SNL: Adele - Someone Like You (sketch)

ENUI MAG - DeVotchKa

Para os que nao sabem, bem recentemente comecei a contribuir para um site de moda, projeto este levado a cabo por alguns amigos meus, entre os quais consta a Ana Rosado, minha antiga colega de curso na Universidade Católica e Colégio Amor de Deus. 

A Ana, vocacionada para este meio que é a Fashion Industry e o jornalismo, lidera um grupo de jovens autores, com formação nas mais diversas áreas de forma a acrescentar diversidade e alguma disparidade no conteúdo.

Com já alguns artigos em exibição (WWPJ, Yann Tiersen, entre outros) a partir de hoje farei essa mesma partilha dos meus trabalhos pela EnuiMag aqui no blog.

Cliquem aqui para terem acesso ao mais recente sobre o grupo DeVotchKa

Hold your grandmother's bible to your breast
Gonna put it to the test
You wanted to be blessed

And in your heart you know it to be true
You know what you gotta do
They all depend on you

And you already know
Yeah, you already know how this will end

There is no escape from the slave catcher's songs
For all of the loved ones gone
Forever's not so long

And in your soul they poked a million holes
But you never let em show
Come on, it's time to go

And you already know
Yeah, you already know how this will end

Now you've seen his face
And you know that there's a place in the sun
For all that you've done
For you and your children

No longer shall you need
You always wanted to believe
Just ask and you'll receive
Beyond your wildest dreams

And you already know
Yeah, you already know how this will end

Cradle

by: Joy Formidable



Demora

This is again one of those times in which most of the post will be written in Portuguese. This time for two different reasons:

1º Since the short movie is spoken in Portuguese, I doubt that foreigners who read the blog will have any interest on this.

2º Because I want to write this post like I was sending it as a message to a very close friend of mine, who plays a part in this project. So basically, by writing in our language, makes it seem more personal.

  

Durante muitos anos tenho acompanhado a carreira do Luís Filipe D'Almeida, nome que assumiu como seu cartão de visita, mas que apesar de tudo, permanece eternamente conhecido entre os amigos (especialmente os mais chegados) por Eusébio.

Por entre todos os projectos em que esteve envolvido, fosse teatro ou televisão, procurei sempre ser o mais critico possível, fazendo referência ao positivo mas em algumas alturas dando maior ênfase ao negativo porque é isso que o Luís muitas vezes quer ouvir! Sendo a boa pessoa que é e exigente consigo mesmo, apesar de dar imenso valor aos elogios, sempre procurou ouvir e analisar os aspectos que as pessoas insistem que tem que trabalhar mais. 

Muitas foram as coisas boas que apanhei e em tantas outras ocasiões, as coisas más... embora diga muito sinceramente, que era frequente o ver envolvido em projectos de baixo calibre, mas onde ele era sempre o elemento de destaque a meu ver! Certo que a minha opinião pode ser suspeita, com muitos acusando-me de  não ser totalmente imparcial dada a minha proximidade com ele... mas quem me conhece sabe que sou por vezes implacavelmente duro, particularmente com aqueles que gosto... pois mais que ninguém merecem a verdade, ou no mínimo, a minha opinião sincera!

Seja como for... estando eu a falar dos seus inúmeros projectos (bons e maus), posso afirmar aqui que este foi sem dúvida aquele que mais me agradou em bastante tempo! Tendo em conta que esta curta-metragem foi feita em apenas 48 horas (para um festival/concurso que exigia - naturalmente - os filmes em dois dias) o resultado final é facilmente condecorado com mérito pela forma como foi filmado (esteticamente está fabuloso com destaque para os contrastes de luz e grande parte das cenas na estação de comboios) e com um argumento sólido, que por muito usado e gasto que seja, em poucas palavras procura contribuir com uma mensagem de alguma subsistência. 

No entanto, na minha humilde opinião, a prestação do nosso menino Luís Eusébio é claramente um elemento acima de tudo o resto. Obviamente, tenho plena consciência que grande parte do seu sucesso não seria possível sem intervenção das actrizes com quem partilha a tela e todos os  outros elementos cinematográficos (onde incluo igualmente a banda-sonora que acompanha a cena final, capaz de dar maior emotividade à poderosa frase proferida nos instantes finais), mas dou-lhe bastante mérito sabendo sem qualquer tipo de dúvidas, que mesmo no pouco tempo presencial à frente da câmara, foi capaz de dar um contributo de grande magnitude. A forma como eu reagi perto do fim é claro sinal do quão bom foi o nível de expressão... fosse no tom e colocação que emprega nos seus diálogos ou na linguagem gestual/facial, tão genuinamente sentida que torna fácil ao espectador de testemunhar todo o desenlace com interesse.

Ciente estou que que toda esta conversa provavelmente vos está a cansar e que eventualmente possa estar a colocar as expectativas bastante altas... aumentando assim o risco de desiludir os corajosos que se deram ao trabalho de ler este "testamento". Se me disserem que isto não é uma obra-prima, não vou certamente discutir isso (sabendo que "têm razão")... mas só pelo simples facto que mexeu tanto comigo (principalmente aquele momento que considero ser o clímax desta curta de quase quatro minutos), merece inquestionavelmente uma menção honrosa! Tal menção ainda tem maior razão de ser ao ter um amigo como o Luís envolvido e responsável pelo meu desequilibro emocional de 10 segundos, provocado com excelência e qualidade artística... porque sim: Está representado de forma eximia!

- "Que fiques com noção Luís... do quão bonito eu achei este momento que me proporcionaste meu amigo!"

Ultraviolet (Light my Way)

by: The Killers

(Original by U2)

In celebration of U2's album "Achtung Baby" 20th anniversary, a new edition was released followed by an album full of covers by artists in the likes of Jack White, Patti Smith, Snow Patrol or Fray (among others).

This is probably my favourite cover of them all...



So Funny!

Really great initiative by Jimmy Kimmel

Deixa-me Ser

by: PAUS

Same Mistake (Live at Jimmy Fallon)

by: Clap Your Hand Say Yeah

The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

The Adventures of Tintin (2011) has to be one of the best animation movies that I've seen in my life! Visually it's perfect, something that really surprised me due to the fact that its something unusual of Spielberg's part (the animation genre I mean).

Combining forces with Peter Jackson (who produced this feature), Mr. Spielberg brings us the adventures of Hergé's creation and masterpiece, the young and restless journalist, Tintin! 

Voiced by English actor Jamie Bell, it has some of Hergé's most well known supporting characters give their contribution through the voices of actors like Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost or Toby Jones.

Based on the book "The Secret of the Unicorn" this movie has all the necessary ingredients to entertain a crowd. Action and adventure in the likes of Indiana Jones, many twists and turns and plenty of humour make this first successful instalment of what it looks like to be a potential massive cinematic franchise. There's plenty of excellent source material and if cast and crew stick to the working formula of this first movie, then we can wait for a few more to come.

I would only say that the film was a bit too long, with sequences that could easily be left out (sequences that don't even are in the original book). There are a few things that aren't "right" (if we even can say that), according to the book. Like for example, in the movie Hadock and Tintin have their first encounter, but originally, by the time the books get to this adventure, they were already close friends. Maybe it's not that big of a deal, but you have to understand that I grew up reading these books and I was a major fan, so every little change that I was able to perceive, had some sort of influence. There were a few more, but don't want to point out every single detail as it doesn't make any sense me doing so and obviously I do not want to reveal different lairs of the plot by discriminating the differences. First and foremost, this is an adaptation, so obviously the material is subject to some changes!

Regardless of that, I absolutely recommend everyone to see this in the cinema while they can. It makes a huge difference to watch it on a big screen and even the 3D plays a big part... Doesn't make you feel like the action is taking place in the room, but adds up in terms of aesthetic quality! Like I said, in terms of animation (visually) is probably the best I've seen so far.

As for the rest, its well worth seeing it, but maybe a bit more depth should have been given to the characters... but oh well... I guess it's not what the mass audience requested in a movie such as this! Only the real Tintin fans will know what I'm talking about I suppose...

Your Sweet Voice

by: The Reindeer Section

Your sweet voice
Lets me know there is a choice
Plays me slow
Oh, Much more slowly than that

And when we danced
We danced warm cheek to cold cheek
A sideways glance
I knew you were looking at him

I can't call you a friend
Cause when you left me here
You left me here to die
Don't worry I wont call you again
Cause when I take a hint
I take it pretty hard
And when you broke my heart
you broke it into shards of glass

The telephone yells out
At me to wake
I won't be blamed
For someone else's mistakes
It's your sweet voice
Sounding cheery and warm
It breaks my heart
But I summon up all my charm

Can I call you my friend?
Cause it's been so long
Since we've talked
and I miss you
Don't worry I'm over you right now
So my feelings wont get in the way of it
Oh, I miss the way we talked
about the little things

It's Real

by: Real Estate



Fast Five (2011)

 

Ok... So... I saw this movie some weeks ago and I must admit I was very lazy to write about it back then, as I am lazy right now... But there's no way in hell I'm leaving this one behind!

Had such a great time watching this!

Really!

And I want to say "Who would have known?" like I was greatly surprised by the increasing quality of Fast Five (2011) compared to the other movies of the franchise. But I can't!

I was already aware that this last instalment was by far the best one of the Fast and Furious saga! The reviews were great, the box office results were the best from all five... all of which came with no surprise after seeing it for myself!

The direction was actually pretty good... Really nice shots from Rio de Janeiro, plenty of well executed action sequences and fast paced car chases, "F&F" style.

The cast reunion was an excellent idea to begin with... Getting to see the essential characters work out together was a good call indeed, plus adding Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, was like adding a secret/special ingredient. His performance was outstanding, easily outshining the rest of the gang. Was great to see him on solo scenes or alongside some of the main characters, especially when sharing the screen with Vin Diesel, having their fight scene come as a display of the most anticipated moment of the feature, hitting its climax in a very intense way!

Being an action fan and admirer of both Johnson and Diesel, it's hard to resist the combination of these two names, who with the help of a very nice script, made everything far more interesting!

But the success of this film goes beyond the efforts of the director and the influence of their cast... It's the plot and change of genre that strikes me as the most significant component of Fast 5. Going from being labelled  as a car movie, to a Heist movie is a big change, one that has probably contributed to the extension of this franchise by incrementing new elements and making it more diversified within it's universe.

Well worth seeing it!

Still Life

by: The Horrors

Homecoming

by: The Teenagers

Looks awesome!

Agua de Beber

by: Astrud Gilberto

De.con.struc.tion

by: Fanfarlo

After a fantastic debut album, Reservoir (2008) - in which I highlighted in the past the song Ghosts - comes the single De.con.struc.tion, taken from the forthcoming album (which the name is still to be revealed).

Since I started listening to this track, it's been on a sistematic replay... I'm really addicted!

Bring Back The NBA !



Bon Iver @ The HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London - 24.10.11

When it got to my attention that the American band Bon Iver was coming to London, I tried to gather a group of friends to buy a few tickets, but as always, dealing with a lot of people has it's issues, and so, in the mist of getting a few "yes's or no's", eventually the tickets got sold out and my hopes to see them live vanished like seats at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo.
Fortunately I was able to re-candle this fiery desire of going to the show when I found out that a friend of mine, with already a ticket in her hand, couldn't make it that day...

Yeah... she sold it to me... otherwise I wouldn't be telling this story! If not for this friend, I would probably miss out one of the top gigs in recent years...

My thanks go out to her ("life saver!!")! I owe you big time and this post is in great part dedicated to you, as I did my best to gather nice pictures and videos from that night...

Anyway... The big day had finally come! The much anticipated Bon Iver gig arrived in all it's splendour to London, for the second time in two days!

After getting off work, I rushed immediately to Hammersmith so I could settle in easily into the comfort of the chair that would later on accommodate me for one historical show. But... let's start from the beginning!



I got there way before time, so decided to eat something at the local MacDonalds. While there, stroke conversation with a gentleman who approached me asking if he could share the same table. I curiously asked him if, like me, he was attending the Bon Iver gig. He said that he was going to a play, but showed a lot of interest in the band for which I bought a ticket. This generated a conversation that ended with a comment on his part that helped to make my day. He said: "never would picture myself having a interesting conversation at a MacDonalds!" That certainly meant a lot to me due to the topic of discussion and the way it was raised.

You could tell he was a very well educated man that in those few minutes was able teach and be taught as well, under random circumstances... And as I left towards the venue, couldn't help thinking how that exchange of opinions, that came in such unpredictable conditions, was in fact very enlightening and only came to show how people can benefit from one another, just from the smaller things in life.

But moving forward...

I still had more than enough time... Doors only opened at 19:00h and I showed up a little bit after that. Since I didn't know who the opening act was I thought that I might just give it a try. Had the spare time, but unfortunately not the right frame of mind. As I got to my seat in the stalls and waited for the supporting band, I took a few minutes to gaze around the venue in genuine fascination, dreaming of what was to come!

Three people stepped in, being their leader a girl by the name of Kathleen Edwards. Funny enough... turns out she is Justin Vernon's girlfriend... but anyway...

Not that her music was bad, but I was immensely distracted on the phone, messaging friends and checking emails, while anxiously longing for Bon Iver to take the stage. That's why I said I wasn't in the right frame of mind for the opening act! Instead of just taking the chance of getting to know a new (upcoming) artist, I just wasted that opportunity away. The fact that most of the room wasn't tuned with Miss Edwards helped a bit... but that doesn't serve me as an excuse! Be it as it may, I must confess that "regret" didn't stagger in my mind much time, mostly due to the wonderful performance of the main act, that made everything else seem like irrelevant.

From the get go, Bon Iver "made a lot of promises" to the fully packed Apollo... Promises that were maybe a bit too ambitious for them to keep!

As they entered the stage, I counted 9 musicians! Big surprise... Wasn't aware of that I must say. Two drummers, three horns, guitars and bass... Here and there, some would switch into other percussion instruments or a synthesizer.

Those instruments came to play, giving the audience the first tune of the night... and what a magnificent tune: Perth.

Here was their first statement of the night: "Get ready for a unique and special ride".

To give away such a track right at the beginning, made me wonder what sort of line-up they had in store...

A few tracks later, followed Flume and Holocene. I couldn't believe it! It seemed like they were throwing away all their aces! It was very impressive to think how a band with such a recent repertoire made of only two albums, has so many good tracks capable of bringing the house down!

Both were brilliantly executed, but Flume has a special meaning as it is THE song that introduced me to the band, gripping me after only the first listen. Even thought Vernon's voice and the instruments that go along with him seem like they were taken off the album, their arrangements go beyond what people know, adding a much more eloquent and complex sonority to their musical themes.



Then followed Blood Bank and others more, until we came to three of their master pieces in a row:

Creature Fear, Re-Stacks and Calgary.

Creature Fear was played beautiful as ever, while Re-Stacks was performed in a very intimate one-on-one between Vernon and the crowd.


Calgary was introduced under the sign of being about "when you believe in something really hard, that it actually happens", said Justin Vernon.

Beth/Rest came as the middleman right before one of the highlights of the night...

Vernon approached the audience and asked if they could sing along with him... Well... not actually sing along, but more of a demonstration that showed "we were all together in this one", as he put it.

"What might have been lost" - those were the words that he wanted us to chant in a ever, unifying, growing voice... it was: The Wolves (Act I and II)

With the ending of this song, the packed and pumped up Apollo instantly got up while clapping and cheering enthusiastically in a clear sign of affection, respect, and most of all, in awe to their superb performance that evening! Everyone knew the "encore" was still to come, but that standing ovation was in such an outstanding fashion, like it was certain that it was the last song of the night!

It was after brief (but "chillin" minutes) that they came back for what it seemed like the two obvious songs left to play...


For Emma and their everlasting Skinny Love, in a very nice rendition with most of the band supporting Vernon without their instruments.

.

For those of you who haven't seemed them yet (and this goes out especially for my Portuguese friends who I'm assuming didn't had the chance), please make your best efforts to watch them live! It will leave you marks that you will carry throughout your own personal musical portfolio!

(note: I do not own any rights for the pictures and videos uploaded into this post)

I'm not strong... but I have heart!

Clinton Foundation Celebrity Brainstorm

A friend of mine just dropped this video last friday on my Facebook page.

It's an extensive collaboration between celebrities associated with the Funny or Die website and The Clinton Foundation.

Hope you guys like as much as I did...

Sunrise Sunset

by: We Are Trees

Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters (1973)

Magical album and one of Herbie Hancock's finest til' date!

It includes the Jazz standard and music landmark, Chameleon

I'm my own hero!

We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
Joseph Campbell

Set The Dark on Fire

by: Turin Brakes

Magical track with beautiful set of violins that give a smooth and eloquent sound...

Combined with the troubadours voices of Turin Brakes gives it a deeper resonance!