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pretoriuspictures · 4 years

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https://www.talkhouse.com/on-the-virtues-of-cinematic-failure/

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Most journalists who have spoken to me about my new erotic drama PVT Chat (starring Peter Vack and Julia Fox and streaming now on most VOD platforms) assume it’s my first feature film. Actually, it’s my third. My first two features never played a single film festival and haven’t been seen by more than a few hundred people (mostly friends and/or curious followers of my rock band, Bodega). They were financial failures (even though they were made extremely cheaply), but you couldn’t call them critical failures because nobody has ever reviewed them. I spent the last decade working on these films and yet their cultural footprint is practically nonexistent.

Despite that, I still believe in them and hope one day I’ll make a movie (or record) that inspires people to seek them out. My early cinematic attempts certainly failed at behaving like normal movies, but to me it is precisely this failure that makes them interesting.

Godard said of Pierrot le Fou (1965), “It’s not really a film. It’s an attempt at a film.” This is a purposefully cryptic statement, but I think I understand what he meant. There is a sketch-like quality to his films from that period. He was less interested in following a particular plot through to its conclusion than suggesting narrative ideas and moving on. He enjoyed employing classical narrative tropes but didn’t want to waste screen time on the proper pacing required to sell those tropes to an audience. Instead he filled his screen time with spontaneous personal, poetic, and political ruminations that occurred to him literally on the day of filming. Many found – and still find – this approach infuriating, but for a select number of Godard disciples, like me, this type of filmmaking is still revolutionary. I remember seeing Weekend during my sophomore year of college at the University of South Carolina and having my mind completely ripped open. Suddenly the world wasn’t a small, mediocre, predictable place – it was full of music and color and philosophy and eroticism. There were people out there genuinely disgusted with the status quo and boldly proclaiming it with style.

Godard’s work is a fulfillment of the dream of the caméra-stylo – a term coined in 1948 by Alexandre Astruc that argued it was theoretically possible for someone to compose a film with as much direct personal expression as exists in prose. In order to achieve this level of expression, one often needs to move beyond the realm of mere plot and narrative naturalism, the principle that what you are seeing on screen is real. (On most movie sets, the filmmakers and actors work overtime to sell this illusion.) Films that focus solely on plot, character psychology, and one literary theme have to direct the majority of their screen time toward plotting mechanics and emotional manipulation of the audience. What you gain in dramatic catharsis you often lose in intellectual honesty. There’s always a tradeoff. I am invested in a cinema of the future that veers toward self-expression, but doesn’t need to avoid dramatic catharsis as Godard’s films did. Certainly many filmmakers my age are working to achieve such a synthesis of intellectual directness and narrative pleasure. Experimentation is required and many “bad” films need to be made to pave the way for future successes.

I graduated college in 2010 high on this dream of the caméra-stylo and philosophy (my field of study) and in 2011 started filming my first feature, Annunciation, with experimental filmmaker Simon Liu. Annunciation is an “adaptation” of the Mérode Altarpiece, an early Northern Renaissance oil painting triptych by Robert Campin. The film features three short separate narratives, one for each panel of the famous 15th-century painting. I wanted the performances in Annunciation to be controlled and somewhat surreal, as if the whole film existed in a heightened but slowed-down hypnotic state; I was thinking about Bresson, Ozu, Antonioni and, of course, Godard (particularly his work from the ’80s). There is some plot, but the main goal of the movie was to reveal the miracle of existence in the everyday. And because the Mérode Altarpiece depicts the scene in Christianity where the Virgin Mary was impregnated by light alone, the film had to be shot on 16mm film.

Now picture this: a 22-year-old walks into a conference room in Midtown Manhattan and gives this pitch to a producer who was then investing in thriller movies: “Every time light strikes a piece of celluloid, a miracle similar to the Annunciation scene occurs: an image appears in the likeness of man that redeems our fallen world and reveals it to be the beautiful place that we take for granted in our normal day-to-day.” This wasn’t met with the enthusiasm I was hoping for. “Don’t you see,” I said, “this is a film about the ecstatic of the quotidian! This is a film that audiences will flock to! It could do for Williamsburg and Bushwick what Breathless did for Paris!” Looking back, I am both shocked and charmed by my youthful naiveté, courage and idiocy.

I was laughed out of the room, but the producer was kind enough to wish me good luck and welcomed any future pitches, should I come up with something any “normal” person would want to watch. I never thought of films in the tradition of the caméra-stylo as being elite works only for the gallery or the Academy. I, like Godard before me, have always assumed that audiences are intelligent and long for thoughtful, challenging movies. That belief I carry to this day and thankfully it sometimes seems to be true. How else could you explain the recent success of heady films by Josephine Decker or Miranda July?

Thanks to small donations from family members (and credit cards), I was able to shoot Annunciation without any official backing. I cast the film with a mixture of non-actor friends and some undiscovered Backstage.com talent and dove head first into the production. Right as our principal photography began, Occupy Wall Street gained momentum, so Simon and I spent time at Zuccotti Park filming our actors experiencing the movement. The hopeful promise of OWS seemed to reflect the yearning desire of our film’s protagonists as well as our own idealist cinema experiment.

When the film was finished and edited, I naively assumed that we were well on our way towards global cinematic notoriety. Surely, I thought, this important film that manages to blend fiction with actual footage of OWS would premiere at Cannes or Berlin and the Criterion Collection would issue the DVD shortly after. In actuality, it was rejected from every single film festival we submitted to.

Undeterred, I conceded that maybe there were a few minor structural flaws in the edit. It was probably a little too long and perhaps the three separate narratives would work better if they were crosscut more. A year later, this new edit was again rejected from almost 100 festivals. Stubbornly, I thought that perhaps what could really bring the movie together was a comic voiceover by my then cinematic muse Nick Alden (who is a lead in both Annunciation and my second film, The Lion’s Den). Audiences seemed to ignore the comic tone underlying Annunciation. If only I could unearth it, they wouldn’t be put off by the pretensions to greatness the movie wore on its sleeve. There is nothing so offensive to American audiences as pretentiousness.

I didn’t send the overcooked voiceover version to festivals. I knew it was forced and worked against the core concept of the film. But it was then that I started for the first time to have doubts about Annunciation. Maybe my film wasn’t as emotional or clever as I imagined. Maybe it was bad? “No,” I decided. The film, whatever its flaws may be, has value. Herculean delusions of grandeur come in handy when you are trying to become an artist.

I opted to edit the film back to its original state, but without some of the weaker, obviously didactic moments, then hosted a few local screenings in NYC (most of them at DIY venues where my rock band would play) and put the film up for free on Vimeo. Around this time, it occurred to me that editing Annunciation had been my film school. Failure is a wonderful learning tool. Editing the same raw material in a myriad of different ways taught me about pacing and tone. Still to this day, when I find myself in a certain state of mind, I open up the Final Cut sessions and do a new edit of the footage just for fun, like some sort of DIY George Lucas tinkering with the past. Last year during quarantine, I did a new edit of Annunciation and uploaded it to Vimeo without telling a single person. It has become my own little cinematic sandbox to play in.

When people did chance upon one of my myriad edits, they often commented that they enjoyed its style but found the acting too unnatural. My response to this was to make my next film, The Lion’s Den, a cheaper HDV feature that doubled as a political farce and an essay about naturalism in cinema. The film is about a group of ding-dong radicals who kidnap a Wall Street banker and plan to donate his ransom money to UNICEF so salt pills can be provided for dehydrated children. The UNICEF plot was drawn from Living High and Letting Die, a 1996 work of moral philosophy by Peter K. Unger. It was both a serious attempt at political philosophy and a total slapstick farce; I was imagining the comedy of errors in Renoir’s The Rules of the Game mixed with the Marxist agitprop of Godard’s La Chinoise.

The acting style in The Lion’s Den was purposefully cartoonish; at no point in the film could an audience member believe that what they were seeing was real. I like to think that The Lion’s Den was an attempt at theatre for the camera, part Shakespeare and part Brecht. This was my own personal response to our epoch’s hyperrealism fetish. At the time, I believed that the current obsession with neo-neorealism, mumblecore and reality TV was worth combating. Art with a realistic aesthetic, I thought then, was inherently conservative and accepting of the political status quo (whether the artists were aware of this or not). Art with an imaginative anti-realistic aesthetic, so I thought, was utopian. It opened new vistas and ways of thinking and being. It dared to believe in a more beautiful world than the one we are living in.

The making of The Lion’s Den was extremely difficult. It was by far the hardest thing I have physically done in my life. At the time, I was malnourished and broke, not unlike the character of Jack in PVT Chat; my diet for that month we made the film consisted mostly of coffee, rice and beans, ramen, light beer, and the occasional waffle or fruit smoothie from the vegan frozen yogurt stall I worked at. Unlike Jack, my addiction wasn’t cam girls or internet gambling, but independent filmmaking. I begged, borrowed and scrimped $10,000 to make a film I knew I wouldn’t be able to sell. Despite having some key collaborators near the beginning of the shoot, most of the film was made with just me, the actors and a loyal boom operator, all living together in a house in Staten Island. This meant that I had to assemble all of the cumbersome lights for every setup, handle the art for every scene (which involved a lot of painting), block the scene and direct the actors, throw the camera on my shoulder and film, and then at the end of the day transfer the footage while logging the Screen Actors Guild reports and creating the call sheets for the next day’s scenes. Exhausted both mentally and physically, I often couldn’t stand up at the end of the day’s filming.

Once we’d wrapped and everyone had gone home, I stood in the middle of our set and played Beethoven on my headphones. Within seconds, I began bawling my eyes out, partly from exhaustion but also from the melancholy that all my friends had left and I was now alone for the first time in a month. I collapsed and slept for hours. When I woke up, it was my 26th birthday. I celebrated by watching Citizen Kane alone and then started the process of painting the walls back to a neutral white. The actor Kevin Moccia (who has been in all three of my films and actually works as a house painter) heroically came back to set and helped me. I told him that despite all of the agony of the past weeks (my bank account was now in the red, with overdraft fees piling up), I was happier than I had ever been. Working passionately on something that has great value to you is, without a doubt, the key to happiness.

Shortly after returning to the real world and my job at the vegan yogurt shop, I passed out while on the clock and was taken to a hospital by my very supportive girlfriend. Turns out, all I needed was an IV and some nutrients to get back on my feet, but unfortunately the trouble with The Lion’s Den had just begun. At some point, I formatted the production audio memory card and, in one instant, accidentally deleted everything on it. For the next two years, my friend Brian Goodheart and I worked with all of the actors to dub all of the dialogue and sound effects in the movie. Each actor had to completely re-do their verbal performance. It felt like remaking the entire movie. The result made the film especially un-naturalistic (which pleased me at the time) and it turned out far better than I think Brian and I expected.

By then, I had some hopes that The Lion’s Den could reach a small audience. It is aggressively philosophical but also features a love triangle, a car chase and a final shootout. Its comic style, I was hoping, would attract people who were put off by the purposeful flatness of Annunciation. Nevertheless, the movie was also rejected from every conceivable festival. I now realized that submitting an aggressively experimental narrative film without a single famous person in it to festivals is basically like flushing your money down the toilet. Yet I continued submitting, like an addict at a casino putting all of their savings on the roulette table. You never know, right?

In hindsight, I now see The Lion’s Den as a very angry film that perhaps uses comedy to soften the blow of some of its hotheaded fervor, and suspect some of its critique of capitalism and naturalism came from hurt and jealousy. “You think my work isn’t natural enough, eh? I’ll show you motherfuckers naturalism!”

Sometime in 2017, to my surprise I became smitten with certain neo-neorealist filmmakers (Joe Swanberg, in particular) and decided I wanted in on the mumblecore party, albeit from my own outsider perspective. I began to see how I could work symbolically with naturalistic performances, which led me to my latest film. PVT Chat is by no means a work of strict realism, but nevertheless focuses on believable dramatic performances. The film’s cast blends some actors from my past work (Kevin Moccia, Nikki Belfiglio, David White) with some heroes of the modern neo-neorealist indie cinema (Peter Vack, Julia Fox, Buddy Duress, Keith Poulson).

I want to end with a bit of advice to other filmmakers: Don’t put your self-worth into the hands of festival reviewers or distributors. The future of the moving image will belong to the films that are willing to risk cinematic failure. If you make an earnest film that doesn’t behave like a normal movie, I want to see it, even if it is full of technical or narrative mistakes (which it most likely will be). There’s no right way to make a movie. Follow the dream of the caméra-stylo and make a film that if nobody else made, wouldn’t exist.

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iuinspires · 5 years

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Love Poem in Singapore: My Second IU Concert

On 6 Dec 2019, I was blessed with the opportunity of seeing IU perform live for the second time at her Love Poem concert tour in Singapore.

I must confess that in some ways, things didn't go smoothly for me: ticketing was somewhat traumatic, because the tickets for the original 7 Dec Saturday show sold out within an hour of release, even before I had logged on to the site (sorry for underestimating your popularity, IU!); after I secured a Friday ticket, I couldn't help fretting about whether I could get to the concert venue from work on time; when I reached the concert hall, I realised I had missed out on collecting the SG Heart IU fan support items and the free IU postcard from the concert organizer; and towards the end of the show, my phone ran low on storage and battery so I couldn't take further audio recordings.

Yet there was a silver lining to everything: getting a Friday ticket turned out to be blessing in disguise because of a family commitment cropping up which would have made attending the Saturday show a challenge; my day at work turned out to be fairly peaceful and productive, so I did leave work on time; not having the fan support items prompted me to initiate a conversation with a fellow uaena; and not being burdened with the need to record everything allowed me to focus purely on enjoying the show. Above all, no number of minor obstacles could detract from the wonderful experience of seeing IU again. So let me try once again to document my precious memories, before they slowly fade with the passing of time.

Pre-concert

So on the fateful day of 6 Dec, I woke with a feeling of great joy and anticipation; all day at work, it took supreme discipline to rein in my feelings of excitement to concentrate on my tasks. Thankfully, I left on time and rushed down to the concert venue from my workplace by train. As I walked from the train station to Star Vista, I was quite amused to spot a number of people selling (selfmade?) IU posters and merchandise along the roadside, but refrained from stopping to avoid the risk of being late. It seemed that everyone around me was making their way to the concert as well, for they were all holding IU concert tickets or knick knacks.

As I was queuing to get to the concert hall, I took the chance to observe the profile of my fellow uaenas again. I noticed that compared to last year, where the nationalities of the concert goers were distinctly varied, this year's crowd seemed to be predominantly Singaporean - probably a direct result of IU having more Southeast Asian stops in this year's tour. It made me glad that IU did have a sizable Singaena fanbase after all, that was sufficiently large to sell out two days !

When I was seated in the hall, I realised that everyone except myself was holding on to IU postcards and fanchant guides. I was also puzzled about where the SG Heart IU fingerlights were, which I had assumed would be at the seats. I plucked up the courage to ask the fellow uaena next to me where she had got hers, and she said she had picked them at the bag check area (sorry SG Heart IU, for not reading admin instructions properly!) I spent the next few minutes feeling dismayed at the thought of not being able to being able to do my part for the fan support - but the feeling of disappointment was soon replaced by excitement when the IU band members made their way to the stage to screams from the crowd. There was no sign of IU yet though - until the fellow uaena next to me nudged me excitedly and said, "Look, I think that's her!" From our circle seats we had a fairly good view of the whole stage including the curtained areas, and there, indeed, was a familiar, petite figure peeking out from backstage. I don't think anyone else noticed though, or there would have been wild screams! My heart skipped a beat, and I was too dumbstruck with excitement to respond. (To my fellow uaena, if you are reading this, I'm sorry - I didn't mean to be rude!)

Opening segment

Before we knew it, the lights dimmed, and IU emerged on an elevated platform under a spotlight in the middle of the stage, singing the upbeat, cheery opening line of "unlucky" in her clear, sweet voice. She looked lovely and girlish with a white flower in her long, flowing tresses, clad in a soft, frilly yellow dress speckled with blue flowers (an image which for some reason was reminiscent of Lee Soon Shin to me.)

I guess for me, the opening is always one of the most emotional and special moments of an IU concert. For overseas fans like myself who hardly get to see IU, there is something incredibly surreal about seeing that familiar figure and hearing that familiar voice in person. I can still recall how overwhelmed I was when I saw IU for the first time at last year's concert - in fact I now associate the opening song "Red Shoes" with the feeling of euphoria, and for the same reason, "unlucky" will have a special place in my heart as well. The audience shared my joy too, for it went absolutely wild with rapturous screams at the sight of IU, and kept up with this energy level throughout the concert.

IU moved on to a lovely acoustic rendition of Palette, before greeting the audience in a mix of Korean and English. She introduced herself as "IU who loves so much Singapore" - an awkward turn of phrase, but all the more adorable because of that! She expressed her happiness at being in Singapore for a second time, and talked about how this was her favourite venue (because of the "atmosphere, sound, mood...and the colour of the chairs - very red"). She also made us raise our hands to indicate whether we were here last year, and when most of us did so, she marvelled at how we have "so much loyalty here in Singapore".

For the rest of the segment, she sang "Autumn Morning", "Friday" and "Secret Garden". I recall IU had mentioned in one of her concert stops in Korea that for the opening segment, she had deliberately chosen songs that would allow the audience to focus on her vocals. And indeed, the songs were perfect for showcasing the light and mellow side of her voice. Before singing Autumn Morning, she told us to imagine the following: "blue sky, the children, lovely family, lovely mum, lovely dad...lazy son" (to which everyone burst out laughing). And when she started singing the first two lines of the song acapella, her voice pure, clear and gentle, I did feel as though I had been transported to a temperate country on a crisp autumn morning with fresh air and bright sunlight.

The theme of nature continued with "Secret Garden", where IU stood in front of a gorgeous projection of lush greenery, and behind three panels of silvery light that seemed like cascading waterfalls. It was a breathtaking sight that complemented the beauty of the song and IU's voice, and created an enduring image which will always come to mind whenever I hear "Secret Garden" now. It was also a fitting end to the first segment with its mix of sweet, uplifting and lyrical ballads.

Segment two

One of things I admire most about IU as an artist is her versatility, and she demonstrated this in the second segment with a setlist that had a completely different mood and vibe from the first. If the first segment was about showcasing IU's light and sweet voice, the second part was a chance to show off the sultry and husky side of her vocals. She kickstarted the segment with "The Visitor", a slow but groovy number with edgy and sensuous vibes. It's my favourite song in IU's latest album, and hearing it live was absolutely thrilling! IU was dressed to match the mood as well, clad in a blouse with bold prints matched with a short black skirt, hidden teasingly beneath a loose, draping coat, and with a sparkly black beret and boots to complete the look.

For the rest of the segment, IU performed a mix of her more groovy tracks and lively dance numbers: "Jam Jam", "Twenty-Three", "BBIBBI", "Hold my Hand", "Last Night Story" and "Blueming". I generally gravitate towards IU's ballads, but I actually found myself enjoying this segment the most. Other than IU's charismatic and energetic stage presence, I was buoyed by the audience's infectious enthusiasm; even for a reserved person like myself, it felt exhilarating to be singing and cheering along with a huge crowd, bound by our shared love for the little bean onstage. IU commended us for our high energy level as well, commenting a number of times on how passionate and "high-tensioned" Singaenas were and how enthusiastically everyone was waving their lightsticks. At some point she teased someone for waving her lightstick at two times the speed of everyone else - "Maybe your hand will be less painful if you sway it together with the audience". Our deafening fanchants for BBIBBI also prompted her to declare Singapore as "the hometown for BBIBBI".

Another notable moment was during "Blueming", where the the SG Heart IU fan event was pulled off successfully. The audience in the stall seats turned on their colour-changing rose-shaped lights, turning the concert hall into a beautiful illuminated field of multi-coloured flowers - a perfect tribute to the million blooming roses referenced in "Blueming". IU commented later that she had initially thought that the audience was waving her official lightstick, before realising that it was a fan event, which she described as "the cutest" ever, and very pretty. Even though I was a little sad that I wasn't part of the fan event, I felt really happy seeing how nice it looked, and how it brought a smile to IU's face.

Segment three

IU started off the third segment with the heartwarming singalong favourite Meaning of You, which the audience sang with great gusto. She looked elegant in a long-sleeved, ankle-length white dress that was old fashioned but classy - my favourite outfit for the night.

The highlight of this segment came when IU announced that she had a present for us - an idea which came to her only two days ago, and which the team had to prepare in a rush. The audience stirred with excitement, and I was filled with anticipation too, expecting a local song which IU typically prepares for her overseas concerts. But we were all in for a bigger surprise when IU said: "Please don’t think of me as a singer, but think of me as Jang Man Wol". She proceeded to seranade us with a medley of Hotel Del Luna OSTs ("Lean On Me", "All About You", "Remember Me", and most notably, "Happy Ending" with her self-written lyrics) while a video montage of Jang Man Wol and Goo Chan Sung moments played in the background. I was swooning internally, and I'm sure in the rest of the audience was too - especially the few ahjummas and ahjusshis I spied in the audience, whom I guessed might have been new fans from the drama!

After the medley ended, IU said her Korean fans would be really sad as she had never sung "Happy Ending" for them even when she requested it, and made us promise to keep this a secret from her K-uaenas. (Nice try, IU!) She also shared how close she was to the HDL team, whom she had watched Frozen 2 with recently, as well as her love and respect for Gummy (singer of Remember Me) - which hilariously created some confusion with the translation initially as the Korean pronunciation for "Gummy" also sounds like "spider".

IU then wrapped up this segment with two sentimental ballads - "Lullaby", and "Through the Night", another crowd favourite which I enjoyed singing along to as well. Before the last line - "I hope its a good dream", IU gently murmured "Singapore" - and for some reason that triggered a sudden surge of emotions in me. It brought to mind how two years ago, as a new fan, I wasn't sure if IU was even aware that she had fans in Singapore, and seeing her seemed all but a distant dream - and reminded me how lucky I was to have her here now, acknowledging our presence as fans.

Segment Four + Encore

IU returned in a sparkly dark coloured dress for the fourth segment, which began with "Sogyeokdong". IU commented that this was a song with underlying sadness, but Singaenas were still so excited that she coud not help excitedly waving her hands too - "I'm not a pro...Even when I'm singing ballads, I can't control myself". (It's ok to be slightly unprofessional at times IU, it makes us even happier when you are happy!)

"Sogyeokdong" was followed by "Red Shoes", which evoked a wave of nostalgia in me as it brought to mind the exciting opening for last year's concert. IU then said she would have to move on to the last song - eliciting loud groans from the audience - to which IU chuckled and teased us for our "pro reaction". The purported last song was "Above the Time" - a song which I didn't like immediately when it was first released, but which I grew to love the more I listened to it. I have to add too, that it's a song that sounds absolutely amazing live, and gave me goosebumps listening to it then!

After IU left the stage, the audience promptly began to chant "encore" repeatedly. IU returned shortly after in a long gem-studded pink dress, laughing at how she didn't even have time to go to the washroom because of our immediate chants. She ended off with "Good Day" and her titular song "Love Poem", before leaving the stage.

Re-encore

A few audience members began to leave, but the vast majority were clearly seasoned fans who knew what to expect, for the loud chants for encore started again. After a brief interlude, the IU band members returned onstage, followed by IU, to wild cheers from the crowd. Being used to seeing IU's characteristically baggy shirts and oversized sweaters for her re-encores, I was surprised to see her dressed girlishly in a sweet cream-coloured sweater pulled over a pretty floral dress.

The re-encore started with "Heart", which IU sung with the audience, in keeping with uaena tradition. IU quipped that at overseas concerts, she enjoyed hearing the imperfect pronunciation of her international fans, but Singaenas were just too good in Korean. IU continued asking for song requests thereafter - but the screams were so loud I couldn't hear a thing! She settled on "Sleepless Rainy Night" (which I was delighted to hear), "Night of the First Breakup", before wrapping up with "Someday".

Post-concert reflections

The 2018 dlwlrma concert will always have a special place in my heart as my inaugural IU concert, but I think this year's Love Poem concert experience was even better.

For one, it felt more fun and intimate because IU was even more interactive with the audience this year. There were many hilarious moments - like when she teased a male fan for dancing very animatedly throughout the concert, and pronounced him the cutest guy in Singapore - or when she laughed at how a female fan responded to her in Korean when she spoke in English. The rapport between IU and the audience also felt even stronger this year - the audience demonstrated an energy level that seemed to surpass last year's - and you could see how IU in turn radiated with joy to see our enthusiasm. She regularly teased us about how loud we were, and at one point, also commented on how there seemed to be "no shade" in Singapore - meaning that everyone here seemed really happy. My heart was also full hearing her express her love for Singapore - she talked about her family holiday here in January this year, and how her brother liked it so much that he was seriously considering doing his exchange studies here (please do so, IU's brother!)

But above all, what I found most moving and meaningful was IU's introspective musings on sadness, happiness and love. She spoke of how during this year's concert tour, there was a bit of underlying sadness during each of her concert, but in today's concert, she was laughing all the way even for the sad songs, and there was no single space for sadness to come in. I felt a sense of relief hearing that - for prior to the concert, a part of me was worrying about how IU was coping with recent events - and whether she would be reining in her sadness to deliver the smiles and energy expected from her as a performer.

But I guess IU has always been a strong and resilient person, and one to give love and provide healing words of comfort, as she did during my favourite part of her concert talk. I think paraphrasing her words might not do her justice, so let me just reproduce her words here:

"I come here only once a year so I don’t know in detail what kind of troubles you’re living with and what makes you sad, but I think that all people live with similar problems, similar troubles. Right? Anyway, when you feel dispirited and want to end everything, I wish that you think of our promise today: to meet me here next year. You have to remember! We promise. To meet here again next year, we will right? All promises are truly important right? Keep your promise! Day by day, if you live on breathing slowly, it will soon be next year, right? And I’ll come back again to make another promise, to meet here next year, and we keep our promise again, and again, and again, and again. Right? This will be easy. I’ll do it as well. Promise. I hope that today was a good day. I.. (hesitantly) love you."

IU went on to say that this was her first time saying I love you in English, and added, almost bashfully: "I adore you. I cherish you." When she said this, I felt my heart expand with a warm, fuzzy feeling of peace and joy.

Perhaps it was because of these uplifting words and IU's repeated reassurance that she would be back - and perhaps because the adrenaline from the infectious enthusiasm of my fellow uaenas had yet to subside - the post-concert blues didn't hit me immediately after the concert ended. I recall last year I had remained in my seat, feeling lost and empty, but this year, I left beaming as I made my way out of the concert hall with the rest of the crowd.

The post-concert blues did sink in a little the next day, as I relived my memories looking at other fancams - but mixed with this was a feeling of gratitude and joy at how blessed I had been.

Thank you IU, for giving love through your Love Poem concert, and I look forward to seeing you again next year.

#iu #Lee Jieun #iu concert account #uaena #love poem #iu in singapore #iu singapore concert #love poem concert

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rkchwev-blog · 5 years

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awake - jbj95 outfit | line distribution dance: ( 00:00 - 00:18 ); ( 00:56 - 01:05 ); ( 01:09 - 01:12 )

this was not a situation he thought he would even make it to. perhaps it was the residual lack of self confidence that still stormed its way through his mind at the most inopportune of moments that made him think this way but each week that passed where his name was not called during eliminations felt far too surreal for him to simply acknowledge his presence on the MGAs as a solidified fact. nothing was for sure in this show nor was it in this business and so he made it a point to not take his continued chance for granted. he’d have to come back stronger each time.

he was aware of his position when compared to the other contestants. or rather… his lack of position. when it came to rappers he was competing against a former idol of a group he was actually a fan of and a fan favorite that everyone seemed to love in their interviews. he’d gotten a few commendations but he was never really suited for variety and so his screen time when compared to others was lacking as well. he had what he had going for himself and he needed to make that work else he would be buried alive by the others.

this was something he was sure he had foreseen happening when the next challenge was announced. duos. pairs. a partner.

it rendered him speechless at first. who was she? oh she had been commended by the judges. so she had to be really good. what kind of music would she like? would their images match well? would they be able to keep up with each other? would they even get along? so many thoughts were running through his head and they’d not even had the proper chance to greet one another before they were directed back to their seats.

surely this was going to be a fucking disaster.

however he couldn’t have been more wrong. all of the nerves he went into their collaboration with were soon melted away after their first practice. he would have to adjust to working with others in that regard and sia definitely put him to work. her anxiety inwardly made him anxious. it was written all over her face just how nervous she was, how worried she was about everything. that instability rattled him… but he could empathize with it. he knew firsthand how crippling anxiety could be and not even for the sake of the show but simply for her own peace of mind, he did everything he could to assuage her worries and fears.

he brought food for them from work to eat and get energy for their practices. she seemed at ease when talking about her cat and so many fun stories were exchanged along with promised playdates. she grew comfortable and song suggestions began to enter the conversation and from her observations, she made brilliant suggestions that when he looked at and listened to them, he could see himself within the performance. his music was taking an upward turn. happier. able to connect with others without drawing on the negative. the lyrics of awake especially drew him as he imagined yeji and what she meant to him. the love he felt for the song was instant.

things were progressing smoothly.

they grew closer as they practiced and the more they interacted in the studio and in messages sent back and forth, the more it became easier to be comfortable as they established a natural chemistry to translate into their performance. a week was a short amount of time to fully know someone but they were at ease with each other and there was a mutual trust that their futures were in each others hands and that they were truly in this together. he was the better dancer of the two – a truly relative position to have when they were both beginners – and though they only selected short snippets of the choreography, they wanted it as perfect as possible. the moves would brighten the song – the entire atmosphere they were going for – and they wanted to make sure it remained an asset and not something detrimental.

there was an adjustment period for him that he couldn’t ignore though. to rap someone else’s lyrics as though they were his own. it was odd. having to follow someone else’s flow when his own flow switched up and changed on his own whim was something he had to find comfort in to be able to find confidence in someone else’s lyrics. he had to suspend his own creative difference from the original lyrics and instead find himself within them and when he approached it differently – as though he were looking at a script – pieces began to fall into place. yeji. this was for her.

they went shopping to agree on outfits for the stage and though his hair was such a hassle in his eyes, they were able to agree on a look that would be comfortable for them both and keep the youthfulness and playfulness of the song alive. it was different than what he was used to but when they wore their outfits in the store and stood with one another in the mirror, he could really see the picture come together. the loving atmosphere of the song. their skills. their stage presence.

this would work. he could feel it.

—–

the day had finally come.

he’d woken up that morning feeling really good and though he was nervous about performing with someone else in a genre that he was beginning to adventure into, he was glad that he was getting the chance to do it with sia. they both had a quiet kind of charisma and it seemed like it would be hard for them to burst out of their shells but when they were on stage it was an entirely different concept. what was practiced was performed with natural execution and what was improvised was received and reciprocated with comfortable chemistry. her greeting made him smile, the trademarked words of hers followed up with his own casual introduction that he’d adjusted to since joining the MGA’s. “hey, i’m vernon.” they interchanged as they spoke about the song, a smile rising to his eyes as he spoke into the microphone before they took their spots. “hopefully this gets you thinking about your first love in the best of ways.”

they circle round each other in the beginning of the choreography and each snap is achieved with practiced rhythmic accuracy. not a beat was missed. sia’s voice lifted up from behind him with their backs pressed to one another and he used the opportunity to use what his former pr agent said was one of his best assets: his face. he smiled a charming smile that colored his salted caramel hued eyes a playful happiness that when he thought of the lyrics shone just a bit brighter as he knew his own first love was right there in the room with him, the look directed back towards sia appropriately. the way the bass of the song underneath the building dance beat kept him entranced energized him and the confidence he had on stage kept him easy. he was thankful for his continued dance lessons that removed the stiffness from his moves in the little bits of choreography they’d decided to use so as the spotlight was turned over to him with a gracious smile from the lovely sia, the weighted microphone was brought to his lips to give the listeners a deep contrast to the bright lightness in sia’s voice as he had a mischievous warmth that would suck them into the bass drop.

Ay 깊은 안갯속에 난 길을 잃어가 너란 빛을 따라가 네게 닿을지 몰라 I’m falling down 끝이 없는 걸 어서 Baby 나를 깨워 줘

he kept the fun in the delivery as the entire song radiated an addictive energy, his hand coming over his cheek as though he were asleep, his eyes closing, with a light shake of his head before he opened them as though surprised, a smile beaming across his features at the cute act. not a single word was missed, his clear and audible delivery something he prided himself on with each syllable tended to in order to keep the freshness of love in each word. he gives sia the stage with an exit as though being pulled away towards her, the tug on his sleeve turning his effervescence her way with a hand naturally coming up to affectionately rest at the hair at the crown of her head as his lines begin again, bringing himself to separate away from her as he clutches his chest as though separating was driving him crazy to find his spot for the highlight of their performance.

매일 봐도 모르겠어 Baby 니가 보고 싶어 Oh crazy

as the chorus began and their voices fell into sync – a harmony they worked hard together to achieve with sia’s singing abilities coming in handy to find a tone they could fit together with his very minimal experience – they fell into the choreography that embodied the bouncy exhilaration the song was composed of, his smile sincerely one that showed his enjoyment of what he was doing. they had perfected the parts they were able to do as a craft and seamlessly transitioned the parts they were unable to do out for different moves that would instead express their overjoy. they moved together, one after the other, to form the heart they had worked into the chorus, his radiant smile tamed as the bass dropped and he sucked the audience back into his words. because every word had importance and he gave them attention to give them meaning that he could feel and that those who were feeling a really strong love could feel.

you wake me up with your mind you wake me up with your mind you wake me up with your

You wake me up with your You wake me up with your mind

I’m on your side, you’ll be my sign 조금씩 빠져들 거야 더 흐릿하던 날들은 너로 선명해져 I got you now 널 보면 Lose my mind

너의 향기로 차올라 Eh 나의 맘은 벅차올라 Eh 잡은 두 손 꼭 놓지 마 Eh

he rode the bass of his rap, his body naturally bobbing to the rhythm as the mix of english and korean dispatched from him showed his deep affinity for hip-hop in the emphasis he put on the rhymes exuding a charisma that he felt in his confidence as a rapper and that was something he never doubted. but he kept it spirited to match the lively dynamic of the song, his hand coming out before him to gesture as he looked directly towards sia as though rapping to her, his smile playfully smitten and mischievous with all the tenacity in his shining caramel brown eyes of a man 100% sure of the woman that he wanted. he dropped the mic as he looked at her, her lines taking over his eyes on her forming deep set crescents as she hit her notes as though he were proud, his eyes still set on her even as he delivered his next lines, lightly taking her hand for the second line before breaking free from her again to find his position for the chorus once more.

매일 봐도 모르겠어 Baby 니가 보고 싶어 Oh crazy

you wake me up with your mind you wake me up with your mind you wake me up with your

You wake me up with your You wake me up with your mind

their choreography for the chorus burst through refreshingly once more, his adlibs in the back filled with energy as he released a happy ‘whoo’ and ‘come on’ in the empty space between their synchronized lines until they were made to come together once again, their heads coming to rest together instead of a heart to end off the song. her finger hearts go up and his hands form a circle over his mouth that he bites into a heart, the exhilaration of the stage still very strong for him even as he bows before they take their exit.

for all of the doubts that he had going into the stage, he performed at his utmost confident state, allowing himself to really feel the song and get into it while syncing with his partner to create a fun, playful and innocent stage depicting all the wonders of a first love. the entire time all he could think about was yeji. he’d performed it with her in his heart and he hoped that she could feel it and he hoped that everybody who watched could feel their love in their hearts too.

#rkmga5 #rkmga5duos #rksihyeon #rkyeji #wc: 2158

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lauramcdphotography · 2 years

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Landscape Research

Edward Steichen

“Edward Steichen was a key figure of twentieth-century photography, directing its development as a prominent photographer and influential curator. Steichen came to the United States in 1881. He painted and worked in lithography, before undertaking photography in 1896, and first exhibited photographs at the Philadelphia Salon in 1899.

During World War I, he directed aerial photography for the Army Expeditionary Forces. “

Source - https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/edward-steichen?all/all/all/all/0

I really love this image as it captures a really moody atmosphere. I also find the symmetry and refections very aesthetically pleasing. I would like to ry something similar within my own landscape work.

This image captures just a hint of light coming from behind the tress and make the viewer really think about what is behind them. This adds to the success of the image due to the fact it draws the eye in.

Ansel Adams

“At one with the power of the American landscape, and renowned for the patient skill and timeless beauty of his work (see Ansel Adams Yosemite black & white photographs & original prints), photographer Ansel Adams has been a visionary in his efforts to preserve this country’s wild and scenic areas, both on film and on Earth. Drawn to the beauty of nature’s monuments, he is regarded by environmentalists as a monument himself, and by photographers as a national institution. It is through his foresight and fortitude that so much of America has been saved for future Americans.”

source -

https://www.anseladams.com/gallery/welcome/about-ansel-adams/

I am immediately drawn to this image as there are so many ways in which it draws the eye in and leads it around the image. Firstly, you are looking at the waterfall, following it down to what seems to be a rainbow at the bottom, following that across the image down to the bottom of the tree and then up the tree back to the centre of the image.

Again, I really love the reflection of the tree and its branches in the water. the straight spike branches that reflect onto the water almost make it look whole again.

Michael Shainblum

“Michael Shainblum is a landscape, timelapse and aerial photographer based in San Francisco, California. He has been working professionally as a photographer and filmmaker for 11 years since the age of 16. Michael first made a name for himself through his unique creativity and the ability to capture scenes and moments in his distinct style of surreal, visual story telling. A dedication to challenging the boundaries of creativity, as well as a flair for coming up with unique ideas, has since resulted in this dynamic visual artist being commissioned by large clients including Nike, Samsung, Facebook, LG, Apple and Google. You will also be able to find Michael's work published widely by media outlets such as National Geographic, Wired Magazine and The Weather Channel.”

Source -

https://www.shainblumphoto.com/about/

I adore the dappled light spread throughout this image. It almost looks as if the sky is lifting up the sand from this desert. The softness and warmth of the sand dunes compared to the jaggy cold toned mountains in the background give the viewer a sense of ‘safety’ and want to be in the foreground of the image. This adds to the success of the image as it gives the viewer a sense of emotion.

I am attracted to the smoothness in this image from the top third of the photograph. It has bright and inviting colours which make this image easy on the eye.

Dustin LeFevre

“Fine art photographer based in Utah, Dustin LeFevre has been named one of the best landscape photographers in the world.

Nature, light, and color are all reoccurring themes in his work. Dustin covers much of the American West Coast. Furthermore, he has expanded his passion for capturing landscape photos into workshops.”

source -

https://photographycourse.net/19-best-landscape-photographers/

The reason I chose this photographer was because I immediately thought that this image was a painting. It is so delicate and looks like there has been so much time and thought put into this image. It almost looks as though this photographer has lifted all of the shadows and contrast out of the picture in his post production process. This gives it that delicate ‘brush stroke’ look.

#landscape

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Best Modern Horror Movies

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Every once in a while, someone likes to declare that the horror genre is dead, and so far, every one of those predictions has been wrong.

Horror movies have been around almost as long as filmmaking itself, and while the genre has always been cyclical in nature –dipping, sometimes drastically, in both quality and quantity from time to time — all it usually takes is a well-timed box office hit, a fresh new angle or a hot young filmmaker to reanimate it again.

The 21st century has been, overall, an extremely healthy one for horror. There’s been the usual amount of dross, of course, but the genre has branched out in a number of interesting new directions as well. We had absolutely no problem tallying the initial batch of movies for this article, and have just continued to update it ever since, starting with the newest and going back in time from there.

So here are over 50 terrifying favorites that you can use for your own personal Halloween film festival — and we promise that this lineup delivers. Brace yourselves for a look at the best horror movies of the 21st century.

These are the very best modern horror movies…

Saint Maud (2020)

As our own Rosie Fletcher said in her review, Saint Maud is “a strange, gorgeous, and deeply disturbing chiller which mixes psychological, religious, and body horror to form something that feels utterly original.” She added that the film “messes with your perceptions of what’s real and what isn’t and comes with an ending that’s so simultaneously euphoric and horrific it feels like a punch in the heart.”

She’s right on the money. Morfydd Clark is outstanding in the title role, a private nurse who believes she can speak directly with God and decides it’s her mission to save the soul of the dying, debauched professional dancer (Jennifer Ehle) she is caring for. Maud lives right on the knife’s edge between spiritual ecstasy and mental illness, and director Rose Glass’ debut feature captures the surreal, horrific netherworld that is this tormented young woman’s life.

Saint Maud is out in theaters in the UK now.

Relic (2020)

The horror film at its best allows us to experience our deepest real-life fears in metaphorical terms, which is what the excellent Relic does with specificity, empathy, and atmosphere to spare. Emily Mortimer plays Kay, a workaholic single mom who gets a call from the police that her elderly mother Edna is missing from her home in the Australian countryside. When Kay and her daughter Sam (Bella Heathcote) drive out from Melbourne to the house, Edna (Robyn Nevin) reappears after two days–but cannot recall where she’s been.

Edna’s house–untidy, dark, and littered with odd notes and markings–and behavior lead Kay and a local doctor to surmise that the headstrong Edna is slowly sinking into the grip of dementia. But something else is at hand — an unseen presence that can seemingly bend reality — and the feature debut of director Natalie Erika James works so well because of its complete cohesion between characters, theme and imagery. Grief and loss ooze from every frame of the film, along with an impending sense of dread and claustrophobia.

Watch Relic on Amazon

SpectreVision

Color Out of Space (2020)

Color Out of Space adapts what legendary horror author H.P. Lovecraft considered his personal favorite short story, “The Colour Out of Space.” Although the film is set in the present, it is faithful to the original 1927 narrative, in which a family is both driven to madness and altered physically by the presence of an alien entity that has landed on their farm in a meteorite.

Starring a typically unpredictable Nicolas Cage, Color Out of Space is flawed in many ways, but is distinguished by three things: the return of director Richard Stanley (Hardware) after too many years away from features, a plethora of eerie and downright disturbing imagery, and an overall atmosphere that comes damn close to that of Lovecraft himself.

Watch Color Out of Space on Amazon

Neon

The Lodge (2020)

The Lodge stars an excellent Riley Keough as Grace, a troubled young woman in love with Richard (Richard Madden) a journalist who wrote a book about the suicide cult she is the only survivor of. Their relationship triggers Richard’s estranged wife (Alicia Silverstone) to commit suicide, leaving the former couple’s two children devastated.

Six months later, Richard, Grace and the children head up to Richard’s remote winter lodge in an effort for all of them to heal. But a series of unexplained events occur that may be tied to Grace’s past or the death of the children’s mother — or both. Directed by Austrian filmmakers Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala (the harrowing Goodnight Mommy), The Lodge reeks with dread and leads to a thoroughly unsettling finish.

Watch The Lodge on Amazon

Wounds (2019)

This Hulu original stars Armie Hammer as Will, a New Orleans bartender whose discovery of an abandoned mobile phone in his place of business portends the arrival of an unspeakable evil, a malevolence that infects him, his girlfriend (Dakota Johnson) and almost everything in his life.

British-Iranian director Babek Anvari (2016’s supremely eerie Under the Shadow), creates an atmosphere of extreme dread and rot here, from the cockroaches Will is constantly killing behind the bar to the frightening images and sounds that keep appearing on that damn phone. Based on a novella called The Visible Filth by acclaimed horror writer Nathan Ballingrud, Wounds leaves much unexplained but that’s kind of the point: horror is often most effective when it can’t be rationalized.

Watch Wounds on Hulu

Tigers Are Not Afraid (2019)

There’s a reason why no less a maestro than Guillermo Del Toro is a fan of this deeply felt and moving film: it covers much of the same territory that he has explored in some of his greatest works like The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth — the place where imagination, childhood innocence and real world corruption intersect in a surreal, dangerous yet fantastical landscape.

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After her mother goes missing in the latest cartel rampage through an unnamed and anarchy-plagued Mexican city, a young girl (Paola Lara) finds herself living on rooftops with a small band of little boys and haunted by an apparition that may or may not be her mother. Director and writer Issa Lopez wrings emotion, humor and even minor triumphs out of this dark scenario, while not shying away from its more disturbing implications.

Watch Tigers Are Not Afraid on Amazon

Ready or Not (2019)

Darkly funny and subversive, Ready or Not is an out-of-nowhere surprise that deftly weds (pun intended) an acidic black comedy about income inequality and the politics of marriage to a more gruesome thriller about being chased around an old, dark house by a deranged family of Satanists. If that doesn’t pull you in, nothing will.

Samara Weaving is an appealing lead as the young woman who marries into a clan of vast wealth and privilege, only to find out where they came from and what the family must do to maintain them. Weaving is excellent at both the comedy and horror, while Andie MacDowell and Henry Czerny lead a sparkling supporting cast of cracked characters. It may not be especially scary, but ready or not, this one’s a real crowd-pleaser.

Watch Ready or Not on Amazon

Annabelle Comes Home (2019)

Who would have thunk that the third time would be the charm for this popular Conjuring spin-off series? First-time director Gary Dauberman — who wrote all three entries in the sub-franchise — rises to the challenge and brings a wonderful sense of atmospherics and dread to the proceedings that was lacking in the earlier films. Anyone who channels the lighting schemes of horror legends like Mario Bava is all right in our book.

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Annabelle Comes Home also proves to be the sharpest-written of the bunch, as four girls — one of them the daughter of Conjuring ghost hunters Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, who cameo here) — try to fight off the evil title doll as she unleashes hell on them over the course of one night. The cast is given depth and agency, which makes us care all the more when Dauberman turns the movie into a full-on monster mash. This one’s old school fun.

Watch Annabelle Comes Home on Amazon

Midsommar (2019)

Ari Aster blew everyone away in 2018 with his writing and directing debut, Hereditary (see below), a frightening tale of family dysfunction, grief, memory and naked witches summoning an ancient demon (Was that a spoiler? Sorry). His follow-up, Midsommar, wears its direct influences on its sleeve and tries a little too hard to signal its own importance, but it’s supremely eerie in its own way and quite nasty in what it shows and what it hints at.

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Four college friends — including disintegrating couple Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) — are invited by an exchange student to Sweden, where they’ll visit the reclusive commune in which he was raised. Fans of films like The Wicker Man will have a pretty good sense of what’s coming, even if Aster doesn’t quite answer all the questions he raises. What he does do, however, is chill the blood with both the way the travelers turn on each other and how the Harga find spirituality and transcendence in their deeply disturbing rituals.

Watch Midsommar on Amazon

Us (2019)

The second feature from Get Out writer/director Jordan Peele still cleverly uses the horror genre for social commentary, but the focus is less directly on race this time and more on class and privilege. Lupita Nyong’o is outstanding as Adelaide, whose well-off family is terrorized by savage doppelgangers intent on murdering them. Who those duplicates are, and what they mean, provides for a biting commentary on the haves and the have-nots.

Some of the story logic is fuzzier this time around, but Peele is still adept at creating a genuine atmosphere of dread while deploying well-worn horror tricks in unique new ways. He also gets tremendous performances out of his cast, including Black Panther’s Winston Duke and The Handmaid Tale’s Elisabeth Moss, in what is ultimately a solid sophomore outing for the director.

Watch Us on Amazon

Halloween (2018)

After years of mostly lackluster sequels and reboots, director David Gordon Green (and his co-writer Danny McBride) take this horror icon both back to the roots and into the future. The result is a direct sequel to the original that ignores all the other films and concentrates, with stark precision, on two ideas: the concept of Michael Myers as a primal force of evil and the theme of PTSD as exemplified by Jamie Lee Curtis’ powerful performance as a permanently damaged Laurie Strode.

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Both a thrilling rollercoaster ride and a chilling exploration of an unknowable psyche, the new Halloween is also relevant to what’s happening in 2018 — making The Shape a valid and still scary vessel for whatever metaphor you want him to represent.

Mandy (2018)

Dream-like, surreal and hypnotic — when it’s not screaming with rage — Mandy may be more interested in atmosphere and imagery than story (the plot is admittedly far too simple for the movie’s two-hour length) but is an unnerving experience nonetheless.

At the center of this boldly experimental assault from director Panos Cosmatos (Beyond the Black Rainbow) is a primal performance from Nicolas Cage, whose reputation for gonzo performances does a disservice to the raw emotion he can still deliver as a lumberjack out for vengeance against a frightening cult. Mandy might try your patience, but its visual poetry and uncaged (ha ha) star are never dull.

Watch Mandy on Amazon

Hereditary (2018)

It’s still hard to believe that this is the first feature ever from writer/director Ari Aster, who brings a literal parade of horrors to his terrifying exploration of a family’s complete breakdown from forces within and without.

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Toni Collette is off-the-charts stunning as the mother who tries to hold her clan together even in the face of unspeakable tragedy and the knowledge that her own family history is working against them. Harrowing and thoroughly unsettling, Hereditary is perhaps the best example yet of a new wave of genre films that are about something while still scaring the living shit out of you.

Watch Hereditary on Amazon

The Endless (2018)

Two brothers (played by Justin Benson and Aaron Morehead, who also directed, produced, edited and wrote the film) return to the cult they once belonged to as youths, each carrying different memories of their time there and different expectations of what they’ll find in the present. But neither sibling is prepared for the inexplicable events that occur once they arrive.

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Following their features Resolution and Spring, the Benson/Morehead team once again prove themselves adept at creating believable, atmospheric, dread-infused horror with limited resources. These guys clearly know what they’re doing, and the eerie The Endless is a strong next step for them.

Watch The Endless on Amazon

A Quiet Place (2018)

Who knew that mild Jim Halpert from The Office would end up directing one of the most acclaimed and outright scary movies of the past few years? In his third outing behind the camera (which he also co-wrote and stars in), John Krasinski uses silence — which can be deployed to great effect in horror movies — in the most ingenious manner possible. He, Emily Blunt and their three children live in a near-future world overrun by hideous, blind creatures that use their superior hearing to track prey by sound, thus necessitating that the human survivors remain as quiet as possible.

The result is a thriller in which literally every footstep is suffused with dread and a rusty nail becomes an object of extreme terror. While the script creaks a bit and could have used some better development, there’s no doubt that Krasinski directs this for maximum tension while getting terrific work out of himself, his wife and the kids. A Quiet Place is not just compelling horror, but a loud announcement of an outstanding new directorial talent.

Watch A Quiet Place on Amazon

It (2017)

It’s been a long time since a Stephen King screen adaptation really got the author’s work and intent right, but It does so and then some. Full of heart and warmth for its seven young main characters — all of whom are perfectly cast — It sets them against an insidious evil in the shape of Bill Skarsgard’s unforgettable Pennywise the Clown.

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Director Andy Muschietti’s take on King’s masterpiece is humane, moving and even funny — a coming-of-age story that also happens to be an engrossing and unsettling monster tale. It’s very rare that a truly “epic” horror movie is released, but It can stand proudly in that rarefied category.

Watch It on Amazon

It Comes at Night (2017)

Was this movie mismarketed? Or did audiences just reject its overwhelming, unrelenting bleakness? Either way it’s one of the overlooked horror gems of the past few years. Writer/director Trey Edward Shults is not interested in the whys or hows of his post-apocalyptic setting — he just puts regular, fearful human beings into the aftermath and lets us watch them as any chance for survival slowly unravels.

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Understated, incredibly claustrophobic (the house is a character itself) and stocked with great performances from Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo, and the rest of the cast, It Comes at Night is as naturalistic as a horror movie gets — and is all the more terrifying for it.

Watch It Comes at Night on Amazon Prime

Split (2017)

This was the film we had the toughest time deciding whether or not to include on this list. Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan gives it the structure, atmosphere and tone of a horror movie, yet it’s clear now that it’s also an origin story for a comic book-style supervillain and a de facto sequel to his Unbreakable.

But for most of its running time, Split is a harrowing, darkly humorous psychological thriller anchored by an incredible performance from James McAvoy as a man with 24 different personalities in his brain — as well as a monstrous 25th that is about to emerge.

Watch Split on Amazon

The Girl with All the Gifts (2017)

Not just one of the best horror movies of 2017, The Girl with All the Gifts was one of the best movies of that year. Moving and compassionate while at the same time frightening and dread-inducing, the movie puts a fresh spin on the zombie genre and creates memorable, empathetic characters who grapple with questions of not just what it means to be human, but what it means to be alive.

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Stars Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine and Glenn Close give top-shelf performances, but the movie belongs to young Sennia Nanua as the flesh-eating yet fully sentient Melanie, who may be a forerunner of a new, unexpected step in the evolution of whatever the human race ends up becoming. Gripping from start to finish.

Watch The Girl with All the Gifts on Amazon

Raw (2017)

Deeply graphic and disturbing, yet also rich with symbolism and subtext, Raw is both as grisly and sophisticated as horror movies come. The movie also touches on gender politics and family dynamics in its tale of two sisters at a French veterinary school who awaken to the power of their own bodies as well as primal, vicious hungers neither one of them thought possible. Director/writer Julia Ducournau stages the film in gritty, intimate style, making the gnawing on human flesh all the more horrific to watch. Raw is a movie that lives up to its name.

Watch Raw on Amazon

Get Out (2017)

The directorial debut of comedy writer/actor Jordan Peele is a sharp, funny and creepy horror satire on race relations, white liberal hubris and socal justice. It’s also a genuinely suspenseful thriller, albeit with nods to earlier movies like The Stepford Wives, and proves that horror continues to be an effective genre through which to tell culturally and socially relevant stories.

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The Best Creepy Horror Movies

By Sarah Dobbs and 1 other

Daniel Kaluuya plays Chris, a young African-American photographer who heads to the country with his white girlfriend (Alison Williams) to meet her parents for the first time. The meeting does not go well as Chris realizes that the seemingly nice yet awkward Armitages (led by an excellent Catherine Keener) are not what they appear to be at all. Get Out is thrilling, refreshing and a nice change of pace for the genre.

Watch Get Out on Amazon

Under the Shadow (2016)

International cinema has been exploring genre with great success in recent years, and this intimate yet mournful thriller, set in 1980s Tehran during the ongoing and brutal war between Iran and Iraq, is one of the more thoughtful and unique horror movies to emerge from that creative wellspring.

Iranian politics and social mores are woven carefully into the plot, which follows a woman and her daughter who are haunted by a djinn (an evil spirit) that may have been unleashed when their apartment building is shelled. The metaphor of the evil set free by war is fairly on the nose, but director Babak Anvari still constructs an atmosphere of slowly ascending terror and macabre imagery.

Watch Under the Shadow on Amazon

Train to Busan (2016)

Just when you thought the zombie genre had been utterly exhausted, someone comes along and reinvigorates it. Director Yeon Sang-ho’s South Korean production brought something back to the genre that had been gradually draining out of it: humanity.

Sure there’s a bit of sentimentality too in this story of a father trying desperately to get his daughter to her mom by train as a zombie plague breaks out, but the movie’s well-drawn characters, subtle social commentary (some on the train feel they are more worthy of survival than others) and frightening action sequences add up to a thrilling and emotionally powerful ride.

Watch Train to Busan on Amazon

The Wailing (2016)

South Korea struck again with this epic-length (156 minutes!) story of possession and exorcism in a small village from director Na Hong-jin. Once again a father must fight to save his daughter’s life: in this case he is a cop (Kwak Dowon) investigating a series of mysterious and violent deaths, only to discover that they have a supernatural cause that soon infects his family.

Despite odd moments of humor here and there, The Wailing is almost unremittingly bleak and its imagery is thoroughly unsettling. Deliberately paced and building an atmosphere of unspeakable dread, The Wailing is a standout of Asian horror.

Watch The Wailing on Amazon

The Invitation (2016)

This intense little psychological thriller from director Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body) starts off as a weirdly off-kilter domestic melodrama and shifts disquietingly into outright paranoia as it explores the dynamics of grief, modern relationships and how well we really know our friends and neighbors.

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Kusama’s deft handling of the material and setting (an angular and eventually sinister L.A. house), as well as a superb cast (led by Logan Marshall-Green and Tammy Blanchard, with support from the always creepy John Carroll Lynch) elevate the standard dinner party thriller into something a bit more special. And the final scene is a knockout.

Watch The Invitation on Amazon

The Conjuring 2 (2016)

The Conjuring 2 is a rare example of a horror sequel equaling or even surpassing the original. This time the focus is more directly on paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) as their skills, courage and faith are tested by England’s famous Enfield Poltergeist.

Director James Wan once again proves himself a master at using negative space, sound (or lack thereof) and period detail to wring goosebumps out of even the most jaded viewer, and the deeper characterizations make the stakes that much higher as well. There are few horror “epics,” but The Conjuring 2 comes close to being one.

Watch The Conjuring 2 on Amazon

The Witch (2016)

A stunning feature film debut from director Robert Eggers, The Witch tells the story of a 17th century Puritan family who are excommunicated from their village and build their own farm on the edge of a vast forest — only to be preyed upon by an ancient, malevolent witch who lives deep in the woods. Touching on themes of religious persecution and mania, sexual awakening and humanity vs. nature, The Witch is a fully immersive and wholly terrifying experience.

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Director Robert Eggers maintains astonishing control of mood and texture throughout, and the entire cast — including newcomer Anya Taylor-Joy as the family’s teen daughter — seems eerily snatched out of the past. The Witch is classic supernatural horror.

Watch The Witch on Amazon Prime

The Visit (2015)

M. Night Shyamalan began a welcome and long-overdue comeback with this quirky and creepy little found-footage experiment, which focuses on a teen brother and sister who make an unforgettable and eventually terrifying trip to visit the grandparents they’ve never met.

Shyamalan seems comfortable working within the lower-budget confines of the Blumhouse scream factory, and he manages to inject both a nice streak of morbid humor and enough of his trademark character touches to keep us off-balance. The movie has an unsettling tone throughout and, for the first time in a long time, the “twist” is well-earned and shocking.

Watch The Visit on Amazon

It Follows (2014)

One of the best horror films of the past couple of years is, like all the genre’s standout entries, rich in metaphor and subtext – is the curse passed through sex among the movie’s characters a stand-in for AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, or is the sex act itself a way to affirm life or at least postpone the inevitable onset of death? Writer/director David Robert Mitchell keeps it ambiguous – much to some viewers’ chagrin – and instead focuses on the movie’s overall atmosphere and tone, which is dream-like and full of dread.

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Lead actress Maika Monroe is a star in the making, but the most unforgettable thing about It Follows is its implacable walking phantoms, who cause your flesh to crawl every time they enter the frame.

Watch It Follows on Amazon

The Babadook (2014)

An instant classic upon its release, this Australian shocker is, astoundingly, the debut film from writer/director Jennifer Kent, who retains the kind of complete and unwavering grip on her story, themes and tone that you would expect from a much more seasoned filmmaker. Essie Davis is outstanding as Amelia, a widowed mother still reeling from the loss of her husband Oskar as she does her exhausted best to raise their troubled six-year-old son Sam (Noah Wiseman), who was born the night that Oskar died.

Enter the Babadook, the subject of a frightening storybook that Sam finds and an entity that is soon terrorizing mother and child. Thoroughly frightening and unnerving, The Babadook is also quite profound as it touches on the nature of grief and parenthood, hinting that both can drive a person to the edge of madness — or into the clutches of the Babadook.

Watch The Babadook on Amazon

Oculus (2014)

Following his ultra-low-budget indie debut Absentia, writer/director Mike Flanagan expanded his short student film into this striking tale of supernatural and psychological terror. Karen Gillan (Doctor Who) stars as a woman who believes that an antique mirror has been responsible for the tragic history of her family, and sets out to destroy it by any means she can. The mirror, however, has other plans.

Set in two parallel timelines that eventually intersect, Oculus is original, creepy and filled with mounting tension; the film is steeped not just in the atmosphere of ‘70s horror cinema but also modern supernatural literature. With more features to his name since (including Ouija: Origin of Evil, his adaptation of Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game, and Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House) Flanagan is a talent to watch.

Watch Oculus on Amazon Prime

You’re Next (2013)

Home invasion movies can kind of be formulaic after a while, but director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett (The Guest) find a way to freshen it up by turning You’re Next into a macabre soap opera as well. In the meantime, however, there’s a ton of suspense and bloody mayhem to satiate fans of visceral horror, and the family dynamics at work make for a nice counterpoint to the terror.

The cast is terrific, a mix of horror vets (Barbara Crampton, Larry Fessenden) and mumblecore regulars, and Sharni Vinson is outstanding as the dinner guest with a secret of her own.

Watch You’re Next on Amazon

The Conjuring (2013)

A film about real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren had been in development for nearly 20 years — outlasting Ed himself — before finally coming to fruition in 2013 as The Conjuring. Based on a case the Warrens investigated concerning the haunting of a family farm by a witch, the film afforded director James Wan the change to take the horror skills he had honed on his previous project, Insidious, and apply them to a larger scale Hollywood production.

The result was a genuinely scary experience with plenty of atmosphere and just enough empathy for the family and the Warrens to elevate the movie about the usual shock tactics. It was also a major box office hit, making it that rare genre entry that was enjoyed by both critics and audiences.

Watch The Conjuring on Amazon

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Both a deconstruction of the genre and one of the 21st century’s best horror movies in its own right, The Cabin in the Woods could only be the work of Joss Whedon (co-writer) and Drew Goddard (co-writer and director), whose love and understanding of both the genre and the wider pop culture context around it make this one of the smartest satires in recent memory. Proposing that the standard template for a horror film is what keeps the real horrors at bay, the movie turns that formula on its head yet works it to maximum effect.

Goddard is assured in his directorial debut, the cast (including a pre-Thor Chris Hemsworth and a brilliant Richard Jenkins as one of the weary “technicians” pulling the strings) is game, and the movie nails its meta premise perfectly.

Watch Cabin in the Woods on Amazon

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

Adapted from Lionel Shriver’s novel and directed by Lynne Ramsay, We Need to Talk About Kevin is the perennial “evil child” story disguised as an arthouse film. But the combination works, thanks to Ramsay’s striking direction and imagery and two knockout performances by Tilda Swinton as the mother and a frightening Ezra Miller as Kevin. Swinton’s anguished portrayal deepens the film’s themes and offers a searing and complex picture of a parent’s occasional ambivalence toward their own child.

Yet the movie doesn’t skimp on its horrors either, both psychological and physical, and stretches the boundaries of what can be considered a horror movie.

Watch We Need to Talk About Kevin on Amazon

Kill List (2011)

With just one feature to his credit before this (Down Terrace), director and co-writer Ben Wheatley hits his second film clear out of the park, fashioning it into a mash-up of gritty crime thriller and chilling Lovecraftian horror tale. The result is a unique movie that’s not quite like anything else on this list and will you leave you shaken to the core. Two former British soldiers turned hit men (Neil Maskell and Michael Smiley) take a job in which they must kill three people — a priest, a video archivist, and a member of Parliament — but soon find out that they have gotten involved with something far beyond their experience and understanding.

The somber mood, ambiguous plot (Wheatley deliberately and correctly leaves much unexplained) and almost unwatchable bursts of violence come to a boil in the truly horrifying and enigmatic climax.

Watch Kill List on Amazon

Insidious (2011)

After one hit (Saw) and a couple of misses (Dead Silence and Death Sentence), writer/director James Wan and his writing partner Leigh Whannell scored with this tiny ($1 million budget) indie that became a huge hit (and sadly spawned two lousy follow-ups). But Insidious deserved its success: it’s a genuinely scary film, with Wan displaying a tremendous talent for utilizing the camera frame, darkness and silence to create an oppressive atmosphere of dread only enhanced by some truly bizarre manifestations.

In pulling tricks from all eras of horror, Wan came up with something original, terrifying and entertaining – a horror ride that all fans could enjoy.

Watch Insidious on Amazon

I Saw the Devil (2010)

Director Kim Ji-Woon (A Tale of Two Sisters) sends an intelligence agent (Lee Byung-hun) on a mission of vengeance against a sadistic serial killer (Choi Min-sik) in this shocking and stunningly depraved cat and mouse thriller in which all notions of morality go out the window along with numerous bloody body parts. Yet Kim keeps you invested in the characters as well, and this Korean epic has an undertone of sadness that’s hard to shake. Kim holds it all together masterfully, creating a horrifying experience like nothing else we saw the year it came out.

Watch I Saw The Devil on Amazon

The House of the Devil (2009)

Indie auteur Ti West’s homage to the horror movies of the ‘70s and ‘80s is replete with stylistic touches from both decades, ranging from the old-school opening credits to the use of zoom lenses to the 16mm film stock meant to look retro. But this isn’t just a pastiche: while The House of the Devil is the definition of a “slow burn” film — which may leave some viewers impatient — the payoff is worth it as babysitter Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) is subjected to a night of Satanic horrors that will leave you shaken.

West is an expert at leading us along and then tightening the screws hard, and if you told me that The House of the Devil had actually come out around 1981 or so, I just might have believed you.

Watch House of the Devil on Amazon

Paranormal Activity (2009)

For better or worse, Oren Peli’s homemade, shoestring thriller kicked off a tidal wave of films using the “found footage” or “faux doc” style of moviemaking, an esthetic that has proven increasingly confining and exhausted. But there’s no denying the strength of a few early contenders, starting with this. Peli shows us almost nothing in terms of visual effects, which only heightens the experience: you can’t help but feel a powerful sense of dread every time his camera sits and stares into the shadowy abyss of the couple’s bedroom while they sleep.

Tons of sequels, rehashes and rip-offs later, Paranormal Activity remains authentically frightening and deserves its berth on a list of the century’s best horror movies.

Watch Paranormal Activity on Amazon

Let the Right One In / Let Me In (2008/2010)

In an era of endless bloodsucking YA hotties, leave it to an 11-year-old girl to create the best and eeriest vampire seen on the screen in years. Based on a novel by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist and directed by fellow Swede Tomas Alfredson, this is the story of the friendship that grows between lonely, bullied 12-year-old Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) and the little girl who lives in the apartment next door, Eli (Lina Leandersson) — an ancient vampire inside the body of a child. Let the Right One In is scary, funny, romantic and also quite mournful, tackling themes of youth, sexuality, loyalty, loss of innocence and love within a terrific and haunting vampire tale.

The two child actors are outstanding, with Leandersson projecting an otherworldliness and weariness far beyond her years. Credit is also due to the English-language remake by director Matt Reeves, who stayed largely faithful to the original while tweaking its meaning slightly (his actors, Chloe Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee, are fine if not quite as good as the Swedish cast).

Watch Let the Right One In here and Let Me In here!

Martyrs (2008)

Brutal and almost unwatchable, Martyrs represented perhaps the apex of the French extreme horror movement. A young woman (Morjana Alaoui) finds herself the subject of vicious “tests” by a secret society, aimed at creating a “martyr” whose suffering can give them a transcendental glimpse into the afterlife. The ordeal she goes through is just the grand finale of a nihilistic exercise in depravity. Director Pascal Laugier’s plunge into unrelieved sadism is given context by its powerful, eerie climax — if you can make it to the end.

Watch Martyrs on Amazon Prime

The Strangers (2008)

Writer and director Bryan Bertino made quite a splash with his debut feature, which relied more on a mounting sense of dread and escalating suspense than violence and gore. The story is a simple, straightforward home invasion narrative, but Bertino keeps it creepy and unsettling throughout thanks to some eerie imagery and his three terrifying antagonists. Bertino has directed some features since – the direct-to-video found footage thriller Mockingbird and The Monster – but The Strangers remains an impressively chilling calling card.

Watch The Strangers on Amazon

Trick ‘r Treat (2007)

Michael Dougherty’s Halloween-themed anthology sat on the shelf for nearly two years until finally (and criminally) getting just a direct-to-home-video release, but the wait was worth it. Dougherty wrote and directed a loving homage not just to the year’s most haunted holiday, but to horror movies and ghost stories in general, delivering four interconnected tales that each serve as a nasty, creepy and thoroughly entertaining exercise in traditional horror, with just the right amounts of atmosphere, scares and gore.

A lot of the best horror movies of this century aim to get under your skin in an unpleasant way, whereas Trick ‘R Treat just wants to have fun – and does.

Watch Trick ‘r Treat on Amazon

[REC] (2007)

This nasty shock to the system from Spanish horror specialist Jaume Balaguero uses the “found footage” style in logical fashion, as it’s told from the point of view of a news team that accompanies a fire brigade to a call at an apartment building. Things quickly take a turn not just for the bad but for the unspeakable as our heroes confront a zombie plague of a horrific nature, and [REC] rubs your nose in every nightmarish moment. The building itself is a spectacular, claustrophobic setting, and what [REC] lacks in meaningful character development it makes up in relentless terror and dread.

Take a good, stiff drink before watching.

Watch [REC] on Amazon

The Mist (2007)

A faithful and pretty great Stephen King adaptation, The Mist is terrifying not just for the macabre monsters that come streaming out of the title cloud to lay siege on a small group of people trapped in a supermarket, but for the way those people turn so quickly on each other as well.

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Writer/director Frank Darabont, nailing his third King-based adaptation after The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, innately understands that King’s stories are often so disquieting because of the human monsters in them as well as the slimy, tentacled ones. In this case the threat is Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden), a religious fanatic who quickly does her best to divide the supermarket into two hostile camps — I’ll let you work out the metaphors.

Beyond that, however, The Mist is a genuinely scary monsterpalooza, with one of the bleakest endings ever. When you go even darker than the King original, that’s saying something.

Watch The Mist on Amazon Prime

The Orphanage (2006)

The debut feature from Spanish director J.A. Bayona (The Impossible) was produced by his friend Guillermo Del Toro, and frankly feels like it. It certainly has many of the hallmarks of Del Toro’s own Spanish-language horror films, with its focus on children, its marvelously atmospheric setting, its short bursts of shocking violence and its ghostly apparitions.

Either way, it’s a rich, beautifully crafted film that becomes unexpectedly and powerfully emotional at the finish. Belen Rueda is sensational as Laura, who returns to her childhood home — an old orphanage — with her husband and adopted son, only to find that it is not exactly empty. An English-language remake was planned for a long time, but perhaps fortunately, it has not happened.

Watch The Orphanage on Amazon

The Descent (2005)

Six women go exploring an unmapped cave system, with tragic and terrifying consequences, in writer/director Neil Marshall’s (Dog Soldiers) riveting horror hit. Marshall subverts the genre with his strong all-female cast (not a male hero in sight), refusing to dumb them down, but then puts the screws to them by introducing the blind humanoid inhabitants of the caves, surely one of the most horrific monster creations of the decade.

The movie is unstoppably scary, showing no mercy to the characters or the audience (one shock early in the film makes this writer jump to this day), but also examines how far people will go to survive in seemingly impossible circumstances. The Descent is a harrowing, suffocating masterpiece.

Watch The Descent on Amazon

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

This loving homage to the films of George A. Romero — the father of the modern zombie movie — and to the horror genre in general launched the careers of director Edgar Wright and stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost outside of the U.K. And deservedly so: Shaun is a near-perfect blend of horror and comedy, energized by Wright’s visceral style of directing and flavored with clever pop culture and genre references that are even more delicious if you’re a fan.

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Pegg and Frost are perfect as two slackers who must contend with a zombie apocalypse — two of the least likely but most endearingly goofy heroes you’ll ever meet.

Watch Shaun of the Dead on Amazon

Saw (2004)

Saw is now so closely associated with the torture porn genre that its numerous sequels almost singlehandedly gave birth to that people often don’t remember that the original is more of a suspenseful police procedural and genuinely gripping puzzlebox than an outright exercise in sadism. Not that Saw is a sitting-room drama either: there are plenty of visceral moments in the film, and even in his feature debut, director James Wan (The Conjuring) displays a surprising amount of control and confidence in his handling of the horrors.

Saw may or may not be a truly great film, but its influence is enormous and it still packs one of the best endings the genre has ever seen.

Watch Saw on Amazon

28 Days Later (2002)

Looking at Danny Boyle’s revisionist zombie film now, its grimy handheld video esthetic is getting perhaps just a wee bit dated — but even that fails to dilute the sheer aggressive energy of Boyle’s take on the horror genre.

The movie, like its spiritual forefather Night of the Living Dead, is also rich in political and social subtext, while balancing moments of outright terror with passages of almost poetic reflection. Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland expertly reinvigorated a subgenre that had been nearly moribund, paving the way for both the superb (The Walking Dead) and the silly (the film version of World War Z).

Watch 28 Days Later on Amazon

The Ring (2002)

It was a foregone conclusion that the Japanese horror smash Ringu (1998), after becoming an underground sensation internationally, would be the subject of a big-budget Hollywood remake. But who imagined it would be this good? Director Gore Verbinski and writers Scott Frank and Ehren Kruger retain the original’s focus on atmosphere and creepy imagery over cheap scares, while Naomi Watts — fresh off her sensational turn in Mulholland Drive — is excellent as the reporter and mother who discovers the haunted videotape that causes viewers to die in seven days.

The American version fleshes out a few more narrative points that the Japanese film left ambiguous, but never wavers from its tone of quietly mounting terror. There have been plenty of J-horror remakes in the wake of The Ring, but it remains the first and the best.

Watch The Ring on Amazon

Mulholland Drive (2001)

Debate rages (even now, between this writer and his editor) over whether Mulholland Drive is actually a horror movie, but the simple truth is that filmmaking legend David Lynch has incorporated elements of horror into many of his films. No one comes as close to capturing the essence of a nightmare on screen, and Mulholland Drive contains two of the century’s most skin-freezing scenes: the infamous diner sequence and the discovery of a decomposing corpse in a darkened apartment.

Even if the plot didn’t invoke the genre in other ways — including a supernatural force at work in Hollywood and the Repulsion-like disintegration of a young woman’s mind — those two scenes would be enough to earn a spot on this list.

Watch Mulholland Drive on Amazon

The Others (2001)

Alejandro Amenabar (Open Your Eyes) wrote and directed this elegant ghost story. Nicole Kidman is superb as Grace, who relocates herself and her two small children to a remote country estate in the aftermath of World War II. Their highly structured life — the children are sensitive to sunlight and must stay in darkened rooms — is shattered by mysterious presences in the house. Amenabar relies on mood, atmosphere and a few well-placed scares to make this an excellent modern-day companion to classics like The Haunting and The Innocents.

Watch The Others on Amazon Prime

Session 9 (2001)

“Location, location, location” is what makes this tiny independent chiller from writer/director Brad Anderson (The Machinist) work so well and keeps its reputation intact. A five-man asbestos abatement team is hired to clean out the abandoned Danvers State Mental Hospital in Massachusetts, but the crew, led by the stressed-out Gordon (Peter Mullan), soon finds itself at the mercy of both personal tensions and an unseen force inside the facility.

Anderson shot the movie at the real Danvers, and the empty treatment rooms and labyrinthine underground tunnels create an undeniable atmosphere of disquiet and uncertainty. The nearly gore-free movie is a model of how a fantastic setting, a solid cast and an almost complete lack of jump scares can make for a thoroughly haunting viewing experience.

Watch Session 9 on Amazon

The Devil’s Backbone (2001)

Guillermo Del Toro has made several great movies in his career so far, but for our money this remains his best, scariest and most profoundly affecting work (Pan’s Labyrinth is a close, close second). The Devil’s Backbone is a ghost story set during the waning days of the Spanish Civil War, at an orphanage for boys where an unexploded bomb is embedded in the courtyard and a spirit is wandering the halls at night.

The movie is drenched in both a heavy atmosphere of dread and a blanket of sadness; its mournful elegance counterbalances some of its more chilling scenes of terror. This is dark supernatural storytelling at its finest and a marvelous example of just how high the horror genre — so often maligned by critics — can reach.

Watch The Devil’s Backbone on Amazon

Kairo (2001)

Films like Ringu and Juon were the cornerstones of the Japanese horror explosion of the late ‘90s, but for my money, Kairo is the pinnacle of that era. Director/writer Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s film is one of the most unnerving exercises in surreal horror ever made, with one frightening image after another washing onto the screen. Although the movie’s central idea – -that the realm of the dead is infiltrating our world through the internet – is original and compelling, its presentation is somewhat murky. But Kurosawa doesn’t necessarily feel the need to spell things out: he wants to instead lure you into a living nightmare – which Kairo accomplishes over and over again.

Watch Kairo on Amazon

That’s our list — did we miss any of your favorites that you’d like to add? Let us know below!

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Reporting The News In 2020, With Sydney-Based New York Times Journalist Isabella Kwai

Dream Job

by Sally Tabart

Isabella Kwai, a journalist at The New York Times, at the Sydney bureau’s offices in Bondi. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.

Bella is currently writes briefs directed to a European audience. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.

Bella started working for The New York Times in 2017 when the Australian opened. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.

‘I think it’s important to know who you are, why you’re doing it and to find whatever it is that makes the journalism meaningful to you’, says Bella. Photo – Alisha Gore for The Design Files.

New York Times journalist Isabella Kwai does not do anything by halves.

Originally from Sydney, after school she got a scholarship to undertake a liberal arts degree overseas at Duke University in North Carolina. ‘It bought me some time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, because I was interested in literally everything’, Bella reflects. She ended up double majoring in Public Policy and English Literature, figuring she could balance pragmatism ‘while also writing terrible short stories in Creative Writing that will never see the light of day’ – relatable. It wasn’t until her final year that she started to seriously explore journalism, a field that might just allow her to combine all her interests.

From there, Bella was part of Atlantic Media’s fellowship program, where she worked outside of editorial scope, more on the business side of things. But by this stage, Bella knew she wanted to write. Under the mentorship of ‘some very supportive editors’, she got her foot in the door by having a few clips published in The Atlantic. Not a bad start for a fresh university grad!

Although by now you might have figured out that Bella is naturally driven and ambitious, she credits this time in the US as an eye-opening experience. It gave her an appreciation for the hustle, as well as the privileges of working in Australia. ‘It’s not easy to grab a hold of someone on a Friday evening here – and that’s not a bad thing’, she says. ‘I remember being very inspired by people’s sheer self-belief and drive when I first moved there. At the same time, the glorification of the hustle is born out of things like wealth inequality, a lack of universal healthcare, and short maternity or paternity leave policies.’

Before The New York Times, Bella’s work experience more or less mirrors that of most in their early 20s – tutoring, working in cafes and cake shops, and odd freelance writing jobs. But when The New York Times opened its Sydney bureau in 2017, Bella immediately knew this was what she wanted to do. And now, she’s doing it!

The most important verb in my get-your-dream-job vocabulary is…

To start. I try to remind myself that the first step to getting something I want is to be in the running. It doesn’t even matter if the chances are long – they’re even longer if I never apply. After that, it becomes a series of problems to solve – who do I need to get in front of to make it happen? What are the strengths I have that will help convince them I’m the best person for the job?

I landed this job by…

Networking on top of my application. I was finishing up my fellowship at The Atlantic when I heard that the New York Times was opening a bureau up in Australia, and I knew immediately I wanted to be a part of that team. I applied through the site, and then I began stalking people I knew at the New York Times. I found one journalist who had been a former student at my university and asked if he might give me some advice over the phone. To my surprise, he did. And then I rustled up the courage to ask if he might mention to my current boss that I was very interested in the position. I remember this because I thought for sure I was pushing it, after this nice person had already agreed to a chat. But he did, and a few days later I had an interview and eventually landed the job.

Working for one of the world’s biggest news organisations in 2020 has been…

Surreal. Challenging. I was sent to Hong Kong for a month in February, supplementing our coverage when the pandemic was mostly contained in Asia, and at the time I was in awe of our reporters in Wuhan who were reporting while in lockdown there. Our reporters have also been on the frontlines of the protests over the killing of George Floyd and even within the media, there has been a reckoning over media and diversity. Sometimes it’s hard to shut out the news when you need to regenerate, but I feel like I’m witnessing first-hand a revolutionary moment in history in many, many ways.

A typical day for me involves…

I wake up. I drink coffee. I read the news. I drink more coffee. Right now, I’m helping cover the Europe morning briefing, which is a daily summary of the news aimed at readers in Europe, so I’ll make sure I’m across the biggest stories in the region and what we’ve written on them. We also have a global report on coronavirus news, so if Australia has major developments, which lately has focused on Victoria’s lockdown, I’ll write updates for that.

This is probably the most routine I’ve ever had. Before the pandemic, the hours could be more irregular, depending on the news, and we’d be out in the field more for feature stories. I just got back from the first reporting trip since the borders reopened, and that’s the most fulfilling part of the job because you’re really there as the story unfolds.

The most rewarding part of my job is…

Being able to bring something real and raw about the human condition – particularly if it’s something that’s been underreported – to an audience that might not otherwise come across it. I love that journalism is a kind of truth-telling that can broaden and open us to different worlds, and it’s so rewarding to be the conduit. For myself, the fact that people have allowed me into their homes, their lives, their intimate thoughts is such a privilege. It’s helped me understand people I’d never meet otherwise, challenged my preconceptions and opened my own world up. I’m a more grounded and empathetic person because of it.

On the other hand, the most challenging aspect is…

Staying resilient and optimistic in an uncertain industry. There are a lot of job losses in the industry right now, and given how competitive it can be, it’s easy to compare your own progress to others. So much of making it work is a combination of persistence, timing and a gate-keeper giving you a chance. I think it’s important to know who you are, why you’re doing it, and to find whatever it is that makes the journalism meaningful to you.

A lesson I’ve found useful is…

Better done than perfect. For me, any project worth doing, any new challenge worth taking on, the fear of not executing it perfectly can trip me up because I have an image of it in my head. But I’ve learnt that you can only ever prepare so much and to stop thinking and theorising and just get started. I recently came across RZA’s guided explorations and he puts it pretty well: Bite, or stop barking.

Also: if confused, just ask! Or you’ll end up apologizing to a linguist about confusing diphone with diphthong and, well, it’s just awkward for everyone.

Keep up with Bella’s work at The New York Times here.

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hnd1areillyben-blog · 7 years

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Personal Reflection/Evaluation

BLOCK 1 - - -

Clean white project :

In starting the year, this as the first major project set in the studio, where it involved us having to research various studio lit portraits that reflected the brief.

It was a challenge figuring out how the lights interacted with the background and the camera, how to create a clean white background whilst also setting the camera at the right settings.

After getting to grips with the lights, it became enjoyable to try and replicate the research image by controlling the light with various attachments and such.

Seeing the light :

A series of four portraits shot in broad daylight, in essence capturing different qualities of light and applying the light to people of different genders and ages.

I really enjoyed this project, which I believe was very underappreciated, because at the time I was a little bit under confident with speaking to people. Due to my work title, and by having to approach strangers to photograph in this project, it really boosted my confidence which is always a plus!

Who Am I? :

The personal project for things that describe who we are. The goal was to create a canvas with 3 images in the form of a triptych.

One image being a self portrait, another being a location that means something to us or has a special place in our hearts, and an object that holds personal significance.

I loved this project as it allowed me to be creative and express my passions through photography in the same way I imagine my passions in my own head.

OVERALL ****

The first block was very insightful due to learning my own way on how to research for projects and various reports. Learning some new techniques was also very helpful, and learning how to process / develop / print through the film medium was an incredible journey. I settled in nicely with the class, the lecturers and the workflow, which would continue to be true all the way through.

BLOCK 2 - - -

Catch me if you can :

Originally meant for block 1, but recommended to be submitted by block 2, Catch me if you can, was a sports based project where I would shoot an array of photographs of a live (ticketed) sports event.

The shoot itself went incredibly well, couldn't be more pleased with the results in terms of photographs... in other aspects, the project almost failed very badly.

To describe where I went wrong, I must express my brief moment of stupidity during a morning where I was changing the battery in my Canon DSLR... in the battery compartment, there lies the significantly smaller battery that keeps things like user settings, date/time and things like that saved to the camera so that its the correct date and time and things like that. I stupidly took it out by mistake and placed it back in (not knowing the consequences) I then set the time and didn't have time to set the date properly, making it obviously incorrect.

After shooting it appeared to be that the event was shot before the brief, but after an explanation of my errors, it was soon overlooked and became okay again.

Gift :

The second major project shot in the studio, we were given an object by our lecturer and told to create a still life image within, showing off the image in an abstract manner

in my case I was gifted a razor, with a strange two toned rubberised, plastic ribbed texture. placing it on warped reflective sheet of thick Perspex plastic.

By using a modelling lamp with blue gel in the background and a set of barn doors to the right side of the set, I was able to capture a silhouette of the objects form, and also light up some detail.

the blue background that appeared like harsh waves with highlights, makes the image feel cold, and when combined with the look of the object and its reflections, results in a harrowing still life.

I really enjoyed this project as it further allowed me to become creative with the studio.

Recycle :

The basis of this project was to shoot a still life in the studio of something that was used, or old.

I have always loved the look of old style renaissance art paintings from the 17th century and roundabout that era of time, I wanted to recreate that sort of image, with the same lighting which would then produce the same emotional response to viewers.

I got to learn different attachments for the lights and their purposes, for how to effectively light the still life. By using a soft box to emulate a natural warm summers afternoon light sweeping in from the right side, a snoot attachment for an overhead light to light up the details in the wicker basket, book and coins, and finally a barn doors to bring out little details in the background.

If I was to shoot this project again I would have brought the still life further forwards away from the background to allow for better background lighting, but in terms of the style I was going for, the end result was very effective.

Movie poster :

I absolutely loved this project, shooting the segments of the poster separately, editing (especially editing).

I chose to shoot through a tunnel, which was full front lit by natural light, and where the other end of the tunnel leaked in a lot of light too.

I then replicated the direction of the light in the studio with shooting a full body portrait of my model (which was, granted, a challenge and also recommended not to do by the lecturers), but in the end it worked out very well.

I stitched the model into the background, and spent some time one night learning how to create realistic fog through photoshop, and adding in small details that made the image look very ominous.

I added text in for the movie title and other miscellaneous actors and date of release. For the main title I chose a base font and applied a slight gradient from grey to white, then by using the smudge tool I was able to distort the text and allow it to fade slightly, and also smudged the other fonts to make them appear unique and more personalised for the genre.

Unseen and move it :

Move it, the short film project, has went very well so far and should be on time for the block 2 deadline, I really enjoyed shooting the film and researching techniques and ideas. I believe that my video skills aren't the greatest and do need some work, but I still enjoyed the project none the less!

Unseen.... I am absolutely loving the creative scope with this specialised photography. I have always been interested in surreal photography, using the infrared spectrum of light, and after shooting with converted cameras, I feel like I have finally found a very keen interest in the specialised world of photography. I think I might pursue infrared photography for my personal project.

Live project :

I work part time at the weekends as a wedding photographer / studio assistant for commercial, wedding and various events. For the live project I was able to use images I had shot for clientele work to become my submission for Live.

I absolutely love the experience of this sort of photography - photography part aside, I just love being a part of someone's most memorable day, and capturing the journey for them to look back upon and relive their wedding combined with my love for photography allows me to use my photographic skills to not only create wonderful images, but also apply them skills to my job.

I feel like the course and my job go hand in hand, learning so much about photography over the past year through both the course and my job, has made me incredibly confident in shooting lots of different subjects, and has fueled my passion and drive for photography.

#hnd1a #so far #overview #evaluation

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theblipmagazine · 7 years

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Identity & Modernity in The Third Man

In order to evaluate how identity is framed by Modernity and the urban context in The Third Man (directed by Carol Reed 1949) we must first understand what is meant by the term Modernity.

Modernity essentially refers to all that is “new” or a modern improvement, in terms of a social revolution which occurred around the 17th Century in Europe. In Marshall Bergman’s book, ‘All that is solid melts into air: The experience of Modernity’, he explains that “To be modern is to live a life of paradox and contradiction. It is to be overpowered by the immense bureaucratic organizations that have the power to control and often destroy all communities, values, lives, and yet to be undeterred in our determination to face these forces, to fight and change their world and make it our own. It is to be both revolutionary and conservative: alive to new possibilities for experience and adventure, frightened by the nihilistic depths to which so many modern adventures lead” (All that is solid melts into air: the experience of modernity-By Marshall Berman… Verso, 1983)

Modernity highlights the changes throughout society, from industrial and technological advances to the new avant guarde art movements that were beginning to challenge the social constraints of modern life; communication was sent into overdrive with the inventions of photography, film and later television. Social Theorists such as John B. Goodman embrace modernity as a positive movement “If man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun, as Geertz once remarked, then communication media are spinning wheels in the modern world and, in using these media, human beings are fabricating the webs of significance for themselves.” (Thompson, John B. The Media and Modernity 1995 Blackwell Publishers)

Modernity also brought us bureaucracy and the nation- state which enables nations to not only control economies but allows a form of national identity and social understanding.

Modernity focuses predominately on city life. This is because, whilst cities are not new, it is a modern reality that the majority of people live and work in them. Bustling metropolitan cultures were therefore the main fascinations for modernist artists and thinkers alike.

Film noir is a genre that is particularly appropriate for this question. This is because the genre has always been notorious for being particularly interested in modernity; it is a genre that gives the audience a darker more pessimistic view of a time in America that was somewhat more positive, economically and culturally. In particular, modernity is shown through the urban context, the winding and shady streets of the urban landscape, which reflect the shady inhabitants of the film noir city. It also gives us more obvious references to modernity, particularly by using modern (within the films historical context) transport, the romanticised use of trains or old Morris-Minor type cars.

Focussing on post-war America the genre film noir appears particularly transfixed on using a sometimes sinister cityscape, which helps to create an aura of mystique, nostalgia, and most importantly claustrophobia. Edward Dimendberg sums up the alienation of the protagonists in film noir and explains that such claustrophobic emotions can be externalised through the settings of film noir.

“Nostalgia and longing for older urban forms combined with fear of new alienating urban realities pervade film noir. The loss of public space, the homogenization of everyday life, the intensification of surveillance, and the eradication of older neighbourhood by urban renewal and redevelopment projects are seldom absent from these films. Thus, it is hardly surprising that the movement of protagonists from urban centre to periphery is a pervasive spatial trope. Unlike the contemporaneous conquests of the big sky and open frontier by characters in the film genre of the western, the protagonists in film noir appear cursed by an inability to dwell comfortably anywhere” (Dimendberg, E, Film Noir and the Spaces of Modernity Harvard University Press 2004)

I have chosen to write about The Third Man because I have found it to be a particularly interesting film from the film noir genre. This is because, while it follows all of the general rules of the genre, such as the shadowy lighting, the story of an unlikely hero, it is not a typical film noir being that it is not set in post war America. Instead, the film follows an American man on his journey to post war Vienna, a city savaged by the war not only physically, but in the unusual bureaucratic politics enforced as well. The gothic style city is torn up, quartered, with mostly Austrians not allowed in to the specific quarters, and passports needed for any inhabitants that wish to live in different quarters, highlighted by the character of Anna, originally Czech but who used a forged passport to escape the Russian quarter of the city. The bureaucracy of the film is often emphasised within the film as Anna is caught out by the police with regards to the forged passport. As well as this, the Viennese locals are left looking somehow subservient to the other nationals that have moved into the city as a result of the war. They are often seen serving the other nationalities, as porters, taxi drivers and musicians in restaurants and are seen in many shots as neighbours “peering” through windows, watching the seemingly chaotic lives of the protagonists that are not native.

The Third Man also literally encapsulates itself with an artistic style that is definitive with Modernity, that which is the avant guarde style of abstract expressionism. Abstract expressionism is a style that developed in the 1940’s but originally derived from German Expressionism in the 1920’s, and was a style that was very rebellious in the fact that it challenged the conventions of the art world and also of its predecessor, surrealism.

A style that was often thought to be nihilistic, there is little wonder why abstract expressionism was chosen stylistically to be incorporated into the cinematography, as it incorporates the overall isolation and alienation that film noir stands for. The film has some very deliberate nihilistic undertones to it, which is why the city seems so unforgiving and lonely. Nihilism is brought in to the spotlight through the script in the scene in the Ferris wheel, when Harry Lime says: “Nobody thinks in terms of human beings. Governments don't. Why should we? They talk about the people and the proletariat, I talk about the suckers and the mugs - it's the same thing. They have their five-year plans, so have I.” and Holly Martins replies: “You used to believe in God.”

The Third Man has a balance of chaos and order as an underlying story throughout the film. There is the chaos of the war stricken city, buildings damaged and demolished, the chaos of Holly Martin’s story, arriving in a faraway country from America to see his friend, only to find he had died not long before, the winding unlevelled structure of the streets of Vienna, but order is also enforced by way of the police rule, the political restrictions inflicted on the inhabitants, the strict composition of every shot within the film, and the diagonal and strict shards of light and shadow that resonate throughout the frames. This is reminiscent of the abstract expressionist art that was being produced at the time, metaphorically from the chaotic paint spattered works like Jackson Pollock’s “No. 5 1948” to the stricter, geometric works of the artist Mondrian, emphasising the cinematographic theme of using strict lines throughout the film.

From literally the opening credits, the film opens with a geometric shot of close up of the strings on a musical instrument, a ‘zither’, a popular and traditional Austrian instrument, immediately hinting about the ambiguous nationality of the film or the protagonists within it. The close up of the strings set the audience up immediately for this style of composition in the shots, a particular style which resonates the whole way through the film, including the famous scene on the Ferris wheel, where the framing appears rather graphic- like, with stark diagonal lines of the wheel slicing and the background and foreground around the protagonists. It is also echoed through shots on the bridge and the beautiful shots on the staircase when Holly Martins first arrives in Vienna.

Perhaps the use of these compositions is to give us a sense of order, and structure, amongst the chaos that Vienna has found itself in. Half of the shots are exactly the opposite, they are tilted, a lot of the shots are stationary with the camera completely immobile, sometimes obscurely cropping the protagonists’ faces, which gives the audience a disorientated disposition, the feeling of not belonging and unease. An example of this is when Holly Martins first introduces himself to Anna, the framing of the doorway is at a very obscure angle, and the whole image appears rather tilted.

This is typical to the genre, as throughout film noir it is usually vital to the composition of the framing that the camera is stationary and the characters move throughout the space of the city, rather than the camera moving and actually following the characters around the space, emphasising the city, the urban. As the city has been savaged by war, crime thrives which is typical to the film noir genre. In The Third Man, it is the fact that there is a booming black- market (of which Harry Lime we find out is involved with) which is another example of how the film emphasises the ‘urban’ theme.

One of the most interesting aspects of The Third Man is the spectators gaze throughout the film. There is an increasing sense of unease in Vienna, not only because it has been hit extremely hard by the war, but because it feels increasingly like a city that doesn’t belong to its native inhabitants, another example of the modern beaurocracy that has been forced upon the capital.

Viennese people in the beginning of the film are seen not being allowed into one of the military quarters of the city. Throughout the film there are constant little looks from behind shutters or through gates, which Holly is unaware of. The audience is reduced to watching a race watch different races patrol the streets of their city, as outsiders that no longer belong in their rightful home. Holly is oblivious to the fact that while he is observing a foreign city, it seems the city itself is characterised and is also observing him, the sporadic shots from cranes help to create an uncomfortable sense of voyeurism. The eeriness of the situation is highlighted, because, although he does not realise that he is actual fact being watched by so many people, he finally gives the audience and indication that he can sense their presence, when he proclaims that he will soon return home to the United States : ‘It’s what you always wanted, all of you!”

In conclusion, identity is framed by modernity in many ways in the urban context of The Third Man. The visual references throughout the film almost personifies the city itself as an important protagonist within the film. The set gives us indications, not only to the historical and urban context of the film but also references in to the shady characters that thrive amongst the cities where film noir is set.

The Third Man uses strict, geometric artistic compositions in order to emphasise the modernity of the film. Through a cleverly interlaced narrative, the film also hints at modernity and the changing politics of the lives of Vienna’s inhabitants the racial segregation, alienation, and claustrophobia, which is what film noir as a genre is notorious for.

-The Blip

#essay #thethirdman #filmmaking #art #film noir

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intro2filmbitterrootcollege · 7 years

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The Most Affecting Films of 2017

I love putting this list together because a.) I’m a film geek and own it, b.) this writing exercise is cheaper than therapy, and c.) it helps me discover previously unrecognized themes shared across my selections. The thread of history runs through these picks, that of nations as well as the complex and messy relationships between parents and children. History is parent to our present, and thus the thematic through line of my favorite movies of 2017. Each title brought me to tears or rented space in my mind for days after the initial viewing, often both, but earned this response through quality of storytelling.

Choosing my top ten was difficult (see the following “Runners Up List” for evidence) because 2017 was a fine year in film. We should celebrate cinema, and the opportunity to do so, as long as it remains this dynamic.

-Matt

Honorable Mention: Their Finest

Directed by Lone Scherfig

Written by Gaby Chappe and Lissa Evans

A movie celebrating storytelling and writing, chronicling the making of a movie about the Dunkirk rescue, set in England during the Blitz, addressing the role women played in the war effort, packed with an embarrassment of Britain’s best character actors, exploring how cinema’s escape can help heal us in times of crisis, and that is also a love story has no right to work. Scherfig’s film defies such limitations and hops between these aspects like a trapeze artist. It’s a crowd-pleaser, a heartbreaker, and a movie celebrating movies, all buoyed by Gemma Arterton in the lead.

10. The Lost City of Z

Written and Directed by James Gray

Cinematography by Darius Khondji

The real Percy Fawcett’s 1925 disappearance in the Brazilian jungle provides an unanswerable question that hangs over Gray’s film as he endeavors to explore mysteries of the egocentric self through immersion in the natural world. Like the protagonist, this seems simultaneously paradoxical and fitting.

Some clever non-linear editing and a final shot of Nina Fawcett, the only actual hero here, walking into the reflected image of a jungle, make for a lingering metaphor on those understandings our hearts are granted, and those we can never attain.

9. Toni Erdmann*

Written and Directed by Maren Arden

When I thought this dark European comedy couldn’t get more surreal or funny, it didn’t, but instead ends with a peerless final beat, then drops The Cure’s “Plainsong” over the credits.

Cut to me radiant with joy at what cinema makes possible.

Hollywood stories of parents and children aren’t ever this delightfully weird, or dappled with scenes that let us find our own insights about economic disparity, sexism, and capitalism’s darker outcomes. Hollywood stories aren’t ever this genuine.

Maren Arden proves herself a visionary, not just among up-and-coming female directors, but all directors, and since her open-ended final scene is perfection, I’ll let the last dialogue in her script finish the same way:

The problem is, [life is] so often about getting things done. And then you still have to do this, or that. And, in the meantime, life just passes by. But how are we supposed to hang on to moments?

* released in 2016 but I had no way to see it until 2017

8. The Big Sick

Directed by Michael Showalter

Written by Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani

Gordon and Nanjiani’s story (based on the origin of their own marriage) took me two viewings across two seasons to relent and finally love it. Now it has my whole heart thanks to an earned emotional response and a script respecting the perspectives of all its characters. Likely the best screenplay of the year that might not be recognized as such, stand up comedy and parents are rarely revealed onscreen with such nuance, and never before in the same film.

7. Five Came Back

Written by Mark Harris (based on his book Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War)

Directed by Laurent Bouzereau

This three-part Netflix documentary chronicles the contributions from five of the top directors in Hollywood during WWII, many of whom gave up lucrative careers to serve the war effort via their craft. We see how filmmaking and storytelling, as the translation of fact and occurrence through moving image, can be a weapon and should be used with care. The stories of these five directors and how their lives and art were impacted by the conflict is engagingly humane. And the talking heads (aka legendary current filmmakers) are so damn insightful. MVP being Guillermo Del Toro.

We celebrate such humanity, and in it our own, flawed and beautiful as both might be. This is best captured in Capra’s final voiceover proposing hope where it is needed.

6. Wind River

Written and Directed by Taylor Sheridan

Sheridan’s crime-as-myth story is most concerned with grief and the ways we numb ourselves to pain at the cost of the memories of loved ones lost. Winter and the West stand in a neo-western backdrop where he colors the idea of how struggle can hollow out even the strongest among us.

We get our genre kicks in the Mexican Standoff shootout (praise to the screenplay-rulebook shredding use of editing and a flashback to set up this reckoning). The patience in ending his film with not one but two conversation scenes shows a preference for empathy over spectacle, and the way the injured souls connect therein haunts me.

5. Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

Written and Directed by Martin McDonagh

I enjoy being challenged by a film. McDonagh’s picture beat the shit out of me then tossed me a lollipop, and I beamed like a lovestruck idiot. An early reference to “A Good Man is Hard to Find” alludes that that there will be no predominant tone to cling to but instead a vacillation of many throughout this winding trip into darkness where any good that exists is a miracle. In the final scene and sublime character change of Sam Rockwell’s Officer Dixon, it does.

4. Blade Runner 2049

Directed by Denis Villeneuve

Cinematography by Roger Deakins

There wasn’t a more thoughtful film this year than Deakins’ visual magnum opus. The intelligence expected of Villeneuve surfaces throughout in beautifully complex questions about life, witnessing, and how we achieve our sense of identity.

The choice of Gosling’s K / Joe as protagonist, his illusory sense of importance as the “one” and what is done with this concept, shows how important it is to value the willingness to make choices, even when they seem tiny and tossed into the void. In Joi, he may have found a facsimile of love, or he may have actually found it. In response, we question our right to declare another’s life or love “artificial”. The Hero’s Journey archetype is so common that it’s almost instinctive. Villeneuve subverts these expectations by stripping heroic action to its purest and leaving us with K / Joe’s not-tears in the ashen snow.

The acting is typically strong because, while he isn’t noticed for it, Villeneuve always gets strong work from his actors. Through one of Harrison Ford’s best performances, the theme of parents, children, and sacrifices made just for the latter’s prospect of a better life is most poignantly rendered in one line: “Sometimes to love someone, you got to be a stranger.” As 2017’s best sympathetic villain, Luv doesn’t possess the freedom of her inferior replicants; she is bound to Wallace, a slave in her programming. Wanting to be special, to be the “best one”. This denied want and inability to make her own choices, to create life and be alive, warp her into a destructive force seeking to stomp out anything that reminds her of her chains. Leto’s megalomaniac Wallace is a god-aspiring big bad in the Greek chorus role, showing up to voice the film’s themes but in a way that avoids ponderousness.

I could write an essay on this film. (Note to self: write more essays on films.)

3. Lady Bird

Written and Directed by Greta Gerwig

Gerwig’s work is so accomplished that my mind boggles when contextualizing it as her first directed film. The movie world exists here as specific enough to leap outside of time and place in that mysterious dynamic of singular-becoming-universal. Coming of age stories with comedy draped around them, or them around it, are usually judgemental of broad supporting characters who get portrayed in one shade only. This film is so balanced and sympathetic to its people, and I say “people” with intention, that we turn from cursing them to pitying to loving as fluidly as we do from laughing to choking up. The final sequence might be the year’s most affecting editing through a use of different characters in essentially the same shot, and shows that car chases have nothing on cross-cutting between drivers in the Sacramento magic hour.

2. Columbus

Written and Directed by Kogonada

Sheila O’Malley in her Rogerebert.com review:

"Columbus" is a movie about the experience of looking, the interior space that opens up when you devote yourself to looking at something, receptive to the messages it might have for you. Movies (the best ones anyway) are the same way. Looking at something in a concentrated way requires a mind-shift. Sometimes it takes time for the work to even reach you, since there's so much mental ballast in the way. The best directors point to things, saying, in essence: "Look." I haven't been able to get "Columbus" out of my mind.

Wholeheartedly agreed. It clung to me. First time director Kogonada gives us an immaculate use of the frame and mise en scene. My eyes wanted desperately to eat the screen, each and every frame a morsel. And my entire being wanted to remain in the film’s world. Sadness and all.

Kogonada’s work isn’t all visual gloss but uses stillness and subdued conversations to belie an emotional tempest inside each of the two characters. This is a romance, but one just as in thrall with life as it is with clean modernist lines and the creation of form through negative space that here symbolizes those unknowable aspects of Jin and Casey (Haley Lu Richardson lights the screen in my favorite performance this year), and by extension those they love. We carry our parents with us just as these buildings carry their histories. Columbus’ characters need to navigate the empty spaces in and around themselves to connect, even if fleetingly.

1. Dunkirk

Written and Directed by Christopher Nolan

Cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema

Score by Hans Zimmer

I can rightfully be called a Christopher Nolan fanboy, but there’s no arguing the viscerality of this experiment. Nolan, Hoyte Van Hoytema, Hans Zimmer, and the rest of their collaborators crafted a singular war film that really isn’t a war film. It’s a story more existential. Time is elided, shattered, and edited with an exactitude that comments on history unlike any other movie in this genre.

That audiences responded to a story asking them to participate, emotionally and physically, but learn little of its characters is also fitting for the theme of people choosing to risk their own well being for the betterment of others. The lesson is to put aside your wants and let an experience take you.

The propulsive score, like the tension, never relents. How such induced anxiety can be thrilling is for later study (and this film will be studied for decades hence). It’s the notion, however, that I can be brought to tears by the shot of a Spitfire coasting across sky, out of gas but not fight, by small boats dotting the sea that are referred to as “Home”, and by Mark Rylance simply nodding to his son in acknowledgement that the right thing to do is often an act of empathy running against our in-the-moment emotional surge, that belies an elegance words can represent, but only sound and image can actually invite you to feel.

_______________________________________________________________________

We are born into a box of space and time. We are who and when and what we are and we're going to be that person until we die. But if we remain only that person, we will never grow and we will never change and things will never get better.

Movies are the most powerful empathy machine in all the arts. When I go to a great movie I can live somebody else's life for a while. I can walk in somebody else's shoes. I can see what it feels like to be a member of a different gender, a different race, a different economic class, to live in a different time, to have a different belief.

This is a freeing influence on me. It gives me a broader mind. It helps me to join my family of men and women on this planet. It helps me to identify with them, so I'm not just stuck being myself, day after day.

The great movies enlarge us, they civilize us, they make us more decent people.

-Roger Ebert

_______________________________________________________________________

Promising 2017 releases that I haven’t seen yet and might vie for retroactive inclusion on either this or the “Runners Up” list:

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The Disaster Artist

Darkest Hour

Mudbound

First They Killed My Father

Spielberg

The Post

Molly’s Game

Phantom Thread

The Shape of Water

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2700fstreet · 8 years

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BALLET / 2017-2018

WHIPPED CREAM

American Ballet Theatre

Kevin McKenzie, Artistic Director Choreography by Alexei Ratmansky Set and Costume Design by Mark Ryden Music by Richard Strauss with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra

Daniil Simkin and Alexei Agoudine in Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schiavone.

So, What’s Going On?

Let’s time travel back to Vienna, Austria. It’s 1924 and the German composer Richard Strauss (1864–1949) has created the music and the libretto, or storyline, for a ballet set to premiere at the Vienna State Opera. Sadly for Maestro Strauss, the performance is not well-received. Truthfully…it is an utter failure. And so, his score is rarely heard again, and the ballet named Schlagobers (pronounced SHLAG-oh-bers) is forgotten.

Fast forward more than a century as choreographer Alexei Ratmansky comes across Strauss’s score and decides to create his version of the ballet with the same name. And that’s where the mystery about this ballet’s title is solved. “Schlagobors” is the Viennese word for whipped cream!

Hear Alexei Ratmansky discuss Whipped Cream and watch dancers perform segments of the ballet at:

youtube

A Sweet Storyline

Act I

The ballet begins in Vienna where “The Boy” and his friends have just received their first communion. To celebrate, they go to a confectioner’s shop full of delicious sweets. The Boy, who really LOVES whipped cream, eats so much that he becomes ill and has to be taken away.

After the children leave, the magical sweet shop comes alive. Suddenly, Marzipan archers, spear-wielding Sugarplums, and swashbuckling Gingerbread Men engage in military exercises. Meanwhile, Princess Tea Flower appears and is wooed by Prince Coffee, Prince Cocoa, and Don Zucchero, who all try to win her favor. Ultimately, the Princess chooses Prince Coffee for her partner.

As the Chef appears, mixing whipped cream in a bowl, the shop fades away to The Boy’s dream world where, not surprisingly, EVERYTHING is made of whipped cream.

Scene from Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schlavone.

Act II

Still recovering from too much whipped cream, The Boy wakes up to find himself in a dark and mysterious hospital room attended by a doctor and an army of nurses. The nurses give him medicine and then depart. In their absence, Princess Praline appears to help The Boy escape.

Alexei Agoudine in Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schiavone.

The Doctor has a headache and tries to relieve it with liquor, just as the bottles come to life. The nurses return only to realize that The Boy is gone. They find him and lead him back to bed. But then, the liquor bottles intervene and intoxicate the doctor and nurses. Fortunately, Princess Praline is able to free The Boy and take him back to her kingdom.

When they arrive there, creatures of all kinds are celebrating and The Boy is welcomed by Nicolo, the Master of Ceremonies. At last, the fantasy world that The Boy dreamed about has become his reality.

Who’s Who

The Boy, a young child fond of whipped cream Princess Tea Flower, a Princess in the confectioner’s shop Prince Cocoa, partner to Princess Tea Flower The Nurses who take care of Boy The Doctor in charge of Boy’s care Princess Praline, ruler of her fantastical kingdom Nicolo, Master of Ceremonies in the kingdom of Princess Praline

Sweet and Sinister

All paintings by Mark Ryden.

Contemporary artist Mark Ryden is highly recognized for his paintings which are a mixture of both sweet and sinister elements. His artwork, painted with incredible detail, frequently portrays innocent-looking children with larger-than life eyes. Although the children are often shown together with toys or cute animals, Ryden adds disturbing or surprising elements to his pictures that catch the viewer off guard, replacing innocence with an unsettling impression.

With that in mind, Ratmansky felt that Ryden would be the perfect collaborator for his ballet. Because the storyline of the ballet is very basic without many plot twists or turns, Ratmansky knew the set and costuming needed to be visually strong. And when he saw Ryden’s work, he felt there were similarities between their artistic approaches.

More so, both artists are interested in using their mastery of traditional methods to say something new and unusual.

The ballet Whipped Cream, like Ryden’s paintings, seems sweet and light on the surface, but also explores a boy’s nightmare, where things feel unsafe and adults can seem unfriendly or even scary.

Watch for…

the way adults in the ballet are portrayed with giant heads, differentiating them from the children.

the sinister, larger-than-life needles used by the Nurses when treating Boy.

the set backdrop in Act II when Boy is feverish. The backdrop is covered with an array of eyeballs, flowers, sea-creatures and single-celled organisms. When explaining this backdrop, Ryden stated, “I was trying to depict what might be lurking in his deep subconscious, what was swirling around.”

Go behind the curtain in this interview with Mark Ryden about Whipped Cream:

youtube

And check out the dancers and their dessert-filled costumes at:

youtube

Whipping Up a Production

Putting together a brand new production requires that many parts come together to make a whole theatrical experience. When American Ballet Theatre’s Artistic Director, Kevin McKenzie, heard about Ratmansky’s idea for Whipped Cream, he agreed to the production, knowing how much work would need to be done. Not only would there be original choreography, but new sets, scenery and costumes, too. Many people worked tirelessly for months to present the spectacle you see on stage. Read on to learn more about this impressive production:

Choreography

Alexei Ratmansky by Fabrizio Ferri

Alexei Ratmansky is currently ABT’s Artist-in-Residence. He hails from Moscow, Russia, where he trained at the Bolshoi Ballet School in Moscow. He has performed with the Ukrainian National Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and the Royal Danish Ballet. Perhaps one of his biggest successes was his appointment as Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Ballet in January 2004 after restaging The Bright Stream. Under Ratmansky's direction, the Bolshoi Ballet was named as one of the best foreign ballet companies in 2005 and 2007 by The Critics' Circle. Mr. Ratmansky's success continued to grow when he won the Theatre Union of Russia's Golden Mask Award for Best Choreographer for his production of Jeu de Cartes for the Bolshoi Ballet in 2007. In January 2009, Mr. Ratmansky joined American Ballet Theatre as Artist-in-Residence and has since choreographed The Nutcracker, Firebird, Shostakovich Trilogy, The Tempest, The Sleeping Beauty, and Songs of Bukovina specifically for American Ballet Theatre.

Ratmansky’s choreography challenges dancers because it is very quick and detailed. He puts unexpected movements together, which ask the dancers to utilize their bodies in new ways. Ratmansky’s choreography is often inspired by and responsive to the music.

In Act I, Princess Tea Flower performs a solo. Watch for moments you don’t usually see in classical ballet, including:

when the ballerina drops her arms, letting them go limp.

the parts of Princess Tea Flower’s solo that take place on the floor. In ballet, dancers don’t traditionally sit or roll on the floor. In fact, many of their movements are done on their toes with a lift through the torso and arms, giving an impression of lightness.

Costumes and Scenery

Being inexperienced when it came to costume design, Ryden was unsure how his paper sketches would translate into garments—especially ones that would allow a dancer to move freely. In addition, he had never painted on such a large scale, a proportion obviously needed for scenic backdrops. But no worries; help was on the way.

Costume designer Holly Hynes was hired to assist with translating Ryden’s designs into costumes, and stage designer Camellia Koo helped with the scenery. This was no small task since there are 150 costumes in Whipped Cream. In fact, 11 different costume shops were needed to create all of the costumes. Additionally, two different scenic houses translated Ryden’s designs into large painted backdrops.

See below and compare Mark Ryden’s painting of Princess Tea Flower and the actual costume the dancer wears in the ballet created for the dancer.

Stella Abrera as Princess Tea Flower. Photo: Doug Gifford

Also, watch for…

the three liquors who distract the doctor, allowing Boy to escape. Notice how their costumes make them look like bottles, but still allow the dancers to bend, jump, and turn.

the way the four adult characters carry the big puppet heads on their shoulders. Each of these gigantic heads was made in a costume shop in Portland, Oregon. They are only around 10 pounds each because they are made from carbon fiber. If the heads were too heavy, it would be hard for the dancers to move. Each one was personally painted by Mark Ryden.

The ballet includes 20 different wigs, three beards and mustaches, and one prosthetic nose. They were made by ABT’s hair and makeup departments.

There are 78,000 Swarovski crystals adorning the scenery and costumes. Of these, 64,000 were applied to the costumes, and 16,000 to the scenery. Plus, don’t miss the three chandeliers decorated with crystals.

Nicolo’s wig with its two-foot long, hand-dyed braid.

When the costumes and set pieces are finished, the design team checks to see what they look like on stage to make sure the colors and details are visible to the audience from many rows back in the performance hall. Adjustments to costumes are often made right up to performance time, even during the ballet, if fixes need to be made.

Scene from Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schiavone.

Take Action: That’s Surreal!

Mark Ryden’s artwork has often been called surrealist. Surrealism is an artistic movement of the 20th century that sought to express what might be happening in the subconscious mind.

When The Boy is feverish, we have a glimpse into his subconscious as portrayed by a mixture of images on the scenic backdrop, including eyeballs, flowers, and sea creatures. How they connect and why they are there is a mystery. Surrealist artists like to connect images that aren’t normally seen together to make us look at them in a new way.

Daniil Simkin and Richel Ruiz in Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schiavone.

If you were a surrealist artist, what items or ideas would you put together? Try cutting out images from a magazine, and then combine or overlap them in an interesting collage. Don’t worry if your collage makes sense or if the images connect logically to one another.

Take a picture and post it to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Snapchat, or any other platform. Then, tag five friends and ask them to share their collages. Use #surrealKC as your hashtag.

To read more about Surrealism, go to: http://www.tate.org.uk/kids/explore/what-is/surrealism.

Explore More

Go even deeper with the Whipped Cream Extras.

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Photo (TOP): Scene from Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schiavone.

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American Ballet Theatre's engagement is made possible through generous endowment support of The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund.

Support for Ballet at the Kennedy Center is generously provided by Elizabeth and C. Michael Kojaian.

#ballet #whippedcreamat2700F #abtat2700F

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hauteseeker · 7 years

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Part two of my southwest road trip consisted of my long drive through New Mexico to reach my first city Sedona, AZ. It also touches on the rest of my time spent in Phoenix. On this leg of my journey, I experienced a little less landscape and a bit more modern living. Some excellent food and reconnection with both friends and family.

Day 4: Santa Fe to Sedona

I got an early start and made my way West to Sedona. The six-hour drive was effortless and slightly distracting because there’s so much to see and so many times where I wanted to get out and take pictures. There are these moments of a real “western” scene with mountain backdrops and large freight trains passing through. It’s very surreal. I was waiting for a cowboy to ride past me at some point and time.

It was highly recommended by my friend to stop at the Acoma Pueblo, a community that has been in existence since 1100 a.b. The “Sky City” is a great stop to make before crossing the New Mexico border into Arizona. The Pueblo is known as,”a place prepared and ready to live.” The oldest remaining habitat is 15 miles from the interstate and sits on top of a mesmerizing hill. Tourist can visit the town, alongside a tour guide who most likely has direct family ties to the community. Our guide’s grandparents still have a home at Acoma. During the tour, many silly and somewhat ignorant questions asked of the people who lived in town, oh and to me, as I was the only black person there. Those curious Caucasians got a double dose of a minority culture that day! It amazes me how so many people forget that this 2017 and the modern amenities that happen in the biggest of cities, most likely occur in the smallest of towns, especially when it comes to technology. Besides the unavoidable ignorance, the overall experience of this historical foundation not only insightful but compelling. I would love to go back to celebrate a holiday with the people of that community one day.

I continued my drive making stops only to refuel. I drove by reservations, shops, and signature Navajo restaurants as I continued my passage to Sedona. I did make one pit stop in the city of Holbrook to see one of three remaining Wigwam Motel in the country on Old Route 66. The histroic site is nostaligc and fun. I can only imagine the types of families who were fortunate enough to travel and stay here. It makes me think of all the gimmicks hotels do now to attract guests. I can easily see this property getting a few improvements and turning into the “Wigwam Luxe” or something like that. What was once fashionable always comes back around.

A few short hours later I arrived in Sedona. A beautiful city built on hills and red soil about two hours away from the Grand Canyon and Phoenix, respectively. After arriving in Sedona, I desperately needed a recharge, mostly a phone recharge and overall stretch after driving for several hours straight. I found a great deal using the site Homeaway to score a reasonably priced hotel in Sedona, prices in this region can easily range between $175-$500 during peak season. I got a nice stay at a resort hotel and timeshare not including tax for about $100.

Later that night, I grabbed dinner at The Hudson, a place I was planning on dining at once I made it to Sedona. Lucky I was a party of one, so I was seated pretty quickly on the outside patio during the busy Saturday night. Unfortunately, the sun had already set, so I was unable to take in the scenery in the area. The Hudson sits on a hill, giving patrons great views of the landscape. For dinner, I got the special for the evening, a Cornish Hen. The dish featured mixed vegetables such as peppers and asparagus as well as cornbread dressing with raisins. My taste buds were treated to an early Thanksgiving feast. The dinner and ambiance were overall excellent. After a huge meal, I was more than ready to make my way back to the hotel and chill out. It was only 9 p.m., when I passed out for the evening.

Day 5: Sedona to Phoenix

The next morning I got up around 6 a.m. to hike and watch the sunrise at Red Rock State Park. I did not expect the challenge that lied ahead of me. The climb up Bell Rock was pretty moderate to hard in terms of hiking. Bell Rock is about 4,000 ft above elevation. I don’t I went quite that high, but I was certainly up there. The hike was amazing, I had an incredible amount energy and was up for another round of hiking, but I had to keep it moving for the next part of my trip to Phoenix.

Let the Hike to Red Rock begin!

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After my morning hike, I repacked my things to make my way to Phoenix. About a two-hour drive South of Sedona. The winding roads through the cactus-filled mountains were steep, deep, vast, and acutely elevated the whole way through.

I made great timing arriving in Phoenix and met up with my lovely host for the next three days Olivia. She was previously my a coworker at Bloomingdale’s. Just like me, she is all about exploring. We immediately hit the road, after dropping off my rental car, and made our way to the downtown Phoenix area check our their art district. It was Sunday, so it was pretty deserted while we were there, which is good when you don’t want anyone blocking your photo opportunities! The wall art there is impressive. My favorite was this abandoned house that was painted with all different types of graffiti and sketches. In the same neighborhood was a modern coffee shop that we stopped by to grab some drinks to cool us off in the sweltering Arizona heat. It’s the epitome of minimalism, something that would be perfect in Wicker Park neighborhood in Chicago.

After we walked around for a bit, we both decided that the next move had to be for food. Earlier in my planning, I found out the area was hosting a Taco Fest, so we made our way to Scottsdale to check it out. It was a fantastic food festival. Super organized, fair prices, and fabulous tacos! Compared to ones that I have been to in Chicago, it was supremely better. They had several different tents to grab drinks, VIP access for optimal margarita tasting(if you were trying to spend some big bucks) and a lot of food vendors. I think what sold me were the prices. Tacos were only $2 each! I spent $20 on seven tacos and a drink. Not bad at all!

After a long hot day, we made our way back to her place. It was still pretty nice outside, so we went to the pool to soak in the hot tub and spill the tea. We had a lot to catch up on from the past two years that we hadn’t seen each other. It was great to talk about where we were and where we so desired to be. A fabulous way to end my first night there.

Day 6: Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Mesa

The sixth day I was able to catch up on some long ignored e-mails as well as some news and gossip. Crazy how much you don’t pay attention to those things when you are busy soaking up a new place. It’s almost like the rest of the world stands still.

After we got dressed, we went out to explore some of Olivia’s favorite spots, which are fabulous and Instagram-worthy. We made our way to Luci’s for brunch. The grocer/restaurant was charming. The food, eh. The best thing about the meal was the drink. An “Arnold Palmer” like a concoction of green tea and watermelon flavored lemonade.

After that, we made our way to AZ Pops to grab some popsicles. Super nostalgic. I can’t think of the last time I had a homemade popsicle like the one at AZ Pops. I chose the peach and prickly pear combo. It was very different; prickly pears are flowers found only on a particular type of cactus. As I later learned at the Desert Botanical Garden, they can be made into candies or eaten raw. The popsicle was great, and I even had a chance to chat with the store owner. Another person on my trip who had some pretty strong ties to the Chicago area( her husband was born and raised in Oak Park). We also stopped into some nice stores in the area. One, in particular, had a friendly Cali vibe, which is to be expected in this area of the country. Clothes were cute, but sizing was limited.

We were both parched after a light afternoon of walking so we made our way to the Royal Palms Resort for a refreshing beverage and a little exploration. The hotel has amazing architecture, a Spanish Colonial Revival villa that was once used as a winter home back in the 1920’s. The resort is at the base of Camelback Moutain and is absolutely fabulous.

After our daytime romp of the lavish resort life, we made our way to dinner at Cornish Pasty. A pleasant looking restaurant with the feel of an Olive Garden on the outside and an underground dive bar on the inside. That was my first impression, at least at this location. I had never heard of a pasty and was excited to try the British born dish. A pasty is associated with Cornwall, England, a once well-known mining community. The original pasties would be filled with both meat and vegetables as well as sweets, each on their respective ends of the pasties.

The pastys at Cornish are so varied that anyone from carnivore to vegan can find something that they like. I decided to try to Roast Beef Sarnie. The pasty was a combination of house roasted beef, red and green bell peppers, portabello, onions, swiss and cheddar blend served with a horseradish sour cream sauce. Oh my gosh, so good! Everything blended well and was perfectly seasoned. The beef wasn’t too tender, and the sauce was the perfect addition. A chef recommended another sauce which was excellent as well, not sure what it was called though. Something to note about Cornish Pasty is the dishes come as they are described, you cannot pick and choose the ingredients you want inside the pasty. It is literally all or nothing. Go with the all; it’s totally worth it.

Olivia was dead set on making it to the Fountain Hills neighborhood to watch the sunset. So we quickly got dressed and dolled and made our way to the high-priced neighborhood. We found our way up to Copper Wynd Resort, looking absolutely fabulous. I swear, I had a Waiting to Exhale moment here. It reminds me so much of the area that the film was shot. I know the movie is old, but buildings last a long time so I could be right! We arrived just in time to see the sunset and get some glamour shots in as well.

After Copper Wydn we made our way back into the downtown Phoenix area to see what bars were popping on a Monday night. Not too many. We found our way into the Valley Bar, where we grabbed another drink(excellent drink prices), talked life, and finished up another fabulous night.

Day 7: Phoenix to Chicago

Day seven was an early start to a very, very long day. We kicked things off with a trip to the Desert Botanic Garden. I would be surprised if there is anything else like it in the world! The garden was amazing. Cactus from all different parts of Central and North America, other desert found foliage, as well as a majestic butterfly garden that was locked down tighter than the White House. Seriously, they were doing the most to keep those butterflies in that garden! We continued exploring the gardens and came across beautiful sculptures as well as some very quirky volunteers who taught us a few things about our surroundings.

one man + one leaf =

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After the garden, we had just enough energy before lunch to make it to the landscape wonder, Hole in the Rock at the Papago Park. The hike to the hole in the natural formation is a quick 7-minutes up the rock. This is an ideal place to catch at sunrise or sunset if your timing is right.

After our morning of walking and hiking, we proceeded to have a mini sweet and savory tour of the city. We made our way to República Empanada, a super cute restaurant located in the South Side Heights neighborhood of downtown Mesa.The empanadas were incredibly delicious. We were there for the lunch special of two empanadas plus rice and beans. We both added classic Coke De Mexico’s and enjoyed a less than $10 lunch on the cute patio in the back of the restaurant.

We also stopped by one of Olivia’s favorite spots to grab dessert, The Coronado. They made one of the best brownies I ever had, and it didn’t contain one bit of dairy or eggs. Amazing! We then proceeded to search for some and came across one that featured a mesh of vintage goods, artifacts and other apothecary furnishings called, The French Bee. After perusing that we made our way to a hipster-ish bar to chill and kill some more time before my flight and dinner.

It’s an unspoken rule, that if you find yourself in a city where you know someone and have a pretty good relationship with them, that you let them know you are there. At least, that’s what I try to do. Even if you never have a chance to see the person, at least you let them know you were in town. This day in age, it’s always good to let a few people know you are around. Seriously. If anything for safety reasons. Anyways, I had told my cousin who lives in Arizona that I was visiting. Shame on me that I waited until the morning that I was leaving to see if we could meet up. I know, tsk, tsk.

I asked my cousin Eric to meet us at this restaurant called Fire and Brimstone located at Barnone in Gilbert. Barnone is an innovative retail/workspace for handcrafted goods. It features everything from handmade stationary to experimental winemakers. Great place to craft a small business. At Fire and Brimstone, I opted for The Fire and Brimstone pizza. The 12-inch pizza came dressed in spicy tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, jalapeños, house-made merguez sausage, and cilantro. It was by far one of the freshest pizza’s I have ever tasted! I had a couple of slices that I devoured on my flight back to Chicago. After my week-long adventure, this was a beautiful night, over pizza with friends and family.

I would arrive back in Chicago at 4 a.m. that Wednesday morning.

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Reflections Part Two

During the second half of my trip, I was able to reconnect with friends and family. During that time, a lot was discussed that challenged me to consider my relationships in general. Does this person care about our friendship? If so, what type of effort are they putting in? Am I doing my part as well? The trip also resurfaced ideas of changing my own personal landscape. Many people move to an area to be fully submerged so that they can break into a certain industry or career. Others, move far from it and reach a market untapped allowing for success in that arena too. It’s a reminder that growth can happen anywhere, you just have to be the one to make it happen!

Travel Trips

If you are wondering how I managed to have such a successful trip solo, here are my ‘haute’ Do’s and Don’ts:

Do Plan ahead. I looked into accommodations, flights, rental cars, and connections before my trip. This allowed me to use my time in the most optimal manner. I would be surprised at the end of the day how much I was able to get done. Something I need to implement more in my everyday life as well.

Do get Advice. There is nothing wrong with asking people for things to do, especially if they live there. I asked my friend who grew up in Arizona if he could recommend some things to do in Santa Fe. He gave me my whole ‘cultural’ itinerary. I made sure to connect with my previous co-worker and cousin as soon as booked my ticket to the area.

Do stay hydrated. There is a lot, and I mean a lot of exposure to the sun in that area. Be sure, especially if you are driving to buy a couple of liters or packs of water, so you never run out. Oh, and snacks too if you are in a time crunch.

Do look for discounts. You can ask anybody who knows me well. I know a lot of things to do, but I don’t spend a lot of money to enjoy them. If you are traveling, make sure you look into resident discounts, reciprocal memberships, library affiliations, free entry days, Groupon, etc. It will save you money.

Do try new things. Going to Ojo and experiencing the hot spring was one of the highlights of my trip! I am hooked and want to try every natural spring out there!

Do carry two phones. I chose to bring my work phone with me as well as my phone. Best decision ever. It’s great for navigation and music if you are forgoing a tradition map. Plus, you never know what will happen, better to have an extra device, just in case.

Do savor the moment. It is such a blessing to travel. It’s beautiful to see the sunset into various shades of purple, yellow, and orange hues. To look at the starts, uninterrupted by city lights, to see the landscape barely touched by humanity. Breathe it all in. You never know when you will be back.

Final Thoughts

I am so overjoyed that I had the opportunity to visit these two great states and tackle all the unique cities in between. I was exposed to not only massive amounts of sun, people, culture, art, food, and community. I am hooked on the beauty of the southwest and look forward to seeking more of it in the future. Don’t be surprised if you see a future post of my travels through Utah and Denver or something within that range!I am so blessed to have had this soul seeking experience and can’t wait to revisit both places!

Albuquerque to Phoenix: Seven Days Seeking the Southwest Pt.2 Part two of my southwest road trip consisted of my long drive through New Mexico to reach my first city Sedona, AZ.

#acoma pueblo #arizona #az taco fest #cornish pasty #featured #hiking #nostalgia #road trip #solo travler

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jademccampbell · 5 years

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Review and Reflection

I wanted my portfolio to incorporate and reflect a wide range of genre’s and techniques. The final 16 images I have chosen are an eclectic mix taken using a dslr camera, a film camera and a scanner. For each of these images I have provide some background info on how the photographs were taken, and what I was trying to achieve with the final photograph

Image: Blue Soldier Trying to catch up

This is a macro image, taken from a ready display of game figurines from a shop in Glasgow. I was taking other images in the shop after getting permission to do so, when this attracted my attention due to the colours, layout and associated story. This shot required a number of retakes to get, as it was quite difficult to get the areas I wanted in focus, and I also had to ensure no other customers were in the shot. I am pleased with final outcome which shows gives the illusion of movement and realism due to the focus on the gun and outlines of the armour on the main figure -against the softer edges of the head and leg closer to the blurred outlines of the other figures.

Image: Green plant Remaining Life

This is a macro shot of a flower surrounded by broken branches, this image took some retakes to get all of it in focus as there were some tiny details such as the tiny spikes that where being lost. This was taken from a shoot in the botanical garden in Glasgow. This image contrasts the 2 branches showing a broken branch devoid of life against the striking green flower with red outlines.

Image: Bracelet Zig-Zag Scanology

This image utilised the use of a scanner as a camera. I used my bracelets and moved them in a zig zag pattern while the scanner was going down. This gave me the possibility to create the zig zag lines seen without using photoshop to achieve this. The lines draw the eye down to the bracelets which created them at the bottom. I enjoyed using this technique as it gives me creative freedom and the resulting image is clean, sharp and dramatic.

Image: Pink and Blue Rose Against Grey Background

Another image that I did using the scanner was one of an image of a rose I had taken and then printed on tracing paper with coloured paper behind it, this produced some interesting textures. The coloured paper was ripped into small pieces with tracing paper acting as a smooth filter as it blurred the edges. The resulting image has a surreal abstract feel to the rose, making the viewer question is image a real rose or not.

Image: Surfing Fun

2 different photos. These were taken on one of some shoots I did in Tenerife where weather at time was unpredictable.

The first image shows a surfboard laying on still water – reflecting the calm before the storm

The second image is an action shot of a person in in mid surf. I selected this image due to the contrasts, for example the left of the photo shows water smooth against the surf of a wave being disturbed by a surfer crashing through the middle. This captures the momentum and energy of the surfer against the first image showing

Image: Climate Change Protest

The image was taken during a Fridays For Future protest. This image captures the moment that the protest is happening, as the focus is on the protesters while in the background you can see everyday life is happening for the people passing by. I made a deliberate choice to edit this in a washed-out coloured way, to try and make the messages on their signs stronger against the colours being slightly washed out in the background. This creates a post-apocalyptic effect.

I used this particular image as it makes a strong impact as one of the protesters is looking directly into the camera almost challenging the viewer not to just sit by and do nothing.

Image: alleyway smoke

This image was taken at the open end of an alleyway, around the time when it was just getting dark. I chose this time so the lights at the end of the alleyway could cast some strong architectural shadows. I used the split tone technique when editing by making the highlights red and the shadows green, the red is more paler than the green to give off an edgier vibe. This edit draws attention to an alleyway bringing interest into the photo, the colours chosen in the split tone edit also give a dangerous vibe

Image: toy space

The image that I personally like is the toy spaceship, this is because it looks other worldly with the image of the moon and smoke in the puddle, with the added texture of the road makes the image more interesting to look at. The reason why I like this image other than how it turned out is the challenges it presented, the challenges where macro photography and photoshop. I had never shot macro before and this was my 1st time, I was also still quite new to using photoshop so I wasn’t sure off all the features

This image has a different approach to street photography as I added in a toy spaceship in a puddle and shot at a low angle to only get the puddle a bit of the road and the toy in it. When taking this image in to edit which I tried to make it like look like it was in space. To do this I made the colours in the toy quite strong and made the blacks very strong, I then added in a photo of the moon which I had shot previously, I then tied some varies ideas to go along with the moon in the puddle such as a galaxy, milky way and smoke. The smoke came out as the best result as the other ideas turned out to be a bit too much and drew away from the spaceship.

Image: Bracelet hand

I wanted to produce an image that made the viewer question an image – that looked initially to be one thing and then turn out to be another. This image is a macro shot of a bracelet however I only shot one edge of the bracelet to make the bracelet seem like a robot hand, to draw attention to this idea more, I left some negative space. To strengthen the idea of making the bracelet look like a robots hand I brought the contrast up slightly to create a effect which looks like dirty metal and to make the spaces between the beads look like joints

Image: tropical colours

This image I feel has the most commercial appeal, due to the bright colours, and subjects which appear to be glimpses of what you might see in a tropical paradise. All of these were taken in a shoot inside a green house in the botanical gardens in Glasgow

Three macro shots were put together of two flowers separated by a leaf. These images where quite fiddly and took some retakes to get the focus I wanted. The first photo is a rose and it took some time to get only the three petals in focus and to capture the detail in the curve of the bottom petal. The second photo of a leaf took the most retakes as the water droplets on the leaf where fresh, this meant that the room I was in was still dripping water which I had to combat from getting on the lenses, and focusing on the wrong part from what I wanted. The last photo flower is of a xerochrysum petals which took a while to get the entire strip of the petals in focus.

Image: doom and gloom

This image was inspired from images taken by the photographer Jeff Walton. This was shot using one of my classmates as the subject and giving direction for the facial expression to be moody but not over exaggerated. I used the split tone technique here by making the highlights pink and the shadows green, but I toned the colours down to make it very subtle. I feel as though this edit helps to emphasise the moodiness of the image as you can see there is something about colouring of the subject isn’t quite right, but you just can’t put your finger on it.

Image: Confetti head

I used an image I had previous taken, for an actors headshot portrait and replaced the head with confetti strips. This image makes a statement - I wanted to show an abstract representation of what we cant see under the mask or face we show to society.

The body in the portrait is strong, I emphasis this using a soft box to light the subject and some skin retouching to get a quality portrait. This contrasts with the macro shot of confetti strips and placed where the subjects head should have been. The confetti strips are colourful bright and wild

Image: Looking Down into the Mist

This image was taken on a misty morning on the island of Cumbrae. I took advantage of this by making my way up to the top of the island to take scenery shots

During the editing of the image I made the greens a bit more vibrant to contrast with the paler colours in the sky and water. The mist makes the islands in the background seem more far off. The resulting contrasting elements of the green farmland and misty islands in the background work well.

Image: The Pencil

This image was originally shot using a film camera. The negative of this image was then scanned into a computer, with some slight editing to the digital image. The photograph was shot with 500hp black and white film, this image works well with having a bit of noise in the sky. This highlights the dark heavy clouds against the clean line of the pencil and lighter sky on the horizon.

Image: Fire

This image was taken by using a slow shutter speed and taking a photo with a torch moving in the direction I wanted, this took a few hours to do as I had to retake the same shot of light a few times just to make sure that the light trail was going the way I wanted. To get the final image I merged all the line strips together on photoshop and adjusted the spacing between them so that they could give of the effect of fire. This also allowed me to edit the colour in to the light as I used a standard colour torch so I could input the colours I wanted in to the light later.

Image: Time Moves ON

These are images of a pocket watch but it’s taken from different angles as one is a close up macro while the other is a further way macro shot.

The first image only shows the roman numerals of 3,4 and 5 as well as the tip of the big hand. This close up shot also brings attention to the detail in the metal surrounding the watch.

Meanwhile the second image shows the pocket watch in its entirety, the angle of this image and looking through the pocket watch creates an interesting use of depth of field. This is due to a shell I used in the background to create some texture, the chain in the corner, as well as the pocket watch lid being out of focus draws attention to the interior of the watch. The result is to advertise the pocket watch in a creative way.

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drowngrief · 7 years

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written on RELIGIOUS PERCEPTIONS in relation to my portrayal of brooke .

A . ) parental influence played a considerable role in brooke’s views & alignments in regards to the aforementioned .

– quinn subscribed somewhat silently to christianity , only occasionally attending masses for christmas ( & easter , sometimes ) in order to maintain a stronger public image & appeal to a broader audience when the time came to run for mayor ; while he ran as a republican candidate , he was aware that there were always a handful of more radical people who were likely to hold what he did in public against him if he didn’t make a point to show any form of religious faith .

– monica , however , with her long - repressed wanderlust & recurrent need for something new , found her form(s) of solace through gradually increasing absences & vagrancy , the latter both in a literal & religious sense . she was brought up by catholic parents –– her mother on the more devout end with her father more untraceable due to his absences , which overshadowed his wife’s desire to make spirituality more of a method of family bonding –– but fell into the common currents of her father’s absences come the later end of her sophomore year in high school . she didn’t ‘fall’ into partying , necessarily , but slowly realized that she could manipulate herself into a sense of belonging somewhere with the help of more open - minded friends & a less restrictive environment . she then fully adopted the more open - minded outlook that she had never been allowed to embrace due to a sense of obligation . this newfound freedom led to her looking into different belief systems with unparalleled alacrity . she was both in search of with which she felt most connected to & , perhaps more importantly , which could be used to help her to achieve the furthest distance from her mother’s looking - over - her - shoulder nature of imposing . + this also serves as an example of a subconscious imitation of her father –– not being around the house , not being direct in whether or not she parallels with her mother’s ( rather filmsy ) set of rules or not .

in regards to the afterlife specifically , quinn feigns whole - hearted belief in heaven & hell , when , in reality , he is too reluctant to accept anything so abstract as a stone cold truth . monica appears with the family in church when they go ( until her substance abuse worsens ) to help promote the maddox image , but is more into the idea of reincarnation than anything else –– at least, that has been the most sticking of the many .

SO WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE BROOKE ?

B . ) confused , perhaps , if she cared a bit more about it as a child . when once asked by a classmate in primary school , brooke told them that the family was catholic without giving the matter much thought –– it was hardly discussed in the house , & they went to a catholic church to celebrate christmas mass . that must be it , then . but monica , who had jumped at the first opportunity to break away from that mold , made a point to tell her that they weren’t a part of that particular denomination , leaving her with no solid answers .

so brooke didn’t ask.

she simply assumed her family to reside somewhere on the spectrum of christianity , not opposing to mass until she reached the fifth grade ( & only because she dreaded the great lull of the service ) . she assumed the same beliefs that her father projected for a while –– life after death –– but rapidly began to question them with the influence of online information & conversations heard & had among / with peers. ( not much was really questioned or challenged , as the image of the family’s spirituality was fabricated & rarely touched upon as a family –– monica stuck to her own on her wavering beliefs for a while.) this went on through until brooke’s junior year of high school –– an idly lying belief canceled out by latent skepticism was forced to its crux with the string of murders beginning with nina patterson .

this –– nina’s murder standing alone –– was not what brought the question to its pinnacle. brooke thought nina’s murder to be a totally freak, one-time thing . so , what was it ?

RILEY’S.

C . ) riley’s death is what confirmed brooke’s original theory –– that an attack on the second generation after the brandon james attacks would just be too lifetime movie esque to come true –– to be fallacious .

brooke finding out that ghostface’s texts put her & riley as the choose-between would absolutely have the fault / responsibility-inducing effect on brooke, but from a smaller, more basic & emotion-desiccated viewpoint, the event & choice could be seen as something of a miracle . don’t misinterpret–– brooke is nowhere near grateful that the victim was riley, & she would have rathered it be herself, but having fate twist in her favor in that way ( beyond what money or her family is able to provide ) would feel surreal for anyone. she often finds herself consumed in the butterfly effect regarding this tragedy more than any other in her life, leading to dreams in which she was the one murdered, in which she was the one who actually killed riley, & in which she feels the link on the handcuffs attaching her to the bedpost gradually growing white-hot until the pain is too much to bear. (the beginnings of survivor’s guilt.)

brooke has never been one to look for the paranormal elements in her day to day life, nor is it something that she’s into at all, but after riley’s death, there occasionally seemed to be a sort of unspoken presence in brooke’s house in her bedroom & living room (a cooler draft, the creaking of floorboards under prodding feet). there also seemed to be more starless nights –– even though louisiana offers no stunning view to begin with –– after riley’s death, & things as simple as light refracted off of a glass & thrown into crystalline patterns on the walls brought back broken memories of better days .

basis : riley’s murder simultaneously heightened brooke’s belief in a god ( without her even being that aware of it ) & made her internal denial of god’s existence even stronger .

D . ) the second influential event on brooke’s faith was jake being stabbed in the chest in 1.07. she tells noah in the beginning of 1.08 how the doctors described the knife missing jake’s organs as a MIRACLE, & to a logistical extent, is inclined to label his survival the same way.

this was even after she did the inadvisable out of panic –– pulling the knife out. once again, some bizarre, too-good-to-be-true outward thing has righted one of her committed wrongs, & she does not at all feel deserving.

so one miracle kills while another saves .

with her mother’s well being dangling in midair at this point in canon, she almost feels the twisted luck to point more towards the wanchancy of further familial corruption gone unseen –– it gives her a reason to be more suspicious that quinn might have done off with monica.

in her childhood, she was fairly used to getting what she wanted –– perhaps, she thinks, her mother’s fate being the opposite of what she hopes it to be would serve as another example of the universe putting her in the balance’s sternum, if only to see the next move she’ll make. it may also serve as some twisted form of karma ––– a way for the world to reinforce the mantra of “you can’t always get what you want”.

basis : jake surviving the bowling alley attack throws her for a serious loop in the attempt to determine exactly where she stands on the existence of a god. here , she begins to lean more towards belief.

E . ) closely following the description of jake’s survival, however, arrived the news of will’s death. this marked the loss of four of brooke’s closest acquaintances at the start of the series. while it didn’t have as distinctive or lasting of an impact as some of the other losses suffered in brooke’s life, the timing of it offered a wall for the gaining momentum of her blossoming belief to crash full-force into. it seriously challenged any form of optimism that came with the ‘miraculous’ survival. here is where she is forced to come to terms with agnosticism, & it only continues to sprout from this event & the conflicting viewpoints that came with the real-life contrast .

F . ) the deciding event in terms of her view on the afterlife occurred in 1.10, when she was locked into the freezer & stabbed at. this event is later referenced in her carnival speech in 2.08 :

“ i almost died. & you know what i saw ? nothing. no white light. just big, black, empty nothing. ”

in a world where near death experiences are so often exalted & then used as fuel for intense cultural involvement ( books , movies , constant news interviews –––––– think of colton burpo’s experience & how it was made into something for everyone to know every detail about ––––– brooke not only felt for some time as though she had gotten the short end of the stick, but also thought this even more of a reason to keep her own experience to herself. she didn’t open up to anyone about how the freezer incident felt ( in the heat of it or the aftermath ) until intoxication blended with fury on the stage at lakewood’s carnival .

in the future, brooke will not find spirituality as a stronghold in difficult times or when memories trigger pain. the concept makes her feel too vulnerable, & the slope has proven itself to be far too slippery to place any trust in.

#minimal formatting under the cut bc the first try failed me.#but this is something i've been thinking on for a little while &.#i wanted to delve into it.#the rambling probably gets a little hard to decipher at points lmao.#so my apologies for that ! but that's how things usually go here anyway tbh.#* in.⠀▬⠀STUDY.⠀❪ alpenglow sharpens silhouette⠀/⠀ᵃᵉᵛᶤᵗᵉʳᶰᵃˡ ᵃᵉᵗʰᵉʳᵉᵃˡᶤᵗᵉˢˑ ❫

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