Monday, January 08, 2007
I watched "Marie Antoinette"!
Sorry for the low quality of some of these still photos from "Marie Antoinette". I captioned them from a copy a friend lent me. The film was just screened in my country's theatres last Friday, on 5th January and we'll have to wait until the DVD release.
LET THEM EAT GANACHE, October 22, 2006
"Booed at its Cannes premiere this year (as Anthony Lane in the "New Yorker" states: "Who was in the audience, Robespierre?"), "Marie Antoinette" is that rare bird: a film that is beautiful on the outside (everything about the physical movie is eye-poppingly gorgeous: Costumes, Food, Pastries, Shoes {yes shoes...in fact I can't remember a film in recent memory of which almost every reviewer mentions that Manolo Blahnik did the shoes}) as it is on the inside: studiously, exhaustively researched, thoughtfully written and impeccably directed by Sofia Coppola who gives us a revisionist portrait of M. Antoinette that is humane, heartfelt and above all measured and compassionate. There is no doubt who is in charge of this huge production and Coppola's obvious tender touch is evident everywhere throughout this film.
At the center of this film is the tragic, sad and revelatory Marie of Kirsten Dunst. Dunst's Marie is the outsider, reviled by the French court (called "L'Autrichienne" by most...the Austrian *itch), lost and 14 when she first arrives in France, literally stripped of everything Austrian, Dunst navigates this difficult role with ease. But this is not a surface performance...not at all. Dunst digs deep and reveals all the nuances, all the insecurities, all the strengths of one of the most hated women in all of history. Dunst plays Marie from her gut and she leaves her blood as well as her tears on the celluloid. Do not be swayed or fooled by the naysayers: this is a towering performance of the first order.
Coppola is getting a lot of bad press or her use of 80's music on the soundtrack (Bow Wow Wow, Gang of 4, The Cure) but she has so far in her two previous films ("The Virgin Suicides" and "Lost in Translation") proven to be nothing if not a populist, a product of her environment, a lover of popular culture. In "M.A." the music serves the story effectively by blasting away and preventing any cobwebs from growing on what could have been a stodgy Historical drama.
This "Marie Antoinette" is told from a Marie as a girl perspective: she is very young, she is giddy, very much impatient of the French Court and it's customs, very much into clothes and shoes yet she matures, has children, takes a lover grows wise, becomes the subject of gossip, learns to love Louis and becomes a loving and doting mother.
This is a fully fleshed out role of a victim, really: a victim of politics, of circumstances beyond her control.
Though Coppola will not be beheaded for making this wonderful film, it is apparent that most people just don't get "it." With all that said the fact remains:
"Marie Antoinette" contains one of the most beautiful images ever committed to film: Marie in a carriage, having been forced out of Versailles, deep sadness in her face, clutching her children and holding Louis's hand, the camera pointed out at the grounds of Versailles, she poignantly says "Goodbye" to the only place she can claim as home...as the carriage takes her family to Oblivion."
Reviewer: MICHAEL ACUNA (Glendale, California United States)
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Cute Zodiac Stills
MOVIE PROPAGANDA
"There's more than one way to lose your life to a killer.
During the 1960s and 1970s, a serial killer known only as “the Zodiac” has the San Francisco bay area in a clutch of terror, killing innocent people uncontrollably and taunting police and journalists with letters, clues, and cryptograms. Several jurisdictions become involved in the sensational mystery, but the culprit continues to evade the authorities. Two journalists and two police officers become obsessively involved in the case. Highly intelligent editorial cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) and self-destructive ace reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr) are among the primary recipients of the killer's many messages to their newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle."
Pictures from Iheartjake.com
"The two begin to gather as much information about the case as possible. Meanwhile, skilful homicide detective David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and his partner Bill Armstrong (Anthony Edwards) are equally consumed by the harrowing circumstances as they delve deeper into the investigation. The four men will become dangerously immersed in the puzzling case, which will either build or destroy their careers in the process."
Source: Thecia.com.au Reviews
Messed minds
In consonance with the recent JAKE WATCH's "Important Announcement", it's a good moment to forget all the forced smiles and wry faces we make when we are flooded by incessant rumours/therories/snafu sex schemes around Jake's privacy.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Cardigan out of the closet
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Shopping with Chris
A bad "Secretary" Review
"Secretary was one of the biggest disappointments I've ever seen. After seeing it land on a vast majority of year-best lists, and witnessing the adoration on RT, I had been very excited to see it.
What I found disgusting about the film was not the explicit sexual content so much as the very conceit of the film. Essentially, the film suggests that a person driven to self-mutilation can find solace in submitting to pain and humiliation at the hand of someone else. I find that incredibly offensive. The structure of the film is very simplistic and does a tremendous disservice to people with real psychological difficulties. If there is any complexity in the film, it's because Gyllenhaal and Spader are incredibly intelligent, perceptive actors. The sad thing is that the film has a few keen observations and moments of humor that are awash in the exploitive nature of the concept. Maybe if they had done it differently it might have worked. I'm too lazy to post a link to the review in my journal, but Secretary just ended up not working for me at all." -Dade Devlin in "Rotten Tomatoes forum"
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
HAPPY YEAR 2007!
Friday, December 29, 2006
Jake On Fire!
"A fire broke out at Manka's Inverness Lodge in Marin County early Wednesday after a tree fell on the structure. The local fire chief called it a total loss.
Jake Gyllenhaal and sister Maggie were staying at the inn for Christmas. Guests were seen running outside at around 2:43 am. Said a neighbor: "They weren't dressed to come out. It was early."
Daniel DeLong, chef and co-owner, said Gyllenhaal assisted with recovery efforts: "Jake was helping me pull things out of the fire."
Other well-known guests at the inn were Frances McDormand
and husband Joel Coen. No injuries were reported."
Source: Celebrityfox.com
the front wall of Manka’s restaurant remained mostly standing. Sky can be seen through the windows of a guest room whose roof was consumed. Pictures from Sparselysageadtimely.com
And more information from People.com:
"Jake Gyllenhaal battled hurricanes and tidal waves
in The Day After Tomorrow,
but on Wednesday he faced a real-life natural disaster: A fire at the California hotel where he was vacationing with his family.
Gyllenhaal, 26, and his actress sister Maggie, 29, were among the guests forced to flee Manka's Inverness Lodge in the San Francisco Bay area when the two-story wooden inn caught fire around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Marin Independent Journal reports.
"Jake was helping me pull things out of the fire," Daniel DeLong, a chef and co-owner of the historic lodge where the actors had often vacationed, told the Journal.
[...] The inn and its restaurant were known as a place where A-listers could unwind in a relaxed environment: Prince Charles dined there last year, and DeLong told the Journal that over Christmas he'd cooked grits for the Gyllenhaals as well as actress Frances McDormand and her husband, filmmaker Joel Cohen.
"We just do what we do," he said.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Friday, December 22, 2006
Riding and shopping
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Eccentric Jake and Reese
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Meryl Streep in "Rendition"
"Meryl Streep has joined the cast of New Line Cinema's "Rendition," a political thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon and being directed by Gavin Hood.
Alan Arkin also has been cast, playing a senator.
Written by Kelley Sane, the multilayered story centers on a CIA analyst (Gyllenhaal) based in Cairo who finds his world spinning out of control after he witnesses the interrogation of a foreign national by the Egyptian secret police. Witherspoon is playing the pregnant American wife of the national.
Streep is a government official who orders the rendition of the national. Shooting is under way in Los Angeles. The production also will shoot in Washington, Morocco and South Africa.
Steve Golin is producing. David J. Kanter, Keith Redmon and Michael Sugar are executive producing.
Toby Emmerich and Keith Goldberg are overseeing for the studio.
Streep, repped by CAA, is riding high on Oscar buzz for her performance in "The Devil Wears Prada."
Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs in "The Devil wears Prada".
Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly in "The Devil wears Prada".
She recently joined the all-star cast of "Lions for Lambs," in which she will act alongside Tom Cruise and Robert Redford."
Source: Hollywoodreporter
Alan Arkin also has been cast, playing a senator.
Written by Kelley Sane, the multilayered story centers on a CIA analyst (Gyllenhaal) based in Cairo who finds his world spinning out of control after he witnesses the interrogation of a foreign national by the Egyptian secret police. Witherspoon is playing the pregnant American wife of the national.
Streep is a government official who orders the rendition of the national. Shooting is under way in Los Angeles. The production also will shoot in Washington, Morocco and South Africa.
Steve Golin is producing. David J. Kanter, Keith Redmon and Michael Sugar are executive producing.
Toby Emmerich and Keith Goldberg are overseeing for the studio.
Streep, repped by CAA, is riding high on Oscar buzz for her performance in "The Devil Wears Prada."
Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs in "The Devil wears Prada".
Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly in "The Devil wears Prada".
She recently joined the all-star cast of "Lions for Lambs," in which she will act alongside Tom Cruise and Robert Redford."
Source: Hollywoodreporter
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
HAPPY 26TH BIRTHDAY, JAKE!
Monday, December 18, 2006
Rachel Bilson is single
12% (273 votes)
Forget Jake and Reese - I think Jake and Rachel should hook up.
18% (409 votes)
She should totally hook up with James Franco.
8% (188 votes)
I always thought she should date the other hot OC guy Ben McKenzie.
2% (53 votes)
I vote for Rachel to hook up with Hayden Christensen while they're working on their new movie.
12% (274 votes)
Other - I have a better idea I'll leave in the comments below.
2% (47 votes)
I'm still mourning Adam and Rachel's break up and just want them to get back together.
47% (1087 votes)
Total votes: 2331 Source: Popsugar.com
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