Permanent Plastic Helmet
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Hey! Wha’happen?
You might have noticed PPH has been a bit quiet recently; this lack of activity can be attributed to a nasty combination of extreme business in other areas and le flu d’homme (translation: quite a bad cold that won’t go away). However, PPH will return with exciting new content next week, and I’m also excited … Continue reading
PPH Highlights
There’s no doubt that Shame is a bold, captivating portrait of a sex addict’s life in New York. The visual style is stunning, Michael Fassbender’s performance – bizarrely unrecognized by the Academy – is mesmerising, and the film really captures the essence of New York onscreen. But its portrayal of women is less than flattering, and this is … Continue reading
I really like Jeanne Moreau. What’s not to really like? The heavy-lidded insouciance of her gaze. The husky purr of her voice, undoubtedly nurtured by a several-packs-of-Gitanes-a-day habit. The attitude that challenges you to find her irresistible while simultaneously not giving a Gallic toss whether you do or not. I present Jacques Demy’s La Baie … Continue reading
Political correctness and James Bond have always been mutually exclusive. Ian Fleming’s literary 007 was an unreconstructed chauvinist, a reflection of the author’s own tastes and prejudices and an “anonymous, blunt instrument”, as Fleming himself called his creation. Russian journalist Yuri Zhukov described the world of this Bond as “nightmarish…where laws are written at the … Continue reading
For years now I’ve been attending the BFI’s legendary Film Quiz. Taking place on the second Wednesday of each month at the BFI IMAX bar, it’s an entertaining, competitive and unbendingly alcohol-fuelled audio-visual experience helmed by the estimable Rachel, Michael and Rhidian (all followable on Twitter, hence the hyperlinks). Being a BFI film quiz, it … Continue reading
10. WIN WIN A dark-edged family comedy anchored by a fantastic lead turn from the ever reliable Paul Giamatti, Tom McCarthy’s Win Win is a movie for our recession-hit modern times; a character-driven and ultimately cheering melange of Only Fools and Horses-style pathos, Arthur Miller’s socio-political incision, and the rambling charm of peak-era Robert Altman. Its thunder … Continue reading
Garry Marshall’s new film New Year’s Eve throws up a number of challenging questions. Among them; what is the biological nomenclature for that silky auburn thing atop Jon Bon Jovi’s bonce? Wouldn’t it be funny if Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges’ job was actually building ludicrous, architecturally unsound bridges instead of turning up in terrible films every couple … Continue reading
Rushes
- So presumably everybody else knew about this, then... Yeah it's the same guy. Apparently he won the Best Actor award at the Manhattan Film Festival last year for his part as a German in 1940s Russia in a film called Under Jakob’s Ladder. Well I never. Source: The Sun
- But kudos to Gerard Butler for branching out; this looks like it could be a painful role.
- It's no secret I'm a huge fan of Carol Morley's new doc/drama Dreams Of A Life, so I'm pleased to give a plug to this interesting digital development by Film4. With a narrative by writer A.L. Kennedy and some lovely time-lapse photography by Lottie Davies, 'Dreams Of Your Life' is an interactive, unique digital project that allows audiences to explore further the film's themes of society, loneliness, friendship and love. Click here to visit 'Dreams Of Your Life'.
- CHECK OUT: In case you missed it, here's a brilliant interactive gallery of stars inhabiting various roles of classic cinematic nastiness over at the New York Times:
- WATCH: Stunning salsa documentary Our Latin Thing, directed by Oscar winner Leon Gast (When We Were Kings) When? Wednesday 30th November 2011, 8pm Where? La Bodeguita, Elephant & Castle, London SE1 For more info, visit SHOOK FM's website now!
