Thursday 27 October 2011

Man Repelling


Leandra Medine from the blog The Man Repeller talks through her wardrobe. I love her and her blog, it's so fun to read through and she has such great style. One of my favourite things about her as a blogger is that it seems she really enjoys fashion and playing around with it, plus her writing style is so light hearted, honest and hilarious. I also love the fact she has designer vintage items from her great grandmother and keeps shoes in the Hamptons, that's so fabulous.

I really hope one day i can have a career or hobby or whatever that i'm as excited and passionate about.

And also that i have the opportunity to say PARRRTTY IN THE BAACK and do a cool dance (skip to 1:00 of the video to have some clue as to what im referring to).

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Finding Love

Just a quick post today, but i am going to discuss an extremely important issue:

I can't decide whether i like Rihanna's new video for her song We Found Love or not.

Initially it's confusing because in this version, the start features what im fairly sure is the voice of model Agyness Deyn. She shares stories of the tragedy of love, heartbreak and relationships as she does in the new Doc Martens' First and Forever campaign- I'm still unsure as to whether Rihanna and the shoe brand are meant to have some sort of artistic link...

The single's lyrical refrain "we found love in a hopeless place" does relate to the hedonism theme, however i think i fail to be completely wowed by the music artist's video because i've recently seen similar creations in the form of Levi Jeans' Go Forth Campaign advert (below), which i do absolutely love. For some reason, cinematic representations of the tulmultuous, exciting aspects of youth are very popular these days.

Nevertheless, I can't deny that scenes of troubled but passionate teenage love, squat- like flats and wild nights out or muddy festival field parties in We Found Love produce some fantastic imagery. The video is stimulating to watch, and the zoom in shots of pill popping and dilating pupils particularly remind me of the editing seen in Darren Aronofsky's film Requiem for a Dream where Jared Leto, Marlon Wayans and Jennifer Connelly similarly go under the influence.












A lovely shot of Jared Leto's eye...

To sum up, undoubtedly, Rihanna's new single will be another chart hit. Sorry to be so brief but i have a shift that starts at 7am tomorrow morning- i have a temporary job as a sales assistant in American Apparel's London rummage sale. I have to prepare to deal with the masses, I'm hitting the sack, goodnight!

Monday 10 October 2011

Drive






















The getaway man. The guy that's driving the car whilst the money and masked accomplices are in the back seat. In my experience of film, this character has never really become the protagonist-he's just the man that gets the villains away from the chasing police sirens. However, director Nicolas Winding Refn's film Drive, starring Ryan Gosling proved that the figure behind the wheel could be the most interesting man of all.

Something that immediately struck me about the film was the amount of silence. Gosling's character is a man of very few words; a nod here or there, a slight smile- but throughout it somehow makes him seem capable of anything, powerful and even menacing in parts. If anything, the actor made me wish i could be the quiet, elusive brooding type. Combined with his toothpick and that scorpion emblazoned racer jacket, Gosling portrays heroic potential. Interestingly Refn sights the Grimms brothers' fairytales as an influence for the film,comparing the Driver to the hero in american folklore who saves the innocent from evil and in turn exorcises his inner demons.

What i also really liked was that the plot moved past what the trailer alludes to- the movie is not solely about a man who helps criminals escape the law, neither does it become a typical fast paced love story with Carey Mulligan's character Irene as the female interest. When shown, the explicit violence seems relevant and is not overdone so that the audience becomes desensitised to the gore and brutality.

I particularly loved how cinematic the film was, scene after scene was filled with gorgeous imagery and visuals- the movie would be appealing in still pictures as well as in motion. There is even one moment when Gosling's face is covered in blood yet somewhat disturbingly it still looks beautiful...overall, the back drop of the late night city lights of california and excellent pop soundtrack create a dark, engaging dreamy experience.

If you haven't yet seen the film, i obviously highly recommend it (step away from your dvd copy of The Notebook and go and see this instead). But if you already have, check out some of the interviews online between Refn and Gosling, like this- it seems the two have built up a close, intriguing relationship as director/actor and i am highly anticipating future collaborations and what the outcomes will be.