Cafe Sketch....Back in the habit!

Hey Bloggers! Yes, I know I haven't posted more cafe sketches in awhile but that's what happens when your job takes over your life! Anyways, Wall-e is almost done so I finally got a chance to draw again. Here's a couple of new ones for you:


Stay tooned for more in the next week or so!

Desert Island Movie#3-North by Northwest

North by Northwest, directed by the one and only, Alfred Hitchcock stands as one of my favorite suspense thrillers. It features Cary Grant as Roger O. Thornhill, an ad executive who finds himself chased by a sinister organization because they mistake him for a spy.
This film has it all...Amazing composition, Saul Bass opening titles, a riveting Bernard Hermann score, the climb and big finale on Mount Rushmore, and of course, who can forget the famous crop duster scene??! A lesser filmmaker would have kept the film dark and moody but Hitchcock wisely keeps it light and even comedic at times without loosing the suspense and thrill of the chase.

Also worthy of note is Cary Grant's AMAZING chemistry with screen vixen Eva Marie Saint. Both actors manage to light up the screen each time they are together and by the end of the movie, we are convinced that these two characters are truly in love.

Desert Island Movie#2-The Good The Bad, And the Ugly

My next desert island movie would definitely have to be The Good The Bad and The Ugly, directed by Sergio Leone. To me, its the ultimate western with three of the greatest characters put on screen.
Oddly enough, Leone's westerns were inspired by eastern filmmaker Akira Kurosawa whose samurai films, Yojimbo and Sanjuro created the template for the hero with no name who strides into town and unleashes his own brand of justice. All the actors play their parts to perfection but its Eli Wallach's scrappy bandit Tuco that steals the movie. Wallach makes Tuco both dangerous and loveable, a performance that's no easy feat. Seeing him interact with Eastwood's character never fails to put you on the edge of your seat and put a grin on your face at the same time.

Plus, the film has one of the coolest taglines ever: "For three men, the civil war wasnt hell....It was Practice!" Count me in!

Desert Island Movie....#1 IKIRU

What if you had to go away to a deserted island and only take 10 films with you....What would they be? I've been thinking about this and decided to put together ten of my all time favorite films on a list (in no particular order of course). One of the first films I would choose would be Akira Kurosawa's IKIRU.

The basic premise is this...A government clerk (played by Takashi Shimura) finds out he has stomach cancer and will soon die. He reflects upon his life and realizes that he has done nothing worth of any substance and that his life has no meaning. I LOVE this film because any other director would have made it heartfelt and syrupy whereas Kurosawa shows it to us in a straightforward, almost cold manner.

After Shimura's character dies, Kurosawa uses the second half of the film to examine the character's life from other characters' point of view. This prevents the film from getting too overly emotional and allows the audience to see more facets of the character.

Shimura plays the old man with such soul-baring pain and loneliness that you can't help but feel not only sympathy, but EMPATHY for the guy. All around just an amazing movie that has to be taken on that island.

Sacre Cour

Hey Bloggers! To make up for the lack of posts last month, I've decided to post some more photos of my trip to France..This time, the beautiful church of Sacre Cour (or Sacred Heart) located in the town of Montmartre.

This location is a huge tourist draw and can even be seen in the film, Amelie by Jean Pierre Juenet. As you can see in my journal notes, it took over 44 years to build on a foundation of 83 pillars sunk 130 feet deep into the earth. Also interesting to note is that the entire building is laced with gypsum, a material that will whiten the stone as it ages.
Here's another view of the church as we walked up to it on the local streets.
Man, I wish I could go back to France!