Watching Dune 2

This movie was totally epic!  It blew me away.

Watching Oppenheimer

Watching Barbie with Elna

Reflection on the movie "Amy"

Why did it effect me so much?

I resonated…  with her pain.  With her being driven to create through the pain.  Also the amazing “art” that her life story creates.  No less beautiful and precious because of its sadness.  The director created a beautiful piece of art out of her life.  So you could with all our lives.  Perhaps that’s what consciousness is all about.  An artist creating art out of life stories.

Maybe when we die, we will get to watch a highlights reel of our life: our moments of grace and transcendence. What art! A cinematic masterpiece. Comedy. Tragedy. Triumph. Drama. Beautiful. Ugly. Light and dark. Brush strokes. Off screen, there is nothing but love. All well. 

Each of us is a brushstroke in a vastly epic masterpiece created by Consciousness.  Life is Consciousness’s epic masterpiece of art, each of us a brushstroke.

The way the press created a caricature of Amy. Merciless. Mocking her.  Making fun of her tragedy.  Using it to sell newspapers.  Making the shallower songs into the wildly popular ones and making her sing them when she no longer resonated with them.

I have a huge ocean of pain. Vast. So did she.  She called it “The Black.”  The source of her creative genius and her depth.   “My life and I are falling apart but these lyrics are still flowing through me."

The way she used her pain to create. Only thing that made her feel better.  She used her most painful experiences as a catalyst to sublime songs (e.g. Fade to Black.)

I felt like an outsider looking in.  Then I realised her life was not her experience - it’s Our experience.  She experienced what she did for us.

The devastation of her deeply needy love affair with Blake. How they dragged each other down, so mutually destructive.  Him using her to keep drugs coming.  Trying to use each other to fill the hole using form.   You cannot fill the hole inside you with any form.  Only by going within and being that hole, filling it with Consciousness.

She was totally authentic emotionally. Herself.  Open. No airs or graces.  Humility.  Never thought of herself as famous.

The huge effect of dad leaving, spent rest of life craving for strong, protective male character.  Her inherited script.

Blake, who played the villain. She loved him so much.  He treated her so badly at times.  Dad also villain.

When she won the Grammy. Told friends: "It’s boring without drugs."

Tony Bennett said "It's different every time with you when you sing, each song sung feels unique." She so felt her songs.  Sang with such emotional intensity.  Her way of pure feeling.

Having to sing old stuff when no longer relevant.  Trot out stuff that had become meaningless

The shackles of success. The opposite of freedom. Enslavement. Obligations. Vested interest. Others on your gravy train., pressurising you to fill obligations that they can get rich on.

Clarity just weeks before she died. Sorry to friends. Time at wedding. 

Refusing to sing in front of thousands. I saw it as a kind of triumph. Fuck you to expectations of others. Didn't want to sing old stuff.  They saw it as letting down her friends in the music industry.  No!!

I don't want to be famous. Just create peacefully. No pressure or expectations. Quietly contribute to raising in Consciousness.  Be a space. Relish in my connection with Consciousness. Enough abundance to do this and be fully alive.

 

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.

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...

We're addicted to Spooks

The British version of 24 and better in many ways. More realistic. Better acting. And a whole lot less predictable in terms of who is going to make it to the next episode or not. That's not to say we don't like 24 - we love it. But Spooks is sublime. And as addictive as crack cockaine. We are on season 3 already. Thank goodness for DVD box sets.

Rome

Ally and I have just finished the 12 episodes of the TV series, Rome. And it's been a joy. This is without doubt the best historical (and possibly best ever) TV series I have ever seen. The sets are extraordinary and very realistic (in fact, "Rome" comprises the largest set ever made), the acting is superb (most of the actors are British) and the plot (although historically accurate) totally sucks you in. Of course, the fact that there is plenty of gratuitous nudity and sex doesn't hurt either!!!

All in all, this is a great series and I can't wait to see season 2.

The Notebook

A big thank you to Jo for recommending"The Notebook" so highly the other night. It was thanks to her that I diregarded my usual bias against "chick flicks" and I am so glad I did. Not since I can remember have I cried so much in a movie. It is a glorious, unashamed tear jerker. And it simply enthralled me from start to finish. The scene of the two lovers rowing amongst the white geese (and what comes directly after) will rate as one of my favourite movie moments . So thanks Jo. And to anyone who hasn't seen it, do yourself a favour and rent it right away! But make sure you have Kleenex to hand...

And while I am recommending movies, I went to see "Ironman" tonight after seeing its unusually high score on IMDB ( a surefire indication of a great movie).  And I absolutely loved it too. Robert Downey Jr. is a comic genius and unexpectedly makes the perfect super hero. I highly recommend it too.

The Prestige

My ultimate movie experience is a movie that grabs you by the short and curlies from the first frame, doesn't let go for its entire duration and then leaves you with a series of twists and revelations that leave you gasping for breath. "Sixth Sense", "Memento" and "The Usual Suspects" are three such experiences that come along once in a blue moon.

Well, I'm delighted to report I've just added another such movie to my list and its called "The Prestige" Directed by Christopher Nolan (director of two of my favourite movies: Memento and Batman Begins) and , starring Michael Caine, Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson, it is about two magicians who become obsessed in their rivalry to perform the ultimate trick. Everything about the movie is just perfect: acting, plot, script and mood.

In summary, go see it!! I'l be watching out for the next Christopher Nolan movie with excitement - the man is a genius.

The Departed

We went to see Scorcese's new movie last night: The Departed with Jack Nicholson, Leonardo Di Caprio and Matt Damon. What a brilliant movie!! If you don't mind a bit of violence (Ally just shut her eyes), its totally enthralling and some of the best acting I've see in a long while. It captivates you for its full 150 minutes. Not suprising it currently has a score of 8.5 / 10 on the IMDB Top 250 List. Go see it!!

All the Presidents Men

Both Ally and I really enjoyed this classic 1976 movie about the unearthing of the Watergate scandal by two investigative journalists - brilliantly acted by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. When I was at school, I thought about going into investigative journalism and after watching this movie, I'm glad I didn't. The endless leg-work and phoning around that the two had to do to crack the story was absolutely staggering. I would't have had the tenacity or killer instinct to get even close. The director of the movie does an incredible job of keeping the movie suspenseful and intriguing and as the story progresses, you get more and more involved. Another goodie. 

Hotel Rwanda

We saw this movie at the cinema on Sunday night and thought it was extremely good. It's the true-life story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who housed over a thousand Tutsis refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda. Don Cheadle, who plays the lead, is absolutely brilliant - I'm not suprised he was nominated for an Oscar.

It would have been easy for the crew to give a one-sided tale about the horror of war and fill a 90 minute picture with nothing but blood and guts. Instead, the crew put together a film that will resonate for years. It involves politics, culture, family, religion, race, and many other questions of ethics. It tells the whole story from all perspectives and was full of humanity. Recommended!

The Hustler

I saw "The Hustler" last night and loved it. Paul Newman as a young hot shot pool hustler who takes on the big fish in some of the most awe inspiring pool playing I've ever seen. Made we want to grab a cue and take a few cracks myself. Problem is I usually embarrass myself horribly at pool - particularly when it's my turn to strike and I miss the huge triangle of balls altogether. I do have the occasional flourish of brilliance bit it's generally pure fluke and the ball sinks in a pocket I was never even meaning to aim for. The movie also contained a rather tragic love story which I wasn't expecting - and leaves you with a lot to think about. Definitely a movie I would heartily recommend.

I, Robot

I saw the new movie I,Robot last night and am happy to say it far exceeded my expectations.

It is based on a book by Isaac Asimov about the world in 2040 or so when robots do all our manual work for us. The robots are hard programmed with the "Three Laws of Robotics."
1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2) A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Imagine the suprise then when one of the robots apparently murders a person - and the movie then follows the investigations of Will Smith, a cop, trying to solve the mystery.

Good special effects but some really thought provoking themes too. Definitely to be recommended...

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.