The Illusionist.> Edward Norton is Amazing.

I was just looking at pictures of my summer and I feel overwhelmed by how much has passed. Glancing at pictures of Centre Island to the dinner I hosted at my house to softball practices at Helmkay to more recent events like the AY bbq and dessert at Karin's place. Sigh. So what have I done this summer? Sewing classes, hanging with friends, three photoshoots and... er... Ottawa and Quebec. Sounds very 'meagre' but I loved my summer. It was great though I didn't go anywhere fancy this year or do anything really spectacular although I think all my friends are spectacular. :P
I will miss Toronto.


ROBYN IS ONLINE! YAY. She likes all her suitemates which is good. :) I'm happy she's settling in. I hope this will be one eventful school year. I want to love Parsons. I want to say I love New York.

So I saw this movie.. It's an indie and I love love love indie films because they have so much more substance than your typical Hollywood movie *Coughsnakesonaplanecough*. Yeah and guess who is in it? Edward Norton. I love him. He's really talented. After seeing 'The Score' - I was like, wow he has skills.

This movie was set in the early 20th century in breathtaking Vienna. The motto of the film was basically 'nothing is as it seems.' The story is about a magician who fell in love with a duchess when they were kids and are seperated because of their social class. Years later, they find each other but like in Moulin Rouge, she is fated to marry the Crown Prince who is like Commodus of 'Gladiator'- a conniving man who wants to overthrow his father the emperor to take the throne for himself. Marrying Sophie the duchess would secure alliances in Hungary. Meanwhile the magician and the duchess are seeing each other secretly and they're discovered by the chief police- the son of a butcher who wants to be made the head of the police in Vienna. You see the inner conflict arise within him: to choose to be a high ranking official/aristocrat by jailing those who are innocent or to do what is right and risk losing all that he tried to gain.

So the Prince discovers their love affair and kills the duchess and Edward Norton, using illusions, conjures up ghosts and spirits to stir the crowd up against the monarchy. Yeah.. I can't say anymore because I'll just give away the ending for those who want to see it. It's very much like Moulin Rouge minus the singing.

Amazing movie. I loved it. There's a great twist at the end which makes it really good. Oh yeah the cinematography is absolutely stunning. Vienna is absolutely beautiful and now I want to go there. I remember talking to someone who said their aunt who has traveled all over the world said Vienna was the most beautiful of them all. And no, I can't just watch the movie to experience Vienna. I want to walk those same sienna-coloured cobblestone roads among the glorious Byzantine-style buildings.

Anyway it was a really sweet movie so long as you understand people don't conjure magic like that. But his performaces were great because he didn't simply just awe the audience by making an orange tree grow out of nothing- he asked many- okay I have to say it- philosophical/thinking questions about time, the soul and death. It was great. Plus all the tricks were chosen for a reason with a message. For example at the Crown Prince's house, he made a picture of the Emperor appear on a piece of paper on an art easel. He then speaks about Excalibur- the sword which could not be pulled out of the rock until the rightful heir came along. He takes the Prince's sword and it magically stays put on the floor with the blade down. Many men try to pull it out in vain until the prince tried with effort. Basically he was conveying the message that currently the rightful ruler was the existing Emperor and not the corrupted prince he wished to kill his father to take the throne.

I'd give it 8.8/10 stars.

Edward Norton was just great. There's this one scene where he conjures up the ghost of his beloved and begins to weep in front of the audience even though he was strictly forbidden to conjure up the duchess because it was propaganda. As she begins to turn to a iridescent cloud, he attempts to reach out to her but she fades quickly into thin air. And you could just feel the sorrow transcend to your own heart. You want to help him. You want to grieve with him. You want him to be reunited with his lady love.

And I want an enchanted life such as this. I want to embark on that adventure of my own, be the heroine of this journey and be swept off my feet. Okay I'm going to buy that movie when it comes out on dvd. That's my life in New York. I don't club, party or drink so I stay at home and watch movies with my roomie as we do homework. :P

Why are indie films (save LOTR) so much better? Probably because they have to do more thinking to make a film that people would want to buy and producers to invest in than Hollywood movies which just need a few famous actors, a hot actress and a very loose script. My favourite films are usually independent (save lotr but no one invested in lotr except New Line Cinema which wasn't even a big production company until this movie saved them.. so.. it could be called 'indie' in some way. hahah)

Everlasting, your light will shine when all else fades.

Cough, reminds me of the light of Elendil which Galadriel gives to Frodo to use when he is in his darkest hour.

So I was at Tania's house the other day and spotted this Prada pouch lying in her washroom cabinets. She uses it for toiletries. -_-. Miuccia Prada never wanted to be a fashion designer- she started off with a degree in POLITICAL SCIENCE but took over her family's luggage company and the rest is history. She was the first to incorporate nylon into her bags which sold like hot cakes back in the 1990's- it was an innovation at the time. So now they always have a collection of nylon bags for sale. The pouch that Tania had- a really tiny one for carrying a few lipsticks and makeup, is probably sold for $100+ at the Prada store.

And I found it so amusing because it's so ironic that that she doesn't give a darn about fashion but her mom used to sell designer jewelry, has at least 20 pairs of shoes, and two closets organized like a library. And my mom is just like Tania- she has less clothes than my dad, owns about four pairs of shoes and doesn't really care about brands (well she's more aware thanks to her daughter). Plus they both go/went to Waterloo. I told my mom and she laughed and said that was life. She said it would be bad if she was into that stuff too and turned to my dad who was sitting across us and said she would feel sorry for him. I said he'd probably be bankrupt. My dad said grumbling that he's already bankrupt with my expensive education. Lol. Anyway I told Tania since never really knows what to get me for my birthday/Christmas, I told her she didn't have to spend a penny and just get stuff from me from her house of discarded and unwanted stuff. Lol. Oh yeah and she gave me the pouch. Thanks. :P