Inspired by The Little Professor's annual posts about scary Victoriana and James Hynes' Halloween reading and viewing lists (which, this year, includes a YouTube link to a filmed version of one of my all-time favorite ghost stories, M.R. James's "Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad": w00t!), here are a few recommendations of […]
I'm back from my Santa Fe trip, which was just about the ideal vacation. (I only wish I'd been there longer than a long weekend. Next time. And there'll definitely be a next time.) Two eminently enjoyable nights at the opera, in the open air with the mountains in the distance; two magnificent sopranos;* excitingly […]
I saw this meme over at Easily Distracted and liked it so much that I'm stealing it. The rules are simple: name a favorite movie for each letter of the alphabet. So here are mine. After Life: I'm reluctant to give any summary, because any summary would make it sound cheesy. Just go watch it […]
…And who are we to deny it in here? Or, in other words, Sweeney Todd was fantastic. I had my doubts about the casting of Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, but the waifish quality she brings to the role really works, even though I had Angela Lansbury in my head as the ur-Mrs. Lovett. […]
My winter break starts tomorrow. W00t! I’m looking forward to leisure reading, sleeping late, making headway on my sweater-in-progress, prodding tentatively at the poetry-and-spatiality project, and getting in all the moviegoing I missed out on during this insanely busy fall. In particular: Sweeney Todd, because I’d want to see it no matter who was in […]
There are still a boatload of projects waiting to be done, but I’ve finished my final website project for my web design class: a guide to movies about opera. I had a lot of fun working on it, and I think I’ll most likely keep it going after this quarter is over. If you’re interested, […]
Wow, after what seemed like a long cinematic drought, there are suddenly lots of movies I want to see. I caught Volver on my last day of vacation; though I wouldn’t quite put it among my all-time favorite Almodóvar films (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, All About My Mother, Bad Education), I […]
I was at the reference desk this afternoon when I heard one student say to another, "Oh no, did you hear? Robert Altman just died." Then one of my colleagues stopped by the desk and asked if I’d heard. We both said words to the effect of "He’s one of my favorite directors ever." I […]
Overheard at the screening of Capote I saw this afternoon: "That certainly wasn’t a movie for homophobes, was it?" No, indeed. I love overheard audience commentary. Seriously, though, see it. (Spoilers ahoy, for those of you who require warnings of that type.) Philip Seymour Hoffman demonstrates not only his commendable acting chops, but his total […]
Via Clancy and Shakespeare’s Sister comes today’s survey question: Which movie scenes always make you cry (and which ones always make you laugh)? Here are my Guaranteed Waterworks moments: Casablanca: the scene where everyone stands up and sings the Marseillaise (which is nearly everyone’s favorite tear-inducing scene, apparently). The Return of the King: the beacon-lighting […]