Shaun of the Dead

Scrolling through our previous posts, I am shocked and appalled to find that we have not yet featured one of my all time favourite films, the brilliant Shaun of the Dead (2004).

Written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, directed by the latter and starring the former, in addition to Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Bill Nighy, Dylan Moran and Lucy Davis, you know it’s going to be amazing (and I’m pleasantly surprised at how many of these wonderful actors/directors we’ve featured on this site. It seems we may have a thing for brilliant Brits).

Lovable loser Shaun (Pegg) is determined to win back his girlfriend Liz (Ashfield) and sort his life out after he has disappointed her one too many times. However, in the midst of this, zombies are invading Britain, and it’s up to Shaun and his (mostly useless) best friend Ed (Frost) to save Liz, her roommates, and Shaun’s mom, and shack up in their favourite pub, The Winchester, until it all blows over. It’s the world’s first RomZomCom (romantic zombie comedy), and that alone should be enough to peak your interest. Just take a look:

The idea for the film came during production of the comedy series Spaced, and it was the first feature film made by the glorious creative team of Wright and Pegg. The second installment in their “blood and ice cream”-trilogy was the equally marvellous Hot Fuzz (2007), and the third and (possibly) final one is currently in the early stages of production. Probably. Hard to confirm actually. But it will eventually be released! And I can’t wait, as I love and adore their work.

Just in case you’re still not convinced (what’s wrong with you???), here’s a bonus trailer:

Enjoy your hopefully zombie-filled weekend!

Love, Mari

Cillian Murphy

Have I got a treat for you today, dear readers! It’s been awhile since we have had some hotties, but this one has been worth waiting for, in fact, I suspect that this man could be the new Johnny Depp (and I don’t say that lightly):

Yes, Cillian Murphy! This Irish treat was born in Cork, in 1976. He began his performing career as a rock musician, but luckily moved on to the stage in 1996, when he debuted in the play Disco Pigs.

Cillian is a versatile actor and has played everything from a supervillain, to a glam transgender orphan, to an astronaut, and starred in films such as Breakfast on Pluto, 28 Days Later, Batman Begins, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Sunshine and Inception.

He has received several award-nominations, but has yet to win any of the big ones. Clearly the juries lack good taste.

But enough talking, have some more pictures:

And just for fun:

Love, Elin

The Twiggy Dress

To be honest with you, our dear readers, I have to admit that I have yet to understand the difference between a Twiggy Dress and a Scooter Dress. All I know is that they are both fabulous, and look kind of alike. So, even though I’ve titled this Wednesday Vintage post “The Twiggy Dress,” some of the pictures may be of a Scooter dress. I beg that you forgive my ignorance, and should you, o Wise Reader, happen to know what separates these two equally magnificent kinds of dresses, then please, do not hesistate to share your knowledge with us.

The name Twiggy dress comes from the clothes line the English supermodel Twiggy Hornby (1949 – ) launched in 1966. The dresses are short and often with some sort of awesome pattern.

 

 

Whatever the proper name for these dresses – Twiggy, scooter, or simply mini – at least we can all agree that they are awesomely cool and fabulous.

Love, Hanna

Pablo Ramirez

It’s not easy to find a lot of personal information about Argentinian designer Pablo Ramirez. Whose fault is that? So glad you asked: As always, sports is the root of all evil. Apparently there’s some football or soccer or some equally lame sport player with the same name – so if you google this awesome designer, most of the result you’ll get will be about sweaty t-shirts and scores. Who cares? (Yeah, we’re not so much sports fans here at Vili Flik (we have brains)). Anyway, I now declare rant over, so that we can focus on the one and only Designer Day worthy Pablo Ramirez.

Ramirez studied fashion in Buenos Aires, and after working some time in Paris, returned to Argentina where he made his debut collection “Casta”.

Before starting his career as a fashion designer, Ramirez worked as a costume designer for operas, theaters and ballets, and his style does seem influenced by this. It’s dramatic and elegant and excessively magnificent. (No, I’m not trying to be objective here)

And sometimes just a tiny tad influenced by Little Red Riding Hood.

You know you love it – at least I know I do.

Love, Hanna

Shaun Tan

Shaun Tan is an Australian artist and maker of some of the most beautiful picture books I’ve seen. His style is dream-like and surreal, with lots of little, weird creatures.

Shaun graduated from the University of WA with a joint honors in Fine Arts and English Literature, and currently works as a freelance artist in Melbourne. My type of guy, indeed. His books deal with social, political and historical subjects, and many of them have been widely translated.

Shaun has also worked as a theatre designer, and he worked as a concept artist for the films Horton Hears a Who and WALL-E. In 2010 he won an Oscar for the short film The Lost Thing (which, incidentally, is narrated by Tim Minchin). And just last week he received the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for his contribution to international children’s literature. Yes, this man is happening, people!

I highly recommend that you check out his work, it is truly unique and magical.

Love, Elin

Vili Flik Design

Dress: Decadence Design by Mari Baustad

The Plague of Doves

The gun jammed on the last shot and the baby stood holding the crib rail, eyes wild, bawling.

Not too long ago, Louise Erdrich’s brilliant novel Love Medicine featured as Flik of the Week. However, given the magnificence of the author, I’d say it’s high time to present to you yet another of her novels. I give you The Plague of Doves (2008).

The novel opens with a horrible crime near the tiny, wannabe ghost town Pluto, North Dakota in 1911. In typical Erdrich style, the narrative is not linear, and she employs four (if I remember correctly) different narrators, but it’s all tied together with two elements, blood and music. To quote Novels Now: “Ultimately this is a saga of a small town (Pluto and the reservation combined) and the relationships of the people, where everyone knows everyone and are likely to be related to them somewhere down the line, and the secrets that are kept for generations until in the end all is revealed.”

Erdrich writes beautifully, and as the book ended all I wanted to do was start it again.

So here’s my recipe for a wonderful Saturday: Put on some fabulous clothes, go out, get a coffee to go, and head straight for your favorite book shop. Buy at least one Louise Erdrich novel, grab some candy (and possibly some more coffee) on your way home, find a comfy chair and read, people, READ!

Love, Hanna

La Vie en Rose

I apologize for the lateness of the hour, but time does fly when one is watching bad Asian horror films. But here is a good film suggestion for you:

I am sure you all have heard of the amazing French singer, Edith Piaf, and I am also pretty sure that most of you have seen the film about her from 2007: La Vie en Rose. But I’m going to write about it anyway.

La Vie en Rose depicts Edith’s upbringing, partly in a brothel, partly with her father at a circus. At the age of 20, her talent is discovered by a night club owner, while working as a street singer. She is given a voice coach and quickly rises to fame as “the Little Sparrow”.

 The cast includes the wonderful Marion Cotillard (as Piaf), and Gérard Depardieu. I highly recommend this film if you have not already seen it. It is heartwarming, heartbreaking and everything in between. And if you’ve seen it, why not see it again?

Love, Elin

Splash of Greatness

Pin-ups

Today’s vintage is all about the pin-ups. The name stems from the fact that these pictures were originally cut from magazines, post cards and newspapers, and where as such meant for “informal display”; that is, to be pinned up on the wall. The term was first attested to English in 1941, put the practice dates back to at least the 1890s.

Pin-ups are photographs or drawings of sexy models and celebrities, showing swimwear or underwear. They often incorporate humor, and most of the pictures seem to be telling a story (albeit not necessarily a very deep one). There is a sense of playful innocence to the pictures, at least in this day and age where nothing is secret anymore, which is why I like them. Also, there’s some good clothing to be seen.

Here are a few more pin-ups for you to enjoy:

Love, Elin