As I have stated previously, I don´t like remakes. They don´t make sense, especially when the first editions are done perfectly to the point. But of course, if the idea is good (read: marketable) and worth repeating, it will be exploited.
The original Swedish "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", based on the book "Men who hate women" by the late Stieg Larsson, was superb. Mostly due to the main actress of the film, Noomi Rapace. After her international debut, she is now well on her way to becoming a big star. Duly deserved. By all accounts, her successor in portraying the feisty character of "Lisbeth Salander" will have a hard time convincing the fans of the story of her acting abilities. If anything, the role is extremely demanding, and not meant for the mainstream Hollywood lightweight thespian.
So far, the clip of the forthcoming American remake by David Fincher does not show us much of the skills of Rooney Mara, trying to reenact Rapace´s brilliance. If anything, the short clips show us identical images and scenery resembling the original film. Why? Because it was _filmed in the exactly same locations_. In Sweden. So why the redo? Because they just don´t like to read subtitles over there. They don´t. Good idea can be capitalized so much more smoothly without those pesky letters ruining the lower half of the screen. I will be eager to see the full final version of this re-cooking, though. And whether it turns out to be a financial success. Rooney Mara? Not expecting that much, sorry. What mostly strikes me in this clip is the haunting music by Trent Reznor of the "Nine Inch Nails". He also composed "The Social Network".
"The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo": American version trailer
London-based visual artist YankoTsvetkov has designed an intriguing, partly amusing series on international stereotypes. Shown here, for your pleasure. You´re welcome.
Anyone care for a trip to the state of "retired popstars"?
Europe according to Italian view is quite uncomplicated, as shown above.
But so is the Russian idea. Darned it, that land of wackos.
It is quite sad to think of our beautiful world in terms of threats.
Thank heavens they managed to kill that bearded terrorist (!) One fear less to worry about in the mind of a small-city republican. (And yes, I know I´m falling to the exact same abyss of stereotypes, of which I´m writing about. They are hard to shake out of. Truly.)
Partial views on other cultures are pervasive. No matter how we try to think of ourselves as open-minded and culturally blind, the stereotypes still creep up from the under the stones. Some scientists (see semiotics) even claim that we are all, as human beings, inclined to see things through a particular mindset: the ideological glasses are difficult to notice or completely remove. There is always an incentive to prefer "us" as opposed to "them". Still, it is sometimes refreshing to have a look at the mirror, and see if some thoughts are truly real or worth upgrading.
Europe according to the American view, as shown above. No visits to the Commie-zone.
Director Sofia Coppola´s fourth exquisite feature, "Somewhere", is a careful and meditated look into the world of hedonism and material opulence. No doubt Coppola is partly describing her own upbringing within one of the royal families of modern cinema, yet she does not make a loud statement. There is no direct judgement or defense for the main character or his actions. We, as audience, are being shown, not told, what the life of a modern highly successful Hollywood movie star is, in all its glory and gloom.
Johnny Marco ( Stephen Dorff) is an accidental winner in this life. Or so it seems. He has it all: money, girls, abundance of free time and a celebrated position as a successful actor. Yet he has stumbled into it almost by accident, not having even really worked for it. The film starts with a lingering vision of a black sports car driving aimlessly back and forth in a desert. Clearly, this is the culmination of life in excess: there is nowhere else to go except back and forth.
The camera moves slowly and dreamlike, almost like enticing us to join the trance that has become Johnny Marco´s life. Most days he spends smoking, drinking, doing drugs and picking up girls. Women throw themselves at him, and he does not seem to recognize them as individuals anymore. For Johnny, desire has become obsolete, as it would require delayed gratification. All his wishes are being met, even before he states them. The world revolves around him, leaving him void of need or aspirations. The emptiness is tangible, and Marco has made a home for himself in a hotel, living the permaholiday life we all seem to crave sometimes.
The dialogue is far and between in this film, and mostly Coppola wants us to think for ourselves. She is careful not to give us any direct explanations, yet inviting us to look more carefully at the soft images being thrown around the screen.
Before we start completely feeling sorry for the man, an 11-year-old daughter is being shown to us. She lives with her mother, occasionally visiting his child-like father in his bubble of a life. Somehow Cleo (Elle Fanning) has managed to make sense of the life of excess, and clearly enjoys the perks it offers without succumbing into the vacuum of entitlement. She has some life skills, making dinner for his father in the "hotel home" and practicing ice skating during nights. She is a semi-mother to her father at times, an adoring daughter at other times.
The problem with the beautifully shot and aesthetically pleasing film start at this point. What is actually the point of Cleo visiting his father´s life? Is he going to change, and if, for what? Is the message of "children are the only thing that matters in life" deep enough to sustain our interest into the overall story? What does
Marco´s existence and discourse on celebrity has to say about this modern society? Clearly, Coppola has given us a great effort, but it truly leaves us "Somewhere", not showing us enough to start a discussion.
Meet Mr. Satoshi Kanazawa. Chances are, you have encountered his clever ideas somewhere, or some of his like-minded fellow, hmm, scientists. Mr. Kanazawa likes to sow his brilliant thoughts around, so let´s have a look at some of the snappy tidbits circling our mass consciousness these days.
Just because one claims to be a psychologist, even a qualified one, does not really mean a thing. Everyone and their uncle (no pun intended, it just slipped) who has seen a therapist knows this. There are quaks on every field, and the art of playing with your mind is not an exception. Then again, who am I to judge? Few of you might agree with what Satoshi writes, and these slogans seem to go around a lot these days. To the point of using evolutionary slogans as a defense for just about everything. Even so-called "smart people" of the world have seemed to stop questioning this, and base their judgement on statements standing in thin water. (Just think of the East-Finland Court of Appeal) It is almost like trying to win an argument with a die-hard evangelist: everything _just is_ this way, because the Bible says so. There is no rhetoric, no controversy.
But let´s get back to Satoshi and his wonderful little ideas about the world. All these writings can be found here, as in "why Feminism is the anti-Viagra". The guy writes for Psychology today, which I know some of you might hold in high value. Don´t.
In 2008: "The best thing for people to do to become happier is to get in touch with their animal nature. Recognize and accept that we are animals. In some ways, in many ways, men are more similar to male chimpanzees or gorillas than to women. Forget what feminists, hippies, and liberals have told you in the last half century. They are all lies based on political ideology and conviction, not on science. Money, promotions, the corner office, social status, and political power are what make men happy.Spending time with their children is what makes women happy.The best thing to do is to kill all the feminists and hippies and liberals. Destroy political correctness completely once and for all."
Charming. Let´s see what else he has a sweet opinion on.
In 2011: "Are all women essentially prostitutes? Yes. Prostitution is evolutionarily familiar, because mating is evolutionarily familiar and prostitutes (at least the classy ones) are no different from other women, whom men also have to pay – not in cash payments but in dinners and movies, gifts, flowers, chocolates, and motor oil – if they wanted to impress them enough to have sex with them."
And his latest jewel of a daily thought: "Why Are Black Women Less Physically Attractive Than Other Women? There are marked race differences in physical attractiveness among women, but not among men. "
(And here we have a cute pink graph explaining the whole theory, hope it helps!):
"There are many biological and genetic differences between the races. However, such race differences usually exist in equal measure for both men and women. For example, because they have existed much longer in human evolutionary history, Africans have more mutations in their genomes than other races. And the mutation loads significantly decrease physical attractiveness (because physical attractiveness is a measure of genetic and developmental health). But since both black women and black men have higher mutation loads, it cannot explain why only black women are less physically attractive, while black men are, if anything, more attractive"
Just wonderful. I´m sure that he and late Mr.Mengele would have had a lot to talk about.
Cup of tea, some silly theories to ponder on, fireplace in the background... Charming.
The Evolutionary psychology -defense: Or, Can´t help it, it´s in my Blood
The old days of moviemaking, when a simple Coke-can might give us a quick innocent flash on the sidelines of the overall story (semi-accidentally) are long gone. These days it is all about the business and cross-promotion.
In "The Social Network" all the computers were conveniently old-school Sony-apparatuses, to boost the sales of the parent company producing the Facebook-epic. The two "Sex and the City" movies were blatant advertising towards females from beginning to end, much like the tv-series they were based on. "Cast away" was nothing but a long commercial (for which we moviegoers paid!) defending the glory of Fed-ex."Up in the Air", while still having some artistic value, was basically showing us how cool "American Airlines" is- look, even George Clooney likes to travel with it! In the eyes of the mass public, there is no difference between an actor and his/her character. We buy for a multitude of reasons, and a lot of the choices are anything but rational. Or so they say. They, you might ask?
These days, when actual commercials are easy to miss with TIVO, illegal torrents and just plain growing resistance to direct messages, the (M)ad Men have gotten ever more creative. Believe it or not, there are actual people making a living planning all those wicked marketing moves to be shown on film. Sometimes it is grotesque and obvious, often so subtle and fast that you might blink and miss it. But images are never unintentional. The idea is to plant a seed, make the viewer desire the product and not even realize what hit her/him. At the moment this beast of a business is valued at $ 3 billion.
One of the professionals in the mind game business of today is Norm Marshall, whose official title is "entertainment marketing consultant". Former car salesman has made a living arranging fertile unions between brands and Hollywood, and sees no harm in what he does. But even Marshall admits that there has to be a balance between the creative forces and the marketing forces: "otherwise it is just one big commercial". He himself only watches period movies anymore, due to boredom with contemporary flicks and their constant ads.
And how does this get us to the "Man with a licence to kill"? The production of the next earth-shaking spy thriller was almost halted due to difficulties in arranging financing. But alas, a few calls to quite a few companies, and the budget is back in order. So much so, that practically a third of the overall budget of the next James Bond- classic is coming from product placement. In total that makes a nice $45 million dollars, and with that kind of money, we are sure to see brands names from beginning to end. If you want to pass them, you might as well pass the entire action adventure.
Morgan Spurlock, the ever-curious American filmmaker on the loose, has naturally chosen this sexy topic for his new documentary, "POM Wonderful presents: The Greatest Movie ever sold". In his customary satirical way, he exposes the modus operandi behind the entire business, and manages to sell some visible space in his own film, as well. All in all, he has about 20 brands sponsoring his cultural critique, making one question what his overall goal is in the first place. According to Spurlock, even the first short clips of film were filled with advertisements: Thomas Edison shot the famous train scenes with ads plastered on the sides of the train. Spurlock´s intent is good, yet his idea seems to lack teeth on the actual agenda. These days, the few glimpses of a Coke-can or a brand name cigarette are increasingly being upgraded with actual script inserts, making movies (or tv-shows) seem like occasional, well, plain commercials.(Fast-rewind to previous example on "Cast Away"). Problem does not lie with marketing itself: nowadays it is hard to walk through a street without being offered something. The issue lies within ourselves as a society, and our increasing acceptance to become targets for messages masquerading as innocent cultural texts. Or, does it all really matter? Are we consumers above all else?
Even the genius auteur himself, Mr. David Lynch, is not immune to the allures of commercialism. Besides making brilliant and mind-boggling art films every now and then, he has also ventured into the world of commercials. Perfume, pregnancy tests, cars, game consoles, antacids... Lynch is first to admit he does these for money and access to latest technology. But product placement for him putrefies.
James Bond, Product placement and the not-so innocent Quickie
Shockingly, these disturbing images were once considered acceptable mainstream advertising. Oh, the nostalgia.
I can´t wait to see what happens 50 years from now; will I look at those pesky Axe/Lynx men´s deodorant ads with a fresh eye? At first one might be appalled at looking at these old pictures, but then again... I´m amused. The reality, in which we live today in the Western countries, is quite far from the "Happy Days" -era pictured below. Woman´s space within the society has greatly expanded from the pigeonhole of wife-mother-whore -dimension, and as a female myself, I am truly glad over that development. Then again, let´s not forget that it is 2011, and yet in Saudi-Arabia women still have to fight over the right to vote. Or to be even recognized for being born in the first place.
The Good Old Days of Advertising: Or, is it always illegal to kill a woman?
Happy Easter, folks. As a sidenote, the whole tradition of celebrating Easter actually originates from Anglo-Saxon paganism. Let´s all have a drink for female Goddess Eostre, shall we?
There´s something incredibly sweet and nostalgic about reading old predictions on future.
(Future meaning now) "2001: A Space Odyssey" never quite materialized, but here is a tiny bit of retro blast from the good old days of 1976 on the topic of microprocessors. At the time they a relative novelty, but the information given here is still quite accurate. Moore´s Law still upholds. All this old-school technotalk would not be nowhere near as watchable, if it weren´t for our lovable Mr. William Shatner in action. The man is multitalented. Have you seen his version of the Elton John -classic "The Rocket Man?" Let´s add it here, as well. Epic entertainment, if anything. Guaranteed to give you a smile today.
I suppose it is safe to say that after the memorable John Travolta -led rescue mission to Haiti, this was quite inevitable. And predictable. Our friendly scientologists are doing it again, saving sad souls from the perils of natural disaster. This time in Japan. I wonder if Travolta is flying the plane again?
Being homeless after tsunami, maybe having lost some of your loved ones, what is the first thing popping up in your thoughts? Healing massages, that´s what. They sure can do miracles. Recently my friend lured me into getting one of those "natural alternative treatments", as in reflexology massage. Nope, did not feel a thing. No energies going through my "zones" no matter what. Maybe I´m just not open enough for these things. What ever the case, perhaps the answer lies in "spiritual first aid" delivered by a "volunteer minister". The therapy relies on "getting in touch with the immortal spirits". Sounds funky and inspiring for next weekend. Especially as the church promises to get "even a drunk man sober in minutes". Wonderful. I should give it a try, or what?
In all fairness, the yellow-coated heroes did provide food and water for the victims as well. Now if only they could control the radioactivity as well. Maybe auditing can help?
Church of Scientology arrives to Japan : But where is Travolta?
The speed, with which the formerly purely communist China is embracing capitalism is breathtaking. In fact, the speed is so frantic that it leaves behind us -the people. Ten large cities are being built every year. Property bubble has created suburbs (yes, China has them) lacking actual habitants and shopping malls waiting for customers to arrive. The reason? The vast majority of Chinese people simply do not possess the means to purchase these brand new homes or visit the few operating shops in these brand new shopping "paradises". Seventy (70) % of the new apartments remain unoccupied.
The Chinese government´s belief in growing its economy with massive building is unparalleled. Simply continuing to build without demand obviously cannot continue forever.
This video gives a look of the growing phenomenon, which we might also call an example of groupthink gone horribly wrong.
