Saturday, April 8, 2017

First Lines: Clarence King - Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada


The western margin of this continent is built of a succession of mountain chains folded in broad corrugations, like waves of stone upon whose seaward base beat the mild, small breakers of the Pacific.

Kerry O'May


A day in the life, Apr 3


A day in the life, Apr 3, painted rock

Patrycja Gardygajlo


ph: Marcin Tyszka

New Stuff: Julia Holter




Choi Joon Young


ph: Ahn Jooyoung

The Haunting (1963)


A scientist doing research on the paranormal invites two women to a haunted mansion, and one of the participants soon starts losing her mind.

This ghost story works effectively with cinematic shocks only, supported by excellent cinematography, but the plot barely makes sense, and Julie Harris' performance is so intense - and irritating, you can consider it over-the-top.

Halliwell*: "Quite frightening but exhausting and humourless melodrama with a lot of suspense, no visible spooks, and not enough plot for its length. The wide screen is a disadvantage."

Maltin***1/2: "Don't see this one alone!"

Anna Shut


New Stuff: Jóhann Jóhannsson



Lina Berg


ph: Anthony Maule

The Straight Story (1999)


An old man makes a long journey by lawn-mover tractor to mend his relationship with an ill brother.

Another surprising masterpiece by David Lynch, unusual in its simplicity and obvious celebration of Americana, although there are still tinges of his typical images and soundscapes; this time around its and uplifting and touching story, and Richard Farnsworth's performance in itself is worth the watch.

Halliwell***: "A gentle, folksy road movie that takes its time but establishes a mood of quiet enjoyment of simple pleasures, mixed with a little regret for some past events; Farnsworth epitomises a man who knows his own worth and that of the others he meets on his journey."

Maltin***1/2: "Wonderful, deceptively simple slice of Americana...Its measured pace and episodic quality may not appeal to everyone, but its charm and belief in the basic decency of people make it very special indeed. Farnsworth shines in the leading role. Director Lynch's most benign film."

Léa Seydoux


New Stuff: Frank Zappa



Who's That Girl?


Photographer: Joseph McKeown

Carolin Sünderhauf


ph: Kurt Salhofer

Friday, April 7, 2017

Window faces


Regensburg, April 2017

Luca Gadjus


ph: David Sims

A day in the life, Apr 2


A day in the life, Apr 2, objet trouvé

Loren Kemp


New York


East 14th Street looking towards Fifth Avenue, March 13, 1888, after the blizzard

Shalom Harlow


ph: Peter Lindbergh

First Lines: Slavomir Rawicz - The Long Walk


It was about nine o'clock one bleak November day that the key rattled in the heavy lock of my cell in the Lubyanka Prison and the two broad-shouldered guards marched purposefully in.

Gwen Stefani


A day in the life, Apr 1


A day in the life, Apr 1, objet trouvé

Michelle Buswell


New Stuff: Regina Spektor



Wednesday, April 5, 2017

New Stuff: Pharmakon



Who's That Girl?


Art: Jacob Isaacsz van Swanenburg

Lone Praesto


ph: Honer Akrawi

A day in the life, Mar 31


A day in the life, Mar 31, objet trouvé

Lauren Hutton


ph: Irving Penn

New York


Harold Roth, Lower East Side Stable, Mangin Street, 1946

Tanya Dziahileva


First Lines: Richard Halliburton - The Royal Road to Romance


May had come at last to Princeton.

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Edita Vilkeviciute


ph: Chris Colls

A day in the life, Mar 30


A day in the life, Mar 30, squashed

Emily Ratajkowski


ph: Jenny Gage & Tom Betterton

New Stuff: The Residents



Sasha Melnychuk


Shanghai (2010)



An American expat returns to Shanghai in the months before Pearl Harbor due to the death of his friend.

Nicely produced and photographed spy thriller as a homage to the 40s Noir series; however, it's all on the surface, the star cast work only perfunctory, and the movie fails to spark any emotions.

Shantelle Fitten


New Stuff: Arthur Conan Doyle


Kasia Gogołkiewicz


Enemy (2013)



A man seeks out his exact look-alike after spotting him in a movie.

Somnambulant psychological drama conceived as one large riddle fascinates as a complex mystery, but the surprise end scene is grafted and quite a letdown.

Maltin**: "Ponderous psychological thriller...Strange, off-putting story, told in hushed tones,invites comparison to David Lynch's dreamlike films."