tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22908472114880163022023-11-16T06:00:27.677-08:00Le PensieveNikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-74738929477833454732012-01-08T15:04:00.000-08:002012-01-08T15:04:02.540-08:00"All good people are asleep and dreaming"My, my, it has been unbelievably long since I touched this blog and I must say, I have missed it. After several failed attempts at posting a certain review (due to way too many blogger/computer malfunctions) I decided to take a break from this site...which turned into an extended vacation and before long, I had completely abandoned it. As it turns out, apparently some people are actually interested in reading some of the things that I write about so perhaps I should give it another shot! I'm going to do my best to keep up with this again because I do love doing it and I still spend most of my time watching new, strange films and doing new, strange things.<br />
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So much has happened since my last post and so much has been watched so I'm going to have to slowly catch up on things and try to break out some reviews on some of the highlights of the films we've watched in 2011. I already have a plan for what I want my first new review to be on and boy, will it be a good one. Why not get back into things with a bang? You'll see what I mean.<br />
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I also want to try to include some more photo diary posts. I have a beautiful new camera to play with so you can all view my adventures in trying to figure out how to actually work the thing properly. Beardy and I will also be moving soon and I plan on sharing some of my decorating schemes on here as well. I can't wait to get to the new place and put it all together! We've already found the most amazing medieval-type chandelier to hang in our new dining room and it's just making me more excited to move!<br />
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So anyways, I just thought that I'd post something here, just to get it going and I will work away at writing as much as I can from now on. It'll be nice to start keeping track of what I've been watching/doing again. I will try not to be such a deadbeat writer...yes, try....<br />
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I'm off to *finally* see <i>Shame</i>. Expect a "full-on" review shortly.NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-67716774001708539592011-03-26T13:38:00.000-07:002011-03-26T20:20:59.782-07:00Oh Mon Dieu! So I have been a terrible writer this month. March has been interesting. I've been figuring out how I should be working for the time being (finally) and getting things together with that. We also got a kitten!! He's an adorable little black and brown kitty with funny eyes and a somewhat psychotic demeanor. We love him.<br />
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Not a lot of movie watching has been going on, in favor of sitting around and streaming television shows which is very weird for us. It started because I would be home most of the time and with James not around to watch movies with, I just started to watch nostalgic television shows and well, it perhaps got a bit out of hand! I didn't even do a post on our exploitation film of the month!!! My meager excuse for this is that I started writing it and got about a third of the way through when my computer decided to restart itself and the auto-save decided to malfunction at the same time on here so only two paragraphs were saved. I got a little frustrated and decided to re-write it later which turned into....never. So I can try to do it before the month is over but...no promises. It will be written though because it was a great film! And with April coming up so soon, there will be another!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4465UtRbu2sf6u8HKQwIm9qLz_eEpf5hmx7tFqAjo7QypTb-61DwsonN-7IwfjC5jt9_0qyOUYOcFSCC4poPCXZzJDqJYXugmOoKDjNY7FnUHL99-qi9T3_OzhGD_Q_pPAtoD3JskOQXj/s1600/o-sundance-2011-review-i-saw-the-devil-was-a-head-smashingly-brutal-film.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4465UtRbu2sf6u8HKQwIm9qLz_eEpf5hmx7tFqAjo7QypTb-61DwsonN-7IwfjC5jt9_0qyOUYOcFSCC4poPCXZzJDqJYXugmOoKDjNY7FnUHL99-qi9T3_OzhGD_Q_pPAtoD3JskOQXj/s320/o-sundance-2011-review-i-saw-the-devil-was-a-head-smashingly-brutal-film.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>We did finally settle in for a movie last night and it was really good. We watched <i>I Saw the Devil</i> (2010 South Korea) which is a horror/thriller about a secret agent who loses his pregnant fiancee to a serial killer and begins a harsh pursuit of revenge, blurring the lines between good and evil. First of all, the cinematography in this film was stunning. It was so crisp and clear and with such striking, beautiful colours that stood out in some of the more grisly scenes. There were so many shots that I wished I could get a screenshot of because they were so beautiful! There was some great gore too, a good amount of gross out scenes and excellent use of blood splattering and squirting. I should do a proper review of this film actually because there's a lot to say. I definitely recommend it!!<br />
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Oh yeah, and we watched <i>Rubber</i> a while ago which was actually pretty awesome and went to see<i> Red Riding Hood</i> which was awful! Cool to see some stuff I helped make in it but that was it! <br />
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I will leave you now with pictures of little Bastian because I can't resist! He's the cutest little monster!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8vWmKZSyRjJBaU2ZdLe7f0kKjQLJpOQ7rhJPvci26Lsx6PFubeyqoIbxTnh4yKXl-gn9UhEk8bDLnYOI1FYffaUVmP1jfiXKmD7mniUExvTbSEMIfKVGlzM7ZJoaoy0fKJO4fHSA8nFg/s1600/Black-Death-Movie-Header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div> I can't even begin to think about sleep at this point so it seems like a good time to finally get around to this review! </div><br />
I have a bit of an inexplicable obsession with diseases, the plague more specifically. So when I saw that there was a new film coming out about just that, I was quite expectantly intrigued. So the other night we sat down to watch <i>Black Death</i> and I was quite satisfied with what I saw.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj9GhXFxVJ_GwP3_norr3WwPMqlaW7yADgJ1T0S_06or3mqLDhV4PEJC5RQU53IiH_xYz5hyphenhyphenZKOhOg2cDkKY7t9NC8OQ8lP90UacyFfb1jLlROHlges18JvwQ4AcIyPRxM7zsfdQ1hegia/s1600/a50b4621th-poster-11.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj9GhXFxVJ_GwP3_norr3WwPMqlaW7yADgJ1T0S_06or3mqLDhV4PEJC5RQU53IiH_xYz5hyphenhyphenZKOhOg2cDkKY7t9NC8OQ8lP90UacyFfb1jLlROHlges18JvwQ4AcIyPRxM7zsfdQ1hegia/s320/a50b4621th-poster-11.jpg" width="215" /></a>Christopher Smith (<i>Severance, Creep, Triangle</i>) directs 2010's <i>Black Death</i>, set in 1384 England where the plague outbreak is spreading throughout Europe, many people questioning whether it's a curse from God or caused by evil in the world. The only place untouched by the disease is a small, isolated English village nestled against a marsh, deep in the woods. It seems impossible that this village alone could be free of pestilence and rumors run rampant connecting the village to devil worship, human sacrifice and cannibalism, all led by a necromancer who can raise the dead.<br />
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We follow a band of rather un-merry mercenaries sent by the Bishop, led by pious envoy Ulric (Sean Bean) and guided by a young monk named Osmond (Eddie Redmayne), as they set out to find and capture the alleged necromancer and bring them back to the church for confession- by any means necessary. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiom-P3jQFhgUf5eSURPB2SbmpcLesXjf5tqP24nC-ernVn_Chr2f7xA_umtL2Xn28pOhtuZgAYuSt1lpezGRf1-apIV89at-hrq4sJ6Y7jan7SpSc-G_y4JjIUnQS2krFgcqo8dxzqOzIR/s1600/black-death-movie-15.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiom-P3jQFhgUf5eSURPB2SbmpcLesXjf5tqP24nC-ernVn_Chr2f7xA_umtL2Xn28pOhtuZgAYuSt1lpezGRf1-apIV89at-hrq4sJ6Y7jan7SpSc-G_y4JjIUnQS2krFgcqo8dxzqOzIR/s320/black-death-movie-15.jpg" width="320" /></a>Our young Osmond volunteers himself for the mission with the ulterior motive to reunite with his forbidden love Averill, whom he instructed to flee to the very woods outside this village to escape the plague.<br />
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They encounter some rather grisly horrors on their<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-_ekf-VTZ9x4-qcBdSbTnfjQ7_R63I1n1YYyZpGLRWnLnQlyvzoMDWLuRnx2ki-bfI01LLdlBn5yUZ7vE_XDPnPNmb6kv3xJGc19Yurt3oHvOF_DScVUlMbizs0ORIPM2fPn3oD7UBLZ/s1600/Black_Death_52332_Medium.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-_ekf-VTZ9x4-qcBdSbTnfjQ7_R63I1n1YYyZpGLRWnLnQlyvzoMDWLuRnx2ki-bfI01LLdlBn5yUZ7vE_XDPnPNmb6kv3xJGc19Yurt3oHvOF_DScVUlMbizs0ORIPM2fPn3oD7UBLZ/s320/Black_Death_52332_Medium.jpg" width="320" /></a> way to the village- stumbling across the beginnings of a witch trial, as well as an extremist display of flagellants whipping their bodies bloody as they march through the woods and from town to town, proclaiming that the plague was a well-deserved punishment from God, and advising the men to turn back because the devil resides here. Ignoring the warning headed, the men continue on and stop to rest just outside the village. As the others sleep, Osmond sneaks out to a meeting place that Averill arranged to wait for him, only to find that she has vanished, leaving only her cape and some blood behind. He also discovers a rather feisty group of men ready to attack. A wonderfully gruesome battle ensues and Osmond's secret intentions are exposed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Ij4XyIXVJT55Muxu4i90l2XyoJ6jy5eMBxVgOjLDcj5PIB1V8yTQVPCpMrfUNqERhK3ejp2zYwEEgk_j4yi_FgWMT55c0d0dA6VqbVjwQypGgDazvp3ukiyLBvrbFJ6TecIhRDHels3N/s1600/black_death28.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Ij4XyIXVJT55Muxu4i90l2XyoJ6jy5eMBxVgOjLDcj5PIB1V8yTQVPCpMrfUNqERhK3ejp2zYwEEgk_j4yi_FgWMT55c0d0dA6VqbVjwQypGgDazvp3ukiyLBvrbFJ6TecIhRDHels3N/s320/black_death28.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8vWmKZSyRjJBaU2ZdLe7f0kKjQLJpOQ7rhJPvci26Lsx6PFubeyqoIbxTnh4yKXl-gn9UhEk8bDLnYOI1FYffaUVmP1jfiXKmD7mniUExvTbSEMIfKVGlzM7ZJoaoy0fKJO4fHSA8nFg/s1600/Black-Death-Movie-Header.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8vWmKZSyRjJBaU2ZdLe7f0kKjQLJpOQ7rhJPvci26Lsx6PFubeyqoIbxTnh4yKXl-gn9UhEk8bDLnYOI1FYffaUVmP1jfiXKmD7mniUExvTbSEMIfKVGlzM7ZJoaoy0fKJO4fHSA8nFg/s320/Black-Death-Movie-Header.jpg" width="320" /></a>The gang eventually reaches the village, having lost a couple of men along the way, and are greeted rather warmly by the seemingly non-threatening villagers, despite the fact that they have all renounced God and the church. They soon discover that the villagers are lead by Langiva, a powerful and manipulative woman with a knowledge of herbs and medicine and a tendency to feign resurrection of the dead. None of them are fully prepared for what the village has in store for them, least of all Osmond who finds himself grappling with dark forces and a test of his faith that threatens to destroy him.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-vt0M3-yS8O8gj1rqq02ttCqtgZw0WS86BY07ByMQFariiGP52FjV6giks66aZ8q8Gf_IvRUTG8vL-oS_pcj88d9LJStz2RT3CsmSWYS4VZJclErk5GuK4lTqHtjZBXcCk-SmJECXZJO/s1600/black_death_02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-vt0M3-yS8O8gj1rqq02ttCqtgZw0WS86BY07ByMQFariiGP52FjV6giks66aZ8q8Gf_IvRUTG8vL-oS_pcj88d9LJStz2RT3CsmSWYS4VZJclErk5GuK4lTqHtjZBXcCk-SmJECXZJO/s320/black_death_02.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlWkXpp-c8borYN-sU-V2NF310EmEurOR3TVt2jifMHkQovWBzUPP8B81eIEGgJScaxm6IemER2raHBzWyeMD9wBaHXgCtrbkBxEDTF5CVJNbeXx_jp5eNLMzNSQiPsnh6q_yj0l8K5si/s1600/black_death32.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlWkXpp-c8borYN-sU-V2NF310EmEurOR3TVt2jifMHkQovWBzUPP8B81eIEGgJScaxm6IemER2raHBzWyeMD9wBaHXgCtrbkBxEDTF5CVJNbeXx_jp5eNLMzNSQiPsnh6q_yj0l8K5si/s320/black_death32.jpg" width="223" /></a>It's a grisly film with harsh depictions of disease and death with no redemption. I was pleased with the general accuracy of the historical time period depicted in the film. The film also depicted buboes, the painful swelling of the lymph glands of the armpit, neck and groin, in the most realistic form of make-up I have seen in a movie regarding bubonic plague. That was an important factor that I was hoping for going into this film and paired with a lot of practical blood spurting and decapitation, I was very satisfied make-up wise. The film also presented it's torture and battle scenes through horrible sound effects that left you to imagine the bone breaking and flesh slicing that you're hearing but not always seeing on camera. This makes these sequences appear all the more real and keeps them from feeling overdone. Everything is very rough and dirty and always intense.<br />
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Sean Bean's portrayal of the religious zealot Ulric, a rough-edged but<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCwEq7K4z8LCcIeuEnH2gLTC19ayaotuPUSgwrhwXoYoh8uZ6WDX9kDjEp2PHkzksqm3N60-6cO4LtiS7LThyphenhyphen3tLCz_FTbFT7s3OZ_YPgDaAMMAN_TpcekIFMCVU7AgxuXDiavk6bLKFy-/s1600/Sean+Bean+Black+Death.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCwEq7K4z8LCcIeuEnH2gLTC19ayaotuPUSgwrhwXoYoh8uZ6WDX9kDjEp2PHkzksqm3N60-6cO4LtiS7LThyphenhyphen3tLCz_FTbFT7s3OZ_YPgDaAMMAN_TpcekIFMCVU7AgxuXDiavk6bLKFy-/s320/Sean+Bean+Black+Death.jpg" width="214" /></a> not unmerciful swordsman, was well played and quite convincing (and he is obviously comfortably suited for armor from his role in <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>). He was held up by a strong supporting cast playing the other mercenaries, a sort of motley crew of charismatic and well balanced characters that created this winning dynamic. You could tell that John Lynch, Andy Nyman and Johnny Harris were all fully into their roles and embodied the deep faith of these men with such an eagerness and intensity, proving they would rather die a horrible death than abandon the God they believe in. Even nonreligious folk such as James and I found ourselves rooting for these crusaders and feeling their pain, hoping that they would take out the God revoking villagers we more closely relate to normally. When we came to that realization I felt that must mean that the actor's have played their parts well. Oh yes, and though Eddie Redmayne plays the part of Osmond well, I found his character to be a bit boring but he redeems himself at the end. You'll see.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuDtRDeCUWwJoFBDgzfFin3IDzV8IO2njWRgpzbN5IrI2FiX4NikErOFiubBbKpFXQpaHzbLQLN4smlth5Qmcet_Iw4imHlQuCNmLF_cMc-HMpLU4vnPAxQGv6zTdFtOd_q1Z6l_Nipdvv/s1600/black_death03.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuDtRDeCUWwJoFBDgzfFin3IDzV8IO2njWRgpzbN5IrI2FiX4NikErOFiubBbKpFXQpaHzbLQLN4smlth5Qmcet_Iw4imHlQuCNmLF_cMc-HMpLU4vnPAxQGv6zTdFtOd_q1Z6l_Nipdvv/s320/black_death03.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcnPiu2eifLidr3DwAVEIfMCtAJbiLqeKgNA4eZi3Cef0_6cSwBK77CFxlMV88_h7ymoUCyIakZHdW_4G9yX3Wjf7SBvLiL1031-W26mBVjxrRJ8399oPSo5aAhsPMlapl3m7uOoQYnGyQ/s1600/black_death29.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcnPiu2eifLidr3DwAVEIfMCtAJbiLqeKgNA4eZi3Cef0_6cSwBK77CFxlMV88_h7ymoUCyIakZHdW_4G9yX3Wjf7SBvLiL1031-W26mBVjxrRJ8399oPSo5aAhsPMlapl3m7uOoQYnGyQ/s320/black_death29.jpg" width="320" /></a>Shot entirely in Eastern Germany, <i>Black Death</i> offers countless stunning shots of eerie swamps, dense forests filled with dark mystery and age-old abbeys. Its the strikingly beautiful yet haunting settings that evoke such an effectively ominous atmosphere in the film. You never know what horrors await in the dark caves and forests and that bodes well with the film's theme. My favourite shot is of those flagellants walking through the misty water in their disturbing procession. It's both beautiful and absolutely creepy and unsettling which sums up this film quite well and is a style that I can appreciate.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiQcR1ZYr8zHmJOCiZKbTo7jGuuChEMGYPraTYjRey1PKA5vbcmcHyYqDMO6tDKyCEP-U5mkBlWZbEnVQbp04Z2EIrfRPrJ_dRsADwIF4GFP20c37TUd86WqEcwbZHCsW5FewiLT8l-LOX/s1600/black_death26.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiQcR1ZYr8zHmJOCiZKbTo7jGuuChEMGYPraTYjRey1PKA5vbcmcHyYqDMO6tDKyCEP-U5mkBlWZbEnVQbp04Z2EIrfRPrJ_dRsADwIF4GFP20c37TUd86WqEcwbZHCsW5FewiLT8l-LOX/s320/black_death26.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<i>Black Death</i> is a film that's sure to stir up some emotion in it's viewers. It's unquestionably bleak and at times pretty unsettling but it brings a good deal of raw realism to it's subject matter that makes it worthwhile. Though some might say there are some rather heavy-handed theological ideas, I was able to look past that and feel for the characters without really considering their strong religious standpoint. In the end, I ended up surprising myself by rooting for religious warriors! For a period drama bordering on horror flick I think overall it was an effectively beautiful and harsh film that gave a fair depiction of the subject I am so fond of and fascinated of- the bubonic plague.NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-87647927440869506812011-03-01T16:12:00.000-08:002011-03-01T16:20:36.166-08:00"I love the way you talk. Like spreading plaster, nice and smooth"<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">My apologies for the lack of entries lately, I've been on a bit of a reading rampage and haven't felt like writing as much. I do promise a new entry containing my thoughts on<i> Black Death</i> which I recently watched and<i> Winter's Bone</i>. Both positive. I'll leave you with the trailer for <i>Norwegian Wood</i>, a film based off of the amazing Japanese novel by Haruki Murakami that my sister let me borrow.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">P.S. It's a new month so you know what that means!<br />
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</div>NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-15819271880550153902011-02-23T16:27:00.001-08:002011-02-23T16:27:50.633-08:00Photo Penchant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnO82TdiEirI0FZT6RbE6n3x4sWeD2y14UrlJ7GS_FzUYS3A7SAHgvo50BcQz3rv5NxXm-aBjSTp5t5Dg_N5FbEqeJsJAuoTt6hWOVauHEcAhmcKfKigyI0b-P_xWC390UcxR3tX2Xwmxe/s1600/tumblr_lbdcufIznV1qzdllzo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnO82TdiEirI0FZT6RbE6n3x4sWeD2y14UrlJ7GS_FzUYS3A7SAHgvo50BcQz3rv5NxXm-aBjSTp5t5Dg_N5FbEqeJsJAuoTt6hWOVauHEcAhmcKfKigyI0b-P_xWC390UcxR3tX2Xwmxe/s320/tumblr_lbdcufIznV1qzdllzo1_500.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-26714279598252231442011-02-21T00:27:00.000-08:002011-02-21T00:31:11.805-08:00"Magicians don't exist"<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">In keeping with my recent film choices of the French and animated variety, we watched a beautiful film that happened to be both French <i>and</i> animated. </div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfCX1AMzeHskq5PmFYkP2-VVpzI8oRYydrPVT1wx4QzGTQrdXjKKpu7GrxX-_iIOTO-YMUzqYmuVERevYzIicmbsC1YzX4kfCD4KE-FwdbqWB-YUpVBDk3-f-heQBzJhNCulT6m-hyRKrS/s1600/tt0775489.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfCX1AMzeHskq5PmFYkP2-VVpzI8oRYydrPVT1wx4QzGTQrdXjKKpu7GrxX-_iIOTO-YMUzqYmuVERevYzIicmbsC1YzX4kfCD4KE-FwdbqWB-YUpVBDk3-f-heQBzJhNCulT6m-hyRKrS/s1600/tt0775489.jpg" /></a><i>L'illusionniste</i> (<i>The Illusionist</i>) is an 80 minute animation based off a screenplay written by Jacques Tati and directed by Sylvain Chomet, who also directed<i> The Triplets of Belleville</i> and the <i>Tour Eiffel</i> segment of <i>Paris Je T'aime</i> (which I also happened to have just watched) about amorous mime artists that can be seen <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-CwcQSIdwc">here</a>. Chomet has developed a completely unique style with almost a complete lack of language, save for a few common words and some incomprehensible chatter, and beautiful hand drawn animation of real world landscapes and caricatures that push the aesthetic towards humorous fantasy. The muted colours and the subtle humor transcend language and allow this film to be understood visually and emotionally by all ages.<br />
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The film centers around Tatischeff (Jacques Tati's real name), an aging<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1O96lPitw0nVYffV5yAsEsa4f7ekZeOiaFiA6HgbYW1WLhZsNT5EmTv2pglqHNqUtY0bpeUCroDmmgPmmrzIuiYC2ItZ0uKtTg1QkZRslwqzgKCrbHFThC3k4dfuUkcmP6jHg6ZngnW_v/s1600/The+Illusionist.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1O96lPitw0nVYffV5yAsEsa4f7ekZeOiaFiA6HgbYW1WLhZsNT5EmTv2pglqHNqUtY0bpeUCroDmmgPmmrzIuiYC2ItZ0uKtTg1QkZRslwqzgKCrbHFThC3k4dfuUkcmP6jHg6ZngnW_v/s320/The+Illusionist.jpg" width="320" /></a> vaudeville illusionist struggling to make ends meet in the music halls of Paris in the late 1950s. He travels to the grey and very wet London in hopes of revitalizing his career, only to discover how irrelevant his act is in a city overcome with the rock and roll sensation and Beatlesque band Billy Boy and the Britoons, a lament for a lost era of entertainment. He at last finds an appreciative audience in Scotland and in one particular young girl named Alice who becomes enamoured with his illusions and accompanies him to Edinburgh. She wishes for new shoes and dresses and when they appear for her, she has no idea that he has to scrape together his pennies and work numerous demeaning jobs in order to conjure them up for her. His is a dying breed and we watch as other fellow variety artists struggle with alcoholism and suicide as they discover more and more that their talents are no longer needed and appreciated as they used to be. The world is changing with several Cold War allusions portrayed through newspaper headlines on the street.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig24_ehYBFdDUIUDMgK6CfrZRtEEhaWyeGrWyQPBmPfju-XbTVZ5OB2TijZyPx36vKAIU009JMdSpxVVm3Xgkm6aeYH7-N9Tab5PZi5TGYgT5NHU3ifUrq_wsT6uhOM2xiac2RfflbXDPn/s1600/l-illusionniste-2010-5755-150168235.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig24_ehYBFdDUIUDMgK6CfrZRtEEhaWyeGrWyQPBmPfju-XbTVZ5OB2TijZyPx36vKAIU009JMdSpxVVm3Xgkm6aeYH7-N9Tab5PZi5TGYgT5NHU3ifUrq_wsT6uhOM2xiac2RfflbXDPn/s320/l-illusionniste-2010-5755-150168235.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoMHjYnyoVyEoB6GVEwf7XJmJ65n-rlJ-YJ2Q7E4pO6oAIBRGofRsuub1raX8StG_ttkKl16BO_8dd9MWpNIkAByyjWPQpv15ghYaqk3a3eDii83mfXU9JbdX1vQ7N8SmMg6yRmDABoEEq/s1600/illusionist2010b.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoMHjYnyoVyEoB6GVEwf7XJmJ65n-rlJ-YJ2Q7E4pO6oAIBRGofRsuub1raX8StG_ttkKl16BO_8dd9MWpNIkAByyjWPQpv15ghYaqk3a3eDii83mfXU9JbdX1vQ7N8SmMg6yRmDABoEEq/s320/illusionist2010b.jpg" width="320" /></a>He cultivates the illusion to transform Alice into a young woman who, though still naive, looks and dresses like a member of high society. It is through his own demise and sacrifices that she rises and makes something of herself and gets a chance at a life better than the poor one she had before. Just as she is opening her eyes to the world, he is losing his faith, his illusions of keeping magic alive fading from his eyes. It's these emotions and bonds of this film that resonate. Though it is often somber, the film is beautifully lightened by its unique and charming supporting characters and scene-stealing sketches of a drunken Tatischeff stumbling upstairs or fretting for his grumpy rabbit who he believes may have been cooked into Alice's stew, only to emerge from under the couch to gobble up a bag of sausages. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6iHtrz1SvHemYJv1Yx1JhFLgxrD36EHOg7kRdK9z5ubIdYxVOKcDNNY87x0-ANqY2tbt_whZ4HehAeUWOcnbIXEXucGtt9l1NRdDWjKdftBvwSfnxZc38XfiXFRbaFGokCnxcKfXd97XY/s1600/illusionist2010a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6iHtrz1SvHemYJv1Yx1JhFLgxrD36EHOg7kRdK9z5ubIdYxVOKcDNNY87x0-ANqY2tbt_whZ4HehAeUWOcnbIXEXucGtt9l1NRdDWjKdftBvwSfnxZc38XfiXFRbaFGokCnxcKfXd97XY/s320/illusionist2010a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoMHjYnyoVyEoB6GVEwf7XJmJ65n-rlJ-YJ2Q7E4pO6oAIBRGofRsuub1raX8StG_ttkKl16BO_8dd9MWpNIkAByyjWPQpv15ghYaqk3a3eDii83mfXU9JbdX1vQ7N8SmMg6yRmDABoEEq/s1600/illusionist2010b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4rVvWXECSg6Ywrvt_F5oeNeWpfgaaHAvhM765UVw-5D11TXHQiY7-Gd3yZcgmwnPivXRBAA-9R3TKTb74Scp6uRwodbgWn4fxJjUQBpaG_SegLLzE_kIwiBbSZ45O2CnyOqMEgE56Eks/s1600/l-illusionniste-2010-5755-82393069.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4rVvWXECSg6Ywrvt_F5oeNeWpfgaaHAvhM765UVw-5D11TXHQiY7-Gd3yZcgmwnPivXRBAA-9R3TKTb74Scp6uRwodbgWn4fxJjUQBpaG_SegLLzE_kIwiBbSZ45O2CnyOqMEgE56Eks/s320/l-illusionniste-2010-5755-82393069.jpg" width="320" /></a>With Chomet's beautifully evocative recreations of Paris, London and Edinburgh from a bygone age and his amazing attention to detail he manages to create a sense of illusion and wonderment. I especially loved the scene where feathers from an open pillow case turn into an unlikely snowstorm, tricking young Alice into thinking winter has suddenly arrived and feeling the need to light a warm fire. Or even more remarkably when Tatischeff stumbles into a theater playing<i> Mon Oncle</i> (a Jacques Tati film) and for a few surreal seconds, the real and imagined Tati come face to face. These moments of beauty are what bring such life to this melancholy tale.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-SG-3e642_ti6_1hq5gpJONKinEp0eFwiWp_pypo2Kyc1mBwcpW-u-aT1k0xQL-T1KxIBh5JW9RV61KTa4CR7jGcHAqy-UghVPbTsW09FwlJQPRfVmapZvbHMJZUUOhSq1GGXW8BRxSJm/s1600/The_Illusionist.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-SG-3e642_ti6_1hq5gpJONKinEp0eFwiWp_pypo2Kyc1mBwcpW-u-aT1k0xQL-T1KxIBh5JW9RV61KTa4CR7jGcHAqy-UghVPbTsW09FwlJQPRfVmapZvbHMJZUUOhSq1GGXW8BRxSJm/s320/The_Illusionist.jpg" width="320" /></a>NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-55452747367377298362011-02-20T22:50:00.000-08:002011-02-20T22:50:56.353-08:00Dimanche Rouge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSpN1U6XdFjXr66GRKrCvAVAEYRRnjVaBo42ly2428D4nWMufL8erue-RqlSWDYtUdAWTL8ne1X-oB64SepJCK0BdJCAOa9YQGm4FeL6B22Ode6VRHyyN7bWVNtMm8lfLOwBFtNaIDyJqs/s1600/kubrick-shining-blood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSpN1U6XdFjXr66GRKrCvAVAEYRRnjVaBo42ly2428D4nWMufL8erue-RqlSWDYtUdAWTL8ne1X-oB64SepJCK0BdJCAOa9YQGm4FeL6B22Ode6VRHyyN7bWVNtMm8lfLOwBFtNaIDyJqs/s400/kubrick-shining-blood.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-14712836656092590782011-02-20T20:53:00.000-08:002011-02-20T20:53:39.900-08:00Deeply Moulded<div style="text-align: center;"><i>"Mary Dinkle's eyes were the colour of muddy puddles, her birthmark the colour of poo."</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWLAR8N3VhmMUXmR00pCyT_j4RM9S9_LjgT79CslonaXvfuw5oI_B_ikZcWYYBvKnHiDDpkq04VV4-gIJKiDHnCPK6c7f-8f5xR_SbVUVIyxabiE_iBnJMU-wv_0NvxjG8Fpmk1dc0nL6Q/s1600/maryandmax_filmstill5-580x313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWLAR8N3VhmMUXmR00pCyT_j4RM9S9_LjgT79CslonaXvfuw5oI_B_ikZcWYYBvKnHiDDpkq04VV4-gIJKiDHnCPK6c7f-8f5xR_SbVUVIyxabiE_iBnJMU-wv_0NvxjG8Fpmk1dc0nL6Q/s320/maryandmax_filmstill5-580x313.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i> </i>Had a bit of an impromptu movie night the other night, or at least attempted to. I began with watching<i> Don't Look Now</i> on Netflix which I've wanted to see for ages. Unfortunately, 10 minutes in Netflix decided to disconnect itself and I couldn't continue to watch it. That was annoying and very disappointing so I'll have to just watch it another time. After that I watched this animated film called<i> Mary and Max</i> that I picked up a while back from one of those Blockbuster sales and hadn't watched yet. I'm always drawn to interesting looking animations and when I read the voice cast, I was sold. I finished with <i>The Pit and the Pendulum</i> with Vincent price which was a late Christmas present from my sister and then a couple of episodes of <i>Bored to Death</i>, Jason Schwartzman's new show that we just finished watching the first 2 seasons of and I highly recommend because it's hilarious<i> </i>(it also stars Zack Galifianakas). I now want to share a bit about <i>Mary and Max.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-xd9MqnXCFq1jvi8iHbyxhyphenhyphenAxjrjjgk5T0IWL8JNyJmZM4iq-4FujgIjNr741GplZJ3dWe2bkrtbKS6T_CQDzOqBOMDIzYGKxRo1FC-cqoPyTikdPgafnxxeakVp-vsz8fhcXghwYVAnT/s1600/Mary-And-Max1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipu0GMu8Bg8kIheG0wkyx117L5mXVb8ljRw_gF3W6Z9E0CpE8fYQhFXiP-e_20mb2JhbiWWACWn_ihyTEw8BUhF-nbE-W38l5Bg7lOXnH3Ulz7Y_6e5i7zSMz0u0vvC4ms_S7FWzmp03zZ/s1600/mary_and_max1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipu0GMu8Bg8kIheG0wkyx117L5mXVb8ljRw_gF3W6Z9E0CpE8fYQhFXiP-e_20mb2JhbiWWACWn_ihyTEw8BUhF-nbE-W38l5Bg7lOXnH3Ulz7Y_6e5i7zSMz0u0vvC4ms_S7FWzmp03zZ/s320/mary_and_max1.jpg" width="224" /></a><i>Mary and Max</i> (2009 Australia) is a clay animated flick for adults who seek a departure from the usual (but also wonderful) more Hollywood animations from Pixar/Dreamworks, etc. It's a film that follows the 20 year friendship between Mary (voiced by Toni Collette), a young girl from a small village in Australia and her pen pal Max (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) who is a middle aged, overweight Jewish man in New York with a penchant for chocolate hot dogs.<br />
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It feels very personal in it's depictions of these two people who are both so equally naive and unaware of how the world works, and is frankly, much darker than I expected it to be. It uses witty and comical childlike frankness to explore the deep issues of a depressed little girl and a sheltered, lonely man who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome. We see Mary's world through a sepia filter and Max's in black and white, both with touches of bright red here and there that give this film such visual impact. I am always so impressed with the amount of time and creation put into clay animation and when it's coupled with amazing characters and a great story, it's all the more impressive.<br />
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We watch as they discuss every topic imaginable, swapping assumptions they've made and lies they've been told about where babies comes from, how to handle bullies, "sexing", animal facts and more, each more hilarious and naive than the next. We see their lives unfold, through the ups and downs, and how the one piece of happiness that remains constant in their lives is their friendship with one another, the only place they've ever truly fit in. Delivering funny anecdotes, cute visual jokes and many emotional scenes, <i>Mary and Max</i> deserves a watch. It's funny, dark and endearing at the same time and a striking piece of animation.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JZji1QRy_gY1Dj3pHB92uXzfZe_xv_7Wu2v6P2IZdWfBRmlCXLAoK0-1VEW485rZTffobk94zDVhFa6OW3-8KlhEdC1pjSsRZ6aautybtel33-OCRGE-jyyVOkBgxxn1DUjeAy-IlfG7/s1600/mary-and-max.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JZji1QRy_gY1Dj3pHB92uXzfZe_xv_7Wu2v6P2IZdWfBRmlCXLAoK0-1VEW485rZTffobk94zDVhFa6OW3-8KlhEdC1pjSsRZ6aautybtel33-OCRGE-jyyVOkBgxxn1DUjeAy-IlfG7/s320/mary-and-max.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-xd9MqnXCFq1jvi8iHbyxhyphenhyphenAxjrjjgk5T0IWL8JNyJmZM4iq-4FujgIjNr741GplZJ3dWe2bkrtbKS6T_CQDzOqBOMDIzYGKxRo1FC-cqoPyTikdPgafnxxeakVp-vsz8fhcXghwYVAnT/s1600/Mary-And-Max1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-xd9MqnXCFq1jvi8iHbyxhyphenhyphenAxjrjjgk5T0IWL8JNyJmZM4iq-4FujgIjNr741GplZJ3dWe2bkrtbKS6T_CQDzOqBOMDIzYGKxRo1FC-cqoPyTikdPgafnxxeakVp-vsz8fhcXghwYVAnT/s320/Mary-And-Max1.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ag6q1XxlgCKSz9qLLL5JTkNz9ZOjeUIrrHE2oevhCIHiNOgkifYYHmgpKury23E5QSxsVAvc4_iJkO26x3YZ7V5qFYwmxDb_DEA9G-_i3eiBe5fCNteXFsr-evyNeWBVTgvmPwABkLmH/s1600/Mary.And.Max.2009.720p.BluRay.x264-REVEiLLE+%25283%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ag6q1XxlgCKSz9qLLL5JTkNz9ZOjeUIrrHE2oevhCIHiNOgkifYYHmgpKury23E5QSxsVAvc4_iJkO26x3YZ7V5qFYwmxDb_DEA9G-_i3eiBe5fCNteXFsr-evyNeWBVTgvmPwABkLmH/s320/Mary.And.Max.2009.720p.BluRay.x264-REVEiLLE+%25283%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2wddPP1DTpe9RwNXx-AZ5tU_BNSOfv5JlQQ_bk57RbK-LNz0d-WWHQ3xNPuqIM_moZqj8Z9dxen-jXL-dn-cZ-gVJUfYRf7ThW-Fmf8TNXjiUo7RbXzz37rq1fRbogGtHZ6NeQW_kQBd6/s1600/mary_and_maxh.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2wddPP1DTpe9RwNXx-AZ5tU_BNSOfv5JlQQ_bk57RbK-LNz0d-WWHQ3xNPuqIM_moZqj8Z9dxen-jXL-dn-cZ-gVJUfYRf7ThW-Fmf8TNXjiUo7RbXzz37rq1fRbogGtHZ6NeQW_kQBd6/s320/mary_and_maxh.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSY2V6oRbBSXNNO7PDMHdfww9ujOThOF_-umezDE71Z1FrSGqSBkdDyHOpTiFls0l4TGT1L-DPfBlGVk54VXIhVAG9E8NLBI2XaFr_Tt3WjW7dvZRryP622TNc7YB6YBlVw7jNDfrKxJ4d/s1600/mary_and_max.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSY2V6oRbBSXNNO7PDMHdfww9ujOThOF_-umezDE71Z1FrSGqSBkdDyHOpTiFls0l4TGT1L-DPfBlGVk54VXIhVAG9E8NLBI2XaFr_Tt3WjW7dvZRryP622TNc7YB6YBlVw7jNDfrKxJ4d/s320/mary_and_max.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-4622244291899431482011-02-12T17:18:00.000-08:002011-02-12T17:18:31.171-08:00Photo Penchant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1qCthu0aJOoyzoW11outxWIykIASpJNa6U99Q0bGXTLWNkrpTGSpD8ijJLBj8wUXgf3s6THQDSSqQX0sGYMlIDFe_OoM9WsNU6qGXQ8JimVK1aVdOh-oHx6gUdTQC1t_iuvJpoEKN1h2x/s1600/tumblr_l9zqanoYDt1qacruro1_500.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1qCthu0aJOoyzoW11outxWIykIASpJNa6U99Q0bGXTLWNkrpTGSpD8ijJLBj8wUXgf3s6THQDSSqQX0sGYMlIDFe_OoM9WsNU6qGXQ8JimVK1aVdOh-oHx6gUdTQC1t_iuvJpoEKN1h2x/s320/tumblr_l9zqanoYDt1qacruro1_500.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1qCthu0aJOoyzoW11outxWIykIASpJNa6U99Q0bGXTLWNkrpTGSpD8ijJLBj8wUXgf3s6THQDSSqQX0sGYMlIDFe_OoM9WsNU6qGXQ8JimVK1aVdOh-oHx6gUdTQC1t_iuvJpoEKN1h2x/s1600/tumblr_l9zqanoYDt1qacruro1_500.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><i>Can I live here?</i></div>NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-38186745351269802532011-02-11T20:50:00.000-08:002011-02-11T20:50:21.970-08:00"Ma Bête!"<div style="text-align: center;"><blockquote style="color: #cccccc;">“<i>Children believe what we tell them, they have complete faith in us. </i> <i> They believe that a rose plucked from a garden can bring drama to a family. They believe that the hands of a human beast will smoke when he slays a victim, and that this beast will be ashamed when confronted by a young girl. </i> <br />
<i> They believe a thousand other simple things. . .</i>”</blockquote><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuWpE8JMYNip-psAkLAVDQlJqd_vLXuaGIjCtjvi6C_HszalB6HPu44dPggwS8wLMvBQVQdNOr8S2Tx5LEH2wpQwUDQVFnjrYd0cCTPm7KMKMjrHTjVSGF_oRVRQCw3Gwds8oSCwVyYKRd/s1600/Beauty.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuWpE8JMYNip-psAkLAVDQlJqd_vLXuaGIjCtjvi6C_HszalB6HPu44dPggwS8wLMvBQVQdNOr8S2Tx5LEH2wpQwUDQVFnjrYd0cCTPm7KMKMjrHTjVSGF_oRVRQCw3Gwds8oSCwVyYKRd/s320/Beauty.jpg" width="238" /></a> 45 years before Disney's adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast", Jean Cocteau- poet, playwright, sculptor, surrealist- adapted Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's famous story in a far more magical and visually stunning way. Cocteau dazzles us with dreamlike imagery, scenes that could easily stand alone as paintings, and potent sexual imagery that is left open to psychological (and psychosexual) interpretation. Cocteau desired "to make the Beast so human, so sympathetic, so superior to men, that his transformation into Prince Charming would come as a terrible blow to Beauty." and he succeeded. Not only does Belle react to his transformation with less than fawning delight, but the audience is left missing their Beast as well.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2E6O9_Xhw6ZzMzKZg1jbfnZhZKX7QVuTRXW0esJwOyn6-kTDNMt6cTfD11JGFnb99vhrpGlccAhxu62aOPuj726nysLGPUvZMlgritoO3Uvqy0HlYUqCtUFS8QlHVav0cWY3WLeC2IyAP/s1600/sjff_01_img0053.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2E6O9_Xhw6ZzMzKZg1jbfnZhZKX7QVuTRXW0esJwOyn6-kTDNMt6cTfD11JGFnb99vhrpGlccAhxu62aOPuj726nysLGPUvZMlgritoO3Uvqy0HlYUqCtUFS8QlHVav0cWY3WLeC2IyAP/s1600/sjff_01_img0053.jpg" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Henri Alekan's beautiful camerawork compliments the fairytale special effects of the castle in such a stunning way. Simple camera tricks like smoking hands, jewelry turning into snake-like roots, and Belle gliding down the castle hallways in an entrancingly beautiful and ghostly fashion, paired with living furniture- arms holding up the chandeliers on the walls, faces in the fireplace and architecture of the castle- make the film feel stunningly fantastical and brings Cocteau's poetic vision to life. Since there isn't enough that I can say to do justice to this work of visual enchantment, I will leave you with a collection of images and a clip to entice you to see this for yourself.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0XCcKh6mX8DZFBdvwKuODcCHF46QDVpA-NmEzqai6L7Yeqq-a7gT_F5MpgiggZMOg6V3qLDf77Isyd6bAqfH6ljaqKIfc3HPIdvfN5yVU-lDH080dmlSohnQ9-qEy_zyRluyA0PTVRujv/s1600/500bellebete2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0XCcKh6mX8DZFBdvwKuODcCHF46QDVpA-NmEzqai6L7Yeqq-a7gT_F5MpgiggZMOg6V3qLDf77Isyd6bAqfH6ljaqKIfc3HPIdvfN5yVU-lDH080dmlSohnQ9-qEy_zyRluyA0PTVRujv/s320/500bellebete2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePWTUpmc1sc-jnh633OlXhOWFsX-DmyMjLQ8s2wRuyx1bpUMlJD59WyWe4PqXAU847tmGX2XsT6nYvz4cBx-2k0sRjiYpJJewd6Q5v8kuav8Mngpu8jKMOm3N1Zm1yiJA9NRBi6Vy_B4l/s1600/2501438005_8cc8fb270c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePWTUpmc1sc-jnh633OlXhOWFsX-DmyMjLQ8s2wRuyx1bpUMlJD59WyWe4PqXAU847tmGX2XsT6nYvz4cBx-2k0sRjiYpJJewd6Q5v8kuav8Mngpu8jKMOm3N1Zm1yiJA9NRBi6Vy_B4l/s320/2501438005_8cc8fb270c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh358f8eETi7MBXKJ6KtVXt3YsgmVtAUgIm0uXew-2Ih6VjFM4KTOJ0x7k2KN0Ln0IGlfTaAXzfMl8gQpUG9CZywQiZHuADshQbd8P81Ov5gTYyBeXsR-QzwDzTODIKD8EKXiNtuCWKosNV/s1600/beauty+and+the+beastPDVD_008+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh358f8eETi7MBXKJ6KtVXt3YsgmVtAUgIm0uXew-2Ih6VjFM4KTOJ0x7k2KN0Ln0IGlfTaAXzfMl8gQpUG9CZywQiZHuADshQbd8P81Ov5gTYyBeXsR-QzwDzTODIKD8EKXiNtuCWKosNV/s320/beauty+and+the+beastPDVD_008+.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif3YXyquGMzKAcTXPn1LnSpNY1JKpwvMt-Bzlojkt_ZAXIiMtsxTGa-gaL_sQER5zEnVZC3NDqJNi_hxFqkxLTyuZ8KyXgOXexiEgpef_AdRUHeYIjWyp5Kw8nV6Z7NeHB3hhAKwOl7s-C/s1600/beauty_beast_still.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif3YXyquGMzKAcTXPn1LnSpNY1JKpwvMt-Bzlojkt_ZAXIiMtsxTGa-gaL_sQER5zEnVZC3NDqJNi_hxFqkxLTyuZ8KyXgOXexiEgpef_AdRUHeYIjWyp5Kw8nV6Z7NeHB3hhAKwOl7s-C/s320/beauty_beast_still.jpg" width="248" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwYle6Yjw0LCqg7mqK8u0fiy6nZeAveuw3n4KpxUm_tnXJkmDgqVUalaT-trANiyKYEnmKDHaSDhywaMwTKx6wBZ37u13QTxF6j4Y81zfe5tHEaWG0NByC0Z3x6Mernw5ik_ZQsHKFs7jr/s1600/belle-et-la-bete-1-copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwYle6Yjw0LCqg7mqK8u0fiy6nZeAveuw3n4KpxUm_tnXJkmDgqVUalaT-trANiyKYEnmKDHaSDhywaMwTKx6wBZ37u13QTxF6j4Y81zfe5tHEaWG0NByC0Z3x6Mernw5ik_ZQsHKFs7jr/s320/belle-et-la-bete-1-copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhepHgIcyVDCcZX_yQywMQKfJJ0WiZ28TfP_aBcbtoiwdFZB24dHkIcvrOwAiamUYsfnThDRjUzK8GsLDBcO3X8z0yAWnR1942A0FbBD4uw1Qv6rE7BacFBEQUzuinOw6N_7kdb8bML1xVz/s1600/La-Belle-et-la-Bete.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhepHgIcyVDCcZX_yQywMQKfJJ0WiZ28TfP_aBcbtoiwdFZB24dHkIcvrOwAiamUYsfnThDRjUzK8GsLDBcO3X8z0yAWnR1942A0FbBD4uw1Qv6rE7BacFBEQUzuinOw6N_7kdb8bML1xVz/s320/La-Belle-et-la-Bete.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/2N6Nmf-tVDo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuWpE8JMYNip-psAkLAVDQlJqd_vLXuaGIjCtjvi6C_HszalB6HPu44dPggwS8wLMvBQVQdNOr8S2Tx5LEH2wpQwUDQVFnjrYd0cCTPm7KMKMjrHTjVSGF_oRVRQCw3Gwds8oSCwVyYKRd/s1600/Beauty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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</div></div>NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-88731115271828575362011-02-11T20:48:00.001-08:002011-02-11T20:48:32.444-08:00Photo Penchant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh589izbmBMkmRyDC3wgU6jCHpwF4avRoJp6_Ji9FyKO9PRsMGtHhV0SOOTrY_IlEjnN7IP_hKXy9zMoKPoNA8cf5TpeC7vHMYt6-HGfNuIcVxhf-mYPClPAzja5f59cuKku1tPinaXmldX/s1600/tumblr_l9tv0yX4dg1qzdllzo1_500.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh589izbmBMkmRyDC3wgU6jCHpwF4avRoJp6_Ji9FyKO9PRsMGtHhV0SOOTrY_IlEjnN7IP_hKXy9zMoKPoNA8cf5TpeC7vHMYt6-HGfNuIcVxhf-mYPClPAzja5f59cuKku1tPinaXmldX/s1600/tumblr_l9tv0yX4dg1qzdllzo1_500.gif" /></a></div>NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-75177831470829831932011-02-10T20:24:00.000-08:002011-02-10T20:24:00.880-08:00Voleur!<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjes0DM1iTL3nhs2VpU3bINzcBxeAun_59ZgI0iCvftrfpB4iIotumyxVeCmmR3DL8k0aL217h5HeSG63atwjxgBCbxFp4p-eiizNnoUjIqpLgh9ieV-IYzZdXkbbuL9tI4Kjq_C7VeAIyy/s1600/Gervaise+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The other night my sister and I ended up having an unplanned French Criterion movie night. We ate delicious salads, nostalgic KD (which we have officially retired) and Baileys lattes (mine was quite heavy on the creamy beige). We started off with<i> Gervaise</i> which I brought over because I'd had it for a year and hadn't gotten around to watching it yet. This was followed by a quick episode of <i>The Golden Girls</i> (Jackie insisted and it was quite funny) and then we watched her copy of Jean Cocteau's <i>Beauty and the Beast</i>. It was a lovely escape into black and white french splendor that has left me wanting more and constantly humming Charles Trenet.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB9SIqnklrtTAmSN7MT8AUSlcYbEC_5BbJiFDYuyKlREIakMXIo4Rsy-L42UWB8Byn0YaKnb7nwEwL5uyS1IUik1LiY2ANzprL_QDpMsZZCMcoWnLdCB8hluYVSoVBbY8xY69iMV0HAOkw/s1600/51-QNM3iGUL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB9SIqnklrtTAmSN7MT8AUSlcYbEC_5BbJiFDYuyKlREIakMXIo4Rsy-L42UWB8Byn0YaKnb7nwEwL5uyS1IUik1LiY2ANzprL_QDpMsZZCMcoWnLdCB8hluYVSoVBbY8xY69iMV0HAOkw/s1600/51-QNM3iGUL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></a></div>René Clement's 1956 screen adaptation of Emile Zola's <i>L'Assommoir</i> (The Dream Shop) is a harrowing and somewhat excruciating tale of working-class Parisians in the mid-19th century. It stars Austrian actress Maria Schell as Gervaise Macquart, a young lame laundress who's dreams are slowly crushed by her alcoholic husband.<br />
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The film begins with Gervaise being left by her lover Auguste Lantier, leaving her with two young boys and the embarrassment of everyone else being privy to his cheating, long before her. This leads to quite the cat fight when Gervaise is confronted by the other woman's sister, Virginie, at work and before you know it, there's hair being pulled, buckets of soapy water being thrown and behinds being spanked! Unfortunately for Gervaise, this incident has long-term ramifications for her. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjes0DM1iTL3nhs2VpU3bINzcBxeAun_59ZgI0iCvftrfpB4iIotumyxVeCmmR3DL8k0aL217h5HeSG63atwjxgBCbxFp4p-eiizNnoUjIqpLgh9ieV-IYzZdXkbbuL9tI4Kjq_C7VeAIyy/s1600/Gervaise+2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjes0DM1iTL3nhs2VpU3bINzcBxeAun_59ZgI0iCvftrfpB4iIotumyxVeCmmR3DL8k0aL217h5HeSG63atwjxgBCbxFp4p-eiizNnoUjIqpLgh9ieV-IYzZdXkbbuL9tI4Kjq_C7VeAIyy/s320/Gervaise+2.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Gervaise eventually moves on and marries affable roofer Monsieur Coupeau (Francois Perier). They have a daughter together, Nana, and living happily together, Gervaise thinks about opening her own laundry. Sadly, her dreams are set aside when Coupeau has a roofing accident, injuring himself quite severely and preventing him from working. It takes all of their money for Gervaise to care for him and it looks like she'll never get her shop until Coupeau's good friend Goujet (Jacques Harden), the tender and dignified bearded blacksmith, loans Gervaise the money.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAb7cYUAsbCwfZ4UIDrUVkew1wCn3Wbd1KttXjoPIsek4qOra2AHkfoWt6OA0SuwrkysNHhSnN7QfpbDky5l0OrQCjOnK4WfN7hP2X5MXEgsz-IzLRyX-I6leHN0j2jKL9QIyAK1V1iZU/s1600/gervaise-11.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAb7cYUAsbCwfZ4UIDrUVkew1wCn3Wbd1KttXjoPIsek4qOra2AHkfoWt6OA0SuwrkysNHhSnN7QfpbDky5l0OrQCjOnK4WfN7hP2X5MXEgsz-IzLRyX-I6leHN0j2jKL9QIyAK1V1iZU/s320/gervaise-11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcfDGjZUCUcNglXDGw6n6XHmEMikZcEJx9nsgM16ZQZaNJ9XzKIBus3nXU-qsHGKuJV4f2uUE6MfxzUZmh3yV1s1YxWxloQvQ4E67L4zKwzzgX-xgxqMEmm_RRm3N0iSTNacEZHkzxetO/s1600/gervaise-2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcfDGjZUCUcNglXDGw6n6XHmEMikZcEJx9nsgM16ZQZaNJ9XzKIBus3nXU-qsHGKuJV4f2uUE6MfxzUZmh3yV1s1YxWxloQvQ4E67L4zKwzzgX-xgxqMEmm_RRm3N0iSTNacEZHkzxetO/s320/gervaise-2.jpg" width="320" /></a>They live happily for some time and just when it looks like things are finally working out for Gervaise, Virginie returns with a plan to destroy her. Coupeau begins his spiraling descent into acoholism, Gervaise struggles with a love for Goujet and Lantier returns to turn her life upside down. Coupeau befriends Lantier and invites him to live with them and we watch as Gervaise's life and dreams are destroyed by the men she tried to love. It isn't a happy ending as Gervaise herself turns to alcoholism and little Nana runs around with all the little boys, foreshadowing a similar future full of men and peril for the little girl.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRv0CnHwg04V0AeoZITbI1ZRYhJvwIbXxEa5R13Q3jJcyHEkC0-TkXHWW3WEgTq-N6i3hVIzJA4NFmORvqgxl7t5tj3FTFfVyoj4NH8P6T7MNNS7JLbsgOWRNqbQorpGsR60R4YgoHKH0f/s1600/gervaise-1955-02-g.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRv0CnHwg04V0AeoZITbI1ZRYhJvwIbXxEa5R13Q3jJcyHEkC0-TkXHWW3WEgTq-N6i3hVIzJA4NFmORvqgxl7t5tj3FTFfVyoj4NH8P6T7MNNS7JLbsgOWRNqbQorpGsR60R4YgoHKH0f/s320/gervaise-1955-02-g.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
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It's very tragic and perilous to watch, although from what I've read,<i> L'Assommoir</i> is even more savage and tragic. What I appreciated about this film was how Clement kept it from turning into a weepy melodrama. It was so artfully put together and he was able to communicate basic human feelings that evoke a genuine <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmyjqfolhqBrg9OCt3bPmvhkWWwQST07LdWcsgyL3gxXyQ0sNLmjv1d5Q6nW6kQ0hYNnFdKaFvEgjTnIELl_oR6N21wC-Lld6lg0drXteoRE62GgQLYsaD4ToBCxjFN8uQJtAYdoiLpnBD/s1600/gervaise-1955-01-g.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>emotional response without the need for contrived sentimentality.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmyjqfolhqBrg9OCt3bPmvhkWWwQST07LdWcsgyL3gxXyQ0sNLmjv1d5Q6nW6kQ0hYNnFdKaFvEgjTnIELl_oR6N21wC-Lld6lg0drXteoRE62GgQLYsaD4ToBCxjFN8uQJtAYdoiLpnBD/s1600/gervaise-1955-01-g.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmyjqfolhqBrg9OCt3bPmvhkWWwQST07LdWcsgyL3gxXyQ0sNLmjv1d5Q6nW6kQ0hYNnFdKaFvEgjTnIELl_oR6N21wC-Lld6lg0drXteoRE62GgQLYsaD4ToBCxjFN8uQJtAYdoiLpnBD/s320/gervaise-1955-01-g.jpg" width="320" /></a> He utilizes devices like overly cheerful music during moments of crisis that direct us to feel Gervaise's brief moment of happiness so that when the blow comes, we have a deeper feeling and understanding for her pain.<br />
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The film also offers gorgeous sets that effectively reproduce working-class areas of Second Empire Paris and compliment the tremendous acting. It's no surprise that Maria Schell received the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival for her gripping portrayal of Gervaise. When you watch her you can't help but form a strong emotional attachment to her character and feel every blow as she takes it. The character of Gervaise symbolizes the working-class woman of the mid-19th century, a strong and determined heroine trying to <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJr3BewURsP839OwEWlo9rzRA_TfF_9S65e2trheLwnMf_NU8sjnN2Io5h_qqEx_mm8UNcEg_gSCidY-mYR8BMbMRaLD07x6H90l9NCXN0QcXUjA8RQtJduP9OE9rImReC5zgCET2DecH/s1600/Film_EAH4_Gervais.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJr3BewURsP839OwEWlo9rzRA_TfF_9S65e2trheLwnMf_NU8sjnN2Io5h_qqEx_mm8UNcEg_gSCidY-mYR8BMbMRaLD07x6H90l9NCXN0QcXUjA8RQtJduP9OE9rImReC5zgCET2DecH/s320/Film_EAH4_Gervais.jpg" width="320" /></a>create a better life for herself and hold her family together, whilst still dependent on men, who do nothing but hinder her and show contempt. Francois Perier's convincing performance as an alcoholic, showing the erosion of a man's confidence and hope, really emphasizes Gervaise's despair and fills you with such disgust and disdain for his character that you find yourself just waiting for him to finally do himself in.<br />
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Clement so beautifully depicted humour, affection and loveliness, as well as despair, squalor and cruelty in a perfect blend that completes the irony of the film. It's a harrowing and deeply moving look at life in the slums that is truly affecting and a must-see for film lovers.<br />
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</a>NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-69572140301331871422011-02-10T15:57:00.001-08:002011-02-10T15:58:33.234-08:00Photo Penchant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3AKA3S8bl9XVcPk5QDO-vxsZH7DAGVTbGTOoy1q3jUSg7LfJi8_I9hMcYnKXVMpjP4uNAaT27Z1k5RSxgOI4lXOHvsXDacdHp_DoWDLajTt7KkxonyFaAW9M6cll1kY3S587nzYE5-gL/s1600/tumblr_lcgc6wuW4Q1qzvylgo1_500.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3AKA3S8bl9XVcPk5QDO-vxsZH7DAGVTbGTOoy1q3jUSg7LfJi8_I9hMcYnKXVMpjP4uNAaT27Z1k5RSxgOI4lXOHvsXDacdHp_DoWDLajTt7KkxonyFaAW9M6cll1kY3S587nzYE5-gL/s1600/tumblr_lcgc6wuW4Q1qzvylgo1_500.gif" /></a></div>NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-27052153800019430862011-02-04T15:27:00.000-08:002011-02-04T18:14:58.946-08:00Photo Penchant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDJ_huPZbI0dxRcxjpFdfA8JjTBfLFC_2wIcn8j1OBuhWVPqGHOLowF6IW30miz5bROjJxv6UqTkw7dGLA40e3qvYIq2zU9VJN4AngNHStHjhgRZ8039FGN0Qyouupv3Z5errd9vkH3CV/s1600/tumblr_lcf3z3UQ6X1qzq89fo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDJ_huPZbI0dxRcxjpFdfA8JjTBfLFC_2wIcn8j1OBuhWVPqGHOLowF6IW30miz5bROjJxv6UqTkw7dGLA40e3qvYIq2zU9VJN4AngNHStHjhgRZ8039FGN0Qyouupv3Z5errd9vkH3CV/s320/tumblr_lcf3z3UQ6X1qzq89fo1_500.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-87597099568423864402011-02-02T18:01:00.000-08:002011-02-03T01:33:35.768-08:00Exploitation Film of the Month<div style="text-align: center;">"I'd climb aboard a porcupine if it struck my fancy." </div><br />
A new month has finally arrived and James and I wasted no time in heading down to our favourite video store and purchasing this month's flick, <i>Score</i>. There were a lot of choices but this film just couldn't be ignored and with a recommendation from <a href="http://www.cinemasewer.com/">Cinema Sewer</a> (a filthy, independently produced movie magazine written and illustrated by one of the guys at the video store), we knew it would be worth checking out!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNcy-theQWCnsK5EpFoiHLrNszOjkDbDDAQf7W-uWI1UG_cB-_nYYNT1zv1XVlWBpfzb_LuYl6Tg2dZMmaIKyy3DTWm0pfMA8rqYiDKQK_U8nTe-DtFMYsjx7GFnkkflnQTFuoVew3ITf/s1600/1-1321135904-638642664.480.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNcy-theQWCnsK5EpFoiHLrNszOjkDbDDAQf7W-uWI1UG_cB-_nYYNT1zv1XVlWBpfzb_LuYl6Tg2dZMmaIKyy3DTWm0pfMA8rqYiDKQK_U8nTe-DtFMYsjx7GFnkkflnQTFuoVew3ITf/s320/1-1321135904-638642664.480.jpg" width="227" /></a>Radley Metzger directs 1972's <i>Score</i> (was released in the US in 1974) based off a 1971 off-Broadway play of the same title, written by Jerry Douglas (who also wrote for the film). This piece of "high class erotica" is just one of many directed by Radley Metzger, having directed over 20 of these films between 1961 and 1984. After checking this film out (and seeing a couple of previews on the DVD extras) I definitely want to check out some more of his work.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTs7mGmdCMgkHADMibc2U-G2kbKLcTHFcRue0bZ2HIswV-yqdGnDrvJYEB4vMIz8JquCthhKlq1oghLhvqzIQuBeOi-m8ymwEzNgsWpYuy2I7cB8YOEfLZ-94ZJo7cDTsoysx2VR0jXYN_/s1600/thescore1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTs7mGmdCMgkHADMibc2U-G2kbKLcTHFcRue0bZ2HIswV-yqdGnDrvJYEB4vMIz8JquCthhKlq1oghLhvqzIQuBeOi-m8ymwEzNgsWpYuy2I7cB8YOEfLZ-94ZJo7cDTsoysx2VR0jXYN_/s320/thescore1.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<i>Score</i> tells the story of a swinging married couple, Elvira (Claire Wilbur who reprises her role from the Broadway production) and Jack (Gerald Grant) who have a sexual appetite for men, couples, telephone repairmen- you name it!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEite_nlrMgIovskiI2rQsnoAC3rrtME5QySgPJw4D2jzxK1AXMnUjo-P-Rd7KXvWDJWSXUGSvvbXStvk2GtNmMFncF3fKvTE58apU7wp8p7jHqzZCfftcvNN7-9fz3NO15CVTKiB0En1JXy/s1600/Score-Lynn-Lowry-16.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEite_nlrMgIovskiI2rQsnoAC3rrtME5QySgPJw4D2jzxK1AXMnUjo-P-Rd7KXvWDJWSXUGSvvbXStvk2GtNmMFncF3fKvTE58apU7wp8p7jHqzZCfftcvNN7-9fz3NO15CVTKiB0En1JXy/s320/Score-Lynn-Lowry-16.jpg" width="320" /></a> Elvira, somewhat bored with their usual hookups, and looking for a bit of a challenge, decides to seduce an innocent younger couple, Betsey (Lynn Lowry of<i> The Crazies</i>,<i> I Drink Your Blood</i>) and Eddie (Calvin Culver gay XXX icon) and make a bet out of it. You see, they have this little game where they find a couple (or individual) that catches their fancy and one of them is challenged to seduce them within a 6-month time limit. It's sort of unclear about what happens when they lose but that isn't really the point.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXX2t3tSXsu-_Db77CAn_fMNLsO4D9FJsR5ATp9zXuewHW6O4042-T8kVbRyDFXtrspzgKoIaC3xOS98aNnqDu3R8SK4LYLv6W6o6UkmiwJVy0jqJ6krSeEIQMWt-aTAI6PZvLb9o9A-Ss/s1600/thescore3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXX2t3tSXsu-_Db77CAn_fMNLsO4D9FJsR5ATp9zXuewHW6O4042-T8kVbRyDFXtrspzgKoIaC3xOS98aNnqDu3R8SK4LYLv6W6o6UkmiwJVy0jqJ6krSeEIQMWt-aTAI6PZvLb9o9A-Ss/s320/thescore3.jpg" width="320" /></a>Elvira is quite the sex pot. She goes out in a trench coat, wearing nothing under it, and parades around the house in a sheer house coat. You can tell that Claire Wilbur knows this character inside and out and everything about her exudes confidence and sexuality. She starts off "operation music box", as the humorously innocent sounding narrator puts it, seducing a telephone repairmen(Carl Parker who has only 4 acting credits, two of which being Radley Metzger films) in front of Betsey while Jack is at work. Poor, naive Betsey is a little shocked by this, thanks to her Catholic upbringing, and tries to feign sickness when her and Eddie are expected to be over for dinner that night.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTyjQUecGP4VywVVYbXHdkipGAOdpuL2hW41olKqiblB-cC4jz0HJP3GD5g_sEf66X7FEaRwgUEVu9Bxd22mbkeSMjDa4uyEpsNhIIbWR6HwOdlYiWMxBQ8Oytfv8FsGe1MzVJRWPwbh5K/s1600/3435_13.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTyjQUecGP4VywVVYbXHdkipGAOdpuL2hW41olKqiblB-cC4jz0HJP3GD5g_sEf66X7FEaRwgUEVu9Bxd22mbkeSMjDa4uyEpsNhIIbWR6HwOdlYiWMxBQ8Oytfv8FsGe1MzVJRWPwbh5K/s320/3435_13.jpg" width="320" /></a>After she shows up, wearing white lace practically up to her eyeballs, Jack and Elvira start their conquest. They begin by getting the couple to relax with a bit of pot (from their pepper grinder!) and innocent little Betsey, who's never done any drugs, keeps asking "am I stoned yet?". After a bit of "Chopsticks" on the piano from the ladies, and inhibitions lowered, a costume trunk is brought out. Jack reveals how he wishes he had been a sailor, goading Betsey into revealing that she wishes she had been a model and Eddie a cowboy. The two men don possibly the most homoerotic outfits you could pick, Betsey a very minimal black lace number and Elvira comes out in a rather revealing nun outfit, emitting the response of "Jesus Christ" from Betsey.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq7hn0u1gNJQdYeIDE82b1T2mHtws70RObRd3T82EcPlHGGqFRNkOoUcmECfhPE9SNi83UbmxCkGWYCAL6YC3HDKTQiZrmJF89LDIv4Fp3vIqZyWDtN5XMKbmb6x4aN5u1Kwgan6YWDeNF/s1600/3435_10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq7hn0u1gNJQdYeIDE82b1T2mHtws70RObRd3T82EcPlHGGqFRNkOoUcmECfhPE9SNi83UbmxCkGWYCAL6YC3HDKTQiZrmJF89LDIv4Fp3vIqZyWDtN5XMKbmb6x4aN5u1Kwgan6YWDeNF/s320/3435_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkdyGhG0ay5WQJRP_zfuQmye2fud0SNt7L0Dtu6-OY4Ma9I2X31mL2GUvOWoyZTg4VoxJJLiVSsuWhIZkAhZmRntCcgIHq4tKApLh2h21iLmWIfl2xnd2H8lls6Wr9MoXvVMrGTkC4_y8/s1600/score-1.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkdyGhG0ay5WQJRP_zfuQmye2fud0SNt7L0Dtu6-OY4Ma9I2X31mL2GUvOWoyZTg4VoxJJLiVSsuWhIZkAhZmRntCcgIHq4tKApLh2h21iLmWIfl2xnd2H8lls6Wr9MoXvVMrGTkC4_y8/s1600/score-1.jpeg" /></a>It's certainly on now as the clock ticks closer and closer to midnight and if they're going to score, they're going to have to do it soon!This leads to splitting up the couples, Elvira with Betsey and Jack with Eddie, and after some heart to hearts (Betsey confesses her marriage issues and suspicions of Eddie's sexuality) and some poppers, it doesn't take long for both of them to score!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQeSx4FUs64oCtt68qpKsfRvMDMbnCZDR6ln_GhlZhQ73sNu6FB4EhXz1hbmQ6uT4nZgwO7D2W-HyHh5CbqpkDHKCWIMSmb7P4tPtF2jcJwQE2pEWQQrDNKDT7-2xfW4hhA7QU6eOBi8z/s1600/3435_4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQeSx4FUs64oCtt68qpKsfRvMDMbnCZDR6ln_GhlZhQ73sNu6FB4EhXz1hbmQ6uT4nZgwO7D2W-HyHh5CbqpkDHKCWIMSmb7P4tPtF2jcJwQE2pEWQQrDNKDT7-2xfW4hhA7QU6eOBi8z/s320/3435_4.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
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It's a simple story with humorous and campy dialogue delivered in the best way that it can be by it's actors, despite being a little stiff at times. It's a bit talky but the pacing is very quick and smooth. Each of them seemed to have a strong sense of who their characters were and played them convincingly. And let's face it, it's a movie about sex and having fun so we're not expecting top notch acting and dialogue here. We also see a subtle degradation of religious views into sexual exploration which leads to the glorious and freeing transformation of Betsey.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTYmOF3VQ3WpdPYBVjTsFvV7aafbHVSH2yPmTNQADTs8bRZNN4ESgoPX42IMiOw7wXLzz5DGeE7TULA7pAYmuiP0QJjK29q5Xr1EkC6S1I-eYXx3tt3HBSpwwb1F4yb_ap7gf3jlXJvLbS/s1600/thescore4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTYmOF3VQ3WpdPYBVjTsFvV7aafbHVSH2yPmTNQADTs8bRZNN4ESgoPX42IMiOw7wXLzz5DGeE7TULA7pAYmuiP0QJjK29q5Xr1EkC6S1I-eYXx3tt3HBSpwwb1F4yb_ap7gf3jlXJvLbS/s320/thescore4.jpg" width="320" /></a>The erotic aspects of the film are noticeably uneven. The sex scenes between the two women are never more than a softcore skin flick and camera tricks playing off the mirrors to make it look like the women are touching more than they are. I discovered that this was due to hostility between the two actresses off screen, apparently because of Lynn Lowry making more money. This unfortunately ruins their chemistry and makes their scenes together look a bit silly. The scenes with guys however, are very explicit and quite raw. Little is left to the imagination as we see the men engaging in actual felatio, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVANTTdAbyTu2UjTSVXWRsE7OR8rw0IeRrt3QeDCCqG8shOtl9HzpQiZUGVtcKL0ksxOT8xZ2NoDJKL2aKKTJdDnVj227BNhnij_Y6HsxwQgEQggBg5tsTvMu9BdDIx7KbYxvICQMX3ipk/s1600/score04.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVANTTdAbyTu2UjTSVXWRsE7OR8rw0IeRrt3QeDCCqG8shOtl9HzpQiZUGVtcKL0ksxOT8xZ2NoDJKL2aKKTJdDnVj227BNhnij_Y6HsxwQgEQggBg5tsTvMu9BdDIx7KbYxvICQMX3ipk/s1600/score04.jpg" /></a>sitting on the edge between soft and hardcore (no worries, there's no penetration or ejaculation). I think Metzger's exploration in homosexuality and not holding back is commendable and genuinely erotic.<br />
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All of this is of course aided by the bright colours and fun camerawork. It's all very tastefully shot and paired with a mixed and amusing soundtrack ranging from strange flute to the somewhat horrible but catchy uncredited song "Where is the Girl" the reoccurs throughout the film and switches to "Where is the Boy" at the end. There are also plenty of gorgeous shots of the village of Bakar, Croatia where the movie was filmed, or as they liked to call it "Leisure City".<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXuAcBYP1PgGQH09yfz5gKyFexFqiYuu_qe33ahAGTNntFqiI8fTwMhySLX8eHMpGK3YJB0qQ2erdqyU4-54rydCbDgeSakA7MTp0s6qyC-Ds7xoACljbZl9oHRnNPwu5HZQqvb_eRuiaa/s1600/thescore5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXuAcBYP1PgGQH09yfz5gKyFexFqiYuu_qe33ahAGTNntFqiI8fTwMhySLX8eHMpGK3YJB0qQ2erdqyU4-54rydCbDgeSakA7MTp0s6qyC-Ds7xoACljbZl9oHRnNPwu5HZQqvb_eRuiaa/s320/thescore5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<i>Score</i> is a great mix of sex and comedy and has such a delightfully cheery ending. Everything about it is just so upbeat, fun and sexy! Though it may not be for everyone, it is the perfect example of "high class eroticism" and is undeniably enjoyable to watch (It's just too bad the carefree notions of the film didn't foster more safe sex all around as both Grant and Culver died of complications related to HIV/AIDS). I think we made a good pick for this month!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTyjQUecGP4VywVVYbXHdkipGAOdpuL2hW41olKqiblB-cC4jz0HJP3GD5g_sEf66X7FEaRwgUEVu9Bxd22mbkeSMjDa4uyEpsNhIIbWR6HwOdlYiWMxBQ8Oytfv8FsGe1MzVJRWPwbh5K/s1600/3435_13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQeSx4FUs64oCtt68qpKsfRvMDMbnCZDR6ln_GhlZhQ73sNu6FB4EhXz1hbmQ6uT4nZgwO7D2W-HyHh5CbqpkDHKCWIMSmb7P4tPtF2jcJwQE2pEWQQrDNKDT7-2xfW4hhA7QU6eOBi8z/s1600/3435_4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-33535148739822867082011-01-29T23:55:00.000-08:002011-01-29T23:55:06.724-08:00VFX share<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/LjYbm2XP9Ug?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">I came across this neat video showing a break down of some of the visual effects from Black Swan which I thought was really interesting. There were so many effects in that film so it's cool to get an idea of how some of them were accomplished. Just in case you're also interested!</div>NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-37951288837551144472011-01-29T18:55:00.000-08:002011-01-29T18:58:44.226-08:00I Spit on Your Remake. All over it.<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I can't wait to tear into this one. </div>The other night we sat down to watch the remake of the 1978 <i>I Spit on Your Grave</i>. When I first heard that they were remaking this film, besides thinking it was totally unnecessary to remake it, I figured Hollywood would find some way to fuck it up and completely miss the mark. And guess what, they sure did. They did everything that they could do to try to top the original film- releasing it uncut right away to try to achieve some shock value and focusing way too much on creating Jigsaw worthy, intricate kills that are purely there for the gross-out factor that the<i> Saw</i> generation of kids has come to expect. A waste of time if you ask me. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqIvaxd_OM4i9CSSbI1j1VkczK8DjO5PqV4WX4vA7ud7DdaPcpHsE1baJ5DOY8IcA3C_YCUZqcL46cO9vX1HBZmojY84MnzE4VUS8CX7xAMAb78kqJVSmI_OnqRyOF3yGrKjV_PXBcdddw/s1600/ispitl.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqIvaxd_OM4i9CSSbI1j1VkczK8DjO5PqV4WX4vA7ud7DdaPcpHsE1baJ5DOY8IcA3C_YCUZqcL46cO9vX1HBZmojY84MnzE4VUS8CX7xAMAb78kqJVSmI_OnqRyOF3yGrKjV_PXBcdddw/s320/ispitl.jpg" width="216" /></a>Steven R. Monroe directs the 2010 remake of <i>I Spit on Your Grave</i> and it's not surprising to find that he's most known for camera operation and has mostly just directed TV movies (what you might call, a director for hire). This remake follows the same basic plot as the original- Jennifer (Sarah Butler) is a writer who comes to a remote cabin, deep in the southern backwoods, to get away from the city life and write her next novel. Unfortunately for her, she catches the eye of a nasty group of male locals who pursue her and proceed to rape and beat her in an extremely gratuitous fashion. She escapes and gets her revenge.<br />
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I'm really not even sure where to start with this one. First of all, I didn't<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCuK4Ej2GZxGi55II8ZETogpXxBtCbjydBRYZc_P8ngKb_F-4X8nRMPznDId8rVXxadnvu3XOqW5_B-ya8dR9shRTINIAX0Hc8o1zECb8Moa5WticzVnSgwgJIRkAzOZzrZapMU3uMB9s/s1600/i_spit_02.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCuK4Ej2GZxGi55II8ZETogpXxBtCbjydBRYZc_P8ngKb_F-4X8nRMPznDId8rVXxadnvu3XOqW5_B-ya8dR9shRTINIAX0Hc8o1zECb8Moa5WticzVnSgwgJIRkAzOZzrZapMU3uMB9s/s320/i_spit_02.jpg" width="320" /></a> get anything out of Sarah Butler's portrayal of Jennifer. She was a weak character, one that they overplayed as flaky and somewhat mindless. The supposed character development that much of the first part of the film focuses on really showed us nothing more than some typical city girl that's clumsy, naive and probably only capable of writing<i> Confessions of a Shopaholic</i> during her writing retreat. I don't feel anything for her which immediately makes the film feel pointless. There's nothing interesting or at all special about her or her mediocre performance. This made all the rape scenes just feel like the most base kind of exploitation, rape for the sake of entertainment, and to set up for some overly explicit kill scenes. That was what made this film feel so wrong and off base with the original. It misses the point of exploitation films of 70s and takes it a step too far and in the wrong direction.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidMafG5nK_Y5vuojVl3kl_e1uDW9rFDMRQHSOGs0wHkQ5F2HuNTH02JF24PrmR5RZl6j9DW_MM9XQ26j9pr-S2Ty63Yk_eIBZh8WXo3epo9JbBE-AmzmD2d2MfUGETZsGfStsv5hiqxEo9/s1600/2010-i-spit-on-your-grave-003.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidMafG5nK_Y5vuojVl3kl_e1uDW9rFDMRQHSOGs0wHkQ5F2HuNTH02JF24PrmR5RZl6j9DW_MM9XQ26j9pr-S2Ty63Yk_eIBZh8WXo3epo9JbBE-AmzmD2d2MfUGETZsGfStsv5hiqxEo9/s320/2010-i-spit-on-your-grave-003.jpg" width="320" /></a> We are then somehow lead to believe that this girl, after being quite abusively raped, was able to jump into freezing cold water, fully nude, and hold her breath long enough to swim completely out of sight of her captors. It would be pretty impressive for anyone to do that in peak physical form but after the exhaustion of what had just happened to her, just minutes before, that's pretty goddamn amazing. This is where all the terrible plot holes start coming in to play. In the original, they leave her to go back to her cabin in her beaten down and degraded state and make no mention of killing her because it isn't really necessary. They show her going back and cleaning herself up, dealing with what just happened to her and becoming stronger so that she can get her revenge. This takes about a day and is pretty effective in my opinion. Now in this remake, we don't see what happens to her for a while. A whole month in fact. Uh, right. Instead we get an overly drawn out look at the lives of these detestable men in what I guess is an attempt to make us loathe them even more which, trust me, was pretty easy when we saw them raping her. So basically, this girl, who can't even hold her phone without dropping it in the toilet, was able to somehow survive in the woods for an entire month, living off what they briefly allude to as rats that she caught herself (oh yeah and apparently she can catch fish with her bare hands...), and somehow procuring some clean new clothes. Hell, she could have walked all the way home in that time! All of this defies all possibility of belief and reality. I don't see how we are expected to believe that this girl is capable of any of this when we're given such a poor definition of her character in the beginning. That destroys the effect of the film and is what makes it feel so gratuitous and unredeeming.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8vLpJ4IZEh8krmLYx6jFhHXsOazTW-V9AWKJKoTIZ63HDi521f-mSyCMlC1BlTztii1uQ5mlxljlUI89ZcS5Q6vFdt2yz_UfwkOwtmv4Ke5iiw0orxOsSdJujfQUP6iZ4ZVF0-XpiUAoL/s1600/i-spit-on-your-grave-remake-21.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>The original film is all about drawing everything out, every shot and every scene, making it feel realistically voyeuristic and making you really feel everything- her torture, her rape and her revenge. This remake is drawn out in all the wrong places.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8vLpJ4IZEh8krmLYx6jFhHXsOazTW-V9AWKJKoTIZ63HDi521f-mSyCMlC1BlTztii1uQ5mlxljlUI89ZcS5Q6vFdt2yz_UfwkOwtmv4Ke5iiw0orxOsSdJujfQUP6iZ4ZVF0-XpiUAoL/s1600/i-spit-on-your-grave-remake-21.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8vLpJ4IZEh8krmLYx6jFhHXsOazTW-V9AWKJKoTIZ63HDi521f-mSyCMlC1BlTztii1uQ5mlxljlUI89ZcS5Q6vFdt2yz_UfwkOwtmv4Ke5iiw0orxOsSdJujfQUP6iZ4ZVF0-XpiUAoL/s320/i-spit-on-your-grave-remake-21.jpg" width="320" /></a> Way too much time is spent focusing on the men in the movie and their sorry attempts at portraying believable country boys. Our lead asshole looked like something out of a jeans ad, you know, a really forced attempt at styling a city boy to make him look country. I also couldn't get past that chubby guy who played the gay guy Damien in<i> Mean Girls </i>and his crappy attempt at a southern accent. They also decided to throw in a new character, the town Sheriff, who gets in on some of the rape action. They spend A LOT of time drawing out his story, showing his family life with his daughter, all to give our main character some weak leverage to get to him. Yeah we get it, it's supposed to be uncomfortable to watch him behaving normally at home with his wife and daughter when he enjoys going out and raping women, and she uses his daughter to get to him. But then we don't ever find out what she actually did with his daughter and she doesn't even use her in some way in front of him which I think, would have been more effective. Instead, she had to do something overly elaborate, which brings me to the revenge kills.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghfFKBXqdNVgyR0J7dm09eMk6M2mWW11Cnigl182Q9k9dAAD3N0mCvc78TrMhdwxgkaqc-PW8uGqo7c9EzqLTdgadXFyeArdk9F1n98nt0WAmLYn7Sh0m8RyfGp045f1CJtjDqhHCA5P_/s1600/i_spit_on_your_grave_01-535x356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghfFKBXqdNVgyR0J7dm09eMk6M2mWW11Cnigl182Q9k9dAAD3N0mCvc78TrMhdwxgkaqc-PW8uGqo7c9EzqLTdgadXFyeArdk9F1n98nt0WAmLYn7Sh0m8RyfGp045f1CJtjDqhHCA5P_/s320/i_spit_on_your_grave_01-535x356.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8vLpJ4IZEh8krmLYx6jFhHXsOazTW-V9AWKJKoTIZ63HDi521f-mSyCMlC1BlTztii1uQ5mlxljlUI89ZcS5Q6vFdt2yz_UfwkOwtmv4Ke5iiw0orxOsSdJujfQUP6iZ4ZVF0-XpiUAoL/s1600/i-spit-on-your-grave-remake-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcDXHIYAXgyPKEdNrcVOAEsVGl3fYujCmKWyuuLsq2-yjiZcy8aVysA6Z6myOSVsUT7h18VEtZE7soksT804VDzbGgU_BzuE_PW1v9COPiiVufYndOmg21s7jV5_zZfKQhyA20CLIPcw9/s1600/vlcsnap2011012212h29m31s115.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcDXHIYAXgyPKEdNrcVOAEsVGl3fYujCmKWyuuLsq2-yjiZcy8aVysA6Z6myOSVsUT7h18VEtZE7soksT804VDzbGgU_BzuE_PW1v9COPiiVufYndOmg21s7jV5_zZfKQhyA20CLIPcw9/s320/vlcsnap2011012212h29m31s115.png" width="320" /></a></div>What was so great about the original was the smart and effective ways that she went about killing the men and how much you could feel her pain from what they caused her. Not only that, they were simple. In this remake however, they've fallen into <i>Saw/Hostel</i> territory. Though yes, they are some pretty exceptionally gross and cruel kills, I give them that, but I just couldn't get over the improbability of them all. It also didn't help that they kept throwing cheesy one-liners for her to say that pushed this film further and further into cheesy, torture porn caliber film making. And even though they were trying so hard to think of the outlandishly clever and ironic kill schemes, I was bored watching them and waiting for her to carry each one of them out in her petty, unsatisfying way. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NagVQ2bJf7vAh_5jPDiiOHM6MfPvwtuYQDmiNWwIZxr7dl3j4D9C15tFUBaLxdC4Pno9HsTBZzFD7axe_s2GUntQqu17cSulUBn0dbVi-zuhEEGxr5fsyjNaNfRvMcXbgQdd2n0V-MaA/s1600/i-spit-on-your-grave-2010-movie-trailer-2-header.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NagVQ2bJf7vAh_5jPDiiOHM6MfPvwtuYQDmiNWwIZxr7dl3j4D9C15tFUBaLxdC4Pno9HsTBZzFD7axe_s2GUntQqu17cSulUBn0dbVi-zuhEEGxr5fsyjNaNfRvMcXbgQdd2n0V-MaA/s320/i-spit-on-your-grave-2010-movie-trailer-2-header.jpg" width="320" /></a>They spent too much time trying to make her scary looking, using typical, used-up imagery like long dark hair hanging in front of her face and making her look dirty and menacing. She's not supposed to be Samara from <i>The Ring</i>, she's supposed to be a broken down woman who's angry, not demonic. It completely cheapened any humanity and pain that Jessica had to begin with, therefore canceling out any attempt this film ever made at female empowerment or really any point at all.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPQGK-LiveksvapFZUxelwSzw1Ol5VZz1Q2i9RxeWA4466PR9_2BffaYmrHqGUIrJW5zFpCKESJbs3pQowW8BK8bA-UYocSBksKz1uSkfEekdpnKhQ1V7J8OgXTVP0fJfAqohC_gpZ7Aa/s1600/i-spit-on-your-grave-2010-20100804005331473_640w.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPQGK-LiveksvapFZUxelwSzw1Ol5VZz1Q2i9RxeWA4466PR9_2BffaYmrHqGUIrJW5zFpCKESJbs3pQowW8BK8bA-UYocSBksKz1uSkfEekdpnKhQ1V7J8OgXTVP0fJfAqohC_gpZ7Aa/s320/i-spit-on-your-grave-2010-20100804005331473_640w.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I went into watching this film very openly and I really tried to give it a chance but it just didn't deliver. I think that when you're remaking a movie, solely for the purpose of trying to make more brutal rape and torture scenes, something has been lost and doesn't feel right. Some of my favourite modern horror films are some of the most disturbing (<i>Martyrs, A Serbian Film</i>) but they have a point, an underlying message in them that makes the violence justifiable and significant. This film just gives audiences an excuse to indulge in some guilt-free sadism that no matter how hard they tried, really isn't justifiable.NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-21603028691610107482011-01-25T16:03:00.000-08:002011-01-25T16:06:13.908-08:00"Jesus is just a guy who cuts my lawn."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLcMJiShBQnAWYWTv9D0enlgKLF5tVu347pmf-5j8S3N-DQWKUY_GuCzCLWtWmIHysgHzZb0M3fCWvWzdJaLNJJkrbKvh4EytP7uSlq3COsuvjYaFqGKR_h-LoGW8ekq-X_6FqSD-Bmdy0/s1600/Sons-of-anarchy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLcMJiShBQnAWYWTv9D0enlgKLF5tVu347pmf-5j8S3N-DQWKUY_GuCzCLWtWmIHysgHzZb0M3fCWvWzdJaLNJJkrbKvh4EytP7uSlq3COsuvjYaFqGKR_h-LoGW8ekq-X_6FqSD-Bmdy0/s320/Sons-of-anarchy.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><br />
Been on a bit of TV watching rampage recently, which means watching the first two seasons of <i>Sons of Anarchy</i> in two days...Needless to say, we're obsessed. I enjoy finding a new TV series to watch that's actually decent and somewhat engaging. What is there not to like about about a TV show about bikers? Actually, I'm sure a lot of people could come up with a whole list of reasons. Though it can be a little overly American at times, perhaps a bit misogynistic and lately, there's been a little too much religion, I still love it. Awesome cast, interesting characters (actually some of the most interesting characters you can get on TV), exciting plot lines, violence, Irish accents- there's a lot to like! The last episode we saw was so tense it actually had me sweating. I'm so involved now, I can't wait to watch more.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhuI1GrL5-1TbSjbIb1p02uI-QltCaNEn3i0sYSgYoGtZ2kYa5reG6ehx5Rc4tcdHAuq_tDtZG1_tvGXfo4-qCbdoS6w8bQrAbQWTXKthtCnusJShg00UmgZ0ykwBu5PzLVDa6YhYle3NP/s1600/clinteastwood.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhuI1GrL5-1TbSjbIb1p02uI-QltCaNEn3i0sYSgYoGtZ2kYa5reG6ehx5Rc4tcdHAuq_tDtZG1_tvGXfo4-qCbdoS6w8bQrAbQWTXKthtCnusJShg00UmgZ0ykwBu5PzLVDa6YhYle3NP/s320/clinteastwood.jpg" width="320" /></a>Besides that, James has started on my intro to Westerns. I've seen the odd Western on TV and am a fan of<i> Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid</i> and <i>Giant</i> (which is more of an epic romance-style western) but never any of the classics, and certainly no Clint Eastwood films. So we started with<i> A Fistful of Dollars</i> and I really liked it. I've discovered how much I love the look of old westerns, the sweeping, barren landscapes, riding around on horses (which I've always loved, maybe because I'm a girl), leather boots and gun holsters, it's just all very cool. So I'm excited to watch the rest of the Sergio Leone set and take it from there.<br />
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Other than that, we recently watched<i> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081318/">City of the Living Dead</a></i>, most of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096734/"><i>The Burbs</i></a> (I may have fallen asleep...) and the piece of shit remake of <i>I Spit on Your Grave</i> which you will be hearing about very soon.NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-69493325054029343052011-01-21T17:17:00.000-08:002011-01-22T12:23:26.324-08:00"Your mouth smells like a borscht"<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<i>"We're flesh, potential carcasses. If I go to the butcher, I'm always surprised for not being there instead of the beef."</i></div><br />
As James and I generally like to look for films that push the boundaries of the grotesque and horrifying, just to see what will finally, truly gross us out (<i>Salo</i> I think has so far come the closest), we thought we'd give the infamous<i> La Grande Bouffe</i> a shot. It didn't exactly satisfy our appetite for shocking cinema but did offer an interesting take on wealthy European culture.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGj9eWpXk6cX4o5ck4nCh5NJ4OC4lUprJQP1xHskL8Jjmfn2My0ZNb8umJ1PS__bpHfrodqLle9MvRbp_Rh0TasrhYzpzxRIZw1yFqqJ_luvrJSgLNRNzw2vwWdHrQ9_mN2T_wYgtpYynB/s1600/La_grande_bouffe_Front.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGj9eWpXk6cX4o5ck4nCh5NJ4OC4lUprJQP1xHskL8Jjmfn2My0ZNb8umJ1PS__bpHfrodqLle9MvRbp_Rh0TasrhYzpzxRIZw1yFqqJ_luvrJSgLNRNzw2vwWdHrQ9_mN2T_wYgtpYynB/s1600/La_grande_bouffe_Front.jpg" /></a>Director Marco Ferreri's scandalous 1973 film<i> La Grande Bouffe</i> (which can also be found under the title <i>Blow-Out</i>) scathingly addresses European conspicuous consumption and sociocultural issues. The film may seem a bit empty at first but it actually offers quite a bit of witty and somewhat subtle insight.<br />
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It follows the story of four middle-aged friends- Marcello the pilot (played by the wonderful Marcello Mastroianni), Phillipe the judge (Phillipe Noiret), Michel the television executive (Michel Piccoli) and Ugo the chef (Ugo Tognazzi). They decide to hole up in Phillipe's gorgeous Parisian villa for a gargantuan, non-stop feast.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjIPs3iNzsT_1k39aHtX79EHTbjnsWWFMkEId9q4pILUHiVBsHwBa5xS1C1IGrSI5xkvmGD3-ezNCfMUt7ZMin75JUEc9Gg5d5EVNvNRY6sUlVeP8W0eh_CJZ-oxWrBMcAIhkQtt5li9R9/s1600/11459443_gal.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjIPs3iNzsT_1k39aHtX79EHTbjnsWWFMkEId9q4pILUHiVBsHwBa5xS1C1IGrSI5xkvmGD3-ezNCfMUt7ZMin75JUEc9Gg5d5EVNvNRY6sUlVeP8W0eh_CJZ-oxWrBMcAIhkQtt5li9R9/s320/11459443_gal.jpg" width="320" /></a> They hire some floozies to keep them company and invite the local school teacher Andrea (Andréa Ferréol), a plump and somewhat more sensual and healthy contrast to the other women, whom Phillipe proposes marriage to almost immediately. Their living is reduced to the most basic functions: eating, drinking, burping, sleeping, vomiting, fucking, pissing and shitting, with the men's ultimate goal of eating themselves to death.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FJuT2gL7ciIeAyokPykd0n1heDfqIP5a3RjYdbrFd2L9P3wq8USiIECDZfEfFupVrRsOHSgRuG1hLngtIPlrjsyQBbK6tw1D61aQEVjuBOKoj24n8ON5sHewTMgGRymXMoO6JyJfc4G2/s1600/7159_6-Grande-Bouffe.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FJuT2gL7ciIeAyokPykd0n1heDfqIP5a3RjYdbrFd2L9P3wq8USiIECDZfEfFupVrRsOHSgRuG1hLngtIPlrjsyQBbK6tw1D61aQEVjuBOKoj24n8ON5sHewTMgGRymXMoO6JyJfc4G2/s320/7159_6-Grande-Bouffe.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
The characters of the 4 men seem to personify power and the three manifestations of that ideology- justice (Phillipe), spectacle (Michel), food (Ugo) and adventure (Marcello). Their male sexuality is reduced to impotence, indifference and regression as their bodies begin to deteriorate as a result of the mass gorging. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBW5JV-F1LPAZu8sdEzKUlVkaBnKZlzk-gYMagtC7rpJDYU2K-HxI8nmDFwvzsHptDyB8pbfQ4wVZWiFuYgxaK40NURw_BWyJuBa2USXkFoboCVSmuCw1aFfmQUp37Ow8GlzhnFGGGRBO1/s1600/grande-bouffe-1973-08-g.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBW5JV-F1LPAZu8sdEzKUlVkaBnKZlzk-gYMagtC7rpJDYU2K-HxI8nmDFwvzsHptDyB8pbfQ4wVZWiFuYgxaK40NURw_BWyJuBa2USXkFoboCVSmuCw1aFfmQUp37Ow8GlzhnFGGGRBO1/s320/grande-bouffe-1973-08-g.jpg" width="320" /></a>You will never see so much farting, humping and humping whilst farting done in such an artful way in cinema such as this. Marcello is a self proclaimed "sex maniac" and once all of the prostitutes leave, Andrea stays and proceeds to do all of the sleeping around...and all of the men in the house. Though it is unclear if she is sticking around simply to indulge herself or if she shares the same goal as the men, she stays around right until the very end.<br />
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What's unfortunate about this film is that it really lacks any semblance of a plot or back story and more so focuses on some rather drawn out bingeing, farting and rather unappealing looking sex. There isn't any apparent reason for any of these men to be doing all of this in the first place, we're just sort of led to chalk it up to mid-life listlessness and ennui with their rich-man lives. This makes it all feel sort of meaningless and is what left me feeling a little disappointed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dL5AIH_elHNHNSXcCUC3KR1z6jDyEXSNeB2R2ETbi0mh7ikMpNKas5TEKS2pxiSiIn5PViy9zGu35rl9unsdypqsYm9x5sD1PNYzUXdI4btUt7zcyNQbBtG8c6d38vGvSr2ZMiBATEHm/s1600/2072636789_04dcd70836.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dL5AIH_elHNHNSXcCUC3KR1z6jDyEXSNeB2R2ETbi0mh7ikMpNKas5TEKS2pxiSiIn5PViy9zGu35rl9unsdypqsYm9x5sD1PNYzUXdI4btUt7zcyNQbBtG8c6d38vGvSr2ZMiBATEHm/s320/2072636789_04dcd70836.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
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Ferreri does reveal their double-mindedness at points like when they are faced with the first death of the group and Michel finds himself uncontrollably weeping over the body. This also marks the point where most of the dark humor stops and you're left to endure the slow turmoil and melancholic descent of the rest of the characters. I really appreciated the subtle ways of showing the human-animal parallel, like how they placed the bodies of Marcello and Michel in the refrigerating room, their bodies occupying the same space as the animal carcasses, as Ugo, Phillipe and Andrea sat down to attempt to eat another meal in front of them. All of the sort of soul-crushing inevitability of the ending of this film is lightened just once more (well lightened in a, you know, very dark sort of way...) with Phillipe's death. This plump and somewhat breast obsessed man gorges himself to death at last by eating two enormous, tit-shaped mounds of pink pudding, complete with nipples! That to me was a great way to end the film and bring together all the dark wit and satire of the first part of the film. My other favourite scene, and definitely the most absurd, was when the toilet in Marcello's bathroom somehow erupts and showers him with a river of shit. Horrifying but hilariously played.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEdPhRkgrUOaAb4IgywkMp_WrNTJ3Lie0er2bc94BKxcZNmDDnpUVvfdW5zJtopV3I0m195kg3aNkp79uLXmGpyyE640Y7plsdSzox3ndUZG9Lu9gNVO8lPRafBTv43RxylYQSi80tvcA/s1600/la-grande-bouffe-andrea-ferreol-and-philippe-noire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEdPhRkgrUOaAb4IgywkMp_WrNTJ3Lie0er2bc94BKxcZNmDDnpUVvfdW5zJtopV3I0m195kg3aNkp79uLXmGpyyE640Y7plsdSzox3ndUZG9Lu9gNVO8lPRafBTv43RxylYQSi80tvcA/s320/la-grande-bouffe-andrea-ferreol-and-philippe-noire.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This film is just riddled with so many small details and pretty much every scene is open to interpretation, most likely leading to some existential meaning and view on the bourgeois. I think if it weren't for Ferreri's ability to lace the film with all of these clever allusions and intelligent black humor, it may not have been able to keep me watching for the entirety of it's nearly 2 and a half hour running time. I mean, there are only so many food fueled sex scenes one movie can sustain without a little more of a point. Did I find it shocking? No. Did I find it gross? Excessive eating tends to put me off food for a bit, but not long, and the thought of having sex with someone while they may possibly be soiling themselves is pretty nasty. So, a little bit, yes, but not very much. Overall, I'm still unsure as to how much I really liked the film. I still feel somewhat unsatisfied and think that perhaps curiosity draws people to the film a little more than it's substance. If you've watched <i>Last Tango in Paris</i>, <i>La Maman et la Putain</i> and even<i> The Cook, the Theif, His Wife and Her Lover</i>, then you should watch this film.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGSRgStV9SDyP__92TN7-VyuhxecTEMa_abMP-i4OM-KqQozTH27FF2ngQvvPto3mK3y0_oIu43pdsLH5caWwla6IgDjWuikzuqXeS0BdeCQ4WUdGEKeQlYE7GcSRIueaRlfgtWRX7UaYp/s1600/la+grande+bouffe+marcello.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGSRgStV9SDyP__92TN7-VyuhxecTEMa_abMP-i4OM-KqQozTH27FF2ngQvvPto3mK3y0_oIu43pdsLH5caWwla6IgDjWuikzuqXeS0BdeCQ4WUdGEKeQlYE7GcSRIueaRlfgtWRX7UaYp/s1600/la+grande+bouffe+marcello.jpg" /></a><br />
Oh, and a couple of random but interesting facts: the Chinese ambassador that we briefly meet when the men first arrive at the villa apparently happened to be just walking by during filming and put in the movie; the villa is now the Vietnamese Embassy; the actors apparently did a lot of real eating for their scenes in the film.NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-65807567737674473212011-01-21T16:54:00.000-08:002011-01-22T12:20:58.028-08:00A tire...named Robert...<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/joI-uU86NXw?fs=1" width="480"></iframe><br />
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Could this actually be real?? I think I'm going to have to see this.NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-68458894983548634342011-01-20T19:43:00.000-08:002011-01-21T12:22:06.319-08:00I've been having a lot of zombie dreams lately...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiLAU4tnFEQYy_hoN7wlDZagH7lUqoRv5wCDgKGNXnO-dvfbHSXo-912x9SmXsvI-MOC6qm3un_GkR6IoQ1yaox5Ygs_ewIyHhVDvWd4Lf_TbDFhQaCShC51iJOO2f65ljJVdu0rrm3hHB/s1600/1115173-28_days_later_004_super.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Just a quick update while I'm working on a couple of reviews. We've been doing a bit of movie watching lately and I've been doing A LOT of comic reading.What I've read through and started reading include:<br />
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</a> In terms of movies, we've watched: <i>The Slime City Grindhouse Collection</i> that I picked up a while ago (and intend to dedicated a future entry to it because it's ridiculous)<br />
<i>Phantasm</i> (which I had actually never seen before)<br />
<i>Time Bandits</i> (brilliant)<br />
<i>Tenebre</i> (currently reviewing)<br />
and <i>Tru</i><i>e Grit </i>which we watched last night that was also really good. So there shall be more to come very soon!NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-52775212759801420642011-01-14T15:01:00.000-08:002011-01-14T15:01:18.743-08:00"If your life had a face, I would punch it"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXrdnkJw7zrM7WFRZ6r25pJZi1IpMdcpBnM0k6o140PpwWDrvnXNmpg7Ll7Jsynxu2b6III7BVfJfp2GCPk11Kp8ErFwEfJ_qD0srXcrfXhhGjz2NiceSv-ocr0z0Ew7WofYx84nWf4Xyz/s1600/Scott-Pilgrim-Comic-Panel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/lsBSDift8lI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXrdnkJw7zrM7WFRZ6r25pJZi1IpMdcpBnM0k6o140PpwWDrvnXNmpg7Ll7Jsynxu2b6III7BVfJfp2GCPk11Kp8ErFwEfJ_qD0srXcrfXhhGjz2NiceSv-ocr0z0Ew7WofYx84nWf4Xyz/s1600/Scott-Pilgrim-Comic-Panel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9bQ-LMX7h43RrxQIP-vAjzAOfOiY13-Fg8JHBZx9ryAG7W06oGqsYqm3qrYKaUSRPCl4guE0oGena44I-Q8Nd1fq-4V7458yXUG9PwpB4TVKNt5C3d6fH3nlheyzH6X6FbYaCMJKOj6B/s1600/scottPilgrimbday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9bQ-LMX7h43RrxQIP-vAjzAOfOiY13-Fg8JHBZx9ryAG7W06oGqsYqm3qrYKaUSRPCl4guE0oGena44I-Q8Nd1fq-4V7458yXUG9PwpB4TVKNt5C3d6fH3nlheyzH6X6FbYaCMJKOj6B/s1600/scottPilgrimbday.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9bQ-LMX7h43RrxQIP-vAjzAOfOiY13-Fg8JHBZx9ryAG7W06oGqsYqm3qrYKaUSRPCl4guE0oGena44I-Q8Nd1fq-4V7458yXUG9PwpB4TVKNt5C3d6fH3nlheyzH6X6FbYaCMJKOj6B/s320/scottPilgrimbday.jpg" width="215" /></a>I just finished reading the <i>Scott Pilgrim vs. the World</i> comics and feel kind of sad, like I'm missing something now! I saw the movie when it came out and loved it and now, after reading the comic, I'm really impressed with how they translated it into film. Obviously there's a lot more to the characters and story in the comic, but I think that they condensed it into a 112 minute film effectively. The casting was pretty much perfect and they did such an amazing job of making the actor's look like the characters in the comic. There is also a really interesting making-of feature on the DVD that is worth checking out. I now feel the need to watch the movie again, to fulfill my new need for Scott Pilgrim.If you haven't already, read the comic and watch the film. Both are awesome. That's all. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXrdnkJw7zrM7WFRZ6r25pJZi1IpMdcpBnM0k6o140PpwWDrvnXNmpg7Ll7Jsynxu2b6III7BVfJfp2GCPk11Kp8ErFwEfJ_qD0srXcrfXhhGjz2NiceSv-ocr0z0Ew7WofYx84nWf4Xyz/s1600/Scott-Pilgrim-Comic-Panel.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXrdnkJw7zrM7WFRZ6r25pJZi1IpMdcpBnM0k6o140PpwWDrvnXNmpg7Ll7Jsynxu2b6III7BVfJfp2GCPk11Kp8ErFwEfJ_qD0srXcrfXhhGjz2NiceSv-ocr0z0Ew7WofYx84nWf4Xyz/s320/Scott-Pilgrim-Comic-Panel.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXrdnkJw7zrM7WFRZ6r25pJZi1IpMdcpBnM0k6o140PpwWDrvnXNmpg7Ll7Jsynxu2b6III7BVfJfp2GCPk11Kp8ErFwEfJ_qD0srXcrfXhhGjz2NiceSv-ocr0z0Ew7WofYx84nWf4Xyz/s1600/Scott-Pilgrim-Comic-Panel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXrdnkJw7zrM7WFRZ6r25pJZi1IpMdcpBnM0k6o140PpwWDrvnXNmpg7Ll7Jsynxu2b6III7BVfJfp2GCPk11Kp8ErFwEfJ_qD0srXcrfXhhGjz2NiceSv-ocr0z0Ew7WofYx84nWf4Xyz/s1600/Scott-Pilgrim-Comic-Panel.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-87434198225026099002011-01-11T14:17:00.000-08:002011-01-12T18:16:43.545-08:00"It's easy to kill live people"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMzWHw3vT9DxXumVc5LVSqK8FGvSWTbI4pJWVqFziNMZ7lzJqUnGU1TEoL0boct_bGpbICD15V3cwTBnjiBxNvAtS4poLIizbO99UJxwAAutVALvLAmj02azC5OwEUUOR09ZSGLzu0wm7/s1600/psychomania4.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXO_xtksKL3f_1lQPE3_fAB5E4RL5iimKS9XkR3Qgq9N9x5rlvoj-q3EtaEDRyLh_VkYimhhEKlYTKKPXKzjNP2325qM_6x6mJQbPZjMJHhzKvdrGqTSmpjD_hNPVKGBGJBtA0_7fvMQwY/s1600/psychomania-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561144380209548930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXO_xtksKL3f_1lQPE3_fAB5E4RL5iimKS9XkR3Qgq9N9x5rlvoj-q3EtaEDRyLh_VkYimhhEKlYTKKPXKzjNP2325qM_6x6mJQbPZjMJHhzKvdrGqTSmpjD_hNPVKGBGJBtA0_7fvMQwY/s320/psychomania-1.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
During some of my reading/research in one of the many horror magazines out there, I came across an article on the film <span style="font-style: italic;">Psychomania</span>. Before I even read anything, I took one look at the bikers in the picture and asked James if he'd ever seen it. He hadn't and we were both shocked that neither of us had even heard of it before. We were immediately seduced by it's quirky charm and premise, and vowed to see it as soon as possible. Our viewing has finally occurred and we were quite enticed by what we saw.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBbqUW-9ryPwj31NTtAjDmnYiU7FxzbTr3LRonqjtPGKZJl3myTGvi3OokFvH1GCog-PeBNsrqcnhy1N73ZV0rajvtIl3TAKYZHGv_aC7StvRR59Z2hgB9Utf63ouWDN1nReYjNZJRe2LV/s1600/psychomania.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561143980139098546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBbqUW-9ryPwj31NTtAjDmnYiU7FxzbTr3LRonqjtPGKZJl3myTGvi3OokFvH1GCog-PeBNsrqcnhy1N73ZV0rajvtIl3TAKYZHGv_aC7StvRR59Z2hgB9Utf63ouWDN1nReYjNZJRe2LV/s320/psychomania.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 227px;" /></a>Don Sharp directs the undeniably likeable 1973 euroshock, <span style="font-style: italic;">Psychomania </span>(or <span style="font-style: italic;">The Death Wheelers</span>) about "The Living Dead" biker gang who end up quite literally being just that. Tom Latham (Nicky Henson) is the leader of this fab gang, clad in embroidered leathers and some wicked matching skeleton helmets. The gang likes to pass their time playing chicken with highway motor vehiclists, driving in circles around 7 big stones (or witch burial rather) and driving through city squares and grocery stores, knocking things over.<br />
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Tom is a bad boy. He wears leather pants and has funny, Brian Jones-esque hair (Nicky Henson blames other roles for the hair but I think he dug it) and at the ripe age of 18, just isn't feeling satisfied with his life. He confesses to his girlfriend Abby, the nice one of the gang, that he wants to commit suicide and she tells him that she can't join his suicide pact because she has to help her mum with the shopping tomorrow. He also appears to have a short attention span because midway through their graveyard make-out session, he stops to snatch up a frog (and I do mean that literally). He takes it home to his mother (Beryl Reid) and her manservant Shadwell (George Sanders who ironically committed suicide before the film's release, claiming to be "bored", but sadly did not come back on a motorcycle) and tries to figure <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC0eTRxAO8GQXZgfotwQmxc2LeWSv0aWIh1cZnfGyRl0CMRqnwBbGS0_KljvUpAN_13MLi3S-AJLpQ3DweIJRXFhkG_0X1IpnOm3mOuTMZlplV8R9UwceC0isQrTOm6ER-spuLRbhfnxxB/s1600/Psychomania-frog.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561144716321900946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC0eTRxAO8GQXZgfotwQmxc2LeWSv0aWIh1cZnfGyRl0CMRqnwBbGS0_KljvUpAN_13MLi3S-AJLpQ3DweIJRXFhkG_0X1IpnOm3mOuTMZlplV8R9UwceC0isQrTOm6ER-spuLRbhfnxxB/s320/Psychomania-frog.gif" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 213px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a>out it's relation to his family and bringing back the dead. Turns out his family are some sort of occultists and after getting trapped in a secret room in the house and having vague, frog related hallucinations, Tom learns the secret to coming back from the dead. Turns out all you have to do is really, truly believe you can come back. Hmm...why have I never thought of this? Oh yeah, and some sort of frog ornamented jewelry is also required.<br />
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Tom wastes no time in meeting his demise and drives himself off a bridge. Abby requests that his mother let the gang bury him their way, which is sitting upright on his bike in the grave (which was cool until you saw the gang out of their leather and in garish hippie attire, singing cheesy <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgVpHU0qYBHkQznw2fee3hI1z8X9njwLB9T6KeXaR9gDKuODjaW4tBI6Q5Wee7AyLszKt9p9thyphenhyphenk8Bs71Vh9oi9UuoiDqiDA7fTO4GpVCeDFhM24EsockmbUEh2KkR7zffs27vAmrBPyz/s1600/psychomania01.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561144935615186338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgVpHU0qYBHkQznw2fee3hI1z8X9njwLB9T6KeXaR9gDKuODjaW4tBI6Q5Wee7AyLszKt9p9thyphenhyphenk8Bs71Vh9oi9UuoiDqiDA7fTO4GpVCeDFhM24EsockmbUEh2KkR7zffs27vAmrBPyz/s320/psychomania01.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 201px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a>acoustic ballads and making floral wreaths). There was something about this that seemed vaguely familiar to me, that I just couldn't put my finger on. Turns out Lemmy from Motorhead must have been a fan of this film because he pays homage to it in their video for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV6noHEd6XE">"Killed by Death"</a>. Anyway, back on point, Tom drives out of his grave, in the same perfect condition he was in before he died, hell-bent on wreaking havoc and taking lives. His gang decides to follow suit, jumping out of buildings and planes, riding in front of trucks, walking into the river donning chains and a speedo...Amazingly, only one or two chicken out right before death, even though most of their methods spare plenty of time for second thought before actually killing you. Abby however, is not so easily seduced by the idea. As the police close in on Tom and his undead comrades, Abby struggles with her will to live and her inexplicable love for Tom who, let's face it, is kind of a cold-hearted ass. She also picks the least fail-proof way to attempt to off herself. Can these evil forces be stopped or will idiotic romanticism win out?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVH2Q7ikNSZfe6ZUPFFkTO2xfKFNCvzsB4bDWAwUQQpylLX_t2-RCFXK914g6ICE53Y62ektihwGxuh-IAqDAufNqwJdlMTz-GJqmk3cVF5zD4ocGnOt0LfWFii61Opj6QIKdx2ow5VD2H/s1600/psychomania10.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561144389429513058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVH2Q7ikNSZfe6ZUPFFkTO2xfKFNCvzsB4bDWAwUQQpylLX_t2-RCFXK914g6ICE53Y62ektihwGxuh-IAqDAufNqwJdlMTz-GJqmk3cVF5zD4ocGnOt0LfWFii61Opj6QIKdx2ow5VD2H/s320/psychomania10.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 195px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
Nicky Henson delivers a pretty solid lead as Tom, a rather spoiled and selfish outsider who just wants to live forever and mess with people as he pleases. George Sanders brought such a great sense of old-school sinister and macabre acting that made all of his scenes increasingly enjoyable. The rest of the gang all brought their own little quirks to this charming cast, each with a different, odder-looking British face than the next.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MDAQT9e6hy2m9Pu1nmCIV4Y3xgfgUSUdjyDhixpNRTgXZ0MJD2k3FCDMl__f_kyfqGvN-Xk0tjBhf-s4yeRqSGt-_Rla4eae17prO4vgGAejZOAva9jViwgFDIR2V7yds-TRB2Jtjv9a/s1600/psychomaniaa.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561144388127443810" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MDAQT9e6hy2m9Pu1nmCIV4Y3xgfgUSUdjyDhixpNRTgXZ0MJD2k3FCDMl__f_kyfqGvN-Xk0tjBhf-s4yeRqSGt-_Rla4eae17prO4vgGAejZOAva9jViwgFDIR2V7yds-TRB2Jtjv9a/s320/psychomaniaa.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Psychomania</span> isn't your typical film involving the undead. It isn't laden with gore and special effects, nor is it rampant with nudity or really much sexuality at all (seriously no boobs!). It instead utilizes the grainy 1970s cinematography that we know and love to set the tone of the film, with foggy moors and some simple live action stunts to the tune of an awesomely psychedelic soundtrack by John Cameron. That, paired with the colourful characters and the aforementioned bad-ass outfits, are what make this stylish biker flick a cult classic.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMzWHw3vT9DxXumVc5LVSqK8FGvSWTbI4pJWVqFziNMZ7lzJqUnGU1TEoL0boct_bGpbICD15V3cwTBnjiBxNvAtS4poLIizbO99UJxwAAutVALvLAmj02azC5OwEUUOR09ZSGLzu0wm7/s1600/psychomania4.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561144386520703442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMzWHw3vT9DxXumVc5LVSqK8FGvSWTbI4pJWVqFziNMZ7lzJqUnGU1TEoL0boct_bGpbICD15V3cwTBnjiBxNvAtS4poLIizbO99UJxwAAutVALvLAmj02azC5OwEUUOR09ZSGLzu0wm7/s320/psychomania4.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 255px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
As for the DVD, it has some pretty informative special features that are definitely worth checking out, including an introduction by Fangoria Editor Chris Alexander, interviews with the cast, and an interview with the writer of that cheesy, hippie ballad. The film's negatives were apparently lost, so it's been taken from the best 35mm stock available, and looks pretty good.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSpf4wBQyCYgj1pk2TkH5Uc8YM-_pZxzBojz5FKzhWwOBaeCqvGX8xLa4VZbmT4GrMXfejfXTMaJ05qzyXwbd3vJ02LV0kkqqhI0GuVqqJvJFdvryDDo233AlIenNW7i3IiYH1F-z0-IOe/s1600/psychomania1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561146476067654242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSpf4wBQyCYgj1pk2TkH5Uc8YM-_pZxzBojz5FKzhWwOBaeCqvGX8xLa4VZbmT4GrMXfejfXTMaJ05qzyXwbd3vJ02LV0kkqqhI0GuVqqJvJFdvryDDo233AlIenNW7i3IiYH1F-z0-IOe/s320/psychomania1.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 180px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgqAjXeVZ-Gx4mSLSIMuZmn_fFjjbjtk6-i0bCM9Q_hvx0lnvPltQB8uoGMNC0PZ3Y-3OyHr4p4lHFVG1zbX8gbXuUt4S80HBnMfL7OrNSuIZ62DhLqfVcVzNKLbtIF2Krqx9tBXdqffC/s1600/vlcsnap-00028.jpg"><br />
</a>All in all, <span style="font-style: italic;">Psychomania</span> is a fun, stylish film that will keep you grooving and hanging on from that foggy opening scene to the utterly surreal ending. You really can't miss out on seeing "the grooviest zombie biker movie of them all!"NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-7316386120072871152011-01-10T14:27:00.000-08:002011-01-10T17:12:16.638-08:00Watch out for Joulupukki<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFA6cEx7RYjySc1gXWsPzeFuUftSvgf3hhCu3dKb6hNcWkp_OLdYTO4VzvAvVj3BISmAiNT7uKCB89qdPfNGWR2sDJfDLPP10Lk9meC1uTofNdUpE5ZnyN9rOT17s-7JfECgizFBRPqgE/s1600/Rare+Exports+A+Christmas+Tale+film+review.jpg"><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrv-Qs7KXsYCog8yLwW3awzUm2XcOcHggI7I3FjusnDAy3UULdR8YRuEPkgw2N-oVVRdk-jBCXqMq3ELrbgvhc6MZtYtHNO6R_tBnfLhoO9MdURvZs61vI5G7BDVEG7eUmD2jSrGZzjbJu/s1600/rare-exports-a-christmas-tale-0.jpg"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFA6cEx7RYjySc1gXWsPzeFuUftSvgf3hhCu3dKb6hNcWkp_OLdYTO4VzvAvVj3BISmAiNT7uKCB89qdPfNGWR2sDJfDLPP10Lk9meC1uTofNdUpE5ZnyN9rOT17s-7JfECgizFBRPqgE/s1600/Rare+Exports+A+Christmas+Tale+film+review.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 187px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFA6cEx7RYjySc1gXWsPzeFuUftSvgf3hhCu3dKb6hNcWkp_OLdYTO4VzvAvVj3BISmAiNT7uKCB89qdPfNGWR2sDJfDLPP10Lk9meC1uTofNdUpE5ZnyN9rOT17s-7JfECgizFBRPqgE/s320/Rare+Exports+A+Christmas+Tale+film+review.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560720050237708354" border="0" /></a><br />We finally had the pleasure of watching <span style="font-style: italic;">Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale</span> the other night and it was well worth the wait. Having heard about it a while ago, and having watched both of the shorts, I was anxiously awaiting it and had hoped to see it before Christmas. It wasn't however, until a few nights ago that we actually managed to procure a copy with decent sound and subtitles. What we saw was definitely one of the best movies to come out of 2010.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSGbKLZgHn7s-AgoIf66cUwcoqgVHOqylP78DDX39KASSyF2IvVOISeA-yyzeHFcCDydBSTIAIDf_QAUI1wvX-07qac4BycDzcR5vWIcVqzsFtB1h3raaDTj3CLthppe4hjt4FEWxPnp5p/s1600/rare+exports_poster.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 224px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSGbKLZgHn7s-AgoIf66cUwcoqgVHOqylP78DDX39KASSyF2IvVOISeA-yyzeHFcCDydBSTIAIDf_QAUI1wvX-07qac4BycDzcR5vWIcVqzsFtB1h3raaDTj3CLthppe4hjt4FEWxPnp5p/s320/rare+exports_poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560717612301156882" border="0" /></a>Jalmari Helander's Finnish film <span style="font-style: italic;">Rare Exports</span>, based off two shorts that you must see <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei69bYwwCvc">here</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkyqODDF-LU">here</a>, is one of the best, most original stories I have seen in a film. It's a coming of age tale about a young, odd looking boy named Pietari, growing up in the Korvantunturi mountains of Lapland. It's a land of harsh winter and tough men, where the boys are expected to be men and where little Pietari struggles to connect with his gruff, reindeer slaughtering father.<br /><br />24 days before Christmas, a group of American archaeological diggers uncover the frozen grave of the real Santa Claus, which is nothing close to what you've ever imagined him to be. They are given safety instructions which include "No drinking, smoking, cursing, loitering, cavorting or arguing. Any attempt to break these rules will result in death and/or the death of your co-workers." They of course, do not follow them. Pietari believes what he overhears at the dig site and does some investigating to find out more about Santa Claus. What he finds is disturbing; an evil, horned man that does terrible things to children, resembling the classic notion of Santa in no way. He now knows that Santa is dead and senses someone watching him every night. His suspicions grow greater when their annual reindeer ration is completely slaughtered before they can get to them and only he sees the ominous bare footprint of a man in the snow.<br /><br />Jumping to Christmas day, Pietari and his father wake up to find something rather unexpected<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcaE-yMmgRLSp4uDdhr4MjLWK0JVP9t7D4KNrOBUsG_q5DXviZUNAKxHtFqtoYjyx98iJ_5-jN2tYs0FwHlzLjT7dhoqnQTkag8dXm2Q07N2xIwk8OHxex0QXtRe-pYMvLeFCsZOqniqaw/s1600/rare-exports-3.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcaE-yMmgRLSp4uDdhr4MjLWK0JVP9t7D4KNrOBUsG_q5DXviZUNAKxHtFqtoYjyx98iJ_5-jN2tYs0FwHlzLjT7dhoqnQTkag8dXm2Q07N2xIwk8OHxex0QXtRe-pYMvLeFCsZOqniqaw/s320/rare-exports-3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560717842301031202" border="0" /></a> in their wolf trap; a very skinny, naked old man with a long white beard. The father, along with two other men, attempt to question the man, only to discover his rather violent side. Pietari tries to explain that he came to kidnap him and when they discover that the rest of the children in the town have gone missing, as well as all the radiators and potato sacks, they believe him and set out to find them. What they find is greater and more terrifying than they expected.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM9XYgkdyRt4jeIAkS5c-40_KXUuSXrxTaoKkCp1d6nwDO2Wcs_UgnV65t3lk9dFGIjJQJu2QHH5M-Oo8Nr8Ov7KuTyvb959dl89hEOsh4wNy8F-9YkTfKmdlmiZQT76svS06yRbqZKeA1/s1600/santa.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 173px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM9XYgkdyRt4jeIAkS5c-40_KXUuSXrxTaoKkCp1d6nwDO2Wcs_UgnV65t3lk9dFGIjJQJu2QHH5M-Oo8Nr8Ov7KuTyvb959dl89hEOsh4wNy8F-9YkTfKmdlmiZQT76svS06yRbqZKeA1/s320/santa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560718374212231970" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik-PanV-4CsT1QKc59uCfhH4vp2cwIT1enNbug2BuRlnAvGKKO_zvxyBvCfO1lKFRa5a5XH8SlldAQ9vvrtt5359V9QX5teq5W-BuZJMFA3ObFpL8sZDPHPhQA9QdLVcfCtT3ltk7blQg7/s1600/29661806_.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik-PanV-4CsT1QKc59uCfhH4vp2cwIT1enNbug2BuRlnAvGKKO_zvxyBvCfO1lKFRa5a5XH8SlldAQ9vvrtt5359V9QX5teq5W-BuZJMFA3ObFpL8sZDPHPhQA9QdLVcfCtT3ltk7blQg7/s320/29661806_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560719846095934114" border="0" /></a>There is so much beauty in the way that this film was shot. It has such a whimsical, kids movie look to it, contrasted by all the creepy imagery. You get these stunning landscape shots that look far too beautiful to be real, with snow elegantly falling and a captivating score that makes the film feel all the more epic. I also appreciate the subtlety of the CGI used in the film. It's there only for the parts that truly need it and it ties in with the cinematography style quite nicely. The film also has a certain tensity about it because at a first watch, you really don't know if it's going to get violent or not. The creepiness of all those naked Santa helpers is actually quite intense and knowing what they're capable of, you never know when something terrible could happen. I particularly love the scene where they discover that their captive isn't Santa Claus, but just one of his helpers and then hundreds of them begin appearing out the dark, each more wild and grisly looking than the next, slowing creeping out at the them.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSV7-poOmWJUJ11ubJNKtP34vY0PE2fOnZNo4JRVtTuG8_jofHphq83qjVF4lhhxi0LPvfZoAQA1XEQI1On0ziUBkv0ko0YMq-c5QSP3776teUH_gLMtypgVxfCqy9ZOqYoj4nrnUGgfBo/s1600/9748135_eG5SaQ.jpeg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 136px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSV7-poOmWJUJ11ubJNKtP34vY0PE2fOnZNo4JRVtTuG8_jofHphq83qjVF4lhhxi0LPvfZoAQA1XEQI1On0ziUBkv0ko0YMq-c5QSP3776teUH_gLMtypgVxfCqy9ZOqYoj4nrnUGgfBo/s320/9748135_eG5SaQ.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560718364944039026" border="0" /></a><br />I also really appreciated the turn that Pietari's character took towards the end of the film. He starts out as this weird, kind of timid little kid that get's pushed around a lot by his older friend. When he realizes that he's the only one who knows what to do, he takes on this commanding role and is really quite sassy! It reminded us of how kids used to act in movies from the 80s, like <span style="font-style: italic;">The Monster Squad</span>, where they were kind of tough, not afraid to swear and genuinely more accurate to how kids really are. He becomes this brave boy, calling out orders to his elders and willing to risk his life for everyone else, and to show his father that he's a man too.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSpFnMJEjFm4Rxp5rq2OeH5gOXss-msFOqRqTkIln_eFmQ1xRBw6Bb_pq7bvsR52uuZH18upfMv1hVodLKZZ_8xceSwOyUMAwlvWez69u19EG1wZn2HZHe4AXI0bofgdDWQPlndHng6vNm/s1600/rare-exports-a-christmas-tale-02.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 136px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSpFnMJEjFm4Rxp5rq2OeH5gOXss-msFOqRqTkIln_eFmQ1xRBw6Bb_pq7bvsR52uuZH18upfMv1hVodLKZZ_8xceSwOyUMAwlvWez69u19EG1wZn2HZHe4AXI0bofgdDWQPlndHng6vNm/s320/rare-exports-a-christmas-tale-02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560718525312973298" border="0" /></a><br />It's a really beautiful story and there's just so much to it. It's a perfect mix of horror, comedy and childhood sentimentality and nostalgia. There's also a great quirkiness to it, especially in Pietari's case. Not only is he just an all around funny looking kid, but he walks around in the blistering cold in his little blue underpants and spends most of the movie wearing a helmet and shoulder pads over his snowsuit, carrying a shotgun. It's such a contrast to the monochromatic look of all the other characters, really setting him apart. I strongly believe that North American filmmakers need to take a good look at how movies are being made in Europe, especially around Scandinavia. We shouldn't be trying to recreate these beautiful films, we should be looking at what makes them so much more unique and generally just better. They have something figured out that we clearly haven't grasped, with a few exceptions. Jalmari Helander has created a fantastically creepy and enchanting new fairytale that I plan to add to my Christmas tradition.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrv-Qs7KXsYCog8yLwW3awzUm2XcOcHggI7I3FjusnDAy3UULdR8YRuEPkgw2N-oVVRdk-jBCXqMq3ELrbgvhc6MZtYtHNO6R_tBnfLhoO9MdURvZs61vI5G7BDVEG7eUmD2jSrGZzjbJu/s1600/rare-exports-a-christmas-tale-0.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrv-Qs7KXsYCog8yLwW3awzUm2XcOcHggI7I3FjusnDAy3UULdR8YRuEPkgw2N-oVVRdk-jBCXqMq3ELrbgvhc6MZtYtHNO6R_tBnfLhoO9MdURvZs61vI5G7BDVEG7eUmD2jSrGZzjbJu/s320/rare-exports-a-christmas-tale-0.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560718372125378386" border="0" /></a>NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290847211488016302.post-24429779669486472362011-01-09T16:21:00.001-08:002011-01-09T18:27:20.242-08:00One-Man Agony Opus Part 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFBqNmEpscLx4lGmhqQ_GK-pRyzly39oc-ezyFy2b86a3Z4vX-BRlEQ9pKqBJZ7-VV7QLTqOomakijNTk_bqchq58eBrh5AMlx_J7xLUe7u2mgks-6dHb53FR2FC2NK_vq5b04Mja-5qH1/s1600/Buried-pic-3.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFBqNmEpscLx4lGmhqQ_GK-pRyzly39oc-ezyFy2b86a3Z4vX-BRlEQ9pKqBJZ7-VV7QLTqOomakijNTk_bqchq58eBrh5AMlx_J7xLUe7u2mgks-6dHb53FR2FC2NK_vq5b04Mja-5qH1/s320/Buried-pic-3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560378140065374770" border="0" /></a><br />It seems fitting that I happened to watch this film the night after watching <span style="font-style: italic;">127 Hours</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">Buried</span> shows a very different approach at a movie about one guy, in once place for the whole movie. This movie is more literally just that. All that I saw of this film prior to watching it was a teaser that just showed Ryan Reynolds in a box, lit only by the light of lighter. It was only a few seconds long and didn't say anything except the movie's title. That intrigued me.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja7nQ3hcgd-AiEcqbl7q6eOtKsWB03-4YZxzLG28WCMKAIDRMCqfRwoPdTkmWMydeHgslpVOO1CJfD3ufZOqHHGRoXA9aOWouEHTnMc2HiDMV7eQ5-REfdSGNnsdC9CDRBDsALySUSZiW0/s1600/buried-movie-poster2.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja7nQ3hcgd-AiEcqbl7q6eOtKsWB03-4YZxzLG28WCMKAIDRMCqfRwoPdTkmWMydeHgslpVOO1CJfD3ufZOqHHGRoXA9aOWouEHTnMc2HiDMV7eQ5-REfdSGNnsdC9CDRBDsALySUSZiW0/s320/buried-movie-poster2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560371713111225314" border="0" /></a>Rodrigo Cortes' high concept thriller starring Ryan Reynolds is all about playing with space and tension, very much in the style of Hitchcock. It's even being advertised using old Hitchcock movie poster art styles, like this one to the left. Very reminiscent of the posters for Vertigo and Frenzy.<br /><br />Ryan Reynolds plays Paul Conroy, an American truck driver working in Iraq who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He wakes up in your worst nightmare: buried in a box, with no recollection of how he got there. All that he has with him is a lighter, a flask, some medication for his anxiety, a couple of glow sticks and a cell phone with dwindling battery life.<br /><br />He gets a call from his captor, informing him that he has 90 minutes to secure a ransom to save his own life. After a lot of frantic screaming and freaking out, he starts dialing numbers. He tries everything from 411, to his company's personnel department, to his wife multiple times, and to a woman that he clearly has some animosity towards, struggling to get anyone to help him. His frustrating conversations with people that are asking too many stupid questions and are generally unable or willing to help him, add to the tensity of the film. That felt really realistic to me because how many times have you tried dealing with people on the<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlTGuAZyNP0rzgp9eTvR3h1UiKhABmSHm8rW0ZSz0-k7dFkTpQtMcebOv13yKVFaBnnJ5LgEppn3ni04KJN1aVA1SyxiyGet0pNiYGESGEVJhjZaf7Jys7QYkdmvPgWFAhsRwqUQQ2iMp/s1600/buried-movie-poster-header.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlTGuAZyNP0rzgp9eTvR3h1UiKhABmSHm8rW0ZSz0-k7dFkTpQtMcebOv13yKVFaBnnJ5LgEppn3ni04KJN1aVA1SyxiyGet0pNiYGESGEVJhjZaf7Jys7QYkdmvPgWFAhsRwqUQQ2iMp/s320/buried-movie-poster-header.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560372772264459282" border="0" /></a> phone and just ended up getting nowhere? That, paired with the terrifying realization that his oxygen is running out, sand leaking in through the cracks of the box, and the increasingly angry and demanding phone calls from his captor, make his situation all the more unbearable.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD2URyWV_QOGazitfcMahcjgxyPTSd5v9OmCdxJ9val793WnDPZ52_XVflVTesfVGXs6M77Zk-7ZaNCMCXfsUM46rq3f2eOluhOysmkf_E5cRPYb1zBGLShN2u27kX3GFdA83eGD7Wb9oD/s1600/Buried-movie-stills-13.jpg"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXg8snlIK_5eVuLtm6xeeQo1eh2rDFU5mYAh87xZSLvjSdIvJIk2jXxNl473V7ays9OCqBgwbi_n3Kayhk65Zzx-p7M2NIC6016EXjZ-4NoC4V6j_Yw-6yloZFSuvYLhdf_LLEcaW6sYvo/s1600/Buried-movie-stills-13.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXg8snlIK_5eVuLtm6xeeQo1eh2rDFU5mYAh87xZSLvjSdIvJIk2jXxNl473V7ays9OCqBgwbi_n3Kayhk65Zzx-p7M2NIC6016EXjZ-4NoC4V6j_Yw-6yloZFSuvYLhdf_LLEcaW6sYvo/s320/Buried-movie-stills-13.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560372413215785954" border="0" /></a>What was most effective about this film was the simplicity of the way it was shot. It's literally just Paul in the box, the only light coming from either his lighter, his cell phone, or one of the glow sticks that he found in there with him. There are no flahsbacks or shots of anyone outside of the box which really keeps you in there with him. That was what disappointed me about <span style="font-style: italic;">127 Hours</span>, and seeing how this film was done right afterwards proved how much more effective it can be. Sure, it's nice to show what beautiful shots you can do but if you really want to make your audience feel the tension and feel for what it's like to be trapped with your main character, this is the way to do it. I think it proves how effective a film can be by being small. With just a couple of boxes, with interchanging panels that can be taken out, depending on the camera angle, you get your whole set. Pair that with some colour filters and some plays on perspective and you have some really effective, and still beautiful shots. I remember reading somewhere that Ryan Reynolds had a day where he finally broke down after filming for so long in such enclosed spaces, and who could blame him. That must have really helped to get the role down for him though and his panic, frustrations and desperaty were convincing.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB1lzqoWE-6lYe2Sz_InlrRNbKquO-JUkkGczrqjjz2aoKptWp7mHFWHXgWGYnKvFbWOMz4GpOuAVBFnxftAUaBExRxmPpzuLD1je-JzwXhHxEGYLf2IRWDfJXDLTJkLv9iEU5HWnJTZy_/s1600/buried.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB1lzqoWE-6lYe2Sz_InlrRNbKquO-JUkkGczrqjjz2aoKptWp7mHFWHXgWGYnKvFbWOMz4GpOuAVBFnxftAUaBExRxmPpzuLD1je-JzwXhHxEGYLf2IRWDfJXDLTJkLv9iEU5HWnJTZy_/s320/buried.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560372172276069426" border="0" /></a>It's not an easy feat to make a 90 minute film like this that will keep your attention and though I may have gotten a little bit distracted in the beginning, there is a good amount of suspense and intensity more towards the end. I do think that the ending of this film was very fitting and really the only one that would make sense. It's a rare case to find a film with a good story and a good ending to match. Plus, it brought an even more physical horror to being buried alive. Oh yeah, and this film does have it's own moment of self-mutilation, though nowhere nearly as gruelling or horrible as cutting part of an arm off, it was still alright. Though I don't think it was a particularly outstanding performance in a particularly outstanding film, I think that it was good for what it was and quite effective. It offers a commentary on America's role in Iraq without jamming it down our throats which I appreciated. It's a very dirty, vulnerable and real feeling movie that anyone who enjoys a good suspense film should give a watch. Plus it was good to see Ryan Reynolds in such an up close and personal, serious role.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidrc-hcIwybyatBnAiJPQikPk6RfKJt7w2ULD6jruDQRYLdpzMF_CdRHFwBNS4MdUJMzVGAW-FYn8P42yClNIIyEAhyRxSPAH1ZGc0eHoXmbo6C1qk1Umrsi_FzbTYly13aJMuATShIwQ_/s1600/buried_ryan_reynolds_shot7.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 183px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidrc-hcIwybyatBnAiJPQikPk6RfKJt7w2ULD6jruDQRYLdpzMF_CdRHFwBNS4MdUJMzVGAW-FYn8P42yClNIIyEAhyRxSPAH1ZGc0eHoXmbo6C1qk1Umrsi_FzbTYly13aJMuATShIwQ_/s320/buried_ryan_reynolds_shot7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560373815877097970" border="0" /></a>NikitaNachthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07843539265863041057noreply@blogger.com0