No matter how much we love someone, no matter how much time we spend around them, we never truly know them. Even when we’ve spent enough time to know their routines and their flaws, we can never really know the person we love. Director Sarah Polley constructs an extraordinary documentary in where she attempts to figure out who her mother was. Surely, she knows who her mother was, but after her death, she’s spent an immense amount of her time during her film trying to figure out who she was. And surely enough, she realizes the person her mother was, wasn’t the person everyone else knew her as.
Tag Archives: Biography
The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story [Hardcover]
There aren’t many music fans that are aware of Brian Epstein and the legacy that he crafted. Though he isn’t as much of a household name as Berry Gordy or Quincy Jones, Brian Epstein created what would be pegged as “The British Invasion,” and introduced the world to the fab four, the lads from Liverpool, The Beatles! Author Vivek Tawdry with amazing art from Andrew C. Robinson and Kyle Baker don’t just craft the story of one of the most incredible music visionaries of all time, but of a man who could never quite come to terms with his sexuality. “The Fifth Beatle” focuses on Brian Epstein’s rise to stardom and eventual discovery of the Beatles, four men whom he felt deep affection for.
The Wind Rises (Kaze Tachinu) (2013)
“The Wind Rises” is such a beautiful note for Hayao Miyazaki to leave us on. It’s a bittersweet affair as a film and an animated feature, mainly because Miyazaki hasn’t lost his ability to tell stories. He’s the most incredible animator working today, and his retirement is heartbreaking because the man has many more years left to deliver lucid, entertaining and thought provoking stories to his fan base. “The Wind Rises” is not an explosive, fantastical exit for Miyazaki, but a respectful and quiet bow out. One that really does stick with you long after the credits have ended.
Dear Mr. Watterson (2013)
“Tigers will do anything for a tuna fish sandwich!”
I first discovered “Calvin and Hobbes” in high school, where a curious glance in to one of their trade collections led to a love for the comic that’s lasted for many years. “Calvin and Hobbes” ended in 1995, but has continued to be an important part of many people’s lives. From fans, to modern cartoonists, Biller Watterson has left a large legacy behind, after “Calvin and Hobbes” went exploring. “Dear, Mr. Watterson” isn’t just a wonderful and insightful exploration in to the popularity of the comic, but why the comic has been so influential, years after its end.
Guillermo del Toro Cabinet of Curiosities: My Notebooks, Collections, and Other Obsessions [Hardcover]
Though released almost at the same time as “Pacific Rim,” co-author Mark Zicree’s hardcover compendium chronicling the creative works of director Guillermo Del Toro is anything but a cash in. It’s a wonderful treasure trove of amazing sketches, and incredible conceptual work, that not only explores the mind of Guillermo Del Toro, but pays tribute to one of the finest fantasy directors working today. Guillermo Del Toro has almost single handedly kept the fantasy genre alive with his dark neo-Gothic epic works, and “Cabinet of Curiosities” gives his fans that rare glimpse in to his mind and his life that they’ll be more than happy to read from beginning to end.
Vanessa Del Rio: Fifty Years of Slightly Slutty Behavior (2007)
Vanessa Del Rio has slept with a lot of guys. And girls. And she was a prostitute. And you know what? She’s not ashamed of her past. Not a single bit. You have to admire her for that.
And to top it off, she’s not vehemently opposed to sleeping with you if it tickles her fancy either. That’s the general point of “Fifty Years of Slightly Slutty Behavior,” the notion that Vanessa Del Rio has slept with a lot of men and is not ashamed to admit that she’s loved every minute of it. While most porn stars in her age have all but renounced their pasts and forgotten their roots, she’s still the ravishingly down to Earth porn vixen who remembers every fuck and is not afraid to mention in detail most of her escapades.
History of the Eagles (2013)
For the Eagles it was a risky venture breaking out from the shadows of Linda Rondstadt. For a time they were her back up group, and were going to stay that way. That is, until they decided that they had much more to offer the music world than back up vocals for someone as amazing as Rondstadt. In the end, standing up for themselves and breaking apart from Linda Rondstadt proved an incredible but successful risk for the group. Unlike the Pips, they managed to show the world they were much more than back up vocals. For many years they had to show everyone that they were a true rock band, a true group of artists and truly contributors to the mythos of classic rock much like The Who and Led Zeppelin.