Da Vinci

It tells you all you need to know about the Art Club that after having seen some actual original drawings by one of the greatest minds the world has seen, the one thing everyone talked about was a very small drawing of a penis in various stages of erection.

The guy was amazing, though. The mirror handwriting is a neat trick (In Italian; I'm always impressed by someone who speaks Italian) but it's the sheer number of concepts on the larger pieces that impresses:

• Anatomic studies
• Plans for changing the flow of rivers
• Geometric shapes
• Diagrams of double pulleys
• Studies of optics
• And a picture of a cock

It would probably have been impossible to take the whole thing in if it hadn't been for the extremely detailed notes, but it was information overload by the end of the experience. All in all, not really a great event. It was too crowded, and there wasn't a great variety in what you could see. Cool, though.

Anyway, it was good to see so many people down the pub last night. Hi to Lucy, Therese, Thom and Natalya. Pity Mathilde didn't make it, but hopefully she'll come out next week.

Ran

The true pleasures of a private screening are always the little things. Yoko translating the end credits "Akira Kurosawa. End." Sylvia's phone going off at a crucial moment. The sheer volume of food being passed around. Julian's complete inability to stop saying "Bloody good movie" afterwards. The awareness we were meant to be watching Rashomon.

Ran itself didn't disappoint. Kurosawa was a monumentally talented man, and this labour of love was extremely powerful. Its use of colour, the music, the cinematography, the sheer scale of the spectacle (without a CGI shot in sight), nothing disappointed. The greatest criticism I can make is that the artificial reverb attached to some of the voices felt stagey at times.

Special mention has to go to Kaeda. I loved this character. Absolute psycho, but you had to admit, she had a point. I wasn't entirely clear on why she was so determined to wipe out Su\'e, however. Anyone with any idea can comment. ;)

A very, very intense movie, I definitely felt the need for a break at the end of it. Of course, looking at the list, we've got a way to go. Under no circumstances should we watch Hotaru no Haka next week. (I actually own a copy, which should save on rental costs...)

Bloody good movie.

Black Cat White Cat

I'd like to meet the guy who at the script meeting said "You know what this movie needs? A pig eating a Trabant." It's a carnival of the grotesque, but there's not a lot to say about it really. The movie's very immediate, very entertaining, and would probably have caused a war if it had been made by an Albanian. Since when is Austria the most romantic place to which lovers can escape anyway?

We need a copy of Pitbull, though...

Anyway, I enjoyed it thoroughly, James got his wish and the event wasn't oversubscribed (just wait until we show M... That should pack the place out). I'd also like to establish once and for all that the choice of upcoming movies was entirely based on our taste and discernment, and not as the result of a geeky game.

In other news I saw The Grave Architects play support at the Spitz last night. What they lacked in professionalism and tuning, they made up for in quirkiness. Shambolic, but I loved every minute of it. Check them out on MySpace.