Wong Kar-Wai's visual seduction just about saves his latest

My Blueberry Nights - 3,5 stars

Never has a kiss been filmed so deliciously and seductively, yet Kar-Wai's latest film falls short when it comes to its screenplay. Images of ice cream melting slowly over a slice of fresh blueberry pie accompany a lateral shot of Jude Law kissing the ice cream off Norah Jones' full lips. My Blueberry Nights continues Kar-Wai's visual tradition that defined his auteur seal for his previous films such as In the Mood for Love, 2046 and Chungking Express. The sliding, slow camera movements, full exposed colors, highly-stylized mise-en-scène and overall visual polish are the prominent features of this film. His signature slow-motion treatment of real-time film is still around and used to full effect. However, all the prettiness can't save the script.

I must say that the actors have done their best, and their performances are pretty good, even Norah Jones', though Natalie Portman leads the main honors. The casting of Norah Jones isn't that surprising either as Kar-Wai likes to star popular artists in his films such as Faye Wong, a pop singer in Hong Kong, who starred in Chungking Express after which she continued to work with him. However, the script feels empty, under-developed and too indie, to such an extent that there were times when I chuckled at certain voice-over comments about life or love in general. They felt a bit too tired and forced. This might be the result of Kar-Wai working with a language other than his native tongue.

In my opinion, Kar-Wai did not deliver what he should have shown the world as his next film after 2046. The material isn't well developed and the script feels too forced. But it's still a beautiful film and I would recommend watching it just for the visuals and the cinematography. I won't be buying the DVD any time soon though.

Lights. Mic. Record. One. Two. One, Two, Three, Four!

I've been quite active with music lately. I recorded four songs for my best friend's birthday in Jan 2008. All four songs are covers and more or less in the style of the original performer, especially the Amy Winehouse covers. They also have a single idea that binds them - longing (for love, for life, etc.). Therefore, I named this CD of covers after my best friend's name - ö·z·l·e·m, which means longing in Turkish. Below are four songs:

1. I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight – Bob Dylan
2. Stronger Than Me – Amy Winehouse
3. Love is a Losing Game – Amy Winehouse
4. C’est L’amour – Carla Bruni

I also signed up for jazz vocal classes at the Bloom School of Jazz at the beginning of the year and have been attending once a week. I've just recorded a demo of the two songs that I'll be performing at the Green Mill in Chicago on March 29 as my graduation ceremony. I'm really excited because I was able to develop my own style for both songs, You've Changed and Honeysuckle Rose. They're not the best right now as I'm still working on them, but they've come a long way... With this demo CD, I can target problem areas and try and improve before the final show at the Green Mill. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

I hope to stay as active as I've been so far on the music front. Hopefully, you'll hear from me again with more songs and maybe jam sessions/open-mic nights, where I'll need your support. ;) Check out the songs at my myspace.com page:

http://www.myspace.com/ysolmaz