Rickshaw

Beautiful. Reminds me of summer.

I never saw this film, but  I always remembered the poster. Designed by Michael Gillette.

We saw Bright Star this weekend. Beautiful. Sexy. Moving. Worth it. Last photo is from my favorite scene.

So when Barnes & Noble had their 50% sale on Criterion Collection DVDs, I couldn’t resist. I chose favorites that I still hadn’t owned in non-digital form

We lost these two titans of European art cinema in the same year, sadly. It’s hard to pick their bests, but these are strong contenders, if not the strongest. Ingmar Bergman’s Smiles of a Summer Night. Antonioni’s L’Eclisse.

A couple more European delicacies. Jacques Tati’s Playtime. Víctor Erice’s The Spirit of the Beehive.

French encounters with modernity. Louis Malle’s Le feu follet. Godard’s 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her.

Two American classics. Cassavetes’ anxious The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. Terence Malick’s gorgeous Days of Heaven.

Look, it's just like me & bj

Remedy for a bad mood: Julie & Julia

Last night, B, my sister and I went to see J&J and it was a perfect way to end the day. I laughed throughout the whole movie, and 2.5 hours whizzed by  like it was 30 minutes. If only there were more scenes with Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci. I was in love with their love if that makes any sense.

Ah, Paul!

Meryl Streep gave an amazing performance as always, but Stanley Tucci really won me over. Besides The Devil Wears Prada, I am not too familiar his work and I look forward to seeing what he has in store for the future.

Another great review by A.O. Scott for the  nytimes.

Do you think BJ will wear one of these with me?

Gimme! Today, I came across these beautiful posters by artist Eric Tan. Inspired by Disneyland attraction posters from the 60s, he is famous for his “retro-futurist remix posters” of popular films like Indiana Jones and The Incredibles. This one for Up reminds me of the See America project put out by the Works  Progress Administration. The folded creases makes the poster even sweeter. Here is Tan in his own words:

I think retro advertising might work because they’re based in something we’re all used to seeing. There’s a comfort in that. There was a defining look to past decades that immediately brings you back to those days. If our job as artists/communicators is to evoke a feeling and/or emotion out of a piece, it’s a good way to instantly bring the viewer that feeling of nostalgia.

more of his work:

WPA |Montana

I’m definitely going to keep these in mind as references for future assignments. Maybe I can have my students revisit their favorite movie or vacation postcards as a catalyst for new designs? Their bookcover redesigns came out wonderfully but I can’t post any due to copyright. Must find a way to do this.

Inspired by this via scout-holiday. Jason Schwartzman you got nothing on me!

jk. you win.

Happy find via Magic Molly: We Love You So, a website devoted to the many sources that shaped the making of Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. It made me think of my student teaching experience in Pawtucket, RI, where we incorporated the book into a 2nd grade art lesson. 

A package from Max arrives…

Wild Things getting ready for a dance party…

Packing a suitcase for the her Wild Thing, Faith…

Afterwards, my students insisted that they danced with their creatures to Rihanna’s “Umbrella.” What you’ll never see: the 3rd graders teaching me how to dance to Soulja Boy!

James Franco is even cooler than we thought, and we already thought he was pretty cool. Here is his list of favorites from the Criterion Collection, with several of my personal favorites included.