Saturday, March 31, 2012

Movies: Beautiful (2000 AD): Mimi Driver is stunning as the protagonist in The Cell

I was privileged to see at last this evening-morning the celebrated movie The Cell, released in the Millenial Year.  Remember? — 2KY.


Twelve years of life so far, this brilliant display of cinematography at its finest, is also a well acted serial-killer drama, featuring as its heroic heroine the character played by Jennifer Lopez (Dr Catherine Deane), well supported by the little-girl child-actor Hallie Kate Eisenberg who plays Vanessa, dawter of the woud-be Pageant Winner, Mona, played by Minnie Driver.  Vincent D'Onofrio plays the serial-killer into whose mind Jennifer (FBI agent) travels, the mind of Carl Rudolph Stargher.


Moral of this finely-sentimental work of filmic art, a narrative motif interwoven into the movie arts here on display, sentiment interwoven with a plot of quest.  The moral of the Sacred Quest (in search of some Holy Grail or other) is here presented as a dilemma — either becoming winner of the beauty-pageant Crown for the year, or alternatively a renewal of a special life-giving relationship and thus a liberation from  the more than stunted, shuttered relation of alienation previously prevailing between mother and dawter.  Minnie Driver's character is on a quest for personal integrity, sadly lacking in her relationship with her dawter.  This is evident when Driver sings an amazingly performed solo film-version of  the pop hit, Will you still love me tomorrow" already made famous by the Shirtelles who released it in 1964.    The Cell version (2000, film soundtrack appearance of Minnie Driver with the London Philharmonic Orchestra); the key song was originally sung by the Shirelles, recorded live, 1964 (see 2nd video panel below).

Some of the scenes in The Cell are inspired by works of art. A scene in which a horse is split into sections by falling glass panels was inspired by the works of British artist Damien Hirst. The film also includes scenes based on the work of other late 20th century artists, including Odd NerdrumH. R. Giger, and the Brothers Quay. Tarsem — who began his career directing music videos such as En Vogue's "Hold On" and R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" — drew upon such imagery for Stargher's dream sequences. In particular, he was influenced by videos directed by Mark Romanek, such as "Closer," and "The Perfect Drug" by Nine Inch Nails, "Bedtime Story" by Madonna, and the many videos that Floria Sigismondi directed for Marilyn Manson. During a scene, Jennifer Lopez falls asleep watching a film, the film is Fantastic Planet. In the scene where Catherine talks with Carl while he is "cleaning" his first victim, the scenery resembles the music video "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M.


The scene where Peter Novak first enters the mind of Carl Stargher, and is confronted by three females with open mouths to the sky is based on the painting "Dawn" by Norwegian painter Odd Nerdrum. The scene when Catherine Deane is chasing Carl through a stone hallway, right before she enters the room with the horse, is based on a painting by Swiss surrealist H.R. Giger called "Schacht".  — Wikipedia


Also note the Sufi music of Morocco sung by the Master Musicians of Jajouka led by Bachir Attar. 


The movie received both acclaim and condemnation.





Thus does a contemporary movie become as loaded with allusions as is T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland quartet of poems.


To me, it seems that the stylistics of Sally Field have absorbed a lot from the film aesthetic of French director, Jean-Luc Godard


Movie Man, refWrite Backpage film reviewer & critic



, general editor, refWrite Backpage

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Music: Jazz: Jazz vocalist with jazz chamber orchestra, so to speak

I've often said how I l+k jazz  — instrumental jazz — but detested jazz vocalizations,

I've had to change that judgment.  Now, after hearing Liala Biali, here's something that conveys jazz-ready singing sublime.

— MusicMan




Hat Tip to Igor Manuel, Belo Horizonte, Brasil

— reposted here by MusicMan (Mar22,2k12), refWrite Backpage music critic

, genereal editor, refWrite Backpage




Friday, March 16, 2012

Sports: NHL Hockey: Canadiens (Montreal) lead Senators (Ottawa) 1-0


Here in Canada, the hockey industry pitts Montreal vs Ottawa for an NHL contest that  somehow seems regnant with Canada's own culture wars more largely, you know, the/les Canadiens / separatistes / autonom-istes — a tripartite memes-linkage input in Québec's province-w+d discourse that has as its fawlt line the difference in language and other modes of culture in the various societal spheres of la belle province, dans les peuples des francophones majoriteurs, le peuple francophone du Québec, les Québecois/Québecoises.

But the usual protocols for the enjoyment of a hockey match, by fans of teams, often specific teams housed in or near the woud-be enjoyers dwelling or workplace; enjoying a game of professional hockey (at the NHL level) seems these days to slip away from its former strong ties to the naïve entertainment knowledge of a hockey game in Canada today.



We can get tickets to go root, root, root for our home team (both native Canadian and American champions,  well-supplemented today -- of course ! -- by Russian, Eastern European, and Baltic States pro-hockey athletes). The outstanding measurable factor in a multi-modal analysis of the fanbase of each of the teams, and its threads of themes of motivations of the players along the 5-years developmental stage of fourteen thru eighteen ("the hellion teen-years," said some British media-wag).

We can quietly watch together in our close-family circle.  We can extend, even open w+d, the circle —a change from previously functioning as a household event into an at-least-partially-open event — so, we throw a house party.

And we str+k up some new acquaintences, over several beers, a couple of shots of whiskey, Scotch double malt, thru the n+t we will begin the usually-long process of making friends, with two couples and three singles we had never met before.

Sportikos


Montreal Canadiens lead Senators 1-0

————————————————————

Montreal Gazette (Enlish lang daily), Montreal, Québec (Mar16,2k12)
by Mike Boone (see MB's game blog Hockey Ins+d/out)

— reposted here with comment by Sportikos,
refWrite Backpage sports columnist

general editor, refWrite Backpage 

————————————————————

 Mike Boon's newsbrief:

The Canadiens are still leading the Ottawa Senators 1-0 after the second period of play on Friday night, the second time the teams have met in three days.
Tomas Plekanec gave Montreal the lead when he scored a shorthanded goal 8:18 into the first period.
Andrei Markov, who played the last three games after missing 16 months because of a knee injury, will not play Friday night. Tomas Kaberle will also be missing in action, with Alexei Emelin drawing back into the lineup.


Read Mike Boone’s game blog Hockey Inside/out


Read more : http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Montreal+Canadiens+lead+Senators/6315452/story.html#ixzz1pKgdQ0nQ

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Music: Music/Art interface: Daiziwen's creations at the edge of interdisciplinary art

Despite its opening image (which didn't much arouse curiosity), I gave Daiziwen's combo of video imagery with calligraphy (to me undiscernible, but indeed curiosity-arousing and even intriguing) and Marshall music.  A troo del+t. 8–)

— Audiovisiotor




— reposted here with comment by Audiovisiotor, refWrite Backpage
video/music columnist & reviewer
 editor, refWrite Backpage
for music/visual interdisciplinarity, sports, tech, and much more
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Sports: NHL hockey: Tampa Bay's Lightning 6 vs 1 Boston's Bruins

TAMPA, FLA.—Once Steven Stamkos scored, there was no stopping him from doing it again.
The NHL goals leader scored twice to reach 50 in a season for the second time, and the Tampa Bay Lightning jumped out to a big early lead before coasting to a 6-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.
Pix: Mike Carlson / AP

The 22-year-old Stamkos, who moved into a tie for the league's scoring lead with Evgeni Malkin with 84 points, also scored his 49th and 50th goals in the same game two seasons ago.
“It was definitely in the back of my mind. It was nice last time I did it to get to 49 and 50 in one game,” said Stamkos, the first pick in the 2008 draft. “That was definitely running through my mind.”
---------------------------------------------------------
Toronto Star (Mar14,2k12) by Fred Goodall 
... read his excellent article in full
— article intro posted here by Sportikos,
refWrite Backpage sports columnist
 editor, refWrite Backpage
Steven Stamkos scores 50th goal 

as Tampa Bay Lightning 

beat Boston Bruins


Monday, March 12, 2012

Music: Pop: Bruce Springsteen walks 'The Streets of Philadelphia'

The song was released in the late Nineties.  I don't know when the Boss went on his walk.  But in this snippet of an excerpt, lovely and sad, we get glimpses of a Philly looking wasted as it never did in the years I grew up there ... the snippet has a cameo of Tom Hanks ... stretches credulity a bit for me, but so what, eh? — Musikos




Hat Tip to Igor Manuel

— reposted here with comment by Musikos, refWrite Backpage music columnist and reviewer
general editor, refWrite
YouTube channel for refWrite's video & music collections.

Sunday, March 04, 2012

Satire: Literary: Shakespeare lampooned in story of The Three Little Pigs

A bit of nursery rhyme cross-bred with stand-up comedy to satir+z Shakespeare.  Somewhat a farce the way this stand-up deployees his ever-so clever jokes for the intelligentsia, including me.
— Saturikos 8-)


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The Three Little Pigs

Comedian John Branyan tells the story of The Three Little Pigs as it 
would have sounded if written by Shakespeare in this hilarious 
stand-up performance. He did this so well I hope he does more
Fairy Tales as I know I could avail oneself of some of the words he used
to improve my limited vocabulary.
————————————————————————
Big Geek Daddy (found Mar3.2k`1)
— reposted here by Saturikos, refWrite Backpage humour&satire columnist
refWrite Backpage editorYouTube
channel for refWrite's online video collection.
Hat Tip to Eleanor Abbott, abbess, Order of the Ascension, California

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