Eurasian Persuasion

Love Songs
(Les Chansons d’Amour)
Hits All The Right Notes
Trailers & Mo

It’s pretty fitting that lauded French director Christophe Honoré has the word ‘honor’ in his surname, cause this homme certainly loves celebrating his country’s rich cinema past in noveau modern ways. We weren’t fully enamored with his last love letter to the New Wave, Dans Paris [TWS review], but there was definitely something there to give em another go. Love Songs is his quasi-homage to Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, where the characters break into song, in a normal conversational manner rather than a Alan Menken Disney cheese fest kinda way. Honoré’s collaborating composer Alex Beaupain penned all the ditties and the actors sing them in a recitative style that results in one of the bestest film scores we’ve heard since Michael Nyman’s score for Michael Winterbottom’s Wonderland. We haven’t stopped listening to it since we saw the screening and it has only wroked to enhance our love for the film as the days have passed. Yeah, there’s actually a movie in between the sweet sounds that explores love, love lost, love found again and even a ménage à trois (gawd bless the French!). And sure, the film may have a few flaws, like the early exit of Ludivine Sagnier and thus, no chance of her usual cinema NSFWness, but the songs not only carry a tune, they carry the film as well

Listening Booth: hear a couple of the fab songs fo yoself… ‘Delta Charlie Delta’ [d] and ‘La Bastille’ [d]

Ma Mère: Umbrellas of Cherbourg starred Catherine Deneuve and Loves Songs co-stars her daughter Chiara Mastroianni. The hottie mum and daughter have 9 joint ventures (according to IMDB’s nifty tool) between them, and most recently they lent their voices as a mum and a daughter in Persepolis [TWS review]

John Grisham’s Jizzum (aka Verdict): Breast In Show(tunes)

Boarding Gate
Bumpy In-Flight Entertainment
Trailers & Mo

Look at this snap of Asia Argento above. Have you seen anything more delicious in all your life, well besides these German meat creations? Tis a crying shame then that the stateside marketing folks decided against using it, unlike our less Puritanical European brethren, cause this film is mess, an enjoyable one at that, and you’d think they wouldn’t want to hold back on selling the film’s main attraction, Asia’s sexiness, hispecially since, like Ludivine Sagnier, she’s not so shy when it comes to movie NSFNess. Olivier Assayas’ latest lady in peril flick (we totally dug the last one, Clean [TWS review]) was shot on the quick and cheap and it certainly feels like it. It has no consistency, and the first half coulda been easily condensed into 15 minutes (probably has something to do with Michael Madsen and his overplayed since 1992 tough guy schtick). When the action shifts to Hong Kong in the second half, it fares a lot better, but it too lacks any clear focus (and having Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon thrown in for no reason doesn’t help matters). Luckily for us all Asia keeps this puppy moving, juss like her fingers near that smokin’ crotch

Photo Shoot Your Load: peep this NSFW spread with Asia and Adrien Brody

John Grisham’s Jizzum (aka Verdict): despite all its sloppy joeness, we still say Jeepers Worth The Peepers

both flicks open in limited release today

until next thyme the balcony is clothed…