Happy Birthday to
Elizabeth McGovern
48 today
Can you believe this quintessential American actress, born in Illinois, starred in Ordinary People, Ragtime and Once Upon a Time in America, and now live here in the UK. Funny how things turn out.
Saturday, 18 July 2009
Elizabeth McGovern
Running: Week 6, Day 6, Run 4
Short quick burst this morning (don't want to overdo it after Thursday).
4.9 km in 27 minutes. Or 11 kmph.
Friday, 17 July 2009
Out this week (17/07/09)
What an amazing week. Honestly I don't we've had such a good selection of films since January and the "prestige" season, there are 5 films that could in other weeks have come out as pick of the week. Including this weeks big cinematic release (something to do with a boy wizard), however I'm going for Frozen River as the top choice.
Frozen River
We've waited a year for this kitchen sink drama to make it over to the UK cinemas. Starring Melissa Leo and Misty Upham as two women forced to get involved with illegal immigration in order to support their families, it had lots of critical support back in 2008. Spain is the only other major territory to have waited so long to see it.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●●○○
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
I expect you've heard about this one. Jim Broadbent joins the cast of outstanding Brit thesps in episode 6 of the Harry Potter franchise. Expect it to be both darker and funnier as our heroes struggle with their hormones and another major character bites the dust.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●○○○○
The Informers
It disappeared in a limited release in the states, but this multi charcter drama from the pen of Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho) looks quite interesting. With characters as diverse as Newscasters, ex-cons, party girls and vampires it could be a fascinating mix.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
Jashnn
There's laughs a-plenty in this romantic comedy from India about a young singer finding his distinctive voice, falling in love and rescuing his sister's honour. What a man.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Kissan
The second of this weeks Bollywood releases is harder to find a synopsis. Essentially it's about two brothers who grow up following very different paths. And it stars Jackie Shroff (presumably as their father) who also had a major role in the massively popular Devdas.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○
Kisses
Irish drama about two teenagers running away from home and finding magic and terror in the streets of Dublin with the margins of society. Bizarrely it's set during Christmas so I'm not completely sure why it's being released in July.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●○○○○○
Moon
Duncan Jones reinvigorates the sci-fi format with this thinkpiece set on the Moon. Sam Rockwell gives a bravura performance as the lone astronaut/miner on the base slowly getting to grips with issues such as isolation, cloning and what it is to be human.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●○○○○
Wide Open Spaces
If you had ever wondered what had happened to Ardal O'Hanlon (Father Dougal in the superb Channel 4 comedy Father Ted) then look no further than this comedy about two slackers building a potato famine theme park in a remote part of Ireland. Of course it's possible that this is a documentary showing how low some actors have to go when the parts dry up.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Sugar
2008. Dir: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Starring: Algenis Perez Soto, Rayniel Rufino, Andre Holland, Anne Whitney and Ellary Porterfield. ●●●●○
Sports movies are quite difficult to get right. There is a risk that it will be pitched (excuse me) to the fans of the sport only, and that the movie will feel impenetrable to the viewers who are not familiar with the game. Suger opens in a Baseball training camp in the Dominican Republic where we are introduced to our hero Miguel "Sugar" Santos (Soto). Immediately I was afraid that this would not be the movie for me, the credits had hardly begun when they were taliking about fly curves etc. However within a couple of scenes you realise there is an eqilibrium, Baseball is merely the front for this interesting tale about a man following a path that may not be right or best for him, but following it because he has no choice.
During a weekend off from training Sugar returns to his poverty stricken family, immediatley we are aware that the only way out is through baseball, and that his family have begun to see Sugar as their meal ticket. Listen to the conversations between him and his mother throughout the film. Her first question to him is nearly always the same, until the last time when it is clear she has someone else on her mind.
Sugar is selected by Kansas City to join their summer camp, and from there to join their affiliated AAA league team in Indiana. Along the way we see many of his friends fall by the wayside, due to injury or just not coming up to the high standards required (both on and off the diamond). To the credit of writer-directors Boden and Fleck we never feel like the points being made in the section are laboured. The differences between the American college educated players and the Dominican boys are deftly drawn, the sense of being a product for the team is hinted at but wisely not addressed head on and the shifting emotions of Sugar as he deals with early success, injury and jealousy of the other players is deftly handled.
Only the performance enhancing drugs scene comes off as cliched, especially in the way it's filmed.
In the final act the film goes off in a completed unexpected way, unexpected for the audience as much as it is for most of the characters. There have been some debates on whether this works, however I feel it's true the the character and his journey in a way that the alternative would not be.
Most of the players, including Sugar and his mentor Jorge Ramirez (Rufino) are non-professional actors, but the performances hold up well. Both of these two could have careers if they tried and I would especially like to see Rufino try his hand at more acting work.
Technically the film is well put together, the highlight being the location work, where the building and locales used for each scene seem to fit the story at that point.
Overall this is a fine film, well made, that skillfully avoids the pitfalls that other Baseball movies may present, whilst giving us a real insight into the way professional overseas players are groomed and used by the major teams.
Running: Week 6, Day 4, Run 3
Now the trick to training for a Marathon is not just to worry about the speed on short distances but also to build up the long distance capacity. With that in mind this morning I went out for a long run (at least as long as I've done in a while.
15 miles in 2 hours 24 minutes. That's an average of just 10.1 kmph, or if we extrapolate that to a full marathon distance it will take me 4 hours 12 minutes. I want to do in in less than 4 hours 6 minutes, so I need to increase my average speed to just 10.3 kmph (not even 2 %).
So close.
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Running: Week 6, Day 3, Run 2
I tried a little bit of fartlek today, 12 minute warm up followed by ten sets of one minute fast, two minutes cool down, then jog back home.
Overall 9.8 km in 51 minutes or 11.4 kmph. If only I could maintain that sort of speed when I'm not pushing myself.
Forest Whitaker
Happy Birthday to
Forest Whitaker
48 today
Forest has been a long time hero of mine ever since he first caught my eye in Good Morning Vietnam. A consumate character actor, with a fascianting back catalogue. Although I'd have to argue he won the Oscar 7 years later than he should have done (Ghost Dog). Coming soon are the voice gig in Where the Wild Things Are and helping the wheelchair bound Renee Zellweger in My Own Love Song.
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Tuesday Trailers - Broken Embraces
I promised you another Auteur's trailer this week, and frankly who could be more auteurish than Almodovar. From the moment the trailer begins the vivid colours and use of reflections/obscured images we know it's one of his films; of course everyone looks incredibly sensous as well which is also a given for Almodovar. Embraces teams him up with Penelope Cruz for the fourth time, so expect more of the same sizzle on screen that we saw in Volver, All about my Mother and Live Flesh.
Broken Embraces is released on 28 August 2009.
Running: Week 6, Day 2, Run 1
Another 6 miler, you'd think I would be improving by now.
9.8 km in 54 minutes. 11 kmph.
You'd be wrong...
Nancy Olson
Happy Birthday to
Nancy Olson
81 today
Luminous in Sunset Boulevard Nancy's career never took off the way it should have done, mainly due to her marriage to Alan Jay Lerner and her determination to raising her family right before her career. It's notable and commendable, but one can't help wondering what might have been.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
