The Bourne Ultimatum - the world at war

I was not so thrilled about the new Bourne film. Number 3 is usually the weakest film and there it usually ends. Though I'm quite sure Bruce Willis will come back for another hard undeath. Anyway, I was happy to find Matt cuter than ever, with a film that for me was the best in the Bourne Saga. They didn't try to make it what it's not, less seconds of dumb drama, and pure great editing for cool chases.

It could be more intense I guess, but that was really better than I'd expected. I love matt Damon, and really I never thought I'd say it.

Just watched Steve's Interview

There were no tickets for the new film with edward Norton and Naomi Watts, so me and Sharon went to the Steve&Sienna Interview, based on Theo Van Gogh's film by the same title (which I haven't seen and now I'm a bit curios). The film is sometimes interesting with camera and editing (Robert Altman gets a special thanks for his inspiration at the end credits), and Steve is a fine director. But the script is quite predictable and not very good. That's why I'd like to watch the original.

My summer film is a one location film, so for me it was interesting to see how it's done here. I'm not so inspired by it, cos it's very easy to take a stunning location that grabs the viewer's attention, and a stunning actress as plan B.

But I love Steve, I love his teeth and the weird skin color he has. I like his voice and I love the way he puts the glasses on his nose. I would love to see him take a line with Sienna but that was not in the script. too bad.

I enjoyed the film anyway, and now it's time to say goodnight.

A busy film student in the end of the summer

After all it's really cool to study film. I talk with other students from other departments and their paper work is a real punishment. I was very happy to see I got all the courses I wanted for next semester (we had the thory classes registration last week). i will have one seminar (two semesters) and one course about japanese cinema. I also wanted to take Japanese language course but that's not possible with my 40 hours a week.

So i'm not really posting lately, I study for an exam in Italian and then I must continue and finish with the German cinema paper. I will talk to the head of productions tomorrow, Tausinger, will tell him I must postpond my summer film to the winter, around mid-end November. I'm really not happy to do this but I have no time to work on it now.

I read now a Roman written by the great Pasolini. It's inspiring.

Now i go to see the new Naomi Watts movie. Normally she annoys the shit, but I give her a chance. Basically it's cos I'm sick of home and computers.

Still looking inside the Turkish-German cinema

Today I went to the library again. i really hoped to finish my paper this week so I can start produce my film, but the chances seems low now. I ordered an essay from another university two days ago and it's still on process. In the mean time, I get hooked on Scorsese again. Instead of just being a case of comparison (Gegen die Wand vs. Mean Streets) I enjoy to read about scorsese and to watch some of his films I haven't watched before.

Gegen di Wand is a nice film, interesting film, but not so interesting and full to make me watch it again and again.

Fuck, my neighbours are so noisy. They have this kid who screams like a nutcase all day long.

I'm a bit scared of this final year. It will be busy and I will also have the urge of becoming "someone" or "something" at the end of it. What a stupid way of thinking, like one year of film school will do something that 30 years never could. Shit.

Gonna watch Martin now. What he thinks of the great italian filmmakers etc.

Don't you just love those mean boyz

i'm very happy today. Yesterday I spent hours in the library choosing the right books for my paper. I've decided to make a comparison between "Head On" and "Mean Streets", instead of "The Godfather". I just find the mood and general theme between "Mean streets" and "Head On" to be quite similiar. "Mean Streets" is my most favorite film ever, and I can watch in million times, in any condition (of the movie or myself), and Fatih Akin's "Head On" I don't really want to watch again. But still, I think this paper should bring some interesting points.

I thought that "Head On" starts where "Mean Streets" ends: the car crash. Also both films use popular music and oriental music (Italian/Turkish). And the use of violent. And the bond between the people that is like a punishment. Both films don't want to deal directly with ethnic problems. Fatih Akin said he just wanted to make a film that people enjoy watching. Scorsese talks about christianity.

i'm very happy cos I'll watch "Mean Streets" today again! And I also need to collect 3 more articles today from the library. One is called 'Juke box and Johnny Boy', from Sight&Sound, and I'm very curios about it.

Besides that, I just hope to write the paper fast so i can start thinking bout my movie. It seems so unrealistic to produce and shoot it in less than a month, but that's really the best I can do.

Music in films, the investigating film student's version

i started to work on my paper for German Cinema class. I just watched "The Godfather II" on TV again, and I think it might be interesting to compare the uses of music and violence between "The Godfather" and "Gegen die Wand". Coppola and Fatih Akin? They might have a few similarities. Or at least I want to check it. Second generation Italians in the US and second generation Turkish in Germany. The ghetto of origin. The music as utopia. Violence as connection. Spectacle? We'll see about that.

A film student at the end of the vacation

Today I realized that if I want to make my summer film (that's what they call the film you make at the end of your second year at school), I really must finish my German Cinema paper within one week. I must. So now I have this thing on my head, and I put everything else on the side.

As I mentioned before, I want to discuss the uses of music and violence in the films of Fatih Akin. I will only focus on one film, mainly because of the time frame I have, but also because music and violence in films are big subjects and to make it more focused it's better to analyze one film only. So this film will be "Gegen die Wand" (aka "Head on"), though i really want to check his gangster film, forgot the name. My teacher said she has a copy for me, but it's VHS and i'm not sure my VCR works well. I'm afraid it will ruin the tape, so i'm considering ordering it from Amazon.

Well, anyway, I started to go to the swimming pool this week, instead of the beach, and I think i like the swimming pool much more. It's more quiet, clean, and you can really swim more. Any good swimming pool films? I can only think of "swimming pool" of Ozon. But that's too obvious.

Lets admit it: I'm a film student, but that's ok

You think you can create while studying? Think again. I know, you always do more when you're busy and when you have nothing to do you don't use this time to do the things you always wanted. Time should be hard to get in order for you to actually get some of it. But still.

It's like my creativity goes down to zero, and I don't even miss it - it's sad. I have so many small things to do, nothing can become really big. My soul must be splitted to so many parts, I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. My script? How can I even think about it? Nothing is real, my life is a film, and not a very good one!

What a filmmaker misses while he studies

The picture above is from a film "Sarah and Dee", about two cleaners on a journey. Or at least I think this is what it's about, cos I haven't seen it. I just saw that picture on the internet and read a short article about the director, but didn't have the time to go to the dvd library and ask about it. I'm so busy.

I still have one paper to write about German cinema (I will write about Geraman-Turkish cinema), an exam in Italian for Beginners, some works in Flash (a player and a short animation) and of course, last but not least, my film.

Still haven't finished the second draft and I'm quite sure I'll shoot it later than planned. It makes me sick, cos anyway next semester will be very hard, with 10 courses, 5 days a week.

I even have a copy of "I'm a cyborg but that's ok" that I haven't watched. After reading this review of it I really wanted to watch it myself. Perhaps today I'll find the time.

The busiest film student in school

What a day, maaaaan. Took my bike to uni, to register for film production courses (not theory classes) with the head of the department. That was 7:30AM. I had a long ride on the beach, about 40 minutes of sweat. Got there, waited for almost three hours in the line, then went to the Stinky small office of the master. He was very nice and helpful. He has a kind of an army man charisma but that's OK. He knows what he's talking about and he's not bullshitting you. I like him. Anyway, came out of his room with double courses than I intended. Next year will be nasty. 5 days first semester, 4 days the second. But at least I'll complete my first degree and be free to go further.

I told him about my plans to register for the MIT CMS program, and I think he liked that. Anyway, he also liked my script and told me it reminds him the films of the experimental filmmaker (who teaches in the department) Igal Burstein. Yay, i think that's good.

Don't feel like writing bout the rest of my day, it was full of family drama. Movie material maybe, but I prefer my life quieter.

Must become a serious student

My teacher sent me back my script with his notes. Generally he was very positive, said it was very cinematic and he was curious about the characters. He told me not to be afraid to go deeper with the past relationship of my two characters, and to further develope the third character (that of the nude cleaner).

So if my teacher took time, read my script, and gave it a though, i should too. I'm a bit confused, not sure if I'm in the right place at all. I want to develop games and applications in flash now, so my script seemed far from me. But there's always something that makes you run again, and my teacher's email was my ecstasy. Or at least I hope. will see at the end of the day.

A film student takes a weekend class at the cinematheque

The Tel Aviv cinematheque has 10 films of Bergman on its September program. Today I got up especially at 10 O'clock to watch "A Lesson in Love". I am no Bergman expert, so I trust my school friend Dana when she told me today this is his best comedy. It was indeed funny, and I didn't feel like i was watching a film from 1954. It actually felt modern, like a Woody Allen's film (of course not the same feeling during watching the film, but perhaps the same result. could that make sense?). So far it's the Bergman I like best, but as I said I'm no expert for Bergman. After this month I might be able to say something meaningful about him.

After the film I went with another friend, Sharon, to have a coffee. I was hungry cos I was watching "A Lesson in Love" before my morning's coffee. Sharon told me she was thinking of quitting school and go to canada. But since she just splitted from her film-frick boyfriend, she might change her mind in a few days.

I rushed to the cinematheque again for a film I haven't heard about before. In the program they said it was a film known for its camera work. And that this was the movie where Tatum O'neill got her Oscar for. I was a bit upset to sit in the hall for a movie that might suck, thinking of all the great waves and cool water at the beach just 5 minutes away...But that was such a brilliant film, from the first shot (where you see tatum's sweet sad face) to the last. Great, great, great! It became over-noon one of my favourite films ever. Such a beautiful surprise, like that, suddenly on Saturday noon. Thanks Peter!

there's another film at 17:00, "Jacquot de Nantes", that i really wanted to see, and also "Nelly et Monsier Arnaud", but I wanted to spend some time outside the cinematheque. After all, there are also some life outside that needs to be lived!