"psycho bitch"

Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike as Nick and Amy Dunne in the film adaptation of Gone Girl

(If you have read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, you would know exactly what my title is referring to, but hey I shan't spoil it for those of you who haven't read it yet.)

I read Gone Girl within a span of two days (and during office hours ironically), because it was that thrilling and fast-paced, with the two intertwining narratives hurtling along as you unravelled more plot twists and revelations regarding the two highly unlikable characters, Nick and Amy Dunne. The novel also notably charts the deterioration of a relationship - its sickness, malignancy and poisonous nature, proffering an extremely nihilistic view of marriage so to speak, but a very compelling one nevertheless.

In fact, the subject matter and tone reminded me of a poem I covered in Literature class:

XVII

At dinner, she is hostess, I am host.
Went the feast ever cheerfuller? She keeps
The Topic over intellectual deeps
In buoyancy afloat. They see no ghost.
With sparkling surface-eyes we ply the ball:
It is in truth a most contagious game:
HIDING THE SKELETON, shall be its name.
Such play as this the devils might appall!
But here's the greater wonder; in that we,
Enamoured of an acting naught can tire,
Each other, like true hypocrites, admire;
Warm-lighted looks, love's ephemerae,
Shoot gaily o'er the dishes and the wine.
We waken envy of our happy lot.
Fast, sweet and golden shows the marriage-knot.
Dear guests, you now have seen love's corpse-light shine.

–– An excerpt from Modern Love by George Meredith

Disturbing yet fascinating isn't it? In fact by the novel's denouement I would suggest that the novel is an extrapolation of this series of sonnets by Meredith, but updated for the modern era. 

The originality of the plot also gripped me throughout (until I eschewed lunch with my colleagues in favour of staring wildly at my laptop screen like the anti-social bastard I am), with the first and second acts impressing me greatly. However, I honestly disliked the final act because of its outlandish and slightly unrealistic nature, with the ending feeling unsatisfactory and anti-climatic due to my heightened expectations that were based on the novel's exhilarating set-up.

I guess it might be a blessing in disguise that Flynn has reworked the entire third act of Gone Girl for David Fincher's film adaptation, which will be released later this year. I certainly hope it would be more realistic and more resonating than the hollow resolution of the original text.

love lockdown

Love-hate relationships portrayed in literature and the media are often portrayed to be romantic ones, where two lovers let their love for each other eviscerate everything in the path until both of them are left as two dried husks of a person.

Sometimes I wonder if it is odd that I am in such an antagonistic love-hate relationship with my Mother. 

As much I love her for all that she has done for me, I really dislike her taking out her existential angst/menopausal moodiness on me and my Dad. Fuck, I know I am not exactly the most selfless individual on this planet, but she makes me sound like Damien from The Omen. It frustrates me when my attempts to be nice or independent are immediately shot down by her, due to her need to micromanage and desire for control. 

At times she understands me more than my Dad, and I suppose that is a bad thing because she sees right through me, knowing all my 'pressure points' (to borrow a phrase from Sherlock) and saying things that honestly hurt. Who knew that constant jibes about my weight could seriously leave my heart in shambles huh?

Maybe she and I are just destined to love/hate each other for life. 

entertainment

If you know me (and not even well enough), it is obvious that I am a huge sucker for good music and have a penchant for liking bands that do not head down to the little red dot very often. Hence, the minute/second/millisecond I knew Phoenix was heading to town, I gathered some of my hombres to come along as part of our post-As celebrations and what not.

To say that their 85 minute show was amazing would be a complete understatement. Thomas Mars, the lead singer, effectively engaged the crowd and his voice was pure, crystalline and pitch-perfect. At times he looked at the audience and seemingly gave you a personal serenade, eliciting screams from adoring fans. Laurent Brancowitz, Deck d'Arcy and Christian Mazzalai were also excellent, proving themselves to be highly skilled musicians, their sounds rich and exhilarating. The touring band members (Robin Coudert and Thomas Hedlund) were also very competent on the synth and the drums. In fact I preferred the live versions of Phoenix's numerous hits, such as Lisztomania and Entertainment, as the addition of the drum set gave the songs a sense of urgency and a rhythmic punch. 

The pulsating beat from Hedlund's drumming got the whole theatre grooving to the beat, except at times when less recent and well-known songs were played, presumably from older records such as United, Alphabetical and It's Never Been Like That. Then, the crowd got much quieter and much more...stationary. Admittedly, I did not know those songs apart from If I Ever Get Better and so yes, guilty as charged, I am a bad fan. However, irregardless of being a 'bad fan' or not, I am convinced that all 3,500 attendees experienced the magic that is Phoenix and are ever-hungry for more. 

not in love

Oh fuck there you go doing that thing again deliberately, sidestepping whatever I want to say and going on and on about your own personal trifles that you constantly demand my attention to.

Ah well, the upside to this situation is that I can finally relate to all those films, songs and novels which track the deterioration of a relationship gone stale, hooray!

I guess you'll never ever know, would you.

beta love

"It's kind of like a form of socially acceptable insanity."

Spike Jonze's latest effort, Her, is a heartfelt tale set in the near-future where operating systems are advanced programmes that seem to develop an ever evolving intelligence and personality, blurring the lines between the real and artificial. Considering humanity's current interpersonal relationship with technology, Jonze's satire could be an accurate prediction of future developments, with people transitioning from staring at their Smartphones to being preoccupied with an omniscient OS perfectly tailored to your character. Her perfectly illustrates the odd and alien behaviour humanity displays when we eschew genuine interaction in favour of self-absorbment.

Furthermore, this film would not have worked without the performances of Joaquin Phoenix (Theodore Twombly), Scarlett Johansson (Samantha) and Amy Adams (Amy), who are organic, relatable and believable. Phoenix and Johansson in particular knock it out of the park, making Theodore's relationship with his OS sincere and realistic when it could have possibly reached comedic territory due to the ludicrousness of the idea. Both actors share a blistering chemistry, despite Johansson only having a (terrific) vocal performance, and are a more authentic couple than let's just say, oh I don't know, Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman in both Thor outings? (Yeah on a side note I find them pretty gross.)

Personally, this film resonated with me as it highlighted the beauty of being love and its doubts - whether one's emotions for another were real or fake and the weight and burden of commitment amongst other issues. This was effected by the quality of the performances and the cinematography, with the soft lighting and warm colours creating elegant scenes that looked straight out of a VSCO Cam preset. 

Her, is easily one of the best films of 2013/2014, and I am excited for future works by Jonze. 

here's johnny

"You've...always been the caretaker."

I can finally understand why many tout Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980) to be a cinematic masterpiece. Pictured above is the famous bathroom scene, with the use of red signalling danger and creating a rather surrealist mise-en-scene.

Plot-wise the film itself is not very frightening, but Kubrick makes up for it through creating tense and creepy atmospheres, as well as invoking career-defining performances from his stars.

In all honesty Jack Nicholson's crazed facial expressions and body language frightened me more than the twin girls and the shape-shifting young lady/old crone ghost.

--

On another note, this film is excellent for making reaction pictures, because this is exactly my reaction to my mother's denigration of my current slothful existence.

Thanks Mum! 

i want you so

Sometimes I feel that Miucca Prada has read my mind. 

She never fails to feature talented actors that I find wholly and utterly captivating, such as Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Benicio del Toro, Ben Whishaw, Ezra Miller, Christoph Waltz and Dane DeHaan (featured in his second Prada shoot in Prada's S/S 2014 campaign above). 

Although I'd like to ask why she has shifted the focus to one singular actor this time round, rather than than the previous triptych which showcased men of different ages.

Not that I am complaining, because I love Dane DeHaan very much and I have a feeling he's going to own 2014, being the "fiercely sexual" and "blindingly beautiful" star he is.

So, thank you Miucca.

vultures in circles

Simply beautiful.

Kudos to The Limousines for giving me inspiration for my latest header.