Slouching Towards Membership...

February's Movie of the Month

2012-01-31T17:08:00.000-05:00

Yes! Jason choose me to pick the movie this month. So, my choice is Ink, an unique independent movie that I love but that very few people have seen. Can't wait for the discussion. I suspect there will be opinions on both sides of this one.

my week in film

2012-01-27T15:37:00.002-05:00

I think our first month of compulsory viewing for one film went well. Interesting pick and great post about it, Jason. I'm looking forward to next month.

This post is just to catch up on the films I watched last week but haven't already discussed.

Lucky Life (dir. Lee Issac Chung, 2010)

Thanks to John's Facebook post, I spent my morning watching the beautiful poem-turned-film, Lucky Life. The annoying Hulu commercials aside, watching this film is a wonderful and contemplative experience. It's lyrical yet relatable, a haunting combination of memory and everyday life.

Some of the most interesting moments in Lucky Life come as brief and muted scenes. Chung portrays the emotional and existential turmoil of the characters in a "feeling" rather than with exposition. Oftentimes, we are both observer and participant forced to look in upon empty spaces and attach our own meaning.

I highly recommend this film for everyone in Film Club.

The Hustler (dir. Robert Rossen, 1961)

This is a film that is perfect in almost every way. The acting is great, the film is beautiful and the story is perfectly paced.

I am finding a new love in the American films of the late 50's and early 60's. They may be melodramatic, but they turn on such wonderful stories.

The Door In the Floor (dir. Tod Williams, 2004)

Adapted from the first half of John Irving's novel, A Widow for One Year, this film is one of my favorites from 2004. It is a film filled with sadness and struggle for redemption, but it is also equal parts hilarious and absurd.

Jeff Bridges gives one of the best, most nuanced performances I've ever seen. His character is so fully formed and alive in him that it takes several viewings to really appreciate.

Tabloid (dir. Errol Morris, 2011)

Here is a case of the "truth is stranger than fiction" cliche. Morris gives the story over to the characters and leaves us to decide who to believe and to what degree. This is a fun documentary that I'll be happy to discuss more if Jason or Adrienne decide to write about it.

Brother I'm In Pain

2012-01-25T12:16:00.002-05:00

Hello again dear blog readers, Jerzy here.

I just finished Brother Born Again. It was a never ending thrill ride of emotions, well...no. But it was vaguely interesting because it held me in suspense, what would be the conclusion to this slowly unraveling film? Would Marc Andrew come back to New York and stay? Would he accept Yahweh as his one true savior? Would Julia (or as I called her, triple-freckle) throw away her Lesbian Love manual and go milk cows and be Jesus' hand-maiden?

Alas, it was not to be.

I thought the incessant agonizing over Marc Andrew's new lifestyle to be ridiculous. As a bisexual lesbian she should know better, as a Jew she should know better, as a feminist she should know better. I was glad Marc Andrew held strong to his beliefs and rebuffed her passive aggressive attempts to wiggle in doubts into his life. It was particularly ridiculous when she spoke with her uncle about Marc's need to be in a black and white world where as they existed in an ambivalent state. Ambivalence would mean they just let it lie as it was and did not try to bring him back into the fold (via bagels or otherwise).

I found some of the Farm moments cringe-worthy. Denouncing intelligence as an obstacle to faith was particularly heinous, that it happened more than once was terrible. Otherwise, I enjoyed the pastoral moments and B-roll quite a lot. I do hope Marc leaves the Farm but I do hope he is happy and I think moving away from the intense stability of his surroundings may bring back the melancholy of his youth.

Lastly, as a belligerent fellow, I can't help but point out that Marc Andrew believes his father went to hell. Perhaps this is something he hasn't overtly thought of but I would be extremely offended and confront this reality. If you are going to try and shake someone's faith, I think that part, above all else, would be the main point of attack.

Think Jesus Camp meets a Woody Allen movie and someone surgically cuts all the humor out of it.

Carrot Head vs. Brother Born Again

2012-01-24T20:22:00.001-05:00

Sure, Brother Born Again was not the best documentary, but I find some of the reactions from John, Jeffrey and Chris puzzling. Do you really think she was exploiting her familial situation in order to promote her career? I just don't see it, especially since she has not directed or produced anything since this film in 2001.

Here's what I think: Julia approached her problem from an angle in which she felt comfortable. As a graduate of Yale's Film Studies program and having spent time at the French National Film School, a documentary probably seemed the best way to give herself the "objectivity" she needed to approach Marc. I think there was a lot of hurt and anger under the surface (which isn't shown well enough in the film) that the notion of a documentary helped them overcome.

Do you not like when authors write personal stories? How is this different than someone writing about an emotional and personal situation?

There are many problems with Brother Born Again, chief among them is that it's just not that interesting or illuminating. But I don't see it as self-aggrandizing or disingenuous and it seems a far cry from the shallow glitz and glamor feel of reality TV - the spectacle of the real as Zizek might say.

Have any of you seen Prodigal Sons? Brandon and I both loved it. I'd be curious to know if you guys feel the same way about it as you do Brother Born Again.

Brother Born Again

2012-01-24T12:00:00.000-05:00

Jason made an interesting pick for this month's movie with Brother Born Again. I'll skip the outline since everyone here has (presumably) seen it by now.

What this film does well is show the breakdown in communication between Julia, a bisexual feminist living in NYC, and her brother, Marc, a born-again Christian living in Alaska. Over and over throughout the film we are given scenes of their exasperation at the failure to communicate with each other. This may be the strongest and most relatable aspect of the film. I am sure that many of us can relate to this sort of disconnect. We may not have experienced something as extreme as the divide between Julia and Marc, but it is not hard to imagine either.

I think that Julia did her best to show the most objective view of the story as she possibly could given her position and her views; she made an attempt to understand (doomed from the start, of course) her brother and his beliefs. In the end, it's nice to see some sort of reconnection. I think they were both surprised at the willingness in the other to repair their relationship.

I did not have a very strong positive or negative reaction to this film, which makes writing about it difficult.

Also, I love how "90's" this film is.

Anyway, maybe reading some other posts will spark me into more of a discussion.

Nice Work

2012-01-21T11:19:00.000-05:00

I just want to officially acknowledge Jeffrey's accomplishment with his 1930's project. Clearly, a lot of time went into that list, especially when one considers the fact that Jeffrey does not passively absorb his films; rather, he critiques, discusses and interacts with them on a level that makes it enjoyable for all of us following along. I plan to use that list as a template for my 30's film watching.

I am also looking forward to reading along with Brandon on his new project. The 60's are an interesting decade and I can't wait to hear his impressions as he moves through it.

Back when I first joined Film Club, I lamented the fact that my knowledge of film is mostly limited to my lifetime (with a few exceptions) and expressed interest in a self-directed course on film history. That is why these projects are really interesting and inspiring. In fact, I'm considering giving myself a personal "Film Club project" as well. My viewing has a lot of gaps; so, I think I would benefit more from something broader than what Jeffery and Brandon are doing. I'm not sure what that would be yet - perhaps watching all the films discussed in The Story of Film or something similar. Or, maybe I'll try to finish up seeing everyone's favorite Criterion Films.

In a little over a year Film Club has moved me from being a person who enjoys watching and talking about movies to a "cinephile." And I'm really happy about that. As Brandon said,

Getting to know film from a historical perspective is really important to me. I like the idea of connecting a work of art with a human and seeing what it is about that work that illuminates those little fissures in our souls that we can’t put into words. I want to see this form of expression shared to those who are willing to look for it.

They Live We Sleep (OBEY)

2012-01-18T01:39:00.002-05:00

Good evening, Jerzy here again.

As per the usual, my co-worker Patrick has done it again with a stellar movie recommendation which I happily pass along to you all.

"They Live" is a must watch even if the action scenes are schlocky and seem more '78 than the true release date (America '88 h/t Ben). The important point to take from this film is, should we conform to power to live or stand up and die?

Keith David (of "Men at Work" fame) and Roddy Piper (of..umm..World Mullet Champion '88 fame) team up in this action flick to resist the insidious alien menace which has infiltrated our world completely. Things seem bleak despite how easily they dispatch waves and waves of aliens while wearing their "Hoffman lenses" which allow them to differentiate alien from human. Eventually our heroes find a way into the alien stronghold, Channel 54, where the central "signal" is beamed from.

This is where the story crescendos, would you rather live with your lover in opulence under the thumb of free marketeering aliens or would you rather die? Only Roddy knows what was going on under that glorious mane when he made his choice. The ending is great as we see some hot alien/hooman action.

I found this movie exceptionally awesome due to the "OBEY" shirts and hats I see all over the place. Apparently it is a direct inspiration from the film (courtesy of Shepard Fairey, of that picture of Obama fame). Nothing like an 80s film with a cult fanbase to really get me to appreciate something.

Think "V" meets "Terminator".

Fin.

dating

2012-01-16T12:10:00.001-05:00

I missed the Golden Globes last night because I was finishing up The Story of Film. It was worth it. As far as I can tell, the most exciting thing about the Globes was that Ben Kingsley's wife sat on his lap and that the mention of the word "erection" from Seth Rogan makes it difficult for Kate Beckinsale to complete her lines.

Far more interesting is the discussion between Jason and John regarding the dating system of films. I've said this before and I'll echo it again: every time I read an argument for or against one system, I end up agreeing with it.

Jason made some excellent points. Some of what he says are directly related to why my lists from the last two years have been based on when a film was released in the US, which, I believe, is the same system that Brandon uses. This allows me to rank and critique films based on when I am most likely to have access to them. For example, Prodigal Sons started playing at festivals in 2008. However, it was not until 2010 that it was released in New York. After that it became available on DVD and Netflix. Is Prodigal Sons a 2008 or 2010 film? It does not hit the consciousness of many until 2010, but, technically, it is a 2008 film.

Watching The Story of Film makes me realize that if one takes an historical perspective, films are better grouped together about every 5-10 years, which will roughly correspond to different movements. In that timeframe, there is usually a great step forward in terms of form, directors, actors, technology, etc, etc. So, in the long run, whether Prodigal Sons is a 2008 or 2010 films really does not matter.

However, watching this series has also given me a much larger perspective on world cinema. Dating a film based on when it is released in the US (or even in the West) seems arrogant. It is like saying that a film is not good until it reaches US soil. Again, part of the argument here might be access (though with the Internet that's less and less of a problem). Nevertheless, I am now leaning towards dating a film precisely. It may not really matter for our little film club, but it does matter in a larger context.

At least I have another year before I have to make another list and choose which side I want to fall in line with.

a proposal

2012-01-14T16:33:00.002-05:00

Last year we attempted to dedicate months to certain decades and to certain directors. With the exception of Jeffrey, we mostly all failed at these projects. I propose something simpler. In order to continue the great debates we have been having, can we all agree to watch ONE movie in common every month? We can then set a date after which spoilers will be posted and talk about the film. Each month a different person could pick the movie. Ideally, the film would be one that not many of us have seen and that the choosing member thinks may be divisive.

One movie a month is definitely doable, I think. Even if it's a film you are not too interested in seeing, it's not a huge commitment.

Thoughts?

responding to responses

2012-01-14T14:35:00.001-05:00

Alright, now that I am done with my 2011 list, I'm not going to worry too much about watching those few remaining films that I want see from last year. As I said on Facebook, I'll see them in time and will re-evaluate my list then.

For now I want to get back into the groove of catching up on some of the classics that I have missed. I'm not the film buff a few others on here are, but watching The Story of Film has been inspiring. The series has given me a new perspective on film and what is has meant and can mean for society. I appreciate that the show forces a look at films from around the world and does not focus on just the evolution of Hollywood. Instead, as it states in the first episode, it worries about the history of ideas in film and pursues that line with passion.

Now, onto some responses.

Thanks for the responses so far, Brandon and Jeff. I've been meaning to write about your lists and the "lists" that Jason and Adrienne have put up. I really like seeing the lists in the context of film club because it makes an interesting contrast between our viewpoints. The ranking may be somewhat arbitrary, but it is still fun to see the significant differences and important overlaps between us.

Brandon, as for the 4 movies on my list that you haven't seen, I'd probably say that you should watch Bombay Beach first. That is mostly for selfish reasons: I want to know what others think of this hybrid documentary. You are probably the one who will appreciate it the most.

I am aware that some of my pics, especially those four and Black Death, are probably a bit controversial. I have not seen them on many of the other lists I've been reading over the last few weeks. My taste tends towards the smaller films. They are not always the most technically beautiful or impressive, but sometimes I find that is where the most honestly can be found.

As I said on my list, The Skin I Live In really surprised me. Brandon's characterization of it being "just plain bonkers" is perfect.

Jeff, Trust is not a rape movie like Dragon Tattoo or any others that dealt with it this year. It's a complex family drama. Schwimmer has apparently done a lot of work with rape awareness organizations and he brought his knowledge about it to this film. I'd also recommend it because, if her performance in this film is any indication, Liana Liberato is going to be great.

I'm going to continue championing Black Death and Melancholia no matter what others have to say. The reasons may be very different but I loved both of them.

Lisa, keep practicing your Settlers and then next time you're in town I'll bring you to game night. Just a word of warning, John is even more ruthless when you put him in front of a board with wooden pieces than he is when you put him in front of a blog.

As for Woody, my Top Ten list look like this:

Annie Hall (sure, why not?)
Midnight in Paris
Match Point
Scoop

It stops there because those are actually the only Woody films that I've seen.

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Alright, I need to get back to reading. I've got two massive contemporary novels (just for you, Chris) that I'm about to dive into.

Listen up I'll tell a story

2012-01-14T13:46:00.003-05:00

Daniel Johnston is often referred to as one of the best singer/songwriters in America. Even if you have never heard of him, chances are still good that you have heard his lyrics played by other artists. He composed his art with a scary amount of feeling and honesty. In the 80's he achieved near cult status in the Austin music scene and exploded nationally when Kurt Cobain wore a shirt depicting his first album at the MTV Video Music Awards.

The sad thing about Daniel Johnston is that during his years trying to make it as an artist in Austin, he experienced his first manic-depressive episode. While his status as a singer and songwriter grew in the 80's, thanks to the relentless promotion of his manager, Johnston was in and out of mental hospitals. He refused to believe that he had a problem. He would have paranoid fantasies that would increasingly take over his life.

When Johnston was on medication, he would go off them - unknown to anyone - before he played a show. This would sometimes result in uncomfortable proselytizing while he was on stage or, worse, violent episodes. His mental health grew worse and worse over the years even as his family and friends tried to help. Eventually, on a flight home from Austin, he took the controls away from his dad - who was piloting the plane - and spun them out of control. Neither of them were hurt in the crash, though Daniel did not understand why everyone was upset with him. After this incident his family committed him to a mental hospital where he stayed for a number of years.

What The Devil and Daniel Johnston, a 2005 documentary, does so well is to portray Johnston as exactly who he is. A lot of times mental illness is glamorized in artists. To an extent, it's commonly believed that all great artists are crazy. However, this documentary shows all the destruction that Johnston's manic depression caused while still highlighting his ability to reach out and touch people with his art.

The documentary benefits from the wealth of recordings Johnston made growing up. He was obsessed with both video and audio recording. Much of the film is narrated by tapes that Johnston recorded throughout his life. Some are completely normal and touching - he wishes he could buy his dad a house or he is angry at his mother. But some are scary and portray a startling break from reality as he obsesses over the number 9 or spins himself out of control with paranoia.

Johnston is never interviewed in this film. He is almost a background figure for much of it. His family and friends talk and his old footage is shown. However, one gets the sense that a straight interview with Johnston is just too taxing. He is on his meds and living with his parents in Texas. Occasionally, he plays a show or does and art exhibit. But he struggles to remember old lyrics and the thought of the past, the thought of what could have been, seems like it is almost too much. He was once poised to be hailed as a genius, a great artist, before his mind turned violently inward.

In this youtube clip, we see Johnston performing in the summer of 2011. He attempts to sing one of his most popular songs, Story of an Artist, but cannot get past the first verse. It is sad to watch but uplifting as he get overwhelming support from his fans. He puts everything into his art.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston is a documentary about art and illness that gives us an unfiltered look into the mind of one of the most genius and tortured minds of today. Without resorting to exploitation, the film remains emotional and moving. It questions what it means to be creative and famous and wonders at our conception of "artist."

Don't be surprised if you come away from from this documentary wanting to listen to a lot of Daniel Johnston.

Best of 2011

2012-01-12T16:29:00.001-05:00

2011 was an excellent year in film. Making this list was not easy, but I am really happy with all my picks.

Top Ten of 2011:

10. Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy (dir. Tomas Alfredson)

Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy turns on textured layers of story, expertly shot by Tomas Alfredson. Details are important in this type of film and he captures them all with precision. Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy has everything a moviegoer could want: tension, drama, paranoia and a good mystery. Trying to discover the double agent is both fun and nerve-racking - even if we knew who it was all along, as the characters mention at the end of the film.

9. Black Death (dir. Christopher Smith)

This was the first 2011 film that I saw last year and still remains one of my favorites. Smith's genre-bending tale plays with the audience from start to finish. Black Death forces questions of morality, religious extremism, superstition and righteousness onto the screen and into the minds of the audience. Smith unravels the tale ambiguously without preaching for or against any side. The result is a dark and unpredictable film that leaves the viewer to determine what to take from it.

8. Circumstance (dir. Maryam Keshavarz)

Circumstance is one of the most sensual and beautiful films of the year. Combine that with the heavy topic of love and repression in modern day Iran and the result is something really wonderful and important. Keshavarz films the struggle of freedom from many different angles - freedom to love, freedom to worship, freedom to (dance, sing, etc) - while managing to make a political and personal statement. Circumstance treads near heavy-handedness at moments, but always backs away to focus on the human story at just the right moment. Absolutely one of the best of the year.

7. Another Earth (dir. Mike Cahill)

Another Earth is a film that is difficult to categorize. It is not really a sci-fi movie and it is not really a drama. It is, however, a well-paced philosophical "what if" film that manages to stay interesting despite several reasons why it should fail. As I said before, the viewer is not supposed to totally buy into it all, but they are not supposed to view it entirely as a metaphor either. I think that what it comes down to for me is that the film always remains focused on human emotions. It does not fall into trying to be something that it is not. The "other Earth" does not come off gimmicky because it is not the point of the film. Rather, it is used as a catalyst for human drama.

Also, who would have thought that 2011 would bring us two films featuring the arrival of new planets?

6. Trust (dir. David Schwimmer)

Part of the job of a good director is finding the perfect cast. Whatever other directorial problems Schwimmer may exhibit, casting the perfect actors and coaxing a stunningly good performance out of them is not one. Schwimmer portrays a family shaken by the rape of their young daughter. While she struggles to view it as a rape, the parents cope in their own ways. This is not a feel-good Lifetime movie. It's complicated, intense and emotional.

5. The Skin I Live In (dir. Pedro Almodovar)

The Skin I Live In induced perhaps the most surprising reaction in me of any 2011 film I have watched yet. What I expected to be a mediocre film turned out to be an exquisite and sublime viewing experience. Almodovar unravels the story at a slow but unpredictable pace, and when the audience connects early parts of the film to the "reveal" much later, it's strange and weird and wholly fucked up. But also awesome. The Skin I Live In makes us question first impressions. It unravels our superficiality, our perceptions and, most of all, our desires. And it does all this while still managing to be a decent revenge film, too.

4. Bombay Beach (dir. Alma Har'el)

Bombay Beach takes the traditional documentary and turns it into a lyrical, highly-stylized hybrid of real life and portrayed art. Har'el makes the bad sides beautiful and the beautiful sides ugly in this documentary about the people who live on the edge of society. It is an experiment, dream-like in tone yet ultimately true and believable. It is a poem to three generations of men living in Bombay Beach. But it is also a commentary on the art to be found on the edges and in everyday life.

3. Tree of Life (dir. Terrence Malick)

Malick continues his bid for greatest living American director with his newest film about a young boy growing up in Texas during the 50's. Perhaps Malick's most personal film, Tree of Life spans eons in its attempt to discover what it means to be human. The sheer magnitude of what Malick attempts to accomplish is overwhelming, but the fact that he does it so well and with such heart is why I think that this film is one of the best of the year. It is a film you feel as much as you see. I could watch Tree of Life a hundred times and still find important and edifying things in it.

2. Melancholia (dir. Lars von Trier)

I wrestled with Melancholia perhaps more than any other film this year. It sparked some great discussion and made me re-evaluate a few of my thoughts about depression and mental illness. The film finds the sublime humor in the absurdity of human life and interactions. Von Trier makes a beautiful but ridiculous film, one that had me alternately cringing and laughing when I recognized myself in different characters. Like Tree of Life, this is a film that benefits from many viewings and I think it is one to which I will return many times.

1. Meek's Cutoff (dir. Kelly Reichardt)

I think that the bravest, most daring film of 2011 is Meek's Cutoff. It is a committed film determined to tell a minimalist story. Reichardt shoots it at a slow pace. She keeps the viewer at a distance, constantly pulling back during conversations to portray the uncertainty of their situation. The film continues the examination of loneliness that Reichardt pursued in her previous films but also adds a note of complexity. It gives us a Native American, an "other," with whom we must decide to defend or fear. His intentions are ambiguous, but the question remains: how do we decide to trust or condemn our fellow humans? How do we know what path to follow? Meek's Cutoff gives us no answers, but it certainly makes us think.

Honorable Mention:

Like Crazy (dir. Drake Doremus)
The Myth of the American Sleepover (dir. David Robert Mitchell)
Midnight in Paris (dir. Woody Allen)
Contagion (dir. Steven Soderbergh)
Le Havre (dir. Aki Kaurismaki)

Films I haven't seen but that I fear could mess up my list:

A Dangerous Method
Take Shelter
Margaret
A Separation

Best Film Club moments:

Brandon and John discussing Dogtooth
Lost in Translation and Scarlett Johansson's underwear
Funny Games becomes a dead horse
Antichrist scares the shit out of me and vaults von Trier to the top of my favorite directors list
Jeff's continuous Top Ten lists from years past - especially 2004, which led to lots of discussion and an eventual viewing of Black Death by everyone
Lisa inciting a crazy Tree of Life debate (that I, sadly, missed out on)
Jason's constant lateness to films we are discussing and his patented "movie dump"
Jason's discovery of The New World
the incredible 8 month run of "arthouse juggernaut" Midnight in Paris at Cinemopolis
discussing Melancholia
the way Chris sneaks music posts in once in a while just as I'm looking for new tunes
Drive vs. Cold Weather
Howard bros. tag-team on films like Drive, Melancholia and Midnight in Paris
...and, of course, the addition of Lisa, Jeff and Chris!

Great year all around but I think the best is yet to come!

Ghosts of Mars

2012-01-12T01:42:00.005-05:00

Dear readers, I got off work early tonight and decided I wanted to see something Martian in nature.

Lo and behold, I find Ghosts of Mars. Ice Cube and Jason Statham are at opposite sides of the law, you guess which side each occupies. Statham, aka Jericho, and Ice Cube, aka Desolation James, round out the manly side of this cast but I should mention that Mars is, in the year 2176, a "Matriarchal" planet. Natasha Henstridge is the main heroine of this plot though I've never heard of her before so I lead with Jason Statham; honorable mention, Pam Grier shows face for about 20 minutes as the lesbian captain of her police squad.

Speaking of Police Squad, this movie is about as comical as they come.

A police crew is taking a train ride across Mars to transfer Ice Cube from a mining town to the main city to stand trial. they arrive and find a desolated town, then find everyone eventually dead. But dead like Reaver style dead (from Firefly) and the whacked out survivors are bloodthirsty and like to a. poke sharp things into and through their skin (lots of pierced nips) and b. decapitate people and c. apparently indulge in goth interior decorating when there are no more people to kill.

Martian ghosts have escaped from their tomb and possess human bodies in order to keep Mars from falling into the hands of invaders (hooomans). the actual scientist who has let loose this ethereal menace onto the population by touching an ancient martian door in a mining camp a few miles away explains her being inside the jail with Desolation by stating she escaped via hot air balloon which crash landed inside this town.

So once you kill one of these Reaver types the ghost dispossesses and moves onto a new victim. Our main heroine suffers such a fate but thankfully Jason Statham notices that she likes to get high during his very vigorous cock-wagging courtship of her and so pops her one ecstasy tab after she is possessed. She gets better and lives to fight another day, except this next time she decides to try to blow up a nuclear reactor and gets everyone but herself and Ice Cube killed. the Martians didnt evolve into gun-toting types, instead they like to hurl metal death frisbees which decapitate every non-main character in this scene. Jason Statham dies as a supporting cast actor should in this sort of movie: pummeled to death at close range by a swarm of retarded martians. there is a cut away scene where they're all really savoring the A-list kill they finally got, Pam Grier gets killed way back and she's only like C-list so they're very hungry!

Movie endings, like movie beginnings, middles and dialogue, are not this director's forte. Our heroine arrives safely at base to debrief but in just a few short minutes we finally get to see her in underwear as the Ghosts of Mars were not defeated merely by a nuclear bomb and start possessing people in the Capital. As the red dust gathers in a panning overhead shot, we go back to our heroine dressing. Ice Cube bursts in suddenly with chromed out Uzis and what follows may be the longest dialogue of cliches I have ever heard.

think total recall meets mad max but everyone has pierced nipples and men are called "breeders".

Fin.

Dear Brandon

2012-01-11T19:26:00.001-05:00

I think I've come to respect some parts of Drive the more I write about it, e.g. the ending, the scene when Driver helps Irene in the grocery store parking lot. However, I still do not like it. It seems to me that a good actor and director obscure aspects of the film's story that I think are simple and poorly conceived. I just can't get on the same page as Jeff with this film. Worse, I can't even seem to read his page.

I probably won't write much more about The Skin I Live In, Le Havre or Tinker Tailer Solider Spy than I did earlier. All three are definitely worthy of spots on your list; however, the standout of the three, for me, was The Skin I Live In. I put it on the flash drive along with The Story of Film so that John and the Howard brothers have no excuse not to watch it. It will definitely be on my Top Ten.

Nostalgia for the Night is next in my Netflix queue.

Don't worry, Howards!

2012-01-11T16:45:00.002-05:00

Tree of Life will definitely be towards the top of my list. We'll make it cool again and take it back from all these haters!

Looks like I might have to put together a contemporary literature rescue package for Chris (and John?). There's lots good stuff out there that isn't about vampires. I swear.

the story so far

2012-01-11T16:33:00.001-05:00

I have been absolutely swept up by The Story of Film over the last two days. It is rich in history, beauty and admiration for its subject. Watching this series is like sitting down with a knowledgeable friend as he guides you through through the world of cinema, making sure to stop at all of the beautiful and important out-of-the-way places along the journey. The Story of Film takes it's time, too. I'm 5 hours in and have only made it to the 1940's. My respect for the medium and the great pioneers of film has increased exponentially.

So, this is why I have not written about the latest three films that I have seen. Let me say something about them now.

Le Havre is exactly as good as everyone else has said. I can't really elaborate on all the other talk about it.

Tinker Tailer Solider Spy is as immersive as Brandon would have us believe. The film turns on textured layers of story, expertly shot by Alfredson. Trying to discover the double agent is both fun and nerve-racking - even if we knew who it was all along, as the characters mention at the end of the film.

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John and Chris, I'm going to avoid talking book club other than to say that I don't think contemporary literature has a larger percentage of crap than it did 40, 50, 100, 150 years ago. Sometimes the good stuff is more difficult to find because the general size of the pile has grown, but I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. This is no different than in film either.

I like your discussion of growing "into" rather than "out of" authors. I always find it interesting to go back to something that meant a lot to me at a different stage in my life. For example, I recently re-read a book by Henry Miller, an author I spent an entire summer in college searching down and reading every word he had ever written. It was interesting to see the lines I marked up in the book 5 or 6 years ago compared to what I found edifying and important now. There was some overlap, but also a lot of new revelations that make sense to my older and (slightly) more experienced self.

That said, I can think of plenty of authors that I found important in the past but think of as laughable now. For example, how did I ever take Alan Watts seriously?

My Ides

2012-01-10T13:56:00.002-05:00

Oh hello, my name is Jerzy.

I recently watched Ides of March as I heard many good things about it and because a friend's brothers were in it.

As a former campaign manager and protege of old timers, I was immediately struck by the fact that this was a film aiming to accurately recreate scenes found in this modern political era. I found the beginning scenes, the debate tech prep, where Gosling is reading off Clooney's actual speech quite entertaining because atheism is the third rail of politics and when, later in the film, it flashes to Clooney actually invecting against religion it closes the loop that this is a film criticizing politics as it is. I had gone into this film thinking it would be some sort of poli-glamour type film due to the actors involved (Ryan Gosling especially) and was pleasantly surprised when it turned out altogether differently.

My critiques of this movies are as such. For many reasons, the "campaign" was actually more like a congressional campaign based on my technical reading of the characters, candidate, staff, location shots and otherwise. I have a feeling that the original book, pre-adaptation, was for a lower office. For example, Ryan Gosling's character is a communications guy and hence should not be asked for "hard numbers" about anything. Most of all, presidential candidates do not sit in staff meetings and any manager who lets a candidate mingle freely with the staff deserves to have an impregnated intern causing problems.

Aside from this, I found this movie incredibly heartwarming as the good guy manager, cut down whilst in the middle of solving an incredibly personal problem for the candidate on the hush hush, flips the script on the heartless actions of his boss and candidate to win the day. Having been through a number of these moments with candidates and mentors, this was a fantasy fulfillment moment for me.

Fin

hope

2012-01-09T22:39:00.003-05:00

Now that I'm not going to see The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo tonight, I guess I'll do some more blogging.

Does Drive lack hope? I have difficulty parsing this question depending on how I view the film. In one sense, it's a hopeful film because all the "bad" guys end up dead or on the run. Crime doesn't pay. Of course, this requires us to view the Driver as a "bad guy (full stop)" and not a "bad guy with a heart of gold."

In another sense - the sense with which most people probably view the film - Drive does lack hope. It ends on a sour note for everyone, just as Jason pointed out. I think this kind of gets at what bothers me about the film and it's characters. If the world is hopeless and everyone is silent and sadomasochistic and somewhat vapid, then stories and their characters can be lazy, one-dimensional and cliched without the audience caring much. A great actor and a good director will hide all the deficiencies.

I need to be very careful in trying to talk about this. I'm still feeling my way around my problems with the film. I don't want to suggest that hopeless or dark films are bad. It is just that the really good ones find a way to be hopeless and dark while still illuminating a certain "humanness" that I felt was missing in Drive.

Anyway, that's probably my last word on Drive for a while. Or, at least, until I can figure out my problems with the film a bit more and learn to articulate them clearly.

---------

Jason, the parts in Black Swan that Brandon found derivative were probably the parts that I chose to look at as homages. I guess it's probably a fine line.

Like Lisa, I thought the mirror stuff worked well. It added to that general sense of unease that builds throughout the film.

I watched Black Swan three times last year. You two are moving me closer and closer to my fourth viewing. But 2011 first...

The best part of Drive is the end(ing)

2012-01-09T16:02:00.001-05:00

Unlike Jason, I enjoy films that do not always end with happiness or resolution. As long as this type of ending doesn't come off as some sort of post-modern cliche, I think it can be a really powerful way of putting the burden of resolution on the audience and forcing them to think about their expectations for how the characters and movie should resolve.

In the beginning of Before Sunset Jessie is being interviewed by a few journalists about his book. They all want to know the answer to the same question: did the characters meet after six months? Jessie refuses (mostly) to answer the question, instead saying that how each person interprets what happens in six months time is an interesting indicator of how they view the world.

I like this idea, and think that it's mostly true. Endings like this can force the viewer into a more involved and active experience with the film that puts them in the author's seat in a real but purely subjective way. Of course, ambiguous or unhappy endings done poorly can ruin a film.

These are some of the reasons why I liked the way that Drive ended. To end differently would have been disingenuous to the rest of the film. I think there was a bit of foreshadowing in the first few scenes with Irene and the Driver. First, they ride the elevator together before disappearing behind closed doors. Second, and more telling, the Driver sees Irene at the store and purposefully runs to the other aisle. They only meet when they are in the parking lot and avoidance is too difficult. It's actually a great scene. The Driver pauses at his car. Refn only shows us his back but there is a bit of a resigned sigh and slight setting of the shoulders, as if the Driver is getting ready for the inevitable. His interest and curiosity win and the price is probably going to be high.

--------

Jason, great post about Cold Weather. I like when films mess with the "glasses" you've put on in preparation. Cold Weather can be classified as several things. It's part of the mumblecore movement. It could also be considered a mystery. But, overall, I think it's a film about sibling relationships viewed through Doug and Gail's reconnection. Katz plays with the mystery genre to do this, which is what gives the film that unique and unexpected impact you allude to in your post. Like you, I think it's a brilliant film.

---------

Last year I was interested in finding some sort of free and expertly curated sources for the history of film. In The Story of Film I've found something that is both that (informative, precise and historically relevant) while being a work of art in it's own right.

The Story of Film

2012-01-09T13:04:00.001-05:00

Money doesn't drive cinema. The moneymen don't know the secrets of the human heart or the brilliance of the medium of film. But if money doesn't drive movies, what does? Here's the answer: ideas. - Mark Cousins, The Story of Film: An Odyssey

This morning I got a frantic email from John pleading for me to download The Story of Film and then share it with him. I've currently got 9 of the 15 episodes downloaded, though I fear that episode 11 will be difficult to procure. If anyone else is interested, I'm happy to put them all on a flash drive and pass it around. I don't want to make any bold statements yet - I'm only halfway through the first episode - but I think that this series is going to be outstanding. My hope is that it does something similar to what The Story of Philosophy did for me many years ago.

Thanks for sharing, John. I'm so excited I get to watch it before you!

for the last time, 2010

2012-01-08T18:42:00.000-05:00

Alright, I'm willing to go with the majority here and consider a film's year based on when it was released in the US. That seems to be the consensus both here and with other critics and list-makers that I've seen. That said, my list is going to be revised one more time to put Prodigal Sons, Alamar and Certified Copy on it. Embarrassingly, I have still not watched Uncle Boonme.

2010 Top Ten:

Blue Valentine
Cold Weather
Winter's Bone
Prodigal Sons
Black Swan
180° South
True Grit
Alamar
The Oath
Certified Copy

Honorable Mention:

Never Let Me Go
Catfish
Let Me In
Gasland
The Social Network

------------

Jeff and Brandon: While I don't think Drive is a great film, I can recognize what it does well. This makes my dislike of the movie difficult because I cannot attack it based on much besides certain perceived external factors. Similarly, this is the same way I feel about, say, Neil Gaiman. I don't like his books but I do not really have a good or articulate reason as to why. Also, I have to admit that I've softened towards the film since your responses, which prompted me to go back and read all your original posts and the Drive/Cold Weather debate. Anyway, Jeff, great few paragraphs about this whole thing in the beginning for your recent post.

YES, John, I'm glad you liked Another Earth. I was worried about being the only one around here to defend it (if anyone besides you and I end up seeing it). It is strange that it works; I found myself pretty surprised to be such a fan. I really, really like The Twilight Zone feel you mention. Another Earth, in the end, was a film that made me think. I still stand behind what I said about it earlier:

...it's really a philosophical "what if" story masked as sci-fi. It would be too much to say that it needs to be viewed as a metaphor but not enough to say the audience is expected to buy into it all.

----------

I watched Miranda July's The Future the other night. For as ridiculous as it is, it's also pretty good. July is an astute observer of the uniquely American condition of many young, smart and underemployed people. She does a great job of taking her characterizations just a slight step over the believable line, which makes the movie quietly funny.

I am still holding out hope that Jerzy is going to write a post about The Ides of March.

2010 final update

2012-01-07T00:16:00.001-05:00

I'm putting Meek's Cutoff in the 2011 category. That means my final list looks like this:

Top Ten:

Blue Valentine
Cold Weather
Winter's Bone
Black Swan
180° South
True Grit
Never Let Me Go
Tiny Furniture
The Oath
Catfish

Honorable Mention:

Last Night
Let Me In
Gasland
The Social Network
Room In Rome

---------------

I have been making my 2011 push the last few days. I watched Like Crazy, The Future and The Ides of March yesterday/today. I'll write about them soon. The 2011 films that I still want to see before I feel comfortable making my list are: Take Shelter, Martha Marcy May Marlene, A Dangerous Method, Margaret, Restless, Shame and My Week with Marilyn.

drive like crazy

2012-01-05T16:49:00.000-05:00

I knew as I was writing my post last night that my comparison between Drive and Palahnuik was probably not the best. But let me make one more attempt at clarification (for myself and everyone else).

I may not love Drive but I respect certain aspects of it. The retro and neon look, the minimalist dialogue and the difficult relationships are just a few examples. Also, as I mentioned in an earlier post, the opening few scenes are awesome. However, I respect some things about Palahnuik too. For example, I don't think he is a bad writer (indeed, he turns a few really beautiful sentences). I just do not care for his stories and, more broadly, their outlook on society. This is similar to the way I feel about Drive. It is well-crafted, which I fear hides it's poorly attempted mimesis of the (crime) world. I guess what it comes down to for me is that I was not convinced or pulled into the story. It was nice and fun to look at but it did not impact me in any meaningful way. (I know, I know, the conceit at thinking a film needs to impact me to be good!)

But anyway, Jeff is right in that I was reacting to something external to the film, though articulating my perception of it is difficult because it's just that: subjective perception. I think I might have a real "John on Midnight in Paris" thing going on. Drive was so perfectly set up to be a critical darling - from the actor to the director to the backstory of it's creation. I do not mean to suggest the film is disingenuous; rather, I am just irked it gets more attention than, say, Trust or Bombay Beach (to name some smaller movies of 2011).

Also, can we forget I ever called it the "movie for people who don't like movies"? I was carrying the Palahnuik comparison too far. I really only meant that it's the type of movie that is cool to like because it's just enough on the "outside" while still being praised by the critics. I guess. I have none of you in mind when I say this, by the way. You all like it and you know and understand and can articulate why.

Brandon mentions the few critics who refer to Drive as being "genre trash disguised as art." I think this misses another important point, one which we've briefly discussed (or at least John has), about how some of the best and most important art is actually hidden within genre films/books/etc. So, I'll skip over that for now except to say that I am not in agreement, as I don't think anyone here is, with that criticism of the film.

That's probably the best I can put my feelings towards Drive into words. I know it's not the best argument and relies a lot on my partiality, but there it is. To sum up: Drive is well-made. But it's also been given too much attention. I prefer several other 2011 films over it. I'll still be looking forward to Refn's next work. And, of course, Gos'.

----------

If I am predisposed to disliking Drive, then I have to admit that Like Crazy is right in my wheelhouse. I finished watching it about an hour ago, just before I saw everyone's posts. It is about as opposite to Drive as a film can get. It may be one of the best portrayals of the on-and-off relationships we all probably had when we were young. I have to get dinner started but I'll be back with more later.

Chucky P

2012-01-04T23:58:00.002-05:00

My comparison of Drive to a Palahnuik novel was only half-thought out. Let me try to explain what I think I might have meant. Palahnuik's novels are, in my opinion, formulaic and somewhat stale. He can turn out a good sentence but his books are the books-that-people-who-don't-read read and are applauded for being real and gruesome and misanthropic when all that is happening is that the reader is being manipulated by their own cynicism (not a coincidence that Palahnuik's fans are mostly young males). Palahnuik relies on this, which is why his characters all begin to look the same. This bothers me because there is no development. It's flat characters saying insipid stuff to each other and we all clap our hands at how he captures the voice of a generation or some other bullshit.

Clearly, I do not find much of anything redeemable in Palahnuik's work (at least in the few books of his that I've read). This is not the case with Refn and Drive; so, the comparison doesn't really work. However, I think that I really just meant this film has a similar feel: it's the movie for people who don't like movies. They can talk about how it's violent, but so is real life, blah, blah. They are criminals, but they have a heart, didn't you see that slight eyebrow raise the timid Gos gave to Mulligan? Shut up, the movie is about a criminal mechanic who steals and kills and wears the same dumb jacket. He's very careful about getting caught unless it means taking off his blood soaked scorpion coat. Pretty people, hip music, blood, brains and veins. Cars!

Anyway, make of that what you will. I'll probably walk it all back tomorrow. Let me, again, stress that I did not hate the movie. It's genre film at it's best, maybe the crime movie equivalent of Antichrist. I was probably already predisposed to disliking this film anyway. Head to head, I'll take Cold Weather any day of the week.

*Also, I did enjoy the film adaptation of Fight Club. I liked Choke because of naked Britta, but that's probably the only reason.

Drive

2012-01-04T18:04:00.001-05:00

Well, I finally saw it...4 months after everyone else. I hate to report that I did not find it to be nearly the masterpiece others here did. Refn has some interesting things happening, Gosling being only one of them. For example, the opening scene with the Impala car chase (which wasn't really a chase like you'd expect) that then cuts to The Driver at his day job is awesome.

However, I actually found a lot of it to be kind of tedious, the film version of a Chuck Palahniuk novel or something. I wanted to like Drive for the whole "arthouse genre film" thing it is supposed to have going on, but I just can't.

I'll go back and read everyone's posts later tonight. Maybe I'll feel differently then.

Don't talk to anyone. Don't touch anyone.

2012-01-04T11:59:00.000-05:00

Brandon describes Steven Soderbergh as both essential and uneven, a characterization that I'd like to echo (I'm reading his usage of "uneven" as something not entirely pejorative). Just look at 2009, the year he released The Informant! and The Girlfriend Experience. These are two solid films, beginning to end. Neither one is excellent but they are both firmly in the "good" category - yet they could not be more different. One is a big budget film starring Matt Damon and the other is a small, minimalist film in which Soderbergh cast ex-porn star Sasha Grey as the lead. Soderbergh's career, launched on the back of Sex, Lies and Videotape, has a similar arc to it as 2009 did. He strikes me as the type of director who always makes the film that he wants and has found a way to do that while remaining both "Hollywood" and "indie."

Contagion is probably my favorite film of his yet. Like Brandon said, it focuses on the human story and does not use the scare tactics, paranoia or post-apocalyptic nonsense that would be so easy to rely upon. Of course, there is plenty of that stuff there, but it's not driving the film the way the characters are. This makes the film much more appreciable and, I find, actually adds to the intensity.

Contagion could easily have come off as a bad TV movie in the hands of a less skilled director or storyteller. Instead, a smart script and attention to detail made it much better than I expected. But, then again, that's what I always seem to say after a Soderbergh film.

----------

Yeah, Jason, it sucks when the discussion for a film ends before you get a chance to see it and participate. That happened to me with Tree of Life and, to an extent, Meek's Cutoff. I also don't get to see many films in the theater. In fact, this year I've seen two (Meek's Cutoff and Midnight in Paris).

I don't think we really discussed Black Swan too much here. If I remember correctly, Brandon and I both saw it last December when it first came out and were pretty much in agreement on how and why we liked it (though it made my Top Ten list and not his). By the time John got around to hating it we had already moved on.

Sorry I'm not going to offer any commentary on Black Swan. I mostly agree with what you wrote anyway. As consolation, I'll leave you with this short essay on the film: Black Swan and Bathrooms.

Trust

2012-01-03T19:16:00.002-05:00

David Schwimmer's makes his directorial debut with a sober, emotional and intelligently handled film about the rape of a 14 year old girl and the effects it has on her and her family. Trust explores the many forms of victimhood, family relations and the role of the Internet, advertising and high school politics in a dark and honest way. At times Trust seems to flirt with cliche, but what keeps it from falling over the edge and into Lifetime movie territory is the brutal, complex and sensitive performances of Clive Owen, Catherine Keener and, especially, Liana Liberato. What they put into Trust will leave you squirming during the film and contemplating it long after it's over. I can't recommend this film enough.

I was in jail for 100 years...

2012-01-03T11:28:00.000-05:00

Excellent Year in Review post, John. At least I know that I'll have one supporter when I include Black Death on my Top Ten list.

Movies I've seen since my last post:

Daydream Nation (dir. Goldbach, 2010)
Quiet City (dir. Katz, 2007)
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front (dir. Curry, 2011)
Certified Copy (dir. Kiarostami, 2010)
Bombay Beach (dir. Har'el, 2011)
The Sleeping Beauty (dir. Breillat, 2011)
Straw Dogs (dir. Lurie, 2011)

My Film Club resolution for 2012 is to write more often so as to avoid "dump" posts like this one.

Anyway, Daydream Nation was predictable and dumb.

Quiet City was great and secured Katz as a director who I find intensely interesting for how much he can do with so little.

I enjoyed If a Tree Falls more than I expected; it's very well done.

Certified Copy was good, but I'm not as mind-blowing as others think.

I've already mentioned Bombay Beach a bit. It will make a strong showing on my Top Ten list this year.

I didn't like The Sleeping Beauty as much as I wanted to like it.

Straw Dogs is not my kind of movie. James Woods is pretty awesome in it though. And someone does die in a bear trap so...

**What is the consensus for considering a film's year? Are the majority of people doing it by the year the film was shown in the US, when it was given a US release, etc? I need to know where to put films like Meek's Cutoff and Uncle Boonme.

listing

2012-01-01T11:45:00.000-05:00

Well, I've started making 2011 lists. If you're interested, HERE are my Top Ten longform reads of 2011 and HERE are the stats on the 62 books that I read this year.

I'm excited to see our different film lists this year. I think we all saw a variety of films that others did not. Once I finally decide on how I'm going to determine a film's year, I'll put a first draft list up.

One film that I know will make the list is Bombay Beach. It recently became available on NWI. If you like heavily stylized, lyrical documentaries, check it out. I have a feeling that it's either the type of thing you love for it's experimentation and beauty or hate for it's direction. The New York Times says Bombay Beach, "looks and feels like a fever dream in an alternate universe."

Happy New Year!

updating 2010

2011-12-27T23:41:00.001-05:00

Alright, time to update my 2010 list. Previous list HERE.

Meek's Cutoff
Cold Weather
Blue Valentine
Winter's Bone
Black Swan
180° South
True Grit
Never Let Me Go
Tiny Furniture
The Oath
Catfish

Honorable Mention:

Last Night
Let Me In
Gasland
The Social Network

I'm removing Prodigal Sons and Alamar because I'm no longer going to consider them 2010 films. Also, I have yet to decide if I'm considering Meek's Cutoff a 2010 or 2011 film. For that reason I've included an 11th title.

Oddly enough, that 11th title included is a film that I'm severely demoting. Upon subsequent viewings and the reading of numerous reviews and interviews, I don't find Catfish to be as compelling as I once did. I think it still has important things to say about our culture and I'd highly recommend it. However, I am finding other films from last year to be more important, better made, etc, etc. Perhaps spending so much time trying to justify the vaulted #2 position I originally afforded it has backfired.

I'm still stubbornly keeping Never Let Me Go on the list.

In 2011 I've seen 18 films, which makes a Top Ten difficult. I'll probably post it anyway and then continue to modify it over the first few weeks/months of 2012 as I catch up with more films.

2011-12-26T12:26:00.000-05:00

Jeff says: "Before I joined film club, I might have loved this movie."

Looks like John's plan is working...

dragons

2011-12-25T00:02:00.000-05:00

Again, great to meet you, Chris and Jeff. I look forward to sharing a veggie burrito and talking movies with you soon.

I have read all the posts about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and find myself interested in seeing the film. Whether I actually get to it while it's in the theaters is another story.

If anyone is looking for an excellent article about Stieg Larsson and the dragon tattoo books, I'd urge you to check out this New Yorker piece from earlier in the year: Man of Mystery: Why do people love Stieg Larsson? I've never read the books but I found the article really interesting.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

getting back on schedule

2011-12-21T15:42:00.000-05:00

If I could use an excuse for not posting recently I'd say: the movies I have been watching are not ones that others have been watching and discussing. Anyway, here's my list with some uninspired thoughts. Now that Lisa's back and it's the end of the year, I want to try for regular posting again. I'm going to try to make a 2011 push (like Brandon and Jeff) in order to see all the films I should before it's Top Ten time. Hopefully, that will put us all on common movie ground for a while.

What I've seen since my last post:

Carnivale Seasons 1 & 2 - I have both seasons on DVD and would happily pass them off to anyone interested. It's a slow moving show that rewards close viewing. Often things from early episodes don't pay off until many episodes later. I read somewhere that it's a good show for those who thought that Twin Peaks was too straightforward.
Splendor in the Grass (dir. Kazan, 1961) - Another melodramatic drama that I loved, loved, loved.
Page One (dir. Rossi, 2011) - An interesting look behind the scenes of the NYT's.
The 400 Blows (dir. Traffaut, 1959) - I have yet to see a Traffaut film that I don't like.
Another Earth (dir. Cahill, 2011) - I'm a little upset that more people are not talking about this film. Sure, the premise doesn't really hold up scientifically, but it's really a philosophical "what if" story masked as sci-fi. It would be too much to say that it needs to be viewed as a metaphor but not enough to say the audience is expected to buy into it all.
HappyThankYouMorePlease (dir. Radnor, 2010) - I did not find much to like about this other than it was cute and occasionally funny.
Circumstance (dir. Keshavaraz, 2011) - One of the best of the year. Surprisingly sexy and political but also a strong portrayal of the many forms of repression. Besides that this film is also beautiful to look at.

Chris, have you read East of Eden? It's one of my favorite novels (though To a God Unknown is my favorite Steinbeck book), which is actually why I haven't watched the movie. I'm wondering how it compares.

Also, I thought the season finale of Boardwalk Empire was awesome. Part of me is bummed about the outcome but it was unexpected and really elevated some of the characters to a whole new level. I can't wait to see what next season will bring.

John, Bored to Death does get better, but I'm not entirely sure you'll enjoy it. Anyway, it was just cancelled, which is too bad because Season 3 was the best yet. Everything really started to come together.

I'm really jealous that Brandon has seen Martha Marcy May Marlene and A Dangerous Method. I can't wait to see both of them.

My Week in Film

2011-11-28T12:38:00.001-05:00

Apologies for not taking part in the director list that Brandon started. My list would be too full of holes to even bother writing up. I'll be using everyone else's lists to help me decide on movies to watch in the future, however.

Jason, I saw My Effortless Brilliance when it first came out a few years ago. Honestly, I can't remember much about it right now other than that I enjoyed it. You're right about the location. It really becomes an extension - or way of understanding - the one character. I just added the DVD to my queue again.

Instead of naming other movies that use location and scenery to add texture, I'll mention the short-lived HBO show Carnivale. It's set in 1934, during the dust bowl, the "last great age of magic." The traveling carnival and the dusty, barren landscapes are just as much a part of the show as some of the characters. Everyone should watch it.

------------------

I watched several movies over the last week or so.

Rabbit Hole (dir. John Cameron Mitchell, 2010)
We catch up with Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart's characters eight months after the sudden death of their young son. As they each struggle to come to terms with what has happened, we are given glimpses of the recent past until the events of the tragic day are clear: Someone forgot to latch the gate, the dog ran out of the yard and their son chased after him. A kid was driving down the street, swerved to avoid the dog and hit the boy just as Kidman's character ran out of the house to stop him.

This film survives on the strong and compelling performances of Kidman and Eckhart. When they are together, the film soars to emotional heights. When they are off coping in their own ways, it seems a bit lacking.

Only Angels Have Wings (dir. Hawks, 1939)
I was particularly interested in this film after John made some mentions of it in comparison to one of my favorite books, Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and I'm glad I finally got around to watching it last week. It was a great movie for a raining Monday afternoon.

All That Heaven Allows (dir. Sirk, 1955)

I mentioned on Facebook that this was one of my favorite movies I've watched recently to which Brandon replied, "melodrama at it's very best." Yes, I agree. There is so much that's over the top and kind of silly but, for some reason, it all just works. I loved every minute of it and I want to live in the old mill.

Match Point (dir. Allen, 2005)
Perhaps it was the PBS documentary that put me in the mood for some Woody Allen. So, I decided to watch Match Point because I happen to have a copy someone burned for me years ago. While some may not think this is one of his better works, I enjoy it quite a bit. It's compelling throughout and tinged with just the right about of Woody humor.

I Melt With You (dir. Pellington, 2011)
If you like drug and party montages set to loud music, you're going to love the first half of this film. If you like weak plot lines, one-dimensional characters and lots of pretty people, you're going to love the second half of this film.

The best part of the film is Sasha Grey.

Zodiac (dir. Fincher, 2007)
Finally, a Fincher film that I can say I love. Great dialogue, great acting, great storytelling.

Limitless (dir. Burger, 2011)
Another really unimpressive 2011 film that I wanted to like. I have the distinction of being the only person I know to have really enjoyed Burger's The Illusionist. I have watched it several times. So, when I read some bad reviews about Limitless I was hoping that situation would repeat itself. It did not. An interesting concept was quickly ruined by a poor story execution, to many zoom shots and ridiculous voiceovers.

beautiful melancholic encounter

2011-11-16T09:02:00.001-05:00

Jeffrey: There is definitely a sense that Justine's condition is more worthy of forgiveness or sympathy (as you mention) than the other characters. She is more open and honest about her problems. Claire is a yarn ball of anxiety slowly unrolling and Jack is arrogant and so totally worried about being right, looking smart and projecting authority that he can't handle what happens when proven otherwise. The other characters, with the possible exception of Michael, are all flawed and ridiculous in ways they try to hide as well. Justine is the one who (it appears) sees through it all and embraces what she is truly feeling. This sounds like defeatism but I don't think that is it at all.

As for her "diagnosis," I'm not sure it's ever really stated in the film. Of course, we know she is coming from somewhere - possibly some sort of treatment - in Part 2. But vT leaves it all clear but unclear in that we know there is a situation but have to put our own diagnosis together (allowing us the fun of this discussion).

To your point about some people being happier when depressed: yes, that is sometimes the case. However, that does not seem to be the depression from which Justine is suffering. She wants to be happy and tries hard to put up a front until it all becomes too much for her. We've all taken pleasure in feeling a bit sad sometimes but how many of us have been so depressed we couldn't move from the bed?

Anyway, I think I'm with John and Brandon now. Until I see the film again, I'm probably done discussing it for a while.

--------------
Other movies:

I watched BRIEF ENCOUNTER last week. It was really, really great. I find that a lot of older movies are able to focus so much more on the story because they didn't necessarily have all the other aspects of filmmaking to distract them. Camera, actors, GO! The story was essential. Bad story = bad film, no connection. Now it seems to be so much the opposite sometimes. Throw is some special effects or some scatological humor and you've got yourself a box office smash.

BRIEF ENCOUNTER really draws out a this comparison for me because of the subject. A housewife meets a stranger at the train station and they begin a sort of affair. But it's done in a way that is interesting and nuanced and engaging. To make the same film today it would have to be oversexed with beautiful actors and simple plot lines. I don't know, maybe I sound stupid here. I guess my point is that I loved BRIEF ENCOUNTER and need to watch more classics.

Another movie that I watched last week was SLEEPING BEAUTY.

It's strange and - even though there is a lot of naked Emily Browing - not all that prurient. It turns out to be a slowly-paced and, at times, rather uncomfortable look at the nature of power, age and beauty that appeals to our voyeuristic tendencies. We are so often "looking in" rather than experiencing the story that it made me feel almost guilty. SLEEPING BEAUTY is an ambiguous but interesting film. And if nothing else, it is beautiful to look at.

hahaha

2011-11-15T19:54:00.001-05:00

Chris: In the terms of "glaringly obvious moment[s] of humor," perhaps the limo scene is alone. But I think the humor in the film comes mostly in the subtle form of irony and the laying bare of our (human) actions/interactions. Look at all this pomp and self-importance and petty desires. Look at how vapid and lacking it all is. We are silly creatures. In the end, what is important? Hint: how to Justine and Claire act in their final minutes?

I'm confused by your question, "Can we all agree that Justine's depression is due to a mental condition?" What else could it be? Maybe we are approaching "depression" differently.

This is one of the best introductions to depression I've come across. If I could make this short lecture required viewing for everyone before they graduate college, I would. Sorry, I know this is getting away from film talk.

I meant to suggest that the Montaigne quote should be viewed in the framework of the entire film. I don't think Justine "carries this out" either. That's the whole point. We're all going to be hit by Melancholia (re: depression and death) so why not shed our pretensions and recognize that life is both comical and beautiful?

Anyway, these are quick thoughts on the post Chris just put up. I reserve the right to change/alter/backtrack at will when I re-read this later.
--------------
I've got a copy of ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS that John loaned to me two weeks ago. The plan is to watch it soon - hopefully before Chris writes about it.

I also watched BRIEF ENCOUTER (which I loved) and SLEEPING BEAUTY (which I'm "meh" about) that I need to post on.

Jason, your posts on MEEK'S CUTOFF are interesting. I'll try to engage you and Chris about the movie soon.

Got to run now.

Sometimes spam comments are simply amazing. Check out this one I just deleted:

He managed to learn everything and everyone. You can travel in time or on the Internet and can call any person of the President of God to Brad Pitt.

Those bitches have locked themselves in their bathrooms and now they're taking a bath.

2011-11-14T12:03:00.000-05:00

I see that the MELANCHOLIA talk has died down a bit but I'm still going to offer a few thoughts based on some of your posts. Sorry for tarrying. My limo was stuck all weekend.

Speaking of limos, let me state here that I'm in love with the first scene in the Justine section and was hoping someone would bring it up in one of their posts. It sets the stage perfectly. Coming off the meditative beauty of the Prelude (is that what's called?), the entire limo scenario - filmed by shaky handhelds - offers a jarring contrast from the previous 10 minutes in a way that captures the humor in absurdity (I think vT sees most human life and social interactions as absurd). It's sublimely comedic while giving a hint of what is to come.

John gave us a few quotes to work with in his first post on the film. I'd probably examine the movie from the lens of another one. Montaigne writes, "To philosophize is to learn how to die." I think this works well here because Montaigne, like vT, is saying that "learn[ing] how to die" is actually a way of understanding that death comes to us all; it's a way of transcending the fear of or desire for death and instead learning how to live. No doubt (as one of you mentioned) vT has gone through dark times. But MELANCHOLIA is not about embracing or romanticizing them. VT takes depression and social anxiety and displays all their harmful and terrible aspects. He uses subtle and - yes, Jeff - extremely cynical humor to do this. He seems to be saying that there are legitimate reasons for depression but if you look closely enough it can all be very, very comical.

Quoting John: "Melancholia is stupid." Yes, exactly, though I'd prefer to use "ridiculous" because it then allows me another quote that I think is a perfect companion for the film. This time it comes from Henry Miller in Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch:

The question is, where do we want to go? And, do we want to take our baggage with us or travel light? The answer to the second question is contained in the first. Wherever we go, we must go naked and alone. We must each of us learn what no other can teach us. We must do the ridiculous in order to touch the sublime.

Meditate on MELANCHOLIA and think about what Miller said above.

A few of you have mentioned vT gets an excellent performance out of Dunst, which I absolutely agree with. She captures the smile that isn't a smile, the eyes that are dull with inner pain, the desire (and ultimate failing) to appear happy because she thinks she should be, because everyone is telling her to be. There is obvious self-loathing beneath the surface because she isn't happy, which only serves to make her more unhappy. A snake eating it's tail.

It's hard, as Jeff mentioned, to actually "like" a depressed character. There are so many layers to examine here. First, Dunst is truly in trouble on a psychological level. Oftentimes, films will have the depressed character as some sort of struggling artist who is cool and hip because they are an outsider (wildly oversimplifying but you know the archetype to which I'm referring). This is not he case here. Justine's depression is real and palpable. But the question remains: why is Justine depressed? She's got it all. Money, beauty and Alexander Skarsgard. VT doesn't answer this question though. It's just a fact of the film in the same way it's a fact of life.

Do we "like" Justine? I don't know, no? Not really? Does it matter for this film? Probably not. Like I mentioned, Justine doesn't like herself. So, why are we expected to like her?

I really like what Charlie Jane Anders writes at io9:

Melancholia is one of those films that will make you cringe, as you come to identify with characters who are trapped in their own delusions. Dunst's character comes to seem like the only person who's willing to shed all of her falseness, even if it leaves her like a shell of a person. Sure, it's incredibly nihilistic — it's showing how everything we value and puff ourselves up about is transitory and meaningless. It takes a giant planet smashing into our own world to illuminate the meaninglessness of our petty crap. And like I said, what's left is a transitory but very real beauty.

Moving away from Dunst's portrayal of Justine, I think that Skarsgard is actually quite charming in this film. And when the two of them get together, it's just heartbreaking. They are both so obviously trying but the disaster is unstoppable. It's left right there on the chair.

One more shout out to the actors: Kiefer Sutherland and Charlotte Gainsbourg (clitoris presumably intact) are both excellent in their supporting role in the first half and know how to up the drama and make the second half as tense as it needs to be. Also, the wedding planner was funny even though it was a joke that I had to rewind on my second time through to understand (it's so quick that it's easy to miss).

Jeff, I know you've said that you are coming around to the film more so I won't belabor this much. I truly think that on subsequent viewings you will start to enjoy MELANCHOLIA. This is a film that I find myself appreciating more and more every time I think about it. Anyway, I have to disagree with you about the movie lacking cynicism. Maybe it's not as overt, but it's there. That said, perhaps it is a more "mature" film compared to his previous ones. I've only seen ANTICHRIST, which fucked my head up for weeks, so it's hard for me to really chime in here. Also, I think I understand what you're saying about the whole "punk/juvenile/selling out" thing. But just because this film is different from earlier vT doesn't necessarily mean he is selling out. He's making the movie he wanted to make, the movie he needed to make. Anyway, just have to put this here even if it doesn't necessarily have much to do with what you were trying to say.

Alright, Rollins is always a good note to end on. I'm sure there is lots of interesting discussion I'm missing because I wrote this without re-reading everyone's posts from the weekend.

Plenty of Shelter

2011-11-07T20:49:00.001-05:00

The following is from this week's Manlius Art Cinema newsletter:

Hi all,
And so we move on to Take Shelter, a film that won the grand prize critics award at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film depicts the anxiety that we all face, finally having things in our lives that we cherish, that something will come along and threaten our happiness. How do we face these fears? Are they manufactured by our own minds or are they harbingers of events to come? And do we face these fears alone or do we confide our fears to our partners.

Unfortunately, in today's America, for far too many, these fears have become reality. Leave it to art to put these fears into another perspective. The director says in his statement that he hopes that by the end of the film there is an answer. The film has been critically well received and it will be with us until Thanksgiving.

Our Thanksgiving film will be My Week With Marilyn, starring Michelle Williams (as Marilyn Monroe), Kenneth Brannagh (as Sir Lawrence Olivier) and Judy Dench. We are looking forward to an exciting holiday season and we hope you all will join us.

Hope to see you soon,
Nat and Eileen

In other news, I'm organizing a nightly trip to Ithaca all this week. Seats are filling fast. So, contact me if interested. Remember, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS isn't hitting dvd until December, folks...

That Obscure Object of Desire

2011-11-05T09:51:00.003-04:00

What a funny and strange movie. I loved it. About half-way through I had to stop and look up the deal about the actresses to reassure myself that I wasn't crazy.

I'll get to it...

2011-11-04T14:20:00.000-04:00

My friend gave me a few bags of records before she left for school in August. This gem was in one of the bags. Have I taken the time to listen to it yet? No. Do I plan to? Absolutely. At some point. It's on my list.

On Vegetables:

I want to watch all those classic and important films because, well, they're classics for a reason. I usually find that I enjoy and connect with them. It's not really any different than reading a book written in the 30's. The mediums have changed but a good and meaningful story is still the driving force. As I mentioned last year, I never knew where to start until Film Club gave me some recommendations.

I know I failed at the 30's project but that was more a time management/priorities issue. I just have not been watching very many films lately. It's hard enough staying current nevermind catching up with decades of missed films. I do still hold out hopes for eventually working through the Film History 101 list (located in the post I linked above) since it's only 33 films and I have seen a bunch of them already.

Anyway, let me quote a line from David Foster Wallace's posthumous novel, The Pale King, which pretty much gets to the point here.

Sometimes what’s important is dull. Sometimes it’s work. Sometimes the important things aren’t works of art for your entertainment, X.

The Philosopher Kings

2011-11-02T19:25:00.001-04:00

This is a great documentary that I encourage you all give a chance. It's also available on NWI.

Description from Hulu:

In search of wisdom found in unlikely places, The Philosopher Kings takes us on a journey through the halls of the most prestigious colleges and universities in America to learn from the staff members who see it all and have been through it all: the custodians. This thought-provoking, feature-length documentary interweaves the untold stories of triumph and tragedy from the members of society who are often disregarded and ignored, and seeks out the kind of wisdom that gets you through the day and the lessons one learns from surviving hard times, lost loves, and shattered dreams. From the producers of the multiple-award winning Flight from Death, The Philosopher Kings gives us the opportunity to learn from eight incredible individuals whom we would never have otherwise taken a moment out of our day to acknowledge.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - My top 10 episodes

2011-10-26T19:28:00.000-04:00

Now that Netflix has put every series of Star Trek on Watch Instant, I think it is a good time for me to engage(!) in that favorite hobby of Film Club's - list making. Now I realize that the creation of this list does not do me any favors on the girlfriend front. But sacrifices had to be made and I no longer have a problem embracing the title of "Trekkie." Plus, the amount of Star Trek that I had to re-watch in order to get this list right makes it all worth while.

So, grab a cup of tea (earl grey, hot) and enjoy.

The Inner Light S05E25 - This is one of the finest episodes in all of television. The Enterprise approaches a strange probe and it zaps Capt. Picard into unconsciousness. During the short amount of time he is out, Picard lives an entire life as another person on another world. This episode explores how history is preserved and passed down, empathy for others and what it means to live a fulfilled life.
Encounter at Farpoint S01E01/02 - This is the episode (well, episodes as this was a two-parter) that started it all. Shortly after Capt. Picard takes command of the Enterprise, the crew is trapped by Q - who will be one of the best recurring characters throughout the series - on their way to pick up Data and Riker. Q informs Picard that humanity has been put on trial for being a savage and inferior species for which Picard must defend against. Not only did this episode develop the type of Captain that Picard would be, it also established one of the best "rivalries" in television.
All Good Things S07E26/27 - The series finale is a sprawling look into past, present and future in the lives of the Enterprise crew members. It explores many of the themes from the last 7 years and, as it turns out, those years were all still a part of Q's test for humanity. Picard has to piece together information from all the time frames in order to ensure the creation (not destruction) of the human race.
Darkmok S05E02 - Capt. Picard finds himself stranded on a world with an alien with whom he cannot communicate. Eventually, he realizes that the alien speaks only in metaphors and allegories. Working together they fulfill the reasons for which they are on the planet.
The Measure of a Man S02E09 - In this episode Data must convince Starfleet that he has the right to self-determination when a scientist wants to take him apart in order to study and possibly learn to build others like him. This episode questions what it means to be human and tackles the issues of AI sentience, consciousness and self-awareness.
The Best of Both Worlds S04E01/S03E26 - One of the best cliffhangers in the series, this episode continues with the Borg story line that was introduced in earlier seasons. In this episode Capt. Picard is captured by the Borg and becomes Locutus, which will play a significant role in several of the TNG movies. In an epic battle with the seemingly indestructible Borg, the crew of the Enterprise figure out a way to defeat them as they battle around Earth.
I, Borg S05E23 - The Enterprise finds a lone member of the Borg and have to decide how to deal with him. Issues of just war and morality play out and during the course of the episode the crew members rethink some of their opinions of the Borg (as they existed as individuals before being assimilated).
Chain of Command S06E10/11 - In this two-part episode the Cardassians, who will be a main enemy during DS9, capture Capt. Picard during a covert mission. He is tortured by the Cardassians while Riker and Picard's replacement on the Enterprise disagree about how to deal with the situation, which eventually leads to Riker being relieved of duty. Picard is told that the torture will end if he simply states that there are 5 rather than 4 lights in the room. However, he never breaks and is released when the replacement Captain and Riker work together to force the Cardassians into retreat.
Second Chances S06E24 - In this episode Riker discovers that a transporter accident 8 years ago has resulted in the formation of a duplicate of him. They are both exactly the same in every way. Questions of self, the soul and identity take over while the Rikers attempt to discover to what extent experience makes a man.
First Contact S04E15 - While on a mission to observe an alien species on the brink of discovering deep space travel, Riker is injured and loses contact with the Enterprise. This creates a delicate situation as he has been observing in secret, disguised as a member of the alien species. The crew of the Enterprise end up breaching First Contact rules and discover exactly why they exist in the first place.

In order to make this list I searched through and compiled a list of my favorite episodes. Below are 13 other episodes that I really enjoy and think are some of the better ones from the 7 seasons the show aired but didn't make my top 10.

Honorable Mention:

Emergence S07E23
Force of Nature S07E09
Timescape S06E25
Frame of Mind S06E21
Starship Mine S06E18
The Quality of Life S06E09
True Q S06E06
Schisms S06E05
Cause and Effect S05E18
Ethics S05E16
The Nth Degree S04E19
Q-Who? S02E16
11001001 S01E16

the horror

2011-10-26T00:32:00.000-04:00

I've seen 3 from Brandon's horror list.

ANTICHRIST messed my head up for a while and regardless of what I think of von Trier, it's a very, very good film. I hope to be able to watch it again some day.

I loved LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. Definitely one of my favorites from the last few years.

I have not seen PAN'S LABYRINTH since the theater but thought it was pretty cool. Maybe I should watch it again. That's a horror movie that is more my speed.

access trumps ownership

2011-10-22T22:00:00.000-04:00

Last year I bought zero DVDs. In fact, I sold almost my entire collection save a handful of my absolute favorites (yes, I kept LOST IN TRANSLATION). Movies, for me, are currently about access over ownership. With Netflix, bittorrent, Hulu and Redbox it's really not necessary for me to own a movie like, say, BLUE VALENTINE. This may seem strange since I choose that as my favorite film of 2010. But, I think, my DVD purchasing comes down to something that Jeffery was talking about recently. BLUE VALENTINE is not a masterpiece. No movie, in my opinion, from 2010 can be considered a masterpiece.

This year, so far, I've bought two DVDs - THE TREE OF LIFE and MEEK'S CUTOFF. These are two stunning and unique films that I want to own because I will probably watch them many, many times. But I didn't buy them just for me. I bought them to loan out as well. These are films that should be seen for all the reasons everyone here has written and argued about over the last several months.

Also, I think that one of the best ways to know someone is to know and understand the things that they admire, the things that speak to them. These films are both of those things for me. I feel strongly about all the films on my 2010 list, but not how I feel about these two films. In some way they both influence or relate to my worldview.

An interesting paradox here is that I probably liked MELANCHOLIA more than TREE OF LIFE. But I don't plan on buying MELANCHOLIA on DVD. I guess that having a movie speak to me is different than liking it. This is all a bit abstract and probably doesn't make much sense. I'm not sure how to describe it; nevertheless, it's something that I've been thinking about since I read Jeffery's post the other night. Make of it what you will.

--------

As for other things, I started THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN on Wednesday but had to stop it after about 10 minutes because the dog was barking at a Boy Scout trying to sell us something and ended up chasing the kid out of the yard. Once I was done dealing with that I didn't feel like going back to the movie.

Brandon and Chris have both been very kind to S02E01 of THE WALKING DEAD. I found a lot of it silly and full of wtf moments - though there were a few points where the tension was there. But I'm the guy who loves a great campy episode of TRUE BLOOD. So, who am I to criticise? Great blood splatter effects though. Looking forward to the rest of the season, which hopefully brings with it some stronger writing. Jason, are you watching THE WALKING DEAD? I'm curious as to how true it is to the comics.

Jeffery and Chris, have either of you read CITY OF GLASS by Paul Auster? I just started it tonight after a discussion on Facebook reminded me that I own the book. Anyway, BORED TO DEATH definitely pays that novel many debts throughout the show. It's a quick and fun read that you should pick up if you ever see it somewhere cheap.

mumbled

2011-10-14T21:04:00.000-04:00

The definition of "mumblcore" was only made known to me a few weeks ago (much thanks to Jason for the enlightenment). Of course, in retrospect, I have seen plenty of mumblecore films without realizing they were "mumbelcore." Moreover, I've seen several films that I would classify into that genre but seem to be left out when looking at the wiki list posted by Chris. And, like John, I have reservations about the inclusion of a few that are on there.

A brief aside about a rather innocuous point from John's post:
I'm not sure that labeling certain films mumblecore is necessarily "silly," though I agree that it can be reductive. However, it seems obvious that most of the films grouped in the wiki list posted by Chris do have something in common - whether it be in style, influence or the way ideas and themes are portrayed. Labeling helps to define certain expressions in art and culture and, whatever its flaws, has at least a small useful purpose. That said, Bujalski's point (as posted by John) about getting out of any sort of movement because there is "not much point in making films that other people have already made" is valid and vital to the progression/transcendence of said movement. It is how culture moves forward.

Chris, your comparisons of COLD WEATHER to BORED TO DEATH and David Lynch are interesting - and not ones that I would have ever considered. I guess I get the connection with them even if I'm not sure I totally buy into it. The film does have a character drawn to amateur detective work just like in BORED TO DEATH and also has a mysterious man in a cowboy hat (LOST HIGHWAY) and small(-ish) town intrigue.

Your point about the film lacking an overall focus is well-taken. It probably, maybe does. However, I'm not sure Katz set out to make a film with any sort of overall focus because an overall focus seems irrelevant when telling this story. Katz is not trying to make a point or tie things nicely together; rather, he's trying to give us a snapshot into a brother-sister relationship during a period of uncertainty and reconnection. He does with with warmth and an intimacy that makes the characters seem like they could be our friends or our brothers or our sisters. Also, I think it is actually rather clever to tell this well-known story hidden in the mystery plot.

In leaving questions unanswered and encouraging a feeling of unfinished business, Katz is definitely drawing upon a post-modern influence. This was probably part stylistic choice and partly related to how the film was conceived and made. Like you said, we all see different things and rate movies on a different scale. I like when films leave a lot for me to fill in. There are many ways they can do this. For example, BLACK DEATH leaves the viewer to fill in something entirely different than COLD WEATHER does. These are two films I happen to really appreciate even though I seem to be in the minority on them in Film Club.

So, for me, I guess, I felt that the characters were developed and that the story reached all the potential it needed to given the circumstances. I know, this isn't much in the way of "proving [you] wrong." I can't speak to why John likes COLD WEATHER better than DRIVE for two obvious reasons: I'm not John and I haven't seen DRIVE. But I'm not sure I could/would compare them. They seem to be doing different things for different reasons - though I understand your question. It just feels like it would be a difficult one to answer. **EDIT** While I was writing this post, John took up the COLD WEATHER vs. DRIVE challenge. One more reason DRIVE needs to hit the cheap theaters for me.

I agree with you about the pacing and the comedic elements. I think they are both subtly well done.

Hopefully, TINY FURNITURE becomes available soon. I would say that it's important to see if for no other reason than that it's written and directed by a young and talented female and has an uniquely female perspective on life that is missing from a lot of films. There are plenty of other merits to TINY FURNITURE but I won't go into them here.

------------

Since you brought up BORED TO DEATH...have you seen the first few episodes of season 3? Hilarious. The humor in that show is so unique and Schwartzman, Danson and Galifanakis are awesome. I hope Zoe Kazan's character comes back soon. Speaking of Zoe, you should watch THE EXPLODING GIRL. I'd consider it a mumblecore film.

Tree of Life

2011-10-11T19:02:00.000-04:00

I watched TREE OF LIFE today. It's an impressive film but I don't know what to say about it yet. I need time to watch it again and think about it for a while.

What Malick does in "The Tree of Life" is create the span of lives. Of birth, childhood, the flush of triumph, the anger of belittlement, the poison of resentment, the warmth of forgiving. And he shows that he feels what I feel, that it was all most real when we were first setting out, and that it will never be real in that way again. - Roger Ebert

I smile and I smile and I smile

2011-10-11T11:41:00.002-04:00

Let me catch up on a few things first.

I'm going to desperately try to make TAKE SHELTER with you guys. It looks awesome.

Brandon, hope the tour went well. I'm really broke right now but once I get $25 bucks I can spare, it's going towards your Kickstarter project and a vinyl copy of TEAMWORK. Really dig this:

Jeffrey, I'm looking forward to your review of MELANCHOLIA. I think you're going to be happy. It's all I've been thinking about for two days. Also, BOARDWALK EMPIRE is really running this season. I didn't realize you like BORED TO DEATH though I guess I should have suspected. Have you seen this interview with Jason Schwartzman from The Believer?

John, the Saint-Exupery book is yours to do what you will with. I bought it at the Ithaca book sale for $.50 last spring. I was there on Saturday but didn't get over to the VHS section. I did get a few good books and some vinyl. ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS and SMALL TOWN MURDER SONGS are not available on NWI.

Oh yeah, I watched DOGTOOTH last week in the middle of my SONS OF ANARCHY binge. I don't really have anything to add to the discussion. It was alright, I guess, but I don't really have a strong opinion either way. I wouldn't watch it again and I probably wouldn't recommend it either.

Below is a bit about MELANCHOLIA. There are not really any spoilers in it because I'm not entirely sure how I could spoil it. Read it or don't, I kept it brief because I think that the interesting part will be in the discussion (also, I still haven't figured out exactly what I have to say about it). I hope you can all see it soon.

------------

Melancholia is just going to pass right in front of us and it's going to be the most beautiful sight ever.

MELANCHOLIA opens with a beautiful, disorienting and dreamlike sequence of images from which it is almost impossible to look away. These first few minutes are set to Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde" Prelude, which creates a haunting backdrop for von Trier to spend the next 10 minutes intercutting pictures of the characters with shots of planets aligning and ultimately colliding. The whole opening is amazing. It's gorgeously shot and puts things in a cosmic perspective.

Part 1 begins disarmingly. Von Trier uses a shaky handheld camera to shoot a funny and endearing scene about the newly weds attempting to get to their reception. Dunst and Skarsgaard are so charming that it is easy to forget that the world will be ending. Complex family dynamics begin to unfold when the couple finally make it to the wedding and Justine begins to revert into herself. More often she turns up missing and the guests have to wait while she takes a bath, drives around in the golf cart or sits in another room. Over and over again Justine is told to be happy, that a lot of money was spent on the wedding and she should want "this." All this expectation to be happy adds guilt and drives her deeper into herself as the reception unravels.

Part 2 begins after the wedding with Justine arriving home in a taxi in a depressed and weak state a few days before Melancholia is supposed to "fly by" Earth. Ironically, as her sister begins to fall apart with fear that the planet will hit, Justine begins to become the stronger character, though probably only through resignation.

I watched MELANCHOLIA twice in about 24 hours and I am even considering watching it again tonight. My brief recap above barely touches the film. The real genius of it would fill pages Or, more likely, needs us all to sit down over a pot of tea for a few hours and discuss. Honestly, I cannot stop thinking about the film - especially Part 1. It is such a sad and wonderful thing to behold.

easy like sunday morning

2011-09-25T15:43:00.001-04:00

MEEK'S CUTOFF is just as good the second time around. I got the DVD on Friday and watched it yesterday afternoon. It's such a stunning film. I'll let you all know if the extra features are any good once I get around to watching them.

FORKS OVER KNIVES does a great job of explaining the health benefits of eating a plant-based, whole foods diet. I don't think there is anything new or shocking in the documentary but it's still worth watching.

Other than those two films, I have watched a few BBC shows on youtube. I spent the other night catching up on some Derren Brown. He is pretty popular in the UK but relatively unknown here in the States. Brown is a performer, mentalist, skeptic (and probably some other things too) who has been on a mission to expose psychics, faith healers, new age believers, mediums and anyone else who claims to have some sort of special power or ability. He has been using his recent TV shows to prove these people as frauds relying on the very same tricks that performers like himself have been using for years. Since I know that there are some readers here in FC, I also want to plug his book too. It's an excellent and fun read that BoingBoing's Cory Doctorow calls a "charming and fascinating book...which is one of those impossible- to- pigeonhole, eclectic nonfiction books that pulls together its subject matter in a genuinely novel way and ends up influencing how you see the world around you."

Here is Brown's latest show where he takes an ordinary person and trains him to become a (fake) faith healer. They then travel to Texas in order prove just how easy it is to take advantage of people. The group goes through some ethical dilemmas about their deception but do carry the project out to it's conclusion. I'm not posting this here as a reason to start a religion debate again. However, though Brown is an atheist, he makes a point of focusing only on the fraud and danger of faith healers and not on disproving or mocking Christianity. Indeed, the guy he trains is a believer. That said, I'd be interested to hear what others think of Brown. Have any of you seen/read his stuff? I have been following him since around 2007 but find that a lot of people in the US have never heard of him.

I also watched The Chinese Are Coming. It's a good look at the Chinese and their growing influence around the world - an important topic in the years to come.

Okay, looking forward to BOARDWALK EMPIRE tonight.

Cold Weather Last Night

2011-09-19T14:47:00.000-04:00

Cold Weather (2010)

Aaron Katz's mystery-thriller-comedy-mumblecore film, COLD WEATHER, follows recent college drop-out, Doug, shortly after he leaves school, where he was studying forensic science in hopes of becoming a detective like Sherlock Holmes, and returns to Portland to live with his older sister, Gail. In Portland Doug reconnects with an ex-girlfriend, Rachel, and lands a job working in an ice factory where he befriends Carlos.

COLD WEATHER is a slow moving film. The first 40 minutes meander from one scene the next as we get to know the characters and are introduced to their lives. Then something happens (and I'm being vague in order to avoid spoilers) and the film moves towards the mystery and then thriller genres - though I use those terms lightly.

Katz does not build COLD WEATHER like other movies. It is full of conversations and scenes that do little to move the plot forward. Inane things like waiting for a mixtape to rewind or forgetting pipe tobacco and stopping at a gas station to buy it are usually left out of movies; they offer little in the way of character development or plot advancement. But COLD WEATHER thrives on these small details and scenes. David Foster Wallace used to call these details the irrelevant complexity in life. Most artists shy away from them; however, there is a boldness and veracity when they are captured and portrayed well.

In the end COLD WEATHER is a movie about Doug and Gail's relationship. The mystery/thriller aspect is actually the subplot disguised as the main plot.

I am looking forward to another viewing and to more of Film Club watching this movie so that I don't have to be so careful in writing about it.

-----------------
Last Night (2010)

LAST NIGHT is about a (more or less) happy couple who each end up spending a night tempted by another person. It flirts with complex questions of fidelity, love, guilt and honesty in a grown-up and real way. It is well-paced and well-acted leading viewers up to the moment when each character has to decide how far they are going to go.

This is an intelligent film that far surpassed my expectations on almost every level and is probably closer to the truth than most films with similar themes.

Convo Catch-up:

Oh, guess there isn't much.

Lisa, how's NC? Going to have any time for us again soon?

Jeffrey, sorry I can't make DRIVE. Let's definitely plan on THE IDES OF MARCH. Hope classes are going well.

Christopher, I watched the first episode of WEEDS this season but haven't gone back. Eventually I'll download them all. In my opinion, seasons 1-3 were amazing - funny yet culturally and socially poignant. It's been steadily downhill since then. I'm also looking forward to BOARDWALK EMPIRE. You're right in saying it's one of the best shows on TV right now, though I'd have to give the "best" nod to TREME.

Jason, I'm still looking for a way to see QUIET CITY. Maybe I can find a cheap DVD copy somewhere. Watch COLD WEATHER.

Brandon, hope the tour is going well. I listened to the entire TEAMWORK album twice last night. I'll support your Kickstarter project as soon as I have some extra cash (or any cash, really).

John, have you seen this? Oh no...

The Rest of 2011: Movies that Interest Me

2011-09-18T21:17:00.002-04:00

I plan to write about COLD WEATHER tomorrow. In the meantime, here is a list of the movies that interest me for the rest of the year. An * marks the the films I'm really excited about. What ones is everyone else excited about? What did I leave out?

September:

Drive*
Jane's Journey*
My Afternoons with Margueritte
Restless
Straw Dogs
Margaret*
Twixt*
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Take Shelter*
Like Crazy

October:

The Ides of March
The Way*
Bombay Beach
Connected
Cherkess
Father of Invention
Martha Marcy May Marlene*
Anonymous
In Time*
Rum Diary

November:

My Week with Marilyn*
J. Edgar
Melancholia*
Tomboy
The Lie
The Artist

December:

Coriolanus
Shame*
Sleeping Beauty*
A Dangerous Method*
I Melt With You
W.E.
Young Adult
In the Land of Blood and Honey
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close*
Pariah

The photo all of film club has been waiting for - NSFW!!

2011-09-14T10:39:00.001-04:00

Actually, decided I don't want that picture up here. Anyone with a basic knowledge of Google can find it though.

Real blogging to resume as soon as I actually see a movie. Srsly.

reading

2011-09-06T22:35:00.000-04:00

Here is my GoodReads profile. Friend me! I'm not backlogging all my books but I've been good about keeping track for around two weeks now. I'll try to keep up with it. Here's the list of books I read in 2010. And here is the list for 2011 so far. I don't count books read for school.

I've been severely restricting my computer and Internet time the last few weeks. Also, I haven't been watching any movies. Hence, my silence. Hope you're all well. Looking forward to seeing DRIVE soon.

It can't rain all the time

2011-08-23T22:02:00.000-04:00

I started re-reading The Crow tonight when I noticed it on the shelf at a friend's house that I'm watching while he is out of town. I'll probably be watching the movie after I finished it. Anyone else seen it? You Revenge Film fans should definitely watch it. It's on NWI. Here is one of my favorite scenes (from both the comic and the movie).

Other than watching DOLLHOUSE last week, I haven't seen anything.

My contribution to the animals/vegetarian thing going on in FC right now

2011-08-21T21:21:00.000-04:00

I defy anyone to watch this and not cry. This is absolutely one of the saddest and most beautiful things ever filmed.

Last Minutes with ODEN from phos pictures on Vimeo.

So there are three of us vegetarian/vegans here in film club? Almost 50%. In a random sampling that would be way higher than average.

Sorry for the recent silence. I've been doing things away from screens, you know?

suggestions

2011-08-14T23:27:00.000-04:00

John, FINALLY! Everyone needs to see Dr. Horrible. It's on NWI. I was actually wondering if you'd watched it or not just yesterday because I began Season 2 of Dollhouse on NWI. I'll have a Dollhouse post once I finish it tomorrow.

Jeffery, I know that you asked Brandon for a list of film blogs but I thought I'd share a few. Actually, I'm pretty sure that all of these came as a suggestion from either Brandon or John.

Cinema Viewfinder
SLIFLR
The Movie Snob
Self-Styled Siren
Some Came Running
Offscreen - not a blog but has some of the best essays I've read. Check out the two-parter on ANTICHRIST

Also, and I hope John doesn't mind, I pasted an email below from him about film-related podcasts.

"Off the top of my head, here are some film-related podcasts that I listen to now and then...

Filmspotting
Battleship Pretension
Comedy Film Nerds
Doug Loves Movies
The /Filmcast
The Q&A With Jeff Goldsmith
The Treatment (I'm not sure if Elvis Mitchell is still doing this)
The CriterionCast
The IFC Podcast
The House Next Door guys used to do a podcast; something like GrassRoots Tavern. I think there's even a New World episode floating around out there.
I think that NPR has a movie or entertainment podcast.

There's at least a dozen others that I've tried, but I can't remember them and don't listen to them regularly.

The above are some of the big ones anyway. I usually listen to them selectively based on movies reviewed or which guests are on. Out of all of the above, I probably listen to Doug Loves Movies the most. The Battleship Pretension guys are fun to listen to because they'll often have LA comedians on as guests. Same with Comedy Film Nerds. If you like both movies and comedy, them these three shows can be a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, there's no really good academic material out there. There's a great series of lectures on the history and development of the Western available through ITunes U, from Wesleyan University, I think, but I can't remember the prof's name.

catching up

2011-08-09T20:01:00.000-04:00

Ok, got to get caught up before I see THE TREE OF LIFE tomorrow. Oh yeah, caps it is.

THE LAST EXORCISM was my Sunday afternoon movie. The premise of the film was interesting and actually left some interesting room for both social and religious commentary. However, like John mentioned, what's worth talking about is probably located in the last few minutes. Is anyone else planning to watch it? I don't want to leak any spoilers because, well, I don't think the movie is all that strong without the ending. THE LAST EXORCISM does not play as much in ambiguity as BLACK DEATH does and, I think, is the inferior of the two if we are putting them up as a double-feature as John suggested. Where I felt that BLACK DEATH allowed the viewer to come to their own conclusions, THE LAST EXORCISM shows its hand a bit too strongly at the end and that makes the mystery a bit less compelling.

I am undecided about the faux-documentary thing. I feel like it's always soooo overdone. Haven't these people seen some of the documentaries that are out lately? The camerawork is steady and beautiful.

THE LEDGE wants to be a study of love and personal convictions. It's just hard to take this seriously since the characters all seem so one dimensional and predictable. The ending was not Hollywood and for that I give it credit.

I watched BATTLE IN HEAVEN after reading John's review of JAPON (re-posted recently by Brandon). It was the only thing by the director that was available on NWI. For a film that I thought about stopping 3 different times, it has actually stuck in my mind for a long time and I am considering giving his other films a chance.

THE MYTH OF THE AMERICAN SLEEPOVER is another contender for my Top Ten of 2011. I am not that far removed from high school that I can't remember what it was like and I think that this film captures a lot of that feeling in a muted, subtle and suburban way.

I might have mentioned this but A.I. is one of my favorite movies. I saw it many times in the theater the summer it came out (before my senior year of high school). I agree with a lot of what has been said and can't really add anything to the discussion right now.

That's all I've got for now. Catch you all soon.

A few more thoughts on Black Death

2011-07-27T23:33:00.000-04:00

One of the most striking things for me is that the film seems to set up and rely on a lot of common "hero" tropes but then never follows through with them. At first it looks like the hero might be the young monk struggling with his faith, Osmund. Then Ulric rides into town and perhaps it is him. But Ulric's fanaticism and his idea of mercy being a knife to the gut instead of a burning takes him out. By the end, Osmund has broken (quite spectacularly) as well. If there is any "hero" in the movie, it's probably the narrator, Wolfstan. And, in a way, he's kind of the "everyman," right?

That said, if there is any sort of moral point to the film, it might be that blindly following anything is dangerous. Christians and pagans are used to make this point but it's probably much broader than that. In uncertain times people will follow leaders on cruel paths. They will burn women, they will crucify strangers. The real devastation is not wrought by the plague but by the wickedness and cruelty of ignorant men.

Brandon, are we really meant to be on the side of the Christians? I guess, probably, since we are following along with them. But how is what the pagans are doing any different than the burning of the witch we encounter early in the movie? Both groups are guilty of the same ignorance and cruelty.

I think the reason that I find Osmund such a compelling character is because of his uncertainty. Am I reading too much into his character and finding more nuance where there isn't any? I like the fact that he does not really know where he stands and just wants to do what is right, which is so very, very hard.

The scene where Osmund kills Avrill is interesting and more complex, I think, than you give it credit. It draws parallels to the earlier scene where Ulric killed the woman in the forest as an act of mercy. Is that what Osmund is doing here - sparing her pain? He was horrified earlier. What has changed inside of him since then? The necromancer tricked him into something that he can never take back. Where he had doubts about his purity before, it is lost forever now. The Abbot was right: the outside world changed him. Perhaps that is why he reacts so harshly at the end of the film.

I really love the landscape changes throughout and the influences that a horror director brought to this sort of morally ambiguous journey film. I'm just too tired to write anything about them right now.

lackluster

2011-07-27T00:05:00.000-04:00

I have been struggling with why I find myself drawn to Black Death since I re-watched it last night - especially since I dislike gore and have little interest in the horror genre (where the director previously made his career). What it comes down to, I think, is how the film approaches issues of faith, morality, zealotry, revenge and good/evil. It makes very little judgement (and offers no answers!) and leaves the viewer to put their own views together. I think that both an atheist and a Christian could watch this film and interpret lessons from it based on their personal belief templates.

Contrary to seeing the first half as "lackluster," I found the pacing to be appropriate and tension-building. There are a lot of questions to be found there and each character (though I will probably focus mostly on Osmund from here on out because I think he is meant to be the "lead" character and is the one I find most interesting) struggles with their own personal, metaphysical or existential issues.

There is also something to be said about the contrasting landscapes in the film.

Eddie Redmayne gave a great performance.

Okay, saying too much more might involve spoilers. Hurry up.

Lisa, now that I think about it, this might fall under NSFL.

2011-07-26T20:43:00.002-04:00

My Mother

2011-07-26T16:45:00.000-04:00

If we want to talk about George Bataille, we could do it in light of the 2004 (also appropriate considering where this discussion began) film adaptation of his posthumous novel Ma Mère. It is on NWI and has been in my queue for years; however, every time it comes up, I push it back down again.

I am not very familiar with Bataille's works but I know he had a large influence on people like Derrida, Lacan and Baudrillard - people whose works I don't necessarily mind as interesting writing but find lacking in philosophical insight. Anyone interested in doing a philosophy-related documentary/movie thing? I'd come up with some sort of plan. Ok, I'm going to do it. I'll post details later after I think about it more.

Jeffrey, I'm with you on the gore thing. Not really a fan.

John, I'm downloading The Last Exorcism. I'll let you know when I get to it. I would be willing to set a date after which Black Death spoilers occur. I probably should go ahead and write something about it now before it gets old in my brain.

absolution

2011-07-25T21:00:00.000-04:00

I have a proposal. Everyone watch Black Death and then we can discuss Christianity via that film. It's a more ambiguous and open film. I'm still not sure if it is pro- or anti-Christian. All I know is that I like it. I just watched it again today on NWI. I can definitely see it making my Top Ten for 2011. Not that the discussion of The Passion of the Christ is not interesting, it's just that it's kind of predictable, right?

Brandon, I have not found the occasion on this blog to discuss where I stand on the religion issue. Though religion is something that interests me and I have some strong opinions and beliefs, I think I'll refrain from openly saying anything unless it comes out in discussion of a film. Piecing together everyone's worldview based on their writings about movies is one of the most interesting things about Film Club for me.

Jason, I enjoyed No Impact Man. There was not necessarily anything new or clever but it was a fun film and one that I think more people should probably see. I have not read The Walking Dead comics because I've never really liked the whole zombie thing. However, I have a feeling the comics are probably killer now that I've seen the show. It's interesting how the show is structured. I can almost see it moving frame by frame like a comic would.

Alright, I've been enjoying the flurry of posts lately. The last few weeks I have been trying to manage my computer time better. So, hopefully, I'll be giving Film Club more time than it got in the past few months.

And, seriously, go watch Black Death.

The Passion of 2004

2011-07-23T22:18:00.000-04:00

John, sorry, can't help you with the Google Sites thing. I mean, I guess I could but it would probably involve looking at the HTML code for a paragraph break or something stupid that got added incorrectly - as sometimes happens. Are you using the List layout and not the Webpage? Instead of using the "Blank" template, try one of the custom ones. Google Sites are cool because they are easy. They just aren't that powerful.

I'm kind of happy to see someone stick up for The Passion of the Christ. Being neither religious nor a fan of that sort of film, I actually enjoyed myself at it. Did the midnight showing with some friends the night it came out. The place was full of crazies but it was a good time. I haven't been able to bring myself to see it again, however.

Jeffrey, I guess I technically would not consider Crash a 2004 film either - at least in the way I've been doing this. Everyone has me so messed up about how to tell what year a film came out...I blame John.

Chris, yeah, Tarantino, I don't know. Just never seem to dig his stuff. I do, however, like hearing him talk about movies and seeing his interviews. They are always interesting. Have you seen the Iconoclasts episode with him and Fiona Apple? If not, I suggest you torrent that ASAP. Hmm...now I really want to go on an Iconoclasts binge. That's a cool show.

Lisa, I've seen Closer a lot. I think that this scene is one of the best. It builds and builds. In the theater it was pretty tense.

Tree of Life hits the Art Mission on Friday. I confirmed with a telephone call about 20 minutes ago. Finally, I get to join the conversation.

I know Jason has been watching movies because I'm friends with him on Facebook.

stupid list stuff

2011-07-22T23:53:00.000-04:00

Brandon, definitely elaborate. I'm really curious about which films they are...might start some good debates.

How is everyone else making their lists? Have we discussed this? Strictly the "best" movies of the year? Some other criteria? My 2004 list is hugely influenced by my personal preference and where I was "at" during that particular year. I did not see a lot of the more popular films of the year, like The Aviator, Million Dollar Baby, Hotel Rwanda. I also did not see The House of the Flying Daggers or Crimson Gold. They both interest me a lot, however.

What about Crash? I feel like that might be the "cool to hate" film of 2004. I should have included it in my Honorable Mention list.

I appreciate Tarantino but am going to go ahead and admit that I never really care too much for his films.

I would like to watch The Dreamers again before I really make this point but don't the characters find the subplot boring as well? I'll try to articulate this better when I'm not so tired.

Super 8 is at the Cinema Saver. During the day it's only $2, which means I'll probably be seeing it sometime next week.

Alright, it's been a long and hot one. Time for some rest.

for a laugh

2011-07-21T10:31:00.000-04:00

Chris, glad you liked Primer. I've watched that film probably 10 times since it came out. I am pretty sure that I have a grasp on what happened. There have been rumors of Carruth's next film, which is apparently "mind-blowing." In an interview last year he said that the new website for it is just a place holder as it has not found adequate financing yet. Let's hope it comes through soon.

As far as Zach Braff is concered, Garden State is the only thing of his that I really like. Lisa, glad you mentioned the soundtrack. It introduced me to Zero 7. You might remember them from this incredibly awesome party scene.

John, I'm with you on both Harry Potter and LoTR. I was not aware of the BBC adaptation but will have to see if I can locate it. You gave me Breaking Bad. Maybe I'll start it.

Is it wrong to say that my favorite Wes Anderson film is Hotel Chevalier? I don't disagree with everyone including The Life Aquatic on their Top Ten. It is probably my second favorite film of his but I have had the type of relationship in Hotel Chevalier. My favorite scene is the one that starts about 9:20 in, where they are laying on the bed and he tells her that he will never be her friend.

Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe

2011-07-21T00:12:00.000-04:00

Oh, how did I forget to mention this documentary? It's available for free HERE. There will be physical copies, but I don't think they are available yet.

I first heard of David Choe from the Vice Guide to Travel. I think this doc does a really good job of capturing the crazy course of his life (and the triumphs and struggles) over the last several years. I like it for its honesty, its confusion and what it says about the world of art and accessibility. Perfect companion piece for Exit Through the Gift Shop. Go watch and enjoy.

2004

2011-07-20T23:10:00.000-04:00

Jeffrey, I have a lot of favorite movies from 2004. In fact, it's hard for me to pick just 10. My list is going to look a lot different than yours. Sorry in advance for my lack of comments about my choices. More later, perhaps?

1. Before Sunset - I've said a lot about this movie here already. One of my all-time favorites.
2. We Don't Live Here Anymore - So raw, so real, so intense. Love the acting, pulls no punches.
3. The Door in the Floor - One of the best book to movie adaptations ever.
4. Garden State - Might be a generational thing but when this came out I was like, "yes!"
5. I Heart Huckabees - Funny and oddly touching. A bunch of other BU philosophy students and I all got together to watch this when it came out on DVD and discuss it in light of the philosophical issues raised. There are so many funny little side-notes that are missed unless you watch it a few times. Mark Wahlberg is a really good comedic actor.
6. Primer - The best time travel movie to date. Even better when you know it was done for $7000.
7. In the Realms of the Unreal - Moving story of a strange janitor/artist. Makes you reconsider "art" and it's meaning.
8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - I did not like this as much as some but it definitely deserves a spot in the Top Ten.
9. The Dreamers - Even missing a lot of the film references, I think this is a great movie. Interesting story, fascinating look at France in '68.
10. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring - Beautiful and meditative film.

Movies that deserve more attention:

1. The Girl Next Door - Interesting for the dialogue it creates about feminism and porn. Good acting. James Woods will make you cry.
2. Maria Full of Grace - Intense film, great acting.
3. Somersault - Maybe I just like this because it introduced me to Abbie Cornish.
4. 9 Songs - Another relationship movie but with penetration. Worth seeing once.

Honorable Mention: Born into Brothels, Saved!, The Life Aquatic, Kinsey, Coffee and Cigarettes (The Tom Waits scene was awesome but Bill Murray killed it), The Agronomist, A Very Long Engagement, Super Size Me, The Machinist (Christian Bale...wow), Night Watch, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

Movies I am a bit embarrassed about liking: Closer, Secret Window

I saw both The Motorcycle Diaries and Bad Education and did like them. However, I'd probably need to see them again before deciding where they fit in above.

Should probably see Vera Drake.

slowly back into the fray

2011-07-19T19:34:00.000-04:00

My plans for this summer were to read a lot of books and watch a lot of movies. I have managed to do neither - but that's alright. Except for my miserable job hunt, it has been a good summer so far. Lots of late night runs, hanging out with friends and enjoying the warm weather. My garden has been producing veggies at a ridiculous rate and my uncle's blueberry patch has kept me in fresh berries for the last few weeks.

What I've been watching:

True Blood is back. John, you're welcome to come over and watch it anytime. It just keeps getting more and more campy and ridiculous every season. Last episode Eric got drunk off the blood of Sookie's fairy Godmother, Jason was turned into a Werepanther and raped by the female panthers, Arlene's baby is almost certainly possessed by her dead husband and a local witch is on her way to becoming a successful necromancer.

I also just watched the first season of The Walking Dead. I thought it would be the perfect summer action show, something that I could lay in front of a fan and watch while escaping the heat. It turns out that it is a lot better than I thought - less about the zombies than about the human relationships. But the zombie stuff is cool too.

There are some great Joseph Campbell documentaries on NWI that I have been working through as well.

I am dog sitting for the next 11 days, which means I'll probably do a lot of movie/tv watching. Uncle Boonmee and Black Death are on the list. If I can find a download for season 4 of The Twilight Zone, I'll start watching it with everyone. I failed at the 30's things but I do love The Twilight Zone. Give me some other NWI suggestions for these late nights up here with the dog.

By the way, I was forced to watch the first few Harry Potter movies with a friend when they were first coming out. They were alright, I guess.

don't be an adult woman...

2011-07-18T21:07:00.000-04:00

I've watched some stuff. I'll post about them as soon as I can stop watching The Walking Dead. In the meantime, here's a video. Relevant part at 2 minutes in or so.

I see Chris, hello

2011-07-10T01:20:00.000-04:00

Chris, hello and welcome. Is that you in the picture? You look very contemplative. I dig the stash. Alright, on to important things. First, glad to see someone else appreciates Catfish. Second, you made a list of Dylan's Top 24 songs and didn't include If You See Her, Say Hello. Oh man, what's up with that?

So, Film Club has been slow. Tonight I watched my first film since seeing Midnight in Paris a few weeks ago. It was Blue Valentine - my #1 film of 2010.

John, I'll make it to Binghamton Classics one of these days. Now I need to get back to Star Trek on NWI. See you around the +!

Look, here is a picture of Rigby. He is slightly confused over who is allowed to sleep on the bed.

I bet you didn't know...

2011-06-29T20:39:00.001-04:00

that I'm something of a film maker myself. This could have all been yours (collectively "yours") if you didn't turn down my invitation to see INK and sit around a fire. Your loss. Btw, the ending is my favorite part.

Also, I decided to skim all the posts about ToL. I just. couldn't. take. it. any. more. The discussion is VERY interesting and I'm really bummed that I missed out. The direction it took was one that I could probably have participated in even without seeing the film - at least to a certain degree.

I feel a bit silly about driving home last night.

Going to console myself by purchasing an expensive On Demand movie tonight.

Why I drove home before Tree of Life began

2011-06-28T23:32:00.001-04:00

Film Club, I didn't get to see Tree of Life. I don't think I'll be able to see the movie until it opens around here. I don't have the $$ to drive back to Ithaca and pay for another movie right now. Save some of your arguing energy for me.

What happened:

I was sitting in the lobby of Cinemapolis texting with John and Facebook messaging about how to start a Binghamton area hackerspace with someone I met over the weekend when I heard a woman say, "Should we sit?"

I glanced up from my phone just in time to see an old man wobble, catch himself and then overcompensate. My reaction time was too slow, the distance between us too great. He hit the floor. Hard.

The man was too weak to stand with only the aid of my hand. I had to pick him up from behind and carry him to the chair - something that I am sure had to be more than embarrassing for this man who, still in complete control of all his mental faculties, has had to endure the ignominy of watching his body wither away.

I'll spare you the gory details except to say that he had recently had about half his foot amputated. Already being weak, he had just sat through 138 minutes of The Tree of Life and his legs had seized up. When he took the shoe/bandage combo off, it was obvious that the fall opened up all the stitches of what was left of his foot and provided him a bloody stump with which to deal. While his sister pulled the car around, I stayed and talked with him a bit. How do you hold back tears when someone is trying to regain their dignity? He told me about dealing with his foot, how strong he had been getting recently and that he had, earlier that day, completed an entire trip to Wegman's with no pain or problems. Where, he wondered, would this new injury put him in the healing process? I stood there and sympathized, consoled and then wished him a speedy recovery as he made his way to the car and the emergency room.

But the thing is this: he is probably entering a stage in his life where embarrassment, pain and reliance on others is routine. I saw cases like this so often when I was riding the ambulance and it affected me deeply each time. I tend to internalize and seeing other people in pain, true and undeniable pain, gets to me. It is why I had to eventually get off the ambulance and abort my nursing career before it even got off the ground.

So, after this I just could not see a movie. Even Tree of Life held no interest and I did not think that I would be able to concentrate. Carrying this man, who was once young and strong and obviously intelligent, to the chair stirred something up. Seeing loss in his downcast eyes and knowing there was nothing I could do hurt.

I drove home, took a shower and cried a little bit over the unbearable sadness that sometimes exists.

Just so you all know...

2011-06-28T14:07:00.000-04:00

if all goes according to plan, I'm going to the 9:40 showing of Tree of Life tonight. Seeing all these long posts but being unable to read or respond to them is killing me. (I was too busy when I was in Toronto too see the film.)

Game of Thrones

2011-06-23T13:10:00.000-04:00

No one else watched Game of Thrones, right? I'm going to re-watch the season again, I think. Here is what MZS has to say:

Bottom line: This was the best first season of a cable series, and surely the best first season finale, since "Deadwood" back in 2004. Each scene and moment seemed to have been carved out of wood, and they all tied up old business while setting the stage for new business. Season 2 is scheduled for April, 2012. Hurry up, spring. LINK

lmfao

2011-06-22T20:26:00.000-04:00

John, I know you are done with Midnight. That's what I get for showing up late. Nevertheless, a few things:

I didn't mean to suggest that you don't know how to enjoy a good story. Midnight hit a lot of the essential elements that I look for in a fun movie. Doesn't work for you on that level, I get it. Still don't agree with you about a few other points you've made but that's part of the fun of this entire thing. You have some interesting ideas and forced me to consider a different perspective. I feel sorry for anyone who has seen Midnight but missed this debate.

I would also be interested in having the genre fiction discussion at some point. You mentioned way back in one of your first posts that you find some of the stuff going on at there to be important. I completely agree and think it is a shame that people tend to dismiss it so quickly. I'm actually talking about this in a more literary sense but only because my film knowledge is still lacking. (Ok, just found the post and you were talking about this in your discussion of The Lower Depths.)

Brandon and Jeffery, can I say a few words in defense of Twitter? As someone who is very interested in social media - an umbrella term that Twitter falls under, though Lisa and I were just yesterday discussing how ambiguous the term is - I use and love Twitter. Far from it being just a place where I send out mindless updates ("i'm naked and wasted and, omg, my life is so fucking boring"), it is a place where I connect and learn. Honestly. I connect with other people who have similar interests as me, most of whom I have never met. I find new and interesting information from them, ask and answer questions and can have my voice heard by people who would normally be inaccessible. I have tweeted with some of my favorite authors and actors. Hopefully Lisa will chime in here too. We had a really interesting discussion about this very topic yesterday.

In addition, look at the power of Twitter to affect change around the world. The Arab Spring movement was largely coordinated via Twitter. I was getting information on there that was not hitting the news until almost an hour later.

Yes, Twitter does have many users who probably use it the way you two describe. But that's not all it is.

I follow Ebert on Twitter. He tweets A LOT and I find that his stuff is almost always, at the very least, interesting (it helps that our politics are similar). His comment about Dunn ("Friends don't let jackasses drink and drive.") is probably crass and "too soon." I happen to agree with him, however. Should he have tweeted it? I can't really say - but probably, yes. His point is valid. Dunn was driving 130 mph after drinking (his bac was twice the legal limit and he...wait for it...tweeted a picture of him drinking at a bar just a few hours prior to the accident). Sorry, that qualifies as a jackass, clever pun or not. Dunn's death is sad and tragic but it was also avoidable. Ebert isn't afraid to point this out and I can only hope it serves as a lesson.

As you might know, this isn't the first time Ebert has created controversy with a tweet. A few months ago, in response to the censorship of the word "nigger" from Huck Finn, he tweeted, "I'd rather be called a nigger than a slave." Again, I think the outrage was ill-founded. If Twitter fails here, it is that people missed the context of the tweet.

Now, enjoy Hank talk to Hank about blogging.

Brandon, one more thing. I happen to be of the opinion that some people are not meant to go to college. This is not a slight against them. I tend to excel in academia but that's also because I've bought into it. Just because someone does not have a degree does not mean they are not educated. I know a lot of people with degrees who I find to be dull, boring and rather stupid. A self-directed education like you have is admirable. In fact, I think that education is probably heading in that direction and away from institutions.

delightful

2011-06-22T17:05:00.000-04:00

John, I do not think you are entirely wrong on your point about Allen's references in Midnight in Paris. They are easy. Perhaps this is a place where I part from Jeffery and Jason and agree more with you. This is not a "thinking" movie - at least not like Meek's Cutoff. In this sort of comparison, Allen loses. If you recall, I called Midnight "delightful." I'd enjoy it late-night when I want something charming to watch. While it helps to have some background knowledge and similar interests as Allen (luckily I do and enjoyed the idea of going back to the time when all those creative people were living in Paris, though I might have wanted to wait another 10 or so years and hit the Paris of Henry Miller et al.), it is not required to enjoy the movie. Maybe a person who doesn't get some of these references won't enjoy it as "fully" as others, who knows? I like that it works on those two different levels. Yes, it leads the audience in a certain direction. But a lot of movies to that. Hell, all lot of great stories rely on common characterizations and tropes.

The positive that we see in Gil is that he is "us." We have all been in situation or a period in our life where we wished things were different. From the beginning Gil is the underdog, the romantic, the guy fighting the loss of passion in life (of course, how would we see him if the film began at his home in Malibu where he makes a lot of money writing film scripts?). I have no problem with Allen setting him up like this. I have watched plenty of movies where I knew what I was supposed to think from the very beginning. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I don't. In this case, I did.

I think Jason's point about the moral truth of the film, viz "enjoy the present because the past had problems too," is just, in a way, a happy accident for Allen. It's a pretty reductive theme to base a film upon and though there is truth to it, Allen is probably more interested in what he does in other parts of the film. That said, I don't need my art to contain moral truths (I'm going to avoid the conversation about the difference between moral and ordinary truth for now). Sometimes I like a story because it's just a good story.

The spoken word artist Rives talked about this briefly during a performance a few years ago by telling a story. Go to this page, scroll to the very bottom and watch the video. The part I am talking about begins around the 14:20 mark.

I'm home reading and listening to music all evening. I'll try to respond to posts as quickly as I can for the rest of the day.

Good night, Midnight

2011-06-22T15:43:00.001-04:00

I know I said I was going to write about Midnight in Paris today. However, I didn't get up until late and then spent most of the day eating lunch and looking for books/records in Owego with my grandma and cousin. In this time, Jeffery put up quite a nice response that includes a lot of what I would have said in regards to the movie e.g. the caricatures, references and Woody. I'll probably go see Midnight with Lisa at some point before she leaves town. Perhaps that will spark some more writing from me.

I have not been watching any movies because I've been trying to catch up on all my reading that I did not get to do during school. That's why my blogging has been stale. Mea culpa.

You should all check out what I just tweeted about Brandon and Jeffery.

Tree of Midnight

2011-06-21T18:24:00.000-04:00

Friday will not work for me. I am going to TEDxLibrarians in Toronto Friday - Sunday. Tree of Life is playing at a theater less than a block from my hotel. Depending on my free time while I'm there, I might see it then. I've also discussed going mid-week with another friend of mine sometime next week. Cinemopolis is likely to be less crowded then. If we go, I'll be driving and could easily accommodate anyone else who wants to join us.

John, sorry for my silence. Things have been oddly busy for me over the last week or so. But I have been reading the discussion between you and Jason and want to jump in. In fact, I started a post a few nights ago but it was after 1am and I was too tired to finish it. I'll write tomorrow morning though. Tonight I have to go to dinner and I'm already late.

I'm in a very perplexing situation

2011-06-15T10:42:00.000-04:00

The last few weeks were really busy as I finished up my MLIS. But I made it through and am done, which is both exciting and somewhat anti-climatic. Now I can focus more time on Film Club.

Since my last post I have watched three films - and two of them I had already seen. It was a bummer I couldn't make it to Kong on Saturday. The timing was off by about an hour for me. So, when I got home I decided to watch The Thin Red Line again. What can I say besides what has already been said?

I also watched No Maps for These Territories. Basically, it is an hour and half car ride with William Gibson. He discusses everything from his writing to pornography to nanotechnology to cyberspace. It is a fascinating film with lots of big ideas. It was shot on a car ride from NY to Vancouver but the director plays with the images in the windows and adds some interesting effects that make it move along - though the ideas really should be enough.

Last night I went to see Midnight in Paris. I was supposed to be doing something else and when that fell through I decided on a whim to catch the 10:15 showing. I absolutely loved it - the word that springs to mind is "delightful." One of Allen's best and Owen Wilson is so funny and charming and awkward and perfect. I won't say anything else until you have all seen it but I have a feeling that I'll be going back for another viewing.

An aside: It was an interesting experience at the theater because I think I got a glimpse of my future self. It was just me and two other older guys in the place. I was sitting behind them so I was able to see them come in alone, find seats, pull out their phone, check into Get Glue and then start reading until the previews began, which was exactly what I had done. Eventually two younger girls joined us and crushed an amazing amount of popcorn for their little bodies. I'm talking two of the big buckets.

Yesterday was really my first day to decompress and relax in a while. So, Jeffery, I will get to work on the 1930's thing soon. My apologies for tarrying.

Congrats, Brandon, on your band's signing.

John, I'm going to try to go to as many of those films with you as I can. See you at game night?

Lisa, see you in a few days?

Jason, Super 8 looks fun but I'm not going to pay $10 to see it. Once it hits the cheap theaters, I'm there.

The Projectionist Has Final Cut

2011-06-06T18:12:00.000-04:00

"One lazy projectionist is all it takes to sabotage the years of hard work put into getting a film from script to screen. Director Terrence Malick (Badlands, Days of Heaven) knows this and expressed his concern in a letter sent to the attention of every projectionst assigned the sworn duty of bringing his latest film, The Tree of Life, to light. MORE

Don't worry, John. I've already forwarded this to Cinemopolis...

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I probably won't get to this week's 1930's pick until the weekend. I have about 15 more pages to write before Wednesday and I'm in Ithaca all day Thursday and Newark on Friday. So, sorry for the slow start but I'll be on a better schedule for this project beginning next week.

First Breath After Coma

2011-06-02T21:47:00.000-04:00

Guess what? A week from today I'll be in Ithaca attending the Taming Technolust workshop and enjoying my first official day as a MLIS graduate. As I decide where my life will be going from here, I'll have plenty of time to watch movies. What I am saying is this: I want in the on 1930's thing. I'll need some sort of "assignment" to fill the void that graduating will likely leave.

In addition to NWI, there are a few other places to find free movies online. Perhaps one you may not have seen is Open Culture's list of 380 free movies. There are some 30's films on there. I don't subscribe to MUBI but I'd be willing to pay the $3 occasionally to see a movie too. I'm not subscribing to Hulu Plus though. Looking forward to your first pick, Jeff.

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It makes me sad that Meek's Cutoff is no longer in Ithaca. I really wanted to see it again and was thinking of catching a showing after my workshop next week. I also still want to discuss it more. Hopefully Brandon's post will spark some conversation and we can get back into it. I'm sure Jason will appreciate that.

Ok, I've got some brief catching up to do on a few movies that I have watched recently.

(Hit play on this video before you continue.)

American: The Bill Hicks Story (2011)

Anyone else a Bill Hicks fan? If so, you have to see this documentary. His friends and family begin the narration at about age 15 when he first started going to comedy clubs. The film is told entire through their stories coupled with old photos and videos of Bill. It is pretty impressive how engaging and expertly crafted this documentary is considering you see nothing of the narrators until the last few minutes of the film. This is a genuine homage to Hicks that any fan will enjoy.

Cracks (2011)

If Dead Poets Society were some sort of slightly erotic thriller involving young girls in a boarding house in the 1930's, it would be Cracks. Sorry, that's a really bad way to describe the film and actually not all that accurate. Anyway, I read some positive reviews of this movie, which made me curious about it. The movie is essentially about the sexual awakening of young girls and the cautions of lust and desire - Miss G, the young girls teacher, tells them "the most important thing in life is desire." The film also explores the vulnerability of young children and their eagerness to believe those with more "life experience." Even though I thought it the cinematography was beautiful, the actresses pretty good and the story quite sensual, I have to admit that I am not a fan of the film.

An Education (2009)

I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this film and I think that all the credit has to go to Carry Mulligan. She plays the precocious teenager, who is both wise and naive, incredibly well and makes the audience fall in love with her even when we know she is making a mistake.

An Invisible Sign (2011)

Aimee Bender is one of my absolute favorite writers. So, I was really hoping for something great with this film adapted from her first novel. However, it fails on almost every level and does not capture any of what Bender's writing does.

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John, it's taking all my power to resist a re-watch of BSG. Your posts about it don't help. You're right, there are a lot of interesting concepts to explore related to the Cylons, especially vis-a-vis humanity. Make sure you watch the webisodes between the seasons.

Lisa, as you know, I'm a big fan of David Foster Wallace. The adaptation of Brief Interviews is not something I care to watch again. I really liked Black Swan too. I am still holding out hope that John will eventually make a post about how much he disliked it. Have you seen The Fountain? I think it is still my favorite Aronofsky film.

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Ok, I didn't get to say much about the movies I have seen or comment on a lot of the old posts that I've missed. This will all start to change after next week. Until then, enjoy some video essays on Malick from MZS.

Badlands

Days of Heaven

The Thin Red Line

The New World

aspect ratio

2011-05-26T20:50:00.000-04:00

Q: What attracted you about shooting in this classic aspect of ratio?

Reichardt: When you’re in the desert, you see for 40 miles in every direction; it’s very hard to be taken aback by something. And if they’re traveling this 10 miles a day, in the wide screen we could see that “Well, there’s tomorrow and there’s yesterday,” so the square really helped keep me in the moment with them.

Q&A with Reichardt at Sundance.

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*I've seen 3 other 2011 movies this week and will post about them soon.

"Blood or Water?"

2011-05-24T12:25:00.000-04:00

"I leave the gambling up to men the likes of you." - Emily Tetherow

I'm skipping over writing a synopsis of the film since I am assuming that anyone reading this has already seen it. So, sorry, Jason. Meek's Cutoff SPOILERS ahead.

I read somewhere that this is the type of film that you decide to love or hate within the first few minutes. I think that I decided to like it once the cross-stitched title was put up on screen. It sets the tone for the film and shows us that Reichhardt is committed to the beauty of telling a minimalist story in a voyeuristic (but inclusive) way, which is no surprise given her previous films Old Joy and Wendy and Lucy.

The scenes in the very beginning, when the group is crossing the water, are so well done and meditative that I was amazed at how much I started to invest in the hardships without ever seeing a face or hearing a voice. And I think this is the key, at least for me, to really appreciating this movie on an emotional level and not just as a well made and acted film. Throughout the movie I knew just as little as the characters did. The camera often pulls back a bit during conversations about how to proceed - not that the conversations hold the answers. Reichardt never tips her hand once as to how much the Indian knows or where he is leading and as an audience member I felt the uncertainty. This is a brave thing to do as a filmmaker - to have the audience "lost" in the same way as the characters.

One of my favorite scenes is also one that I think is the most telling. After crossing the water and after the beautiful shot of one landscape fading into another (but really, don't all the landscapes in this film melt together in the sun?), Millie, played by Zoe Kazan, is seen carefully refilling the water in her bird cage. She does this with such tenderness and care that it is not only a beautiful piece of acting but a very poignant depiction of what is to come. After starting the movie with the characters rich with water (indeed up to their necks in it), this is the scene that brings us down to reality. Perhaps I'm placing too much emphasis here and I'd be interested to hear what others think. I also think this scene sets the stage for her "breakdown" later in the film. She looks so innocent and unprepared for what is ahead.

In John's reading of the film Meek is clearly painted as the bad guy, the serpent. Arrogant, vulgar and childish (look who is the only one impressed by his stories) I agree that he is the easy villain among the group. However, I can not help but read a subtext in his character. Maybe his humbled ending has me biased. While I am not necessarily sympathetic to him, I am able to jump over and see his side. I was mentioning this to John after the film. I can not make myself hate him. Maybe this means that I am weaker in the face of the subtle serpent than I thought. Plus, the man has some impressive feet.

If I did not like the ending, it was only in the general "this film is so good I don't want it to ever end" sense. The film begins to make its way out when the Indian sings over William White after he falls ill. That felt like a hopeful moment even though it comes at the very time when Death makes its first attempt at one of the group. It is not soon afterwards that they find, to stay with the Genesis reading, the Tree of Life. It is a bit ironic that Meek then speaks what may be some of the wisest words in the entire film. The ambiguous ending is not only beautiful but inevitable. The film has not presumed to say much throughout and continues to leave the audience free to make up their own mind at the end.

In many ways this film continues with the themes that Reichardt has explored in her earlier films. In fact, as I mentioned to John, in light of how both Old Joy and Wendy and Lucy end, the ending to Meek's Cutoff is to be expected. They all end with the characters walking out of the film, not necessarily better or more enlightened, but with a hint of what is possible (just a hint). We were introduced to a brief segment of the characters lives and now it is time for them to go. I would say that both her previous films deal with loneliness and the feeling of being "lost" in different ways and that Meek's Cutoff is actually a logical progression for Reichardt.

Alright, I guess that is all I'm going to write for now. I've largely ignored the symbolism (religious, mythical/naturalistic and archetypal) in the film and would like to discuss that more in future posts. Also, I'm realizing now just how rich all of the characters are and that I've barely scratched the surface by writing only about Millie and Meek. More on the rest, especially Emily, to come soon too.

I will say that Meek's Cutoff is my favorite film of 2011 (or 2010 for John). I think that it is something new and brave and important - more of an experience than a film. It is amazing how this film has been slowly creeping through my brain over the last 14 hours. I read somewhere that Reichardt is the Emily Tetherow of modern cinema and I kind of like that.

Oh, interesting side note: After the film I came out of the bathroom and found the projectionists tied up between two chairs with John yelling and pantomiming something about leading him to the 1.33.1 print.

quickly before bed

2011-05-18T23:47:00.000-04:00

Damn it, John. Now I really want to see Black Death again. Everyone else in Film Club needs to watch this movie so that we can discuss it openly. You have until I am done with classes in 3 weeks. I agree, John, this film allows viewers lots of space to think.

BSG has some of the best characters of any TV show ever. I appreciate the fact that all the characters have flaws and their evolution throughout the series is something remarkable. From episode to episode you never know quite what to think or feel about some of the characters. Some of the ones we cheered for in the beginning become hated in the end and vice versa. Can't wait to read thoughts on BSG as you two (John and Lisa) progress through the episodes. Next time Lisa is in Binghamton we need to have a BSG viewing party.

For TV that is on right now, Game of Thrones is a ton of fun to watch. Treme might be the best show since The Wire.

Other recent favorites of mine include:

The Wire
Lost
Carnivale (has anyone else seen this? I'd love to discuss it)
Firefly
Dollhouse (for all the network-induced flaws there is some good stuff going on in there)
Boardwalk Empire
True Blood
Dead Like Me
Californication
Weeds
The West Wing
The Tudors
Community (best, most "meta" comedy on TV right now)

Go B-Sens!

2011-05-18T18:56:00.001-04:00

Today has been busy. I had a text message reference shift from 12-5, worked on a paper due at the end of the week about the history of Indian libraries and spent a significant time discussing a recent Library Journal column in which I'm mentioned. Here is a link to the column (actually, it's to my other blog where I link to the column and some presentation slides). Michael Stephens is a pretty big deal in the LIS world and it's been really interesting and quite an honor to be discussing things with him over the last few months. I'll be writing a guest post on his website soon too. Anyway, self-promotion over.

Do not let me forget to re-watch Brokeback Mountain and write about it here once I'm done with school. I've been reading all the posts about it and actually think that you are all wrong in some specific ways. I will say that I did not dislike it as much as John but did not like it as much as the rest of you. Has anyone read Giovanni's Room? There are a lot of interesting threads that I think can be tied through the two works. Seriously, this is a film and a topic I want to write about when I have the time and some extra brain cells to devote. Hold me to it.

Alright, I'm going to watch the Binghamton Senators game. They have a chance to clinch the division tonight.

unlock my body and move myself to dance

2011-05-16T22:34:00.000-04:00

In preparation for Friday I'm re-watching Old Joy tonight and Wendy and Lucy sometime later this week. FYI, The Tree of Life hits Ithaca June 27th. Not sure I'll be able to wait that long though.

John, I'll talk BSG with you here. The mini-series is good but the real fun starts towards the end of Season 1. It's a great show. Now I want to watch it again. Unlike some people I actually enjoyed the way the series ends...

Lisa, Kick Ass is a movie that a bunch of my friends have been telling me to watch. I've resisted because it doesn't strike me as my type of film and I have very little free time in which to watch movies that I will not enjoy. However, after school is over in about 2 weeks I might just watch it now that I read your review.

Jeffrey, I've been enjoying your lists. Hopefully I'll have some time to do something similar soon. I'm looking forward to seeing Woody Allen's new movie. The reviews that I've read have been positive.

Brandon, glad you like Blue Valentine. I plan to re-watch that one very soon. We can talk more then.

Jason, I have The Woodsman home from Netflix right now. I'll blog about it as soon as I get a chance to see it. It looks intense and emotionally draining so I've been holding off. But soon...

I've been listening to a lot of Wilco the last few days.

The Films of Terrence Malick

2011-05-06T20:05:00.002-04:00

Perhaps this is why his films today are so divisive: Malick has been trying to forge a new way to express concepts other films don't dare approach. Sometimes these attempts come off as clichéd, but that may also be because he is, in effect, portraying a failed human attempt to give voice to something that cannot be named or spoken. Or, to turn around an even earlier statement of the filmmaker's: if Malick resorts to his own peculiar language, it is because ordinary cinema does not meet his purposes; and it does not because he has new and different purposes. -- Ebiri, Bilge. English Speakers: The prison of language in Terrence Malik's The New World.

Lisa, here is a good opportunity for you to see The New World, film club's most agreed upon movie, at MOMI next week. If you have the free time, you could even catch up on all his films before the new one comes out.

Check out this retrospective of Malick's work edited by MZS.

For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb

2011-05-04T10:20:00.002-04:00

Serious SPOILERS ahead for anyone who hasn't seen the film.

Ok, John, let's talk Black Heaven. I watched it last night before I wrote my blog post and, as I mentioned, was underwhelmed. I really like the movie it could have been but not necessarily the movie that it is. The beginning is intriguing and even somewhat crafty. Young, newly-coupled Gaspard and Marion find a cell phone during a forbidden make-out session after swimming with their friends. I thought this scene was done very skillfully. The making out seemed totally innocent and charming. It was the intrusion of Audrey's pictures onto the screen that made things feel...dirty.

The film started to go a bit downhill for me when they saved Audrey and Gaspard took the camera. It felt out of character, though I suppose that is what they were trying to articulate - the good guy has a dark side he can't deny and Audrey was going to bring his out.

I think what it comes down to is that the film sets everything up but then does not continue to explore the relationships between Gaspard and Marion, Audrey and her brother and (most importantly) Gaspard and Audrey. It doesn't go deep enough to be the film that it could have been. I also would have also liked to see the part about the virtual reality game explored more. It fell on some lame stereotypes when the weaving together of these two aspects of the story could have been complex, mind-bending and really excellent. And, come on, was it really that shocking that it was Audrey's brother controlling her character?

I am having a difficult time parsing the ending. Presumably, Audrey has helped others go to the Black Beach. But would she not have died in the quarry if Gaspard and Marion didn't save her? Yes, her brother was in the woods but he was cutting if awfully close. Or so it seems. Does Audrey really jump because she loves Gaspard? Is she sick of helping her brother (to what extent do we place blame on her) lure the people into killing themselves? What, exactly, does her brother get out of all this? Should we grant Gaspard some sort of absolution, if any is required, when he confesses his love to Marion at the end?

Ok, so this isn't me talking you out of liking the film. But those were some of my issues. Honestly, writing about it makes me think that I might like it better than I thought. Or that I at least appreciate the fact that I'm left asking questions about it.

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Also, excellent point about both PKD and A Scanner Darkly. I think I might just slack off a bit today and re-watch that film. It feels like a good day for it. I might have asked you this already but have you been reading the Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep comic? It is completely true to the text of the book and really well done. I haven't had the extra cash to buy any past issue #18 but I'll get the remaining six at some point. If you have an interest in taking a look, let me know and I'll add them to the ridiculously big pile of stuff I have to return to you.

take care, take care, take care

2011-05-04T00:28:00.000-04:00

So, I was really expecting to put on the new Explosions in the Sky album and kick out a blog post on Greenberg, Room in Rome and Black Heaven. The music is on but the post isn't coming. Briefly, I'll say a sentence about each. I liked Greenberg and thought both Ben Stiller and Greta Gerwig were great. I wish I watched the trailer to Black Heaven first because the written description made the movie sound awesome and the sad fact is that it is not. I enjoyed Room in Rome for the beautiful camera work and the incredibly beautiful (and constantly naked) actresses.

I'm not going to jump into the 2006 discussion other than to say that Jeffrey's list is really close to what mine would probably be with the exception of Inland Empire. I consider myself a Lynch fan. Mulholland Dr, Lost Highway and to a lesser extent Blue Valentine were all hugely important films for me - and we've already discussed Twin Peaks. However, much like Brandon, I just could not do Inland Empire. It's still one of those movies I feel guilty about not liking even though I think I did give it a chance.

I've already professed my love for both The Fountain and Half Nelson on this blog.

I really liked Little Children. However, I can see Brandon's "caricature" point. Though, and all respect to Tom Perrotta whose writing I love, I feel the book could be criticised for that as well. Which reminds me, this film would make my previous list about books into films. So would The Reader. I read the book yesterday and loved it just as much as I loved the film.

Since I'm not writing much about the movies I've seen, here is some reading for you based on the current discussions. The second two links are articles written by Alexis Madrigal, a journalist who I believe deserves a much wider audience.

n+1: Ground Zero, May 1st, 2011 LINK

Atlantic: Outside the White House, A Celebration of OBL's Death LINK

Atlantic: The (Shy) Woman Whose Words Accidentally Became MLK's LINK

I agree with the general sentiment of all the Film Club members who have discussed the killing of Bin Laden. I can not get excited or feel cheered by the death of another person no matter how evil. I can only hope that President Obama uses this as a reason to officially end the "War on Terror" and start withdrawing troops from overseas. This is a good "out" and the proper time to force a radical rethinking of our foreign policy.

Jeffrey, have you, by any chance, seen the essay about pacifism in the current issue of Harper's? I mention this because you wrote

I know that emotion gets the best of us a lot of the time, but a non-violent ideal is something we should all strive for. Impossible in our society? Probably, but I still try to hold myself to that standard and wish in vain that others would too.

The essay holds forth that pacifism is not only the best option but quite possible as well. It does this all on the backdrop of WWII - a war that a lot people believe was the most noble in all of history. Very interesting perspective. Unfortunately, Harper's is one of those magazines that has a pay wall. You can preview the essay HERE and I'm sure BU has a subscription if you pop in the library sometime.

I think you all might enjoy this TED Talk. In my opinion, it is one of the most important of all the 900+ talks available on their site.

movies to books, books to movies

2011-04-22T00:32:00.000-04:00

Jeffrey, I was going to suggest a Top 10 list for "movies that are as good or better than the books" but realized that I could not come up with ten. Like you, I usually find the book better.

(books in parenthesis, movies italicized)

1. "Fahrenheit 451" into Fahrenheit 451
2. "The Widow for One Year" into The Door in the Floor
3. "Lolita" into Lolita (1997 dir. Lyne)
4. "Alice's Adventure in Wonderland" into Alice in Wonderland (the trippy 1951 Disney version)
5. "Interview with the Vampire" into Interview with the Vampire
6. "The Rules of Attraction" into The Rules of Attraction

Can't decide if Bladerunner makes the list or not. It probably does. I know I'm missing a whole bunch but I'm not adding them if I haven't read the book too. There are some great movies (like True Grit, The Thin Red Line, etc, etc.) whose books I have not read. Help me out.

just some stuff

2011-04-21T19:06:00.000-04:00

So, I'm sitting here at Starbucks and have been struggling with a .xslt document for a METS record for the last hour with no luck. Since the person I was supposed to meet can not make it, I'm going to do some brief film club blogging as a break from schoolwork before I throw my computer across the store in frustration.

The only new film I have watched recently is All the Days Before Tomorrow. I think Lisa will like it but I'm not sure about the rest of you.

Jeff, I have been trying to decide if I should read Candy since I first saw and loved the movie back in 2006. Ultimately, I have been holding off because I fell in love with the movie first. Usually it goes in the opposite direction for me so this in kind of odd. Also, I heard that Casper does not play a very significant role in the book and Geoffry Rush is so amazing in the movie that I can't imagine Casper as only a minor character.

Actually, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a movie I did not see because I read the book and had reservations about the film. Maybe I will check it out now though.

Eastern Promises was pretty awesome. I know we aren't talking 2005 yet but I am one of the few people I know that enjoyed A History of Violence as well. After seeing Naked Lunch I became a big fan of Cronenberg.

Confession: I have not seen No Country for Old Men. Sorry. I might one day.

Ok, turns out that's all the mental space I have for film club right now. I've been caught awkwardly looking at the girl across the store too many times now. For those of you on Twitter or Facebook, start following the Internet Public Library (ipl2). I'm handling all their social media for the next few months.

The Afternoon of Extravagant Delights

2011-04-15T00:41:00.000-04:00

Candy (2006) is one of my favorite films that not many people have seen. Adapted from Luke Davies semi-autobiographical novel, the movie deals with young love, drug addiction and relationships in a searing and heart-breaking way. Candy, played by Abbie Cornish, whose easy beauty is stunning even in the depths of addiction or withdrawal, is a young painter. Heath Ledger plays Dan, Candy's lover and eventual husband. Dan is a would-be poet who does everything with the best of intentions but always seems to fail miserably. Candy and Dan are young and in love. They are also heroin addicts.

The movie is broken into three sections - Heaven, Earth, Hell. As the drugs begin to define the relationship more and more, things go from wild abandon and extravagant delight to painful and sad. The movie does not say anything new about drug addiction. As far as that goes, perhaps Half-Nelson and Requiem for a Dream are better. However, Candy is an affecting and surprisingly touching film that always leaves me a bit stunned when it is over. I like raw, gritty portrayals of relationships and this film fits in that category.

Ledger's characterization of a shambling, hopeless junkie is so good that it is hard not to root for him to succeed even as he vacillates from loser to lovable hero throughout the film. Deep down Dan believes that he ruined this precious girl's life and he blames himself - yet he is totally devoted to her. After Candy sells herself for the first time to score some drug money, Dan's facial expressions say more than most actors can portray with a 90-minute dialogue. Cornish keeps pace with his performance. Her character goes through so many transformations and she makes it all flow and feel very real.

The writing for this movie is sharp but could be considered a bit melodramatic were it not for the excellent directing and acting (I should also mention that Geoffrey Rush plays a charming, paternal - though ethically ambivalent - Chemistry professor). Candy's poem, written during the beginning of her psychotic break that Dan is wholly unable to comprehend, is one of those cinematic moments that has stayed with me over years and never ceases to affect me.

After the opening scene, this movie never lets up. It continues tragically down the path of two lives being lost. The ending is sad in a very real and inevitable way. Candy and Dan's love is as pleasurable as the heroin. But does it eventually become as destructive?

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Jeffrey, I'm glad you posted your 2008 list. It has been interesting to read John and Brandon's responses. If I had to pick my favorite movie from that year, I would probably go with Wendy and Lucy. I know, I know, there were some other great films. But that one hit me the hardest. I have watched Synecdoche, New York twice. It was enjoyable both times. I would love to hear more of what you have to say about it as I am sure it would open up some new insights for me. It was one of those films that I watched and then had to immediately go for a run to think about (I run when I'm confused, depressed or trying to work through a problem, which is often. At least it keeps me in good shape). I'll likely need to see it again (and probably again and again) before I can really put it together.

I agree with John about The Fall - the story holds up on its own. I really, really liked that film. I also agree with him about The Dark Knight. However, we part ways with Let the Right One In.

Lisa, hope you're enjoying FL. Are you done with work now? You're right, it was in 2007 when I had my wisdom teeth out and spent a week taking vicodin and watching Twin Peaks. Those two go well together. I have watched the series twice since then. I find it to be the perfect thing to watch around late-October/early-November. I'm kind of with you on The Fighter. I'm not entirely sure why as I like the director and love Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. Come on, how can one not like Christian Bale? Maybe you'll change your mind once you see The New World.
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Has anyone seen the music video for Lady Gaga's song Born This Way? Lady Gaga never really interested me. However, my friend Melissa does interest me and she loves Lady Gaga and keeps me up-to-date (well, kind of) on Mother Monster. Right, anyway, you should all watch her new video. I find it interesting and I think you will appreciate some of the inspirations in the script, which she wrote herself.

Ok, off to bed. Might actually make it down before 1am tonight, which would be a great accomplishment. I have a long day of writing about libraries in Soviet-influenced Mongolia tomorrow.

Title

2011-04-12T19:52:00.000-04:00

The title is always difficult, Brandon.

I finished watching Mildred Pierce today and thought it was excellent. I will say nothing more until you see the entire mini-series except that Winslet and Wood were amazing and Haynes did a very nice job directing. Once you are done, you should read Matt Zoller Seitz's review. I think he is right on about the deliberate pacing and his discussion of Veda's character. Admittedly, I have been really interested in Evan Rachel Wood since her ridiculously good performance in Thirteen. Have you seen it? I think she stands out, yet again, in Mildred Pierce. Evan Rachel Wood talks about playing spoiled brats, vampires, & spoiled-brat vampires in her recent interview with AV Club.

I did see Somewhere. I wrote about it briefly while you were on tour. Even as a Sophia Coppola fan it did not do much for me. That is not to say there aren't some bright spots. I just did not like it as much as I expected.

I would like to defend Never Let Me Go but I understand the criticism. Nevertheless, it stays on my Top 10 of 2010 list.

Jeffrey, I re-watch Twin Peaks about every two years. It is one of the few DVDs that did not get sold when I desperately needed money to buy my family xmas presents this year. Also, just curious, what are you studying at BU?

My brain is too tired to talk about cynicism and optimism. Or much of anything else right now.

i was commeted, ( not by my choise mind you)

2011-04-10T22:53:00.000-04:00

John, I don't have the time or knowledge to argue about Kubrick. The inclination might be there were I a bit richer in those two categories. I only brought up the "anti-life" thing because I was curious - to which you might ask, "What happened to the cat, Albert?" Yeah, I just dropped a movie quote. Know what it is from? And I'll open that up to the floor. Hint: the director was much-talked about this year. No Googling.

The Funny Games Experiment is interesting. I was trying to read it on my phone while in line for a Roasted Veggie Sub at Wegman's the other day. The line ended up being too long. I got a Tofu Burrito instead. If I had more free time, I would watch Funny Games again. Now that I have been reading more about it, maybe I would like the film more? I suspect not though. Still, for a film that left me at "meh," I sure have spent a lot of time thinking and reading about it.

Still no new movies to write about. I have been focusing on school and working through my ridiculously big stack of "to-read" books (went a bit crazy at the library books sale recently). I have been enjoying the hell out of Mildred Pierce though. Hopefully I will have a chance to watch the final two episodes of this five-part miniseries tomorrow.

Dystopian Saved by the Bell? Yes, please.

And because I know you guys love lists, how about A Cinematic Alphabet?

Catch you hepcats on the flip side.

What's up hepcats?

2011-04-07T23:55:00.000-04:00

Things have been slow on my end of Film Club. I haven't watched any movies in a while and looking back at my posts I realize that Antichrist has recently taken up a lot of the mental space that I devote to film. I am truly fascinated by both the film and my reaction to it.

Though I haven't been participating, I have been reading all your posts. A quick question for John and Jeffrey: Kubrick is anti-life? Can I get some elaboration? "Anti-life" just sounds so funny to me, like some sort of Tea Party buzz word that should be misspelled on a protest sign in Texas. I would say that I like most of Kubrick's films but definitely don't love them, which is probably why I have not seen any of them more than once. Make sense? Also, the 1997 Lolita is way better than his.

I plan to watch Certified Copy soon. However, I have The Pale King, the post-humous novel by one of my favorite writers, David Foster Wallace, arriving at my house tomorrow. So, I can't promise anything.

Jeffrey, for more on "hipsters" see John and Brandon's discussion of Lost in Translation from earlier this year. One of these days I'm going to mount an adequate defense of that film.

Lisa, glad you liked The Exploding Girl. I can't wait to see Zoe Kazan in Meek's Cutoff. I would really like to see her do well.

Hey Jason, when are you going to bring that sweet beard back to Film Club? You owe us a The New World post.

casual violence of history

2011-04-03T18:26:00.000-04:00

John, thanks for the link to the essay on objects in Days of Heaven. I read it last night and found it to be very interesting. I also came across some other good essays on Offscreen. Of particular interest given my recent posts is the essay titled Lars Von Trier's Antichrist: Executioner at the Alter of the Other - The Confessor and the Executioner. It is, by far, the best 10,000 words I've read on Antichrist.

Contrary to mainstream reviewers who may cater to an audience trained by fetishistic and consumerist viewing practices that tend to drag sex and violence out of context, I would like to argue that Antichrist is unsettling because it depicts a kind of material history of gender violence played out through the demise of an intimate love tale. The story involves a husband going into isolation with his wife so that he can act as therapist to her after their infant son falls to his death neglected during a lovemaking scene between the couple –a tragedy so intense that the world disappears into their ecstasy. As they retreat into the woods to ‘heal’ her via a series of psychic exercises he has created in his adopted role, the landscape and animals that inhabit the woods, the ‘background,’ tells a parallel story. The couple that attempts to flee the distractions of the world dramatizes the world in the person, and the myth of solitude, or the idea that people can ever be independent of the world. The story debunks the myth of a history-less individual or a context-less love, reconstructing romanticism and intimacy as something that looks more like what The Invisible Committee have dubbed “the autism of two.” In this sense the film is about the violence that takes place when context is disregarded, and inevitable psychological and historical backgrounds creep in to show that the settings of society and the world cannot be removed; or that when the removal of the world is attempted, it returns in another form, as a past of human power relations that radiate into the present. Part of the film’s myriad of explicit and implicit messages is that there is no place or being in a vacuum, no individualism.

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I'm also looking forward to reading the essay on Cinephilosophy at Offscreen.

The only movies that I have watched this week are The American Philosopher and Status Anxiety.

American Philosopher The Film from Phillip McReynolds on Vimeo.

I will see Source Code once it hits the Cinema Saver.

Skipping Movies

2011-03-29T21:07:00.000-04:00

I remember all the controversy surrounding Irreversible when it came out. It is not a film that ever interested me and, like you say with Antichrist, there are a thousand other films I can think of that I would want to see before it. I think that one of the really good take-away quotes from the blog John linked comes as he is wrapping up his post:

I maintain that I am as inquisitive now about the possibilities of the movies as I was two days ago—the only difference is that I’ve realized that it’s okay to step aside and not participate, in a film, in any work of art, if by knowledgeably weighing the pros and cons I can reasonably come to the conclusion that it’s not going to add anything to my life by experiencing it. Now, before I get accused to being too high and mighty, there are plenty of lowbrow shockers, exploitation films and otherwise cheap thrillers I love that don’t exactly “add” anything to my life either, but their pleasures are right there on their sleeves for the enjoying. (And after all, one man’s cheapness is another man’s value.)

Thanks for that link, John. Really interesting and insightful post. I'm adding SL&tIFR to my RSS. The only reason I really want you to see Black Swan is a selfish one: I have a feeling you will not enjoy it and will write an incredibly interesting take-down of the film exploring angles that I would never have thought about.

Antichrist has been walking around my brain with its shoes on the wrong feet since I saw it. So, if you all will indulge me in one more brief moment to discuss the movie and the horror genre, I have something else to add.

I fear that if I attempt to venture into more horror films, I will end up being very disappointed. Brandon mentioned somewhere that von Trier should just stick to horror; I don't agree but, man, that would be fun. My resistance to the horror genre has a lot to do with the fact that I never thought horror films could be so beautifully shot and well done. My experience with them has always been sub-par and unenjoyable and I worry that I will go back to feeling that way once I start watching more. Part of the reason that Antichrist has affected me so much is due to how unlike the movies I normally watch and enjoy it is. Sometimes when expectations are broken at every turn something really powerful can happen. This movie did not move me emotionally and, arguably, did not "add" anything to my life. What it did do is force a new appreciation on me for a genre I normally disregard. I am far from a horror fan but I need to remember that there can be some good things going on there. It also solidified von Trier as a director that I need to pay attention to in the future and whose films are ones in which I should catch up.

Jeffrey & Lisa, interesting lists re: Top Ten Films I Don't Like But Feel I Should. I'm not sure when I'll get around to making mine. Honestly, I can not really think of many films to add to it right now. I can sum up how I feel about not liking movies that are commonly accepted as "good" (or whatever other stand-in phrase) by using a meaningless tautology: it is what it is. But I get the idea behind the list and so I might take a shot at it soon. Fair warning: My list will probably include The Seventh Seal but I will also be unable to offer a very good reason as to why besides a simple shoulder-shrug. I wish it was still on NWI because I would watch it again and see if I still am as ambivalent about it as I was last year.

John, GMT East sounds fun. Mark was placing a game order a few nights ago and I tagged along on his free shipping for a couple of games that were on sale. I got Terra Nova, Desert Bazaar, Mission: Red Planet and, the one I'm looking forward to the most, Magnet. Let me know if you want to play any of them sometime. I could even meet you at Starbucks or something some day before or after work for a tea and a quick game (as long as it is not Zertz).

back to school tomorrow :(

2011-03-27T20:42:00.000-04:00

**Antichrist is labeled NSFL (Not Safe for Lisa)**

Thriller/Horror movies are not typically my favorite. I think that genuinely good horror films are hard to come by - at least that has been my experience. Blood and gore turn me off, the supernatural is usually spooky but ridiculous and slasher films just bore me.

Antichrist, however, really scared me. Lars von Trier's masterful camera work and deeply disturbing psycho-sexual story coupled with the ridiculously good and endlessly scary acting of Gainsbourg kept me up all night. Seriously.

You know what parts of the film actually took away from the scariness a bit? The genital mutilation and the leg drilling. Disturbing as hell? Yes. Cringe-inducing? Absolutely. But compared to the rest of the film those scenes had nothing on the realization that Gainsbourg was really fucked up. I still can not get over the pictures of the child with his shoes on the wrong feet. The tension that has been building the entire film comes crashing in on that one quick moment when Dafoe walks into the shed and places the polaroids in the box. From there? Hang the fuck on because the rest of the ride is INTENSE.

This film was both horrible and a blast to watch. I can probably say that I will not see it again anytime in the near future; but after a few months when I forget just how scary it is and want to watch a masterfully-crafted film, I might venture back.

I have never been as scared and as attracted to a woman as I am to Charlotte Gainsbourg.

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I also watched Cassavetes' A Woman Under the Influence the other night. It is a great film with some amazing acting but it got pushed out of my mind by the experience that was Antichrist.

A Woman Under the Influence just further solidifies the fact that I need to see more of Cassavetes' films very soon. And, come on, how good is Gena Rowlands?

---------------------------------

Lisa, I have not seen Dogtooth but John and Brandon went back and forth on the movie back in January. The film holds some mild interest for me but I still have not got around to watching it. Right now I have a stack of DVDs from John and a whole bunch of classics that I want to see soon. Perhaps one of these days though...

Film Club has really made me start paying attention to directors a lot more. As you mention, Jeffrey, it makes sense. I read books by my favorite authors so why am I not watching movies like that? On a side note, what are some good books/blogs/websites about film that I should read? Going through the recent Believer film issue and reading The Film Club (which is a decent and very quick, easy read if anyone wants to borrow it) has made me interested in reading more about film. Right now I'm limited to Glenn Kenny (thanks John), Matt Zoller Seitz and whatever shows up in the Sunday Arts section of the NYT's. I'd love some more critics to read and some books to check out. I feel terribly uneducated here.

John, this one is for you: Classic Cowboys, Back on the Range. I need to see more Westerns so I know what you are constantly writing about.

Anyone else excited about the two hour premiere of Mildred Pierce tonight? HBO series are the only TV that I actually watch on a television when it first airs.

And, as the title notes, I'm heading back to school tomorrow. Probably will be reverting to my sporadic posting soon. Not that I don't love you all but during school I spend so much time on the computer that the last thing I usually want to do with my free time is sit back down and write some more.

Antichrist

2011-03-26T23:33:00.000-04:00

What. The. Fuck. That was disturbing. Now I remember why I do not watch movies like Antichrist. They freak the shit out of me. Honestly, I'm not even sure where to begin right now. Know the scariest part of that film? The whole shoe on the wrong foot thing. By the time the wife came in the shed I was petrified. Pretty sure I ground half of my teeth down during that scene.

I have to give it up for Von Trier on that film. Really well done. But I still wish I didn't watch it (I think).

Dogville definitely needs another viewing now. I remember seeing Dogville with a friend when it first came out and being a bit blown away...though it could have just been the circumstances. It was a midnight showing and I went with a really pretty girl from BU who majored in Cinema and read me poetry. She liked the movie, which meant I liked the movie. I really should watch it again before Melancholia (and to help purge Antichrist from my mind).
------------------------------

Brandon, I'm with you on Meek's Cutoff. I'm almost as excited for it as I am for Tree of Life. Looks like we might have to make a road trip to Ithaca on May 20th when it opens there. LINK to theaters.

Also, just a heads-up: Half Nelson back on NWI. You should all go watch it now.

Ok, I'm off to never sleep again. Peace.

But some people want magic.

2011-03-24T13:36:00.000-04:00

I hate when people make comparisons between artists and their successful parents, siblings or other relatives. I do not think it is fair and prefer to let the work stand on its own. So, I went into Broken English with as few expectations as possible. Of course, it helps that I am not overly familiar with her father's work (yet). However, there is one line in the film that makes this nearly impossible. During a discussion of parents - while on a date at an old movie - the conversation goes something like this:

Nora: I really miss him (talking about her father). I feel lucky to have had him at all, really....
Date: blah blah blah
Nora: I wonder if we always turn into our parents.
Date: I like to think of it as where my parents left off...

This is a brief moment with no real impact on the rest of the film but I liked that it was there. It was nice.

Lisa, I watched this movie with you in mind - and not just because you are the one who recommended it. I can see you drawing parallels to your life in the first half (as you mentioned in your comment). Young, successful woman in NYC finds dating frustrating...The whole scene where Nora's date sees his old girlfriend and then confesses to her that he is still in love seems like it could have been ripped directly from the digital pages of your other blog. So, I think that I see why you really like this film and why others would as well.

Even though I don't understand the "dating" scene (the thought of taking a girl I don't know to dinner and a movie is sweat-inducing and terrifying), I still found the movie to be enjoyable and one of the better takes on the girl looks for guy indie romance thing. Nora is so charming I just wanted her to be happy.

I mentioned that I was a fan of The Black Keys yesterday. They do a great cover of a Kinks song.

I think that is what Nora is looking for - someone to act nice and gentle to her. It is so simple that it's frustrating she can't find it. And then comes Julien. Off-putting at first but charming as we get to know him.

Overall, I was a fan of the movie - though I enjoyed the first half much more. Parker Posey is wonderful. She captures the role with perfect nuance and charm and makes a movie that could easy have been really bad into something brilliant to watch. Zoë Cassavetes owes her a lot for that performance.
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Fingers crossed that Tree of Life plays around here. I might drive out to Erie and stay with my sister for a night because it is likely to play somewhere closer to her. This reminds me...Lisa, the one rule of Film Club that John forgot is that you must like The New World. Nah, I'm kidding. It just seems to be the one film that everyone here can agree on completely. Have you seen it? My brief thoughts: http://thumbit.blogspot.com/2010/12/i-thought-it-was-dream-what-we-knew-in.html

Sorry, don't feel like searching around everyone else's blog for what they have said in the past. I've been thinking about this film the last few days because I usually watch it every time I have a break from school. It's a good film to see every few months, IMHO. However, I have lent my copy to a friend and it looks like this break will pass (back to class on Monday) without a viewing.

Brandon, glad to see we are on close to the same page about Funny Games. Makes me feel better. I also felt the same about (500) Days of Summer as you. It didn't do much for me even though I was hoping it would. Hope you guys are killing it on tour.

Up Next: A Woman Under the Influence

Jeffrey's 2010, film clubbing and The Believer

2011-03-23T14:53:00.000-04:00

Jeffrey:

Great to see your 2010 list. It makes me feel bad that I still have not seen 127 Hours. Your recent post on Another Year has made me interested in seeing that film as well. Also, glad to see another Aronofsky fan here. We had some discussion of him and his films back in December (Brandon I & II, Ben I & II). Black Swan was my most anticipated movie of 2010 (not just because The Tree of Life trailer was playing before it) and I was not disappointed at all. The Fountain still remains one of my all-time favorite movies.

Even though I did not care much for Shutter Island, I still recognize the fact that it is a good movie. So, I understand why it made everyone else's list but mine. Inception I still can not get behind though I will admit that I was entertained through out most of the movie. I compare it to Salt in that they are both entertaining but do not do anything for me past that.

Brandon actually had The Social Network in his Top Ten before removing it a few weeks later. As a lover of everything Aaron Sorkin does (I've seen every episode of The West Wing numerous times and it never gets old), I have been disappointed in him lately. <off-topic rant> First, it started when he wrote an op-ed in the Huffington Post about Sarah Palin hunting caribou. His piece was funny and it is always easy and fun to hate on Palin. However, this op-ed had the annoyingly self-righteous air I sometimes hate in liberals (yeah, myself included) without the benefit of being right. He draws moral distinctions between Palin's hunting and his eating of meat that are specious and disingenuous. </off-topic rant>

When it comes to the film, I think that Mark Zuckerberg actually says it best:

But here's the thing: Aaron Sorkin does make stuff just to make stuff. I am almost positive that he would be a writer even if he had not hit on such success. I have been wondering a lot lately about the disconnect between artists and those who work art in a different way - engineers, hackers, programmers, etc. I am starting to lose focus here (admittedly, I'm not entirely sure I had a focus when I started typing this) but I think what I wish is that Aaron Sorkin took a different approach. He confesses to not understanding the Internet. Which is all too bad because I think he could have made a much better, more factually correct and touching film about Facebook and what it means for our future had he been a little bit more in touch with these new forms of art and not so quick to put Zuckerberg and Facebook in a neat Hollywood category.

I agree that Fincher does an excellent job and I think that the score is great and was definitely worthy of its Oscar. I promise to think more on exactly what I do not like in the film, maybe watch it again, and get back to you.

As for your other picks, I've got no problems. I'm really happy you liked Blue Valentine.

I will probably check out some other Bunuel films soon. Have you seen Little Murders? It's been years since I have watched it but watching Discreet Charm really made me want to see it again. Talk about absurdity...

Joanna Newsom is great. I think my favorite 2010 album has to go to The Black Keys. I've been really digging them lately.
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Other (though aimed at John):

The discussion about Funny Games between John and Brandon was really interesting. See, where I would be without Film Club? I'd have watched Funny Games and never really thought much about it. Instead, I have an entirely new perspective on the film. Still not sure I'd call myself a fan. However, this has been all very instructive. Film Club is definitely responsible for not only introducing me to new films but also making me think more critically about them.

I have spent today reading my Believer film issue. The magazine always has quality writing in it and it is a good week when it arrives. This issue contains a really interesting essay by a young actress named Rebecca Taylor that sent me on an hour-long Google hunt to find the D-list horror movies she made over the years (and not just so that I can see her left breast). She writes with a certain detached wisdom that I find absolutely irresistible. The movies she is in...not so irresistible. But she does have a short - Never seen by waking eyes - that I was unable to view but sounds promising.

Also in this issue is an essay by Mark Oppenheimer called "The Race That Is Not About Winning: We need a certain kind of teenage antihero to remind us that we are not alone." It discusses running in real life and the movies and what it is like to be an "outsider." Other highlights include an essay on Walt Disney and Hugh Hefner and some great interviews and conversations with actors, directors and writers.

A movie that I didn't think I'd be interested in but really want to see: Cracks (link to Ebert Presents review)