Subscribe to CommentsI meant to do this post much earlier, but as anyone out there with kids will understand, they’re kind of time-consuming, especially in the first few weeks. Our daughter was born March 1st, and thus is six weeks old today. As may come as no surprise to anyone who recognizes my blog header image, we named her Karina – inspired by, though not necessarily after, actress Anna Karina.
So far she’s shown little interest in any of the fine video content we’ve exposed her to, from Star Trek: The Next Generation to Mildred Pierce to Archer to The Amazing Race. Ah well. On the good side, she seems to enjoy all the music we’ve played, so I’m sure we’ll get there on the visual content when she has the ability to, like, see it.
Here are a few pictures taken throughout the past six weeks. Most were taken by me or Jonathan on our phones or with our Canon Rebel; the hospital ones were taken by our friend and professional photographer Sarah.
Note that this post is the 1000th published post on The Frame. I think that’s appropriate. :)
I won’t get a chance to see Terrence Malick’s latest film To the Wonder until its theatrical release in April, but the reviews out of TIFF were decidedly mixed – has Malick finally gone off the narrative deep end? Bilge Ebiri argues instead that Malick has embraced an aesthetic of dance in everyday life, a prospect which excites me very much, since it was that sense of dance-like movement among the Native Americans that first made me fall in love with The New World.
A great opening credit sequence can really set the mood for the film that comes, and are often works of art in and of themselves – it’s disappointing that so many films these days eschew them all together. But Alex has pulled together a top-notch set of opening credits both current and classic, complete with video and commentary on why they’re so great. A lot of variety in here, from Saul Bass to David Fincher, and from titles that seem pretty basic but have a ton going on to in-your-face aesthetic assaults.
What’s on TCM in February is their annual 31 Days of Oscar celebration, during which every movie they air has at least been nominated for an Oscar in some category. This lets in, like, stuff that was nominated for Art Direction in 1937, but hey. February is always filled with a ton of great classics. It can be kind of an uninteresting month for avid TCM watchers, but if you just want to watch or rewatch some great films, or share them with friends and family, it’s a good time to get on board. Angela’s got the rundown of what to look out for during February.
Classic movie fans lucky enough to live in a place where classic films are screened for audiences (or who have ever taken a film appreciation course in high school or college) are likely all too familiar with the scenario in which youthful audiences spend the entire film laughing at the wrong parts, jeering at elements they perceive as dated. Cory Atad recently had this happen at Vertigo, which happens to be one of my (and his) favorite films of all time, and I feel his frustration. Oh, and by the way, if you’re not already reading Movie Mezzanine, you must start – it’s a relatively new collective formed by some of the best film bloggers out there, and they’ve already got some fantastic series going on all sorts of film-related things.
Kristin Thompson, who has written a whole book already about the Lord of the Rings films from a marketing and merchandising standpoint (The Frodo Franchise) and is currently in the middle of writing a book about Tolkein in general, gives an astute look at the additions made to Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Hobbit. She stands pretty much where I do in terms of appreciating the additions and the way Jackson has molded The Hobbit to fit with his LotR trilogy, but she does bring up some good points regarding the balance of the film in terms of action scenes vs. quiet scenes and how the Azog subplot potentially affects that.
Danny Kaye’s 100th birthday would’ve been just a few days ago, and Terry Towles Canote takes the opportunity to celebrate this consummate entertainer – as accomplished at singing and dancing as he was at comedy, and even able to turn in solid dramatic performances as needed. There are several Kaye films I love (especially The Court Jester, White Christmas, and Hans Christian Andersen), but there are more I need to see, for sure, and Canote takes us briskly through his life and career.
Kim Morgan writes about Marilyn Monroe better than almost anyone else I’ve ever read, and here she ties Marilyn in with The Master a little bit, but largely with Melancholia, identifying a deep affinity between Marilyn’s struggle with depression and self-worth with that of Justine in Lars von Trier’s film. I’ve heard many people, especially women, denounce von Trier for his treatment of women in his film, but I find myself much more attuned to Morgan’s viewpoint, which is that von Trier is hardly a sadistic misogynist, but is rather one of the greatest directors of women the world of cinema has ever seen. But she expresses it much better than I do.
Alex runs down his Top 15 performances from both men and women this year, and they’re both really solid lists. Several of the films I still need to catch up with (Rust and Bone most obviously – especially since I’m a huge Marion Cotillard fan), but of the films I have seen, I can hardly disagree with any of his picks.
Lara takes on three Barbara Stanwyck Pre-Code films, one from 1931, one from 1932, and one from 1933, and charts the attempts to censor them in the days before the Hollywood Production Code was enforced – who raised outcries and against what specific content. She also looks at each film in and of itself and Stanwyck’s roles. I’ve see Baby Face, but still need to catch up with the other two. Maybe this will spur me to get on with that.
A ton of these lists have been showing up recently, and so far every one has pointed out films that I didn’t even know were in the works! So my own list of most-anticipated will have to wait until I process some of these other, better-informed ones. It looks like it could be a very good year. Of course, I’m still coming to terms with the fact that I will not be able to see most 2013 films in the theatre, my preferred way of viewing, but I hope to have a solid DVD year eventually at home with baby by my side. Here’s a few lists I’ve enjoyed so far:
