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     ohkoolnutz
Member
Username: ohkoolnutz
Post Number: 678
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0
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| | Sunday, November 04, 2007 - 01:52 pm: |  
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I wasn't going to watch this movie and easily overlooked it because the names of the main actors didn't trigger my memory of previous work and the short blurb by the cable network couldn't describe the depth of the story. Once the movie started I knew I would have made a mistake not to watch it. Of course I know Paul Giamatti and I loved him every time I saw him. He is a brilliant actor who grows to be a stronger actor with each role he takes on. He is doing the hard yards of building a role portfolio in the same fashion as Philip Seymour Hoffman has done over the years. Let's hope some day he will reap the same reward with an Oscar and much-deserved recognition.
I have seen the writer's M. Night Shyamalan other movies. I liked some, didn't like others. I loved this one. It got slaughtered by the critics. It's quirky and all over the place. It mixes fantasy, fairy tale and comedy. For me it even contains some major criticism of current world events but most people would never recognise it because they are too focused on leading their own lives while ignoring the big picture.
At one point an intense action scene with threat of death suddenly turned into a laugh. I sat there watching and noticed this instant emotional turnaround as viewer. Others criticised this but I saw it as pure genius. I had never felt such instant change of emotion. It's a work of art in my mind for the "strange" view of the world. For me there was nothing strange in this movie. It wasn't even a fantasy. It played out like it was a depiction of reality to me. I take in the world around me every day, I watch people intensely and I have to say everything we do is meaningless until that one defining moment (which unfortunately may for some of us never come).
In comparison to the critics I do get the underlying meaning of "a human's purpose". Frankly the movie sums up everything I felt over the last few months if not my whole life. What is our purpose? The characters in the movie struggle to find it and so do I. One of the characters in the movie actually is an exact copy of me and M. Night Shyamalan's work is either an accident or shows his knowledge of human struggle with life itself. I am talking about 'Mr. Leeds'. How does M. Night Shyamalan know about a person's existence such as mine? A Mr. Leeds is occupied with self-discovery, understanding of the world's events, solving problems in his mind (without having the capability to implement them) and assigning meaning to life. It keeps him confined to the four walls that surround him and limits his interaction with his surroundings. How can M. Night Shyamalan accurately write such character if there is such low chance of making contact with a real person that is a Mr Leeds? I work and sleep. I rarely interact with people. I do go out but only if there is a purpose to do something like "get food to eat", "go to work to earn money (to buy food)", "get a haircut because my hair looks shocking", "get the car inspected annually because it's a government requirement to a renewed registration". I don't "party" and I don't "meet strangers to get to know them (due to no reason at all)". The rest of the time I "think". I have found myself attending BBQs and stand there by myself thinking about "Sydney public transport problems, world hunger, inequality in income distribution, and the wealth gap" while the rest of the people are shooting the breeze over sport. People who are Mr Leeds are not people-persons and they do not mingle with the public. They are preoccupied with "thinking" within their own realm uninterrupted by others and due to their seclusion are mostly misunderstood by others. It's a mystery to me and I wish I had the power to write M. Night Shyamalan and ask him how he came up with this character because you can't find people like me since they are hermits. Is the fact that I am a hermit colouring my view and there is actually a large quantity of us in existence but the seclusion characterising a hermit doesn't allow him to see the flood of hermits around him? Does the hermit think he is alone (due to this logical fallacy) but in reality is crowded by companions?
I don't know if I should be happy about the fact that somebody understands how I see the world or sad about the reminder that I haven't found my purpose.
Unfortunately 'Lady in the Water' will vanish into non-existence crowded out by the amount of lack of understanding for its artistic expression and point of view.
http://imdb.com/title/tt0452637/
http://www.ladyinthewater.com/
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ohk
Lies, Damn Lies and Technical Analysis
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msparks
Member
Username: msparks
Post Number: 1100
Registered: 10-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0
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| | Monday, November 05, 2007 - 01:19 am: |
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Wow, that was deep O Cool One.
Too deep man, you need to turn the music on, get the beat happenin, get a women , have sex ,then do it again , and again, and again, ........ or a bloke if you are a wally woofter.
Try the music first , happy music, madonna - "holiday" ,
tina turner, get some rythm happenin man, happy stuff.
You can't go through life in this despair , depression, please see a shrink, a GP, a friend, get some help man, get some happy pills , there are reasons why people stand alone at a BBQ and think about the problems of the world, it is to do with chemicals in the brain, crikey's , get some pills before its too late.
PS Nothing i have said is supposed to be funny or poke fun, i am quite serious, get the help you need now before you waste anymore years, it is a common recognised problem these days, get some medical help now !!!
" I have my own unique system "
" I buy high and sell low "
"Money is not the main game , it is sticking to the plan, through thick and thin , unwavering from a disciplined approach to share trading "
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hilarius
Member
Username: hilarius
Post Number: 3140
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0
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| | Monday, November 05, 2007 - 06:15 am: |
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OHK
I recommend the book "Learned Optimism" by Dr Martin Seligman
Although his background (I have heard) is Jewish there is not a hint of religion in it
Rather it results from psychological studies of, with and by his students, at university level over a period of 30 years on the subjects of optimism, pessimism & depression
Although it touches on extreme pessimism (depression) it is mainly concerned with the issue of why some people are optimistic and others pessimistic
Early in the book is an enjoyable questionnaire which determines your position on the optimism/pessimism scale
Greatly to my surprise my wife and I came out equal 5th for high optimism in a study of 30 people at my workplace which I organised
I say surprised because for years I had considered myself withdrawn and socially isolated
It became apparent that I had indeed emerged from a long period of depression for which I had sought virtually no help
My assumption was that people were not interested in me, that I was certainly not interested in them and that an increasingly workaholic lifestyle would produce sufficient material rewards to make life mildly bearable
I was suicidal at one point, following the death of a parent
My recovery came with a gradual realisation that I was designing a lifestyle that was essentially miserable and enjoying it in a perverse kind of sour inward looking way
It dawned on me that I was a selfish parasite taking from those I loved and those I cared little for, and giving nothing in return
It was all about me, me, me
Dr Seligman says that one of the most effective cures for all those who are depressed (but not so clinically depressed as to require medication) is to start thinking of and serving others. He noted that those working with the homeless were incredibly optimistic people.
Working with the homeless is not for everyone ... though one service in Sydney was feeding 800 people a night collecting surplus food from restaurants ... which shows what can be done
It was not until I got to hate paid work so much that I retired that I discovered the pleasures of voluntary work and became interested in others, after wasting more than half my life in an isolation prison of my own making
There is a discipline involved in listening ... really listening ... to what others have to say and learning from their life experiences
Much of it is boring at first, but with practice one can find the things of interest. One of my specialties is teasing people with set conservative opinions. I derive great amusement from offering them opposite views.
I see it as constructive to do so, especially the many whose views are tainted with racism which I abhor
However, I try to do it in a light hearted yet serious way ... and I find they come back for more
I've also learned that it is not wrong to do things which please oneself and to set some priorities accordingly so in my case it is grandkids, genealogy, classical music, a film group, french class, bible studies and church services, coupled with large doses of history, politics, religion and philosophy at the drop of a hat with anyone interested
The key in all these situations is listening and learning
I am sorry that I've wasted so much of my life doing boring accountancy in isolated offices, and there is so little left time left to do the things which seem rewarding and helpful to others
I am involved in a voluntary capacity in the management of a child care centre and a holiday place on the coast for current and retired army, navy and air force people and their families ... though I never was in any of those
I also read some of the lessons at Church, operate the sound desk at some services, and sit on a committee involved in vision and new activities ... while avoiding the Parish Council role because I prefer working at a quieter level
None of the activities listed above would have entered my mind even 10 years ago but I find them fulfilling
You may find my list utterly unattractive, but I promise you there is a list which you could develop that suits your personality ... you just have to start with the concept that other people are interesting besides yourself, and practice it even if at first you don't believe it, until you reach the stage where it works
You can also reward yourself by developing those interests and talents which you may have neglected
With Best Wishes
Hilarius
I come in peace to share my thoughts and to shine my candle light on possible long term opportunities
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