Tuesday, May 3, 2011

You're just a kid -- "Good Will Hunting" Favorite Scene



A favorite scene from the great movie "Good Will Hunting" .. beautifully written, and brilliantly performed by Robin Williams:

Sean: Thought about what you said to me the other day, about my painting. Stayed up half the night thinking about it. Something occurred to me... fell into a deep peaceful sleep, and haven't thought about you since. Do you know what occurred to me? 
Will: No. 
Sean: You're just a kid, you don't have the faintest idea what you're talkin' about. 
Will: Why thank you. 
Sean: It's all right. You've never been out of Boston. 
Will: Nope. 
Sean:
 
So if I asked you about art, you'd probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo, you know a lot about him. Life's work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientations, the whole works, right? But I'll bet you can't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You've never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling; seen that.  
If I ask you about women, you'd probably give me a syllabus about your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can't tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy. You're a tough kid. 
And I'd ask you about war, you'd probably throw Shakespeare at me, right, "once more unto the breach dear friends." But you've never been near one. You've never held your best friend's head in your lap, watch him gasp his last breath looking to you for help. 
I'd ask you about love, you'd probably quote me a sonnet. But you've never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone that could level you with her eyes, feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you. Who could rescue you from the depths of hell. And you wouldn't know what it's like to be her angel, to have that love for her, be there forever, through anything, through cancer. And you wouldn't know about sleeping sitting up in the hospital room for two months, holding her hand, because the doctors could see in your eyes, that the terms "visiting hours" don't apply to you. You don't know about real loss, 'cause it only occurs when you've loved something more than you love yourself. And I doubt you've ever dared to love anybody that much. 
And look at you... I don't see an intelligent, confident man... I see a cocky, scared shitless kid. But you're a genius Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. But you presume to know everything about me because you saw a painting of mine, and you ripped my fucking life apart. 
You're an orphan right? You think I know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally... I don't give a shit about all that, because you know what, I can't learn anything from you, I can't read in some fuckin' book. Unless you want to talk about you, who you are. Then I'm fascinated. I'm in. But you don't want to do that do you sport? You're terrified of what you might say. Your move, chief.








Saturday, April 30, 2011

عين شمس وهليوبوليس -- مصر قبل الثورة



                  


فيلمى "عين شمس" و"هليوبوليس" من أفضل ماشاهدت فى الفترة الأخيرة من الأفلام التى تعبر بصدق شديد عن مصر ما قبل ثورة يناير .. الفيلمان المستقلان يصلحان لتأريخ هذه الفترة وهموم جيلها .. وفيلم "هليوبوليس" ربما يكون فيه الرد على سؤال حير كثيرين عن سبب اشتراك طبقات مستريحة ماديا فى المظاهرات ورغبتهم الشديدة فى التغيير والتى لم تقل عن رغبة الطبقات المطحونة.

الكاميرا المستقلة تتنقل بحرية فى عين شمس ومصر الجديدة .. تحكى قصة مصر التى سرقت منا .. ترصد أحلام سكانها المجهضة ومشاعرهم المليئة بالحزن والإحباط والحيرة، وحتى الوحدة برغم الزحام الذى يخنق الجميع .. الفيلم البديع "عين شمس" كان أفضل ككل برأيى أما "هليوبوليس" فبرغم أنه قد عابه كثرة التقطيع فى المشاهد الا أن الحالة السائدة من رثاء مصر الجديدة ذكرتنى برثاء الاسكندرية فى فيلم داود عبد السيد الرائع "رسائل البحر".

أتمنى أن تعرض هذه الأفلام باستمرار فى المستقبل لتحكى كيف عشنا وعاشت مصر قبل الثورة، وتعالج ضعيفى الذاكرة وهم كثيرون.



Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Monday, February 14, 2011

Then you win

'




"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win."
Mahatma Gandhi



'

Sunday, February 13, 2011

FREE WE ARE -- Glorious Feb11

'




February the 11th was indeed the best day in my life, and the 18 days of revolution starting from January 25 leading to that day were my most remarkable and emotional days in my life. I don't expect to live such a period, witness such events and experience such feelings again soon, if ever, in my life. History was written and I'm very glad I was part of it.


Hope is the greatest treasure we found and now everything has a meaning; I appreciate my life more, the food tastes better, the water acquired a sweet taste, even the air smells better; polluted and all but we'll fix everything .. It's the feeling that anything is possible, the spirit is high that we can touch the sky, we can do anything, we can make our country one of elite of the world .. it's hope that's driving us now.


There were hundreds of stories within this period that can be told later .. there were moments where victory seemed to me unlikely, but astonishingly the revolution was able to hold and finally conquer the regime.






'

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Saturday, February 5, 2011

مهما حاصرتوا الميدان .. عمره ما يتحاصر








أيادى مصرية سمرا ليها فى التمييز
ممدودة وسط الزئير بتكسر البراويز
سطوع لصوت الجموع شوف مصر تحت الشمس
آن الآوان ترحلى يا دولة العواجيز

عواجيز شداد مسعورين أكلوا بلدنا أكل
ويشبهوا بعضهم نهم وخسة وشكل
طلع الشباب البديع قلبوا خريفها ربيع
وحققوا المعجزة صحوا القتيل م القتل

اقتلنى قتلى ما هيعيد دولتك تانى
بكتب بدمى حياة تانية لأوطانى
دمى ده ولا الربيع؟ الاتنين بلون أخضر
وببتسم من سعادتى ولا أحزانى

...
...

يا مصر قام العليل رجعتله أنفاسه
وباس جبين الوطن مال الوطن باسه
من قبل موته بيوم صحوه أولاده
إن كان سبب علته محبته لناسه

...
...

متخافش على مصر يا با مصر محروسة
حتى من الطغمة دى اللى فينا مدسوسة
ولو أنت أبوها بصحيح وخايف عليها قوى
تركتها ليه بدن بتنخره السوسة

...
...

لكن خلاص يا وطن صحيت جموع الخلق
قبضوا على الشمس بإيديهم وقالوا لأ
من المستحيل يفرطوا عقد الوطن تانى
والكدب تانى محال يلبس قناع الحق

...
...
يرجعلها صوتها مصر تعود ملامحها
تاخد مكانها القديم والكون يصالحها
عشرات السنين تسكنوا بالكدب فى عروقنا
والدنيا متقدمة ومصر مطرحها

كتبتوا أول سطور فى صفحة الثورة
وهما علما وخبرا مداورة ومناورة
وقعتوا فرعون هرب من قلب تمثاله
لكن جيوشه مازالوا بيحلموا ببكرة

صباح حقيقى ودرس جديد قوى فى الرفض
أتارى للشمس صوت وأتارى للأرض نبض
تانى معاكم رجعنا نحب كلمة مصر
تانى معاكم رجعنا نحب ضحكة بعض

مين كان يقول ابننا يطلع بنا م النفق
دى صرخة ولا غنا؟ وده دم ولا شفق؟
أتاريها حاجة بسيطة الثورة يا أخوانا
مين اللى شافها كده؟ مين أول اللى بدأ؟

...
...

لا الظلم هين يا ناس ولا الشباب قاصر
مهما حاصرتوا الميدان عمره ما يتحاصر
فكرتنى يا الميدان بزمان وسحر زمان
فكرتنى بأغلى أيام فى زمن ناصر

...
...

أولنا فى الجولة لسة جولة ورا جولة
ده سوس بينخر يا بويا فى جسد دولة
أيوه الملك صار كتابة إنما أبدا
لو غفلت عيننا لحظة حيقلبوا العملة

لكن خوفى مازال جوه الفؤاد يكبش
الخوف اللى ساكن شقوق القلب ومعشش
يقوللى مش راح يسيبه ولسه حيقبوا
وهيلاقولهم سكك وبيبان ما تتردش

وحاسبوا قوى م الديابة اللى فى وسطيكم
وإلا تبقى الخيانة منكم وفيكم
الضحك على البق بس الرك ع النيات
فيهم عدوين أشد من اللى حواليكم



الميدان -- عبد الرحمن الأبنودى



Friday, December 31, 2010

A Look Back at my Favorite Movies of the Decade (2001-10) -- 2/3




2003


Big Fish


Directed By: Tim Burton

"An ebullient tall tale about the magic of imagination and the power of myth."
Lessons of Darkness, Nick Schager

A truly emotional and magical masterpiece by Tim Burton

*****

Mystic River

Directed By: Clint Eastwood

"River leads moviegoers on a suspense-filled, sometimes painful adventure marked by great performances."
Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert

A powerfully-acted movie; incredible performance from all cast

*****

City of God (Cidade De Deus)

Directed By: Fernando Meirelles, Katia Lund

"Easily the best gangster flick since Goodfellas."
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bob Longino

One of the best gangster movies ever; full of energy and brutal viloence and above all, based on a shocking true story

*****

Finding Nemo

Directed by: Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich

"...of those rare movies where I wanted to sit in the front row and let the images wash out to the edges of my field of vision."
Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert

My all-time favorite animated movie; visaully and emotionally rich, and entertaining for the whole family

*****

Kill Bill

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

"...no one combines tension and release, violence and humor, dialogue and action and music and pictures the way (Tarantino) does."
Chicago Tribune, Mark Caro

Another insanely entertaining and violent epic by Tarantino and remarkable performance by Uma Thurman

*****

I'm Not Scared (Io Non Ho Paura)

Directed by: Gabriele Salvatores

"The beautiful photography will have you booking flights to Sicily, while the unsentimental rites-of-passage drama can't fail to touch your heart."
Empire Magazine, Miles Fielder

An Italian masterpiece by Salvatores, with a very profound finale.

*****


2004


Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Directed by: Michel Gondry

"...a radical example of Maze Cinema, that style in which the story coils back upon itself..."
Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert

One of my favorite romantic movies; a fresh, clever and imaginative one with outstanding performances from Carrey and Winslet

*****

Million Dollar Baby

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

"...a masterpiece, pure and simple, deep and true."
Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert

One of my all-time favorite movies; perfectly written by Paul Haggis with great dialogues and brilliant performance by all actors

*****

The Motorcycle Diaries (Diarios de Motocicleta)

Directed by: Walter Salles

"...beautiful, with strong acting, breathtaking location cinematography and a vibrant story"
Reno Gazette-Journal, Forrest Hartman


An entertaining and thought-provoking journey with the young Che Guevara with very beautiful sceneries

*****

Hotel Rwanda

Directed by: Terry George

"...a calm, riveting ground-zero look at a terrible slice of history."
Chicago Tribune, Michael Wilmington

A personally real eye-opener for the horrible events that took place in Rwanda in 1994 and how the whole world shamefully turned its face away then

*****


2005


Crash


Directed by: Paul Haggis

"...literate, engrossing and occasionally funny look at race relations in Los Angeles."
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Eleanor Ringel Gillespie


The racial issues depicted in this movie are expressed so truthfully that they can be applied everywhere in our lives not just in Los Angeles

*****

Cinderella Man

Directed by: Ron Howard

"Here is a movie where a good man prevails in a world where every day is an invitation to despair..."
Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert

A truly moving and inspirational movie by Howard-Crowe partnership, not as brilliant as "A Beautiful Mind" but definitely worth booking a place in this list




Sunday, December 26, 2010

A Look Back at my Favorite Movies of the Decade (2001-10) -- 1/3




2006



El Labyrinto Del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)

Directed by: Guillermo del Toro

"...a transcendent work of art."
Boston Globe, Wesley Morris

Special movie, one of my all time favorite and a must-watch for fantasy fans

*****

Flags of our Fathers

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

"A unique, challenging look at World War II -- from the battlefield of Iwo Jima to hero worship on the homefront."
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bob Longino

A great anti-war movie and another brilliant Eastwood film

*****

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Directed by: Tim Burton

"...a dark revenge tragedy with heartbreak, mayhem and bloody good meat pies."
Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert

My second best musical of the decade after Moulin Rouge, a yet-another great product of the Depp-Burton partnership

*****


2007


300


Directed by: Zack Synder

"...the "Citizen Kane" of cinematic graphic novels."
Chicago Sun-Times, Richard Roeper

The insanely-faithful adaptation of Frank Miller graphic novel was really enjoyable

*****


2008


The Dark Knight



Directed By: Christopher Nolan

"...arguably the moodiest and most adult superhero motion picture ever to reach the screen..."
ReelViews, James Berardinelli

The best superhero movie so far, and a remarkable performance by Heath Ledger

*****


2009


Inglourious Basterds


Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

"Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds is a big, bold, audacious war movie that will annoy some, startle others and demonstrate once again that he's the real thing, a director of quixotic delights."
Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert

Another crazy Tarantino movie, may be his best one since Pulp Fiction .. Or hmm, may be since Kill Bill

*****


2010


Inception



Directed by: Christopher Nolan

"A devilishly complicated, fiendishly enjoyable sci-fi voyage across a dreamscape that is thoroughly compelling."
Hollywood Reporter, Kirk Honeycutt

Unique experience, and like another earlier Nolan movie "Memento", has to be watched more than once