Gomorra

Two men driving in an old Italian road in a luxurious black SUV. The oldest one, who is driving, stops the SUV and tells the other passenger to throw the basket full of peaches, received by an old woman, on the grass, "Do not you realize how bad they smell?" Tells the oldest one to the young man, who throws it away a little skeptically.

Marilyn at last: August, 5 1962

5 weeks ago I started writing a series of articles about Marilyn, planning to write the last article on the 50th anniversary of her death. Which is today. Therefore, today is the last entry on this subject. More than an article, it is meant to be as a thought, an humble and unpretentious homage.

In fact, this is a day to remember and to celebrate. Even the more common television channels know that and you are bound to find a few Monroe's movie on tonight.

A woman, an actress, a diva, an icon. Marilyn was all these things and much more.

One thing everyone seems to agree on is that she wanted to be a good actress. On this day, it seems right to celebrate her by watching her doing what she strived to do best: act. I know I will.

Fight Club

Imagine the cold vacuum of the barrel of a Colt 22 caliber pressing to the back of your throat, the piercing pain of your knees smashing on the wet pavement, the rattle produced by the gun barrel against your teeth because of the earthquake shaking whom holds the gun. Try to imagine what it is likely to think of at times like this; of what comes to mind; what the asphalt can do to your pants; if the gun itself is clean; how many times a tooth can be beaten before it breaks.

Lilyhammer

Lilyhammer is the story of Frank Tagliano, a New York mobster who is sent to Norway after testifying against his former colleagues and who needs to adapt to the lifestyle of this country. Tagliano is played by actor Steve Van Zandt, known for his role in “The Sopranos” and for belonging to Bruce Springsteen's band.

Marilyn the immortal

What is it that makes a human being a legend? For instance, what made Norma/Marilyn one?

I am sure that a lot of people already have their idea on this and I am pretty certain that many people have a quite common opinion of this subject. I would say that my personal opinion is in line with the common opinion; but, maybe, the fact that it is so obvious, makes it all the more true.

The Amazing Spider-Man

“The Amazing Spider-Man”, although being a reboot, is primarily for those over 25 years, a cover of that Spider-Man directed by Sam Raimi in 2002, just a decade ago. It is just like to compare, the first "Batman" by Tim Burton, released in 1989, and "The Dark Knight" by Christopher Nolan, in 2008: almost 20 years between the two of them.

Chernobyl Diaries

To speak of "horror" in a movie, you should consider several factors: the stage where everything happens, the social environment (which also influences), the characters that make us feel terror and, finally, our eyes on the story.

Marilyn at Niagara Falls

For Marilyn 3.0, I think that discussing a movie in which she played a slighlty different role than usual is appropriate.

I would say this picture is less outrageously famous than the others, hence I will very slightly go into the plot. Niagara falls: two couple's lives meet up by chance, while on vacations by the Falls. One couple is just ordinary; the other one is going through some major crisis: Rose (Monroe) is too beautiful for her jelous husband (Cotten). Pink dresses, hints of mental desease, a young lover ready to do everything add up to a criminal climax.

Prometheus

When the archaeologist "Elizabeth Shaw" (Noomi Rapace) and his fellow "Charlie Holloway" (Logan Marshall-Green) discover a pattern in several hieroglyphs around the Earth, the two embark on an expedition with another group of scientists to a distant planet in order to find the origins of humanity. What they find, ironically, could trigger the end of it.

Real Steel

In the best films about boxing, the fighter who suffers and struggles is the one we see loosing after some time. In the best films of this subgenre there is a tasty conversation between the boxer and his manager down the hall, usually a conversation that happens in the background. Those films give their character an extra motivation to continue to become the champion they want or need to be. There are hits, money, sweat, violence and lots of excitement in this one.

A Dangerous Method

Psychoanalysis. It is about finding ghosts and leaving them hanging in the sight of all. Soon, however, psychoanalysis turns into a proposal that is irreverent rather than contradictory and the ghosts that were put in the light, all of a sudden, want to fly away. 

Some Like It Hot: Marilyn at her best

This is a very easy choise, but you cannot talk about Marilyn without talking about this movie. You just cant.

Two weeks ago, there was a showing of this picture in a theater here in Milan. The room was full and I rarely saw people enjoying so much and laughing so genuinely at a movie, especially when the movie is from 1959 and half the people had already seen. It is always heartening seeing people celebrate the classics.

Marilyn Monroe 1.0: how others see her

In 5 weeks from now, it will be the 50th anniversary of her death (August 5 1962 is the day she died). In the next 5 weeks, I will be celebrating her legend with 5 entries about her, starting today.

Introducing Classics

I have not been writing for a while now. One thing I had in mind to do when I started this blog is something I have not done yet: sections, you know, like specific colums in a newspaper. Something that comes back every week or so with a new content but maybe the same theme, or the same tone, or the same author.

Donnie Darko

Donnie is gifted with great intelligence and imagination. After escaping from the hands of almost certain death due to fall on his house of the engine of an airplane, he begins to experience hallucinations that take him to act as he had never done and to discover an unusual world around him.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

This picture is about a McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), a man who enters a psychiatric hospital pretending he's crazy in order to avoid being convicted for various crimes. That's when he thinks he will eat the world. Then he faces  nurse Ratched (Fletcher), who has all the patients very well controlled and all personnel in her hands.

The Fly

"The Fly" is a gem of the eighties, one of Cronenberg's most famous works and somehow better than the original one from 1958.

A History of Violence

David Cronenberg is not really a sociologist. With films like "Scanners" and "The Fly", this Canadian filmmaker often moves between science fiction and horror. Its greatest virtue is his ability to create disturbing situations that test the balance of his characters.

Shopgirl

  

"Shopgirl" is, above all, a film that surprises. It surprises because of its subtlety, of the simplicity with which it penetrates into the story without resorting to heavy intellectual dialogue and deep characters.

8 1/2

The action takes place in Rome in 1962, over a two weeks period. The director and actor Guido Anselmi (Mastroianni), 43 years old, has delayed the start of shooting of his newest movie for 15 days, because of the state of confusion  he is living after the success of his latest work. To recover the lost inspiration ,he checks in a hotel in a Roman bath.