Its a mans world.

I really like Drive...I REALLY like Drive.
I can't stop thinking about it.
Now I really liked Tinker Tailor Solider Spy and would have said that it was my film of the year but that all changed after I watched Drive.
It talked to the part of me that usually lies dormant,my masculinity.
The part of me that pretends that he could survive in the world of Mad Max 2, even though I know that even if i could manage to fix a car I would probably crash it into the nearest post apocalyptic wall.
Ryan Gosling is super cool, I want to dress like him...I kind of do already (Kind of?).
Double Levis, nice slim fit Levis jacket, Stacy Adams boots, Double Dragon embroidered silk jacket, Steve McQueen leather gloves, Patek Philipe watch, That haircut, tooth pick and awesome sun glasses.
I love the way he wears the one outfit through out the film which becomes more dirty and blood stained with every scene.
The film looks great, it feels like Michael Mann especially Heat and Manhunter. It has the feel of Taxi Driver, Two Lane Blacktop and Driver.
Its so stylish and slick, it makes Bronson look like a TV film.
Ryan Gosling has said that he based his character on a guy who has watched too many movies.
This makes total sense,its a male idea of a "hero" and explains why he made the decision to cut back his dialogue for the film.
And what a soundtrack, its an Italians Do It Better wet dream. It matches the images perfectly.
God I loved this film.
I loved the neon pink writing.
I loved seeing Ron Pearlman.
I loved Carey Mulligan.
I loved feeling like a man.....GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Poster Boy

I have just stumbled across this amazing artist Florian Bertmer and I feel very gutted that I have missed out on getting a my hands on one of his fantastic Jodorowsky prints.

I am going to check ebay everyday just in case someone sells one (as if!)

But there is a print of this beautiful Swamp-Thing Poster on ebay at the moment,so I may have to invest.

Check Florian out here.

Spy Vs Spy

Here at Kino we are very excited about the new Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy adaptation.
It has the best British cast thats shared a screen together for ages. Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong and Benedict Cumberbatch!
It has a very stylish look and I think this is due to the colabration with director Alfredson and Nottinghams very own Paul Smith. Paul got involved in the early development stages of the movie, offering his insights on 1970s London. He advised on the mood, colour and photographic approach to take. Not only that he has designed 4 stunning posters for the film.

The silk screen posters (which come in editions of 50 and are signed by Smith) will be sold for £100 each, with all profits going to Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres.

So if anyone has a spare £100 down the back of there sofa drop me a line.

2011: A Film Odyssey.

Wow. This has got me very excited, it doesn't take much but wow.
Mark Cousins Presents The Story Of Film: An Odyssey
A 15 hour film charting the history of cinema.
Its on More4 (sorry to any one outside of the UK) and starts on Saturday 3rd at 21:15.
It looks superb and I can't believe how hidden More4 have kept this. There are only 205 views of the trailer on You Tube!
I know that some people give Mark Cousins stick for following Alex Cox in Moviedrome but he always came across as someone who was very passionate about cinema.

According to More4:

The first episode in Mark Cousins' epic history of cinema reveals how this art form was born.

Filmed in the buildings where the first movies were made, it shows that ideas and passion have always driven film, more than money and marketing.

The programme reveals the story of the very first movie stars, close-ups and special effects, and travels to Hollywood to show how it became a myth.

The story is full of surprises - such as the fact that the greatest and best-paid writers in these early years were women - and celebrates the glamour of the great movie cathedrals.

Not sure what follows but it looks like there is some great stuff in the trailer...So thats the next 15 saturday nights in front on the TV then...Oh well.

Wants List.

There are 3 films I really want to see.
All 3 all unavailable in the UK and 1 of those seems to have vanished off the face of the earth.
There is a very strong possibility that these films are terrible.

Hu-Man (1975)

I can't find a trailer or any images apart from the 2 I have added here.
After Mark Cousins took over Moviedrome from Alex Cox, he had a short series where interviewed different actors and directors. The week he interviewed Terence Stamp he showed clips from a film called Hu-Man which I think is French(?),its Sci-fi and looked incredible.
There was a fantastic shot of Terence in front of an active Volcano...I have to see this film even though it may be terrible.

The Last Wave (1977)



Peter Weir and lots of water...Thats all I know about this film and its one I have really struggled to get a copy of. I know that there is a Criterion DVD but its pretty expensive and I am worried that it may be rubbish.

Sorcerer (1977)


The film I need to see the most...I just can't track it down. I know there is a US DVD but I have read that the print is pretty bad. I am a massive Wages Of Fear fan and that first pricked my interest in the movie, Team that with Roy Scheider and William Friedkin and add a Tangerine Dream soundtrack and I have got to see this film.
Again it may be very bad.

I have wanted to see these films for so long now that I guess I can only be disappointed.
If you have seen any of them let me know how bad they are, I need to move on.
And why haven't WB released a blu ray print of Performance...In fact I want a Roeg/Cammell boxset.
In blu ray.

Tats Entertainment.

70mm
Technicolor
Tati
Playtime (1967)
What a film.
I watched Playtime last night for the 1st time and I have fallen completely in love with it.
It looks beautiful and alien, Its all shades of grey and straight lines and has the same 60s futuristic feel as 2001.
Tativille is a world I want to live in.
It also really reminded me of Roy Andersson's Songs From The Second Floor (2000), which too transports you to a strange grey land.
Tati shot in 70mm and avoided close-ups so the audience could watch his world through a window, it engages you to discover the jokes which subtly play within this space. There is a nice running gag that all of the characters are completely completely enveloped within this ultra modern environment and the only glimpses of Paris we see (Eiffel Tower, Arch De Triumph, Basilica Of Sacre-Coeur) are reflections in the polished glass of the modern structures. This all plays towards Tati's view on globalization, People are on display in there own homes like shop dummies, People start speaking French then change to English half way through a sentence, All signs are in English, A travel agent shows posters for international destinations all with the same grey destination on them.
The film transports you from one location to another with only the slightest hint of a plot and we end up at the The Royal Garden a restaurant/club so new and happening that its not even finished yet. This club scene is a highlight of the film with smart gags coming one after another.
Initially I thought that the film was Tati's fear of the modern world and he felt lost until it came to the final scene which bought me close to tears, he finds such joy and excitement in the modern world and the film bursts into colour and life becomes a circus.
This is a charming and unique film that I would love to see on the big screen, Its such a pity that it was the film that bankrupted Tati and isn't regarded as his finest work.
Its his masterpiece.

All About Albert.

I was watching Saturday Night Sunday Morning yesterday and was blown away by Albert Finney's debut staring role. It made me think about the films of his that I love and how much he's kind of been taken for granted.
He brings great anger and pain to his roles which is often hidden behind a drunk smile. A particular favorite of mine is Gumshoe directed by Stephen Frears its a little seen but excellent British thriller in which he plays a wise cracking Mikey Spillane mac wearing detective despite the fact he is living in Liverpool and is a entertainer in a working mans club,there is even a thrilling chase through the local dole office with Mr MacKay from Porridge!
I think he has been in some awful films too but he's he's always a reason to watch a film just to see what he will do, well apart from Breakfast Of Champions even he can't save that mess.
Here are my top 5 Albert Finney Performances:

1:Gumshoe (1971) : Eddie Ginley

2:Under The Volcano (1984) : Geoffrey Firmin

3:Saturday Night Sunday Morning (1960) : Arthur Seaton

4:The Dresser (1983) Sir

5:Miller's Crossing (1990): Leo

I challenge you not to be a least a bit curious to watch these films from these stills.
Other notable Finney films are:
Wolfen (1981)
The Duelists (1977)
Tom Jones (1963)
Murder On The Orient Express (1974)
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

And Definitely not this: