6/1/2012 A visit to Whitstable...I am not feeling very voluble today and therefore, here is a little pictorial résumé of our visit to Whitstable over the holidays. It is lovely to see a thriving high street full of small independent shops and no empty premises! But then, Whitstable is popular with well-to-do Londoners... If you want a more "in-depth" article (and more photos) about why Whitstable is worth a visit, here's an article from the New York Times of all newspapers... They even mention the lovely Tea and Times photographed below! All photos © Matt ArtPix Matt has written his own Whitstable blog, much more informative than mine... 20/12/2011 Sherlock Holmes, A Game of ShadowsI usually don't do blockbusters, and especially not Film X number 2, 3, etc. But I have made an exception for Guy Richie's Sherlock Holmes. We watched the first one on Sunday to refresh our memories, and it was even better than the first time around - so many little details to spot, and the dialogue is just delicious. Then yesterday, we went to see A Game of Shadows, and we had so much fun. It's beautifully shot, the sets are sumptuous, the whole movie is energetic, witty, funny... It is wonderful Steampunk entertainment for everyone! I am a big Sherlock Homes fan (and a student of the Victorian era) and I am not disgruntled by this modern version at all. This re-invention of the iconic characters is quite clever, and if you have read the books, you will read between the lines to see that Sherlock Holmes really is an action man adventurer. Just a different type... 20/11/2011 Variety is the spice of lifeI love it when I spend a day doing completely different things. A good cultural mish-mash inspires me no end. Yesterday was such a day. We started by a visit to the recently opened Two Temple Place gallery. A good article with a picture of the magnificent grand hallway can be found HERE. This is a staggeringly beautiful and peaceful place in the heart of London. It is free to get in, and we will most certainly go back. At the moment, they have a lovely exhibition: William Morris: Story, Memory, Myth. There are so many unique features to the house that you need more than one pair of eyes: the panelled rooms and gallery are full of interesting little details: sumptuous fireplaces, gorgeous stained glass windows, sculpted doors and wooden panels. The space itself feels rather cosy, lived in, welcoming. It is such a treat to be allowed inside one of those beautiful London buildings! Then it was a short stroll to the BFI to check out the programme. I am particularly looking forward to The Genius of Hitchcock, a retrospective of Hitch's silent movies and to the BFI's Dickens season. The National Portrait Gallery is always interesting and handy when you have a little bit of time in-between things. I particularly liked the small Terence Rattigan wall case with one especially beautiful photograph showing the playwright at work - all very elegant and sophisticated! - as well as the displays about the painter Augustus John and the Labour politician Herbert Morrison. Then it was off to the O2 Academy where we had some raucous fun at the KMFDM show. Varied or what?
11/11/2011 The AwakeningOh, no!
This movie is tackling similar themes to those in my second book, The Book of Thoth, albeit in a different way. It's a ghost story, set in an isolated house in the aftermath of the First World War. Like The Book of Thoth! There is also a short paragraph about a new BBC drama, Parade's End, which will be set around the time of the First World War. It will have Benedict Cumberbatch in it! One to watch as well, then! BBC article below: THE AWAKENING It looks like The Book of Thoth will take months to complete - and we're talking about 6 months or so, now - so I won't even be taking advantage of the interest in First World War stuff... 7/11/2011 Night of the DemonWhat a great way to end the weekend. We went to the Park Inn Hotel - Southend's iconic Palace Hotel - for an evening organised by the very busy The White Bus.
It is a very positive thing that the management of the hotel are so keen to welcome cultural events within their walls, and it is always a pleasure to pay a visit to this historical building. We were first welcomed by The White Bus staff who informed us of the future planned screenings - a treble Christmas special, The Black Swan, the Southend film festival and the big surprise, they announced that in January 2013, they would be launching a new film festival, Horror-on-Sea. I hope this will include loads of old classics! This should be bringing quite a lot of animation to the town. Excellent news! Writer M.R. James (one of my favourites!) was the real star of the evening. Tonight, both the short film and the main feature were based on one of his stories. "Mr Humphries and his Inheritance", a 1975 short television adaptation of James' story of the same name, was satisfyingly atmospheric and efficient. You can read the story HERE. Night of the Demon (1957), starring Dana Andrews, is directed by the excellent Jacques Tourneur and is therefore a feast of atmospheric scenes playing with both light and shadows - his Cat People remains one of my favourite fantastic movies. Based on the M.R. James story, Casting the Runes, it deals with ancient beliefs, the power of the mind, devil worship and psychology. Satisfactorily, it is not the moralising, fearmongering movie full of Christian references one could have expected, but a very intelligent, inquisitive exercise which never gives a definitive answer, much like all of M.R.James' stories. It is up to the audience to make up their minds. On top of the great plot and genuinely disturbing events, the movie has got this wonderful charm that always infuse these older movies: something to do with elegance... 27/10/2011 The ArtistAs a keen "student" of silent movies and early Hollywood, I am really looking forward to seeing this movie, although I will probably need to go to London to find a cinema that will show it. I have always been fascinated by the story of Hollywood and have been brought up watching old movies, which I always find much better than more contemporary ones. And the stars were REAL stars. I have read the biographies of Lillian Gish, Louise Brooks, Mary Pickford and Roscoe Arbuckle and I have countless books about Hollywood from the very beginnings of cinema - indeed, the transition from stage to screen - to the early 60s. The Artist looks exactly like what I'd like to see... 22/9/2011 Tinker Tailor Soldier SpyI hadn't read the book, I hadn't seen the series; So I arrived at the cinema yesterday evening without too many prejudices and expectations, apart from the fact that 1) it was a British movie with a Scandinavian director, and therefore not an overblown American bling feast and 2) the cast was superb anyway, so it couldn't be all bad.
I had heard a few reviews on the radio (I never let myself be influenced by reviews, mind) - Front Row on Radio 4: they all adored it, and The Saturday Review, on Radio 4 again: a bit more blase, and I have to quote the uber-irritating Miranda Sawyer who didn't like it mostly because (she moaned) "There is only ONE woman in the movie and she's BEAUTIFUL and she DIES" and of course mumbled something about feminism. She must have had an orgasm, then, when a graffiti spelling "The Future is Female" can be seen on a fence several times in one of the scenes... And actually, Kathy Burke has a speaking part, so it might be demeaning to her to say such a thing... If these programmes could avoid inviting embittered female guests to review movies and plays, they would do us a favour... At least, the blokes get on with it. Anyway, so, the movie... I loved it, because it was such an unusual piece of work. Moody, slow, atmospheric... It recaptures the idea I have of the seventies - not that I remember any of it, though, I was just a kid - everything is dirty, grey, messy, unkempt, depressing. Of course, all the actors were all excellent and Gary Oldman, whom I have always liked for actually having a personality and taking risks, is masterful: understated, quiet, reserved, thoughtful but also a wounded man in his personal life. He ends up being very touching. It is rare nowadays to see a movie that takes its time and that understands the importance of silence, of facial expressions and of what's happening behind a person's eyes. And some of the reviewers clamoured loudly that of course, they had guessed who the mole was from the beginning, well, I didn't even try to guess, I let myself be carried to the end by the plot and the actors. It was strangely gripping, and deserves to be successful at the box office, although I am sure quite a lot of people wouldn't have the patience to sit through this slow-burning, unglamorous, intelligent movie. Next movie for me will be Anonymous, the "Shakespeare" movie, out at the end of October. Looks like this one won't be moody ... 18/7/2011 La FemmeI've never seen any movie with Beatrice Dalle because none of them has ever interested me. I don't like French cinema. I have seen only a handful of enjoyable French movies.
I am not even sure she is a good actress, although she's probably quite interesting to watch because she has so much personality. But. What a woman. She's a real one: a strong, beautiful (and proud of it, not a dowdy so-called feminist, she is much more of a feminist than any of those horrible vociferous and ultimately rather sad creatures) strong-minded individual who speaks her mind and lives her life as she likes - even though it is not exactly the life I would have chosen for myself. Incredibly intelligent, too! She probably should be a writer, she would be fantastic. She doesn't care about being "nice" and ticking the boxes of what a woman is perceived to be like, the type of thing that infuriates me, you know, the "nurturing, protective, compassionate one" YUK YUK YUK. I absolutely LOATHE this dreadful stereotype that unfortunately permeates our society. Ms Dalle just does what the hell she wants and she's probably happier than most women who try and be what others tell them they have to be to be a woman. She follows her instincts. That's real creativity for you. Being creative in your own, personal life. Being yourself, 100%, and not bowing to conventions and expectations. And her take on babies and "motherhood" (this overrated killer of gender equality) is hilarious and is completely and utterly similar to mine: "You do know that by now you should really have three kids and a mortgage..." [what a stupid, stupid, stupid question!!!!!! This journalist should be put in prison for complete idiocy, unless he asked this with massive irony] "Children? That's the last thing I want. When I drink Coca-Cola too fast, and I feel it fizz as it hits hit my stomach, that feeling scares me, so imagine me having a kid..." "You mean the pain of childbirth?" "Not just that, but the whole physical experience of a baby... nappies... ugh." "You've talked about being disgusted by the experience of holding your elder sister's child." "Yes, and then there's all the responsibility. I'm a woman who lives alone. I want to be able to sit at home for hours on end, smoking, listening to Mozart on headphones, at maximum volume. That's what I love. I hate it when the music stops." It's beautifully said, isn't it? The whole very entertaining interview: Beatrice Dalle in The Independent |
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