Bom, vou falar brevemente sobre os meus filmes favoritos de 2009. Não estão todos na lista. Eu tentei encurtar ao máximo o número de filmes. Também não se importem com a colocação deles porque eu não quis fazer essa de esse é melhor que aquele, porque essa tarefa para mim é mega difícil. Hehe…

Harry Potter e o Enigma do Príncipe – no quesito efeitos especiais é 10! Pecou um pouco na linha temporal porque você não conseguia se localizar em que ponto ele estava na história. Mas foi um dos mais fiéis ao livro, não que isso importe. Já mencionei essa relação nesse post.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine – Eu amo filmes de ação. E amo filmes de super-herói. Eu sei que é clichê, mas os antigos vícios são os que ficam. Meus super-heróis favoritos são os do X-Men: Wolverine, Gambit e Vampira. E, é claro, o Hugh Jackman é lindo, né? #prontofalei#

Anjos e Demônios – eu simplesmente adorei. Dessa vez oRon Howard fez bonito, porque O Código DaVinci chegou perto de “uma porcaria“. Efeitos especiais ótimos, Ewan McGregor no papel do camerlengo, estava divino, com o perdão do trocadilho. A história é mais fascinante do que a do Código DaVinci.

A Troca – a única coisa que eu não gostei foi o fato de ser um filme longo. Por melhor que seja o roteiro, a direção ou os atores, eu ODEIO filmes longos! 2 Horas de filme está ótimo e olhe lá! Angelina Jolie estava superbe. Acredito que a aparência dela de velha e desnutrida, na época, não precisou de muita maquiagem, porque ela realmente estava naquele estado e Senhora Jolie não está mais na flor da idade. Mas o figurino e a fotografia estão impecáveis.

Gran Torino – eu não queria ver Gran Torino. Não me animei muito com a história, só assisti depois que meu pai disse que queria ver. Adorei! Clint Eastwood é o cara! Primeiro porque ele dirigiu ótimos filmes, segundo porque ele atua muito bem, terceiro porque o cara sabe fazer bem OS DOIS. Pronto, já expliquei tudo. É tarefa obrigatória assistir esse filme, mas um aviso às moçoilas: tenham por perto uma caixa de lenços.

Watchmen – Acho que Watchmen é diferente dos outros filmes de super-heróis que nós estamos acostumados a ver. A fotografia é diferente e eu amooo. E vou encher a boca para falar da trilha sonora para dizer que a trilha sonora é ótima, porque tem Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, entre outros, além da trilha composta pelos caras do My Chemical Romance, Desolation Row.

Casamento de Rachel – o filme é meio paradão, mas tem um bom roteiro, os personagens são palpáveis. Vocês com certeza já viram pessoas como aquelas descritas no filme. Anne Hathaway é ótima em qualquer personagem que ela interpreta e acho que ela deveria fazer mais personagens como Kym.

Tá Chovendo Hambúrguer – foi uma experiência deliciosa ver hambúrguers caindo em cima de mim no cinema 3D. E o filme todo é muito divertido. Não acho que seja uma experiência a ser aproveitada apenas pelas crianças, pelos adultos também. Eu vou comprar o DVD quando sair. Amei o filme, todo colorido, do jeito que eu gosto. Aliás, eu fiz uma resenha do filme que está neste post.

O Leitor – esse é outro filme que eu não queria assistir porque achava que ia chorar rios de lágrimas. Gosto de “filmes secos”. Mas não chorei. Mas também não fui feliz porque o filme é pesado e recheado de injustiças. Fiquei meio injuriada com certas coisas que acontecem no filme mas gostei. Kate Winslet está ótima. E o pessoal da maquiagem está de parabéns! =D

Austrália - Ai, muito cuidado na hora de falar desse filme magnífico. Baz Luhrmann é meu diretor preferido. Por mais que ele só tenha dirigido 4 filmes. O cara sabe mecher com as cores e com o coração do espectador. Supera o Tim Burton – que é meu segundo diretor favorito. A história é linda. Eu e qualquer pessoa que assistir vai se apaixonar pelo menininho Nullah, interpretado pelo pequeno Brandon Walters, que tem só 7 anos. Não gostei muito da atuação da Nicole Kidman. Melhor australiano que Hugh Jackman não há. Ops! Já mencionei isso. Rsrs…

Bem, espero que vocês tenham gostado da lista. E vocês? O que acham dos filmes que eu mencionei? Quais são os favoritos de vocês? Digam nos comentários! =D

Part I is standing up next to a mountain here.

Part II is chopping it down with the edge of its hand here.

Part III is picking up the pieces to make an island here.

Part IV might even raise a little sand here.

And Part V didn’t mean to take up all of your sweet time here.

Just to clarify some potential confusion: each entry, from 30 down to Number 1, has two films listed. Only the first is on The List; the second (‘See Also’) is another fine, usually underrated film that, for me, somehow evokes the first and is worthy of at least a mention, if not an “official” placing. Plus the chance to big up the likes of Memories of Murder,  Keane, Anvil! and A Prairie Home Companion is just too good to pass up…

10)            THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY (2001-3)

Dir: Peter Jackson  Scr: Jackson, Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens

Stars: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen

Inevitable, really. Laugh if you will, at a story that’s effectively about a bunch of country bumpkin midgets trying to chuck a piece of jewellery into a fire, but the epic grandeur with which Jackson and co honour Tolkien’s beloved books is contagious. The sheer logistics in putting Middle Earth onscreen makes Frodo and Sam’s trek to Mordor seem like a stroll around the Shire. And yet almost every painstaking drop of dedication pays off: expert streamlining of the novel’s sometimes turgid prose; cutting-edge visual FX (the genius (e)motion-capture of Andy Serkis’s scene-stealing Gollum); unerring casting (McKellen and Mortensen can’t be bettered), all combine for results that improve on the original material. Not a claim those behind The Golden Compass film can make.

The series’ emergence in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 and its uncomplicated slant on fighting evil was coincidental but beneficial. But rather than ham-fisted political opportunism (hello, Avatar), Jackson stresses more fundamental human qualities – perseverance, loyalty, sacrifice – underpinning the awesome spectacle with an engaging modesty. Each chapter has its highlights – Boromir’s death in Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers’ Gollum intro, Return of the King’s Shelob showdown – and champions (for me, Fellowship’s innocence just pips Two Towers’ Helm’s Deep last stand) but taken as one beautifully crafted, emotionally enthralling complete work, it’s still the yardstick for smart popular entertainment, the fantasy blockbuster to rule them all.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Clip: The Mines of Moria

See also:

MOULIN ROUGE! (2001)

Dir: Baz Luhrmann  Scr: Luhrmann & Craig Pearce

Stars: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, Jim Broadbent

Another Antipodean unafraid to risk ridicule for his ambitions, Baz Luhrmann had already practised his grandstanding pop culture-blender theatrics with 1996’s Romeo + Juliet; Moulin Rouge! hoiks the red curtain even higher, earning its exclamation mark for daring Kidman, McGregor et al to look like dilettante lounge acts peddling pop jukebox numbers and Bollywood-style burlesque – yet, crazily, pulling it off. Anticipating Reality TV’s karaoke conveyor belt and the endless cycle of Mamma Mia!-greatest hits musicals, but with an élan they wholly lack, Luhrmann’s  relentless artifice somehow twists into a genuinely poignant love story. None of which excuses Australia, though, mate.

Moulin Rouge! ‘Your Song’:

9)            THE DARJEELING LIMITED (2007)

Dir: Wes Anderson  Scr: Anderson, Roman Coppola & Jason Schwartzman

Stars: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman

Considered by some to be Wes Anderson’s train wreck, in fact this Indian odyssey may be his finest, most personally affecting moment yet. The trio of brothers embarking on a journey to reconciliation at the behest of eldest sibling, control freak Francis (Wilson) seem at first, as surely as a locomotive follows its tracks, to be plodding after the predestined stops along a typical redemption narrative, even leaving their “baggage” behind them at the end. Which leaves ‘only’ Anderson’s dollhouse (on wheels) aesthetic, deadpan dialogue, magpie music score (from Satyajit Ray to The Kinks) and quirky sibling rivalry to entertain. Substantial pleasures, true, but certainly nothing new.

However, view the film as the failure of these consumer tourists to learn much of anything on their travels and a far richer, more conflicted voyage comes into focus. Anderson and co-writers Roman Coppola and co-star Schwartzman imagine their fractured family unit with compassion but don’t give them a free pass. It’s the futility of trying impose order, from laminated timetables, to self-justifying autobiographical novels, to pinning down an AWOL mother, onto a chaotic world, with which they have to come to terms and their endearing struggles (Wilson’s head injuries call to mind his then-alleged suicide) are hugely touching. Shooting on location opens out Anderson’s cloistered universe to a real (Third) world-at-large – particularly in the failed river rescue’s aftermath – and reaches outside his comfort zone maybe for the first time. His film’s magical, fragile lyricism proves the two can wonderfully co-exist.

The Darjeeling Limited Trailer:

See also:

SINCE OTAR LEFT (2003)

Dir: Julie Bertucelli  Scr: Bertucelli & Bernard Renucci

Stars: Esther Gorintin, Nino Khomasuridze, Dinara Drukarova

Since Otar left Georgia for a lucrative life in Paris, he’s the pride of his struggling Tbilisi-based family, particularly his octogenarian mother Eka. So when news comes through of his sudden death, Eka’s daughter Marina and her teenage daughter Ada try to hide the truth – until Eka plans a trip to France… Family deception and shifting loyalties are fertile dramatic territory for French director Julie Bertucelli. Powered by her flawless three lead actresses, notably 90-something ‘newcomer’ Gorintin, she subtly switches a tense family drama into an unexpectedly road trip, with one of the most perfectly bittersweet endings I’ve ever seen.

Since Otar Left Trailer:

8)            A.I – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (2001)

Dir & Scr: Steven Spielberg

Stars: Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O’Connor

While the other esteemed 70s ‘Movie Brats’ faded (Scorsese), retreated into digital merchandise (Lucas) or all but disappeared (Coppola), Steven Spielberg got more confident, more ambitious, more complex: better. Even ostensible popcorn flicks like Minority Report and War of the Worlds tackled dark, adult themes, while his ‘serious’ films, Munich and, above all, this dystopian elegy pushed him even further. ‘His love is real but he is not’ ran A.I’s tagline as a project originated by Stanley Kubrick, based on a Brian Aldiss short story – robot boy David’s quest to become real and regain the love of his human mother – took Spielberg’s fascination with childhood and the nuclear family into profoundly disquieting territory.

Whatever the fusion with Kubrick (Spielbrick? Kuberg?), it’s precisely the nexus between Spielberg’s wonder-filled warmth and Kubrick’s dispassionate chill that gives A.I its creepy ambivalence. Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski set up a series of glowing halos over David but the relentlessly grim narrative, with ‘mechas’ torn asunder by the mob at ‘Flesh Fairs’ and a (stunningly designed) flooded planet beyond salvation, brooks no genuine redemption for our futuristic Pinocchio. Distrust of Spielberg’s predilection for happy endings encouraged misreadings of the coda’s imagined reunion between David and his mummy Monica, when in fact it’s the bleakest possible fiction. A genuinely provocative examination of technological accountability and what makes us ‘real’, with an astonishing performance from Haley Joel Osment (in a role Kubrick didn’t believe a child actor could play), it’s Spielberg’s most beautifully desolate, achingly human film.

A.I – Artificial Intelligence Trailer:

See also:

SOUTHLAND TALES (2006)

Dir & Scr: Richard Kelly

Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott

Cinematic doomsday visions are two-a-penny nowadays but was there ever an apocalypse as wildly sprawling, discomfitingly baffling and joyously bonkers as Richard Kelly’s Southland Tales? Laughed out of its Cannes premiere, Kelly’s kitchen sink (as in ‘everything including’, not social realism) extravaganza’s modified vision is still borderline incoherent self-indulgence, but the whack-job casting, boundless ambition and snatches of sheer chutzpah – a beaten-up, beer-swilling Justin Timberlake miming The Killers’ ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’ backed by a nurse chorus line – evokes the modern insanity its creator is targeting / supplying. Not for everyone, sure, but what self-respecting cult film is?

Southland Tales Clip: “I’ve Got Soul But I’m Not a Soldier”

7)            INNOCENCE (2004)

Dir & Scr: Lucile Hadzihalilovic

Stars: Zoé Auclair, Hélène de Fougerolles, Marion Cotillard

At an isolated boarding school deep in a forest, new pupils arrive in coffins via a thrumming subterranean passage. In pigtails, virginal white uniforms and coloured ribbons to denote age and hierarchy, the little girls are sequestered away in their bucolic prison / paradise, groomed by two devoted, sad-eyed teachers in etiquette, play and ballet, eventually to perform for unseen audiences and then graduate to the world outside to… Well, let’s say we’re not in Hogwarts any more.

The single most striking feature debut I saw this decade, Lucile Hadzihalilovic’s existential faerie tale, based on a novella by Frank Spring Awakening Wedekind is a true one-off. Capable of flitting from pastoral idyll to Gothic horror, sometimes within the same scene, Innocence stakes out a ripe allegorical world for the prepubescent passage into maturity, yet suggests the universal perils for young girls growing up in a sexuality commodified and exploited world (not least by other women: “Obedience is the only path to happiness,” sighs Marion Cotillard’s opaque schoolmistress). Cynics will see the best paedophile recruitment programme since Mini Pops, but keener viewers will feel the discomfort over these young bodies in Hadzihalilovic’s unapologetically fecund mood piece as the entire point. Three successively older girls and their dealings with this oppressive, enclosed world form what narrative there is, the sense of dread at their eventual fate palpable (Hadzihalilovic’s partner is Irreversible shock merchant Gaspar Noe) – which makes the unexpected climax so appropriate, while still maintaining the film’s wondrous, bewitching enigma.

Innocence Trailer (French):

See also:

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2009)

Dir: Tomas Alfredson  Scr: John Ajvide Lindqvist

Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Pal Ragnar

For those who’d rather not sink their teeth into Twilight, True Blood or the legion of glam vampire tales clotting up screens everywhere, surely the antidote is this offbeat Swedish chiller about a bullied young boy who befriends a little girl-sized bloodsucker and the chaos unleashed by their unconventional friendship. Adapted by John Ajvide Lindqvist from his own Morrissey indebted-titled novel, director Tomas Alfredson’s brooding fantasy is a potent growing-pains parable, with some imaginatively shocking set pieces (notably the underwater pool finale) and an ambience of mournful Nordic decay, part-George Romero, part-Aki Kaurismaki. The most original horror film in years.

Let the Right One In Trailer:

6)            I FOR INDIA (2007)

Dir: Sandhya Suri

Stars: Yash Pal Suri, Sheel Suri, Vanita Suri

In a world that seems to exist only if captured on mobile phone, webcam or CCTV, let alone video, it’s hard to remember the original novelty of home movies – literally, the Super 8 film that early cine-enthusiasts used to record their lives.  Among the many things this little-known, superb documentary by British-Asian filmmaker Sandhya Suri does so adroitly is remind us of how fast and far we’ve come technologically, while the emotional ties to home and family are the same longings felt since time immemorial. Suri’s doctor father Yash Pal emigrated from India to northern England with wife Sheel in the 1960s. Swapping Super 8 dispatches with his family back in Meerut, he proceeded to document his new life and children, the stream of audio-visual ‘letters’ a cord to his roots he never could sever.

Alongside this fascinatingly candid archive material, Suri cleverly uses the patronizing TV of the time (‘The Dark Million’) to build an evolving Anglo-Indian portrait over forty-plus years. But above all, this is the story of one family’s journey from “exile” to – what? Integration? Yash’s footage says Yes – delight at snow, hospital antics – and No – casual racism, the emotional pull to return “home”. And as his children grow and seek their own places in the world, the cycle of leave-taking repeats itself with emotionally devastating results. The Suri triumph – father and daughter – is to confide with exploiting, to self-examine without self-pity and craft an intimate, intensely moving masterpiece. And make you thank God for Skype.

I For India Trailer:

See also:

CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS (2004)

Dir: Andrew Jarecki

Stars: Arnold Friedman, Elaine Friedman, David Friedman

Some people just don’t know when to turn the camera off. Meet the Friedmans, a well-to-do Long Island Jewish clan, whose lives are torn apart when father Arnold and youngest son Jesse are accused of multiple counts of child molestation – and who have hours of footage of the entire under-siege family meltdown, courtesy of elder brother David (ironically New York’s premier children’s clown). Skilfully interwoven with interviews and investigation by first-time director Andrew Jarecki, this is one of the great inside jobs of journalism; neither damning prosecution, nor staunch defence, but a surrogate bearing witness of a family coming apart.

Capturing the Friedmans Trailer:

Forgot Hamlet was on tonight.  A bit miffed to be honest as it’s the David Tennant version.  I loved the Mel Gibson version but was looking forward to seeing this.  I guess 2 hours is better than none.  I like seeing how Shakespeare is being adapted for modern viewing though have to admit that I really didn’t like Baz Luhrmann’s  Romeo & Juliet with Leonardo Di Caprio.  Whether it had anything to do with LDiC being in it or not, I don’t know.  I don’t really like him but I like Baz Luhrmann’s films.

Moulin Rouge was a treat.  I wasn’t sure about it at all to start with but it’s a great film and well worth a look if you haven’t already seen it.  OK, so I watched it for Ewan McGregor but he has the most surprisingly good voice.

Strictly Ballroom was a hoot.  It came out after Dirty Dancing if I remember rightly, and was more tongue in cheek.

I haven’t watched Australia yet but I recorded it yesterday to watch while ironing.  How can it be bad though?  Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman…already a winning combination, surely?

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

Tr Subtitle

Genre: Drama | Musical | Romance
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Imdb (7.7 Rating)

It’s 6 am, and as I usually do, even when I’m ill, I’m sitting downstairs at my office armoire in front of the computer.  It’s still dark out, of course, and only the glow of the Christmas lights and the small light above my desk are on, giving a glow that warms the room like candle-light. I slept well last night, thanks to some prescription cough syrup that contains codeine that effectively shut off my cough for a good 6 hours, the first 6 hours in a week, at least. 6 down, another 120 to catch up on…

On the desk tops around me are 4 large, old photo albums, the oldest dating back to the seventies. Within them lies one half of my heritage and history, from my mother’s side. When my grandmother began her slow journey to death several years ago, she entrusted all the family photo albums to me to avoid having her two daughters fight over them.  The motive was not one of dedication, but one of preservation, and although I balked at being placed in this position initially, I knew that in my family, it was the only option.

Looking through these weathered old photos fills me with bittersweet emotion at Christmas . As with all families, dynamics change with time.  People change, grow older, some die, some get divorced,  people get married, babies are born, and life happens. The changes are here, documented for all to see, for all time. And because of all those changes that have left my family somewhat disjointed, it has become particularly important to me as I raise my own children, to initiate and preserve whatever sense of tradition there is. We’ve started our own, and yes, even those rituals have changed over the years as our situations and family has changed. This year, it is particularly moving to see my older two really ’get’ the experience of seeing Christmas through the eyes of small children- the wonder of Christmas lights, the excitement of Santa, the eager joy for goodies that only appear once a year.  I feel blessed to be able to experience all of their collective excitement while I am so young.

But, over the years as an adult, I have also learned that family is what you make it, as life is what you make it. Life, love and family are not gifts to be taken for granted, as so many people do. Sometimes you can’t get it back once it is gone, and often you only get one chance to say what you want.

That’s why I wanted to take a special moment to thank all of you for the gifts you have given me over this last year. You’ve shared your thoughts, your opinions, your knowledge and sometimes your pain, and I appreciate every single moment. There are many of you who help me behind the scenes, with tips and information that has led to some really compelling posts and revelations, and because of that, I consider this blog to be a group effort. Each of you makes this possible. I’ve always strived to be true to myself here on these pages, and true to all of you, in the sharing of knowledge and information, and ask the same from all of you.  I remember  reading somewhere that fact and truth are seperate, and occasionally the facts will obscur the truth. That certainly has proven to be true on many stories.

 It’s an amazing world, isn’t it ? It has been said thay we live in a time where technology has exceeded our humanity,but I disagree.

It is because of technology that - although we are all separated by space , time and circumstance – all of you, and I, are able to gather here to meet beyond those  once difficult barriers. And it is also because of this technology that we are joined  to share our pains, losses and joys and  that we have once again begun to appreciate the humanity in others. In that respect,i t is not unreal to imagine us a global family, all of you and I. We are, and will continue to be the best of what we have to offer others. And I offer you the best of my heart and mind.

I wish each and every one of you the very best Christmas , and I hope you all enjoy the holiday in the best way you can. May you find the true spirit of purpose and faith in your heart, whatever that may be for you. 

In that spirit, here is my gift to all of you:  I found the original video of Baz Lurmann reciting Everybody’s Free ( To wear Sunscreen), on Youtube. I can’t think of a better way to find some perspective on what is truly important at Christmas.

  Enjoy, and Merry Christmas everyone! You make make it all worthwhile…

One of the best muscial movies of all times… We are getting pretty nostalgic at the end of the year here at the Styletastic camp.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118012680.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&ref=vertfilm

Mel Gibson will direct and Leonardo DiCaprio will star in an untitled period drama set in the world of Viking culture. William Monahan is writing the script.

Leonardo DiCaprio already has a list of 26 in development’s listed on IMDb and that’s not including the 6 releases on the top of his filmography.  I highly doubt half of those films will come out.  I think it is much more likely this will, Leonardo DiCaprio likes to work with good directors and Mel Gibson is one of them.   Leonardo has worked with a range of directors that include Sam Mendes, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Edward Zwick, Woody Allen, James Cameron, Baz Luhrmann, Lasse Halstrom, Danny Boyle, Sam Raimi, Chris Nolan, and who could forget Martin Scorsese.  It’s obvious to see that he gets around and this is quite a list of filmmakers… probably one of the better lists of directors an actor has worked with that I have ever seen.  So I would be very surprised if this project doesn’t get made, and i’m excited to see it.  As long as it doesn’t get in the way of another one of his Scorsese projects.

How could i forget about Mel Gibson?  It seems like the man has disappeared since the recent publicity outburst against his prejudices, but i don’t care about all that.  The man is a good, oscar winning, filmmaker who hasn’t done something since his 2006 feature Apocalypto.  It’s nice to see him back, not only acting in the upcoming Edge of Darkness, but with an actual feature he’s directing.  The man has shown promise in the few films he’s made over the last 17 years as a director.  So how could I not be excited for his upcoming Viking film starring Leonardo DiCaprio?  I’m sure it’s gonna turn out great.

Fans, Media and Public a like descended on the Regent theatre in Melbourne over the last few nights to honor and acknowledge some of the Australia’s Film and Television’s best known talent. With a star studded line up that included big names such as Anthony Lapaglia, Brandon Walters, Toni Collette, Baz Luhrmann, Bryan Brown, Sigrid Thornton, Frances O’Conner and Vanessa Amarossi which only names a few that attended over the two nights.

Canon EOS-10D with 70-200mm, 70mm @ F/4.0, 1/160sec

Canon EOS-10D with 70-200mm, 103mm @ F/4.0, 1/160sec

Canon EOS-10D with 70-200mm, 79mm @ F/4.0, 1/160sec

All in all the red carpet was alight with the flashes of camera’s, trails of cables to film cameras and journalists all wanting to get that vital photo, footage, and if possible a hint on  who would get what award. With out a doubt the whole experience over the two nights was insane, and I look forward to doing again next year, with the hopes that I will have access to shoot more then just the red carpet. Some interesting stats were given to me when I picked up the media kit on the Friday:

170 square metres of red carpet will be rolled out for the stars and then to add to that 92m of fencing will enclose the red carpet area at the Regent Theatre. The red carpet will take some serious beating as its quoted that 1,000 pairs of heels will walk the red carpet over the two nights. Once inside  8000 drinks will be served over the two nights with include 4000 straws, then lets not forget to mention the wine, 960 bottles of Sandalford Margaret River Range Classic White and 960 Sandalford Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon will be served and then to end the night 25 chefs will prepare the supper at the after party. And then to record those who arrive 200 media will line the red carpet (Yes I am apart of that statistic)

Further images can be found in our Samsung Mobile AFI 2009 Awards Gallery Further more stay tuned to Onya Magazine with their writeup of the nights.

Until the next photographic adventure – Thats all for now: Brett Robson – Freelance Media Photographer

Fanboys – I thought this movie was really funny.  The basic idea is that a group of friends try to sneak into George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch to steal a print of The Phantom Menace before it was supposed to come out because one the friends was going to die.  That’s a great setup.  It’s too bad that The Phantom Menace was such a horrible movie.

Shia Labeouf – he so bad in everything that  he ruins movies he sees.

Transformers 2 – I thought the action was pretty good.  I like explosions.  But everything else (the dialog, the characters, the plot) seemed like it was written by a slow 13 year old.

Moulin Rouge (the Baz Luhrmann version) – a movie that teaches you to hate movies.

Do you wear perfume? If you’ve read this blog before then you will see that I do (everyday) and that I’m slighty obsessed with smelling good. I’ve worn perfume everyday for at least the last decade and I think that I will continue to do so. My approach to perfume is a bit scattered and disorganised in that I’ve never really stuck to one scent or brand for more than two bottles (I’m more loyal to shampoo, hair dye and bath foam). This is partly because I am bought perfume as gifts but also because I am seduced by excellent perfume marketing.

Marc Jacob’s Lola Bottle (with the lovely lid) The ad featuring Karlie Kloss

Again, if you’ve read this blog before you’ll have seen the obsession with Lola by Marc Jacobs and that I own the perfume, perfume ring, shower gel and body lotion. It is the first time that I have really thought about sticking to this brand and even buying the massive bottle. And its in no small part because of the really cool bottle lid, advert and website. The added extras to the fragrance make it something that I want to keep on wearing, a trend that I am sure that Chanel No. 5 (whose adverts have featured Audrey Tautou on the Orient Express and Nicole Kidman directed by Baz Luhrmann) Viktor and Rolf’s Eau Mega (with adverts featuring Naomi Watts); Thierry Mugler’s Angel (also featuring Naomi Watts and an amazing bottle), or Dior’s J’ai Adore Dior (with Charlize Theron) have all noticed. I’m not saying that we don’t smell the perfumes first but that the added extras of advertising and bottles help.

Chanel No. 5 Eau Mega Angel j’adore Dior

No longer do most women buy perfume from perfumier’s, now it is from the big fashion houses. I am sure that most designers are glad that Coco Chanel began the trend for fashion designers making scents, as the turnover for perfume is huge as so many of us want a small affordable piece of the designer lifestyle. I do and I smell good. Of roses some may say…

Longtime readers will know that I’m a fiend for lists the way Sonny Crockett is a fiend for mojitos. Don’t believe me? Check out this blurry video:

My Best of 2009 movie list has been percolating for a while now, with only a few contenders for best or worst film to come before I shut things down at the end of December (oh yes, I won’t stop watching until I’m sure I have it right). Meanwhile, even though I’m uncomfortable with the idea of this decade being 1999-2009, I’ve been pondering my own best of the decade list. This should be something to be excited about, and yet until last week I just couldn’t muster any enthusiasm for it. When I search my soul I come to the uncomfortable but inescapable conclusion that it’s because any list I would come up with would both be horribly incomplete and would betray my populist taste. What makes me more uncomfortable than that is realising that such an admission makes me uncomfortable at all.

Any list I could make for this decade is already off to a bad start when I admit that I’ve yet to see many of the best reviewed and most beloved movies of recent times. The gaps in my viewing history include Cristian Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Syndromes and a Century, Edward Yang’s Yi Yi, Andrey Zvyagintsev’s The Return, and anything by Wong Kar Wai, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, or the Dardennes. I’ve also only seen a couple of (terrific) movies by Claire Denis and a single, memorable one by Michael Haneke. Some film buff I am. This short list is merely the tip of the iceberg. According to this list, I might as well not consider myself a film lover at all, as I’m not looking for movie excellence in the right places (though the entire list is invalidated by the praise for Woody Allen’s technically disastrous and intellectually vapid Cassandra’s Dream: surely one of the ten worst films of the decade).

All of that shame over my taste is wrapped up in feelings of mortification over class and intellectualism and authenticity and so many other things. I know that none of it is important but the expression of some kind of discernment in my opinion helps to legitimise my amateur film criticism, something I take very seriously even when I talk about things that readers might consider beneath contempt (my defence of Michael Bay, for instance, or my enthusiasm for The Dark Knight). Therefore it scares me to openly admit that I’m a sucker for a well-choreographed action scene with some pretty explosions included. No one wants to admit to enjoying those movies without losing their credibility, so why should I be the one to stick my neck out?

Maybe it’s time to get over those silly fears and say it loud: I’m a fan of populist cinema. Yes, I can appreciate works of cinematic art on many levels, though perhaps I might have greater difficulty expressing that appreciation or placing those works in context with works by other artists. However, when I talk about how much I love Joel Silver movies of the 80s and 90s, or Bruckheimer’s output in the late 90s to the current day, I’m on firmer ground. Perhaps this is why Shades of Caruso concentrates on those movies: it’s safer to talk about the joy I get from seeing a movie by the Wachowski Siblings than it is to attempt to unpick the works of Abbas Kiarostami. Any list I would make for the past decade would skew heavily towards populist movies, partially because most of the movies I’ve seen were major releases by Western writers and directors, but also because these are the movies that speak directly to me.

It was upon staring at that shame, and the shame I feel for having that shame, that I said bollocks to it and compiled this list. I hereby reject that shame, expel it from my soul, and embrace the movies that filled my soul with joy or heart-ache. The construction of this list is helped by the clear cut-off point in my past: 1999 was the year I moved out of my hometown for the second time and headed to London, where I found enough time and opportunity to attend more movies. As a result my enthusiasm increased, until I had no choice but to start a blog to use as a pressure valve for this energy. I’ve seen hundreds of movies in that time, and so I expect this list to be incomplete and filled with egregious misses, plus some movies have been missed off (Pan’s Labyrinth) or put low on the list (No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood) because I’ve only seen them once. I’ll need to revisit them with a clear head, free of hype, to do them justice.

One more caveat: I’ve not included films from this year. I know, this seems to make the whole process pointless, but I like to have at least a little gap between seeing a movie and putting it in a list this big. The End-Of-Year lists are made with the proviso that I understand how my opinion will change over time, and watching films right up until Dec 31st means I will be cramming in movies even though my opinion of them has yet to settle. Who knows whether time will be kind to these movies or not. I’ve certainly been surprised with how some movies I initially loved have dropped out of my favour, and others that I enjoyed well enough on first viewing are not breaking into the top fifty. For the record, at least three from my forthcoming 2009 list would definitely qualify for inclusion here, but I don’t want to add them now as the year has yet to finish, and I’m hoping two or three more will qualify. Perhaps when I’ve finished compiling my 2009 lists, I will write an addendum explaining where they would go in this list.

And so, here is the first part of my list of the best 106 movies of the period 1999-2008. Why 106? Because I just couldn’t leave the last six movies off without writing a little bit about them, as I enjoyed them greatly and felt they would never in a million years get any list love otherwise. As this post has already run on, I’ll only list the first 16 here, and the next 90 films will be revealed as the week progresses. Yes yes, there are simpler ways of doing this, but anyone who knows me will understand that when there is an easy way and a hard way to do anything, I will ignore both and then do something completely self-indulgent that makes a mockery of my original goal. Just play along. I’ve kept my explanations for why I love these movies as short as I can. I hope I’ve lauded a secret favourite of yours, dear reader, one that has been snubbed by every critic in the land.

Honorary Bad Movie Inclusion — The Room

It is quite simply the worst movie ever made, but its rewatch value, its quotability, and the fearless depiction of the dreadful inner life of its emotionally immature writer and director make it almost infinitely fascinating. Its inclusion here is no reflection of its quality, but of the hold it has over anyone who watches it. It’s a true curio.

106. Avalon

After leaving a screening of Avalon, my viewing companion commented that there is good boring and bad boring, and this was a perfect example of the former. Starkly beautiful and glacially paced, Mamoru Oshii’s ode to the power of gaming predicts a future where our desire to transcend our mundane world will drive us to abandon it.

105. Kung Fu Hustle

What made me love Stephen Chow’s madcap martial arts comedy wasn’t the expertly choreographed actions scenes, great though they were. Neither was it the broad humour, though I enjoyed that too. The best thing about it was how the wacky tone morphed into effective dramatic energy. At first you laugh at the caricatures, but by the final act you fear for their safety.

104. The Mothman Prophecies

Poorly marketed as a bog-standard X-Files-esque alien abduction flick, this dread-soaked thriller is more interested in dramatising our insignificance in the face of supernatural forces that move us around like game pieces. Strong performances and meticulous direction from Mark Pellington help to ground the potentially silly project.

103. Moulin Rouge

At his worst, Baz Luhrmann is a vulgar artiste who has zero impulse control, but when his approach works, it can wrench your heart open. This fearlessly sincere musical is the most successful example of the Luhrman effect. Though many have resisted its garish onslaught, my cynicism melted twenty minutes in and stayed that way.

102. The Rundown (aka Welcome To The Jungle)

What should have been the gateway drug to the paradise that is Loving The Rock instead faltered at the box office, but who cares? For its sheer exuberance and demented asides — not to mention a totally hatstand performance by Christopher Walken — this Midnight Sprint shall be remembered and adored.

101. Solaris

Though Steven Soderbergh’s adaptation of Stanislav Lem’s SF classic fails to capture the essence of that novel (as does the previous version by Andrei Tarkovsky), the result explores equally interesting philosophical questions. Clooney excels as a bereaved astronaut forced to confront living memories of his dead wife, a celestial manifestation distorted by his yearning and twisted perceptions of reality.

100. Mushishi

Katsuhiro Otomo’s live-action adaptation of Yuki Urushibara’s manga is a curious beast. Though overlong, the tale of Mushi master Ginko’s journey through a polluted and hostile pastoral land is a feast for the eyes. The gloomy atmospherics and cascade of ideas more than make up for any flaws.

99. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Kevin Smith’s low-budget comedies often fail to fly thanks to their self-imposed parochial restrictions. His ambitious and controversial religious satire Dogma was an improvement upon those early movies but this self-lacerating road-movie was the one that really worked, and well enough to finally make me appreciate his scatological shtick.

98. I Heart Huckabees

It achieved an awful notoriety as the movie where director David O. Russell lost his mind on set and bollocked Lily Tomlin, but I Heart Huckabees was also a disorienting blend of philosophy and Dada-esque nonsense, often incomprehensible but almost always entertaining. However, unlike many chaotic cult movies (ahem, Richard Kelly), this actually made sense if you unfocused your brain while watching.

97. Shanghai Knights

Shanghai Noon was fun, and the pairing of Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson was more successful than the tiresome team-up of Chan and Chris Tucker in the Rush Hour movies. The London-set sequel was a massive improvement, mostly because helmer David Dobkin was the only US director who seemed willing to spend time with Chan to create fights almost as complex and funny as his classic Hong Kong work.

96. Michael Clayton

Clooney again in full force, this time as a corporate fixer who gets messed around once too often. What could have been a rote corporate thriller instead becomes a fascinating character study, one where terrible decisions are made in good faith, and good decisions happen for the wrong reasons. It also propelled Tilda Swinton into stardom: for this I am eternally grateful.

95. Mulholland Drive

Is it poor form to admit that upon first viewing I didn’t understand anything about David Lynch’s tinsel-town nightmare? All that I knew was that the final scene was almost unwatchably terrifying. Days later, the mood of dread still lingered. That residual horror — and Naomi Watts’ excellent star-making performance — is enough to justify inclusion on this list.

94. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Easy to forget how big an impact this movie had on first release. Even though the final installment of the trilogy ripped all of the fun from the franchise, the first is still a near-perfect swashbuckler. The first appearance of Captain Jack Sparrow is a contender for Best Entrance of the Decade.

93. The Prestige

Initially the blatantly obvious “twist” at the end of Christopher Nolan’s adaptation soured an experience that had been extremely pleasurable. Upon repeated viewings, it becomes apparent that the Transported Man trick is not the point of the movie. Instead, Nolan is more interested in painting a picture of a man driven to unthinkable acts because of his thirst for revenge. Compared to dreadful fallout of that psychological damage, magic is nothing.

92. The Chronicles of Riddick

Many choose to focus on the flaws and hubris of David Twohy’s Space-Conan-meets-Lord-of-the-Rings hybrid, but that occasionally inspired vision – and that amazing twist ending — are enough to justify the entire ambitious, galaxy-hopping project. Another film where the cult grows every year, with the prospect of a continuation of the saga now tantalisingly close.

91. eXistenZ

Arriving between the reality-warping brain food of Alex Proyas’ Dark City and The Wachowski’s Matrix, Cronenberg’s only self-scripted film of the decade was greeted with an initial burst of excitement and then seemed to be forgotten. A shame. It’s his most playful movie since Naked Lunch, skipping gleefully between levels of reality and throwing in traditionally unpleasant body horror with abandon.

Okay, that’s enough for now. Keep checking back to see more updates as the week progresses.

yes, please.

check out today’s ‘living in’ on Design Sponge…

Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet will always be one of my favorites. Check out the original post here.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5

Genre: Adventure | Drama | History | Romance | War | Western
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Imdb (6.9 Rating)

Well this is it then, my 100th post and as promised here are the 100 songs currently in my top 10 (ok I know that sounds stupid, but regular readers will understand!) If I were to do this again say for the 200th post there would be quite a few differences. This list is in no particular order, although Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” probably still remains my most favourite song ever! I would love to see your comments on the list; is there anything you really like or really don’t like on here, is there anything really embarrassing perhaps. What is your top 10 or top 100? Incidentally I can already think of many more that didn’t make the cut!

As usual you will find the usual trivia content or comment along with the songs

No Woman No Cry        Bob Marley – Obviously I love this song but it has to be the live version and then preferably the one from the 1975 London Lyceum concerts. That album was called simply ‘Live’ and I wore out my vinyl copy completely

Police And Thieves        Junior Murvin – A classic reggae song, well covered by the Clash. Sadly the song is still all too pertinent today

Licking Stick     Desmond Dekker – Fun reggae at it’s best from the late great Mr Dacres

Cottage In Negril           Tyrone Taylor – Don’t ask me why but this is probably one of my favourite reggae songs ever. It makes me want to go to Negril

Rebel, Rebel     David Bowie – The first single from the wonderful Diamond Dogs album. A glorious Rolling Stones pastiche on which, unusually, Mr Bowie plays lead guitar

Heroes  David Bowie – Inspirational and also a song that I will have played at my funeral in 50 years. You should check out the versions he recorded in both French and German

Strawberry Letter 23       Brothers Johnson – Regular readers will know just how much I love this song. ‘Nuff said

I Want You Back           Jackson 5 - That opening piano run still sends shivers down my spine and frankly how can you not want to dance to this

Superstition      Stevie Wonder – Stevie rocks out more than many on this one which was originally written for Jeff Beck. More than enough to forgive Mr Wonder for “I Just Called To Say I Love You”

White Man In The Hammersmith Palais    Clash – In my humble opinion the finest song by the finest band ever!

London Calling  Clash – If my memory serves me well this is the only Clash song ever to feature in a Bond movie

Complete Control          Clash – A venomous attack on CBS, far more venomous than the Sex Pistols “EMI” in my view

Don’t Let Me Down        Beatles – My favourite Fab Four song which in fact was only a B Side! Also a song that I sing very badly at full volume when I’m drunk

Revolution        Beatles – Another moptops classic that I also sing very badly whilst under the influence of alcohol

Instant Karma    John Lennon – Karma is a powerful thing and Instant Karma is a powerful song!

Do Anything You Wanna Do      Eddie And The Hot Rods – In my teens this was probably one of the most meaningful and uplifting songs I knew. Even at the old age of 50 it still does it for me

Gary Gilmore’s Eyes      Adverts – For subject matter alone this would be in the top 100. Mr Gilmore was executed in the US in the mid 70s and he donated his eyes to an anonymous someone. That someone is the subject of the song!

Theme From A Summer Place    Percy Faith Orchestra – You might say that this is one of my guilty pleasures, well maybe, but it is a beautiful piece of music. It was also used to great effect in the TV adaptation of Stephen King’s Rose Red

Wild Is The Wind           David Bowie – Not a Bowie original but one written for a 50s movie, perhaps more of a torch song and one of Bowie’s best ever cover versions. It certainly makes up for his bloody awful cover of the Beach Boys “God Only Knows” in the 80s

What’s Going On?         Marvin Gaye – Great song from a great album, such a shame that it still rings true after nearly 40 years

September        Earth, Wind And Fire – E, W & F at their best, probably my favourite Saturday night song

God Save The Queen    Sex Pistols – Fear and conspiracy kept this from the number one spot in the Queens Silver Jubilee week in 1977. For me this is a major contender for the UK’s new national anthem!

Public Image     Public Image Limited – So many people thought that Lydon would do nothing after the Pistols, how very wrong they were.

Suspicious Minds          Elvis Presley – Elvis gets his mojo back after all those years of shit movie songs

She’s Gone    Hall & Oates – Taken from the Abandoned Luncheonette album, one of the saddest songs I know. I always play this when I’m in a melancholy mood. I also believe that Daryl Hall has the finest white soul voice in history. And what the bloody hell is a luncheonette?

Mack The Knife   Bobby Darin – I love story songs and this is easily one of the best. You have to tap your feet and click your fingers to this don’t you?

Karma Police    Radiohead – Probably the best band in the world today

Bernadette        Four Tops – Levi Stubbs RIP, I believe Mr Stubbs was the finest soul singer there ever was and ever will be. is this the only song about a Bernadette too?

Still Water (Love)           Four Tops – Relaxing, powerful, beautiful, ethereal, there simply aren’t enough words to describe this gorgeous song

Into My Arms    Nick Cave – As love songs go this might be quite strange but it is undoubtedly beautiful too

Talk Show Host    Radiohead - My favourite song from the ‘Head by a long way. just a B Side and als on the soundtrack of Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Romeo And Juliet’ movie

Take Me Girl I’m Ready  Junior Walker – My favourite ever juke box record. In the late 70s this was number 77A on the jukebox in the Windmill pub in Ruislip

Woman To Woman        Shirley Brown – A real torch song, sets the hairs on the back of my neck on end

If Loving You Is Wrong   Millie Jackson – and the classic soul torch diva has to be Ms Jackson. I saw her live at the Victoria Apollo in the 70s

Ms Jackson      Outkast - Talking of Ms Jackson (although this is actually about Erykah Badu’s Mum) here is my favourite Outkast song. Don’t you think it sounds a little reminiscent of ‘Strawberry Letter 23′?

I Know What I like (In Your Wardrobe)     Genesis – Personally I think Genesis went downhill after Peter Gabriel left, what do you think? But this Gabriel era song is just sublime and what a fantastic title too

Metal Guru        T Rex – A song I used to mime to with my tennis racquet as a teenage wannabe rock star. So why did I go on to become a bloody accountant?

One Nation Under A Groove       Funkadelic - The ultimate dance song. I saw them live with companion band Parliament in 1978 at the Hammersmith Odeon. Still one of the best concerts I have ever seen

I Can See Clearly Now   Johnny Nash – This man has the voice of an angel, why are so few of his albums available on CD. Definitely one of my heroes, I reckon I would be lost for words if I met him

There Are More Questions Than Answers            Johnny Nash – A Texan singer that sings reggae? it shouldn’t work should it? But it does doesn’t it?

Solsbury Hill     Peter Gabriel – If I ever feel a bit down this is the song I play to pull myself back up. Written about his decision to leave Genesis just before they went towards mega stardom

I Was Watching You      Rosanne Cash – Regular readers will know that I have mentioned this song before. I do cry most times I listen to it and although it was released after his death it makes me think of my Dad

Hurt      Johnny Cash – Mr Cash covers a Trent Reznor off of the Nine Inch Nails song. You must be pretty hard if this doesn’t make you at least a tad emotional

The Man Who Sold The World    Lulu – One of the better covers of a Bowie song. If their respective labels had sanctioned it Mr Bowie was ready to record a whole album with Lulu. Sadly that didn’t happen

All The Young Dudes     Mott The Hoople – The greatest Bowie cover, in fact one of his greatest songs and he simply gave it to Mott!

Wishing Well     Free – Forget all the stuff he’s done with Queen, this was one of Paul Rodgers finest vocal performances

You Get What You Give        New Radicals – One of the most short-lived bands of the 90s, but what a legacy. Gregg Alexander also wrote (or co wrote) Ronan Keating’s ‘Life Is A Rollercoaster’ which I kind of like!

A Town Called Malice    Jam – Paul Weller. probably the greatest English rock star of his generation. I saw him live at the MEN in Manchester last year and he is even better in concert. Indeed he played this Jam classic too

The Look Of Love         ABC – For all my criticism of the 80s this song and the album it comes from (The Lexicon Of Love) is one of my favourites. Produced by the great Trevor Horn

Sheena Is A Punk Rocker          Ramones - 1, 2, 3, 4 and off da bruvvers go. Hey Ho Let’s Go is there really anything else to say?

Wuthering Heights         Kate Bush – Oh Kate my Lionheart, I love this woman and want to have her babies

The Man With The Child In His Eyes        Kate Bush – OK maybe I wouldn’t really do the male pregnancy thing with Kate, but she is definitely my favourite female singer

5.15      Who – My favourite song from the Who from my favourite of their albums, the classic ‘Quadraphenia’

Sugar Sugar      Archies – This was the first single I ever bought. I got it from Uxbridge market in 1969

Suedehead       Morrissey – For me Stephen can be a bit hit or miss but this is definitely on the hit side

William It Was Really Nothing     Smiths – How could I not include the Smiths in this list and yes I am being just a tad egotistical with this choice

New Years Day  U2 – The piano refrain is haunting in a rock kind of way. Also more ego coming out here too, my birthday is on new years day!

Justified And Ancient    KLF and Tammy Wynette - There will never be anyone like the KLF. Were they a band or just art terrorists? Who knows and frankly who cares when they left songs and collaborations like this behind!

You Got The Love         The Source Featuring Candi Staton – Another uplifting song, although personally I tend to ignore the religious aspects! Recently Florence And The Machine have recorded a great cover of this song

Gimme Shelter  Rolling Stones – For me this song, especially the riff, evokes the 60s

It’s Only Rock N Roll     Rolling Stones – Now this is another I used to mime to as a teenager, well ok I still do! It might not be a pretty sight but I love doing it!

Hurricane          Bob Dylan – Dylan at his best, when riled or when he gets political he is untouchable. This song was about the plight of wrongly imprisoned boxer Reuben Carter

You Wear It Well            Rod Stewart – Most people I know would opt for Maggie May from his early 70s hits, I always preferred this one. Possibly even worth forgiving him for the awful ‘Baby Jane’ for

Wish You Were Here        Pink Floyd – One of the Floyd’s greatest and another song that gets me just a little emotional

You Can Make Me Dance Sing Or Anything        Rod Stewart And The Faces – I bet you can’t not dance to this. It’s one of the last songs the Faces recorded before Ron Wood and Rod the Mod left. It shows them going in a direction which I think would have been so good

Itchycoo Park    Small Faces – I actually remember hearing this on the radio as a kid. I didn’t have a clue what the lyrics were about then and I don’t think I’m much wiser now! Don’t go near the atrocious cover version by M People

Lowdown          Boz Scaggs - Taken from the excellent Silk Degrees album from 1976 and the track I use to soundcheck any new hi-fi equipment even now

I’m Your Puppet            James And Bobby Purify – This was actually a rerecording of their original 60s song. Guilty pleasure or great soul song? I’ll let you decide, but either way I love it!

Olympian          Gene – probably the best of the ‘Britpop’ bands, well in my opinion anyway. Sadly the band are no longer around, but I did manage to see them three times while they were. Another song that I will have played at my funeral in the very distant future too

Born To Run      Bruce Springsteen – I was always going to include something from the Boss and it was always going to be this song

Lose Yourself   Eminem - In my opinion Mr Mathers is the greatest rapper, although Jay Z does push him close

Too Late To Turn Back Now       Cornelius Brothers And Sister Rose – It took me more than 20 years to track down this song and now when I listen to it I reckon it is definitely a guilty pleasure

Stay Together   Suede – The most Bowie influenced of the 90s British bands. The combination of Brett Anderson’s lyrics and vocals along with Bernard Butler’s guitar is truly awesome

Skin Trade        Duran Duran - A Duran Duran song in my top 100? Yeah that surprised me too

1999     Prince – I love a lot of Prince’s stuff, but this remains a great party track

Susan’s House  Eels – Mark Everett is a superb songwriter and this for me is one of his best. His autobiography is bloody good too

Take A Look Around      Temptations – A terrific Norman Whitfield production and that intro still blows me away!

Let’s Get It On   Marvin Gaye – This great song has recently been sullied by it’s use to advertise pizzas on UK TV (I think it might have been Dominoes) But it still remains a great song for seduction and lurve

The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage          Smokey Robinson And The Miracles – Bob Dylan once described Smokey as the worlds greatest living poet. Listen to this song and you can see why!

Gimme A Little Sign       Brenton Wood – A great example of 60s soul and the song I sing most in the shower (along with the Monkees ‘I’m A Believer’)

The Love You Save       Jackson 5 – Another classic written for the boys by the Motown house writers billed as the Corporation

Staggerlee        Lloyd Price – Another story song and I reckon the best version by far

Once In A Lifetime         Talking Heads – The ‘Heads finest moment for me. This song has everything and makes me happy everytime I hear it

Pyjamarama      Roxy Music – Roxy before they became bland and frankly shit!

Song 2    Blur – Funny isn’t how the songs with barely any lyrics often sound so good. Whoo Hoo indeed!

Double Barrel    Dave And Ansel Collins – Another slice of superb reggae. For years I thought these guys were brothers, they’re not. Actually it’s Ansel Collins and Dave Barker.

Sorted For E’s And Whizz          Pulp – Jarvis Cocker is a lyrical genius and this is Pulp’s best example of his way with words

Spinning Around           Kylie Minogue – OK so there is a certain appeal to the gold hot pants, but as modern disco goes this is brilliant. Gotta love Kylie!

Love Rollercoaster        Ohio Players – One of my favourite funk songs, expertly covered by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers but it wasn’t a patch on the original

Hey Hey My My        Neil Young – A great song and one which found a degree of infamy as it was quoted in Kurt Cobain’s suicide note

Grace     Jeff Buckley – How big a star would he have been had he lived? Probably one og=f the biggest I think

Satellite Of Love           Lou Reed – Taken from the Transformer album which was produced by Bowie and Mick Ronson. Listen carefully and you’ll hear Bowie on backing vocals

Hey Ya      Outkast – The ultimate party record of recent times, a great video too

Since I Left You            Avalanches – Aussie DJs/ dance act, I can’t believe that this wasn’t a bigger hit

Seven Nation Army        White Stripes – Jack White has recently been named man of the decade by some UK publications, perhaps with some justification. The riff alone on this is worth the top 100

White Horses      Jacky – OK clearly this theme from a 60s TV show (strangely enough it was called White Horses) is very much a guilty pleasure but I really love it. I think Jacky’s only other hit was ‘Rupert The Bear’

D’Yer Make ‘Er  Led Zeppelin – Taken from Houses Of The Holy and in many peoples opinion Zep’s worst song. But I like to be different and this piece of cod reggae is wonderfully irreverent

Wild Wood        Paul Weller – England’s finest living rock star perhaps? Well after Mr Bowie anyway

Stay With Me    Lorraine Ellison – How much emotion can you squeeze into a song, not much more than Lorraine Ellison does in fact. Ignore the David Essex cover of this song at all costs!

Young Americans    David Bowie – What he himself described as plastic soul and one of the songs I can recite the whole lyric of

Uma das melhores obras dos últimos tempos foi praticamente ignorada pela academia em 2002

Por Rodrigo Gianesi

Eu, particularmente, não gostava muito de musicais até assistir “Moulin Rouge – Amor em Vermelho”. O filme de Baz Luhrmann mudou completamente meu conceito sobre musicais e me deixou mais aberto para esse tipo de filme, que passei a adorar. O filme conta uma das mais belas histórias de amor já vistas no cinema, foge completamente do que se espera de um filme hollywoodiano, com um roteiro quase revolucionário, longe da intenção de agradar a grande massa. O musical foi completamente injustiçado pela Academia no Oscar de 2002, ganhando apenas o prêmio de melhor direção de arte e de melhor figurino. Perdeu o prêmio de melhor filme para “Uma Mente Brilhante”, filme mais fácil de ser “digerido” pela grande massa por ser mais convencional e conservador, e nem sequer concorreu à melhor trilha sonora, canção original (uma triste injustiça com a maravilhosa “Come What May”) e direção.

"Spetacular, Spetacular"

“Moulin Rouge” conta a história de Christian (Ewan McGregor), um poeta boêmio que acredita, acima de tudo, no amor. O poeta se apaixona por Satine (Nicole Kidman), a mais bela cortesã do Moulin Rouge, um clube noturno e bordel de Paris. Como qualquer boa história amor que se preze, os dois enfrentam obstáculos para poderem ficar juntos. Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent), dono do Moulin Rouge, recebe o patrocínio de um duque (Richard Roxburgh) para produzir uma peça teatral no clube (“Spetacular, Spetacular“, escrita por Christian e estrelada por Satine). A condição que o duque impõe, porém, é que Satine seja dele, e apenas dele. Caso contrário, a propriedade do bordel passaria para o Duque. Com esses empecilhos, Christian e Satine têm de esconder seu romance, genialmente inserido disfarçadamente na peça em questão.

Mesmo com o grande número de músicas no filme, elas não o tornam cansativo, como acontece com muitos musicais. A grande sacada de Luhrmann foi de utilizar obras que variam entre músicas atuais e obras mais antigas ao invés de apenas compor novas canções, com exceção de poucas, como a já mencionada “Come What May”.

Química entre Nicole Kidman e Ewan McGregor é perfeita

A sintonia entre McGregor e Nicole Kidman é inexplicável. Em nenhuma cena a relação dos dois parece forçada ou piegas. As cenas do casal são muito naturais, apesar da intensidade dos sentimentos envolvidos nelas. Grande destaque para a maravilhosa (e triste) cena final do filme. A frase de Christian, “Obrigado por me curar da minha ridícula obsessão pelo amor”, dirigida à Satine, deitada no chão, rebaixada e chorando, arrepia até as pessoas mais insensíveis.

Moulin Rouge! – Amor em Vermelho (Moulin Rouge!): 2001, Austrália, EUA. Direção: Baz Luhrmann. Elenco: Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman, Jim Broadbent, Richard Roxburgh. Roteiro: Baz Luhrmann e Craig Pearce. Duração: 127 min.

Notas:

Rodrigo Gianesi [10] Ronnie Romanini [10]

Média parcial: [10]

We love this movie.

Si, tal vez ya lo hayan visto en muchos otros lados. Lo cierto es que este video es muy hermoso, nos da consejos que bien deberíamos tomar todos. Esta muy bien narrado y escrito mucho mejor!

Siempre me llamó la atención este video precisamente por eso: por lo bien escrito que estaba. Siempre pensé en la persona que lo pudo haber escrito y por qué lo habría hecho. Pues el enigma esta resuelto!

Originalmente fue escrito por la columnista Mary Schimch para el Chicago Tribune, el 1 de Junio de 1997 y titulado “Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young”. Es un ensayo en el cual plantea lo que ella diría si le piden dar un mensaje a la juventud.

En 1998 el director de cine australiano Baz Luhrmann creó una versión musical del ensayo, convirtiéndose en un éxito de la época. Mas adelante la agencia de publicidad brasilera DM9DDB convirtió la canción en un videoclip muy emotivo, y es el que actualmente pueden ver.

Fue lanzado originalmente con el título de Everybody’s free (to wear sunscreen).

Sin mas que agregar, aquí el video en cuestón. 7:12 minutos que valen MUCHO la pena. A veces es momento de hacer un alto en el camino y pensar en nosotros, nuestro bienestar y lo que hemos dejado de hacer para poder amar y compartir con los nuestros.

Buen inicio de semana a todos!

Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman get romantic under a big Australian sky.

(20^th Century Fox) Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Brandon Walters, David Wenham, Jack Thompson, Bryan Brown, David Gulpilil. Directed by Baz Luhrmann

The land down under is equal parts mystery and intrigue to American audiences. Beautiful beyond description, her history is more or less ignored here in the States. Most of us know little about the land and the history of Australia beyond what we’ve seen in the Crocodile Dundee movies.

Lady Ashley (Kidman), an English noblewoman, has taken the long journey to Australia to discover the truth to the rumors about her husband, who it has been said is philandering. He is in Oz to run a cattle ranch called Faraway Downs. He is in direct competition with a cattle baron named King Carney (Brown) for a government contract with the English Army. It is 1939, after all, and World War II has just begun and the English Army will need beef and plenty of it.

When she arrives, she finds that her husband is freshly murdered and that she is now in charge of a cattle ranch that is larger than some European countries. When she dismisses Fletcher (Wenham) for cruelty to the aboriginal staff, particularly a young boy named Nullah (Walters) she finds herself in a terrible position.

The prim and terribly English Lady Ashley is an afternoon tea, croquet on the front lawn sort of gal, totally ill-equipped to deal with the rough and tumble Australian cattle industry. Although most of the English in Darwin are urging her to sell the ranch to Carney, she realizes if she can get the 1500 head of cattle to Darwin she might still save the ranch. Without any experienced hands to drive the cattle, she enlists Drover (Jackman), a roguish sort who is at first skeptical of their chances but despite the best efforts of Fletcher (who now works for Carney) to torpedo them, they get the cattle to market and win the contract.

Ashley and Drover are also falling for one another despite all the odds against them. She prevails upon him to manage the ranch which he does reluctantly, leaving from time to time to earn money driving cattle. In the meantime, Nullah has also won her affections but he spends much of his time dodging the authorities who want to remove him to a missionary home, a common practice in Australia until 1973. His grandfather, King David (Gulpilil) who is also the man accused wrongfully of murdering Lady Ashley’s late husband, wants him to explore the aboriginal side of his culture and he’s torn between the two worlds.

But as in most epic love stories, the real world intervenes. The Japanese are preparing to invade Australia and Darwin will be the target of a massive bombing raid. Can Lady Ashley survive the Japanese bombs and keep her unique family together?

Director Baz Luhrmann, a proud Aussie, is both meticulous and avant garde in his filming. While he has done critically acclaimed movies like Moulin Rouge and William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (neither of which I’m terribly fond of by the way), he has gone in a completely different direction here. He stated that he wanted to make the Australian Gone with the Wind and there are certainly elements of that here. One can’t fault him for his ambition.

The problem with ambition is that sometimes it leads to a lack of focus. Luhrmann has quite the stew here, with elements from all sorts of genres; westerns, war movies, romances, historical epics, social dramas and comedies. As nice as all of those things are, sometimes too many tastes can ruin a stew. It takes a deft hand to blend all that together and from time to time, Luhrmann shows he has that hand. There are other times when the mix can be overwhelming.

He does make a great use of the Australian countryside; you get a real taste of the vastness of the land there. It’s also refreshing to get a glimpse into a place in history that is rarely seen by American moviegoers. In all honesty I can’t say I’m all that familiar with Australian history and while this is a fictional piece, some of the elements here are historically accurate.

Given that the romance plays a central part of the film, the leads have to have chemistry. Fortunately, both Kidman and Jackman are appealing and do have the kind of romantic chemistry needed to make the movie work overall. Wenham and Brown make fine villains, and Gulpilil, who savvy moviegoers might remember from 1971’s Walkabout is a fine actor who is seen all too rarely these days.

The juvenile actor Walters is fair enough but he is used far too much here. He is meant to be the bridge between the aboriginal and white worlds but he narrates the movie and shows up in nearly every scene. A little less kid goes a long way.

While I’ve never been a big Baz Luhrmann fan I did quite enjoy this one. It’s got many of the qualities that I love about big, grand big-screen movies. This is the kind of movie that you can sit down happily, munch your popcorn and drink your soda and be transported to another place. If that isn’t the reason they invented movies, I don’t know what else for.

WHY RENT THIS: Depicts a period and place in history that Americans aren’t that familiar with. Leads, particularly Jackman, are appealing. Use of Australian scenery is compelling.

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: Walters is overused and sometimes derails the movie. The film is too much of a mish-mash; part Western, part war movie, part epic, part social commentary.

FAMILY VALUES: A little bit of sex, a little bit of language, a whole lot of violence and child endangerment.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Stock footage from the 1970 war film Tora! Tora! Tora! was used for the scenes depicting the Japanese attack on Darwin.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: The DVD has no special features although a special edition is expected eventually; the Blu-Ray does have a feature that compares the events in the movie to actual Australian history, utilizing archival footage.

FINAL RATING: 6/10

TOMORROW: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Australia; Drama; Freigegeben ab 12

relevante Themen:

"Spectacular, Spectacular!": de meest briljante scène uit 'Moulin Rouge!' door De Jonge Stem

Gewaagde kostuums, veel rood licht, seksueel getinte woordspelletjes, hitnummers van Madonna en The Police in een nieuw jasje, aanranding… Het gaat er opmerkelijk heftig aan toe in Moulin Rouge!, de nieuwe musical van de altijd bruisende jongeren van de Velsense vereniging De Jonge Stem. Op vrijdag 13 en zaterdag 14 november 2009 trokken zij volle zalen voor een wervelende mix van zang, dans, prachtige aankleding en heerlijke muziek. Baz Luhrmanns ijzersterke film uit 2001 is nooit ver weg, maar de jonge enthousiastelingen laten zien dat zij ook Parijs rond 1900 uitstekend onder de schaarsgeklede knie hebben.

There was a boy… Onmiddellijk verstomt het geroezemoes in de zaal als de jonge Yannou Tamis (als bohémien Toulouse-Lautrec) vanaf een ladder in een eenzame spot het magische Nat King Cole-nummer Nature Boy zingt. Hij wordt opgevolgd door Rick van Zijtveld als hoofdpersoon Christian, een armoedige schrijver die meegesleurd wordt in het wilde leven van de Parijse wijk Montmartre aan het begin van de vorige eeuw. Alles draait om de boheemse idealen “freedom, beauty, truth and love“, maar al snel komt de kijker erachter hoe die idealen precies vorm kregen… in de beruchte, befaamde en o zo verleidelijke Moulin Rouge.

Vanaf dat moment komt Christian, en daarmee het publiek, terecht in een muzikale en spectaculaire wervelwind waarvan het zonde is dat een pauze het komt onderbreken. In een strak vormgegeven en nergens gechangeerd decor stuiteren de Jonge Stemmers heen en weer met een aanstekelijk enthousiasme. Hoewel het drama zich steeds verder opstapelt – een oudere vrouw fluisterde: “Ach, ze gaat toch niet dood, hè? Wat ongezellig…” – wordt de musical nergens zwaar op de hand. Integendeel: met name de spelers met de grootste rollen hebben zo veel zichtbaar plezier in het spelen dat de toeschouwer maar al te graag met hen meereist door de wereld van de Rode Molen.

Die wereld bestaat, naast de eerdergenoemde dubbelzinnige elementen, ook uit fijne knallende muziek (uitgevoerd door een veertienkoppig orkest onder de bezielde leiding van Olaf Windey) met soms bijzonder ingewikkelde zangpartijen. De mix van “gewone” musicalmuziek met nieuwe versies van bekende pophits maakt het er al niet gemakkelijker op. Het grote ensemble heeft af en toe moeite zich staande te houden, en meerstemmigheid gaat soms verloren, maar de solisten weten het hele gezelschap vol overgave omhoog te trekken.

Wie zijn die solisten? In de eerste plaats is daar Lisanne Wensink, ijzersterk in de rol van Satine, de courtisane met wie schrijver Christian een liefdesrelatie ontwikkelt, ondanks haar beroep en haar kwakkelende gezondheid. Lisanne heeft een stem als een klok en wisselt zang, dans, drama en komedie moeiteloos af. Haar tegenspeler, de eerdergenoemde Rick van Zijtveld, is al even goed op dreef; hoewel hij soms iets uit de (vaak ingewikkelde) maat zingt, geeft hij vol overtuiging en met sterk acteerwerk vorm aan de gekwelde schrijver. Rick overtuigt vooral in zijn beweeglijkheid, die soms humoristisch is (de scène met de “naughty words” en Your Song tussen Satine en Christian is briljant geacteerd, geset en gezongen), en soms heel krachtig. Dat laatste uit zich vooral in de zinderende Tango de Roxane, waarbij Rick een spannend tangoduel danst met de verleidelijke cancandanseres Nini, gespeeld door een zeer memorabele Marlies Bax.

Daarnaast zijn er ook twee mooie optredens van de gebroeders Jeroen en Martijn de Brouwer als respectievelijk Harold Zidler, de ceremoniemeester van de Moulin Rouge, en de kwaadaardige Duke, de nieuwe investeerder van de nachtclub. Jeroens Zidler is duisterder en aggressiever dan het filmorigineel, maar daardoor vaak intrigerender, voornamelijk in Jeroens sterke uitvoering van The Show Must Go On. Martijns Duke is hilarisch in zijn kinderachtige en groteske gedrag, en vooral het contrast met de onderliggende donkere kanten van deze hertog komt op bepaalde momenten onverwacht hard aan. Een laatste vermelding verdient één specifieke scène die door alle aanwezige acteurs fantastisch gespeeld wordt: de Spectacular, Spectacular-scène, een hyperactieve minishow waar ondergetekende oprecht gelukkig van is geworden.

Moulin Rouge! had, ondanks al het enthousiasme, wel baat gehad bij een iets specifiekere regie van de jonge regisseurs, Danny van Zuylen en Daniël de Leeuw. Meerdere momenten tussen belangrijke scènes waren droog en statisch ingevuld, wat ook veroorzaakt werd door het ontbreken van grote changementen. Het ensemble stond vaak plompverloren en matigjes gechoreografeerd op het toneel (in het geval van shownummer Come What May stonden zij zelfs grandioos in de weg). Nu heeft een jeugdmusicalvereniging altijd te kampen met het feit dat zo veel mogelijk spelers op het podium geweest moeten zijn, maar in Moulin Rouge! was dit soms regelrecht zonde.

Desalniettemin hoeft De Jonge Stem zich absoluut niet te schamen voor hun prestaties in het roodbelichte Parijs. Moulin Rouge! is een stralende en strakke musical met een sterk kloppend hart en een stevige beat. Zwakkere stukjes werden afgewisseld met momenten van pure inspiratie: de entree in de nachtclub! Onbegeleide zang van Lisanne Wensink! Rick van Zijtveld die vanuit de zaal naar het toneel zingt! Een hilarische en bruisende finale! Een prachtig intieme laatste minuut… Het zijn wapenfeitjes waar de spelers zichzelf voor op de borst mogen kloppen. Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir? Het antwoord is een volmondig: oui!

Voor hen die graag een tipje van de sluier opgelicht willen zien, probeert u dan vooral de uitgelekte filmopnamen op Hyves, via deze link!

Lady Gaga performed her new song, Speechless, at the MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) NEW 30th anniversary gala on November 14, 2009 in Los Angeles, for an audience that included celebrities like Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, Shirley Manson, Pierce Brosnan and Kate Beckinsale.  In true Lady GaGa fashion, her presentation was fabulous to the max.  Her outfit was designed by Muccia Prada, Frank Gehry, and Baz Luhrmann; her set included a rotating pink piano designed by artist Damien Hirst, and dancers from Russia’s Bolshoi Ballet.   You can catch a clip of her performance below.

stretch. stretch.