I like being tragic

Boy A

pete — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:16:57 +0000

From director John Crowley who did the great film Intermission,

Screenplay by Mark O’Rowe, from the multi award winning novel of the same title by Jonathan Trigell.
Jack (Andrew Garfield) is released from prison, finally, at the age of 24; having been institutionalized for most of his life. He and another boy murdered a child, when they were themselves children.
The film follows Jack’s attempts to readjust to the world outside of confinement and restart a life which never really got going.(IMDb)

If you have not seen Intermission, it’s great, here’s the open:

Boy A - Coming Soon

HC reviews Tell No One

pete — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:34:46 +0000

As I wrote here

Tell No One starts today, the Hartford Courant has posted their review:

“Tell No One” is a twisty murder mystery with intelligence and heart, a sick but accurate sense of justice and, very briefly, a sense of humor. It will keep viewers engrossed and guessing, often wrongly, from the very start.

The ending is one of those “two men, one gun and a full confession” climaxes that teeters dangerously into cliché. But viewers still will leave Guillaume Canet’s adaptation of the novel by Harlan Coben satisfied, and touched, by this one-man-against-a-vast-conspiracy thriller.

François Cluzet is effortlessly relatable as that man, Alex Beck. Eight years ago, his wife was murdered by intruders on their country property who also attacked him and put him in a coma. Now Alex continues his life as a Parisian pediatrician, morbidly fixating on the anniversary of Margot’s murder.

Then Alex gets an e-mail, from Margot. And signs start to pop up, alerting the police that Alex himself may have been involved in the crime. Alex must find out if Margot really is still alive and keep one step ahead of the cops — who still believe Margot is dead and Alex is guilty — and also ahead of other ruthless forces, whose motives are mysterious.

They give it four stars

Read the review here

HC:Argento Deserves A Better Lover

pete — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:17:53 +0000

The Hartford Courant reviews The Last Mistress

Asia Argento

In short they say:

Asia Argento is not the most beautiful woman in the world, or the most elegant.

But she is one of the sexiest. Her unquenchable fire is the soul of “The Last Mistress,” and she justifies her casting in the lead role. If any woman would spoil a man for all other women, it would be Argento’s human volcano, Señora Vellini.

Catherine Breillat’s potboiler would be even more satisfying if Argento were paired with a more intriguing leading man than Fu’ad Ait Aattou. In a story that spans 11 years, Aattou’s Ryno de Marigny doesn’t age a day, in years, knowledge or wisdom. His face and soul begin, and remain, a blank slate, making Señora Vellini’s passion mystifying. Such a fascinating woman surely wouldn’t waste her charms on this handsome but insipid youth.

Ryno is a wastrel who steals Señora Vellini away from her much older husband and loves her out of wedlock for 10 tumultuous years. Then he meets Hermengarde, a naïve, wealthy noblewoman who is crazy about him. Ryno marries Hermengarde. But Señora Vellini won’t let go easily.

Other than Aattou, and Argento’s hackneyed wardrobe, Breillat’s adaptation of the 19th-century novel by Jules-Amédée Barbey d’Aurevilly is splendid and sexy, a meticulously produced bodice-ripper. Argento and Breillat would do well to team up again. Breillat loves explicit sex, and Argento seems a bottomless font of the same.

They give it 3 stars

Read the review here

Coming Soon…

pete — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:31:39 +0000

Not to sound like a tween , again,

(I know too late, I’ve had this bad habit of saying stupid sayings all week, I kept telling somebody yesterday, “Well I’m not married to the idea” , and I didn’t even notice it until about 15 mins. after our conversation ended)

but OMFG this starts Fri. here

and Asia is coming soon to here, in this

‘True Blood’s’ not just for vampire fans

pete — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:51:06 +0000

'True Blood' cast members Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer with creator Alan Ball

“True Blood” creator Alan Ball isn’t concerned about the fanatics that inevitably flock to a vampire series, like the one he has made for HBO.

Ball just wants to make a good TV show, vampire fans be damned.

Ball has gotten to know author Charlaine Harris, who wrote the book series on which “True Blood” is based, and said he’s not going to cater to fan demands for a direct book-to-screen translation.

“In every way, none of us would be here if it weren’t for Harris,” said Ball. “I really want her fans to be fans of the show and I really want the show to sell a lot more books for her, but at a certain point, I have to make the separation and make the show that I believe is the best show.”

“True Blood,” premiering Sept. 7, imagines a world in which humans and vampires coexist, thanks to a synthetic blood that can be purchased at the local convenience store. The vampires’ presence still is new, however, and people aren’t yet quite comfortable with them around.

OMG !

pete — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:29:15 +0000

This made me as happy as a little schoolgirl:

(as D.H. use to say)

This is part of what I wrote about here

One Hot Mess



Transsiberian
pete — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 23:44:14 +0000

I read about this one in the New York Times today,
“On the other hand, making “Transsiberian” — a train thriller in the tradition of “Shanghai Express” and “North by Northwest,” but without the glamour — was a lark, except for shooting in the bitter Lithuanian winter. “There’s something exciting about being in that kind of genre film,” Ms. Mortimer said. “Running through the corridors, hanging off the end of the train — how wonderful. You really feel like you’re making a movie.”(NYT)
I love Emily Mortimer and Kate Mara
Ms. Mortimer in the movie “Transsiberian.” 







Transsiberian







       


The Stone Angel - Garden Party
pete — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:27:24 +0000

While seeing Bigger,Stronger,Faster I came across these:






Garden Party

Are you young, sexually confused, just trying to get by?
Do you sing, dance or possess some other talent?
Welcome to the world of GARDEN PARTY.
At the center of the story is 15-year-old April (Willa Holland). She is running from one bad situation into another, hoping to find an answer that doesn’t involve taking off her clothes. As April navigates Los Angeles, she falls in with a group of confused kids struggling to chase their dreams.(IMDb)







The Stone Angel

Based on the best-selling novel by Margaret Laurence, The Stone Angel is the story of feisty firecracker Hagar Shipley (Christine Horne, Ellen Burstyn). 
Her passionate heart has always ruled her head and her choices have put her at odds with family and friends. 
With her life nearly behind her, she sets out in search of a way to reconcile herself to her turbulent past. 
Through her reflections we come to know a passionate and rebellious young bride, her love for her two sons, the freedoms she claimed, and the joys she denied herself.(youtube)






       


Noticed - A Virginal Goth Girl
pete — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:44:28 +0000

How a series of novels starring a hunky vampire boyfriend reveals a rift between the sexes

“Only a vampire, ladies,” said Jessica Valenti, the author of “Full Frontal Feminism.” She worries that in the real world, young men are spending so much time watching pornography on the Internet that they will never be satisfied with normal women and normal relationships.
This sure sounds like trouble to me: A generation of guys who will settle for nothing less than a porn star meets a generation of women who expect their boyfriend to crawl through their bedroom window at night and just nuzzle gently until they fall asleep.
It’s no wonder that Valenti sees today’s young women being pulled between complete chastity and utter sluttiness. Good girl or “Gossip Girl?” Courtney Martin, the author of “Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters,” spends a lot of time on college campuses and says students seem to be torn between anonymous sex and monogamy — “either hooking up with no expectations or you’re basically married. You stay home and watch movies.”






Read More - Digg Story






       


Wanted And Desired
pete — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 13:28:15 +0000









Roman Polanski is known for his tumultuous personal life. He lived in German-occupied Poland during WWII and in 1969, his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered by the Manson Family. In 1978, after pleading guilty in a plea bargain made between corresponding lawyers, to “unlawful sexual intercourse” with a 13-year-old girl, Polanski fled to France, where he now resides and has benefit from his French citizenship, while he is considered by United States authorities to be a fugitive from justice.(Wiki)

Marina Zenovich’s new documentary examines the public scandal and private tragedy which led to legendary director Roman Polanski’s sudden flight from the United States.(IMDb)
Revisiting all of the key players–the lawyers, the victim, and the media–and focusing on the conduct of the judge whose handling of the case was definitely unusual, as well as unearthing telling footage from the past and incorporating insightful interviews from the present, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired develops a case for a clear miscarriage of justice.
But far from being an apologia for Polanski, the film is simply trying to bring comprehension and clarity to events long clouded by myths and presumptions. Sure to raise questions and perhaps resolve the limbo that still envelops Polanski, this documentary is one that you won’t want to miss.(Sundance)















Samantha Geimer, the woman with whom Polanski had “unlawful sexual intercourse”