Now Is Good

I think I've mentioned this before, about the months of March and April being the months of loss. I've always thought of them as the months that, when the weather gets warmer, the ice melts away (in a figurative meaning), leaving only those who were strong enough to have survived the winter. And I heard the first death note on Saturday...

At the end of our work day, one of the tellers chocked out in sobs. He found out that his father had passed away. Some colleagues rushed over to console him but I just sat there, unable to move. I didn't know what to do, what to say. While most would say "I'm sorry for your loss", I felt like that those words weren't enough. No words were, or ever could be enough to express a loss, especially in that moment. So, while I still wished I'd said something, I couldn't…

Later that afternoon, I was watching a DVD, "Now Is Good". Its about "a girl dying of leukaemia (who) compiles a list of things she'd like to do before passing away". I don't tend to get too emotional during movies but towards the end, it was strong enough to bring tears to my eyes. And it made me wonder, if you knew you was going to die, would you really want to "do things" or would being surrounded by your parents, your little brother, your best friends, and if you're lucky to have him, your boyfriend be enough? Just being with you, day in and day out, with so much love, until one day, you just disappear, you cease to exist...

"Our life is a series of moments. Each one a journey to the end. Let them go. Let them all go…"

After work this afternoon, I went with a group of colleagues to give our condolences. I sat in a seat I always sit in during times like these, I thought the same thoughts I think of during times like these, and I silently prayed for another lost soul I never knew but feel like I did. Because in the end we're all brothers and sisters, we're all one family with the same thoughts and feelings towards what matters most in life...

Titanic Valentine’s Day Messages

If you asked me what my favorite movie was, I would without hesitation say “Titanic”, and no, not only because my favorite actor stars in it. Oh Leo, you’re so dreamy! :-P Anyway, I found these three “Titanic Valentine’s Day Messages” on Facebook this morning, and I couldn't help but post them, they’re so sweet:

I am also bucket loads exited for Titanic 3D to come out in April! So I’ll leave my Titanic love for when the movie comes out in two months… till then, here's the trailer:

Where Do We Go Now?

I’ve been looking forward to watching this Lebanese movie (Where Do We Go Now?) for quite a while now. Ever since Caramel, Nadine Labaki has been one of my favorite Lebanese idols…

A couple of days ago, my brother shared a link with me on Facebook: “Lebanese filmmaker wins top TIFF prize”. And after watching the movie this afternoon, I can say that she more than deserved it! In fact, I came out of that theater feeling so inspired, that I too had this desire to make a meaningful contribution to the world. I’ve always dreamt of writing and publishing my own book, but that’s a different post for a different day...

Back to the film, here’s the trailer (watch it, then watch the movie! ;-):

Open Your Heart, There’s Room ... (Marvin’s Room)

I’ve had the 1996 movie “Marvin’s Room” for quite a while now, and I’ve been meaning to watch it ever since I got it… quite a while ago (that is, until tonight)! Now I’ll admit, I mainly got it because it stars my favorite actor, Leonardo DiCaprio (L). Here is the plot:

Estranged since their father's first stroke some 17 years earlier, Lee and Bessie lead separate lives in separate states. Lee's son, Hank, finds himself committed to a mental institution after setting fire to his mother's house. His younger brother, Charlie, seems unfazed by his brother's eccentricities or his mother's seeming disinterest. When Lee comes to the asylum to spring Hank for a week in Florida so that he can be tested as a possible bone marrow donor for Bessie, Hank is incredulous. "I didn't even know you had a sister," he says. "Remember, every Christmas, when I used to say 'Well, looks like Aunt Bessie didn't send us a card again this year?'" "Oh yeah," Hank says. Meanwhile, Marvin, the two women's bedridden father, has "been dying for the past twenty years." "He's doing it real slow so I don't miss anything," Bessie tells Dr. Wally. In Bessie's regular doctor's absence, it has fallen to Dr. Wally to inform Bessie that she has Leukemia and will die without a bone marrow transplant. This precipitates the two sisters’ uneasy reunion. In Marvin's room, Bessie cares for her father's every need. In Lee's eyes, the sacrifice Bessie has made is too great and realizing the old man's welfare will fall to her if Bessie dies, Lee's first instinct is to look for a nursing home. "In a few months, I'll have my cosmetology degree," she says. "My life is just coming together; I'm not going to give it all up, now!" As first Lee is tested and then the boys for the compatibility of their marrow with Bessie's, the women take stock of their lives and rediscover the meaning of "family."

All bias aside, it was quite an inspirational film. It was one of those movies that makes you think, and both laugh and cry. And the acting is brilliant, Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, and of course Leo all pull some of their best performances in this little film…

And as in every film I love, it comes with great lines, among my favorite of which was near the end of the movie, with the two sisters:

---

Bessie: “I've been so lucky... I've been so lucky to have Dad and Ruth... I've had such love in my life... and I've had such... such love...”

Lee: “They love you very much…”

Bessie: “That's not what I mean, no, I mean that I love them… I have been so lucky to be able to love someone so much...”

---

And that’s where it got me thinking, people underestimate the power of love that comes from within, the love that we feel for other people, and how great it can be. That last line, “I have been so lucky to be able to love someone so much…” that line just warmed my heart. Because to know, to have, so much love for another person, that in itself truly is a beautiful, priceless blessing… :-)

Never Say Never 3D

I honestly have no recollection of how I first heard of the kid sensation Justin Bieber. All I remember was hearing a couple of his songs, watching a couple of his videos on YouTube about a year and a half ago, and loving them. The kid is adorable; he reminded me of a young Aaron Carter who I used to be in love with as a teen. Only difference is that JB sounds better, and is Canadian, like me! :-)

He’s not that well known here in Lebanon, well at least not among those of us above sixteen, let alone twenty-three :-P But he’s such a cute kid, with such good songs of which my top three are: Never Say Never, Down To Earth, and Baby…

So, when his movie Never Say Never 3D was released in early February in the States, I couldn't wait to watch it! Unfortunately, it took well over a month to bring the movie to Lebanon. It just came out last Thursday and today, I went to watch it. I was literally the only person in the theater, with over sized 3D glasses, but it was cool to have the entire theater and 3D experience to myself. They did a pretty good job with the 3D effects; I could almost see him jumping out of the screen and the music just made me want to just get up and dance with him! And all that online hype for the movie from Twitter, it all lives up to its expectations. It was emotional, just the massiveness of his success, so inspiring!

I don’t care how much ridicule I’m going to get out of posting this, I’m a Belieber! ;-)

We're Always On The Same Team

I’ll never forget the countless number times lil brother and I would be watching The Disney Channel back when we were both still in school, and the movie of the night would be 1982 film TRON. We’d both groan and flip the channel…

But after I saw the preview of the 2010 sequel, TRON: LEGACY, I was pretty impressed. Add to that 3D, and Dad and I went to watch it… but to me, what make movies will always be quotes like:

“We're Always On The Same Team”

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part I

How hard is it to find real Harry Potter fans in Lebanon, let alone in Tripoli? It wasn’t until after I got back from Malaysia that I realized that the 7th film was already out, and since then, I’ve been trying to find friends who’d be interested in watching it with me. Unfortunately, nobody seemed interested enough. The only person who I could imagine would be interested was Nada (who was actually the one to watch it the 6th film with me last year) but she said she had already seen it with her fiancé while I was away. I even asked Dad if he wanted to see it and he smirked, “what, none of your friends want to watch it so you’re asking me?”

I took that as a no and thought I had no other choice than to get it on DVD and watch it in the comfort of my own living room. But I had one last hope, Dial and Ymn. I couldn’t imagine them being interested but I texted them nonetheless. Dial said she wouldn’t be in town on Sunday (and even if she were, I’m sure she would have come up with another excuse in order not to watch it) but Ymn, to my surprise, said YES! So Sunday, was Harry Potter!

Side Note: When I was thirteen years old, I discovered Harry Potter. I actually read the second book (Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets) first, followed by the third book (Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban) and then I went back and read the first book (Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone <- Yes, I pick British!). And ever since then, I’ve been hooked on the books!

The movies have been alright, but compared to the books, well, they don’t compare! However, this 7th movie, it was beyond, way beyond, my expectations! Even though I knew what was going to happen, I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat throughout the entire 2.5 hours. You know at first, I thought the fact that the movie had been split into two parts wasn’t cool. But now, and at the part the movie is cut off at the end, I think it’s perfect just the way it is…

I’d like to have a moment of silence for Dobby, a FREE elf, who never meant to kill. Only maim or seriously injure… RIP Dobby :-|

Ya Noosak

Yesterday afternoon, I went with Dial to City Complex’s Circuit Planete to watch “Ya Noosak” (watch theatrical trailer here), a new Lebanese film I was really looking forward to seeing…

Written and Directed by Lebanese Elie Khalife and Alexandre Monnier, starring Siegfried Terpoorten and Zeina Daccache, “Yanoosak tells the story of Rudi, a Swiss German living in Zurich, who decides one day to move to Beirut to establish a small business and hopefully meet his soulmate. Between one heartbreak and another, he manages to open a small pizzeria. The movie follows this segment of Rudi’s tragic-comic life while revealing how European culture tries to blend into the oriental culture without fully understanding its codes…”

Hmm, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed, and I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would have. I mean compared to other Lebanese movies, we (as Lebanese) have definitely had more success in films like Caramel, Bosta, Falafel, West Beirut, and Zozo... but that's just my take on it, what’s yours?

12 Angry Lebanese

The Rotaract Club of Tripoli (in collaboration with Catharis, Lebanese Center for Drama Therapy) had recently organized a documentary screening of Zeina Daccache’s “12 Angry Lebanese”, the first play staged by inmates (from Roumieh Prison) in the Middle East.

So last night, Dial, Dina, and I went to watch it. The documentary was brilliant, touching and soul opening. Indeed, Zeina Daccahe is such an inspiration. I first heard of her from a Lebanese Comedy show called Basmat Watan. She used to play a character named ISO, with the famous tagline: “My name is ISO… and I give you BISO (kiss)”

I remember during the infamous summer of 2006, during the Hezbollah-Israel war, as we were being evacuated with the Canadian Embassy, she was there. We spent a good 10 minutes with her, signing applications and asking questions about the evacuation procedures and all that time, none of us realized who she was until after my little brother said, “You do realize that you were talking to ISO, right”. We all looked back at her and it hit us, yes, it was Iso, or Zeina Daccache. I instantly went back to ask for a picture with her, in real life she is a darling:

She’s also got another movie coming out soon, “Ya Noosak”, which I’m also looking forward to watching. Her work so far has been extremely worthy of recognition and at the end of the screening, the entire audience burst with applauds…

The documentary is still screening tonight (Saturday October 16th) and tomorrow (Sunday October 17th) at 7:30PM at Circuit Planete in City Complex Tripoli. Go, Go see it!

INCEPTION

Finally watched Inception (I LOVE LEONARDO DICAPRIO!)...

Garage Sale

Ahwak Coffee Shop was holding a two day Garage Sale this weekend, selling Books, CDs, DVDs, and accessories starting from as little as 1,000 L.L. And for a good cause too, as part of the profit is going to go to Saint Jude’s Cancer Center in Lebanon. So I decided to check it out…

I wanted to support him so I decided to buy one of the books that most captured my interests, which was one of “The Vampire Chronicles” by Anne Rice. I found three of the chronicles and I got the second one, “The Vampire’s Lestat” (I’m not really into Vampires, apart from Twilight but I thought I’d give this a go). It was originally priced at 10,000 L.L. but he made a special offer for me, for $5, and he threw in a free book “The Sherlock Holmes Mysteries (22 Stories)”, and he let me chose a free CD or DVD from a stack, I picked “Sex And The City”… a super sweet deal! :-)

Into The Wild...

Last night, I watched “Into The Wild” on DVD. Its been lying around the living room ever since I rented it well over two weeks ago and after MSN Messenger crashed with me last night, I decided to turn to the TV… and I fell in love with the movie. This is the plot (without spoilers):

“Based on a true story. After graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters who shape his life…”

One of the most touching characters Chris encountered was an old retired leather worker who Chris lives with for several months. This is one of the beautiful conversations that went on between them a little before Chris had to leave:

Ron Franz: I'm going to miss you when you go…

Christopher McCandless: I will miss you too, but you are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of human relationships. God's place is all around us, it is in everything and in anything we can experience. People just need to change the way they look at things…

Ron Franz: Yeah. I am going to take stock of that. You know I am. I want to tell you something. From bits and pieces of what you have told me about your family, your mother and your dad... And I know you have problems with the church too... But there is some kind of bigger thing that we can all appreciate and it sounds to me you don't mind calling it God. But when you forgive, you love. And when you love, God's light shines through you…

This line got to me: “You don't need human relationships to be happy, God has placed it all around us…”

Before Chris leaves, Ron asks if he can adopt him, as his grandson…

I’m not going to spoil the rest of the movie but if you ever get a chance to watch it, by all means do! This movie has most definitely made it to my list of top ten movies of all time, and instead of returning it with the rest of the DVDs I rented several weeks ago, this one is for keeps! :-)

Nour-Anne

When I got home from a jog this evening, I bumped into our fifth floor neighbor’s maid at the entrance to our building. She held open the door for me and I thanked her. She then smiled at me and said,

“You know look like that American Actress… Anne Hathaway”

I smiled back at her and nodded, “yeah, I get that a lot”. The elevator reached the fifth floor. “Bye”, she said and I turned around to look at myself in the elevator mirror… I love Anne Hathaway :-)

Alice In Wonderland

It’s been a lazy Sunday, but I finally got around to watching “Alice In Wonderland” in digital 3D with a good friend of mine… :-)

P.S. Have you any idea why a raven is like a writing desk? :-P

Shutter Island:

AVATAR AGAIN

AVATAR

New Moon

"Time passes. Even when it seems impossible. Even when each tick of the second hand aches like the pulse of blood behind a bruise. It passes unevenly, in strange lurches and dragging lulls, but pass it does. Even for me…"

- Stephanie Meyer (New Moon)

2012