Had a lie-in ’till 7am. What a treat, except it’s not. It’s not a nice thing to do, but I am with cold.

For FSX, Olenyek.

"I have been twelve for a long time": a Swedish vampire film. Normally I’d avoid this kind of thing, but not this time. Glad I didn’t too. Thanks for the recommendation Kermode and Holly.

The film was funny, romantic and peppered with that female-juvenile fascination with blood. Vampire stories hold a strong appeal for women (or maybe just girls) I am told. Apart from these thoughts, this Swedish film was made in the winter, in a sharp artificial white light. there are some warnings on teh web that suggest the subtitles are full of mistakes, some of you may have trouble with this. Cinematography had everything it needs to captivate me. Perhaps even a poor film shot this well would do it for me.Wonderful.
I like pictures.

St. George’s day: a patron saint of England. Haven’t stopped to question this before, but why has England adopted a Lebanese man who killed a non-existant animal to be it’s spiritual figurehead? Since he is associated with the red cross on a white background, it would now appear that he’s the patron saint of football hooligans here in the England.

Fishtank: Raw, sharply realistic story of a mid-teens girl finding an escape from the dreadful estates around Rodney Marshes in Essex. What impressed me, apart from the almost Mike Leigh social-realism was beauty. There were moments in the film where it was more overt than others, sometimes beauty was just a prop in a scene. there must be something in the association between ugliness and beauty that makes the contrast more stark. Dipoles I suppose.
what about the scene where Mother is putting out the laundry, holding a cigarette while hurling verbal abuse at her daughter. the light in the shirts, the flapping fabric, all white and pure. Other moments- death is close, so is fear and violence but so is the will to survive in an oddly modern setting.
At times, my heart was in my mouth.
Beautiful.

 http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/JjZc9ayGlaM&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1
Rosie did something funny today: on arriving home and jumping out of the car, she turned and ran across the green (this is very bad), but she galloped towards a cat under a tree. The cat didn’t run for it immediately, there was a pressing reason for that- she was in mid-crap! The look on her face seemed to day ‘NOT NOW! Can’t you see I’m squeezing one off?’. After a few vital seconds, the cat did make a run for it in that classic, centuries old traditionthat cats & dogs have always held.

John Crowley’s "Is there Anybody There?/ (2008): Set in the ’80s, a young lad who lives in an old folks home run by his parents. The Film’s colour space is filled with period images, music and conversation which forms a backdrop to the story of a lad and his friendship with an old man played by Michael Caine. that guy is a very fine actor, I hadn’t realised before, but he is. Anyway, a charming, odd and, at times, very funny story.

I’m not well, so an early night now.

It shows so much promise, Avatar (that film). The biggest could-have-been. Not that it lacks virtues, there were some touching scenes, they related to important world issues about the destruction of indigenous peoples and Gaia. Maybe some people will be influenced by this story, maybe they will dwell on it and consider what the meanings are. The trouble for me was that it started well and degenerated into an action film. It would suit me better if there could have been more time spent on the life of the forest, and how the peoples are woven into it by their ideology. Still, at least it will appeal to some and there is some tentative eco-message.
Next time, I will skip the last hour.

Lame I know. but I’m off to the cinema later and will need to wear opposite-polarised glasses. Yes, it’s Avatar night.
With some luck, they’ll have the clip-on version. The paper cutout ones are of no use, the lenses are always too close together..
I’ll let you know….

Re-watched Antichrist. Indeed it is a stunning film, beautifully shot and punctuated by an Handel auria that gives this post the title. Surprise surprise at the end, the dedication to Tarkovsky. Curiously, that appeared just after a shot that seemed like something from Ingmar Bergmann to me.

Antichrist: wouldn’t normally do this, but this film has made such an impression. this is an interim review because I have not watched the whole film yet. Beautifully shot, a slow build-up to disgusting events in the lives of two sole characters. There is Tarkovsky in this, maybe some of "Misery" by Clint Eastwood too. Okay, plus a bit of the Exorcist. the atmospheres are enticing but never without a sense of menace.

I shall return to this page after watching it again.