Part of the weekend never dies… May 13, 2008

Friday I won tickets to the avant premiere of the Soulwax documentary Part of the weekend never dies. The Belgian premiere took place yesterday evening at the Docville festival in Leuven. And while sitting completely passively in the cinema chairs, it was amazingly difficult to remain passive while watching THIS film… The long-anticipated documentary is a perfect pre-party. 120 Soulwax and 2 ManyDj’s shows in Europa, Asia, the US and Australia were filmed with only 1 camera and this footage portrays Radio Soulwax’s touring adventures and the party-potential of these Belgian hipsters. Moreover the documentary was edited ingeniously, mixed properly with the matching sounds.

It’s still amazing, in the words of Nancy Whang, “how a human being can withstand so much touring and performing, every night, for years on end…” SOULWAUW!

Film history April 17, 2008

This semester I’m taking a course in film history. This implies I have to watch several classics a week, ooh what a sacrifice

In the last couple of weeks I’ve seen:

· Der Letzte Mann (1924): This is a  typical German Kammerspiel drama, directed by Murnau. Although, the film’s story isn’t much of a specialty, it is the innovative use of camera movement that makes Der Letzte Mann so important to the history of film. It was the first film in history to move its camera backward and forward, as well as up and down and from side to side. The subjective camera, this is when the lens becomes the eyes of the film protagonist, is also remarkable.

· Pantserkruiser Potemkin (or Battleship Potemkin) (1925): intriguing film with exciting montage by a genius of the modern cinema Sergei Eisenstein. This film needs no introduction, it’s a classic.

· The Gold Rush (1925): Comical movie not only starring Charlie Chaplin, but also directed by Chaplin. It’s an easy going film witch classic jokes that will be repeated throughout the entire film history.

· Der Blaue Engel (1930) – directed by Josef von Sternberg: This is one of the first films accompanied by sound. It’s tragic film about the degradation of a professor who falls in love with the dancer Lola Lola. Lola’s song “Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuss auf Liebe eingestellt” became a true hit.

· The Philadelphia Story (1940): A witty, romantic film with an amazing cast directed by George Cukor. Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart perform excellently in this picture.

· The Seventh Seal (1957):  this enormously dark picture by Ingmar Bergman celebrates its 51th birthday this year. The film is however timeless because of its existential theme: the meaning of life. There are some surprising characters in this picture: for example a frightening personification of death. An intense film, if you ask me…

· Closely watched trains (1966) : a film from Czechoslovakian director Menzel. Basically it’s a film describing a young railway station apprentice’s embarking on a self-discovering journey. This young man is confronted with love, war, adventure and … frustration.

Other films on the agenda are: Le Quai des Brumes, The magnificent Ambersons, Accattone, The night of the hunter and L’Ascenseur pour l’échafaud. I’ll try to discuss them here as well. If you think there are any classics I should definitely add to my “to see” list, let me know!

Sweeney Todd February 21, 2008

Yesterday I finally got to see Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd after months of impatiently waiting for this film to arrive in Belgian theatres. The creative alliance between Burton’s directing skills and Johnny Depp’s astonishing acting still feels magical. Both men are geniuses in their branch. But chapeau for the other cast and crew members as well! The makeup artists, for instance, should also receive credits for their remarkable styling. Although the film is a musical, which I’m not particularly fond of , you get used to the singing and it actually adds a fitting dramatic tone to the plot. Burton’s use of colours has the same effect on the story and makes the film visually attractive.

The story of the film is based on the Broadway musical “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” which narrates the sad history of Benjamin Barker, his wife Lucy and their infant Johanna. After being expelled from London by Judge Turpin – who has his eye set on the beautiful Lucy – Benjamin returns after 15 years hoping to rejoin his family at last. The meat pie-baking eccentric Miss Lovett informs Benjamin – who actually returns as the revenge seeking Sweeney Todd -about the unfortunate fate of his wife and child… Sweeney Todd will never forget and never forgive and his gruesome quest for vengeance begins with Miss Lovett as his accomplice.

This intrigueing film has an interesting website as well on which you can cut your own trailer. Let the creativity flow

Discovering Harry Potter August 27, 2007

One of my good friends (you know who you are when reading this ) is quite a convinced fan of Mister Potter…. I couldn’t believe my ears at first. Yesterday (blush, blush ) I saw the 5th film of Potter’s adventures in the theatre. And I must admit I enjoyed every minute of it. That’s quite surprising, keeping in mind that normally I’m not really ‘in to’ fantasy. But the battle between Harry and his accomplices Ron and Hermine on the one hand and Voldemort on the other captivated my attention. The dark atmosphere of this type of film also fascinates me, especially because I always thought the target audience for the Potter films was -12 years… oops . Anyways, Harry Potter rocks (?) and hopefully he’ll kick Voldemort’s ass big time

Way to go Scorsese! February 26, 2007

Yesterday the oscars took place in Hollywood, and thé winner is… The Departed. Scorsese’s latest masterpiece has won 4 oscars: the oscar of best film, best director, best adapted screenplay and best film editing. Hooray for Scorsese and the cast/crew of this outstanding mob drama.

The Departed – Loyalty is a lie … February 22, 2007

Film genius Martin Scorsese sure knows how to entertain a crowd… His latest movie The Departed is an intriguing story of 2 policemen who are both working undercover, one within the maffia-network of Costello (Jack Nicholson) and the other within the Massachusetts State Police. Good cop versus bad cop? Yeah, but it’s more than that, after living this double life for longer than a year, both men (Leonardo Dicaprio and Matt Damon) are confused and caught up in a web of lies in which they are losing their identity. Their second life as ’spies’ tires them out and takes control over their real life. The astonishing acting by Nicholson, Damon, Dicaprio (my teenage hero) and Walhberg, the intriguing plot and the hilarious quotes make this film one to see!

“When I was your age they used to say you could become cops or criminals. What I’m saying to you is this… When you’re facing a loaded gun, what’s the difference?” (Frank Costello)

More info on The Departed: http://thedeparted.warnerbros.com/

Exams – Holiday – School – Movies February 18, 2007

It’s been a while… (jak, this sentence reminds me of a song by Staind, which I REALLY don’t like but anyways….). The exames finally finished two weeks ago, and then I got sick. Typically me! I’m always sick in holidays. So, I’ve been in bed for almost a week and then school started again. Shitty? Yes, I know. That’s one of the reasons too why I didn’t blog on my latest adventures, because there simply weren’t any Not much of excitement about fever!

Anyways, back to school, which means I’m in Leuven during the week, 500 metres away from the movies…. SOOOO, on monday I saw ‘The pursuit of happYness’. Verdict: corny, but entertaining movie with great acting by Will Smith and his son (his son in the film is by the way his actual son… weird). But TIP: bring handkershiefs, cause it’s sooo emo that you’ll be weeping 113 minutes long, well at least I was

The Black Dahlia November 21, 2006

Yesterday I saw the movie ‘The Black Dahlia‘, a new creation of Brian de Palma (you might know him from Mission:Impossible and Scarface). It is a film noir based upon a true story about the brutal murder on a starlet in the United States in 1947. A housewife found the would-be actress Elizabeth Short in a field…cut up in two pieces. Miss Short’s body was entirely mutulated. In real life this case has still not been solved! Almost 60 years later the ‘horror’story still fascinates, but this time in cinematic fiction. Crime and murder are however not the only themes in this film. A Hollywood blockbuster would be deficient if their was not any sex, corruption or conspiracy involved. These themes in the film are thus pure fiction (in contrast to the murder on Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Short). Or like the Dahlia website quotes: “true crime meets urban legend”.

Although the description of ‘The Black Dahlia’ might not sound too complicated, after one visit to the cinema I do not completely understand the plot. Probably because of the different stories mixed in one…

My general opinion: the film is worth a visit to your local theater; if not for the story itself… then go and admire the actors Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson and Hillary Swank. Another positive aspect of the film is its beautiful images, its ‘noir’ atmopshere and costumes! They deserve your attention

Do you want to know more? Check out http://www.theblackdahliamovie.net/.