Я всегда и везде говорю: «Я не артист, я не артист, - я не артист». А мне: «Нет, вы артист!». А я: «Артист - это совсем другое. Это другие люди, другая конституция. Роль для меня - это не профессия. Это поступок, который совершаешь»
Sergei Bodrov (Jr) is very much right about the distinction. Many times I watch a movie, and it's a good movie, well ( Read more... )

I stumbled across this silly page because I was wondering whether Google has ever had a chance to index some pretentious twentysomething guy's thoughtful blog post about the similarities between the works of Lars Von Trier and Etgar Keret. But Google seems largely unaware of the particular brand of genuine cynicism, or heartfelt trolling, that ( Read more... )

Dawkins, Pinker and Dennett are sitting at a performance of JSBach's Matthaus Passion, trying hard not to think shallow thoughts.

It was probably three years ago that whichferdinand and I were getting something to drink. Since I'm the easily influenced type, I expressed some doubts about getting a coke, since according to certain segments of interest of anglophone LJ Coca Cola was an evil corporation. WF remarked in characteristic wisdom then that it was a fair exchange of services: just ( Read more... )

Why do we criticize flat characters in literature if we seldom face, or wish to face, the depth of other people with whom we interact in life? That notwithstanding, I find that the wave of "wherein nothing happens" movies - let's call then Jarmuschian - have characters as deep as in standard action movies and the character development in them is ( Read more... )

We watched Larger than Life yesterday and loved every bit of it. Then I checked and it has something like 11% rating on rotten tomatoes.

So it got me thinking about other good things critics hate. And also reminded me of the existence of all the people who wouldn't like Larger than Life. Ah, right, you existed; sorry, I completely forgot.

end if an rnsr is not reqid, jast cnoke plez.

There is an interesting psychological narrative one could, in my opinion, see in the story of the prophet Jonah. The story, as you might recall is that Jonah did not want to go to the city of Nineveh and inform its inhabitants of God's impending wrath because he feared that the people will remend their ways and God will change his mind ( Read more... )

The most precious collaborator I have ever had, I say it straightaway and don't even have to hesitate, was Nino Rota - between us, immediately, a complete, total, harmony ... He had a geometric imagination, a musical approach worthy of celestial spheres. He thus had no need to see images from my movies. When I asked him about the melodies he had in ( Read more... )

This deserves a coherent entry from non-drunk db because people totally don't get this, but policies of political correctness in the west are properly viewed as yet another expression of the higher standard of living in the western world. But it isn't being presented or directly admitted as such. So many people hearing about political correctness ( Read more... )