Salt - a film review

Directed by Phillip Noyce, Phillip Noyce, with the skilled cinematography of Robert Elswit, "Salt" is an excellent spy thriller with some great Russians villains.

The plot is not worth the mention because it is gloriously ridiculous, yet it is wound tight enough to keep the suspense ticking continuously with the clock for 100 minutes. The movie has many chase scenes, shoot outs and explosions. Somehow, Salt comes unscathed out of most of them, but her immunity does not seem to bother the audience because she looks great doing it. Not only does she look incredible with blond and black hair, she also makes jumping out of cars, sliding down elevator shafts and single handedly saving the world from nuclear annihilation seem like a walk in the park.



Jolie plays a CIA spy, who is accused about being a Russian spy. Whether or not she is a Russian or American spy does not really matter, but the supporting actors Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor keep you guessing as to the real motives of her character until the end. Jolie plays Salt with conviction and brutal energy of a female superhero, who looks beautiful despite sometimes getting bloody, wet or dirty.


My favorite scene involved Salt making a rocket launcher out of office furniture and cleaning supplies. My least favorite scene involved Salt dressing up as a man in order to get into the White House.


Despite the suspended disbelief of everything that happens in the film, Salt is a smart and very entertaining thriller.

Eat, Pray, Love – a feel good chick flick

Directed by Ryan Murphy and starring Julia Roberts, Billy Drudup, James Franco and Javier Bardem, Eat Pray Love is an accurate film adaptation of the memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert of the same title.

An international bestseller, the book conveyed Gilbert’s personal and slightly self indulgent journey through crisis and self discovery towards an emotional balance.  The story begins with Gilbert, a successful writer and wife, being wholly unhappy in her marriage to a nice and loving husband.  After a painful separation, followed by a gruesome divorce and a short lived romantic relationship with an actor, Gilbert decides to spend a year traveling Italy, India and Indonesia. This journey is funded by an advance to write the book about her experience, which is the story of Eat, Pray, Love.  

The film is based solely on Gilbert’s yearlong journey, at the end of which she finds everything she ever wanted. It’s a fairy tale with a happy ending, except this fairy tale is real and actually happened to Gilbert, who has since been nicked “the lucky girl.”

 The largely female audience waited for this film with enthusiasm, hungry for an emotionally rewarding entertainment that has a ring of truth, no matter how far fetched.  The film is rightfully branded a chick flick, for it touches the hearts and nerves of women, wishing for a fairytale ending after enduring loss of love, loss of self and loss of balance. 

And the film delivers just that – a delightful voyage to splendid places, filled with succulent meals, spirited messages, romantic scenes and a happy ending.  It is a solid piece of Hollywood amusement that is charming and enjoyable throughout.

Julia Roberts devoted herself wholeheartedly to portraying Gilbert on film, making it one of her best performances.  The film's supporting cast is equally excellent, with  Javier Bardem adding icing to the cake of already pleasing scenery.

Although not as inspirational or heartfelt as the original Gilbert prose, Eat, Pray, Love the movie provides women with renewed hope and confidence the way a Disney cartoon fuels idealistic dreams of little girls. 

The masterpiece (an excerpt)

"To influence a person is to give him one's own soul”

--Oscar Wilde

Philip stood up from his chair and sat next to Rob on the couch, leaning in with a look of discontent. He rather liked Rob and felt compelled to share his knowledge with the young man. At 33, Rob was still a cub, an innocent man, lost in the world of ideals that no longer moved Phil. 

"There is no such thing as a good relationship, Robert. Companionship is not going to make you feel better about yourself. A woman will not complete you. In fact, living with another human being under the same roof is the worst thing a man your age could do.

Todd White

Todd White is is a San Antonio native, whose figurative style is best known as “Rat-Pack meets Picasso”.  Below are some of his works on display at the Galerie d'Art Francais, located on 541 Royal St. in New Orleans (French Quarter):

NOLA at night

NOLA - a few pics

An Optical Illusion

I've been playing with an idea of a relationship being like an optical illusion one sees when watching a spoke wheel spin or a helicopter propeller turn.  After watching it for a while, the wheel can appear to rotate more slowly than the true rotation. It can also appear stationary or spinning in the opposite direction from the true rotation. This is called the wagon-wheel effect or the reverse rotation effect. 


Here is how it works in my mind:


Today I'll say to you
"Let's make a plight"
Take this propeller for a spin 
An old bird in new flight


See rotors turning in reverse
So slowly now but fast at first 
An optical illusion of a dream
Spokes spinning in a fortune wheel


Watch rivers spreading roads below
While birds and trees are whistling by
As eyes and fingers tremble thrill
Breath escalates the stillness of free will


The air is warm tonight
And fills our heads with buzz
Let's move with feline thirst
And make this evening ours

"Generation Zero" - a film review

On August 15, 2010, St. Petersburg TV program “Oil Painting” discussed a Russian documentary directed by Peter Solovyov, Поколение нулевых (“Generation Zero”).

This film is a critical portrayal of young men and women, born between the years 1983 and 2000, for whom the Internet has become home. The film explores a theory proposition that the external influence of the Internet plays a damaging role on young people’s personality, turning them into infantile zombies.

This film raised many comments between different generations. Researchers proclaimed that representatives of the “computer” generation are different from their parents in the way their brain works. Young people defended their position and gave examples of various motivated young Russian industry leaders. The elders in the community criticized the youngsters for being listlessness and blamed the Internet as the source of laziness and idleness of the new generation, predicting that it will impede future progress of Russia.

In my opinion, this film does not shed light on any of the problems of the eternal conflict between parents and children.  Many young Russians are existentialists with a humorous outlook on life, who use a healthy dose of skepticism in order to self preserve. This, however, is not atypical of other generations that came before them.

Each previous generation has always criticized the one that came before it. There always were lazy people with poor work ethic and there were people who were more motivated and harder working. The difference between this generation and their parents is that now we are able to openly discuss these issues on the Internet. This is something that was impossible twenty years ago.

In Russia, where truth was suppressed for many years, the phenomenon of widespread information is especially visible. In modern Russia everything is permeated with corruption and lies, leaving few options to the young people. Many ambitious youngsters move ahead regardless of the cost, while majority spend hours in virtual reality of the Internet.

The real difference between generations of today lies in the modern technology, which enables young people to live, work and play in a dimension that was not available to their parents. With the rise of the Internet and its availability to virtually everyone, the possibility of doing everything from home has revolutionized the way young Russians act.

Problems may occur with the introduction of any new technology, but progress and change are impossible without innovative approaches to living and doing business.

Only in New York - A trip to heaven from hell and back to hell again

Civilization is a video installation created by Marco Brambilla for the elevators Standard Hotel in NYC.  It is comprised of over 400 video clips, taking the elevator passengers on a trip from hell to heaven as they go up or from heaven to hell as they go down. 


I can watch this video over and over and it becomes more fascinating and disturbing each time I watch it. I can't even imagine what it would be like to ride in the Standard Hotel's elevator. I will try it next time I am in NYC


Pictures of the installation and are posted here. 


Title: Civilization (MEGAPLEX), 2008 By: Marco Brambilla

Client: The Standard Hotel, New York

Only in Texas - The world's best CEO - Highly recommended reading.

If you are tired of your boss or unsatisfied with the corporate culture at your company, don't quit. Instead, read these highly entertaining memos from Edward Mike Davis, the CEO of the failed Houston oil firm Tiger Oil, and the colorful way in which he relays his company policies. 

A Single Man - a film review

Although Tom Ford's A Single Man could easily pass for a stellar Gucci commercial, the designer's first film is nothing short of a superb cinematographic debut.

 

Based on Christopher Isherwood’s short 1964 novel, A Single Man presents the universal subjects of love and loss with a great deal of sensuality, romance and compassion. Ford turns the simple narrative of one day in the life of George Falconer, a British middle-aged literature professor into a glamorous and deeply emotional portrayal. 

Set in 1962 Los Angeles, the film is shot from an intimate point of view of George Falconer, with camera following his gaze, slowly shifting from the glossy looks of George’s lost younger partner, Jim, to George’s own  impeccable dark suits, followed by detailed shots of black eye liners, big hair and high-cheek bones of women, and cigarette smoke populating George’s world.

 

A Single Man follows George on his last day, as he plans to take his own life, methodically laying out his funeral papers, stylish suit, new shirt, tie, cufflinks, shoes and notes to friends left behind after his death. However, when it comes to shooting himself, George is hesitant because he cannot fathom splattering his office or bed with blood. What happens next is a rather humorous melodramatic chase around inevitable death, which eventually catches up with George when he least expects it.

Colin Firth’s performance as professor George Falconer is outstanding.  He managed to convey the complexity of George’s personality as an aloof Brit who is faultlessly tasteful and reserved, and therefore, is unable to openly grieve the loss of his gay lover in a 1960s environment of contemptuous Los Angeles, where he can only be himself with his old friend from London, Charley.

Ford certainly contributes to this film as a gay director, paying homage to the male form and the panache of 1960s as his camera glides over tanned male bodies and impeccably dressed men and women. Despite the highly stylized details, nothing in the film distracts from the sympathy for George as a man suppressing his grief while being unable to hold back his thirst for life, beauty and love.  

Ford conveys George’s emotions through camera fading in and out of color as George regresses between present and memory. His late partner is always depicted in warm welcoming hues, while George himself often fades to black and white, into existence deprived of color, resembling an old Polaroid shot from the 1960s. Every time someone interrupts the tedium of George’s reality, the world on screen turns back to color. Also noteworthy is the ticking clock metaphor, which accompanies George throughout the film while he broods on the past life with Jim.

 

This film is intricate, delicate, and real.  I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Only in Russia - suicidal metro station

Although Fyodor Dostoevsky is usually associated with St. Petersburg, the city where he spent most of his life working, the writer was born and spent his childhood in Moscow.  Therefore, it is not surprising that the new metro station in Moscow is called Dostoevskaya, in honor of world-famous Russian writer. 

It was opened this summer and contains several ominous murals by artist Ivan Nikolaev, which accurately depict violent plots of “Crime and Punishment” and “Demons,” as well as other gloomy novels by the famous author. 

One controversial image depicts Kirillov from the “Demons” novel holding a pistol to his temple.

Another mural depicts a scene from the "Crime and Punishment," in which Rodion Raskolnikov murders an elderly pawnbroker Alyona Ivanovna and her sister.  Although this particular mural is not the focal point of the station, it has been raising concerns among the mental health professionals and bloggers, who  have decided to nick name the metro station the “station of suicides.”

Although no suicides have yet been committed at Dostoevskaya, the decor of the station is appropriately depressing gray, perpetuating the idea that this subway station could become a place that encourages suicidal behavior.  


According to Mikhail Vinogradov, head of the center for urgent psychological aid, the art of Dostoevskaya metro station “is a direct call for suicide. It can’t be ruled out that people will also commit murders and assault others.” 

Madelyn Gould, an American psychiatrist at Columbia University, agrees that it is not desirable "to do anything that might in any way contribute to someone's motivation to die by suicide." 

Ivan Nikolayev, the 69 year old artist who created the murals disagrees: "My task was to draw out the meaning, creativity and entire life of Dostoevsky."  His artwork is definitely designed to transport travelers directly into the world of Dostoevsky as soon as they exit the train.

Only time will show if these images will encourage or deter destructive behavior among commuters. 

Puttin' on the Ritz

I spent a few days in Florida, taking in the Mediterranean style luxury of the Ritz Carlton at West Palm Beach:  

Feeling rather decadent, I skipped lounging by the pool and headed straight for the beach:

There, the clear as glass water was perfect for walking, jet skiing, surfing, kayaking and plain old swimming, which I proceeded to do for the next two days.

When not soaking up the rays, I had a relaxing lunch at one of the breezy restaurants:

I also liked lounging in the lobby, where candles, crystals, and precious art compliment the modern luxury of opulent proportions. 

Everything at the Ritz is well thought out and designed in a way that assures its guests that there is no such thing as too much decadence.

I thoroughly enjoyed my stay and everything this 7 acre property had to offer. The hotel was beautiful and I did not feel like leaving the premises. 

I did, however,  draw the line at the newly renovated Eau Spa and their Platinum and Bejeweled Face and Body ritual.  

For some reason, I did not feel like spending an hour an a half wearing a platinum face mask or enduring a platinum chakra cleansing, followed by a 50-minute Ruby and Sapphire Massage. But i really think it was the witch's brew of Ruby or Sapphire-infused elixir that turned me away from this $550.00 spa treatment. Other than that, the Ritz was a very fun place to stay.