Kilts & Porridge ‘While the men are decked out in Braveheart black tie, with traditional sporrans, fly plaids and kilts designed by Siobhan Mackenzie, the women are given nightclub-ready black heels, skirts that can be hemmed to your personal highlands and sporran-shaped purses.’ … [Read more…]
The Frida Khalo Effect ‘By laying herself bare, we the audience are essentially laying ourselves bare. We see ourselves in a way that we perhaps don’t show to people around us…’ Tansy Curtin, curator at the Art Gallery of South Australia. When Freda Khalo died at 47, she left a body of … [Read more…]
The Rise & Rise of Chatbots ‘… users are now having genuine problems parsing reality. Peruse AI chat forums and you’ll see women asking one another if they should tell their husband that they’re having an affair with their chatbot.’ Tim Elliott, AGE newspaper article In Bot we trust One of my … [Read more…]
Wild and Wicked Famous women are frequently sensationalized to provide historical fodder for films, plays, operas and books. Facts are wilfully ignored because wickedness, orgies, incest, violence, psychological abuse and criminal activity will always find an audience. Cleopatra was frequently represented as an objectified woman. Everyone from Cicero to Shakespeare used her to … [Read more…]
The Queen of Crime ‘Poetry is not the most important thing in life … I’d much rather lie in a hot bath reading Agatha Christie and sucking sweets.’ Welsh poet Dylan Thomas author of Under Milk Wood (1954). It was described by Thomas as ‘prose with blood pressure’. Agatha Christie was a prolific … [Read more…]
Poor Things ‘She (Bella Baxter) thinks that all aspects of life are fascinating because she is in love with being alive. I find that very inspiring. I wish I could live like that more often. Whether she is going through an incredible experience or a really difficult one, she gives an equal weight to … [Read more…]
The Perils of Wetsuits James Bond often slipped into a black rubber wetsuit. Sean Connery as 007 is very partial to them. Preferably accessorized with a gun or a vicious underwater harpoon. My favourite Connery 007 scene is in Goldfinger, where he swims underwater to an island. He stealthily emerges at … [Read more…]
Are we amused? ‘I guess when I think about it, one of the things I like to dramatize, and what is sometimes funny, is someone coming unglued. I don’t consider myself someone who is making the argument that I support these choices. I just think it can be funny Wes Anderson … [Read more…]
Indiana Jones Rides Again A bad guy in a movie has a lot of latitude for acting. He can walk up the wall, crawl across the ceiling, go piss in the corner and everybody will say, “Fantastic!” But somebody’s going to have to catch that sucker. Somebody’s going to have to play the guy … [Read more…]
Manipulation by Gaslight The term ‘gaslight’ can refer to psychological manipulation. The concept was derived from a play in 1938 and later a British film titled ‘Gaslight’ in 1940. In 1944 there was also an American movie version of the same name. In the 1940 film, a husband tries to persuade his wife she … [Read more…]
Venus in a Fur Bikini ‘My name is Raquel Welch. I am here for visual effects, and I have two of them.’ Raquel Welch came to fame after starring in One Million Years B.C. in 1966. She only had three lines in the film but her fur bikini – made from deer skin … [Read more…]
Babylon Babylon is a test of whether or not a film can be the sum of its gorgeous pieces. A great score, a talented ensemble, and expert cinematography—all are undeniable here. And yet there are narrative elements of Babylon that feel hollow from the very beginning … Brian Tallerico Babylon clocks in at … [Read more…]
The Black Eyed Blonde It seemed like a nice neighbourhood to have bad habits in. Raymond Chandler from The Big Sleep 1939. I’ve been reading a Philip Marlowe detective novel that was not written by American author/screenwriter Raymond Chandler (1988-1959). I found the novel The Black Eyed Blonde engaging but somewhat disconcerting. … [Read more…]
Hollywood Dame – Zsa Zsa Gabor ‘A man in love is incomplete until he has married. Then he’s finished.’ Zsa Zsa Gabor In the fifties and sixties, Zsa Zsa Gabor became more famous for playing herself than the films, stage shows and television shows she appeared in. Born in Budapest and … [Read more…]
Italian Style Italian film directors produce diverse and wonderful films. Paolo Sorrentino is one of my favourite directors. Sometimes I watch the exuberant party scene from La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty) when I’m feeling a bit sad and need to recalibrate. Fellini’s, La Dolce Vita is a magnificent film. Released in 1960, set in … [Read more…]
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes ‘I overheard Dorothy tell Major Falcon that she liked to become intoxicated once in a dirty while.’ Lorelei Lee from Anita Loos novella, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. One of my favourite books is a hardcover 1926, tenth edition of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. So popular was Anita Loos’ novella that … [Read more…]
Bond. James Bond. The first 007 movie was released nearly sixty years ago. There have been six James Bond British secret agents: Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan & Daniel Craig. Much has been made of Daniel Craig’s fifth and final Bond movie, No Time To Die. I won’t … [Read more…]
On being Cary Grant ‘Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant.’ quote from Cary Grant who began life as Archie Leach. I’ve been watching To Catch a Thief again. It’s my favourite Cary Grant film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The European locations are to die … [Read more…]
The Perils of Netflix ‘If we humans disappeared overnight, the world would probably be better off.’ Sir David Attenborough – the British Naturalist, after observing beasts of every species for nearly a century. I no longer own a television. It was an elegant piece of equipment with superb clarity and great sound but … [Read more…]
FLASH GORDON ‘Flash, Flash, I love you, but we only have fourteen hours to save the Earth!’ Flash Gordon (1980) Ming the Merciless from the planet Mongo, has a delightfully wicked line in evil patter – ‘Pathetic Earthlings … Who can save you now? ’ Played by Max von Sydow, … [Read more…]