Kaspar

kaspar_diane_obomsawin
wow. somewhat of a sublime experience reading this little gem. really great but also unhinges you a little.

I can’t believe I’ve never hear the story of Kaspar Hauser before. (I highly recommend you read this story first, before you look him up on the internets.) do yourself a favor go read this book, it will only take a little while and it’s worth it. thanks diane obomsawin!

Quote

In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.

— Shunryu Suzuki

Crank

crank

At first glance Crank is the opposite of the kinds of things I would ordinarily go see.  Even film and movie enthusiasts weren’t thrilled with this one. Still there is something to it. I wasn’t exactly on the edge of my seat despite it being billed as non-stop action, but oddly it was pretty close to seeing something akin to Video Art on the big screen.

Jason Statham is well cast in this fast-paced, crazy-premised, ride.  From the pacing, to the visuals, to the constantly making fun of itself, to the this is a video game feel, somehow it all came together to make an arty package. I don’t think it was intended that way, but from a purely visual stance, I liked it.

Still, in the same way it might be hard to recommend some video art,  a piece might have some great aspects artistically, but still be very hard to watch, so too Crank had it’s tedious moments despite being an interesting visual feast.