1. Theodore Decker
Theodore or Theo Decker is the main protagonist in Donna Tartt's new book "The Goldfinch", people have nothing but raved about this book and no less than Stephen King himself reviewed it for the New York Times. I personally loved this book, I can see it as being a classic along the lines of J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye". The book is quite thick, it's a bit of a hack in the beginning, not until he met Boris did the pace picked up. There are too many characters in this novel and Ms. Tartt's characterization was sublime. Justified yung comparison with Dickens, most reviewers have hallowed the adjective "Dickensian" to describe this book and I can see why. I loved Mrs. Barbour, Boris and of course Hobie. I'm torn if I want to see the book made into a movie but here are my casting choices, oh yeah you know I love playing the casting director's bit.
Jamie Dornan as Theo Decker
Must be all the 50 Shades I've been getting online, that's why I thought of Jamie Dornan who's a bit older than the character but I think he can pull it off. Here are the other reasons why I think fist the role:
Looks good in a suit ..check. (Although the suit must be either Thom Browne or Turnbull & Asser)
Can rock horn rimmed glasses...check
A close second would be Alden Ehrenreich
Billy Cruddup as Theo's Father
The alcoholic ex-actor, must be charming and handsome with tints of tragedy:
Grace Gummer as Kitsey Barbour (the ice queen)
Holy mother her mother is Meryl Streep?!?!?!?!? How do I know this just now? Somebody give this girl a major role, I loved her in The Newsroom.
Chris Pratt as Platt Barbour
Cate Blanchett as Mrs Barbour
Just finished watching Blue Jasmine! She's a fantastic actress, and it wouldn't be far from her role as Jasmine - Park avenue wife who lost all her money.
Rooney Mara as Theo's Mother
I love her, I just do.
Boris - ???
Wala pa din ako maisip pero I kept picturing Dmitriy Sholokhov when I was reading the book.
 |
| Dmitriy Sholokhov, Project Runway Season 10 winner |
Also, more than anything this book has introduced me to the old Dutch masters of painting, Rembrandt, Vermeer and specially Fabritius so much so that I added The Hague in my places to go just to visit Mauritshuis and come face to face with the Goldfinch, the titular painting of the book. Wish!!!!
 |
| Mauritshuis in The Hague |
2. Theodore Twombly
Theodore Twombly is the main character of "Her", Spike Jonze's latest movie, played by one of the strangest people to commit to a role but earned my respect doing it - Joaquin Phoenix. In the movie set in the future, Artificial Intelligence is used as personal assistants to do everything for people prompted by voice commands. Parang super advanced version of Apple's Siri. The Operating System (OS) is voiced by Scarlett Johansson, she doesn't appear in the movie it's only her voice but there has been a campaign to get her an Oscar nod for her role.
Here's what I liked about the movie:
1. The story:
It's easy to make a caricature of a person falling for an OS but the story and Joaquin Phoenix's depiction of Theodore elevated this. ScarJo's voice must also be given credit for this.
2. The supporting actress
Where do you get to see movies with Amy Adams playing a supporting role? Not anymore eyh but in this movie she plays one and she does this so well. Her limited screen time is not wasted and she makes the most out of every scene.
3. Soundtrack by Arcade Fire
Apparently the soundtrack is by Arcade Fire but this caught me as a surprise. I only started listening to Arcade Fire recently with their new Album Refloktor which sounds totally different from their work for this movie. For that mahal ko na sila, before watching this I couldn't get what all the buzz was for the band but now I love them.
4. Production Design, Cinematography, COstume
The shots colored, it's like an old picture na madilaw na which creates warmth. Nung una i was disoriented because the costumes were old, the shots seeming old but the place where they were shooting (couldn't decide if it was Shanghai or Macau) and the society they lived in were very futuristic. Hoyt Van Hoytema did the cinematography and he is brilliant.
I'm no master of cinematography so may I direct you to these sites that talks about it with authority:
http://nofilmschool.com/2014/01/how-cinematographer-hoyte-van-hoytema-made-her-beautiful/
http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/cinematographer-hoyte-van-hoytema-on-capturing-spike-jonzes-her-through-a-non-dystopian-lens
The costumes are also unique parang hipster meets the 70's, they're calling it retro-futuristic which is an oxymoron if I ever saw one. I loved the clothes that Theodore wore even the high wasted pants look great except when the shots were from behind wherein mukha syang naka-diapers.
Here's another article where they're talking about the high-waisted pants:
http://www.vulture.com/2013/12/her-movie-high-waisted-pants-spike-jonze.html