I'VE MOVED!

I've moved this blog over to Wordpress, so if you're interested, and I just know there's scads of adoring fans out there, head to: http://www.imagewordsound.wordpress.com

Hope to see you there. Yes, you, I'm talking to you. The regular reader in the corner.

I haven't seen the vampire phenomenon masquerading as film Twilight--its in my online rental queue more out of some sort of pop culture obligation than anything else--but I seriously doubt that it can be as beautiful, sublime, and just plain excellent as the Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In. It's a wonderful cinematic vision and a unique spin on an ancient genre. The core of the film is the relationship between a boy and his strange new neighbour, a slight 12-year old who has lived for eons, protected by a human familiar, stalking victims to slake her blood thirst.

The winter setting is effectively used in all its cold bleakness, and the two leads engage us immediately. There are some sequences that are as visually impressive as anything in the past ten years, including a finale shot from under the water of a swimming pool that rivals early Spielberg in the perfection of its execution. Director Tomas Alfredson is clearly someone to watch, and this poetic and scary film is worth seeking out before the American remake descends.

I don't usually do memes, but I saw this one on another blog, where you name a favourite film for every letter of the alphabet. Here goes.

A - Aliens

B - Black Sunday (Mario Bava, not the one with Robert Shaw) 

C - Cat People (Val Lewton's)

D - The Duellists

E - Evil Dead

F - From Russia With Love

G - Gallipoli

H - Horror of Dracula

I - Incredible Shrinking Man

J - Jason and the Argonauts

K - King Kong (1933)

L - The Long Good Friday

M - Manhunter

N - Night of the Demon

O - Out of the Past

P - Pan's Labyrinth

Q - Quest for Fire

R - The Reptile

S - Suspiria

T - Treasure of the Sierra Madre

U - Unforgiven

V - V for Vendetta

W - Wild Strawberries

X - X2

Y - The Year of Living Dangerously

Z - Zodiac

ONCE

Allow me to briefly recommend the wonderful indie music-infused romance Once. Starring Glen Hansard, now of Irish band The Frames and previously the ginger-haired guitarist in Alan Parker's great The Commitments, and real-life musical collaborator Marketa Irglova, it's a simple film about a hoover repairman and part-time musician who meets a pretty Czech immigrant on the streets of an Irish city.

What happens next I won't spoil, but it's far better done than most of its genre, and while not a musical, key scenes and emotions are conveyed through song. The soundtrack is outstanding, and one of the tunes, Falling Slowly, amazingly won an Academy Award for Best Song. I say amazingly not because it doesn't deserve it (it does), but because it was astounding that anyone who voted in the Academy had even heard of this great little film. Once is an inspiring, feel-good film without an ounce of forced emotion or overwrought Hollywood-sized sentimentality, and is utterly convincing in the emotional detailing of its characters. It's available on DVD and I strongly suggest you seek it out and buy the soundtrack. 

Highly, highly recommended.