More details about the film and a review from the NY Times.
More details about the film and a review from the NY Times.
It has been bitterly cold here in Florence but the next few days look to be above freezing - the Arno is iced over in spots - hopefully I will get a couple of pictures of that today.
If you are looking for a last minute place to have dinner with your Valentine, the St. Regis has an offer:
Favorite Florence Piazza: Piazza Signoria
Anyway here is an cool photo from a blogger in Rome - please visit her site for more images (this was the snow last Friday night I think):
I have written about this before (check the link or click on the image). I will add as runner ups Pontormo's Deposition (also mentioned here) and Perugino's Crucifixon. If you have the time, leave the beaten path for a moment to check out these masterpieces - you will be glad you did.
For favorite enoteca overall I am going to go with Enoteca Bonatti, a family run shop just outside the center past Piazza Beccaria. They have a great selection in a broad price range, imported wines, Champagne, and offer free tastings in the warmer months, and home delivery. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable and there are hundreds of wines to choose from.
A close runner up is Enoteca Millesimi - I would go there more often but the majority of wines there are a bit out of my budget. Millesimi also has a superb selection of French wine and Champagnes, probably the best in Florence if not all of Tuscany. In either case you can't go wrong though if you are looking for great wine.
Favorite Florence Train Station: Firenze Santa Maria Novella or "SMN". See this link for some of the reasons why.
Also choose to highlight this as a favorite today to mention the new(er) luggage storage area (see photos below). It is located about 100 meters down track 16. If you are facing the tracks, it is the last line on the right. The new sign is sort of small and hidden by an older one at the moment so it is a bit hard to see. The old luggage storage was in the same area but the office was much closer to the terminal part of the building. Not sure why they changed this, but they did.
Today's favorite topic - gelato. And the place: Gelateria de Neri
Vivoli is the old stand by in this category (and it is great - including breakfast at the bar in the AM, something tourists don't seem to know about), and Grom is the hottest newcomer (the lines can be incredibly long) - but for me Gelateria de Neri (can't a website for them!!) is simply the best. Family made on premises, a huge variety of incredible seasonal (and authentic) flavors, semifreddi, crepes and more. This is the place I send everyone to for gelato in Florence - don't leave without trying some.
Gelateria de Neri
20/22/Rosso, Via Dei Neri
50122 Firenze
tel: +39 055 210034
Today's entry: Favorite Florence Bridge
The easy choice of course is the Ponte Vecchio, but I am not into easy. My choice of favorite bridge is one you look at from the Ponte Vecchio - the Ponte Santa Trinita.
Although this bridge was destroyed and rebuilt after WWII, the sculptures (for the most part) are original, and the reconstruction was carried out meticulously.
There is a webcam you can check out here - this photo was from a few minutes ago:
School closing will probably posted on the commune website or on their Twitter page.
SHAME
(UK 2011- 99')
By Steve McQueen
With Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale
SHOWS
Wed/Mer 25: 4.00- 6.00- 8.30- 10.30 pm
ORIGINAL VERSION WITH ITALIAN SUBTITLES
Love is a Drug somebody once sang, but maybe lust is more so. The brilliant young British director Steve McQueen’s uncompromising portrait of a sex addict is a worthy follow-up to his first movie Hunger. ‘In a movie era remarkable for its reluctance to dramatize erotic intimacy, Shame merits praise for the dark energy of its sexual encounters’ (Time)
Brandon, un trentenne che vive a New York, si è deciso a curare la sua divorante dipendenza sessuale. L’arrivo inaspettato della sorella più giovane e irrequieta, che si stabilisce nel suo appartamento, gli fa però perdere il controllo del proprio mondo, rischiando di mandare all’aria i suoi buoni propositi iniziali. Coppa Volpi per la migliore interpretazione maschile a Michael Fassbender al 68° Festival di Venezia.
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THE IDES OF MARCH (LE IDI DI MARZO)
(USA 2011- 101')
By Gerorge Clooney
With Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei
SHOW
Tue/Mart17: 4.00- 6.00- 8.30- 10.30 pm
ORIGINAL VERSION WITH ITALIAN SUBTITLES
Another George Clooney political drama centring on a scandal that threatens to disrupt the Ohio Presidential Primary. ‘A big, bruisingly funny moral fable etched in acid and Obama disillusion’ (Rolling Stone). ‘A cynical, polished and deeply disturbing look at the kind of camera-ready liberal dreamboy who gets elected in 60-second sound bites, it is one of the most important films of the year’ (New York Observer)
In Ohio, in un prossimo futuro, durante le primarie dei democratici per la presidenza degli Stati Uniti, un giovane e idealista guru della comunicazione lavora per un candidato, il governatore Mike Morris, e si trova, suo malgrado, pericolosamente coinvolto negli inganni e nella corruzione che lo circondano. Ben 4 nomination ai prossimi Golden Globee profumo di Oscar per George Clooney ed il suo co-protagonista Ryan Goslin.
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HUNGER
(UK/Ireland 2008 - 93')
By Steve McQueen
With Helena Bereen Larry Cowan, Liam Cunningham, Michael Fassbender, Stuart Graham
SHOW
Fri/Ven 20: 10.30 pm
Sat/Sab 21: 10.30 pm
ORIGINAL VERSION WITH ITALIAN SUBTITLES
The film stars Michael Fassbender as Bobby Sands, the Irish Republican activist who led the 1981 Irish hunger strike and participated in the no wash protest in which Republican prisoners tried to win political status. It dramatises events in the Maze prison in the months prior to Sands' death.
Il film racconta le ultime sei settimane di vita di Bobby Sands, l'attivista nordirlandese che morì nel 1981, in seguito ad uno sciopero della fame. Premio “Camera d'oro” al Festival di Cannes 2008.
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PAGE ONE: A Year Inside the New York Times - MONDOVISIONI
(USA 2011-91')
By Andrew Rossi
SHOW
Mon/Lun 23: 8.30 pm
ORIGINAL VERSION WITH ITALIAN SUBTITLES
Fly-on-the-wall documentary chronicling a year in the life of the newspaper as print journalism is threatened by new media and changes in news production and delivery. ‘This efficiently assembled primer hardly counts as a revelatory dispatch from the old-vs.-new-media frontlines, but its ideas will engross anyone for whom the viability of traditional newsgathering remains a matter of pressing significance’ (Variety). Il 2010 è stato l'anno nero dei giornali. Come ha affrontato la crisi uno dei maggiori quotidiani statunitensi? Per dodici mesi una telecamera ha ripreso il lavoro della redazione del New York Times. E ha descritto cosa cambia nel sistema dell’informazione nel momento in cui molti giornali chiudono incalzati dalla diffusione di internet e dal calo delle inserzioni pubblicitarie.
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TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY (LA TALPA)
(UK, France, Germany 2011- 127')
By Tomas Alfredson
With Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Benedict
SHOWS
Tue/Mart24: 4.00- 6.40- 9.30 pm
Thu/Gio 26: 6.00 pm
ORIGINAL VERSION WITH ITALIAN SUBTITLES
John Le Carré’s classic Cold War spy thriller is given another outing with MI6 veteran George Smiley emerging from retirement to track down a Soviet mole. ‘Utterly absorbing, extremely smart and - considering this is a sad, shabby, drably grey-green world of obsessives, misfits, misdirection, disillusionment, self-delusion and treachery - quite beautifully executed’ (Empire).
Thriller incentrato sulla figura di un agente segreto inglese, George Smiley, prossimo al pensionamento, alle prese con il mondo della Guerra Fredda. Il suo ultimo compito è quello di scovare una talpa sovietica nel Circus, il più alto grado del British Intelligence Service.
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THE IRON LADY
(UK 2011- 105')
By Phyllida Lloyd.
With Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Harry Lloyd, Anthony Head
SHOWS
Fri/Ven 27: 4.00- 6.00.-8.30- 10.30 pm
Sat/Sab 28: 4.00- 6.00- 8.30- 10.30 pm
Sun/Dom 29: 4.00- 6.00 pm
FEBRUARY
Wed/Mer 1: 6.00- 8.30- 10.30 pm
Fri/Ven 3: 4.00- 6.00- 8.30- 10.30 pm
Sat/Sab 4: 4.00- 6.00- 8.30- 10.30 pm
Sun/Dom 5: 4.00- 6.00- 8.30- 10.30 pm
Wed/Mer 8: 4.00- 6.00- 8.30- 10.30 pm
Fri/Ven 10: 4.00- 6.00- 8.30- 10.30 pm
Sat/Sab 11: 4.00- 6.00- 8.30- 10.30 pm
Sun/Dom 12: 4.00- 6.00- 8.30- 10.30 pm
Wed/Mer 15: 4.00- 6.00- 8.30- 10.30 pm
ORIGINAL VERSION WITH ITALIAN SUBTITLES
La vita dell'ex Primo Ministro inglese Margareth Thatcher e il prezzo che dovette pagare per il potere politico. Protagonista assoluta un’immensa Meryl Streep, praticamente certa della diciassettesima nomination agli Oscar della sua leggendaria carriera.
“One’s life must matter, Denis.” Meryl Streep’s Margaret Thatcher will surely go down as one of the great performances, regardless of opinions on the politics of Britain’s first woman Prime Minister or the movie’s approach to her life on and off the world stage. ‘A biopic that values character over context’ (Hollywood Reporter).
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THE HELP
(USA 2012- 137')
By Tate Taylor
With Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Mike Vogel
SHOWS
Mon/Lun 30: 4.00- 6.40- 9.30 pm
Tue/Mart 31: 3.00- 5.40- 10.30 pm
ORIGINAL VERSION WITH ITALIAN SUBTITLESO
Ambientata a Jackson, Mississippi, nei primi anni Sessanta, la storia esplora i temi del razzismo e del perbenismo di facciata delle famiglie del Sud, quando una aspirante scrittrice intervista una cameriera che racconta la verità sulle sue esperienze nelle case dei bianchi. Ben 5 nominations ai Golden Globes 2012.
Mississippi in the 1960s. An aspiring author decides to write a book detailing African-American maids’ points of view on the white families they work for. ‘A stirring black-empowerment tale aimed squarely at white audiences’ (Variety).’ This is a good film, involving and wonderfully acted. I was drawn into the characters and quite moved’ (Roger Ebert).
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BOBBY FISHER AGAINST THE WORLD
(USA, UK, Iceland 2011- 92')
By Liz Garbus
SHOWS
Tue/Mart 31: 8.30 pm
FEBRUARY
Wed/Mer 1: 4.00 pm
ORIGINAL VERSION WITH ITALIAN SUBTITLES
Bobby Fischer against the World is a feature documentary that uses the narrative tension of the 1972 match between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer to explore the nature of genius, madness, and the game of chess itself. This film tells the stranger-than-fiction story of the rise and fall of an Fischer, a true icon.
Nella storia degli scacchi dopo Bobby Fischer, l’unico scacchista statunitense di nascita ad aver mai vinto il titolo di campione del mondo, nulla è stato più come prima. Con la sua genialità e le sue pretese, spesso folli, ha infatti introdotto il concetto di professionismo anche in questa disciplina.
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MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL (MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: PROTOCOLLO FANTASMA)
(USA 2011- 133')
By Brad Bird
With Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Jeremy Renner
SHOW
Thu/Gio 2: 4.00- 6.40- 9.30 pm
Mon/Lun 6: 4.00- 6.40- 9.30 pm
ORIGINAL VERSION WITH ITALIAN SUBTITLES
In MI4 the IMF is shut down when it is implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name. ‘Ghost Protocol brims with scenes that are exciting and amazing at the same time; they're brought off with such casual aplomb that they're funny, too’ (Entertainment Weekly)
Accusati dell'attentato terroristico al Cremlino, l'agente operativo dell'IMF Ethan Hunt e l'intera Agenzia vengono sconfessati e il Presidente avvia il Protocollo Fantasma. Senza più risorse e sostegno, Ethan deve trovare il modo per riscattare il nome della propria agenzia e prevenire un altro attacco.
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THE MUPPETS (I MUPPETS)
(USA 2011-109’)
By James Bobin
With Emily Blunt, Ricky Gervais, Amy Adams, Zach Galifianakis
SHOWS
Thu/Gio 9: 4.00- 6.00 pm
Thu/Gio 16: 4.00- 6.00 pm
ORIGINAL VERSION
On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world’s biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary and Mary from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets’ former stomping grounds. To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets.
Durante una vacanza a Los Angeles, il pupazzo Walter e i suoi amici Gary e Mary scoprono che il perfido petroliere Tex Richman è intenzionato ad abbattere il vecchio studio televisivo del Muppets Show per trivellarne il suolo. I tre perciò aiutano Kermit la rana ad organizzare il The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever, per raccogliere i 10 milioni di dollari necessari per salvare il teatro.
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THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATOO (MILLENNIUM:UOMINI CHE ODIANO LE DONNE)
(USA 2011- 158')
By David Fincher
With Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, Stellan Skarsgård, Robin Wright, Christopher Plummer
SHOW
Mon/Lun 13: 3.00- 6.00-9.00 pm
Tue/Mart 14: 3.00- 6.00 pm
ORIGINAL VERSION WITH ITALIAN SUBTITLES
David Fincher’s remake of the Swedish adaptation of the first of Stieg Larssen’s Millennium series follows the investigation into an old murder by journalist Blomqvist and Goth hacker Lisbeth Salander. ‘It moves like a mad dog, looks like a hi-def dream and is deliciously cast from top to bottom. Go and bask in the lushly photographed luridness’ (Time Out New York).
Quarant'anni fa Harriet Vanger è scomparsa durante una riunione di famiglia sull'isola abitata dal potente clan dei Vanger. Benché il corpo della donna non sia mai stato ritrovato, lo zio Henrik è convinto che sia stata assassinata e che l’autore del delitto sia un membro della sua stessa famiglia. L'incarico di cercare la verità è affidato al reporter Mikael Blomkvist. Al suo fianco, l'abilissima hacker punk, Lisbeth Salander, una ragazza ribelle dal passato oscuro...
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THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE - FELTRINELLI
(USA 2009- 90')
By R.J. Cutler
SHOW
Tue/Mart 14: 9.00 pm
ORIGINAL VERSION WITH ITALIAN SUBTITLES
Award-winning documentary following Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and the magazine’s preparations for the 2007 Fall issue. ‘A splendid study of the forces and passions behind the world's biggest fashion magazine’ (Empire). ‘Subversively entertaining’ (Rolling Stone). ‘Lusciously revealing’ (Entertainment Weekly).
Documentario sul mondo della moda. Le telecamere seguono per diversi mesi Anna Wintour, la celebre direttrice di Vogue US, durante gli incontri di lavoro e le settimane della moda. Il titolo fa riferimento al numero di settembre della rivista; è infatti considerato il più importante in quanto caratterizza le scelte editoriali di tutto l'anno. La pellicola è stata presentata in anteprima al Sundance Film Festival 2009 ottenendo un premio come Miglior Documentario.
The researchers had hoped to conclude their search by evoking a ghostly image of Leonardo's work using ionized radiation to determine precisely which pigments existed on the hidden stone wall. But building a neutron activation device proved beyond the budget of National Geographic, which has already invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the project, and private fundraising fell short. After the meltdown of the Fukushima Daichi reactor in Japan, the notion of using radiation to find a lost painting in the middle of Florence became politically untenable.
Image copyright and courtesy of the LA Times