Melanisian Choirs The Thin Red Line

One of the most beautiful things I have ever heard.

Mallick gave us this wonderful movie poem and this choirs fit perfectly with these unforgettable images.

Who is Paul Newman? What is Paul Newman?

A beautiful "hommage" to Paul Newman.

Paul Newman

The desert in movies

Another brilliant compilation made by the french tv channel Arte: Cinema and the desert.

Color in Movies - Green

And finally, the color GREEN in movies.

GREEN in Movies

Color in Movies - Yellow

Now the color YELLOW in movies.

YELLOW in Movies

Color in Movies - Red

And now the color RED in the movies

Color in Movies - Blue

Colors are very important in Cinema. We all remember some particular scene in a movie where a color caused a strong impression on us. Or a director whose style includes a special attention to the colors. Selecting some of the greatest movies or movie scenes that used a particular color seems a great idea. And the french tv channel Arte did just that. The result is a small set of delicious videos that you can watch in this post and the following! We'll start with the color BLUE.

Blue in Cinema

Cloud Atlas Ending

Trying to find Ben Whishaw's final scene on Cloud Atlas, one of the greatest I've ever seen on screen. Couldn't find it, but still I couldn't stop thinking about one of the greatest movies I've ever seen. Leave you with these wonderful last moments:

 

A little funny in the head

"Well, he went a little funny in the head. You know, just a little... funny."
Peter Sellers, a genius, in one of his best scenes.

Still the moon

When the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie

Super moon night

Guardate la luna, la bella luna

Love Song For A Vampire

Love Song For a Vampire is the perfect title for this unforgettable Annie Lennox's song which suits perfectly in one of Coppola's masterpiece. One of the best adaptation that a book has ever had on screen: Aascary and passionate Dracula whose mouth longs for blood as for a kiss of his long lost love. 

"Come into these arms again and set this spirit free."

Too bad she won't live. But then again, who does?

Lego Matrix

A very funny and perfect scene:

Why Is The English Patient My Favourite Movie?

It's very hard to choose only one movie from so many wonderful masterpieces, but if I had to choose only one, The English Patient would definitely be it. I love this movie for all its fascinating details.

The photography is amazing, giving us the most wonderful landscapes, capturing the real personality of the desert.

All the actors are perfect.

Both Kristin Scott Thomas and Ralph Fiennes are so well and so truthful that it is almost as if that was actually true.

Juliette Binoche is grand. Give us one of her most generous and inspiring performances.

And the soundtrack is so powerful that it's almost like a character itself.

The book by Michael Ondaatje which inspired the movie is a masterpiece and the way Anthony Minghella developed the screenplay fits perfectly on the screen.

The first time I saw it I was too young to appreciate it, and I didn't like it. Actually I didn't really see it. I haven't paid attention. "How long is a day ine the dark?"

A few years after I saw it by chance and I fell in love with the movie as they fall in love with each other. "We are the real countries, not the boundaries drawn on maps with the names of powerful men."

The story takes place in two different moments: what it is and what it was. The memory gives life to some of the most wonderful moments on screen and the day to day reveals lovely in it's truthful.

We often forget that the biggest moments in life are born from insignificance. And it's from the unlikely that is born the intensity which transforms us. We stop being who we were and we become somebody else, without realizing that the changing is happening. The stronger and lasting ties are bron from from the improbability of those moments.

K yields; actualy K seeks for the danger. Or was it inevitable? Because after those eyes stumble on each other could it be any other way? But the danger chokes, because love is free - "in love there are no boundaries" - but the world is not.

Almasy doesn't like to be owned but he didn't know then that he belonged. And belonging is unavoidable and even desirable because "the heart is an organ of fire".

Almasy doesn't understand - and it's understandable - K's choice. He thinks, maybe, that represents the absence of feelings, the absence of what was lived.

“How can you stand there? How can you ever smile as if your life hadn’t capsized?"

"Do you think you’re the only one who feels anything? Is that what you think?”

Herodotus – the father of History – is the witness of this story, as are all the beings so absent and so present in the lives of those who love. The music is one of the greatest witnesses and Almasy can sing all the time:

“Is there a song you don’t know?”

And Yared's chords witness the visit to the church, the Christmas lunch, the route with K in he's arms or the voices of two actresses in that pure and realistic vision of the countries, fears, love, light, life and the palace of winds in that place between the sea and the sky.

"My darling: I'm waiting for you. How long is a day in the dark? Or a week? Fire is gone now, and I'm cold, horribly cold. I really want to drag myself outside but then there'd be the sun. I'm afraid I waste the light on the paintings and on writing these words. We die. We die. We die rich with lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have entered and swum up like rivers. Fears we've hidden in - like this wretched cave. I want all this marked on my body. We’re the real countries. Not the boundaries drawn on maps with the names of powerful men. I know you'll come and carry me out into the Palace of Winds. That's all I've wanted: to walk in such a place with you. With friends. An earth without maps. The lamp has gone out and I'm writing in the darkness."

This movie is made of moments (aren't they all?) and the way those moments come together giving life to this wonderful masterpiece is absolutely passionate.

This wonderful masterpiece is a rediscovery each time we see it.

The More You Know

"The more you know who you are, the less you let things upset you".
Harris (Bill Murray) - Lost In Translation

Can't Hardly Wait

Two amazing actresses, an actor who is becoming someone I admire, a director I deeply love, a passionate trailer... Can't hardly wait:

Alfred Hitchcock Cameos

One of the funny things about watching an Hitchcock movie is finding Hitchcock himself in it. Sometimes it's very easy, but sometimes he's very well hidden! I don't want, in any way, to spoil your fun. But here you have a video that can help you spot the great Alfred Hitchcock in all his appearances. To remember if you already seen the movies and found Mr. H, or help you get the ones you missed. Don't see it if you want to find him by yourself. In that case go and see all his movies. You won't regret it!

The Lord Of The Rings with Lindsay Lohan

Geeh... haven't seen that before!!!

Twilight: Breaking Everything LOL

Skyfall with Fred

The Notebook Seriously

Jurassic Park with The Olsen Twins

The Amazing Funniest Spider-Man

With Lindsay Lohan... if she had better parents.

Les Miserables For Real

If Only

"If only you could see what these eyes have seen."
Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) - Blade Runner

100 Movie Threats

This is the definitive movie threats compilation. If you watch the whole thing, it will take your breath out!

25 Famous Movie Scenes

A nice compilation with some of the most iconic movie scenes on Cinema's recent history.

"Never Say Never"

"I used to talk to you all the time"

O Francis Ford Coppola sabe coisas.

Time To Remember

Another amazing and unforgettable soundtrack.
The Melanesian Choirs take us through the journey which is this cinematic poem created by Mallick:

Francophone eletropop on Drive

Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive is already a modern days' classic film. 

Ryan Gosling plays a quiet character, but the film features three overwhelming songs on its soundtrack. The perfect fit for the film that this director described as "Pretty in Pink with a head smash".

For Nightcall, french house artist Kavinsky paired up with brazillian Lovefoxxx (Cansei de Ser Sexy) and - as always - filled up our hearts with his films inspired eletro-pop.

I don't eat, I don't sleep, I do nothing but to think of you: that's what happens when you fall in love, according to Desire's Under Your Spell. A raunchy theme that makes you feel in your teen years all over again.

A Real Hero, College and Electric Youth, has its own aesthetics: you feel like you're driving a cabrio on a sunny and warm day along the beach. 

>> listen here <<

A song about Vikings

Not too long ago Karen O teamed up with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross to cover Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song, for David Fincher's take on Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011), featuring a transfigured Rooney Mara and a much more interesting  Daniel Craig.

The track's sound is messy, industrial and fast. Just like Lisbeth. 

Set in Sweden and its seducing and enchanted landscapes, the film is also the perfect showroom for scandinavian design. 

That's what I call pop culture material!

Hans Zimmer had a secret.

500 days of music

I can't even conceive this film without its score. 

From The Smiths to Regina Spektor and Black Lips, and even the classic sound of Hall & Oates and Simon & Garfunkel, this is the perfect mixtape. 

Visit 500daysmusic.com for a full listen and ENJOY! 

An all purpose quote

You know, we always called each other good fellas. 
Like you said to, uh, somebody, "You're gonna like this guy. He's all right. He's a good fella. He's one of us."
You understand?
We were good fellas.
Wiseguys.

(( Goodfellas, 1990 - 9/10 ))

"I Make Movies For The Planet Earth"

My top 10 movies from 2012

I'm a bit late, but here is the list of my 10 favourite movies released in Portugal in 2012.
I didn't have the time to watch all the movies I was wishing for. Some of the ones I haven't watched could have made it into this list. The movies are ordered randomly. 

1 - Argo (by Ben Affleck)

2 - The Dark Knight Rises (by Christopher Nolan)

3 - The Descendants (by Alexander Payne)

4 - Hugo (by Martin Scorsese)

5 - Trouble with the Curve (by Robert Lorenz)

6 - The Perks of Being a Wallflower (by Stephen Chbosky)

7 - Shame (by Steve McQueen)

8 - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (by Peter Jackson)

9 - Skyfall (by Sam Mendes)

10 - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (by David Fincher)

And the Oscar goes to...

Wes Anderson I love you, but you're bringing me down.

James Murphy's inspired song, reflect the feeling I get from every single film Wes Anderson has ever directed.
Well, except for Rushmore (1998) which I just don't get. 

The world met Anderson's distinctive aesthetic twelve years ago: The Royal Tenenbaumms (2001) premiered in Portugal at Fantasporto and soon became one of my favourite films ever. Margot desperation and Richie’s secret love for her, makes us realise that not time nor distance will restrain soul mates from fulfilling their destiny. Chas’ mourning is sad and makes wonder how we would react in the same situation. And Royal rediscovering his tremendous affection for his family is endearing.

2004’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, as far as I see it, is the reason why films exist! It’s two hours of pure adventure, it has the best maritime shooting, and is the perfect homage to the explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

The film also features Brazilian singer and actor Seu Jorge, whose character is named Pelé dos Santos and sings David Bowie’s songs in Portuguese. About this, the legendary British musician said «Had Seu Jorge not recorded my songs in Portuguese I would never have heard this new level of beauty which he has imbued them with.»

Set mostly in India, The Darjeeling Limited (2007) is about three estranged brothers, set out to meet their mother. The journey starts out with strong resentment, but the time spent together heals all wounds and they finally release themselves from the heavy weight of the past, on a smart metaphoric scene: we see them throwing away their dead father’s luggage, after carrying it around throughout the whole film. Bags which, by the way, were a successful partnership with the brand Louis Vuitton

The film itself has a prologue: Hotel Chevalier, a short film starring Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman, about love and a broken heart.

Wes Anderson would surprise his fans in 2009, or maybe not. His work always had a characteristic – which I cannot explain – that distances his films from the real world, despite the strong and complex human traits that all characters carry.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is an animated film about a fox with a dilemma: should he respect his wife’s request and be a responsible / respectable family man or just follow to his rebellious instincts? Well, he chooses the latter and the fight for survival of his family and community begins. Having main characters voiced by Meryl Streep and George Clooney, this film soon acquired cult status.

Last year, Anderson returned with Moonrise Kingdom. It tells us the story of two teenagers, but it could easily be about grown-ups. They meet, they fall for each other and they’re unable to be apart. The feeling they grow is too powerful to keep inside. They elope. And become more and more in love. How to live without each other? Not even when facing the most challenging perils and society’s obstacles Sam and Suzy consider such possibility.  

For Wes Anderson, it's all about the colour scheme, the detailed wardrobe, the perfect timeless soundtrack, the quirky dialogues, and the inside chaos found on each character. 

Every single individual he creates starts out in pain or has reached an impasse. But each one, in every film, is faced with a journey and will overcome the gloomy shadow that embraces him and find true bliss and serenity.

Anderson shows how every strained spirit will find his own path. In the end, no matter what, it will all workout. 

They Say When You Meet The Love Of Your Life Time Stops

Super Bock - Super Fantas

FantasPorto March 1st - 9th

Ezekiel 25:17

Last day on the set of The Lord of the Rings

A short video that allows us to see how it was to be on set on the last day of shooting The Lord of the Rings trilogy. And, more important than that, what that meant to the crew, especially for Peter Jackson. A very moving moment.

Dear George, Dear Steven

The kind letters exchanged between the directors and "pals" Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, at the end of the 1970s and beginning of 1980s, when they began to reshape Hollywood with their powerful blockbuster movies.

From Steven to George:

From George to Steven:

A joke for movie lovers

Bergman died and went to heaven. When he got there, Saint Peter said he could not enter immediately. So, he just stood there, at the gates, waiting. A few minutes later he saw someone inside. Some guy riding a bicycle, very poorly dressed. Some old clothes, with holes in it, and a pair of old shoes. He asked Saint Peter: hey, isn't that Stanley Kubrick? Saint Peter replied: no, it's God. But he likes to think he's Stanley Kubrick.

Final Scene Malena

Probably my favourite movie scene ever:

Feel a Film

Robert Bresson speaking about the relation between the audience and his movies.

Just Tarantino being Awesome - PG18

Tarantino's Mind

One more step in the preparation for receiving Django Unchained. A very interesting and very funny approach to Tarantino's work and the way all of his movies are connected. Tarantino already said that he sees all his movies as parts of a single body of work. In this short movie we get to know a very special theorie about that. Tarantino's Mind!

Encyclopedia Tarantino

In Portugal we're in the countdown for the premiere of Django Unchained, the new Tarantino. While we wait  we can prepare ourselves reading this impressive compilation of the very extense list of homages, influences and references in all Tarantino pictures. A true Encyclopedia Tarantino.

Encyclopedia Tarantino

"Mamã" premieres at Fantasporto 2013

"Mamã" premieres at Fantasporto 2013

The 33rd Fantasporto, Portugal’s biggest film fest (according to Variety) is coming. Held between the 25th February and the 10th March (national dates) and 1st -9th March (international competitions), Fantasporto brings the newest films in the three competitions (Fantasy, Directors Week and Orient Express) and also a full programme of retrospectives and tributes.

The 2013 edition will celebrate the most recent productions but also Michael Powell, the British director of so many masterpieces like “The Red Shoes” (1948), the 70th anniversary of the classic feature “Aniki Bobó” (1942), the film that portraits the city of Porto better than any other and directed by living legend Manoel de Oliveira and, last but not the least, The Stars of French Cinema, displaying all the beauty of its charismatic actors and actresses.

The Special Programm 2013, a sidebar of the festival crossing the Cinema with the Arts and Sciences, is dedicated to Cinema and Literature.  And in the section Fantas in Shorts, lots of films for free…

With the High Patronage of the Ministry of Culture, welcome to Porto, a World Heritage City  (by UNESCO). Next February and enjoy a film festival like no other!

5 Reasons For Loving Vertigo

These are not the only 5 reasons for loving Vertigo, or the main 5. These are just 5 good reasons I picked among several possible others. Instead of speaking about Hitchcock's masterful direction or Kim Novak and James Stewart's wonderful performances, I will focus on some more detailed aspects of the picture.

1. Bernard Herrmann's score

The music composed by Bernard Herrmann ties the movie together. It gives the movie the right mood in every moment, and conquers the audience since the opening titles. Someone said that, in the battle between Vertigo and Citizen Kane for the "best movie ever" title, the decisive factor is Bernard Herrmann. And I think this is a very interesting point.

2. Ernie's and Madeleine

This picture is painted with magnificent colours. And when we, and Scottie, get to meet Madeleine for the first time, she's at Ernie's, the restaurant in San Francisco (totally rebuilt in the studio). The camera takes us through the room, dominated by the red in its walls. And then we find Madeleine in a blue and green dress. Madeleine passes in front of our eyes, the camera freezes for a moment.

3. The museum and Carlotta

The sad Carlotta. The mad Carlotta. When Madeleine is playing Carlotta Valdes and visits Carlotta's painting at the museum, Scottie is on her tail. He hides and he watches how Madeleine gives so much attention to that particular painting and how similar she is to that woman she's looking at. And, in a wonderful shot, we watch Scottie watching Madeleine.

4. San Francisco bay

Scottie continues to follow every one of Madeleine's moves. She stops the car near the river, almost below the Golden Gate bridge. Scottie does the same. We are again in Scottie's position, and get this breathtaking view of Madeleine/Carlotta freezed, thinking, preparing her next step. The sky, the river and the bridge wonderfully captured in what is maybe the best shot in the movie.

5. The opening titles

The opening titles are very beautiful and set the tone for the entire movie. The music does that, as I already said, but the mysterious graphics, created by Saul Bass, used in this opening have also an important effect. And the close up of the eye, telling us from the beginning how important the look, an obsessive look, will be throughout the whole movie.

Not very well received in 1958, the movie was fully recovered and got back to the theaters in 1984. And it has been increasingly appreciated and considered as one of the greatest movies ever made.

Life of Calvin

Yet another version of Life of Pi's movie poster. Especially for Calvin & Hobbes' fans!

Let My Baby Ride

Roughly at the middle of Holy Motors we are struck by this wonderful sequence. Denis Lavant leads a group of musicians through a beautiful set playing some beautiful and powerful music. By Leos Carax.

Honest Titles for 2013's Oscar Nominated Movies

And now for an alternative, funnier, and maybe more honest version of some of the posters for the 2013 oscar nominated movies. Don't miss it! The link is here: Honest Titles for 2013's Oscar Nominated Movies

May The Force Be With Us

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/isnt-petition-response-youre-looking

The Sound of 2012 Movies

A very beautiful, hour-long, sound trip to the movies released in 2012 in the United States. If you hear it until the end, you will be overwhelmed by the magnificent end title music from Cloud Atlas, composed by one of the directors, Tom Tykwer.

Hear it at Soundcloud, here - Cinema Sound 2012

My TOP10 Movies of 2012

These are not the best movies from the past year. No one can decide what movies are the best for any year. But if anyone can, that person is certainly not me! These are just my personal favorites, my first 10 picks for the year 2012. And although this is just a personal choice, I think we have here a very nice set of movies! If you still didn't see them, I advise you to give it a try. Maybe these movies will help you "carry your luggage" during the new year, like Sam did for Suzy in Moonrise Kingdom, or help you avoid a state of loneliness similar to the one Brandon had in Shame.

To see the list, please click on the link below (click to play + put it on full screen):
My TOP10 Movies of 2012

The movies were chosen among the ones commercially released in Portugal during the year 2012.

Best Picture Of The Year

I used to love lists, especially movie lists because I'm so obsessed with the order of things, so it was important for me to arrange everything.

Now I don't really like this kind of list, because it is very variable through time and it is very reductive of the concept we're analyzing. The movies I choose and the order I choose always depend on the mood in the moment of the choice, just like what I feel about a movie and how it stays in my mind depends of the mood I was in when I watched it.

Anyway the idea is: each of the members of The Royal Films Club has to choose the top ten movies ordered of 2012. The movies we can consider are the ones which arrived to the Portuguese Theaters during this year.

So although this task is difficult for me, I don't have any doubt about the first title:

Shame was the movie of the year for me. And I know that this choice will remain in time, since Shame is one of those ageless movies, which portrays emotions that affect every single one of us. 

The three titles that follow are wonderful too. Then we have a solid number five. And afterwards we might have some variations. 

This was the final list I came up with:

1 - Shame (by Steve McQueen)
2 - Moonrise Kingdom (by Wes Anderson)
3 - L'Artist (by Michel Hazanavicius)
4 - Hugo (by Martin Scorcese)
5 - Argo (by Ben Affleck)
6 - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (by Peter Jackson)
7 - Florbela (by Vicente Alves do Ó)
8 - Cloud Atlas (by Lana Wachowski, Andi Wachowski and Tom Tykwer)
9 - Brave (by Mark Andrews, Brend Chapman and Steve Purcell)
10 - Lawless (by John Hillcoat)

This exercise made me realize that we had some interesting pictures this year, but Shame is definitely the movie to remember. It was an outstanding picture which will prevail.

FANTASPORTO 2013

FANTASPORTO

This year's festival official poster.