(Source: nickthejam)
(Source: nickthejam)
François Arnaud is too good to be true.
Fatoumata Diawara - Kanou »
Amazing voice, and lovely music.
The Borgias
The TV series are becoming huge everywhere in the world. The productions are even in competition with movies. I have heard that the TV series Sherlock, is quite a success, and some people like it more than the Sherlock movies.
I must admit that I have not been a TV fan since about 1995. I have been watching most programs or movies online. Though I must also admit that the TV series made in the last few years are taking my time from watching movies recently.
The Borgias is one of those series. It is more than good because the script is brilliant. Imagine a really speculative Spanish family in Vatican city. There are so many rumours about them. Inspired by the Borgia family which lived in Rome in the 15th century, the series is a historical fiction that succeeds in not to take a stand about the rumours but remain quite objective.
The producers manage to create an environment of the time that the story passes in. The image is outstanding. We really feel that we are back in time; among the Borgias.
The acting is superb. A bunch of stunning actors - not only in their looks but also in their acting - take us with them to a journey in time. Jeremy Irons, no need to emphasize, is expanding his talents. He is always at the peak of his career. Joanne Whalley, David Oakes, Holliday Grainger, Sean Harris, Peter Sullivan, Colm Feore, Lotte Verbeek, Emmanuelle Chriqui are all good actors.
I have been looking for this moment: Talking about François Arnaud as Cesare Borgia! He’s the Antonin of 2009 movie “J’ai tué ma mère”. This 1985 born talent is promising actor with the great looks, passion and Al Pacino-like mimics. (François is very unique, and he is not an imitator.)
The first season of the series was not perfect though. Nothing is. They should have done a more detailed research about Cem Sultan. Not that I am offended, but because it is lacking the sense of reality, I should mention that the episodes with Cem Sultan had a more Arabic sense to them than Ottoman.
We saw Niccolo Machiavelli in the series, and I guess it is not wrong to expect to see Leonardo Da Vinci soon. I am looking forward to seeing the second season.
Finally a really powerful quote from Cesare Borgia:
“I was born with a stain. A mark. Like the mark of Cain. But is the mark of my father, my family. The mark of Borgia. I have tried to be other than I am. And I have failed. And If I have failed you in the process, I am truly sorry.”
Finally a really powerful quote from Cesare Borgia:
“I was born with a stain. A mark. Like the mark of Cain. But is the mark of my father, my family. The mark of Borgia. I have tried to be other than I am. And I have failed. And If I have failed you in the process, I am truly sorry.”
(Source: fuckyeahcesareborgia)
Yay! Wanna bite them both!
50/50
One of the best comedy movies? Not really. One of your favourite movies? Might become one, but there are better options out there.
Inspired by a true story (where Seth Rogen was Will Reiser’s buddy), 50/50 talks about taboos: death and how people behave towards cancer patients. Seth Rogen is fun as usual - and this time also very natural and convincing because he actually somehow plays himself because his friend Will Reiser, who is the writer of the movie, passed through the same stages that Adam (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) passed through.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as the guy next door (500 Days of Summer will be covered in this blog some time.) is the right pick as Adam. Angelica Houston is great as Adam’s mother and Anna Kendrick sure has the innocence that her role required.
50/50 is one of those movies, which most people might enjoy but which cannot excel in storytelling or acting because the subject is very risky. You might even think the movie is overrated because people are trying to be politically correct. Well, 50/50 is one of those movies which looks %100 complete, and good as the way it is. Not much can be added to it or removed from it. It is not a masterpiece but rather a nice movie to spend the Sunday afternoon.
A Tribute to Tyrone Power
Revolutionary Petunias and Other Poems
Alice Walker is a significant writer, and a defender of civil rights, the rights of African Americans, and especially women if it could be put that way. Have you seen “The Color Purple”? The movie was based on Walker’s Pulitzer winning novel.
“Revolutionary Petunias and Other Poems” shows us Walker’s huge heart and courage. (I am not a big fan of poems, and even I am impressed by the clarity, simplicity yet love, and braveness in her voice.)
She is a “compañera”. She is a Malcolm. She is a revolutionary petunia. It is not easy to describe her. Her books and poems tell the white white world dozens of lives that it has not experienced or ignored.
