Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir

An ode to my first non-cinematic obsession person - two persons, actually. ICE DANCERS, to be specific. Two absolute artists of dance, two maestros of the ice: Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.

Lemme make it clear: I was never a fan of ice dancing. During the Olympics, I watch the ladies' singles program and that's it. I never liked the ice dancing category because it seemed so cheesy. Ice dancers used music that was over-the-top, had a dearth of artistry, and were always so overtly theatrical and boring.

Then my friend told me to go watch "that Canadian couple who are unfairly beautiful" and since I was obsession-free and slightly bored at the time, I decided to give their free dance a go. I watched it. Then I rewatched it again. And I have now watched their Vancouver, gold-medal-winning performance about 100 times now. Like, literally. And my hard-won AP Biology stats have been replaced by those terrible "Marriage Ref" commercials as a result.

They transcend the limits of gritty athleticism. They are an integral part of each other's movements, and their gentleness, a key aspect of their allure, is simply so audacious when you consider the fact that other ice pairs rely on contrived music and flamboyant movements to make a scene. Tessa and Scott can capture our attention with a single elegant finger, a lean in the other's direction, perfectly matching twizzles without the slightest evidence of effort. If they were an onscreen couple they'd be an iconic cinematic couple.

I find it generally exhausting to watch ice dancing, but beholding Tessa and Scott's stunningly romantic Olympic performance was a gust of fresh air. I think it's because they're always so turned on by what they're doing, which is gratifying to watch. It turns us on, too.

Tessa, with her extensive ballet training, brings heart-stopping grace to the table. She is flawed, however; a bit too remote. She's more of an artist than a performer. But that's where he comes in. Scott, with his open, intense energy makes the couple accessible to the audience. Their combined strengths make this couple a treat for both the eyes and the heart.

Their chemistry is so good that I'm amazed that the ice doesn't melt away beneath their skates. I've gotten so absorbed into their on-ice romance that during one emotional performance, I actually blubbered out, "KISS!!!!" in a particularly intense moment. I was instantly ashamed of myself afterwards.

Other skaters go through the motions; Tessa and Scott tell stories with their dancing, letting romantic little tales unfold on the ice. When I finished watching their "Umbrellas of Cherboug" interpretation, I felt as if I'd just watched a lifelong relationship flash before my eyes. Time stands still. I feel almost voyeuristic, peeking into a couple's most intimate moments.

All the commentators scratch their heads over their "it quality". What is it? Why, star power, duh. Natural Charisma. Only true star quality could keep you enraptured with "Mahler's Symphony No. 5". Everyone flipped about the American team Meryl Davis and Charlie White's "Phantom of the Opera", but let me remind you, the judges have SEEN all that, year after year. Johnny Weir said it best when he called VM's Mahler interpretation "a class of its own" and he is absolutely right, as Johnny Weir usually is.

And never doubt their athletic professionalism. I've never seen this pair stumble or so much as falter. It's one hell of a task to maintain energy throughout a performance, but Tessa and Scott's energy only seems to expound as they go along, building up to an organic emotional climax.

Virtue and Moir in my one of my favorite performances, at the 2008 Worlds to "Umbrellas of Cherbourg"

"They transported the audience....." perfect comment.

Their now-legendary Vancouver performance.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/assetid=b3b9fe59-1049-450c-827d-db4328c55050.html#canadians+dance+gold

(don't know how to embed NBC videos, sorry)

Here is a disgustingly cute and athletically astounding video of them dancing at the 2004 Junior Worlds. She was 14 and he 16, but they look about ten years old in the video and you see how at such young ages their strength and charm already zooms off the charts.

Scott always keeps his eyes on Tessa while he dances, which adds such a valuable element to their intimacy. He's also a true gentleman - he never forgets to thank Tessa after a dance. This time, even at a supposedly obnoxious age (16), he kisses her hand as a way of thank you.

Here at the 2010 Canadian Championships Gala, Virtue and Moir tell yet another delightful story about a street scamp vying for the heart of an elegant ballerina that's out of his league.

I love this dance because it reminds me that despite their unearthly maturity on the ice, they're both actually so young and totally capable of goofiness.

And finally, the 2009 Worlds Free Dance:

Performance that smashes any doubt of their versatility. No, they do not rely on pure Beauty alone. Yes, they are capable of mindbending lifts like Meryl and Charlie. Look at 4:48, in particular. In my mind that's the perfect epitome of their style - a combination of both incredible difficulty and swooning finesse. Sigh. This performance is a little colder than others, though, so their 2008 and 2010 free dances remain my favorites.

(Trivia: They are the youngest Olympic ice-dancing champions in history - at ages 20 and 22, respectively. They're the first North American couple to ever win the ice dancing Olympics, breaking a long Russian monopoly on gold medals. They've also been dancing forthirteenyears; they started dancing together at the ages of 7 and 9.)

Actor Obsession #2: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai

This is Day #2 of my new actor obsession, and an official foreign ones firsties! Some day I'll expand more about Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as an actor... that some day will probably come after I've seen more than three movies from him. That's right; I've only seen him in three movies - first, a solid performance in one of my all time favorite movies, Hero (2002), and the unforgettable, voluptuous, heartbreaking, now-classic In the Mood For Love (2000). I saw Hero when it first came out and liked him, but nothing came of it. After I saw the second feature, however, I was officially hooked. It's no secret that Robert De Niro was a fan of his work in In the Mood For Love (as any any English article will tell you, in order to establish a familiar reference base. See? You're already intrigued) and it makes sense. His acting, so reticent, open, revealing shades of emotion with a glance of the eyes - minimalist acting at its most haunting and best, is something De Niro would have surely appreciated. In this day and age of flamboyant monologues and "gritty vulnerability", the ability for silent performing is a rare gem.


I finished In the Mood For Love at 3 in the morning, but I was craving more, so I ended pulling an all-nighter. Thanks a lot, Tony Leung. I turned to Lust, Caution, the Ang Lee movie that I've always wanted to watch in a "oh yeah, some day I will" way, mostly because of the praise I've heard about Tang Wei's debut.

I don't want to launch into a review of the movie itself, which is flawed but still psychologically fascinating, as was In the Mood For Love (in fact, in the middle of ITMFL, I actually said aloud, "the is the most mindfuckery movie ever". My mother would have liked it. It falls into the Atonement category, with ripe costume-period porn with underlying eroticism and danger. Tony Leung plays Mr. Yee, who again doesn't talk very much, but whose alternating sadness and viciousness I found more terrifying due to its capricious nature. I was constantly mulling over whether the sadness allowed for a soul capable of true love and the viciousness just an unrestrained uh, manner of showing this love, or the other way around.

Anyways, his razor-sharp movements, sudden bursts of ferocity, and immediate presence (when he first enters the opening scene, there is never a trace of a doubt in your mind that he isn't a vastly distinguished and powerful personnel) makes for a truly fantastic performance. It's not great, because the lackluster writing doesn't make up the basis for a great character, or even half a character, but when Tony Leung inhabits the character, you can't take your eyes off him. From romantic-borderline-psycho to Mr. Loneliness, the charisma is unshakeable, subtle. No scene chewing necessary. At all.


It seems that he's one of those Great Movie Stars that is currently an extinct species in Hollywood. Can I just point out how unfair it is that in places like Hong Kong and Spain, the best actors also happen to be the most popular, while here we have so-called stars like Brad Pitt and Robert Pattinson? Even Leonardo Dicaprio in the long run will be viewed as a solid but nevertheless undistinguished and unoriginal actor, you mark my words. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, on the other hand, is more along the lines of Humphrey Bogart, who possesses a trademark personality in all his films, but should NEVER, EVER be condemned for any "lack of versatility". All of Tony Leung's character are different. They have the trademark melancholy of his shy eyes perhaps, but even his most radically different character is not the 180-degree "transformation" that is so admired in today's acting, via crazy accent and complex makeup, but rather feels like an extension of his natural character. His Mr. Yee felt both a natural Tony Leung type character and an unexpected departure. This way, he retains a degree of his own authenticity while coloring the darker shades of the character, breathing Mr. Yee to life. That's such a fine, fine talent.

Mr Yee's rough wooing.

I especially love the minutes preceding the first sex scene. He's watching Tang Wei with unrestrained lust. She's aware of it. She coyly does all the right things; straddling his leg, impetuously tossing the cigarette he offers to the ground, slowly reveals her thigh. The effect is, quite literally, maddening. But we sense what we're dealing with when he not only submits to his desires but does it on his own terms - he dismisses her coy seductions with a hissing "are you playing hard to get?" and within a minute we get a glimpse of how exactly Mr. Yee rose through the ranks to become one of the top interrogators for the Japanese. He sits in the chair, watches, flexes his fingers once, and then goes berserk. I actually covered my eyes in shock from the force of the near-rape/sadomasochist sex that follows.

Tony Leung Chia-Wai has like a contractual agreement to chain smoke in all his modern movies, but that's fine. In fact, it's perfect. Like Humphrey Bogart, he was designed to smoke, or cigarettes were designed for him. Either way. There's something about the qualities of both that complement each other.....the subtle sensuality, the slow-burning movements and shadowy, charismatic spirals, the elegant languor....

My favorite shot of him from Hero (2002), partially because it comes as a stunning revelation. If you haven't seen it, Fucking. See. It. Now.

Next up: I really want to see "Infernal Affairs". Also because according to the message boards it's far superior to The Departed.

He's so gifted and reliable that after these three films he can officially join my All Times Favorites Club. Welcome to the club.

Al Pacino

Geoffrey Rush

Ralph Fiennes

Gene Hackman

Paul Rudd

Harvey Keitel

Daniel Day-Lewis

Edward Norton

Michael Sheen

Cillian Murphy

Viggo Mortensen

Tony Leung Chiu-Wai

Note: An actor obsession does not necessarily equate to an automatic entry into the all-time favorites list. For instance, I will always love Ben Whishaw dearly but he's hasn't really gotten there. The boy is talented but lacks that sensual It quality that I search for in all my beloved leading men. In fact there's something rather asexual about him.

Remember Me Bombs = Yay

All right, maybe I'm being unfairly vicious but ever since reading in reviews that Pattinson was completely inoffensive and uninteresting in Remember Me, just like he's been in every one of his movies that I've seen, I'm dropping the nice subterfuge. No more of that "well it's not his fault that girls are crazy, maybe he's a real decent fella and even a better actor!" crap.


Ok, Remember Me got about 8 million at the box office. I'm not even pretending I'm not gleeful about those numbers. I sincerely hope the next Taylor Lautner vehicle goes the same route. So I LOVE how people are going "oh, it only opened in 2,000 theaters!" as if Remember Me was an authentic underdog indie film with nothing going for it but grit and determination. Christ, some of the best movies I saw last year opened in 15 theaters in North America and never expanded to less than a few hundred.


Let's be realistic. Say it did open in 3,000 theaters - that'd translate to what, 12 million? Oh "If only, if only"....

Food in Fiction

I've always had a weakness for either 1) foods in films or 2) descriptions of food in books. If done well, then it adds to the sensory experience of the overall product, especially if the character eating said food is cool. This has been an inherent problem for me ever since I was six or seven, when I read a picture book where the hard-worked protagonist always longed for a cold dish of chocolate sorbet.

So, a little list of food cravings I developed as result of a book or film:

Books:

Any Fantasy Writer
It seems that all fantasy writers love to include sumptuous descriptions of food in their books. And why not? Imagining the taste of food is often better than the actual taste. And for someone like JK "I never met an adverb I didn't like" Rowling or JRR Tolkien, these elaborate, sensual details can only enrich the expanses of a fantastical world and draw the reader further in, whether it be Hogwarts' Main Hall or orchard of Narnia.


Ex #1: Redwall, Brian Jacques "Tender freshwater shrimp garnished with cream and rose leaves, devilled barley pearls in acorn puree, apple and carrot chews, marinated cabbage stalks steeped in creamed white turnip with nutmeg,.." "half a dozen boiled eggs, some crisp summer slad, two loaves of hot bread, two hazelnut cream junkets, two- no, better make it four - oven baked apple pies, and chuck in some medium-size quince tarts and October nutbrown ale."

Ex #2: Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House on the Prairie" Series. Even harder to bear. There are half-chapters devoted to passages about making of the food, the history of food, relishing the taste of food.

"Almanzo ate the sweet, mellow baked beans. He ate the bit of salt pork that melted like cream in his mouth. he hate mealy boiled potatoes, with brown ham-gravy. He ate the ham. He bit deep into velvety bread spread with sleek butter, and he ate the crisp golden crust. He demolished a tall heap of pale mashed turnips, and a hill of stewed yellow pumpkin. Then he sighed and tucked his napkin deeper into the neckband of his red waist. And he ate plum preserves and strawberry jam, and grape jelly, and spiced watermelon-rind pickles. He felt very comfortable inside. Slowly he ate a large piece of pumpkin pie."

Ex. #3: The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett "Fresh roasted eggs, roasted potatoes with butter and jam, oatcakes and current buns with clotted cream, muffins, and sizzling ham"
Ridiculous.

Films:
Films traditionally focus more on a specific dish or food item, unless it's a food orgy like Julie and Julia. I'm usually more obsessed if it's just one.

Cannoli - The Godfather

"Leave the gun. Take the cannoli." Enough said.

Milkshakes - Pulp Fiction, There Will Be Blood

I legitimately craved for milkshakes endlessly after I saw There Will Be Blood. Pulp Fiction only made me desire it in a classic tall glass with whipped cream and a cherry.



Especially the other day when I ordered a milkshake and it turned out to be a "five dollah milkshake."


French Toast - Kramer vs. Kramer
Exactly the way Dustin Hoffman makes it.


Macarons - Marie Antoinette

I'm not even sure macarons were directly in the movie, but there's definitely the association, with what the famous Parisian macaron bakery Laduree providing all the pastel-colored treats.


Pies - Waitress



"Falling in Love Pie"

Strudel with FRESH CREAM - Inglourious Basterds
During a recent visit to an adorable Austrian cafe in the city, I not only demanded whipped cream but when it came on the plate adjacent to the strudel, I took a spoon and scooped it onto the strudel instead.

Oscar Rant #1

And J. LO FOR GOD'S SAKE. Adam Skank-man if you're trying to be hip then at least keep up with us. Who gives a crap about J. Lo anymore?


I realized what I missed. Each year, there's at least ONE montage featuring past movies and actors that are completely unfamiliar to me, that makes me think "wow, who are they? What are these movies?" and inflame my love for movies all over again. This year all we had was the horror montage, aka "excuse to slip in a Twilight scene at the Oscars" montage. There was no REAL celebration of movies, of the past. The Oscars are just as important in honoring tradition and the ghosts of films and actresses and actors past as they are about the Now. I mean, what was up with that tidbit about The Dark Knight? Everything felt dreadfully contrived. "Look! That movie you and your eight-year-old cousin watching actually recognize! Aren't we cool?" I actually missed Sid Ganis, I missed the awkward silences and the long dull speeches. There was a lot of disinterested "you're Taylor Lautner, I'm sure as hell not going to clap for you" moments to "MERYL STREEP AKA THE ONLY CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD ACTOR HERE TONIGHT" sappiness and not a lot in between.

Oscar Recap

For all the changes they put to the telecast, it was no more interesting than last year's. For some reason, it just didn't feel very Oscar-ish.


Maybe that's because we had TAYLOR LAUTNER, MILEY CYRUS, KEANU REEVES, ZAC EFRON and a shitload of other irrelevant actors (Demi Moore? What?) present awards?

Much as I love Neil Patrick Harris, that number was useless. The John Hughes tribute was outrageously long when you think about all the other geniuses who never got the time of day at the Oscars, and the fact that 3/4 of the aging audience had clearly never seen his movies, hence the unenthusiastic applause near the end. So. Awkward.

And Jason Reitman and Tarantino lost their screenplay Oscars? Fuck that. Did anyone care about the screenplays for Precious or The Hurt Locker? This is the time when I feel that, FUCK PRECURSORS, I'm feeling pretty sure that Reitman wouldn't have lost if the media didn't flip out over his supposed "douchebaggery" aka awkwardness with Sheldon Turner, and if people weren't so "oh Precious is so cute, it should go home with something!" The fact that Tarantino and Reitman went home empty-handed is just plain wrong. I hope they got some good consolation booze afterwards.

Only good part of the evening was when Kathryn Bigelow won and when the camera panned to Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem sitting together. OH and when Tina Fey and Robert Downey Jr. presented. Thank god these exquisitely talented and funny people also happened to be "hip" with the MTV crowd. Though I wish Jack Nicholson would come back :(


All in all, a severe lack of class or decorum. The whole MTV aura, the 5-actors-fellating-I-mean-presenting, (though Tucci admittedly was funny as fuck) and I stand by my proposition that Adam Shankman can go to hell.

Casting Rumors Squeal #2

Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio Del Toro, and Gael Garcia Bernal for Scorsese's Silence.

I've just finished my first GGB movie, Y Tu Mama Tambien (which was fucking incredible, btw. Dirty and explicit as I've heard, obviously, but also hysterically funny, awkward, sad, and surprisingly tender. There's something somewhat innocent about Julio and Tenoch's Superbad-like subservience to Luisa. They're initially terrified of her sexual advances. And the last scene is just *so* well acted) Anyhoo, I officially get all the fuss about him, and to see these three sensitive, scarily intelligent, lovely tornadoes of sexiness and talent act together in a movie would just be....weird. And epic.

Not sure about the chemistry between the three (I'm still always a bit wary of all-star-casts, because big names occasionally translates to me-me! acting. But I'm optimistic, especially with the inclusion of DDL. Something DDL doesn't get enough credit for is his ability to spark with other actors. When he's onscreen, all anyone wants to watch is him and his dynamic energy, of course, but he's equally brilliant at building an undeniable chemistry with his screen partners, whether it be Madeleine Stowe, Paul Dano, or Leonardo Dicaprio. Even if said screen partner is miserably less effective than DDL (cough last two names) at establishing their own significance with the audience.

So basically, DDL could dance with a hatrack and make it look good. Benicio Del Toro would probably be his usually freaked out, strangely entrancing self, and Gael Garcia Bernal might bring some sexy normalcy to the trio (can't comment on him as much as the other two, since I need to see more work of his.) So all in all, crossing fingers and hoping Scorsese goes for this much more interesting storyline than yet another goddamn Hollywood biopic.

Marion Cotillard as...Kay Corleone?

I simply cannot express how much I loved Marion Cotillard in Nine this year. This is what truly great actresses do, elevate underwritten characters that would have been insipid in the hands of a less capable actress.

Luisa Contini literally does *nothing* but complain throughout the entire goddamn movie, yet Cotillard transforms Luisa's whining into nothing short of angelic martyrdom. Her desperate devotion to a husband whom she alternately hates and worships; her exquisite anguish at being torn between supporting the Guido Show and finding her own self-assertion is continually expressed by little more than a glance or a embrace.

Well, what kind of a role does that sound like, really? Kay Corleone! A tool used by her doting/patronizing husband, an underwritten role which critics called a little more than useless. A role that, as gallantly as Diane Keaton tries to play her, is so annoying we couldn't care less what happened to her. What if Marion Cotillard, with her unmatched empathy and grace, had been there forty years earlier? *Sigh*. Of course, there's the problem of Marion being French, since I always thought the point of Kay being an all-American WASP was to show Michael's conflict between his inescapable Mafia roots and his (failed) attempts to assimilate into the "legitimate" American life.


Nevertheless! If I were any good at graphics I would try to Photoshop Marion Cotillard into a Godfather frame, but as it is, you'll just have to settle for this:



"Oh, Michael. Michael, you are blind. It wasn't a miscarriage. It was an abortion. An abortion, Michael. Just like our marriage is an abortion. Something that's unholy and evil. I didn't want your son, Michael! I wouldn't bring another one of your sons into this world! It was a son, Michael! A son! And I had it killed because this, must all end!"

Can't you TOTALLY see Marion doing that? I can. The look of pain in her large, miraculously expressive eyes, as Marion's hissy French accent trembles with barely contained anger and scorn, something similar, I imagine, to her electrifying interrogation scene in Public Enemies. My, I think that sounds perfect.

Why Do I Feel This Will Be More Entertaining Than the Tim Burton One?

The first Alice in Wonderland ever made, in 1903, a hundred and seven years ago. According to EW, the Cheshire cat was the family pet and the White Rabbit is just fucking scary. And the shrinking and re-shrinking, oddly enough, impressive considering the time period. Very innovative, really. And strangely entrancing...



Also, clocking in at twelve minutes, it was longer than any other feature film of the time.

Montage Time!

Kind of wish the guy used more interesting scenes - this is kind of like that top-25 pop song medley where the movies feel alarmingly similar, but still deeply gratifying.

Film Orgasm #1

News: Marion Cotillard taking the lead in Woody Allen's next movie.

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