January 2011
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Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander
Lisbeth Salander is probably the badass of all badasses. Whoever you think you are: Superman, Batman, James Bond, Maxwell Smart, Flash Gordon, Conan the Barbarian, Rocky, Rambo, or Arnold Schwarzenegger, you might get Lisbeth down, but you will never defeat her. In fact, she’ll be the end of you if you push the wrong buttons.
2009 saw the release of three film adaptations of each of the...
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Facebook's Inspirational People: Ryan White
Born in a place called Kokomo in Indiana in 1971, Ryan White was, by all means, a normal child for the first thirteen years of his life. White, however, was a hemophiliac, and after falling ill from pneumonia after his 13th birthday, he required surgery. During the surgery, some of the blood transfused into White’s system infected him with HIV and he was diagnosed with AIDS shortly...
French Friday: Toast
Gotta love it.
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Facebook's Inspirational People: Sarah Silverman
So, I’m kinda digging this new feature, under our Information Philosophy section on the new Facebook profile. The feature I’m talking about is the one where we can showcase the individuals we find to be particularly inspirational.
I had a bit of trouble choosing my list, though. I don’t think there’s any limit, but I only included 16 individuals. Fifteen of these...
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WatchSecret of the Wild Child
No matter how many times I hear this story, these interviews, or see these images, my heart continues to break, more and more, for this poor girl and all children who have suffered or are suffering similar atrocities.
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What I'm Watching Wednesday: Out of a Forest
Of the films I’ve watched since last Wednesday’s post, my favorite is Tobias Gundorff Boesen’s 2010 short animated silm, Out of a Forest.
The film follows a young rabbit who rushes to attend a meal with elder rabbits. Set to the song, “Slow Show” by The National, the fate of the young rabbit takes a toll as he and his comrades are attacked by a large furry...
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Who wants a FREE Iron & Wine iTunes download?
The first three people to send me a message with their favorite song/artist/movie will get the code for a FREE iTunes download of the song, “Tree By the River,” from Iron & Wine’s new album, Kiss Each Other Clean.
Do it.
New Release of the Week: Kiss Each Other Clean
Iron & Wine’s new album, Kiss Each Other Clean, hits stores January 25, 2011
The first time I heard of Iron & Wine (Sam Beam) was some time in high school, when exposed to the Garden State soundtrack and their cover of The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights.” After that, I acquired Our Endless Numbered Days, the second album from Iron & Wine, from a friend...
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“I wouldn’t wish the eighties on anyone, it was the time when all that was...”
– Derek Jarman (1942-1994)
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2011: Vampire
I was on IMDb a few seconds ago, looking up some information on a TV show (this is my excuse for not being on MUBI). What happened next resulted in a tangential love-fest, between my computer, Google Chrome Tabs, Rachael Leigh Cook, and image saving.
Sometimes, all it takes is an image, just one, of a childhood crush to make one lose focus. This childhood crush, is none other than Rachael Leigh...
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French Friday: Indochine
We’re all familiar with all of the British musical exports, such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Sex Pistols, Oasis, Blur, etc. We often consider the French to be superior, in relation to film (or, at least, we should), to the British, but we don’t often think of their musical exports. The primary reason for this is because the English, simply, do have better...
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What I'm Watching Wednesday: When We Leave
2010’s When We Leave stars Sibel Kekilli (Gegen Die Wand) as Umay, a young Turkish-German woman who leaves her abusive husband, taking her child to her parents’ home in hopes of finding a safe haven. The film addresses the issue of the stance of females in a Turkish-Islamic family and communal pressures on families’ maintenance of “honor.”
In the opening scenes, we...
Michael Douglas Photobomb
kellyoxford:
Classic. I see two hot people in this photo. They’re married to each other.
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Truthful Tuesday: Ask me anything
http://maxjpell.tumblr.com/ask
DVD Release of the Week: Shock Corridor and The...
Today, two titles from the famous Criterion Collection are re-released, both films by well-known American director, Samuel Fuller: The Naked Kiss and Shock Corridor.
In 1963’s Shock Corridor, Fuller broke new ground in addressing the boundaries between sanity and insanity, while providing an additional commentary on race relations in the early ’60s. Predating One Flew Over the...
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Max von Sydow: The Greatest Living Actor
When people discuss great actors, we often consider the actors who have won the most awards, whether they be Oscars, Golden Globes, Césars, or Festival honors. My pick for the title of “Greatest Living Actor,” doesn’t have a very distinguished collection of awards. He’s been nominated for one Oscar (1987), two Golden Globes (1966, 1973), zero Césars, and has won honors at...
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Soledad Miranda in Eugenie de Sade
With her first acting credit in 1960, Soledad Miranda appeared in over 30 films in the 1960s and early 1970s. Her life was cut short in August of 1970 after a fatal car accident in Sevilla, Spain. After her tragic death, between 1971 and 1974, she starred in four films that were theatrically released, The Devil Came from Akasava, Vampyros Lesbos, She Killed in Ecstasy, and Eugenie de Sade. All...
“Some call me director, producer, filmmaker. I prefer to call myself pube-king.”
– John Waters
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Diana Lorys in Jesús Franco's Nightmares Come at...
Stills from Diana Lorys’ final scene in Franco’s Nightmares Come at Night.
Diana Lorys plays an exotic dancer who has nightmares about herself murdering, and though she receives help from a doctor, she eventually loses her mind, unable to distinguish between reality and her imagination. These stills are from her final scene in the film. Though Franco is known for his...
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fartwithheadphoneson asked: hahahahha... you are obviously better. Actually, I should tell you that YOU are VERY funny. I enjoy your commentary and your posts a lot. When you first emailed me, my brain lumped you in with a lot of guys who randomly email me. Sort of a natural reaction at this point, but I was quite quickly proven otherwise and I'm happy that I know you. :D
gonehundred-deactivated20110916 asked: What one peice of advice do you wish 'now' you could give to 'highschool' you?
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fartwithheadphoneson asked: <3
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French Friday: Martyrs
On the surface, Pascal Laugier’s Martyrs appears to be a typical horror gore-fest. In fact, I’m sure that’s what the marketers of the film want you to believe. What we get with this film, however, is much more.
The first character we are introduced to is Lucie. The introductory images of the film are that of a young battered girl, running with a limp, crying in agony, as she...
2010: 23 Movies I Still Wanna See
2010 is over and a new year for cinema has begun. As 2011 has been ushered in over the past few weeks, I wish we could put it on hold for a moment while I catch up on 2010. There are still a number of films from around the world that I’m eager to see, from last year. As I haven’t seen them, I’ll include a brief description (credited to MUBI) below each still.
Here goes...
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“Ha! Yea u were to be able to Handel two girls! Ur amazing max!”
– My 8th grade semi-formal date (I feel like there’s a great music joke here, somewhere)
Link: The Palin Standard →
An excellent article by Arab-American comedian Dean Obeidallah, addressing Sarah Palin’s hypocritical views on responsibility.
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I met Congresswoman Giffords once (well, sort of)
My time on Capitol Hill was brief, but very memorable. In 2009, I spent about five weeks working for my Congressman and schlepping around the Hill.
On an average day, I’d see about 50-60 members of both the House and Senate, and would speak to either 5 or 6 of them.
The most memorable encounter I had with Congresswoman Giffords occurred during my lunch break, one day. I remember she was...
What I'm Watching Wednesday: American Dreams
The last film I watched that I gave a 5-star rating to is James Benning’s 1984 film, American Dreams.
The film runs about 55 minutes in length and features three overlapping chronologies of modern American history, which come together to make this avant-garde gem a true masterpiece.
We are presented with three timelines. The first are the images. We are presented with Benning’s...
