Daria Strokous

 ph: Ben Hassett

Nightmare Alley (1947)

 

The rise and fall of Stanton Carlisle, a mentalist whose lies and deceit prove to be his downfall.

Remarkable drama with heavy noir and goth overtones, a dislikable hero (an unusual role for Tyrone Power), good circus settings and a devastating ending.

Halliwell**: "Unusual road to ruin melodrama, a striking oddity from Hollywood at the time,, and still quite interesting and well done."

Maltin***1/2: "Morbid but fascinating story...highly original melodrama. Compelling look at carny life..." 

 

Liu Wen

 

ph: Leslie Zhang

New Stuff: Jaimie Branch

 

Julia Włodarska

 

New Stuff: The Wire

Gisele Bündchen

 

Jodorowsky's Dune (2013)

 

The story of cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky's ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of the seminal science fiction novel.

Fascinating documentary about a gigantic and obviously impossible film project, the sheer amount of talents involved is baffling; furthermore, Alejandro Jodorowsky is obviously a very entertaining and humorous personality.

Maltin***: "Amusing, jaw-dropping documentary...Great fun for film buffs." 

 

Lily Cole

New Stuff: Bigger Than Life

 

Who's That Girl?

 

ph: Charles Guo

Art: Gustav Metzger

 

Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Metzger

Joan Smalls

 

ph: Luigi & Iango

A day in the life, May 2, 2023

 

A day in the life, May 2, 2023, objet trouvé

Birgit Kos

 

Dune (1984)

 

In the distant future, a man appears who may be the prophet that a long-suffering galaxy has been waiting for.

Visually compelling and with imaginative styling as you'd expect from the director, the plot has been overloaded so that the sci-fi epic seems more summarized than actually adapted.

On re-watching: Still good to look at, but the narrative is simply not convincing nor much coherent either.

Halliwell (no star): "A basically simple space fiction plot is immensely complicated by a welter of characters who are not properly introduced and who indeed are mostly irrelevant. The result, which cost nearly 50 million dollars, is inaudible, invisible (because of dim lighting) and unentertaining: a disaster of the very first order."

Maltin*1/2: "Elephantine adaptation...You know you're in trouble when film's opening narration...is completely incomprehensible! Visually imaginative, well cast, but joyless and oppressive - not to mention long. For devotees of Herbert's novel only." 

 

Kristen Stewart

 

Today's Cat

 

Chiharu Okunugi

 

ph: Ellen von Unwerth

A day in the life, May 1, 2023

 

A day in the life, May 1, 2023, Regensburg, the Cathedral

Cindy Mello