I was delighted to finally get my new Blu Ray copy of one of my very favourite Clint Eastwood films "Play Misty For Me". Released in 1971, this was the first movie he ever directed, which was filmed on location in his coastal hometown of Carmel, California.
The brand new Blu Ray from KINO LORBER
Clint Eastwood stars along with Jessica Walter, Donna Mills, John Larch and Jack Ging as well as a special guest appearance from one of Eastwood's filmmaking mentors in legendary director Don Siegel.
Don Siegel & Clint Eastwood on set of Play Misty For Me
This is such a terrific thriller (a whole 16 years before Fatal Attraction) which is up there with the very best of its genre! Check it out if you haven't seen it before, I am sure you will be entertained!
This new Kino Lorber Studio Classics Blu Ray from Kino Lorber is a brand new 2K master of the film with lots of excellent new and old special features.
Ordered locally in Ontario from Unobstructed View Inc. who are based in the Toronto area.
I will perhaps do a more in-depth video review of the film and the new Blu Ray sometime soon. All the best! 📽🎬👍❤
Spring 1996 - I was living in the south of England and I had heard a lot about this much talked about, hyped and controversial new film featuring a bunch of Scottish heroin addicts slumming it up in a grim Edinburgh of the mid 1980's. It was of particular interest to me, being Scottish and with me also having lived in Scotland's capital city for a few years in the mid 1980's also. Although the film is set in Edinburgh, Trainspotting, for the most part, was largely filmed in Glasgow with other small sequences filmed in both Edinburgh and London, England.
I watched this film, as a naive 15 year old not quite knowing what to expect, largely out of curiosity and to hopefully be entertained. Well, I was NOT expecting this! It was shocking, scary, hilarious, violent, exciting, energetic, twisted, tragic and very quotable!
It also features an amazing ensemble cast with career making performances from Scottish actors Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle - ably backed up by the likes of Johnny Lee Miller, Ewen Bremner, Kevin McKidd, Peter Mullan and featuring a small (debut feature film) role for Kelly Macdonald ("No Country For Old Men", "Boardwalk Empire)who features in a rather uncomfortable role as a school girl - well, I say it's an "uncomfortable role" but what I really mean is that it always makes me feel a little uncomfortable and uneasy, but it was still a memorable role all the same and adds to the film's library of colourful and eccentric characters.
Talking of Robert Carlyle - who plays the role of sociopath Francis Begbie, it appeared to me that this rather violent character seemed to inspire would be violent drunks all over Scotland. It is one thing quoting some of this character's memorable dialogue, without believing that you actually were a Begbie-like character. I have actually known some people and been in their company drinking in the past who took great pleasure in quoting Francis Begbie and taking great delight in reliving his on screen antics. And with alcohol fuelling the fire to these aggressive people's way of thinking, that could only lead to trouble. But to be honest, these certain people only wish they could actually be Begbie - kinda like expressing their manliness in the only way they know how, by trying to intimidate people and show how hard they can be. Quite the role model, don't you think???
The music was another big character in this filmand its brilliant soundtrack works perfect here too - featuring the likes of Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Pulp, Primal Scream, Sleeper, New Order and Blur - as well as that most iconic of tunes from Underworld;"Born Slippy" that just screams out to me "Trainspotting" every time I hear it.
Based on the original novel (of the same name) by Scottish writer Irvine Welsh (who also has a tiny cameo as drug dealer Mikey Forrester), directed by Danny Boyle ("Shallow Grave", "28 Days Later", "Slumdog Millionaire", "The Beach")with Producer Andrew MacDonald and written for the screen by John Hodge (who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay) - Trainspotting (with age) just gets better and better. A movie of real guts, style and bravado. My love for this film appears to be getting stronger with each viewing, a sign of a true modern classic that pulls you in and hits you in the face like a ferocious steam train and leaves you gasping for more - pretty much in the same way I feel about the 1979 British cult classic Quadrophenia and Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets (1973).
Irvine Welsh
"Glorifying drug abuse"? Yeah, right. For me, this is most definitely an anti-drug film - that scary downward spiral of drug addiction does not look fun whatsoever to me and leads to absolutely nowhere. It does, however, make for an amazing movie going experience and (despite the subject matter) is as much a coming of age and uplifting filmabout friendship as well as the obvious extreme black comedy and controversial themes throughout.
One of the best British films of all time (ranked 10th in a list of 100 by the British Film Institute (BFI) and was also voted as the best Scottish film of all time (2004) in a general public poll. Although I believe that "Gregory's Girl" is actually the best Scottish film of all time, but I suppose I am a little biased and we'll talk about that film in another blog soon!
There has been ongoing talk of a Trainspotting sequel in the works in the not too distant future and it has been confirmed that Ewan McGregor has agreed to star again as Renton in the follow up to the 1996 classic - so we wait with much anticipation! Read here for more information.
The film making industry is a very tough and competitive business, where funding is really hard to come by. Particularly in Scotland - where it is very difficult to get funded and we have nowhere near the money nor resources for our talented and creative. The past 12 months have been an amazing whirlwind for Glasgow based film director/writer John McPhail (28) and Worrying Drake Productions . He has won several awards for his short films including a couple of awards at the Virgin Media Shorts and at film festivals in Edinburgh and New York. Together with producers Andrew Lanni and Lauren Lamarr - they have been making huge inroads into the UK film industry winning several awards with their quirky romantic comedy style, portraying real and fun characters on screen, with a massive sense of realism and familiarity with their audience. And this is all in Mcphail's very first year of making these short films with Worrying Drake, which makes it all the more remarkable.
John McPhail.
I first came across Mr McPhail and his work after seeing his funny and sweet comedy film short "Just Say Hi" which was entered into the UK's biggest short film competition;Virgin Media Shorts (2013). Just Say Hi actually managed to scoop two of the competition's most prestigious awards - The Nikon People's Choice and The Tivo Award (chosen by Virgin Media customers). A beautiful little gem about the comical and cute ongoing chemistry of two potential friends, lovers when they catch one another's eye at a bus stop. I had a strong feeling about this film and, for me, Just Say Hi was very unlucky not to have made it a hat-trick of awards on the night, losing out to the film "Touch" (by Nimer Rashed) which pipped them to the best short film award. Just Say Hi clicked with me right away and this charming little short film was the people's choice as well as the favourite with Virgin Media customers. Many would argue that these are actually the best awards and compliments you can receive as these people are your audience!
Still from "Just Say Hi"
As a story teller, lover of comedy and romance with ambitions to work on my very own short film projects soon, this film really struck a chord with me and touched me from the moment I first viewed it. And I am sure many thousands of other people will also love it too, a simple stumbling tale of the excitement and awkwardness of a potential new romance. "Just Say Hi" will actually make its European Debut in Paris on the 2nd of May - then it will screen in over 100 Cities world-wide as the Worrying Drake team have been accepted to the 16th edition of the Très Court International Film Festival. "I think i speak for the rest of the team when i sayI'M FREAKING DELIGHTED" - John McPhail.
Worrying Drake are working extremely hard to help fund their debut feature; "Where Do We Go From Here" a romantic comedy adventure which is "a story about love, friendship and self discovery...".
"We can't make this film without funding so the impact that our backers have by donating any amount is absolutely massive and so greatly appreciated!" Worrying Drake Productions.
Members of the public can do their bit to help them achieve their goal through indiegogo's crowd funding campaign, via their website. By donating to this project, you will be helping to create a potentially great Scottish film that may well be loved for many generations. Perhaps, the new "Gregory's Girl"?
There are also quite a few perks and exclusive gifts you can receive for your donation, including exclusive access to the film making process, a walk on part in the film, DVD copies of Worrying Drake's trilogy of short films; including "V For Visa", "Doug & Steve's Big Holy Adventure" and the award winning "Notes".
They have already achieved over 50% of their £10,000 target (as of Tuesday 18th March 2014) and all money raised from donations will be used to gain access to the most compatible equipment, for the costume design, make up, art design and locations, to help them do the most professional job possible. And of course, to help feed and water the entire team whilst filming!
I can not stress how much I am passionate about this project - because I truly believe in John McPhail and the rest of his team at Worrying Drake - I can only see them going onto bigger and better things. Sometimes, you just know. I have no doubt it will be made possible though and you can help to create something special and be a part of it too. The best films, in my opinion, are about real people, real situations where one can relate, raise a smile and you finish the film feeling good and happy. I really would love to work with these guys - maybe someday, who knows.
It has also been announced that the short films "Notes" and "V For Visa" have been offered a distribution deal with Short Film TV and Shorts HD - a 3 year deal where the shorts will play on a 24/7 channel in Europe, East Africa and the USA. For further information and details, please check out their indiegogo funding campaign and please feel free to share this blog post if you believe in this project.
I watched the Norwegian "mockumentary" horror/adventure TrollHunter the other evening for the first time. There were some crazy, hilarious moments (I felt that they were deliberate and tongue in cheek, but maybe not...) - some of the monster/troll names were "interesting" TOSSERLAD and RIMETOSSER being a couple of them and there's also a scene in the film where the gang/crew are stuck in a cave hiding, while a small army of mountain trolls are just a matter of yards away, minding their own business (and farting loudly), that was pretty funny. Oh, and by the way, not to sound too judgmental, but those mountain trolls are ugly!
Remember when Arnold Schwarzenegger said; "you're one ugly motherfucker..." about the alien in "Predator" (1987) ??? Well, these guys were well and truly beaten with the ugly stick.
A typical looking Troll seen in childrens' books - very similar to the mountain trolls in Trollhunter
Also, the moment that Hans the trollhunter revealed one of his troll proof iron/steel superhero outfits, my stomach was actually aching and had us all in stitches!! Some people are put off watching a foreign language film, but there are English subtitles and once you get settled into the adventure, you forget all about it. In actual fact, hearing the Norwegian dialogue, only adds to the fun of the film, particularly in the more tense moments and action sequences. Oh, and who knew that trolls hated Chrisitans??? Watch it and find out more.
Theatrical poster.
All in all though, I thought it was a very clever and well made monster movie, which is surely destined to become a cult classic. Written and directed by André Øvredal, Trollhunter was filmed in the mockumentary style with "found footage", which brings obvious comparisons to "The Blair Witch Project" and was filmed on location amidst some stunning Western Norway landscape and scenery (it actually reminded me of parts of Scotland a little), the acting was pretty solid too, with well known Norwegian comedian Otto Jespersen a stand out as Hans the trollhunter.
Hans, the trollhunter - (played by Otto Jespersen)
Apparently, several American movie production companies have been fighting to acquire the rights to a (no doubt over the top, over produced) remake, so I suggest you check this one out first, before Hollywood claims it as their own and everyone else jumps on the bandwagon. Then you can be proud to say; "it wasn't as good as the original..."
As a photographer, writer, story teller and a love of documenting things - I consider myself an artist. Many different people may have differing views of what qualifies one person as an artist. Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Perhaps my own creative work doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in terms of art. My belief is that we are ALL artists in our own little way - well, at least we all start out that way.
Many "artists" have self doubt - a fear of not being good enough creatively, fear of people not loving or appreciating your work. Having the constant need for inspiration, through feedback, love and a little TLC, in the form of someone putting their arm around and you saying "this is great, keep up the good work..."
In terms of Social Media, you will never 100% understand just quite how much a simple like, share or retweet means to me when it comes to my work. All these little things and receiving positive feedback is like receiving a special daily gift, that absolutely means the world to me. So, please do not hesitate when it comes to giving feedback or "liking" something of mine - I like that you like it. Actually, I love it.
These periods of self doubt or loathing come and go, I don't like it, but I do understand that many "artists" go through it and it somehow inspires the artist to push on and continue to create more great things.
"I don't think there's any artist of any value who doesn't doubt what they're doing."
~ Francis Ford Coppola
"Basically, you make another movie, and another, and hopefully you feel good about every picture you make. And you say, "My name is on that. I did that. It's OK". But don't get me wrong, I still get excited by it all. That, I hope, will never disappear." ~ Martin Scorsese
Anyways, this has been playing on my mind the past few days and I just wanted to note a few words down, get it off my chest, so to speak.
It is a long road for an artist, but it never ends. It can be a rather lonely one, but it is an exciting one. A constant journey, discovering new ways, new routes to finding something rather special and expressing yourself - your pain, your passion, finding yourself and losing yourself at the same time.
"The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize..."
Just watched British film "This Year's Love" for the first time in years. This was always a real favourite of mine and vastly under rated in my opinion. I'm not sure many people I know actually really liked, enjoyed or even ever saw the film and it certainly wasn't a huge commercial success at the time.
Written and directed by David Kane - the film features an impressive ensemble cast featuring the likes of Kathy Burke, Dougray Scott, Ian Hart, Jennifer Ehle, Douglas Henshall and CatherineMcCormack.
Original theatrical poster (1999).
The film also features British singer/songwriter (unsigned at the time) and chart topper David Gray as the lead singer in a pub band, I was then immediately hooked on Gray's voice and music after watching this film at the cinema - which, by the way, I watched on my lonesome at the old Odeon at The Stack Leisure Park in Dundee, Scotland with barely half a dozen other people in the auditorium also.
David Gray in cameo role.
The film is set and filmed almost entirely on location, in and around the trendy Camden Town area of North London and centres around the lives of 6 people over the course of 3 years and their relationships and how their lives intertwine with one another.
Camden Town - London, England.
Funny, sad, at times tense, touching and with a lot of heart - I think the reason I love this film so much is that it has a realistic, contemporary quality to it and I can relate in many ways with the lead characters as they are all flawed, real and humane.
Scottish actor Dougray Scott as artist Cameron.
The film also boasts a great soundtrack too, which is always a good thing; including the film's opening number; Welsh band Stereophonics'"Just Looking". I really liked the song and, at the time, I actually thought that it was a new song from Bryan Adams as I felt Kelly Jones' voice resembled him a little and I hadn't actually heard Stereophonics' music before watching This Year's Love.
The film also captures a time and place (mid to late 90s, pre-millennium) that I feel is rather long gone now, which pretty much makes this film now a period piece. There was an energy and buzz around London and Britain at that time. I can relate so much to this film in almost all the characters in different ways, being a young adult trying to find and feel my way in the real world.
At the end of the day, the film is really entertaining, makes me smile and you just have a really good time with it - which is why we watch films, isn't it? To be entertained. Check it out if you can.
I just wanted to share a few words about one of my childhood comforts and another fond memory from my younger days growing up. Like a lot of kids, I did love watching movies and sometimes were influenced by what your parents first introduced to you. Well, I grew up on a wide-range of films, ranging from Disney Cartoons to Romantic flicks to Action to Horror, Musicals and the Western. And I also had a few Hollywood heroes that I used to look up to.
Clint Eastwood was an early hero of mine, particularly from his Spaghetti Western films which I was brought up on and still love to this day. Read my blog-post from before about how those films and its music has proven to be a huge influence and inspiration to me, still to this day.
However, it was one of Clint Eastwood's more uncharacteristic and perhaps less fondly remembered films that I want to talk about. Every Which Way But Loose (1978) - where he plays a bare-knuckle fighting, truck-driving ladies-man named Philo Beddo. Who also has a best-friend, drinking buddy and pet orangutan named Clyde. Hammered by the "critics" - this not to be taken too serious fun film, for me, gets better with age. Every time I watch it, right from the opening credits and Eddie Rabbit's feel-good theme song for the movie starts, I get this warm feeling, fond memories of my childhood - sticking on the old VHS where my dad had recorded both Every Which Way But Loose and it's 1980 sequel Any Which Way You Can on the same tapeand I regularly watched both these films back to back.
Clint with co-star and love interest Sondra Locke, his then partner in real life.
I can't really explain properly and why it gives me such a feeling, maybe it just takes me back to my childhood in the 80s as a kid, when some things were just that little more simpler, without the stress and worries of being an adult, I don't know, but it is very comforting. That's why films like Every Which Way But Loose and other childhood favourites will never grow old and always be special to me.
Another thing that was inspiring to me and that I always loved in films, was music. This movie has a great, fun Country Western soundtrack and indeed a large chunk of both films featured the famous The Palomino Club - a music venue in North Hollywood, known as "Country Music's most important West coast club..." said the Los Angeles Times - and the club featured performers such as Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, Patsy Cline, Wille Nelson and Jerry Lee Lewis amongst others. I always said that I would love to visit this place someday, but sadly, the club closed in 1995. What is different about the music in this film, are that the lyrics are that little more tongue-in-cheek and fun (as opposed to other forms of Country Music), they always make you smile and you find yourself tapping your feet and humming along to them. I still have the extremely rare original LP of the film's soundtrack and I proudly count it amongst some my most prized music possessions.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed this wee trip down memory lane - do you have films or music that takes you back to your childhood? Or gives you that feeling of warmth and comfort? Let me know. Thanks again for reading and please keep an eye out for more blog posts very soon.
Ok, one more time:-
"While you're turnin me...
Every which way but loose
You turn me
Every which way but loose
Inside the fire's burnin me
In my mind you just keep turnin me
Every which way but loose
Baby there's no excuse
To turn me every which way but loose..."
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