Ink (2009)

I read and watch a great deal of sci-fi and fantasy. So I always like to see something new and original when it comes along.

E suggested Primer the other day and though it messed with my head (time travel tends to do this to me) I still enjoyed it. Its nice to see films that don't need uber special effects to be scifi cool. Something I like about a lot of independent cinema is that they might not have the money for jaw dropping visuals but in the good ones the actors more than make up for it.

I have a cinema pass so I catch a great deal of movies, mostly Hollywood or some of the more widly distributed foreign films. In the past few years Hollywood seems like it can't produce anything truly original. Don't get me wrong I tend to like the comics of novels they are making into plentiful films but sometimes you want cinema to give you something new and unexpected. Certainly in the past 2 years its the foreign and indie films that have been the real eye openers.

Of course I enjoyed Watchmen and tonnes of others movies since but all were based on a comic, novel, short story, TV show or even a remake. Perhaps there is no original thought left - a terrible and scary concept.

By total chance I watched Ink.

I'd never heard of this film before we hit play and had no idea what to expect. E told me the reviews were good so I thought why not. I don't want to rehash the plot so it basically about a little girl who's spirit is kidnapped one night as she lies sleeping by a dark force. Her physical body slips into a coma and it seems nothing can be done for her. Her grandparents appeal to her father but he refuses to see her. The rest is best if you see for yourself.

Now the film has all the qualities of an epic - good verses evil plot going for it but it manages to delivery more. There are no instantly recognisable famous faces which an some ways lends the viewers imagination to the story even more. The actors are brilliant, they all give a very true and praiseworthy performance, holding the film together and engaging the audience.

Now the few special effects Ink has are brilliantly executed but subtle enough that the whole thing isn't dependent on them. The Incubus bad guys are strangely disturbing though you can't put your finger on why. There are two scenes which really stand out the first is a first fight sequence the second is a sort of domino effect of events. Which actually made me gasp.

Having said that Ink is a sci-fi fantasy it really comes down to being a story about a man and his daughter. The characterisation of the father is what truly makes this film excellent, its not just effects and cool ideas but poignant story of hope and redemption.

Thinking on paper

Thanks to Donkey Blues, I've discovered this:

Font Capture

So now I'm typing everything in my handwriting, oh the fun you could have!

Forgive the advertising but it got me thinking. Looking at the letters I could see they were definitely mine (or course I fed the site my handwritten template) but as cool as it is it wasn't the same.

I think writing with an actual pen and paper is fast becoming a lost art.

More and more people I know find the idea of physically scribbling things down an archaic idea. Now I totally embrace the digital era, we can keep practically everything now, all these blog posts and news articles but there is something be said about jotting a few words down with your own hands. I used to write letter to my friends, doodles in the corner and all the madness of months apart stuffed into and envelope. Now we have email and isn't it wonderful! However opening an email doesn't have half the thrill of knowing it came from half a world away, letters are so personal, something to cherish.

The way you form each vowel and constant says so much about a person, do you loop your L or join up the letters, the feel of the pen tip as it scribes your thoughts forces you to think about them that much more. The mood you are in can make you slant your letter, write larger or small, carefully construct each letter or descend in to illegible scrawl.

I think half the fun of making something up be it a story or poem or anything really is getting it down of paper and crossing bits out and inserting random lines here and there, looking back through old workings. To me, we do lose something by cutting out this practice.

E is learning Mandarin at the moment and finds his hand cramps when practising the ancient characters and despite it being difficult he perseveres. It wouldn't be the same if he couldn't render that script.

Typing, texting, email and all are here to stay or be replaced by the next big thing but enjoying writing, I know I still do.

The city that never sleeps

I wish I could take you with me
All the way to New York City...
We could take the subway home
And stare at our reflection in the window panes of the train
And see how much New York has changed us

- Rosie Thomas, All the way to New York City

I'm still not over the jet lag and shocked I made it anyway near the office this week. I'm still buzzing. This was my first ever trip to the Big Apple but I know it won't be my last. Now anyone who has met me knows I adore London, no matter where I am a part of me belongs there. Its like a universe unto itself. New York has the same appeal, I feel like I visited a strange new dimension, with its own rules and undefinable appeal.

As it was my first visit and E's 100th I felt like I had my own personal tour guide, so thank you for putting up with my typical excited tourist antics! Before getting there I have to admit I was nervous, what if it wasn't as amazing as all the Movies and TV had made it look. All the way over on the plane I was wishing I'd bought some of those movies with me. I could wonder through the Met or central park and catch a bit that reminded me of a scene from Keeping the Faith, not to mention classics like Breakfast at Tiffany's or An Affair to Remember (OK and Sleepless in Seattle) or hear the score from Manhattan in the back of my mind. All the books I'd read which are set in this great city really came to life for me. I think I almost caught a glimpse of Spider-man.
Of course the second I woke up on the first day and looked out the window at the yellow cabs and high rises I knew I was in love.So we got ourselves some city passes (which I high recommend) and set about seeing everything we could fit in.

Nothing came to life in the Museum of Natural History but they did have one of the best planetariums I've ever been to and the Metropolitan Museum of Art blew me away, I could wander around it forever.

By the way the way don't tell anyone by Optimus Prime is in Times Square!!

No visit would of been complete with out popping in to Midtown Comics and the Strand Bookstore so we had to indulge. Sitting on the plane home I opened up one of the Comics we bought (Ultimates Volume 2) and what should we find a few pages in but Tony Stark, Captain America and Betty Ross sitting in The Empire Diner where we had gone for waffles the night before, trust me they were awesome waffles.

The thing that stands out the most for me is the Highline, I don't know what it was but there was something magical about it.

Walking along while the summer sun was setting just fired my imagination I felt a sort of perfect calm - urban bliss if you will.
City behind, long shadows on the ground and sparrow hoping in the long grass.

Willows whiten, aspens quiver, Little breezes dusk and shiver

I'm now one year older. To celebrate E took me to the J.W Waterhouse Exhibition here in London at the Royal Academy of Art.

Waterhouse is my favourite artist, he brought so many myths and poems to life for me in beautiful and unexpected ways. Sometimes when looking at some of his works (like a Mermaid below) I find it hard not to be swept away and fall into that mythical realm. I'm lucky that Tate Britain is the home to one of his most prolicfic works "The lady of Shallot (on a boat)" (1888)

Much to my dissapointment the painting I wanted to see the most "Ophelia (by the pond)" (1894) was not on display as its in a private collection, which is a real shame as I really believe art should be shared. Maybe one day I'll get to see the real this but for now this will have to do for me and everyone else.

Time waits for no one

“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.”
- Albert Einstein

I finally got around to watching "The girl who leapt through time" (2007) last week.

Needless to say I liked it. I should probably write long review but I think its best if you just watch and judge for yourself.