Film

Another late night, another movie watched. I was thinking about writing a tweet that would go something like "I´m not an hipster [am I?] but I´m a sucker for this kind of movies *insert indie movie trailer here*" but I´ve decided for a whole way-more-than-140-characters-blog-post instead.
The webplace where I watch movies, maybe like many other websites out there, has this annoying habit of presenting on their main page movies [in great quality!] that are yet to be released in cinemas here or even in many of the countries that would premiere the movie way earlier than where I live. Although sometimes this is good because some of this movies won´t even get near a wide release or let alone a cinema near me I don´t feel particularly excited tor watch it before the masses or anything like that.

I use to avoid those suggestions, I´ve started to note them down to watch later (in case they premiere on a cinema near me and I watch it for the first time on a proper screen) but the premise for "Something Real and Good" intrigued me.

The story is very simple. Think about a boy and a girl. Thing "Before Sunset/Sunrise", "Lost in Translation", think low-cost, think indie movie, think "Like Crazy". Do not think of breakthrough movie. It´s that I always had this preference for real [fake] stuff in movies. I don´t mind the sci-fi, superhero, special effects, outer space, magic world movie every now and then but I´ve always wanted to watch something real...even if not based in real facts...which most of the times have a lot of additional drama...

I´m sure this movie will get comments saying it was too simple, is full of clichés, has certain details that would not happen in real life (well, it´s a movie...don´t be an asshole like Iran and go around suing movies, ok?) and so on. But, in the end, I think even those smart-asses would like to such story to happen in their lives. I know I wanted. I´m probably thinking now that I would never do what the guy did, that I´m too shy or just not interested...but what if I tried like he did?
I´m aware the writing on tv shows and movies contains tricks so you can relate to the characters and have some connection/see yourself in them but isn´t that what we want? Relate? Let being played by emotions? That´s why we keep watching movies...that wannabe factor, making us a badass for those immediate 30 minutes after leaving the cinema on a action movie, or the conquering guy who gets the girl. Curious that on "Something Real and Good" I related more to the girl. Not going to explore much of it because - spoilers!! - but when she talks about love and nostalgia...again it´s simple/cliché and must be a trick...but boy...it got me on this late night film session (André Film Festival as I call it...damn, how pretentious do I sound on a scale to hipster-pretentious to every-movie-critic?...because every movie critic has "being pretentious" on their skills to get that gig, right?....right?].
And then she had to talk about her grandma too...like I wasn´t already hooked on her character!

Lately I´ve been paying attention to the duration of the movies and if they stretch a lot, are too short or end at the right time...(like a pretentious bastard...I´ve been watching too many reviews on Guardian´s YT channel, I´m sorry) and I feel like this one could go on just a bit more. I think you will understand why. I like the way it ended and if it went for a bit longer than the ~80 minutes it had (or maybe cut some scenes and advance in time more) it would probably end with the same note as it ended... Anyway...I really liked it. Sure many will think there´s nothing like "Before Sunrise" (which is very, very good) but this lame guy won´t grow tired of this stories and they definitely won´t be a waste of time for me. I´m 22, the male-character is 27 years old...maybe one day I´ll get my movie-like over-night-to-be-continued-or-not-flirt. Yeah, I´m lame. I told you so already.

Ricky Rubio

Ricky Rubio´s Advice to Shved when the match was not going well for him and his team:



I´m so lame I have watched this video a gazillion times already.

Power of Dog

A month ago I had very different thoughts on how the first post of 2013 here would be like. My Facebook feed was full of best wishes and wonderful poems that I thought posting here. But six days in and my 2013 was off to a not very pleasant start.
I´ve always loved dogs. Since I was kid I enjoy play with them and spent tons of hours at my grandma´s house with her dog. That dog used to have puppies every now and then, and you can imagine how the love for dogs grew over time.
Always wanted one but living in an apartment is not easy. I´ve moved to a bigger house. A stray dog appeared. I took her home. But my parents decided not to keep her. If there was a day I hated my parents...God, it was that day. Tears were shed. (Later I knew a neighbour kept such dog)

A month after my 8th birthday my parents came pick me up at my grandma´s with a tiny little thing in their hands. A six-month old Yorkshire Terrier. I don´t even cared what breed it was. I had a fucking puppy! Boy, was I happy!
I saw her grow (not much though...which never stopped her to mess with bigger dogs...) and she saw me grow. If she talked she would know more about me than anyone else. We played, we walked, we run, I threw, she went get it. The silly dog almost died when she decided to go get food on the basement floor along with all the garbage from my mom´s little clothing factory...silly dog! She learnt her lesson...life was resumed...the hate for cats was still there: she never forgot that home invasion when we weren´t there! We arrived home...and a cat was at her little house...how dare he?? Never again! You too birds...if you fly too low you might find trouble! (we once found a victim of her reckless territory protection...we made him a nice funeral...no more victims were found). All of this crazy runs, up and down stairs and other debouchery (mostly food...) tired her out. I knew that when she would get older she could have some problems...mostly with her bones and I thought never wanting to witness that. I remember those first years I had her doing some maths to try to find which age I would have the day I might lose her. Silly, I know. Although the fact of losing her by accident or something silly (like the episode told above) wasn´t even in my mind...I couldn´t even imagine such scenario.

I just wanted her to get through this last Christmas plus first days of 2013. I realized she didn´t have much more to give and I gave her all I had. On that last day she did not left her corner. I gave her water. She refused the food. She knew me so well that when going to bed at 4am as often happens she was still awake. I told her thank you and goodbye in a mist of emotions hoping she would be there in the morning.....and hoping she wouldn´t be there in the morning. Took me 2 hours to fall asleep. I just couldn´t disconnect from that day with that mixed emotion. The next day...she was not there. I know she was happy. I know she had a good life. And she made me happy. All those 14 years. I´ll miss you. I´ll remember you.

Farewell Fofas.


THERE is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.
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Title and poem [shamefully] stolen from this story I found just days after what happened with me >> Neil Gaman : Cabal

I´ve imagined a thousand ways to write this...
It´s done now.

This is not a review

Ugh, look at this blog.... So abandoned. And the weird thing is...I´m doing absolutely nothing with my life (br€ak from uni + find a job here [country and town] is not easy) which means I have all the time in the world to write something here. True that an eventless life can result in a shortness of ideas and, well, events that would give me ideas for blog posts but still...what an awful blogger this guy is. I could at least throw music videos at you of all the new stuff I find or good old music loves but not even that... Or bore you with sports posts. Or crappy movie reviews. "Poems" (yes, there´s some somewhere buried in here...). Or love life confes...oh wait...those aren´t real...

Moving on.

This is not a review.
Neither of 2012 or the concert I went see a month ago and of which I always write a review a couple of days after it happened. The thing is...the concert was a revival of the mythic(!) Queen concert at Wembley by a tribute band. I mean, it´s not Freddie, Brian, Roger or John, but still singing Queen out loud on a room with 5000+ more people doing the same is something I dream of since I was a kid wondering my uncle record collection and picking up Queen albums and having them as one of my biggest influences in the music taste I have nowadays. Which is flawless. Obviously. So, as you can imagine sing all those songs from that concert out loud with all those Queen fans around is something hard to put in words-of-a-review.

And, as I´m writing this at the first hours of the Christmas Eve, I wish you Merry Christmas! (or not if you don´t celebrate...)
As for me it´s always a time I look forward to. Hoping to have another good one with the people I like the most. Then may the English football make that (usually boring) last week of the year less-boring. Although Arsenal match was postponed... Boo!

I leave you with a Christmas song included on a special [Christmas] show from BBC Radio 2 that unfortunately didn´t have a session this year (or as I find just now it had but with different people) but I don´t mind listen to last year one once again.

It´s Nerina Pallot, Lisa Hannigan e Fyfe Dangerfield singing "I Believe In Father Chritmas". Enjoy!

It´s Music to Your Ears

No, YOU´RE welcome, hipsters.



da da da da dadadada da da da da dadadadadaaaaa

Also, female drummer alert!!!!
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I have another one but apparently Youtube is telling me that due to what most likely is the awesomeness of the video it can not be embedded. Boo! Or maybe I broke it because of all the Replay button pressing...

Here´s the link though >> awesomeness

Apparently those kids are 17 years old. While I struggled at maths in high school they are just being cool and awesome. Sigh.

Take my money!!

...music!

+ The Reminder also by Miss Leslie Feist to complete my collection of her albums.

And some things to look forward to:

In the Kingdom of Classics?

Can´t really tell what pretentious/hipster feeling had me attracted to this movie for a long time. For some reason since it premiered in the cinemas on the shopping where I used to go for lunch between classes that sepia-toned poster caught my attention.
Unfortunately my cinema-budget was over by that time and, like every other time, I had no one to convince me I really should go watch it or to go watch it with someone...much like Suzy I may be a very troubled child...
Finally it was uploaded on the corner of the Internet where I watch movies.

Another thing was the cast...Bruce Willis, Ed Norton, Bill [F*cking] Murray. And they aren´t even the main characters. Speaking of which...man, this kids are talented nowadays!
I believe one of the reasons this movie clicks with many people (that IMDB rating is looking good) is, besides all the good direction/filmography/photography, the story happening in a simple time - 1965. I think everyone who happened to live in an era pre-Internet can easily get the appeal - and nostalgia - of such times. And if to that you add a first love romance I believe you get a winning formula. More if you do it in a quirky, different, funny way.
Of course you will have some moments during the movie where we will wonder that such thing will never happen in real life. But, unless you were 13 around the 1960s, bury those thoughts and enjoy. You will ever know what Scouts and troubled children did back then... There weren´t any forums or pages full of memes and lolcats to spend your free time like nowadays.

Concluding, since I´m rubbish at reviewing movies, consider this post as a recommendation. You won´t regret. Or you will call me a hipster...but then I ask...what kind of bird are you?

BONUS:



This video might also have helped in building expectations for this movie. At 2:30 Lisa Hannigan does a lovely cover of the song in the trailer. And I´ve listened to it countless times because the story Lisa Hannigan tells during those two and a half minutes is hilarious!