Saturday, March 7, 2015

From my library: The Shadow and Its Shadow


A nice little, but quite informative British Film Institute volume collecting "Surrealist Writings on Cinema". In my film club days we used to give seminars on cinema, and based on this book I was able to present a seminar on Surrealism and Cinema (complete with a retrospective film program).

Nika Cole


A day in the life, Mar 5


A day in the life, Mar 5, objet trouvé

Bianca Hepburn


New Stuff: diverse DVDs






Recently, my pal Ludwig gave me a few dvds he had noticed that he had as doubles (he has an extensive collection). These are the movies I got.

Eva Downey


ph: Michael Naumoff

New Stuff: The Walrus


The Walrus is a local band;  two of my friends are members.

Ashleigh Good


ph: Jean Baptiste Mondino

Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (1958)


A self-assured business man murders his employer, the husband of his mistress, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.

A brilliant homage to Film Noir, this classic also anticpates Nouvelle Vague aesthetics and atmosphere, but just as well functions as morality play (plus a great score by Miles Davis).

Halliwell*: "Complex, watchable suspenser with pretensions."

Maltin***1/2: "Filmed by Henri Decaë on the streets of Paris in a bracing style that anticipates the New Wave."


Lera Tribel


ph: Clement Pascal

New Stuff: The New Yorker


(art: Birgit Schössow)

Freja Beha Erichsen


Ma femme est une actrice (2001)



A "normal" guy who is married to a hot actress gets worried that she is involved with her costar.

OK, but very light comedy about jealousy; Terence Stamp does offer a slight parody of himself as 'movie star'.

Halliwell**: "Enjoyable comedy of obsessional jealousy that also makes fun of self-obsessed celebrities."

Maltin**1/2: "Entertaining froth with star-wrter-director Attal (who resembles Al Pacino) delightful as the befuddled hubby. Stamp also scores as the star's leading man."


Who's That Girl?


Art: Annette Messager

Megan Irwin


From my library: Christian Keßler - Das wilde Auge


Christian Keßler is a German film journalist, who mostly worked with the (cult) film magazine Splatting Image and is probably one of the most knowledgable experts on genre cinema and especially on the most obscure and lesser known movies. After having participated on the book Obsession, a legendary and comprehensive work on Jess Franco, he published this volume (title translated: The Wild Eye) on Italian horror movies. Needless to say this has become a coveted collector's item as well.

Friday, March 6, 2015

Grace Bol


Vienna


Jessica Hart


ph: Chris Colls

A day in the life, Mar 4


A day in the life, Mar 4, daytime moon

Natalia Vodianova


From my vaults: Robert De Niro


Bio:

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


Iulia Carstea


ph: Paul Bellaart

New York


Hanging Out on the Corner of Delancey and Clinton Streets, 1906

Kylie Minogue


First Lines: David Brin - Startide Rising


Fins had been making wisecracks about human beings for thousands of years.

Shiloh Malka


Vienna


Thursday, March 5, 2015

Nadja Bender


ph: Hasse Nielsen

A day in the life, Mar 3


A day in the life, Mar 3, a plane in the sky

Gaby Loader


She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)


A retiring Captain takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack.

Classic John Ford western with its star bringing in one of his greatest characterizations, still watchable, although some of the gung-ho and the music is quite dated.

On repeated view I still agree with my initial evaluation; fun to watch for simply seeing "John Ford country" again.

Halliwell**: "Fragmentary but very enjoyable Western with all Ford ingredients served piping hot."

Maltin***1/2: "Director Ford's stock company in fine form...Beautifully filmed in color by Oscar-winning Winton C. Hoch, but a bit top-heavy with climaxes."


Laura Schellenberg


New Stuff: Geschichte des Westens.


It's the fourth and final volume of a History of the West. Since it depicts current affairs, I thought I'd start with it and then read backwards into the full history.

Dauphine McKee


Deux hommes dans la ville (1973)

 
A former bank robber is released after 10 years in prison and receives help from a social-worker, but gets harassed by an old cop from his past.
 
Sociocritical crime melodrama, well staged with a godd cast, but the message is overemphasized.


Eva Voorhees


New Stuff: Vijay Iyer Trio


The new Vijay Iyer Trio album already has gotten rave reviews.


Scarlett Johansson


Boyhood (2014)


The life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college.

Insightful, detailed, sensitive chronicle of a remarkable boy's growing up to maturity; the movie avoids any sensational moments, but finds peotry in everday situations; the (mostly amateur) cast is brilliant.


Who's That Girl?