Tag: film (page 2 of 4)

The Stars Have Dimmed, Again

We had just finished our run this morning and while reading the paper over a cup of coffee, Mr. Michie stared up at me in disbelief. The bewitching Debbie Reynolds had passed away. I lost a piece of my childhood this morning.

Long before I saw Singing in the Rain, she was my Tammy. I must have watched that movie a thousand times, singing along to “Tammy” with her as she dreamily gazed out the window. Equally she was my Molly. I would belt out “Belly Up to the Bar, Boys” and dance around our den.

I was much older before I realised that the voice of my beloved Charlotte belonged to her as well. She was a beautiful, funny, charming, charismatic woman and she will be missed. She got her wish to be with her daughter again and I hope that she is at peace.

The Stars Have Dimmed

The stars are shining a little less brighter in the galaxy today after the news that Carrie Fisher has passed away.

I grew up watching her. I knew her first as my princess. Then, she was the funny and sarcastic best friend of Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally. She was an incredibly talented actress, but she was so much more than that.

She was intelligent, had a wicked sense of humour, was honest in her diagnosis with being bipolar and opened the door for frank dialogue about this illness. She was kind and beautiful inside and out. Goodbye, my princess. You will be missed!

The Nature of Daylight

Today feels like a Monday. It’s not yet noon and the sun already appears as if it is starting to make it’s descent. The shadows are changing. As we move into December the lamps are turned on and the candles are lit a little earlier. At the height of Winter, we are normally almost dark by 3:30ish. It doesn’t usually bother me, the early evenings I mean. I like being cocooned in our little cottage, listening to music, cooking, reading. The darkness that envelops us this time of year, feels to me, like Mother Nature’s way of saying: Stop! Rest! Refuel! Be in the moment! Be!

I feasted on a turkey sandwich for brunch and drank a cup of Christmas tea. I totally smothered the turkey in cranberry sauce. The last taste of Thanksgiving. The rest of the turkey is cut up and ready to be used in a pot pie. Mr. Michie cooked dinner last night. It was the first time we actually cooked something since Thanksgiving.

After running errands this weekend, Mr. Michie took me on a date to the movies. We saw Arrival. I’m still thinking about it. I really enjoyed it and I feel that I need to see it again to keep piecing it all together. We each had our own interpretation.

The mid-century modern house that Amy Adams’s character lived in was scrummy! All the light that would pour in would be intoxicating. The soundtrack features one our favourite songs, On the Nature of Daylight. The title is fitting today, since I have been pondering that very thing, the nature of daylight.

Off the Grid

This is Colossal Off the Grid

I’ve been catching up on a few things since our return from Denmark (photos coming soon, I promise!). One thing on my “To-Do” list was to go through the things I saved in my Instapaper account. As I slowly started combing through the articles I had put in there for rainy day reading, I re-discovered this one on Colossal.

A Canadian couple have spent the past 24 years building their own floating island. Today they are currently moored off the coast of Vancouver. I was completely fascinated by this idea. I would love to follow them through the seasons and see how their life changes when the snow begins to fall.

Off the Grid on a Homemade Island from Great Big Story on Vimeo.

{The original post from This is Colossal, can be found here}

Memories of Paintings

This is Colossal Tom Blanchard Film

I sat down yesterday afternoon to catch up on a bit of blog reading that I had saved and I watched this. I was mesmerised. Created by Thomas Blanchard, using a mixture of paint, milk, oil and liquid soap. I was completely entranced. I felt that I was watching a cosmic explosion, a carnival of candy colours, a film showing biological matter in all it’s minutea. It is a metamorphosis of colours and shapes. I found it to be almost meditative. Enjoy!

Memories of Paintings from Thomas Blanchard on Vimeo.

{Found via: This is Colossal}

Star Wars

before-after-star-wars-characters-1977-2015

I gave Mr. Michie an early birthday present tonight and took him to see Star Wars:The Force Awakens. I booked our tickets a few weeks ago, we were really lucky as we got the last two seats on sale. We ate popcorn, we held hands and we re-lived our childhood.  J.J. Abrams truly rekindled the magic of the original trilogy. We LOVED it! And, that is all I shall write as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone else.

{Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher 1977 // 2015 – FOUND}

Picture House Cinema

Jennifer Michie Picture House Cinema 4

As we often use cut throughs when in London, we always discover new things. Yesterday while zigzagging around Shaftesbury Avenue, we walked by the Picture House Cinema. They are dotted around London, but this was the first one I had ever been to.

We peered through their cafe, took in the grandeur of this gorgeous old building and before we knew it, our feet were carrying us inside.

Jennifer Michie Picture House Cinema 1

Jennifer Michie Picture House Cinema 3

We bought tickets and walked up the stunning red tiled staircase. We peeked into the bar and then got some snacks. Popcorn and a pink striped cup of pick ‘n mix as I was in the mood for some gummy candy.

We headed toward the screens and then proceeded up two floors to get to our screen. There were carved murals on the wall depicting medieval scenes, that were just beautiful!

Jennifer Michie Picture House Cinema 2

The theatre itself was spacious, we sat in the back on a couch seat and snuggled up to watch The Irrational Man. It was a great movie going experience and we will definitely be back!

Pretty in Pink

One of my all time favourite John Hughes’ movies is: Pretty in Pink! The cast is great (Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, Andrew McCarthy, Harry Dean Stanton, Annie Potts and James Spader), the costumes are even better; the music, oh, don’t even get me started!  Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s, “If You Leave”, one of the greatest 80’s songs ever, that took us in to movie bliss in the middle of a darkened parking lot at the end!

This past week, James Corden recreated the famous record store scene with Jon Cryer (who plays Duckie). I loved it! Is it just me, or does anyone else think, Jon Cryer should keep wearing his hair like that? That wig just seems to work for him.

Here’s to the weekend, long may it last!

Tone

Another great find while catching up with the last threads of things I stored on my Instapaper account over the summer, I discovered a film on The Fox is Black site. Simply entitled Tone, it’s focus lies not with the art of painting itself but rather the medium used to create works of art: paint. The film was created by NY based filmmaker Trent Jaklitsch, who filmed Alyssa Monks while at work.

I was completely mesmerised by the colors bleeding and swirling into one another as they are blended. I love cleaning my brushes, watching the paint swirl around the water, like a squid that has just extruded a puff of ink. The water beginning to cloud with color like a storm rolling in.

The paint hues tangible, the bristles of her brush sweeping through the paint and stirring it into peaks and ridges as if she is creating mountains of color. There comes a point where it doesn’t appear as paint any more, it materializes almost as if it has come out of the cosmos, a star burst of color. Or, like bodily fluids, blood pulsing through the veins. It is an intoxicating film to view.