Relaxed. There's a job interview in under an hour, why so relaxed? Thoughts speech prepared static protest: you should be nervous. Why don't they have their address on their website? Alouettes game and Schwartz's later but it's to early to think about such things. Should have written it then but I had a job interview that I was supposed to be nervous about at the time and had to stress about not being nervous instead. There's really no way to precisely prepare. You don't know what they'll ask and if you aren't interviewed frequently you can't prepare answers for the questions you've already been asked. You're excited by what she says but remember not to cut her off. Miles Davis's music consistently progressed because he always lived in the present, constantly reevaluating and reinterpreting. I'd be more nervous if I wasn't on vacation. Elastic riveting contracted announcement: successful propaganda. Little sticks and pebbles and weeds and ants. Different sources say there are somewhere between 250,000 and 900,000 black bears in Canada. That's a pretty serious discrepancy. It's hard to learn the dialect of a language in the beginning if you're not gifted linguistically. They don't use the forms you're presented with in class in the street. It's tough to progress because you have to try and generate meaning from fragments and tone and you can never be sure if you've understood correctly and can't have your only contributions to the conversation being points of semantic clarification but need to say something so as not to appear awkward, that something that you need to say often being awkward. This job pays really well. We're not meeting in person and I like the distance. That question's too basic, that one's alright, that one, asinine. Like walking through 17th century buildings. There's nothing that I can recall from In Search of Lost Time that covers job interviews but I read a couple of pages still. In the office now waiting to be shown to my videoconference room. Someone is having their picture taken professionally. The person next to me's suit is worth more than I made last year and he regards me with disbelief. Expectations simmering, hypothetical projections reverberating, non-related thoughts presenting themselves, chair, comfortable, receptionist, cute, reaction, volatile, sure, I'll watch you hula hoop for twenty minutes, wild boar-cerf-bison burgers, should have brought some water, looking forward to the film Machete, bubbles, that's the word I was searching for, be precise yet comprehensive, enjoy yourself, poker's a good way to test your intuition, they didn't give you much time to prepare, rules, regulations, should have said "hi," you're on vacation, cataracts and seamless tact, moving towards the room, sitting down, the screen will eventually light up with 4 people asking professional life altering questions to which I must spontaneously provide well rounded incisive answers. Oscillating arguments integrated tenements hope he found his way back; you'll be on display, every syllable judged, every movement taken note of, the painting to my left is dull, wandering, investigating, inquiring, cat friends scoot past, pyrotechnics, eclectic skeptics, this job could lead to a house if I play my cards right, you've prepared and have done this before, you can't categorize objective uncertainty in this instance, the movie was good, a lighthearted entertaining romantic comedy; there's a football game later plus Schwartz's, you tried the Malédiction at Le Saint Bock, you found a place rent free, you're in a city with a theatre and a métro and it's a beautiful day. First question: "tell us something about yourself that isn't mentioned in your resumé." Deep breath, synthesize, focus on the moment at hand, and speak.

A bottle of wine. She had said we would do so many things as so many people often do, and it's rare if you actually end up doing any of them. This has been my experience anyways. If something's appealing I'll mention it twice, perhaps three times, modestly, so as not to appear too interested. Hence, when she mentioned that we should drink one of her bottles of wine, a suggestion which was synthesized with so many others, I figured she was somewhat serious but would not be upset if she was sleeping when I returned home and I proceeded to drink some wine without her. After all, there were 15 bottles, meaning that we could easily drink another one at another point. Yet suddenly she was upset, I had disintegrated the purity of her original suggestion by drinking my first glass of her wine without her, and now had to purchase a fresh bottle, which, perhaps, we would one day drink together. But to drink her wine with me, this she would no longer do, for of the many suggestions she had made, many in passing which had already been forgotten, this is the one that bore the most prominence.

It's important to critically evaluate your mannerisms etc. in order to change over time, but such evaluations must be balanced by a conscious respect for quotidian conventions in order to function in the real world (and not spend all your time thinking about what you're thinking about).

Found myself in a poker showdown the other night, my friend P_______ and I being the last 2 standing in a 9 person game. Luck had played a significant role in my success. I had tied two hands, folded at the right moments, and won just often enough to stay alive. Suddenly, I found myself with the majority of chips and likely would have won if I had played things tight. But we'd been playing for 6 hours, my friend M_______ at whose flat I was crashing had passed out and had to work at 9:30 (it was 3:15), and everyone wanted to leave. So I figured I'd play it cool, one more hand, all or nothing, or, in this case, $40 dollars. My opponent respected my generosity and awarded me the decision to choose to take either the first or second card. I wasn't sure which card to take but in the NFL the team winning the coin toss usually chooses to receive, so I decided to take the first card. They were dealt and I was unfortunately defeated, two 5s to a pair of 3s. Still though, I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Mao's Last Dancer

Bruce Beresford's Mao's Last Dancer presents the defection of Chinese dancer Li Cunxin (Chi Cao, Chengwu Guo, and Wen Bin Huang) to the United States during the 1980s. Raised on communist ideology, Li is grateful for the opportunities granted to him as a child but fearful of his government's attitude regarding criticism. He is born in a remote village and one day fortunately granted the opportunity to move to Beijing and study ballet. His resolve is determined and his attitude strict and even though he possesses less strength than his counterparts, he puts in the extra work necessary to be competitive. In 1980, Ben Stevenson (Bruce Greenwood) from the Houston Ballet visits his school and is impressed by his work, which he notes for being more fluid than the other dancers. He then convinces the Chinese Government to allow one of their dancers to come to Houston for a summer and study American techniques; fortunately, Li is chosen. Li begins his cultural studies with a distrustful eye, but after discovering that social codes are more lenient in the States (and falling in love), he marries his partner (Amanda Schull as Elizabeth Mackey) and refuses to return home. Afterwards, he must accept the consequences of having made a hasty marriage in a foreign country while making ends meet as a contract dancer.

Li is lucky enough to find a suitable job and maintain a healthy standard of living. His personal struggles are presented, but, like most of the issues brought up in broad biographies, don't receive sustained critical analysis (so much information must be condensed into brief scenes that a lot of the potential drama unreels superficially). A scene where Li discovers his good fortune after encountering similarly talented Chinese immigrants who weren't so successful would have been more realistic. The Chinese are depicted as being overly obsessed concerning the maintenance of a prominent cultural place for Mao's revolution (dancing must be political for instance), and an atmosphere of tension permeates their scenes. At the same time, the punishments you would expect to be draconian are antiseptic and the non-governmental social interactions are generally innocuous. Mao's Last Dancer is a family friendly film, gingerly presenting the ways in which a youthful artist audaciously if not rashly follows his heart and lives a troubled yet successful life as a consequence. Nevertheless, prominent issues such as racism, cross cultural integration, economic destitution, and political reconstitutions are not adequately interrogated within, and the film would have been stronger if another hour had been added to provide these dimensions with more serious attention.

Les amours imaginaires (Heartbeats)

Orchestrating his coordinated artistic skill while saturating it with an intuitively insightful sensibility, Xavier Dolan's second feature film Les amours imaginaires (Heartbeats) agilely elevates romantic suffering. Nothing's worse than being in love, and Francis (Xavier Dolan) and Marie (Monia Chokri) have both fallen for the free-spirited Nicolas (Niels Schneider) and his characteristic seductive charm. They buy him gifts, praise his foresight, eagerly anticipate each and every encounter, and will quickly change their plans in order to indulge his slightest whim. But Nicolas doesn't get it, or doesn't care at least, and can't find it in his heart to simply set up relationships with both of them so that things can get better before they get worse. The enduring friendship forged between Francis and Marie deteriorates as a consequence and jealous motivations extricate their cohesive bond.

I heard Dolan's still a teenager and can't believe that someone that young is capable of pulling off a film with this much presence. His timing's thoughtful, the variety of different shots and situations playfully curious, some of the songs he chooses reminded me of choices made by Tarantino (spellbinding ingratiating novel works which imbue the corresponding setting with a quasi-mythical quality [although Dolan uses Sheila's "Bang Bang" to often]), and the situations presented are plausible enough. I would have liked to have seen more spur-of-the-moment shots of the surrounding scenery but there are quite a few nonetheless including the sudden introduction and disappearance of a cat. If Xavier is really still a teenager, and he doesn't become to commercial with the passage of time (although many prominent directors work well within the commercial system, Christopher Nolan's Inception for instance), and he continues to critically and prolifically cultivate his art, he could become a prominent auteur and be mentioned in the same breath as Almodóvar or Godard. He has serious potential and the temperament to back it up and I look forward to seeing J'ai tué ma mère hopefully sooner than later.

Salt

Phillip Noyce's Salt works as a mildly entertaining energetic action flick, timing and designing its multiple chase/escape scenes effectively. But it isn't much more than that. A Russian spy agency has been raising invincible ideological humanoid weapons and they are on the loose in the United States. Hoping to assassinate both the American and Russian presidents in order to start a nuclear war from which Russia will rise victorious, Russian spymaster Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski) sets the wheels in motion, confidently trusting his stunning white tiger, Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie).

But he didn't count on the power of love.

Evelyn has fallen deeply in love with her husband (Inglourious Basterds's August Diehl as Mike Krause) and is letting her feelings get in the way of unleashing global armageddon. Oddly, this multitalented independent well-educated sexy professional is committed to her husband, sort of like the anti-femme fatale. She is consequently rewarded by being used and abused by the system which casts her out and leaves her to hunt down Russian spies on American soil alone and by herself. I'm personally hoping that in the sequel she runs into the A-Team and falls for Murdock and they crack some serious heads after learning to surf.

Vampires (Fantasia Fest 2010)

Presenting documentary evidence regarding the life and times of a community of nosferatu, Vincent Lannoo's Vampires comedically chronicles the social, familial, educational, and political practices of the Belgian undead. Focusing on one specific family and their peculiar dissatisfied neighbours, we meet George (Carlo Ferrante), an aristocratic disaffected patriarch, his eccentric wife (Vera van Dooren), their son Samson (Pierre Lognay), whose laissez-faire ways cause them to be exiled, and daughter Grace (Fleur Lise Heuet), who likes to play suicide and wishes she was human. These vampires can be serious: they have their own school, leader, and legal code, all of which coalesce to provide them with a particularized sense of communal individuality. But their concerns are generally care free, and apart from sticklers who meticulously follow the rules, their lives are blissfully discharged at a carnivalesque pace. The film's really funny, using vampires to lightheartedly satirize and elevate Belgian cultural codes, while the larger-than-life cast apathetically yet energetically discusses the quirks of their daily lives. Internal questions persist concerning the ease with which these vampires conduct their activities, different vampire communities live remarkably divergent lifestyles, and it's high times for the coffin business. The most creative and dynamic vampire film I've seen in a while, Lannoo's offbeat mockumentary will have you consistently laughing and cringing while you try to relax and suck back that slushy.

Black Death (Fantasia Fest 2010)

The year is 1348. A plague is ravaging England and it is unknown whether or not it has been cast by God or Satan. Religious theories abound and moral avengers seek out necromancers to curtail their moribund pursuits. Enter a young monk searching for divine revelation to guide him on the just path (Eddie Redmayne as Osmund). A sign is granted and he sets out on a journey to cleanse a village of heathens while trying to maintain a relationship with his beloved Averill (Kimberley Nixon). Ulric (Sean Bean) and his band of mercenaries are grateful for his guidance as they brazenly traverse the countryside acting in a Bishop's name.

Christopher Smith's Black Death is an intelligent gothic horror film which presents sober and realistically fantastical reflections concerning medieval subject matter from a wide variety of angles (Smith showed up and answered questions at the Fantasia Fest screening which was nice). Rigorously researched by screenwriter Dario Poloni and shot in Eastern Germany, Black Death demonstrates that the division between spiritual inspiration and quotidian realizations can be maddening to say the least, and as heroes come of age they can oddly cast their mettle in stone. Both sides of the spectrum are treated to an ambivalently therapeutic analysis while confidently presenting their positions, and beautiful witch Langiva (Carice van Houten) is tantalizing if not infuriating. Definitely an engaging representative of horror, Black Death subtly illustrates its motivations while directly enlivening their inspirations.

My favourite form of showdown is the compliment showdown.

Chi ming yu chun giu (Love in a Puff) (Fantasia Fest 2010)

The smoke break: an integral component of working life. While smoking, stories and anecdotes are condensed and shared so that everyone can revel in their culture's 'inflammatory' gossip. Just one smoke: no. Make that two smokes? Definitely. And three? From time to time, when the narrative permits and you don't have to worry about your boss austerely reprimanding you for taking two or three minutes extra. Ho-Cheung Pang's Love in a Puff introduces us to several of Hong Kong's unrepentant smokers, gleefully enjoying their cigarettes and corresponding volatile friendships. While smoking, two smokers grow romantically attached. Advertising executive Jimmy (Shawn Yue) has just broken up with his girlfriend and Cherie (Miriam Yeung) is stuck in a predictable and lacklustre relationship. They take things slow, cautiously getting to know each other, and a number of lighthearted situations unreel, cohesively linked by the act of smoking. I was more interested in the gossip and felt that when the film switched its predominant focus to Jimmy and Cherie's relationship and didn't include scenes with the other characters having related discussions, Chi ming yu chun giu lost part of its allure. But it's still a subtle, playful, well rounded examination of a couple falling in love, lighting up their seductive friendship to reinvigorate present circumstances.

Neverlost (Fantasia Fest 2010)

Chad Archibald's new Canadian film Neverlost reminded me of the Coen Brother's Blood Simple. There's a low budget, tight dialogue, scenes that would have moderately benefited from additional takes, and a deadpan cast committed to promoting and solidifying its aesthetic. I was immediately struck by the direct nature of the opening narrative which sees Josh Higgins (Ryan Barrett) presenting his daily thoughts. The thoughts are presented frankly with candour and this device can work successfully or ruin a potentially prolific film. As it unreeled, there were times where I thought things were somewhat to simple, somewhat overt. But as it continued I became enraptured by its cohesive uniform writing and direction which successfully harmonize two diametrically opposed narratives into an entertaining, thought provoking synthesis. It continues to improve as time passes and its provocatively ironic ending aptly complements the ambiguous dexterity competently utilized to compose Josh and Megan (Jennifer Polansky) (is Megan a bitch or is her caustic temperament justified due to Josh's lacklustre work ethic?) (it's tough to take sides with either of the principle real world characters which is a coherent sign of prominent writing). I hope Neverlost receives mainstream distribution in Canada (and the United States) because we really need to give more commercial credit to our homegrown cinematic talent (they do it in Québec, why can't they do it in English Canada?). A frenetic destabilized yet congruous analysis of love, marriage, fantasies, dreams, Neverlost demonstrates that sometimes there is no solution while highlighting the detrimental effects of escapism. Shot in Guelph, Ontario.

You can really tell that you have a good friend when you're daydreaming about potential actions/writings and you wonder what they would think and take their potential thoughts into consideration before acting.

Was I ever embarrassed at the Fantasia Fest World Premier of Chad Archibald's Neverlost this evening. My place in the line waiting to enter the theatre was near the back, so upon entering I had to sit near the front. I found a nice seat situated dead centre and don't really mind sitting near the front so that wasn't a problem. But when the film ended, there was a Q and A session with Archibald and the cast and crew and everyone sitting in my row left, leaving me sitting there by myself up close and personal. I felt smiling was appropriate but I didn't want to sit there like a smiling idiot so I covered my mouth with my hand in the thinking person's pose and listened intently. Thankfully, they didn't ask me any questions!

Summertime

And that time of year approaches, yet again, wherein the most inspirational literary and filmic currencies converge with provincial personal histories to forge evanescent contemporary familial liturgies in the wilds of Muskoka.

Bustling current flows past resplendent icons of truth and prosperity, its concerns for a more classical nature depicted by its circuitous trajectory.

Blast off vocational destinies and cultivate the moon.

I find it preferable to think that when you're sitting and writing in a public place, the poses struck by passers by are not accidental, even when they're giving you the finger.

Chernaya Molniya (Black Lightning) (Fantasia Fest 2010)

You're in university, hard working, dreaming of a better life, studious, intelligent, determined. Your parents have sacrificed and saved enough to give you a shot and you're respectful of what they've done for you. But suddenly you're tempted by the capitalistic individualist dream, wherein one helps only themselves looking out solely for their own interests. Little do you know that the professor whose lecture you've taken to heart has created a massive drill and is trying to mine diamonds located at the centre of Moscow's geological foundation, in order to supplement his astronomical wealth at the expense of Russia's most fabled city. You embrace an ideology that doesn't gel with your constitution and wind up losing your life's most important role model, feeling destitute and barren in the aftermath. But you have one saving grace: your new car, a volga from the Soviet-era, is powered by the most advanced technology on the planet, converting regular gasoline into a potent super fuel, and can fly. Hence, there's only one solution: turn that flying car into a robust dispenser of justice and become Moscow's leading super hero.

Once you get over the fact that no one ever notices the volga suddenly taking off and flying into the air, Dmitriy Kiselev and Aleksandr Talal's Chernaya Molniya (Black Lightning) becomes a contemporary old world heroic delicacy, cured with a Russian comedic sensibility. The film calls upon the younger generation of Russians to remember the positive characteristics of communist ideals (helping people out, access and opportunity for all) (represented by Dima's Father [Sergey Garmash]) and use them to strike down rapacious capitalists (Victor Kuptsov played by Viktor Verzhbitskiy) and forge a more ethical economic infrastructure. Will Dima (Grigoriy Dobrygin) be able to use Black Lightning to stop Kuptsov's drill, thereby saving Moscow just in time for this new socially responsible space to develop, or will Kuptsov's immutable greed destroy Russia's historical integrity and send them spiralling down an oligarchic Republican path? The showdown takes place in Red Square on New Year's Eve.

Gambit

Rumbling resigning declamation
reverberates historically
as students revitalize
remembrance of things past.

Lac aux castors

Goldfish swim bluegrass
plays pedal boats wade tourists
tour stop consider

placid reflections
rippling reeds sway monitor
relaxed afternoon

breeze delicately
swathes the silent lake crack bursts
the ice in my glass.

The Neighbor Zombie (Fantasia Fest 2010)

Was impressed by the 2009 South Korean horror flick The Neighbor Zombie. Presenting a series of 6 vignettes directed by Hong Young-Guen, Jang Youn-Jung, Oh Young-Doo, and Ryoo Hoon, loosely tied together by a traditional zombie narrative (a plague spreads, zombies attack, humans fight back), The Neighbor Zombie treads new ground (or at least zombie ground with which I'm unfamiliar) insofar as in the end the survivors discover a cure for the living dead and examine the politics surrounding reintegrating them into society. The ex-zombies have trouble finding work, making ends meet, and dealing with vengeful living relatives of their victims, and this quotidian dimension provides The Neighbor Zombie with an intellectual flair inasmuch as it piquantly showcases the troubling ubiquitous day-to-day realities governing the post-zombie holocaust (it's nice to see a zombie film that doesn't primarily present a hopeless situation wherein a ragtag bunch of would-be-heroes do their best to kick ass [I'm not saying that Zombieland wasn't exceptional]). There's also a troubled daughter who loves her zombie mom and keeps her locked up, feeding her blood and strangers because she simply can't say goodbye. Not to mention that the zombie virus isn't as immediate as it is in other zombie films and it can take weeks/months for the infected to transform completely, one young couple unyieldingly holding on to their relationship as the young adult male slowly mutates. Add a new drug which can make you 'zombie high,' a volatile conversation examining communal versus familial responsibility, 4 directors successfully committed to providing their own unique contribution to a mutually agreed upon uniform aesthetic (I'm assuming), and a bizarro kid who slices off his foot and eats it, and you've got a cerebral treat for your quasi-somnabulistic senses; just try and make sure you don't plan to go grocery shopping immediately afterwards.

La femme d'à côté (The Woman Next Door)

You've recuperated. You're over her. What happened 8 years ago has been forgotten and you've moved, found a wife, had a child, and started working full time. Things are great, your life is stable, and you enjoy the peaceful tranquility that permeates every aspect of your small town existence. Then things take a turn for the worst. The woman whom you passionately loved even though she drove you nuts moves in next door with her new husband and is on her way over to dinner. You try and avoid her but she wants to chat. You try and suppress your emotions but they're simply to strong. The affair begins and both of you try to end it, try and take the mature route, accept the logistics of present circumstances, and live as if it never happened. But it did happen, and your desire is exploding, and there's no solution but to embrace it, nurture it, cultivate it, as it effectively destroys you. François Truffaut's La femme d'à côté (The Woman Next Door) examines this scenario and the tempestuous repercussions it engenders. A sober reflection concerning inflammatory subjects, it crafts an hysterically lucid perspective which thoroughly analyzes the conception of love.

Inception

Dreamscapes contain valuable corporate secrets. Hidden within the depths of one's psyche lie descriptive vaults and tumultuous treasures which competitors ruthlessly seek to discover. In Christopher Nolan's Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio (Cobb) and a team of elite surrealists are experts in the art of extraction, an architecturo-scientific technique which enables thieves to enter the dreams of their quarry and learn volatile and valuable information. Basically, chords, chemicals, and a mysterious brief case allow a group of individuals to share a dream. The dream's form is designed by Cobb's architect while its content is filled with the victim's experiences. After the individual bearing the sought after information falls into a drug induced sleep, everyone else joins his or her dream, doing their best to avoid being detected by her or his subconscious (many persons in prestigious positions have trained their subconscious to recognize extractors and fight back). Extraction's opposite is known as inception, the placing of an alien idea into someone's subconscious so that it appears as if it was self-generated. Inception is thought to be impossible, but when a Japanese businessperson (Ken Watanabe as Saito) intent on breaking up a global monopoly offers Cobb the chance to be forgiven for his American crimes and return home to see his family, he accepts, and begins placing the necessary mechanisms in order (the individual is granted the opportunity to rejoin his community if he can effectively shatter a universal).

Problems: while dreaming, Cobb's diseased ex-wife Mal (Marion Cotillard) consistently appears, takes sides with the victim's subconscious, and attempts to thwart his efforts. Usually when you die within a dream you wake up, but the drug used during inception operations is so potent that if your life ends while dreaming you are cast into limbo, and you may stay there for decades while only minutes pass in the real world. In order for inception to work, you need to suggest the idea to your prey at three different levels. Hence, in the real world you are sleeping. In the first stage of the dream world you wake up, find the individual to whom you are attached, make the requisite suggestion, and are then forced to enter a deeper level of dreaming in order to make the suggestion again. While in this secondary level, one member of your team must remain in the first level and prevent the primary dreamer's subconscious from ending your mission. The process repeats itself until you reach the third level at which point it is thought that the idea has been planted with enough cohesiveness to undoubtably produce results in the real world. Hence, you need to be able to militaristically maneuver within a tailored dreamscape wherein you must also execute a precise plan requiring the coordinated efforts of at most four groups of resolute individuals. The defences against which you contend are determined and hostile and the environment in which you are situated is an organized chaotic psychological cataclysm.

Inception's subject matter is deep and skillfully crafted. The execution of the plot contains several well-timed peaks and valleys which dextrously establish an energetic if not schizophrenic ambience. It's definitely dense. A significant portion of the film unreels like a slick lecture but some of the principle points could have still used some more elaboration (why do the different layers of the dreaming have distinct temporal coordinates for instance [it would have been outrageously cool if Neil Gaiman's Dream had somehow explained this!]) . Nevertheless, it's pretty stunning visually and demanding intellectually, not only in regards to the narrative's hefty overt dimension, but also in relation to its tantalizing and ambiguous ending (stop reading if you haven't seen it), which suggests that the entire film was simply Cobb's dream, and would explain why he's the only character whose personal experience is manifested while inhabiting 'someone else's.' To create a work that has at least two layers of critically motivational depth in an exciting fashion that directly deals with issues of individuality, corporate politics, marriage, family, scientific exploration, globalization, and so on, while indirectly interrogating any pedagogical institution (for me the film's dreamworld is that of an educational structure's relationship to a political agenda and the difficulties of ever successfully planting a dominant idea in the minds of its rebellious students [one level elementary, then secondary, then post-secondary]) is exceptional, and Inception is the best Sci-Fi Thriller I've seen in a long time. A shape-shifting analytical delineation of the synthetic, Inception multidimensionally interrogates what it means to dream, while efficiently disseminating its controversial characteristics.

Very real.

Dialectical

One moment influences another and as you converse with a friend surrounding objects and landscapes recall memories which juxtapose themselves with your discussion's details as you utilize your metaphorical wit to synthesize the two dimensions in an appealing contemporary witticism.

Suppose I shouldn't directly correlate the potential affects of a day's events with the degree of happiness I receive from listening to songs as they pop up randomly on my ipod shuffle.

Alimentary

"I'm a cranky pot
today" she said as I was
filled with questions.

Dream sequences
intricately remembered
multiple meanings.

Energetic kiss,
tendered surprises, lively
discussion follows

winding paths richly
decorated with colourful
distinct memories.

Crows Zero 2 (Fantasia Fest 2010)

A vindictive gang war has erupted between two rival Japanese high schools in Takashi Miike's Crows Zero 2, after the former leader of Suzuran Sho Kawanishi (Shinnosuke Abe) is released from a juvenile detention centre. Members of the Hosen Academy come to Suzuran seeking vengeance for their murdered leader whom Sho killed with a knife 2 years previously (the using of weapons being forbidden in their street wars). But their pleas fall on deaf ears as Suzuran grants Sho sanctuary and pseudo-leader Genji (Shun Oguri) infuriates them with his insolence. Thus, the truce between the two schools is broken, and the divided Suzuran must do their best to prepare for the onslaught of violence eagerly and efficiently unleashed by the scorned Hosen.

Takashi Miike's expert directing immediately resituates us within the hardboiled world of Crows Zero, wherein respect is won through direct physical confrontation and one must be resiliently ready to battle. The plot is dense and each thread skillfully and intricately woven into its fabric receives carefully crafted attention. Genji must learn to lead if he is to defeat Hosen and Serizawa (Takayuki Yamada) reminds him that leadership requires more than a swift and precise knock out punch. Genji also contends with his Yakuza father whose defences he is still unable to penetrate. Hosen leader Tiger Narumi (Nobuaki Kaneko) runs a tight ship while keeping the renegade and limitless Ryo (Gô Ayano) in check. And after discovering the grave of former Suzuran student Ken Katagiri (Kyôsuke Yabe), Sho discovers that becoming a Yakuza is not as easy as he originally believed.

The ways in which Miike builds Crows Zero 2 make it an effective sequel as he successfully expands the Crows Zero universe's historical, cultural, and symbolic dimensions. Miike also doesn't forget that he's dealing with high school students and intermittently includes embarrassing coming-of-age distractions which effectively subvert the film's serious nature. Underprivileged students doing their best to get by, studying the only subject at which they excel, Crows Zero 2 salutes and ennobles the dog-eat-dog code of the young adult underground Japanese gang, providing their trials and tribulations with sincere reflection, while directly interrogating conceptions of masculinity. With original music by Naoki Otsubo.

Vista

Trusting devotion
ignored and criticized
poetic prestige.

Stop the stoning of Iran's Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani: sign this petition!

Square St. Louis

Hand in hand
musical notes
turning heads
dogs off leash
multiple bikes
urban forest
flowing fountain
group activity
singing along
just passing through
upbeat melodies
hidden treasure
verdant bower.

The Trotsky

This is just a personal impression to which I don't mean to attach any objective legitimacy, but I've noticed a lot of jaded apathy regarding left wing collective political movements in several cultural/interpersonal/social domains in recent years, and it's somewhat distressing. Perhaps I spend to much time watching and reading texts manufactured according to conservative ideological guidelines and hanging out with people who regard the adoption of a republican ethos to be a sign of maturity, but the older I get the less I encounter persons who believe in the collective good of unionized activity and the fact that there are people out there who are trying to use political systems to promote social justice as opposed to establishing a maniacal cult (the republican trope of turning the person-of-the-people into a power hungry demagogue is frustrating). Jacob Tierney's brilliant new film The Trotsky astutely addresses this phenomenon by presenting us with Leon Bronstein (Jay Baruchel), a teenager from Montréal who believes he is the reincarnation of Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky. Leon believes in social justice and is willing to stand up to the powers that be (notably his dad [Saul Rubinek] and high school principal [Colm Feore]) in order to promote egalitarianism and fight the fascists. His commitment and dedication to fighting apathy and disengagement throughout are inspiring especially considering the strength of his opponents. The film's an edgy comedic romantic reinvigoration of unionized labour which provides a glimpse of how social change requires a firm commitment and multiple voices in order for its message to uniformly spread. It's definitely an uphill battle, but hopefully Leon will motivate more labour activists to keep fighting the forces of imperialism. With an exceptional soundtrack by Malajube.

Predators

Never thought I'd see Adrien Brody covered in mud fighting a Predator monster, but Nimród Antal's Predators delivers such a scene and fills it with pugnacious intensity. The film immediately situates us within a frenetic free fall as several elite military personnel awake after having been cast out of an airborne vessel, parachute in tact. After landing, this multicultural group of warriors discover they've been kidnapped and shipped to an alien planet upon which they've become the prey of a group of unflappable veteran killers, who seek their destruction with inveterate artistry. There's only one way to deal: bond together as a group, embrace the brutal predicament, exchange chides and military strategies, be thankful that everyone has recourse to a common language, and fight back by any means necessary. If you like thrilling horrific action films set in a paranoid chaotic environment wherein battles and direct conversations are consistently presented in an exciting straightforward fashion, then you'll likely enjoy the latest instalment in the Predator series. Its attention to detail and expertly crafted wit indicate that it was created by filmmakers who take action seriously, respect their fans, and aren't looking to simply make a buck. I enjoyed the ambiguous dimension developed for Topher Grace's character, the depth added to the supporting cast, the vindictive one-liner delivered in Russian, the expansion of the Predator universe, the outstanding samurai scene, and the well-timed intelligently designed pacing. Acutely accelerated from start to finish, Predators diversifies and electrifies the Predator franchise, just in time for its third filmic decade.

In General

Silent, verdant, picturesque puzzling trace
congruent noises, sounds, peculiar state
without movement, things, conceptions, bear
this can't bear this in mind stationary
caution instinct the scent tempts visions our
stone built blocks burst stone built blocks burst and leaves

bloom but don't bloom but are there blooming states
something, mysterious stationary
homogeneity present then leaves
lights blink satisfaction a settling trace
plants form form planted breaking through bearings
links patterns hues textures distinctions our

eyes identify differences our
absence detects specific moments bearing
currents in directions noted traces
desires demands reflections blooming leaves
leaves blooming trees standing stationary
sense intense unrelenting presence states

this is that not me not that thing bearing
things and pigments, points giving names leaving
this not that I'm this not that it's stated
by that that that's not me but seems like our
thats are familiar an image is traced
from the roots, branches, leaves, stationary,

stuck in this thing I'm on: stationary,
me here now watch blooming darknesses traced
lacks traced nots complete not slicing sting our
face spikes spikes sting hurts them hurting state
then back comes image holding pressing leaves
comes back leaves comes back leaves comes back bearing

things not the same things and these things leave traces,
images from before now and now states
me they're linked distinct not same and bearing
now and then again the stationary
image moves makes sound points moves then this our
reflections merge as one as one me leaves

and our state becomes, bearing links
bloomed together, stationary
trace leaves us united as one.

View from the Bus between Espanola and Sudbury

Old fashioned docks jutting out of the ditch.
Trees grow on granite roots outstretched.
Small herd of cattle rests in the shade.
Power lines wrestle with the forest.
Brains on science, ponds, a windmill.
Wide open colourful rolling meadow.
A sign directing travelers towards Whitefish.
Lake into which one can jump from a bridge.
Train tracks in the distance pop up.
Stuck on one specific lily pad.
Many trees are covered in needles.
Graffiti. Wonder if it's still meaningful?
Exit leading to infrastructure.

Square Cabot

Central statue celebrates
couples, youth, conversation, rest,
pensive solitary poses,
pigeons, neon sneakers, bandanas,
objectives historic and contemporary,
calm.

Listen In

Pandemonium
meets conscious thought then proceeds
to routinely chatter.

Methinks the term "specter" refers to the ways in which a discipline's historical form hauntingly and subliminally interjects itself into its contemporary content, thereby destabilizing that content's progressive dimension, reminding the author's audience of the historical dimension of his or her course of study.

Amethyst

Ready to lend a
hand engineering trust and
confidence boldly.

In Between

The historical
layers of tension lose their
novelty in time.

There's no solution
to this predicament and
it's wearing me out.

I've noticed that there's often a big stink when a new abattoir's built.

Chopped wood for the first time last Friday while camping. Chopped the shit out of that pile of fucker.