Since the babies it has been hard to keep up on the cinema front the way I did in the past. I caught up on a few films over the last week during cross-pond travel:
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS — great cast, typical Woody Allen fantasy, lots of fun.
HANGOVER 1&2 — now I can get all the references when made. Will be tough for them to extend franchise beyond two though.
HIS WAY — HBO doc on Jerry Weintraub…who has a massively expansive career. Great stories about his early years, Elvis, Sinatra, John Denver, film biz ups & downs, etc.
XMEN: FIRST CLASS — prequel to the xmen series. Action packed … loved the history tie ins.
UNKNOWN — thriller about “bioscientist” who has identity stolen. A bit formulaic but entertaining still.
SUPER 8 — If J.J. made STAND BY ME, it would go a little something like this. Great acting by the youngsters.
Action packed, excellent story.
The most notable which hit me like a ton of bricks was THE TREE OF LIFE by Malick. I highly recommend you see it ( along with the rest of Terrence Malick’s work if you haven’t ).
A stunning, contemplative, and sometimes surreal piece examining
bitter realities of life, love & loss.
Often operatic at times, the sound and pictures will blow your mind so make sure to turn off the lights and put it up on the flat screen (I watched it on the tiny airline tube so I’ll have to see it again soon in widescreen ).
I have been waiting to see these melodious ones for years now.…missed them in Sydney by a day earlier in the year.… tonight we finally meet at one of my fav LA venues.
An amazing studio band and equally amazing live.
- Babynoir 2–07 http://flic.kr/p/9i16aj #
- @Decemberists always do a phenomenal job of opening acts http://moby.to/rz94jp #
- Special birthday wishes to my Aunt celebrating her 80th today. A close friend, adventurer, teacher, & mentor to our family. Happy Day AJ! #
- Dearest @foursquare users: Just a heads up…if I don’t know you, I won’t add you as a friend. #whatsthepoint #
- Flying over much of the US today I worried if I was still on Earth or on Hoth #saddleupyourtonton http://twitpic.com/3y2j6x #
- Noticed several people living in tents on the outskirts of #LAS #Vegas #randomobservationswhilelanding #
- The Future of Art – http://j.mp/dOtllJ /via @brainpicker #
- Is it just me or have you also noticed that #BUR has the best airport jukebox around? #
If I had to pick an all time favorite film genre, I would have to go with Film Noir. My love of the ‘hardboiledness’ of the stories aside, the most amazing aspect of these films that captured me as a life long student of film & photography was the aesthetic. Dark, brooding, stylish, strange, sinister…the adjectives describing these visually stunning films could continue for hours.
Taking thousands of photos of my children over the past two years I asked myself, why are most of the shots floating across the flickrsphere almost exclusively smiling happy babies. What about the darker and stranger images from our tots early years? Here are a few of mine:
Babynoir — series one
I was so excited to take Max in the pool for his first time this afternoon that I forgot about that iphone in my front pocket. I guess it’s time to test-drive a droid. Or maybe I should go completely old-school and return to the flip phone.
Anyway you slice it, it was well worth the look on Max’s face as he took his inaugural dive.
