royal wedding hats: Eylül 2012

30 Eylül 2012 Pazar

Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

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Sherlock Holmes

Guy Ritchie (Madonna's ex) has done a fabulous job with one of the most adapted literary characters EVER! Apparently Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes first hit celluloid in 1900 in a 30 second long novelty film called Sherlock Holmes Baffled. 260 odd titles later, we have our most recent endeavors, including Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law (and modern day versions Sherlock and Elementary discussed elsewhere on my blog).

Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows

I admit I am a sucker for Robert Downey Jr. He is just so darn likeable as Holmes and you have to love an American actor who can nail an English accent like that. Mmmmmm. And adding just the right amount of comedy to an action film is his specialty no matter which century he lands in. Well done!

Jude Law is great too as second fiddle Watson. He is the voice of reason, when reason seems unlikely and does a fine job of being perennially exasperated. The dog Gladstone is also one of my favourite characters, the poor thing, always being drugged or something. Odd that I would put the dog and Jude Law in the same paragraph, but there you are!

Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as Watson

Both of these films are a wonderful updating of Sherlock Holmes for the new millennium. Making the streets of Victorian London sufficiently grubby is a lovely change from some of the overly rosy sets we have seen in the past. And adding action sequences, slowed down for maximum effectiveness and pointing out clues at just the right time for those of us who need the signposts is brilliant.

Lovely sets but dirty enough for believability.

I saw the first SH in the theatre but waited to rent the second one until recently as I thought it couldn't possibly be as entertaining as the first. I am so glad to say that I was wrong and that I was pleasantly surprised by the sequel. "Two teacups up" for both of these films. I don't usually go for action flicks but set in Victorian London, and done this well, it was a treat. And I think my hubby, The Squire, was grateful to finally get a whiff of testosterone amongst my film choices!

Sherlock Holmes:[voice-over] Head cocked to the left, partial deafness in ear: first point of attack. Two: throat; paralyze vocal chords, stop scream. Three: got to be a heavy drinker, floating rib to the liver. Four: finally, drag in left leg, fist to patella. Summary prognosis: unconscious in ninety seconds, martial efficacy quarter of an hour at best. Full faculty recovery: unlikely.

Mark Strong as Lord Blackwood

Mark Strong plays the villain Lord Blackwood in the first outing. I love that they added some "hubba hubba" for those of us who still think of Mr. Knightley when we see Mark Strong. It's a pity he is the baddie, but still adorable!

Jared Harris as Moriarty

The villain in the sequel is played by Jared Harris as a truly creepy Moriarty. Good acting but not even remotely as appealing as Mark Strong. Sorry Jared.

Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler

Rachel McAdams does a creditable job as Irene Adler, part love interest, part...well...pain in the ass? Well done. A very realistic portrayal of many couple's relationships. Although the real couple are of course Holmes and Watson who are an old married couple, merrily bickering away. Makes you wonder how Guy Ritchie has such insight into marital squabbling doesn't it? Lots of fun and never a dull moment.

Dr. John Watson:Oh, how I've missed you, Holmes.
Sherlock Holmes:Have you? Why? I've barely noticed your absence.

Go ahead and watch these if you haven't already. Great for an evening of light entertainment. And your men will thank you for the nice change!

I may watch them both again in the near future. Cheers!

Mark Strong- Actor of the Week

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Mark Strong in Lord Blackwood costume, smiling!

What a delight to find that I had not yet had Mark Strong as my Actor of the Week. I luuuuurve him and am so glad to be able to go back and review my faves of his films! Whether a good guy or a bad guy, he is always an asset to a film. Born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia in London England to an Italian father and an Austrian mother, his name was changed in childhood by his mother (after his father left) to help him fit in with his peers. Fluent in German, he studied at a University in Munich for a year with the intent of becoming a lawyer before pursuing an acting career in Britian.

Mark Strong as Mr. Knightley in Emma

OK here is my weak spot. I love all the Mr. Knightleys for different reasons. But just look at that furrowed brow on Mark Strong. Is he annoyed at Emma (Kate Beckinsale) or is he annoyed at himself for caring about her so much? He certainly brings out a different aspect of Knightley's character than either Jeremy Northam or Jonny Lee Miller. Sigh! Must watch this again soon. Next migraine day?

Mark Strong and Colin Firth in Fever Pitch

Another role of Mark Strong's that I adore is as Colin Firth's best mate in Fever Pitch. This one is from way back in 1997 and is set in 1989 so the fashions are an absolute hoot, but the story and the acting from these two men in particular make this my second fave Nick Hornby film just edged out by About A Boy. If you have ever had a sports mad male in your life, you need to see this film.

Mark Strong as Harry Starks in The Long Firm

After playing the psychotic 1960s gangster Harry Starks in The Long Firm he had no trouble convincing filmmakers that he could be a bad guy. It is truly amazing that until 2004 he had rarely been cast as anything sinister. And now I think we need to see more good guy roles. Because let's see what he has been in since 2004:

Mark Strong as Toby Crackit in Oliver Twist

In a small role as Toby Crackit (the accomplice of Bill Sykes) in Roman Polanski's Oliver Twist, he rather rocks the ginger fright wig and facial hair.

I won't put a photo of Syriana on this post as I turned it off when Mark Strong's character was pulling out fingernails. Nope. Wouldn't finish watching that one!

Mark Strong as Nick in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

As oily 1930s nightclub owner Nick in Miss Pettigrew Loves for a Day, he is a much more fun bad guy. Oily and controlling, you love to hate him. A perfect role for Mark Strong.

Mark Strong as Sir John Conroy in The Young Victoria

Another wonderful bad guy role for Mark Strong is Sir John Conroy, the oppressive, social climbing comptroller to Queen Victoria's mother ( The Duchess of Kent) in The Young Victoria. Constantly scrapping with Emily Blunt who plays the young queen, he makes you hate him and yet feel sorry for him at the same time as he loses his control over the young Victoria. He apparently went to The National Portrait Gallery in London to see what Conroy looked like and was struck by the resemblance to himself. Would you like to see the real Sir John Conroy?

Sir John Conroy

The resemblance is striking isn't it? Mark Strong was born to play this character! You could swear that this was Mark and not the real Sir John Conroy.

Mark Strong as Lord Blackwood in Sherlock Holmes

If you have to have a bad guy in a film, why not make him as appealing as Lord Blackwood in Sherlock Homes? Mark Strong does bad and sexy sooooooo well!

Mark Strong as Sir Godfrey in Robin Hood

As Sir Godfrey in Robin Hood, an English knight collaborating with the French, Mark Strong gets a meaty role and does it well. Is it shallow of me to say I don't like him bald? I'm just sayin'!


Mark Strong as Jim Prideaux in Tinker Tailor

In Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, he plays the fascinating role of Jim Prideaux. This is an awesome film but very hard to follow if you haven't read the book. I recommend either reading the book or at least the Wikipedia entry for the book or film before you see it. To heck with spoilers, you need help just to follow the plot!

I couldn't get even half of the roles I would have liked on this post, so feel free to add your faves in the comments below. Any other Mark Strong fans out there?

Georgette Heyer Film: Sign My Petition Please!

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How many of you wonderful readers are Georgette Heyer fans? OK, I see a lot of enthusiastic hands waving! We love her, right? And you have all thought that they would make great film adaptations right? So let's try to do something about it.

Apparently there are people out there somewhere who have the film rights to her books. Rumour has it that the film rights for the books have been sold but no films are being made! Here is a quote from the website www.georgette-heyer.com:

"Choosy Productions in the UK have the film rights to all Heyer books except 'The Grand Sophy' and 'These Old Shades' which are owned by a company in the USA"

So let's demand a film adaptation (OK, ask politely and promise to pay to see it?).

Here is the link to my petition. It will only take you a minute and it may result in an actual film. How cool would it be if we used the internet and social media to let the film makers know that there is an audience out there waiting for a Heyer film and then they actually made it? Very cool!

So here it is Georgette Heyer fans!

http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/georgetteheyerfilm

Please leave a comment either here or on the petition about which book you would most like brought to the big screen? I will start out by saying that Venetia is my fave but I would love ANY of her books on film!

P.S. If anyone knows who has the film rights to Georgette Heyer's novels so that we can petition them directly, please let me know. The idea is to let them know that there is a ready made audience waiting patiently...

Two Weeks Notice- 2002

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I have a weakness for a certain type of chick flick. Yes, ones with a cheeky sense of humour. And this one really fits the bill. Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant look like they had a ball filming this and it is just as much fun to watch them doing what they do best.

Bullock stars as a brilliant but neurotic attorney and Grant as her wealthy, irresponsible but somehow charming boss. Hugh Grant starring as Hugh Grant basically, which is why it works so well.

George Wade:I own the hotel, and I live there. My life is very much like Monopoly.

George Wade:Before you came into my life I could make all kinds of decisions now I'm addicted I have to know what you think. What do you think?
[holds up cufflinks]
Lucy Kelson:I think you're the most selfish human being on the planet.
George Wade:Well that's just silly. Have you met everybody on the planet?

Lucy Kelson:What did I tell you that defines an emergency?
George Wade:A large meteoroid, severe blood loss and uh... what was the other thing?
Lucy Kelson:Death! And you're not dead!

George Wade:I find you... annoying.

George Wade:If you have to go, just... go!
Lucy Kelson:What? What am I, five years old? This is my car!
George Wade:It's only a Volvo.
Lucy Kelson:People just don't *go* in Volvos.
George Wade:I'll buy you another Volvo!
Lucy Kelson:No! Besides, that is the only thing you'll ever remember about me... that I'm the woman who *went* on the front seat.
George Wade:Well, that would be hard to forget.

June Carter:Do you know what I like even more than chess?
George Wade:PokÃ©mon?

Lucy: You should be so lucky because the lawyerly exterior...don't let that fool you because inside I am, like, a complete animal. It's, like, bobcat. You know, it's scary.
George: I can see that it might be.
Lucy: No. No. Look, I can bend like a pretzel. I'm serious. And I'm not talking the straight kind. I'm talking, like, the twisty kind. Twisty like the bobcat, salty type of pretzel. Because that's what men want, right?
George: That is their dream.

***********************************************************************************

Now I realize that they don't make a very realistic couple. But you can't tell me that a few of those quotes didn't make you smile. I know they did! I hope these two get together for another RomCom at some point because the chemistry is awesome. In a twisty, bobcat, salty pretzel kind of way.

So, do you love this movie too, even though your family rolls their eyes if they see you watching it? (but then they sit down and join you right?)

Call The Midwife- PBS this Sunday Sept 30!

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Call The Midwife

If you are patiently awaiting the return of Downton Abbey, you have a real treat in store. Call The Midwife is a BBC miniseries based on the best selling memoirs of Jennifer Worth. I can't talk this one up enough! I love it!!! The stories of young midwives delivering babies in the East End of London in the 1950s is moving and funny and will have you coming back for all 5 episodes. Sunday night on PBS is going to be wonderful this fall!

Jessica Raine plays Jenny Lee, a young woman from the wealthy countryside of England who has trained as a nurse and midwife and is posted to the rough East End of London. The series follows her and her fellow midwives as they work in one of the poorest parts of London, still reeling from the bombings of WWII.

Judy Parfitt, Pam Ferris, Jenny Agutter and Laura Main as the nuns

Instead of the hospital Jenny Lee is expecting, she finds herself posted to a convent (Nonnatus House) with some fairly unconventional nuns. Judy Parfitt (Mrs. Clennam from Little Dorrit) and Jenny Agutter (Idina Hatton from The Buccaneers) are particularly wonderful as the nuns overseeing and teaching the young midwives. Judy Parfitt plays the adorable Sister Monica Joan who has a bit of dementia and is only occasionally lucid. Hilarious and touching at the same time. Jenny Agutter is Sister Julienne, the real heart of the operation and someone for the young midwives to look up to.

Helen George, Miranda Hart, Jessica Raine and Bryony Hannah

Long before her memoirs were filmed, author of the book Jennifer Worth asked Miranda Hart to play Chummy Browne, the six foot tall ungainly, clumsy midwife featured in the stories. If you haven't seen comedienne Miranda Hart before, you will love her and you will start to look for her in other things. She doesn't appear until episode 2 so stay tuned.

If I have any readers in the UK, Australia, New Zealand or Europe who have already seen this, please comment below and tell us what you thought of it. Personally, I cannot wait!

P.S. As PBS says, check local listings. Some of the stations are starting this Sunday Sept 30 at 8pm but my local station in Buffalo has it listed as starting the week after (Sunday Oct. 7 at 8 pm)

29 Eylül 2012 Cumartesi

A View From the Stacks: Jamie's Journal Week 4

Walter P. Chrysler Jr. with former Museum Director Dr. David Steadman and an unidentified woman.

For Whom in Which Will? Continuing on my journey through Walter P. Chrysler Jr’s records, I came across another interesting bump in the road: his will. After a life filled with the constant buying and selling of art, by 1988 Walter had accumulated quite a distinguished personal collection. Upon his death in September of 1988, it was assumed that he would donate most, if not all, of this collection to the museum he worked so hard to build and maintain. In his will, Walter named the Chrysler Museum as beneficiary of over 75% of the Chrysler family trust fund along with $1.6 million for endowment and 17 of his remaining personal works of art. Also in the will, of the 785 works of art from Walter’s personal collection on loan to the museum, 768 were named to Jack, Walter’s nephew. Many people, including the Chrysler Museum’s director at the time, Dr. David Steadman were surprised by this decision. It was reported that before his death, he led his closest friends to believe that he would leave the majority of his artwork collection to the museum. So, what did he truly want? Here is where it gets really interesting. There was a second, unsigned will that emerged months after his death. If signed, this will would have given most of Walter’s personal collection to the museum instead of to his nephew, Jack. 751 works, on top of other money given to Jack, would have gone to the museum. Walter died two days prior to an appointment designated for signing the will. If the contents of this will were what he truly wanted, why wouldn’t he have taken care of it already? Was his death just unfortunate timing? And another thing. Thomas H. Willcox Jr., board of trustees president, said that Walter was an “avid writer of wills” and had made lots of unsigned wills in his life (Daily Press, 4/11/89). So was this unsigned will just another one of those? We are fortunate enough to have a draft of this controversial, unsigned will in the Chrysler’s archives. - Jamie Sawyer, Summer 2011 Library Archives Intern

A View From the Stacks: Kersti's Journal Week 4

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Our Library Interns have headed off for the summer. They are missed and certainly not forgotten. They've left us with some great journal entries written during the course of the summer. I hope you'll enjoy reading about their adventures and efforts over the next few weeks. - L. C.

Week 4- Collections Development and Management
This week I focused on how thelibrary builds its collection and deals with acquisitions. One thing I’venoticed while I’m here is the library gets a LOT of book donations. All of thebooks are interesting, but the library’s limited space and scope means thatsome of them can’t be added to the stacks. As I mentioned in an earlier entry,the library focuses first and foremost on subjects related to objects in themuseum’s collection. If a text can’t be tied into the library’s scope some way,it needs to be deaccessioned.

The Library’s Goals (from the Collections Development Policy)
·        Provide a primary source of information for the public aboutChrysler Museum collections.
·        Provide resources, reference service, and collections managementservices to enable all museum activities including study, care andinterpretation of Chrysler Museum collections.
·        Provide the public with intellectual and physical access toarts-related information through communication and sharing of a wide variety ofavailable resources.
Part of my job this week was todetermine if some of the recent acquisitions could be included in thecollection. This task was surprisingly difficult; for the assignment I picked abook of architecture, a book about one artist’s focus on American folk art, anda glossy book of recipes. Surprisingly, I had to determine that none of themcould be included. The book of folk art was a duplicate of what we already hadin the collection; the book of architecture was a “lookbook”, almost anadvertisement, for an architectural firm, and perhaps less startlingly, thecookbook was entirely outside of the library’s focus. I also needed to come upwith some suggestions of how to deal with those books the library is unable to retainand must deaccession. This, too, proved tricky. My first thought was to donatethem, but many organizations that accept book donations have very specificguidelines for what they will and won’t accept- one organization wouldn’taccept anything older than a decade! A sale could work, but would be difficultto organize. I even found that many people use old books to make items likelamps or other pieces of art.
The end of the week was devotedtowards something that others have already blogged about…. Making our bookcart!Sarah, Jamie, and I tossed around a lot of ideas, but finally decided on thepirate ship from Muppet Treasure Island, one of my all-time favorite movies.We're keeping our fingers crossed...

The Intern Submission to the 2011 Book Cart Contest: The Hispanola

The Intern Submission to the 2011 Book Cart Contest: The Hispanola

The Intern Submission to the 2011 Book Cart Contest: The Hispanola

- Kersti Francis, Summer 2011 Library Intern As you may already know, the intern's Book Cart Contest submission, the Hispanola sailed into second place in our annual competition.

What's new?

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There are many exciting new things happening at the Chrysler, and the library is no exception! Take a look at what the library and museum have been upto :

In order to celebrate the opening of the Chrysler's new Glass Studio, the library has purchased a number of excellent books on the art of glass making. Learn how to make glass beads, figurines, dinnerwear, christmas ornaments, jewelry and more! And make sure to sign up for one of the classes or workshops being held weekly at the studio, or stop by for a free demo!
You may have noticed that two of the Chrylser Museum's new exhibitions feature library materials:

The exhibition Mark Rothko: Perceptions of Being, which is on view from Sept. 28 to Jan. 8, 2012, is accompanied by one of the library's monographs on Mark Rothko. The exhibition includes the Chrysler’s own No. 5 (Untitled), 1949, that serves as the centerpiece of this focused exhibition of work by the great abstract expressionist. Other works include five paintings on loan from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.—each a gift of the Mark Rothko Foundation. By displaying the library book along with the paintings, viewers are able to learn more about what they are seeing.

You may also have noticed library materials are featured in the new exhibition remix! The exhibition is ambitious undertaking by Amy Brandt, the Museum’s McKinnon Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. “remix examines the distinct ways in which artists from many different backgrounds and generations respond to a common subject, theme or historical phenomenon,” says Brandt. The library was pleased to contribute a copy of Life magazine featuring the pop art exhibition American Supermarket. 

What's In a Vertical File?

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Have you ever wondered why libraries keep hundreds of vertical files safely stored in the stacks? What could possibly be in all those files? The Jean Outland Chrysler Art Library's new exhibit What's in a Vertical File? answers these questions and more.
So what is a vertical file? Verticalfiles are repositories of “ephemera” -- things that are not meant to last along time. The ephemera collected in artist files often consist ofannouncements of exhibitions, small catalogs, press releases, clippings fromvarious print sources, and correspondences. Since the objects in vertical files are not meant to be retained or last forever, many of them are very rare. The two files featured in the library's exhibit are artist files of Faith Ringgold, perhaps best known for her painted story quilts, and Lucas Samaras, an artist currently featured in the Chrysler Museum's exhibition remix.

The Jean Outland Chrysler Art Library keepsvertical files on a wide variety of topics, including artists, art relatedsubjects and objects in the museum’s collection. Consider stopping by the library on your next visit to the museum and browsing the vertical file on your favorite artist or artwork!

Today's Fun Find!

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Hello again!

We were doing some spring cleaning and found a curious plastic lens contraption along with some instructions for using it hiding in a drawer. The instructions explained how to use the 'viewer' to look at the stereoscopic images (better known as 3-D) in the Stereo World Magazine! Orginally, I thought that Stereo World was a magazine about music or sound art, because people normally associate the word stereo with stereophonic sound. However, the word stereo actually has Greek origins relating to three-dimensionality.

So how does 3-D imaging work? It imitates our eyes! The average person's eyes project two slightly different images onto the retinas, which are then transformed in the brain into spatial representations. Using both eyes allow one to perceive spatial representations. But when we look at a regular image it is only "one-eyed" and therefore flat. When the lenses imitate a person's eyes, a pair of almost identical images are separated by the average distance between a person's eyes - the viewpoint becomes similar to the view seen by the left and right eye, thus creating a 3-D image! How cool is that? With 3-D movies, television, videogames, and art on the rise in popularity it is nice to know the basics of that technology.

Stereo World Magazine has been around since the 1970's and is quite a gem in our collection. It thoroughly keeps track of the past, present, and future of 3-D imaging. Feel free to come into the library to check out these fun magazines! We can even provide patrons with a handy-dandy pair of viewers.

-Library Assistant Rebecca Wilkinson

28 Eylül 2012 Cuma

What's new?

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There are many exciting new things happening at the Chrysler, and the library is no exception! Take a look at what the library and museum have been upto :

Exhibit: Symbols of the Holidays: from the Jean Outland Chrysler Art Library Collection

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Thomas Cole (American, 1801-1848)
The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds, 1833
Oil on Canvas, 101.5 x 182.5 in (257.81 x 471.17 cm.)
Chrysler Museum of Art

Decemberis a special time of year for everyone. Thebrisk wind and the hint of snow herald a time of year to celebrate. Both Hanukkah and Christmas occur in themonth and each has their most recognizable symbols, such as the menorah and thedreidel for Hanukkah and the Christmas tree and the Nativity for Christianity.

Various menorot used for Hanukkah.
From the 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia
Courtesy of Wikipedia

Combingthe Jean Outland Chrysler Library collection, we have found images of familiarholiday traditions both new and old to share with you. Some are photographs from our Tidewaterregion, some are from the Holy Lands, some are clever references to traditionalsongs, and some are beloved paintings from Norman Rockwell.

Taro Yamamoto, American, 1919-
Christmas Card to Jean from the artist
Paper
Chrysler Museum of Art

Theseimages also reflect the general collection of the Chrysler Museum. As the Museum holds pieces ranging from theancient to the modern, so does our selection of images. See a menorah from the 18thcentury, a Nativity scene from the 15th century, and art glass fromthe 20th century among many others in the Library Reading Room. To see the symbols of the holidays, stop byand have a look at the Jean Outland Chrysler Library.

Lynne Fors
Library Assistant