Frank Buckles, the last living veteran of WWI, died yesterday at 110.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Dale Dickey
One more movie related post before the Oscars tonight. In Winter's Bone there is a performance in a fairly small role that really struck me. I was not able figure out who the actress was from the credits, because I could not remember the characters name. I now see that I was not the only person impressed by the performance of Dale Dickey as Merab. She won the Independent Spirit Award for best supporting supporting actress. She only makes a fleeting appearance in the trailer. IMBd does have a short clip of one of her scenes Here.
Here is a video of Dickey after she won the award. I hope she gets a lot more film work.
Here is a video of Dickey after she won the award. I hope she gets a lot more film work.
Astor Place Riot
Tonight are the Oscars. We will find out who is allegedly the best. Despite the fact that our political disputes have become so nasty, in the last 150 years we seem to have become a bit more civilized in the way we determine who is the best actor. In 1849 the Astor Place Riot broke out in New York City, killing at least 25 and injuring over 100. The riot was brought on by a dispute over who was the best Shakespearean actor, Edwin Forrest, an American or William Charles Macready, an Englishman. There were deeper underlying reasons for riots, like relations between the US and Britain, and class conflicts. Still I trust that no one will be killed at the Academy Awards tonight, unless someone gets trampled to death trying to get a glimpse of the Red Carpet.
Bombshells
From Slate, the great Magnum photos of glamorous Hollywood actresses. I am including a link to this set of photos, because—unlike the LA Times' list of Fifty Most Beautiful Women in Films—Slate did not overlook Ingrid Bergman. They have included this photograph of Bergman filming my favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie, Notorious.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Cave of Forgotten Dreams - Pt. 2
Earlier I posted a video of Werner Herzog discussing his upcoming 3D film, "Cave of Forgotten Dreams". Filmed in the Chauvet Cave near Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, France, it will travel through one of the earliest palaeolithic rock art galleries know to exist. Here is a trailer for the film.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
This Year's Oscars
I have seen all of the films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar this year except Toy Story III. I am going to rank them roughly in the order that I liked them. I am dividing them into three groups. The first four are my favorites, and I could go for anyone of these to win. The second four I liked, but I wouldn't pick them for best picture. The last one is the only one that I would not have nominated.
Group I
1. Black Swan - I put off going to see this film, because from the previews I was not sure that I would like it. When a film is billed as a psycho-sexual drama, you can't be sure what you are going to get. But it is in fact a very intense psycho-sexual drama, and Natalie Portman does give an Oscar worthy performance. As did Winona Ryder, Barbara Hershey and Mila Kunis, who I have liked since she was on That 70's Show. I think what I liked best about the film is that even when the film is over you still don't know what was supposed to have really happened, what was drug induced hallucinations, and what was just plain insanity.
2. True Grit - This film was just plain enjoyable to watch. I don't think the Coen Brothers could make a bad film. Using a soundtrack that was based on old hymns really set the right tone for the film, and how could you end a film any better that with Iris Dement singing "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms".
3. The Social Network - It may well be that this film does not give a totally accurate depiction of how Facebook was created. That does not detract from the fact that it is a great script, with excellent acting. Some people thought that Mark Zuckerberg was portrayed as an ass in the film, but I thought the character come off as very human.
4. Inception - I do think that Christopher Nolan deserves the Best Director award for taking such a complicated and convoluted story, and making a comprehensible film out of it. Alas, this is not to be, since he was not even nominated for Best Director. You have to work to follow what is happening in the film, but it is worth it. I think this is a film that you would have to see at least twice to fully appreciate.
Group II
5. The Kids are All Right - This film is too silly to be considered a drama, and too serious to be considered a comedy. Still it has an amazingly well written script, and who would have guessed that Annette Bening would have made such a great lesbian? Probably not Warren Beatty.
6. 127 Hours - Making a film about someone stuck in the middle of no where for days does not, on the face of it, seem like a great idea, but this film works. James Franco carries off the long parts of the film that he does alone. I would give this film the Best Editing Oscar. The way the sequences of the film were put together really helps to make the film interesting. Most of the buzz about the film centered on the number of people who passed out when Franco's character cuts his arm off with a very dull pen knife. I have to say there are parts of the film that are uncomfortable to watch, and someone did apparently pass out in the screening I attended. At least there was a big commotion in the theater about something, shortly after the critical scene, and there was an ambulance outside when I left. That aside it's a great film with beautiful scenery.
7. The King's Speech - I liked this film. Both Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush do give two of the best performances of the year, as King George and his speech therapist. Who else but Helena Bonham Carter could play both Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland and the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mum, before she was the Queen Mum. I would not give it Best Picture because the story is a little too focused on the King's speech impediment, which is not a criticism, but I think Best Picture should go to a Big Picture.
8. Winter's Bone - The story of a young girl trying to save her family from a drug ravaged society in the Ozark Mountains, this is probably the least commercial film nominated this year. Probably one of the least commercial films ever nominated. Peopled with a cast of unpleasant characters, it still tells a compelling story. This is probably a film that no one from the Ozarks would want to see, because the society it portrays is so unpleasant. All the same, it has some of the best acting of the year, and deserves the nomination just for that.
Group III
9 The Fighter - This is the only film nominated that I had trouble with. I do think the acting was good, but taken as a whole I think it went over the top. I had trouble seeing how Mark Wahlberg's character could possibly have come out of the dysfunctional family created by Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, and the six harpy sisters from hell. I wouldn't want to believe that one family could have so many self-centered, screwed up people in it. Of course, I say that having just said that Winter's Bone was a good film, and on this account it was not far behind.
Group I
1. Black Swan - I put off going to see this film, because from the previews I was not sure that I would like it. When a film is billed as a psycho-sexual drama, you can't be sure what you are going to get. But it is in fact a very intense psycho-sexual drama, and Natalie Portman does give an Oscar worthy performance. As did Winona Ryder, Barbara Hershey and Mila Kunis, who I have liked since she was on That 70's Show. I think what I liked best about the film is that even when the film is over you still don't know what was supposed to have really happened, what was drug induced hallucinations, and what was just plain insanity.
2. True Grit - This film was just plain enjoyable to watch. I don't think the Coen Brothers could make a bad film. Using a soundtrack that was based on old hymns really set the right tone for the film, and how could you end a film any better that with Iris Dement singing "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms".
3. The Social Network - It may well be that this film does not give a totally accurate depiction of how Facebook was created. That does not detract from the fact that it is a great script, with excellent acting. Some people thought that Mark Zuckerberg was portrayed as an ass in the film, but I thought the character come off as very human.
4. Inception - I do think that Christopher Nolan deserves the Best Director award for taking such a complicated and convoluted story, and making a comprehensible film out of it. Alas, this is not to be, since he was not even nominated for Best Director. You have to work to follow what is happening in the film, but it is worth it. I think this is a film that you would have to see at least twice to fully appreciate.
Group II
5. The Kids are All Right - This film is too silly to be considered a drama, and too serious to be considered a comedy. Still it has an amazingly well written script, and who would have guessed that Annette Bening would have made such a great lesbian? Probably not Warren Beatty.
6. 127 Hours - Making a film about someone stuck in the middle of no where for days does not, on the face of it, seem like a great idea, but this film works. James Franco carries off the long parts of the film that he does alone. I would give this film the Best Editing Oscar. The way the sequences of the film were put together really helps to make the film interesting. Most of the buzz about the film centered on the number of people who passed out when Franco's character cuts his arm off with a very dull pen knife. I have to say there are parts of the film that are uncomfortable to watch, and someone did apparently pass out in the screening I attended. At least there was a big commotion in the theater about something, shortly after the critical scene, and there was an ambulance outside when I left. That aside it's a great film with beautiful scenery.
7. The King's Speech - I liked this film. Both Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush do give two of the best performances of the year, as King George and his speech therapist. Who else but Helena Bonham Carter could play both Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland and the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mum, before she was the Queen Mum. I would not give it Best Picture because the story is a little too focused on the King's speech impediment, which is not a criticism, but I think Best Picture should go to a Big Picture.
8. Winter's Bone - The story of a young girl trying to save her family from a drug ravaged society in the Ozark Mountains, this is probably the least commercial film nominated this year. Probably one of the least commercial films ever nominated. Peopled with a cast of unpleasant characters, it still tells a compelling story. This is probably a film that no one from the Ozarks would want to see, because the society it portrays is so unpleasant. All the same, it has some of the best acting of the year, and deserves the nomination just for that.
Group III
9 The Fighter - This is the only film nominated that I had trouble with. I do think the acting was good, but taken as a whole I think it went over the top. I had trouble seeing how Mark Wahlberg's character could possibly have come out of the dysfunctional family created by Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, and the six harpy sisters from hell. I wouldn't want to believe that one family could have so many self-centered, screwed up people in it. Of course, I say that having just said that Winter's Bone was a good film, and on this account it was not far behind.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Street Photography
A selection of pictures from the Museum of London's exhibition of street photography from 1860 to the present.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Happy Birthday George Ferris
Today is the 152th anniversary of George Ferris' birth. Here is a short video on his invention of the Ferris Wheel.
And here is the photograph I took last summer of the place in middle of the Midway Plaisance in Chicago where Ferris' original Wheel was built.
And here is the photograph I took last summer of the place in middle of the Midway Plaisance in Chicago where Ferris' original Wheel was built.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
EO Hoppé
A set of photographs by the early 20th Century photographer EO Hoppé. These accompany this Guardian review of an exhibition of his work. More of his photographs here.
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Cripple of Inishmaan
A trailer for the Druid's production of Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan. I saw it last night at the Kennedy Center. It is a serious play, but this trailer does not capture how funny it is.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
The Fifty Most Beautiful Women in Film
The LA Times has a poll of what they claim are the 50 Most Beautiful Women in Film. I am guessing that the voters so far are skewing young, because Jennifer Lopez and Farrah Fawcett are neck and neck right now with, all of the rest being left in the dust. I am not voting since my first choice is not included in their top fifty. So, even though she is not on the list, I am making Ingrid Bergman the image on my link to the poll.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Frost
Yesterday's post was an image of the sun. To the other extreme today. Here is a set of photographs from guardian.co.uk all with a frost theme.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
The Pillars of the Earth
For anyone lamenting the end of Masterpiece's Downton Abbey, The Pillars of the Earth offers a view of the grittier side of English history. The story is set in the 11th Century, before the English became quite so refined, during the struggle for the crown of England between two of William the Conqueror's grandchildren, Stephen and Maud. At this time religious orders where amassing great estates, and this makes up another one of the subplots in the series. In the arc of history these religious estates would eventually be expropriated by Henry VIII, and handed out to become the foundation of many of the vast private estates in England. Thus the source of the name Downton Abbey, which by the early 20th century was a private home, but would have originally start out as the seat of a religious order.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Viking Ship
A video about efforts to restore a Viking Ship that was built in Norway, and sailed to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Not very much survives from that Fair, so it would be nice if this ship can be restored.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
National Museum of American Illustration
A nice video from the National Museum of American Illustration.
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