Archive for 2013

Boxing Day Shopping


Don't think I ever gonna do this again, not unless I find someone to go through this agony together with next year.

Anywayz, these are the things I got today (by the way is it weird to shop for books on boxing day? Felt so sad that Dymocks was so empty compared to other stores in the city.)

Lush (QVB Lower Ground):

  • Golden Wonder Bath Ballistic
  • Tisty Tosty Bath Ballistic
  • Luxury Lush Pud Bath Ballistic
  • Bombardino Bath Ballistic
  • Dirty solid perfume x 2 (it was 50% off so I just had to stock up some :)
  • Karma solid perfume
  • Cupcake Fresh Face Mask
  • Breath of Fresh Air 100g
  • Tea Tree Water 250g (the nozzle unscrewed itself in my bag so there was a major leakage before I realised what happened =( so gutted)
  • Popcorn Lip Scrub
Soap & Glory (at kit costmetics inside the George St Myer)
  • Hand Food Hydrating Hand Cream 125ml
  • Clean On Me Shower Gel 75ml
JB HI-FI (The Strand Arcade Basement)
  • Sempiternal by Bring Me The Horizon
  • House Of Gold & Bones Part 2 by STONE SOUR 
Dymocks (424 George Street)
  • Eyrie by Tim Winton (a book that I've been dying to read, glad it was on sale)
kikki.K (The Strand Arcade)
  • 2014 A5 Weekly Diary: Sweet

Really wanted to get Memorial by Russian Circles but couldn't find it anywhere instore so I guess I'll have to order it online. 

So far I'm liking the Dirty solid perfume. It's got a very prominent tarragon note (similar to licorice) which I adore (and I think it does smell like a sexy man)

Had a taco and some nachos at Mad Mex with mates, we were just too starving to pick a nicer place, but guess what, one simply cannot say no to Mexican.

Then we headed to Starbucks and I got a Gingerbread Soy Latte. It was DISGUSTING. No, really, like it was HORRID. Haven't got any starbucks drink for quite a few years and I almost forgot how horribly sweet the drinks could be. Not my cup of coffee sorry.

Anyhow, it was nice meeting mates that I haven't seen for the longest time and it's always nice getting a few dollars off, but really for someone suffers from horrible social anxiety (was using deep sleep stress less roller ball stick from thisworks and it kinda helped a little) it was not the most pleasant experience as you can probably imagine. Not that I didn't have fun at all but I'm glad I'm done with it.

Hope you all had an amazing Christmas and ready for the new year! 





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Merry Christmas 2013

God Jul till alla mina fina vänner och min älskade familj <3

Wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year xx


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Christmas


Well to be honest I don't think anyone cares what I want for Christmas, unless if you're under 14 then yes Santa will be checking everybody's list.

But just in case IF some crazy creepy rich old man or lady with really bad taste is stalking me, I'll sleep with you if you get me one of these.

Jks, I'm not that cheap. You have to buy me two of these (and if you get me the jeans or Mononoke blu-ray I'll be up for S&M)

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The Perfect Jeans

Pacific Jean from Saxony

I've been searching for a new pair of black jeans for a while now and I'm in love with this pair I found on Saxony. I'm safe to say that this is the near perfect pair for me. They contain 3% Spandex so very strechy and feel amazingly comfortable, more of a 'Jegging' actually, and they fit my legs perfectly. 

What makes these even better is that they are currently on sale and reduced from $140 to $42, what a bargain! Though the online store's only got size 34 left so if it's your size then be quick.

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The Cranes



One of my favourites from the album, glad that they made it into a single and I think the video suits the song perfectly. That heart-warming feel.

If you want a translation, here's a pretty decent one >> Don't forget to click the 'Thanks' button, it's not an easy task to translate lyrics=)

Finished all my exams, now time to choose a summer course and think about next semester's internship (goddamnit why do I have a fuqing 'Research Internship' in my core courses =/), and then my honours.

Stress never leaves my life, huh.

Or maybe I'll leave that to tomorrow, now get myself a cup of tea, do some drawings with some good music in company.

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De 999 saker jag aldrig skulle göra

A quick update. Taking a (hopefully) short break from my assignment that I have to hand in tomorrow by noon.

Have been addicted to this song for a while now, pretty much sums up my thoughts this couple of weeks. Like how it sounds uplifting (maybe?) but the lyrics hits hard in me.

999 by kent
from their latest album Jag är inte rädd för mörkret (I am not afraid of the dark)
(I say latest but it's out last year)

English Translation of the lyrics here (looks a bit dodgy but I stinks in translating anything so sorry)

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The Legend of Heroes: Sen no Kiseki (Trails in the Flash) 英雄伝説 閃の軌跡

Original Title: 英雄伝説 閃の軌跡
Finally finished the game last night, shame that no one around me plays the game except my Japanese lecturer. So here I am (I really just need a place to rave about this)

Before I start, for international readers residing outside Japan, if you're looking for a place to purchase this game, you can either do it through Nihon Falcom's official mail order service (instructions for international orders), or go to either Amazon.co.jp (or check your local Amazon, I know the US store does stock a few Japan Import ones), PlayAsiaCDjapan or Yesasia. I preordered through Falcom's mail service and they gave me a random 1000 yen discount :) (maybe because I shopped there too much lol)

Trails in the FLASH

System:

Apparently the loading problem was quite controversial in Japan, which was directly reflected in its user ratings on Amazon JP and various other game sites. Personally I didn't find that much of a problem at all, probably only once in the final chapter. But that's probably because of my horrendously short attention span so I always have to do something else even when I was playing this game. The loading time actually gave me a chance to glimpse either my twitter feed or random news sites. (like I honestly could not believe that everyone was ranting about this on the web)

There are several major changes to the system. Full on 3D, Orbment system and Link (like an upgrade of the kizuna system in Zero/Ao), that's all I can think of now.

The 3D ain't as bad as I thought it would be to be honest, thought you need to know that I don't really care that much about game visual, I don't think any kiseki fans do. The removal of the 2D anime portrait/profile is a bit of a shame but the 3D ones look quite fine to me. It is true that it does stink if you compare it with most of the games that we see in game stores nowadays but oh well, what can you expect from a teeny company's full 3D debut? Plus I have to praise the plateau scenes in Chapter 3, absolute thumbs up! 
I spent at least 3 hours just running around here. Stunning plateau + jdk's awesome soundtrack+ horse riding (that doesn't harm real horses)  + our nomad character Gaius, how perfect is that!
Orbment system is greatly simplified. It's much clearer to make up Arts (アーツ, magic spell in the Kiseki games) now because they are stuck to individual quartz. However it makes the gameplay harder as you now have to pick between Arts quartz and quartz that increase your character power (str etc). Whilst it doesn't really matter for melee characters since they don't normally need to cast spells anyway it does weaken mages quite a lot. I gameover-ed a few times during my first playthrough but I'm not complaining (oddly enough I quite like gameovers in boss fights, feels more realistic? lol). I do miss spending hours before strong Arts finally appeared in the current Arts list thought, hope it'll come back one day in future installments.

Link system does make the battle more interesting but together with the orbment change i feel like the mages are too depressed in this Kiseki (Zero-arts is a nice new AT award but how often does it happen right there on our mage characters?). So much so that my mages are pretty much plain healers. But I guess this melee-mage broken balance somehow suits Erebonian, with its whole heavy industry and military thingy. (it does actually feel like Russia, or Soviet rather, with a tint of the US, though I'm guessing Calvard would be more US like, the president, multicultural and Republic thing. Or you can say Germany/France). 

Music:

You just can not fault jdk. I don't know what else to say really, the final boss track is AH-MAI-ZINN and I'm loving the ending theme (it did surprise me at first but now after listening to it a few more times I can see the reason they put it there). Falcomclassics on Youtube has uploaded many of the sound tracks but there could be spoilers in the titles or background images, or in the comments so think twice before you search. 

The opening is quite nice, musically I prefer it to the ones of Ao/Zero's. Kotekana's vocal suits this type better. 

Story:

Spoiler Warning (of the entire Kiseki series) and some screencaps. Continue for more raves.

Finally DOGS in Kiseki! Thought the entire team were cat people :b (Zeit is a wolf!)


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The Turning


I was very lucky to be amongst the audience at the pre-release screening of The Turning last Wednesday night at Dendy Opera Quay, it was indeed a very special experience, compared to all other film screenings I've been to.

Received a beautifully printed film guide at the entrance, which was just extremely helpful, for someone like me who hadn't got a chance to read the book, to better understand the plot (though I wouldn't say it's essential to know what's exactly going on, I only read the booklet when I finished the film and that worked just fine).

The film, as the book, is split into 17 sections, 17 clips produced by different people. The arrangement isn't exactly unheard of, but it surely is quite unique and, per my own interpretation of the film, is just crucial. Because it's not a film about just one ore two specific Australians, it's a film that tells the stories of Australians, people with different lives and minds. So whilst it does make the film a bit un-organised, it gives the whole production to a realistic dimensional feel.

My favourite 3 pieces, which I have to tell you is really difficult to pick but if I really need to, Immunity, Sand (I guess you can somehow see my type through these two) and Ash Wednesday (although I have to say that the spearing sharks scene did make me uncomfortable). I decided to go for the screening because of Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Miranda Otto and Mia Wasikowska but surprisingly none of them were in these 3 clips, I still love their performances (and as for Mia, her directing) nonetheless but these three were just really right on my spot.

One last note to keep in mind, if you don't normally watch short films, because of the time restriction it's really hard for short clips to tell a complete story and have a major climax that shakes your heart. I like short films (as much as I like feature ones) because they are usually very interesting (and I don't know why but short films often give me that warm nostalgic feel). A length of only several minutes means that the budget is much lower and it's easier to realise ideas that fail to interest big investors. Doesn't matter if it's indie or commercial works, short film is an important component of the entire industry.


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Dolphin, Taiji

Spent two nights on this, think it looks quite alright

Help stop the dolphin massacre in Taiji, Japan

Please feel free to share the image if you would like to. It would be nice to cite me but it's not necessary as long as you keep the right message. Also if you speaks Japanese please feel free to change the slogan to Japanese and share it among your friends, followers etc (contact me for a slogan-free version).

 What we can do 

 1. Stop visiting marine parks or any facility with captured dolphins. The most effective thing we can do as non-Japanese is to cut down the driving force.

 2. Write to Japan's PM, tell him about your concern and it's time for its government to realise that whaling and slaughtering dolphins is only ruining its reputation https://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/forms/comment_ssl.html

 3. There are loads of petitions that you can find online, simply google 'dolphin taiji petition', here's one for example: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/stop-the-dolphin-slaughter/

 4. Raise the awareness. It's always good to spread the word but if you can make your voice heard by Japanese people (your friends, your twitter followers, Japanese SNS etc) it would be even better because they are the ones who can stop this. And most importantly don't be a racist, most Japanese people are very friendly and kind to animals. The slaughter is not a simple consequence of their tradition, most of the funding driving the massacre comes from the western world. So don't be rude and aggressive, blaming a country that you don't know much about doesn't make you clean.

Pray for the dolphins.


Sorry if my drawing is too much for you. It's my style. And if you can come up with a better slogan please let me know, I'm useless with words.

And please let me know if for whatever reason you want the original sized with/without slogan.


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Wear It Purple Day - It gets better

Today is Wear It Purple day, for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Wear It Purple day is basically a day when people wear purple garments to show support to the LGBTQIA young people (and disgust to homophobia) in Australia (or maybe just Sydney? but well of course you can do it wherever you are :) More info here


wore my purple snake print jeans today, yiiips

So gutted I missed the flash mob today. Was planning to join the team but my horrid assignments were due today so I had to say no to fun.

Anyway, if you're dealing with bullying, discrimination etc for being who you are, don't lose hope. I know people keep saying this over and over again but life does get better. It probably won't be as fancy as the reality show celebs' but you'll find more and more things in your life that you can smile to and less and less craps that you have to fight against. xxoo


[Last note, went to UNSW Orchestra's Mid Semester Concert tonight. Quite enjoyed Brahms' Symphony No.1 movement I and IV. Very impressive performance given the fact that most of them are still uni students. Good job boys & girls.]

Have a nice weekend!




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Applause - Lady Gaga

Maybe it's a bit pointless to review this song now that everybody has heard it already, but määh anyway.


I'm not really impressed with the song to be honest. Catchy, yes absolutely so if that's what you want I think you'd like it. But yah I would love to dance to this song in a club but when I have my walkman or Spotify on I'd prefer something not just stays in my mind but something that can dig into it, if that ever makes sense. I do like the lyrics though, I'd believe it's a special track for herself. Personally I find the remixes she put on her vevo channel more intriguing, and interesting.

The video, yeah I like it, but not as much as some of her previous ones. It's not well structured, or let me put it in a more artistic word, it's chaotic, but not the kind of chaotic I'd normally appreciate. The collage of different styles of lighting, special effects etc makes the whole film quite confusing, dare I say. I get it that Gaga always has loads of thoughts put into her videos but then maybe it's a better idea to lengthen the time so it wouldn't feel this... 'squeezed'? (Like what she did with Bad Romance and Born This Way) However I do admit this maybe fits the lyrics and album title better. (Please don't take this in a bad way)

Am I interested in the album, yes for sure but am I really looking forward to it, probably not so much. Of course chances are the rest of the album could be total amazeballs but at least the first single is unfortunately a miss to me.

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Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival Sydney S/S 2013/14


I went to Sydney Fashion Festival hosted by Mercedes-Benz at Sydney Town Hall this Friday night with a friend. Had another plan before 8 so I couldn't go to the Trends runway show (the plan got cancelled that day and I was so gutted), nonetheless I still had a good time at the Instyle Red Carpet Runway. Well, sort of.

First let me just flash you some photos, that's what I thought but then I realised my phone's camera sucks, so I hope you won't mind.

Brought my own tote from Lush. A silent protest ;)
Was carrying my expensive Gram sneakers inside haha

Before the show started

Can't remember which show this was from
(and this is what happens when you procrastinate ;b)

You can also find some of the collections online at booodl.com or MBFF Sydney official website
Also gettyimages has got heaps of photos of the event, click here

Favourite show of the night:

Maticevski

Amazing is the word to describe the line. Very simple colours with minimal embellishment, yes, classic minimalist designs but the cut, the geometric shapes, the drapery. Just oh-so-beautiful made my soul sing (that is if I do have one). The only thing I did't like was that apparently some pieces were already shown in the fashion show four months ago. Maybe this is how the industry works here but I would really appreciate more creations, and in this case, maybe more masterpieces.

Other highlights:

Romance Was Born: Personally it's not my style at all, the colourful fairy sugar-bomb type of things. But I did find the show quite inspiring, I love it when designers are daring enough to express their crazy and wild imaginations.

Jayson Brunsdon: I love the pointy metallic flats! Now I just need to find a dupe, for men.

For the rest of the night, went to the Hub with my friend (and we bumped into the models, so ridiculously gorgerous even up close!) but only for a few minutes because it was way too crowded for me to function properly. Yep, this is me, a fashion fanatic with serious anxiety issues (both claustrophobic and agoraphobic, although my claustrophobia is like, deadly lol), so I guess it just makes perfect sense that I'm also an Internet-addict. lol

Jumbo mug Chai Latte with soy milk
my friend was showing off his two phones in the background
Went to Gloria Jean's (the one next to the George St Event) afterwards and got myself a chai latte with soy milk. I asked for a mug instead of a normal paper cup (because I loathe desposable things lol always try to avoid using those whenever I can) and look at this!! The mug is HUGE! I ordered a reg but god this looks like a size Jumbo! Haha, I hope I don't sound weird being so excited over a huge cup of chai ;)

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and wish you a nice week!

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Kent - Månadens Erbjudande



If you don't have a Spotify account, which you should because it's amazing, here's the track from Youtube



I was shuffling through my kent albums today on my walkman (by the way, am I the only one that still uses a music player device thingy? Seems to me that smartphones have replaced everything for most people) and I found this song from the EP The Hjärta och Smärta (The Heart and Pain). 

If you've never heard of Kent, they are a alternative rock band from Sweden (but they are really popular so I guess that makes them kind of pop as well?). I wouldn't go all the way to write a bio of them here so what I suggest you to do, if you're interested in them that is, is to look up their wikipedia page. (Or maybe I'll do a kent post later?)

I bought their Box 1991-2008 when I went back to Sweden a few years ago, which includes almost all their recorded tracks before Röd (Red). Money well spent. That being said I've never actually listened to the entire set, I really liked Tillbaka till Framtiden (Back to Future) before I bought the set and that's also the disc that I usually go for if I wanted some kent on my way to school. 

Anyway, sorry about  the long and babbling intro, I found this 'hidden' gem today and thought I had to share it with somebody. I really like the whole EP as well, not to mention that the second track, Dom som försvann (Those who disappeared) has always been one of my personal favourites. 

Here's the Lyrics (Translation below)

I en hyrd bil
mellan Essingen och Kransen
Hör jag en melodi
Som säger: Här är sista chansen nu
Jag undrar var du är

Du spyr kritik
Du sätter fingrarna i halsen
Du sa: Varför gör du musik
För alla aporna på Skansen nu
Undrar var du är
Jag har visat var jag står  

Var du än ville gå så följde jag med dig
Jag var tärnan vid ditt släp, din livegna lakej
Var du än ville gå
Jag satte allt på spel
För dig gjorde jag allting fel

Om du var ett krig
Var jag väl terrorbalansen
Vi var musik
För eliten ute på kanten nu
Undrar jag var du är
Jag har visat var jag står

När du går så följer jag med dig
Jag var tärnan vid ditt släp, din livegna lakej
Var du än ville nå
Jag satte allt på spel
För dig gjorde jag allting fel

Var du än ville gå så följde jag med dig
Jag var tärnan vid ditt släp, din livegna lakej
Var du än ville gå
Jag satte allt på spel
För dig gjorde jag allting fel

English Translation:


In a rented car
Between Essingen and Kransen
I hear a melody
Saying: This is the last chance now  
I wonder where you are

You vomit criticism
Putting your fingers down your throat
You said: Why are you making music?
For all the monkeys on Skansen now
I wonder where you are
I've showed you where I stand

Wherever you wanted to go I followed you
I was the maid at your train, your self-suppling footman  
Wherever you wanted to go
I put everything on jeopardy
For you, I did everything wrong

If you were a war I was the balance of terror
We were music
For the elite out on the edge now
I wonder where you are
I've showed you where I stand

When you leave, I follow you
I was the maid at your train, your self-suppling footman
Wherever you wanted to reach
I put everything in a gamble  
For you I did everything wrong

Wherever you wanted to go I followed you
I was the maid at your train, your self-suppling footman
Wherever you wanted to go
I put everything in a gamble  
For you I did everything wrong

                                                  

Lyrics and Translation from kentfans.com (I would have translated it myself but I'm useless in that compartment. I changed 'I put everything in jeopardy' to 'I put everything in a gamble' though, I've never heard anyone using 'jeopardy' in real life :b)

I think one reason the song stood out for me is that the vocal is quite prominent compared to other songs from Kent. Well, of course the lyrics have to be good so a good vocal wouldn't be wasted.

Anyhow, hope you enjoy the song. xx





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Coles Vegie Fix -Mexican Sweet Potato

The Package
I actually really like this stuff, normally I wouldn't pay 6 dollars for a bowl of microwavable pre-prepared meal but once half reduced they suddenly become oh so irresistible to me. So far I've tried the Moroccan Vegetable Tagine and this one, the last one in the range wasn't vegan (plus I hate eggplant). 

I have to be honest, I hate the Tagine one. Why you ask? Because there's zucchini in it. Now there's one thing you've probably already guessed about me and that is I hate all slimy, squashy, glairy however-you-wanna-call-it kind of food, I can't even stand the seed part of cucumbers. So anyway, the tagine one was unbearable to me but if you don't hate zucchini as much as I do you may find it delicious. 

So the Mexican one is my only option left and thank god no squash in this one (or at least I can't taste any). Normally I don't like sweet potato (Yes, I AM really picky in terms of food) but this one actually tastes good! Maybe because the magical spicy sauce camouflages all the distinctive vegie tastes, which I'm sure is not exactly a benchmark for a good dish, but again if I want a decent meal I would be sitting in a nice restaurant instead (and that will cost way more than 3 dollars). Besides, being the huge sucker for Mexican cuisine that I am (even though I can't handle spicy food at all) I do really like this stuff. Perfect for days when I'm too lazy to cook a probably healthier meal (shame that they only have this on sale like literally once in a blue moon). 

And it's quick to make, well I guess that's the whole point of microwave food. 3 mins and a half and tah dah dinner time! 
Yummmm!

Plats: Sydney Nya Sydwales, Australien
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Beyond The HIlls & Child's Pose at Sydney Film Festival

 

Beyond The Hills (Romania) 

official trailer   

Best Screenplay and Best Actress at 2012 Cannes, that tells you how good this was.

Religion and Homoromatic Love. sounds like a very old school theme but this film didn't emphasise much on the 'homo' part. if the protagonists were of different genders the story would definitely be different, but most likely only a tiny little bit. In this sense the plot was actually quite similar to a lot of Japanese yaoi/yuri manga/novels (which totally awoke my fanboy heart, i mean seriously if you like yuri you'd probably enjoy this film a lot, the first half at least)

The film is based on an actual event in 2005.

The title basically summarises the whole theme. 'The Hills' act as a barrier separating two worlds with different values and beliefs. The film itself focused mainly on the one beyond the barrier, an orthodox convent. While it clearly points out the giant hole in such communities it remained relatively neutral (trust me in the case of this film it could've easily gone way too criticising) and at the same time from a few snapshots of the 'outside' world we can see that it ain't too much fancier. Therefore even though the major cause is still within the convent there's a part of it that mutually exists in the whole society.

-spoiler-
To be very honest with you I've never ever liked a priest or reading bible and I really do enjoy films that criticise (some) Christianity but this film i really don't think it went that far. Even though they did terrible things in this film you can still see that the starting point was good. However that cannot justify anything and I guess that's the other theme and conflict brought up in the film. A good cause leads to a tragic ending. Does your bible tell you that it's ok? I don't know but in a society that's built on a legal system this is still guilty. The law says no but what do we say?
-spoiler ends-

Child's Pose (Romania)

official trailer
   
Golden Bear at 2013 Berlinale. Another amazing film and coincidently another Romanian film. Now i'm just fracking in love with this land and its language.

Same language same country but very different perspective. The protagonists come from a wealthy family, a spoiled son and a spoiling mum, against a family of much lower 'social status'. While it intentionally did a whole bunch of sarcasm of the governmental system the main focus was still on the relationship between the mother and son, or more specifically the mother. How she tried to please her son, help her son and worry about her son. Is she a good mother? Probably not the best. (frankly speaking she's not a good citizen either) But she does share some of the most fundamental emotions that (most) mum carries.

-spoiler-
The unexpected blackout leaves the film a kinda open ending. I guess you can go with a more negative explanation of the end but I personally prefer to think that the son could finally relate a bit to the mum, from seeing what his mum did for him or seeing the victim's parent mourning his boy, probably not so much but enough to give him the courage to go out and apologise himself. Did they actually realise what kind of damage they've made to the poor victim's family? Maybe, more or less. They may be snobby and mean and selfish but from some details in the film they're not that stone-hearted.  
-spoiler ends-

Both films are just so beautifully made and constructed and deserve every prize that they've won. I was surprised the cinemas weren't full. Highly recommend to everybody, especially if you are looking for a different taste from hollywood productions.

Extra note: if i have to pick, Child's Pose would be my favourite drama this SFF.

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The Rocket, Closed Curtain & A River Changes Courses at Sydney Film Festival


Four films in total actually but one is short film so I'll put that review at the end of the festival.

The Rocket (Australia/Laos) 

official trailer

Laotian Road movie. To be honest the plot wasn't very creative or impressive but the whole setting made the entire film stand out. All the fascinating Laotian cultural details and historical background differentiated the film from just a ordinary adventurous road film. It was entertaining and eye-catching. The Aussie director Kim Mordaunt's love towards the local culture clearly helped to earn a round of applause in the audience but i think most claps goes to the local actors' convincing acting, or perhaps that wasn't that much of an acting for them. Which was why i felt like rushing to the stage to hug everyone of them when they presented themselves as a 'surprise' after the end roll.

Closed Curtain (Pardé) (Iran)  


official trailer

This is a film i definitely need to re-watch. Weird, confusing yet utterly interesting.

I don't know how to describe this film. The intro text on the festival pamphlet says it better 'a portray of melancholy'. It doesn't have a clear plot, or rather the plot is insignificant in this film. A sht load of surrealistic metaphors and symbolism (or maybe just me reading too much). The film is not to tell you a story, it's more of expressing something. The something could be melancholy or something else that maybe cannot be easily described in a few words, which may be the reason why director Jafar Panahi made this art piece.

I've seen a few reviews that the second half gets really confusing and not as good as the first hour. I agree with the confusing part, but to be honest it was the confusing part that thrilled me so much that i nearly couldn't contain myself and had to bend my body over so I could get closer to the screen. So many characters and scenes that hardly make any sense but to me that's what makes this film so interesting. I literally had goosebumps, yes i was THAT thrilled!

As i've said i just have to watch it again. Amazing creativity.

Also if you're reading this, go google the director Jafar Panahi. He deserves respect, and his Silver Berlin Bear for Best Screenplay.

A River Changes Course (Cambodia)  

offical trailer

Another documentary in my film fest schedule. This one focuses around Cambodian villagers as they struggle through life trying to adapt the changing environment and economy.

Being a doc film itself it's slightly less organised compared to Blackfish. It's somehow segmented, which i understand because there were just too many subjects to cover within this topic. But that leaves it a broad intro into the villagers' lives, not that it's bad.

I don't really know how to review documentary as always. And I do always believe that most documentaries deserve watching. This definitely belongs to one of them.

The scene of some garment factory workers made me think, what were they thinking when they were sewing out clothes? One piece of clothing on their hand could cost most than their monthly wage. What were they thinking when they are working so hard and gave up their dreams to work for people they don't know just so their families can have a slightly easier life?

And those companies, their thirst to cut down more forest and clear these villagers lands to make more money. Their world looks oh so corrupt but their world is our world too. Our actions will eventually affect their lives and future and their forest and the animals that live there.

This is why I believe filmmakers continue to make documentaries that are basically repeating one major theme. That's because we need to know, we need to remember and then we need to act.

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Blackfish & Gloria at Sydney Film Festival

A slightly longer review on Blackfish and Gloria

Blackfish (USA)

I still have to say that this is a must see. If you are unsure about documentary, at least check out the trailer:

As a documentary itself I don't know what i should say because I generally love documentaries more than many other genres and scenes of orcas swimming in open water in the wild can easily make me cry like a baby in the cinema. So obviously i wasn't whatsoever bored or anything during the entire film. The background soundtracks were kinda cheating, took me a hideous amount of effort to stop my mental breakdown in the cinema.

I still don't know how to describe this film. I wish someone went there as well so now i can harass your inbox with my enormous sorrow and anger.

The film will be in cinemas/theatres on 19 July in the U.S. so my American friends please check this out! You won't regret it I promise! (dates: http://www.magpictures.com/dates.aspx?id=df6cf88f-28aa-4be9-8293-06213d2e5b50)

I'm not sure if it's going to have a general release in Australia or other areas of the world but feel free to check out their facebook page Blackfish

Gloria (Chile)  


official trailer

I'm glad i chose this after the heartbreaking documentary. The leading actress Paulina García definitely deserves her Silver Bear (my b*llshit Spanish tells me she's called the Latin American Meryl Streep according to Wikipedia)

Romantic yet bitterly realistic. But I promise you this is nothing depressing. Personally I would put it in a more Comedic Drama group. Besides the silly jokes that cracked up the entire cinema (again the fact that I failed to find any generation gap between me and the other audience (60+) upsets me greatly), the heroine Gloria is just adorable (now it does sound horrifying that I'm using that word on a 58 yr old woman). She might have been lost and depressed and frustrated and done stupid things but at the end of the day (well we all know it always takes longer than a day) she can still stand up and dance to music with a smile on her face. She might not have the strongest heart but she does deserve an applause, which was why we all gave her that at the end of the film.

Two very pleasant hours even though a few unexpected nudities scarred my pure heart a little bit but they weren't anything unnatural or odd, which is really nice (well i don't think explicit love scenes with two 60 yr old wrinkled bodies can attract any audience anyway :b)

And now I really want to go to Chile, or learn Spanish. Maybe I'll do both.

ps. I like the random Swedish reference lol

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Blackfish at Sydney Film Festival

offical trailer

I would be ashamed if i don't rave about this film

This is a film that everybody should watch. I don't even know how to describe the heartbreaking inspirations it gave me. For everyone who used to love training shows in zoos or circus as a kid like me, this is something you need to know. They don't deserve these inhumane treatments they've been given to. All animals deserve freedom and families.

Many Thanks to Sydney Film Festival for the screening.

FREE THE ORCAS!

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What Richard Did at Sydney Film Festival

What Richard Did (Ireland)


 official trailer

i wish it could be longer as to me the film didn't quite dig that much but i guess that's intentional. Instead of spending massive length to discuss morals and guilt etc it was more storytelling. Tells the story of the event and leaves the discussion part to its audience. Which i find quite interesting, though i do wish i wasn't going alone so now i could have someone to discuss to.

On another note, Irish accent ftw.

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