Here is a partial list of my childhood fears in no particular order
Expiration dates,
Unexplained secretions,
Tree forts,
Deer ticks,
Entrapped digits,
Life preservers,
Baseballs,
Nails,
Tumors,
Necrotic flesh,
Kidnappers,
Strangers,
Candy,
Mustaches,
Beige Cadillacs,
Conversion vans with curtains
(I guess the previous six are in order),
Halloween candy, and
Eyes.
Best thing you will see today. Probably.
Pierrot le fou (dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
And now I find that Tarr does, in fact, make films both unique and original, and in a style I find beautiful. I prefer the purity of black and white to color, I like very long takes if they serve a purpose and are not simply stunts, I am drawn into an air of mystery, I find it compelling when a film establishes an immediate, tangible, time and place. For all of its phantasmal themes, “Werckmeister Harmonies” is resolutely realistic. Every person, every room, every street, every action, every line of dialogue, feels as much likecinema verite as the works of Frederick Wiseman.
This evening I managed to get into conversation with someone who claimed to love films where very little happens, where the overall, and the general interactions between characters matters most; and I was put into mind off Werckemeister Harmonies, a film where a lot happens, but very slowly, and so I recommended it wholeheartedly, and meant it - it is a film that you don’t forget - it is magnificent in a way that only cinema can be (each form has its own magnificence).
The conversation brought me back to the film, and from that to Roger Ebert’s review (a critic I much admire and appreciate) and he sums up some part of the film so beautifully in the above passage. The film is one of the most astonishing I have ever seen, it is fantastical, it is otherwordly (or dreamlike, whichever you prefer) yet it is also, as Ebert says, realistic. For a film about an apocalyptic circus, that features just a whale and the elusive ‘prince’, that might seem like a bizarre statement, yet there is something to Tarr’s direction that strips the whole film of any falsity - it feels true: it is affecting in the way that only something really plausible can be.
Was there ever a more beautiful piece of music?
Infernal Affairs Custom DVD Cover
A Jump Rope’s Eye View of the World
Callum Cooper’s dizzying experimental film, Full Circle, uses a custom camera rig for a unique perspective. The short was produced by Klezinski, a creative studio based in London and Melbourne.
Via Vimeo Staff Picks.
What, no double dutch?
Sometimes the post is the highlight of the day.
just saw this movie. It’s a little bit complicated and a lot of questions are left unanswered but it was a beautiful, enjoyable film, with great acting and brilliant cinematography. It’s the first time I really appreciate the slow pace of a film.
rating:8/10
Probably the weirdest film we caught at last years Cinecity Film Festival. THIS MUST BE PLACE will be at The Duke’s again soon!
Sorrentino’s follow up to Il Divo, my favourite film. Still a little reserved about it, but chances are I’ll love it.
Melancholia (dir. Lars von Trier): Prologue
So I missed this on U.K release, heard mixed things about it, but god damn is that a beautiful poster.
Designed by Iron Jaiden
These are the categories they announced live, the rest will be added as soon as they’re released.
Best Picture:
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War HorseBest Director:
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Alexander Payne – The Descendants
Martin Scorsese – Hugo
Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick – The Tree of LifeBest Actor:
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Demián Bichir – A Better Life
George Clooney – The Descendants
Brad Pitt – Moneyball
Gary Oldman – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, SpyBest Actress:
Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs
Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Viola Davis – The Help
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams – My Week With MarilynBest Supporting Actor:
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
Max Von Sydow – Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Jonah Hill – Moneyball
Kenneth Branagh – My Week with Marilyn
Nick Nolte – WarriorBest Supporting Actress
Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Bérénice Bejo – The Artist
Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
Jessica Chastain – The Help
Octavia Spencer – The HelpBest Animated Feature
A Cat In Paris
Chico and Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss In Boots
RangoBest Adapted Screenplay:
The Descendants – Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Hugo – John Logan
The Ides of March – George Clooney and Grant Heslov
Moneyball – Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian and Stan Chervin
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy – Bridget O’Connor and Peter StraughnBest Original Screenplay:
The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids – Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo
Margin Call – JC Chandor
Midnight In Paris – Woody Allen
A Separation – Asghar FarhadiBest Foreign Film
A Separation (Iran)
In Darkness (Poland)
Footnote (Israel)
Bullhead (Belgium)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)I’m extremely happy for Terrence Malick and The Tree of Life, but where is Drive or Melancholia, especially Kirsten Dunst?
EDIT: Oh, and also Shame and Michael Fassbender…
So Iamsambell says pretty much exactly what I was going to say. I will add however what a pleasant surprise it was to see J. C Chandor get a nom for Margin Call, it really was rather excellent, and having seen it on the same day as Moneyball (and thus determining that it is a valid comparison to make) it was significantly better (I liked Moneyball, about as much as I expected to, but it was good and not great which I feel that Margin Call was).
Nevertheless the Oscar’s are always a disappointment and always seem restricted to such obvious choices. I’ll post my predictions at some point, but with little enthusiasm.
BEST FILM
THE ARTIST Thomas Langmann
THE DESCENDANTS Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
DRIVE Marc Platt, Adam Siegel
THE HELP Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn SlovoOUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN Simon Curtis, David Parfitt, Harvey Weinstein, Adrian Hodges
SENNA Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Manish Pandey
SHAME Steve McQueen, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Abi Morgan
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Tomas Alfredson, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo,
Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN Lynne Ramsay, Luc Roeg, Jennifer Fox, Robert Salerno,
Rory Stewart KinnearOUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
ATTACK THE BLOCK Joe Cornish (Director/Writer)
BLACK POND Will Sharpe (Director/Writer), Tom Kingsley (Director), Sarah Brocklehurst (Producer)
CORIOLANUS Ralph Fiennes (Director)
SUBMARINE Richard Ayoade (Director/Writer)
TYRANNOSAUR Paddy Considine (Director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (Producer)FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
INCENDIES Denis Villeneuve, Luc Déry, Kim McGraw
PINA Wim Wenders, Gian-Piero Ringel
POTICHE François Ozon, Eric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer
A SEPARATION Asghar Farhadi
THE SKIN I LIVE IN Pedro Almodóvar, Agustin AlmodóvarDOCUMENTARY
GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD Martin Scorsese
PROJECT NIM James Marsh, Simon Chinn
SENNA Asif KapadiaANIMATED FILM
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN Steven Spielberg
ARTHUR CHRISTMAS Sarah Smith
RANGO Gore VerbinskiDIRECTOR
THE ARTIST Michel Hazanavicius
DRIVE Nicolas Winding Refn
HUGO Martin Scorsese
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Tomas Alfredson
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN Lynne RamsayORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
THE ARTIST Michel Hazanavicius
BRIDESMAIDS Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig
THE GUARD John Michael McDonagh
THE IRON LADY Abi Morgan
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS: Woody AllenADAPTED SCREENPLAY
THE DESCENDANTS Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
THE HELP Tate Taylor
THE IDES OF MARCH George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
MONEYBALL Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Bridget O’Connor, Peter StraughanLEADING ACTOR
BRAD PITT Moneyball
GARY OLDMAN Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
GEORGE CLOONEY The Descendants
JEAN DUJARDIN The Artist
MICHAEL FASSBENDER ShameLEADING ACTRESS
BÉRÉNICE BEJO The Artist
MERYL STREEP The Iron Lady
MICHELLE WILLIAMS My Week with Marilyn
TILDA SWINTON We Need to Talk About Kevin
VIOLA DAVIS The HelpSUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER Beginners
JIM BROADBENT The Iron Lady
JONAH HILL Moneyball
KENNETH BRANAGH My Week with Marilyn
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN The Ides of MarchSUPPORTING ACTRESS
CAREY MULLIGAN Drive
JESSICA CHASTAIN The Help
JUDI DENCH My Week with Marilyn
MELISSA MCCARTHY Bridesmaids
OCTAVIA SPENCER The HelpORIGINAL MUSIC
THE ARTIST Ludovic Bource
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
HUGO Howard Shore
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Alberto Iglesias
WAR HORSE John WilliamsCINEMATOGRAPHY
THE ARTIST Guillaume Schiffman
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Jeff Cronenweth
HUGO Robert Richardson
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Hoyte van Hoytema
WAR HORSE Janusz KaminskiEDITING
THE ARTIST Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius
DRIVE Mat Newman
HUGO Thelma Schoonmaker
SENNA Gregers Sall, Chris King
TINKER TAILOR SOLIDER SPY Dino JonsaterPRODUCTION DESIGN
THE ARTIST Laurence Bennett, Robert Gould
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
HUGO Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana MacDonald
WAR HORSE Rick Carter, Lee SandalesCOSTUME DESIGN
THE ARTIST Mark Bridges
HUGO Sandy Powell
JANE EYRE Michael O’Connor
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN Jill Taylor
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Jacqueline DurranMAKE UP & HAIR
THE ARTIST Julie Hewett, Cydney Cornell
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
HUGO Morag Ross, Jan Archibald
THE IRON LADY Marese Langan
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN Jenny ShircoreSOUND
THE ARTIST Nadine Muse, Gérard Lamps, Michael Krikorian
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 James Mather, Stuart Wilson, Stuart Hilliker, Mike Dowson, Adam Scrivener
HUGO Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty, Tom Fleischman, John Midgley
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY John Casali, Howard Bargroff, Doug Cooper, Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley
WAR HORSE Stuart Wilson, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, Richard HymnsSPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN Joe Letteri
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 Tim Burke, John Richardson, Greg Butler, David Vickery
HUGO Rob Legato, Ben Grossman, Joss Williams
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White
WAR HORSE Ben Morris, Neil CorbouldSHORT ANIMATION
ABUELAS Afarin Eghbal, Kasia Malipan, Francesca Gardiner
BOBBY YEAH Robert Morgan
A MORNING STROLL Grant Orchard, Sue GoffeSHORT FILM
CHALK Martina Amati, Gavin Emerson, James Bolton, Ilaria Bernardini
MWANSA THE GREAT Rungano Nyoni, Gabriel Gauchet
ONLY SOUND REMAINS Arash Ashtiani, Anshu Poddar
PITCH BLACK HEIST John Maclean, Gerardine O’Flynn
TWO AND TWO Babak Anvari, Kit Fraser, Gavin CullenTHE ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
ADAM DEACON
CHRIS HEMSWORTH
CHRIS O’DOWD
EDDIE REDMAYNE
TOM HIDDLESTONJust one question. Where the f**k is The Tree of Life?
Good question about Tree of Life but then on other hand - they’ve actually nominated Drive. So this is immediately 10x better than the Golden Globes.
(Source: oldfilmsflicker)
A collection of literature, film, politics, music and art; with occasional comment. Credit given where possible.
Philosophy and Politics undergrad student at the University of Sheffield.
