"Searching for Sugar Man" - true story or scam?

It sometimes happens that a character is larger than life. Quite rarely it so happens though that noone knows such a character. The story of "Sugar Man" Rodriguez seems pretty incredible. And so I have to check twice if that really happened. And Wikipedia says it's almost all true what's in this brilliant documentary. Of course, not all. In "Searching for Sugar Man" the Swedish director made it look like noone really remembered Rodriguez for some twenty odd years.

Watching New "Hannibal"

As the news broke that there was going to be a new version of "the adventures of Hannibal Lecter" (if you can even call it that way), I was interested, but that too much. There are so many great TV shows nowadays, that I hardly have enough time to get in touch and watch the premiere episodes.
But, when next news spread, that the new Hannibal was going to be Mads Mikkelsen, I waited impatiently on the verge of collapsing. Me being fond of Mikkelsen is not enough said, that's for sure. Just recently he has had so many great roles in such wonderful films, like "The Hunt" or "The Royal Affair" that a full TV show seemed almost too much.

"Madame" in Teatr na Woli Warszawa

Antoni Libera, one of Polish finest playwrights, essayists, translators, critics, writers and scholars, who knows a lot about Beckett, Sophocles and many others, wrote this brilliant play, "Madame" in 1998. It is, along with "Godot and his shadow" from 2009 among his most famous works.
"Madame" is a story of a teacher of French in one of the Polish high schools in the 1960s. Times are taugh in Poland then, in times of communism people cannot travel anywhere, their moves are restricted, so are the things they believe and feel. Gloomy times, hard ones too.

"Festen" by Thomas Vinterberg in TR Warszawa

The crew of TR Warszawa is getting its fame as they decide to perform most difficult and demanding, but also most popular contemporary plays. It is here one can see a 5-hour long version of  "Angels in America" by Tony Kushner (always sold out), "Faithless" by Ingmar Bergman or "T.E.O.R.E.M.A.T." based on Pier Paolo Pasolini.
This time I decided to follow the map (TR Warszawa seems not to have their fixed stage, they are moving, and currently perform in on of the most modern filming studios in Poland - ATM, in the outskirts of Warsaw) and take part in the stage version of a wonderful film directed by Thomas Vinterberg - "Festen".
The performance received raving reviews in the world, as it was shown before in many other places. This is quintessential TR Warszawa: they get even more famous abroad then in Poland. The New York Times and New York Post wrote about it, so did Suddeutsche Zeitung and Berliner Zeitung.
And "Festen" is absolutely worth all the praise it is getting.

David Bowie is... in Victoria and Albert!

"David Bowie is" is the title of the new exhibition presented in Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It opened on March 23rd, and will take place till August 11th.
It so happens, that the new David Bowie album, "The Next Day" has just had its premiere on March 11th. It is his first album in a decade and  was promoted by a wonderful clip starring Tilda Swinton, which made everyone talk about it, that's how stylish they both are.
Victoria and Albert Museum is the best possible spot to show Bowie, he is a musician, but also an actor and style-icon, always being ahead of everyone else.
As the museum states in their exhibition statement, the exhibition is the first international retrospective of Bowie's career, and includes plenty of his handwritten lyrics, costumes, fashion, photography, videos and set designs. Even his instruments! Yes, David Bowie really is...

James McAvoy is Macbeth

One of my personal favorites, the ultimate Scot James McAvoy takes a short break from filming to play a physically and psychically demanding role of King Macbeth in Shakespearean play in London's Trafalgar Studios. I might see the very last performance of it on April 27th, but I wouldn't really count on getting the ticket. We'll see. From what I hear though, it's supposed to be a very gory version, passionate and cruel.
Rumour (and The Guardian) has it, that McAvoy is under constant stress because of it, and he also couldn't stand a member of the audience filming him on his mobile phone. He halted the performance, yelled at the guy to stop immediately and then went on with his lines. I don't blame him. Not at all.
I know how great McAvoy actually is on stage, a couple years back I saw him in "Three Days of Rain", which was absolutely brilliant.
Besides, McAvoy has also another story to tell with his Macbeth, as he played Joe Macbeth in a television mini-series which retold the story of the classical drama. So, going to the same river again, must have loved it  the first time.
Anyway, "Macbeth" in Trafalgar Studios in London, for a limited season from February 9th till April 27th, 2013.
More details here.

Roy Lichtenstein in Tate Modern

Good things come to those who wait - and Lichtenstein comes in glory to Tate Modern in London, in a great retrospective. I will see it myself very soon, but since it will be there only for a very limited period of time, it is really worth reminding all of this great opportunity to catch a glimpse of this wonderful pop artist in Tate Modern. 

The exhibition called simply "Lichtenstein: A Retrospective" (details here) can bee seen from February 21st till May 27 th 2013, and the entrance is L14 (L12 concessions). 

"Spring Breakers" - Britney Spears, pink unicorns and James Franco's silver teeth

So, here it is. The one and possibly only time when I see Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez on screen, and in a good movie too. But you know, with "Spring Breakers" it's like that: you either love it to death or think it's just crap. Well, perhaps for me it's not a masterpiece, but it definitely is original, unique and catches your attention. If it tells the story of how degenerated today's youth is - I doubt that. But it made me think of it, so I suppose there is something to it.
James Franco steals the show when he screams that he's got "all that shit" and that everything is his, and he has plenty of shoes, guns, money and "all that shit". This guy really is a chameleon! I've recently seen his in what - 5 films maybe? Maybe even more, and that's just this year! (there was "Lovelace", "Interior. Leather Bar", "Maladies", "Oz", now "Spring Breakers" and he's currently working on a few more things, the guy is a dynamite!)

"The New York Trilogy" by Paul Auster

Going through the books I own and haven't read yet, I realized that I do have two wonderful books by Paul Auster - one of the greatest living American authors. It's a shame noone encouraged me enough before to get to his books, but once I did, I read two at once. The first one, "The New York Trilogy" was published in 1987 in the shape we know it, meaning three shorter stories. Austers debut was published under a pseudonym "Paul Benjamin" so technically these three stories, namely "City of Glass" (1985), "Ghosts" (1986) and "The Locked Room" (1986) can be considered a true debut.

"Quartet" - a small story with huge heart

When a famous actor decides to direct his first movie, one just thinks - it's all been here before. You've seen such attempts before. Alas, there are a few actor-turned-director cases, like Clint Eastwood or Mel Gibson, where the mix really works. Or worked at least. One of the actors that recently decided to make a movie on his own is Dustin Hoffman and it's a rather late debut, one might say. Hoffman is 75, probably as old as his protagonists and it makes this even more truthful to the story.