Saturday, May 29, 2004

Whee Mee

Well, I'm back again, although probably not for very long. I really don't know how often I'll be able to get online until mid to late July. It'll be sporadic at best, certainly not regular. This is the only free day I've had all week. *sighs* Just don't forget about me, okay? Solo On: Movies Today's topic suggested by Molletta- a fantastic person, go visit her site now. I've missed out on her posts for the last few weeks because I've been so busy, and I'm sorry about that >.> Anyway, movies. Or, more specifically, 'What happened to good movies?' I think there's a general feeling that as special effects become more and more impressive, people will use those more to get action across than decent dialogue or fast-paced music. And to an extent I think that's what's happening. Certainly in the instance of films like The Day After Tomorrow, where acting, dialogue and story tend to be pretty crass. As much as I want to, I'm not going to go into how much the stereotyping of the nationalities irritates me. Roland Emmerich has serious problems there... *coughs* But anyway, that doesn't mean to say a film still can't be good. It just means there's a much greater scope for things you can actually do. I can think of three films off the top of my head that I really want to see that are special-effects heavy but should still be fantastic movies anyway: Shrek 2, Spider-Man 2 and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Lord of the Rings is a fantastic example of a really good movie. I don't think anything's happened to them as such; they've just adapted. And even though the special effects on LotR are really good, they don't detract from the rest of the story. And since the actors were well-chosen the characterisation didn't lose out either. When people talk to me about Lord of the Rings, it's the actors and characters they remember rather than a specific action scene. With Van Hellsing, it's the scenes they remember. And I think that goes to show the difference in film creation and focus. Hellsing didn't have great characterisation and mainly focused on the action. While Lord of the Rings contained a great deal of action as well, the focus was on the characters in the action and the real meaning of the battles themselves rather than having it in just for the sake of making it more exciting. Bad movies still get made: I hear the modern remake of Dawn of the Dead was pretty bad and lacked all the horror of the original that made it such a watchable film. I'm not even going to get started on recent Disney endeavours- I'm afraid I've gone off a lot of their stuff. But for every Atlantis there's a Spirited Away, so it balances out. Although I could probably do without hearing Lilo's voice as Chihiro again o_o; Solo On: Stage Experiences So many comments flew through my mind when I read that, heh. Erm... I'm not entirely sure which has been the best stage experience. As a whole, I'd probably say 'Bouncers', because the audience reaction was so great. It's fantastic to be on stage and hear the rapturous applause and laughs of people that you've made laugh. To get such a strong emotional reaction for any piece of drama is really what any actor strives for. There was a similar experience during an Improvisation exercise last Tuesday. Aparrently, the hardest emotion to convey on stage is love. The three words 'I love you' are some of the strongest anyone can use, so they have to have the right amount of feeling in them. The exercise was in front of the rest of the class. Two of us had to stand up and one had to tell the other that we loved them. But, we had to do it without proper words- the only vocalisations we could use were the numbers 10-1. I'd count backwards, she'd count forwards. And a set of three of the numbers had to represent the words 'I love you', and it had to be clear which those were through showing emotion in your voice. I was first ^_^; When I got to those words, [embarrassment] I hear the biggest "Aww!" I've ever heard from the rest of the girls. They just melted completely. Later, one told me she almost cried. And then my tutor told some of the other classes about how nice it was the next day >.>[/embarrassment] Go me. But even the most mundane phrases can sound powerful if they're said in the right way. The Lonely Moon, 2nd Tenchi OVA Ending Theme I am lonely like the moon You are away as the earth Now you say I light your thoughts Night after night Soon you forget We are drifting in this dance I can feel you circle my heart Keeping such a graceful distance So close but somehow apart Sometimes I cry for you Knowing you don't want me to Sometimes I whisper to the stars up in the sky That I want to find the way to your soul Kiss in the sun when the morning comes You don't seem to count the hours When we are not together I've seen a tender fire in your eyes Yet when I'm gone you carry on I float in this emptiness Till at last love returns With the night And the lonely moon I am lonely like the moon Always wanting you to be near I embrace you till the dawn Then with a smile You disappear We continue in our dance There are times I think it should end But I lose myself in rapture And we start all over again Sometimes I cry for you Knowing you don't want me to Sometimes I whisper to the stars up in the sky That I want to find the way to your soul Kiss in the sun when the morning comes You don't seem to count the hours When we are not together I've seen a tender fire in your eyes Yet when I'm gone you carry on I float in this emptiness Till at last love returns With the night And the lonely moon I love the warm emotion you bring Though there is pain, I don't complain How you can inspire me Whenever we're together Ev'ry time it's like a new song You move me so I think you know I won't even say a word In your arms or far from sight I'll be your light Like the lonely moon

Comments (4)