Yes I said it, run, don’t walk to see Inception, the new Christopher Nolan movie. It opened on Friday July 16 and is probably one of the very very best movies I have ever [yes EVER] seen.

It’s a mindbending, espionage-laced thrill ride through the dream-state. It will cause you to question [...]]]> Three words. RUN DON’T WALK.

Yes I said it, run, don’t walk to see Inception, the new Christopher Nolan movie. It opened on Friday July 16 and is probably one of the very very best movies I have ever [yes EVER] seen.

It’s a mindbending, espionage-laced thrill ride through the dream-state. It will cause you to question the movie, the characters and your very own “dream-state”.

The special effects are AUTHENTIC, old-school Hollywood [think scale hallways that turn 180 degrees 8 times per minute and tilting rooms on giant hydraulic lifts] since Nolan really dislikes the overuse of CGI in newer action/adventure/thriller movies. The acting is exceptional. The screenplay though provoking and original. The cinematography breathtaking. The film concept massive and layered and executed brilliantly. It is Nolan’s finest work.

To say I’m a fan is an understatement. I have been for years and even more so since the Dark Knight and Heath Ledger’s award-winning Joker performance.

The thing that strikes me about this film though is not just the look and atmosphere of it, or even the thinking person’s concept of reality vs. the dream-state, but it’s the emotional thread that is picked up and held, tightly, throughout what for all intents and purposes is an action/thriller. That is very unusual. An emotional thread in any action movie is startling, much less having that thread ultimately be the catalyst and literal string that binds the entire movie together. It is almost unheard of! and that it was executed so beautifully, thoughtfully and successfully is gratifying and a pleasure to see.

An interesting point about casting is that Nolan tends to work with not only the same CREWS and PRODUCTION company in all his movies [his team is one of the best in the business by all accounts], but he also works with the same actors over and over, much like Tim Burton. Case in point – Cillian Murphy was in Memento, Batman, Dark Knight and Michael Caine was in both Batman/Dark Knight movies and the Prestige; seems to beg the question: If the next villian in the Batman/Dark Knight saga is to be the Riddler, has he [Nolan] been hazing Joseph Gordon-Levitt for that role? Rumor has him as a candidate for the part for a while now, along with Johnny Depp and a few others; however, having just finished Inception with Nolan, JGL seems to have the inside track on the part. Hmmm… if history is to reveal anything, I would put my money of JGL as the Riddler in the next Batman installment.

Christopher Nolan is surely one of the best, if not THE best, directors of his era and with this opus of a movie, he has proved his chops once again. And proved it with gusto and incredible vision. Bravo… Bring on the next installment of the Dark Knight, we can hardly wait.

After years of visiting Paris in the spring and years of tantalizing her home-bound friends in Canada and the USA with tidbits on her blog about her favorite city, my dear friend Carmi has FINALLY written an [...]]]> The title alone illicts intrigue doesn’t it? Well, I’m happy to say that the intrigue is worth the read…

After years of visiting Paris in the spring and years of tantalizing her home-bound friends in Canada and the USA with tidbits on her blog about her favorite city, my dear friend Carmi has FINALLY written an Artgirl’s Guide to Paris, literally.

It’s a well written and visually beautiful guide book for us arty chicks to all the wonderful haunts and spaces that every art-inclined girl should visit in Paris. The book gives you exactly what you want to know – where to shop for arty things, where to eat lightly and well, where to stay and how to get around. It’s a great companion travel book to any existing Fodor’s, or other ‘official’ Paris travel guides. It picks up where the big travel books leave off and give you an insider’s look at Paris – the Paris WE arty chicks want to know…

I’m lucky enough to have received a personal copy from my art-girl-friend and I have to say that it is a beautiful and inspiring book. It makes me want to jump on a plane to Paris right this second! BUT… I’m waiting until the Spring when I will finally haul my Vancouver butt across the Canada and then across the Atlantic to the City of Lights.

I’ve torn through the book, voraciously eating up all the gorgeous photographs and I confess that I’m dying a little that I can’t leave today to shoot the summer streets of Paris. BUT, I can, and will wait, until Spring when the tulips are blooming – after all that it Carmi’s favorite time over there and let’s be honest, she knows the City best =)

I highly recommend this little gem of a book. You can purchase it here.

Here is a preview of the book…

For years, the downstairs studio sliding glass [...]]]> So in the last 7 years that we’ve lived in our house, we have had a cavalcade of neighbourhood cats and raccoons wandering through our yard and since we have cats [that are strictly indoor due to raccoons and nearby traffic] they are fiercely, FIERCELY protective of their house.

For years, the downstairs studio sliding glass doors have been victimized by pounding and posturing from all of our kitties, including the deceased MackMack, old-fart Kodiak and the Lulu. They basically howl and hiss at the intruders – raccoon and neighbour cat alike – and beat the crap out of the glass sliders in an effort to assert their dominance.

About 2 weeks ago, I came home from work [hubs was off on a vacation week] and after walking through the back door I was greeted with the following phrase: “Honey, NEVER underestimate the power of The Lulu.”

I’m like, “Um, Ok. What did she do?” All T says is go look in the studio. So I go in, stand in the doorway and everything looks ok at first glance and again I ask, “What did she do?”

All he says is look at the glass door. HOLY CRAP! The entire inside panel of the left slider is shattered. I mean TOTALLY shattered! From the bottom to the top. Every square inch. Thank god its tempered glass and it stayed intact… I have horrible visions of what could have happened.

Anyways, it seems that the Lulu was intent on scaring off one of the MANY local raccoons and basically about a foot up from the bottom of the door there was an impact mark, with the shattered glass radiating up from that location. We assume that she pounded on the glass one too many times. It blows me away because if you could see her, she’s tiny for an adult cat and looks completely harmless. Clearly we have been educated to think otherwise, as have the local raccoons. Here are a few photos of the Lulu damaged door… Good job huh?

Five words sum it all up…
“Don’t mess with the Lulu!”

To see the rest of the sneak peek, head over to www.filmwerxstudio.com/blog

Engagement shoot being edited tonight… will post with sneak [...]]]>

Nivens SneakPeek-5, originally uploaded by studiowerx.

Shoot from this morning uploaded to my filmWERX Studio photoblog. These kids were great fun to work [aka PLAY] with and the 2yr old and I bonded over shoes… so cute!

To see the rest of the sneak peek, head over to www.filmwerxstudio.com/blog

Engagement shoot being edited tonight… will post with sneak peek tomorrow!

I’m mean I really don’t wear Prada, Gucci or Hermes on a daily basis and while I love their SHOES, clothes and jewelry, the Bellagio shops are purely eyecandy for [...]]]> Bellagio – Shops-2, originally uploaded by studiowerx.

Yes yes, while I’d LOVE to shop at the Bellagio shops, my wallet wouldn’t be able to take the heat.

I’m mean I really don’t wear Prada, Gucci or Hermes on a daily basis and while I love their SHOES, clothes and jewelry, the Bellagio shops are purely eyecandy for this Vegas visitor.

The shot shown is from the Fred Leighton jewelry displays. Their windows were like petite garden jewel boxes. Lush and colourful, they epitomize Spring and Summer…

They were created quite cleverly with shadow box techniques and layers of plexiglass and decoupaged images, stacked to create interesting visual depth and shadows. LOVED them and the sophisticated ‘craftiness’ of the displays. Ahh Vegas, you never fail to impress me and rarely disappoint [unless we're talking gambling and casinos... that is another story LOL!]