Blue Is The Warmest Color 2013.

When I mentioned to someone I know that I was going to watch "Blue Is The Warmest Color" tonight he said "oh the Lesbian movie" with a somewhat sweaty smirk on his face. Yes there is sex in the movie, explicit sex between two women, but this extraordinary nearly 3 hour film is about more than the sex. The director Abdellatif Kechiche based the film on a graphic (comic book) novel which I didn't read or even know about, my one time short intense graphic novel phase of a few years back is long over, so I really didn't know what to expect, other than "the explicit Lesbian sex". Set in Lille France the focus of the movie is on a 15 year old beautiful sensitive teenage girl named Adele who is played by the young and beautiful actress Adele Exarchoplous who gives a truly remarkable performance, the best of the year for sure, and her growth as a person and a woman over a span of 10 years. The warm blue enters the film by way of Lea Seydoux (also terrific) who is wearing a blue dye job in her very butch hairdo, and who plays a young artist who paints dull female nudes so we know she will be a big success, and sweeps Adele off her feet. There is lots of talk about everything including art, literature, music and the human condition, and there is also a lot of food and eating, in fact I don't think I've seen more robust eating ever in a movie, never mind the robust sex. There has of course been the standard expected  criticism that the film objectifies women, is prurient and its sole purpose is to cater to the men with the overcoats over their laps which I dismiss with a wave of my gay hand. I haven't so engrossed or moved by a film in a very long time and the final scene is a real heart breaker. Best film, director, best actress of 2013.

The end of March notebook drawings

Luciferous

This collage of mine has been posted on Craig Scott's blog Luciferous, so it won't be around for long, check it out at the link below.

 http://luciferouszine.blogspot.com/?zx=61cd49619561a3a9

James Rebhorn 1948-2014

The fine character actor James Rebhorn has passed

Oswald Morris 1915-2014

Notable cinematographer, loved his work on John Huston's Moulin Rouge.

The Grand Budapest Hotel 2014

I’m not a big fan of Wes Anderson, my interest in his films fell off after “Rushmore” but something about this film caught my imagination so I plopped down my $10.00 for a matinee today at the Bam Cinemas and I have to say I had a pretty good time. The film begins in somewhat contemporary times with Tom Wilkinson relating a story about his younger self in 1968 (played by Jude Law) and his stay in the once grand but now down and out hotel located in the imaginary country of Zubrowka. Its here that Wilkinson/Law meets up with the old owner of the hotel played by F. Murray Abraham who in turn tells the story of the hotel in the 1930’s when as a young refugee (played by newcomer Tony Revolori), he was the lobby boy and was befriended and mentored by the hotel concierge played by a charming Ralph Fiennes in a daft and frantic performance. A lot happens in its narrow running time of 100 minutes with political intrigues, love conquers all romances, chases across the mountains and escapes from jails, all done in that Droll and visually complex style that Wes Anderson is known for. It’s also an homage of sorts for the way movies use to be made with wonderful miniatures and matte paintings instead of the boring DGI look that is now common in our movies. There are flecks of Hitchcock and Lubitsch and the supporting cast is a wow and includes Tilda Swinton, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Willem DaFoe and Adrian Brody. Not a masterpiece, but still a lot of fun.

Poetry Space

 I just found out that one of my photos from Coney Island  was used on Poetry Space. Poets were asked to write poems inspired by my photograph. You can see the poems and my photograph at this link. I have a second photograph up for poets to be inspired by. Kinda nice I think.

http://www.poetryspace.co.uk/2014/03/week-14-entries-and-results/

The Milo Review

 The Milo Review has just posted 3 of my collage postcards. You can view them at this link.

http://themiloreview.com/ira-joel-haber/

The End of March Collage. Paint, wax, ink and collage on 11" x 14" paper

These Glamour Girls 1939

        

This could have easily been a monogram programmer if not for the M.G.M. polish. Made for nothing and shot on the back lot with standing sets, this fast (running a mere 79 minutes) little gum drop was unexpected fun, mainly because of the young and willing cast that was assembled to tell the story of young and spoiled Manhattan debutants on a house party weekend spree at some elite college. Along for the ride was the very young Lana Turner still in her red headed mode but on her way up the sordid ladder to major blonde stardom  and scandal. She plays a ten cents a dance hall tootsie who’s sweep off her tired little feet one night by a drunk young man about town played by Lew Ayres who invites her to be his date for the upcoming weekend jamboree and then when Lana arrives all cheeky and pert gives her the “who are you” line. Lana never one to give up or in stays for the weekend anyway giving some life lessons to the nasty bitches among who are Anita Louise , Ann Rutherford and a few other snots. There is a nice jitterbug dance between Lana and a young Peter Hayes before he put the Lind in the middle but the real standout here, the one who draws our attention is Marsha Hunt ravishing as an over the hill 23 year old who still goes where the boys are and puts up with a lot of put downs from the debs, and who walks away with this little B, that’s how good she is. She doesn’t come away with a happy ending though, and Lew also gets his comeuppance. Ah Lana well Lana tells them all to go fuck themselves in so many words and the movie ends with some loose ends, in a rush to finish this thing, but I love these shinny little turds if only for those great clothes and hairdo’s. Directed by hack house director S. Sylvan Simon who died young but left us with “The Kid From Texas”, “Four Girls In White”, “Dancing Co-Ed” and “The Nurse From Brooklyn”.   

Grey Sparrow Journal

Grey Sparrow Journal has just posted 5 of my photographs including the cover in their latest issue. Click on the link, then click on contents and scroll down to my name to see the others. This actually is my 2nd appearance in this very nice journal, the first being in 2011.

https://greysparrowpress.sharepoint.com/Pages/default.aspx

Petrichor Review

Petrichor Review has just posted an old collage of mine from 1975. You can view it at this link.


http://www.petrichorreview.com/the-magazine/issue-4-contents/ira-joel-haber/nggallery/thumbnails

Wendy Hughes 1952-2014

Fuck shit piss, I adored her. One of my favorite actresses. She's gone but Sarah Palin still walks this earth. Unfair.

The Best of Everything. 1959

High pitched girlie movie from the mid century with great clothes and decor. The cast is mixed with oldies (Joan Crawford) never more scary Brian Aherne as a dirty old man who would be brought up on sexual harassment charges today, and Louis Jourdan as a piece of shit theatre director, along with some hot young stars of the day, Hope Lange, Diane Baker, Suzy Parker (beautiful but an embarrassment in the acting dept, and a young Robert Evans before he left acting doing us all a big favor, and the most beautiful of them all Stephen Boyd who Raquel Welch recently outed and who died way too young. You could have fallen into his cleft chin. Set in the publishing world of a lost New York City the film is about conflicted young women who make all the wrong choices when it comes to men, and who would rather be married with children then have a career. Lange who wants a career but also wants the wedding ring hits bottom when her finance leaves her for a rich girl, and Hope boo hoos but quickly picks herself up and starts all over again, grabbing Crawford's job and letting herself go all over Stephen Boyd. Directed by Jean Negulesco who was no stranger when it came to directing girlie movies ie Three Coins In The Fountain, with nice deep saturated colors and cinemascope, not to mention Johnny Mathis singing the oscar nominated title song. Oh and did I mention how beautiful Stephen Boyd was?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVYx4NeN87Y

New York City June 2013

March Collage. Wax, paint, ink & collage on 11" x 14" paper

Alain Resnais 1922-2014

Gauguin: Metamorphoses. The Museum Of Modern Art

When I was a young boy growing up in Brooklyn, my first encounters with art was through movies. I like to think that I took to art when I was very young in part because I saw “Moulin Rouge” and “Lust For Life” and even at this very early age (I was only 6 when I saw Moulin Rouge) I knew I wanted to be an artist even though these guys ended up in very bad ways. They were strange and appealing to me, and there was all that color. As a kid I thought the actors portraying these artists were perfect. Kirk Douglas was Van Gogh Jose Ferrer was Lautrec and Anthony Quinn was Gauguin. Later as a teen I expanded my art loves. My first art book was a cheap edition on Modigliani which I still have and for an art class in high school I made books on him and Braque which I also still have. So it was with special interest and excitement that I went to see a show of one of my favorite childhood aritsts, a member’s preview of “Gauguin: Metamorphoses” at the Moma yesterday. To say that I was overwhelmed would be the understatement of the year. This show is ravishing and deeply moving, and is one of the most beautiful exhibitions of an artist’s work that I have ever seen. The exhibition is made up of mostly his prints many from editions including the famous Noa Noa series and includes many different variations, which show how he worked (thus the title of the show) along with some of the actual woodblocks which really was fascinating for me to see. There are also paintings, books, some amazing sculptures and several large wall  woodcarvings that are simply breathtaking. Actually the entire show is breathtaking and is the sort of show, historical and thorough that the Moma sometimes does so well that I can forgive them for all the mistakes, slights and errors that they make. I sometimes get lightheaded and dizzy when I see great art, and yesterday I was very lightheaded and dizzy. A warning. If you are a member of the museum you should try to see this show during the member’s previews, even though it was somewhat crowded I found it bearable and I was able to take my time wandering back and forth through the galleries. This is going to be a blockbuster ball breaking show with huge amounts of people waiting on lines to get in for a glimpse of this extraordinary exhibition. It’s on through June.