Afterglow

I read Vladimir Nabokovs' Lolita sometime last year and I was enthralled by it's intoxicating use of lyrical descriptions and long, uninterrupted tangents of thought. I only wanted to watch the film after I had finished reading it to see how Director Stanley Kubrick had envisioned this controversial love affair between Literary scholar Humbert Humbert and his 12 year old step-daughter Dolores "Lolita" Haze. The 1962 version incorporates a screenplay written by Nabokov himself, sustaining the genuine nature of the classic novel without ever compromising it's content for theatrical pleasure.


The movie was highly enjoyable though it did occur to me that it was a quick skim through a intensely rich and, at times, traumatic love affair between Humbert and his divine 'nymphet', omitting crucial scenes that developed both the story and the emotional arc in which Humbert would be pulled through in order to prove his infatuation and loyalty. Converting a novel to film format obviously requires careful deliberation, sometimes requiring dramatic changes to the story. What works in a book may not necessarily work onscreen and vice versa. But in this case, it was a carefully constructed and beautifully executed projection.

Film Count: 94 out of 365

Afterglow

Lingering on Love Street

This is one of the most enjoyable biographical films I've ever seen. Covering the highly influencial 60's rock band The Doors, it is simply eerie how Val Kilmer so closely resembles the group's lead singer Jim Morrison.


I've held this iconic poet in my heart since childhood, their tunes humming from my dad's old radio he kept in the garage while he tinkered away on his cars. They were some of my earliest memories and I continued to indulge in their music as I grew older. I was skeptical of the movies intent, unsure if it would really do the singer any justice and give him the credit he so deserves, despite his controversial open attitude to drug addiction and the rock and roll lifestyle that naturally came with the success of being in one of the most successful bands of that era.


But the film shares with viewers the beauty and majesty of Morrison's mind and the infectious presence he had amongst his band members. Infact, Kilmer looks and sounds so alike to Mr Mojo Risin' that following the films release, the surviving members of The Doors experienced difficulty distinguishing the actor from the singer himself.

Film Count: 93 out of 365

Lingering on Love Street