Gone Baby Gone
by An intelligently told, morally complex tale with a raft of unexpected twists, Gone Baby Gone is one of the most original films of recent times. Most films give you a sense of their narrative arc and it is easy to recognise the major plot points. Mainstream fare actually plays on these devices so audiences feel comfortable – romantic comedies being the typical example of formulaic filmmaking to satisfy an audience not wanting to be surprised. Gone Baby Gone is the opposite, made clear from the beginning as the frame is filled with fat, ugly, real people. The plot, razor-sharp dialogue and brilliant performances then together demand so much attention that you forget about searching for the twists, so when they come, they hit twice as hard. It is dissociative storytelling at its best, and it is wonderful to be watching a film dying to find out what is going to happen next and having no idea what it might be. Ben Affleck might not be able to act, but there is now no doubt that he can both write and direct brilliantly.
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Also by XAVIER TOBY
Valentino: The Last Emperor — Fashion documentary
A documentary about one of the world’s most famous fashion designers? Hmm. Not a film I’d ever choose to see, but sometimes we do what we don’t want to in order to make friends happy. It’s called compromise apparently, and the experience reminded me that any material, if well structured and presented, can make a decent film. The filmmakers follow the over-tanned Valentino Garavani and his long-term lover and business partner Giancarlo Giammetti. Read more
Larry David plays a slight variation on his Curb Your Enthusiasm incarnation, spouting some of the most articulate rants on humanity in Woody Allen’s new comedy. I enjoyed last year’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona, but this is definitely better. It’s a spectacularly executed comedy farce, with the action constantly escalating along the way, adhering to the old comedy formula of putting the characters through hell for big laughs. Read more
Black Dynamite blaxploitation movie trailer
One very angry and unstoppable man wages war against drugs and malt liquor. A take-off of the old blaxploitation films, this is parody at its best, with many knowing nods to camera and hilarious moments involving clichés taken to their extremes. There’s the Asian kung-fu master, pimps and orphans hooked on heroin. It all begins with Black Dynamite being spurned on his quest for blood after his brother’s brutal murder, and then pushed further for the love of a good woman. There are hoes and guns, along with catchphrases and great one-liners. See it.
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Chicago artist Damara Kaminecki (aka Damarak the Destroyer) creates the some seriously bad-ass woodcuts. With a darkly gothic, antique aesthetic, and subject matter tending towards ye old curiosity shop, Kaminecki has a body of work which truly stands out. Read more
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, or ‘Le Corbusier’ is considered by many to be the most influential architect of the twentieth century. His designs are responsible for urban structures around the world, from the grid-city of Chandigarh in India to London’s Barbican Centre, which is currently hosting an exhibition of his work. But to peg him as an architect overlooks an awe-inspiring body of work that also takes in art, literature and even a new system of measurement. With this display, the first serious UK solo exhibition of his work for twenty years, we can finally appreciate the scale of his contributions.
I’m not much of a jewelry guy, but if bling is in order, it’s ordered from my man Osa at Complete Technique. Originally from Japan, Osa is now based in Dumbo, Brooklyn and makes the finest metal jewelry, on par with any of his ancestor’s samurai swords. From speaker rings to turntable pendants, it’s all fresh and mostly music or hip-hop related. He’s been at it for about ten years and works harder than most people I know. If you need some jewelry, show him some love.
Simple, colorful and somewhat esoteric, I really dig the work of New York illustrator, Rich Tu, a new SVA graduate student. It was something else to see his finely textured images blown up to poster size and beautifully displayed at the recent SVA student show. Read more
B-Reel is real smooth. And when I say real, I mean really. They created the latest ad for kicks brand Onitsuka Tiger. Read more
There’s a world-weariness about Two Gallants frontman Adam Stephens. It reveals itself in the Tom Waits-like raspiness that permeates his gin house drawl and in the talkin’ blues narratives that he weaves around his simple acoustic fingerpicking. They are the new superstars of the West Coast scene, majestic showmen in homespun rags.
Listen to the Two Gallants track, The hand that held you down.
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Alex Passapera’s dizzying pen and ink drawings are cascades of images melting into one another, often looking like contorting, mutating creatures spewing blood-like ink splatters. Read more
Yum, yum, cupcakes are fun. These creations are so clever, so arty, so damn bizarre that it would almost be a shame to eat them. Almost! Read more
Wheeeeee! This game is so freaking fun! You move your cursor over each dot to make them split into four smaller dots ad infinitum.
Creative advertising packaging
Despite the intentions of many, it’s not so often that advertising — as an industry — truly thinks outside the box. Yet, when executed well, clever eye-catching advertising actually works. It does. As these examples will attest to. Read more
I live the upbeat, feel good tempo of the new single — A Hundred Hearts — from Philly group, The Swimmers. Off their latest album, People Are Soft, this song is a strangely fitting anthem for the blustery day outside.
Thanks to Sony Australia, four Lost At E Minor readers will win personal audio prizes, including the new 8GB Walkman S series video MP3 player and the MDRXB500 Extra Bass headphones. Read more
Your enemies can always be counted upon to be just that. Unfortunately, your friends sometimes cannot.
Created by graphic-tee fashion label, the-affair, and printed on beautifully soft American Apparel in a limited edition of 200. Purchase now. Read more
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