Late for the Sundance

Really, really must remember to check out the favorites from last month's Sundance Film Festival.

This guy - Adam Palcher - has a decent list of films to watch out for. At a glance, I'd like to see:

• The Guard - any dark comedy with Don Cheadle would naturally make my list
• Martha Marcy May Marlene - for the wonderful title and the possibly unsettling intrigue 
• Circumstance - for a story of character and location
• Life in a Day - a doco collated from YouTube content

While the study intensifies, I am distracted by the looming Alliance Francaise French Film Festival in Melbourne next month. It will be my first encounter with the AFFFF and I am just a tad excited! Hopefully I'll get tickets to all 5 films of choice - would love to see more if I had more time.

And then there is MIFF in the winter months. I recall seeing a few shorts at MIDFF many years ago which is quite dismal considering how much I love going to the movies, and the fact that it's been running for oh, around 60 years now.

No excuses this year - I plan to attend as many film festivals as I can manage, even if it means only a movie or two at each festival. It the experience of watching films that I know very little about, or have only a snippet of narrative that sounds a little bit interesting. Yes, it is time to step up the Festival-game.

Guide to watching Jane Austen films... and TV shows

This is fantastic! Visit for a little touch of Austen-centric humour:

DON'T FREAK OUT: Your Guide To Watching Jane Austen Film Adaptations Without Totally Losing Your Mind.

Ooh! And a possible new detective series to be filmed in Bath, during Austen's time. Read all about it.

And who wouldn't want to share tea with Jane Austen?

Mental note: Senses of Cinema

When it comes to conducting online research for my assignments, I tend to stumble across a lot of new (to me) websites and online journals that I simply don't have time to read. Hence the need for a post like this one.

Mental note: must delve into Senses of Cinema...

The article on Citizen Kane would have come in handy about 3 months ago.

Meanwhile, back to the essay at hand about a specific cultural site - in this case, my favourite little boutique cinema the Sun Theatre.

Black Swan

Friday night's psychological thriller Black Swan was just the thing to ignite my adrenaline before intense drive home through the Melbourne storm. I don't know what was more frightening - the film or the trip home.

The film... shockingly beautiful! The shadows and the moments of light... the horrendous close-ups of horror-inducing nightmares... the incredible transformation gave me goosebumps to mimic Ninas...

And I adore her fitted pink coat.

Must take a closer look at 'Clothes on Film'. No more free time for non-Uni films for the next few weeks at least: must keep focus. Fortunately this week's homework included the optional viewing of the new True Grit so I had an excuse to go to the cinema twice this weekend. Both completely different styles of movies at two completely different types of cinema. A perfect way to spend a rainy weekend.

'Lost memoirs of Jane Austen'

I have yet to read any of the Austen-inspired fiction that is floating around, although I may start with this one as it sounds like a good yarn - and has received some great reviews. The reviews were written by hard-core Austen fans, but if anything, they truly know their stuff.

I'm interested to see how the plot deals with the 'romantic' relationship Jane finds herself in, and how her final days are revealed. I also wonder if it's anything like the tale depicted in 2008's 'Miss Austen Regrets', a biopic of Austen.

giulia avec paris

For the love of Paris, Eric Degenhardt's images can take you there.

The full collection: giulia avec paris (discovered by le projet d'amour)