top ten first watches of 2023?
I assume you mean films, right? Anyway, top 10 in no particular order.
Crash was a long time coming, but it took a podcast I used to listen to weekly to finally get to this Cronenberg classic. Bodily modifications? Violent eroticism? Body as a machine? Death & eroticism? It has it all and much more.
For those of you in your 20s and 30s (or even older) who feel alienated in the urban landscape, surrounded by crowds whilst feeling lonely and yearning for any type of human connection, this film is for you.
It's no secret that Brian de Palma wanted to be Hitchcock since he was a baby (I assume, but it sure does look so). You can see it in so many movies of his and Body Double is a perfect example. It even has the misogyny down to a T. But it's also really good and I'm a fan of voyeurism in cinema (from a critical position mostly). This is like Rear Window and Vertigo mashed together, but with 80s hair.
Now this was probably the highlight for me this year. Editor by day, sex worker by night, Kathleen Turner is a force in this film, alongside Anthony Perkins, the perverted priest. But if that is not enough to do the trick, the cinematography and that anal sex scene might do the trick 😉
Who knew Joan Crawford had such a big issue with wire hangers? Not me, but I sure found out in that crazy scene that has one of the most memorable meltdowns in cinema. Every shot of Faye Dunaway screams "I want that Oscar, god damn it!"
Fedora is the late 70s version of Sunset Boulevard and it has the same director. Not as good as that classic, but my god, the clothes! I'd watch it again just for the clothes, particularly that white suit Fedora is wearing in the garden of her villa when she receives that honorary Oscar.
I don't think there's any Paul Schrader film that I didn't like. It wouldn't make sense to call him underrated, but he's better than others from that 1970s gang (cough *de Palma* cough). In Hardcore, a father finds out his daughter went to Los Angeles and started acting in porn. He gets the confirmation when he actually sees her in one film in some shady movie theater. It's a weird and very uncomfortable scene and by comparison, not much, knowing how it will unfold later.
Of course Madonna is always in control of her image and what she allows to be seen or how she comes across. But that doesn't mean there's nothing genuine there, on the contrary. And the camera captures that. The backstage, the everyday conversations, the relationship with the dancers. Real people with real emotions and the more darker parts are allowed to slip in through the cracks. On top of that, it has footage from her tour in 90-91, a reminder of how Madonna is one of the best performers out there, making me wish there'd be a time machine so I can see her live during that time.
For anyone who is a fan of Sex and The City, how about a late 1930s version? Fast pace dialogue, outfits to die for and a cast made almost entirely of women.
The second Cronenberg on the 2023 list. I watched M. Butterfly after seeing Madame Butterfly at the opera. The film is slightly different and it deals with some of my favorite themes in fiction and media lately: gender identities, criticism of colonialism, orientalist fantasies that obscure realities and so much more.
21 notes
·
View notes
I've really been embracing my Mummy/Mommy Domme of late. Having an adult son myself who has left home for university, this role comes naturally to me. I am an empty nester, my own baby boy has moved out and I am genuinely loving helping my new baby boys find their way in this world 🥰 #olderwoman (but actually still in my 30s 💋) Being a young mum paid off 😉
47 notes
·
View notes
Joan Crawford from Screen Personalities by Vincent Trotta and Cliff Lewis, 1933.
11 notes
·
View notes
Crowley Tour: 23rd-26th April
6x21: Let It Bleed
6x08: All Dogs Go to Heaven
6x07: Family Matters
6x19: Mommy Dearest
ID: Digital drawing comprised of four rough sketches of Crowley on a blue background. In the top left sketch he is shown from a low perspective and there is a title reading "April 26th: 6x19- Mommy Dearest" and a quote reading "Really, Cas. This is getting ridiculous.". The top right drawing is a close up on his face, with his eyes looking up as is trying to remember something. There is a title reading "April 25th: 6x07- Family Matters" and a quote reading "Well, that was dramatic.". The bottom left sketch is full body and shows Crowley miming zipping his lips shut. There is a title reading "April 23rd: 6x21- Let It Bleed" and a quote reading "Sweetie, you look tense.". The bottom right sketch shows Crowley sitting backwards on a chair. There is a title reading "April 24th: 6x08- All Dogs Go To Heaven" and a quote reading "You'd sell your brother fora dollar right now if you really needed a soda.". End ID.
52 notes
·
View notes