Movie-going Part I (scattered thoughts; disorganized)

I just watched Dark Matter a few days ago from the film festival. I knew about this film around one year ago and I was so looking forward to it, simply because of the cast: Meryl Streep with Lau Ye 劉燁。It's actually an average movie, with too many shots in between which somehow weakened the plot. There's not much going on in the story and I, as an audience could not be moved by the desperation of Lau. But as a research postgraduate, I certainly understand how he feels. And I asked myself, if I were him, I would probably do the same thing.

Is American-ness or Chinese-ness more stupid? The Americans are portrayed as the ultimate power that cannot challenged by the Oriental. Yet, the ironic part lies in the twist that it is the Chinese (Lau) who is individualistic, not the American. Is the film glorifying Chineseness or denouncing Americanness? The issue is confusing the audience when the whole plot can go nowhere else but being forced to wrap up in violence and suicide.

Color Me Kubrick - Another film about fans and star culture. John Malkovich again - after doing Being John Malchovich, he is now playing a schizophrenic who thinks he is Stanley Kubrick.

John Malchovich (actor) --> John Malchovich (character) --> in a movie about himself, himself being himself, and others being himself

John Malchovich (actor) --> Stanley Kubrick (director) --> in a movie in which someone wants to be a director

Johnny Depp (actor) --> Edward. D. Wood Junior (director) --> in Tim Burton's Ed Wood who wants to be as famous as Orsell Wells

Stranger Than Fiction. I love it! Another 5-star movie, very intelligent one after The Truman Show, Being John Malchovich and Adaptation. I guess one can do a PhD thesis on how an individual is controlled yet by a metaphysical being. Roland Barthes talks about the post-structuralist phenomenon of the death of the author, meaning the author is dead in a text, which meanings are therefore open for interpretation. Now, with Stranger Than Fiction, it's a twist of this thought and pushes the postmodern concept of a text even further: The author resurrects and the character dies. Not only this: the character is the reader. I would love to see how the film can be taught in the department.

Wanna do a piece of essay for Xu Xi: about smoking.

Gina has got back to my on my thesis, FINALLY. I guess I need to reheat my engine after the Easter break.