L is for the way you look at me

(L) is a film about the subjectivity of love.


The dictionary describes love as "an intense feeling of deep affection", but it overlooks the dismissive nature of our culture and the attempts made by other people to comment on emotions which they do not feel but merely observe in others. Many songwriters and poets attempt to capture the feeling of love within their work and no matter how poignant or apt the words may be, can anyone ever make such a personal feeling universal? The individuality of love is what makes it so universal. That every man, woman and child can feel varying degrees of love in their lifetime from a love which is shared and treasured to an unrequited love that hurts more than any other person could ever recognise exemplifies this. If "All you need is love" then who are we to put boundaries on what love can be and who can feel it, even the darkest souls on the planet have the oppurtunity to feel love and it may not be love as we see it but who are we to criticize or deny it? Love is a subjective feeling and whether requited or not it belongs to the person who feels it, it is their decision whether to share it or not, and even if rejected that love is no less of a love than that of a couple of 50 years. Love like any other emotion is open to interpretation, some will cherish the love of others, some will hide their love for fear of it being tainted but love is an individual experience and like any other emotion it is only the person who feels it to decide what it is or isn't.

Slowpoke ;)

The Genius Himself

There is something infinitely interesting about Mr. David Lynch.

Michel Gondry x Flight of the Conchords

I assume this is the feeling the guy who invented jelly and ice cream got when he tried his first bowl.

Oscar Winners 2009

A fair night overall and a good one for the British Film industry which is always nice to see. However a few stand out performances happened to be overlooked.

Sean Penn was absolutely brilliant as Harvey Milk, however there is something about Mickey Rourke's story and the honesty he portrayed, the way you could see him feel everything that Randy the Ram felt in The Wrestler that set him apart from everyone.

I also feel their will be a lot of people ignoring the foreign language category after the debacle the committee made of this years decision. First by overlooking the outstanding Gomorrah even a nomination and second by choosing a little known Japanese film which I cannot judge because I have not seen it, over Waltz With Bashir. I am in no way saying that the winning film was not a great film, as I have said I have never seen it. However Waltz With Bashir is not just a film, it is a statement, along with Persepolis it is a new adult way of approaching animation and one which many thought should have been nominated in the best film category. This alone sets it apart from any of its competitors in this category.

Although biased because of my love for Mike Leigh I would also loved to have seen him pick up a much deserved best screenplay for Happy Go Lucky.

I am keen to see Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married before saying that Kate Winslet was the right but I have a sneaky suspicion I will disagree with the decision here too.

Also, although a very good film I feel that Slumdog Millionaire does not quite justify it's 9 Oscar haul. In no way knocking the film and its achievement I feel other films were better in the categories of Cinematography (The sadly overlooked for nomination Australia,) and Original Score (Wall-E.)

Despite this I am pleased to see a return to form for the committee. Probably aided by the lack of tough decisions this year they got a lot of decisions right for once. None more so than the Best Documentary to Man On Wire, a well deserved award to a beautifully executed film.

The Best Director/ Best Film to Slumdog Millionaire, which in a year of uninspiring nominations stood out in the pack.

It is also nice to see Penelope Cruz pick up an award, even if she achieved it for a more sedated role than those in which she has achieved her finest performances to date.

In the same vein as this I am glad to see Heath Ledger getting the award for Best Supporting Actor as he dominated the years big success The Dark Knight and stood out like a sore thumb in this category. A posthumous award for a man who was on his way to becoming a marvelous actor.

Lets hope this year is a sign of things to come. That the Oscars do not give in to the demand for more awards to the commercially successful choices and that we see enough brilliant films in the next year to make next years decisions a bit more difficult.

"Do you punch your mother with that mouth?"

"A Race To The Bottom"

A race to the bottom usually refers to people being prepared to settle for "good enough" when they ought to be striving for best. If I can save money by settling for good enough, then a competitor will try to save more, thus lowering their standard below mine. If I wish to compete I need to go lower than them - and so on, and on - in a race to the bottom.
It is variously referred to as "dumbing down" or "appealing to the lowest common denominator" or "a race to the bottom"