The Master

Audiences at Cannes were yesterday shown an excerpt from new movie The Master. Unfortunately the internet provides us with a meagre 1.40 minute clip starring just one of the film's cast- Joaquin Pheonix. In such a short time this teaser creates a disturbing atmosphere with daunting music accented with screaming seagulls, uncomfortably close shots and snippets of an interrogation scene. The film is written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson who has garnered acclaim for movies such as Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood and Magnolia. The story is set in the 1950's and is unofficially based on the tale of Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard is played by the talented Philip Seymour Hoffman, with Amy Adams taking the role of his wife.  Judging by the amazing cast and the potency of the short trailer, this is one to look forward to, with release scheduled sometime in the autumn.

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic tale of the roaring twenties and time of prohibition in Long Island and New York City, is coming to the big screen once more. Baz Luhrmann directs, and also adapted the screenplay alongside Craig Pearce- a collaborative pairing made famous by Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet. Leonardo DiCaprio takes the lead of Jay Gatsby, whose on-screen lover, Daisy Buchanan, is played by Carey Mulligan. The supporting cast includes Tobey Maguire, Isla Fisher and Joel Edgerton. 

Its hardly surprising that this story of extravagant parties and tragic romance appealed to Luhrmann, a man who delights in luscious set design, lavish costumes and stories of star-crossed lovers. The movie has been created by the director's award-winning dream team and previous collaborators- with music by Craig Armstrong and set and costume design by Catherine Martin. Release is scheduled for December 26th, with screenings in 2D and 3D. 

Noah Emrich

Noah Emrich is part of the Gaws/ EvanTetreault/etc group of photographers whose blogs are favourites of mine. Noah lives in Brooklyn and has shot for GQ, Gant, The New York Times, among others. As well as his personal blog that I like to follow, he is also a contributor to style blog Bonnie & Clyde. Check out the photos below for an example of his work. The first three shots have a great tranquil stillness to them that seems to be quite a continuous trend throughout his photography. The final shot just has a eclectic mix of prints and texture- a dash of faded Hawaiian Tropicana, a few stripes, and a dose of camouflage that I'm kinda obsessed with lately- a trend that will make its way from the street to stores pretty soon I think. Once again make sure to check out the blog here. 

Hyde Park on Hudson

While Bill Murray celebrates the release of the latest Wes Anderson movie, Moonrise Kingdom, in Cannes, the trailer for the much-loved actor's next movie has been released. Hyde Park on Hudson is directed by Roger Michell of Notting Hill fame, and tells the story of the rumoured love affair between Franklin D. Roosevelt and his distant cousin, played by Laura Linney. More specifically it focuses on a weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of England came to visit. A small bit of trivia- Sam West who plays King George in the movie had a small cameo in the same director's Notting Hill as 'Anna's co-star', so this is certainly a step-up in casting for him. Olivia Willams, who plays the Queen, had roles in Rushmore and The Sixth Sense in the nineties but major roles have been sparse since then. In fact the lack of well-known actors is something of a surprise with a lead like Murray. Judging from the trailer, the movie rides on Murray's effortless wit and humor- his talent at making an audience not take him too seriously makes scenes such as Roosevelt serving hot dogs to English royalty more believable. Luckily, Murray's likeability is so strong that even if the movie does rely on it, it should still be extremely enjoyable. Judge for yourself with the trailer below, and all shall be revealed on its release on December 7th.

Zaha Hadid

This month David Gill reopened his gallery in London with an exhibition of designs from Zaha Hadid entitled 'Liquid Glacial'. The show, which runs until May 30th, features four pieces exploring the movement of ice and water through the medium of a newly-developed acrylic resin. The material is smooth to the touch despite the impression of flowing water and frozen ripples. The innovative material and techniques garner a starting price of £100,000 for a coffee table- pretty spectacular eh?

Hadid's first venture into furniture design, 'Dune Formations', which was commissioned by Gill for the Venice Biennale in 2007, is also on display in the gallery this month. It consists of a series of wall-shelving, tables and benches in a tarnished acrylic resin moulded into stretched, fluid yet solid shapes that Hadid describes as 'domestic objects redefined by abstraction'. Hadid's modern style of static movement has been developed throughout her career as an architect- during which she became the first woman to win the esteemed Pritzker Prize for Architecture in 2004. In the past she has used a quote from suprematist Kasimir Malevich to explain her way of designing: "We can only perceive space when we break free from the earth, when the point of support ends", going on to describe her works as "a new fluid kind of spatiality". See below for some examples of her work and if you're in London be sure to catch her exhibition before it ends on May 30th. 

'Liquid Glacial', Acrylic Resin, 2012

'Dune Formations', 2007, Venice Biennale

E.ON Energy Research Centre, Aachen, Germany
 Currently a work in progress having started in 2006. Designed to harness regenerative energy techniques in order to produce more energy than it consumes.

Abu Dhabi Performing Arts Centre
Work began in 2007 with completion date TBC. Described as 'a growing organism', housing 5 theatres, a concert hall and an opera house, among other facilities- all spread over 14 floors.

Evan Tetreault

Evan Tetreault is a young photographer from Boston, Massachusetts. His blog features a lotta his beautiful friends, quite a bitta that American streetwear/ workwear style with more than a bitta Supreme, some shots of beer-fuelled parties, photos of A$AP... I suppose it sounds like a lot of Tumblr's but it's nice seeing the original source as opposed to one of many reblogs. Mixed through the blog is plenty of photography speak and tips, with a lot of questions focused on his favoured use of natural light and film as opposed to studio and digital. Below are some tasters of what his blog has to offer, and you can check out the rest here.

Which mens style blog you should be reading....

With so many mens style blogs to choose from, Complex just made it a hell of a lot easier to find the one most suited to you. I remember when infographics were restricted to Smash Hits magazine and the like- when you were trying to narrow down which boyband member was the one for you. Back then I kept re-answering the questions til I got the one I wanted (AJ from the Backstreet Boys). Favourite menswear blogs of mine include Gaws, Selectism and Jake Davis. Check out the image below and find the one for you.

New Banksy

Some new street art has cropped up in London and it looks like it might be a Banksy. It depicts a young boy kneeling at a sewing machine, with Union Jack flags running from the machine up along the street (however the bunting has now been removed).  The anti-establishment subject matter and the stencil-effect of the artwork are both pointers that this is a Banksy, but this is yet to be confirmed. The art is on the side of a Poundland store on Whymark Avenue- which has led to critics already interpreting the artwork as a comment on Poundland's past use of child labour, as well as perhaps being a comment on the monarchy's overlook of child labour and other moral issues. I'd also offer is that this may be hinting at how the Diamond Jubilee has turned into quite a money spinner, comparable to how Hallmark moulded Valentine's Day. Check out the images below and judge for yourself.

La daurade rose

Some shots of a pink bream. Nikon D40, first two shots are with a Nikon 55mm M2 macro lense, last with a Nikon DX 18-55mm. If only he had tasted as good as he looked.

Gangster Squad

Just as Ryan Gosling fans were starting to suffer from withdrawal symptoms, here comes the trailer for his new movie 'Gangster Squad', also starring Sean Penn, Emma Stone, Josh Brolin, Nick Nolte and Giovanni Ribisi. Directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), the story is adapted from articles entitled 'Tales From the Gangster Squad', written by Paul Lieberman for the LA Times in the 1940's. They documented the LAPD's efforts to fight the head of the Jewish Mafia: Meyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen (played by Penn).
The trailer teases us with some Jay-Z sounds, stylish costume design- sure to inspire some fedoras and pinstripes, a bit of irresistible violence and of course the stellar cast. And with lines like "No Ma-am, I was just hoping to take you to bed", it seems Gosling is being used to his maximum blush-inducing effect. The only negative point is that we've got to wait until November to see this movie in all its glory. Catch the trailer below.

Behind the Scenes

The most glamorous party of the year took place last night in the form of the MET Gala, this time celebrating the opening of the exhibition 'Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations'. While many discuss the hits and misses of the red carpet (and there were some real misses this year), the best shots have come from behind the scenes thanks to photographer Kevin Tachman. I particularly liked seeing how the chairs for the evening were covered in Prada printed fabric; how every decadent. Below are some of my favourites, but you can find the rest here.

5boro

5boro is a New York skate crew and brand, and while I'm not a big fan of their goods, the promotional videos are pretty stylish. The below video was done in collaboration with cult streetwear brand Carharrt and follows both crews skating from 5boro's native New York to Carharrt's Detroit. You can check out more of their videos here.

The Scream

"I was walking down the road with two friends when the sun set. Suddenly, the sky turned as red as blood. I stopped and leaned against the fence, feeling unspeakably tired. Tongues of fire and blood stretched over the bluish black fjord. My friends went on walking, while I lagged behind shivering with fear. Then I heard the enormous, infinite scream of nature."

A new record was set today for the world's most expensive painting, with Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' fetching $119,922,500 at auction at Sotheby's new York. Unsurprisingly the bidder was anonymous, with the piece previously estimated at $80million, having been under tight security at viewings in the run up to the auction. The piece is pastel on board in its original frame, and is one of five versions of the same scene- 2 paintings, 2 pastels, 1 lithograph. 

How Munch managed to capture the essence of despair and inner torture with vibrant colours is wondrous. The high price for this piece is a reminder that no matter how high the shock factor that pickled sharks can produce nor whatever reaction diamond skulls are meant to attain, nothing astounds the viewer more than producing a human emotion in 2D form. In a way its a form of empathy- being shown that there are others who feel what you feel. And perhaps just like art can be therapy for the artist, it can be a therapy for the viewer- transforming the viewer's emotion into feelings of awe and wonder at how something so tragic can be so beautiful. 

Some of you may have had the pleasure of visiting Munch's print exhibition at Dublin's National Gallery in 2009. The next chance to experience Munch for yourself will be at the Tate Modern  in London from June 28th to October 2012 with an exhibition entitled 'Edvard Munch: The Modern Eye', and after this auction the show is sure to be a hit. 

Test Shots

Academy Award nominated filmmaker Jake Davis has worked with iconic labels like Nike and Supreme, as well as esteemed artists such as Drake, Trey Songz and My Chemical Romance. His most recent projects are entitled 'Test Shots', film portraits of stylish New Yorker's, all shot under 2 minutes. Taking portraiture from canvas and polaroid to film was famously seen in Andy Warhol's 'Screen Tests' from 1964 to 1966. The Warhol screen test of Lou Reed and investigating what makes an icon was what inspired Davis to shoot A$AP Rocky last month. I'm not sure A$AP will garner the same iconic status as Lou Reed in the future but only time will tell. Check out both of the videos below.