29 November 2007

November 29th...2 months since last post and...

I'm somewhat embarrassed to be posting, a quick look shows I haven’t posted in two months. It’s been a busy two months and my tiny contributions to the blogosphere seem to be decreasing by the week. I aim to try to rectify this with the forthcoming holiday period, all things going to plan.

So last month I took in four films at the London Film Festival. Here is a quick summary, something I had been meaning to write for around about a month:

Rescue Dawn
I went along because I had really enjoyed ‘Little Dieter Needs to Fly’, it hadn’t occurred to me some of the (brief) comments I’d seen later, now that it is on general release that it’s Herzog’s first Hollywood film. I enjoyed it, there is a scene where a dog walks right to left in front of the camera and the actors on it’s hind legs which, for me was a nice, Herzog touch.

Mister Lonely / Harmony Korine Q&A
There was quite a crowd for this one on the Friday I attended. No idea when it is coming out here, other than at some point next year. It has two ‘storylines’ for want of a better word. One of them, the one we see least of was for me the better part of the film.
Sadly I just couldn’t really get into the main part of the film at all, that said it is a concept which not too many people would even try to put on screen. I haven’t had a sniff around online to see what others think of this yet.
The following Sunday was a NFT Q&A interspersed with the usual clips. It was very well attended, some decent questions from the audience and quite a lot of fan-type adulation. I may well post more on this, if I can recall the event but can’t promise, it was after all this time of year I attended a Kenneth Anger Q&A and I still haven’t managed to post about that.

Son of Rambow: A Home Movie

The highlight for me. A small British film, without a release for the UK market, which if audience reaction (I know could be dangerous!) is anything to go by could do very well here, I’m sure people will bandy around comparisons to Shane Meadows, Wes Anderson and maybe a few others. For me it was spot on in it’s depiction of school life in the 80’s, a sort of ‘Grange Hill: The Movie’ but updated, I think many people in their mid 30’s can relate to dodgy pirate copies of ‘First Blood’ and for that reason it will, I hope do well. A US distributor has picked it up and it will get a release in May. Be very interesting to see what American audiences make of this.

Link
Read James Rocarols review of 'Son of Rambow' at Cinema Attraction, link.

Anyway today, is the three year anniversary since I started this, so I thought I had better post something. I’m glad I did, maybe I will get back into it a little more now.

23 September 2007

Blogathon's

Well worth checking out will be:

Coming next week - Luis Buñuel blogathon at Flickhead, link.
In November - Film & Faith blogathon at Strange Culture, link.

27 August 2007

Real location #7 - The Leather Boys
























































Although the facia of the Ace Cafe has changed since 'The Leather Boys' was made in the early 1960's the location remains the same. Importantly the A406, or as it is mostly known; the North Circular road, has moved slightly.
In the film we see Reggie (Colin Campbell) race Pete (Dudley Sutton), possibly to Staples Corner and back to the Ace Cafe, they stop underneath a railway bridge with advertising Ferodo products. This remains more or less identical today with the exception that the line, which leads to Euston has been electrified.
Interesting, for me is that at one point the North Circular was what the M25 road is today, an outer-London ring road.
Links
IMDB entry for The Leather Boys, link.
The Ace Cafe, official site, link.
Ace Cafe on a map, link.
A link to some other pictures I took at the Ace Cafe, link.
Wikipedia entry for the North Circular, link.

11 August 2007


Jim Jarmusch en España

FICA - Festival Internacional de creación audiovisual, Villanueva de la Serena (Badajoz). A season of Jim Jarmusch films shown during July.

Coming attraction: A Throw Of Dice


Showing in Trafalgar Square, London on Thursday 30th August at 9pm.

Link
IMDB entry for A Throw Of Dice, link.

Version Original Revista de Cine # 141



Version Original - Revista de Cine. Issue # 138 featuring articles on literary translations including articles:

Orgullo y Prejuicio by Toni Montesinos

érase una vez by Ramón Mondero

Capote, la moralidad del artista by Israel Paredes

El libro como vinculo las horas by Rocío Tizón

En el boca del miedo by Rodrigo Arizaga

La última tentación de Cristo by Angel Román

B.S.O. The Emperor's Club by Victor León

Apu y los libros by José María Santiago

El libro iluminado by Israel de Francisco

Todos caem en el cuento by Enrique Pérez

El rompecabezas literario by David Aparicio

El nombre de la rosa by Ma José García Berzosa

09 August 2007

Akira Kurosawa


Link
Akira Kurosawa Blog-a-thon, November 15th, link.

08 August 2007

Coming attraction: Meet Ken Loach


'It's a Free World' + Ken Loach in conversation at BFI Southbank (previously National Film Theatre), Thursday 13th September at 18.20. Sadly it doesn't look like I can go.

Real location - supplementary entry


Not one I have visited, yet but 'The Culture Show' devoted a special to film locations including 'The Wicker Man', 'Trainspotting', 'Kes' and several others.
Link
Interview with Tony Garnett about the making of Kes and the locations in Barnsley, Yorkshire, link.

05 August 2007

Michelangelo Antonioni


Links
BBC obituary, link, a bit more substance than how it was reported on BBC News 24, link.
Downloads of Zabriksie Point soundtrack and track from Blow-Up at Aquarium Drunkard, link.
Andrew Pulver at The Guardian, picks Antonioni's best scenes, link. In fact The Guardian covered his and Bergman's passing rather well, with lots of online content, link.
Green Cine Daily rounds up some links, link.
Wim Wenders poem to Antonioni, link.

Film Stars - the index

A summary of the film stars cards series. I can't seem to find the actual cards so will post a summary of the ones I've posted thus far. If I find more I will post them.

9. June Clyde, link.
8. Mary Carlyle, link.
7. Grace Bradley, link.
6. Joan Blondell, link.
5. Wendy Barrie, link.
4. Rosemary Ashlen, link.
3. Pearl Argyle, link.
2. Rose Asther, link.
1. Adrienne Ames, link.

Back from my trip...


Actually I've been back for a couple of weeks but haven't really had much chance to post stuff here but I'll try and get back into it. The trip was great except when I ran into some people from the criminal underworld, a sort of cross between Bresson and Carol Reed's 'Oliver!' only not very cinematic, unfortunately.