Gainsbourg

Must.See.This.

So sad about Lucy Gordon, who plays Jane Birkin...apparently she is fantastic.

I'm Here

Watch it here. You really must. Heartwarming stuff, it's one of those films that leaves you feeling odd, in a good way. Has a nice soundtrack too featuring Aska Matsumiya!

A Single Man

Last week I finally saw A Single Man. As predicted, I loved it.

Critics complained about how everything is too perfect - the expensive suits and crisply cut /beehived hair. But that was actually one of my favourite things about it!

The friend I went to see it with is an aspiring director and complained that the colour grading was too obvious...the colours switch between grey and orange tones showing Firth's lapse in and out of reality/depression. But again, this was another of my favourite features...

Perhaps I am just naive/easily pleased, but it was just so sumptuous to look at, as well as brilliantly acted. Based on a short story by Isherwood, the film charts Firth's final day, preparing himself for suicide following the death of his lover... but this darkness is cleverly balanced with humour and, of course, (if you haven't heard by now, the film was produced/directed by Tom Ford) apart from Nicholas Hoult's fluffy jumper...the fashion is flawless.

[All images via Google images]

There is a light that never goes out.

Since seeing 500 Days of Summer and downloading the soundtrack - I've developed an unhealthy obsession with that Smiths song. Predictably, I loved the film, despite the annoying narrator's voice. Fantasy and reality mixed up with some nice illustration and music - cosy.

Speaking of lights (cheesy link, sorry) will somebody please fly out to Clooney's in Auckland and buy me these bulbs? They remind me of those big bubble makers I used to play with as a kid.

[Fashiontoast]

The September Issue

'September is the January in fashion'

I can't WAIT.

500 Days of Summer

After seeing the new Philip Seymour Hoffman film, Synedoche New York last night (depressing and disjointed, but interesting - the type of film you need to sleep off), I'm in the mood to watch something light and fluffy, this will do...

And here's Zooey's other new lil indie film involving another dork falling for her (but can u blame em?)

Grey Gardens

I posted a couple of pictures of the beautiful Drew Barrymore at the Grey Gardens premier a little while back, and now I'm desperate to see the film. Originally made as a documentary back in 1975, it's based on the real-life stories of the eccentric aunt and first cousin of Jackie Onassis (both named Edith Bouvier Beale aka Big and Little Edie). When her husband left her, Big Edie's only compensation was their Long Island summer home, Grey Gardens. The Park Avenue debutantes withdrew from New York society, and as their wealth and contact with the outside world dwindled, so did their sense of reality.

Living in squalor, they rarely left the house. Grey Gardens was flea-infested, overrun by feral cats and raccoons, lacked running water, and was full of garbage and decay. Following a raid by the health authorities and a report in The National Enquirer, Jacqueline Kennedy donated $32,000 to clean the house and cart away 1,000 bags of garbage to avoid their eviction. They were the real-life Miss Havershams. Former cabaret singers and models, the two women are also well known for their quirky sense of style.

My friend Anthony's recent obsession with old clips from the documentary like the one I've posted, reminded me of an article I had read in Lula Magazine about their story, which can be found here. I'm looking forward to seeing how Drew matches up to Little Edie.

S.Darko

S. Darko, the sequel to Donnie Darko, follows Donnie's younger sister Samantha and her friend Corey. On their way to California their car breaks down, forcing them to wait in a small town until it's fixed. Samantha begins to have dreams that warn her of the end of the universe....etc etc...Yawn, seen it all before. With bad CGI and alien invasion - the only things that kept me entertained were the synthy soundtrack, Daveigh Chase's wardrobe and Ed Westwick in a rolled up shirt.

If my memory of her has an expiration date, let it be 10,000 years...

Chungking Express by Wong Kar Wai is a packed with blurred beauty, ethereal colour and humorous poetic musings. Afterwards I wondered where I had seen this type of cinematography before...then it clicked, he directed My Blueberry Nights, starring Norah Jones and Jude Law - though this received mixed reviews, the style had stuck with me. I'm a sucker for romantic, crackly super 8-esque shots so the visions created by Wai's director of photography, Chris Doyle, means that the story often becomes secondary anyway. There are some gorgeous monologues though, and the Chinese rendition of The Cranberries hit Dreams featured on the soundtrack shouldn't be missed!! I've been told to watch In the Mood for Love and 2046 next...

'We rub shoulders every day, we may not know each other, but we could be friends some day'

'At the high point of our intimacy, we were just 0.01cm from each other. I knew nothing about her'

[Chungking Express]

[My Blueberry Nights]

If you haven't already...

You should really watch Buffalo '66, if only to ogle at Vincent Gallo (who's currently starring in the latest H&M campaigns) and a blonde Cristina Ricci.

Sofia Coppola

Shots from a couple of her films (the prettiest you ever did see)...and those famous photos of her by Jurgen Teller.

[Marie Antoinette]

[The Virgin Suicides]

[Sofia Coppola by Juergen Teller]

[Sofia Coppola by Juergen Teller for Marc Jacobs]

Holy. Cow.

The two lady loves of my life - Chloe Sevigny and Zooey Deschanel - are set to star in Divorce Ranch together, an indie comedy from stage director Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Time to pay homage to my favourites...

Listen to She & Him, Zooey's music project with M.Ward at
http://www.myspace.com/sheandhim