cinematic salad sensation
November 8, 2009
Last night’s backyard cinerama was a great success. Pals, tunes, good bbq, and great times. I made these salads, which were most popular…
Beetroot, Carrot & Sesame Salad (for 4-6, or 6-8 as one of 2 salads)
500g peeled beetroots
1 large peeled carrot (I used 3 average size)
2 tblsp toasted sesame seeds (I forgot them, but was still fabulous)
dressing:
zest and juice of 2 large lemons
2 tblsp toasted sesame oil (I like Spiral)
1/2 tsp salt (I like Maldon flakes)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 heaped tsp sugar (I used dark muscovado)
Grate vegetables, place dressing ingredients in jar and shake to combine. Stir well, add seeds, cover and refrigerate.
Peanut Rice Salad (serves 6-8)
1 cup each jasmine and wild rice (I used all brown rice and it was fabulous)
2 cups unsalted roasted peanuts
dressing:
3cm ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, grated or crushed (I use a Japanese ginger grater, for a smooth paste result)
4 tblsp soy sauce (I like Spiral Tamari)
2 tblsp peanut oil
1 tblsp sesame oil
Cook rice/s, drain and cool. Grind 1 cup of peanuts in mortar and pestle until look like fine breadcrumbs.
Combine dressing ingredients, pour over cold rice. Add ground peanuts, stir well. Fold in whole peanuts.
Recipes adapted from Julie Le Clerc’s Simple Cafe Food
We watched two films:
The Mysterious Geographical Explorations Of Jasper Morello (the first voyage: Jasper Morello and the lost airship) – a beauteous but tragic tale of misfortune, greed, iron dirigibles, and steam powered computers, presented in dark silhouette style (think Indonesian shadow puppets, but noir)
Yojimbo – one of Kurosawa’s archetypal dramas. Masterless samurai on crusade to clean up a small town. Influenced by John Ford, remade by Sergio Leone-Clint Eastwood as the Fistfull of Dollars trilogy (and Walter Hill as Last Man Standing). Always fabulous…
Read the Gothia Gazette for all your Jasper Morello requirements.
rogerio duarte: tropicalia superstar
October 22, 2009
This amazing Brazilian has done it all – graphic design, poetry, music, philosophy, songwriting…and more! If something was shaking in 60’s Rio, Rogerio Duarte was part of it. Some say he WAS the creative/avant garde underground.
Duarte is best known for his cinema posters and record covers (think Gilberto Gil, Joao Gilberto, Jorge Ben, Gal Costa) and you can see some great examples on show at The Narrows, until November 14. However, he was also (with his pal Caetano Veloso) the brains behind the Tropicalia movement.
Tropicalia is also known as Tropicalismo, and exploded onto the world stage in the 60s. It reflects the irrepressible spirit of Brazillian people, art, and culture – and the anti-authoritarian vibe of the times. Think hippy counterculture/psychedelia, pop art, military dictatorship, American imperialism, Brazilian nationalism, hot sun, African rhythms and English rock ‘n’ roll all colliding into a huge sociopolitical movement that echoes to this day.
Although the social movement was crushed by the military junta in ‘68 (who saw Tropicalia as a decadent, Western inspired threat to it’s right-wing ways), the musical impact continues to be felt. In fact, the focus on experimenting and genre-blending within Tropicalia has influenced a bunch of folks – including David Byrne and Beck. Remember a song called Tropicalia on Beck’s Mutations album? And yes, the album was named after Os Mutantes, another Tropicalia namecheck.
Anyhoo – enough with the history lesson. It’s a great show, go see it already!
ACMI is presenting screenings and music relating to this show, starting on October 24. If I wasn’t already overbooked this weekend, I’d say see you there!
sukiyaki western django
October 19, 2009
For me, this film ticks so many boxes… B-movie gold, beautiful visuals, lovingly prepared stunts, fabulously costumed gang members, AND multiple referencing of spaghetti westerns. It’s like a crazy homage to Sergio Leone, Sergio Carbucci/Franco Nero (who made the original Django), Akira Kurosawa (Yojimbo) and every cliche-ridden, dime-store western paperback you’ve ever read. Director Takashi Miike presents a bizarre tale set largely in “Nevada” – if you can imagine Nevada set in a Japanese desert, full of eccentric archetypes.
If you want top class acting, character development and a coherent plot, don’t watch. If you’re looking for a good time, great production, flamboyance, and a touch of melodrama, this is CERTAINLY your film. A sweet mix of eastern and western influences, which I’d certainly watch again – ideally, followed by a repeat screening of Django. It’s funny, kitschy, full of in-jokes, and truly wonderful!
Quentin Tarantino does have a cameo, but there are far better reasons to see this film. Cult classic genuis.
Check out the official Sukiyaki Western Django site here
Grazie to C and M for being crazy cinema pals and our hosts on Sunday night…
al martino
October 15, 2009
The voice of Al Martino fell silent for the last time on Tuesday. The showbiz legend is rightly famous for his role of Johnny Fontane (Don Vito’s godson) in The Godfather films, but also gave us fifty-plus years of beautiful music. Think volare, can’t help falling in love, Spanish eyes, here in my heart, I love you because…
Al Martino was still doing gigs in the 90s, and releasing albums up til Studio, in the year 2000. I hope this amazing eightysomething has kicked on to the plushest nightclub in the sky for his biggest party yet.
This is just adios, and not goodbye…
wild zero
October 4, 2009
This jet rock ‘n’ roll comedy cult classic has it all – Japanese garage noise punk band Guitar Wolf, alien invasion, zombies, flaming microphones, a gun-dealing babe in a houndstooth leotard, a pill-popping bad guy in tight microshorts, and seriously good quiffs. Telling you any more would seriously spoil your viewing experience.
Directed by Tetsuro Takeuchi, Wild Zero is many things – a romance, a coming of age/road movie, and an arsenal of very imaginative weapons. Think guitar (samurai sword), mops, guitar picks (shuriken), electricity, flame, and laser eyes (just for starters).
Look out for the homage factor – Psycho, Evil Dead II, and Psychomania, just to name a few. With an awesomeness rating way off the scale, I truly love this film. Guitar Wolf are brilliant at playing themselves, heads explode, and rock ‘n’ roll saves the day.
RIP Bass Wolf…
cinematic
September 18, 2009
Dear Dante’s – I love you for so many reasons, but seeing your windows today made me love you even more…
You’ve still got it,
Vetti x
the american astronaut
August 29, 2009
Another brilliant Freaky Friday session at ACMI last night! This musical space western is well worth viewing. It’s got everything – a dance contest, a nutty Pee-Wee Hermanesque Professor, a female-only planet, 1800s era silver miners from Nevada, and a very grungy aesthetic. A superbly styled film – think 1900s sci-fi meets early David Lynch, with some Aki Kaurismaki and Ed Wood thrown in.
Cory McAbee potrays outer space as a vaguely perverse, backwoods circus. Travelling through is left to misfits and swaggering opportunists like Sam Curtis, who specialises in rare items (dead or alive). As he wheels and deals his way through the story, he realises that things don’t always go to plan – especially when the killing starts…
The special effects are awesome – see the spaceship travel through a series of paintings! No CGI or models in this film…Everything looks rough and ready – op-shop/hard waste props, and a redneck bunch who could probably fix a spaceship with barn tools. If you enjoy Dr Strangelove, Six String Samurai, and have a shelf stacked with Douglas Adams, this is definitely your kind of film! Absurd, dream-like and with a logic like no ordinary cinema narrative, the American Astronaut will draw you in, and make you laugh.
The Billy Nayer Show provide unforgettable art-rock tunes – which are an integral part of the storyline. I have seen the wild frontier – it’s lo-fi, low-budget, indie, and like no other place you’ve ever been. Ideal late nite viewing! Love the bathroom scene, with two grease monkeys and a whole lotta dancing going on…Watch it here!
the limits of control
August 10, 2009
Jim Jarmusch’s latest pic does not (despite many poor reviews) disappoint. Beautifully presented, with the coolness and formulaic abstraction one expects from the acclaimed director of Night On Earth, Coffee And Cigarettes, and Ghost Dog.
Mysterious Lone Man (Isaach De Bankole) travels both through Spain and his own mind. Along the way, he meets many interesting contacts, exchanges matchboxes, does tai chi, and orders double espresso – in seperate cups. A well told tale of a sharply suited man who never sleeps, which fits together like some hypnotic jigsaw. The cast is 100% amazing! If you want names, look out for Tilda Swinton (Blonde), John Hurt (Guitar), Gael Garcia Bernal (Mexican), and Bill Murray (American).
The film is full of music – dark peteneras, Schubert, 1920’s wax recordings of flamenco and the electric experiments of Boris. I felt that Jarmusch has built the film around artists he loved, rather than simply commissioning a soundtrack. The moods evoked really mesh well with the events on screen. In fact, the sonic landscape balances the inscrutable, emotionally blank characters. Click here for a brilliant article by Scott Macaulay.
Dialogue is kept to a minimum, and Lone Man rarely speaks. What is said, is enigmatic and beautiful – especially in the latter half of the film. Song lyrics become dialogue, and the line between performance and real life is a blurry one. Yes, it’s a cliche-ridden art film, Christopher Doyle’s cinematography is first class, and I loved it!
salvador dali: liquid desire
August 9, 2009
Mr Joffa et moi braved the Sunday crowds at NGV today. My favourite parts of the show were Destino – his collaboration with Walt Disney, footage of the dream sequence in Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound, and the Philippe Halsman inspired milk splash/ jumpology photographs. Click here to see Destino – apparently it will be released in 2010. A pity his work with the Marx Brothers didn’t come to anything – that I’d love to see! More Dali and Disney would have been great too…
miff 09: the higher force
August 5, 2009
When the film blurb contains the words slacker, absurd, mobster, kung-fu, and Iceland, I just have to see it. The Higher Force is a quirky, laugh-out-loud delight. Bumbling small-time crims, odd family members, a kooky landlord, kung-fu motivational videotapes, a rather odd girlfriend, and dreams of being a poet? All this and so much more in 80 minutes. You’ll even see Michael Imperioli! One of the kindest and most idiot-ridden mob films I’ve ever seen…If you like your comedy black, trivia-heavy, and highly implausible, you’ll LOVE this film. Look out for Stefan Schaefer (also the film’s producer and co-writer) who is brilliant as Wolfi, the German enforcer. Olaf de Fleur Johannesson directs.
