Saturday, May 31, 2014

The Joy Luck Club (1993)


The life histories of four Asian women and their daughters reflect and guide each other.

Complex ensemble piece shifting seamlessly between past and present and hightlighting their relatedness; at times very touching without becoming too sentimental.

Halliwell (no star): "A long, slick, mostly sentimentalwallow in the pastthat fails to throw much light on the present or the future; it lacks the sense of culture clash and quirky humour evident in the director's earlier, low-budget films."

Maltin***: "Rich tapestry of eight stories...Starts losing its grip in the penultimate sequence, but soars again for a powerhouse finale that will have you reaching for a crying towel."


Tanya Katysheva


ph: David Mushegain

New Stuff: Nature


Jourdan Dunn


En kongelig affære (2012)


A young queen, who is married to an insane king, falls secretly in love with her physician - and together they start a revolution that changes a nation for good.

Cleverly staged period piece exemplifying the struggle of the Enlightment against an Absolutism regime within a tragic love affair.

Maltin***: "Absorbing modern interpretation of 18th-century Danish history...Longish but never dull, a fascinating piece of history tailor-made for the movies."


Who's That Girl?


Photographer: Samuel Bourne

Kristina Tsirekidze


ph: Driu & Tiago

Window faces


Berlin, May 2014, Audrey Hepburn!

Ilona Swagemakers


ph: Gokhan Ertem

A day in the life, May 26


A day in the life, May 26, Berlin

Kate Moss irrégulière


From my vaults: Howard Cosell

Paulina Wyka


ph: Tim Petersen

New York


Ali Michael


ph: Nick Heavican

First Lines: Chang-Rae Lee - The Surrendered


The night was unusually chilly, the wind sharpened by the speed of the train as it rolled southward through the darkened valley.

Chen Yu


A day in the life, May 25


A day in the life, May 25, objet trouvé

Simone Carvalho


ph: Enrico Schiefferdecker

Red (2008)


A reclusive man sets out for justice and redemption when three troublesome teens kill his dog for no good reason.

Mesmerizing tale about justice and retribution, well staged and with a great cast; in the old days such a story may have been staged as a Western.

Maltin**: "Starts off promisingly as a morality tale but deterioates into an obvious, violent revenge saga. Cox is a quietly powerful presence."


Dovima


Friday, May 30, 2014

A Killer Within (2004)


A Dallas attorney comes home one night to find his wife brutally murdered and becomes the only suspect.

Thoroughly predictable standard crime mystery, routinely made, but with no outstanding qualities.




Anna Selezneva


ph: Ben Weller

Les Amants (1958)


Bored with her husband, bored with her polo-playing lover, a middle-aged woman walks away with the young man who gave her a lift that day when her car broke down.

Produced with style and taste and a good cast, this movie may have caused an outrage at the time, but the analysis of bourgeois ennui is very much dated by today's standards.

Halliwell**: "A passionate romance which had some censorship difficulties at the time, this rather gloomy film never quite whirls one away as it should, and it doesn't have the eye for detail of Brief Encounter."

Maltin***: "Chic, once-controversial tale...Malle's first international success, and one of Moreau's most important early credits."


Who's That Girl?


Art: Danny van Ryswyk

Talis Kyra


Monday, May 26, 2014

Off to Berlin


I'll be in Berlin from Monday till Friday, so I won't be online much, if at all.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Lourdes Coteron


A day in the life, May 24


A day in the life, May 24, snail

Lauren Brie Harding


ph: Nikolai de Vera

From my vaults: Bill Cosby


Bio:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cosby


Jessica Clarke


ph: Jacob Sadrak

New York


Andre Kertesz: Book lined window. Greenwich Village, New York. 1966

Pier Angeli


First Lines: Jonathan Dee - The Privileges


A wedding!