caché (hidden)

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In Michael Haneke’s Caché, a family is terrorized by a series of videotapes left on their front porch. The tapes at first contain impersonal images – a two-hour video of their apartment shot from a distance – until the recordings become more personal. There is no score save for incidental music, there are no audio cues for some horrific or tense scenes. We are left to contemplate the stark images, and the relative silence heightens the fear and confusion. It is edited in such a way that we are not sure if what we see onscreen is footage from the tapes, or real life – until the couple rewinds the scene.

I first encountered Haneke when I saw the remake of his home invasion film, Funny Games, which starred Michael Pitt (I’m planning to watch the original). I can’t say I enjoyed that film; I can say I was affected by it, deeply so, as I am affected and disturbed by Caché. Haneke loves to disturb without the hysteria, and I admire that about him and his work.

Cut for more discussion and spoilers. (Please don’t read on if you haven’t seen the film; that said, do watch the film.)

Continue reading caché (hidden)

zero dark thirty

zero-dark-thirtySo many things could have gone wrong with Kathryn Bigelow’s retelling of that May raid that ended with the death of Osama bin Laden. It could have been sickeningly indulgent or celebratory, it could have been unnecessarily action-packed or violent, it could have been manipulated to add more tense moments a la Homeland or 24. Instead, Zero Dark Thirty, through excellent cinematography and direction, shows us an ugly process that has finally come to an end. There is no big celebration after the final gunshot. If it is a victory, it is a Pyrrhic one. We are not cheered, but unsettled, as Maya (Jessica Chastain) cries in that final frame. There is no joy in her tears.

I love Laura Bogart’s review of the same film:

De Beauvoir cautioned her countrymen against believing that they could ever find succor in vengeance. The common refrain of the aggrieved, “they must pay,” betrays a desire for a “balancing of wrongs,” to see their aggressors suffer a comparable horror. This is a truth born out in Bigelow’s bravura staging of that May raid, especially the claustrophobic effect of shooting in night vision. The sickening intimacy of the sequences—tight huddles of men charging narrow stairways, narrow rooms—makes the whole endeavor seem small. There’s no grand, cathartic showdown, no real firefight. There is only a man poking his head out of a room before he’s shot between the eyes. There is nothing that could conjure back 3,000 lives and bring them, like Lazarus, out of the rubble.

liebster award

I just found out that I was nominated for the Liebster Award by the lovely Vain Jane. (Read her beauty blog! Carina‘s too!) The Liebster Award is given to up-and-coming bloggers with less than 200 followers.

(Update: Apparently I have more than 200 followers. How did that happen?! Thank you, followers, you’ve disqualified me from the Liebster Award. Hahaha! But I’m doing this anyway.)

The rules are:
Share 11 facts about yourself.
Answer the awarder’s 11 questions.
Ask 11 questions of your own.
Nominate 11 bloggers.

Eleven Facts:

  1. I was suwi/suhi (Frank breech position), meaning I wasn’t born head first.
  2. My father believes people who were suwi/suhi can help people with fish bones stuck in their throats by massaging their necks. That’s a very specific belief. He even forced me to massage our dog’s throat once, and you know what, it actually worked.
  3. I find it interesting that Filipino beliefs, like the aforementioned, find magic in the not-ordinary.
  4. Speaking of magic, I was born on All Saints’ Day.
  5. My mother believes that my grandfather, who has passed on, visits us every Nov. 1 in the form of a butterfly or a moth. On my last birthday, my mother told me that my grandfather visited her at our store. She told “him” to go to the house instead. Hours later, I arrived at the house, and when I opened the window, there was a little brown butterfly with white spots on the handle, and I screamed in surprise because I almost crushed it. My mother told me the story when she got home. I asked her what the butterfly looked like, and she said it was brown with white spots.
  6. Our store burned down years ago, along with the rest of the town’s marketplace, but the store was rebuilt months later. That fire was the worst tragedy our family has ever lived through.
  7. I was – and still am – very interested in Abnormal Psychology, and almost studied to become a shrink.
  8. Almost. I ended up enrolling in Journalism instead.
  9. My boyfriend loves Math. I don’t.
  10. When I was in college my father wondered aloud why I don’t use make-up (I know right, my own father) and now I own 5 tubes of lipstick.
  11. I write things.

Answering the Awarder’s 11 questions:

What’s your favourite song and why?

Right now, Tori Amos’s “Star Whisperer”, a variation on a Schubert piece. Just listen to the musical interlude.

If you had to live with one makeup item only, which one would it be?

A tinted lip balm, because I have dry lips and I’d want some color.

What’s the one book that makes you cry every single time you read it?

Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris.

Worst makeup related incident in your life?

I once bought an Ever Bilena lipstick for a costume party, and it was shit.

Your biggest fear is?

Developing dementia. My grandmother’s suffering from it.

Which sailor soldier is your favourite? Limit your answer to the solar system, please. I am not interested in Sailor Stars.

Sailor Saturn. Love the purple…everything.

Greatest prank you ever pulled off?

Oh, I don’t pull pranks. I’m boring.

If you had to be a d-list celebrity, which route would you take: (a) sex tape, or (b) getting pregnant at 16, or (3) hanging out with the people from Jersey Shore. Killing yourself is not an option at this time.

Oh man, I’ll just hang out with the Jersey Shore people then.

What did Robert Plant?

Seeds of hate. What?

Which of your present skills can be of valuable use in a post-apocalyptic world?

I can make a grilled cheese sandwich? No, I’d probably die.

What would Malcolm Reynolds do?

Ask a question that will elicit the reply, “Big damn heroes, sir!”

I can’t tag 11 people, that is insane:

Tagging these people whose blogs I regularly read and enjoy –

The Transplant (personal)

Little Almi (personal)

Last Girl (personal)

Mabuhay DIY (crafts, DIY, art)

Yours Truly, Madma (advice, reviews)

Walk Fly Pinoy (travel)

– to answer the following questions:

  1. What is your favorite color?
  2. If given the chance to live in a foreign country, where would you go?
  3. What’s the last film you’ve seen? Did you like it?
  4. What’s the last book you’ve read? Would you recommend it?
  5. What course did you finish in college? If given the chance to choose another course, what would it be?
  6. If someone’s going to make a film about your life, who would you choose to play your mother?
  7. Favorite cake flavor? ice cream flavor?
  8. What would you say is your talent? Show off with pictures if necessary. ;)
  9. Worst job experience?
  10. Worst vacation/trip so far?
  11. Best vacation/trip so far?

Have fun. :)

far from the tree

Far From the TreeFar From the Tree by Andrew Solomon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

 

In Far From The Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity, Andrew Solomon “tells the stories of parents who not only learn to deal with their exceptional children but also find profound meaning in doing so.” He writes about families “coping with deafness, dwarfism, Down syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, multiple severe disabilities, with children who are prodigies, who are conceived in rape, who become criminals, who are transgender.”

I fell in love with Solomon’s insight right from the first page. He also raises a lot of intriguing questions that I have to admit in my innocence I never asked myself. For example: is being Deaf a disability or an identity? If it were a disability, then that means we believe there is something wrong with a deaf person, that he must hear, and that we must do all we can to give every Deaf child a Cochlear implant and teach him how to speak and live in a world with sound. But if you believe it is not a disability but an identity, then wouldn’t giving a child a Cochlear implant be tantamount to erasing a culture (for example, Deaf Theater) and language (for example, ASL)? Wouldn’t it be, in effect, an act of genocide? The same question is asked about autism and Down syndrome: if each were an identity, then does that mean we should stop looking for a cure and instead focus on celebrating different expressions of personhood? But even stripping them of the disability label has repercussions – they will lose state support and the financial protection given to PWDs.

Identity is complex. We cannot blame or praise just one factor, be it genetics, or environment, or education. How do you raise a child you give birth to but who is different from you? In the book are stories of courageous men and women, but also stories of horror (like that story of a schizophrenic who was driven out of town by his mother and sister, and shot by his sister on the side of the road).

This beautifully written book was an eye-opening read for me.

View all my reviews

weekend in food and movies

We got really hungry looking for a good cast-iron skillet this weekend, so:

Sebastian’s Leche Flan Ice Cream Pie (The Podium) is a must-try. Butter cookie and orange zest crust, a thick layer of Leche Flan Ice Cream, and a thin layer of leche flan. Just look at it.

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We also tried the fish & chips at Chuck’s Grub (SM Megamall). I’ll return for the snapper and sloppy fries.

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And I must tell you that J poached some fish perfectly on our monthsary. :)

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The movies then:

Les Miserables (2012)

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I have not seen the stage musical nor read the book, but I know the songs and the character roles and the flow of the story. I was bitterly disappointed by Russell Crowe’s singing. He’s a brilliant actor, but the singing is just – oh Lord, how it distracted me from enjoying this adaptation. I just, I can’t. I’m sorry. It is horrible. “Stars”, a powerful song, loses its power, and Hugh Jackman’s talent is eclipsed.

To love the film you need to get past it, but he is goddamn Javert, okay? I mean, come on! Sacha Baron Cohen (Monsieur Thenardier) sounds way better.

Editing is also a problem. The film feels hurried. It feels more like an extended music video than a film.

Anne Hathaway (Fantine) brings a rawness to her songs that is jarring, but works here. Amanda Seyfried is brilliant as Cosette, with her sweet, sweet voice. It’s her singing that I will keep returning to.

But really, just listen to the 25th Anniversary Concert OST.

Jeff, Who Lives At Home

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Jeff (Jason Segel) is 30, unmarried, unemployed, and lives in the basement of his mother’s house. He believes everything is connected. One day, he receives a call from a man looking for someone named Kevin. There is no Kevin here, he replies, but after the man hangs up, Jeff becomes convinced that “Kevin” is a message from the universe, and he needs to find him. Thus starts an eventful day with his brother, Pat (Ed Helms), Pat’s wife Linda (Judy Greer), and Jeff and Pat’s mom (Susan Sarandon).

This is a sweet film with an ending that may feel too deus-ex-machina, but we allow it because we love the characters so much, and sometimes, like Jeff, you just have to believe.

human nature lipsticks: lucky in love and coral kiss + petal bloom blush

I have tried several HN products before, but this is my first time to try their lipsticks.

I got: 100 % Natural Hydrating Mineral Lipstick in Lucky in Love (a warm red) and Coral Kiss (peach/coral) (PhP 175 each); and 100 % Natural Mineral Blush in Petal Bloom (PhP 195).

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I have the blush in Rosy Cheeks but I prefer the Petal Bloom shade better. I love it. It’s a peach color with a hint of pink, and brings brightness to my face without making me look too made-up.

As for the lipsticks, for tubes that cost less than PhP 200, these are pretty good. Pigmentation is decent, the lipsticks glide smoothly, and the finish is satin. These colors are, of course, not transfer-resistant, so you’d have to re-apply.

Cute packaging. They are shorter than your normal lipstick tubes.

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Remember: mineral make-up expires earlier than regular make-up. As you can see in the very first photo, these babies will expire by October this year. Yikes. I better use them every day then.

 Click here to order.

girls (hbo)

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Girls and Girls creator Lena Dunham (who only has one indie film to her name prior to the show) have haters. Serious haters, and I’ve read the criticisms and the hate before I plunged into the first episode. I was predisposed to hate it, but I watched it one boring Sunday after doing all the housework and it turned out to be a fun, worthwhile entertainment. It’s amusing, entertaining, absorbing, and cringe-worthy – like the gossip you hear from the other females in the washroom while peeing or fixing your hair. You’ve done it, you know what I mean. You listen to the story, silently judge the people involved (“Nabasa mo na ba yung Fifty Shades? Ang daming sex pero nakakakilig siyaaaa”), but you can’t help it – you keep on listening.

The show’s not for everyone, something that will be clear to you in the very first episode. (J. watched the Pilot and hated it.) I’d be reluctant to recommend this to my own sister. I have to admit that the issue of over-privilege does get under my skin. What semi-saves it for me is the fact that the other characters are at least aware of Hannah’s self-centeredness. (“You’re 11 pounds overweight, and you think that’s struggle?…You don’t know what real struggle is!”) If you want something more Sex And The City-like, something glamorous and pretty to look at, look away.

PS This is a good essay about the show.