Showing posts with label drama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drama. Show all posts
Sunday, February 27, 2022
BEAUTY: Clothing--Trussardi
I have not felt the need to pay attention to Trussardi (established in Italy in 1911 by Dante Trussardi as a leather glove manufacturer) since then-Creative Director Umit Benan left in a rather uncomfortable split many years ago now, but this 2022-2023 Fall Winter collection presented at Milan Fashion Week featured some pretty interesting winter outer wear. Current Creative Directors Benjamin Huseby and Serhat Işık (newly anointed as of 2021) created serious coats and jackets, some with a definite ecclesiastical flair, which is not a bad thing: I always say the church got at least one thing right and that is a sense of high drama. Look at the cassock-type silhouettes and the floor-sweeping length of some of these gorgeous coats. Drama indeed. And while not as grand and commanding as the long coats, the jackets give a similar sense with interesting cuts, proportions, and details like the "rings" at the hem, cuffs, shoulders and hood of the last look (if that trim is real fur, I will simply say Trussardi and Huseby and Işık are shamefully behind the times with nearly every major house giving up the use of real fur).
https://www.trussardi.com/
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Just watched...
..."Transparent: Musicale Finale," the end of the 4 season series "Transparent" on Amazon Prime. After binge watching the entire series two years ago (read my review here), the fate of the show was a bit up in the air. Jeffrey Tambor, the actor who played the lead character Maura Pfefferman, was accused of sexual misconduct on the set and was subsequently fired. Which is a shame since not only is Tambor a spectacularly talented actor, the show itself was amazing, winning 8 Emmys, 2 Golden Globes, an AFI award, a British Academy Television award, a Directors Guild of America award, a Screen Actors Guild award, a Producers Guild of America award, 3 Critic's Choice awards, and a Peabody award. Tambor has since apologized for bad behavior and temperamental outbursts but has denied any sexual misconduct. Whatever the truth, I am glad the creators of the show, Jill and Faith Soloway, decided to give the remaining characters and story lines a chance for some closure.
I recently came across a trailer for the series finale and I was quite surprised to see that it is a musical. And I was a bit put off..."Oh, I'm not going to watch that," said I with an inner eye roll. But I should not have been so quick to write it off. My husband was intrigued and took a peek without me. He came back and reported that the first five minutes had knocked him to the floor. So we hunkered down to catch up with the Pfefferman clan.
And indeed, the show does open with a very emotionally effective and arresting song, while each of the characters are introduced by a montage, showing where they are and what they are doing since we saw them last. But each of them are isolated, in their sheltered corners. It's one of the best, most touching opening sequences I've seen in a long time. And at the end of this sequence, we discover that Maura (Tambor's character) has died in her sleep. What transpires is the journey everyone must make when they have lost a loved one and are in a state of grief, but also the extra journey these characters must make to get out of their own ways.
Recommend? If you've seen the first four seasons, it is a must-see. It's moving and dramatic but also as awkwardly funny as it is always was. And it includes a final musical number that will surely push a lot of buttons for some...but if you step back and look, truly see, you will agree with the sentiment.
https://www.amazon.com/Transparent-Musicale-Finale/dp/B07SM1B1SP
I recently came across a trailer for the series finale and I was quite surprised to see that it is a musical. And I was a bit put off..."Oh, I'm not going to watch that," said I with an inner eye roll. But I should not have been so quick to write it off. My husband was intrigued and took a peek without me. He came back and reported that the first five minutes had knocked him to the floor. So we hunkered down to catch up with the Pfefferman clan.
And indeed, the show does open with a very emotionally effective and arresting song, while each of the characters are introduced by a montage, showing where they are and what they are doing since we saw them last. But each of them are isolated, in their sheltered corners. It's one of the best, most touching opening sequences I've seen in a long time. And at the end of this sequence, we discover that Maura (Tambor's character) has died in her sleep. What transpires is the journey everyone must make when they have lost a loved one and are in a state of grief, but also the extra journey these characters must make to get out of their own ways.
Recommend? If you've seen the first four seasons, it is a must-see. It's moving and dramatic but also as awkwardly funny as it is always was. And it includes a final musical number that will surely push a lot of buttons for some...but if you step back and look, truly see, you will agree with the sentiment.
https://www.amazon.com/Transparent-Musicale-Finale/dp/B07SM1B1SP
Monday, August 26, 2019
Just finished watching...
both seasons of Netflix's amazing series "Dark."
Recommended by a friend whom I trust, but who thankfully did not say much about the story itself, my husband and I plunged into "Dark" head first without knowing how deep the water is and wow, is it deep. This smart, dazzling, complicated German series (best watched in the original German with subtitles on, and not with the dreadful, lifeless English language overdub) is in many respects unlike anything we have seen before...a feat hard to achieve in a world which seems to tell the same stories over and over again. While on the surface it may be a detective-crime-missing-child story, it is above and beyond all else, a fantastic science fiction story with a very unique point of view. It is also a very effective psychological study of small town and family dynamics, the destructive nature of secrets, and the suffocating, ravaging consequences of keeping emotions inside. It is also about how all of our choices--and sacrifices--in life, whether based on love or hate, literally determine our and other's destiny. Binge watching this series is both fulfilling and necessary as the storyline is a gigantic, compelling puzzle and the plot points are each fascinating pieces that slot together with a satisfying click.
These events take place in the small German town of Winden, in several time periods (1953, 1986, and 2019), where we see its citizens both as young men and women, and then old. "Dark" is certainly a story about time and its effects on us as humans. The cast is simply phenomenal--I have completely believed every single moment from every actor. Which is why it is necessary to hear their voices as they organically produced emotions...and not an overdub by someone in a sound booth who is not invested in portraying truth. The art direction is impeccable for the different time periods as well. All in all, a stunning achievement without being flashy or having a plotline with car chases or explosions. The third and final season has been filmed and will air sometime in 2020. I can't wait to find out what is going to happen.
Recommend? YES! If you don't know much about it, just start watching. Going in without much prior knowledge is the best way for it to work. But I will advise you to PAY CAREFUL ATTENTION as each detail, face, event, clue, and phrase is very important to the puzzle.
https://www.netflix.com/title/80100172
Recommended by a friend whom I trust, but who thankfully did not say much about the story itself, my husband and I plunged into "Dark" head first without knowing how deep the water is and wow, is it deep. This smart, dazzling, complicated German series (best watched in the original German with subtitles on, and not with the dreadful, lifeless English language overdub) is in many respects unlike anything we have seen before...a feat hard to achieve in a world which seems to tell the same stories over and over again. While on the surface it may be a detective-crime-missing-child story, it is above and beyond all else, a fantastic science fiction story with a very unique point of view. It is also a very effective psychological study of small town and family dynamics, the destructive nature of secrets, and the suffocating, ravaging consequences of keeping emotions inside. It is also about how all of our choices--and sacrifices--in life, whether based on love or hate, literally determine our and other's destiny. Binge watching this series is both fulfilling and necessary as the storyline is a gigantic, compelling puzzle and the plot points are each fascinating pieces that slot together with a satisfying click.
These events take place in the small German town of Winden, in several time periods (1953, 1986, and 2019), where we see its citizens both as young men and women, and then old. "Dark" is certainly a story about time and its effects on us as humans. The cast is simply phenomenal--I have completely believed every single moment from every actor. Which is why it is necessary to hear their voices as they organically produced emotions...and not an overdub by someone in a sound booth who is not invested in portraying truth. The art direction is impeccable for the different time periods as well. All in all, a stunning achievement without being flashy or having a plotline with car chases or explosions. The third and final season has been filmed and will air sometime in 2020. I can't wait to find out what is going to happen.
Recommend? YES! If you don't know much about it, just start watching. Going in without much prior knowledge is the best way for it to work. But I will advise you to PAY CAREFUL ATTENTION as each detail, face, event, clue, and phrase is very important to the puzzle.
https://www.netflix.com/title/80100172
Friday, March 9, 2018
Currently watching...
...Alan Ball's new show "Here and Now" for HBO.
I like Alan Ball. How can I not? He wrote the glorious film "American Beauty." He created one of the most profound television series of all time, "Six Feet Under" (and he wrote and directed many of the episodes). And he turned a campy horror series of novels into the delightful "True Blood" (although it did stray a bit too far from the original books in the last seasons but he was no longer show runner at that point which might be a bit of an explanation).
So when I heard that he has a new series on HBO called "Here and Now," I was curious. It is another unlikely blend of genres, exploring an ethnically diverse family in Portland, which serves as a springboard for studying the state of our current sociological and political climate in the Unites States. But this drama/comedy also inexplicably weaves in elements of the surreal and supernatural, and, dare I say it, spiritual (Ball IS a Buddhist after all).
I have seen the first four episodes, and I am eager to see where this goes and how Ball intends to get us all there. I am intrigued...
If you have not seen it yet, it might not be too late. Try to see if you can find the already-aired episodes to catch up. It stars the masterful Holly Hunter and Tim Robbins as the parents of the family. It might intrigue you too.
https://www.hbo.com/here-and-now
I like Alan Ball. How can I not? He wrote the glorious film "American Beauty." He created one of the most profound television series of all time, "Six Feet Under" (and he wrote and directed many of the episodes). And he turned a campy horror series of novels into the delightful "True Blood" (although it did stray a bit too far from the original books in the last seasons but he was no longer show runner at that point which might be a bit of an explanation).
So when I heard that he has a new series on HBO called "Here and Now," I was curious. It is another unlikely blend of genres, exploring an ethnically diverse family in Portland, which serves as a springboard for studying the state of our current sociological and political climate in the Unites States. But this drama/comedy also inexplicably weaves in elements of the surreal and supernatural, and, dare I say it, spiritual (Ball IS a Buddhist after all).
I have seen the first four episodes, and I am eager to see where this goes and how Ball intends to get us all there. I am intrigued...
If you have not seen it yet, it might not be too late. Try to see if you can find the already-aired episodes to catch up. It stars the masterful Holly Hunter and Tim Robbins as the parents of the family. It might intrigue you too.
https://www.hbo.com/here-and-now
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Just finished binge watching...
...all four seasons of "Transparent," the award-winning (8 Emmys, 2 Golden Globes, an AFI award, a British Academy Television award, a Directors Guild of America award, a Screen Actors Guild award, a Producers Guild of America award, 3 Critic's Choice awards, and a Peabody award) Amazon Prime original series. I'd been meaning to see this for a while and I am so glad I did.
If you don't know anything about this series, the story concerns itself with a family whose patriarch (played with stunning restraint and skill by Jeffrey Tambor) decides to live his truth of being transgendered, hence the title "Transparent." But the story arc over the four seasons concerns itself with much more than this single story line. As Shelley the mother (played exquisitely by Judith Light) wisely notes in season three, "When one person in a family transitions, everyone transitions." Billed as a comedy, there are certainly some very amusing and yes, funny moments in it, but taken altogether, it is absolutely a drama. And a sensitive, moving one at that.
In addition to the mother and father (mother and mother) there are three grown children in this family (Gaby Hoffman, Jay Duplass, and Amy Landecker) as well as their associated spouses, lovers, and friends. Over all four seasons, and via multiple story lines and flash backs that move through generations, we get a sweeping story arc that is quite literary at its core. It has fascinating things to say about sexuality, culture, religion, discrimination, psychology, genetic memory, and just generally what it means to be a human being.
The entire cast is beyond talented, and the story, as I just mentioned, is impressive. My only small quibble, and it is a small one, is that there were some things about the fourth season that felt rushed...some of the story lines were given quick answers. Now, I could be imagining this since, as I stop to think of it, the answers were a long time coming, and once an answer to a question arrives, there is an end to that question, that wonder, that probing. Like I said, it is a small quibble and one others may not have even noticed. In no way does it diminish the series or the story as a whole.
If you don't know anything about this series, the story concerns itself with a family whose patriarch (played with stunning restraint and skill by Jeffrey Tambor) decides to live his truth of being transgendered, hence the title "Transparent." But the story arc over the four seasons concerns itself with much more than this single story line. As Shelley the mother (played exquisitely by Judith Light) wisely notes in season three, "When one person in a family transitions, everyone transitions." Billed as a comedy, there are certainly some very amusing and yes, funny moments in it, but taken altogether, it is absolutely a drama. And a sensitive, moving one at that.
In addition to the mother and father (mother and mother) there are three grown children in this family (Gaby Hoffman, Jay Duplass, and Amy Landecker) as well as their associated spouses, lovers, and friends. Over all four seasons, and via multiple story lines and flash backs that move through generations, we get a sweeping story arc that is quite literary at its core. It has fascinating things to say about sexuality, culture, religion, discrimination, psychology, genetic memory, and just generally what it means to be a human being.
The entire cast is beyond talented, and the story, as I just mentioned, is impressive. My only small quibble, and it is a small one, is that there were some things about the fourth season that felt rushed...some of the story lines were given quick answers. Now, I could be imagining this since, as I stop to think of it, the answers were a long time coming, and once an answer to a question arrives, there is an end to that question, that wonder, that probing. Like I said, it is a small quibble and one others may not have even noticed. In no way does it diminish the series or the story as a whole.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
"Watching films releases 'natural painkiller'"
Watching films releases 'natural painkiller'
By Helen Briggs
BBC News
21 September 2016
Watching a tear jerking film helps in social bonding, say researchers.
The finding could explain our attraction to dramatic works of fiction - even if they make us cry.
Experiments by an Oxford University team suggest tragic films and other dramatic works trigger a rush of feel-good chemicals known as endorphins.
This acts as a natural painkiller and helps us bond with the people around us, they report in the Royal Society journal Open Science.
The human fascination with story telling was forged in ancient times when we began to live in hunter gatherer communities, said Prof Robin Dunbar, who led the research.
Enjoying fiction is a hallmark of human society, but until now scientists have not investigated its evolutionary basis.
"Fiction is widely studied by humanities academics as it is an important feature of human society, common to all cultures," said Robin Dunbar, professor of evolutionary psychology at Oxford University.
"Yet the reasons why fiction can be so engrossing and the functions for this have not been widely studied by psychologists or behavioural biologists.
"There are good social reasons: folklore enables us to pass on wisdom or ingrain community values, bringing us together. While that is important, it does not fully explain why we are willing to return again and again to be entertained."
Chemical clues
An Oxford team of scientists, psychologists and classicists decided to test whether drama triggers the release of endorphins - chemicals that act in the brain to dull pain.
They showed volunteers the film Stuart: A Life Backwards, the dramatised story of a homeless man with a troubled childhood.
A second group watched documentaries about neutral subjects.
The team tested changes in pain threshold before and after viewing the films as a measure for endorphin release using the wall-sit test.
This is where someone rests their back against the wall as if they were sitting on a chair and holds it for as long as possible.
"Those who had the greatest emotional response also had the greatest increase in pain threshold and the greater their sense of being bonded with their group," said Prof Dunbar.
He thinks our affinity for emotive fiction may have evolved in the context of cohesion of social groups, as the endorphin effect has also been seen in comedy, singing and dancing.
"This is not to say that this one chemical effect alone is the only reason for dramatic fiction - there are other aspects of human psychology at work - but we believe that it is an important reason for our enjoyment of fiction," he added.
Natural painkiller
The research was an unusual collaboration of researchers from the fields of arts and science.
Dr Sophie Duncan, a Shakespeare scholar, said they wanted to understand how and why fiction works and the meaning of "getting lost in a book".
The study shows "you can give yourself an endorphin high through fiction", she said.
"Watching tragic drama is good for you - it's good for our health," she told BBC News.
"It boosts endorphins which are our body's natural painkiller."
Link to original article: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37418551
By Helen Briggs
BBC News
21 September 2016
Watching a tear jerking film helps in social bonding, say researchers.
The finding could explain our attraction to dramatic works of fiction - even if they make us cry.
Experiments by an Oxford University team suggest tragic films and other dramatic works trigger a rush of feel-good chemicals known as endorphins.
This acts as a natural painkiller and helps us bond with the people around us, they report in the Royal Society journal Open Science.
The human fascination with story telling was forged in ancient times when we began to live in hunter gatherer communities, said Prof Robin Dunbar, who led the research.
Enjoying fiction is a hallmark of human society, but until now scientists have not investigated its evolutionary basis.
"Fiction is widely studied by humanities academics as it is an important feature of human society, common to all cultures," said Robin Dunbar, professor of evolutionary psychology at Oxford University.
"Yet the reasons why fiction can be so engrossing and the functions for this have not been widely studied by psychologists or behavioural biologists.
"There are good social reasons: folklore enables us to pass on wisdom or ingrain community values, bringing us together. While that is important, it does not fully explain why we are willing to return again and again to be entertained."
Chemical clues
An Oxford team of scientists, psychologists and classicists decided to test whether drama triggers the release of endorphins - chemicals that act in the brain to dull pain.
They showed volunteers the film Stuart: A Life Backwards, the dramatised story of a homeless man with a troubled childhood.
A second group watched documentaries about neutral subjects.
The team tested changes in pain threshold before and after viewing the films as a measure for endorphin release using the wall-sit test.
This is where someone rests their back against the wall as if they were sitting on a chair and holds it for as long as possible.
"Those who had the greatest emotional response also had the greatest increase in pain threshold and the greater their sense of being bonded with their group," said Prof Dunbar.
He thinks our affinity for emotive fiction may have evolved in the context of cohesion of social groups, as the endorphin effect has also been seen in comedy, singing and dancing.
"This is not to say that this one chemical effect alone is the only reason for dramatic fiction - there are other aspects of human psychology at work - but we believe that it is an important reason for our enjoyment of fiction," he added.
Natural painkiller
The research was an unusual collaboration of researchers from the fields of arts and science.
Dr Sophie Duncan, a Shakespeare scholar, said they wanted to understand how and why fiction works and the meaning of "getting lost in a book".
The study shows "you can give yourself an endorphin high through fiction", she said.
"Watching tragic drama is good for you - it's good for our health," she told BBC News.
"It boosts endorphins which are our body's natural painkiller."
Link to original article: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37418551
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Currently watching...
..."Better Things" on FX.
Created by series star Pamela Adlon and Louis C.K., "Better Things" feels like an extension of C.K.'s marvelous FX show, "Louie"--in fact, Adlon was a series regular on "Louie." They both share the same awkward, sometimes bizarre, engrossing-yet-anxious style of comedy, and they both feature stories, scripts, and performances that are at once comedy, black comedy, and poignant, penetrating moments of reality. It's a hard balancing act and C.K. achieved it brilliantly on his own show, and the pair do it here effortlessly. There have only been two shows broadcast so far, and one can feel the quality and import in every second. Although the show is rooted in a "situation" and comes in a thirty-minute format, it feels light years away from a typical "situation comedy."
Adlon is Sam Fox, a divorced mother of three girls and a struggling actress who was once, apparently, a child/teen star. Her life in Los Angeles is fraught with all the same things the rest of us suffer, but she must wade through the ignominies of the entertainment industry as well (and I can say that from experience, having waded--and continue to wade--through the business myself, a little worse for the wear). The rest of the cast, especially the young girls, seem extremely capable and talented, but it's Adlon's show. And she is marvelous. Funny yes, but also so touching and tender.
Recommend? YES! Especially if you liked "Louie"--hurry and catch the third episode!
http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/better-things/episodes
Created by series star Pamela Adlon and Louis C.K., "Better Things" feels like an extension of C.K.'s marvelous FX show, "Louie"--in fact, Adlon was a series regular on "Louie." They both share the same awkward, sometimes bizarre, engrossing-yet-anxious style of comedy, and they both feature stories, scripts, and performances that are at once comedy, black comedy, and poignant, penetrating moments of reality. It's a hard balancing act and C.K. achieved it brilliantly on his own show, and the pair do it here effortlessly. There have only been two shows broadcast so far, and one can feel the quality and import in every second. Although the show is rooted in a "situation" and comes in a thirty-minute format, it feels light years away from a typical "situation comedy."
Adlon is Sam Fox, a divorced mother of three girls and a struggling actress who was once, apparently, a child/teen star. Her life in Los Angeles is fraught with all the same things the rest of us suffer, but she must wade through the ignominies of the entertainment industry as well (and I can say that from experience, having waded--and continue to wade--through the business myself, a little worse for the wear). The rest of the cast, especially the young girls, seem extremely capable and talented, but it's Adlon's show. And she is marvelous. Funny yes, but also so touching and tender.
Recommend? YES! Especially if you liked "Louie"--hurry and catch the third episode!
http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/better-things/episodes
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Currently watching...
…the third season of the remarkable series “Louie” on FX.
Under the (almost) complete control of comedian Louis C.K. (née Szekely--"C.K." is a phonetic spelling of his lat name), this subtle, extremely cinematic series has been compared to the work of Woody Allen. Like Woody, Louis C.K. created, produces, writes, directs, edits, and stars in this episodic show in which he plays a fictionalized version of himself. (Notice that the actual comedian is “Louis” while the show and lead character is “Louie.”) He uses the famed “Woody Allen font” (Windsor) for titles and has even hired Allen’s longtime editor, Susan E. Morse, to share some of the editing duties.
The show is ostensibly billed as a comedy but it certainly plays more like a drama. Sure, there are some humorous moments, but C.K. incorporates a tremendous amount of real-life awkwardness, poignancy, tenderness, and a bittersweet sense that simply comes from living one’s life. I must confess that this current season—there are only 3 episodes left, so hurry—is new to me. Although I knew who Louis C.K. was, and I had an appreciation for his stand-up work, I was totally unprepared for how rich and textured this unsung series is.
With a very impressive guest star roster including Chloë Sevigny, F. Murray Abraham, Robin Williams, and character actress Melissa Leo, C.K. elevates each episode into a complete experience. In one particularly memorable double episode, the always fascinating and amazingly talented Parker Posey led Louie on a wild, stunning date through Manhattan. Even without a well known guest star, C.K. and the show shines in thoughtful, tender episodes like “Duckling,” the only episode from the second season I have been able to see, in which Louie unknowingly takes a duckling, placed in his luggage by his young daughter, on a USO tour in Afghanistan.
Recommend? Yes yes yes! There can be some not-for-primetime ideas and language, so the show is not for everyone. If you are easily offended (and really, if someone is easily offended, does the mere suggestion that they are easily offended offend them?), you might want to move along and stick to something less lively, less interesting. But I think it’s marvelous.
http://www.fxnetworks.com/louie/
https://buy.louisck.net/
Under the (almost) complete control of comedian Louis C.K. (née Szekely--"C.K." is a phonetic spelling of his lat name), this subtle, extremely cinematic series has been compared to the work of Woody Allen. Like Woody, Louis C.K. created, produces, writes, directs, edits, and stars in this episodic show in which he plays a fictionalized version of himself. (Notice that the actual comedian is “Louis” while the show and lead character is “Louie.”) He uses the famed “Woody Allen font” (Windsor) for titles and has even hired Allen’s longtime editor, Susan E. Morse, to share some of the editing duties.
The show is ostensibly billed as a comedy but it certainly plays more like a drama. Sure, there are some humorous moments, but C.K. incorporates a tremendous amount of real-life awkwardness, poignancy, tenderness, and a bittersweet sense that simply comes from living one’s life. I must confess that this current season—there are only 3 episodes left, so hurry—is new to me. Although I knew who Louis C.K. was, and I had an appreciation for his stand-up work, I was totally unprepared for how rich and textured this unsung series is.
With a very impressive guest star roster including Chloë Sevigny, F. Murray Abraham, Robin Williams, and character actress Melissa Leo, C.K. elevates each episode into a complete experience. In one particularly memorable double episode, the always fascinating and amazingly talented Parker Posey led Louie on a wild, stunning date through Manhattan. Even without a well known guest star, C.K. and the show shines in thoughtful, tender episodes like “Duckling,” the only episode from the second season I have been able to see, in which Louie unknowingly takes a duckling, placed in his luggage by his young daughter, on a USO tour in Afghanistan.
Recommend? Yes yes yes! There can be some not-for-primetime ideas and language, so the show is not for everyone. If you are easily offended (and really, if someone is easily offended, does the mere suggestion that they are easily offended offend them?), you might want to move along and stick to something less lively, less interesting. But I think it’s marvelous.
http://www.fxnetworks.com/louie/
https://buy.louisck.net/
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