Kazhes pierakstu burtnīca

I`ve never quite understand what lies behind my choice of films. It seems quite unreasonable to consider it a strategy, a much better description for it will probably be the word "random". For example, although "Blood of a poet" is considered a classic I am absolutely convinced that it`s almost impossible to enjoy a silent film nowadays. But no, I still decided to watch this film. As if I cared about how influential Jean Cocteau is. No, I don`t. Anyhow this film is somewhat crazy, of course, just like most films of surrealism are. The only similar film to it which I`ve seen so far is "The Andalusian dog". Blood of a poet is considered to be a perfect description of the way an artists mind works. Which is just another proof that I stand absolutely no chance of ever becoming a true artist. To me it was just visually interesting (especially considering the year the film was made and how little special effects were available at the time) but in terms of content empty film. The film starts off with a man drawing a face on paper when suddenly the mouth on the face becomes alive, as the "poet" wants to close the mouth with his hand the mouth moves on to his palm. The last place where the mouth stays its location is on a sculpture which also comes alive. Then the poet smashes the sculpture. Apart from that you`ll see buildings collapsing, a woman being connected to wall and lots of other senseless stuff.

The film starts off with quite a significant and meaningful message. "It`s preferrable not to travel with a dead man." Sadly it`s exactly the thing that the hero of this Jim Jarmusch`s film does. It was some two weeks ago when I started watching this film but since I was feeling a bit sick at the time I didn`t manage to watch it till the end. After all can you expect a person with a headache to enjoy a film that has absolutely nothing going on but a man (Johnny Depp) sitting on a train as the train goes past a countryside. I remember falling asleep during that trip. After that the film does get a bit more active yet it never reaches such a tempo that your head will spin around from the weird twists and storyline changes. Yet what can you expect from a dead man? If you happen to be travelling under the name of William Blake you don`t even have to be a poet in order to be a dead man. Especially if you meet a strange indian who likes to be called Nobody. And if you`re just a stupid white man it`s probably the best for you to make blood your poetry, especially in the wild west. The film is also special because of its soundtrack which mainly consists of crazy guitar feedback noises and occasional guitar strumming done by Neil Young. As a whole Jim Jarmusch is undoubtely a very special filmmaker but I can`t call him the master of entertainment.

I had an argument with my girlfriend over whether I had already watched this film with her or not. First I was pretty sure that I hadn`t but later on I started to doubt whether my memory wasn`t tricking me. The truth happened to lie somewhat in between - while watching the film I came to the conclusion that I had seen nearly a half of it. The latter half by the way, which meant that pretty soon I knew what the film would end with. That didn`t really bother me much for "Don Juan DeMarco" isn`t one of those films that struck you like lightning with an unexpected ending. Johnny Depp plays a fellow who`s either Don Juan, the great lover, or just an insecure kid from Queens, NY. Marlon Brando is either a famous psychiatrist named Dr. Mickler or a Spanish fellow named Don Octavio. Basically it`s up to the viewer to believe in Depp`s story of his life or not. It`s about believing in perfect imaginary worlds or not. I may be a romantic but I would say "Why not?" just like Mickler does in the end.

This film is considered a masterpiece in goth film-making, and it`s no wonder since Tim Burton himself is the father of all goths. "Edward Scissorhands", "Corpse Bride", "Sleepy Hollow" and other films prove his perfect sense for the dark arts and dark fairytales. Therefore I expected "Beetle Juice" to be a weird kind of comedy. Yet it proved to be quite a conventional film. That`s if you don`t count the underworld, ghosts reading a book called "A Handbook for the recently deceased" and other typical goth stuff. In terms of story the film was interesting enough but I somehow think there was something done wrong about it - a great idea turned out to be quite a boring film. I don`t really know what I didn`t like about it but in the context of Burton`s better works "Beetle Juice" doesn`t shine at all. The "Betelgeuse" character itself wasn`t particulary great if you ask me. And you should ask me for it`s me who`s talking and it`s you who`s listening. I did like the goth chick though. Goths rule! I would have invited her for my birthday party if I had a chance to do that. It was Winona Ryder playing Lydia, the goth chick. Did I mention the story? I suppose not. Alec Baldwin and Gene Wilder are a perfectly normal couple that somehow dies in a car accident and returns to its house in form of ghosts. They would presumably have lived happily ever after if they hadn`t a family of yuppies moved into their house and tried to change everything around it. So the couple asks the excentric Betelgeuse for help to get rid of the living. I suppose they shouldn`t have done that.

Canada once already appologised to the USA for Bryan Adams - it`s a fact everyone who has watched Southpark knows. But it didn`t stop me from listening to one of his supposedly better records. The disc starts off with a typical mid-eighties song "One Night Affair" which sounds like a minor song from a Dire Straits album (musically not vocally) and like a different take on "Run To You", which can also be found on this album. The album is mostly famous for having 6 hit singles on it, "Run To You" and "Summer of `69" being the most famous ones. By the way did you know that the latter is about oral sex and not about the year of "Abbey Road" after all? It`s not too surprising, considering that Bryan was 9 in 69. And he most likely didn`t do 69 in 69. Other tracks are basically just supporting songs for the highlights, and they don`t support them too good. "It`s only love", a duet with Tina Turner, is one of them. How could this fellow become such a legend if all his songs sound the same, if they`re generic and formulaic? "Heaven" is a song which he later reshaped a bit and made "Please forgive me", it also sounds a lot like "Heaven is a place on earth" (a slowed down version of that song as a matter of fact), or no... that song by Bonnie Tyler. Heck, who cares? It`s Bryan Adams after all, and not some strange Frank Zappa. Music for your school discoteque is the best purpose for music like this.

If there`s one thing which I don`t understand conserning Steven Spielberg then it is why he is considered to be a great director. If you hear the name "Steven Spielberg" in connection with any film project you automatically start drooling expecting something miraculous. Well I have to admit I don`t! Ok, he may not be a bad director but most of his stuff is typical Hollywood blockbusters not intending to be something like high art. "The Schindler`s List"? I haven`t seen it and don`t intend to, I know enough about the Holocaust already. "Sawing private Ryan"? Had it been "Sewing private Ryan" I`d probably be interested. But war movies bore me. Indiana Jones? Yeah, sure this is the most elaborate kind of filmmaking ever, Orson Welles and Ingmar Bergman can`t offer anything to match the glory of Indy.

I have absolutely no idea why do Germans prefer calling God "dear". This is the second book where I see such an expression in the title. Anyhow, Mr. Rilke is considered to be one of the greatest German poets of all time. Since I don`t have any interest in poetry at all I decided just to read a collection of his stories which are supposed to be revolving around God. In fact they are but only loosely. In the form of the stories you have little doubt that Rilke is a poet in deed and not a writer of prose. His style is a bit of expressionism + E.T.A. Hofmann`s aproach towards the word. I can`t say that I enjoyed it very much for to me it all made little sense but I can`t deny that this may be an interesting aproach he had although these stories do sound quite a bit dated nowadays.

Hooray! I saw the new Harry Potter film even before its official world premiere! Isn`t that so cool that you can go to the screenings and see what others can`t? Not that I was that much of a Potter fan (or if you ask - not that I was a bit of a Potter fan at all), yet it is interesting to watch where the whole series are heading for. First I have to say that I missed the first few minutes of the film due to security measures of the cinema - the screening started earlier than it should - probably so potential screener makers would come too late, and apart from that I had to show the contents of my bag to a security fellow who was particulary interested in my laptop. Anyhow I didn`t miss that much so I probably don`t have to complain. In this part Harry Potter takes part in a weird competition of wizardry which leads to him resurrecting the Voldemort person. The film may really be darker than the previous parts but really dark it surely ain`t. Who would expect gothic horrors from the Rowling woman after all? CGI are quite good this time, you don`t get a lot of disastrous elements like there were in the Prisoner of Azkaban. Discussing the plotline it isn`t too advanced and too unexpected for sure yet quite solid without doubt. Ok, the whole thing with the ball is kinda sissy and only meant to show that HP is growing and that he and his pal will be needing to find some chicks in order not to become known as Harry Potter and his boyfriend. Still I think this may be the best HP film so far.

I`m not a particular fan of mafia films. I don`t really know why but I never cared too much for "the family". I`m not particulary interested in people wearing striped suits and posh shoes who call each other either Tommy or Sonny. But "Donnie Brasco" is considered quite a cool mafia movie. And you can probably guess the reasons quite easily - after all it`s got Al Pacino and Johnny Depp sharing the time on screen. Yet I`m not a big fan Al either - he`s too much of a mafia films actor for me to be interested in his work. Johnny Depp is kinda cool, a bit too dreamy maybe but that`s ok. Anyhow Donnie Brasco (Depp) is an undercover cop in the lower levels of mafia where he gets befriended with Lefty (Pacino). Soon Donnie finds out that being in the mob ain`t that bad and he becomes addicted to it, thus almost destroying his own marriage. In the end he gets "rescued" by the cops and the bad guys get sentenced. It may be warm, heartfelt or whatever else but I still have little interest in what the mobsters do.

If this record were made some 30 years ago I`d have no doubt that Ozzy is a British singer. He comes from Manchester after all, doesn`t he? But nowadays mr. Osbourne is an American, he does reality TV, he cusses in the American manner and drugs have completely killed the few braincells he ever had. Probably it`s the reason for his new album with covers of brilliant songs. All songs overgo the typical Ozzy treatment and they sound as if they were just silly songs done by an old and weak drug addict. How can a man like him try to sing "In My life" or John Lennon`s "Woman" considering that Ozzy is the best example of a singer that can`t do gentle material, is a question worth asking for sure. Some of the songs work quite well - like Arthur Brown`s "Fire", others don`t. A hard rock version done by Ozzy of "All the young dudes" is a real laugh. I guess a former dark prince isn`t the most appropriate person to sing a song about crossdressing people. I can`t imagine anyone less gay than Ozzy. Not that I consider him particulary macho or anything like that - he`s too dead to be a sex god anyway. One more thing that I don`t understand is why he had to mess with "21st century scizoid man". Prog-rock and Ozzy? It`s not the most matching couple. But as a friend of mine said - the record is funny. Who cares wheter Ozzy wanted it to be?