Ken Park - Larry Clark and Ed Lachman

I'm still in the marathon exploring mode (maybe not 100%, but close enough), once again Larry Clark shows me something on the big screen that I found authentic and genuine. It's like he puts these trouble kids in a time capsule, when you open it, the rebelliousness of the teenagers has a really strong presence.

I don't know where I've heard of this, it says: no matter how different their movies are, directors are always trying to say the same thing, more or less the same theory, the same values in their works.

This time round, we see something different, a hint of family influence. It shows how the relationship between parents and their children affects each other. I am not saying if you come from a dysfunctional family you will automatically become into kinky sex. No, kinky is not the word, we all do aware sex dominates a big portion of our mind, especially teenagers. For some people sex is a HUGE part of their lives. And exploring their sexuality is a stage we couldn't avoid, we experiment stuff, we do stuff we might not be too proud of. We all have been in this grey zone. (even if you don't want to admit it, somehow you have been there.) Of course Ken Park might be a little extreme, one way or another it is a phrase people go through. When you are a teenager everything seems like the end of the world, it's you against the world and Ken Park reveals how we feel (had felt) when we are a teenager and how we handle those feelings. Something not everyone is capable to handle.

Simulated sex scenes don't really bother me that much, (of course unless they are pointless and too repetitive.) Nowadays, they could be shown in the cinema easier. I don't feel like they are redundant. It helps telling a story.

The Smell of Us is going to be in the cinema like in few days, I'm so excited.

My Pick 2014

I watched 168 movies in this year, about 50 of them I watched at home. Still pretty impressive by the number of times I'm at the cinema per month.

They are not in order since it is super hard for me to pick the top 10 already, it's even harder to rate them from 1 to 10. The list here is based on both my memories and my ratings out of 10. And below there are only 2 movies got a 10/10 and the others are 9/10, of couse there are more then 8 movies got 9/10 on my rating list since I'm only picking 10 which means I have to give up some. So the other part of putting this list together is how these movies had impacted me.

Interstellar - Christopher Nolan

Lucy - Luc Besson

Une Novelle amie (The new girlfriend) - François Ozon (french)

The way he looks - Daniel Ribeiro (Portuguese)

Coldwater - Vincent Grashaw

Gone girl - David Fincher

Boyhood - Richard Linklater

The Lego Movie - Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

Under the Skin - Jonathan Glazer

Men, Women & Children - Jason Reitman

If I have to really pick one out and really recommend it, it would be Coldwater, since it is not really mainstream and not a lot of people have heard about it. It's about a teenager went to this correctional camp for troubled adolescents which runs by ex-militaries. It is questionable of how the boys are being treated. It was super intense with excellent cast members especially the lead.

There are 2 gays movies on my list (if you count LGBT theme also), The way he looks and The New Girlfriend. I am quite surprised there are 2 made it on my list, first a good gay movie it's like clean air which means RARE! And there are 2 this year, I am super excited and happy. They are very different movies and both of them managed to challenge whatever prejudice out there towards LGBT community. (PS if you've never heard of The New Girlfriend, that's good, I would highly recommend you not to read anything nor watch the trailer for this movies just watch it and you would understand why and thank me later.)

Men, Women & Children is a surprise for me, it is a honest depiction of this generation. How technologies or to be precise, social networks + the accessibility of information, how media imposes body images. Insecurity is nothing new, however, when it is added to how people react to things it got out of hands.

Interstellar and Lucy took me to places, they opened my mind when it needed it. Love them both at first but when I spent more time thinking about them, there are some little details I'm not a fan of. Idea wise they are absolutely unbeatable.

Everything is awesome! The Lego Movie, for me this is way more than just an animated movie for kids, it questioned the existence of god, what we are living for and trying to break the norm. And of course it's funny, it's cute and it's awesome!

The idea of growing up with a movie, literally! And integrating what you were experiencing in life in the movie. The whole concept of Boyhood is fascinating, because it shows how cruel life is, how time changes people, how "life must go on". It's a super realistic reminder of how me cope with life not just being a child but also being the parent.

I have no words for Under the Skin, I am still in the progress of digesting the movie. One thing for sure it took alien movies to a whole different level.

One day if I was dead and my love was being changed with my murder you will know where the idea comes from. Gone Girl, for me, this movie is like a couple therapy. I have no idea how I could say what I want without giving too much away. um... it is more than just a mysterious case of a missing person. It's more about how relationship should work. (I am not saying you should frame your love for killing you.) If you think a little deeper, what's more than someone who knows you 100%.

Of course I have some other movies I would love to share with you guys which I adore and sadly couldn't make on the list. I am not sure whether I should write something on these movies, if I do, wouldn't it be my extended top 10 And top 10 it's top 10. Life is rough man!

About Alex - Jesse Zwick
Pride - Matthew Warchus

The Grand Budapest Hotel - Wes Anderson

Short Term 12 - Destin Daniel Cretton
Eastern Boy - Robin Campillo (french)

Repisre - Mélanie Laurent (french)

Kids - Larry Clark

2015, I decided to explore a little more in movie. During christmas I accidentally stumbled across "new french extremity" (http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2014/15-essential-films-for-an-introduction-to-the-new-french-extremity/), downloaded a bunch of movies. (watched a few already, quite enjoyed them, will post my thoughts later) 

Since Larry Clark's new movie "The Smell of us" is going to be in french and be released in the french market first in like 2 weeks, so why not get to know this director. I finally took time to watch a Larry Clark movie, his first one, Kids. I do found some similarities of those two: like trangrassive. I don't think Kids fits in that category but according to wikipedia the movies which Larry Clark make are quite controversial. (Kids was banned in some countries, since it was accused to be simulated child pornography)

Skins, the first thought after watching Kids are, an under produced version or the original version of the UK TV series Skins. Unlike the US version (yes they tried to make a US version but it faiedl so bad that they candled it like after 2 or 3 episodes), Kids is super honest, no fancy production, complicated plot lines. Kids is simply depicting a phenomenon in the 90s and how kids were like in those days (I have to say there aren't much differences from now) It was about sex and drags and since it was in the mid 90s, AIDS was a big element as it was the new emerging disease which affects almost everyone. It was just a day of those teenagers' lives. 

I would say it is pretty good at addressing the problem. How the boys thought what the girls like and vice versa how Telly loves to fuck virgins, how gullible people can be. As I said it was a honest interpretation of adolescents, it felt so real and natural.   

Larry Clark has a love for the subject adolescents (a lot of his other works are about teenagers too), and always tires to re-define the boundaries between art and pornography, like his short film in the movie Destricted, Impaled, which explores the comfortability of man acting in porn instead of woman, is basically a porn, during 30 minutes you are watching a few casting with actual intercourses. I found it less convincing, however, some other shorts like HOIST (which I absolutely love) and Balkan Erotic Epic are more justifying in this subject. 

After all Kids is a photo from 90s which no photoshop, a movie isn't afraid of telling what people dare not speak of. 

Free Fall - Stephan Lacant

Free Fall is German director Stephan Lacantl debut. A story about a young man learning about his sexuality soon after moving in with his pregnant girlfriend in becoming a police.

It all starts in the training. A jogging partner becomes something more. How he juggles between two lives?

I guess if you are in your 20s or bi-curisouly or you are into the whole turning a straight guy then this is your movie.


******

The french version of the poster made it look like something totally different. (it strayed too far away from my expectations) Not enough evidences to convince me in any sense. (maybe love has no explanation?! it just an instant attraction?!) I keep telling myself I, in million years, would not understand the struggles in realising your own sexuality. It just once again proves me right. It’s too korean soap tv for my taste. 

My PICK 2013

1. Disconnected - Henry Alex Rubin

The only movie got a 10/10 from all the 116 movies I watched in 2013. It’s about how humanity is weirdly linked and yet distanced at the same time. Love the execution. 

2. Searching for Sugar Man - Malik Bendjeloul 

By far, the best documentary I have even seen. It changed the way I look at documentary. I was teary at least half of the movie, I was on the edge most of the time. Maybe it’s faith, what it meant to be is what is meant to be. 

3. Gravity - Alfonso Cuaón

Super intense, magnificent cinematography/ CG. Finally a movie raises above with the help of 3D, the experience would not be the same without 3D! have more respect for Sandra Bullock now. 

4. Before Midnight - Richard Linklater

This is real, no sugar coating, not anything. Which I agree truly, love is bitter sweet. From the little train ride to the walk in Paris, those 18 years, they didn’t even know each other for more than 48 hours. They are more like fantasy to each other, so what happens if they finally be together and finally the bubble popped.

5. De rouille et d’os - Jacques Audiard

Life is full of ups and downs, even when the down was meaning losing one leg, life still goes on. (When firework was played in the movie, I truly thought Marion Cotillard looks like Katy Perry XPP)

6. Cloud Atlas - Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski 

As a Chinese the concept was nothing new, still the presentation and continuity of all the shorts were super well executed. Of cause the book is more well explained but the movie still made my top 10. 

7. Trance - Danny Boyle

It stuck in my mind for quite some time, if it didn’t reveal that much (all) and let the audiance interpret the story a little, it would be a 10. 

8. The Great Gatsby - Baz Luhrmann

The soundtrack is the highlight, if it’s not because of it, it wouldn’t even made my pick. Just imagine how could the era works with electro music but it did. And there is one specific moment it touched me more than I thought it would be.

9. The Hunger Game: Catching Fire - Francis Lawrence

The first movie made me read the entire series within a week. And Catching fire is my favourite one out of the three. The director did a good job on it, the adaptation lives up to the original. The whole concept of this movie/book is more than what it looks like. Somewhat it does mirror our society in a certain aspect. 

10. Stoker - Chan-wook Park

It was really obvious Park toned down a lot for his hollywood debut. For the subtlety, I love it even more. Everything detail matters, it was beautifully shot. 

Blue is the Warmest Colour - Abdellatif Kechiche

"La Vie d'Adèle"

If you like lesbian sex, you would love this movie!

Despite my limited french I still went in to the cinema and tried to conquer this year's Palme d'Or winner.

I would like this movie more if it were shorter (at least 1 hour please), this 179 mins flick is not for everyone. 1/6 of the movie is basically graphic lesbian sex, by graphic I meant porn. Only if I were watching porn, I could at least skip to the interesting part! I felt like I was forced to watch almost all the possible ways lesbians could do it. (if you are into this kind of stuff, then I promise this is the movie for you). I was not prepared for this. At one point it was too predictable that what they are going to do next. Yes, the title already says it all, the life of Adele, I'm stupid enough not to put into thought that sex is one of the MAJOUR elements of ones life. It's just too much for me, that's all.

In general, it's a good movie. How Adele struggles to her live her life and deal with her sexuality, are pretty intriguing. We could easily find movie depicting gay people dealing with their problem but not a lesbian. I'm not saying there aren't any, it's just harder.
One advice, just prepare yourself before you walk into the cinema for this blue experience.

WIll update this when I watch it again with subtitles. 

The Bling Ring - Sofia Coppola

This is a movie about how fame-obsessed our generation is becoming. Totally understand why Coppola put her hands on this topic. The flick directs us to the crime, the obsession, the truth is, the picture is way bigger.

I wonder how many of our younger generation check the boxes of what the movie depicts, not only they were  raised by consumerism under their roof, they are also in the age of social network. Let's put aside the crime for a second, if, I'm just saying only if they hadn't bragged about their visits or posting pictures (self obsession) on social network with acclaimed items, they wouldn't have been caught that easily. How many teenagers got caught per year because they bragged about their crime on social networking sites. I am not encouraging them to commit any crime but if they do, please be a little smarter! (For me this is actually something really sad, the brains of our younger generation are actually deteriorating.)

The rest of the story is just old wine in a new bottle. Same old reasons why teenagers commit crimes - single-parent family, peer pressure those kind of stuff. That's at least pretty much sum up the two leads in the flick Marc Hall (Israel Broussard) and Rebecca Ahn (Katie Chang). What interesting is when all the characters come together, how each of them represents a certain a type of teenagers. The insecure one, the bossy one, the bitchy one, the innocent one, the fake one. I would say they are troubled kids and the fact is they are basically everywhere. And who should we blame, the child or the parent?  Nicki Moore (Emma Watson) is the perfect example. How ignorant if the parent truly believed Nicki was innocent and nothing suspicious about her child, considering her kids went out late on a school night, having suspicious new dresses and stuff. (the real life Nicki (Alexis Neiers) is actually really intriguing, she got caught right after she filmed the pilot of her own reality show, and was placed right next to Linsey Lohan while she was in jail.)

Alright the crime, I think what made them bolder was Paris Hilton, the movie didn't touch on this matter much as Paris herself agreed on letting them film at her place but it didn't cover the fact that how stupid she was (in the original press release of the actual crime, the convicts dubbed her dumb as a reason why they broke into her apartment and it might actually be true!) They have at least broke into her place for like 7 times. Not until Miranda Kerr reported the crime with a surveillance TV footage, then Paris noticed that she had also been a victim too. If breaking into someone's property is like eating a piece of cake, key under the door mat, don't you think the kids would be encouraged? Or maybe the kids were not as stupid as we thought they were, despite the fact that they posted pictures of themselves at Paris' place on facebook. Is either Paris or the kids or both, you pick. 

This is a reminder to us of what we are doing to our kids.