Saturday, May 9, 2015

The Desperate Hours (1955)



Three escaped convicts move in on and terrorize a suburban household.

Intense crime thriller with excellently clashing performances, but slightly too long.

Halliwell*: "Ponderous treatment of an over-familiar situation with only the acting and an 'A' picture look to save it."

Maltin***1/2: "Extremely well acted account..."

Kara Young


New Stuff: The New Yorker


(art: Peter Mendelsund)

Karlie Kloss


White House Down (2013)


While on a tour of the White House with his young daughter, a Capitol policeman springs into action to save his child and protect the president from a heavily armed group of paramilitary invaders.

From the director of Independence Day another piece of impossible and mindless mayhem, which again manages to be exciting and (I must admit) fun.

Maltin***: "Nutty and original, this action-filled popcorn movie is played "for real", then suddenly turns comedic; a moment later it asks you to invest in its characters and situations all over again. That it works is a testament to James Vanderbilt's clever screenplay, a top-notch cast, and director Emmerich, who keeps it all ontrack. Outlandish, inventive, and completely entertaining: a true guilty pleasure."

Who's That Girl?


Art: Josef Rudolf Witzel

Marisa Berenson


Window faces


Regensburg, May 2015

Friday, May 8, 2015

Kaone Kario


A day in the life, May 7


A day in the life, May 7, on the Danube on a summerly day

Ruby Aldridge


ph: Driu + Tiago

From my vaults: Myrna Dell

Vanessa Axente


ph: Josh Olins

New York


Anna Selezneva


ph: Claudia Knoepfel & Stefan Indlekofer

First Lines: David Brin - The Postman


Chill winds still blew.

Marie-Ange Casta


A day in the life, May 6


A day in the life, May 6, Regensburg by night

Sara Lucassen


New Stuff: Anthony Lane



Got Anthony Lane's collection of film reviews, now I can't stop reading them...

Lydia Hearst


En fiende att dö för (2012)


A German expedition with a international crew is in the remote Arctic ice when the 2nd world war starts, and they are commanded to take active part in the war.

A good premise, some great landscape photography and some suspense make this a solid, but not unusual thriller.


Stephania Matteagi


New Stuff: The Sonics


"You hold in your hands the greatest punk rock album ever made." The liner notes' statement may be arguable, but the album is certainly one of the greatest and would have fit in well with the 70s punk era.


Siri Tollerød


Head in the Clouds (2004)



Three young lovers must make choices as they find themselves surrounded by increasing political unrest in late-1930s.

The movie has all the ingredients to make this a sweeping historical melodrama, but somehow it doesn't have the sparkle to evoke great emotions.

Maltin**: "Duigan's screenplay bites off more than it can chew, spanning 20 years, the evolution of two relationships, and a character's ploitical awakening. WW2 section rings hollow; artificial backdrops don't help. Theron and Cruz are quite good, and very sexy."



Thursday, May 7, 2015

Who's That Girl?


Art: Nikolaos Gyzis

Esmerelda Seay-Reynolds


Window faces


Regensburg, May 2015

Bonnie Chen


ph: Zeng

A day in the life, May 5


A day in the life, May 5, currently in our alley

Natalia Vodianova


From my vaults: Dorothy Dell

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Hannah Ferguson


New York


Codie Young


ph: Rory Payne

First Lines: Theodore Sturgeon - More Than Human


The idiot lived in a black and gray world, punctuated by the white lightning of hunger and the flickering of fear.

Mina Bartak


Window faces


Regensburg, May 2015

Steffi Soede


ph: Karen Rosetzsky

A day in the life, May 4


A day in the life, May 4, Regensburg by night

Irina Kravchenko


ph: Sofia Sanchez & Mauro Mongiello

Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)

 
A dedicated schoolteacher spends her nights cruising bars, looking for abusive men with whom she can engage in progressively violent sexual encounters.
 
Well-made movie with a male chauvinist message about promiscuous women, but worth the watch for Diane Keaton's outstanding performance.

Halliwell (no star): "Exploitative and very boring sex melodrama which doesn't even make one believe in its central character."

Maltin*1/2: "Sordid rewrite (by director Brooks) of Judith Rossner's novel begins as intelligent study of repressed young girl, then wallows endlessly in her new "liberated" lifestyle. Keaton's performance outclasses this pointless movie."
 

Rianne Van Rompaey


ph: Harley Weir

New Stuff: Attack on Titan


A gift from my pal Daniel.

Maartje Verhoef