UPDATE: Bayfront Launch: Naples; Redesigns
From We Told You What to Dream
The magazine itself looks fantastic on firm, glossy stock. My contributions are a tribute to Brittany Murphy and an article detailing what some Twi-hards may not know about Kristen Stewart's true talent, and they - along with all the other articles and spreads - are presented beautifully with creative layouts and stunning photography. For posterity, teasers for each will be transcribed to WTYWTD once the mag hits shelves.
Pictured below are highlights from Keith Isaac's event photography featuring photographer Chris Nagy, models Cinthya Sanchez, Catherine Beckett and Lorena Placencia (and one other whose name I can't find, unfortunately), Bayfront Editor in Chief Julie Rabbani, DJ Memphis and Omid Rabbani. The models are wearing (continue...)
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
There is a majesty about the Ohmu. They are hulking, clumsy beasts. We see them first as a dead remnant, an empty exoskeleton resting underground. We are aware of their strange beauty before we realize the danger they pose, although the sight of the dead remnant has an eerie tone to it: we find both idyllic paradise and oneiric wasteland during the film’s opening minutes. Our protagonist quickly verbalizes this contrast, because this is a film where everything is verbalized, which is its biggest drawback.
Fortunately, the images are so overpowering that the banality of the script turns into some kind of rhythmic chant that pushes the images onward. Which is obviously being lenient on the script. The truth is that Nausicaä plays like a diluted, simplified Princess Mononoke. Which is probably because Princess Mononoke is a complicated, more ambiguous Nausicaä, made a decade later under the influence of Miyazaki’s artistic maturation. But Nausicaä doesn’t really falter in comparison to Mononoke. It does at the level of script and theme. But it doesn’t really falter. Why is this? The images (continue...)
The 5 Best Films I Saw In August
From Moo-girl's Movie Munchies
Double Jeopardy (Bruce Beresford, 1999) “Ever hear of Double Jeopardy? Fifth Amendment to the constitution? It says no person can be convicted of the same crime twice, the state says you already killed your husband right? So, when you get out of here, you track him down, and you can kill him. You can walk up [...]
The Blindfolded Lover
From Ballad of The Absent Mare
Claire’s Knee (Rohmer, 1970)
I see flourishes of dreamy curiosity buzzing around your head, while you flap your gums endlessly about the long strands of life unwinding from your fingertips. You loved a boy out of boredom and then you made him eat grass out of shame. You loved another replaced him with another, before they all bruised their knees begging for one amused twitch of your nose in their direction.
Your voice drones on, as you lose your fingers in my peppered hair, and I bite my lip in mischievous daydreams. I am terrible for enjoying this game of yours so much, terrible for being so inviting to your impressionable curiosities, but luckily I’m marrying a sturdy woman, and I could finally stop giving into the naive lurings from girls like you. It’s a curse I must bear, my soon-to-be wife understands, of course.
Lay back in my arms, and lose yourself in my wispy recitals of my lovers past. Feel my chest rise and fall while it hums out the notes of your loneliest fantasies, and pass me (continue...)
REVIEW: Brooklyn’s Finest (Antoine Fuqua, 2010)
From We Told You What to Dream
I can't say I wasn't a little worried going in. I had long anticipated the viewing with hopes high enough to work against the film were it not (continue...)
Viewing List for October
From House of Mirth and Movies
Dario Argento's Opera
As some of you already know, October is my favourite time of year. Not only do I get to wear chic sweaters, but the weather and atmosphere is ripe for horror. It is not a matter of of just being the month that “hosts” Halloween, but those cool nights that smell like dead leaves… there is nothing more pleasurable than curling up with a good movie, a warm blanket and possibly a significant other and getting the pants scared right off ya. I realize this is premature, but I figured i’d start planning now so I could have something to look forward to in the next few weeks. This is a list of films I haven’t seen, and obviously, I won’t see all of them… but these are my cinematic goals for the upcoming Halloween season. Let me know which I should prioritize and which I’d better skip!
A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin (Lucio Fulci)
Alice, Sweet, Alice (Alfred Sole)
All the Colors of the Dark (Sergio Martino)
Blood and Black Lace (Mario Bava)
Case of (continue...)
A Few Great Encounters: 2008 Cinema in Review
From A Journey Through Cinematic Heaven and Hell
I was browsing through my Facebook notes and I found my write-up on the best and worst films of 2008, so I decided to take that, update it, and post it here. It set up in the same way as my 2009 in Review write up. I might go back and do the same fore every year of the past decade, but I’m not 100% sure right now.
For most people, 2008 was one of the weakest year of the past decade. I can see why they think that, following one of the best years of the decade, but it truly wasn’t’ that bad, especially since my number one movie of this year is much better that most of 2007 and 2009′s (also a very strong year) output. But if you base it on how many great movies there were, then yes, it was a weak year. But still there were a few worth mentioning.
For starters, there is The Dark Knight. It came and took the world by storm when many thought it barely beat the gross of (continue...)