Saturday, April 25, 2009

Can This Phoenix Rise Again?

Anyone else here a fan of the very talented Joaquin Phoenix?

I certainly am. For those who have watched Gladiator (which happens to be one of my favourite films of all time), I'm sure you hated the character portrayed by Phoenix in the film, and that's the treacherous Emperor Commodus. Without giving too much of the storyline away, for the benefit of those who still haven't watched it yet, Maximus (Russell Crowe) was a persistent thorn in the Emperor's side throughout the story. Commodus duly challenged Maximus to to a sword duel at the Roman Colosseum. Despite being vastly inferior to the ex-general in strength Commodus, being the evil bugger that he is, handicapped Maximus (I'm not telling you how) for the fight but ultimately met his death in the resulting combat at the hands of Maximus. I hated Commodus in the film so much that I felt so jubilant at the time of his death. It was because of Joaquin Phoenix's sheer talent in bringing out such evil in a movie villain that made me first realise of his skill.

Of course, who could forget his epic role in the the Johnny Cash biography - Walk the Line?

I'm not usually a fan of biopics but this one totally blew me away, mainly because of his chemistry with Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash and also because of how he managed to portray the country music legend's success, struggles, dilemmas and comebacks so well. His performance wasn't exactly over-the-top-mindblowingly-brilliant, but what makes it tick was that he made the character in the film so believable. And not many actors can do that. Mind you, he was nominated for a Grammy that year for Best Lead Actor, but he didn't win it, unforunately.


He's got a new movie out this year called Two Lovers co-starring Gwyneth Paltrow and the movie critics are already waxing lyrical about it. In February he was invited onto the David Letterman show to have a chat-chit (yeah, I flipped it on purpose) about the movie. So he showed up, but something's different now. He's like a completely douchebag. He's sporting a massive beard, perpetually has these unnecessary shades on, was murmuring monosyllabic answers throughout the entire interview that even Letterman himself was feeling a little awkward. He was just downright.... queer.


Yeah, that's his new look. See what I mean? WTF! What on earth has happened to him? If you watch videos of the interview online (just search for "Joaquin Phoenix on David Letterman" on YouTube, I'm not putting it here... lazy...), you'll see that his behaviour just doesn't concur with that of the social norm.

Prior to that, he had announced that his dumping his acting career to pursue a new one in hip-hop/rapping.

......Hip-hop? Rap? You'd think that if he were to pursue a career in music, he'd be doing country since he was so good at it in Walk the Line.

No shit.... and he's dead serious about it. It's no hoax. During the Letterman show, a reporter asked him whether all this was a put-on and he had an awfully disdainful look on his face. He looked as if someone had slapped him. He wanted his hip-hop aspirations to be taken seriously. Here's what he has to say about it:

"Might I be ridiculous? Might my career in music be laughable? Yeah, that's possible, but that's certainly not my intention."
Apparently his buddy Casey Affleck is filming a documentary of him turning into a hip-hop star, so he's probably doing all this just to "get into the character" just like how Heath Ledger did to become The Joker. So it could be a giant hoax and could well be his own way of telling the media that "you don't know a thing about Joaquin Phoenix".

You know what? We really don't. But I do know that someone as talented and accomplished an actor like he shouldn't let his acting skills go to waste. I'm sure he'll be back in the future.

I'm sure that this Phoenix will rise from the ashes again.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Shuffle

Just a random tag that I came across on a random blog when I was surfing randomly in the library during one of my random breaks on one of the random computers. Results are quite amusing, mind you.


The rules laid out are:
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on Shuffle mode.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Write any comments you have after the song name.


If someone says "is this okay?" you say?
On Bended Knee - Boyz II Men

Now that would freak that someone out.

How would you describe yourself?
Dream On - Aerosmith

really, now?

What do you like in a guy/girl?
Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis

I'm not that emo

How do you feel today?
Everything - Fefe Dobson

Yeah, I've got trouble sorting out my feelings so I just lumpe everything together

What is your life's purpose?
Bad - Michael Jackson

Hell-yeah! I'm bad@$$!

What is your motto?
I Drive Myself Crazy - NSYNC

True - I totally drive myself up the wall sometimes

What do your friends think of you?
Cigarettes & Alcohol - Oasis

LOL. Come on, now!

What do you think of your parents?
The One - Foo Fighters

Yep, they're the only parents I have!

What do you think about very often?
The Day I Tried to Live - Soundgarden

As if I'm living a life of non-existence now.

What do you think of your best friend?
Hysteria - Muse

Really? Nuts?

What do you think of the person you like?
Always Be My Baby - David Cook

ZOMG iTunes you can read my mind.

What is your life story?
Kung Fu Fighting - Carl Douglas

Haha bulldozing my way through life.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Shine - Collective Soul

Totally. Gonna do something great. ;)

What do you think of when you see the person you like?
Rule the World - Take That

What will they play at your funeral?
Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson

Holy smokes, that would be so cool.

What is your hobby/interest?
The Great Beyond - R.E.M.

Makes me look like some kind of philosopher.

What is your biggest fear?
Every Morning - Sugar Ray

Eh?

What is your biggest secret?
Belly Dancer - Akon

HOHOHO this one takes the cake! You guys must be astonished.

What do you think of your friends?
You Rock My World - Michael Jackson

Hell yeaaaaa.... shoutout to all my buddies, you know who you are.

What do you think when you wake up?
Keep On Movin' - Five

Total opposite - I wanna continue lying in bed...

What do you like to read books about?
Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard

Uh.... okkayyy.....

If the lecturer asks you a question, you say:
4 Minutes - Madonna/Justin Timberlake

Ahahahah great way to delay an asnwer...

You open the fridge door, you think:
The Great RocknRoll Swindle - Sex Pistols

Now why on earth would I think that?!

The person that you like asks you out, you say:
Sexy Love - Ne-Yo

Real suave...

What you think about your current assignment:
无可救药 - 品冠 (wu ke jiu yao lit. translated: "Helpless" - Pin Guan)

Amazing... I really feel like iTunes has a mind of its own, and it knows me personally.

Someone gets you a horrible xmas/birthday present and you say:
St Anger - Metallica

Uh, ok.... I really wouldn't get angry...

What do you think about you?
Ordinary - Train

Bingo. 100% spot on.

What would you say to a little child who just dropped their icecream?:
Who's Your Daddy? - Benny Benassi

LOL this would scare the bananas out of him.

You find your best mate and bf/gf making out what do you say?:
Boom - P.O.D.

More like I would go "boom" xD