Tasteless Tuesday #1

horrible, innit?

ciao.
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Word Of The Wolf today is indelible \in-DEL-uh-buhl\,

adjective:
1. That cannot be removed, erased, or washed away.
2. Making marks that cannot easily be removed or erased.
3. Incapable of being forgotten; memorable.

"The seemingly indelible impressions left on us by Fox TV's iconic hit series The X-Files are today enshrined only in the memory of hardcore enthusiasts. The rest of us have apparently forgotten whether or not the truth is out there."

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Indelible is from Latin indelebilis, from in-, "not"+ delebilis, "that can be obliterated or destroyed," from delere, "to blot out, to efface, to destroy."

The Virgin Spring (1960)

Once more I succumb to reviewing one of the most prized DVDs in my film collection. Jungfrukällan (original Swedish title) is based on a medieval fable about a girl who is raped and murdered by three herdsmen in the wilderness. Now this might sound like a B-grade thriller or even a disused porno-with-a-plot but be very surprised because what you get is actually a brilliantly woven composition of revenge, faith, purity, reconciliation, piety, evil, guilt, sin and madness. This film which is heavy on character study has inspired Wes Craven's Last House On The Left (1972) apparently but being controversially violent does not always equal being successful. Bergman on the other hand, won his first Academy Award for this masterpiece.

SYNOPSIS: In 14th century Sweden one late afternoon, a beautiful virgin daughter sets out to bring candle offerings to the church only to be brutally raped and murdered by three goat-herders in the woods after her jealous half-sister partakes in an evil pagan spell. In a maze of poetic justice, soon the bandit trio unknowingly ends up seeking shelter from the family of the very girl they wronged. Upon discovery of their heinous crime when they offered up the dead girl's garments for sale, the chilling events that follow would disturb even the most desensitised movie-goer, as everyone in the tale struggles to come to terms with what must be done.

CAST: To single out one actor would be to do injustice to the rest of the superb cast. As ever, Bergman uses actors with faces that can hold the audience in those prolonged close-up shots to convey intensity of emotion. A young Max von Sydow plays the enraged father to perfection with all the poise of calculated madness. Birgitta Petterson is charming as the virginal victim but I find true precision in the acting of the dark-haired sister Ingeri (Gunnel Lindblom), who portrayed the burdensome guilt of sin very, very emphatically in just one single scene. The youngest boy from the criminal trio (Ove Porath) deserves special mention as well with such an unbelievably innocent countenance to him.

MOST MEMORABLE LINE: There are plenty but one which particularly haunts me still is when an old man in the stable was talking to the boy, tormenting him with psychological terror- "See the smoke trembling under the roof as if with fright? Yet when it gets out in the air, it has the whole sky to swirl about in. But it doesn't know that, so it huddles and trembles in the soot under the roof. It's the same with people. They quiver like a leaf in the storm, afraid of what they know and what they don't know." You can bet the boy was scared out of his wits as he trembled with guilt.

BEST SCENE: I am tempted to think that it is the part where the father hacks down a tree with such furious gusto in a display of what must be some kind of medieval ritual or perhaps maybe just an act of excruciating frustration. However the most satisfying scene must be the ending of course, where all the loose ends are tied up and each character receives their just desserts. You will also understand the significance of the title. To say more would spoil it for you but if you need help in interpreting that closing scene, the DVD extras are ever so helpful.

DVD EXTRAS: As ever with Tartan Region 0 Bergman DVDs, we get some sort of lengthy letter or production note from the great man himself, detailing the significance of the movie to himself. The rest of the stuff like film stills and other Bergman trailers are only peripheral to the average viewer. What I did find out from the extras on this DVD though, is that Bergman was angry and dismissive at his own work in The Virgin Spring and rubbished it as a cheap imitation of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon. It is said that the matter was finally put to rest when on his 80th birthday, the Japanese virtuoso himself congratulated Bergman for his work in The Virgin Spring and said that he enjoyed it very much.

IMDB RATING: 7.5/10
MY RATING: 9/10

VERDICT: A truly moving film that can unmask the soul. The question is only whether you're ready and also whether you're patient enough. This DVD is now less than a tenner on eBay and I recommend this to anybody who has not been initiated to the sublime works of Ingmar Bergman. Not only is this one of his simpler films (I'm still trying to understand the significance of The Rite after two years) but one of his most powerful as well, so this would be a good place to start. Now get ready to be disturbed.

ciao.

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Word Of The Wolf today is introspection \in-truh-SPEK-shuhn\,

noun:
The act or process of self-examination; contemplation of one's own thoughts and feelings; a looking inward.

"In a painful moment of intense introspection, the young boy watches behind a tree log as his two older accomplices ravishes the innocent virgin."
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Introspection derives from the past participle of Latin introspicere, "to look inside," from intro-, "to the inside" + specere, "to look."

7 Things Overheard Last Week

1. "Push a goat to the wall and the goat will fight back. Push a Nigerian to the wall and he will go into the wall."
-sad expression broadcasted recently on an African oppression forum on BBC Radio 4

2. "The way to freedom from terrorism will always be the road back from Baghdad."
-Times columnist, day after 7th July 2005, on the London bombings

3. "Two tears in a bucket, motherfuck it."
-Lady Chablis, playin herself in Clint Eastwood's "Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil", on how to deal with life's agony

4. "I can't believe it! Something's actually happening in Yorkshire!"
-local barman's reaction to the revelations about the Yorkshire bombers who are allegedly involved in the London bombings

5. "Pukimak that old lady!"
-Bob's initial reaction after escaping a near-death motoring accident along Jalan Damansara

6. "I'll make sure you win your bet this time."
-an estranged ex-girlfriend of a friend, who insists that "this time it's over" despite my colossal losses throughout their tumultuous affair

7. "That would be GBP18.50 for the sight test and your two pairs of contact lenses are complimentary."
-a Specsavers receptionist, educating me on the UK's 'free treatment, astronomical diagnosis' eyecare market. (yes i'm a complete muppet)

ciao.

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Word Of The Wolf today is fealty \FEE-uhl-tee\,

noun:
1. Fidelity to one's lord; the feudal obligation by which the tenant or vassal was bound to be faithful to his lord.
2. The oath by which this obligation was assumed.
3. Fidelity; allegiance; faithfulness.

"In today's times of Parliament sovereignty where the role of the Monarchy is largely ceremonial, I long for the good old days of queenly fealty, the Romanticist fool that I am."
_________________________________________________________ Fealty comes from Old French fealté, from Latin fidelitas, "fidelity," from fidelis, "faithful," from fides, "faith," from fidere, "to trust."

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2002)

I think in about every five years, one film will come our way that would go on to be immortal in the annals of film history. O Brother is one of those films.

From start to end, I was fervently engaged in this story as it unravels against the Depression era background with almost melodic pacing. In fact, some have described this film as half belonging to the musical genre. Trust the Coen brothers to come up with a film of such rich contextual detail! But even if you're not familiar with or don't enjoy the works of Joel and Ethan like Fargo, The Big Liebowski and The Man Who Wasn't There, this film will surely mark the turning of the tide because it has the widest appeal. Not only is it entirely wholesome and suitable for the family (and this would usually lead to genre restrictions), it would entertain everyone from the nerdiest schoolkid or the most pious nun to the maddest drunken superbiker or disillusioned goth. It's difficult not to enjoy this film because it's first and foremost, hilariously funny and the story-telling is charmingly simple without being boring or obnoxious.

Inventive narrative, perfect cast, clever script, appropriate special effects -the list runs endless. To add to this already embarrassing array of delights, it also boasts a bluegrass country soundtrack which went on to record greater successes than the film itself! When I first watched this film years ago, it prompted me to buy the soundtrack, the spinoff of the soundtrack and even the composer's score in a musical notation book. I really don't know how to write this review without being partisan but I must imagine that you have to be from a really segregated section of society not to love this film.

SYNOPSIS: On the sunny side of Mississippi in the 30s some time before man got sick with the more ambitious elaborate desires, lived a smooth-talking petty criminal by the name of Everett Ulysses McGill who bust out of prison to stop his re-marrying wife, bringing with him the two less-than-perfect personalities of Delmar the dimwitted kind man and Pete the disturbed passionate man. The chain-gang trio would go on to experience an epic of an adventure, encountering along the way such colourful characters like Big Dan Teague the corrupt bible salesman, Tommy Johnson the black kid who sold his soul to the devil, Babyface Nelson the bank robber, a nameless blind prophet on the railroad, and the two competing policitians of a Klu Klux Klan leader and an angry opportunist baking flour-endorsing fat man. Everett has lied to his party about a hidden treasure in order to get them in on the jailbreak but as the blind prophet said, "You will find that treasure although it is not the treasure you seek." O I'm so tempted to say more but I don't want to ruin it for you!

CAST: O where should I start? Well, as a re-telling of Homer's Odyssey the movie has to have necessarily varied and colourful characters. First let's just put it to rest here that Clooney definitely has great talent because I never thought the man was more than a James Bond sort of actor with a pretty face and not much else. Impressive versatility and depth of acting is displayed here as he talked himself into and out of trouble with equal ease. You have to love Tim Blake Nelson because Delmar was such an important character with his unassuming simpleton ways of saying "I have to get the family farm back", his character dwelling on honest aims in life ahead of more indulgent concerns like women and money. I really enjoyed John Turturro's deranged character because I think he got the best lines and by Dapper Dan pomade does he say them ever so well! Holly Hunter, John Goodman, Charles Durning and Wayne Duvall all feature in this film and I can assure you that there is nobody on the cast who delivered a performance short of resounding satisfaction.

MOST MEMORABLE LINE:
Pete: Well I'm votin' fer yours truly!
Everett: Well I'm votin' fer yours truly too!
Delmar: Ummm, well.. I'm with you fellas.

BEST SCENE: The final showdown on the stage where all the loose ends are tied up, culminating in a truly satisfying ending. Hard work paid off, good triumphs over evil, man wins back his wife all too predictably somewhat but the manner by which it is told is always refreshing and never cliched. Not to mention they sang THAT song again.

DVD EXTRAS: Now this could be one of the drawbacks of the DVD. Unless you're already acquainted with this movie and share with me a special affinity with country music, I'd say the TV spots, cast interviews, storyboard and production featurette would prove to be only peripheral. The fan would get this double-disc special edition because it has one good segment about all the artistes involved on the soundtrack and a general documentary on bluegrass music. Concert snippets are shown but there's nothing much special here other than a full video of "I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow". I think that the price of this and the normal one disc DVD is not significantly different on eBay now, and taking for granted that you're going to love this film, you should just get the double-disc altogether.

IMDB RATING: 8.1/10

MY RATING: 10/10 (Only four films of the tens of thousands I've watched got this)

VERDICT: You would have missed one of the most well-made movies ever if you didn't see this. I promise you 103 minutes of visual richness, unforgettable dialogue, brilliant story-telling and strikingly coherent music. Now go on and buy this DVD before "them sirens love you up and turn you into a horny toad".

ciao.
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Word Of The Wolf today is apogee \AP-uh-jee\,

noun:
1. The point in the orbit of the moon or of an artificial satellite that is at the greatest distance from the center of the earth.
2. The farthest or highest point; culmination.

"Delmar told Tommy in what must be the apogee of his apocalyptic dimwittedness that he was a bad man up until the day before when he got baptised and thought he was no longer a wanted criminal."

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Apogee is derived from Greek apogaion, from apogaios, "situated (far) away from the earth," from apo-, "away from" + gaia, "earth."

Ghetto Gospel

maybe it's because i'm so sick of the beauty pageantry that's on tv with the g8 the live8 and all sorts of other populist pontifications of transparent nature that i decided to put this up. now in the past, i'd been very guilty of talkin a lotta things I don't know much about, handicapped by my class and all, but i do know what i'm on about this time. just that someone beat me to sayin the words.

Hit 'em with a lil' ghetto gospel

[Chorus - Elton John:]
Those who wish to follow me (My ghetto gospel)
I welcome with my hands
And the red sun sinks at last into the hills of gold
And peace to this young warrior
without the sound of guns

[2Pac]
If I could recollect before my hood dayz
I'd sit and remininsce, nigga and bliss on the good dayz
I stop and stare at the younger, my heart goes to 'em
They tested, it was stressed that they under
In our days thingz changed
Everyone's ashamed to the youth cuz the truth lookz strange
And for me it's reversed, we left them a world that's cursed,
and it hurtz cuz any day they'll push the button
and y'all condemned like Malcolm x and Bobby Hunton,
died for nothin'
Don't them let me get teary,
the world looks dreary
but when you wipe your eyez, see it clearly
there's no need for you to fear me
If you take the time to hear me,
maybe you can learn to cheer me
it aint about black or white cuz we're human
I hope we see the light before its ruined

my ghetto gospel

[Chorus - Elton John]

[2Pac]
Tell me do you see that old lady ain't it sad
Livin' out a bag, but she's glad
for the little things she has
And over there there's a lady, crack got her crazy
Guess she's given birth to a baby
I don't trip and let it fade me,
from outta the frying pan
We jump into another form of slavery
Even now I keep discouraged
Wonder if they take it all back while I still keep the courage
I refuse to be a role model
I set goals, take control, drink out my own bottle
I make mistakes, I learn from everyone
And when it's said and done I bet this brotha be a better one
If I'm upset, you don't stress
Never forget
that God hasn't finished with me yet
I feel his hand on my brain
When I write rhymes I go blind
and let the Lord do his thang
But am I less holy cuz I choose to puff a blunt
and drink a beer with my homies
Before we find world peace
We gotta find peace in that war on the streets
My ghetto gospel

[Chorus - Elton John]
[2Pac]
Lord can you hear me speak
To pay the price of being hell bound

my friends, my readers, i just wanna say thanks for readin my site because life is a struggle, i am a worm and the world is the sun.

ciao.
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Word Of The Wolf today is sentient \SEN-shee-uhnt; -tee-; -shuhnt\,

adjective:
1. Capable of perceiving by the senses; conscious.
2. Experiencing sensation or feeling.

"One day when all the world is no longer sentient to sin and all the false prophets have spoken enough, my Father will come again to judge the living and the dead."
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Sentient comes from Latin sentiens, "feeling," from sentire, "to discern or perceive by the senses."

Dirty Pretty Things (2002)

i think i'm just gonna review any film i find interestin rather than restrict it to one genre. i bought a second-hand copy of this off ebay for three quid or thereabouts and i found it to be good value for money. the fact that all the characters are so typical should spoil all sense of realism (neatly there is a drunken russian doorman, a strugglin nigerian taxi-driver, a kind-hearted whore of caribbean descent, a quirky chinese man who works in the hospital, a timid turkish cleaner girl etc) but somehow the clever lines carry the story through. the film is necessarily dark (literally even, as it's mostly shot at night) because of its morbid theme but the dialogue is so refreshin and quirky i was laughin many times durin the film.

SYNOPSIS: okwe (chiwetel ejiofor) is an illegal immigrant brother who works in a hotel and discovers that all is not as it appears when he finds a human heart in the toilet bowl of one of the rooms. i suspect this film is made more for the american audience than for the english because the emphasis on the characters are just too sharp. if you live in london you'll wonder why they're harpin so much on things which hardly surprise you. if you think this film is shockin, then it's good you watched it because you're clearly handicapped by your class to the point of bein oblivious to the silent vices in society. without giving too much away, the vice at work in this film is very real (i know because i'm from a third-world country) and the premise of the story is very refreshin. this is probably why it won many awards. few mainstream films are made today about workin-class immigrants in london and even less about the illegal things that go on in the film.

CAST: good performances from the two leads although audrey tautou brought too much amelie timidness into this and also it's impossible to pass her as turkish with that accent. ejiofor does remind me of a nigerian brother i used to know except he's a bit too refined and too moral to be believable. the true star here would be sergei lopez who played that hyena of a hotel manager. what a fuckin vulture. you'll love to hate him.

MOST MEMORABLE LINE: the black whore was so surprised senay (tautou) was still a virgin and colloquially exclaimed "Christ!" to which the girl, bein turkish and therefore muslim, calmly said "No, Mohammed". what a laugh!

BEST SCENE: well i won't spoil it for you but there's one scene where okwe's expertise in diagnosin STDs just got into demand. wait for it!

WOLF TRIVIA: can anyone tell me if that herb okwe was eatin to stay awake in order to work two shifts really exists in the african community?

PAWS UP: immaculately-paced, clever dialogue and well-executed.

PAWS DOWN: slight over-typification on illegal immigrants in london and no memorable soundtrack.

IMDB RATING: 7.6/10

WOLF RATING: 7/10

VERDICT: low-budget and yet so well-made. don't take this film on it's technical merits but enjoy the brilliant screenplay.

p/s Freebie Of The Day is a sample of Bounce, a wonderful fragrance-releasin paper you can put into your dryer or into your closet. my football socks smell so great now i kiss them! just fill in your name and address and they'll send you four sheets of the stuff within days!

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Word Of The Wolf today is blandishment \BLAN-dish-muhnt\,

noun:
Speech or action that flatters and tends to coax, entice, or persuade; allurement-- often used in the plural.

"A manner of blandishments and promises of financial paradise have often secured young girls as unassuming and unwitting working girls in the international sex trade."

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Blandishment ultimately comes from Latin blandiri, "to flatter, caress, coax," from blandus, "flattering, mild."