Courtesy of pexel copyright free photos. Ghana has been ranked as the second safest destination in Africa by global tourism company Altezza Travel, with a crime rate lower than countries like Canada, Greece, and Australia. This recognition is based on the latest analysis from multiple international safety and peace reports, highlighting the country’s relatively low…
Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare, the Minister-designate for Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry, has acknowledged the high cost of doing business in Ghana and pledged that the Mahama administration will take steps to reduce production and business expenses through the implementation of a 24-hour economy. During her vetting by the Appointment Committee, Ofosu-Agyare emphasized that one of…
Steven Soderbergh’s innovative and immersive “Presence” is a ghost story that would have worked just as well without the ghost. Everything we witness in this film is literally seen through the P.O.V. of a spectral presence, but it’s the machinations of a deeply dysfunctional nuclear family that makes it all so intriguing. If the prolific Soderbergh and the greatly talented screenwriter David Koepp (“Jurassic Park,” “Panic Room,” “Mission: Impossible”) had told this tale via conventional methods, I have no doubt it would have had the same level of impact.The entirety of “Presence” takes place within the walls of a gorgeous, warmly appointed, 100-year-old home in an undefined suburb. (It could be next door to the house in the even more gimmicky Tom Hanks/Robin Wright film “Here.”) Soderbergh, who is also cinematographer and editor, places us inside the “character” of some sort of ghostly presence who occupies the house, zipping about in long tracking shots, using a fade-to-black technique to transition from one day to the next. (Hmmm, given the visual style, maybe this is the ghost of Alfred Hitchcock!)In the opening sequence, the ghost moves freely about the unoccupied home, allowing us to take in the rich wood paneling, the open and welcoming kitchen, the staircase leading up to the bedrooms and the view from the living room windows. The house is up for sale, with Julia Fox delivering a vibrant cameo as the real estate agent who seals the deal with the very first clients to see the place.
‘Presence’
It’s the control-freak mother, Rebekah (Lucy Liu), who makes the call, in large part because the house is in a great school district for her competitive swimming star son Tyler (Eddie Maday). We can see from the get-go that Rebekah’s husband Chris (Chris Sullivan) is a living, breathing afterthought in Rebekah’s world, who also and quite clearly favors Tyler over their daughter Chloe (Callina Laing), a sensitive girl who is in mourning and feeling broken and lost after her best friend died of a drug overdose.It quickly becomes evident that this is one effed-up family. Rebekah has some sort of high-finance, high-pressure job and it seems as if she’s been engaging in some potentially illegal activities, which she rationalizes by saying she’ll do anything, ANYTHING, in order for her son to have the best opportunities in life. Chris is stressed out by all the tension in the house, what with Rebekah barely acknowledging his presence, golden boy Tyler displaying an alarming mean streak and Chloe spiraling into an emotional wreck. (A scene in which Tyler recounts what he thinks is a hilarious episode of horrific bullying reinforces our feelings that Rebekah enables Tyler’s terrible behavior, Chloe is rightfully repulsed by her brother, and Chris is a weak-willed milquetoast who allows Rebekah to walk all over him, because he has always felt she’s completely out of his league.)
Chris (Chris Sullivan) is hesitant to challenge his control-freak wife Rebekah (Lucy Liu) in “Presence.”
With screenwriter Koepp (who collaborated with Soderbergh on the similarly claustrophobic and quite terrific Zoë Kravitz vehicle “Kimi” in 2022) deftly sprinkling in little details about the family’s day-to-day existence, e.g., they never cook and every single meal they have is takeout, and it’s the intuitive Chloe who first becomes aware of the ghost in the house, who she believes might be the spirit of her deceased best friend.The ghost begins to toy with her by moving items about her bedroom, closing doors, making things shake as if there’s a minor earthquake, even blowing a cold breath in her direction. Eventually, though, it seems as if the ghost is becoming protective of Chloe, especially when she gets involved with a handsome and brooding jock named Ryan (West Mulholland) who keeps telling Chloe she’s in charge of the relationship even as he manipulates her in increasingly insidious fashion.
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By now you’re quite likely wondering how any of this makes for a frightening movie, what with us seeing everything from the ghost’s point of view. “Presence” does have a few effective jump scares, including one goosebump-inducing moment late in the story, but the more we get to know the ghost — and I know that sounds weird, but we do feel like we come to know him/her/it/they/them — the more we feel a sense of empathy for this being. Like the Beast in “Beauty and the Beast” or the Phantom of the Opera, this ghost seems to be a kind of tragic anti-hero, trapped in this house, suspended in some sort of in between-world, bearing witness to a modern American family that should be grateful for all the gifts life has given them but is falling apart at the seams. That’s the real horror of “Presence.”
The maverick writer/director espouses the need to stick behind your aesthetic and creative ideals at all costs.Over six years in the making, three and a half hours long shot on 70mm with a 15-minute intermission and focused on a Hungarian architect escaping the terror of 20th century fascism for a new life in America – The Brutalist ticks a lot of arthouse epic boxes. It sounds like the sort of film that social media blowhards joke about film bros loving, and yet Brady Corbet’s third feature, co-written with his wife Mona Fastvold, is an elegant, searching, bracingly human experience, anchored by Adrien Brody’s magnificent turn as Lázsló Tóth and Corbet’s singular vision. But, as Corbet explains, mounting a film as truly ambitious as The Brutalist was an architectural feat in itself.
Brady Corbet: “This is the longest film that I’ve ever made, and I’ve had to watch it from start to finish many, many more times than I have any other film. I’m supervising the creation of all of the 35 and 70 millimeter prints, and then because it’s an organic process. No one except maybe my editor, knows the film quite as obsessively as I do, and so things happen: there’s a dropped frame, there’s some other issue. Then you have to start over and make a new reel. It’s a lot of work – and I realized that I couldn’t really get a sense of the rhythm and flow of the entire movie unless I started at the beginning, which was so, so annoying. I am truly sick of it. [laughs] I think that you spend so many years dwelling on these themes, on this process, and I just can’t wait to have a little bit of mental space free up.
Also I just need a rest. My wife and I wrote a musical that she was directing this summer, and I directed all the second unit for it, and Daniel, our composer, he wrote all the songs – it’s about the Shakers, about Anne Lee emigrating from Manchester to the United States in the 18th century – and it was a really grueling job as well. Normally, we don’t have this level of overlap with projects, and because I was still in full-on post-production, I was mixing and grading and doing the network grade and supervising the print at the same time that I was shooting for her and producing her movie with her…it was really a lot, and then I expected this film to be released six to nine months after we premiered, because, it didn’t seem like the type of movie that anybody would be in a real rush to put out, but then all of a sudden it became very clear that the best time really was now.
And I’m very grateful that people are covering The Brutalist, because I genuinely believe that if the film does even just okay, commercially speaking, that it’s a huge win. The movie was not made for very much money, so for it to sort of justify itself, and erase our debt, we don’t have to do crazy numbers. Then maybe people will think, Oppenheimer at three hours long was not a fluke.
At the start of the summer, before anyone had seen it, they heard the movie was three and a half hours long and it was like a bullet to the head. But Oppenheimer, regardless of how people felt about it, it was an extremely good thing for the movie industry. And I think it would be really great to recognise there’s still an audience for movies about adults, for adults – movies that really have something on their mind. I really struggle with how many of the folks that have the power to green light a project operate from a place of fear, because the issue is that, as a result of fewer people going to the cinemas, everyone has become especially risk averse. It becomes a very vicious cycle where people also stop showing up for things because there’s nothing original for them to show up for.
And as a parent with no savings account, I can say that even for us, going to see a film in the theater is a choice. By the time we pay for a taxi, pay for child care, get dinner, concessions, whatever – it’s expensive. So I really feel like it needs to be an event, like it needs to be something that demands to be seen on the big screen. I would just want to do everything I possibly can to help that experience along, because, as a fellow cinephile, I think that it’s quite frightening. And also what we experienced during COVID, the idea that we could lose so many of these institutions, was really upsetting.
I spent so many years genuinely concerned that Kodak would go out of business, because when it comes to celluloid, there are certain fixed costs with manufacturing the stock in particular, that they just can’t do it for less. Kodak is so great about working with filmmakers to try and make it work. And the thing that’s so psychotic is that film on this movie accounted for maybe 1.5% or so of our film’s total gross budget. So I think it’s kind of insane that you have to defend this line item all the time, which is the film. I find it so weird. Why would we prioritize anything before the film itself? It’s a fucking film. It goes to film festivals, you know, it’s the Motion Picture Academy of Film.
So many people in Hollywood have very liberal politics, and yet they have a very conservative response to anything cultural. And for me, these things are not separate. For me, it’s equivalent to canned vegetables being served in schools all over America, where I’m like, of course these kids don’t like their vegetables, because they’ve never had a fresh vegetable. They don’t know what it is. I find it insane that so few people seem to see the direct link between what happens to the culture when you are poisoning them all the time. I thought liberals were supposed to be liberal, and right now, in every way, it feels like liberals are more conservative than they’ve ever been historically.
But to say something that’s a little bit less cynical, I love that the medium of film brings me together with people of all different backgrounds, all different ages. I have real relationships and I’m able to work frequently with people that are in their 70s or 80s, on every aspect of the movie, whether it’s the camera team or we’re making the score with. That is the one aspect of it which I find rather life affirming because it’s easy to dwell on all of the obstructionists that make it very, very difficult to make a movie. But that actually is the exception to the rule. Almost every movie has an antagonist – sometimes there’s multiple antagonists – but I think that overall, out of the 300 people that are contributing their time to these projects, most have their heart in the right place, and are all working towards a common goal, which is something you dreamt up in your bedroom. That is pretty moving and never lost on me and I don’t take it for granted.”
Published 22 Jan 2025
Tags:
Brady Corbet
The Brutalist
The maverick writer/director espouses the need to stick behind your aesthetic and creative ideals at all costs.Over six years in the making, three and a half hours long shot on 70mm with a 15-minute intermission and focused on a Hungarian architect escaping the terror of 20th century fascism for a new life in America – The Brutalist ticks a lot of arthouse epic boxes. It sounds like the sort of film that social media blowhards joke about film bros loving, and yet Brady Corbet’s third feature, co-written with his wife Mona Fastvold, is an elegant, searching, bracingly human experience, anchored by Adrien Brody’s magnificent turn as Lázsló Tóth and Corbet’s singular vision. But, as Corbet explains, mounting a film as truly ambitious as The Brutalist was an architectural feat in itself.
Brady Corbet: “This is the longest film that I’ve ever made, and I’ve had to watch it from start to finish many, many more times than I have any other film. I’m supervising the creation of all of the 35 and 70 millimeter prints, and then because it’s an organic process. No one except maybe my editor, knows the film quite as obsessively as I do, and so things happen: there’s a dropped frame, there’s some other issue. Then you have to start over and make a new reel. It’s a lot of work – and I realized that I couldn’t really get a sense of the rhythm and flow of the entire movie unless I started at the beginning, which was so, so annoying. I am truly sick of it. [laughs] I think that you spend so many years dwelling on these themes, on this process, and I just can’t wait to have a little bit of mental space free up.
Also I just need a rest. My wife and I wrote a musical that she was directing this summer, and I directed all the second unit for it, and Daniel, our composer, he wrote all the songs – it’s about the Shakers, about Anne Lee emigrating from Manchester to the United States in the 18th century – and it was a really grueling job as well. Normally, we don’t have this level of overlap with projects, and because I was still in full-on post-production, I was mixing and grading and doing the network grade and supervising the print at the same time that I was shooting for her and producing her movie with her…it was really a lot, and then I expected this film to be released six to nine months after we premiered, because, it didn’t seem like the type of movie that anybody would be in a real rush to put out, but then all of a sudden it became very clear that the best time really was now.
And I’m very grateful that people are covering The Brutalist, because I genuinely believe that if the film does even just okay, commercially speaking, that it’s a huge win. The movie was not made for very much money, so for it to sort of justify itself, and erase our debt, we don’t have to do crazy numbers. Then maybe people will think, Oppenheimer at three hours long was not a fluke.
At the start of the summer, before anyone had seen it, they heard the movie was three and a half hours long and it was like a bullet to the head. But Oppenheimer, regardless of how people felt about it, it was an extremely good thing for the movie industry. And I think it would be really great to recognise there’s still an audience for movies about adults, for adults – movies that really have something on their mind. I really struggle with how many of the folks that have the power to green light a project operate from a place of fear, because the issue is that, as a result of fewer people going to the cinemas, everyone has become especially risk averse. It becomes a very vicious cycle where people also stop showing up for things because there’s nothing original for them to show up for.
And as a parent with no savings account, I can say that even for us, going to see a film in the theater is a choice. By the time we pay for a taxi, pay for child care, get dinner, concessions, whatever – it’s expensive. So I really feel like it needs to be an event, like it needs to be something that demands to be seen on the big screen. I would just want to do everything I possibly can to help that experience along, because, as a fellow cinephile, I think that it’s quite frightening. And also what we experienced during COVID, the idea that we could lose so many of these institutions, was really upsetting.
I spent so many years genuinely concerned that Kodak would go out of business, because when it comes to celluloid, there are certain fixed costs with manufacturing the stock in particular, that they just can’t do it for less. Kodak is so great about working with filmmakers to try and make it work. And the thing that’s so psychotic is that film on this movie accounted for maybe 1.5% or so of our film’s total gross budget. So I think it’s kind of insane that you have to defend this line item all the time, which is the film. I find it so weird. Why would we prioritize anything before the film itself? It’s a fucking film. It goes to film festivals, you know, it’s the Motion Picture Academy of Film.
So many people in Hollywood have very liberal politics, and yet they have a very conservative response to anything cultural. And for me, these things are not separate. For me, it’s equivalent to canned vegetables being served in schools all over America, where I’m like, of course these kids don’t like their vegetables, because they’ve never had a fresh vegetable. They don’t know what it is. I find it insane that so few people seem to see the direct link between what happens to the culture when you are poisoning them all the time. I thought liberals were supposed to be liberal, and right now, in every way, it feels like liberals are more conservative than they’ve ever been historically.
But to say something that’s a little bit less cynical, I love that the medium of film brings me together with people of all different backgrounds, all different ages. I have real relationships and I’m able to work frequently with people that are in their 70s or 80s, on every aspect of the movie, whether it’s the camera team or we’re making the score with. That is the one aspect of it which I find rather life affirming because it’s easy to dwell on all of the obstructionists that make it very, very difficult to make a movie. But that actually is the exception to the rule. Almost every movie has an antagonist – sometimes there’s multiple antagonists – but I think that overall, out of the 300 people that are contributing their time to these projects, most have their heart in the right place, and are all working towards a common goal, which is something you dreamt up in your bedroom. That is pretty moving and never lost on me and I don’t take it for granted.”
Published 22 Jan 2025
Tags:
Brady Corbet
The Brutalist
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 (Bernama) — Malaysia recorded 4.82 million Muslim tourists with an estimated expenditure exceeding RM15 billion as of November last year, compared to 4.5 million tourists with RM14.7 billion in spending in 2023.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Indonesia, Brunei, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan are among the top five countries contributing to the increase in Muslim tourist arrivals to Malaysia.
“Based on market projections, Islamic tourism, which is expected to grow by around 1.2 per cent annually, places Malaysia in a strong position to capture a significant share of this market by 2028, with close collaboration from all involved parties,” he said at the official launch of ‘IslamiCruise Malaysia-Saudia’ here today.
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 (Bernama) — The following is an interview with Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour after January’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting:-
1. What was the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) decision on the overnight policy rate today?
A new hidden iPhone feature could completely change the way you travel for the better. Going on holiday normally costs a lot, even before you even got there. Once you’ve arrived, working out how much things cost between the destination’s currency and your own can be tiresome. Fortunately, there is a little-known iPhone feature that…
Looking on during the Paxton City Council’s monthly meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 14, at City Hall are, from left, Aldermen Justin Withers, Joe Reinhart, Deane Geiken and Eric Evans. Will Brumleve/Ford County Chronicle
PAXTON — The Paxton City Council unanimously approved a special-use permit to allow for a home-based gunsmithing business at 838 E. Orleans St. during its monthly meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
The permit, requested by Julian Geiken, was recommended for approval earlier in the night by the city’s planning and zoning commission following a public hearing.
While the agenda for both the hearing and council meeting said the business would provide gunsmithing and “related sales and services,” Alderman Kristen Larson said that Geiken clarified during the hearing that sales would not be involved.
“This is not sales. This is simply repair,” Larson said. “Mr. Geiken clarified that he has no intention of sales.”
Abstaining from the council’s 6-0 vote to approve the permit was Alderman Deane Geiken, the petitioner’s father. Absent was Alderman Matt Greenburg.
City Attorney Tony Schuering said the commission recommended approval after hearing from the younger Geiken during the hearing and considering factors applicable under city code. Schuering said the special use permit allows Geiken — but no one else — to run a gunsmithing business at the property, as compared with a variance that “runs with the land” regardless of who owns it.
Mayor Bill Ingold noted that all neighbors whose properties are within 250 feet of the petitioner’s property were notified as required by law, and “nobody in the neighborhood complained or had any problems with it.”
A woman in the audience, who did not state her name, told the council that she had some concerns, though.
“To me, this sounds like it could invite illegal gun owners … because now you can make a gun by looking online and getting the directions and making the parts,” she said. “I could see someone using a place like this to help them make guns, and I just see it as a very negative thing, and it saddens me.”
Another member of the audience — a man who did not state his name — responded by noting that gunsmithing and gun manufacturing are two different things requiring two different licenses.
Schuering said he doubts the petitioner would be engaging in illegal gun manufacturing.
“I don’t imagine that he’s going to risk his livelihood by helping someone manufacture a ‘ghost gun’ or something like that,” Schuering said. “I understand your concerns, but the planning and zoning commission considered all the testimony it received in making this recommendation, and we did ask specific — I think, fairly pointed — questions of Mr. Geiken about what exactly was going to be done here. I understand your concern, and I think the city council does, too, but this was the recommendation that was proposed and is time for (the council) to consider.”
The unnamed male audience member who spoke earlier then asked Julian Geiken what he would do if someone were to come to his home and ask to have him repair a gun with a filed-off serial number.
“Kick them right out and probably report them to the police,” Julian Geiken replied.
Other business
Also during the hour-long Jan. 14 council meeting: n The council voted unanimously to approve a schedule of council meetings for 2025. All are at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 145 S. Market St., on the second Tuesday of each month except in November, when the meeting is on the third Tuesday of the month (Nov. 18) due to the Veterans Day holiday falling on the second Tuesday of the month (Nov. 11). The list of meetings will be published on the city’s website. n The council unanimously approved an ordinance amending Chapter 51 of the city’s Code of Ordinances to allow for additional collection methods for delinquent bills owed to the city. Schuering said the changes include some rewording of existing language in the ordinance and some additional language clarifying the city’s right to file suit against any person who has a delinquent bill. When it comes to water and sewer bills for the tenants of rental properties, for example, the city could choose to file suit against the tenant in addition to filing a lien against the property. “What this is intended to do is clarify that a debt itself is not (necessarily) tied to a specific property,” Schuering said. “It’s tied to a specific user. Because I think we were having some scenarios where we’d have people run up a past-due bill at one property and move and get service (elsewhere), and, for whatever reason, that wasn’t being noted that they had this past-due amount at this prior property. … This expands our authority and clarifies that we have the ability to go after people, not just properties.” n The council unanimously approved the purchase of a replacement bed for a city-owned 2-ton truck for a cost of $33,478. Superintendent of Streets and Alleys Jesse Houtzel said the $33,478 bid came from one of three companies he contacted for a cost estimate, the other two of which did not respond. “There’s no fixing the bed that’s on there now,” Houtzel said of the truck. “This is the only option, or just (have) no bed on the truck. That’s kind of where we’re at.” Alderman Justin Withers, chairman of the council’s public works committee, said the replacement of the truck bed for that price seems like a “good deal” to keep the truck in working order, especially considering the $213,000 cost to buy a newer one. “The truck itself is in good condition,” Withers noted. “It’s just the bed is rotting off of it.” n Superintendent of Water and Sewer Bob Carleton said the city’s “vac” truck was put to use, saving his crew time waiting for the arrival of utility locators, as they worked to repair some “issues” at three locations in town the previous week, including on Meridian Terrace and Lane Drive. Carleton noted that he would like to consider purchasing a replacement vac truck within the next year. Carleton said the existing truck is 27 years old. He said 2013 models can range in cost from about $200,000 to $210,000, while a brand-new one, which the city likely will not buy, costs “over half a million dollars.” Alderman Eric Evans, chairman of the council’s city property committee, said he would like to see the city create a schedule for the regular replacement of all of its vehicles on a rotating basis, allowing the city to capture better trade-in value. Evans said several vehicles will need to be replaced soon. “I think it’s just a good practice to get into,” Evans said. “It’s going to save the city money in the long run.” n Houtzel said streets and alleys department workers were able to clear streets of snow despite being down two dump trucks recently. n Mayor Bill Ingold publicly congratulated Schuering, the city’s attorney, for recently having been made a partner at the Springfield law firm of Brown Hay & Stephens. Schuering received a round of applause. n Deane Geiken said a resident of the 400 block of East State Street recently contacted him to ask that the city do something to address the accumulation of trash on a neighbor’s property. The resident provided photos that were shown to the council. “He said it is completely full of junk, attracting skunks, raccoons and other critters — not to mention, bags of household trash lying in the alley,” Deane Geiken said. Police Chief Coy Cornett said the property owner was already issued a notice to appear in court over the property’s condition. n Blake Johnson, who lives outside city limits but owns properties in multiple city wards, questioned which city officials he should approach with his concerns. “I just want to know that I have representation by these people,” Johnson said, “because I pay taxes.” n The council voted unanimously, with Pacey abstaining, to add one 15-minute parking space by The Pop Loft flower shop in the 300 block of South Market Street. The temporary parking space will be on the east side of Market Street in front of 343 S. Market St., a residential property located directly to the north of The Pop Loft. The council also approved amending the city’s parking ordinance to restrict parking on all of the rest of the east side of the 300 block of South Market Street. Parking there has long been prohibited by signage but never before by ordinance. n The council voted unanimously to authorize the mayor to sign a proposed engineering agreement for up to $460,000 in street improvement projects to be completed this summer. Earlier in the month, the council’s city property committee voted to recommend spending up to $460,000 — including the city’s remaining $312,216 in Rebuild Illinois funds — on road repairs. The list of specific streets to be repaired will be up for approval in February. The $460,000 budget for roadwork should be enough to cover $395,600 in projected construction costs and $64,400 in projected engineering fees. With Rebuild Illinois funds unable to pay for all of the work alone, the remaining $147,784 in cost is expected to be covered by capital-improvement funds already on hand. The council has already earmarked its MFT funds for a single project — the construction of an extension of Elm Street by 340 feet south from Ottawa Road, leading to the first phase of a proposed 328-acre residential and commercial development on the city’s southwest side — which is expected to cost $375,000 and require reserves, as well.
The epic neo-noir sci-fi film Blade Runner 2049 is now available for free streaming, allowing fans to enjoy the 2017 hit from the comfort of their own homes. The movie can be viewed on BBC iPlayer, but will only be available on the platform for another 29 days. Serving as a sequel to the original…