Movies: Dead Man Down

Hollywood is a magnet that attracts talents from all over the world. Directors like Fritz Lang (Austria), Hitchcock (UK), Ang Lee (Taiwan), John Woo (Hong Kong) and Guillermo del Toro (Mexico) continued their career in Tinseltown. One week ago started the Korean film maker Chan-wook Park with "Stoker" and last weekend director Niels Arden Oplev from Denmark had his debut with "Dead Man Down" (imdb).

The Danish film maker gained a lot reputation with the original "Girl with a Dragon" series (of course in Danish imdb). Hence I watched his first U.S. movie with some expectations.

"Dead Man Down" didn`t look very Danish and lacked the originality of the "Girl with a Dragon" series. Instead the flick reminded me more of the contemporary Asian cinema. If you have seen Chan-wook Park´s  "The Vengeance Trilogy" (wikipedia), especially his "Oldboy", you could have got some déjà vu impressions. Like Park´s masterpieces  Oplev and screen writer J.H. Wyman delivered an elaborated revenge story connected with a complicated love story, but on a lower quality level. And the violent and hilarious action scenes reminded of the furious Hong Kong cinema. But the solid cinematography delivered some interesting shots from New York that consoled for the lack of originality.

The impressive cast also delivered consolation, mainly Isabelle Huppert, an icon of French cinema. Noomi Rapace (The original Girl with a Dragoon Tatoo). Colin Farrel and other actors also delivered solid performances.

"Dead Man Down" is a passable and modern action movie, but not more.

Economy: Power To The People

It looks like the economic upswing in the U.S. is gathering speed. At least the engine of the economy, the consumer spending (around 2/3 of the economy), is getting more and more power.

The consumer spending is especially powered up by the healing job market. Last Week we learned that employment in the U.S. rose 236.000 in February, the jobless rate dropped on a four-year low and the (4-week average) of jobless claims fell on a five-year low (bloomberg). More jobs mean more incomes available to spend (income effect). The healing job market also reduces the risk of losing ones job. The  improved job security could encourage consumers furthermore to allow themselves to spend more money for discretionary goods & services like cars, furniture, travels and restaurants.

But the rising employment isn´t the only power source for the upswing. There are 2 more positive impulses:

1. The recovering home market which leads to rising prices for one family houses (plus 9.7% year-over-year calculatedriskblog) is lifting the wealth of the homeowners. Experience shows that people spend more money if they feel wealthier (wealth effect).

2. The rising stock market creates another positive wealth effect. The S&P 500, the gauge for the U.S. stock market, climbed last week to a five year high. U.S. Stocks gained 13% in the recent 12 months and 129% since 3/9/09, the start of the recent bull market (bespokeinvest). Gains on the stock market plus rising dividends deliver an additional incentive to spend more for consumer goods & services.

In turn the rising consumer spending will lift the company profits and hence animate more hiring and fuel more gains on the stock market.  It seems that everything - jobs, income, wealth, consumer spending - is working together in a positive way. 

Movies: Molly´s Theory of Relativity

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Do you know Jeff Lipsky? This is a film maker who doesn`t get much attention. I guess "Molly´s Theory  of Relativity" (imdb) won´t change that.

I left the cinema theater clueless. What the heck did Lipsky as the director & script writer try to tell us? Nothing happened, except some cooking and a lot of casual sex between a twenty something couple (i doubt that they would be admitted to a beauty contest).

The movie was mostly shot in one room and looked like a theater play. You could see a handful of adults and 2 kids who were all the time talking, even during cooking & sex.  

The dialogues circled around about almost everything. Some of the text lines were smart, funny and hilarious, but most of the dialogues were petty and boring. And the flick was way too long, maybe the director should try to cut it too a short movie.

New York City: Late Winter AT Lower East Side

This weekend the "daylight saving time" will start in the U.S. In Germany we call this phenomenon "Sommerzeit" (summertime). But summer, and even spring, seem to be far away.

This morning New York City awoke in snow, which confirms the reputation for long and nasty winters in the metropolis.

But even the unpleasant weather has some nice parts. Here some shots from the snowy Lower East Side.

Stock Market: Dow Jones All Time High - What Now?

Today the Dow Jones Average closed at all-time record of 14,254. This caused a lot of ado in the media - of course. One commentator wrote: "We are over the rainbow" (thereformedbroker).

Maybe so, nevertheless I reckon this is just a return to normality. The long term chart of the Dow Jones Averages above (source ritholtz.com) shows that the Dow has been rising since its inauguration in the year 1896, on average 7% per year. The stock prices have been following the economy of the Western world which has been growing since the industrial revolution at least. Naturally there have been a lot of all-time records.

The chart also shows that there have been long and painful breaks. It looks like we have left now the latest break behind us and are back on the long term upward.

My optimism is based on 4 arguments:

1. During the recessions of the years 2001/02 and in 2008 companies restructured and reduced costs significantly in order to survive. Now they are much fitter and more efficient than before. I believe that this learning process will continue and translates into a long term trend of rising company profits.

2. We are experiencing a new technological revolution, meaning rapid innovations in computing (including mobile devices like iPads & iPhones), engineering, robotics, nanotechnology and other fields. All these processes are further enhancing the efficiency of the companies and create new markets. These trends should fuel economic growth and therefore generate gains on the stock markets over many years to come.

3. The global economy will get a lot of tailwinds from the emerging markets thanks to the catching up process of China and other emerging markets. People in Asia, Latin America & Africa  have a tremendous backlog demand because income & fortune are much lower than in the Western world. But there are billions of talented & diligent people who want to reach the US and European standard. Therefore those people are working hard and they are investing to be able to expand their consumer expenditures in the decades ahead.

4. Inflation rates are at historical lows. Hence central banks don´t have to raise interest rate sharply to break inflation which often caused a recession in the past. Therefore the low interest rates will continue for years and inspire investments that will add to the economic growth.

I believe that these beneficial developments will strengthen one another and lead to a new period of prosperity and therefore a long row of new records for the Dow Jones.

Movies: Stoker

 

 (Drivebycuriosity) -  What if you could hear things others can not? What if you could see things others do not? What if you have to deal with the sudden death of your beloved father staying with a cold mannered mother? What if suddenly a mysterious uncle whom you have never seen before appears in your home ?

So the mystery thriller "Stoker" starts (imdb). India, a girl who "doesn`t want to be touched - even by her mother -, lives in a fancy mansion in the woods somewhere on the U.S. east coast where the wealthy have their domiciles. She is mourning the loss of her father. Then the inscrutable uncle Charlie appears in her home. Many disturbing incidents follow (the blog doesn`t have spoilers).

After watching the film at New York´s Landmark Sunshine Theater I had the luck to attend a Q&A with the director Chan-wook Park (wikipedia). The maybe most important movie maker in the uprising Korean cinema shared some thoughts about his first U.S. film. Park, who has a reputation for complex and provoking movies, told the audience in the packed cinema theater that there could be different interpretations of his film.

He mentioned that the title refers to Bram Stoker, the author of the novel "Dracula", which started the cult of Vampire stories (wikipedia). Park himself has directed the Vampire movie "Thirst" (imdb). Even that "Stoker" doesn`t mention explicitly those bloodsucking creatures, the plot could be seen as a metaphor for Vampires. At least there are many hints for that albeit very subtile.

"Stoker" also can be seen as coming of age story, Park explained. The camera follows India, who is withdrawn and sometimes aggressive, and displays the blossoming sexuality of the fledging girl. But it is certainly not a typical coming of age.

The movie also can be interpreted as a very special  family film or as a cynical fairy tale about people who behave far outside the boundaries of the common world.

Anyway: "Stoker" is gorgeous. The plot is full of surprises and twists and sometimes provocative, which comes up to the reputation of the Korean director, even that he didn´t write the script this time.  I watched the flick two times to dive deeper into the complex layers of the film. This is highly recommend if you want to catch all the flavors of this masterpiece.

I fell in love with the magic of the camera. Park and his cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung delivered amazing compositions of picture and colors. During the 98 minutes of the film there is a constant flow of surprising & beautiful images. There are a lot of awesome dissolves (wikipedia) Stanley Kubrick could have been proud of. In my opinion belongs Park to a league of visual masters like Lars von Trier and Paul Thomas Anderson. 

The cast completed the indulgence of the film (letterstoindia). Mia Wasikowska as India was a screen for the conflicting emotions of the fledging girl who is confronted by a challenging environment.  Btw. it is an interesting idea to call a girl after a subcontinent which is hot, adventurous and full of spicy aromas. I also enjoyed watching the wonderful Nicole Kidman who played the fragile and very restraint mother and blended grace and style with chill. Matthew Goode impressed as the mysterious uncle who almost all the time smiled displayed a vicious charm which underlined his menacing aura.

The soundtrack, which included piano pieces from Philip Glass and an aria from Verdi was a perfect fit. I guess "Stoker" could be the first Oscar contender of the year and is highly recommended.

Science Fiction: Year`s Best SF 17, edited by David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer.

What if you could travel back in time to terminate serial killers before they started their murderous spree? What if you could see the future? What if androids committed murder? What if you fell in love with an AI?

These and more questions are the topics of "Year`s Best SF 17", edited David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer, published in summer 2012 (amazon.com). The anthology harvests the Science Fiction year 2011 and collects 23 short stories from prominent authors and newcomers. I have been collecting this series of SF compilations since its beginnings because the row represents cutting edge Science Fiction.

This edition, the latest so far, displays a lot of strange, alien and thought inspiring ideas. The assembly has 3 favorites of mine. My number one is Gregory Benford´s "Mercies": In a near future a very wealthy man uses a self developed time machine to jump some years back in time where/when he shoots serial killers before they start their murderous run. There exists already a legion of time travel stories, but Benford found new ways to deal with the implications & paradoxes of moving back and forth in time. I like the author`s ideas and enjoy the style of the story. "Mercies" is a kind of philosophical thriller that combines science with entertainment: Raymond Chandler meets Heisenberg.

 "Dolly" by Elizabeth Bear is another highlight of the collection. It´s about a female robot with an almost human like brain who is used as a high-tech sex toy. This android had killed a man. Now a detective wants to find out if this incident was murder or just an accident caused by a machine. The tale is an intelligent play of thoughts with questions that arose by the onset of artificial intelligence (AI). Maybe a view into the near future?

My 3rd favorite is "Thick Water" by Karen Heuler. Some scientists are exploring a strange alien world which seems to have a life of its own. Slowly they get influenced by this planet and start adapting to this environment. The plot is methodical & analytical with a creepy touch.

Different futures

There are some other stories which I gave a "like":
 "Six Months, Three Days" by Charlie Jane Anders is about a couple who can see the future, but she sees a different future than he. The cool & slick tale plays with paradoxes, probability theory, quantum physics and philosophical questions. The plot also is a speculation about how relationships could develop in the near future.

"Tethered" by Mercurio Rivera deals with very friendly aliens, who are addicted to humans and have just one goal: Pleasing them. Strange and a bit funny.

There are more interesting,stories, so the alternative history story "Our Candidate" by Robert Reed. The author describes the career of a dictator in a parallel world USA. It´s cynical written and delivers some political insights.

"Home Sweet Bi’Ome" by Pat MacEwan offers an fascinating view on the perspectives of bioengineering. We learn about a woman who lives in a house that is organically grown and has the same DNA as the owner with causes unpleasant results.

"The Nearest Thing" by Genevieve Valentine is about a company who produces artificial intelligent beings (AIs), that are "the nearest thing" to humans. There is not much of a plot, by the speculative thoughts about relationships between humans and AIs are interesting. I also liked the slick style.

"Altogether Elsewhere, Vast Herds of Reindeer" from Ken Liu reports about a teenager who lives in a world where humans had given up their bodies and exist as self created virtual realities. This is not my favorite life style but the story gives something to think about.

I finished reading 13 of the 25 stories. I consider this percentage as a solid value for an inexpensive anthology. The Kindle edition is at the moment offered for $6.99 on Amazon.com (amazon).