Cine Me

 

 

Il capitale umano

 

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2465578/

 

We open on a dark, snowy night in northern Italy—and begin at the end. Approaching a stranger’s tragic death from three vastly different perspectives, the lives of two families, at first only loosely linked by their teenagers’ relationship, overlap in multitudinous ways to devastating effect. Valeria Golina and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, two of Italy’s leading actresses, star in a story based on Stephen Amidon’s best-selling book of the same name that twists love, class, and ambition into a singular, true-life story. As the players tumble toward an ill-fated event of which they are inextricably linked, Paolo Virzi’s refined three-chapter tale reveals a cultural and systemic disparity in the value of human life.

The often-abused device of filming the same scene from different points of view is handled with great sophistication here, adding just enough new info to advance the ongoing tragedy as it settles gloomily around the protags, without giving away the finale.

 

But the film is more than just a chic thriller. Alongside its clear - at times overly so - depiction the pain and vanity of social inequality, Virzi and the fine cast explore the unhappiness of rich and poor alike in a society that measures a person’s value in terms of euros. There’s a Gatsbyish echo here, but the feeling is closer to Luca Guadagnino’s 2009 classy upper bourgeois meller I Am Love and its memorable portrayal of Italy’s top class. Here things are a bit more obvious, like the early scenes of class politics on the tennis court, or an alarming parade of black limos that heralds a decisive stockholder meeting.

 

The term “human capital” is legalese that designates an accident victim’s net worth in compensation claims.

 

I have seen many movies in the last months, but this is very remarkable!

 

 

 

Cine Me

 

 

Grace of Monaco

 

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2095649/

 

Grace of Monaco is not a great film. But it’s not necessarily a bad one either, at least not to the extent that some reviews have it (such is the ruthlessness Cannes critics can conjure).

 

Set during 1962 when relations between the tax-free paradise Monaco and Charles de Gaulle led France were at an all-time low, this “fictional account based on true events” (as described in the opening credits) begins with Grace Kelly (Nicole Kidman) disgruntled in her role as princess and itching to get back in the acting game.

Salute her magnificence

 

 

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size

But when I start to tell them,

They think I’m telling lies.

I say,

It’s in the reach of my arms,

The span of my hips,

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips.

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.

I say,

It’s the fire in my eyes,

And the flash of my teeth,

The swing in my waist,

And the joy in my feet.

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can’t touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them,

They say they still can’t see.

I say,

It’s in the arch of my back,

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

Now you understand

Just why my head’s not bowed.

I don’t shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.

When you see me passing,

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It’s in the click of my heels,

The bend of my hair,

the palm of my hand,

The need for my care.

’Cause I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

 

 

Maya Angelou

Oh! Simple thing, where have you gone?

 

 

 

 

And if you have a minute why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything

So why don't we go
Somewhere only we know?

And yes, love turns us on

 

 

 

Amo o teu túmido candor de astro

a tua pura integridade delicada

a tua permanente adolescência de segredo

a tua fragilidade acesa sempre altiva

Por ti eu sou a leve segurança

de um peito que pulsa e canta a sua chama

que se levanta e inclina ao teu hálito de pássaro

ou à chuva das tuas pétalas de prata

Se guardo algum tesouro não o prendo

porque quero oferecer-te a paz de um sonho aberto

que dure e flua nas tuas veias lentas

e seja um perfume ou um beijo um suspiro solar

Ofereço-te esta frágil flor esta pedra de chuva

para que sintas a verde frescura

de um pomar de brancas cortesias

porque é por ti que vivo é por ti que nasço

porque amo o ouro vivo do teu rosto



António Ramos Rosa

Hedi Slimane

 

 

“I never thought I’d have children, I never thought I’d be in love, I never thought I’d meet the right person,” Jolie tells the magazine. “Having come from a broken home — you kind of accept that certain things feel like a fairy tale, and you just don’t look for them.”

 

 

 

for Elle's June cover. She's wearing Saint Laurent, of course.

Above all, I want my arms about you

 

 

Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you.
Embrace me, you irreplaceable you

Cine Me

 

 

 

Under the skin

 

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441395/

 

 

 

http://undertheskinmovie.com/

 

 

Jonathan Glazer's sci-fi horror-flick, starring Scarlett Johansson as an extraterrestrial roaming Glasgow in a white van, picking up men, is visually stunning and deeply disturbing.

 

 

Plot? Here's what you need to know: An unnamed woman, played by Scarlett Johansson with unshakably alluring menace, cruises the streets of Scotland in a cargo van looking for men. She's not the usual femme fatale. She's an alien, and what she does to these guys, well, that's for you to find out.

Glazer, a music-video director credited with two provocative features (Sexy Beast, Birth), has joined with writer Walter Campbell to adapt Michael Faber's 2000 novel into a story Faber himself might not quite recognize. As adaptations go, this one's a highwire act. Using hidden digital cameras, Glazer shows us real Scots reacting to this sexy beast behind the wheel. The effect is eerie and electrifying. Glazer attempts to let us see the human world through the eyes of a nonhuman, evocatively reflected in Mica Levi's score.

By the time this alien begins to see humans as more than specimens, Under the Skin has allowed us to view ourselves with fresh eyes. Johansson is phenomenal in every sense of the word. She joins Glazer in creating a brave experiment in cinema that richly rewards the demands it makes. The result is an amazement, a film of beauty and shocking gravity.

 

“A brilliant meditation on what it means to be human.“

The Economist

 

 



 

 

 

 

What are you up to ?

 

 

Que música escutas tão atentamente, que não dás por mim?

Cine Me

 

 

Transcendence

 

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2209764/

 

 

http://www.transcendencemovie.com/

 

 

On the surface this film raises the usual questions of technology vs. humanity, but if you look deeper you will see that there is much more to this movie than meets the eye. Other more complex questions are raised, such as: What is self-awareness? What role do we as humans ultimately want technology to play in the bigger picture that is our future? How do we reconcile logic with emotion? Should we fear technology? Do we have a soul and if so, does that mean that when our bodies die we can still live on through other means? I really enjoyed this film and found myself thinking about the questions I posed above, as well as many others.

Johnny Depp as Will is not an obvious choice but he brought a likability to the character. Evelyn's (Rebecca Hall) struggle with her husband's demise and "reincarnation" are palpable but I think the audience will sympathize with her unwavering devotion. Paul Bettany is the movie's conscience so his character is cautious, if not underutilized.

Decidedly imperfect, yet refreshingly bold, imaginative, and ultimately thought-provoking, Transcendence is a film that will engage some and be lost on others. Set on the heels of the transhumanism movement, Transcendence follows a scientist whose fated tragedy ultimately leads to his greatest achievement, with themes of free-will, consciousness, and the nature of life itself.

 

Miserable Student: So you're trying to create a god? Your own god?
Dr. Will Caster: That's a very food question. Um, isn't that what man has always tried to do?

 

 

 

 

 

I start my day with a cup of coffee and often end it with a piece of chocolate

 

 

 

Today, there is more good news on that front:

 

Until now it was unclear exactly why dark chocolate can lower blood pressure, but this morning the LA Timesreported that the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Dallas found that specific microbes in our gut convert a portion of the cocoa into anti-inflammatory compounds. These can be used by our body and can prevent some forms of cardiovascular disease.
It was also found that our colon ferments dietary fiber, which makes up 30 percent of cocoa powder. John Finley, a researcher on this study and professor of food science and biochemistry at Louisiana State University, personally reaps the benefits of chocolate, but avoids the fat and sugar that often come with it by adding two tablespoons of cocoa powder to his oatmeal in the morning—the amount he found to produce beneficial effects.

 

 

As for coffee, USA Today reports that a Cornell University study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that your morning cup of joe can help prevent deteriorating eyesight. Raw coffee contains chlorogenic acid, an antioxidant that has been proven to help retinal degeneration.
Chang Lee, the study’s senior author, thinks it is extremely important to figure out the benefits of coffee. "Coffee is the most popular drink in the world, and we are understanding what benefit we can get from that." Chocolate is certainly up there in the most popular dessert in the world category, so let’s go have a mocha to celebrate the good news.

 

 

 

 

 

 

She's mad but she's magic

 

 

 

"Sim, tu estás em toda a parte. Em toda a parte.
Tão por dentro de mim. Tão ausente de mim.
E eu estou perto de ti porque te amo." 

 [Joaquim Pessoa, in 'Os Olhos de Isa']

Out and about

 

 

"-Vens-me buscar?
- Vou. Mas onde?
- Tanto faz, desde que me venhas buscar."