Disney buys Lucasfilm, Random House - Penguin

It has been quite a shock of this Halloween week.On Tuesday, October 30th, Walt Disney Company has bought Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion in cash and stock. They both announced, that Star Wars: Episode 7 is in the making, to be released in 2015. Disney is systematically growing, since 2006 it has already puchased Pixar and Marvel Entertainment in 2009. For the price, Lucas has also sold control in Industrial Light & Magic (a special effects branch of Lucasfilm) and Skywalker Sound, but also the rights to the Star Wars brand, quite a lucrative business. More here and in USA Today.

 

Top 10 Bond movies

The 23rd installment of the James Bond saga clearly pushes toward all the "top 10" lists. So far one of my favorites is the Top 10 Bond theme songs, where Adele's "Skyfall" is pretty high, somewhere around Tina Turner's "Goldeneye" - a total hit of 1990s, not only in terms of a Bond song, and Shirley Bassey's two theme songs (about the resemblance I already wrote in my review of "Skyfall" here). Now I thought of my own very private list of favorite Bond movies, as I've really seen them all, and not so long ago to forget.

10."Diamonds are Forever" dir. Lewis Gilbert, cast: Sean Connery, Jill St.John.

Walnut Cheesecake

The first cheesecake this fall season, and a full success! This is not my first attempt with the walnut cheesecake though. Actually it already is one of my all-time favorites! Tastes delicious, the nutty flavor and crushed cookie bottom make a perfect addition to the cottage cheese layer. The cheese has a caramel color due to the use of brown sugar. Lovely! The original recipe from my favorite baking blog, in Polish here, and in English here.

The Look of Fall

Fall is one of the most stylish seasons of all. The flip flops and shorts are back in closets, T-shirts are quickly replaced by something warmer. That usually means new things and shopping for new styles. This season presents patterns mostly, but also cozy warm fabrics. The new H&M campaign astonishes, because it has one of the brightest new film stars, and from Sweden - Joel Kinnaman - the new RoboCop. But for the purposes of this post, let's assume that the British GQ forces new trends this autumn. As usual, the photos are marvelous. One of the reasons to have a look at them, even if not interested in fashion. Or, for that matter, in male fashion. Who said it is boring? (aka let's just look at Javier Bardem, Daniel Craig and Damian Lewis). 

The new Hannibal - Mikkelsen on NBC

A few months ago the news electrified the fans of the famous Dane - Mads Mikkelsen and of Hannibal Lecter. Mikkelsen will be the next Hannnibal in an NBC television production entitled simply "Hannibal". This can be a crucial twist to the known story from "The Silence of Lambs" (1992). The movie was awarded 5 most important Oscars, and so 20 years later the serial cannot disappoint. And it is not likely to! With such a cast, that includes also Laurence Fishbourne and Hugh Dancy it might be a hit!

Bakery: Crispy crescent rolls with poppy seeds

Fresh fruit is now slowly replaced by cottage cheese, jams and poppy-seed as filling for pastry and cakes. Well, autumn is currently in full bloom. Thank goodness we still have apples, but before they are also gone completely, brace yourselves for winter, and prepare one of the best croissants (or crescent rolls) with poppy-seed filling. The procedure to make them is not very easy, I would rather call it toilsome, but if you do everything exactly as described, there is no way to make a mistake. And they're delicious!
For the recipe in Polish go here, and in English go here but remember to add the filling!

What's On - London West End

London West End is one of the two (next to Broadway) most vibrant areas densely packed with theatres. Each season brings surprises, each brings new challenges, but also each brings marvels. This is a subjective guide to what might be soon the most discussed theatrical event in Europe. A guide to West End's next season's premieres.

Upcoming movie premieres Fall/Winter 2012

This fall sounds perfect when it comes to new movie titles. Of course the premiere dates vary according to region, but nevertheless the season might be one of the busiest ones. Here's a subjective guide to what might be the highlights of the usual gloomy pre- and post-Christmas trauma.

ANNA KARENINA (world: September 7th, Poland: November 23rd) dir. Joe Wright, starring: K. Knightley, J. Law, K. MacDonald, M. Macfadyen, M. Dockery, O. Williams.

                           

 

First impressions on Skyfall

"Skyfall" is truly really great, exciting, impressive, wonderful! After such an intro no further comments should be necessary, but in this case, few remarks are nevertheless in order. Well, Bond goes back to his roots, literally. Finally more scenes are shot in Britain, in London and Scotland. James drives an Aston Martin again, and although he has a fling with a certain beer brand, he also drinks a martini. But, as in previous Daniel Craig parts, also here, Bond is more human. A flesh-and-blood agent, although not deprived of his unique and traditional style, class and sense of humor. I was really excited to see blond Javier Bardem as the bad guy, and he is also one of the highlights of the movie, along with a young Q (Ben Whishaw) and old-school M (Judi Dench). The story is less complicated than with "Quantum of Solace," and it is a real advantage. The director Sam Mendes really hits it off with the 50th anniversary! Let's hope the same crew stays for the next, 24th installment of James Bond's adventures. Oh, and one more thing: finally at the end the board with "James Bond will be back" appeared! How I longed to see that!

Full review in Polish here.

Bakery: Plum yeast-cake

If you cannot imagine autumn without apples and plums, this recipe will suit you just fine. This time without any apples though. The main course includes just plums. One of my favourite cakes, relatively easy to make, although again, includes yeast. But as said before, even if it's your first attempt to make something out of yeast, it might mark a good start.
For the recipe in Polish go here and in English here.

Winners of 28th Warsaw Film Festival

The 28th edition of Warsaw Film Festival has now ended. That has been some week! Almost 200 screenings  throughout and 24 actually seen during the week - not a record of my festival presence, but still.
One must consciously mention that this wasn't perhaps the best festival possible, some films were there for no apparent reason. Maybe one shouldn't boast about the magic two hundred, but rather stick to the ones actually and really worth watching. But, truth be told, since it's Poland's only festival of that calibre, let them choose films they (the organisers) like.
Now it's finally time to announce the winners (but just in the main categories).

International Competition/ Grand Prix:
TANGO LIBRE dir. Frederic Fonteyne (France, Belgium)

Best Director:
ANDRZEJ JAKIMOWSKI for "Imagine" (Poland, Great Britain, Portugal, France)
My review from filmnews.com.pl here.

Special Mention:
OF SNAILS AND MEN dir. Tudor Giurgiu (Romania, France)

Autumn Apple Pie

Experiments with baking apples continued. It is a perfect season to do so, with so many different types of apples that are grown in Poland. Although I don't have any favorites, I would never go indifferently next to golden delicious. Check out a splendid recipe for a quick and extremely tasty apple pie, in Polish here, and in English (although the measurements of ingredients slightly vary) here.
(there is just one photo left, before I knew it, the pie was already gone)

Impatiently waiting for the new Tarantino

The new Tarantino film is sure to gain wide audiences around the world. It's already three long years since his last hit "Inglorious Basterds," and it's been a long wait. This time the director also wrote the script for "Django Unchained," a ekhm (thinking-about-the-right-genre-to-categorise-it) spaghetti southern (opposite to a spaghetti western, as it takes place in the deep South). 

The story brings the viewers back to the times of slavery in America. Django (Jamie Foxx) is a freed slave who travels across America with a band of curious characters that include a German dentist (an Austrian Christoph Waltz, awarded an Oscar for Male Supporting Act in "Inglorious Basterds") and the Speck brothers. Di Caprio plays here a ruthless plantation owner, and looks really well in the styles over a century old. 

That might be another crazy story from Quentin Tarantino, a writer/director who can do whatever he wants in Hollywood, and could get money to make films even if he wanted to make a full length commercial of, say, goat cheese (not really improbable, if you think about it).

Jo Nesbø and a perfect thriller

Just recently I have developed a sort of interest in Scandinavian crime stories and thrillers. No biggie, the classics are still on, but at times one just craves for something less complicated, and yet entertaining and well written. Yes, I went through Stieg Larsson (though just the first two parts of "Millenium") and I read some of Mankell's work that includes Kurt Wallander. But once I had a look at Nesbø's biography, I just couldn't resist and simply had to read something of his.

The author is in fact a curious case himself. First, he graduated from Norwegian School of Economics, worked as a stockbroker for some time, then left it to become a freelance journalist, meanwhile playing in his rock band Di Derre (supposedly extremely popular in Norway). Apart from that, he was a talented football player, if it had not been for a knee injury he might have been a player of his favourite Tottenham Hotspur. His international writing career has started in 1997, when his first novel "The Bat" ("Flaggermusmannen") was published, and has been since Norway's No 1 bestseller. Also, it is the first book of the series that has Harry Hole as a main protagonist. The book, under the name "Człowiek-nietoperz" has been first published in Poland in 2005, but only after several new books and international acclaim, Wydawnictwo Dolnoslaskie decided to re-publish it, and it premiered on October 17, 2012.

The books I read of Nesbø's however, include two of his later works, namely "Snowman" ("Pierwszy śnieg" - "Snømannen") from 2007 and later also "The Redbreast" ("Czerwone gardło" - "Rødstrupe") from 2000. And I think the first one was even better, which is a very good omen for the future. Recommended!

 

56th BFI London Film Festival

While Warsaw lives its Warsaw Film Festival, the eyes of the rest of the world might just be turned some other way, and possibly they are on London and its 56th edition of the famous Film Festival. It is almost finished (10-21.10.2012) and has witnessed some great movies, as usual. The programme is simply huge, the films are divided into several categories, including competitions: Official, First Feature and Documentary, and besides that there are also kind-of genre categorisations into: LOVE ("Amour" dir. Michael Haneke, "Broken" dir. Rufus Norris, "Gimme the Loot" dir. Adam Leon, "Keep the Lights On" dir. Ira Sachs, "Lawrence Anyways" dir. Xavier Dolan, or "Teddy Bear" dir. Mads Matthiesen), DARE ("The Reluctant Fundamentalist" dir. Mira Nair, "The Dead Man Being Happy" dir. Javier Rebollo, "Just the Wind" dir. Bence Fliegauf, "Paradise: Love" dir. Ulrich Seidl or "Post Tenebras Lux" dir. Carlos Reygadas), LAUGH ("Le Grand Soir" dir. Benoit Delepine and Gustave Kervern, "Grassroots" dir. Stephen Gyllenhaal) or THRILL ("Caesar Must Die"dir. Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, "Easy Money" dir. Daniel Espinosa, or "Everybody Has a Plan" dir. Ana Piterbarg). The official competition includes "After Lucia" dir. Michel Franco, "End of Watch" dir. David Ayer, "Everyday" dir. Michael Winterbottom, "Fill the Void" dir. Rama Burshtein, "Midnight's Children" dir. Deepa Mehta, "Rust and Bone" dir. Jacques Audiard, "Seven Psychopats" dir. Martin McDonagh. Not to mention special gala screenings of Tim Burton's "Frankenweenie," Mike Newell's "Great Expectations" with Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter, Roger Michell's "Hyde Park on Hudson" with Bill Murray, Thomas Vinterberg's "The Hunt" with Mads Mikkelsen, Cristian Mungiu's "Beyond the Hills" and Ben Affleck's "Argo." Wish I was there...
Full programme that is envied all over the world here.

 

Bakery: Butter - Hazelnut Cookies

Easiest possible recipe for something sweet instantly, but with a twist. From this and that (English) recipe you can make easiest butter cookies in just 20 minutes with the baking time. I only added 100g of blended hazelnuts for the taste, because it's autumn, so you know. Here's the yummy effect:

The Flowers of War

The film had its one and only screening this season in Poland during Warsaw Film Festival and obviously it was a sold out screening. The film premiered in Berlin in February, where I saw it for the first time and have loved it ever since. The story is quite simple, there is war, love, an American dodger, who changes from being a bad guy to a hero. We've all seen so many films like that one. But Zhang Yimou has a wonderful eye for detail and some scenes are truly masterpieces. Christian Bale playing an American named - wait-for-it - John is sly enough and emotional enough to make the film memorable. A really good epic. Besides, seeing Christian Bale's name in Chinese in the beginning credits - priceless! Another one recommended.
My review from filmnews.com.pl here.

 

End od Watch

David Ayer's new film is actually not new at all. Especially not to the director. He has worked doing "Fast and Furious," "SWAT," "Training Day," "Harsh Times," which are all somehow linked together.
"End of Watch" is a remarkable film not only because of A-league actors including Jake Gyllenhall, Michael Pena, Anna Kendrick or America Ferrera (aka Ugly Betty). The scenes are shot with maximum reality, the action is fast and viewers just sink into "da hood" from the very beginning. Worth seeing. Very much recommended, as it truly is one of the best of the kind.

 

Bakery: Skoleboller (Norwegian Cardamon and Custard Buns)

I figured since I like custard and dough, I could try something new and Scandinavian. Here goes the perfect recipe for these buns that apparently are what Norwegian mothers put in their children's lunch boxes. Anyway, my other attempt to tame yeast. And I think it was a success.

To make Skoleboller yourself, check out the recipe in Polish: here and in English here.

Singin' in the Rain in Warsaw

Musical Theatre ROMA located in the middle of Warsaw is the last (or only) bastion for musicals' lovers. For several years now, the greatest musicals ever have received their Polish versions, which could only be staged here. Of course, still very very modest compared to London's West End, but better one than none. Polish version of "Singin' in the Rain" has some charm and wit, is funny at times too. But it still is very weird to listen to Polish language versions of "Singin' in the Rain" and "Good Morning." The acting is sometimes a little stiff, but dancing, especially performed by the backing dancers - almost perfect. All in all, a successful performance, although still light years away from the original.
Musical Theatre ROMA

Hilary Mantel wins 2012 Man Booker Prize

That's good news. It always is when a woman-author wins twice in her lifetime an award of this calibre. Before her, only two authors: Peter Carey and J.M. Coetzee have won twice. This time, Mantel got awarded for "Bring Up the Bodies," which, interestingly enough, is a sequel to "Wolf Hall," the book that has brought Mantel her first Booker in 2009.
Man Booker Prize 2012

There can only be one Bond

Impatiently counting minutes to the premiere of the new Bond - "Skyfall" one just starts looking for Bond-oriented entertainment and I'm sure it's not just me. For instance, British Total Film has created a list of 15 great or not-so-great actors, who could never ever be the next Bond. I don't really think anyone sane would pick Sly Stallone as the new Bond, but Total Film just makes the use of deep (and/or sick) irony at times. Anyway, see for yourself here or below.

Highlights from the past

This is a picture taken in California Disneyland branch, somewhere in 1950s. A real fairytale! I looked and looked and watched at the colorful characters, although no colors are visible. Nothing's changed there, I guess..

Mo Yan's Nobel for Literature

Not Roth, not Dylan, not Zagajewski, not Oates or Murakami, but... Mo Yan! (or, eh... actually Guan Moye) Born in 1955 in Gaomi, Shandong (China) was until now not really widely known, and there are only two books of his translated into Polish. But what is written about the author, is that he has been referred to as "the Chinese answer to Franz Kafka and Joseph Heller" - an interesting mix. His bibliography includes:

"Red Sorghum" (1987), "Big Breasts and Wide Hips" (1996)," "Life and Death are Wearing Me Out" (2006).

The Guardian has written a lot on the subject and I really like the way they write.

Take This Waltz

It's difficult to write what I feel about the film now, after a few days since I have seen it, the only thing I can say is that it's really worth watching. I mean, there are really few films that touch the core of relationships, the difficulty of it, misuderstandings, and "Take This Waltz" definitely is one of them. Wonderful, wonderful Michelle Williams develops to be my favourite female actress, alongside Carey Mulligan. Usually funny Seth Rogen gets a melancholic touch that just suits him right.
My review in Polish has been published here. Enjoy!

 

A Pole damages Rothko's masterpiece

Just today it has been confirmed that a Polish "artist" Wlodzimierz Umaniec (that's what he calls himself), aged 26, was the one who damaged Mark Rothko's mural "Black on Maroon" from 1958, that can be appreciated in London's Tate Modern. That is like the saddest news of the week, if not a year, because now it seems that the Polish go to galleries to damage things.
However, Umaniec (calling himself an inventor of 'yellowism' whatever that is) claims to have done Rothko a favour, by "increasing the value of the piece." I don't want to live on this planet anymore...
Ps. the information can be found on some web portals under a tag "Poles in the UK"... Now the whole nation on the Isles is represented by a delusional megalomaniac pseudo-artist...
Ps.2. Someone dug deep enough to notice that Vladimir Umanets is an anagram of "I'm true vandalism," but for an "artist" that's not original at all, vide Tom Marvolo Riddle - I am Lord Voldemort.

 

Millais and his Ophelia

One of my absolute favorites when it come to British art, oh, why, art in general. The Pre-Raphaelites, as are commonly known today, were a group of English artists: painters, writers, critics, established by John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. They wanted to reform art and go back to a refreshed Classical poses and elegance in style. They looked up to the compositions of Raphael, hence the name. Ophelia that can be seen in London's Tate Britain is one of the most exquisite examples of the movement. Why mention her now?

Triple - Chocolate Muffins

Right in time for autumnal mood swings, here comes delicious chocolate times three in the form of delicious traditional chocolate muffins. Need I say more?
Maybe just that muffins in general are really easy to make, you just add all the liquids to all the powdery ingredients, stir briefly, and there you have the mixture already. 20 minutes or so in the oven, and a quick and hearty dessert ready!

Check out the Polish version of the recipe here, and a little modified, in English here.

All the Styles of the British Isles

British GQ, one of my favourite fashion magazines, has just announced the beginning of people's vote for Best Dressed British. There are a hundred (!) candidates for the trophy, and the pics are astonishing, you can spend hours staring at the styles! Well, fashion in Britain has always been of particular importance, and with the London Look, you just can't go wrong, no matter the occasion.
Have a look at some of the most fashionable Brits of the year.

  

          Colin Firth (left) and Cillian Murphy (right)

Bond 50th Anniversary

My favourite secret agent celebrates the 50th anniversary of his first appearance on screen, and he does it with style. James Bond has not only showed up with the Queen during the Olympics in London, but the premiere of the new film "Skyfall" is just around the corner! (October 26th). Can't wait!

Below, my personal choice of best photos with ALL the Bonds... Enjoy!

Film Festivals in Poland Fall/Winter 2012

A few great film festivals are just around the corner, check out the listings and go see great movies you would never be able to see in regular cinemas!

October 2012:

12 - 21.10 Warsaw International Film Festival WIFF WIFF Programme
12 - 18.10 Wroclaw German Cinema Week Programme
19 - 25.10 Wroclaw 1st Korean Film Festival Programme
20 - 26.10 TofiFest Torun TOFI Programme
24 - 30.10 Five Flavours Warsaw 5Flavours 5Flavours Programme
25 - 30.10 Warsaw Jewish Film Festival WJFF Programme
26 - 28.10 Warsaw, Poznan, Gdynia 4th Kuchnia + Food Film Fest Programme


November 2012:

13 - 18.11 American Film Festival Wroclaw AFF
19 - 22.11 10th Hungarian Film Spring in Autumn Programme (takes place in ten cities in Poland)
22 - 29.11 World Cinema Festival Warsaw Manana
23 - 25.11 Wroclaw Film Festival 3 Żywioły ("3 Elements") Programme
24.11 - 1.12 Camerimage Bydgoszcz Camerimage Bydgoszcz

Robert Redford

For no apparent reason I decided to refresh my memory connected to "Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid," an absolute classic of classics. It's not even about the western ideal; this particular film is just timeless, even if you don't like the whole country-and-western entourage. It's a good part of the year to see the movie again or for the first time, if you haven't seen it so far. If nor for the story, then perhaps for two of my favourite "golden boys" of cinema: Paul Newman and Robert Redford. A few posts before I already pointed at Paul Newman, as there is an interesting photo exhibition in Berlin (Dennis Hopper's photos from 1960s in Martin Gropius Bau). Now, let's just have a look at young Redford. Looks familiar, doesn't he?