iris dement and bonnie raitt get meloncholy

I've been listening to some Iris DeMent recently (when l am not busy injuring myself), and this song (My Life) in particular, as it was used at the end of Mister Lonely, which l saw for the first time the other day.



It also reminds me of the rather marvelous 'Angel From Montgomery' by John Prine, which has become one of Bonnie Raitt's signature songs.
I prefer the 'Angel' song, as l think the lyrics are better, but both of them capture that melancholy feeling superbly.
Enjoy!



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anita pallenberg

Old age - it happens to us all, even the once beautiful icons of the 1960's.
It was while watching Mister Lonely the other day that it started to bug me that l kind of recognised the person who was playing The Queen.  It was only when the credits came up at the end that l realised it was non other than Anita Pallenberg.
She was once infamous, due to being one of those at the epicentre of the 60's bohemian culture and lifestyle, mainly with The Rolling Stones, and is still seen out and about with that other iconic 60's Stones girlfriend and pop star, Marianne Faithfull.
Partner of Stones guitarist Brian Jones, until she left him for Keith Richards, she also starred (and slept with)  Mick Jagger in Performance, and appeared in Barbarella alongside Jane Fonda.
Her and Richards had three children.  A son (Marlon), a daughter (Dandelion - later changed to Angela), and another son, Tara (named after their friend Tara Browne) who died after 10 weeks.  They were heavily into drugs (it was while the Canadian police came to arrest Pallenberg in Toronto, that Richards was busted in 1977), but although seemingly suited to be together, ultimately, the relationship ended.
Pallenberg was also arty and intelligent, heavily into black magic (as a lot of stars used to be - hello Mr Jimmy Page), and became newsworthy again when she had an affair with her 17 year old gardener, who proceed to shoot and kill himself at her home in 1979.
Now a fashion designer, friend of Kate Moss, and occasional DJ (of course she is).

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mister lonely ( 2007) - harmony korine

This was a strange film whichever way you look at it, which l am all in favour of, but ultimately, at the end, l felt as though there was something missing.  It looked great, and the storylines were certainly surreal enough for my tastes, but it was just a bit flat and unfulfilling.
There is a slim chance that is how the film is supposed to make you feel at the end, as it concerns stories about faith, hope, and aspiration, that all ultimately turn out to be worthless, but l very much doubt it.
Mister Lonely has two stories running concurrently.
The first concerns a Michael Jackson impersonator, who is living and working in Paris.  He meets a Marilyn Monroe impersonator, who he then follows to Scotland, to live as part of a commune in a Scottish castle, help build a theatre, and put on 'The Greatest Show on Earth' in it. Did l mention the commune houses other impersonators only, and the Charlie Chaplin one is Marilyn Monroe's partner?  All is sweet and hunky dory at the commune, until Chaplin's dark side presents itself, and the sheep have to put down due to disease.
Is that surreal and dark enough for you?
What about the second story, in which a nun accidentally tumbles from a small aeroplane, and survives the fall, supposedly due to her faith in God while falling.  This leads to other nuns testing and confirming their faith by also leaping out of the plane.  News of this reaches Rome and The Vatican, and the nuns are invited to meet The Pope, but while flying there, the plane crashes into the sea and kills them all.
Did l also mention that there are roles for Samantha Morton, Anita Pallenberg, Richard Strange, James Fox and Werner Herzog (amongst others)? Plus the soundtrack features Jason Pierce from Spiritualized?
That, to me, sounds like one hell of a magnificent movie, but as stated above, something is not right about it, and despite the stupendous ideas behind it, plus some worthwhile performances, it ended up being just a little bit............................well, boring actually.
What a shame.

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django unchained (2013) - quentin tarantino

Myself and the FPO went to Teesside Park to see Django Unchained last month, as we wanted to view it on a large screen with surround sound, thinking that it would look and sound so much better than on an (albeit large) TV, and we could immerse ourselves in the story more.
We were glad we had made the effort, as it was just the type of movie we were hoping for from Quentin Tarantino, overblown, violent, and funny, but with a serious tale to tell relating to the slaves and their treatment.
Some critics have argued about the constant references to 'niggers', but if this film was to portray an in any way realistic view of the old wild west, with all the old prejudices intact and in your face, the language used had to reflect that era, otherwise it could come across as old westerns did, with plenty of shooting, fighting and killing, but with no blood or swear words (and rapid recovery from fights!).  There's a place for those type of films as well, and l am also a big fan of them, but it's sometimes a good thing to bear witness to a representation of how brutal and unflinching those times were.
The screenplay and casting was excellent and believable, with some standout performances from Samuel L Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprico, but for me, Christoph Waltz stole the movie.  Softly spoken, and full of mischief and unexpected surprises, he has rightly been awarded the plaudits for doing so.
With plenty of dialogue and shootings (from Tarantino!!?), and with a romantic quest thrown into the mix, it's a film l will be revisiting again in the years to come. The original 'Django' (Franco Nero) even makes an appearance  and was well spotted by the FPO.
The soundtrack album is also worth checking out, despite the fact it does not contain Richie Havens' version of 'High Flyin' Bird' (which is in the movie).  Sacrilege!



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w.c fields posters

No excuse needed to put up some old W.C Fields posters.  The man was funny - very funny (and he died on Christmas Day, as did Dean Martin).

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everyone was young once - status quo

Yes, even the mighty Status Quo were young in 1972, when these pictures were taken by their tour manager, song writer and harmonica player, Bob Young.  His website has lots of Quo goodies and can be found here.

I used to love Quo  years ago, but l can't say l have been interested in any of their new stuff for years.  They also have a movie coming out soon (Bula Quo), and l am dreading it, as the clips l have seen in advance of it don't exactly make me think it will be any good.  Hopefully it will be so bad and tongue in cheek, it may actually be decent in an 'ironic' sense, but l very much doubt it.  The trailer is here.  Feast your eyes.

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the master and margarita

The Master and Margarita is one of my favourite books, and may possibly be my favourite.  Over the Christmas and New Year period, l watched Vladimir Bortko's subtitled 10 part Russian TV series based on it (thanxs to You Tube), and was also mightily impressed with that.  The devil and his crew (including the cat) were great, and there was also plenty of nudity if it began to sag (fnaar fnaar). There was the odd bit of overacting and hamminess, but overall, it told the story just as l would have wished, and certainly did not let the book down. The soundtrack (by Igor Kornelyuk) was also excellent, and that has been downloaded and blasted out on more than one occasion, as you can really immerse yourself in its grandeur (Pretentious? Moi?).
Get me.  You would never think l came from good, hearty, working class stock (and still am)

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everyone was young once - james dean

It just goes to show that everyone was young once.  Here's James Dean in 1949 when he was just a fresh faced and cheerful 18 year old.  Hardly recognisable from the moody superstar he became.

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lebanon (2009) - samuel maoz

Based upon Samuel Maoz's own experiences during the Lebanon war of 1982, and shown from a viewpoint from inside an Israeli tank, this is an excellent film, highlighting the tension, fear, abandonment, paranoia and claustrophobia within it's body (as the tank is portrayed as a living entity).  There are long stares of rapprochement, fear, hatred and anger towards the tanks gunsight, and war is shown in all its haphazard, indiscriminate and bloody 'glory'. It ended a bit suddenly for me, but it had me hooked and reeled in from the beginning.  Great stuff, and anything that demystifies the attraction of fighting a war in a real and believable way, is fine by me.

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there's something about mary (1998) - the farrelly brothers

There's Something About Mary is one of those outrageously rare things.  An American film that is actually funny.  This features just the right amount of visual humour, slapstick, surreal episodes and emotional moments, plus it has the added advantage of the serenading Jonathan Richman appearing throughout, who can do little wrong in my eyes (and ears).  Everyone must know the story by now, as it's been out for years and it was a huge success, so l won't ramble on about that, but all of the actors are just right in their roles. Cameron Diaz has never looked better, but all of them play their part in making the movie such a runaway hit.  The story has a twist or two along the way, and the episodes with the zip and the hair cream are the most famous, but for me, the segments with the dog steal the film, especially Ben Stiller's.  This was about the third time l have seen it, and it was still worth it.  If only all the 'so called American comedies' were like this.

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the new evil dead film

I'm looking forward to this film a lot, and the new poster is certainly building my hopes up.  The new 'Evil Dead' - Out next year.

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more apartment foreign posters

I wasn't kidding about my love for the foreign posters.  Four more from 'The Apartment'.

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