Recent films and reads
The Girlfriend Experience - High-class call girl, Steven Soderbergh, New York City - I had to watch this. The art direction was more interesting than the acting and subject matter; the city was all white fall days and dim lighting.
Every Little Step - The making of the Chorus Line revival on Broadway in 2006, following the auditions from start to finish. Dancers are a hardy lot, both in terms of what they go through physically and the exhaustion of getting eliminated over and over. And these were dancers who needed to be able to sing too! Highlight: Mara Davi's audition for "At The Ballet" after countless others simply could not hit the note.
You Can Count On Me - A film with Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo I've wanted to watch for ages, about a brother and a sister. It didn't disappoint. Her character believably goes from prudish to salacious to self-righteous in a blink, and Mark Ruffalo is so adorably incompetent you want to hug him, and then he surprises you by being the level-headed one. Great writing.
Un prophète - It won a Cannes award this year, but I came to it as a fan of Jacques Audiard, who also did De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté (The Beat That My Heart Skipped) with Romain Duris. It's about an Arab kid who enters a jail and gets caught up with a Corsican gang and then a Muslim one. I liked the quirky supernatural bits with his ghost. And a great shooting scene in slow motion.
L'heure d'été - A film with Juliette Binoche about a family whose matriach dies, leaving three siblings with the decision to either sell the house and its sentimental and historial contents or retain it for future generations. I sighed over the house, the objects, and was amused by some stereotypes: Insouciance about infidelity ✓Smoking in every scene ✓ Dad's reaction to daughter being caught smoking pot "Well at least I'm not stupid enough to get caught" ✓
(500) Days of Summer - Zooey Deschanel is the ultimate hipster pin-up in this film about boy meets girl, boy loves girl, girl doesn't love boy back. There's a scene with a split screen of how he'd imagined an evening and how it turns out which is pretty spot-on. And also this song from a band called The Temper Trap, called Sweet Disposition.
The September Issue - The making of one of Vogue's September issues, with glimpses into corridors full of gorgeous, expensive clothes and the frustrations behind the scenes. I loved the room with the mini pages stuck up and adjusted with every new feature, and Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington stalking to inspect.
Netherland - A book about displacement, I suppose. I didn't know if I would enjoy reading about a Dutchman who plays cricket in NYC, but I found myself so caught up in the lovely prose. The protagonist reminded me of several people; reading the book was a bit like spending some time with them.
The Laugh - A short story by Téa Obreht set in Tanzania about hyenas, husbands, a hot air balloon, and a baby. I was riveted and scared shitless reading it.
How David beats Goliath - An article by Malcolm Gladwell about how underdogs can win. I learnt more about basketball than I expected.
The heating is on, I'm wearing moth-eaten coats, and I've started dancing again.
Every Little Step - The making of the Chorus Line revival on Broadway in 2006, following the auditions from start to finish. Dancers are a hardy lot, both in terms of what they go through physically and the exhaustion of getting eliminated over and over. And these were dancers who needed to be able to sing too! Highlight: Mara Davi's audition for "At The Ballet" after countless others simply could not hit the note.
You Can Count On Me - A film with Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo I've wanted to watch for ages, about a brother and a sister. It didn't disappoint. Her character believably goes from prudish to salacious to self-righteous in a blink, and Mark Ruffalo is so adorably incompetent you want to hug him, and then he surprises you by being the level-headed one. Great writing.
Un prophète - It won a Cannes award this year, but I came to it as a fan of Jacques Audiard, who also did De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté (The Beat That My Heart Skipped) with Romain Duris. It's about an Arab kid who enters a jail and gets caught up with a Corsican gang and then a Muslim one. I liked the quirky supernatural bits with his ghost. And a great shooting scene in slow motion.
L'heure d'été - A film with Juliette Binoche about a family whose matriach dies, leaving three siblings with the decision to either sell the house and its sentimental and historial contents or retain it for future generations. I sighed over the house, the objects, and was amused by some stereotypes: Insouciance about infidelity ✓Smoking in every scene ✓ Dad's reaction to daughter being caught smoking pot "Well at least I'm not stupid enough to get caught" ✓
(500) Days of Summer - Zooey Deschanel is the ultimate hipster pin-up in this film about boy meets girl, boy loves girl, girl doesn't love boy back. There's a scene with a split screen of how he'd imagined an evening and how it turns out which is pretty spot-on. And also this song from a band called The Temper Trap, called Sweet Disposition.
The September Issue - The making of one of Vogue's September issues, with glimpses into corridors full of gorgeous, expensive clothes and the frustrations behind the scenes. I loved the room with the mini pages stuck up and adjusted with every new feature, and Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington stalking to inspect.
Netherland - A book about displacement, I suppose. I didn't know if I would enjoy reading about a Dutchman who plays cricket in NYC, but I found myself so caught up in the lovely prose. The protagonist reminded me of several people; reading the book was a bit like spending some time with them.
The Laugh - A short story by Téa Obreht set in Tanzania about hyenas, husbands, a hot air balloon, and a baby. I was riveted and scared shitless reading it.
How David beats Goliath - An article by Malcolm Gladwell about how underdogs can win. I learnt more about basketball than I expected.
The heating is on, I'm wearing moth-eaten coats, and I've started dancing again.
posted by Sze at 4:09 PM
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