This was cool. Funny to see these guys getting fancier at editing and by using even higher-production-value in their videos. Love the opening and closing with John Waters particularly as I am sure he was a little of the inspiration for this video. Like the stutter editing bits and the bright technicolor use of the hot pink. Funny and even cooler to read the comments on YouTube.
This video was cool because you get to see some of the costumes from the fabulous film up-close. Loved the shots of the Rodarte girls with their creations in their studio and how they show the detail of the work. Also, I loved the shots from the making of the film where you see Portman getting ready to dance. The sisters are obviously passionate about their work and the film stands out for it's design. I really liked reading about the design team of Kate and Laura Mulleavy in the January 18, 2010 issue of of the New Yorker too as that's when I learned more about their ability to get new fashion into the hands of regular Americans with their Target launch.
This video is horrifying and one reason I don't like watching football. Ben McGrath does some insightful commentary about the sport and shows some examples of incredibly hard hits that football players receive on the field. This is just one solid example of the excellent video work that the New Yorker is doing as they see the benefit of "showing and telling" for a story like this. My brothers both played football with my older brother Will playing Varsity for I think four years during high-school. College and high-school football games never seemed as violent as the current pro-football games we see examples of here, as the writer describes the hits a head receives in football today as being similar to what boxers face. You can see it here. Had to turn away at some of the slow-motion replays........
This is one of my friends on Flickr, V. Abhi, whom I have gotten to know over the last few years. He lives in India and is a talented photographer and artist and I really enjoy learning about his life and conversing through Flickr mail. This entry I thought was cool because he talks about his nephew and posts a photograph of Arnav standing next to a vase. He has also sent me some interesting videos of ordinary people in the countryside that I like a lot. Flickr is one aspect of the social networking world that makes sense. It's like V. Abhi has opened up a window into his world across the globe that helps me see more clearly.
Precious.
I am very intrigued with this idea. Cool to look at these images and imagine using them in the kitchen. Especially, Chicken Sausage, neat stuff. Charrow from Brooklyn has my vote for nice layout as the colors are so pleasant and modern while having a fun, youthful feel. I really like the way that the ingredients are laid out on the counter. Made me want to own a huge kitchen like that where I could enjoy all that counter-top real estate (Luckily my Mom has a kitchen that I always enjoy cooking and tasting in-it's a real farmhouse kitchen-- with actual horses and cows out the window---really).
This is what I love about Ego Sensation, she says it all with her brilliant videos. Just watch and see and prepared to be amazed.
The annual Sundance Film Festival opens this week on Thursday, Jan 20 and runs through the 30th. There looks like there are some interesting films being shown and you can see some clips about the films and the filmmakers by watching "Meet the Artists '11". Ones that I will watch out for are: Hot Coffee and Gun Hill Road, On the Ice, Page One, Homework, Higher Ground and Another Earth. Looks like there are going to be some good docs, features, sci-fi and coming of age stories. I will definitely be excited to see some of these.
I really liked this video. Not only because of all the people who are currently complaining about the cold [It's winter guys!....], but because he is an inspiring person to check out. I have a small child who currently has jacket-itis, so maybe some day, Leo will be swimming year-round in the Atlantic Ocean. I can only hope, I guess.
Keith Richards
This was a fascinating article and something I read after I started listening to the new Keith Richards autobiography, Life as an audiobook that Johnny Depp narrates. Life is so interesting and in-depth that anyone who loves the Rolling Stones and music and the creative process should listen to it. Depp does a great job narrating and slips into the Keith voice every once in a while helpfully that aids in the process of "being there".
This article is another story as the questions were perfectly specific and unique. I loved this question:
AM: In retrospect, the sound of 'Gimme Shelter' has become shorthand for the end of the 60's. Do you remember where you were when you wrote it-and how you felt at the time?
His answer is emotional as his wife, Anita Pallenberg was carrying on an affair openly with Mick Jagger on the set of the film, Performance.
A follow-up question on Gimme Shelter that reveals a lot about Keith was cool:
AM: When you wrote the opening, how were you feeling? It's very apocalyptic.
KR: It's difficult to say- you put your hands on an instrument, and -I mean, I really don't like to think about it. I like to look at my fingers and say, 'I don't believe you're doing this-keep going!' You don't create things, you accept them. And all you want is for that feeling to continue-your mind is disconnected from what you are doing.
I loved this interview and recommend the book highly.
This film was innovative and amazing. Something to see for sure. Watched it on amazon for $4.99 and it was worth it. I had heard about this film earlier last year at the Sundance Film Festival and was impressed to finally get to see it. It's frighteningly crazy to see the events in the film unfold as Nev experiences them. Interesting, nicely shot and intriguing with the twists and turns of the story always outsmarting the viewer. Polished and the graphics at the start were cool too. Something to watch for sure and enjoy.
It was strange that this weekend, I started off seeing "I Love You Phillip Morris" with JIm Carrey and Ewan McGregor in the theater and ended it with watching "A Prophet" on Netflix, and felt like I was locked up for the entire time. I really liked both films but felt like one was the Disney version and one was the real-life version.
"I Love You Phillip Morris" was great, not only because of the actors involved, but it was because of the text at the start: "This Really Happened: No really, it did", or something in that vein. Because of that "disclaimer", I was along for the ride, however fantastical and out-there. I believed every second, hoping for even more twists and turns....from the moment that the character Stephen "turns" from being praying family man to swinging homosexual, I wanted to know more. Phillip Morris doesn't even show up until a third of the way through the film, but we don't care, we want more of these two actors on the screen. Excellent film, set in a Texas Prison, completely believable and wholly entertaining.
But that was the Disney side of things....the real prison life was set in A Prophet. We don't even really know why Malik is in prison, but only know that this time he will be tried as an adult. His life has changed and he will have to face the consequences. But it's grittiness is just a part of the cover, as this is real life in a French prison and Malik is one who by, being in the "right place at the right time" deems him suitable for work with Luciano. This film was real, shot like a documentary, it was similar in feel to Gomorrah, which I saw last year and loved, another mafia film but set in Italy.
I loved the characters in this film, the transformation of Malik and the realness of the story and situations presented on film. Beautifully shot and acted, this is one for those "Best of 2010" lists out there. Not to be missed....
And, I was able to experience both of these films about incarceration within my own neighborhood and home in NYC. Lucky me.
