hab's thoughts on movie | pt2 - Comedy/Black Comedy

Well, this episode should be easy right? Everybody loves to have fun, so I bet you've watched tons of comedies already. Whether it's just to make you laugh, or make you think, a good comedy always seems to turn your day around. Prepare yourself with a pair of humour goggles and you're ready to face the world. Well, that's what I do anyway.

Goggles on!! Shall we begin?

3. Comedy

Since general comedies are sweet, funny and light-hearted, I seem to watch lots and lots of those. However, most fun flicks these days have the same problem: being unoriginal, unrealistic and provide cheap laughs (I'm looking at you Tyler Perry =,=). There are still some good gems lying out there though, if you look into the right places. That's why I often base on these following categories in order to find a decent comedy.

- Plotlines: To me, one of the most attracting things about comedies is the witty, quirky and funny conversations among characters. Old movies, mostly in the 60s to 80s, are highly recommended. In the past, they rely more on the sophisticated humor, rather than on special effects and complex filming techniques. With this in mind, I found The Odd Couple (1968, and its sequel 1998), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) and Woody Allen's underrated Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex (But Were Afraid To Ask) (1972) to be the best - those can still be hilarious if you just read the scripts.

Dr Strangelove - The title says it all. It's as satirical as it gets. 

The Odd Couple (1968) One of the things that I love the most about this movie, is the series of long-take scenes, when the characters just go from a room to another while continuing their conversations, which makes it so real and authentic. 

Ever wonder about the sperm convention before going in??? It turns out to be quite amusing and very educating. Details in Everything You Wanted To Know About Sex* (1972)

- Directors: Well, there are actually a few filmmakers out there that I can trust when it comes to comedy. On top of the list, it's Wes Anderson. This guy doesn't just make high quality fun flicks, his movies are visually gorgeous!! His trademarks - including symmetrical framing, which is stunning btw, and vivid coloring - make his films look like a series of beautiful paintings. Recommended movies: The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Still on the subject of comedy directors... Edgar Wright. My gosh, he's the hero of my boring desperate hours. This guy is awesome! I've been watching his stuffs way back when he directed a small TV series called Spaced (which is brilliant). He's the one you need when you want an action/apocalyptic/ridiculous romance comedy. His style is solid, you can even guess his movie within a few minutes. It's fast jump-cuts, quick conversations, hilarious sound effect, and purposed scenes repetitions. There’s no such thing as lazy camera work with this guy. Everything from sudden close-ups to a camera panning is carefully thought out. Not to mention the perfect chemistry between characters (mostly between Simon Pegg and Nick Frost). Recommended movies: Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World's End and Scott Pilgrim vs The World.   

Yep, this is what you look like when watching Hot Fuzz

And then you look like this when watching Shaun of The Dead

But yeah.. you'll thank me later.

Another director, Judd Apatow is quite well-known with his rom-com work, but I only like his amazing The 40-year-old Virgin, the rest is just kinda ok to me. John Hughes (Home Alone, The Breakfast Club) also makes great comedies, but I'm gonna talk about him later in my Teen Movies list.

Ok.. let's slowly walk out of this director category in virgin style

- Actors: Everyone has their own favorite comedic actors, and for me, it's Bill Murray and Jim Carrey. Not all of their movies are great, but watching them always make me laugh. From Mr Bill Murray, I highly recommend Lost In Translation and Groundhog Day, two of his best drama/comedy films. And from Jim Carrey, Liar Liar and Truman Show. 

"It't Groundhog Day... Again."

- Chemistry: In movies, it is crucial to have an ensemble cast who work well together. The chemistry among characters is even more important when it comes to comedies. That's why you often see a member of Saturday Night Live help out another in his own movie. Because they know each other so well, their chemistry seems more believable, and the audience feel like they're watching friends in real life. A lot of famous duo/trio/ensemble cast succeed this method, naming Pegg and Frost (mentioned above), Fey and Poehler, Cho and Penn, Black and Gass, and the whole bunch of legendary Monty Python. [Never heard of Monty Python???

Just kidding. Those guys are ancient, really.] From that they give us one of the most joyful things to watch: Silly and ridiculous bromance. For the best thing about friendship is when we do crazy shit together - these movies are often somewhat predictable, but still very enjoyable. Recommended movies: The Big Lebowski, Tropic Thunder, The Hangover, Ted, Harold and Kumar, Superbad, This Is The End and Monty Python movies. Keep in mind that these hilarious friendship movies may contain super immature jokes (like dick jokes, mostly), so if you find that offensive, don't watch.

The Big Lebowski

~moving on..

4. Black Comedy

or Dark Comedy - is a branch of Comedy, but much deeper and more depressing the more you think about it. It's mostly used to convey a satire message. Therefore, these movies are often served with a thick sauce of irony, a base of despair and a pinch of sudden violence. And for the complex texture of the dish, I'm hooked. It's most of what I've ever watched really. There was a phase in which I only saw black comedies. I was addicted to it, intrigued by the meaning behind the laugh. 

The subjects frequently mentioned in dark comedies include murder, violence, desperate and suicidal cases, internal crisis, and death. It seems these movies are not written to BE funny, but to SEARCH for a thin light of humour in self-suffering.

The Killing Joke (1988)

That's why a message is much more powerful in a dark comedy - because it's crushed between a smile and and a stream of tears. It makes you think. The following movies are beautiful like that and I hope you'll learn something good from them. 

- Life Is Beautiful: a tragicomedy about love and hope in a nazi concentration camp.

You'll cry. I guarantee it.

- Harold and Maude: Are you fascinated by death? It's ok, just find a partner with the same interest.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any weirder.. 

- Little Miss Sunshine: Be whoever you wanna be, no one can stop you.

- Fargo (1996): A twisted kidnap/murder story, from the Coen brothers

- All About Schmidt: a beautiful story of a retired, widowed old man, on a road trip, finding a way to deal with the new-found loneliness. 

Absolutely breathtaking journey

- American Beauty: a man who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend. 

Kevin Spacey's Oscar worthy performance

- Adaptation: A screenwriter struggling with writer block and an unexpected discovery.

definitely the best I've ever seen from Nic Cage

- In Bruges: A couple of gangsters with moral issues.

Colin Farrell is so underrated. And this flick is awesome. 

- Seven Psychopaths: Another Colin Farrell movie, and obviously, it's about psychopaths.

- American Psycho: I was considering this movie to be in my Horror list. But the more I think about it, the closer I get to the conclusion that this is definitely a satire/black comedy. It offers everything in contrast: truth and lies, mask and unmask, fiction and reality. Patrick Bateman is trapped in his own endless loop of guilt and insanity. I'd probably go to hell to laugh at this, but indeed, it's a haunting and shivery laugh. 

------------------

That's it for this episode. Sorry for the long post, I just can't seem to keep it short and sweet. The list went from light-hearted to dark and twisted comedies. I hope you find your type of laugh.

Peace! 

hab's thoughts Pt1: Classics and Romance 

Random thoughts about Christmas | hab

Hello strangers!

So here we are again, at that time of the year: Christmas. What do you think about Christmas? Do you love it? Are you excited about it? Will you celebrate this wonderful holiday with your loved ones? Ahh.. I have so many questions to ask you strangers, because to me, Christmas is rather strange. Almost 21 years I've been around, and I still can't figure out how to feel about this. 

So I leave you these random thoughts, hoping that I'm not the only one out there with these things in mind. 

Gif from Cindy

1. When I was little, I thought Santa was real. I never met him, but my sister and I always got presents when we woke up on Dec 25. For me, it was enough evidence. I even made a poem about it:

We went to sleep,
nothing was there,
then we woke up,
presents everywhere!!

It was magic! 

2. My parents told me to write Santa every year, even when we're not christian. I remember asking them: 
"We're not Christian. We don't go to the church. Why does Santa still visit us?"
"Santa's very generous. He gives gifts to all good kids."  
"Why does Santa hang our presents on the door knob? He always climb down chimneys on TV." 
"Oh sweetie, we don't have a chimney, do we? So Santa's gotta find another way."

And I believed every word.

From shakeshack

3. When I was 10, the truth came out. I was having trouble sleeping, so I got up to drink some water, and then I saw him, Santa! He was hanging a bag full of presents in beautiful wrapping on the door. He was my grandfather!!! I was a bit shocked, and quietly sneaked back to my bed. I remember staring at the ceiling and trying to process the truth. And when I get it, I was so happy. "I have the best family in the world!" that's what I thought. And I still do. 

4. Growing up to know that my family is the real Santa, the magic fades a little bit. But it's ok, I'd rather have what's real than what's not. I also got more realistic. After the reveal, every time my parents asked me what I want for Christmas, instead of asking for fancy toys, I just told them that "Santa knows best," and "whatever he gives me I'm gonna like it" ^_^

I love you Santa!

5. As time flied, I also grew some inches. When I was a teenagers, I learn to give gifts. And it felt so good. Whether it's just a candy, a Christmas card, or a small gift, it always cheers me up to see a smile on a friend's face. I didn't always get a gift back, but I didn't care. Just hearing "Thanks! I love it!" was enough.

Giving is a good thing ^_^

6. But then came a dark time when Christmas was such a terrible thing to me. I think it's because of my forever-alone-vision, which makes all good things seem terrible. From high school to university, I was surrounded by couples. I see love everywhere I go, smothered by love but not being a part of it makes it worse on the holidays. And snap! Just like that, Christmas and all other holidays just became couple-special-time. As if being alone wasn't enough, my friends kept asking me what to give their bf/gf. I hated it, to my guts!

anti-social hab =,=

Because couples ruined Christmas for me, I had to turn to other littles thing that makes me like Christmas again, like...

7. Socks!!! I was given socks for Christmas for years. And I love it!! 

8. Putting my red clothes to good use. Coco Chanel said "When in doubt, wear red", so I've got lots of red. It's a good thing that Christmas comes around (:

9. Christmas shopping. My gosh.. all the shiny little things are just beautiful! I love picking out cards and little presents, and get lost in all the shining lights. And the sales too!! Whoaaa.. they got me all hyper and sht. Haha. 

10. Christmas Specials!!! Every show has its Christmas Special and they are often awesometacular >o< 

The Simpsons

Adventure Time

Looking back now I think number 6 is pretty funny. I'm over that stage. Why being sorrow while you can enjoy? It's Christmas for God sake! It's the time to celebrate! It doesn't matter anymore that I haven't found the other hab. It's the ones I got right now that matter. My family, my friends, my little students. They are the ones I care about, and the reason I celebrate Christmas even when I'm not a christian. 

I've lost so much this year, and learnt the hard way that when you care about someone, tell them. So I'm not holding back anymore. The love untold is the one not understood. Giving gifts and showing love is the real meaning of Christmas to me.

Happy Holidays strangers! I hope I see you one day.   

<3

Love,

hab

random things about hab

Hi world!

I'm hab. 

Lately, I've been having this thought that when I'm gone, people may not even notice that I'd been here. How sad. But I still have hope, you know, that someone will miss me, and try to understand who I was. So.. this is to you random citizen, a bunch of random facts about me.

Prepare yourself for the rain of random and useless facts
[all the gifs used in this post are from hoppip]

1. My favorite movie of the Star Wars saga is Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. 

2. My favorite fruit is banana.

3. A glass of water always cheers me up. I love water more than any other type of drink.

4. I'm a clumsy piece of sht. I had my right foot burnt by boiling water when I was 5, my pinky broken when playing jump rope in 4th grade and my left ankle cracked when riding a bike in 5th grade. Not to mention countless times of falling to hard ground and down the stairs =,=

5. I love the color Green. Ever since I was first given a box of crayon, green has always been my first choice. I don't know why. It just makes me happy to see the beautiful green.

greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!

6. I love cooking. It's what I can totally do in absolute silence. To be able to do other things, I'd probably need some music.

7. In 3rd grade, there was a boy telling me that he liked me. I was stunted for a minute, because I liked him too. But then I could only manage to say "Thank you" and got back to telling Goosebumps stories to my friends. The boy hated me with his guts after that, for I was being so cold. 

Just like that =,=

8. I told a friend once that The Conjuring is not a very scary movie. But the truth is that I had covered my eyes in almost every frightening scenes. 

9. I took a Karate class when I was 12, but then dropped out in the combat practice. My mom said I was such a coward. I guess it's true. But the main reason was that the whole class was sharing the same teeth protector and I found it so gross that I quit. I'd rather improvise when it comes to fighting, than put that teeth protector in my mouth. 

10. I have a habit of writing stories when I'm bored. It would be a great habit.. if I could just finish at least one story!! Seriously, my stories tend to start out really good, and have an intense climax too, but I could never find a good ending. So, my story writing process is like this: I write a story, cannot put an end to it, then hide it somewhere ridiculous (like under the mattress) and finally just forget the whole thing. The other day, when cleaning my room, I found a story that I wrote when I was 14. I was so happy reading it, until I got angry because it had no endings, just blank paper after "She got up and.." Oh my gosh.. where did my character go after that???

11. When I first meet someone, I'll notice their shoes first, then their fingers and their lips. I don't know why. It's just some features that I like in humanbeings. I love worn out shoes too, it means the person walks, a lot. 

12. When scrolling 9GAG, I always skip the scumbag steve or scumbag stacy posts. I just don't like those posts.

13. After watching an impressive amount of movies, I got the wrong idea that having sex means two people getting close to each other, kissing and panting O,O Gosh.. That's why I always keep a distance from everyone I've ever met. Silly me. After a while, I learnt in biology class that people have to put their "parts" where they fit in order to make a baby. Geez.. What a relief!

That's it. Some random stuffs about me ^_^