Sunday, October 28, 2012

October's Movie: Ruby Sparks

Ruby Sparks

The Ruby Sparks Effect
Definition: after you watch this movie, you'll feel like a rainbow just ran you over. it'd be perplexing, yet leaving a glow on you, like when you remember something fond that you'd forgotten and hadn't had time to recall. 
Disclaimer: you have to watch it with complete suspension of utter disbelief. don't hog on the fact that it can't be real, it's a movie. LOL take it w a pinch of salt.



People come and go. What's new soon becomes old, and life is like a train, people get on and get off, and you move, experiencing things together, sometimes nice, sometimes not so much.. but this is a story of boy meets girl. How? He thinks of her. Fantasizing a character out of a golden silhouette in a dream. Dreaming up a dream girl. a manix pixie dream girl (MPDG), romantic interests of the male protagonist who have eccentric personality quirks and are unabashedly girlish.. think Zoey Deschanel in 500 Days of Summer. The romance in the film definitely fills up the atmosphere, but the little things keep your mind nibbling on corners of conceptions. Here's the trailer!


Context:
Zoe Kazan, who stared in Happythankyoumoreplease, The Private lives of Pippa Lee, and a couple of other shows, wrote the screenplay for this movie and acts as the main female lead. An actress and a playwright, who graduated from Yale doing Theatre. Definitely talented. and if you're not convinced, watch Ruby Sparks and you will be =) Johnathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who directed Little Miss Sunshine, directed this. So yeah, husband and wife directors, girlfriend and boyfriend (Paul Dano) actress and actor. The cohesiveness of the film means no boring moments nor awkward pauses. very smooth, and I loved it from the moment it started till it ended! And Antonio Banderas was such a caricature of his Zorro self, imagine a bohemian-hippie-Spanish-suave.. very peculiar indeed! =D

The colors and film direction was amazing, I'm not sure how to express or describe it, but the colors blended so well, and the moments were captured just right. not overdone, and so real. Leaves you knowing the movie isin't real, but it's a movie about a book about a book! 

In Greek mythology, Pygmalion was a sculptor who made an ivory statue of a woman, so beautiful and so life-like that he fell in love with it. Venus brought her to life, and the rest is history (but not in reality). The Pygmalion effect is probably the undermining theme of the movie.

Synopsis:
Calvin has an imaginary friend!
Yes, the lonely dorkus-extremus nerd-a-geek wrote one book and became a genius. Pet peeve? being called a genius. Then he never wrote again. Writer's block 4eva! His shrink, Dr Rosenthal, tells him to write, write a story about meeting someone, write badly. whatever, just write. Then Calvin has a dream about a beautiful girl, with burning red hair and blue eyes, inquisitive and curious. She steals his heart, naturally, and he writes, consumed by his ideas of her. He writes to be with her, falling in love with his art, his muse. One day, he wakes up and she's there, real in the flesh and bone. Donning purple tights and a bright blue dress, she literally brings color into his world, his world being the inside of his white and washed out apartment. So begins a love story, of boy creates girl. Calvin manifests the girl of his dreams and has the power to tweak and fix her, just by typing on his dingy-old typewriter.


I just don't really like how the aliens bombed his house and they turned into dandelions. JUST KIDDING!! watch the movie for the real story. totally worth the time. 


In my head, my brain is like woah:
It's creepy, yet it really reminds you how special people are the way they've come to be, habits and tendencies and bugs and all. What's the point of being with someone perfect? Although Zettai Kareshi (Absolute Boyfriend)  which is a Japanese Drama about dating a perfect boyfriend-robot, might differ! I think one of the most important parts of a relationship or friendship, understanding another person well and accepting them for 'who they are' is probably all you need. the give and take. Fixing someone, to your expectations, is just being chauvinistic and thinking you're right. A little like the white man's dream, that was kinda facetious of 'em wasn't it? but yeah, helping someone fix their problems, or to become a better person for their own sake should be the main thing, not fixing them to your needs. Kinda like the wierdass robotization of Nicole Kidman in The Stepford Wives. People are the most complex creatures, but we are the smartest because we have communication. 

Favourite moments:
When Calvin first meets Ruby (twice), she's a quirky, inquisitive damsel, and the angle of the light just sets the mood right. The newness of their meeting, clashes with their overpowering chemistry. They need to meet each other. They have to. They're meant to be. That definitely comes through, that's what love at first sight is supposed to be like.. =D 

Another favorite point is when he is finally convinced she is real, but he had just broken her heart, and he whisks her off her feet, hauls her over his shoulder and calms her down, madly, fiercely in love with her. Its the best thing that's ever happened to him and he knows it. He's got it, and he's only got to cherish it because she's his 'now'. Really moving. Have you ever known that someone was right for you, you knew you could never let it go? He did, and he was scared too, but he GRABBED LIFE BY THE BALLS her and held her like he would never let go!
Disclaimer: don't be distracted by his rapist glasses. HAHA he's not a perv, rather gentlemanly!
Rant and Ramble:
We all start as strangers, and do we really like people for just who they are? I don't believe so. I think its a spoonful of opportunity, a whole bowl of chance, a few ticks off the clock of timing, the experiences weathered together, and a dash of magic. In this world of billions of people, these are the ones we had the blessing of meeting and knowing. If you think about it, what are the odds? and sometimes, we just like people, chemistry, inexplicable. funny isin't it! If we could change something that easily, would that change have any meaning? What would we do, what would you change about yourself. Any change would be to satisfy a preconceived notion about what is good or bad, but no one ever is anything, can we be defined by single actions we take? We might react unfairly to something that puts us off, but every reaction we have has an explanation, it's only the extent. We might get jealous of the person we are dating, just because we are insecure because the prev one was a douche. Does that make us jealous by nature? We might not be open hearted to extremes, because the last time we were spontaneous, we ended up getting hurt or in trouble. Afraid to get bitten twice, does that make us undaring? Scaredy-cats? 

And how much do we ever know anyone? define 'knowing someone'. I read this once, I can't remember where, but it said that we only ever know things about people, we know their favourite colour, and we can probably predict certain things about how they'll react. But that assumes they don't change. And people change. At least I think and believe so. We grow, and life changes us. Hopefully for the better. 

I guess when it's easy to lose yourself and you sense of 'self' when you're in a really good friendship or relationship. you lose your identity in the role you think you are supposed to fit, or other people's expectations of you. A self-fulfilled prophecy sorta.

I loved this movie! Best rom-com-drama of the year I'd say. =) but yeah, here's my take on it. GO WATCH IT NOW, GO GO! Paul Dano And Zoe Kazan, Real-life and on-screen couple. Mega cute.










Thursday, October 25, 2012

October's Artist of the Month: Kimbra




Who is she? Well, she's somebody you really should know, after all, she's been passionately belting out her heartache and pain in the breakup anthem for the year, SOMEBADI THAT I USED TO KNOW!!! I'd describe her music as electro-vintage-pop. and i like it. i really like it.

Introducing:


Yeap, Kimbra Lee Johnson is the voice behind the duet with Gotye, that shot them both into my radar, and playing on the radio non-stop. Although few people probably know who she is, the young kiwi's album Vows has been certified platinum in Aussie. and she's only 21! definitely impressive..

KIWI!!!

Background:
Her dad's a doctor, mom was a nurse, won a couple of contests where she wrote some songs when she was 10! Got spotted and moved to Melbourne to perfect her craft for 4 yrs before releasing her new album Vows. Her previous stuff is verrryyyy different. More like Alanis Morisette, and not as interesting. I guess 4 years working on her craft really shows through. Checkout her old stuff here.


SO on to her music.

Describe it:

This is going to sound very quirky. Her sound is new, refreshing, but not that outa-this-world. I'd say, electrosynth pop in style, with a hint of spunkyness and a touch of old jazz. Like a cabaret performance. Her voice is sometimes strong and loud, sometimes patient, tender and careful. I like the meticulousness effortlessness of her singing. 


A little like.. Florence and the Machine and Christina Aguilera, decorated by intricate and colorful vocal riffs when she gets into it, yet jazzy like Nina Simone with her pliant coos and scatting rhythms. Her songs also hit some odd notes that really catch you offguard. It comes as a nice surprise. unpredictable pop. Lastly, her high-note belts are kind of like Bjork, straight up and out, so her voice is really versatile, and keeps you listening for what comes up next.

Some reviews say her songs get boring, but I SAY NAY! they're all a pretty good mix, and really dancey, it stays interesting IMO. Although, sometimes I can't really hear what she's singing, her enunciation and the colorful mix of everything in it kind of makes it hard to hear every word! I'm skeptical if her 'live' sessions are really live cus she moves SO far from the mic ...


Oh, and she's pretty, she looks a little like Katy Perry in an alt-indie sorta way. Whatever that means. With the strangeness of Zooey Deschanel. duncha think?^^ 



If you watch her videos, even her live performances sound good =) I like her live version of 'two way street'. most of her songs have really strong themes and provoking perceptions, that remind you of the most obvious, yet we tend to forget or slide it back. this one's about love being two way, "there's no conspiracy, behind the way to heist me" and she has these exaggerated hand-motions that make her look like she's casting spells, but then again, I'm spellbound when I'm watching her. must be the hocus pocus. Checkout the vid below. pretty intense.


although. sometimes she tends to open her mouth too much. sometimes. and when she does, sometimes, it's kinda awkward for me *twiddles fingers. otherwise, she's totally hot. 


So there's her first single Settle Down from her album Vows which has a catchy upbeat rhythm, boom ba-boom ba, and it's about wanting to Settle Down.  "I wana settle down/ baby's there's no need to run/ i'll love you well" Cheeky and freaky at the same time, it's about the typical housewifey image, very 1960s and the music video looks alot like the town Edward Scissorhands lived in. yep, oldies kinda vibe. very eccentric. but she seems to dance in most of her videos, which is pretty mesmerizing. (that probably sounded a tad gay of me.but she's just really attractive.watch for yourself and see..) boom ba-boom ba..boom ba-boom ba...*shakes it..


So yeap, give her a listen, she's my new fav artist, and 
October's Artist of the Month!!

Future:
She's coming out from Down Under (see what I did there. hehe) and she'll be touring North America opening for Foster the People, and doing her own tour.

Checkout Warrior by Mark Foster, DJ A-Trak and Kimbra, the tune and rhythm sound alot like "Houdini" and isin't that much my thang. The vid's interesting though.. leave a comment if you wanna tell me whatcha think of it =)

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Crab and seafood at Jumbo!

Here's this weekend's food post, JUMBO! every Singaporean knows what Jumbo is, it is THE place to get your crab fix =D so to end my week, we headed over to cellebrate my cousin's birthday!

Address: www.jumboseafood.com.sg/
1206 East Coast Parkway
i'd suggest making a reservation, or risk waiting a long time! about an hour on weekends, weekdays should be alright..

I LOVE CHILLI! and they have great sambal, which is unusual because usually only nice zi-char places have good sambal. so this went really well with, erm, everything. the prawns, the fish, the crab, and even the peanuts. 


So the first wave of food finally came, the food wait was alright, though I was getting peckish. Crispy chicken was the first to arrive, which is basically roasted chicken with keropok (fish crackers), to be dipped in the salt and pepper mix. clean, fried but not overly oily. i like how the skin is superbly crispy. now i know why it said 'crispy chicken' on the menu. be careful though! some other chicken thingy on the menu is chicken skin, and not chicken meat but squid! its a wannabe-chicken dish! beware!


Then, was fried baby squid! I always like this, it's crunchy and crumbly, sweet, and has that burnt grilled squid taste!


Third was sweet and sour fish. The flavour is nicely mixed because you can taste the tanginess but isn't really sour. cuts through the sticky sweetness of the sauce, which compliments the fish well. The fish was fresh and juicy, very soft and and the clean freshness definitely went well with the thick sauce.


Cereal prawns! though they are buried under the cereal HAHA! and you can order them deshelled, so you don't have to peel them =) easy eating! the prawns were done just right, springy and juicy while the cereal was light and sweet, one of my favourite dishes. 



Lastly, before the arrival of the crabs, was fried rice! The food was sort of filling me up already so the rice was a nice filler-upper before the crabs came since crabs arent really tummy filling. it satiated my appetite so i could slowly enjoy the crabs hurhur! the rice had salted fish in it and was very fragrant, moist but not too oily, which was nice because i tend to get a sore throat if i eat too much oily crap. I don't like the carrots and peas nonsense, which this fried rice didnt have, plus-points ++ there!


Dum-da-dum!
The crabs came! we ordered two big ones, black pepper and chilli crab!
I prefer the black pepper crab because it's cleaner to eat, no messy gravy, the chilli crab usually leaves my hands gravied-out, haha! im a messy eater 'cause i have to eat every little bit. yums! the pepper was definitely strong, which made the crab very tasty, yet the sauce was dry so the meat was firm, moist but not wet, and the meat had a sweet aftertaste, after the pepper flavour wore off =) yums!


Then was man-tou, fried bread thats sweet and crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. I like eating this plain, but my mom likes dipping it in the chilli sauce! =) the chilli crab was slightly more wet and messy to eat, but the gravy was really yummy, infused with the crab essence hehe, i guess it was more like drinking gravy with crab bits in it haha! very chunky. sweet and not as spicy as the pepper crab! but definitely unique.



ALTHOUGH...it was super bizarre. a video of one of the chefs killing a crab and chopping it to pieces as it was still alive and wriggling was very disturbing. the crab looked like it was in such pain! yep. as.we.ate.our.crab. LOL and my mom said she watched the video a bajillion times because it was on a screen infront of her HAHA

So ends the seafood dinner! there wasen't any air con but it was cool and breezy and we could see the sea (see the sea...) from where we were. Was kind of crowded and the service was kind of slow, had to call and ask twice to take order, to get water, and the lady kind of walked away to get whatever it was before we could tell her the second thing we wanted, and the place was so noisy that we were shouting across the table initially, got quieter later on. =) 

Overall, good food at a reasonable price! yay!! so full now...

Monday, October 15, 2012

Spector. :S

 So there i was, all excited to catch Spector! with Kevin and Patrick! whheeee! The concert was sponsored by topman, and the guys from Spector were decked in collared shirts and blazers, very classy. SO I HAD NO IDEA WHO THEY WERE! (so shoot me, i live under a rock"-_-) but yes, their music, i was told, was indie electronic pop.. and here i was thinking Ellie Goulding mmchi mmchi bop-up-and-down kinda music! So, Spector is a 5 piece band from london, very old school looking, with hair slicked back, thick framed glasses, and described as a fuse between the Strokes, the killers and Frank Sinatra. To me, they sounded like Foster the People after the cold war. old. very old. i'd call it classic. if you're into geeky looking indie bands, this is it.

Okay, now begins the slam. because i feel the performance was a let down. If you detest angst, and are seriously peace loving, stop reading here. "-_- to read on bout how the concert wasen't that great, read on!


So one wierd thing was that, the lead singer Frederick Macpherson kept singing to himself, and combing, yes combing, his hair on stage the way you would during the hippy-belljar-bottom-jeans era. kind of odd to be combing your hair like "Grease" in the middle of a song duncha think? but his hair was melting. he was sweating. must be the thick jackets. His vocals weren't impressive either, and I could only make out two phrases out of the entire night. The first was "what you wanted was not what I wanted" from a song titled "what you wanted". It repeated over and over like Bieber's "baby baby baby oh". you really can't miss it. The second was "shimmy down yea shimmy shimmy down yeah" which turned out to be "Chevy thunder Chevy Chevy thunder" from a song called, you guessed it, "Chevy Thunder". Heard it on the radio and I was wondering how come i was listening to Gold90fm. nope. I wasen't. To me, their music didn't really have anything unique, other than it recreating old music. abit like they got stuck, time travelled or something.

His stage presence was terrible. he was just hopping to and fro by himself, sweating (which looked quite gross. WIPE IT DUDE! you're dripping. and singing to himself. he looked rather like he was acting and looking good on stage, which isin't a crime, especially not if you're a band travelling the world. pretty cool, but there was zero connection. if you think it's just cus i wasen't a hardcore fan, most of the crowd had their arms crossed, and no one was dancing even though the drums were banging off, at most, some people were swaying/bobbing. So I know it's not just me.

"hey guys. you are the best crowd ever, we love singapore. it's gota be the best place we've been to"
zero excitement in his tone. said it a couple of times, really slowly. LIE TO MY FACE WHY DONT YOU! and the cheering wasen't that loud. no one really screaming. which is surprising because everyone there looked ready to rockout! half the crowd looked more 'rockstar' than the band. a suit doesn't make you cool just because you are wearing it.


This guy was probably the saving grace, he was playing keys, a synthesizer, and a guitar (not simultaneously) and he was pretty good-looking. killed my boredom for some parts when the songs sounded like a broken record. 

Another distracting factor was the cool laser lights, though they were abit blinding when they were shining into my eyes. more for clubbing. Overall, I think the concert vibe was lacking, the mixing was kinda bad because it sounded pretty messy rather than clear, which isin't the venue's fault because other bands have had great sound coming out. not sure, but this band just didn't do it for me. Music that I couldn't hear properly, and zero stage presence was kind of. empty. and then it ended. and the venue emptied out pretty fast, no one called for an encore, which makes it the first concert this year I've been to that people haven't asked for an encore! yup. 40 minutes and it was over. did i mention they were late?

okay. done ranting. heard their youtubes and on radio, they arent that bad, but nothing spectacular. got me thinking. perhaps they represent an image that people can identify with? so that's good then. music is sometimes more than just the music and skill, and about an image, an identity. kind of like Kitty Brucknell who's in my opinion a Lady Gaga wannabe =) which is cool too.





Friday, October 12, 2012

Begin again - Taylor Swift cover

Hi guys! here's another cover i finally did after soooo long *blows dust off youtube account! WOAH finally plucked up enough guts to do it again, accompanied by my trusty pooch snoozing beside me all the way through. guess i always kept making mistakes in my playing and i never dared to put anything else up "-_- but i guess, the only way to get better is to keep going at something till it gets better! hahah =)
so here's a cover. i hope you like it! and constructive help is always appreciated! leave a comment/ msg!
and have a great weekend! =D


Tuesday, October 2, 2012

The awesome, James Morrison


Blown away by James Morrison I was!! *fake english accent. 

English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and my music idol. Needless to say, I think he's got amazing stage presence, which only complements his versatile voice even more. Born in poverty, he really rose up and made the most of his life, having several top hits, and having such meaningful, artistic songs. He even opened for Corrine Bailey Rae for awhile. He's more than just a preacher of messages through his songs, I think that he's living proof of what he sings about. Accomplishing great success and emerging despite his background to become the great musician he is today. As though his deeply soulful, raspy and husky voice wasen't enough to seal the deal. Wondering why his voice is so unique? James Morrison had whooping cough as a baby and almost died!

To me, his songs aren't just tunes, they're music, the way music was meant to be, the way music used to mean something. Soulful, jazzy, and full of emotion, his songs are easy to connect with. Some about love, some about loss, some about struggle. Everyone goes through that in some degree or other.


He came on set at the Esplanade with a full band, ready to go with a BANG! HERE I AM SINGAPOREEEE! vibe, swiftly leaping onto stage and starting his first song, with two vocalists, 2 keyboardists (one piano and one organ i presume), a bassist, an electric guitarist and a drummer. The drums had heavy beats of reggae, jazz and hip hop, while the singers and instrumentalists, 6 others, melded into a perfect symphony for each song, with James as a frontman of course, and acoustic guitarist, switching easily between the acoustic, classical, and 12 string guitar. Did i mention, he was moving non-stop across to and fro on the stage, as if his guitar weighed nothing more than a feather, and strumming crisp, neat strokes on his guitar with such ease. I basically just watched, enchanted by the easiness of his being on stage. His exuding confidence matched his hyper-happiness on stage, really bringing out the cheery, ecstatic tones of his songs.


My favourite song from his album "The Awakening" would be "In My Dreams" which he wrote when his father passed away. While it's got a poppy, blissful tune of dreaming, and being grateful to see someone again, even if just in the imagined facade of a dream,  where there is suspended disbelief and reality if forcefully, unwantedly forgotten, the melancholic reminiscence of missing someone shines through. How he put that emotion in words, in a song, baffles me. He really is pure genius. There's always someone you miss. People come and go =P


He sang continuously, like one song would end and the beat would merge into the next song, or he'd just burst into it, or do a slow solo of hums and scat-singing, with lots and lots of improvisations, soulful riffs only someone like him could sing perfectly. He really got into the groove, with his sassy attitude, getting the music pumping up loud and everyone up dancing (and some girls screaming) and made the crowd sway to his slower, more lamenting songs. Some of the many hits he sang included 'Up', 'Broken Strings', 'beautiful life', 'slave to the music' (that was a fun funky dance number ;) ) 'you give me something', 'i won't let you go', 'only night' and "you make it real". 


And he ended his performance with the song I like most, 'Wonderful World'. SO SWEET! 
-And I know it's a wonderful world, from the sky down to the sea-
-but i can only feel it when you're here, here with me-
and yes, his voice is amazing. I could rave on about it endlessly!


Another part I really liked was a soft beat on the rim of the snare drum by the drummer, and the shaker. Catchy, groovy enough to dance to, yet simple =) while James Morrison punched chords on his guitar, playing with palm mutes and different timbres. The reggae beat in "you give me something" was really happening! haha and hyphy-inducing, and got everyone moving to the beat, and they faded out, with the drummer focusing on the cymbals intently, as though thinking to himself "i'm a mouse.. quiet as a mouse  as the beat got softer and softer HAHA!

look everyone's dancing, in a full-house, sold-out concert (as if anyone is surprised. c'mon people. HAHA)
AND TO END IT OFF! James Morrison was soaking wet from dancing all night under the spotlight. Bouncing on stage from left to right, his sureness and mobility on stage, he flicked his hair as he head-banged to the pounding beats amongst soaring vocals, and yes, i was so upclose that I saw his beads of sweat flying out. how rockstar looking is he! and his keyboardist with a mini-afro was headbanging too, his afro-do bouncing too and fro, very hipster indeed HAHA! not to mention how he stripped his shirt at the end  the awesome encore, topping the night and ending the concert on a high note (>_<)"
taking a bow!
but yes, James Morrison delivered nothing but awesomeness in an amazing concert, good enough to get the crowd dancing (how often does that happen in Singapore)!! guess i'll see you 'in my dreams'!!! So thanks to GreenHorn for bringing JM in,  and thanks Kevin for sharing with me the chance to experience the dream HAHA and always supporting me with my dreams  =)

hip hat

To compare, James Morrison's concert was definitely more upbeat, louder, and crazier than the MTV session in March that was more intimate. but it's all amazing to watch. =)
COME BACK SOON JAMES MORRISON!! CELLE LOVES YOUR CONCERTS!
And here are some old photos from March..but forever in my memory *melts. *sighh =))


{it's a rollercoaster ride with your heart pumping, a billion thoughts running through your mind, and your body too paralysed to move/speak when you meet your inspiration.}


autographed album!

and again, thank you thank you Kevin, for without whom I would never had this dream come true. 
un-be-frickin-lievable =D