luni, 20 ianuarie 2025

Lynch would've been 79 (LMA !)


 David Lynch died 4 days ago. 
Today he would've been 79. 

                                                                     Lynch by Lynch

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David Lynch, our beloved dad, was a guiding light of creativity, love, and peace. On Monday, January 20th—what would have been his 79th birthday—we invite you all to join us in a worldwide group meditation at 12:00pm NOON PST for 10 minutes. Let us come together, wherever we are, to honor his legacy by spreading peace and love across the world. Please take this time to meditate, reflect, and send positivity into the universe. Thank you for being part of this celebration of his life. Love, Jennifer, Austin, Riley and Lula Lynch

(that is Ten PM in Romania)


*****



Toototabon's song  from You Don't Know Jack !, Lynch's short film is on Netflix released on his 74th birthday !


Yesterday I saw Blue Velvet's Extended Cut. 47 minutes of lost footage put together by Felipe Guerra, it's here on youtube. 

Today I'm watching his commercials, love the ones for Japanese Georgia coffee with the Twin Peaks cast.


here are Lynch's Ten favorite films. 

Six of his films are on MUBI, streaming now for free (one week).  under the title: Delusions and Dreams !







Eamonn McCormack @Transilvania Blues Nights 24.01.25

Pentru prima oară în România și la Brașov, ”A True Irish Blues Legend”, Eamonn McCormack vine la clubul Rockstadt pentru un concert unic, vineri 24 ianuarie ora 20.00 !!!

Eamonn McCormack e originar din Dublin, Irlanda și e cunoscut ca o ”Adevărată legendă de blues irlandez/ True Irish Blues Legend”. De peste 4 decenii pe scenă, chitarist virtuoz, Eamonn are un stil energic, inventiv și exploziv, cu o energie maximă live. Rădăcinile sale muzicale și de concept sunt Slade, Cat Stevens, Neil Young și Rory Gallagher, cu care a și cântat. De fapt ultima piesă înregistrată de Rory Gallagher, este chiar cu Eamonn McCormack.

A plecat din Irlanda în America pentru a-și trăi visul, a cântat cu Cannes Heat și chiar și cu J. J. Cale.   S-a întors în Irlanda și a cântat în diverse formule, pînă la cea de acum, un ”power blues trio”. A înregistrat pe disc cu mulți artiști de valoare de gen, de la Rory Gallagher la Jan Akkerman, Pat Travers, George Thorogood, Walter Trout, Johnny Winter, Nils Lofgren.

https://eamonnmccormack.net

https://www.facebook.com/events/2672082733179152

https://rockstadt.ro/event/eamonn-mccormack-transilvania-blues-nights-at-rockstadt-25-ianuarie/

Preț bilete:

🎫 pre-sale 100 lei până în data de 23.01.2025

🎫 sale 130 lei pe data de 24.01.2025

Un eveniment marca Transilvania Blues Nights recomandat de Rock FM și Zile și Nopți.

Sponsori: BCR, Butan Gaz, DRÄXLMAIER Group, Aro Palace, Tehnic Mihor, BitDatamining.

Parteneri culinari: A-Ha Bistro, Coliba Haiducilor

duminică, 19 ianuarie 2025

The Substance (2024)

Coraline Fargeat's second feature The Substance (after her thriller Revenge in 2017), won best screenplay in last year's Cannes Film Festival. Should've won best actress for Demi Moore but they gave that for ensemble to Emilia Perez. No comments. But now Demi has won the Golden Globe, will be nominated for an Oscar and I hope she wins, she deserves that totally and More than that.

Note on Jan. 23d: Nominated for 5 Oscars, Coraline Fargeat for Directing and original screenplay, Demi Moore for best actress, make up and hair stilling and Best Picture ! My predictions,  Demi and maybe best screenplay !

Also Margaret Qualley is great in it (and stunning). You've seen her in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Lanthimos' Poor Things, Kinds of Kindness and Drive-Away Dolls. Her future is Bright !

Dennis Quaid plays cartoonlike a caricature of a manager, Ray Liotta was supposed to play this part but he died before the film production. I think Quaid is better, 'cos he played a lot of straight characters, while Liotta was lampooning himself in a lot of his films.

Fargeat's film I found more digerable than Julia Ducournau's exploits, Grave /Raw and Titane, which are overdone and overbearing. Keep in mind, if a male director would've done this film in 2024, no festival would've touch it and he would've been "luggered" (or lapidated).  Anyway, I don't think a man could've done the same kind of approach and message, it's a woman's film about women's condition in the showbiz industry, and not only, about aging and about the compromises you make in order to be noticed. It's a very superficial world and it fades out quickly, but the subject is treated with acidity, irony and black humor. And great body horror gore practical effects. The whole thing could've been summarized in the opening and closing of the film, with the story star on the Hollywood Boulevard (a great short imo). 

The music is by British artist Raffertie (Benjamin but it's more like a sound design, pounding and very effective. Can't be listened separately tho. 

See it in a cinema, for the sound design,  set design, bright costumes (that yellow coat, that pink bodysuit), the cinematography (by Benjamin Kracun)  and the visceral effect. 

Also warning, not for the faint at/of heart, and sensible stomachs !!!


There are many posters for the film, all good, from the B&W to this kaleidoscope puzzle. 

References galore: from Lynch's LA (shot in Cannes and Antibes no less), to David Cronenberg (The Fly is quoted tooth and nail ;), Brian De Palma (Carrie's blood shower),  Kubrick's The Shining, The Elephant Man, Frankenheimer's Seconds, All about Eve, Sunset Blvd., even Zemeckis' Death Becomes Her. 

As Demi Moore described the film: " a blend of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, Death Becomes Her (1992), and a Jane Fonda workout video."


A great and extended making of from Mubi (the worldwide distributor of the film buying it Cannes cos the original backer, Working Title, a division of Universal backed away ):


Update-24 feb. Demi Moore wins SAG award, The "Actor", which is the best barometer for the acting Oscars !

sâmbătă, 18 ianuarie 2025

Un ours dans le Joura (2024)

Un ours dans le Jura, in English How To Make a Killing, en Roumain, Să (nu) ascunzi o crimă, in cinemas now.

un film de Franck Dubost, written and starring himself, and a fantastic Benoît Poelvoorde, reminding me (his looks here) of Stellan Skarsgard !

The most annoying character, the wife, overdoing it-Laure Calamy (Dix per cent). 

guest starring Emmanuele Devos (Cupidon club's boss).

A sort of French Fargo, politically incorrect, and with black humor galore. 

French critics accentuate on the positive here. 

Extremely funny, I had a blast !

3 1/2 out of 5, 7 out of 10 !