must be considered films

terry and chris

i have been a fan of terry gilliam since i was kid, watching monty python with my dad and being completely intrigued by the surreal animations and gags.  the man has to be brilliant, to be a funny-looking art student from minnesota and get completely encapsulated and accepted by the python crew as not only their youngest but only american member.  we all know gilliam’s ode to la jetee is twelve monkeys, the 90’s film exploring time travel and the dreams/visualizations of a prisoner.  the film is quite predictable, but it’s worth a watch if for nothing else but madeleine stowe’s lovely face and brad pitt’s neuroses.  anyway, here is terry praising the paragon director, chris marker.  notwithstanding all the love in this post, my favorite part has to be his tintin sweater! by sv

CATEGORIES: clips, must be considered films

and then…he licked me!

leos carax’s short from the film tokyo also featured MERDE and his foolish shenanigans.  take a peek at some of them here, but most certainly watch the entire short if you have the chance.  i saw it in the theater, and have been laughing ever since. by sv

CATEGORIES: clips, must be considered films

Leos Carax latest film Holy Motors staring Denis Lavant

 denis lavant in one of his many reincarnations

eva mendes as the graveyard model who gets kidnapped

leos carax’s ode or jab at the cgi and motion capture film industry

 

trailer for leos carax’s latest film holy motors

saw this film tonight, and what a wild ride that was. highly recommended. if you are a leos carax fan you will probably see this, as it’s his first film in 13 years. i will not tell you much about it as i highly suggest you go in without knowing anything. i knew just the basic premise, and i can tell you that stopped the film from being as great as it could be. think mullholand drive, breathless, pixar’s cars, american musicals, horror films, and then some… go in, sit back, and let it take you for a crazy ride. it surely is not your usual blockbuster. it’s witty, strange, and fantastic. by dd

CATEGORIES: clips, must be considered films

R.I.P. Emmanuelle


the emmanuelle film, based on an original novel by emmanuelle arsan, must have been every adolescent’s dream in the 70’s when it came out. released in 1974, the soft-focus french film was one of the first erotic movies to be shown in mainstream cinemas in europe…well, not all countries in europe. in the UK it was banned from the mainstream, and the unedited version did not appear in the country until 2007. today, the dutch actress sylvia kristel, died, aged 60. above a great picture of her at the 1977 cannes film festival. by uh

CATEGORIES: fashion birds: women of style, must be considered films

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

i so wanted to see this in theaters, but as usual missed finding the time to go. i saw it last night finally on netflix and loved it. a definite yes for anyone who loves sushi… or simply those who are passionate about anything in life. i so love japan—it’s civilization at its peak, and we are all peasants in comparison. by dd

CATEGORIES: clips, must be considered films

the master


i was fortunate enough this past weekend to see paul thomas anderson’s newest picture, ‘the master’.  loosely based on the origins of scientology (or at least the provocative nature and bullheadedness of its leader) this film explored paradigms from angles that i truly have never seen.  in a sense, it is anti-climactic—not in comparison to kubrick, but in the way that there truly is no outcome from the religious journeys that are depicted, and the characters develop, but in a stagnant and unsatisfactory manner.  there are no likeable characters in this film, at least, not to me.  there are paramount performances by joaquin phoenix, philip seymour hoffman and amy adams, but their characters as a whole are lacking human traits.  phoenix gets as close to being an animal as i have ever seen; his grunts, his feral behavior, they are monumental.  what the film does do, is beautifully depict a 70mm world of 1950 and captures the essence of a father/son, owner/dog, highbrow/lowbrow thematic endeavor.  once again teaming up with jonny greenwood (of radiohead) for the score, anderson has just added another gilded film of merit to his already stunning repertoire.  it makes me happy to know that something real in the world of cinema does still exist.  there are visionaries out there, PHEW. by sv

CATEGORIES: clips, must be considered films