A raw, grimy but lyrical British drama about the pains of adolescence and life at the margins, with a fantastic supporting turn by Michael Fassbender earlier in his career.
Month: November 2018
Dark Souls artwork in progress 11/2018
The scary gentleman is progressing nicely and I’m having fun working with leather as my main material. The best thing about leather is that you don’t have to carefully iron every. single. piece. before sticking it on. I still have no clue how I’m going to make the fire effect, but, as Scarlett O’Hara used to say, I’ll think about that tomorrow.
Russian Resurrection Film Festival – Tutor & Hamlet
I mean to check out this festival every year and usually end up missing it for whatever reasons, mostly procrastination. This year, I finally made it, catching two films over two weekends, something old and something new.
Bohemian Rhapsody – Film Review
It’s nice to be wrong about a movie sometimes. Though I was incredibly sceptical about this biopic of Queen and their extraordinary frontman Freddie Mercury, it turned out to be one of the most purely enjoyable and entertaining cinema experiences I’ve had in a while.
Crooked House by Agatha Christie – Book Review
Another of my favourite standalone Christie novels, this book also came with the author’s foreword calling it one of her own special favourites and a joy to write (according to Dame Agatha the usual ratio is one book that’s real pleasure to five that are hard work). It also boasts one of the most shocking endings Christie’s ever done, which is saying a lot. When you read a detective novel you’re supposed to suspect everyone, but when Christie said that everyone is a potential murderer she really meant it.
Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant – Book Review
Time for some classic French literature! I first read Guy de Maupassant while still in Russia, and the worn-out collection of his short stories was one of the few books I took with us when we emigrated to Australia. In addition to being one of the greatest short story writers of all time, during his tragically brief time on earth (42 years to be exact) Maupassant also penned a few novels, which I never got around to reading in either language. Published in 1885, Bel-Ami is his second novel. I still think that Maupassant’s short stories are the best display of his strengths as a writer, but I very much enjoyed this book.
The Prayer of the Cat
by Carmen Bernos de Gasztold
Lord,
I am the cat.
It is not, exactly, that I have something to ask of You!
No –
I ask nothing of anyone –
but,
if You have by some chance, in some celestial barn,
a little white mouse,
or a saucer of milk,
I know someone who would relish them.
Wouldn’t You like someday
to put a curse on the whole race of dogs?
If so I should say,
Amen
Alien: Resurrection – Film Review
I’ve always had a soft spot for this black sheep of the Alien franchise, probably because I can never hate a movie that’s so utterly bizarre. Since I’ve re-watched Alien 3 recently I thought I might go back and bask again in its weird, awkward, misshapen glory.
A Star is Born – Film Review
There are few things more enjoyable than a big bold old-fashioned melodrama done well, and this new version of an old story with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga is melodrama with a whole lot of heart done very very well.
A Royal Affair – Film Review
I continued my recent Danish streak with this historical film about adultery and Enlightenment in the 18th century Denmark, which succeeds both as a sweeping romance and a tense political drama.
