Harry Potter Premier

Screaming girls, adoring fans, TV cameras, paparazzi, movie stars and their posies. The Harry Potter premier was everything it should have been and then some; meaning thunder, lightning and some of the biggest rain drops I have ever stood in. Having never seen a Harry Potter movie, or read any of the countless number of Harry Potter books; although I have been to platform 9¾ at Kings Cross Station here in London, the excitement I felt was still overpowering. The thought that you might see yet another huge celebrity, here in London just does something to you. You feel like a giddy little kid again and not like the mature college student, who is studying abroad halfway around the world. After waiting in the hot sun for over an hour and watching the dark stormy clouds slowly creep your way, the stars of the newest Harry Potter film started to arrive. Recognizing one made the experience that much more enjoyable for myself. Yet for others, seeing everyone would complete their lives and I think for some fans, their lives are now complete. As more actors came, so did more rain, thunder and lightning, literally. As time went on and after Mercedes after Mercedes arrived, so did the rain, causing the Harry Potter stars to run for cover inside the press area and not mingle with as many fans as they might have otherwise. This definitely upset some eager young patrons who had been waiting hours outside upon their arrival. Nonetheless, movie premiers are always an exciting time, especially if you life for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

606 Club

The movie is called The Saxophonist, starring, Terrance Howard as Jean Toissant. This film is the rags, to jazz riches story of a musician whose only dream it is to play his saxophone for the rest of his life and still make a living. The opening scene in the movie is set in a tunnel, deep in the London underground, with Terrance (Jean) playing his saxophone. His cap lying upside down in front of him with a total of 5 pounds in change lying inside. The camera is walking down the tunnel, you can hear the hustle and bustle of people as they move about the tube station, but Jean’s saxophone clearly sticks out. The camera stops in front of him as if being a spectator and watching him finish his song. The camera cuts away 18 years earlier, to the island of St. Thomas of the U.S. Virgin Islands, the song still playing in the background. We are now seeing a young boy standing in front of a very old saxophonist performing on a dirt road on the island. The old man is playing a very similar song, with the same style, as we saw Jean playing in the subway. When the man finishes the song he says to the young boy, “Do you like the saxophone?” The boy shakes his head yes. Then the old man says, “what’s your name son?” The boy responds, “Jean.” “Well Jean, come here and let me teach you a few things on this old piece of metal.”

The movie follows Jean through his childhood, growing up in the Virgin Islands, then moving to London at the age of 16 on his own, with no money, no family and nowhere to go when he arrives. All he has is a backpack with two shirts and a loaf of bread and his saxophone. He had heard that New Orleans was the place to go, if you want to play jazz for a living; and it was only a short boat ride away from the Virgin Islands. As it turns out, New Orleans was a jazz mecca and only a short boat ride away. Jean happened to board a boat that was headed to London, not the US. After a week on the boat realized the mistake he had made. Nonetheless, after arrival in London, Jean set up shop in a London tube station, trying to make some money. When the movie reaches the opening scene of Jean playing in the tube, it does not stop there. I continues on, with Jean eventually playing gigs every night and headlining clubs around the world. There is even a scene with him becoming computer savvy and making his own website and myspace page.

The Wizard of Oz

One might expect a line around the theater, news crews outside and a packed house for the re-release of The Wizard of Oz on the big screen. Not at this big screen showing of The Wizard of Oz. The theater was small and nice and cozy, with only a handful of movie goers. Nonetheless, this did not take away from the amazing experience of seeing The Wizard of Oz on the big screen. A movie everyone has seen a countless number of times, but only on VHS on their home television. I have chosen the Cowardly Lion to psychoanalyze from the film. When we first meet the lion, he does not come off as cowardly whatsoever. He is mean to Dorothy and the others and tries to boss them around. He attempts to take advantage of the fact that he is the king of the jungle. He roars, he threatens and he scares them out of their socks. However, this act of toughness is short-lived and quickly breaks down with his true colors of a coward coming out. This is a sign that the lion is someone who is confused and does not know who he is or where he belongs in the world. He is told by society that he is the king of the jungle and needs to be tough and fearless, but that just is not who he is. He is scared of little Toto and many other things, including the witch and those flying monkeys, who I have to admit, scared the you know what out of me as a little kid too. All the lion needs is a little comfort from his new found friends and an authority figure, such as The Wizard, to tell him he does have courage and he will be just fine in this world. By the end of the movie, he gets his crown and his thrown and finds his place on earth.

Le Samourai

Having a movie star in the house did change my experience leading up to the film, but once the film started it was like most other movie experiences. This may be due to the fact that Jude Law was not even in the theater once the movie started. Since Jude Law is such a hot celebrity, I guess I was expecting a younger crowd of screaming British girls, with the exception of our San Diego State group. The audience seemed a little on the edge of their seats until Jude Law came, at least I was. People were looking behind them whenever they heard someone come walking down the aisle and I was trying to figure out if the man in the shadows on the back corner of the stage was Jude or not. It was not, but he was standing right next to him apparently. Once the half hour interview was over, Jude Law left never to be seen again and I never got a really good look at him, because as he walked down the aisle right next to me, I was trying to get a picture that did not turn out too well anyway. The film Le Samourai was by far my favorite of all the cineTREK films I have seen up to this point. Foreign films tend to be harder for me to follow, because I have to read the subtitles as well as try to watch all the action on the screen at the same time, which for some reason I find difficult. This movie had enough action, drama and suspense and yet not a whole lot of talking and subtitles for me to try to follow. Le Samourai was the type of film that I love to watch. The cop chasing the killer, but the killer always one step ahead of the cop, until the very end.

28 Weeks Later

28 Weeks Later is the best blockbuster film I have seen so far this summer. However, there are still a lot of films I would like to see when back in the states, so I am guessing it will be topped. Prior to seeing this film, I had no idea what to expect or what it was about. Basically, I was dragged to the theater with my friends to see this film on its opening weekend, and in the back of my mind I was hoping the film would be sold out, so we would have to see something else. Not till the film started did the realization that I was watching another zombie film come out, and honestly, I thought the film was going to suck. 28 Weeks Later stars Jeremy Renner and Rose Byrne who are the heroes of the film. Trying not to ruin too much for those of you who read this and have not seen the film, they nearly save both kids from the outbreak. This movie was thrilling, scary, and funny and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. After seeing the film, it even made me second guess my trip to London, but that thought was short lived and only lasted a few minutes. Another reason I enjoyed the film was the fact that it did take place in London and knowing I would be living here very soon, seemed to make the film just that much more enjoyable. I still have yet to see the first film, 28 Days Later, and really want to now. By seeing 28 Weeks Later first, I hope I did not ruin the first one for myself.

Tate Modern

While watching the video in our British Life and Cultures class on the Tate Modern and some of the pieces of artwork and artists featured in the gallery, my first impressions were that some of the pieces of art, were not art at all, but rather idiotic displays from drugged out individuals who say they are art. For example, the Fountain or urinal, the can of crap, the bed and tent. After actually going to the gallery and seeing some of these pieces and others that were not in the video, my thoughts on the matter have changed. I now see all the pieces as a form of artwork, some of which, I do view more as an artistic piece than others. When I think of art, the first things that come to mind are a picture in a frame, a beautiful sculpture, a person playing music and sometimes, someone acting in a play or on screen. Up until this morning, I would not think a tin box, a urinal, four black walls with chalk lines drawn on them, or a bubble pipe as art. Maybe it was the whole gallery setting or that fact that some of the displays were in glass boxes as to not get ruined which changed my perception of what art is and made them seem more artsy than on the video. I found the art in this gallery far more fascinating then any painting in the National Gallery or other more traditional galleries that I used to associate with as the definition of an art gallery.

As far as the Dali and Film exhibit, my favorite piece was the film Destino which Dali worked on with Walt Disney. I felt the Disney connection while watching the film with the works of Dali. What I enjoyed most about this piece was how each scene flowed seamlessly from one to another no matter how similar or different the scenes were, all the transitions worked perfectly as one tying the short film together.

Sketch

The film at Sketch was like no other film experience I have had before. The closest thing to it that I can think of is an IMAX or planetarium film, where you are surrounded by the screen which makes it difficult for you to see everything at once. The Sketch film experience uses a combination of multiple screens with sometimes different and at other times similar scenes on the screens, which work together to create a short film. I was very fascinated by the whole experience of trying to watch all the screens and the atmosphere of the club, which drew my attention away from the actual story, making it difficult for me to understand the details and message of the film being portrayed by the director, therefore I had trouble getting involved in the later discussion. Nonetheless, I would really like to go back one of these nights to Sketch and see what kind of scene that place is at night. I have already seen many different forms of nightlife in the first week or so of being here, from a night of lust to tiny punk rock concerts in the back of pubs and a club just like the ones in the states. A night at Sketch would be another unique experience giving me another taste of London’s vast diversity.

Rock and Roll Cinema

Not only was the scheduled cineTREK of seeing a series of short films a new experience for me, but the surrounding area turned out to be an experience as well. There was so much going on down that tiny, one lane road to the place. I call it place because I’m not sure whether it was a bar, club, movie theater, concert venue or kids toy room, with the bowling, cars, and other games. I have also never seen so many people, from so many different cultures, doing so many different things in one location like that before. From the street vendors, musicians, dancers and all the Indian restaurants trying to get our business. The short films were entertaining too and I enjoyed watching them, but what I will remember most from that night are the hours leading up to the short films. I’m looking forward to checking out the one in San Diego so I can see how it compares.