Great Performances

Happy Birthday, ATTACK OF THE CLONES

May 17, 2017May 23, 2018andersrunestadLeave a comment

Got to love that clone battle, and that spider robot in the thumbnail is a seriously awesome bit of Star Wars design. And the two scenes of Ewan McGregor verbally sparring with first a bounty hunter and then a Sith Lord are some of my favorite moments of the Saga. Fun, underrated movie in my humble opinion.

Catching Up

April 26, 2017May 23, 2018andersrunestadLeave a comment

I’ve been away from the blog for too long, so I’ll get everything up to speed:

–Belatedly . . . Happy Easter!

–A big congratulations to this year’s Rondo Award winners, announced just this past Sunday night. My book I Cannot, Yet I Must did not win in its category but I honestly did not expect that it would. The competition was stiff indeed, and the winner and runners-up are absolutely deserving. Myself, I’m still just tickled to be a nominee and that I can forever call myself a Rondo-nominated author.

–With Easter recently celebrated and springtime here, it’s time to post some exuberant music. And I can’t imagine anything more exuberant than this thundering, brain-melting, blistering performance by Simple Minds from Newcastle, England in 1982. Enjoy!

Getting Iffier

March 3, 2017May 23, 2018andersrunestadLeave a comment

And here’s another “If,” recited by Robert Morley and with travelogue footage by Chris Marker. Which makes it a little surreal. But it’s still “If.”

A Third “If . . .”

February 12, 2017May 23, 2018andersrunestadLeave a comment

Abbreviated, but still a very nice version by Harvey Keitel with Gustav Holst music. Keitel’s facial expressions are minimalist, and yet they add volumes. What a performance, what an actor.

The Ecstasy of Gold

February 11, 2017May 23, 2018andersrunestadLeave a comment

Ennio Morricone, with Susanna Rigacci:

Two “If”s

February 5, 2017May 23, 2018andersrunestadLeave a comment

Dennis Hopper recites “If”:

Dennis Hopper again recites “If”:

The Motorcycle Boy Reigns

January 21, 2017May 23, 2018andersrunestadLeave a comment

I saw Rumble Fish back in 1994, was stunned, and was also stunned that hardly anyone had seen it or written about it in the decade after its release. It’s a real love-it-or-hate-it experience, but it definitely clicked for me. Amazing visuals and sounds, and some outright surrealism in what was ostensibly a Hollywood movie. There’s nothing quite like it, and Criterion is bringing it to Blu-Ray in April.