Inspired By: Little Ashes

I'm not a fan of Salvador Dalí's surrealist paintings (however I do love his lobster phone) and I don't get what all the fuss is about over Robert Pattinson, but I would like to see him as Dalí in Little Ashes this summer.


Pattinson as Dalí, Javier Beltrán as García Lorca with Pattinson and Marina Gatell as Margarita.

The film follows the close relationship between Dalí and Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. The photo below right is what the two men actually looked like:

Lorca and Dalí. Dalí with his famous 'stache.

It seems odd that they cast a Brit to play Dalí (and Luis Buñel) - especially someone who doesn't look at all like the artist. But I won't be going to see the film for its accuracy. I'm just going for the costumes and set design. A good storyline and convincing acting would just be bonus.

What would you call that ribbon-like tie on Pattinson in the photo below? He looks like a non-Spanish matador. I'm also a big fan of the three-piece suit (don't even get me started on my love of vests), which seems to be prominently featured in the film.


The room in the photos below looks like something that would be featured in Domino magazine (R.I.P.). Check out the awesome wallpaper!


The trailer makes the film look like a Spanish version of Brideshead Revisited. Who's with me? Anyone else looking forward to seeing Little Ashes? Anyone know why it's called Little Ashes?

Photos coutsey of the official movie site and The Guardian.

CL

A New Favorite

The Fall



I remember wanting to see The Fall when it came out in theaters last spring, but I never got around to it. At the urging of our mom, Lauren and I finally rented it this week. I'm kicking myself for not going to see it in theaters because it's so beautiful. It's a fantastic film and I don't know why a bigger deal hasn't been made about it.

The acting is wonderful (Catinca Untaru is the best child actor I've ever seen and Lee Pace is my new movie star crush), the cinematography is breathtaking and the storyline has a perfect mix of agony and hope. It's like taking all the best parts from Pan's Labyrinth, Princess Bride, Return to Oz and The Life Aquatic and turning it into a film.

Obviously I am no film critic, so go see it for yourself and tell me what you think!













The Fall was filmed over a period of four years in 18 different countries: India, Argentina, Indonesia, Brazil, Cambodia, South Africa, Czech Republic, Chile, China, Egypt, Fiji, Nepal, Italy, Maldives, Namibia, France, Romania and Turkey.











I loved the opening credits (below). I know the stils look nothing like the rest of the film. To see how it all ties together go rent the movie!



CL

Update: Style Discovery did an excellent post on the costumes in The Fall, so check it out!

Good Things*

Really the title of this post should be something like "Things that make us happy when our weekend has been crappy." But that seems too wordy and I don't like rhymes.

The short of it is my car broke down at an incredibly inopportune moment Saturday evening resulting in a number of mishaps (held up a wedding, got caught in the pouring rain waiting for AAA and missed June Shin's party at Drew Lewis). So we AsianCajuns had a not-too-pleasant weekend. To cheer Lauren and me up, I decided to blog about a few things we've been enjoying recently:

The Celebrity Perfumery: The Handy Craft Guide to Smelling Like the Stars
For anyone who's ever wanted to capture the essence of Robert Downey Jr.'s recent Iron Man success or the magical aura of J.K. Rowling, this is the blog for you! One of my favorite entries/perfumes is the Juno/Ellen Page inspired Who Cares: de parfum (see image below). Ingredients include dusty record stores, Cheez Whiz, Pop Rocks and stale linens.




Favorite books that inspire a favorite movie
Lauren and I were never big fans of The Catcher in the Rye, but we love Salinger's novels about the Glass family - especially Franny and Zooey. So even without the fantastic sets and soundtrack, The Royal Tenenbaums would still be one of our all time favorite movies (I know I just made film buffs everywhere cringe).

New Shoes
Kind of self-explanatory, but here are the basics: Biviel black sandals found on the sales rack at Eviva in downtown Decatur.



It's Always Sunny on Hulu.com
We might not have a TV, but Lauren and I make up for it by watching and re-watching all 32 episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia online. It's not quite as sophisticated as Arrested Development, but it's equally as brilliant and hilarious.



Sujean Rim Illustrations
We've been big fans of Daily Candy for years, but never stopped to think about the person behind all of its clever illustrations until recently.


The House of Eliott
A BBC TV series that we became hooked on when it aired on PBS in the early 1990s. Lauren just discovered that our local library has most of the show on DVD and we've spent the past few weekends drooling over the 1920s costumes.


Images from www.bn.com, www.fxnetworks.com, www.allposters.com, www.sujeanrim.com, www.thecelebrityperfumery.com.

*Not necessarily Martha approved.

CL

Brideshead Revisited. . . revisited

I know an Evelyn Waugh novel isn't exactly light, summer reading, but Brideshead Revisited is going on my July reading list.

The soon-to-be-released Brideshead Revisited film is the reason why I'm brushing up on my Waugh. Those of you who grew up like Lauren and me, with a healthy dose of Masterpiece Theater each month, have probably already seen at least part of the 1981 Brideshead mini-series. We've seen all 11 episodes (that's 659 minutes), so you can only imagine how excited (and relieved) I am that BBC has made it into a (100 minute-long) film. The fact that Emma Thompson is in it is just icing on the cake.

Below are a couple of comparison photos of the two versions (2008 images on the left, 1981 images on the right).



Charles Ryder and Sebastian Flyte lounging around Oxford University.


Sebastian in all his aristocratic-ness.


A day of boating. Champagne? Check. Teddy Bear? Check.


Charles in Morocco searching for Sebastian.


Charles, Julia and Sebastian on the grounds of Brideshead.


I can't wait to study all the costumes in the film. There are a few images on imdb.com that show some of the clothing, but not much. I couldn't find a website for the film, but hopefully more photos will pop up online closer to the release date.


Images courtesy of www.imdb.com, http://www.abbotshill.freeserve.co.uk/StoryContents.htm, http://mrsblandings.blogspot.com/2008/02/brideshead-revisited.html

CL

While we're on the topic...

photo courtesy of impawards.com

Before there was Kate Moss or Chloe Sevigny, there was Norma Rae and the high-waisted pant. The last time I saw this movie I was 15 and totally mesmerized. A woman with strength, gumption and courage, and these awesome high-waisted jeans and v-neck t-shirts, worn with her hair up in a bun. I never had the nerve to replicate this look in high school, but it stuck with me (10 yrs later!) and made me rejoice over the semi-retirement of low-wasted jeans. Any other Norma Rae fans out there? I need to netflix this and take notes!

LL