martes, 28 de junio de 2011

Aventuras de un día del Orgullo

Esta mañana me he levantado escandalosamente pronto gracias a un señor que bajo mi ventana silbaba a un gran volumen mientras descargaba tejas de un camión. No aporta mucho a la historia pero bueno... El caso es que siendo 28 de junio (día del Orgullo LGTB) me he dicho: "Noé, hijo mío, pon algo en el blog que te va a caducar la cuenta." Y me he puesto y, viendo que solamente iba a escribir mamelucadas, me he dicho: "Noé, hijo mío, déjalo, si total..." Y entonces mientras desayunaba he empezado a ver La Caída de los Dioses de Visconti (aún no la he acabado (lo sé, David, bloguear a media película es sacrilegio) pero de momento es Dios (no caído)) y he tenido que pararla y entrar en Imdb para saber quién era la mujer más hermosérrima del mundo entero. Cual ha sido mi sorpresa cuando he visto que Elisabeth Thallman no era otra que ¡¡Charlotte Rampling!! Con lo que ahora la amo definitivamente (La Vida en Tiempos de Guerra + Melancholia + Belleza Infinita = Amor). 

Charlotte Rampling 

También he aprovechado para ver quién era el hermoso Martin Von Essenbeck que ha resultado ser un actor al que no conocía llamado Helmut Berger. En su página de Imdb había una lista hecha por alguien en la que aparecía Berger como uno de los actores homosexuales favoritos de ese alguien. Y me he puesto a investigar (no he salido de la Wikipedia) y me he enterado de que Helmut no solo es efectivamente homosexual sino que tuvo una relación con el propio Visconti...

Luchino Visconti

...quien también tuvo una relación con Franco Zeffirelli.


Franco Zeffirelli

Y me he dicho: "Noé, hijo mío, aquí tienes para la entrada del blog." Y me he hecho caso y dedico esta entrada del día del Orgullo a los directores de nuestro "gremio". Me da la sensación de que me he olvidado de alguien muy importante y de que me voy a arrepentir mucho de haberme olvidado y de que moriré de la angustia pero hay que ser valiente... También quiero decir que hay cuatro directores que no sé muy bien que hacen aquí. Uno por la cuestionable calidad de su obra:

Bryan Singer
   

Otro, porque no he visto ninguna de sus películas

Rainer Werner Fassbinder
      

Ell tercero, por las dos razones anteriores (aunque la de la dudosa calidad pesa mucho más):

Roland Emmerich

Y el cuarto porque es bastante difícil dilucidar su sexualidad (se define como gay porque es menos confuso pero está casado con una mujer y tiene una hija con ella):

Stephen Daldry

Pero el resto están aquí por haber dirigido películas que adoro  (las de Daldry también las adoro y realmente me encantan las dos primeras X-Men de Singer) como Smiley Face...


Gregg Araki

...Milk...

Gus Van Sant

...Los Chicos Están Bien...

Lisa Cholodenko

...Chicago...

Rob Marshall

...Lejos del Cielo...

Todd Haynes

...de Pedro, obviamente, no puedo elegir solamente una...

Pedro Almodóvar

...o Un Hombre Soltero.

Tom Ford 

Siguiendo con mis aventuras de este día, merece la pena contar que si googleas Tom Ford uno de los resultados es la foto que hay abajo...


...y estoy convencido de que es ilegal ver esa foto y no usarla en una entrada de blog. Además viene muy bien al caso porque hoy me he enterado de que, al parecer, no es ningún secreto que Jon Kortajarena es homosexual y que tiene una relación con Alfonso Bassave... Y me he dicho: "Noé, hijo mío, ahora sí que vas a ver Dieta Mediterránea"...

¡¡Feliz Día del Orgullo!!



sábado, 28 de mayo de 2011

You're Lebanese, you're Orient!

The second season of Glee is over. And if there is something that every viewer (that I know of, my claims always so scientific!!) agrees on is that the best thing about it has been Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera).


Santana started in the first half of the first season being a filling character without any other trait than being the traitor than can give information to Sue at any point without having to explain too much. In the second half, she and Brittany started having the one-liners that audiences (and I include myself proudly) adore. So much that when the second season started they had been promoted to regulars, something that Mike "dancing-should-not-look-like-a-disease" Chang could not achieve let alone Matt "transferred-to-another-school-and-never-brought-up-again" Rutherford. 

However and given that Glee is a show with 2,591 characters, some had necessarily to resent from this stepping in the spotlight from Santana. And I think it is safe to say that the character that has been relegated to oblivion has been Tina Cohen-Chang who holds the dubious honor of being the protagonist of the most bizarre (and not in a good way) moment of the season. I'm referring obviously to her rendition of "My Funny Valentine".
And I believe it is interesting to note that the first song Tina performed in the show was "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry, something that led some viewers (ok, maybe just me) to believe that a lesbian plot was going to develop. And who knows if that was the case; after all, the stutter subplot is another of the weirdest things that have happened on the show. What is interesting is that now, the Lebanese (as Brittany would put it) character par excellence is Lima Heights Santana. Which makes me wonder if the lesbian plot was not fully given to Tina because she was not that interesting...

Santana, on the other hand, is not only the most interesting character in the show (even if she had the duty to say that haircut line in the finale giving way to another ass-weird situation) but also the best executed in terms of performance (I'm sorry Jane Lynch but stop crying for your sister, start bullying people and I'll love you again). So I'd like to start a FYC campaign for the Emmys. Naya Rivera, Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series!!

And just for comparison purposes, we can assure that Santana has gone from Poppita to Nicole while Tina has gone from Lil' Lily to... Exquisite Woo? Or the teacher who changed gender, whatever you prefer...


Santana's Evolution


And as it is physically impossible for me to think about Popular without renewing my vows with my Mary Cherry, here is a picture of her, just because. And by the way, Brittany still has a lot of work to do until she becomes a Mary Cherry but certainly, writing "My Cup" was a step in the right direction...





sábado, 21 de mayo de 2011

Inferno

El diablo (entre Lexatín y Lexatín (sí, la obsesión con La Joven Dolores no flaquea)) se dedica, aparentemente, a dirigir las distribuidoras de cine en España. Doña Sinde debería preocuparse menos de la gente que se baja películas el día de su estreno en cines, porque esa gente va a seguir bajándose películas pase lo que pase, y debería preocuparse un poco más por la gente que baja películas que son imposibles de ver de una manera legal. Y no estoy hablando solamente de cine "pequeño" como J'ai Tué Ma Mère o Les Amours Imaginaires de Dolan o Smiley Face o Kaboom de Araki sino de películas nominadas al Oscar a la mejor actriz como Rabbit Hole o Blue Valentine o al mejor guión como Another Year, todas ellas aún sin fecha de estreno. Otro ejemplo muy ilustrativo es el caso de I'm not There de Todd Haynes que se estrenó en Estados Unidos el 21 de noviembre de 2007 y en España el 19 de febrero... ¡de 2010!

Por ello y a modo de modesta protesta he decidido incluir en este blog un cuadro de texto en el que aparecen las veinte películas de la Sección Oficial de Cannes de este año (¡mañana termina!) y la fecha de estreno en España, si es que algún llegan a tenerla. De momento, solamente La Piel que Habito está destinada a aparecer en nuestras pantallas. Y sí, está claro que Melancholia, The Tree of Life y muy posiblemente Drive o We Need to Talk About Kevin se estrenarán antes de marzo de 2012 pero, ¿qué va a pasar con películas como L'Apollonide o Michael? Ya veremos, pero yo no voy a aguantar la respiración...


viernes, 6 de mayo de 2011

Y sigo vivo...

... sigo vivo aunque me digas que no, aunque me niegues tus besos y enloquezca mi cuerpo buscando tu amor. ¡Qué mejor manera de celebrar la vida que una canción de Raúl! Pido disculpas pero me resulta físicamente imposible oir/decir/escribir las palabras "Y sigo vivo" sin acompañarlas de esa obra maestra del siglo ¿XX? ¿XXI? XXI, que Raúl empezó su masiva carrera en Eurovisión de 2000...

Bueno, dejémoslo antes de que me de por Andy y Lucas... Sirva esta entrada como juramento escrito de que en algún momento tengo intención de volver a escribir aquí e incluso de que tengo alguna idea (!). De momento solo voy a hacer un par de apuntes...


¡Encuesta! Va en inglés porque Kaboom no se ha estrenado en España y teniendo en cuenta que aún no se ha estrenado Smiley Face, podemos decir que nunca lo hará.

Favorite Thor of 2011?



Por supuesto no voy a dejar de escribir sin decir que "Judas" ha entrado directamente al Top 5 (¿3?¿1?) de videoclips de Lady Gaga o que a pesar de que parezca que escucho a Raúl, en realidad tengo "Sick and Tired" de Anastacia en un loop constante.

You're love isn't fair 
You live in a world 
where you didn't listen 
and you didn't care 
so I'm floating, 
I'm floating on it.

lunes, 18 de abril de 2011

Semana Santa

O el momento de no hacer nada.
O el momento de (quizá) tomar importantes decisiones.
O de escuchar La Joven Dolores en un loop infinito.

jueves, 7 de abril de 2011

7 Wonderful Things...

... that the trailer for Crazy Stupid Love Promises:

1. Ryan Gosling's ridiculous hotness.


2. Kevin Bacon's awesomeness.


3. A bearable Steve Carell (actually, in Little Miss Sunshine, he was more than bearable, he was very good).


4. Julianne Moore cheating again plus that Twilight line.


5. Marisa Tomei's hotness and craziness.


6. Emma Stone's lovability. Who would not fall in love with her instantly?



7. Did I mention this?

jueves, 31 de marzo de 2011

I Can't Wait (the 2011 edition)

2010 is already finished and done with and it is time to look ahead to see what wonders await us. Or rather, for what wonders are we willing to wait. Thanks to the all mighty Internet I compiled a list of 94 films to be released (in principle) in 2011 that I intend to see sooner or later. Out of those 94 films, I have chosen the 20 I am anticipating the most. And here they are:

20. Moonrise Kingdom


Because of: Wes Anderson, Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwartzman.
In Spite of: A likely 2012 release (that is why it's last), Frances McDormand and Edward Norton.

19. Jane Eyre


Because of: The Brontë surname, Michael Fassbender, Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins and the trailer.
In Spite of: Potential dullness?

18. My Week With Marilyn



Because of: Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Eddie Redmayne and the Royal Hollywood story.
In Spite of: Potential "biopicness"?

17. The Help



Because of: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Olive Penderghast, Allison Janney and Emma's pocketful of sunshine.
In Spite of: Smells like The Secret Life of Bees.

16. Trespass



Because of: NICOLE KIDMAN, the Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas, Adaptation, Bad Lieutenant or The Weather Man, Nicole Kidman, Cam Gigandet's pecs and Nicole Kidman.
In Spite of: Joel Schumacher, the Nicolas Cage of The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Season of the Witch or Ghost Rider.

15. X-Men First Class



Because of: January Jones, McAvoy, Fassbender, Bacon, Hoult, Lawrence, the X-Men in general, the setting in the 60s and Matthew Vaughn.
In Spite of: Rose Byrne.

14. Winnie the Pooh



Because of: Eeyore, Tigger, Piglet, Winnie, Owl, Rabbit.
In Spite of: Will it be a long episode of the TV show?

13. We Need to Talk About Kevin



Because of: Tilda Swinton, the premise.
In Spite of: I know very little about the film so I can't think of anything.

12. Friends With Benefits



Because of: Mila Kunis, Will Gluck, Justin Timberlake's pecs, Patricia Clarkson, Emma Stone, the trailer.
In Spite of: The most likely cheesy and conventional ending.

11. Bad Teacher



Because of: Cameron Diaz, the trailer, the hope of Justin Timberlake's pecs, Molly Shannon!, Lucy Punch.
In Spite of: Less likely to have a conventional ending but still plausible.

10. Immortals



Because of: Tarsem Singh, the visual side of his films, Greek Mythology, Mickey Rourke, Stephen Dorff, the abundance of pecs.
In Spite of: Freida Pinto (who nevertheless is choosing very interesting directors).

9. A Dangerous Method



Because of: Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Vigo Mortensen, Vincent Cassel, psychoanalysis and I would love to say Cronenberg but I'm still a virgin in his films.
In Spite of: Cronenberg might be too tough for me?

8. Hanna



Because of: Joe Wright, Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, Olivia Williams, Eric Bana.
In Spite of: Was Joe Wright a two-tricks pony?

7. Shame



Because of: Steve McQueen, Michael Fassbender, Hunger, Carey Mulligan.
In Spite of: Totally unrelated to the film but I don't like Carey off-screen.

6. One Day



Because of: Anne Hathaway, Lone Scherfig, Jim Sturgess, Patricia Clarkson, the premise, that wonderful poster.
In Spite of: Will it deliver?

5. Contagion



Because of: Soderbergh, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow.
In Spite of: Nothing.

4. The Tree of Life



Because of: Malick's grandeur, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain (I have never seen her in a film and I love her already), dinosaurs.
In Spite of: Malick's grandeur is sometimes too grand for me.

3. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo



Because of: Fincher, Rooney Mara, Fincher's perfectionism, Daniel Craig, Fincher's coolness.
In Spite of: Remake, seemingly-boring novel?

2. Melancholia



Because of: LARS, Kirsten Dunst, VON, Charlotte Gainsbourg, TRIER, Alexander Skarsgard, Von Trier's madness, the premise.
In Spite of: Nothing.

1. La Piel que Habito



Because of: Pedro Almodóvar, Elena Anaya, Pedro Almodóvar, Marisa Paredes, Pedro Almodóvar, Antonio Banderas working with Pedro Almodóvar.
In Spite of: Horror films scare me.


martes, 22 de marzo de 2011

The Noah Castle Film Awards (Epilogue)


The Noecitos have been handed for the first time!! That might look like nothing but it is actually a big deal to me. I think it is a great way to celebrate love for the movies. But there is a sad part and that not every movie can make the cut so I wanted to dedicate the epilogue to the 49 films that were in no way represented in the NCFAs. For math's sake I'll say that a total of 46 films were somehow mentioned during this year's festivities so that means that I've watched so far 95 eligible films.
Of course, the lack of these 49 films cannot be attributed to a single factor. Some had a lot of competence and some were just awful. So here they come: the forgotten ones!

The really good ones (a.k.a.  The "I can't believe they were not mentioned!")

Exit through the Gift Shop by Banksy
María y Yo by Félix Fernández de Castro
Toy Story 3 by Lee Unkrich


The good ones

Balada Triste de Trompeta  by Álex de la Iglesia
Bicicleta Cullera Poma by Carles Bosch
Bon Appétit by David Pinillos
Film Socialisme by Jean-Luc Godard (under the category WTF?)
Incendies by Denis Villeneuve 
The King's Speech by Tom Hooper
Uncle Boonmee who can recall his past lives by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
El Mal Ajeno by Oskar Santos
Mistérios de Lisboa by Raoul Ruiz
Pa Negre  by Agustí Villaronga
Rabia by Sebastián Cordero
Shutter Island by Martin Scorsese
Todo lo que tú quieras by Achero Mañas

The ones between good and O.K.

Going the Distance by Nannette Burstein
Harry Potter 7.1 by David Yates
La Isla Interior by Dunia Ayaso and Félix Sabroso
Knight and Day by James Mangold
Leap Year by Anand Tucker
London River by Rachid Bouchareb
Machete by Robert Rodríguez
La Mosquitera by Agustí Vila
Mr. Nobody by Jaco Van Dormael
Prince of Persia by Mike Newell
The Runaways by Flora Sigismondi
The Switch by Josh Gordon and Will Speck
True Grit by Joel and Ethan Coen

The O.K. ones

Centurion by Neil Marshall
Contracorriente by Javier Fuentes-León
Una Hora Más en Canarias by David Serrano
I Love You, Philip Morris by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa
Iron Man 2 by Jon Favreau
Lope by Andrucha Waddington
Mother and Child by Rodrigo García
Tron: Legacy by Joseph Kosinski
Valentine's Day by Garry Marshall
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger by Woody Allen


The bad ones

Cyrus by Jay and Mark Duplass
Date Night by Shwan Levy
Herois by Pau Freixas
The Tourist by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck


The awfulness made film

Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton
Clash of the Titans by Louis Leterrier
Dear John by Lasse Hallström
Estació de l'Oblit by Christian Molina and Sandra Serna
The Last Airbender by M. Night Shyamalan (my pick for worst film of the year)
Robin Hood by Ridley Scott

END OF THE NCFA 2010!