Archive for the ‘ film ’ Category

style icon: jean paul belmondo

JPB1

in college, i took a class on cinema and we watched several french films.  jean-luc godard’s breathless was on that list.  if you haven’t seen that movie and have patience for subtitles, i highly recommend it.  it was the start of french new wave cinema and jean paul belmondo’s breakthrough role.

one of my main takeaways from breathless was “f**k! this dude (belmondo) is cool.”  belmondo exemplifies french style in the 60’s – a kind of effortless look that would look like you were trying too hard today.  belmondo wasn’t necessarily good looking, but had a natural confidence about him that translated to the way he wore his tweed jackets, trilby hats and silk socks with loafers.  dude always looked like he didn’t give a s**t.  and if you want to know where your pants should meet your shoes, belmondo provides a good example: keep it on the short side (thom brown knows what’s up).  oh, and one last thing, anna karina is a total babe.

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2015
11/24
CATEGORY
film
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it’s oscar night

brandokelly

i love going to the movies.  it’s one of my favorite past times.  i feel like i’m doing a disservice by not spending more time dissecting the films that i spend countless hours watching.  i should note that i’m not an expert, so there is probably no reason to read what i’ve written except for debate purposes.  I did take a film class in college, so i’ve got that going for me which is nice.

2014 was a great year for movies.  i saw most of the important ones (birdman, the grand budapest hotel, whiplash, american sniper, the theory of everything, the imitation game, boyhood) and missed a few (selma, wild, foxcatcher, still alice, two days, one night).  here are my quick thoughts on tonight’s academy awards:

best picture: birdman deserves it and should win it.  boyhood is a cool concept and beautifully executed, but birdman is unique and like nothing i can remember watching.  whiplash was my favorite movie of the year, but has no chance.

best actor: i’m pulling for michael keaton, but eddie redmayne completely transformed himself to play stephen hawking.  voters love that stuff.  i bet redmaybe beats keaton by a noisehair.

best actress: julian moore has it locked up from what I hear, but at least we’ll get to see marion cotillard sitting in the audience.  she is such a babe.

best supporting actor: jk simmons as the a-hole band teacher was far and away my favorite performance of the year.  if he doesn’t win this award, i might start turning cars over in my street.  sorry ahead of time, neighbors.

best director: i would love to see wes anderson win this award, but birdman’s alejandro gonzalez inniritu will take this one home.  maybe wes will take home best original screenplay this year.  fingers crossed.

you’ve probably stopped reading by now, so i’ll stop there.  how about the picture on this post?  the greatest actor of all time (brando) and the biggest babe of all time (grace kelly).  niiiiice.  enjoy the awards.

2015
02/22
CATEGORY
film
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jack nicholson at home in 1969

jn1

these photos resurfaced a year or so ago.  i remember seeing them on life.com or another blog.  i rediscovered them yesterday when i was looking for an old photo of jack to post on tumblr.  i’m a big jack nicholson fan.  i have been since tim burton’s batman.  it’s hard to argue that anyone in hollywood is as cool or will ever be as cool as jack.  photographer arthur schatz took these photos of jack right after easy rider came out which is the film that started his journey to becoming a hollywood legend.  i love these photos of him wearing his giant headphones.  i wonder what the hell he was listening to (probably the beatles backwards).  you can see all of arthur schatz’s photos on life.com.  here are a few of my favorites:

jn2

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2014
06/30
CATEGORY
film
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high fives: favorite movies

jawsposter

i’ve been writing on this website for almost 4 years.  i cannot believe that.  where did the time go (that’s a rhetorical question – we all know how time works)?  if you’ve been coming here for awhile, then you probably feel like you know me a little or maybe not at all or maybe you just want me to shut up and post pics of clothes.  regardless of how you feel, i had the bright idea yesterday to start posting random lists.  who doesn’t love a list.  i will stop traffic to read a list.  these lists might give you a better idea of who i am or it might inspire you to watch a movie you’ve never seen or pick up an album you never thought you’d listen to.  and if you’re not a fan of lists, then you must be terrible human being and i cannot help you.  i’m kidding ’cause that’s what i do sometimes.

we’re going to start this new series i’ve dubbed “high fives” with my top 5 favorite movies.  unfortunately, jaws barely missed the list.  that movie still frightens me to this day.  big thank you to my sister for making me watch it at a very early age.  i didn’t get in the ocean for a solid year after said viewing.  it’s also an incredible resource for fall style inspiration (see here).  other movies that barely missed the cut: raiders of the lost ark, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest, the godfather, cool hand luke, and the dark knight. 

5. the departed

thedeparted

scorsese is and will always be my favorite director.  nicholson and dicaprio are two of my favorite actors.  the departed is a no-brainer on my high fives list.  i realize it’s heresy to put this movie ahead of taxi driver, raging bull, and goodfellas, but this is my list and i’m not trying to impress the internet or some a-hole critics.  after all, the movie did take home best picture and best director at the 2007 academy awards.

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2014
06/08
CATEGORY
film
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mcqueen on set

mscquuenonset2.1

this picture needs no explanation.  there was no one cooler than steve mcqueen.  few guys can pull off the white v-neck t-shirt quite like mcqueen did in between takes on the set of bullitt.  but, hey, if you want to try, here’s a good starting point:

mcqueenonset

navy chinos from club monaco

white v-neck shirt from alternative apparel

“playboy” chukkas from sid mashburn

sunglasses from persol

2013
07/29
CATEGORY
film
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style
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i saw the great gatsby

the_great_gatsby_trailer

i saw the great gatsby last night against my own advice to skip it.  the reviews have been less than favorable, but i had to do it.  it’s my favorite book, and the first one i remember really reading.

i was in 9th grade when it showed up on our syllabus.  i read the whole book in one sitting.  the wealth obsessed people of the 20’s and the catastrophic fall of the protagonist weren’t tragic or disturbing to me at the time.  they were inspiring.  when you’re in 9th grade, money, power, and girls seem pretty f**king awesome (hell, they still do, but it’s different now).  in all honesty, i have to believe my 9th grade self would have loved baz lurhmann’s empty, mess of a movie.   Continue reading →

2013
05/12
CATEGORY
book
film
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my top 5 favorite movies of the last year

the academy awards are tonight.  obviously, daniel day lewis has the best actor award locked up.  i think jessica chastain could pull the upset for best actress, but i’d like to see jennifer lawrence win if only to hear her acceptance speech.  most experts are picking argo to take home best picture, but since the academy is mostly made up of old codgers with a penchant for chaos, who knows what the hell will happen.  with that said, here are my top 5 favorite movies of 2012:

moonrise

#5 moonrise kingdom: if you’re not a wes anderson fan, then you definitely hated this movie.  i loved every minute of it.  i saw it three times in the theater, and it was better every time.  (yeah, i’m that guy – no apologies.)

django

#4 django unchained: quentin tarantino never disappoints (except for jackie brown, but i’ve forgiven him since then).  it’s a bummer leonardo dicaprio wasn’t nominated for his role in django.  he was unreal as a d-bag southern plantation owner.   Continue reading →

2013
02/24
CATEGORY
film
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fall inspiration: r.p. mcmurphy

one flew over the cuckoo’s nest is one of my all time favorite films.  if you haven’t seen it yet, do yourself a favor and add it to your netflix instant queue.  jack nicholson’s performance as r.p. mcmurphy earned him an oscar in 1975.  with that said, it’s not the most stylish film ever – unless you’re into hospital gowns from the 1970’s – but mcmurphy’s style outside of the institution is fall inspiration for me every year.  you can’t go wrong with an old pair of blue jeans, some red wing 875s, a denim shirt, and beat-up bomber jacket.  classic.  Continue reading →

2012
10/23
CATEGORY
film
style
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how to handle a firearm featuring humphrey bogart

humphrey bogart is one of my all time favorite actors and one of the coolest guys to ever walk the face of the planet.  i don’t think i’ve seen a picture of him where he didn’t look perfectly put together.  recently i found these publicity shots of bogart from the 1941 film high sierra.  as you can see, he looked extremely comfortable handling a firearm.  click read more for the rest of the pics.

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2012
08/21
CATEGORY
film
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here it is: the great gatsby trailer

the trailer for the great gatsby was released last night. i wanted to turn it off after 30 seconds. actually, i wanted to find baz luhrmann and give him a piece of my mind. what has he done? why did he do it? he took America’s greatest novel and turned it into a spectacle. when I think of the roaring twenties, surprisingly i don’t think of kanye and jay-z’s “church in the wild.” i think about jazz and flappers and stock markets crashing. where is that in the trailer? where the hell is the jazz?

i’ve read the book over 10 times. i’ve memorized the opening and final pages. fitzgerald’s writing speaks to me better than any other author i’ve ever read. the way he describes women and love and loss is the way i would want to if i was a great writer. the themes of this novel resonate with anyone who’s wanted a shot at the american dream. we want things we can’t have, but we spend our whole lives trying to find them or make them right. everyone has a “daisy” whether they’ll admit it or not.

i saw esquire’s tweet calling the film possibly the most stylish movie ever. that’s great, but where is the story? baz luhrmann’s biggest problem as a director is telling a story. moulin rouge was candy for your eyes, but not for your brain. storytelling used to be an important piece of film making. i’m not sure where it went. hey hollywood, sometimes bigger is not better. i was excited about this film and ready to give luhrmann another shot after sitting through australia, but i can’t watch this movie – especially not in 3-D as it’s intended to be viewed…”so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

2012
05/23
CATEGORY
film
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