick for chicks that aren't your average romantic chick.
4/05/2013
"Underground" by Emir Kusturica (1995)
The movie is structured in three parts: War, Cold War, and War. The first is devoted to the WWII, the second to Tito’s period, and the third to the civil war that ended with the disintegration of the country. The second part is the most interesting -and the one that gives the movie its title- as it shows, in a metaphorical way, how the Yugoslavs related to each other, deceived each other, exploited each other, lied to each other and built up the hatred that would end with a very nasty civil war.
All the characters are well drawn, and all the actors do a great job in their respective roles. The main characters are a couple of rascal friends and a nymphomaniac actress. They represent three human archetypes. Marko -played by Miki Manojlovic- depicts those people who say they have political beliefs and brag about them, when in actuality they have none. Cmi = Blacky -played by Lazar Ristovski- depicts those people who truly believe in what they preach and act accordingly, but they do so in such a dogmatic and obsessive way that become oblivious to reality and ignore the harshness of they political regimes they support. Finally, Natalija -played by Mirjana Jokovic- depicts those people who will always support the political regime in power, with a passion, no fight or confrontation, and go on with the flow and with their lives in a successful way. The counterpoint to these three characters is the character of Ivan (Marko's mentally changed brother) -played by Slavko Stimacy-, who loves his monkey Soni and wants to hung himself as he's always deceived and betrayed by everybody; he seems to be the only honest decent person and human being around.
Although all the themes touched in the movie are serious and dramatic, Kusturica's merit is to present them in a farce-like comedy and to talk about his people showing both his positive and negative traits. The movie, thus, mixes elements of surrealism (some of them very Buñuel-ish), comedy of the absurd, neo-realism, and époque films. Some scenes of the movie are unforgettable. My two favourite ones are the one at the old village square, which is terrific and visually shocking, and the ending with the "island", which really explains the whole movie and contains one of its most beautiful scenes. Some of the scenes related to the marriage of Blacky's son, his first outing to the real world, and the shooting of the movie about Blacky, are also great.
Some Bosnians and French intellectuals accused Kusturica of producing a pro-Serbian pamphlet. Kusturica, who considers himself to be an Othodox Serbian (despite being born a Muslim Bosnian) does not mention anything about the barbaric acts committed by the Serbians. I do not know the director personally, or enough about him, so I cannot speak about his true intentions. However, the fact is that the movie rarely mentions any ethnic group. I see the movie more an evaluation of the (arche)type of people you find during pre-war or war periods than a justification of any of the barbarian acts committed during those period by any ethnic group. In fact, we are shown that all of those ethnic and social groups are to blame for what happened. Kusturica shows, in a way, certain fatalism in his approach to the events, as if what happened was inevitable. We see best friends killing each other’s... anybody who wants to understand, will.
My main criticism to the movie is its the extremely long footage, its slow pace, and the fact that it is not always engaging. Moreover, the camera style and film colours are those ugly ones typical of the TV shows of the 1980s. That is so because the film is an adaptation for the big screen of a 5-hour TV series. I would have not had any problem with that if the editors had taken into consideration that people going to the cinema expect different things than those watching a TV series, and that superfluous things are OK for TV but not for a movie. I found the music overbearing and annoying in general, although some of the individual pieces are beautiful. However, the music goes well with the histrionics of the characters and the craziness of the story.
Once upon a time, there was a country... and people who were happy partying and playing music, would end killing, torturing, and hating each other in a way that is difficult to understand for outsiders.
Underground, despite its comedic tone, is a very sad movie that speaks of social and human failure, and of the wickedness of the human spirit.
Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurth (Mt Lawley, Perth WA)
Mount Lawley Western Australia 6050
(08) 9368 4577
Website
Hours:
Mon-Fri 11:00 - 22:00
Sat-Sun 10:00 - 22:00
Tutti Frutti is a frozen yoghurt franchise selling milk and Soya yoghurt ice-creams. This Mount Lawley branch opened three weeks ago, and it is getting fans rapidly. At present, the place looks like a set of a movie, so shiny, spotless and colourful is.
How does it work?
+ Chose one of the bowls to put your ice-cream yoghurt.
+ Fill it in the flavour/s you fancy using the different dispensers. Self service. You can put as much as you want, as many flavours as you want. They have fruit, chocolate and cake flavours. Flavours rotate regularly.
+ Add as many toppings as you want. There is a large variety of then. Any colour, texture or flavour available. Fresh fruit. Chocolate. M&ms. Add any "sauce" if you want.
+ Put your bowl on the weighing machine.
+ Pay and enjoy!
Yoghurt ice-creams are always light, and Tutti Frutti's are no exception. They aren't too sweet either, which is an added bonus. I have tried six flavours, but most of them taste so similar that it is difficult to distinguish them unless you have your eyes open and see the colouring of each one. The toppings, on the contrary, are delicious, very fresh and varied, and they really complement (even accessorise!) the ice-cream. The combo is very refreshing, and a healthier alternative to the normal ice-cream...that is, if you exercise some self-control at the toppings and sauces area.
Service is very friendly.
They would need a few tables inside, as at the moment is mostly a place for take-away, and they just have three tables on the footpath.
3/31/2013
"Crash" by Paul Haggis (2004)
Crash is a choral film in which each character's mini-story links to the others in an organic way. This is not a film with good and bad people despite the initial appearances. As the film progresses, we see that all the characters are deeply human, and they are depicted in both their splendour and misery - sometimes they are disgusting, reproachable, racist, angry and violent; other times they are heroic, tender, kind and good. The characters are not good or bad, are good and bad depending on the circumstances. As any human being in any country in the world. Humans are never a behavioural block of concrete, and there is more to any person than it catches the eye, as the eye is always biased. The movie also succeeds at offering a raw unadorned honest and empathetic image of American society and its social and multicultural issues wounds, and most importantly, of the depths and multifaceted nature of the human spirit.
Paul Haggis does a great job at creating unity and giving harmonic pace and sense to the emotional physical and cultural chaos in which most characters live. The story has action and introspection, and the main characters are wonderfully drawn and played by all actors. All the cast members are great in their roles, but Matt Dillon (as officer Ryan) really stands out in his performance.
The film makes you think, but it is entertaining and approachable, sweet and harsh. A great film, with surprising twists.
3/30/2013
Perth Revelation International Film Festival (Perth WA)
Astor Cinema
659 Beaufort St
Mt Lawley Western Australia 6050
(08) 9238 1358
Website
The Revelation Film Festival takes places in Perth WA mid July every year since 1997. This is one of those events that happen in Perth that is really world class. One of those events that you should not miss if you like movies, for several reasons:
- The event is hosted by the Astor Cinema, a beautiful old-style cinema that is perfect for this sort of events.
- You will watch International independent and limited-release movies. The kind of movies that are difficult to see in mainstream movie theatres in general, and that we would rarely get to see in Perth otherwise.
- The festival does show movies, documentaries, short films, and multimedia shows with live music, and has academic and non academic discussion panels on different subjects. There is always a well-known independent cult movie star or director to whom the festival pays tribute (Crispin Clover was here last year), and around whom some special events are organised. There are so many cool things going on that, even if you wanted to attend everything, you wouldn't be able to do so.
- Prices for individual movies are the standard in Perth, except for opening and closing nights, and the special events. However, these are not your average movies or shows, so the money you pay is worth it.
- You will see and/or interact with Perth cultural elite, and with some of the national and international stars attending the festival.
Although I have attended the Revelation other years to watch individual movies, it just in 2012 when I took the plunge and devoted a good deal of my time and money to immerse myself in the Revelation. Some of the most fascinating films I watched last year were the ones I watched at the Revelation, and this is a lot to say.
Some of the screenings were really intimate, as they took place in the small theatre rooms; they were very especial because of their experimental nature, and/or because some of the film stars/directors were there to discuss the film with the public. That was the case of Mongolian Blink, Vigilante Vigilante, or Jeff Keen Retrospective, the latter with the presence of Keen's daughter after the recent death of Keen. Other screenings were a hit with the public and were massively attended, like the Georges Melies Project with a group of American Jazz musicians playing live.
The organisation was great and everybody working at the event was terrific, friendly and cool: security people, volunteers at the doors, tickets sellers, bartenders - everybody. The movies started, almost martially, at the time they were scheduled.
OTHER GOOD THINGS ABOUT REVELATION
- They always have an awesome poster! Seriously, this is truly important for a Film Festival.
- The organisation has the Revelation on the Road, a program devoted to showing films and organising film workshops in isolated parts of the Western Australia (Albany, Esperance, Port Headland and Broome).
- The Revelation website is good looking, very well organised, and truly informative. The Revelation newsletter will keep you updated all the year around.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
- Although there are different sort of passes (Gold Pass for the whole thing, The Minipass for six films, and Connect4 for four films), I missed an intermediate pass for people who do not want to attend everything, but will be attending more than six shows. Moreover, there were not specific passes for students; "Revelators" be generous, don't you remember your days of poor student, when you were really... poor?
- It would be great having a courtesy of five-minute wait for any film. I know the program is fully packed, and punctuality it is a great virtue. However, being o'clock is not always good, because you get people arriving a bit "late" and having to find their way to a free seat in the darkness, stumbling across other people's feet and distracting those already seated.
The Perth Film Festival is the best cultural event I attended last year, and I attended quite a few. I cannot wait for Revelation 2013.
3/29/2013
The Watch Spot (Perth WA)
Hay Street Mall
Perth Western Australia 6000
(08) 9421 1093
Website
Hours:
Mo-Thu 9.00-17.30
Fri 9.00-21.00
Sat 10.00-17.00
Sun 12.00-17.00
Watch Spot is an hybrid watch shop selling watches, alarm watches, wall clocks and stop watches, and offering repairs and replacements service. They are located in the Plaza Arcade, next to Infusions Café.
Regarding repairs and replacements, they offer similar services and prices to other shops around. However, I like them best because of the following reasons:
1/ The staff's sincere friendliness and great service.
2/ The lack of BS when dealing with you. Sort of, we cannot provide you with a band for your designer watch unless it is official. What what what! Yes, it has been told to me at my face. Almost fainted. However, they do not do that at Watch Spot.
3/ They have a larger, fancier and more colourful range of watch bands and straps than in other places. Coloured good quality French ones! Not just the usual boring black, white and brown.
4/ They have a great selection of watches of low, mid and mid-high range at good prices, including brands like Casio, Citizen, Seiko, Lorus, Emporio Armani, Calvin Klein, and Timex among others.
5/ The shop, despite its small size, is tidy, clean, polished, well illuminated, and good looking.
They open every day.
