Saw Slumdog Millionaire last night and, yes, it's the feel good film of the year. The evolution of the story was refreshing and engaged the audience, even through the final credits (whilst I dashed off to the bathroom). India is a fascinating country and the harsh reality of life was not replaced by Bollywood sound stages. There's one scene where they are shooting a panoramic view of Mumbai, some trashmen come by and one says to the camera, "No film." It's very subtle and I loved that Boyle chose to include that with the final cut. Furthermore, some of the scenes in the Taj Mahal were shot with a Canon EOS in order to avoid unwanted attention in such a public area. I've also read that a lot of the action was filmed guerilla style and required carrying a Macbook packed with dry ice to keep it cool.
Boyle's commitment to the young actors and discovering new fresh faces is commendable. Freida Pinto, who plays the eldest version of Latika, is a stunning beauty and she does a wonderful job acting beside Dev Patel. They have been thrust onto the international stage and I hope Shia LaBeouf relinquishes some of his roles, as it seems like this guy is in every film now, to these up & coming stars.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Linkwood Family
In recent weeks I've gotten a hold of a couple of 10"s that I've been loving from Linkwood Family on Firecracker Recordings. The artwork and general vibe of the music is impressive and has been compared to the infamous Moodymann. It's great when a record label can come out with solid branding and quality music. One notable track is Piece Of Mind off of Firecracker EP 03 by Linkwood Family.
Another label related to Linkwood that has burst onto the scene with all the right ingredients is Prime Numbers. It's the collaboration 12" vinyl sleeves which feature various artists that are leaving their mark. So far they are up to P,R,I as seen below.
War & Peace - The Trials of Robert S. McNamara
I finally watched The Fog of War last night. The DVD has been sitting on top of the television cabinet eyeballing me for days and I decided I didn't want to channel flip the night away. I had actually settled on watching the Roger Moore 007 adventure,Octopussy, but the endless commercials made that unbearable to sit through. So, I gave in.
Robert Strange (yes, that is his middle name) McNamara is interviewed about the world he grew up in and his rise to eventually become the Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1968. The documentary is structured around eleven lessons. I believe he is 85 during the interview and he is sharper than ever. He recites poetry (see the bonus scenes), discusses military personalities, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Presidents, enemies and war. It was compelling to see such an intelligent man, often referred to as a walking IBM computer, reflecting on the devastation of an unyielding military machine that he operated for a brief period of time under the direction of two US Presidents, Kennedy and Johnson.
Some interesting quotes from Mr. McNamara:
LeMay said if we lost the war (World War II) that we would have all been prosecuted as war criminals. And I think he's right. He... and I'd say I... were behaving as war criminals.
LeMay recognized that what he was doing would be thought immoral if his side has lost. But what makes it immoral if you lose and not immoral if you win?
I think the human race needs to think about killing. How much evil must we do in order to do good.
I'm not so naive or simplistic to believe we can eliminate war. We're not going to change human nature any time soon. It isn't that we aren't rational. We are rational. But reason has limits. There's a quote from T.S. Eliot that I just love: "We shall not cease from exploring, and at the end of our exploration, we will return to where we started, and know the place for the first time." Now that's in a sense where I'm beginning to be.
And this one has such overwhelming meaning when you consider the current engagement in Iraq.
What makes us omniscient? Have we a record of omniscience? We are the strongest nation in the world today. I do not believe we should ever apply that economic, political, or military power unilaterally. If we had followed that rule in Vietnam, we wouldn't have been there! None of our allies supported us; not Japan, not Germany, not Britain or France. If we can't persuade nations with comparable values of the merit of our cause, we'd better reexamine our reasoning.
A personality that kept popping up in my mind throughout the interview was Donald Rumsfeld and his mishandling of the Iraq War. Prior to watching this documentary, I'd only known McNamara as the Defense Secretary who led the American people deeper and deeper into a war that would ultimately divide a nation and serve no justifiable purpose. But after seeing and hearing a man that obviously knew the course of action in Vietnam was flawed, that baseless judgment was thrown out the window. Yet, I think of the Nazi guards sentenced at the Nuremberg Trials that stated they did as they were told, they followed orders and that was simply their duty. Should McNamara have done more, should he have spoken out against the War after leaving his position at the Pentagon, would it have even made a difference? I also wonder if I'll ever have the same understanding of Rumsfeld, although I doubt I could ever empathize with him as I sure many people who lived through the war in Vietnam could never empathize with McNamara.
Robert Strange (yes, that is his middle name) McNamara is interviewed about the world he grew up in and his rise to eventually become the Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1968. The documentary is structured around eleven lessons. I believe he is 85 during the interview and he is sharper than ever. He recites poetry (see the bonus scenes), discusses military personalities, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Presidents, enemies and war. It was compelling to see such an intelligent man, often referred to as a walking IBM computer, reflecting on the devastation of an unyielding military machine that he operated for a brief period of time under the direction of two US Presidents, Kennedy and Johnson.
Some interesting quotes from Mr. McNamara:
LeMay said if we lost the war (World War II) that we would have all been prosecuted as war criminals. And I think he's right. He... and I'd say I... were behaving as war criminals.
LeMay recognized that what he was doing would be thought immoral if his side has lost. But what makes it immoral if you lose and not immoral if you win?
I think the human race needs to think about killing. How much evil must we do in order to do good.
I'm not so naive or simplistic to believe we can eliminate war. We're not going to change human nature any time soon. It isn't that we aren't rational. We are rational. But reason has limits. There's a quote from T.S. Eliot that I just love: "We shall not cease from exploring, and at the end of our exploration, we will return to where we started, and know the place for the first time." Now that's in a sense where I'm beginning to be.
And this one has such overwhelming meaning when you consider the current engagement in Iraq.
What makes us omniscient? Have we a record of omniscience? We are the strongest nation in the world today. I do not believe we should ever apply that economic, political, or military power unilaterally. If we had followed that rule in Vietnam, we wouldn't have been there! None of our allies supported us; not Japan, not Germany, not Britain or France. If we can't persuade nations with comparable values of the merit of our cause, we'd better reexamine our reasoning.
A personality that kept popping up in my mind throughout the interview was Donald Rumsfeld and his mishandling of the Iraq War. Prior to watching this documentary, I'd only known McNamara as the Defense Secretary who led the American people deeper and deeper into a war that would ultimately divide a nation and serve no justifiable purpose. But after seeing and hearing a man that obviously knew the course of action in Vietnam was flawed, that baseless judgment was thrown out the window. Yet, I think of the Nazi guards sentenced at the Nuremberg Trials that stated they did as they were told, they followed orders and that was simply their duty. Should McNamara have done more, should he have spoken out against the War after leaving his position at the Pentagon, would it have even made a difference? I also wonder if I'll ever have the same understanding of Rumsfeld, although I doubt I could ever empathize with him as I sure many people who lived through the war in Vietnam could never empathize with McNamara.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Plastic City
One of the original tec-house/house record labels, Plastic City has always been a go-to label when crate digging. The Timewriter (Jean Frank Cochois), ADNY, Get Fucked, EBE, Terry Lee Brown Jr (Norman Feller) and DKMA are some notable artists released under the label.
Besides the music, there was a series of 12" record sleeves they did in the late 90s. The sleeves were done by U C Graphics based out of Heidelberg, Germany. UC Graphics has actually done several projects for Plastic City, but this is by far my favourite. The design work is absolutely perfect and still resonates with me today. I honestly should have collected the whole series specifically because of the artwork, but it never happened. I believe there are about 10 sleeves for the series.
Besides the music, there was a series of 12" record sleeves they did in the late 90s. The sleeves were done by U C Graphics based out of Heidelberg, Germany. UC Graphics has actually done several projects for Plastic City, but this is by far my favourite. The design work is absolutely perfect and still resonates with me today. I honestly should have collected the whole series specifically because of the artwork, but it never happened. I believe there are about 10 sleeves for the series.
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