Buried: blown away!

Posted on January 23, 2011 by askmanny

Those who know me know that I am not a big fan of suspense thrillers. I mean… I LOVED Sixth Sense (in spite of the fact that my friend Gilberto spoiled it for me by telling the end ) and I’ve highly enjoyed movies like The Shining. But you won’t see this kind of movie too often on my Netflix queue.

Then Chris Sparling, the husband of Kerri Sparling, wrote Buried. Being the sissy that I am with “this kind of movie” I had avoided going to see it in the theater. But when it became available on Netflix, I put it at the top of my queue.

We watched it last night and we were BLOWN AWAY! To begin with, the script is simply brilliant! Chris touched on multiple social aspects that are highly relevant to our time: the war and its impact on the lives of people in the US and overseas; corporate mis-behavior, trying to avoid embarrassment due to stories leaking in the media, to name just a couple. The script is the top thing that rocks about the movie (and I don’t say this because I know Chris).

Ryan Reynolds is the second thing that made the movie what it was. I can’t say I was a big fan of his previous movies (I was indifferent to most of them) but I was really impressed with his role in this movie. He is practically the only person on screen the entire movie and all scenes take place inside a coffin. When you see the special features, you realize how physically and emotionally demanding the shooting was on Reynolds!

Last, the photography and overall directing of the movie was incredible too. The constraints imposed by the “set” make it a true triumph to come up with the beautiful lighting that consistently prevails throughout the multiple shots. Then, the shots from multiple angles that help with the storytelling, made possible by having seven different coffins that were used for different types of shots… in short, for such a constraining medium to bring Chris’ story to life, director Rodrigo Cortes did an incredible job!

According to IMDB, the next screenplay by Chris (titled ATM) is scheduled to be released later in 2011. I am looking forward to seeing it!

2010: My Favorite Music

Posted on December 29, 2010 by askmanny

As time goes by, my life continues to be HIGHLY filled by music. I am really listening to music nearly every waking moment. But that does not mean I am listening to as much music (different artists, that is) as I used to. As time passes, I find myself settling around a few albums and artists that I go back to regularly. In 2010, these were the albums I played the most:

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – The Social Network OST was haunting me for weeks… it still does. Ironic I haven’t seen the movie yet!
Other Machines: my friend Mike Olsen from Full Sail put out a new album of music this year. Impeccable stuff, just like his earlier album while I was still in Florida.
Jónsi: his new album is a great continuation of his work with Sigur Ros and Riceboy Sleeps. Some moments in here that I keep going back to over and over again.
Hans Zimmer: the Inception OST was another regular play in 2010. I am addicted to the music as much as I am addicted to the movie.
Hammock: their new album and their December EP are brilliant. Check out their new collaboration with Matthew Ryan, released on New Year’s Day, 2011.
The Candlepark Stars: these guys are my favorite discovery this year. They are right in the middle, between Explosions in the Sky and Hammock… LOVE THEM!

A few more albums I liked (nearly all from Canada):

The Arcade Fire: The Suburbs
Broken Bells: self-titled
Stars: The Five Ghosts & The Seance
The New Pornographers: Together
Caribou: Swim
Robin Guthrie: Sunflower Stories

Some tracks I enjoyed:

Peter Gabriel: “Flume”
Underworld: “Always Loved a Film”
Belle and Sebastian: “I Didn’t See It Coming”
Silvio Rodriguez: “Trovador Antiguo”
Gorillaz: “Stylo (feat. Mos Def & Bobby Womack)”

Inception: What It Has Done To Us

Posted on July 30, 2010 by askmanny

Inception is one of those movies that leaves you thinking. But that is a description that falls in many ways…

When we went to see inception, two of the other three people that joined us were seeing it for the second time. Reading forum topics about Inception, this is not a uncommon situation (people watching it 2-3-4 times to try to make sense of it…)

Truth is Christopher Nolan got us all talking. Even film music fans (I count myself among them) are talking about how the score plays subliminally with slowed-down versions of Edith Piaf songs!

The movie’s “true” meaning (something that Nolan may never give up… even something he may not even know himself) may never reveal itself to us. But that doesn’t matter too much, I think.

What stuck with me was the power of inception… beyond it, think what we as parents can do to our children by making them believe something as they are children: that they can realize their true potential, that they can make reach their goals… we are in a way planting those same seeds of an idea that were mentioned in the movie.

What did you think about Inception?

Toy Story 3: Pixar's Best Since Nemo

Posted on June 19, 2010 by askmanny

To Infinity and Beyond!

The theater in downtown Berkeley was half empty. Judging from this and the trailers we’d seen, we looked at each other slightly concerned.

Our concern went away very quickly. Starting with the usual Pixar short, titled Day & Night we were blown away. The short is hard to describe because of its simplicity: it consists of two characters (“Day” and “Night”) that walk through the screen and see in their “transparent” bodies the world they are living in projected (I hope this description makes SOME sense).

The brilliant and thought-provoking short led to a classic Toy Story-style opening, that quickly got us hooked. The glasses sure help the delivery but the movie hardly seems to force any “3-D kung-fu” moves that have become such a staple lately.

But in the midst of the ever-improving animation, the story (written by Little Miss Sunshine‘s Michael Arndt) continued to show why Pixar is one of the best studios out there. A whole slew of new characters get introduced in this movie and the bulk of it takes place in a new environment: a daycare where the main characters get played with (read abused) by a bunch of crazy toddlers.

I won’t give out much about the movie here. There is lots of laughs: the now-famous Spanish-talking Buzz Lightyear, resulting from a reboot of the figure in the movie, is hilarious! There is also lots of special moments that may make you shed a tear… I know someone who did.

I know the string of perfect reviews for Pixar movies has been broken. But I don’t care. The story and the delivery of the closing movie for the Toy Story series was amazing: it’s, simply put, the best movie they’ve put out since Finding Nemo.

Silvio Rodriguez en Oakland

Posted on June 13, 2010 by askmanny

Vivir en el area de la bahia de San Francisco tiene sus beneficios. Uno de ellos es que muchos artistas musicales nos visitan. Hoy fue uno de esos casos.

Esta noche, Silvio Rodriguez se presento en el teatro Paramount de Oakland.

Ambos, mi esposa y yo, crecimos escuchando Silvio… asi que cuando supimos que venia a la bahia enseguida aprovechamos la oportunidad. Logramos conseguir asientos buenos (lease no muy caros y con buena vista) en el balcon de arriba…

Pero lo mejor de todo fue realmente el derroche de exquisita poesia musical que Silvio compartio con los presentes. Con un repertorio que se balanceo entre sus clasicos y material mas reciente, Silvio dejo a la audiencia satisfecha luego de dos horas y media de musica.

Entre los temas clásicos que Silvio compartió estuvieron:

En el Claro de la Luna – el tema con el que abrio el concierto.
Sueño con Serpientes – “… hay los que luchan toda la vida: esos son los [hombres] imprescindibles.” ~ Bertolt Brecht.-
Cancion del Elegido – la cual dedico a los Cuban Five.
La Era esta Pariendo un Corazon – con un arreglo genial que le dio nueva vida a una cancion de 1968.
Oleo de Mujer Con Sombrero
La Maza – un tema super-poderoso que movio el publico entero.
Como Gasto Papeles – un momento super-intimo… exquisito en que Silvio interpreto solo con su guitarra el tema entero.
Pequeña Serenata Diurna (“Vivo en un pais libre…”)
Ojalá – que se puede decir de este tema que no se haya dicho?
Unicornio – luego de muchos pedidos del publico (incluyendome!)

Pero el concierto tambien conto con momentos especiales que trajeron canciones mas recientes, como:

La Gota de Rocio (1985)
Quien Fuera (1992)
El Necio (1992)
Casiopea (1994)
Mariposas (1999)

En general, a nivel tematico, Silvio nos mostro un lado suyo menos politico y mas lleno de sensibilidad poetica y musical. Fue una noche inolvidable: creo que nuestras vidas podran contarse como “Antes del Concierto de Silvio” y “Despues del Concierto de Silvio”.

Hammock: a progression towards musical nirvana

Posted on May 20, 2010 by askmanny

What is left to do when each new album you put out as an artist is better than the last one? When it seems there’s nowhere else left to go, there’s heaven to reach out for Hammock, the musical duo made up of Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson, from Nashville, TN (yes, their studio did get affected by the recent floodings!)

Since 2004, I have been writing about them. But in 2010′s Chasing After Shadows…Living With the Ghosts, the eerie cover showing floating bodies in water is carefully balanced with one of the most positively stimulating albums they have ever done. Very few vocal arrangements make their way into the sea of processed guitar sounds that lie at the heart of the Hammock sound. Their Sigur Ros influences can be felt here and there but their work is unmistakable and unique.

It’s hard (nearly impossible) to pick a favorite track: not only because the entire album is unbelievably great. But also because it has a unity to it, like the hand that moves the hair aside to let the light fall on the eyes that go with the smile… it’s simple but perfect, complex yet soothing, calming and elevating at the same time.

The best way for you to experience Hammock is to listen to it. Watch the video for the track “Breathturn” to get a feel for how these guys sound…

Hammock – Breathturn from David Altobelli on Vimeo.

Howard Zinn: "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train"

Posted on May 9, 2010 by askmanny

Sunday afternoon is always a good time for a good documentary. Today, it was time to sit down and watch Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train. Until not too long ago, I admit my ignorance: I had no clue who Howard Zinn was… until I walked into a local Berkeley coffee shop with one of our new advisors at the Diabetes Hands Foundation and saw her pointing at his image on the wall, saying: “Howard Zinn! He’s one of my heroes…” I knew I had to find out more about him.

It turns out Howard Zinn wrote a seminal book titled A People’s History of the United States, a book where he sought:

“…to present American history through the eyes of working people, rather than political and economic elites.”

I learned there was a 2004 documentary about his life (good that he was alive at the time -he passed away in early 2010) so I decided to watch it today. As I watched the documentary, I live tweeted it:

Here’s a POWERFUL thought from Zinn, not unlike what Ghandi said in the day:

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.”

He inspired me to write this:

Forget about trying to please everyone and focus on doing the right thing.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Howard Zinn. Have you read about him/his work?

Caetano Veloso in San Francisco

Posted on April 18, 2010 by askmanny

Last night I had the amazing opportunity to witness legendary Brazilian musician and activist Caetano Veloso perform in San Francisco. He was accompanied by a trio of AMAZING musicians backing him on guitar, drums and bass/Fhender Rhodes piano.

He showered us with tracks from his entire musical career with an emphasis on his latest album (you can listen to all tracks here). Below is a sample from another live performance by Caetano from a couple of years ago, singing “Desde Que O Samba E Samba.” At age 67, it’s amazing how creative and alive he continues to be!

Live “Caetano Veloso” (HD) from JuicyLime on Vimeo.

"Food Rules" rules!

Posted on March 11, 2010 by askmanny

Yesterday, on the way back and from San Francisco, I read Food Rules, the latest book by Michael Pollan. I decided to do a little Twitter experiment for 64 days.

Starting today, every day for 64 days I will tweet Michael Pollan’s 64 Food Rules one per day.

To do so, I will be using the #foodrules hashtag and in every tweet, I will include a link to Food Rules‘ Amazon page (I hope many people will get the book -at $5 not only is it VERY cheap, it’s also very valuable in terms of the lessons it carries for each of us about healthy eating).

Below is the Twitter widget, showing the tweets I’ve posted so far with the #foodrules:

Ask Manny Hernandez

A Venezuelan in Berkeley blogging about social media, nonprofits, diabetes and health 2.0.

Tag Archives: reviews