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Artistic, musical, creative, and entertaining topics of art about all things geek.

Spencer and the ever-transfixing mystery of Princess Diana Share using Email Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
"A fable from a true tragedy," reads a title card in the dawning moments of Pablo Larraín's Spencer (2021): an early signpost, perhaps, of the fantastical twists and turns to come. This may ostensibly be a film about Lady Diana, Princess of Wales, née Spencer, but it is not, by any measure of conventional wisdom, the sort of period biopic generally en vogue in Hollywood cinema.
By Alessandro Algardi3 years ago in Geeks
Belfast: The troubled city filmmakers love
orthern Ireland – and its capital Belfast – has long provided filmmakers with rich material. Shining a light on the region's political history are many powerful films about the Troubles – the sectarian conflict between mostly Protestant unionists (loyalists) who wished to remain part of the UK, and mostly Roman Catholic nationalists (republicans) who wanted Northern Ireland to become part of the Republic of Ireland.
By Wu Mu3 years ago in Geeks
Hedwig and the Angry Inch: A love story that broke taboos
Like watching the Moon landing or the moment they locked eyes with the person they love, people remember where they were the first time they saw Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The queer punk-rock musical about Plato, the Berlin Wall, love, gender, fame and self-acceptance started first as a stage show before becoming a much-loved cult film with a fervent fandom of "Hedheads" that unwaveringly adore it. Twenty years since the movie was released and 27 since John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask first debuted the character at New York nightclub Squeeze Box, Hedwig has been a constant presence, being screened and performed all over the world.
By Copperchaleu3 years ago in Geeks
Ghostbusters Afterlife: Is nostalgia killing cinema?
That Hollywood is becoming lazier, and artistry ever-more sacrificed for maximum profitability, is an often-heard refrain. In 2019, all of the top 10 highest grossing films at the US box office were based on existing intellectual properties; just two decades ago, it was five. And in a lot of cases, these big-grossers – be they remakes of, spin-offs from, or long-awaited sequels to classics – play on one emotion in particular: nostalgia. They offer audiences the pleasure of past cinematic experiences, and the comfort of ensconcing themselves in something familiar.
By Alessandro Algardi3 years ago in Geeks
House of Gucci and the trouble with extreme actor makeovers
Ridley Scott's lurid new true-crime drama, House of Gucci, chronicles the betrayal and murder that tore the Gucci fashion brand apart at the seams in the 1980s and 1990s. The film's social-climbing anti-heroine is Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga), who pushes her diffident husband, Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), to take over the family business, even if that means ousting Maurizio's uncle Aldo (Al Pacino) and his cousin Paolo (Jared Leto). Gaga is sure to be Oscar-nominated for her fiery performance. Leto's performance, though, is another matter. His woozy clowning, his sing-song mewling, and his ripe Italian accent belong in a sketch set in a pizza parlour on an old episode of The Muppet Show. But, in his defence, his acting is no more eccentric than his hair and make-up.
By Mao Jiao Li3 years ago in Geeks
The Power of the Dog and the films tackling the toxic cowboy
he Western was for several decades the film genre that defined masculinity. It was where the silhouettes of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood became inscribed in cultural history, framed by legendary directors like John Ford and Sergio Leone. In reality, cowboys were overworked, underfed and underpaid, but in cinema they could be tough, independent wanderers who chose the freedom of the wilderness over the confines of domesticity. And though the Western itself has been declared dead many times over, it always picks itself up off the dusty ground, ready for one more showdown. Even now, perhaps only the superhero could threaten the cowboy as film's ultimate symbol of all-American manhood.
By Monu Ella3 years ago in Geeks
A Matter of Life and Death: The most life-affirming film
Even now, 75 years after its release on 15 December 1946, A Matter of Life and Death is still the ultimate reminder of the power, beauty, and art of cinema. Audaciously creative as well as infinitely romantic, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's film tells the story of World War Two British Air Force pilot Peter Carter (David Niven) falling in love with US radio operator June (Kim Hunter) as his plane burns, miraculously surviving his plummet to Earth, only to then be told by a divine messenger (Marius Goring) that he should have died and must now report to the afterlife.
By Many A-Sun3 years ago in Geeks
Don't Look Up: The stories that reflect our oldest fear
Sometimes publicity falls out of the sky. On 24 November, just a couple of weeks before Adam McKay's apocalyptic disaster comedy Don't Look Up opened in cinemas, Nasa launched a spacecraft called Dart (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) to see if it could alter the trajectory of the moonlet Dimorphos. That particular chunk of rock turns out to be no danger to Earth. Not so the Everest-sized comet in Don't Look Up, which is only six months away at the beginning of the movie. With a cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep, McKay's film is a striking example of what you might call "impact fiction", a diverse sub-genre of apocalyptic fiction that goes all the way back to Edgar Allen Poe and is currently enjoying (if enjoying is the right word) a major revival.
By Sue Torres3 years ago in Geeks
Five stars for Spider-Man: No Way Home
ere's a Christmas quiz question for you: how many Spider-Man films have there been in the past 20 years? By my count, there were three directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire, two directed by Marc Webb and starring Andrew Garfield, one animation, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and two recent outings directed by Jon Watts and starring Tom Holland. That makes the third Watts-Holland film, Spider-Man: No Way Home, the ninth opportunity we've had to see Peter Parker in his blue and red spandex – and that's not including his appearances with The Avengers and Captain America.
By Cindy Dory3 years ago in Geeks
The Matrix Resurrections is 'numbingly familiar'
It's been 18 years since the Matrix trilogy concluded, so why has Lana Wachowski chosen to revive the franchise now? She offers one answer early on in The Matrix Resurrections. The film starts by establishing that Neo (Keanu Reeves) is no longer the super-powered messiah who freed the human race from its robot overlords in The Matrix Revolutions. He is a miserable software-programmer called Thomas Anderson once again, just as he was at the beginning of The Matrix. The twist is that he's world-famous for developing three influential video games titled, yes, The Matrix. With me so far? The next twist is that Anderson swore that he would never make another Matrix game, but he reluctantly goes back on his word after one of his colleagues informs him, "Our beloved parent company, Warner Brothers, is going to make a sequel to the trilogy – with or without us." So there we have it: Wachowski (without her sister Lilly this time) made The Matrix Resurrections simply because she didn't want someone else to do it behind her back.
By Copperchaleu3 years ago in Geeks
My Own Private Idaho: The cult 90s film that blazed a trail
eanu Reeves and the late River Phoenix were in their 20s when they starred in Gus Van Sant's 1991 cult classic My Own Private Idaho. The two actors were already well on their way to becoming household names when they diverted from Hollywood's well-trodden path to star in Van Sant's third feature: a queer, cult and unprecedented title in both Reeves and Phoenix's filmographies.
By Wu Mu3 years ago in Geeks
Five stars for The Lost Daughter
middle-aged professor who once abandoned her family, a little girl who wanders off on a beach and even that girl's missing doll, which when found spurts filthy water from her mouth – there are many lost daughters in this eloquent adaptation of Elena Ferrante's 2008 novel, along with one eye-opening find: Maggie Gyllenhaal as a filmmaker with a true artist's vision.
By Alessandro Algardi3 years ago in Geeks