Two Heroes

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

The Coen brothers are a duo who continue to do something quite remarkable; not only do they write and direct together but their work consistently creates atmospheres and stories that stimulate the imagination. They are only the third directing duo ever to be nominated for the Academy Award of best director, and the second to have won it for their film No Country for Old Men. They continue to produce magical pieces of writing and directing and the world of film is a lot better thanks to their work.

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Fred and Ginger

There’s nothing quite as comforting as a Fred and Ginger movie, is there? It’s pure Hollywood magic when you watch Fred Astaire whirling the beautiful Ginger Rodgers around the dance floor; real old-school entertainment that still has the power to make you smile and make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The only thing that can get close to the brilliance of a Fred and Ginger routine is Gene Kelly in “Singing in the Rain”, but seeing as this is a blog all about brilliant duets, Mr Kelly will have to wait a while for his moment in the spotlight!

I have all the DVDs of all ten films that Hollywood’s ultimate golden couple made together, all the way back in the 1930s and early 1940s. I’ve been asked several times to name my favourite, but it’s either impossible or else I do manage to make up my mind and then change it five minutes later. Even pop up display stands advertising one of their films in a store is enough to have me humming the big number.

And that’s another question that I get asked a lot, and find even harder to answer than the one about my favourite Fred and Ginger movie; which is my favourite dance routine. That completely depends on my frame of mind. Sometimes it’s the slow, romantic numbers like “Change Partners” from “Carefree” or the cheeky golf dance routine from the same film which has to be seen to be believed! I guess my ultimate number one is probably the same one that most people would pick; the classic roller skating scene from “Shall We Dance” where they sing and dance to the great Gershwin tune “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off”. Never fails to make me smile and always cheers me up on a dreary, boring Sunday afternoon.

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Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton The Movie

Sometimes in life you need an element of fantasy to save you from your daily grind, the ability to drift away in the world of another just to keep you sane. Some times at work I really need to drift away to this place, I find myself longing too much than normal for the coffee cart to come round or become all too excited by a great hr software package being installed, At times like these I take myself to More

The Epstein Twins

I can’t believe there isn’t a post on here about the Epstein brothers: Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein. If you aren’t familiar with them, they’re twin brothers who were also writing partners. They famously wrote Casablanca (though they didn’t do it alone), as well as a multitude of smaller projects. Here’s an imdb page in case you’re curious.

I had the wonderful opportunity to see Casablanca in the theater only a few years ago. The Brattle Theater in More

Leonardo and Michelangelo

The comparison between Leonardo and Michelangelo is not as easy as a comparison between red diesel Huddersfield and Nottingham. These two artists have created world famous works and have many myths surrounding their legend. That these two artists work together in the Renaissance period makes the European art world in that era sound very exciting.
Of course, there are no records of any work that was done jointly by these two parties together. The closest they came to working together More

The Best Duets in Football

Two heads are better than one. Technically, not all the time but we have had a huge list of two people who excelled in something they did together. This kind of partnership is spread across all endeavors of life spreading from industrial compensation to sports and almost any other field you could think of. Football is the main focus of this article. One of the most popular partnerships in football a few years back was that of Dwight Yorke and More

Bill and Kathy

Or William and Katherine as we’re supposed to call them. Even though the tabloids insist on “Wills and Kate”. Kate just doesn’t have that regal edge to it that a princess and future queen needs, does it? Not that she looks or acts much like a future queen at the moment; and I actually think that’s a good thing!
I did watch some of the wedding last week. Not all of the hours and hours of coverage that the BBC More

Taylor and Burton - the ultimate golden age couple

Last month one of Hollywood’s most iconic leading ladies sadly passed away, Elizabeth Taylor was a true screen legend. Hailing from the ‘Golden Age'of the cinematic industry, Elizabeth Taylor was the epitome of glamour. Taylor’s personal life was as spectacular as her professional life, she was married eight times with lavish ceremonies, jaw dropping dresses and the best wedding cakes money could buy. Across the years Elizabeth Taylor partnered some high profile men, such as hotel heir Conrad Hilton and More

Two minds are crazier than one

Most double acts are pretty conventional entertainers. Occasionally you’ll get a comedy double act that will push some boundaries, but if they went to be successful, TV execs will insist they tone down the crazy before they get that precious prime time show.
Gilbert and George have never toned down the crazy. In fact, they’ve probably got crazier as the years have gone on. They are artists, but not in the sense that Caroline Shotton is an artist or that More

Tattoo removal: an interesting show

One thing I always find fascinating when watching television, films, or even live actors in the theatre is the tattoos sported by actors and actresses, and how they either show them off or conceal them. After all, a tattoo that’s suited to your in your private life probably doesn’t quite suit most of the characters that you play. There’s a reason, after all, that actors and actresses have to have their tattoos covered up when filming, or that these tattoos are wiped away in post production. Some actors and actresses who are heavily tattooed even have to rely on body doubles to save on the film budget! After all, all that makeup and post-production touching up can be time consuming and expensive.
I often wonder why more actors and actresses don’t invest in tattoo removal, given the stories that abound about Hollywood stars and their embarrassing tattoos. Ex lovers, drunken mistakes, and just plain ugly tattoos are visible all throughout the spectrum of celebrity, and it’s surprising that these people, who clearly have the money, don’t go through with the tattoo removal process. While tattoo removal used to be a bit of a risky endeavour, leaving scarring, it’s now much more sophisticated, and many tattoos can be easily removed with very little scarring at all. This is particularly true of newer tattoos, which use a different kind of ink from older tattoos, and for tattoos that are fairly small and are in discreet areas or areas where the skin is less prone to scarring. Tattoo removal is surely a good option for actors and actresses, making them more versatile–after all, it’s easier to paint on a tattoo for a role than it is to have one removed! If you’re an up and coming actor who’s worried about getting jobs due to your tattoos, maybe tattoo removal is the way to go, you can remove your colour graphics.