Here's Lucille Ball in an early stage of her career opposite Henry Fonda, in a riches to rags sort of story where Gloria Lyons (Lucille Ball) loses her crown as a popular nightclub singer after her bastardly boyfriend pushes her down the stairs and cripples her. Pinks (Henry Fonda) is the sensitive, adoring fan and bus boy at the club who takes her in to care for—but Ms. Lyons is a tempest and demands the finest food (champagne and caviar) even on his meager salary. The story doesn't end up as compelling as we hope, and the outcome is as you'd expect—with Ms. Lyons at the final realization that her demands upon Pinks and her taste for high fashion and culinary fare just don't wash. Still crippled in a wheelchair she resigns herself to a lifestyle within her means, and a sudden appreciation for poor Pinks who she's pushed around all these months. Story aside, it's worth a glimpse for Lucille Ball in her youthful svelte figure with sparkling gowns dangling from her torso. The woman is stunning, quite honestly—a fact probably drowned out by her slap-sticky comedy career. This wasn't her first film (it was actually her 51st film), but Fonda, already an established and high profile actor was reluctant to work with her because of it. Looking at her filmography it's clear she was a real rags-to-riches story herself. Picking up bit parts as early as 1933, and finally reaching her pinnacle with the I Love Lucy TV series.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
The Big Street - 1942 - DVD
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Here's Lucille Ball in an early stage of her career opposite Henry Fonda, in a riches to rags sort of story where Gloria Lyons (Lucille Ball) loses her crown as a popular nightclub singer after her bastardly boyfriend pushes her down the stairs and cripples her. Pinks (Henry Fonda) is the sensitive, adoring fan and bus boy at the club who takes her in to care for—but Ms. Lyons is a tempest and demands the finest food (champagne and caviar) even on his meager salary. The story doesn't end up as compelling as we hope, and the outcome is as you'd expect—with Ms. Lyons at the final realization that her demands upon Pinks and her taste for high fashion and culinary fare just don't wash. Still crippled in a wheelchair she resigns herself to a lifestyle within her means, and a sudden appreciation for poor Pinks who she's pushed around all these months. Story aside, it's worth a glimpse for Lucille Ball in her youthful svelte figure with sparkling gowns dangling from her torso. The woman is stunning, quite honestly—a fact probably drowned out by her slap-sticky comedy career. This wasn't her first film (it was actually her 51st film), but Fonda, already an established and high profile actor was reluctant to work with her because of it. Looking at her filmography it's clear she was a real rags-to-riches story herself. Picking up bit parts as early as 1933, and finally reaching her pinnacle with the I Love Lucy TV series.
Here's Lucille Ball in an early stage of her career opposite Henry Fonda, in a riches to rags sort of story where Gloria Lyons (Lucille Ball) loses her crown as a popular nightclub singer after her bastardly boyfriend pushes her down the stairs and cripples her. Pinks (Henry Fonda) is the sensitive, adoring fan and bus boy at the club who takes her in to care for—but Ms. Lyons is a tempest and demands the finest food (champagne and caviar) even on his meager salary. The story doesn't end up as compelling as we hope, and the outcome is as you'd expect—with Ms. Lyons at the final realization that her demands upon Pinks and her taste for high fashion and culinary fare just don't wash. Still crippled in a wheelchair she resigns herself to a lifestyle within her means, and a sudden appreciation for poor Pinks who she's pushed around all these months. Story aside, it's worth a glimpse for Lucille Ball in her youthful svelte figure with sparkling gowns dangling from her torso. The woman is stunning, quite honestly—a fact probably drowned out by her slap-sticky comedy career. This wasn't her first film (it was actually her 51st film), but Fonda, already an established and high profile actor was reluctant to work with her because of it. Looking at her filmography it's clear she was a real rags-to-riches story herself. Picking up bit parts as early as 1933, and finally reaching her pinnacle with the I Love Lucy TV series.
Breach - 2007 - Film
Friday, March 23, 2007
Besides Chris Cooper's performance I'm sad to admit I thought Breach was just okay. The trouble for me came in the technique of the screenplay, which did little to reveal what really happened in the off-hours of FBI agent Eric O'Neill's (Ryan Phillippe) life. His anxieties were overt and didn't have a lot of depth; when he was mentally wrecked we knew because we saw him pacing around with his superior, Kate Burroughs (Laura Linney), or fighting about work matters with his wife. The plot was very carefully laid out before us without much guesswork, which is what I anticipated for a film that's already about a publicly known subject. I wonder if that sounds too picky--because in the end, it was a suspenseful story, and there are few actors as calculating and frightening as Chris Cooper.
Besides Chris Cooper's performance I'm sad to admit I thought Breach was just okay. The trouble for me came in the technique of the screenplay, which did little to reveal what really happened in the off-hours of FBI agent Eric O'Neill's (Ryan Phillippe) life. His anxieties were overt and didn't have a lot of depth; when he was mentally wrecked we knew because we saw him pacing around with his superior, Kate Burroughs (Laura Linney), or fighting about work matters with his wife. The plot was very carefully laid out before us without much guesswork, which is what I anticipated for a film that's already about a publicly known subject. I wonder if that sounds too picky--because in the end, it was a suspenseful story, and there are few actors as calculating and frightening as Chris Cooper.
Taxi Driver - 1976 - DVD
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Yep, watched this again. 8th time? Or 80th time?
The last shot of Travis Bickle twitching his gaze in the rearview mirror again freaked the crap out of me. Scorsese says on the DVD "making of" documentary that it was a sound sample run backwards that accompanies that shot, as a momentary return to Bickle's psychotic mindscape. Meanwhile, 5 minutes before Iris (Jodi Foster) shook me to a momentary jolt of tears as she screams, "No, don't shoot him!" Brains splatter on the wall. The famous surveillance shot curves across the ceiling of the room where the slaughter just took place. I again am overwhelmed, and will return to Taxi Driver in a year for my annual viewing.
Yep, watched this again. 8th time? Or 80th time?The last shot of Travis Bickle twitching his gaze in the rearview mirror again freaked the crap out of me. Scorsese says on the DVD "making of" documentary that it was a sound sample run backwards that accompanies that shot, as a momentary return to Bickle's psychotic mindscape. Meanwhile, 5 minutes before Iris (Jodi Foster) shook me to a momentary jolt of tears as she screams, "No, don't shoot him!" Brains splatter on the wall. The famous surveillance shot curves across the ceiling of the room where the slaughter just took place. I again am overwhelmed, and will return to Taxi Driver in a year for my annual viewing.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
George Washington - 2000 - DVD
Monday, March 19, 2007
I'm baffled. I'm hypnotized by George Washington's ponderous long takes of nature in a run-down town, but I'm do remain baffled by its overall intentions. It's a portrait of a southern town so torn up by poverty that its pubescent main characters, less than a handful of kids droning through their days on the cusp of something less than inspiring, say it looks like it was wrecked by "two tornadoes." As the film begins there is a relaxed sort of meditation to each shot, because every one is held longingly; little details like bits of graffiti on sign posts are cleverly framed with as much care as young George Washington (Donald Holden), the daydreamer with a birth defect (he has a soft scull) turned self-described superhero after he rescues a boy from drowning. Tim Orr, the cinematographer who has worked with director David Gordon Green on this, Green's first film, and on each subsequent release (All The Real Girls (2002), Undertow (2004), and Snow Angels (2007), and coming in 2008, The Pineapple Express), adds a particular glisten to the mundane. Though, Green's audience is a select type, and probably the kind who frequents the art house theater over the scraggly backwoods residents documented in his film; the depleted country industrial town (and townspeople) is intriguing by virtue of the disparity of setting and lifestyle between them and the film's viewers. Which is not to say Green's film looks upon his subject with condescension; to the contrary he lets the dilapidated town of rusty cars and train tracks simply be, and rather beautifully. The characters speak with a flat inflection, with an almost forced naturalism in their exchanges. The words they say seem contradictory to their characters, overly philosophical in observation, but somehow likable and true. They speak in essence of the whole movie: beautiful, philosophically sweet, but not of any defined order or form.
I'm baffled. I'm hypnotized by George Washington's ponderous long takes of nature in a run-down town, but I'm do remain baffled by its overall intentions. It's a portrait of a southern town so torn up by poverty that its pubescent main characters, less than a handful of kids droning through their days on the cusp of something less than inspiring, say it looks like it was wrecked by "two tornadoes." As the film begins there is a relaxed sort of meditation to each shot, because every one is held longingly; little details like bits of graffiti on sign posts are cleverly framed with as much care as young George Washington (Donald Holden), the daydreamer with a birth defect (he has a soft scull) turned self-described superhero after he rescues a boy from drowning. Tim Orr, the cinematographer who has worked with director David Gordon Green on this, Green's first film, and on each subsequent release (All The Real Girls (2002), Undertow (2004), and Snow Angels (2007), and coming in 2008, The Pineapple Express), adds a particular glisten to the mundane. Though, Green's audience is a select type, and probably the kind who frequents the art house theater over the scraggly backwoods residents documented in his film; the depleted country industrial town (and townspeople) is intriguing by virtue of the disparity of setting and lifestyle between them and the film's viewers. Which is not to say Green's film looks upon his subject with condescension; to the contrary he lets the dilapidated town of rusty cars and train tracks simply be, and rather beautifully. The characters speak with a flat inflection, with an almost forced naturalism in their exchanges. The words they say seem contradictory to their characters, overly philosophical in observation, but somehow likable and true. They speak in essence of the whole movie: beautiful, philosophically sweet, but not of any defined order or form.
The Last King of Scotland - 2006 - Film
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Until the last 30 minutes of The Last King of Scotland, in which black African culture suddenly morphs into a dark creature that violates its European character, I adored this movie. As the film begins we're dropped into Uganda--a veritable tour through the countryside, where we see people, wildlife, social and political gatherings, and all from the perspective of a white male who has never seen anything like it. In this respect the film starts as a liberating culture shock--you want to drop your materialistic life, get involved, and see this place. Very quickly (so as not to romanticize the country's political and social realities) we meet political leader General Idi Amin Dada (Forest Whitaker) who basically terrorizes his country. Though before we know any of that we come to trust him, particularly when he employs a Scot by the name of Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) as his top advisor. Without spoiling the end of the story, it's sufficient to say Garrigan endures some pretty horrible physical punishment and mental torment that doesn't follow with much resolve, leaving us rather regretful that we visited this foreign place to begin with. I can't imagine this was the intent of the filmmakers, but the clumsy humor in the epilogue subtitles made that blemish even worse. The ending aside, the first two-thirds were beautiful, super-saturated shots of a place not see too often on film, and Forest Whitaker's performance blew my mind.
Until the last 30 minutes of The Last King of Scotland, in which black African culture suddenly morphs into a dark creature that violates its European character, I adored this movie. As the film begins we're dropped into Uganda--a veritable tour through the countryside, where we see people, wildlife, social and political gatherings, and all from the perspective of a white male who has never seen anything like it. In this respect the film starts as a liberating culture shock--you want to drop your materialistic life, get involved, and see this place. Very quickly (so as not to romanticize the country's political and social realities) we meet political leader General Idi Amin Dada (Forest Whitaker) who basically terrorizes his country. Though before we know any of that we come to trust him, particularly when he employs a Scot by the name of Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) as his top advisor. Without spoiling the end of the story, it's sufficient to say Garrigan endures some pretty horrible physical punishment and mental torment that doesn't follow with much resolve, leaving us rather regretful that we visited this foreign place to begin with. I can't imagine this was the intent of the filmmakers, but the clumsy humor in the epilogue subtitles made that blemish even worse. The ending aside, the first two-thirds were beautiful, super-saturated shots of a place not see too often on film, and Forest Whitaker's performance blew my mind.
The Number 23 - 2007 - Film
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Notes on Joel Schumacher's latest half-baked thriller The Number 23 are over on Termite Art-- check it out.
Then read this hilarious nugget in The Onion!
Notes on Joel Schumacher's latest half-baked thriller The Number 23 are over on Termite Art-- check it out.Then read this hilarious nugget in The Onion!
Sandra Bullock Hair Styles
Sandra Bullock Hair Styles
Sandra has received a lot of press these days with all her new hair styles, not to mention new movies.
Here is a medium length hair style that features long layers and side swept bangs. The ends are left a little choppy.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
All The President's Men - 1976 - DVD
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Check out notes on my (obsessive) semi-annual screening of All The President's Men at Scarlett Cinema. For anyone who knows me or who has followed this blog from its inception knows I like me some Redford, Hoffman, Holbrook, and Robards mixed up in Washington Post investigative antics. Some friends of mine out there (you know who you are) haven't seen APM yet. Cut that out and see the movie already, will you?
Check out notes on my (obsessive) semi-annual screening of All The President's Men at Scarlett Cinema. For anyone who knows me or who has followed this blog from its inception knows I like me some Redford, Hoffman, Holbrook, and Robards mixed up in Washington Post investigative antics. Some friends of mine out there (you know who you are) haven't seen APM yet. Cut that out and see the movie already, will you?
The Host - 2007 - Film
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Calling all movie fans! You must see The Host, Korean director Bong Joon-ho's latest feature film that's in theaters now. Some call it horror, others say its drama, but I'm calling it both of these, with a good dose of comedy and some smashing photography--all of which assures the film a spot on my 2007 Top Ten list. Yep, it's an early prediction, but I'm sayin' it. Check out my review in Four Magazine!
Calling all movie fans! You must see The Host, Korean director Bong Joon-ho's latest feature film that's in theaters now. Some call it horror, others say its drama, but I'm calling it both of these, with a good dose of comedy and some smashing photography--all of which assures the film a spot on my 2007 Top Ten list. Yep, it's an early prediction, but I'm sayin' it. Check out my review in Four Magazine!
The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair - 2007 - DVD projection
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
The Prisoner: Or How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair is in theaters March 30th. Read my review in Four Magazine!
The Prisoner: Or How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair is in theaters March 30th. Read my review in Four Magazine!
The Long Gray Line - 1955 - DVD
Monday, March 12, 2007
The Long Gray Line is perfectly John Ford. It takes a historical subject and splices it with comedy (including a bit of slapstick) into what begins as an awkward biopic, but ends with grace, nostalgia, and wholeness. It's the life story of Marty Maher (Tyrone Power) at West Point; the clumsy day-to-day of an Irish immigrant who falls in love with Mary O'Donnell (Maureen O'Hara) at first sight, and documents their married life from year-to-year. Eventually Marty becomes a non-commissioned officer, a big step for a guy who was doing dishes at his entrance into the academy. The narrative is as awkward as Powers' foreign character: new characters pop into the story with as much grace as Bush Jr. reading poetry, and then are suddenly gone only to reappear scenes later. As you work through the story none of it seems to be going anywhere, and you're not sure why Who and What is important to the movie. Then by the last half hour of the movie it all culminates into a beautiful picture of personal history. A recurring scene of soldiers marching in formation in the field is a mirror of what Marty saw years past; the same image of Marty's memory is played out in the plane of space before him. With a lot of nostalgia, the seams of Marty's life are blended into two final scenes that assure his place into the collective memory of his counterparts, and into history as a whole. It's a surprising tearjerker ending of a film that only scenes earlier didn't make sense.
The Long Gray Line is perfectly John Ford. It takes a historical subject and splices it with comedy (including a bit of slapstick) into what begins as an awkward biopic, but ends with grace, nostalgia, and wholeness. It's the life story of Marty Maher (Tyrone Power) at West Point; the clumsy day-to-day of an Irish immigrant who falls in love with Mary O'Donnell (Maureen O'Hara) at first sight, and documents their married life from year-to-year. Eventually Marty becomes a non-commissioned officer, a big step for a guy who was doing dishes at his entrance into the academy. The narrative is as awkward as Powers' foreign character: new characters pop into the story with as much grace as Bush Jr. reading poetry, and then are suddenly gone only to reappear scenes later. As you work through the story none of it seems to be going anywhere, and you're not sure why Who and What is important to the movie. Then by the last half hour of the movie it all culminates into a beautiful picture of personal history. A recurring scene of soldiers marching in formation in the field is a mirror of what Marty saw years past; the same image of Marty's memory is played out in the plane of space before him. With a lot of nostalgia, the seams of Marty's life are blended into two final scenes that assure his place into the collective memory of his counterparts, and into history as a whole. It's a surprising tearjerker ending of a film that only scenes earlier didn't make sense.
GRBAVICA: The Land of My Dreams - 2007 - Film
Friday, March 9, 2007
Stay tuned for my review! It will be up as soon as the movie is released, sometime about April 13th. In the meantime, think of a bleak, wintry Eastern European setting with stories of emotional and physical devastation and you're on the right track.
It's actually a Bosnian picture by director Jasmila Zbanic (who is also screenwriter) that examines the relationship between a mother (Esma) and daughter (Sara) as they define themselves as a family in post-war society, and without a husband/father figure. The former has barely enough money to cover the twosome's living expenses, and relies on the goodwill of friends and acquaintances for little extravagances,
like the class trip Sara wants to take. Sara (Luna Mijovic) has a complex face that's rather unique in its beauty, and she tells us a lot about herself with very simple glances; but make no mistake, Sara is a rowdy character that expresses rage outwardly, and un-self-consciously.
Stay tuned for my review! It will be up as soon as the movie is released, sometime about April 13th. In the meantime, think of a bleak, wintry Eastern European setting with stories of emotional and physical devastation and you're on the right track.
It's actually a Bosnian picture by director Jasmila Zbanic (who is also screenwriter) that examines the relationship between a mother (Esma) and daughter (Sara) as they define themselves as a family in post-war society, and without a husband/father figure. The former has barely enough money to cover the twosome's living expenses, and relies on the goodwill of friends and acquaintances for little extravagances,
like the class trip Sara wants to take. Sara (Luna Mijovic) has a complex face that's rather unique in its beauty, and she tells us a lot about herself with very simple glances; but make no mistake, Sara is a rowdy character that expresses rage outwardly, and un-self-consciously.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Finding a Prom Hair Style
Prom Hair Styles - 5 hot styles
If you are looking for just the right prom hair style, you will want to check out our feature on Top 5 Prom Hair Styles.
Just a glimpse at the top styles--They are sleek updos, messy updos, partial updos, wavy long hair styles, and straight styles.
See how you can make your style sparkle and sizzle with just a few changes or additions.
Plan ahead for your prom hair style so you won't have any surprises.
Coming soon! The Top Secret Prom Hair Report. You don't want to miss this invaluable report!
Jen to leave LA?
Is Jennifer Aniston leaving sunny LA? Sources say the Friends alum is considering a move back to her native NYC. "She feels she needs a boost in her life and she can meet all kinds of people there," says a friend of the star. "And she can meet men... She's revisiting the Broadway idea." Aniston has been keeping a low profile on a trip to the Big Apple this week, ordering room service to her suite at the Lowell Hotel and visiting an apartment building where fellow actor Harvey Keitel lives. "She's thinking about it," an insider says of the actress's possible move. Her rep has no comment.Jake to don tights on the big screen
Jake Gyllenhaal may be trading in his cycling spandex for tights of a different kind - the Zodiac star is rumored to be favored to play superhero Captain Marvel in Shazam! Sources say the film's producers are eager to hand Gyllenhaal the part.
Monster co-stars Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton will reunite for the film Tulia, based on the novel Tulia: Race, Cocaine and Corruption in a Small Texas Town. Set to begin filming in New Orleans at the end of April, the plot follows a UCLA lawyer on a quest to expose a series of racially-motivated drug charges in Texas.
Colin Farrell and Charlize Theron will team up for the war flick The Hurt Locker. The film centers on a bomb disposal unit in the Iraqi war and will also star Ralph Fiennes and Willem Dafoe.
Celeb designer charged with rape
A fashion designer whose list of clients include Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez and Bruce Springsteen is being held in an LA jail on charges of rape after a March 6 arrest. "There was sufficient informationt that warranted his arrest," according to a Beverly Hills police officer. However, the case could be more complicated than it appears. "He had a consensual relationship with a woman who is over 21 years old," says a source. "The apartment was filled with at least five other people. The next day, [Jon's accuser] was trying on his clothes so that she could model his jeans line at LA Fashion Week. She went to lunch, and something dramatically changed when she came back." Jon's lawyer says, "My client vehemently denies any unlawful sexual acts. We believe the LA county district attorney's office will treat my client fairly and this matter will resolve itself."SJP introduces clothing line
Angelina in Vietnam to pick up new son
Angelina Jolie and son Maddox landed in Vietnam earlier today to complete the process of adopting a three-and-a-half-year-old boy. Jolie is scheduled to appear at an adoption ceremony with Vietnamese officials tomorrow morning, though some sources suggest the UN rep may be able to pick up her new son as early as tonight. Once the child is in her custody, Jolie's application must be reviewed by the U.S. consulate before a passport can be issued for the boy. The head of Vietnam's offical international adoption bureau admits Jolie's application was fast-tracked because "a celebrated person is certainly treated a little bit different from others." The Tomb Raider actress filed papers as a single parent because she and Brad Pitt are not married.source
Big picture post
(click on thumbnails for larger images)
Sienna Miller at the London premiere of Factory Girl
Reese Witherspoon jogging in Brentwood
Naomi Watts in NYC
Naomi Watts in NYC
Madonna at the launch of her H&M line in London
Lucy Liu on the set of Cashmere Mafia in NYC
Lindsay Lohan outside a nightclub in NYC
Keira Knightley in London
Jeremy Piven in Malibu
Jeremy Piven in Malibu
Hilary Duff leaving the British TV show Loose Women
Eva Mendes leaving a gym
Chloe Sevigny at a Hollywood eatery
Cate Blanchett out with her son Roman
Jude Law and Cameron Diaz at a Tokyo photocall for The Holiday
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