RIP Kris Kristofferson

Again gone one of the great ones...Mr. Kris K. is one of my personal favourite heroes, just for his look, I fell in love at first sight. He didn't have to be tough, he was in his own right, One of the Only Ones !!!

Mr. Kris Kristofferson was 88

I think the first film I saw with him was The Sailor who Fell in Grace with the Sea (1976), or maybe it was Convoy (1978) ?

in the early Nineties they brought a film in the cinemas called Flashpoint (1984), a curio that I dug. Tangerine Dream scored it too. Also that dud, Millennium (1989-oi), and Welcome Home (1989), the last film from Franklin J. Schaffner. Triple Kris bill :)

His 1st film was Dennis Hopper's aptly titled ;) The Last Movie (1971). But even if there is Pat Garret & Billy the Kid (1973- forSerban Celea :(, the best is for me is now & for a long time that infamous and immortal Heaven's Gate .

Trivia: Kristofferson turned down Sorcerer, him and Steve Mc Queen, all respect for Roy Scheider, I would've seen both Steve and Kris in it...God of Movies said no :(

Yep, he was in Blade and Blade two. And Blade: Trinity, resurrected ;) And what about that Albert Pyun's Knights (1993)? With Mister Lance...

Also: Alice doesn't Live here Anymore, Cisko Pike (wow, the whole flick is on youtube!), A Star is Born (the 1976 version), Trouble in Mind, Lone Star (4 Andrei ;), Payback (not in the director's cut that we dig ;), & a fierce cameo on Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia... 

I got one record on vinyl like over 30 years ago -I guess it was Repossessed from 1986- and was kinda disappointed cos it wasn't rock enough for me then ;) Too young & dumb & ...

posted here a song with his super band The Highwaymen, Desperados Waiting on a Train...

...now Kris is on the TRAIN, on the way to Heaven's Gate, to meet his old buddies, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Sam the Man (Peckinpah), James Coburn, Michael Cimino too...Willie Nelson still Standing !!!

Kristofferson said that he would like the first three lines of Leonard Cohen's "Bird on a Wire" on his tombstone: 

Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free

Kinds of Kindness (2024)

“Some of them want to abuse you / Some of them want to be abused” 

(Eurythmics-Sweet Dreams -Are Made of These-1983), the song that starts the film and was used on the promotion (trailer, etc, very misleading or?)

                                                  (Brand New B*tch)

The new film by Yorgos Lanthimos (after the Awards darling Poor Things), the leader of the Greek "Weird Wave", Kinds of Kindness, premiered in Cannes this year in the Official Competition.

It's his longest film 2date, at 2h44 mins. A tryptich played by the same actors in different parts (Emma Stone, Margaret Qualley, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Hong Chau, Mamodou Athie ), except the mysterious R.M.F. (Yorgos Stefanakos). It's bleak, it's surreal and it's almost sadistic -especially on the characters, but on the viewers too. Black comedy in the vein of Roy Andersson, with nods to Bunuel and Kubrick (esp. Eyes Wide Shut, from where Jerskin Fendrix takes his music cues-a discordant piano, a tragedic chorus). On the end credits he has a vocal song, "King Lear", ('cause he had three daughters???;), where he reminded me of Nick Cage and Leonard Cohen. 

Closer to Lanhimos' debut, Kynodontas (Dogtooth)-"the dogs treat us good", Alps, and to the mood and atmosphere of  Killing of a Sacred Deer. The director says he was inspired by Albert Camus' Caligula and the relations of power-Trust, Love & Death. 

Jesse Plemons (Fargo, Killers of the Flower Moon) won Best Actor in Cannes. 

Shot again (after The Favourite and Poor Things, another Three;) by Irishman Robbie Ryan in color and black & white in anamorphic widescreen (2.29:1).

Also, wtf is Ronnie James Dio song Rainbow in the Dark doing in here?

Leonard Cohen RIP

If you are the dealer, I'm out of the game
If you are the healer, it means I'm broken and lame
If thine is the glory then mine must be the shame
You want it darker
We kill the flame

Magnified, sanctified, be thy holy name
Vilified, crucified, in the human frame
A million candles burning for the help that never came
You want it darker

Hineni, hineni
I'm ready, my lord

There's a lover in the story
But the story's still the same
There's a lullaby for suffering
And a paradox to blame
But it's written in the scriptures
And it's not some idle claim
You want it darker
We kill the flame

They're lining up the prisoners
And the guards are taking aim
I struggled with some demons
They were middle class and tame
I didn't know I had permission to murder and to maim
You want…

Leonard COHEN
1934-2016

obituary in Rolling Stone here
am avut onoarea de a-l vdea in toate cele 3 rinduri cind a cintat in Romania
-in 2008 chiar de ziua lui (v.aicihttp://aldmovieland.blogspot.ro/2008/09/first-we-take-manhattan-then-we.html)
albumul sau ultim, You Want it Darker. despre moartea iminenta, despre pacea interiora, unul din cele mai bune de anul acesta. But still: We kill the flame :(
-TBC-
ultimul interviu:

Bob Dylan-Shadows in The Night

'No anger, just resignation'
(Bob D.)

Noul Bob-ness (#36), e the great american songbook all over, dupa Christmas in the Heart (2009), e al doilea album de cover-uri, si primul album dupa Tempest (2012).
Cintece de inima albastra, anume cover-uri dupa piese cintate de Frank Sinatra, compuse de clasici, de la Irvin Berlin la Rachmaninoff ! Interesanta in special o versiune engleza la "Les feuilles mortes" (Autumn Leaves), din 1945, in franceza cu versuri de Jacques Prevert), cintata original de Yves Montand in filmul Les Portes de la nuit (19460, si preluata de Nat King Cole, Ol'Blue Eyes, chiar si Eric Clapton. M-a dus cu gindul la ultimul Leonard Cohen, "Popular Problems" (v. topul meu pe 2014), scos la 80 de ani. Elegiac, cum zicea LH , Too "Slow". Nah, Bob are numai 73 :)
Albumul iese oficial 'soon after midnight"- (pe 3 februarie). Columbia Records.
recenzie in The Guardian.: – pre-rock songs imbued with romantic regret -4 / 5 stars

Leonard Cohen la Bucuresti (third time is a charm:) !

daca e septembrie, e...Cohen ! pe 22 septembrie, la o zi dupa ce va implini 78 de ani, Leonard Cohen revine la Bucuresti pentru a treia oara si la 3 ani (5 septembrie 2009)dupa ce l-am vazut pe stadionul Iolanda Balasz. Concertul face parte din turneul de promovare al albumului Old Ideas , aparut in ianuarie 2012.

The Escapist (2008)

de multa vreme trebuia sa vad acest filmuletz british cu o reputatie deja , dar acum am reusit motivat si de faptul ca autorul sau a ajuns la Hollywood cu un bun sequel/prequel/reboot la seria Planeta Maimutelor, anume Rise of the Planet of the Apes (cronica mea aici)...
Deci The Escapist a fost debutul lui Rupert Wyatt, ca regizor si co-scenarist (alaturi de Daniel Hardy). Se vad legaturi cu RoTPoTA, dincolo de prezenta lui Brian Cox. Universul carceral, evadarea, conotatia sociala, o multime de motive pentru care Fox l-a ales pe Wyatt.

-Escapist e un Le Trou englezesc, intr-o inchisoare gritty si claustrofoba (nu vedem lumina zilei si cerul tot filmul-) care pare comandata pe dinauntru de un mastermid criminal Rizza (Damian Lewis) cu un frate psihotoc, Tony (Steven Mackintosh).
Frank Perry (Brian Cox, exceptional !) e un condamnat pe viata care pune la cale o evadare care pare imposibila. Participanti, veteranul Brodie care cunoaste canalele (Liam Cunningham), traficantul de droguri si chimistul Viv Batista (Seu Jorge), boxerul Lenny (Joseph Fiennes), si tinarul abuzat Lacey (Dominic Cooper).

-Similitudini cu Birdman from Alcatraz, Midnight Express, The Shawnshank Redemption si cu Escape from Alcatraz. Dar cel mai mult cu Le Trou, filmul esential despre evadarea din inchisori.
-bottom line: Se vrea too smart 4 its own good, one twist too many dar te-ntrebi de multe ori pe parcursul filmului de ce e taiat asa si are ritmul povestii in felul asta !
Soundtrack
-muzica excelenta, atmosferica, de Benjamin Wallfisch, la un moment dat suna si arata ca un film de Michael Mann
-Plus piesa de opening si final, The Partisan cintata de Leonard Cohen (in 1969)

Oh, the wind, the wind is blowing,
through the graves the wind is blowing,
freedom soon will come;
then we'll come from the shadows.

si de Coldplay, piesa compusa de Anna Marley in 1943
si un Butcher Boy cintat de Cox (v. filmul lui Neil Jordan)

3 ½ din 5, 7 din 10.

Cohen: Dance Me to The End of Love

Dance Me to The End of Love, prima piesa, la care a avut voie si presa sa filmeze !
din cite imi amintesc eu, era pe soundtrack la Strange Days !

more Cohen: First We Take Manhattan, then...

First We Take Manhattan, then we take...Alin
first encore !!! 6 minute jumate !!!
shi pentru cine nu stie versiunea/varianta Jennifer Warnes here it is:

"I dont like those drugs that keep you thin"
si mai interesant, piesa a aparut prima data pe "Famous Blue Raincoat -1987, albumul de coveruri al lui Warnes, ea a cintat backing vocals pt Cohen in anii 70 ,

el apare si in clip, dar mai cool e cine e chitaristul, SRV, nimeni altul decit Stevie Ray Vaughan ! Abia in 1991 pe I'm your Man, albumul lui Cohen, apare versiunea lui ! Azi facuta celebra si de Watchmen si Zack Snyder care a pus-o in film alaturi de Halleluiah, a fost inregistrata si de Joe Cocker in 1999 pe 1999 albumul No Ordinary World.

Warren Zevon, citing Cohen as one of his favorite songwriters, performed the song on tour in support of the Mr. Bad Example album accompanied by Odds.

ah, si e vorba despre gruparile teroriste gen Bader Meinhof, factiuni ale Brigazilor Rosii...

Leonard Cohen Second Coming -Closing Time

Leonard Cohen, Closing Time, second encore
si desi e Closing a mai cintat 2 piese...
clipul meu pe youtube

news of the land..alinland, movieland, rockland

1.am vazut Gi Joe si nu e asa de rau pe cit preconizam , mai bun ca Transfomres 2 care e abisal, cu referinte la Star Wars si James Bond, si pentru prescolari dar fun si cea mai spectaculoasa distrugere a Turnului Eiffel pe care am vazut-o, si Senna Miller e mmm dar si roscata si Kevin J. Connor apare ca profesorul Mindbender !
2. se face RAMBO V, da dupa Expendables si Machete un alt macho testosteronic ne asteptat soon...
3. filmul lui Bobby Paunescu, Francesca, a fost primit controversat la Venetia
4. azi incepe Stuffstock -cred ca moca, fara trupe straine si cica iar pe plaje
5. azi e Leonard Cohen again si ma duc la un bilet in plus ca am luat tzeapa cu passul...dar big news, am unul si mai bun (thanx Angela)
6. and hold the press: Jowe Lynn Turner la Fratelli studios, Over the Rainbow band, anunt asa underground pe care l-am vazut din intimplare trecind pe la Universitate !

First we take Manhattan, then we take...Alin !

si a fost Leonard Cohen. La multi ani i-am cintat la fel ca multi altii, aseara pe stadionul de linga Minastirea Casin si Arcul de triumf. Nu stiu de ce m-am simtit in Grecia, nu la Bucuresti. Poate din cauza instrumentuelor de coarde gen Buzuki, sau a luminii, sau a bisericii din spate. Aventuri extraordinar de moronice, cind am intrat in Bucuresti concertul incepea. Am inteles ca multa lume a crezut la fel si s-a intrat la greu pe primele piese. A urmat o cursa no limits pina la concert, intrarea rapida si patrunderea in sectorul VIP. Not bad...am prins si ultimele 2 piese din prima parte, cu Anthem, Ring them bells, "there's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in." Am pierdut in schimb preferatele mele, The Future si Everybody Knows...A fost extrem de emotionant sa-l vad pe Cohen, I'm your old man... 74 de ani si verde si viu si real...cu palaria de personaj de film noir...Am aflat si sesul vietii din Tower of Song...“tudamdamdam-tudamdamdam”, don't stop! A fost concertul anului in Romania anul asta ! Piesa finala, cintata cel mai bluesy, The Gipsy's Wife, Take this Waltz, Sisters of Mercy, Closing Time !

"Like a bird on the wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free"