Random Monday office fun: downloadable Severus Snape paper doll.
Who knew such a beefcake was hiding under those robes and waxy complexion? Perhaps this is why J.K. singled out Snape as one of her favourite characters to write.
I always liked the (psuedo) bad boys.
Hubba hubba.
I know, this is not a "new" thing, but has everyone made his or her Simpson's avatar? If not, better get on it, what with the movie opening tonight and all. Besides, I think creating oneself in Springfield style is even more fun than becoming an M&M.
The Prof is crazy for the avatars and has created one for us, him and his current co-workers, and even his entire family. Send me yourself as a Simpson and I'll post it!
Below: Me (in glasses) and The Prof, both wearing novelty tees
YEA! People actually sent me some avatars...
The Mad Hungarian and The Polish Princess
The Dairy Queen
General Disarray (and friends)
and Yannick (still reads from Switzerland!)
It's almost summer movie time...but what to watch until the blockbusters hit? The General weighs in with his list -- a few music docs, a bit of Fellini, and some Faye Wong thrown in for safe measure.
Edition #2: 22 May 2007
Broadway Danny Rose
Hilarious Woody humor with great shots of New York in addition to a really sweet story. His character, Danny Rose, is probably Woody's most human and vulnerable role.
L'Enfant
I honestly don't know what to think this film yet. The characters are so frustratingly real and flawed. It does come together nicely, though, and it is always a pleasure to watch a character grow.
La Strada
Before Fellini went completely bonkers he made really good films like 8 1/2 and La Strada. Giulietta Masina (Fellini's wife) is a marvel.
Radio Days
Has many of the same elements of his other classics but lacks a cohesive thread to bind them together into something meaningful. More just a series of vignettes and memories.
The Best of Youth
A fantastic film. If you can handle the 6 hour running time, I highly recommend. Feels like 5. Tops.
Chungking Express
Another beautiful film by Wong but in a different vein as ITMFL. Less of a waltz / more rock n roll. Hard not to fall in love with Faye Wong.
(BLOGORELLI NOTE: This is one of my all-time favorites!)
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
If anything this half doc/half tribute concert film got my interested in Cohen. Not particularly well done as a movie but I liked the small bits of the man I glimpsed and a few of the tribute songs.
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
Engrossing biodoc of Daniel Johnston, the loony tune satan-fightin singer/songwriter cartoonist. Feuerzeig does a superb job placing you in the world of this man who is a few miles past the edge.
Don't Come Knocking
Absolutely stunning film to look at. However, every other ingredient inherent to film that separates it from a photo essay is either missing or not paid attention to. Gorgeous shots, though. Wow.
Scenes from a Marriage
Wonderful intimate portrait of the disintegration of a seemingly happy marriage. With this long film/mini-series Bergman cements his claim as a master of dialogue and film in general.
Generay Disarray (née Jeffé) watches more movies than almost anyone I know, or at least, I make that presumption by all the Netflix Movie Notes I receive from him. But I like reading his summaries; they're succinct with just a dash of opinion. He can be a little bitchy sometimes, or underserving sentimental...perfect for a movie critic with a little column -- THIS one! So, without further adieu, I introduce:
Edition #1: 28 March 2007
Babel
A nice surprise. Thinking it would be another Crash it turned out to be the film Crash wished it had the restraint and subtlety to be. By far Inarritu's finest film to date.
(In theaters)
Half Nelson
Gosling
is rather excellent in this surprise seemingly formulaic film with a
unique twist. However, there is little else to praise except a strong
performance by young Shareeka Epps.
(In theaters)
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Wonderful classic dark comedy with Sir Alec Guiness playing more than half of an outstanding cast of characters. A lot of fun.
300
Exactly as advertised. Beautiful slow motion battles with much brawn, blood and badassity. Relentless.
In theaters)
Marie Antoinette
Beautiful film. Beautiful costumes. Beautiful setting. Beautiful score. Beautiful people. No story.
Memories of Murder
A
miraculous mixture of suspense, horror, mystery, comedy and drama, this
fact-based Korean thriller is a wholy unique film for me. Well shot
with great characters and great atmosphere.
Mutual Appreciation
Awkward and unsophisticated, Bujalski's second film is a very fun look at the life of a musician trying to get through life, have some fun and play music every now and then.
Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles
Nice
story with some really beautiful cinematography of China. Glad I got a
glimpse of it before it's covered in high-rises. Ken Takakura is also
excellent.
Three Times
The first two vignettes of the film are hauntingly beatiful little tales in themselves. The way they work together only heightens their perfection. Unfortunately, the third was just too jarring for me
Trust the Man
Yes, I rented a romantic comedy. And this one wasn't half bad. Funny, actually. However, because it belongs to the Romantic Comedy Union it was forced into that ugly pitfall ending that they all suffer from.
Zodiac
Just ok. Not dark and stylish as Se7en was. More like All the President's Men, but drawn-out and flat with less star-power.
(In theaters)
I <3ed this sentence describing the indie film "Four Eyed Monsters" before even viewing the trailer...
"They have four eyes, two mouths, eight limbs that wrap around
themselves. 'It’s disgusting!' Arin says, as we see images of couples
throughout New York City. 'But I can’t help but envy them.'
Just gets better...
Arin is a wannabe filmmaker and highly inexperienced with love, despite the fact that he spends most of his time editing wedding videos. In one of the most populous cities in the world, he is alone and tormented by the beautiful women he sees everywhere. He turns to the Internet. (BLOGORELLI INTERJECTS: My high school friend SusieC did [eharmony,] and now she's engaged!)
Susan is an art school graduate working as a waitress and suffering from a lack of inspiration. She receives a message from Arin, but since she’s tired of dating, especially online, she suggests that he should just stop by her work.
Arin is too shy to introduce himself. So instead, he follows her home without her knowing and emails her pictures of her mundane daily trudge. She is intrigued.
They decide to meet up, but in an attempt to keep their interaction interesting, they make a pact to not speak to one another. As their romance develops, they only write, draw, email, text, have sex, instant message, and make videos for each other. No talking.
Susan’s creative clouds begin to lift, and Arin’s dry spell has ended. Unfortunately, a new world of more complicated problems is discovered, and they are forced to deal with intimacy as they meld together and create a monster.
Arin and Susan actually made this film and, after waiting months for a screening in The Bean, I found out today that anyone can buy FEM on DVD right here! For all of us original 'four eyes' who had to wear Sally Jesse Raphael-esque glasses until ninth grade AND those with whom we chose to create our monsters...well, does anyone ever tire of a non-conventional boy-meets-girl love story?
Dear Inter-net,
Recently, I watched a film so unbelievably horrid that I stunned even myself by finishing it. In fact, the movie might actually give my #1 "Most Ridiculous/Worst Ever" (A Walk in the Clouds) a run for the money.
I realize that I'm probably one of the only people in North America who would Netflix 2004's "The Phantom of the Opera " with a straight, even eager, face. So, what made this cinematic attempt truly disastrous...the laughable choreography? Minnie Driver playing the diva with a misguided and not-at-all comedic Italian accent? The horribly cheap looking special effects throughout the movie (gold painted hands coming of of holes in a dungeon wall holding candelabras, anyone?)...or the fact that Emily "Fishface" Rossum only closed her mouth for a total of about 4 minutes throughout the whole 2 hour fiasco?
Did I mention that all the actors did their own vocals? Why yes, yes they did.
On the positive side, the Phantom was actually sort of hot in his partial face covering. We all know that I'm attracted to emotionally unavailable men, and this one was wearing an actual mask as opposed to the invisible one I usually encounter. But lordy, by the end, I was wishing someone would drop a chandelier on me.
Luckily, Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey will be coming to my romantic movie rescue soon enough with Enchanted.
That's right my friends; I dabbled in the dark side of big budget movie-making and nearly came back a ruined woman.
(exhaling,)
Blogorelli
Oh, look...Zach Braff is in a new movie called The Last Kiss . Predictably (?) he's playing a male having his quarter life crisis. Also notable is the fact that, as with Garden State, Braff put together the soundtrack. I wonder what band's life he'll change this time.
<snicker>
In more positive news, my newest non-sexual cinematic crush Amy Adams (the effervescent break-out star of Junebug -- see it!) is in NYC filming a movie with Patrick Dempsey called "Enchanted". Ok, it IS a Disney "vehicle." But remember Who Framed Roger Rabbit? That one was good...right? RIGHT?!?!
The plot sounds right up my sappy romantic alley:
"Enchanted is a Disney film currently in production. It uses both traditional 2D animation and live-action — the animation depicts the fantasy/fairy tale world, and the live-action depicts New York. Giselle (Amy Adams), a girl from an animated world is thrown out by the evil Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) into live-action New York, where the girl falls for a man living in the city. The film will be the first live-action/animation film by Disney since 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Legendary Disney music composer Alan Menken will be providing the film's original score."
I am salivating. Le sigh.
If I spoke French, this preview for Renaissance , the new animated movie by Christian Volckman, would probably seem even more exciting than just the black-and-white images indicate.
More background info and details on the animation process here at Wikipedia.
After what seemed like years on my one-disc-at-a-time Netflix subscription (but was actually only about 2 months, ) I have finally finished my fervent indulgence in The O.C. Season 2. Now my nights can return to all of the stuff I should have been doing while watching those wacky Orange County residents: this blog, writing for Bostonist.com and starting Christmas list prep (oh yes I did.)
Since his review of "Grizzly Man" was so well-received and as I am obviously getting heavy help from my friends this week, I present three reviews from Jeffé on recent movie viewings. I haven't seen a movie since "Serenity" opened (a whole different story for a whole different day,) but this week I might catch "Capote," so then perhaps I'll pen a little critique of my own.
Enjoy.
----
Paris, Texas { Wim Wenders } 1984
My introduction to Wenders' films was a definite success and I can't wait to see another. I'm a fan of simple well-paced stories combined with beautiful cinematography and Paris, Texas offered me just that. The highly saturated shots of the seemingly barren Texas landscape was a treasure to behold just as much as the few but memorable shots of the luscious Nastassja Kinski. The story was warm, touching and rewarding.
---
Wild Strawberries { Ingmar Bergman } 1957
Wild Strawberries is somewhat of a combination of Capra's It's a Wonderful Life and De Sica's Umberto D. both of which I am not the biggest fan of. Bergman's film takes the retrospective wasted life / death story and weaves a much more interesting and successful tale. It lacks the ridiculousness (and ridiculous actor) of Capra's film and the inevitable loneliness and despair of De Sica's morbid chronicle of a man at death's door. It gives hope to death. I like this.
---
Sword of Doom { Kihachi Okamoto } 1966
I wasn't sure what to expect from this film and the little review I read beforehand was completely off anyway. What I found was a solid samurai film that deals with the sword as a death instrument in a more serious way than I have witnessed before. Tatsuya Nakadai is wonderful as Ryunosuke who is a student of killing so devoted to his sword and it's purpose that he has lost sight of the ramifications of that purpose. This is a fantastic movie with some of the best b + w shots i've seen on film. Toshiro Mifune plays an important but subtle roll and his fight with would-be assassins in the snow is absolutely gorgeous.
I love accordian music. Now, for me and everyone who shares my unexplainable addiction, Swiss director Stefan Schwietert has given the world "Accordian Tribe," a documentary about "five highly individual musicians from different countries get together to…achieve the seemingly impossible: return their long disregarded instrument to the worldwide recognition it once enjoyed as a powerhouse of emotions."
I'm sorry, "return"? Was the classic ziehharmonika ever NOT a powerhouse of emotions? Not in the Blogorelli household, that's for sure.
The plot reads just like a modern day reality show that is actually likeable (a senseless dichotomy, I know) and the translated version is almost as confusing AS watching the contemporary reality genre:
"Starting point is Schwietert's meeting with the blind Viennese accordionists Petrol Lechner, which taught himself the hand organ play in self-direction and today is an old Hohner virtuos by all music styles. Lechner is member of five created by the New Yorker Guy Klucevsek named 'Accordion Tribe'…the Swede Lars Hollmer, FinninMaria Kalaniemi and the Slovene Bratko Bibic, went 2002 on European tour and brought CD."
Huh?
Still, blame my Nona and our Benny Hill watching, blame the fact that sometimes accordian players have DogsInSweaters!DogsInSweaters!DogsInSweaters!, blame complete fascination with Old World sensibilities, whatever the culprit, you'll see me at The Accordian Tribe,…along with everyone else using their seniors' discount card.
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