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That world is full of laughter, horror, rapture and eddies and swells of despair. It’s an episodic work of great visual invention — from scene to scene, you never see what’s coming — that reminds you just how drearily conventional many movies are. You want three acts? How dull. A pretty protagonist? Oh, please. The triumph of the human spirit? Go away. Mr. Carax has nothing for you. What he has are weird tales; beautifully whirling, gyrating bodies; an anguished song, a sense of drift and the steady (heart) beat of lament.

It’s a gift for moviegoers to have this much freedom, and exhilarating. In “Holy Motors” you never know where Mr. Carax will take you and you never know what, exactly, you’re to do once you’re there. Sometimes you may be amazed or delighted; other times, you may feel restless or uninterested. No matter: there’s always another new vision coming up. If that sounds confusing, it isn’t. Although the movie doesn’t have an obvious narrative through line, its episodes are nonetheless deeply connected by mood, visual style and Mr. Lavant. They are connected, in other words, by Mr. Carax’s singular, fluid artistic vision. And while at times it feels as if “Holy Motors” had been cobbled together from a million movies, it mostly, wonderfully, feels unlike anything else: it’s cinema reloaded.

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— Manohla Dargis, “It’s Not About the Destination, but About the Dizzying Ride” 

(Source: The New York Times, via ibad)

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“He calls my health care law Obamacare. I call his plan Romney doesn’t care.”

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A few highlights from a short essay written by one of my favorite NYT columnists, Frank Bruni. Read it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/opinion/sunday/bruni-a-catholic-classmate-rethinks-his-religion.html?_r=1&ref=frankbruni

• This man attended Catholic services every Sunday in a jacket and tie, feeling that church deserved such respect. He grew up in the South, in a setting so homogenous and a family so untroubled that, he said, he had no cause to question his parents’ religious convictions, which became his. 
• He also read books on church history and, he said, “was appalled at the behavior of the church while it presumed to teach all of us moral behavior.” How often had it pushed back at important science? Vilified important thinkers?
• “There’s a lot of wisdom [in the Bible],” he added, “but it’s a real mistake not to think about it critically.”
• “In all centuries, through all history, women have ended pregnancies somehow,” he said. “They feel so strongly about this that they will attempt abortion even when it’s illegal, unsafe and often lethal. In decades past, many American women died from botched abortions. But with abortion’s legalization, “those deaths virtually vanished.”
• And in too many religious people he sees inconsistencies. They speak of life’s preciousness when railing against abortion but fail to acknowledge how they let other values override that concern when they support war, the death penalty or governments that do nothing for people in perilous need.
• He has not raised his young children in any church, or told them that God exists, because he no longer believes that. But he wants them to have the community-minded values and altruism that he indeed credits many religions with fostering. He wants them to be soulful, philosophical.
• “Religion too often demands belief in physical absurdities and anachronistic traditions despite all scientific evidence and moral progress.”

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What is your middle name? Ria

What are you passionate about? several things, maybe the most passionate about soccer and reading the New York Times.

Zebra or leopard print? I think both are tacky, zebra print less so.

Do you have any fears? needles

Silver or gold? Silver- goes with almost everything

Top three places to visit. Turkey, Ireland, and Spain.

How many siblings do you have? one younger sister

Where are you from? NJ

First career you wanted as a child. a marine biologist. for a long time i thought i would study animals, until i got older and realized how uninteresting a lot of science is

What’s your sign? Aries

Future names of your children. Dallas and Donovan

What are you listening to right now? “La Mer” by Julio Iglesias

Do you believe in fate/destiny? No

What are your career goals? something to do with writing, Middle Eastern relations, or film.

What is your favorite colour? pink and grey

What is your favorite flower? tulips?

What was the first concert/show you attended? WHY? (that’s the name of the band)

Something you are working on right now. Take home exam for my Constitutional History class

Have you ever had a near-death experience? When I was in Orlando as a  kindergartener, the elevator in my hotel got stuck mid-journey for like ten minutes. Honestly this was not actually a near-death experience but my mom acted like it was one.

Are you a procrastinator or do you get things done early? Hm I try to keep up with all of my readings and assignments, but I’m rarely done with anything early

Left or right handed? I’m practically ambidextrous! I taught myself to write with my left hand in ninth grade

TV Shows you watch regularly. Breaking Bad, Parks and Recreation, Southland, Pretty Little Liars

Halloween costume idea for this year? D.W. Read

What is your relationship status? single

Last movie you watched. Ghost World (2001). Do more movies, Thora Birch! I miss you

Your best friend’s name. yeah i’m not five years old

A song that’s been stuck in your head. ”Myth” by Beach House / “R U Mine?” by Arctic Monkeys

A book you want to read/have recently read. just read Isaac Babel’s STUNNING short stories for my Russian lit class.

Answering questions about myself is always fun!

(Source: quaffle, via alifeinhyperbole)

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