Watching Oppenheimer

Walking to the Cinema at Broadway Centre, Glebe to watch "Hypnotic"

 I went to watch the movie "Hypnotic"in Glebe starring Ben Affleck. Enjoyable with some good twists.

To the cinema to watch "Vice" with Chris

Watching "Mission Impossible: Fallout" in the city

A Walk in The Woods with Sue

Watching "Whiplash" at North Sydney Sunset Cinema

A perfect evening for outdoor cinema at the beautiful Sydney Oval. And it was wonderful to watch my favourite movie of 2014 again and have friends to discuss it with afterwards.  The first time I saw Whiplash I was alone and it was torture not being able to talk about it after.  It's that kind of movie.  J.K. Simmons is a tour de force and I'd love to see him with the award for best supporting actor.  Highly recommended.

Watching "Finding Vivian Maier" at The Cremorne Orpheum

I went to see "Finding Vivian Maier" with Sue last night.  A fascinating documentary about a nanny who, when she died, left behind a legacy of over 100,000 undeveloped photos.  When they were developed, they turned out to contain some of the greatest street photographs ever taken.  I've put some of her photos up on a separate post.

The movie made me want to grab my camera and start snapping.  Very inspiring. So I scratched that itch a little by taking a couple of snaps of the beautiful Cremorne Orpheum Cinema, my favourite local cinema, where we saw the movie.  It's a beautiful cinema with stunning art deco finishings. 

Email to Colin about the movie

Wow Colin, thanks for some great thought provoking reflections. Inspired me to think about it more deeply.

I can only project her motivations from my own experience so am probably way off base as I realise we're not all the same.

But anyway, for what it's worth, I have this often overwhelming compulsion to record moments from my life. It's the motivation behind my blog and more. It's not just an enjoyment thing, but deeper than that.  A way of gaining some sense of "control" and "order" over life which is inherently messy and chaotic and unpredictable.

Maybe she had some kind of similar urge?  Except not just moments from her own life but moments from the wider world around her. Might also explain her obsession with collecting newspapers and clippings and video footage and receipts and memories wrapped up in trinkets etc. etc. ?

She may not have had a strong urge to develop and show the photos because once captured, the "moments" were safe and secure and stored for posterity in her film cartons and boxes.  Her sense of "control" was gained through the capture itself, not the editing and presentation of the results.

Whatever her motivation, I don't think she had any choice in the matter. She was driven by a creative impulse that drove her; something greater operating through her, as it does through so many artists, especially the truly great and original ones.

One of my takeaways?  Obsessive tendencies, even if driven by inner demons, aren't necessarily all bad and can even have their gifts. If harnessed, they can be a catalyst to create something remarkable. An extreme example: Would Van Gogh have ever created Starry Night if his soul had been all perfume and light?

Cheers,
G

The Dark Knight

We went to see this last night. And all I can say is "wow!!!" Christopher Nolan is a genius. I always love his work but with this movie, he's taken it to a whole new level. I reckon this is easily the best super hero movie ever made. And one of the best ever movies too. It is currently rated number 1 on the imdb Top 250 list!! Even Ally loved it and this is a genre she normally avoids like the plague. I'd love to see Heath Ledger get a posthumous Oscar for this. He is a tour de force in the movie and it would be well deserved...

Watching "Cocolat" at the Sydney Open Air Festival

We watched "Chocolat" under the stars at the Sydney Open Air Festival. What a great movie! Ally looked after baby Lucas the entire movie, much to mum Claudia's delight.

Potter Mania

Shrek 2 at the cinema, followed by Nandos

We went to watch Shrek 2 on Sunday and absolutely loved it. Definitely recommended. I love Mike Meyer's Scotish accent - I never registered before that Shrek sounds quite a bit like "Fat Bastard" in Austin Powers - which is not suprising since the voice comes from the same guy. I also love John Cleese - so it was a treat.

There's a new animated film coming out soon which looks absolutely brilliant - "Shark Tale" Features Robert de Niro, Will Smith, Renee Zellwegger and Angelina Jolie -how's that for a star studded cast of voices! Made by the same chap who directed Shrek.

After the movie, we went to Nando's and had a great ex-peri-peri-ence. Nothing like South African Portuguese flame grilled chicken in the UK. They're very popular in Cambridge and for good reason. The food is really good - and not expensive either. The food in front of Ally is for both of us - by the way - just in case you think she is a glutton! The corn on the cob is particularly novel here - it's not something the brits usually eat - but very poular nevertheless.