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Wednesday, March 05, 2003
WHEW, SOMETHING OTHER THAN THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE...
behold, a post devoid of Miramax. YAY. Well, anyway, this is a supplement to the post i made on my xanga site. I dont really wanna write too much in there, so this will be used primarily as a commentary on the various things that are important, or jus really interest me. Yea, so today i went to Ash Wed mass, the 1st in a long while. I dont remember ever goin to ash wed mass, maybe when i was little or something, but none in recent years. I felt a bit of something today, and again, it struck me a bit deep. What triggered it all was the sermon given by a priest (forgot his name... again, doooh) who gave another sermon a few sundays back about slowing down the hustle and bustle of our modern world.
His sermon this time around was intimately linked to the gospel he read jus b4. I really wish i had the passage, cause right as he read it... i understood it, which rarely ever happens in mass. It went along the lines of , "Do not worship or proclaim ur faith jus for the sake of being seen. Those hypocrites who display their faith for the sake of being seen by other people, they have already received their reward. Those who spend it in secret will receive the reward of God. Those who fast and show dismay in order to receive pity from other people, they have already received their reward. Those who fast and keep their appearance as fresh as possible, they will receive the reward of God." I dunno how accurate that is, but thats the message i got. The passage struck me as it did cause i can c myself doing all those things, the way i go about my faith as well as in daily tasks and such. It spoke to me cause it was speaking of me.
The priest then went on to discuss this paradox, of not parading around ur faith yet proclaiming it. It seemed as if smudging ashes on our forehead would go against the very gospel reading he read a few minutes ago. In order to make sense of it all, u have to reach deeper. The reading was speaking out against hypocrisy, according to the father. An external proclaimation of faith, a outward showing of worship can be condoned. But, if those outward shows of faith are conceived for positioning oneself above another, to merely show the world ur supposed piety, then that is not condoned. Doing one thing externally but feeling another internally, that is hypocrisy. I recalled an ol' Shakespeare cliche: to thine own self be true. And that was jus it. Showing faith is not to make oneself feel superior in faith to another, to feel as if ur salvation is achieved while others languish. That is not faith at all. After all, all people can achieve salvation, pretty much by accepting that unconditional love that God always will have for each of us. Doing this is easier said than done, cause loving isnt a easy thing to begin with. Anyway...
This sort of hypocrisy, the sort of outward reassurance could be applied to other portions of my life. Being human as i am, i fear some things, i long for comfort, i want to be appreciated for the things i do and who i am, i want to belong, and i dont want to disappear. I can recount many instances where i felt there was credit due for what i did, yet i received none. Many instances where i wanted to feel liked i really belonged in this sort of world, yet i felt something distant and cold. And many instances where i wanted to make myself known to others, and yet i felt like i didnt exist at all. All these can potentially be due to factors without... but after hearing that sermon, i again realized that the barrier in front of me... was me yet again. It takes a certain sort of strength to continue with a thankless endeavor, something which will not yield instant, worldy gratification. That strength is fueled by something higher, something that will yield a greater good later on, something worth the initial sacrifice. All that which plague me has an origin within me. A constant struggle within myself.
Today made me realize something about myself. The faith ive been seeking for, that ease of mind... is something that i will have to find deep within me. A certain, constant reminder in that no matter what i do, some1 will be there to guide me, and even if there is no light within of sight, there will be one soon. A comforting thought indeed... Ehh, not quite what i wanted to convey, but jus about right. Well, take care yall. More to come soon.
Monday, March 03, 2003
YET AGAIN...
sorry in advance to those who read my posts consistently. If this sort of thing keeps up, i think ill have to rename my blog "MIRAMAX CAN SUCK IT... and other thoughts that i have on the side." As day turns into the night, as the echoing call of the owl gives way to the rising cackle of the rooster, i will find another tidbit of info that gives further evidence that Miramaxe( borrowed from MonkeyPeaches.com, hehe) will be the bane of my movie-goin existence.
Well, anyway, i chanced upon some scenes of Hero as i came back from the library. I pretty much kno the bare-bones plot of the movie, and the action sequences that go along with it. One highly anticipated sequence was that between Jet Li and Donnie Yen, anticipated as such due to one Once Upon a Time in China 2. When the two squared off during the latter mentioned movie, the result was jus... gold, a shining example of action choreography between two experienced (i mean experienced, both hail from the Beijing Wushu team) actors. Those action sequences alone give much reason as to why Once Upon a Time in China 2 stands as one of my all time favorites, maybe even surpassing CTHD. Watching their reunion almost made me cry, due to two reasons which i reveal later on.
The reunion of Donnie Yen and Jet Li didnt disappoint me one bit. A little disclaimer for some of u who might downplay some action sequences for having "wire-fu" or whatnot. First of all: suspension of belief. Sometimes u jus have to follow the flow of the story and actually believe that it is plausable in the context of the film. It adds to the flavor of the story, when done right. Which leads us to another side of this, which is the misuse of wire effects. Making the wires look plausable is an art, not any1 can do it. Takes experience and talent to do that sort of thing, which can be true for most endeavors. Anyway, downplaying action sequences jus by saying "man, thats fake, they're flying around"... jus doesnt do it justice. Once this is achieved, then u can c the beauty that was this action sequence. A bit of CG was used for added effect, but it didnt detract from the grace and fluidity that existed between the two. I re-experienced the feeling i got when i first saw the two square off against one another. That alone was one of the reasons i almost shed a tear.
Other snipets included confrontations between Nameless (Jet Li) and the other assassins including Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung and Zhang Ziyi. All the scenes make use of one color, presented in a vivid and rich way. I think Zhang Yimou was trying to enhance the essence of certain characters within the scene, and the scene itself by focusing on one color in each scene. I have yet to see the whole of the movie, so i cant say anything about character development, cinemetography, and the overall plot. But, from the little ive seen, i think it will stand above the rest. A martial art film with substance, the sort of combination you wish for when u combine a very artistic director with a collection of actors capable of enhancing his vision.
And then there was Miramaxe. Jus watching little bits and pieces of the movie... jus made me angrier, to the extent of tears. Really now, how can u not push this movie? WHY? Cause it has martial arts in it? Cause it has Jet Li in it, so u can jus downplay it as another "Jet Li movie"? (this carries a bad connotation, cause when its a "Jackie Chan/Jet Li" movie, usually its inferring that there is no substance within the movie, which is true in some cases but not for all). Cmon now, this is really getting to me. WHY? Damn it. Alrite, City of God (which Miramaxe was really pushing for, trying to get a foriegn film nod) might be a great foriegn film, but u have real potential in a project that ur (Harvey Weinstein) company paid (or promised) good money for. And all ur doin is letting it collect dust, trying to come up with more ways to rip it apart and butcher it. Jus wonderful.... hilarious even. All u had to do is give it a chance... and LEAVE IT ALONE. Seriously....
The extent of Miramaxe's influence was revealed in a promotional dinner which Zhang Yimou attended (3/02/03 article). Apparently, Hero is supposed to be extended by a good 18 min. Miramaxe complained that the movie was too long for American audiences.... CMON, its not even 2 hrs long!!! What movie isnt two hrs long these days? Ppl pay good money to c quality, and u (again, directed toward Weinstein) have literally cheated the audiences (if u ever release the movie, that is). There is saving grace with all this tho... talk of a special extended, directors cut DVD of Hero is confirmed to a degree, with all 118 min of goodness. Heard its goin to be released next month. I can wait, i waited this long for this movie anyway. Whats another month, ehh? A movie has its grandest effect in the theater, allowing for an immersion of audio and visual, but DVD is the next best thing. Better to c an unadulterated version on a small screen than to c a bastardized one on the big screen. Im growing tired of all this. Once i get the DVD, ill put Miramaxe on deep freeze until i hear that they're attempting to bastardize yet again another potentially good movie. Once its in my hands, ill talk bout things other than how Miramaxe is the bane of my existence.
Sorry again, its jus the heat of the moment. Ill stop talking about it... really... hopefully.... Take care yall. More to come soon.
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