The Prestidigitator

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror: F W Murnau (1922)

German Expressionism, it is said, rose not because of an artistic revival but because German film makers found it hard to compete with the extravagance of their Hollywood counterparts; so they resorted to symbolism and darker subtexts. F W Murnau’s Nosferatu was one of the earlier expressionist forays into film making and is widely considered a masterpiece. It is not the plot per se that strikes one, but the imagery; beautifully shot in black and white (well, they didn’t really have a choice there) and a genuinely creepy performance by Max Shreck as Count Orlock.

One of the primary reasons I watched the film was thanks to 2000’s Shadow of the Vampire, where Willem Dafoe plays a fictionalized version of Max Shreck. At 78 minutes, the film is quite easy to sit through and for a 1922 silent era film, quite entertaining too.

Say Anything: Cameron Crowe (1989)

If there’s one genre that’s well and truly dead, it’s the romantic comedy genre. What passes off as romance these days is mostly crammed with fart jokes and gratuitous sex. What happened to the days when the hero was an upright, optimistic and by and large ethical gentleman? Say Anything, Cameron Crowe’s (Jerry Maguire) 1989 directorial debut is a surprisingly smart, adequately mushy and thoroughly quotable gem. John Cusack plays (a younger version of a role he would play in High Fidelity) an extremely average, kickboxing enthusiast of a 19 year old grappling with career choices et al when he falls hook, line and sinker for the over achieving Ione Skye. I could say that it’s devoid of cliches but the fact is most later films in the genre have lifted something or the other from this one.

Cameron Crowe’s films have all had amazing soundtracks and this one’s no exception. Add to that a very likable couple, a great scene involving a boom box and some very memorable lines; almost as good as High Fidelity. Almost.

Nobody thinks it will work, do they?
No. You just described every great success story.

Links:

• Scene from Shadow of the Vampire
• Nosferatu: Entire film

“Plurality should not be posited without necessity.” – William of Occam

Ever since the emergence of quantum mechanics thanks to the efforts of an obscure patent clerk nearly a century back, scientists have been trying hard to reconcile two seemingly correct but mutually disagreeing theories about the way our universe works- Gravity and Quantum Mechanics. MIT (quantum) mechanical engineer, Seth Lloyd attempts to give us an alternative to the countless theories that spring up every day, most notably the String Theory. Throughout the book, Seth Lloyd thinly disguises his disdain for the aforementioned theory which strives to explain the universe by stating the building blocks of everything to be 1 dimensional ‘strings‘.

Lloyd follows Occam’s (William of Occam’s) lead and puts forward a simpler theory (nothing in physics is that simple); he proposes that the universe is a giant quantum computer churning out complexity bit by bit. What’s better, the author takes us through the basics- the definition of information on a more macroscopic level. You see, the information the universe apparently creates is entropy, which Lloyd claims is an oft misunderstood word. What follows is a 211 page discourse on a variety of topics – consciousness, cosmology, quantum mechanics, thermodynamics (something I loathed from the bottom of my black soul in school) and chaos theory.

The book is an immense joy to go through; understanding something so complex has never been so rewarding and engrossing. I have always been fascinated by theoretical physics (never mind that I suck(ed) at math) and some of the questions attempted in this book are the ones that have plagued me for years- the initial moments after the big bang and the reasons for complexity in the universe. Seth Lloyd also gives valuable insights as to why the intelligent design debate may be moot because, if the universe is a quantum computer that creates complexity from simplicity bit by bit, serendipitous coincidences within cosmic chaos are inevitable.

This book is unlike most other popular science texts I’ve read. For one, it is understandable (for most part) and it does not rely heavily on the ignorance of the reader. Plus, my brother backs the book and that’s good enough for me.

Very highly recommended.

Links:

• NYT Review of Programming the Universe
• About the book: Random House
• Seth LLoyd @ MIT

The greatest horror films have always been the ones where the monsters/ghosts were merely plot devices; real evil it seems is more often human in nature than say, floating apparitions or giant locusts. Watched Frank Darabont’s (of Shawshank Redemption fame) The Mist last night and what disturbed the audience more than the tentacled monsters was Marcia Gay Harden’s brilliant performance as a Bible thumping, right-wing Christian zealot – Mrs Carmody.

So effective was her portrayal of an unnerving Jim Jones like persona that the audience (all 15 of us) burst out cheering and applauding as one particularly jolting Revelations inspired monologue was cut short by a bullet to the head (oh yeah, that was a spoiler). As exaggerated as the character was etched out to be, it did remind me of a few people I knew back in the day (i.e. 2 years back); the kind that hammered your head with a Bible, doomsday mongers, backers of a loving and forgiving yet somehow vengeful God.

Mrs Carmody a friend said, is just one of those people you love to hate.

This Valentine’s Day, the Law Commission of India is thinking of all you hormonal, barely out of school, socially challenged 18 year old boys. As if board exams and sparse facial hair weren’t problems enough, the government of India may very well grant you the right to finally propose to that girl you’ve had your eyes on.

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/law-panels-knotty-idea-let-boys-marry-at-18/58277-3.html

”There is no rational, scientific basis to why boys who may vote or take other decisions after 18 must wait to be 21 to marry,” commission member Kirti Singh told UNI.

So rejoice all ye who have been waiting to turn 21. Women however have it tougher; the age of consent is now 16 instead of 15.

How does the Law Commission decide on what laws to change? Aren’t there more important amendments to be made like, say, I don’t know…banning urban ‘gunda’-ism?

Paranoid as I am, the first few thoughts that rushed through my head after seeing the cordoned off street opposite to the apartment complex I stay in were terrorists, dirty bombs and Britney Spears.

Flinders St is actually being used as a filming backdrop for the upcoming Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks produced WW II mini series, The Pacific (a sequel of sorts to Band of Brothers). Needless to say I couldn’t contain my excitement. I was secretly hoping that The Pacific was just a working title for the new Indiana Jones film (Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), but it turned out that The Pacific was actually just, The Pacific. As if it weren’t enough to block traffic to and from one of the busiest streets in Melbourne for 35 hours, they covered up the entire shooting area with…well…giant black drapes.

Hoping to catch a glimpse of the bearded sensei, I rushed home to get my camera; but nada.

After close to 45 minutes of sighing and dodging pangs of envy, I returned to my dreary existence.

Sigh.

Link: Steven Spielberg movie chaos in city (Herald Sun)