Just back from the Brezoi Open Blues Fest when this came as a sad closure...John Mayall has gone on July 22nd. He was 90.
John Mayall is/was Mr White in the Blues. Groundgreaker. Bluesbreaker. As in John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers.
Saw him twice in Bucharest, in the 90's and in the new millennium, in 2012, same venue, Sala Palatului. In 1995 his guitarist sidekick was the sensational heavy Texan Buddy Whittington. It mesmerized me that second time he was selling his own CD's, first artist I saw doing that...(setlist and pictures here!)
Shelley Duvall was 75 just for three days (born July 7th 1949).
Shelley is Wendy, Jack Nicholson's victimized wife in Kubrick's The Shining (1980) and that is the part she will remembered most. She lived a personal ordeal through that shoot, got a Razzie for it and meanwhile Razzies rescinded her prize (interesting article here). After that film her career and personal life never fully recovered.
But she worked for Robert Altman too, in seven films with highlights on Three Women (for which she won best actress in Cannes!), Nashville and Popeye !
Love Lies Bleeding (2024) is a mesmerizing little film that has it all, bodybuilding, crime, gun nuts, lesbian love, revenge, rednecks, and Bronski Beat's "Small Town Boy". Just that here there's Small Town girls.
Love Lies Bleeding is also a cascading Red flower, but the title could come from a Don De Lillo novel. Or not. Just learned that the film was originally set in Scotland but moved in the USA for "scale".
Set in 1989's New Mexico. Kristen Stewart's performance as Lou is so intense, but I've seen her before in Spencer, Seberg, Personal Shopper, Clouds of Sils Maria doing arthouse, here she does the perfect Indie performance, with a high note of her real sexuality. But the revelation of the film, with a background of real body building, is Katy O'Brian as Jackie. Also Anna Baryshnikov, the daughter of maestro ballerino Mikhail Baryshnikov, stands out as blonde Daisy. Dave Franco as JJ is good too. And man, Ed Harris as Lou senior, is in super evil bad mode. Which is perfect. His hair extensions are a standalone highlight.
LLB opened at Sundance Film Fest to rave, then it went to Berlinale.
Rose Glass writes and directs stylishly and with a certain peculiarity, it's her second film after Saint Maud (2019, which I'm gonna check), shades of Wild at Heart but with an LBGT, Flashdance, Thelma & Louise, Near Dark and even Rust and Bones. She brought with her from Europe (Brexited England that is) her Saint Maud cinematographer, Ben Fordesman, who does a great widescreen job (2.39.1) in Americana scope.
Great atmospheric music score by Clint Mansell (known better as Darren Aronofski's composer), plus songs of the period. Discovered some cool obscure or cultish tunes, that work perfectly in the film-Nona Hendryx-"Transformation", Gina X "Nice Mover", & "Kaddish" included.
LLB it's now in Romanian cinemas (as Dragoste, minciuni și sânge), limited release, see it there !!!
IM 18 !!! Restricted to all Minors ! In the US it's Rated R.
Ion Rițiu enchanted my childhood. He was Rică Păsărin, the lead in Duelul (1981) by Sergiu Nicolaescu,Sergiu Nicolaescu, his last "comisar" film in Ceaușescu's times. Up to Supravietuitorul (2008), in which he gave Rițiu a part too, 30 odd years later.
He was the rich bad boy gone mad in Sergiu s Ciuleandra (1985), Puiu Faranga,on the Liviu Rebreanuțs book adaptation.
He was also the ottoman boss, Baiazid in Mircea (1988).
Last film, Poker (2010), also by Le Serge. Actually Sergiu NicoleascuSergiu Nicoleascu was the only one who gave him film parts. Why? :(
I saw him as a kid on a theatre play in Oradea or Cluj. Hollywood type of charisma, nice diction, ultra photogenic old style (30s). I was charmed. He worked as a theatre actor in Târgu-Mureș. Dan Alecsandrescu, my mom's youth friend, the theatre director there put him in many plays.
Considered the greatest American script, Chinatown (1974) was Robert Towne's masterpiece. He won an Oscar for it but Roman Polanski, the director, helped shaped the script and especially the downbeat ending.
Too bad they didn't do the third movie (Cloverleaf), but with the failure and fights over the sequel, The Two Jakes (2000), Towne and Jack Nicholson's friendship (who offered to direct!) had a huge fallout. They got over it eventually.
His great script of the early 70's were The Last Detail and Shampoo for Hal Ashby. He wrote uncredited scenes for Bonnie and Clyde and The Godfather, The Missouri Breaks, Warren Beatty's films (he was also great friends with Beatty and later on with Tom Cruise, who hold him in high esteem).
When they messed up his script for Greystoke, the Legend of Tarzan (directed by Hugh Hudson), so he signed the screen credit with the name of his dog (P.T. Vazak), and that name got nominated for an Oscar !!!!
He was considered the best script doctor in town and did great rewriting work on A list films for Big Bucks, and got to (co)write humdrum big budget High concept bonanzas like Mission: Impossible and Mission: Impossible 2 (The Chimera gimmick) or troubled productions like Days of Thunder. for Simpson/Bruckheimer and Tony Scott. Also on Crimson Tide for Scott and the same producers (dictated famously over the phone !!!).
Towne also directed four films, with mixed results, from the sports-themed Personal Best (1982) to Tequila Sunrise (1988, what that menage a trois was about?), Without Limits (1998, another sports-themed flick) and Ask the Dust (2006, based on the John Fante novel, which he wanted to do since the early Seventies !), that was also his last work.
He started in Hollywood working for Roger Corman. He wrote the Tomb of Ligia for Corman, on his series of Poe adaptations.
Bob Towne was 89. He was more like a Rock star in Hollywood than the reclusive screenwriter type. There won't be guys like him anymore, that's for sure...
It opened in Venice last fall in the competition but won only a SIGNUS award.
Nikolaj Arcel's return to filmmaking in his own home after the disastruous Dark Tower (why?..). His previous films in his homeland and Scandinavia were all very good (Royal Affair, Kongsgame and the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).
Based on the book "The Captain and Ann Barbara" by Ida Jessen. And loosely on a true story. In 1780 and so. In Jutland, the windy wasteland of the Danish kingdom. Captain Ludwig Kahlen is on a mission, to colonize and fertilize the empty fields of Jutland.
It plays like a classic western, epic drama, but done with a very felt naturalism.
Something that got to do with potatos. cartofeln ("decât cartofi" ;). Fistful of potatos. With a cold shiver of Danske cinema realism.
Brilliant and exquisite widescreen cinematography by Rasmus Videbaek (Arcel's aquired DOP).
Strong performances all over, esp. by Amanda Collin ('Mother' in Raised by Wolves) as Ann Barbara.
About Mikkelsen, I know him (as an actor) from his first film Pusher (in which he was Tony-he was also in Pusher 2), which I saw in Prague in 2000 from the Terminal Bar Video Collection. Saw him in Refn's follow-up Bleeder,Bleeder, in Valhalla Rising, in the cannibal comedy The Green Butchers, in TIFF in Flame and Citron, in B-EST in The Hunt, showed at Cinemateca Patria A Royal Affair (his 1st film with Arcel), enjoyed at home during the "pandemic" Another Round / Druk. He was impeccable in all his American/Hollywood fares, from King Arthur on to the Hannibal series, in Casino Royale-a brilliant Le Chiffre, SW-Rogue One, up to his latest baddie, in Indiana Jones V.
soft spots for Riders of Justice, Arctic, even Polar.
Lucero is Ben Nichols' band and the song is from 2005's Nobody's Darlings album. Based on photojournalist's Danny Lyon book The Bikeriders (1968). See the photos in the video below.
Kathy met a girlfriend at a place around Grant,
Swore if she got out alive she'd not go back again, Fellas didn't know her and they scared her half to death, Hand prints on her jeans, she would have just got up and left, That's when she saw Benny standing over by the bar, Sat back down, and waited 'til he came over to talk, Later on that night as she was walking out the door, Benny started up his bike, and the boys came out for more
Ooooh...
They picked her up and put her on the back of Benny's bike, Now Kathy's been with Benny Bauer ever since that night, She's tried to leave him many times, can't quite get away, Seen more jails and courts and laywers than she'd like to say, Benny's always been a fighter, that'll never change, Kathy takes him home and heals him up, it's all the same He made it from the club room all the way out to the street, They beat him with the barstools but he made it on his feet
Ooooh...
Kathy's runnin' to her boy, picks him up and takes him home, And Benny's crying "Kathy please, I'm sorry don't you know?" I'm sorry don't you know, I'm sorry don't you know? At a bar they call Stop Light the fellas drink their beer, Women with their hair done up, they make it very clear, Which one of the fellas is all theirs and can't be touched, They're tellin' me that motorcycle rider just give up, They're talkin' to the pretty ladies, everyone they can, I never seen the trouble caused all by just one dance, If Benny don't get himself shot tonight I wish he did, When he gets home
Ooooh...
Now Kathy's datin' Benny and he keeps her by his side, Kathy's still the cutest girl these boys will ever find, Riders line up BSA's out on the scrambler's tracks, Levis jeans and a leather jacket numbers on their backs, Benny's bike is too big to race up 250 class, They make him start way up the hill, up by the railroad tracks, Tomorrow they'll all ride across the Illinois state line, Motorcycle Blessing at the St. Christopher Shrine
Ooooh...
Kathy's walking out the door leavin' Benny all alone, And Benny's crying "Kathy please, baby don't you go" Baby don't you go, baby don't you go Kathy you mean it this time, just leave in the middle of the night, His wallet's on your table, boots on your floor, The car is parked right outside your back door, So leave him asleep in your bed and, You're halfway to Chicago before good-bye is said
"Nosferatu - Eine Symphonie des Grauens", de F. W. Murnau (1922), este unul din cele mai importante filme mute. Muzica originală s-a pierdut, așa că s-au făcut nenumărate partituri pentru el și este un favorit live al festivalurilor de film și nu numai. Dar niciodată nu s-a cântat Blues pe el. Un blues mai psihedelic, dar ce blues, Bluesferatu!!! Muzica originală este compusă și interpretată live de muzicieni brașoveni, Robert Watzatka ”Watzzy” - chitară, Ionuț Constantin ”Yokko”, Costi Popescu - tobe, Ilyes Botond ”Boti”- chitară , Mihai Nedea - keyboards, Ovidiu Mihai - bas, anume: Proiectul Bluesferatu! Anul trecut l-am prezentat pe 28 septembrie în premieră mondială la Brașov, în cadrul Transilvania Blues Festival - și în avanpremieră la Banca de Cultură Apollonia și la Hub 2068. Acum va fi proiectat pe un ecran în curtea castelului Bran (exterior), cel mai potrivit spatiu pentru Bluesferatu & Co să se dezlănțuie - în aer liber, la lumina lunii. Muzicienii vor cânta live în fata ecranului pe toată durata filmului - 95 de minute! Un concert - eveniment: Bluesferatu 2.0. sau Bluesferatu Comes to Bran!!!
Biete: 100 RON in pre-sale si 120 RON in seara concertului !
Un proiect produs de Alin Ludu Dumbravă și Vlad Popescu pentru Asociația Arts & Events.
Partener principal – Castelul Bran Powered by BCR. Partener enologic: Stoker Wines Parteneri media: Rock FM, Hit FM, Zile și Nopți
B. There and Let There B. Bluesferatu !!!
Announced just now the trailer for Roger Eggers' Nosferatu,null out this Xmas, it's a good preparation for it
"They felt undesirable. They felt unwanted. And that's why they ended up together."
(Jeff Nichols)
In cinemas now The Bikeriders, Jeff Nichols' sixth film. Was not a big fan, but saw them all, from Shotgun Stories in Bucharest BIFF to Mud even in Cannes in Bunuel, ,Take Shelter, Midnight Special to Loving (which somehow left me unloved)...
This was supposed to be released last summer but the studios had no faith in it. Went to Mill Valley Fest, won directing, sat a bit, now it's out. See it on the big screen, it's widescreen, (2.39.1) & the sound is awesome (as is the soundtrack)!
Based on a photo-book that looks great, by Danny Lyon who documented the life and runs of a bike gang (the Chicago Outlaws MC, name changed in the film to "The Vandals"), first published in 1968 and republished tons ever since.
It's like Goodfellas on bikes. No Pesci character tho. Tom Hardy was great, found an inner space for the part. Jodie Comer's accent drove me nuts, Austin Butler (elvis) too young and rough for the part. Supporting wagon- but they could've handled more. Michael Shannon-Nichols doppleganger, in his every film, Damon Herriman-one of my faved aussies (Mr. Inbetween, Quarry, Justified, OUATIH, Mindhunter), Boyd Holbrook, Norman Reedus. And mind the "Benny Blanco from the Bronx" syndrome
Anyway, for Nichols kudos for the atmosphere and reconstruction of that era, his best and most ambitious flick yet.
3 1/2 out of 5, 7 out of 10 !
With this heard about a new band (new for me that is), LUCERO, Nichols' brother, Ben Nichols' band and on the closing titles, his/their song from 20025, Bikeriders (from his band's album Nobody's Darlings) . Pretty punk, reminded me of Wayne Kramer, Dropkick Murphy's and Headstones.
Ben was the one who told his brother about the book and pushed him into doing this film. BTW, Jeff dropped out of the A Quiet Place prequel in order to get this done. Great idea ;)
*****
The soundtrack of Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders:
“Lonely Room” by Mickey Murray
“I Wanna Holler But the Town’s Too Small” by Gary U.S. Bonds
“Declaration of Independence” by Count Five
“Talkin Bout You” by The Animals
“Come and Get It” by Leroy Tooks
“Out in the Streets” written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, Performed by Adrienne Pedrotti, Michelle M. Kahan & Leila Louise Henley
“Out in the Streets” by The Shangri-Las
“My Babe” by Dale Hawkins”
“Get Up and Get Out” by Clint Stacey
“Chino” from “The Wild One” by Leith Stevens
“Raunchy” by Bill Justis
“That’s All I Need” by Magic Sam
“Mama Talk To Your Daughter” by Magic Sam
“Road Runner” by Bo Diddley
“Mannish Boy (Electric Mud Version)” by Muddy Waters
The greatest Canadian actor of all times for sure, Sutherland was 88 now, would've been 89 in less than a month (born July 17, 1935). Still active as an actor, almost 200 films to his name, and unbelievably he didn't win an Oscar ever. Shameful, but they gave him a Honorary Award in 2018, just like with Peter Fonda and other Greats. I met him briefly at a Dec. 1st Buftea studios Media Pro Party when he shot there An American Haunting in 2005, he was also in Romania in Cold Mountain, the nightmare of waiters in Poiana Brasov because of his contractual clause of non-smoking around him ;)
one of The Dirty Dozen
one of the M.A.S.H. (Hawkeye)
John Klute in Klute
1900 (absolutely brilliant part !!!)
Fellini's Casanova -masterpiece and a career best
Don't Look Now
Homer in The Day of the Locust
Liam Devlin in The Eagle Has Landed
The Eye of the Needle
Ordinary People
my soft spot for Kelly's Heroes
The Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1979
X in JFK
a Soviet colonel in Citizen X
The Puppets Masters (1994, saw and did promo when on HBO, a sort of Body Snatchers by Robert A. Heinlein)
His last great part was in Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022), based on a Stephen King's story, on Netflix. Before that I loved him in 2019's The Burnt Orange Heresy as the reclusive painter Jerome Debney.
Before that Ad Astra as the Kurtz in space figure. He was John Paul Getty in Danny Boyle's Trust miniseries, a much superior fare on the kidnapping of the Man's nephew than Ridley Scott's film. But more popularity came as President Snow in the Hunger Games series.
It's also a debut feature, from writer-director Shane Atkinson, who won 3 awards at the Deauville Film Festival last year, Special Prize, Jury and Audience Prizes.
Anouk Aiméeis no more. She was 92. From Anne Gauthier in Claude Lelouch historical Nouvelle Vague film Un Homme et une Femme (where she was nominated for an Oscar, though it was a Foreign film and it was the year 1966 !), through Lola (1961, which was a subsubject in the latest Nani Moretti film), Model Shop (1969, another Jacques Demy film, in which she was Lola and that is an inspiration for Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and one of the women of Marcello in Fellini's masterpiece metafilm 8 1/2 (1963) , also a bit part in La Dolce Vita (1960). Another great part was in Bertolucci's 1981's La Tragedia di un uomo ridiculo, next to Ugo Toganzzi. Best actress at Cannes in 1980 for Marco Bellochio's Salto nel Vuoto (A Leap in the Dark)..
She was the wife of Albert Finney from 1970 to 1978.
Anouk partnered up with Trintignant for also the sequel of Lelouch's film, Un Homme et une femme: vingt ans déjà (1986), but also as Anne Gauthier in her last film, toujours avec Trintignant et Lelouch in 2019 in Les Plus Belles annees d'une vie.
French arts & culture are in mourning after Francoise Hardy and Anouk Aimée.
1st film directed by Ethan without his brother Joel, Coen that is.
Ethan was credited as a producer but the brothers directed together, that's what they say.
This is co-written and co-produced with his wife, Tricia Cooke. Also editor.
Drive-Away Dolls it's an UFO of sorts, noir spoof, lesbian comedy, pop stuff, mostly an acquired taste, very much a hit and miss. Nevertheless fascinating, cos' the gimmick of the suitcase in the trunk (started with Kiss Me Deadly, through Repo Men into Pulp Fiction) is here copious to say the least.
Margaret Qualley is irresistible as the boyish Jamie, loved her in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and in Poor Things, and I think she's in for a great career-coming up Some Kinds of Kindness and The Substance, both Cannes 2024 fares.
Cameos galore, from Pedro Pascal to Bill Camp, Matt Damon and even Miley Cyrus ;)
Dedicated to Cynthia "Plaster Caster" (1947-2022) "We Remember" ;)
Saw this in the cinema in April this year, just me and some guy, ran for about 5 shows on a week...
so I feel privileged.
It's like a Chinese "True Detective", as much as a Chinese cop in 1995 can be living in a communist world, his inquiry in an abandoned theatre (cos' people don't go to the cinema anymore, the cinema gimmick used also in episode one of The Sympathiser: "Death Wish")
and i guess some inspirations by Tarkovski -dreams, visions, premonitions, more dreams or aren't they dreams...
music score from Beethoven to Howard Shore's music from Cronenberg's Crash, re-used here. And it quite worked.
quite a curio, not sure I understood all of it but that's my Chinese Democracy;)
"Nothing is more important than independence and freedom."
The Sympathizer is on Max / HBO Max. All Seven Episodes of it. And it won't be a second season. Why? That's how the book ends.
Based on Pullizer prize winning book by Vietnamese writer Viet Thanh Nguyen.
Directed by Korean master Park Chan-wook (Sympathy for Mr. & Lady Vengeance, Oldboy, Thirst, The Handmaiden, etc.), but only three episodes, created by him and Don McKellar (Last Night).
Produced by Robert Downey Jr. with his wife, Susan (Team Downey) with A24 & Rhombs Media, tough sell for HBO/Max but it's there, like Ripley was for Netflix.
The best stunt in it is Downey pulling a Dr. Strangelove, meaning he plays not one but FIVE characters, and all explosive, the exact opposite of his acting in Oppenheimer, he's all over the place (literally).
My favourite of these characters is Niko Damianos, the director absolutely based on Francis Ford Coppola, whose film The Hamlet is a wanna-be little Apocalypse Now. Starring an absolutely nuts Method Actor named Ryan Glenn played by a crazy unshaved David Duchovny, a mix of Nick Nolte, Lee Marvin and with a wink to Downey's own character in Tropic Thunder.
Hoa Xuande is the protagonist known as The Captain, caught between two worlds. He is also a mongrel, his father being white (The Frenchman Priest, another pose for Robert Downey Jr.), his mother Vietnamese. He is also a mole, working for the Vietcong but posing as an Intelligence officier for the South Vietnam American allied. He has to leave the country with the Southern bigshiots, seeking refugee in America after the fall of Saigon. He tells his story in many ingenious flashbacks Together with his childhood friends Bon and Man, they have a pact, "All For One and One for all". Then, things change...There's something out of Once Upon a Time In America here, especially in the last episode.
Absolutely great score by Chan-wook Park's collaborator, Cho Young-Wuk.
And amazingly enough, most of the film (miniseries that is still a film) is in Vietnamese (& English surely). How did a Korean direct Vietnamese actors (as far as I know Park Chan-wook works through a translator, at least that's how it went 8 years back or so when he also came to Romania to Anonimul festival-he came in Bucharest way before, at Fantasia 1st edition with his 1st film, JSA). He did Stoker in English (2013, through translator) and the mini-series of The Little Drummer Girl (2018, for AMC).
Unfortunately, for reasons beyond our control, the Bruce Dickinson show in Bucharest has been cancelled. 💔
Tickets will be refunded at the point of purchase (iaBilet.ro or Entertix.ro), as per Emagic's T&C and each ticketer's procedures.
Read the official statement below ⬇️
With huge regret Bruce Dickinson’s The Mandrake Project show is cancelled tomorrow (June 3rd) at Arenele Romane in Bucharest, Romania.
Various members of the band and crew have been affected by a flu-like virus since the start of the European leg of the tour, and by the London show Bruce was also starting to get sick. He managed to complete the Paris show, but by Groningen was having difficulties being able to sing at the standard both he and the fans expect. During last night’s show in Budapest it became obvious that Bruce was seriously unwell and, following advice, he now has to rest completely in order to preserve both his health and protect the rest of the shows on the tour.
Sadly, this means fans in Romania will miss out on seeing Bruce & his band perform at this time.
Bruce Dickinson says, “I have been pushing my voice through a viral infection for the past few shows. I was hoping that the 2 days after the Dutch shows would have been enough vocal rest, but the Budapest show was a real struggle. The audiences have been fantastic, but I have a duty to the rest of the tour and a responsibility to look after my instrument....it’s the only one I’ve got!
With a very heavy heart I have had to make the decision to cancel tomorrow’s show in Bucharest. It was not the outcome I hoped for. I am seeing a throat specialist Doctor tomorrow to confirm the wisdom of my decision, but after 40 years of singing I know when things are not right and the voice has to take a temporary rest.
I am gutted for the fans in Bucharest. I can only say sorry and thank you for your support and understanding.”
The value of the tickets sold for the Bucharest concert will be refunded through the authorized ticketing platforms, iaBilet.ro and Entertix.ro
Congrats Emi Parvu & all involved !PALMares Cannes @77
Feature Films
Palme d'or
ANORA Sean Baker
Grand Prix
ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT Payal Kapadia
Jury Prize
EMILIA PÉREZ Jacques Audiard
Best Director
MIGUEL GOMES for Grand Tour
Special Award
MOHAMMAD RASOULOF for The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Best Performance by an Actor
JESSE PLEMONS in Kinds of Kindness directed by Yórgos Lánthimos
Best Performance by an Actress
ADRIANA PAZ in Emilia Pérez directed by Jacques Audiard
ZOE SALDAÑA in Emilia Pérez directed by Jacques Audiard
KARLA SOFÍA GASCÓN in Emilia Pérez directed by Jacques Audiard
SELENA GOMEZ in Emilia Pérez directed by Jacques Audiard
Best Screenplay
THE SUBSTANCE Coralie Fargeat
Short Films
Palme d'or
THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT Nebojša Slijepčević
Special Mention
BAD FOR A MOMENT Daniel Soares
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard Prize
BLACK DOG by Guan Hu
Jury Prize
L'HISTOIRE DE SOULEYMANE by Boris Lojkine
Best Director Prize ex-aequo
ROBERTO MINERVINI for The Damned
RUNGANO NYONI for On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Best Performance by an Actress
ANASUYA SENGUPTA in The Shameless
Best Performance by an Actor
ABOU SANGARÉ in L’Histoire de Souleymane
Youth Award
HOLY COW by Louise Courvoisier 1st film
Special Mention
NORAH by Tawfik Alzaidi 1st film
Caméra d'or
ARMAND Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel Un Certain Regard
Special Mention
MONGREL Wei Liang Chiang & You Qiao Yin
La Cinef
First Prize
SUNFLOWERS WERE THE FIRST ONES TO KNOW… Chidananda S Naik
Joint Second Prize
OUT THE WINDOW THROUGH THE WALL Asya Segalovich
THE CHAOS SHE LEFT BEHIND Nikos Kolioukos
Third Prize
BUNNYHOOD Mansi Maheshwari
The Higher Technical Commission for Sound and Images
The 2024 jury of the CST Artist-Technician prize awarded the prize to Daria d'Antonio, cinematographer on Paolo Sorrentino's Parthenope. Daria d'Antonio's images give Parthenope perfect cinematography with grace and beauty.
The 2024 jury of the CST Young technician Prize is proud to award this year's prize to Evgenia Alexandrova, cinematographer on Noémie Merlant's The Balconettes, for the quality of her photography, with its saturated colors and assertive lighting direction that transports us from comedy to genre film.
Sugar is described as "a genre-bending contemporary take on the private detective story set in Los Angeles".
Apple tv+ new noir series SUGAR by Mark Protosevich (The Cell) divided people because of its gimmick. It's L.A. Noir with a Twist. And it's a show for cinephiles with a cinephile dick and lots of classic noir films quoted directly on the screen (Kiss Me Deadly, Double Indemnity, Night of the Hunter, The Big Heat, Sweet Smell of Success, Sunset Blvd. and many many more -see the whole list here.).
Colin Farrell is great as John Sugar, a private eye roaming LA in his superb blue 1966 convertible Chevrolet Stingray Corvette, but there's more than meets the eye (sic) in this 8 parts neo-noir series (short episodes, 30 mins.) as opposed to Ripley or Fallout or The Sympathiser's 1 hour + durations-named here the series I enjoyed this year so far, plus The Gentlemen). And I was waiting for each epsidode, so I watched this every week, for a period of two months, having heard from before starting it that it had a twist, quoted by The Guardian as terrible. Well, it's quite the opposite, great and new and brave.
in True Detective season 2 -or unrecognizable (great too!) in the new Batman (waiting to see his turn as The Penguin in his own series), even aa a cameo (in Gilliam's Parnassus).
And Amy Ryan (which I recentley rediscovered in Gone Baby Gone), as an old rocker (Patti Smith, Blondie, Joan Jett style- who would believe her as that? ), was great, mature, warm.
Plus the dog is fabulous (and the cat).
And mr. James Cromwell, as an old Hollywood tycoon.
Series directed by Brazilian Fernando Meirelles (which went from his Cidade de Deus to great American TV)-5 eps. & Adam Arkin (Alan Arkin's son, an expert streaming series director- Succession,The Offer) -3 eps.
Great soundtrack too, with cool songs, some known, some obscure. Whole list here. Very nice use of Iggy's The Passenger.
“I believe movies are a conspiracy. They you set up from the time you are a little kid. They set you up to believe in everything, from ideals, and strength, and good guys.”
(Minnie in Minnie & Moskowitz by John Cassavettes-1971)*
* I mean Gena Rowlands in the film Sugar goes to see in a cinema on ep. 2
Costel Constantin a jucat în zeci de spectacole de-a lungul carierei sale, printre acestea se numără și ”O scrisoare pierdută” de I.L. Caragiale, ”Cui i-e frică de Virginia Woolf?” de Edward Albee, ”Regele Lear” de William Shakespeare sau ”Alexandru Lăpuşneanu” de Virgil Stoenescu.
A fost distins cu Premiul Gopo pentru Întreaga Carieră în 2021.
iata clipul de atunci
eu l-am vazut la National in Zbor deasupra unui cuib de cuci, unde l-a jucat pe Randle McMurphy, cu Florin Piersic in rolul indianului.
In film il tin minte din Revansa, Editie speciala, De ce trag clopotele Mitica?, Balanta.
ma intilneam cu el si il salutam, avea magazinul Nic pe Batistei si unul mai mare la Amzei.
