Chasing Pictures

pathetic.

2012-01-31T17:18:00.002-05:00

January's almost over.

There's not much to say.

One Hour With You is an enjoyable Lubitsch musical from '32. I should write more about it, but I probably won't.

Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl and The Legend of Masty Huba are two documentaries that I enjoyed, proving that I get along just fine with the genre.

Horse Feathers is through and through enjoyable. The world might be a better place if one-hundred-million-plus people all watched Horse Feathers at the same time this weekend instead of watching the Super Bowl.

I was going to get a flat bottom, but the girl at the boathouse didn't have one.

And more Smallville. Highlights have been a vampire sorority and Lois working as an undercover striptease dancer. Most episodes have about 30 minutes of ridiculous fluff mixed in with 10 solid minutes exploring the background mythology and advancing the show's core story. When it's good, it's great. When it's not good, it's ridiculous. I've lasted this long. I'm starting to doubt whether I can make it through five more seasons of this. The reason that I keep watching is because it's easy to do. By the time I'm ready to sit down and watch something, it's usually about 9:30pm and I'm ready for bed. It's easier to swallow 42 minutes of goofy Smallville and get some sense of completion instead of starting something 120 minutes and falling asleep (or, even worse, staying up and not getting enough sleep).

Sorry that this post is so pathetic. Hopefully, whatever movie Ben picks for February will inspire me to get back into a regular writing habit.

I plan on posting a January recap later today. I tried doing this a couple of years ago, but gave up after a few months. I'm hoping to keep up with it this year. It'll make year end review a lot easier. Also, I'll be giving star ratings. I know that you've all been waiting for this. It's a simple 5-star system. No half points. I stole it from Netflix/GoodReads. *=Hated it, **=Didn't Like It, ***=Liked It, ****=Really Liked It, *****=Loved It. Nice and lame and emotional. It should go without saying that this is in no way neat and tidy even though it may look that way.

January 2012 Recap

2012-01-31T16:34:00.002-05:00

20 Features
Septien (2011) **
Bellflower (2011) *
Warrior (2011) **
The Muppets (2011) **
Another Earth (2011) ***
The Set-Up (1949) ****
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) ****
Moneyball (2011) ***
The Guard (2011) ****
The Mark of Zorro (1940) **
The Secret of Kells (2009) ****
Winchester '73 (1950) ****
Rhythm on the Range (1936) ****
Vampyr (1932) **
Rhythm on the River (1940) ***
L'Age d'Or (1930) ***
City Lights (1931) *****
The Mummy (1932) **
One Hour With You (1932) ****
Horse Feathers (1932) ***

3 Documentaries
Brother Born Again (2001) **
The Legend of Masty Huba (2010) ***
Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl (2011) ***

2 Shorts
Small Fry (2011) ***
The Red Balloon (1956) ****

TV
Justified Season 1
-"Veterans"
-"Fathers and Sons"
-"Bulletville"
Robin Hood
-"The Knight Who Came to Dinner"
-"The Wager"
-"The Prisoner"
-"A Village Wooing"
Smallville Season 4
-"Onyx"
-"Spirit"
-"Blank"
-"Ageless"
-"Forever"
-"Commencement"
Smallville Season 5
-"Arrival"
-"Mortal"
-"Hidden"
-"Aqua"
-"Thirst"
-"Exposed"
-"Splinter"
-"Solitude"
Battlestar Galactica
-"Razor"
The Golden Globes

Maybe he got too gay with the vestal virgins in the temple.

2012-01-28T18:49:00.001-05:00

While I was sick, I watched two Bing Crosby pictures.

Rhythm on the Range is nearly perfect. It's a standard RomCom plot boiled to just the right temperature. I was at the height of being sick when I saw this and it was just what I needed. Seriously, my medical insurance should have covered the cost of this DVD.

Rhythm on the River is entirely pleasant, but nowhere near as delightful as Range. The ghostwritten lyrics/tunes plot couldn't be any more relevant in our age of abundant copywrongs.

Jeff may be happy that I dig Bunuel in '30.

L'Age d'Or is often funny so I can give it a pass. It's ten times more interesting and exciting than Vampyr. At least, it's funnier. This is only the second Bunuel film I've seen. Cross my fingers, I'm a fan.

I can also totally agree with Jeff's '31 pick.

City Lights is just as good as it always is. I love that Chaplin will hold on a gag long enough for it to not be funny, to the point that it's funnier.

Most recently...

I really wanted to like The Mummy. It's just fine. Okay, it's a huge disappointment. I only wish I'd seen it in early adolescence, the perfect time to enjoy a vestal virgin obsession. As it was, I admit to being more than a little bored.

We could be arguing about snow.

2012-01-24T15:31:00.002-05:00

Jeff, I'm not feeling the Birth of a Nation comparisons. Sit down and watch the whole Griffith masterpiece with Chris and you'll know I'm right about that one.

Griffith makes racism fun. Dreyer makes vampires boring. I know who I'm siding with.

I'm being silly, but the point is that Griffith's film is emotionally engaging while Dreyer's isn't. I respect that this is entirely subjective. Here I stand.

I conceded that there were some interesting images in Vampyr. Sure. I also got sick of the gauzy cottony look pretty quick. I think that there are a few interesting things here. Enough to steal and use in a better movie. Not nearly enough to hang my hat on in this one.

"If you can't admit that VAMPYR is great merely for its "how" instead of its "what" then you need to call BIRTH OF A NATION a piece of trashy, low-brow garbage passed off as one of the greatest films ever made right now!"

BUT! It's precisely the "how" that I'm calling into question here. Specifically "how" Dreyer uses text in the film. This relates to the entire "how" of the visual structure of the film. I think that it breaks the flow, neatens things up, and renders the whole ridiculous. I think that Dreyer fails in his "how" by trying to tidy things up. I also think that the main actor is a doofus.

I'm starting to realize how great it is that the whole world, but especially Denmark, has moved past the 1930s.

Jeff's Round Rump.

2012-01-24T13:51:00.004-05:00

I'll join the chorus singing Jeff's praises. Those 30s lists are tops.

I decided to stop diddling around and get serious like Jeff. I decided to start with his #1s from each year. I decided to start with my copy of Vampyr that I bought a couple of years ago at a Hollywood Video going out of business sale and have never watched.

What a stupid idea.

I went in with high expectations.

I'm trying to start most of these sentences with "I" to indicate how subjective this all is. I hope I'm getting through to you.

I disliked Vampyr.

I feel guilty. I feel like I should feel more guilty. I feel like I don't care.

Apparently, Vampyr was considered a terrible mistake, the absolute low point, in Dreyer's career for decades. I agree with this assessment.

Unfortunately, recently, Vampyr has been critically rehabilitated and everyone loves the damned thing.

I think it's a mess.

There are some fantastic images and some interesting camera motion.

So what?

The narrative is lame. Lame. Lame. Lame.

The use of so much text is not some quaint throwback to the silent era. It's a weird crutch that delivers lots of information that that makes sense of the film which is otherwise senseless. A man delivers a book that says, "open if I die" (or something stupid like that), then the man dies and we get pages and pages of the book to read that let us know that we are dealing with a scary vampire. Seriously, Dreyer, you're really good at making images. Why so much text? The vampire story is stupid. Heck, I'd probably like the movie better if it made less sense and was just a series of dreamy images strung together. The text reveals the bald face of the stupid story.

I feel like I should log this thing on GoodReads instead of posting about it here.

Maybe I'm just angry at Dreyer for making something so trashy and low-brow and trying to pass it off as an art pic.

Some people say that this should just be enjoyed on the level of "mood" or "atmosphere." My problem is that I couldn't get into any mood or atmosphere. If I'd been in one of the original audiences, I would have had fun howling insults at the screen and laughing while throwing jujubes and popcorn.

"It is incomprehensible that Mr Dreyer has spent time, money and talent on this screenplay which is not worthy of the effort. (…) However, the generally macabre tone of the film makes it difficult for the acting to change the overall impression that we are here dealing with some fantastical nonsense […]. It is worth neither clapping nor hissing at."

Of course, I feel inadequate railing against all of you uber-film-nerds who really understand Dreyer and how special Vampyr is.

Next up: L'Age d'Or. I can't wait to smack Jeff around and tell him how wrong he is about that one. :)

Bleh. Being sick stinks.

2012-01-24T09:22:00.005-05:00

After finishing a couple of errands, I plan on spending the rest of the day laying on a couch and watching movies. There are some perks to feeling bleh.

I wrote the following a couple of days ago, but never posted it...

I've fallen behind, I know. Blog fatigue, early winter edition, is setting in. I've also been grumpy and sick. We need something good to argue about.

Mark of Zorro, Mammoulian style, didn't really do anything for me. Give me Robin Hood any day.

Secret of Kells is a beautiful animated tale. It's the most striking animated feature I've seen in a while. I want to celebrate its innovation, but I'm sure that at least a dozen Japanese films did it all first.

---

Brother Born Again showcases everything I dislike about documentaries.

I'm going to reconcile with my brother. This is serious emotional territory. Why don't I film it to advance my career?

If my sister came at me with a movie camera, I'd punch her in the lens cap.

Who looks at their family life and thinks, "This situation I'm worrying about would be better if I documented it on film." I don't like people who think that way. I don't like MTV's The Real World or any of its devil spawn. I don't like these sorts of documentaries.

I know it's not Tuesday yet, but that was spoiler-free and I'm tired of sitting on the film. End rant.

---

I thought that the action in Smallville would pick up post-graduation, but things have been dull.

The BSG made-for-TV movie Razor was just okay. I'm looking forward to completing BSG in 2012, but I'm taking it slow.

---

I watched The Set-Up earlier this month and forgot to write about it. I love Manny Farber's review of this movie. Farber was a boxing fan and could smell out the phony parts. He also couldn't deny the power of Ryan's performance.

I watched Winchester '73 last night. Way back when, it was my first Anthony Mann film. It holds up even better than I remembered. I think that I might prefer Night Passage (same screenwriter, similar themes without the hokey Winchester thread, some of the same actors, different director), but Winchester delivers the goods. I've been sick the past few days and a good western was exactly what I needed to perk me up.

The virtue of vulgarity, or the other way around.

2012-01-17T08:18:00.004-05:00

Chris is right about Moneyball. Its biggest failing is that it's only really good and not great. It does everything right that a Hollywood movie should do. It's smart and interesting and easy to watch. And then, when it's all over, you feel satisfied, but not in any lasting way. I'm starting to warm to Sorkin. The film's greatest strengths and weaknesses are found in the script. Sorkin's biggest flaw, as far as I can see, is that he'll often have characters deliver plot points instead of proper dialogue. This keeps things moving along briskly, but the characters are always in service of an Idea. Character doesn't matter as long as we get the point.

The Guard, on the other hand, offers an abundance of pleasures. And an abundance of Character. There is a "moral" or a "Big Idea" here, but it only finds expression in and through personality.

The film is a bit uneven and often, especially in the beginning, errs on the side of silliness. This would be a weakness if the silliness weren't so danged endearing. Okay, it's still definitely a weakness. Your enjoyment of this movie will probably depend on how much you're able to smile along at the winking.

The protagonist, the guard Boyle, is extremely likable. At least, I like him.

I had a fond, emotional response to this film.

Boyle goes about his job in a manner I can only respect, lightheartedly avoiding all the layers of bullshit (always present) while finishing the real work set before him, the important "relational" (what a stupid word, I just put Brandon to sleep again) parts; proving to others that the only way to take your work seriously is to take it all lightly. Get the work done and ignore the bureaucracy.

Brief indiscretion with a pair of prostitutes aside, Boyle is a fucking role model. I admire his work ethic.

(Pardon the sudden lapse in language. It is obligatory to drop at least one f-bomb in any review of any film written and/or directed by a McDonagh.)

The film also features the best philosophically-minded criminals since the Dude and Walter faced off with those Nihilists.

In so many ways, this is the same "unorthodox cop" genre movie that you've seen dozens of times before. It knowingly comments on that genre with a wink and a nod in several directions at once. Still, this isn't a deconstruction in the sense that Drive is. The Guard laughs at some of the genre constructions, but ultimately upholds them and especially values self-sacrificial Virtue.

Brendan Gleeson is fantastic as always.

Finally, I want to point out that the Calexico score is among the best of the year, if not THE best of the year.

I won't say any more. Watch it. I expect some of you to disagree with me. I'm looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks.

There's a quieter moment in the film that marks the exact spot that I fell in love.

Here's a picture:

Killing Little Protestants. That's Funny.

Carrot Head

2012-01-16T16:39:00.002-05:00

I started experimenting with my iPhone camera this afternoon. I made a short film about making carrot juice using my dad's homegrown carrots. Annie's the star of this one, though most of us make an appearance. I'm not completely happy with the editing, but it's good enough for the short time that I spent on it. I'm also not happy with the video. I didn't realize that shooting in portrait mode would box the frame so much with no way to undo this (or is there?).

But really, it's just a lame home movie.

Enjoy.

Oops.

2012-01-16T14:10:00.003-05:00

I need to clarify just in case someone tries to "get" me for something that I wrote below.

A few years ago, I put La France on my 2008 list. My entire 2008 list is a mess of years. Still Life and La France and Romance of Astrea and Celadon and others. Half of my 2008 list consisted on non-2008 films.

Now, I know better and I consider La France a 2007 film. It's still one of the best films I saw in 2008, but it's a 2007 film.

Once I changed my dating system, I could finally agree with Brandon that 2007 was one of the unrivaled best years in recent film history.

Just because I was curious. I started looking at box office stats.

2012-01-16T13:23:00.003-05:00

Meek's Cutoff
Weekend Gross
$920 (USA) (21 August 2011) (2 Screens)
$2,197 (USA) (14 August 2011) (4 Screens)
$4,224 (USA) (7 August 2011) (4 Screens)
$9,037 (USA) (31 July 2011) (7 Screens)
$6,796 (USA) (24 July 2011) (5 Screens)
$13,702 (USA) (17 July 2011) (13 Screens)
$9,063 (USA) (10 July 2011) (12 Screens)
$15,236 (USA) (26 June 2011) (17 Screens)
$42,121 (USA) (12 June 2011) (41 Screens)
$68,910 (USA) (5 June 2011) (45 Screens)
$84,416 (USA) (22 May 2011) (39 Screens)
$96,990 (USA) (15 May 2011) (30 Screens)
$61,337 (USA) (8 May 2011) (19 Screens)
$34,724 (USA) (1 May 2011) (11 Screens)
$35,791 (USA) (24 April 2011) (6 Screens)
$14,092 (USA) (17 April 2011) (2 Screens)
$20,042 (USA) (10 April 2011) (2 Screens)

So, at one point on one weekend, Meek's was playing on 45 screens in the US. That's the maximum that it ever played. That's really respectable for a film its size. A film like La France, by contrast, has no info listed on IMDB because it probably never played on more than one screen at a time in the US. Meek's Cutoff is a blockbuster compared to La France. Avatar, on the 3rd hand, peaked at 3,452 screens at one time in 2009. It earned $77,025,481 that weekend alone.

Avatar didn't hit any theatres in Russia until later in 2010, though, so it's probably a 2010 film, right? Also, I haven't seen it. And if I haven't seen it, then a film remains dateless. Yup, that's my new system. A film remains dateless until I watch it and then roll 4d6 to come up with an approximate date.

"when a film was released in the US"

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

Ben,

As I already suggested, "when a film was released in the US" is also contested. How many places does it have to play? For how long? Meek's Cutoff played in two different U.S. cities in 2010. It then got a "limited" release in 2011. How many cities did it play in then? Not too many. It never got a "wide" release. Some films don't even get a "limited" release beyond NY, LA, Chicago, and a few other places. We're sometimes, sometimes, lucky to see some of the rarer films play at Cornell months later. I remember being glad to see La France a few years ago. It played maybe 3 places in the entire U.S., showed at Cornell for 2 screenings, then didn't make it onto DVD for three years afterwards. It made it on my 2008 list, but no one else besides a handful of big city critics had seen it and even now that it's become available, it never got any kind of attention. No one besides Cinema Scope and the art film snobs in the big cities were talking about it. How do you date something like that? The Mill and the Cross falls here, too. It has been fortunate enough to get an immediate DVD release, but otherwise has had little to no attention and no real "release." If, instead of getting the DVD release, it suddenly got lots of attention and opened wide this month, would it then be a 2012 film?

Enough already. You guys already know my position without me repeating it in a variety of different ways. Bleh.

I don't care.

2012-01-16T11:07:00.003-05:00

Really, I don't.

Make your lists however you'd like.

Your organizing principle can be that you have no organizing principle, only a nebulous notion of what you think came out this past year.

For my part, when I make a list, I like to know what I'm doing. Quite simply, what does "2011" mean?

My system: Trust IMDB. IMDB gives a film a date based on the best information available establishing a film's first theatrical presentation regardless of location. I like this. Film culture is larger than American Film culture. I may not be able to see all of these films, but I recognize that they exist and that they were actually screened somewhere. I might not see a 2011 film until 2014. That doesn't make it a 2014 film.

Most critics follow the NY/LA system of the Academy. If a film was released and played a week in NY or LA, then it qualifies. One problem with this is that you get the Army of Shadows effect. A film from the 60s that never ever got a theatrical release in the U.S. now qualifies as a 2006 film because it played in the U.S. for the first time in 2006. More often, it's not this drastic, but it's often the case that films from the past few years are only just now getting to us to qualify.

Another problem is that NY and LA aren't really any more relevant to my movie-watching life here in the Binghamton area than Cannes or Berlin are relevant. All four of those cities are too far away for anything played there to matter (okay, I could drive to NY if I REALLY wanted to see something, but practically, this never happens).

The above is fine for critics in NY or LA, but what's a guy supposed to do in Binghamton, NY? Why follow the critics when most of those films never played anywhere close to here? Why not modify our personal lists to reflect only the films that opened within an hour's proximity to Binghamton?

Why not just rank every movie I saw this year regardless of what year it is from? I mean, they're all new to me, right?

I've already made these arguments plenty of times and more fully than I do here. I'm happy with my system. I think that it makes the most sense. I won't fault anyone for using any other system. I'll just pick on them a bit, all in good fun, and only to amuse myself and to continue the running film dating joke that has begun here.

Whenever I do "get on someone's case," it's only me being playful. I'd love for everyone to agree with me, but I'm not really getting upset or worked up over the fact that no one agrees with me.

I guess all I'm really fighting for is for everyone to pick a method, clearly describe what that method is, then stick to it. My method is best, but you can pick your own. :)

Is it arbitrary to rank films by year? Sure, but once we've decided to arbitrarily rank films by year, let's at least be clear about what we mean by a year.

All that said, you make really good points about time being the most necessary ingredient in proving a film's worth. I agree. Well said. No insults.

Restless, not listless.

2012-01-15T16:30:00.003-05:00

Some responses

I'm going to stay out of the Woody Allen talk. I just haven't seen enough of his films to offer anything of worth to the conversation.

Chris, I'd check out The Kid with a Bike, but I'm not dying to do so. I've never seen a Dardennes film, but Aronofsky kinda killed them for me. After The Wrestler, I don't really want to see a Dardennes film.

You should definitely watch The Court Jester. Have you seen The Adventures of Robin Hood? You should watch that first.

I'm glad that you took down A Dangerous Method. I'm bored just thinking about that movie.

Lisa, more We Are Marshall posts, please. Not about We Are Marshall. I just mean more posts. If they're about We Are Marshall, that's a bonus.

Now, on to list talk....

Adrienne, there's been a lot of talk about the so-called "Jason Poole system," but we all know that that's the wimpy way. The Adrienne system, on the other hand, is perfectly valid and masculine through and through. Your mention of The Descendants is enough for me to not completely write the film off. I'm not a fan of Payne and I wasn't looking forward to this particular pain, but I'm willing to give it a chance with a relatively open mind. I've at least sort of warmed to the trailer after seeing it a couple of times.

Jeff's List

1) The Tree of Life
2) A Separation
3) Take Shelter
4) Le Havre
5) Drive
6) The Kid with a Bike
7) The Skin I Live In
8) The Mill and the Cross
9) Hugo
10) Meek's Cutoff

I still haven't seen A Separation, The Kid With a Bike, and The Skin I Live In. Meek's Cutoff is definitely a 2010 film. That leaves six films. Of those six films, each one of them appears on both of our lists. There's nothing to disagree with here and I won't quibble over placement.

Ben's List

1) Meek's Cutoff
2) Melancholia
3) The Tree of Life
4) Bombay Beach
5) The Skin I Live In
6) Trust
7) Another Earth
8) Circumstance
9) Black Death
10) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

How many times do I have to tell you guys that Meek's is a 2010 film? Otherwise, I've seen 'em all except for Bombay, Skin, Trust, Circumstance, and Tinker. Which is a lot I haven't seen. And, oh yeah, Black Death is also a 2010 film. Which leaves us with three titles. Tree of Life and Melancholia have become sort of fused in my mind. Those two films are both unique in the giganticness of their very personal visions. I'm with you in defending Another Earth against these neanderthals if it comes to that.

Jason's List

Wait a second, you didn't make a top ten list. I think I'll skip responding. I'm glad that you like The Way Back so much, but I'm not sure how it's possibly a 2011 film. It did get a theatrical release in the fall of 2010, but the studio just didn't know what to do with the thing, it played hardly anywhere, and disappeared. I'm looking forward to seeing Win Win. I don't know why I let that one slip through the cracks for so long. I'm a moderate fan of the director and the actors, so what am I waiting for?

Other than that, I'll say that, yes, I love Joyeaux Noel. I also greatly enjoyed Carion's more recent film, L'affaire Farewell.

Brandon's List

1) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
2) Certified Copy
3) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
4) Hugo
5) The Skin I Live In
6) Le Havre
7) Attack the Block
8) 13 Assassins
9) Take Shelter
10) A Dangerous Method

I put off my 2010 list for a long time because I never watched Certified Copy. Maybe it'll make it onto my 2012 list. I don't have much to comment on your list that I didn't already write. I'm glad that you put Attack the Block on there. That movie deserves all of the love and attention it can get.

That's all I've got in me for now.

2012 looks like it's going to be great. It's a shame that you guys will have all of those films on your 2013 lists.

The Best of a Decade: 2010 to 2019

2012-01-15T09:34:00.002-05:00

I figure that if no one else can keep a film's release date straight, I might as well join the party and jumble my years all up. The following is a list of my favorite films so far from 2010 through 2019, listed in alphabetical order. Each one of these films is a five-star film in my book. I've decided to embrace this entire decade and start a list now. We'll see if these films hold up in 8 years. Right now, these are the films from the last two years that I absolutely adore.

Cold Weather

Meek's Cutoff

The Mill and the Cross

Take Shelter

True Grit

Most of those will come as no surprise. I've championed Cold Weather often in the past couple of months. My affection for Meek's Cutoff has been widely known. Mill and the Cross strikes the right non-narrative/narrative balance and is utterly unique. True Grit was raved about by me at the end of last year. Take Shelter might be the biggest surprise. I was initially disappointed, yes, but it has stayed with me in a way that no other film this year has. I think about it often and as I've said before, Chastain helped me reconcile with the ending.

So, those are the films I love. The ones that I cherish. Those happy few films that I could watch over and over again, would recommend heartily to all friends, and that I think will pass the test of time.

If that's not good enough for the lot of you, here is my updated (but still very much incomplete) 2010 list, followed by a preliminary 2011 list.

Top Ten 2010

10) Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
9) Blue Valentine
8) Toy Story 3
7) Black Death
6) The Way Back
5) Small Town Murder Songs
4) Shutter Island
3) Cold Weather
2) Meek's Cutoff
1) True Grit

Top Ten 2011

10) Hugo
9) Another Earth
8) Melancholia
7) Drive
6) Tree of Life
5) Rise of the Planet of the Apes
4) The Guard
3) Le Havre
2) Take Shelter
1) The Mill and the Cross

I'm not really happy with this list. I'm just posting what I've got currently to get it out of the way and stop obsessing about it. I am happy and do feel strongly about my "Best of the Decade" list above. I refer all of you back to that list.

The Top Five of this 2011 list are the ones that I get really excited about. I get seriously enthusiastic. From six down, I find myself having a cold respect instead of a warm regard. I'll focus briefly on those first five...

I've got a Guard post coming soon, in which I celebrate the vulgarity of virtue. Rise of the Planet of the Apes just does everything that its type of movie should do. It does it so right. It does it well and it does it in 90 minutes. There is something so aesthetically CORRECT about an ape leading a cavalry charge on the Golden Gate Bridge. Le Havre was probably my favorite theatre-going experience of the year; the joy overflowed. Take Shelter met with some initial resistance in my callous heart. Maybe I wanted to distance myself from it and not give myself totally over. It won me in the end, which is amazing considering that the end is precisely what I got hung up on. The Mill and the Cross is an immersive experience film. Better than the hours I'd spend staring at paintings at the Met, Majewski successfully brings a painting alive; he walks us through a landscape of images, clarifying and sharing love without ever being didactic. A truly astonishing accomplishment. I stand astonished.

Finally, to make everyone happy. Here's me using the Jason Poole System:

2011, The Wimpy Way

All lists are in alphabetical order, unless otherwise noted.

Note: These are ALL of the 2011 films I've seen this year.

Best of the Best (meaning my favorites, not the objectively technically abstract "best"):
The Guard
Le Havre
The Mill and the Cross
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Take Shelter

Almost Made It (start the angry responses now):
Drive
Melancholia
The Tree of Life

On the Fence (all strong presences):
Another Earth
Attack the Block
Hugo
Moneyball
Winnie the Pooh

One Night Stands (don't expect any lasting relationship, but go ahead and call again):
The Adjustment Bureau
Cars 2
Contagion
Cowboys and Aliens
Real Steel
Source Code
Super 8

Meh - What's All the Fuss?
(Jason didn't have this category. I felt that there had to be something between "one night stands" and the "toilet." These are films that others liked that I was lukewarm toward.)
Deathly Hallows 2
Jane Eyre
Midnight in Paris
The Muppets
Warrior

These Belong In the Toilet (There are moments in each, however brief, that show promise; you still gotta flush that shit):
Bellflower
Septien
Your Highness

I Should Probably Give Another Chance Eventually Because I Treated It Unfairly:
Rango

Special Ranked Superhero Movie section (why are we ranking these and not the others; oh, the inconsistencies of the Jason Poole System!):
1. X-Men: First Class
2. Green Lantern
3. Thor

I Really Wanted to See These Films:
Blackthorn
Coriolanus
Hanna
J. Edgar
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
A Separation
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Tyrannosaur
Win Win
I'm sure that there are others I'm forgetting.

Stick a fork in me. I'm done.

Tree of Apes

2012-01-11T16:29:00.000-05:00

Is it wrong to currently feel warmer toward Rise of the Planet of the Apes than I do toward Tree of Life?

(Okay, Jeff, stop freaking out. Yes, I'm half-teasing about ToL. But, that half-not-teasing... Oh no. At least I still like The Tree of Life I've seen more than The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo I haven't seen.)

Rise is my favorite big budget Hollywood Blockbuster since Iron Man and I already like Rise a lot more than Iron Man.

The cg apes are better than any cg creatures I've seen since Spielberg's Jurassic dinos.

There are some weak moments (the over-the-top ape hater at the ape shelter, the boss that throws aside every safety concern for a quick buck, the underuse of Lithgow, etc), but even the film's reliance on a few stereotypes/shortcuts can be forgiven considering everything else that works so well.

The emotion is real and is what carries the film. If you don't/won't/can't buy Caesar's awakening intelligence and the social/moral implications that come from it, then I'll guarantee right now that you won't like this film. The action made me giddy. Like Iron Man, this movie may fall out of my favor. Right now, it's everything I'm looking for in a piece of not-so-serious entertainment.

I wouldn't mind sitting through a Rise/Contagion double feature. For those who've seen both, you know what I'm talking about.

Dang, y'all've been posting too much.

2012-01-11T14:52:00.000-05:00

Responding to recent posts.

Brandon

Great list. I still haven't seen half of the films you love (Tinker, Skin, etc.). You'll be sure to get more feedback from me as I catch up with these. I'll probably post a preliminary 2012 list by the end of next week.

I will say that Carnage looks bad. When we saw the preview before Le Havre, I leaned over to Jeff and whispered, “I'd rather watch The Immortals. Twice.” I'll give Carnage a chance, though. I did enjoy seeing a production of Art while I was in London 12 or so years ago.

Speaking of the historical beginnings of film club (which Brandon did), TSPDT just posted their revised 1,000 picture list. Everyone should check it out: http://www.theyshootpictures.com/gf1000_all1000films.htm

Early on, Brandon and I printed out the then current list and discussed and compared how many we had seen. Who knows how many work hours we wasted on this list?

I will say a bit about Midnight in Paris. I totally confess to the audience context affecting my reaction, BUT I think that my complaints about the film still stand. I might have framed things in a bit more of a positive light (I don't hate the film and I do see things to praise in it) if I had seen it under different circumstances; I don't think (who can say?) that I would have had a completely different reaction to the film.

Jason,

I was going to write a short story about a stubborn donkey working in a neighbor's field that I coaxed onto my property, only to beat him with a rod each time production slowed; how this method produced results for a time, but how eventually I had to trade in my rod for a bag of carrots when the donkey just wouldn't take it any more.

I haven't had time to do small responses, let alone get fancy with some fiction. Here's a carrot tossed your way, though. :)

I am, of course, pleased that you love Cold Weather and The Way Back. I don't have the inclination to write more now, but I pretty much agree with all that you write. I hadn't realized that you'd seen The Plumber. What a great film! I love Weir. I also want to agree with you that Katz has an awfully heavy burden on his shoulders. I'm going into his next film (whatever it is) with HUGE expectations.

And yes, your haikus are great. You are so valuable and we all love you.

Ben,

I suppose I'm still talking to Jason, too. I appreciated the analysis of Drive's hope (or lack thereof). I'm more and more convinced that the Cold Weather comparison served an important function. I do stand by my thoughts of “constructive” vs. “de-constructive.” Putting the films side-by-side helps to showcase this. Unlike Jeff, I'm not sure that the debate was entirely about “style vs. substance.” Both films are heavy on both style and substance. At least from my angle, the debate was about the aims of the substance as manifest in its style.

I've been enjoying the frequent posting. Keep it up.

Oh yeah, thanks for grabbing The Story of Film. I'm looking forward to watching it.

Jeff,

I've got to get those lists of yours up on the lists page. I'm impressed by all of your TCM/Hulu+ watching.

Jeff, you are Drive's best champion. I agree with all that you've written about the film. I think that Drive is pretty perfect as what it is and I think that the ending is perfect for what it is. Saying that I value (and naturally gravitate toward) one type of cinema (“constructive”) over another type of cinema (“de-constructive”) is not saying that the latter serves no function or can't be excellent. Again, I bring up Godard. Les Caribiniers is “de-constructive.” It gleefully wages war on war and particularly its expression as found in the War Film genre. Drive tears apart the Man With No Name Loner Save the Girl and Saves the Town Fairy Tale. It does so wonderfully.

Lisa,

More posts!!!

Chris,

If you're not a Shakespearean jester, you must, at least, be the Danny Kaye kind.

But, let's talk book club.

You wrote: “One of the arguments that I wanted to make while we were discussing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is that most contemporary literature is crap.”

Sturgeon's Revelation: 90% of everything is crud.

"And I do feel that every fan of his should eventually outgrow his work. If there are sixty-year-old dudes walking around quoting Tyler Durden in the future, may god have mercy on us all."

This struck a nerve with me because I recently read almost the same sentence about Kurt Vonnegut in a NYTBR piece. I haven't "grown out of" Vonnegut. Whether I like it or not, I've "grown into" him. I disagree with him more than ever, but I think I love him even more.

It is interesting to think of the differences between growing "out of" something and growing "into" something. The best fiction (the best anything) continues to teach us something and change us somehow each time we encounter it. This presupposes that we want to encounter a work repeatedly. Much contemporary fiction isn't up to this task. Most contemporary readers don't re-read anything. It's "one and done." (The exception is obviously the weird fanboy fiction. Harry Potter. Twilight. I know a girl who has pretty much read nothing but the Twilight books repeatedly for the past couple of years).

There are films that I want to grow into and spend a lot of time with. I've been thinking for a while now that one of the best things about film club, the drive to watch it all and discuss it all, is also one of the worst things about film club. Do I really need to watch another 2011 film? Do I really need to perfect my 1940 list or make complete lists for every other year?

My 2012 film club resolution is to enjoy more films that I've already enjoyed. Enjoy them deeper and more often. Enjoy them repeatedly.

Adrienne,

It was nice having you around for a few days. Too bad it doesn't look like this is going to work out. Check your mailbox for your official warning letter. Malick Hating is a serious crime around these parts. We expect a repentant apology detailing all of the reasons why you are wrong about Tree of Life.

Seriously, nice 2012 post.

---

I was just talking to Brandon this afternoon about ToL. I try and try to think back to it and remember something positive. I can hardly remember a single worthwhile moment. I remember flashes of actions/motion, but it all seems abstract and apart from any meaning. The only concrete thing that pops into my head is an image of a penis fish chasing a vagina fish. That's the handle I have on ToL. Then, I have a hard time taking ToL seriously any longer. At that point, I can't figure out why anyone likes it at all. I think I'm in trouble.

T.S. Eliot on Justified Season 1

2012-01-08T21:06:00.000-05:00

You still shall tramp and tread on endless round of thought, to justify your action to yourselves, weaving a fiction which unravels as you weave, pacing forever in the hell of make-believe which never is belief.

T. S. Eliot: Murder in the Cathedral.

Muppets in Paris

2012-01-08T12:55:00.000-05:00

The Muppets is downright vulgar in its nostalgia mongering. I'm an 80s kid. I grew up with the Muppets. I don't think that this recent movie successfully captures any more than the barest hint at the the essence of the Muppets.

This nostalgiathon cheaply packages up the Muppets as product. They're almost used as a shorthand for some nebulous concept of commercially packaged shared pop culture joy. That probably is what the Muppets have become. Which is a shame because Henson himself and, by extension, his creation was once overflowing with the real deal.

---

Another Earth shouldn't work. Its sf premise is implausible. Its relationship drama is implausible. The camerawork is often distracting and the script gets talky/preachy at times.

So, why did I like it?

Often, throughout the film, I thought that I could feel the presence of Rod Serling, as if he were always in the background smiling. My biggest frustration with Another Earth is that Serling wasn't there at the beginning or the end to properly frame the story for me. Another Earth, in the end, succeeds as an eminently interesting film, operating distinctly in the borderlands of... The Twilight Zone.

---

Moving on to TV shows...

Robin Hood "The Knight Who Came to Dinner" is the best episode of Robin Hood in a while. It's a light-hearted broad comedy of Friar Tuck and Little John trying to get a decent meal. The heroics and contests of wits in the show are always enjoyable, but the show is at its best when it explores humor through character.

The last three episodes of Justified Season 1 ("Veterans," "Fathers and Sons," "Bulletville") bring a satisfying open-ended conclusion to the season. Raylan is less and less of a hero even as everything turns out (almost) alright. The title is apt. The entire show explores how and why we justify our actions to ourselves and others.

---

But I'm ready for one.

2012-01-06T21:05:00.002-05:00

I almost forgot. I should have a "conversations" post up soon. In which I say all of the nice things that Jason has been yearning to hear his whole life.

I can't remember the last time I was in a physical fight.

2012-01-06T21:00:00.002-05:00

Will Brandon believe me when I write that I enjoyed Real Steel a lot more than Warrior?

Should I bother mentioning that Redbelt is probably the only fight movie of the last ten years worth watching?

Should I stop comparing movies and start complaining about Warrior's unsuccessful variations on a tired formula? Warrior tries too hard to tie too many threads together. It over-reaches and, in doing so, never properly develops any single story strand.

Should I rant about the unlikable characters? I'm supposed to care about a state teacher (paid more than enough money and excellent benefits for working half the year) who can't budget properly? Who defies the odds and wins back his wife's favor (not to mention the fawning school principal) by being a Real Man? Am I supposed to care about a whiny ex-soldier who hates himself and everyone else? Really, deep down, he's a hero, too, right? AM I SUPPOSED TO CARE ABOUT NICK NOLTE??? The wounded old man thing was interesting the first few times he did it. I want to see Old Man Nolte in the ring next time.

I didn't care about any of the characters. I certainly didn't care about how they relate to each other.

The MMA fight scenes were less interesting than sitting through a regular UFC match. Not very interesting.

It's never a straight hero story or underdog story, though it plays around in that territory. Both brothers are fated to succeed without any real consequences. The manufactured tension is created by having these two brothers go head-to-head in the championship match.

Unfortunately, the stakes never mattered.

I think that my problem here is that no one is really humbled, excepting maybe the dad, but even he reconciles with his sons by reconciling with the bottle. Contra TMBG, Everybody does get what they want and that is... beautiful? Hardly.

Back to the comparisons...

Real Steel had some worse story flaws, but...
It had a lot of straight-up goofy unapologetic schmaltzy heart to make up for it.

And robots.

CR5FC: 2011 in Review

2012-01-02T22:00:00.002-05:00

Twenty Eleven was the best year in film club history.

Three new members!

Lots of smack talk!

The satisfaction of throwing Lisa in the gorges!

Let's start by reviewing # of posts....

John: 247
Brandon: 221
Jeff: 162
Ben/Chris: 109
Jason: 74
Lisa: 73

I'm only on the top this year because Brandon was away on tour for so long.

Jeff made a strong showing despite getting a late start. Chris and Ben aren't really tied considering that Chris posted the same as Ben in less time. Jason and Lisa? Again, Jason definitely had the time advantage here. I'm willing to give Lisa a +2 PhD handicap to boost her above Jason, revealing him as the slacker he is. Not enough time? I don't think so. It's priorities. After he's done playing with his Star Wars minis and reading through Wednesday's new stacks of comics, he's too exhausted to spend much time chatting film.

The grand total? 886 posts in 2011. That's an average of 2.4 posts a day! And that's pretty awesome.

In general, CR5FC seemed to stress growth and community this year. Film club live events have been grand.

In addition to lots of love, there have been a few great fracases this past year. Lost in Translation. Dogtooth. Midnight in Paris. The Passion of the Christ. Tree of Life. Drive. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Now, on to individual contributions.

Ben: Ben's insistence on Black Death was an inspiration to me. Not only did I love that movie, I was inspired to plead my own nearly hopeless causes later in the year. I wasn't afraid to repeat praises of Cold Weather ad infinitum because Ben had opened up the path with his championing of an unlikely choice.

Chris: Chris, more than anyone else, encouraged me to do more TV talking here, and for that I'm grateful. His Simpsons encouragement was a welcome relief to me. There's no doubt that certain Simpsons episodes I watched this year brought me much more joy than the large majority of 2011 film releases that I watched did. It was also great to have a bit of BB interaction this year. I only wish I could keep up with Dexter and Twilight Zone and too many others.

Jeff: Jeff brought lists back into fashion around here. It's not that they were ever uncool, but things had slowed down a bit. Jeff got us started on revisiting the aughts and, more importantly, he got us looking back at the 30s. Also, as mentioned above, Jeff is the #1 non-founder poster around here. Not only does he step up to the plate often; he's got one hell of a swing and always brings his 'A' game.

Lisa: Lisa's best achievement is just sticking around. I'm not talking about staying in the car with "buzzed driver" Brandon and a bunch of strangers she just met. Nor am I referencing holding her own in a no-holds-barred ToL cage match. I'm talking about sticking around and posting at all while struggling with mind-numbing academic work. More posts in 2012, please.

Jason: Jason didn't disappear quite as often this year. Faithful blogging is good blogging. Also, Jason won on the FB front. I resisted for a long time, but finally was convinced. FB groups are what did it for me and are the main reason that I'm now a FB Freak. Jason was right all along. All apologies.

Brandon: What can I say? The king of film club. Let's keep him from touring in 2012 so that we don't have any Brandon post famines in the New Year. Brandon's best film club moment this year was probably when he was ready to intervene to stop Jeff from killing himself in an intense moment of despair related to a film club argument. Of course he had to take Jeff seriously. Brandon knew too well that intense despair based on all of those moments in which my cruel, thoughtless posts have driven him to the edge of the abyss.

I might come back and single out my favorite posts from each of you, but there's a general overview.

2011 out.

Tired New Year

2012-01-02T00:58:00.002-05:00

Brandon tattooed my face for Christmas.

I completely agree with everything that Jeff wrote about Le Havre. I can't say it any better than Jeff already has. Le Havre is easily one of my favorite films of 2011..

I'm on vacation right now and I've watched a couple of crappy movies.

Septien is not just bad. It's spectacularly bad. It at least becomes something interesting at the 3/4 mark when it becomes a pederasty revenge pic.

Septien was "bad" but interesting.

Bellflower was just a flop. It didn't help that I was expecting it to be something else. I'd heard Mad Max talk and got excited. Instead of literal wastelands, Bellflower explores bad relationships as an apocalypse one is never fully prepared for. At least I think that's the idea. The metaphor is stupid and Bellflower doesn't work as genre film or character study or romantic entanglement indie film. I hated it.

Without a doubt.

2011-12-29T23:12:00.001-05:00

Best moment of the year.

LE HAVRE rules!

I love film club.

2011-12-26T17:38:00.003-05:00

Can you guys believe that Brandon and I used to have regular spats like this when no one was reading what we wrote except for the two of us?

That's the spirit of film club past, present, and future.

Write what you like regardless of whatever anyone thinks of you. Regardless of the fact that no one but one (and now six!) other person(s) cares about what you're writing. We're writing for ourselves and for each other, not for personal gain or any kind of success.

It's been such a great year. Film club has continued to be enriched by the presence of all of you. I certainly never dreamed that we'd have the beginnings of a mini-community established like this.

Brandon and I had a crazy whim. Then Jason, then Ben, then Jeff, then Lisa, then Chris. Thanks to all of you.

All of your posts give me great joy.

Except for Brandon's last post. That one pissed me off.

:)

I'm done for the day. I'll let Brandon have the last word if he chooses to.

Peace.

My tongue it doth chatter, it goes pitter-patter Here's good beer and strong beer, for I will not flatter.

2011-12-26T16:21:00.003-05:00

"I get a totally different vibe from your comparisons. I get the vibe that you like to knock films off their pedestal and use lesser appreciated films that you love to do it. I get the vibe that you get annoyed by these films because of the love they are getting while other films get largely ignored (indiewire poll anyone?)."

Seriously? Now I am getting pissed at you. You're attributing petty motivations to me that I don't think are at all evidenced by my posts or any of my comparisons/contrasts. I don't doubt that you "get this vibe," but I don't think that you read my posts carefully at all. I think that you assume my motives and ignore what I actually write.

If you're referencing my 69th vs. 45th poll positions post, then surely you knew that I was being sarcastic and joking, right?

If you're referencing anything else, then I just don't get it. I'm trying to "knock" Dragon Tattoo off its "pedestal" because I've tried to make sense of what I don't like about the story by invoking Breaking Bad? Again, do I need to repeat that I haven't even seen Fincher's version? I'm interacting with the story as manifest in the Sweded version.

I'm trying to knock Drive off its "pedestal" by comparing it to Cold Weather? ?? In that instance, I was answering a question raised by Chris and exploring why I liked one film more than another, not trying to "de-throne" anything.

Green Lantern vs. Melancholia? I saw similar themes (apparently where no else did, so what?) and raised the idea that these films were doing similar things in very different ways. Was I trying to dethrone Melancholia and raise up Green Lantern? Hardly.

"To say “well a guy with a turtle bomb attached to his head is far better than a golf club to the face” pretty much ends the conversation for me."

Did I say this? I mentioned the turtle bomb as an example of a "pulpy" image that I loved. The point was that I can dig trash, not that I like one image over another. If you reread what I wrote, I think that it's clear that what I was contrasting was the "tone and setting" and the way in which the stories interact with an external morality. I was most definitely not saying that a turtle bomb is cooler than a golf club to the face (though it is; but maybe I shouldn't joke. I'm not sure that you understand me when I'm serious let alone when I'm joking).

"Do you get what I’m saying here? I’m not saying that you don’t have the right to see connections in your head but rather that when you make them I could just as easily "state “well I wasn’t aware that GWTDT was aspiring to be Breaking Bad.”"

Brandon, I'm honestly not sure if it's worth conversing anymore. I don't even think you read what I wrote. I think that you saw words and constructed some argument apart from what I wrote. The point of the comparison wasn't to say that GWTDT should be anything other than it is or that people who like it are dumb. I was trying to explain why I *personally* am not on board with the Tattoo story. I was not saying that GWTDT should be Breaking Bad. I was exploring why the story of one works for me while the story of the other fails beyond its basic thrills. I suggested that it was due to the type of moral universe that the characters inhabit in each. You might disagree with my distinction and insist that Tattoo is more than just bleakness. But, you don't do that. You construct some false argument to respond to rather than interact with the bare sketch of an idea that I laid out.

"Nothing is taboo here. You aren’t being attacked."

Again, seriously? I'm not being attacked? You've just told me that you think that my entire purpose of comparing films is to take pot shots at films whose success I'm annoyed by. WTF? This is after I just told you my purposes in comparing films. Your last post is basically you just barely veiling calling me a liar, like you're calling out what you think is my bluff. I can't help that you get that vibe. I just don't see it.

"Read the paragraph again and you’ll see that I’m just pointing a fact out."

Sure, but you also said that you don't get why I do it, which prompted my post. You said that you don't see how these films relate or what my point is, implying that I'm just being provocative with no substance. Now, you're telling me that you have a good idea (based on a "vibe") of the reason why I compare films and the reason is that I have grudges that I need to settle. How can I interpret this as anything but an attack? Even if it's friendly, it's still an attack.

"Nothing wrong with it per say just not sure that I buy it all the time. But please continue to utilize this as maybe I’ll learn to connect the dots eventually."

Um, let's kiss and make up?

Your next paragraph isn't quite directed at me, I don't think. I need to stress again that I've only been working with knowledge of the Sweded version and haven't made any claims about Fincher being above material. I haven't even claimed that those rape scenes serve no narrative purpose. So, I'll skip out on this section.

I don't dispute any of the claims you make about Fincher. He is a great director. The projects he picks, though, most often don't appeal to me.

I think that you're just lashing out at me because I think that Benjamin Button and Forrest Gump are the same movie.

I'm gonna have another drink and celebrate St. Stephen, whose martyrdom must have been a foreshadowing of this sustained film club persecution.

"And now for remembrance of blessed Saint Stephen
Let's joy at morning, at noon, and at even
Then leave off your mincing and fall to mince pies
I pray take my counsel, be ruled by the wise."

Steampunk

2011-12-26T15:09:00.004-05:00

Man, it felt good to get all of that steam out of my ears.

It's gonna feel even better when I finally get Brandon in a closed room in order to "Swede" a certain scene from Dragon Tattoo.

:) <----Smiley to indicate continued good will; to make plain that I am only joking.

Bleakness is all.

2011-12-26T14:27:00.007-05:00

I'm expecting company soon, but I'll scribble out a response quickly now.

"After seeing the TERRIBLE Swedish film that John can't seem to make up his mind about"

I think that I've been clear (of course I do) and I really think that we've had this argument before. I think that Sweded Tattoo does a more than competent job of telling its trashy story. Like Jeff, it's the story itself that I didn't care for. At the same time, I readily admit that the story is compelling in an "I can't stop looking at that anal rape" kind of way. Sweded Tattoo keeps a crisp and lively pace suited to its material. I really don't care what Glen Kenny thinks about this. For the record, I still haven't seen Fincher's version and never called it a copy of anything, so I'm not sure how Kenny's criticism applies. I believe you that Fincher's frames are Oh So Gorgeous. I'm merely stating that Sweded Tattoo tells its story just fine. And this is a fact. Evidenced by lots and lots of people having sat through a really long foreign film with itty little bitty words to read onscreen.

"John is the king of stating he prefers one thing to another. We’ve already had this out several times but he likes to take one work of art (in this case a television show which is far different from a movie) and hold it over another to prove his point (Cold Weather vs Drive, The Green Lantern vs Melancholia, etc.). What can I say? I don’t know how they relate or where that point is coming from"

It's the little Armond demon on my shoulder.

Seriously, though, it's called making a point by using an illustration. In this case, I tried to pinpoint what it is that I find lacking in Dragon Tattoo. The best way that I found to express that was by giving a contrasting example of what it is that I do enjoy and where I have found that sort of thing precisely in a work of "pulpy trash."

This obviously annoys you, but I don't think that my point is unclear or somehow invalid. Do you really not "know how they relate?" I already stated that they are both "pulp" entertainments. I explained above where that point is coming from and I (maybe mistakenly) thought that it was also clear in my original post.

"You have to admit that this is one of your indulgences and it often perks its little head up when you want to rub someone’s face in shit, specifically when they profess love for something"

I don't have to admit anything. Okay, I admit it. But, I deny that I'm rubbing anyone's face in shit (that's Fincher's happy job). I may be taking fun little jabs at times, but my intent is serious in making comparisons as a way of coming to terms (for myself primarily, but also definitely through wrestling with you guys) with why I will fall head over heels with one thing and not with another.

Haven't you ever written a comparison/contrast essay? Do you know that these things exist? How can you pretend that one film you watch doesn't interact in your head with every other film (and book and conversation and drink and song, etc.) you've ever encountered, especially the ones that you've also seen recently.

I'm not (nor have I ever been) strictly writing reviews here. In fact, I rarely do that. I'm just not interested in doing so. Instead, I'm having an open conversation with friends. Often, I'm just throwing out fragments and impressions and yes, it's absolutely true, I like to compare things that I've seen recently that do at least some things in the same way. If you can't see the similarities and dissimilarities between Drive and Cold Weather or Green Lantern and Melancholia, then maybe I didn't do a good enough job in comparing and contrasting them. For that, I'm sorry. I'm not sorry for comparing them. You seem to think it's some sort of wicked crime for me to do so and suggest strongly that this form of thinking and conversing is unhelpful. Well, I don't know. It's one of the ways that I work out how I feel about various things that I'm watching. I'm not attacking anyone. I'm trying to clarify my own position by making connections and relating things to each other. I see connections and relationships everywhere. I'm not sure why you don't. Sorting and ranking comes natural to most of us geeks. Why is it suddenly taboo when I vocalize this natural internal process?

Finally, for the record, I never doubted for an instant that your response to Fincher's Tattoo is totally honest. That's what we're all committed to here. I was just (in a strong teasing way; I know you can take it) pointing out that you were predisposed to like it. I believe you that you were nervous, but I also think that it was nervous excitement and that you went in to the film wanting to love it. Nothing wrong with that.

Me and Chris Hitch agree.

2011-12-26T12:55:00.001-05:00

There is much sex but absolutely no love, a great deal of violence but zero heroism. Reciprocal gestures are generally indicated by cliché: if a Larsson character wants to show assent he or she will “nod”; if he or she wants to manifest distress, then it will usually be by biting the lower lip. The passionate world of the sagas and the myths is a very long way away. Bleakness is all. That could even be the secret—the emotionless efficiency of Swedish technology, paradoxically combined with the wicked allure of the pitiless elfin avenger, plus a dash of paranoia surrounding the author’s demise. If Larsson had died as a brave martyr to a cause, it would have been strangely out of keeping; it’s actually more satisfying that he succumbed to the natural causes that are symptoms of modern life.

Brandon is a total finching whore.

2011-12-26T12:25:00.003-05:00

Nothing he says about the dude or his movies can be trusted. For lots of reasons, Brandon was primed to love Tattoo long before he ever stepped into the theatre. Brandon's Fincher meter always burns hot.

I'm only half-teasing.

I do think that Brandon has been wearing his pre-approved Fincher glasses that see everything all Finchery special all the time.

I suspect that Jeff is probably right that both Se7en and Zodiac explore similar material in much more interesting ways, but I don't think that Brandon would argue with that.

Anyhow, we all know that we go in to movies with expectations and demands and sometimes unalloyed affection. I know, for instance, that I can't approach a new Coens film with anything remotely approaching "objectivity." I know right now that I'm going to love the next ten films they make, even if the next one announced is an adaptation of Stieg Larson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Finally, I'm not sure why you guys are bashing the Swedish version so much. I thought that it was really well crafted (and I thought that I posted on this in the past, but again, I think blogger ate some of my old posts). I hardly felt the long running time pass as the film zipped along and kept me engaged in the mystery and developing relationship. I just don't understand why it's suddenly cool to hate on the Swedes just because Fincher supposedly made a "better" maybe flashier version.

Happy Wren Day.

Underdog?

2011-12-24T22:11:00.002-05:00

The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo an underdog? Yeah right. Released in late December, it still managed to rank 45th on the Indiewire poll and everyone is talking about it.

My favorite dog in the 2011 race? Released earlier this year, it got the same amount of respect as Crazy Stupid Love and no one was ever talking about it or is talking about it now.

I'm the champion of the true underdog, you dragon-rape-loving-tattooed-pervert.

Lisa probably wins this game of one-downs-manship since Pooh came in at dead last on that stupid, worthless poll.

As far as Dragon Tattoo goes, I remember disliking the Swedish version, but finding it (in)decently compelling for all of its lengthy running time. I was also seeing it for free at Cornell. All I can go by is the Swedish film. I thought that the story was schlocky trash with too few redemptive qualities. And I love pulp trash. Two of my favorite moving images of the past few years are a head strapped to an exploding turtle and an ATM falling on a dude's head. Those are from Breaking Bad, the current king of lowbrow art masterpieces. There are lots of differences between Dragon Tattoo and Breaking Bad, but I think that the major difference is tone and setting. Breaking Bad has characters doing bad shit to one another in a structured, moral universe. The choice to break bad means something. Dragon Tattoo features characters doing bad shit to one another in a bad shit universe. There's no bad to break because it's all already bad. I don't think that this is necessarily what Jeff was getting at, but I'm throwing it out there. Also, I'm just going on memory and kinda BSing a bit. Maybe I'm wrong. I think that Blogger may have eaten some of my old posts. I can't find any mention of seeing Dragon Tattoo except for a brief mention in my Farewell post (which is another great movie that everyone ignored, including you film club no-gooders). I don't have much interest in seeing Fincher's tattoo besides Brandon's praise and wanting to check out what he loves. But that might not be enough. I did, after all, already sit through Benjamin Button. What more do you want from me?

Have a merry non-fincherite Christmas.

1940

2011-12-22T17:58:00.004-05:00

I need to re-watch:
Pinocchio (lots of people)
Pinocchio was one of my favorite films as a youngster. I don't think I've seen it in 15+ years.

I still haven't seen:
The Mark of Zorro (Rouben Mamoulian), When the Daltons Rode (George Marshall), Dark Command (Raoul Walsh), The Return of Frank James (Fritz Lang), Virginia City (Michael Curtiz), Another Thin Man (W.S. Van Dyke), Go West (Edward Buzzell), The Doctor Takes a Wife (Alexander Hall), The Philadelphia Story (George Cukor), The Grapes of Wrath (John Ford), Rebecca (Alred Hitchcock), Fantasia (Lots of People), My Little Chickadee (Edward F. Cline), Waterloo Bridge (Mervyn LeRoy), They Drive by Night (Raoul Walsh), The Long Voyage Home (John Ford), Stranger on the Third Floor (Boris Ingster), You're Missing the Point (Juan Bustillo Oro), The Mortal Storm (Frank Borzage), Strange Cargo (Frank Borzage), Edison, the Man (Clarence Brown), Remember the Night (Mitchell Leisen), The Stars Look Down (Carol Reed), Murder Over New York (Harry Lachman), Contraband (Michael Powell), Pride and Prejudice (Robert Z. Leonard), Abe Lincoln in Illinois (John Cromwell), Santa Fe Trail (Michael Curtiz), Northwest Passage (King Vidor), Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Ford Beebe and Ray Taylor), Escape (Mervyn LeRoy), Primrose Path (Gregory La Cava), From Mayerling to Sarajevo (Max Ophüls)

I'm sure that there are plenty of others worth hunting down.

My problem doing these lists is that I'm obsessive. I really think that my list is inadequate at best because I haven't seen any of the above films. Damned negligent at worst to be saying anything about a year's films when I've only seen a tiny fraction of them pre-selected for me as "the best." So many films get forgotten. It's the nature of these things. It's not going to stop me making lists, but it gives me pause whenever I'm tempted to think of myself as even half knowledgeable about films past or present.

My favorite recent example is Ed Harris' Appaloosa. After several repeat viewings, I'm convinced that it's a masterpiece and easily one of the five best Westerns of the past forty years. Hardly anyone has seen it. Those who have gave it no critical attention. I submit as evidence the 2008 Indiewire critics poll. Appaloosa doesn't even rank 69th. It doesn't get a single mention.

So, how many unknown Appaloosas were there in 1940 that are completely forgotten now? I know that most films achieve canonical status for very good reasons. I'm not concerned about those. I get all worked up about those gems that no one has bothered to polish or maybe not even bothered to pick up and look at in decades.

So, with more waffling and disclaiming than my 2011 list will receive, I present my very imperfect list of favorite films from 1940:

1940

1. The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch)
2. Christmas in July (Preston Sturges)
3. I Love You Again (W. S. Van Dyke)
4. Foreign Correspondent (Alfred Hitchcock)
5. The Great Dictator
6. City for Conquest (Anatole Litvak)
7. The Man From Tumbleweeds (Joseph H. Lewis)
8. The Westerner (William Wyler)
9. The Ghost Breakers (George Marshall)
10. The Great McGinty (Preston Sturges)

HM: The Bank Dick (Edward F. Cline), A Chump at Oxford (Alfred J. Goulding), His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks), The Torrid Zone (William Keighley), The Thief of Baghdad (Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell and Tim Whelan), The Sea Hawk (Michael Curtiz)

The Shop Around the Corner is perfect. We're all agreed, it seems, that Christmas in July is delightful. I Love You Again is one of those gems that I'm glad I found. Foreign Correspondent is Hitchcock doing everything right as usual. If nations and peoples had been more mature (mature enough to laugh at themselves) at the time, the Great Dictator alone would have brought an end to WWII in 1940 (I just daydreamed of Ol' Adolf seeing this movie, laughing uproariously, then breaking down in tears of repentance). City for Conquest has already been raved about sufficiently here. The Man From Tumbleweeds is a bit of a guilty pleasure. The Westerner is so morally ambiguous that it should have been remade in the 70s (and probably was). The Ghost Breakers is good fun. The Great McGinty is carried by Donlevy despite the film's weak framing device.

There's my quick attempt to deal with 1940. I'm not done with this year at all.

Coming soon: Film Club, Year in Review

2011-12-21T20:12:00.003-05:00

In the meantime, a couple of quick responses.

Brandon, don't worry. I'm not losing any sleep over any critics end of year lists. I remain puzzled by the exclusion of Mill. I don't think that it even registered on the critical radar. Why should it, really, when there's Kevin to talk about? Those three mentions on the Indiewire poll were probably from the only three critics who participated that watched the blasted thing.

As far as my frown goes, I remain frowningly optimistic about the current state of cinema. I'm just not all that excited about seeing many of the films currently being lauded.

Lisa, I also enjoyed The Adjustment Bureau. It's ridiculous, but it gets a pass because the romance worked for me. I've wanted to see The Conspirator. Maybe I'll finally check it out now that I've heard someone say something nice about it.

Jason, you better follow through on your outing to see Christmas in July at the Dryden. I hope you're bringing your family.

I just don't have the energy for anything more.

2011-12-18T10:55:00.006-05:00

Critics are stupid. I just checked out the Film Comment poll. My favorite movie of the year, The Mill and the Cross, doesn't even get a mention. My guess why? Everyone was tripping over each other trying to talk about the next big thing being hyped, like We Need to Talk About Anything But the Cross. There's no time to stop and reflect on a beautiful work of art criticism as feature film.

Anyhow, I took the Film Comment poll and stripped it of its non-2011 titles (I'll do the same to the Indiewire poll eventually, but this one's shorter so it gets stripped first)! From 50 down to 28. Here are the results:

1. Tree of Life
2. Melancholia
3. A Separation
4. A Dangerous Method
5. Hugo
6. Le Havre
7. The Descendants
8. Midnight in Paris
9. Take Shelter
10. Margaret
11. Shame
12. Drive
13. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
14. The Interrupters
15. The Artist
16. Weekend
17. The Skin I Live In
18. Contagion
19. Martha Marcy May Marlene
20. Bridesmaids
21. Moneyball
22. The Future
23. Super 8
24. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
25. Terri
26. J. Edgar
27. Jane Eyre
28. Pina

I've only seen 9 (roughly 1/3) of those and I can't say that I'm all that excited about most of the rest.

Of course, there's also the "unreleased" list. A stupid joke. Most of the films on their "unreleased" list will get big mentions on 2012 lists. "Unreleased" here means that it played in one location (maybe Cannes or Venice) instead of three (Cannes or Venice PLUS Newd York and Lost Angeles). Many of the "released" films remain "unreleased" in the Binghamton area (unless you know some piratical tricks or unless you believe everything those big shots in NY and LA want you to believe).

It's my favorite time of year for being a movie nerd.

----

I haven't watched many movies lately. Only two.

Christmas in July is my new favorite Sturges film. At a tight 68 minutes, it doesn't waste any time. One of the best things about Sturges is his use of the same group of actors. This seems to be an essential element of the successful writer-director. Surround yourself with actors you trust and there will a whole lot less problems realizing your script.

I have a lot of respect for The Great Dictator. I'm having a hard time placing it on my '40 list. It's a ballsy movie. 71 years after its release, I respect it more than I love it. This film may be a victim of its own success. Hitler is now a joke. Chaplin has won. The subversive element here is undermined because we all now think that Hitler was a ridiculous little man.

Earlier this year, I read an Antoine de Saint-Exupéry memoir given to me by Ben. I think that Antoine would have really liked Chaplin's rousing final speech. I like to think that he got a chance to see this film.

Hugo. What can I say about Hugo that you guys haven't already discussed? It's a beautiful love letter to cinema (and literature and adventure and technology, etc). The 3D was fine, but it's still distracting to me. I can't appreciate it. I know that this was shot as 3D, but I'd like to see it again in 2D.

What do you guys think of the argument that Hugo is guilty of "The Parent Trap problem?" It's one of the more interesting (mild) criticisms that I've seen and I certainly thought about this while watching the film.

Other than that, I've been watching a lot of TV. 8 episodes of Smallville. 5 episodes of Justified. 2 episodes of Bored to Death. Season 4 of Smallville is the best yet. I love that Clark has really blossomed as a stupid jerk. The way that he indignantly gives everyone around him a "second chance" while he continues to self-righteously lie through his teeth (is there any better way to lie?) is always there in all of his interactions with all of his friends. Justified is a nice piece of police procedural meets modern Western. It's not as mind-numblingly-tingly-compelling as the soapish Smallville (or BSG), but it's a good "slow burn" character drama. Bored to Death annoyed me, but I'll give it a few more chances. The characters are uninteresting and I'm not sure how far the gimmick can be stretched.

---

I lament the fact that it doesn't look like there will another CR5FC event before the year is out. Just wait. I'm planning on throwing a film club members-only party in January or February. I'll prove to the Howard Bros once and for all that Benjamin Lainhart is something other than a fractured personality of my highly fragmented schizophrenic condition.

In the meantime, my advice is for everyone to enjoy a Trapped in Paradise/Blast of Silence double feature before or after Christmas (I'll also be happy to hear anyone's alternate suggestions for a Christmas movie double feature). Have a merry one.

I hope to squeak in at least one more post before the civil calendar ends.

Peace on earth.

Thanks, Jeff. That is cool.

2011-12-15T23:10:00.001-05:00

Chris, I hope that you watched the interview clip that Jeff posted.

In it, Shannon compares Take Shelter to...

Birth of a Nation

Real Steel is the Real Deal.

2011-12-10T22:05:00.003-05:00

That movie I was thinking of is called The Wizard, not Savage Fred and the Glove of Power.

I had a great time watching Real Steel.

The best $2 I've spent in a long time.

I'll defend it if someone sees it and challenges me on this. Otherwise, the Howard Bros got to hear me rave about it and I've pretty much gotten all of my initial enthusiasm out of my system. Henceforth, all questions related to Real Steel can be answered by either Jeff or Chris. Yes, Fred Savage played Hugh Jackman's son. And yes, Roman Polanski has deserved every bad thing that has ever happened to him in his life. Finally, yes, Georges Melies was most definitely a very bad racist.

Here's a clip of Woody Allen talking to Billy Graham.

[EDIT: Make sure that you watch Part 2, too.]

---

The BCF screening was a great time as usual and it was of course great to hang out briefly with Chris and Jeff. Boy Meets Girl, though, was a bit of a disappointment. A bit too zany. The dialogue was fast and furious in that stage play comedy sort of way. I couldn't keep up. The fake baby trailer was tops and there were enough funny gags to entertain throughout.

---

Some quick responses to recent posts:

I'm still waiting for Chris to write on Take Shelter before I jump back into the fray, but I've been loving the posts from Brandon and Jeff. I've made peace with the ending, as I somewhat explained to Jeff and Chris tonight. I'm still a little bit pissed that there's a question mark where a period should be, but I think that "the look" between husband and wife suffices as an appropriate ending.

Thanks, Chris, for reminding me of those great scenes in Sullivan's Travels. I like the movie even more than I remembered.

Chris wrote: "And I know John doesn't care too much about performances."

This is probably true. At least, that I pay attention to a lot of other things first. And that I can't give a movie a pass just for having great performances if I hate it in all sorts of other areas.

It's time to go upstairs and watch some Smallville. The introduction of Lois Lane this season has been handled skillfully. It's a tough challenge to introduce a character that the entire world knows will inevitably end up becoming the "one true love" of our hero. It's nice that there's no obvious chemistry, but that there is a smidgen of screwball spark to the new relationship.

----

g'night.

who's got an attitude?

2011-12-09T08:47:00.002-05:00

"minus the genre statements only because that brings us back to the previous posts which almost made me not want to watch the movie in the first place."

Right. So, what exactly do you object to? Let's hash this out.

My guess is that you're only responding negatively to the way that I framed things as Katz and Truffaut vs. Refn and Godard. If that's the case, then fine. But, what specifically do you object to in the way that I've discussed Cold Weather and genre?

Maybe "object to" isn't the right way to phrase things.

What different angle are you coming at this from? And why does it seem at least mildly antagonistic toward the way that I've framed the discussion so far?

You wrote, "I guess it doesn’t matter," so maybe you're not interested in discussing this, but I'm interested. From my perspective, it feels like you're taking little pot shots with your pellet gun, but you forgot to load the pellets. I'm concerned that you're aiming your gun at me, but I'm amused that you forgot the ammunition.

So, what exactly is your beef, boy? Bring it.

[p.s. I'm really looking forward to your Take Shelter post.]

I Flunked Film Club.

2011-12-09T07:59:00.003-05:00

I'm going to be grounded once my parents talk to Brandon about my grades.

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

Since Thanksgiving week, I've watched a handful of classic films. Here's a quick look at what I've been watching. As usual, I don't begin to do justice to any of these films.

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

The Texas Rangers. King Vidor kills the competition right into the sound era. The "throwing rocks" scene beats just about any action set piece I've seen in any other movie from any other time. My jaw dropped. I felt like a little kid meeting Santa Claus and finding out for sure that magic is really really real. The world became a bigger and more exciting place at that moment.

Hangmen Also Die. This is tough subject matter at a tough time. Directed by one of our toughest.

Road to Zanzibar. Ranging from mildly pleasant to boisterously funny (I'm thinking of you, monkey wrestling scene), this was a nice movie to throw on the Thanksgiving dessert menu.

Suspicion. I love how this film works as a screwball/suspense mashup. There are definitely a lot of uncomfortable moments.

The Asphalt Jungle. Don't believe a word I say when I'm talking to Brandon about John Huston. I mean, how can I talk with someone who doesn't appreciate the music choices in Wise Blood? I get all flustered and say things like, "I hate The Asphalt Jungle," which is, of course, a bald-faced lie. I love The Asphalt Jungle.

The Torrid Zone. A Cagney film that I won't rave about. Maybe it was the moustache.

Go West. The Keaton version about a man and his cow. There were lots of funny moments, but the two shorts on the disc that we've already watched multiple times both beat this feature.

The Great McGinty. I was underwhelmed. I think that it comes down to the "bartender telling a story" framework failed for me.

I Love You Again. This is such a wonderful movie. Powell and Loy are always excellent together. Love You Again is no exception. It made me want to be a better person and cherish my wife more. Maybe more importantly for film club's context, it made me laugh a lot and is one of the best films of 1940.

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

That's it. That's what I've been watching. It's getting cold in the house again, so that means it's time for Smallville. We just started Season 4 and are only 2 episodes in. I'll be sure to keep you all updated with long, detailed analysis of each episode. Long live Superhero Soap Opera Club! Stay tuned.

Sturges

2011-12-08T18:49:00.002-05:00

In a nice moment of coincidinky-diddley-doo, I had just watched The Great McGinty before Jeff picked Sturges for the month. And I've got a Christmas in July disc in the mail. Now, this had nothing to do with wanting to be in on the December director thing. I've been plugging away at 1940 and McGinty and Christmas both fit that date.

I don't have much to write.

I like Preston Sturges. I respect him tons, but I'm not a huge fan. I love Hail the Conquering Hero. I really like Sullivan's Travels. I like The Great McGinty. I could take or leave The Lady Eve.

I submit the above paragraph as my attempt at historical film criticism for the year.

So, there goes director of the month.

Sorry for being all fizzle and no pop.

Soft Boiled

2011-12-08T16:10:00.000-05:00

"I also wonder if we are coming at this for the same reasons."

Alright, Brandon, I'll bite.

I love Cold Weather because:
- The characters and relationships and situations are developed skillfully in a way worthy of Rohmer (the Master as far as I'm concerned).
- The tone is playful, but never silly or stupid (Like Chesterton's angels, the film soars because it always takes itself lightly).
- The cinematography is gorgeous, pointing toward a glorious future of possibilities for low-budget digital filmmaking.
- The genre mash-up happenings are ten times more exciting than any straight-up genre film I've seen in years.
- As I've already written, the "genre conventions are filtered through personal and relational sensibilities" (in other words, this is a high-falutin' auteur picture in the best possible way).
- I relate to working in an ice factory.
- I'm inclined to love it simply because of the abundant inclusion of things I love: Carcasonne, detective stories, Swedish Fish, cheap pipes, plenty of slack.
- It features my favorite movie score since Moon.
- Like you, I was astonished by the way that the last 15 minutes or so plays out.

So, those are a few reasons why I love Cold Weather. Not at all an exhaustive list. Go back and read what I said about altars and gutters or whatever in the past.

Whenever I redo my 2010 list, Cold Weather will be there right at the top.

I'm really looking forward to Katz' western project.

Now, are YOUR reasons really all that different? Are you going to tell me that you loved Cold Weather because of the 3D severed penis floating in the water?

Now, I really want to watch Cold Weather again!

Provisions

2011-12-03T08:49:00.002-05:00

In which I continue to ignore all of the Hugo talk and do my own selfish thing.

I saw Take Shelter without you guys.

At the Art Mission. Ugh.

The first 5:15 screening. This has been my most anticipated film for months now. I couldn't wait.

To say that I was disappointed is an understatement.

The problem is that I can't discuss my problems with the film without discussing the ending. And I don't want to spoil the ending. I can't even discuss my favorite moments because I want you to experience them directly instead of experiencing them while thinking, "That's the shot that John loves," or, "There's the moment that John said perfectly encapsulates the inner turmoil of a man struggling to provide for others while he can hardly care for himself." Bleh.

Therefore, this post remains a short and frustrated one.

Here's the thing. Y'all should see Take Shelter. It's worth seeing. Nichols remains one of the few American directors that I get really excited about.

There are images/moments of beauty in Take Shelter that rival anything else this year or any other year. It is often a beautiful film [though not in the same way that Melancholia or Tree of Life are often beautiful. Nichols' style is more efficiently economical and narrative-driven]. There are images/moments in Take Shelter that are so terrifying that they rival any horror film of this or any other year.

I repeat myself. Take Shelter is absolutely worth watching. Go see it.

We'll talk about it later.

2007 in 2011

2011-11-24T11:31:00.003-05:00

I'm giving thanks today for the films of 2007. What a great year in film.

2007 Top Ten (The 4 Years Later Proper Edition)

1. There Will Be Blood
2. The Romance of Astrea and Celadon
3. La France
4. Munyurangabo
5. No Country For Old Men
6. Mister Lonely
7. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
8. Ratatouille
9. The Simpsons Movie
10. Stardust

(There are a bunch of honorable mentions, too, but that's good enough for now. Funny Games is #11. I still really need to see The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.)

Jeff and Chris, I'm hoping to take the girls to see Hugo either today or tomorrow. It better be worth the bumped-up 3D ticket prices!

Racing after spooks.

2011-11-22T16:42:00.002-05:00

In which I continue in my Birth-of-a-Nation-lovin' racist ways.

The Ghost Breakers is an enjoyable light comedy romp starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard clearing ghosts out of an inherited castle. Willie Best, too, is in this one. From the evidence here and from what I've read elsewhere, he was probably one of the finest character actors of the 30s, notably so considering his being BLACK in a Honky's Hollywood. He's really great here even though he's not given all that much to do. What's great is how many explicit jokes there are based on his color. He's got a great line about his "albeeno" blood that worked well.

Ghost Breakers is also notable as the film directed by George Marshall after Destry Rides Again. Marshall is one of those guys who has directed 100+ pictures, but gets no respect from the auteurist crowd. While I know that I couldn't have looked at Ghost Breakers and said, "aha, that's by the distinctive visual genius behind Destry!," I also know that these are two really fine motion pictures in a row and what I can find out about the Marshall suggests that this is no fluke. I'm excited to see more Marshall pictures soon, especially A Message to Garcia, which is on the BCF 2012 schedule.

Oh yeah, whatever else you've heard, Paulette Goddard is really hard on the eyes in this one. That's the story you'll stick to when talking to Abby, alright? Luckily, Bob Hope's astounding physique is there to relieve us from the dreariness of having to look at Goddard.

Also, Anthony Quinn is great in this, too, just like he was in Conquest. He's a great smarmy villainish character in these early roles of his. It's probably his questionable ethnicity that makes him look so dastardly. :)

Answering questions:

2011-11-22T16:32:00.002-05:00

I haven’t seen LANCELOT OF THE LAKE. Do you have it?

Nope. The Ithaca Public Library has a copy. I watched it a couple of years ago.

I’d really like to hear your opinion about CASINO ROYALE. I think you would love it.

Do you have it on DVD?

Am I the only person who likes A CHRISTMAS STORY in Film Club.

Maybe Jason?

We should have a GODFATHER II night soon.

Sure.

What would be your second and third favorite Joe Dante films?

I just realized that I left Small Soldiers off of my “all seen by” list. I have seen Small Soldiers. All that time and work and it's still not perfect. Dang it. Second and Third places would go to Gremlins and Small Soldiers, in that order. It's been way too long since I've seen Matinee or Innerspace or The 'Burbs.

What are your thoughts on De Palma?

I don't think about him much. I haven't seen his early films that he's lauded for.

I kind of thought meh for a while in regards to Fellini but NIGHTS OF CABIRIA changed my mind for now.

Yeah, I need to give him a chance, if only because he worked with Rossellini on The Flowers of St. Francis.

Do you still have SHOCK CORRIDOR? How about THE NAKED KISS? You need to see RUN OF THE ARROW. I love that picture.

I've got Shock Corridor. I saw Naked Kiss on TCM way, way back when. Do you have Run of the Arrow?

Interesting Gilliam pick.

It's actually always been my favorite Gilliam film. I think it's his best. Definitely Robin Williams' best. Not Jeff Bridges' best, but only because he's so good in everything.

I need to see RAWHIDE.

I love Jack Elam in Rawhide.

You need to see DOWN BY LAW.

Yeah, it's funny that I haven't seen any of Jarmusch's “big” 80s movies. I fail miserably, but I get extra hipster cred for having seen Permanent Vacation and for having seen and loved Strangers in Paradise as just a wee lad.

I thought you hated ADAPTATION.

I do. I still respect it. And it's the best of what Jonze has done.

Do you have A FACE IN THE CROWD?

Yup. I'll start putting together a care package.

Get off your ass and sit down again to watch CERTIFIED COPY.

I know.

John, YOU NEED TO SEE PATHS OF GLORY!!!!

Nah, I don't really need to do anything except that I need to quit spending time responding and get work done around the house.

I need to see THRONE OF BLOOD again. It didn’t really do much for me but I was on a tight movie watching schedule.

I need to see it again, too. It's been a long while.

I agree about Landis, THREE AMIGOS is great.

Yup.

I want you to see some of the Lean pictures that came before 57.

I want to see them.

I have been cold towards Ang Lee lately. Not only because you have been slowly talking me out of it but also because I have been bored on my second and third viewings. Something feels off.

Yup.

I can’t wait for you to see more Lubitsch.

Yup.

You a George Miller fan?

Nah. I wouldn't consider myself a fan, but I'm not hostile either. I grew up watching Max.

How is Polanski’s Macbeth?

I haven't seen it since I was a teenager. I liked it a lot back then.

HUGO is going to rule!

Yup.

I would say meh to Stevens as well but have seen some great pictures as of late. Don’t give up yet dude. Go get VIVACIOUS LADY.

Alright, I won't give up, but he's not at all a priority either.

Truffaut pick…….. really?

Really.

Verhoeven makes good trash.

I hate Verhoeven. I was going to give him a big “MEH,” but I have fond memories of Total Recall.

Good list. Again sorry if it ruined your life.

Thanks. I'll begin repairing the ruins now.

Hey guys how about we have director’s months? Each month a different person in film club selects a director and we all do writings based on viewings and personal opinion. Jeff, you come up with December’s director.

So, Jeff, who's December's director?

I hope you're happy now.

2011-11-21T08:41:00.002-05:00

Warning: Long Post.

Alright, here it is. The list that wrecked my family life for more than a day. I don't even have any commentary. Just the list. I didn't do the “worst” thing, but I did list my favorite movie by each director, followed by a list of all movies that I've seen by that director. Plus, I put the directors in alphabetical order because it was killing me to see no order, nothing, no chronological, no alphabetical, just a jumble, like this sentence.

Jeff and Chris, don't worry about not having seen much. I'm still doing lots and lots of "catch-up" myself and won't ever be satisfied with how much I've seen. Jeff's already way ahead of me in terms of 30s films. Anyhow, this whole list thing is a way for Brandon to puff himself up about how awesome he is and how he knows the work of so many directors and he knows all about Randolph Scott, but doesn't have the "hots" for him anymore because that was just a childish part of his life and he's beyond that now and really only interested in talking about adult things like depression in the work of Lars von Trier.

Key: F=favorite, OS=only seen, ASBTD=all seen by this director, NSA= not seen anything, meh=I don't really like this director, not even one of his/her films.

Aldrich, Robert: F= Kiss Me Deadly, ASBTD= Kiss Me Deadly, The Dirty Dozen

Allen, Woody: F= Cassandra's Dream, ASBTD= Sleeper, Manhattan, Mighty Aphrodite, Deconstructing Harry, Sweet and Lowdown, Small Time Crooks, Cassandra's Dream, Midnight in Paris

Almodovar, Pedro: NSA

Altman, Robert: F= Popeye, ASBTD= MASH, Popeye, Pret-a-Porter, The Gingerbread Man,

Anderson, Paul Thomas: F= There Will Be Blood, ASBTD= Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punk Drunk-Love, There Will Be Blood

Anderson, Wes: F= The Darjeeling Limited, ASBTD= Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited, Hotel Chevalier

Antonioni, Michelangelo: F= L'Avventura, OS= L'Avventura

Aronofsky, Darren: F= meh, ASBTD= Pi, The Wrestler, Black Swan

Ashby, Hal: F= Harold and Maude, OS= Harold and Maude

Assayas, Olivier: F= Summer Hours, ASBTD= Clean, Summer Hours

Bava, Mario: NSA

Bergman, Ingmar: F= The Seventh Seal, ASBTD= The Seventh Seal, Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light, The Silence, Hour of the Wolf, Shame

Bigelow, Kathryn: F= The Hurt Locker, ASBTD= Point Break, Strange Days, The Hurt Locker

Bird, Brad: F= Ratatouille, ASBTD= The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, Ratatouille

Boorman, John: F= Excalibur, ASBTD= Excalibur, The General

Borzage, Frank: NSA

Boyle, Danny: F= Sunshine, ASBTD= Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours

Bresson, Robert: F= Lancelot of the Lake, ASBTD= A Man Escaped, Au Hasard Balthazar, Lancelot of the Lake

Browning, Tod: F= Freaks, OS= Freaks

Bunuel, Luis: F= Un Chien Andelou, OS= Un Chien Andelou

Burton, Tim: F= Mars Attacks!, ASBTD= Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, Ed Wood, Mars Attacks!, Sleepy Hollow, Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Alice in Wonderland

Cameron, James: F= The Terminator, ASBTD= The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lies, Titanic

Campbell, Martin: F= The Mask of Zorro, ASBTD= The Mask of Zorro, Edge of Darkness, The Green Lantern

Capra, Frank: F= It Happened One Night, ASBTD= It Happened One Night, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Arsenic and Old Lace, It's a Wonderful Life

Carpenter, John: F= Big Trouble in Little China, ASBTD= Halloween, The Thing, Starman, Big Trouble in Little China, In the Mouth of Madness

Cassavetes, John: F= The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, ASBTD= Shadows, A Child is Waiting, Faces, Minnie and Moskowitz, A Woman Under the Influence, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

Chabrol, Claude: NSA

Chaplin, Charles: F= Modern Times, ASBTD= The Pawnshop, The Kid, The Circus, City Lights, Modern Times

Clark, Bob: F= meh, ASBTD= Black Christmas, Porky's, A Christmas Story, Baby Geniuses

Clouzot, Henri-Georges: NSA

Cocteau, Jean: F= Beauty and the Beast, OS: Beauty and the Beast

Coen, Joel and Ethan: F= A Serious Man, ASBTD= Everything they've ever done.

Coppola, Francis Ford: F= The Godfather, ASBTD= The Godfather, Dracula

Cronenberg, David: F= Videodrome, ASBTD= Scanners, Videodrome, The Fly, eXistenZ, Eastern Promises

Crowe, Cameron: F= Say Anything, ASBTD= Say Anything..., Singles, Jerry Maguire

Craven, Wes: F= Scream, ASBTD= Swamp Thing, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The People Under the Stairs, Scream, Scream 2,

Cukor, George: NSA

Dante, Joe: F= Gremlins 2: The New Batch, ASBTD= Piranha, The Howling, Twilight Zone Movie, Gremlins, Innerspace, The 'burbs, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Matinee, Trapped Ashes

De Palma, Brian: F= The Untouchables, ASBTD= Carrie, Scarface, Body Double, The Untouchables, Mission: Impossible, Snake Eyes,

Demme, Jonathan: F= meh, ASBTD= Silence of the Lambs, Storefront Hitchcock, Rachel Getting Married

Denis, Claire: NSA

Donen, Stanley: F= Singin' in the Rain, OS= Singin' in the Rain

Dreyer, Carl Theodor: F= The Passion of Joan of Arc, OS= The Passion of Joan of Arc, They Caught the Ferry

Eastwood, Clint: F= The Outlaw Josey Wales, ASBTD= The Outlaw Josey Wales, Unforgiven, A Perfect World, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Space Cowboys, Blood Work, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Changeling, Gran Torino, Invictus

Fellini, Federico: F= meh, OS= 8 1/2

Fincher, David: F= Fight Club, ASBTD= Se7en, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac, The Social Network

Fleming, Victor: F= The Wizard of Oz, ASBTD= Treasure Island, The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind

Ford, John: F= Steamboat Round the Bend, ASBTD= Just Pals, Judge Priest, Steamboat Round the Bend, Stagecoach, Young Mr. Lincoln, The Battle of Midway, My Darling Clementine, When Willie Comes Marching Home, Wagon Master, Rio Grande, What Price Glory, The Searchers, How the West Was Won

Friedkin, William: F= The Exorcist, OS= The Exorcist

Fuller, Sam: F= Shock Corridor, ASBTD= I Shot Jesse James, The Baron of Arizona, Pickup on South Street, The House of Bamboo, Shock Corridor, The Naked Kiss

Gilliam, Terry: F= The Fisher King, ASBTD= Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Jabberwocky, Time Bandits, Brazil, The Fisher King, Twelve Monkeys, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassas

Godard, Jean-Luc: F= Les Carabiniers, ASBTD= Breathless, A Woman is a Woman, Le Petit Soldat, Les Carabiniers, Band of Outsiders, Alphaville, Pierrot le Fou, Masculin Feminin, Meeting WA, Tribute to Eric Rohmer

Griffith, D. W.: F= The Birth of a Nation, ASBTD= The Birth of a Nation, Intolerance, Broken Blossoms

Haneke, Michael: F= Funny Games (U.S.) ASBTD= The Seventh Continent, Funny Games

Hanson, Curtis: F= Wonder Boys, ASBTD= The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, L. A. Confidential, Wonder Boys, 8 Mile

Hathaway, Henry: F= Rawhide, ASBTD= Rawhide, How the West Was Won, True Grit

Hawks, Howard: F= Only Angels Have Wings, ASBTD= Scarface, Only Angels Have Wings, His Girl Friday, Sergeant York, Red River, The Thing From Another World

Hitchcok, Alfred: F= Rope, ASBTD= Blackmail, The 39 Steps, The Lady Vanishes, Foreign Correspondent, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Rope, Strangers on a Train, I Confess, Dial M for Murder, To Catch a Thief, The Trouble With Harry, North by Northwest, Pyscho,

Herzog, Werner: F= Aguirre: The Wrath of God, ASBTD= Even Dwarves Started Small, Fata Morgana, Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Lessons of Darkness, Grizzly Man, Encounters at the End of the World, The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans

Hooper, Tobe: F= meh, ASBTD= Eaten Alive, Poltergeist

Huston, John: F= The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, ASBTD= The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Key Largo, The Asphalt Jungle, Wise Blood, Annie, The Dead

Jarmusch, Jim: F= Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, ASBTD= Permanent Vacation, Strangers in Paradise, Dead Man, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Broken Flowers, The Limits of Control

Jeunet, Jean-Pierre: F= The City of Lost Children, ASBTD= Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children,

Jonze, Spike: F= Adaptation, ASBTD= Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Where the Wild Things Are

Jordan, Neil: F= The Butcher Boy, ASBTD= We're No Angels, The Crying Game, Interview With the Vampire, The Butcher Boy, The End of the Affair

Kazan, Elia: F= A Face in the Crowd, ASBTD= Panic in the Streets, A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, East of Eden, A Face in the Crowd, America, America

Keaton, Buster: F= The General, ASBTD= The Scarecrow, The Paleface, Our Hospitality, Sherlock Jr., Go West, The General, Steamboat Bill, Jr., The Cameraman, Spite Marriage

Kiarostami, Abbas: F= Taste of Cherry, OS= Taste of Cherry

Korine, Harmony: F= Julien Donkey-Boy, ASBTD= Gummo, Julien Donkey-Boy, Mister Lonely, Act Da Fool

Kubrick, Stanley: F= 2001: A Space Odyssey, ASBTD= The Killing, Dr. Strangelove, 2001, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, The Shining, Eyes Wide Shut

Kurosawa, Akira: F= Throne of Blood, ASBTD= Rashomon, Ikiru, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, The Hidden Fortress

Landis, John: F= Three Amigos, ASBTD= The Blues Brothers, An American Werewolf in London, Twilight Zone Movie, Thriller, Spies Like Us, Coming to America, Three Amigos, Oscar, Beverly Hills Cop III

Lang, Fritz: F= M., ASBTD= Metropolis, Woman in the Moon, M, Fury, You Only Live Once, The Big Heat

Lean, David: F= Lawrence of Arabia, ASBTD= Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago

Lee, Ang: F= meh, ASBTD= Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hulk, Brokeback Mountain

Lee, Spike: F= Do the Right Thing, ASBTD= School Daze, Do the Right Thing, Mo' Better Blues, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Summer of Sam, 25th Hour

Leigh, Mike: F= Happy-Go-Lucky, OS= Happy-Go-Lucky

Leone, Sergio: F= Once Upon a Time in the West, ASBTD= Once Upon a Time in the West, Once Upon a Time in America

Lewis, Jerry: F= The Nutty Professor, OS= The Nutty Professor

Lewis, Joseph H.: F= Terror in a Texas Town, ASBTD= The Man From Tumbleweeds, Gun Crazy, Terror in a Texas Town

Linklater, Richard: F= A Scanner Darkly, ASBTD= Slacker, Dazed and Confused, Waking Life, The School of Rock, A Scanner Darkly

Losey, Joseph: NSA

Lubitsch, Ernst: F= The Shop Around the Corner, OS= The Shop Around the Corner

Lumet, Sidney: F= Deathtrap, ASBTD= Long Day's Journey Into Night, The Pawnbroker, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, The Wiz, Deathtrap, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Lynch, David: F= The Straight Story, ASBTD= Six Figures Getting Sick, The Elephant Man, Dune, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Lost Highway, The Straight Story

Malick, Terrence: F= The New World, ASBTD= Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, The New World, The Tree of Life

Mankiewicz, Joseph L.: NSA

Mann, Anthony: F= Bend of the River, ASBTD= T-men, Winchester '73, The Furies, Bend of the River, The Naked Spur

Mann, Michael: F= Collateral, ASBTD= The Last of the Mohicans, Heat, The Insider, Ali, Collateral, Public Enemies

McCarey, Leo: F= Duck Soup, OS= Duck Soup

Mellville, Jean-Pierre: NSA

Mendes, Sam: F= Road to Perdition, ASBTD= American Beauty, Road to Perdition

Miller, George: F= Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, ASBTD= Mad Max, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Mad Max Beyond Thuderdome, Babe: Pig in the City

Minnelli, Vincent: F= Meet Me in St. Louis, ASBTD= Meet Me in St. Louis, The Long, Long Trailer

Miyazaki, Hayao: F= Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, ASBTD= Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo

Mizoguchi, Kenji: NSA

Nichols, Mike: F= meh, ASBTD= The Graduate, Biloxi Blues, The Birdcage

Nolan, Christopher: F= The Dark Knight, ASBTD= Memento, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Inception

Ophuls, Max: NSA

Ozu, Yasujiro: NSA

Peckinpah, Sam: F= The Wild Bunch, ASBTD= The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs

Penn, Arthur: F= Bonnie and Clyde, OS= Bonnie and Clyde

Polanski, Roman: F= Macbeth, ASBTD= Knife in the Water, Repulsion, Rosemary's Baby, Macbeth, Tess, The Pianist, The Ghost Writer

Pollack, Sydney: F= meh, ASBTD= Jeremiah Johnson, Tootsie, Out of Africa, The Firm, Sabrina, Random Hearts

Powell and Pressburger, Eric and Michael: NSA

Preminger, Otto: F= River of No Return, OS= River of No Return

Ray, Nicholas: F= In a Lonely Place, ASBTD= In a Lonely Place, Johnny Guitar

Reed, Carol: F= The Third Man, ASBTD= The Fallen Idol, The Third Man

Renoir, Jean:: F= Grand Illusion, ASBTD= The Lower Depths, Grand Illusion, The Rules of the Game, The River

Robson, Mark: F= Isle of the Dead, OS= Isle of the Dead

Rodriguez, Robert: F= Spy Kids, ASBTD= El mariachi, Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, Spy Kids

Roeg, Nicholas: F= Walkabout, ASBTD= Walkabout, The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Witches

Rohmer, Eric: F= The Romance of Astrea and Celadon, ASBTD= Charlotte and Her Steak, Suzanne's Career, The Bakery Girl of Monceau, Nadja a Paris, La Collectioneuse, My Night at Maud's, Claire's Knee, The Green Ray, The Romance of Astrea and Celadon

Romero, George: F= Dawn of the Dead, ASBTD= Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead

Rossellini, Roberto: F= The Flowers of St. Francis, ASBTD= Rome, Open City, The Flowers of St. Francis, The Taking of Power by Louis XIV

Scorsese, Martin: F= Bringing Out the Dead, ASBTD= Who's That Knocking at My Door, The Big Shave, Boxcar Bertha, Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, After Hours, The Color of Money, The Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, Casino, Kundun, Bringing Out the Dead, Gangs of New York, The Departed, Shutter Island

Sirk, Douglas: NSA

Soderbergh, Stephen: F= Che: Part Two, ASBTD= Out of Sight, Erin Brockovich, Traffic, Solaris, Che: Part One, Che: Part Two, Contagion

Spielberg, Stephen: F= A.I., ASBTD= Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1941, Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET, Twilight Zone, Temple of Doom, Empire of the Sun, Last Crusade, Always, Hook, Jurassic Park, Amistad, Saving Private Ryan, A.I., Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal, War of the Worlds, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Sternberg, Josef von: F= The Blue Angel, OS= The Blue Angel

Stevens, George: F= meh, OS= Giant

Stone, Oliver: F= W., ASBTD= Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, The Doors, JFK, Natural Born Killers, W.

Sturges, Preston: F= Hail the Conquering Hero, ASBTD= The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, Hail the Conquering Hero

Tarantion, Quentin: F= Pulp Fiction, ASBTD= Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill 1, Inglourious Basterds

Tarkovsky, Andrei: F= Stalker, ASBTD= The Killers, The Steamroller and the Violin, Ivan's Childhood, Andrei Rublev, Solaris, The Mirror, Stalker

Tati, Jacques: NSA

Tourneur, Jacques: F= Wichita, ASBTD= I Walked With a Zombie, Wichita

Trier, Lars von: F= The Five Obstructions, ASBTD= Epidemic, Dancer in the Dark, Dogville, The Five Obstructions, Melancholia

Truffaut, Francois: F= Fahrenheit 451, ASBTD= The 400 Blows, Shoot the Piano Player, Jules and Jim, Fahrenheit 451

Ulmer, Edgar G: NSA

Van Sant, Gus: F= Drugstore Cowboy, ASBTD= Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester, Milk

Verhoeven, Paul: F= Total Recall, ASBTD= Robocop, Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Starship Troopers, Hollow Man

Vigo, Jean: NSA

Walsh, Raoul: F= Colorado Territory, ASBTD= The Roaring Twenties, Manpower, Colorado Territory

Waters, John: F= meh, ASBTD= Pink Flamingos, Polyester, Cry-Baby

Weir, Peter: F= Fearless, ASBTD= Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Plumber, Witness, Dead Poets Society, Green Card, Fearless, The Truman Show, Master and Commander, The Way Back

Wellman, William: F= Battleground, ASBTD= Battleground, Buffalo Bill, Track of the Cat

Welles, Orson: F= F For Fake, ASBTD= Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, F For Fake

Wenders, Wim: F= Wings of Desire, ASBTD= The American Friend, Wings of Desire, Don't Come Knocking

Whale, James: F= Frankenstein, OS= Frankenstein

Wilder, Billy: F= Ace in the Hole, ASBTD= Ace in the Hole, Stalag 17, Some Like It Hot

Wise, Robert: F= The Set-Up, ASBTD= The Body Snatcher, The Set-Up, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Tribute to a Bad Man, The Sound of Music, Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Wong, Kar-Wai: F= Ashes of Time Redux, ASBTD= In the Mood for Love, 2046, My Blueberry Nights, Ashes of Time Redux

Wyler, William: F= Roman Holiday, ASBTD= The Good Fairy, The Westerner, Roman Holiday, Ben-Hur,

Zemeckis, Robert: F= Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, ASBTD= Romancing the Stone, Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Back to the Future Part II, Back to the Future Part III, Forrest Gump, Cast Away, The Polar Express

Zhang, Yimou: NSA

ZhangKe, Jia: F= Still Life, OS= Still Life

What a stupid waste of time.

2011-11-20T08:24:00.006-05:00

I've spent the past couple of hours working on that directors list. I'm also listing every title I've ever seen by the director. It seems to me like just listing a favorite is meaningless unless you know the context of the other films by that director that I've seen.

Now, on to conversations...

Jason, I don't really have any problem with your reading of Meek. I'm just glad that you watched it. Now, you only need to POST MORE OFTEN.

Lisa, Pooh really is great. I wouldn't argue if you put it on the top of a 2011 list except that you're not keeping up with the competition. We're all discussing a way to rescue you from the depths of that evil PhD program so that you have more time for clubbing with us. When we're ready, it will look something like this:

Ben, yes, you need to watch more "classic" films. Start immediately with Only Angels Have Wings.

Jeff and Chris, first of all don't write off D. W. Griffith. Birth of a Nation has a deservedly bad reputation for its racism, but its good reputation as expert cinema is equally well deserved. This is one of the early high points of "movies as art." And it's worth seeing just to catch Raoul Walsh in an early acting role as John Wilkes Booth. I like Birth of a Nation more than Intolerance, which I guess makes me intolerant and racist.

Brandon's right about starting with the older directors and then maybe filling in newer holes.

One more modern exception is John Cassavetes, my favorite American director of the last 100 years. You need to watch everything he's ever made. Immediately. (To be fair, I still haven't seen EVERYTHING that he's directed). Brandon includes him on the "older directors" side of things, but he really straddles the line of classic Hollywood cinema and what we've come to think of as "independent" film (not that many of these films are independent in the same way that Cassavetes was or Jarmusch is).

Also, Harmony Korine. My boy.

I need to arrange a screening of Julien Donkey-Boy for the Howard Brothers. It's probably about time for Brandon to re-watch it as well. :)

Harmony Korine, strangely enough, is one of my favorite current directors. This is probably my most unpopular position in film club, but Brandon and I have hashed things out and come to an understanding of sorts. There's a few back and forth posts about JDB in our archives.

I haven't seen Trash Humpers yet and I have my doubts about it, but Humpers aside, Korine has matured with each picture he's made. I think that you guys should also love Mister Lonely, but maybe I'm wrong.

Let me state strongly right now that "nothing has impressed me thus far" in Brandon's responses to Korine's films. :)

Also, my oldest daughter, Mildred, is a huge Miyazaki fan. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is her favorite movie. Shame on both of you for your Miyazaki ignorance. Not to mention letting a 9-year-old (and her younger sisters) see more Chaplin films than you both. For shame.

Brandon, I'm hoping that you meant Mr. and Mrs. Smith as Hitch's worst film is still a precious gem to be loved and enjoyed.

This directors list thing sucks. I've just wasted a bunch of time on it and I'm hardly finished. Maybe I'll finish by the end of the week.

Peace.

Majewski on Mill

2011-11-20T08:20:00.001-05:00

http://theeveningclass.blogspot.com/2011/09/lech-majewski-on-mill-cross.html

http://www.spreadartculture.com/2011/09/11/reimagining-bruegel-lech-majewskis-the-mill-and-the-cross/

Colossians 1:17

2011-11-19T17:28:00.006-05:00

I've long been a fan of Pieter Bruegel (the Elder)'s paintings. A print of Netherlandish Proverbs hangs on one of my walls. I don't know much about him.

The Mill and the Cross looks closely at one of Bruegel's paintings, The Way to Calvary. The film starts with various 16th century individuals going about their 16th century Flemish business. Cutting down trees. Taking care of the animals. Buying bread. Getting dressed for the day. Being tortured by the Spanish. Punching a brother in the arm. The grain mill turns.

This is all visually beautiful and about as far as can be from a traditional narrative. How do all of these disparate people and events hold together?

Luckily, Bruegel (played by Rutger "hobo" Hauer) shows up and explains it all to us neatly. The film never strays far from the structure of the painting and the painting is described and interpreted along the way. Honestly, the film works nearly perfectly as a silent film and didn't need any of the talking. All of the spoken word parts could have been intertitles. Or they could have been done away with completely.

What we learn is that everything is anchored in the Cross.

Besides the obvious spiritual aspects, the movie (following the painting) is heavily political, focusing on the Spanish occupation of the Netherlands and its heavy religious persecution of all "heretics." There are heavy-handed parallels here between these Spanish persecutors and the Sanhedrin and High Priests of the 1st century. We get a contemporaneous playing out of the Passion, complete with a token Judas character who shows up in the movie only to throw coins on a floor and then hang himself.

There is a lot of humor in the film. There's one lecherous man especially who can't stop ogling a woman though the whole earth is covered in darkness. God himself is represented by a stout miller who overlooks this localized creation. Even the crows pecking out an eye is a sort of dark humor.

I wish that y'all had been able to see it while it was playing on the big screen.

Top Five 2011 So Far
(No real surprises)

1) The Mill and the Cross
2) The Tree of Life
3) Melancholia
4) Drive
5) Winnie the Pooh

I'm getting really impatient to see Take Shelter!!!

MY NAME IS NOT "DR. DEATH"

2011-11-19T16:45:00.003-05:00

(The title's there for the Howard bros. Don't worry, Brandon, there is no Simpsons content in the rest of this post.)

I haven't found any time yet to go through that director list and post my own, but I've read all of your lists posted so far. Maybe I'll comment on Tuesday. Don't count on it.

Ben was over this afternoon to hang out and play some games. None of this movie crap. None of this director list crap. Just some good old Cold Weather style Carcassonne. I wish I had some Swedish Fish left to share to make it even better, but Abby's pumpkin bread more than made up for the lack of Fish. Ben still wants to make it out to the Manlius cinema to see something sometime. I'm impatient to see Take Shelter. If he's available to drive on next Tuesday evening (and he's not sure that he is, but that's the time I could make it!), who's around to make the road trip to see Take Shelter?

I spent most of the day this past Tuesday cleaning and sorting while A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies played in the background. It's worth re-watching often. I could listen to Scorsese talk about movies all day long. I wish that it was a 40 hour set instead of a 4 hour one. If you guys are interested, I'll host a screening of Personal Journey some time. It's out of print and too precious for me to loan it out, but I'm more than willing to share the wealth with y'all.

Tuesday afternoon, I watched The Flying Deuces with the girls. It had its funny moments, but it paled in comparison to Way Out West. The gags are smarter in West. There's too much reliance on (un)romantic comedy in Deuces.

I never did get to that Scott western the other night. I watched Brandon's 13th favorite film from 1940 instead. The Westerner isn't as good as it should be. The cowboy vs. homesteader plot was oversimplified. Peck is a bit too much of a scoundrel to be altogether likeable (it might not be the character alone, though; in general, I just don't care that much for Cooper. So shoot me!). Walter Brennan, however, deserves every superlative in the book for his performance as Judge Roy Bean. SPOILER: I misted up a bit at the end when he's carried in to see Lily Langtree. What a ridiculous thing.

I did get out to Cornell yesterday and caught The Mill and the Cross. It might be my favorite film of 2011 so far. I think so. I'd like to go back out and see it tonight (tonight's the last night it's playing at Cornell and it absolutely deserves to be seen on the big screen), but I'm having an enjoyably peaceful day at home today and don't feel like going out to Ithaca or anywhere for anything. I'll try to have a Mill post up soon.

The other 10%

2011-11-15T08:15:00.002-05:00

I wrote that Ben and I are about 90% in agreement. The other 10%, after all of the interpretation and reckoning is done, is me being hostile toward Melancholia at worst and ambivalent at best. I can't get excited about Melancholia. I can get excited about the Randolph Scott western I've got waiting for me in the other room.

Melancholia is ridiculous.

2011-11-15T07:50:00.002-05:00

Sorry, Ben. I'm done talking about it. I'm glad you posted, though. I think that we're at least 90% or so on the same page.

Jeff, I totally sympathize with your "challenges of writing about old movies vs. new movies" thoughts.

In an attempt at solidarity, here's a lame couple of sentences on some classics, each one of them more deserving of many words than Melancholia.

Dumbo is fine. What it does, it does exceedingly well. I don't have any problem with you guys loving it, but I was slightly bored by it. I'm finding this with a lot of Disney movies from my childhood. It's probably just because I'm getting older and increasingly grumpier. An elephant with oversized ears for flying? Imagine what Hannibal could have done crossing the Alps with Dumbo. I want to see Spielberg make a film called The War Elephant. No, I don't.

Way Out West is brilliant. There is no way to do it justice without elaborately describing each gag. Even then, it's better to sit someone down for its short running time.

The Shop Around the Corner is high on my list of favorite romantic comedies. We should do lists some day, but I think I need to see a few more classics first.

Chris, I started on Season 4 of The Simpsons. "Kamp Krusty"'s opening "school's out" sequence had me smiling ear to ear. The camp stuff in the rest of the episode was okay, but those first two minutes or so are solid gold. What a way to start a season!

It was a joke.

2011-11-13T20:10:00.000-05:00

You guys know that I was joking about throwing Lisa in the gorges, right?

We haven't heard from her in a long time so I'm naturally wondering if maybe Jeff and Chris kidnapped her and tossed her in the gorges for still not loving Tree of Life enough.

Or maybe she ran off with Ryan Gosling?

Catching up on reviews.

2011-11-12T10:25:00.000-05:00

Brandon posted the Zacharack review.

I just read Emerson's review. I'm mostly on board with his reading.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/2011/10/melancholia_this_is_the_end.html

One of my favorite Oldham songs.

2011-11-12T07:55:00.002-05:00

Brandon will label it irrelevant. It's my final commentary on Melancholia for the day.

You missed my point.

2011-11-12T07:29:00.002-05:00

"John, now that I'm out of the doghouse can we talk about the movie?"

Quit talking about doghouses when I'm trying to talk about Melancholia.

Seriously, my whole point was that I was talking about aspects of Melancholia by pointing out how it relates to those aspects in other movies.

"But honestly man THE GREEN LANTERN isn’t about the end of the world"

Green Lantern features a guy who pretends to have it all together who is really immature and childish, who sabatoges relationships and puts himself in situations close to death because he experiences bouts of crippling fear. It features an object in space heading toward earth, which, once it arrives, will destroy the whole earth. The film then explores this character's response to this threat.

Do you not see that Green Lantern and Melancholia are doing similar things (in obviously different ways) and coming to much different conclusions? If Melancholia is to be compared to any other movies, shouldn't it be compared to the "things hurtling through space about to kill the Earth" movies?

Symbolically, Hal Jordan's life (as it was) comes to an end so that the life of the world can be renewed.

vT is instead making a true antihero film.

Hal Jordan is a privileged rich kid who has always gotten things his way. His family and friends put up with his mental illness and even cover for him. Fair enough? Now imagine a scene of Hal Jordan embracing his fear and longing for the yellow cloud to swallow him up. Imagine a long shot of Ryan Reynolds laying naked on a rock in ecstasy as the yellow cloud approaches.

But, an antihero is usually still our hero. In Melancholia, Justine's strength is in her connection to Melancholia. She wins her personal struggle against the world and against herself only by Melancholia crashing into earth. This is the true strength of Melancholia. Justine's depression is vindicated. She's not cured. Everyone else is. Death to everyone. In context, and contrary to vT, the end of everything is the happiest ending one of vT's films has ever had. The film is subversive in a way that vT's previous juvenile pranks never have been. Jeff can go play in his little kiddie punk playground. I'm glad that vT's grown up.

Chris, I get the ambivalence. I was feeling it hard during and after the movie. It wasn't until thinking about it on my drive home and then the next morning that I started to really appreciate some of what vT is doing. It helped that I had Green Lantern to compare it to. :)

Back Slapping Happy Club

2011-11-11T20:42:00.005-05:00

"But as John pointed out in his incredible review (incredible until he starts comparing it to other non-relatable films),"

Yours is pretty great, too.

Instead of taking the compliment, though, I have to take issue with your "until he starts comparing it to other non-relatable films" jab.

My last paragraph was a bit of fun, but it wasn't just a piece of Armondian wankery. I'm having fun, but I'm not just being blindly antagonistic or making connections where none are warranted. Why not compare one film to other films, especially other films that I've seen recently? What, can Melancholia only be compared to Tarkovsky films? Screw that. I think that I WAS getting at a description of Melancholia precisely by relating it to so-called "non-relatable films."

I'll risk annoying you further by expanding the comparisons a bit.

Melancholia and Green Lantern are both about the end of the world. This is obvious. Melancholia is by far, by far, the better film. I was being flippant.

Drive is another lauded artsy-fartsy film. Drive was low on emotion (or at least low-key). Melancholia revs up the emotion, even if it's only to have the audience respond hostilely. Drive has slow buildup leading to sudden exaggerated moments. Melancholia has slow buildup leading to more slow moments.

Rachel Getting Married tries to make us love bourgeois weddings. Melancholia rightly gets us hating them.

Melancholia doesn't have half the wisdom of Pooh. Pooh celebrates small truths. Melancholia demolishes all truths regardless of size. If I had to choose one of these realities to live in, Pooh would win every time.

Tree of Life and Melancholia are the two Titans of this year so far. Of course they should be compared. Both may be prayers.

Finally, the attack on Midnight in Paris was just an attempt to stay in character. Someone has to stand up against that cinema tyrant and it seems like I'm the only one to do it.

I'm just having fun. Really, all I'm doing is externalizing the listmaking process, making it plain what sorts of comparisons and contrasts go into lining up movies in nice orderly numbered formation.

For what it's worth, right now I'd rank Melancholia second behind Tree of Life on a 2011 list, but I also, at the same time, don't really care about it. It's not a film that I ever care to see again. I'm discussing it now because it's fun and because I find that I can't just go back to 1940 and ignore 2011. I care about cinema past to present. I care about what's happening now. I was only half-joking in the car when I said, "Melanwhat?" I am really thinking about City for Conquest and The Shop Around the Corner. I'm forced to write about Melancholia because it's 2011 and not 1940 and it's what's worth arguing about. And I don't begrudge it that. I'm enjoying it. I'm still eagerly awaiting Chris' post and hoping that Ben will jump back into the fray now that four more of us have been initiated into the end of the world club.

My next post will be a long essay on the similarities and dissimilarities between Melancholia and Birth of a Nation. Just for Brandon.

Against my better judgment.

2011-11-11T20:20:00.002-05:00

I've been checking obsessively today.

Brandon just put up a new post 3 minutes ago. I didn't get far before I reached a sentence that left me scratching my head:

"Before the newlyweds even step foot into the dining hall they are greeted by an angry Charlotte Gainsbourge (clitoris intact) and Keifer Sutherland."

So my question is, how do you know, Brandon? How do you know?

Because I couldn't tell.

It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.

2011-11-11T15:50:00.000-05:00

"There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide."

"The man who kills a man, kills a man. The man who kills himself, kills all men; as far as he is concerned he wipes out the world."

Camus and Chesterton. Two of the many strange bedfellows lounging about in my mind. I've re-read the two fairly often, though not recently. Perhaps it's time. I'd enjoy an Orthodoxy/Absurdity cage match.

I'm impressed by Melancholia even if I was bored by it at times and wished I had been sleeping.

I haven't seen Antichrist, but I know that von Trier has gone to some dark places. I'm not sure that he had anywhere left to go except through death into death or through death into resurrection. I suppose the question still hangs in the air.

Von Trier had to kill the whole world to get beyond himself, to be able to create anything new. Everything had to be shaken down "that those things which cannot be shaken may remain."

I don't think that Melancholia is ultimately defeatist any more than I thought so of Haneke's The Seventh Continent. Melancholia, whatever else it is, is an attack on Modernism. Neither Von Trier nor Haneke offer any way forward, but they clearly show that we can't stay where we're at without courting death.

Von Trier particularly picks on Romanticism, its brooding pagan nostalgia and its restlessly destructive instincts.

It is, of course, interesting how much Von Trier is influenced by the visual arts. Practically every scene references one painting or another, sometimes explicitly, sometimes less so. This is Von Trier paying homage, but he also can't quite help himself from ridiculing his inspirations. There is an abundance of humor in Melancholia. This world that takes itself so seriously is rendered laughable. There is subtle visual humor and there is the really overt comedy of manners that comprises most of the first half of the film.

Since writing the above, I've read Jeff's post. I agree that the shot of Dunst and Melancholia is THE shot of the film. I also interpret it as being an attempt at a joke. Dunst may be the vT figure, but I think that vT is trying to laugh at himself. Melancholia is stupid.

Jeff's Rachel Getting Married comparison made me laugh. I was ready to leave and go home during all of the party crap (as evidenced by my two previous "live" posts). I like it all a lot more thinking back on it than I liked sitting through it.

A couple of Nat Shermans helped pep me up and I cared enough to stick around to the end. I'm glad I did. Melancholia wasn't any worse than Green Lantern and it was definitely better than Rachel Getting Married. It's got more heart than Drive, but less dazzle. It doesn't have half the wisdom of Pooh. Its questioning falls flat before Malick's world altar. Finally, I'd rather watch the world end every night than endure another 5 months under the Midnight reign.

I'm done thinking for a while. I've been writing these scraps throughout the day. Hopefully, some of it hangs together.

I'll meet you all at the 19th hole.

Great green melanpoo.

2011-11-11T14:23:00.000-05:00

I've now seen three 2011 films in three days.

Green Lantern
Winnie the Pooh
Melancholia

Surprisingly, I liked all three. I didn't love any of them.

Green Lantern is about the end of the world. The world is about to be gobbled up by a yellow cloud of fear. Fortunately, our man gets his green gunk on and wills away the evil, driving it into the sun. Catastrophe diverted. GL ends on a note of humano-centric triumphalism. We're saved, in the end, because we deserve to be. Things just can't be any other way.

Melancholia is about the end of the world. An impersonal planet crashes into Earth and destroys all life. There is no hero to save the day. We're lost, in the end, because we deserve to be. Melancholia also ends on a note of humano-centrism (there's got to be a better word than this. Why am I drawing a blank here?), only this time we're faced with resignation, not exaltation. Our heroes have fled and our prophets have failed us. And this is the way things are.

Winnie the Pooh is about the end of the world. No, it's not. It's about being hungry and having friends and being scared and making things up and enjoying small adventures. It's the only adequate antidote to both Green Lantern and Melancholia.

I am tempted to compare the emotional states of Hal Jordan, Justine/Clare, and Pooh/Eyore, but I'll let that slide for now. There are only so many moments I can steal during the day to write.

More later.

678

2011-11-10T23:39:00.000-05:00

The number of reasons that sleep is better than Melancholia.

Live from Planet Melancholia

2011-11-10T23:26:00.000-05:00

If people want to linger in a bath, stay at home.

I wish I'd followed Keifer's advice.

Live post from Film Club HQ

2011-11-10T19:14:00.000-05:00

(written earlier in the day)

Conquest of the City features Cagney at his best. And Cagney at his best is better than them all.

Conquest seeks to give us a symphony of the city. By any measure, it succeeds. It's melodramatic. It's contrived. Its reach exceeds its grasp. It's a proletariat fairy tale. Maybe even a bit of a joke. It's a heart-breaking tearjerker. It loves its characters yet spares them no suffering. Conquest is all the more charming in that it "reads" like a Penny Dreadful rather than The Great American Novel. There's no varnish here. There is no pretense. There is only the life of the city and the love that beats at its center.

Elia Kazan, one of my favorite American directors, has a great cameo in Conquest. His small sub-plot is almost completely irrelevant to the main plot, but it packs one startling punch for all of its loose-endedness.

The romance. The goil's story arc. The brother's story arc. The Philosopher Bum framing. It's real because it's not "realism." LitFic be damned.

Throughout, it's Cagney that holds it all together, who keeps the thing from shipwrecking. There's none of the "slumming" that Chesterton describes so well in Heretics and that the Coens parody perfectly in Barton Fink. Cagney screams authentic common man.

11.11.11 - No Shelter

2011-11-07T19:52:00.003-05:00

So I guess we're seeing The Immortals, right?

(p.s. I am actually half interested in the movie, but I'll wait 'til it hits the Saver. It would be fun to see it together, though!)

The long night is over. A new day dawns.

2011-11-07T19:46:00.002-05:00

The following is from this week's Cinemapolis newsletter:

IT HAD TO HAPPEN SOME DAY: Yes, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS plays for its final times this week at 7:25 Monday through Thursday November 10. In the five full months it has been playing at Cinemapolis, we have noticed that the MIDNIGHT audience tends to burst out of the theater in a great mood--including those anti-Woodyites who had to be dragged into the theater by their friends. Two more reasons to catch it at Cinemapolis: it's not coming out digitally until late December, and it's a film that should be seen with an audience.

That's the good news. The bad news is that Take Shelter is NOT listed on the Nov 11-17 schedule. What's up with that?

Take Shelter now starts December 2.

Thumbs down from me.

Messing around

2011-11-06T14:26:00.002-05:00

I've been messing around this afternoon.

Do you guys like this or do you like the side-by-side format better? I was getting sick of the side-by-side because the years never line up properly. They just never do. Anyhow, here's the new site I made. I've still got to add the '30s lists, but I'm done working on it for now.

http://goldenagelists.blogspot.com/

Sorry, guys.

2011-11-06T12:17:00.001-05:00

As Brandon mentioned, we'd already been over the veggie cult thing and I didn't have the energy to get involved this time.

I've only watched 2 movies since my last post. And I haven't watched any TV since we finished Breaking Bad and BSG.

I watched Isle of the Dead before Halloween. This might be my favorite Karloff performance. The story itself is just okay. All of these Lewton films are decent (or indecent as the case may be!), but I haven't really fallen in love with any of them. I did forget to mention how much I enjoyed watching Frances Dee in Zombie. I love that her and Joel McCrea were happily married until death did they part. Jeff, you should watch Four Faces West now while you're in a McCrea mood. It's easily on my Top Ten Favorite Westerns List. I need to get a copy on DVD eventually. I watched it last year (earlier this year?) on NWI. I just checked and it's still there so you have no excuse not to watch it INSTANTLY!

Redbox sent me a free rental code in honor of my 2 year anniversary of having rented something from a red box. So, I rented Attack the Block and watched it last night. I don't really have anything to add to what Brandon and Chris already wrote about this, except to say that the creature design is heads and tails (pun intended!) above anything else we've seen recently. Also, it was a happy coincidence that I heard this interview with David Kennedy on Fresh Air a few days before watching Block.

[p.s. I'm trying to get back to properly italicizing titles. I've written the last dozen or so posts on my netbook rather than my iPod, so I don't have any excuse. For those who didn't know, the large majority of my posts from the past two years have been written on and posted from my iPod Touch. It was difficult to format text on the default "notes" program so I pretty much abandoned all formatting.]

Jean-Luc was right.

2011-10-26T20:03:00.004-04:00

I forgot to mention that I had seen an hour of Your Highness the day before I watched The Dreamers. My faith in cinema is shaken.

Luckily, TV is alive and well. Ben knows that I share in his love for Captain Picard and all things Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Well done on the list, Ben. I definitely like all of your picks with the exception of Darkmok, which I can't remember anything about.

I would need to re-watch the entire series to feel confident making my own list.

I like Stephen King.

2011-10-25T20:30:00.003-04:00

I can't say the same about Brandon's aughts horror list.

I've seen five of the top ten:
Halloween II
28 Days Later
Sweeney Todd
Let the Right One In
The Descent

I don't like any of 'em.

I nominate The Dreamers as best horror film of the Aughts. It was so effective that it almost made me hate all movies.

Dogtooth Dreamin' (on such a winter's day)

2011-10-25T18:58:00.002-04:00

I forgot to mention in my recent post that The Dreamers reminded me of Dogtooth. Only I completely prefer Dogtooth to the Dreamers. And you guys know that I freakin' tore Dogtooth apart as best I could.

Of the two, Dogtooth is the true "love letter to cinema." (I think those were Jason's or Brandon's words about The Dreamers). Dogtooth effectively dramatizes the transformative power of pop movies. There is a real glimmer of the power of art to show us past pain and prisons of human devising. The Dreamers, on the other hand, chronicles cinema as enabler of masturbatory cinephilia. In Dogtooth, cinema is what opens up the world to the children. In The Dreamers, cinema is what closes the world off into an unhealthy life of childish games. The whole movie just feels childish.

No relief.

2011-10-25T15:58:00.002-04:00

I was really pleased with the way that BSG Season 3 ended. The trial was a bit silly, but also great in the way that television show trials can be. The music in the walls (the half-heard raga that became Dylan/Hendrix) and the way that the characters shared in the words to a culturally iconic 20th Century Earth song. This could have been a big mistake and just a laughable moment and I'm sure that some people responded that way. I loved it.

I watched The Dreamers this afternoon. I hated it. Maybe that's not a surprise to you guys. Maybe it is. I hated it within the first half an hour and none of the crap in the middle or end changed my mind. The way that it made 1:1 correspondences to films, the way that it referenced films, was stupid. I love one sentence especially in Hoberman's review of the film: "Encrusted with classic rock (which, whatever its provenance, sounds like the work of tribute bands) and larded with film clips, The Dreamers at times suggests an inept Forrest Gump:" What a great comparison! And that's how I felt about the film, like it was Forrest Gump, trying really hard to skim the surface and hit all of the right points, hoping to give the audience a contact high since it doesn't have any real depth of its own to satisfy. Jason, Ben, and Brandon are all wrong about this one.

I'm gonna need a palate cleanser tonight.

Lisa's unlimited access to I Love You, Man.

2011-10-24T20:06:00.002-04:00

Only proves every point I was trying to make about ownership and the supremacy of Qwikster over Netflix.

[and sorry, Lisa, I've never liked Beetlejuice and still haven't seen Coraline]

Arguing, so what of it?

2011-10-23T21:25:00.003-04:00

I should be responding to Jeff's Rohmer thoughts. Instead, I'm distracted away by a fight. That's what you get for agreeing with me, Jeff. It's hard to muster up the energy to write a long, "oh yes, I agree, very well said" post. It was hard enough to care about this fight and I suppose it's better if everyone just ignores all of these ravings as the delusional scrawls of a man who watched two Val Lewton productions back-to-back and can't quite find his way back from the shadows. By the way, the Lewton double feature was screened from a DVD that I picked up at a yard sale last summer. I think that it was $2.50.

[slightly edited for clarity. I told you these were mad ravings.]

I can't totally agree with you, Ben, that "access trumps ownership." (though I'm not denying that the model of access that you describe works for you).

Ownership is still the best form of access.

One needs Internet “access” first in order to take advantage of these other kinds of “access.” Netflix and Hulu and Amazon Prime. Internet access these days typically costs about $50 a month (for a Cable or DSL connection that can handle streaming). Maybe less if you bundle it with a Cable package, but then we're still talking $80 or so a month for entertainment. Add on top of that the fees from the various streaming services. If you stop paying, you lose access. With DVDs, you only lose access if your equipment fails or if you stop paying the electric bill. Even so, I managed to find ways to watch DVDs when I had no electricity for an entire summer (I charged a portable DVD player while I was at work and had enough juice for any 3 hour or less movie when I got home. A 7” screen wasn't ideal, but it worked and it was cheap).

I'm still a fan of Netflix-by-mail (Qwikster from now on no matter what they say). It does seem to continue to be the best value in town with the absolute best selection. No home Internet connection required. Still, a semi-luddite like me has to worry when this service becomes devalued. Qwikster may be extinct in several years (whenever Qwikster decides it isn't making enough money). Where does access go then? There will be a lot less access. One would have to pay for Web service if he wants any kind of selection at all. Again, we're talking about lots of money.

It is because of DVD technology and because of Netflix's making most DVDs available cheaply to rent that we are currently in a “Golden Era” of “access.” TCM arriving on the scene in the mid to late '90s was another key boon to Movie lovers' gaining “access,” but again, this requires a Cable hookup. Renewed interest in classic titles built a market for classic titles on DVD. Access has opened up remarkably in the past decade. Only a 15 years or so ago, it was really tough to find any classic films outside of a University setting. What was available was often either butchered or cost a fortune (anyone here remember laserdiscs? Oh, how I lusted after laserdiscs!). Streaming is typically a downgrade in quality and necessarily comes with all of the monetary baggage that I've already outlined.

Redbox? Redbox is fine for what it is. It's not much. It's fine for catching up with recent Hollywood releases (and a tiny smattering of the indie and foreign releases that break through commercially), but it's worthless for anything else.

I'm not arguing that the forms of “access” that you list aren't great in their own ways. I'm only trying to suggest reasons why these don't work for me and why I can't quite be as enthusiastic about all of this so-called “access.”

All the above said, I've also become much, much more selective in my DVD purchases. It is so incredibly great that I can try an older movie by renting it and not having to blindly purchase it. There are plenty of classics that I'm glad I've seen (His Girl Friday springs to mind), but that I'm glad I haven't purchased. A couple of years ago, I blindly bought the Facets DVD version of Tarr's Satantango because it was the only way to see it. I still haven't watched it because it's so dang long and because I'm afraid that I won't like it after all. (It was worth the purchase, though, just for Tarr's Macbeth).

I bought a handful of Westerns around my birthday and I bought a couple of Chaplin movies and the Olivier Shakespeare set during the B&N Criterion 50% off sale. I probably bought a couple more DVDs earlier in the year, but that's all I can remember right now.

I've pretty much stopped buying contemporary movies.

I try to buy movies that I can watch with the girls now or that I can watch with them when they get a little older. Mostly “classic” movies. It's a good thing that these classic movies happen to be so good.

The entire family watched Modern Times tonight. Talk about a masterpiece. The gags at the beginning are stronger than at the end, but still a masterpiece and the ending is perfect. The Eating Machine scene and the subsequent chase out of the factory leave me crying each time I see them.

Generally, I'll only buy something if:
1) I've already seen it (with some exceptions)
2) I'm fairly confident that it will get watched a lot.

In the end, ownership is often the most convenient and affordable form of access, but only if one knows that he'd like to access the same movie over and over again. Otherwise, DVD rental-by-mail currently trumps all other forms of access. There's always the dreaded red envelope laying around for a month unwatched, but that's not nearly as bad as spending time frozen in front of a panel of Instant movies, unable to click on any of them, overwhelmed by limited choices that are available "instantly."

I'm firmly in the Qwikster camp. You streamers can shove it up your USB ports.

Brandon is Horrible

2011-10-23T14:54:00.002-04:00

I don't know if Brandon has forgotten about his lists from two years ago.

Here they are:

we accept you john owen, we accept you, gooble gobble, gooble gobble

come play with us johnny: forsaken horror suggestions part 2

don't forget the bride

Brandon's Top Fifteen Horror Films (as of two years ago)

Top Fifteen Horror Films:
1. Night of the Hunter (Laughton)
2. The Shining (Kubrick)
3. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (Barton)
4. Vampyr (Dreyer)
5. Dawn of the Dead (Romero)
6. Jaws (Spielberg)
7. Cat People (Tourneur)
8. The Creature from the Black Lagoon (Arnold)
9. Halloween (Carpenter)
10. The Thing From Another World (Hawks)
11. King Kong (Cooper)
12. Rosemary’s Baby (Polanski)
13. Bride of Frankenstein (Whale)
14. The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas (Guest)
15. Nosferatu (Murnau)

And some great honorable mentions:

Critters 1 and 2,The Fly (Cronenberg and Neumann), The Hound of the Baskervilles (Lanfield and Fisher),Them!, Donald Duck and the Gorilla, Frankenstein (Whale), Dracula (Browning), Freaks, The Curse of Frankenstein, The Tingler, Black Sabbath, The Haunting (Castle), Black Sunday, Planet of the Vampires, Repulsion, The Virgin Spring, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Hooper), An American Werewolf in London, The Thing (Carpenter), Videodrome, Gremlins 1 and 2,Dead Ringers, 28 Days Later, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Descent, Psycho (Hitchcock), Dracula: Prince of Darkness, I Walked With a Zombie, The Most Dangerous Game, Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn, Don’t Look Now, Black Christmas, Wait Until Dark, Sleepy Hollow, Trouble Every Day, The Mummy (Fisher), The Pit and the Pendulum, Day of the Dead, The Burbs, The Last Man on Earth
The Seventh Victim, Near Dark, The Exorcist, Audition, Shaun of the Dead, Alien, Silence of the Lambs, Manhunter, Peeping Tom, The Seventh Victim, Curse of the Cat People, The Wolf Man, Night of the Living Dead, Dead Alive.

Two Lewton Productions

2011-10-23T14:20:00.001-04:00

I'm jumping aboard the October Horror Bandwagon.

I kicked things off last night with a Val Lewton double feature.

I had seen I Walked With a Zombie several years ago. I was definitely enriched this time by having seen Jane Eyre (the 2011 edition) first. This is the movie that Jane Eyre always should have been.

I can't do any better than this ringing contemporaneous endorsement from the New York Times:

With its voodoo rites and perambulating zombie, "I Walked With a Zombie" probably will please a lot of people. But to this spectator, at least, it proved to be a dull, disgusting exaggeration of an unhealthy, abnormal concept of life. If the Hays office feels it has a duty to protect the morals of movie-goers by protesting the use of such expressions as "hell" and "damn" in purposeful dramas like "In Which We Serve" and "We Are the Marines," then how much more important is its duty to safeguard the youth of the land from the sort of stuff and nonsense that their minds will absorb from viewing "I Walked With a Zombie"? ? ?

Next up was The Body Snatcher. Some slow development is paid off richly once we get to the menacing Karloff scenes. The film's horror is distinctively non-supernatural.

Both films have easily earned a way into my Top 50 Horror Films of All Time. Now, I've only got 48 to go! :)

Just kidding. I'm not the Horror Hater that Brandon makes me out to be. I pretty much have the same taste in (pre-1960s) Horror that he has. I just haven't seen as much.

Wrote this yesterday.

2011-10-22T19:56:00.003-04:00

Not much viewing lately. Except for BSG. Almost done with Season 3. It's been enjoyable, but I've lost a little interest.

The Thing From Another World at Brandon's place last night. That was pretty great. I have a newfound respect for the vegetarians in our group. Keep up the good fight.

Before last night, I hadn't watched a feature since I Confess at BCF on the 8th. I Confess is one of my favorite Hitchcock films. The "tightening of the noose" in it is really splendid. There really seems to be no way out. Add to that the delicious irony that our protagonist could clear his own name at any moment, if he'll only betray his convictions, and you've got a sublime little thriller. I really love Hitch's late 40s "transitional" films before he became an auteur superstar. [Edit: I Confess is '53. I really just meant all of the Hollywood films from Foreign Correspondent in '40 to Dial M For Murder in '54.]

I tried watching Operation Petticoat and The Titfield Thunderbolt. I gave up on each one after about twenty minutes. I might like Thunderbolt under different circumstances. I was sick and cranky and it seemed to be a pale shadow of the sort of "community matters" comedies that Ealing Studios had already done so well in Whiskey Galore! and Passport to Pimlico (probably my favorite Ealing comedy, even over Ladykillers). I should give Thunderbolt another chance. Operation Petticoat, though, is rubbish and gets no more chances.

On to chitchat...

---

Dr. Lisa,

Meet Joe Black makes me think of my maternal grandmother. She had a thing for Brad Pitt at the time it came out. And for Dean Cain, too. I can't see a picture of Dean Cain without thinking of my grandmother.

I'm burnt out on superhero movies. Green Lantern is one of the few I want to see. Sorry that you were disappointed. I'm afraid that I will be, too.

It's a sad day when the only thing my inner comic book nerd has to be excited about is Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner. Incredible Hulk fans have been long-suffering. At least we got Bixby/Ferigno in the 80s. While far from perfect, it was better than most.

I have no interest in Crazy Stupid Love or Midnight in Paris. Wait. What? I already saw Midnight in Paris. I guess I'm feeling nostalgic for a time in my life when I hadn't yet been stained by my disgust for the film.

Midnight in Paris is continuing a crazy stupid long run at Cinemapolis. About 5 months. I'm taking bets right now. Will Midnight still be playing when Take Shelter opens on Nov. 11th?

--

Jason,

I love Back to the Future Part III. I love the whole series. If I was out walking the streets of Paris after Midnight, I'd hope to be transported back to the future.

The third film is essentially the first two films all over again, this time in a western/steampunk setting. This was released when westerns were supposed to be dead and steampunk was still far away from being the cool trend that it is today.

Part III was so far behind the times that it was way ahead of them.

According to the prophet Huey Lewis, "It's hip to be square."

You're right that I don't care for the Duplass bros.

I'm really just having fun with the whole mumblecore thing. It is fair to say that I'm not a "mumblecore fan." I just don't want that statement to be taken as a blanket statement that I don't find anything of worth there. I obviously do like some of what's happening. Certain films like Cold Weather and Beeswax deserve to be championed.

---

Flight of the Slithering Thing From a Colorful VHS Past

2011-10-21T11:42:00.000-04:00

Brandon's TNT-infused colorized atrocity.

Good times.

self-censoring?

2011-10-20T23:50:00.000-04:00

Jeff, did you delete a '30s list? I went to add your two latest lists and only found one.

Imagining Spaces

2011-10-16T21:59:00.004-04:00

[NOTE: I just noticed that Brandon has a new post up and Lisa has finally abandoned her foolish dreams in order to wade in the cesspool with us gutter freaks for at least tonight. Sorry that I can't keep up with these current posts. I'm going to bed. Here's what I wrote earlier.]

A response to all three of you losers. Jeff first. Then, Brandon. Finally, Chris. Ben doesn't get a response because I think that he's mostly in agreement with me even if he hasn't seen Drive.

"John, your post alone made me watch Cold Weather, so kudos."

I admit that this was and is my primary purpose in all of these shenanigans. I didn't want to be Ben championing Black Death for months before the rest of the group reluctantly gets on board. Love it or hate it, I just wanted Cold Weather to be seen.

"There is one point you made that really interests me. It is the idea that Katz is constructive whereas Refn is merely reconstructive."

I admit that I was being a bit hyperbolic in making the distinction (though I do try to clarify the distinction a bit below). There is nothing new under the sun. Both are recycling bits of something and making something else new.

"I would say that Cold Weather is as highly constructed as a “film” as Drive is. It is cinematic even if it is working within a model of purported realism between people."

I agree. But, Cold Weather is cinematic in the way that Bergman's films are cinematic or Ozu's films are cinematic. It is not cinematic IN THE SAME WAY that most people mean when Drive is described as such.

"He makes an admirable film, but not the subversive piece of cinema you create it to be. This is no more revolutionary to me than Drive is. If Katz is preparing a feast, he is using the same Sundance menu as most other indie filmmakers at the moment."

It's a quiet revolution.

Honestly, I'm not sure what is "revolutionary." This is the point in your post when I started to realize that you were either misreading what I wrote or that I just wasn't very clear or both.

As far as your Sundance slam goes, I just have to beg to differ. I don't watch a lot of "indie" films because whenever I do, I get a little disgusted. The "Sundance menu" makes me gag. Cold Weather may use some of the same ingredients, but the finished product is quite different. You do acknowledge this, but, still, a low blow.

"Just because one is filming personal relationships doesn’t mean one is somehow outside cinema."

I'm certainly not claiming this.

"The only way to refuse to play the cinematic game nowadays is to not make a film."

That's always been the case. By "refusing to play the game," I did not mean a "cinematic game," whatever that is. I only meant that there is no winking. There is no posturing. Cold Weather draws on its sources without either worshipping them or becoming them or pretending to be cooler than where it comes from. It is a slacker gumshoe movie. I don't think it ever plays like an "arthouse Holmes" in the same way that Drive could be described as an "arthouse neo-noir throwback" or Antichrist could be described as "arthouse torture porn" (I'm just going on what you guys have said on that second one. I still haven't seen Antichrist.)

Cold Weather could be described as a detective movie stumbling upon an early Linklater/Jarmusch movie, but it's faithfully operating within both of those molds without a hint of irony. It's not apart from those things, commenting on them. It's not commenting on those types of movies (except indirectly). It's also not trying to be better than them. It's maybe trying to be one of them and that's endearing.

On the other hand, I don't get the feeling that Drive wants to be shelved alongside Michael Mann thrillers and Taxi Driver. I feel like it wants to be in the Criterion Collection.

"Still, I understand the point you are trying to make though. You believe that Katz is working in the spirit of Truffaut, which I totally get."

Yup. I'm also definitely not saying that Refn is anywhere close to the level of Godard.

Basically, the point is that Godard was making movies "about" movies. Truffaut was making movies "about" Truffaut. The distinction breaks down because of course Godard's movies are "autobiographical" and of course Truffaut's films are shaped by the movies he loved. Still, there's a distinction.

It was an imperfect analogy, but I do think that Katz and Refn both clearly fall down on one or the other side of this divide.

"I’ve explained why I think Cold Weather isn’t as innovative as you present it to be (I wouldn’t have used this as a point of criticism if you hadn’t brought it up though, and I don't mean it as a dig at all)."

As above, I'm a bit befuddled. I don't think that my reasons for championing Cold Weather have to do with revolutions or innovations. I don't think I used that kind of language.

I suppose that there's one paragraph in my post that could be construed as such. The one that ends with, "A way forward."

I meant a way forward for me, for Katz, for people. I didn't mean a way forward for movies.

My point was that Refn is engaged in deconstruction and I don't think he offers any way "forward" (not that he has to. Those aren't his aims.) Drive's exploration of (and undermining of) the "lone hero" mythos is astonishingly well-crafted. The way that it interacts with its cinematic predecessors is clever and almost cute. It's still a work of dismantling. It uncovers a lie. It doesn't offer us anything to replace that lie with. Instead, it almost, almost validates the lie by making the character's "truth" the central "true" climax of the film, thus maybe making it noble and stripping it of its subversion. I'm not sure. I do know that it will be hard to have any real un-ironic Man With No Name heroes from this point on.

Katz is not deconstructing anything. He's joyously building on something he loves and it shows. He's respecting past influences and he's able to move anywhere because he's not tearing up the road behind him as he walks it. Cold Weather does uncover a precious small chunk of truth and cherishes it. It never shrinks from its sentimental point, but it's also never mawkish about it. Because Cold Weather upholds what is good about its sources, there is room for further adventure. The Holmes detection legacy lives on.

"I only make this whole argument because I am reacting against your notion that Cold Weather is moving cinema into new places while Drive is too busy playing within its own cinematic cesspool."

I can only continue to protest that I must not have been clear enough in my silly metaphors.

I don't really think that "cinema" as a whole has moved to any new places in over a century. Put that in your Holmes pipe and smoke it!

I wasn't arguing that Cold Weather represents some "new kind of movie."

In fact, I think that it plays out much more like any "classic film" than Drive ever does. This is the old kind of movie pleasures. Cold Weather is practically this year's The Thin Man.

The unclear point that I was trying to make comes down to the simple idea that I find Cold Weather more spiritually edifying than Drive. That's about as blatantly obvious and biased as I can get. You can disagree with me, but that's what it comes down to. In the end, it's a matter of taste.

There is something life-affirming about siblings reconnecting that isn't found in a delusional maniac living out his hero fantasies.

It was probably always a mistake to frame things in terms of Drive vs. Cold Weather. I only did so because I watched them both around the same time and I preferred one to the other. A lot. I didn't want Cold Weather to be ignored.

My post was in response to Chris asking me to explain why I like Cold Weather more than I like Drive. I tried to do so.

"And I've decide that I like head stompings more than I like personal relationships! Long live violence in film! This is really what my argument comes down to."

Okay, you win.

---

Brandon, a lot of my responses to what you said would be similar responses to what I wrote above. I do want to pick in a few specific items, though.

"Relational personalism? I think I just fell asleep writing that."

Dang, I missed you.

"I hate everything you wrote about Tarantino and Godard. I’ve heard you rant on that before and it’s even more flawed now."

This is just silly. I like Godard twice as much as you do and I like Tarantino just about as much. I'm not the one saying, "Good for you Jason for crapping on Breathless. I don't like Godard. He's a poseur. He never made a sexy killer in the woods genre film. Let's have a sleepover and watch Bride of Chucky. We can share a toothbrush."

You might not like how I described their work, but it's no less accurate for you not liking it. Neither one of those bozos can be a Sam Fuller or a Joseph H. Lewis or a Budd Boetticher or anyone else. It's just a different type of film-making. Completely self-conscious and devoted to serving at the Temple of Cinema.

"It’s a straight forward picture about a guy who likes a girl and goes to dangerous and violent lengths to protect her."

No. Just no. It is not. It's an abstraction of a straight forward picture about a guy who likes a girl and goes to dangerous and violent lengths to protect her.

"What may I ask is so cynical about DRIVE?"

Cynical may not be the best word. I think I answer this question in my thoughts above about Drive as deconstructive.

"I refute the idea that showmanship is anything to stare down your nose at."

Okay. I agree. But showmanship is only half the story. I'm sure that the dudes burning on stakes to light up Nero's courts made quite the awesome spectacle. Jolly good show. Brilliant lighting choices (pun absolutely intended). One hell of a good showman, that Nero! I'm not really comparing Drive to an historical atrocity. I'm only trying to make an exaggerated point.

"It sounds as though you are going down that dreaded “soulless route” with this one."

Edge of Darkness and Murder, She Wrote are both still better than The Ghost Writer. Don't even go there.

"DRIVE may be violent and simple but it’s not impersonal."

I'll actually concede this point to you. I agree. It's personal. I overreached and overstated things by calling Refn a machine.

"Remember when it was cool to call NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN slick but soulless? That was lame."

Yeah. That was lame.

That's definitely not what I'm going for here (nor was it what I was going for in the silly Ghost Writer spat).

"It doesn’t matter what movie people are talking about years from now."

I'm not sure if you're responding to me or Chris here.

In a sense, it does matter. If something's not being talked about, then it's likely been forgotten. The whole reason we argue about anything here is because we think that certain films are worth remembering (and that other films should be forgotten).

"John, you found a single moment of transcendence in THE LAST EXCORCISM a scene that brought to mind Jacques Tourneur’s NIGHT OF THE DEMON. It lasts about 15 seconds and comes at the tail end of one of the worst plot twists in recent memory."

I'm guilty.

---

Chris, taking some pills, laying down, and focusing on beating the snot out of Jeff and Brandon was enough to distract me from my hurt for a short while. Now, I don't feel like writing any more. I almost think that your post was too respectful. I've lost that sharp anger to keep me focused and am lulled to relax by your warm fuzzies. Or maybe that's just Seal's vocals. Alas, I owe you a Simpsons post. I won't forget.

---

Despite my mild criticisms of Drive in these last couple of posts, I repeat that I dig it. I do. I'm not too cool for Drive.

I repeat what I wrote on FB for Jason:

"Reasons Jason should see Drive: bright colors, orgasmic violence, hip 80s soundtrack, Bryan Cranston, all of the other actors, the opening sequence alone, the quiet moments, the loud moments, the meta movie fairy tale stuff going on, the cars, the girls, the kid, the payoff, the fact that three of us film club dudes have already vouched for it, Bryan Cranston, that Gosling guy, a raised hammer, a botched crime, beautifully composed images, comedic timing, everyone else is doing it, doing it, doing it, watching Drive, and blogging it, blogging it. Or don't see it. I don't care."

I like Drive.

I just like Cold Weather better. :)

Ache

2011-10-16T09:56:00.000-04:00

Sorry, guys, for baiting you, then disappearing.

I've had a nasty headache for a few days that I can't shake.

I've read and enjoyed your posts.

Don't doubt that I'll be back soon to spit in your faces and rip off your testicles.

Just like that?

2011-10-15T14:54:00.000-04:00

I quote Jeff.

"I agree with all you have said John and with Ben too."

Debate is over. Ben and I win.

Idling high. In which I put on the Gosling gloves and slap you up and down a cheap hotel room.

2011-10-14T20:24:00.003-04:00

Drive vs. Cold Weather Round 1

Both films play with crime genre tropes.

Drive does so by framing its action in terms of previous films. Drive only makes sense in relation to other films (other sources, too: fairy tales, mythic heroes; but primarily how these stories have expressed themselves through motion pictures). It's also got at least half the right tone of a seedy pulp novel. It never rises above the sum of its parts. It's a Frankenstein monster. We're astounded to see such a creature, but we're gonna have to burn the thing before it kills any more of our children.

Cold Weather, on the other hand, roots its action in personal relationship and character.

In Drive, "what you see" is what you get. There's a cool superficiality (and I don't necessarily mean this in a bad way but I probably don't mean it in a good way either). Drive may say a lot about movies. I'm not sure that it has all that much to say about anything else.

In Cold Weather, "who you are" is what you get. It may or may not be rooted in "realism." I don't much care for that concept (see Bordwell on realism as fig leaf). It is definitely rooted in personality and personal relationships. Individual and community. One and the many.

Drive gives us fractures. Cold Weather strives toward integrity.

Katz does almost as much as Refn does to work within a genre and poke around the edges. Katz does it with warmth and personal devotion. Refn may as well be a machine.

So, Round 1?

Relational personalism trumps superficialism. I give the win to Cold Weather.

(A film-historical analogy)

Why do I prefer Cold Weather to Drive? The same reasons that Brandon prefers 400 Blows to Breathless.

Brandon may step up to defend Drive (and I hope he watches Cold Weather soon!). Maybe. I know he likes it. I like it. I also like Alphaville and Pierrot le Fou and I love Les Caribiniers.

Refn, like Godard, seems to only know how to disassemble and reassemble. Rearranging pieces, sometimes in new and even dazzling ways. Unfortunately, this dead ends in madness and despair. Godard cannot be Hawks so cinema must be dead. Refn, like Tarantino (another of Godard's bastard children), is heir to a walking corpse. They make zombie films.

Katz, like Rohmer, knows how to build on the past, both cinematic and literary, in a constructive way. There's a tiny hesitant step forward instead of a stationary dancing over graves. No matter how modest or slight his achievement may be. This is true rebel cinema that tells irony and endless recursion to go fuck themselves. Except it engages in this offense primarily by turning the other cheek. By refusing to play the game. Cynicism empties itself on the embarrassing altar of sincerity, sacrificing all bitterness and anguish in an attempt to shake out what, if anything, remains. A way forward.

Dargis nails it in her review of Cold Weather:
“With only the most natural of conversations and an exacting relay of close-ups, intimate two shots and meditative landscapes, Mr. Katz reveals how the self-knowing individual becomes known to others, and me turns into we.”

Drive, at best, offers a sick parody of this.

You guys ought to know that you're Driving waist-deep in a Godardian sewage drain while a Cold Weather current floats by lazily and peacefully at the intersection of the Rohmer river and the Truffaut creek.

(Note to self: You really need to check out Chabrol's thrillers.)

The sewage drain may be fun to play in occasionally, flinging poo at one another and soaking in the graffiti, but you aren't going to find any real sustenance there.

Ten years from now, most film nerds may be talking about Drive. And Cold Weather may be forgotten. So what? Today, Godard is reverentially worshipped and Rohmer is largely forgotten. Godard is important. He's a genius. I get it. I respect him and like some of his films. So what? In the end, Godard's films are cool; Rohmer's films are nourishing. Refn is putting on a good show. Katz is preparing a feast.

The culture of decay temporarily has the upper hand. So what?

After forty plus years, Godard has given us Film Socialisme. Rohmer gave us the sublime Romance of Astrea and Celadon before he died.

These parallels aren't perfect. We don't know yet entirely which paths either Refn or Katz will take. All things considered, I'm more interested in where Katz is headed than Refn.

Finally, a disclaimer. I've already stated several times that I like Drive. The whole purpose of all of this post is to try to express why I prefer Cold Weather to Drive. This is all offered in a spirit of playful antagonism. It's a happy accident that we're discussing these two films at the same time. I don't think that anyone else in the world is setting up a Cold Weather vs. Drive cage match. The two films are obviously trying to do different things. There's room in the world for both of them. It's still really fun to fight and I eagerly await the responses from you Driven hedonists.

Jason is a mumblecore fan.

2011-10-14T07:35:00.002-04:00

I'm something else. Definitely not a mumblecore fan. Just ask Jason.

I looked at the Wikipedia "List of mumblecore films."

I've seen:
Mutual Appreciation (Bujalski)
Quiet City (Katz)
Baghead (Duplass)
In Search of a Midnight Kiss (Holdridge)
Beeswax (Bujalski)
Cyrus (Duplass)
Greenberg (Baumbach)
Cold Weather (Katz)
and at least one not listed:
Goliath (Zellner)

I first heard of mumblecore from a Film Comment article back in 2007 or 2008. I didn't actively search out any of these films, but I've slowly come across them over the past few years.

I think I love the work of Bujalski and Katz.

The other guys, I'm not so sure. It's pretty clear (as mud) that Greenberg and Cyrus are actually straight-up Hollywood films with roots in "mumblecore" and not mumblecore proper, whatever that is. I haven't seen any Swanberg films yet. He seems to be the other mumblecore giant.

For what it's worth, I agree with Bujalski's assessment that the label is probably "a little reductive and silly."

I think that there are a bunch of us coming up now who have many of the http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifsame influences, and the same anti-influences, i.e. some of the crummier aspects of the indie scene that we'd all like to bury. My new film, "Mutual Appreciation," premiered at South by Southwest, and there was some talk there of a "movement" just because there were a bunch of performance-based films by young quasi-idealists. My sound mixer, Eric Masunaga, named the movement "mumblecore," which is pretty catchy. I quite liked those other films that I saw, but I think it's probably a little reductive and silly to actually group any of them together. And if it is a movement I'm sure I'll want to get out of it and do something else. Again, not much point in making films that other people have already made, unless you've got something new to bring to it.

I'm going to bed.

2011-10-13T20:57:00.003-04:00

But I just saw Chris's post.

You know what's funny? I almost put "The Day the Violence Died" at the top of my list. I like that episode a lot. It was hard comparing episodes. Especially when I watched the first two discs almost immediately after you gave them to me, then I watched the last two discs in the past week or so. I'll still stand behind my list generally, but the individual episodes may get shuffled around a lot if I go back and revisit the season. And I'm thinking about revisiting the season right away instead of moving on to another season. I'm rambling. I'm going to bed.

I'll put up some Cold Weather ideas soon. Hopefully, Ben will also jump to the film's defense.

Luckily for you, Drive and Cold Weather were never in contention. Cold Weather is definitely 2010. Drive is definitely 2011. Different years. Different lists. Ain't arbitrary geek distinctions grand? Still, I definitely prefer Cold Weather to Drive.

I'm going to bed.

No Comment

2011-10-13T20:21:00.002-04:00

My head hurts.

Here's a list.

From the gut. Not much thought. No agonizing. After one recent viewing of each episode. I remember almost all of these from '95-'96, but I hadn't seen them since; until now.

I'll write more later, especially if Chris (or Jeff) decides to pick a fight.

Simpsons Season 7

1. “Bart Sells His Soul”
2. “King-Size Homer”
3. “Lisa the Vegetarian”
4. “Lisa the Iconoclast”
5. “The Day the Violence Died”
6. “Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in “The Curse of the Flying Hellfish””
7. “Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield”
8. “Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily”
9. “Marge Be Not Proud”
10. “22 Short Films About Springfield”
11. “Bart on the Road”
12. “Two Bad Neighbors”
13. “Bart the Fink”
14. “Much Apu About Nothing”
15. “Homer the Smithers”
16. “Treehouse of Horror VI”
17. “Radioactive Man”
18. “The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular”
19. “Mother Simpson”
20. “Team Homer”
21. “A Fish Called Selma”
22. “Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming”
23. “Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)”
24. “Homerpalooza”
25. “Summer of 4 ft. 2”

Making teenagers depressed is like shooting fish in a barrel.

2011-10-11T20:34:00.003-04:00

Responding to Chris.

Simpsons list should be up tomorrow. Only one episode left to watch.

Jane Eyre's haunted house bits were a nice surprise. I haven't read the book. All of the actors are fine, but so what?

I do hope that you write some more about Meek's Cutoff, then read our ramblings, then write some more. I'm hoping to catch it again on DVD at some point.

Rope has always been my favorite Hitchcock film. There have been times in the past when I've answered "Rope" to that most difficult of all questions, "what is your favorite movie?" Without a doubt, it is a film that I unreservedly adore.

I wish I knew more about Dall. I think that I've only ever seen him in Rope and Gun Crazy. Definitely a great performance in both of those. Stewart's small part in Rope is also great. Have I mentioned before how much I love Stewart? The man must have been fearless. He was America's beloved small town boy, but he never shrunk from a villainous or morally ambiguous role.

Wings of Desire is another favorite of mine. While Rope is a serious Top Ten Desert Island Pick, Wings of Desire would be in the broader Top 50 or Top 100. Wings of Desire was one of the first "art" films that I ever watched. Besides helping to open up film to me, it created a lifelong love for Peter Falk. I'd go on to love Falk for Columbo and for his Cassavetes collaborations, but I loved him here first.

I'll probably break down and see Attack the Block on the small screen. I do want to see The Mill and the Cross pretty bad, though; it's one of the few films around that I'm really anxious to see.

I regret being so far behind on Dexter. I'd like to join the Season 6 talk. Same with Boardwalk Empire. I still have to watch all of Walking Dead Season 1. I've got Bored to Death Season 1 to watch. I guess I'll have some time now that I'm not obsessing about Breaking Bad each week.

Oh, Breaking Bad!

I'm off now to watch an episode of Robin Hood with the girls, then, after that, oh then, then the season finale one more time!

I'm going to go offline now.

2011-10-11T11:50:00.003-04:00

I've been wasting time. That's what waking up and watching a season finale will do to this man.

Before I go offline for a while, I want to comment briefly on Ben's recent post.

Ben, I can get you both Small Town and Only Angels. We need to get together and swap stuff sometime soon.

I only skimmed your Melancholia thoughts. I do hope to see it soon. The tea party discussion party sounds great. I'm hoping that the viewing, though, involves a large pot of that other great meditative brew; the one from the banks of the Genesee.

GUS

2011-10-11T11:21:00.003-04:00

So, I've been reading Breaking Bad discussions for half the morning. On the MZS comment thread, I came across an interesting visual parallel that someone had noticed. I downloaded the two pictures and mashed them together for everyone's benefit. Sorry, that I don't feel like spending time to give credit where credit is due. Whoever noticed this and posted these first, thank you.

Seriously, don't look unless you've watched the Season 4 finale.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V9iKD8t1Zjw/TpRhE1u4OYI/AAAAAAAAAcY/atTOKPchiQI/s1600/gus.JPG

Enjoy.

Mark 8:36

2011-10-11T09:43:00.002-04:00

MORE BREAKING BAD SPOILERS...

What an outrageously delicious moment it is when Walt declares, "I won."

Of course, as Jeff points out, the tragic irony is that Walt is almost completely lost.

The real reason for my post, however, is that I just thought of and want to believe that Gilligan and his writers knew exactly what they were doing when they introduced Hector Salamanca and his bell way back in Season 2. I'm okay with it being a happy accident, too, but I don't think so. I think that that bell always had a nefariously efficient narrative purpose.

Philippians 4:8 and Breaking Bad Face Off.

2011-10-11T08:26:00.005-04:00

EDIT: I had to edit this quickly after posting because my MAJORSPOILER tags disappeared! They have now been restored. Beware.

Mostly, I respond to Jeff's recent post in an attempt to shame the rest of you into posting.

< MAJORSPOILERS >

It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway.... If you haven't been watching Breaking Bad, then you don't deserve to read any of this.

Actually, I don't have much to add to Jeff's show notes. I just wanted to insult all of you non-watchers who shouldn't be reading this.

"The great irony of the finale is that Gus's outward mutilation can't even match what's decaying inside our hero Walt."

Spot on, Jeff.

I also (obviously) love that the show often has a strong Western vibe.

Finally, I have to admit that I teared up a few times during the finale. Because I was so happy. Because the episode hit every high note just right. This may sound strange to some, but I was struck by the episode's beauty.

< /MAJORSPOILERS >

On to other things...

Yeah, I guess we have to see Melancholia. It sounds like Ben loves it. And it's going to suck to not read and interact with his post. So, I guess I'm seeing it.

Brandon, if you're reading this, how about next Monday night 8ish? I could also probably do this Thursday night if that works better for the Howard bros. But, I'd prefer a Monday night since that's the night I usually work late on and I'm used to not being home 'til late.

Let's definitely do Take Shelter. It's really my only “must-see film” for the rest of the year.

I'm also tempted to go to Cornell on November 18th for a double feature. The Mill and the Cross. Attack the Block.

And two more Binghamton Classic Films screenings...

November 12
Way Out West (Horne, 1937)

December 10
Boy Meets Girl (Bacon, 1938)

“Still just watching old movies because they make me endlessly happy.”

I second that. You guys really need to make it out to one of these screenings. It's a lot of fun watching great movies with an appreciative audience of like-minded filmgoers.

Sturges's Hail the Conquering Hero is pretty great. It might be my favorite film of his. G Men is great. Sure beats the hell out of FBI Story (that's a slam at Brandon).

I admit that I haven't seen enough Hawks films. I've been thinking a lot about Only Angels Have Wings, though, after reading a Saint-Exupery memoir that Ben gave to me. Ben, I hope that you weren't looking to get that book back, because I pretty much read it into oblivion, pages falling out as I turned them. Only Angels Have Wings does an excellent job of depicting the camaraderie among the men that Saint-Exupery describes.

Alright, I'm done.

I have found a tiny pocket of Internet in the corner of my home. I await your blog posts.

No Internet at Home...

2011-10-10T16:06:00.003-04:00

[I'm having Internet problems at home and haven't had access for about a week now. I'm not sure if or when things will be fixed.]

Okay. Brandon's back in town. Let's cut all the TV chitchat and start talking movies.

JANE EYRE

Plot difficulties are resolved by the crazy wife burning down the house, then throwing herself off the roof; so that two soulmates can unite their honest passions with no further pangs of guilt.

I wish that I could at least enjoy the movie visually. I didn't. Was there cgi here? I think so. Really? Why does this look like a muddy mess? Dull. Dull. Dull. Visually, that is. The script sparkles with lively talk of livers being tied and stretched and birds squawking raucously or something like that. I was trying really hard to fall asleep, but it was all too damned romantic to give me any proper rest.

I'm not sure if I can clearly communicate how much I hate Jane Eyre.

SMALL TOWN MURDER SONGS

A surprise. Every flawed decision is endearing. I'm wondering if the rest of you will dislike this film (if you ever see it) for all of the reasons I like it. The chapter breaks. The chorus commentary. The naturalism molded into what may be a forced genre box (the police procedural). The blatant religiosity. The ending.

The film is also beautifully shot. I would hang some of these frames on my wall.

Check it out.

MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON

Even better this second time. Almost makes me feel patriotic.

DUCk SOUP

I've seen this a few times now. So easily watchable. Almost makes me feel patriotic with a cherry on top. An absolutely perfect double feature with Mr. Washington.

THE TWILIGHT ZONE

I'm probably not caught up with Jeff and Chris, but I've watched a few episodes. I might write about at least one episode soon. Can you guys guess which one I might have loved?

VHS REVIVAL

I think that I've written in the past about how I ditched VHS and adopted DVD pretty early on ('97 or so). It had nothing to do with image quality. It had everything to do with pan and scan cropping (disfiguring). I've always been okay with proper VHS releases.

About a year ago, I rescued a VHS Player from a garbage can. It's been great to occasionally find super cheap copies of older films (unaffected by any butchering).

This past weekend, I bought a couple of bags full of .25c VHS tapes from the Ithaca Book Sale. I got a lot of good stuff. The best find was Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy. I'm not sure if it's still out of print, but it was out of print on both VHS and DVD for several years.

I bought a few tapes just to give away, for whoever wants to claim them. Five of Rohmer's Moral Tales (on four tapes).
The Girl at the Monceau Bakery / Suzanne's Career
My Night at Maud's
La Collectioneuse
Chloe in the Afternoon

Obviously, my motives are selfish. I want you guys to adore Rohmer. That's worth $1 out of pocket.

ALL-STARS, CONVERSE

Everyone, let's Take Shelter together.

Brandon, it was good to see you. Let's get demanding together.

Jason, give up your zombie strippers and watch something from the 30s. It'll be good for you and taste good, too. I was glad to read your Dogtooth thoughts. I would have been dismissive like you if Brandon hadn't previously proclaimed his warm fuzzies toward the film.

Ben, thanks for the Darren Brown link. I've already shared it with a few friends.

Jeff, keep the beard! Other than that, I'm disappointed in you. Two 30s lists and hardly any commentary on any of the films you list! A crime against film club, I say!! Deserving of being locked up in Grandpa Jason's hostel for a weekend with nothing to do but get to know a wooden spoon better.

Lisa, PHD or Film Club? Which is ultimately going to mean more to your life? If you had only given Film Club even half of the time that you've given to this other institution, we would have showered you with degrees and certificates and praise and chipped in to buy you a fancy cap and gown and given you as many letters behind your name as you could have ever desired. The pay here may be awful, but the rewards are great nonetheless.

Chris, I'm only two or three episodes away from finishing Season 7. I should have a list up by the end of this week.

event

2011-10-03T11:37:00.002-04:00

who's coming with me?

p.s. no movie watching lately. been watching breaking bad, dr. who, simpsons, twilight zone.

Helter Shelter

2011-10-01T08:32:00.000-04:00

So far, my most anticipated film of 2011 isn't playing anywhere near here.

Will it hit a cinema near here before 2012? Let the betting begin,

Quiet City

2011-09-27T19:10:00.000-04:00

Jason,
I watched Quiet City. I liked it. I didn't have nearly the revelatory experience that you did. Please don't misunderstand me. I liked it.

I'll keep from spoilers.

I'll just say that I prefer Cold Weather's playfulness to Quiet City's poetic realism.

I am now an unreserved Katz fan.

An Act of God

2011-09-26T21:40:00.002-04:00

Breaking Bad has broke bad. "Crawl Space" is the payoff after a long, slow ramping up this season. No holds barred. I'm more excited about these next two episodes than I am about any other stinkin' movie coming out this Fall. I can hardly believe that we'll have the pleasure of another whole season after this!

Jeff is still wrong about Midnight in Paris...

2011-09-21T12:36:00.000-04:00

...but he is completely right about Drive.

I don't have any response to your post. It's perfect. You've changed my mind.

Driver for President.

Cosmic Justice and Becoming a Real Human Being.

2011-09-20T21:09:00.003-04:00

Vince Gilligan says, "Walt must be punished for his sins."

Okay, he doesn't quite say that, but you'll never know what he did say unless you click on the link and listen to the interview.

Breaking Bad continues its run as TV's only genuine pulp masterpiece. I love that Walt has become less and less sympathetic to the point where he's almost unlikable now. I'm not sure how else things could be.

---

I never wrote about finishing Mildred Pierce. I finished it a while ago. I couldn't sympathize with much of this. The daughter character is insufferable to the point of being annoying to watch. Really, Mrs. Pierce, you deserve what you get when you cultivate spoiled milk as if it's fresh cream.

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Abby watched ahead of me and finished The Killing. I still have about six episodes to go and probably will never finish. I just don't care who killed poor Rosie. I lost the momentum here and now I can't get as worked up as any of these characters.

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I watched an episode of an Australian gangster show called Underbelly Razor. Again, the characters are criminal to the point of being boring and annoying.

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So, why is it that I like Walt being a terrible jerk and can't stand all of these other instances. I think that it's because I loved him first. His fall is painful. It hurts to watch. These other jerks? They're just jerks.

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A couple episodes of Colbert. The "too hot to fish" story was hilarious.

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Robin Hood every Tuesday.

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I'll try to have a Simpsons post in a week or so, but I'll only have about half of season 7 watched unless I have another binge session before the week is over.

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Enough TV. On to some movies...

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Night and Fog is the only concentration camp movie that matters. Talk about assisted dying.

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Everyone knows by now that I watched the Pratchett doc. Choosing to Die. See FB.

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Cold Weather is a marvelous little movie. There's no way to write about it without spoiling it. What's surprising to me is how often I want to compare these "mumblecore" guys to Rohmer. First, Bujalski. Now, Katz. Cold Weather has a definite Rohmerian bent in its chronicling of relationships, but Brandon may be pleased to know that it also takes a surprisingly Truffautian (distinctly not Godardian) leap toward genre mash-up. This is far from Don't Shoot the Piano Player, though. The similarity to Truffaut's work is that genre conventions are filtered through personal and relational sensibilities.

You guys are all nincompoops if you don't watch this.

---

If Cold Weather is a fine example of "soft-boiled noir" (I think that I just coined a new sub-genre), then Drive is about as hard-boiled as they come. Brandon's going to hate me saying this, but it reminded me most of last year's The Killer Inside of Me, a film which I begrudgingly respect and think of more often than most other films from last year. It takes pulp tropes and grinds them out methodically and mercilessly until there's nothing but the pure juice of "crime doesn't pay."

I can't agree with Jeff's enthusiastic FB proclamation that Drive is a masterpiece. There's just too much missing information. With no background for our "hero," we understand no motivation except for our imported desires to see a Killer With A Heart Of Gold Waiting For the Right Girl To Show Him How To Stop Killing And Learn To Love. Drive plays with stereotypes, but it never rises above them.

Gosling is the star here. I enjoyed his character's quiet moments. A brief nod. A smile. Gosling's got a good face and knows how to use it.

I'm looking forward to reviews from Jeff and Chris. I'll definitely interact.

(I'm being a little bit negative here. Don't be fooled. I enjoyed the movie a lot. It's the best non-TOL film I've seen from 2011 so far.)

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All caught up. Gotta go.

EDIT: (oh yeah. I almost forgot. Harry Potter and the Conclusion of the Blockbuster Movie Franchise was a complete waste of time. I won't hate on your nerd crush too much. I also can't grumble too much for getting paid to see any movie. Harry Potter. Paul Blart. It's a way to make a living.)

Numbered Conversations

2011-09-16T09:45:00.002-04:00

Brandon,

Really, It's okay that you like Paul. I'd probably like it, too, if it wasn't so stupid and irritating and hard to watch.

Sorry that I keep bringing this up, but you haven't posted anything else so I'm stuck making fun of you for liking Paul until we get some new content from you.

Jason,

Quiet City will be at the top of my queue just as soon as I sign back up for Netflix. I'm trying to sell a few things to make some money, then I'll have $ in my paypal account to pay for Netflix. Probably 2 DVDs at a time plan; no streaming.

I just finished Cold Weather. It's a serious contender to dethrone True Grit and Meek's Cutoff at the top of my 2010 list. It'll probably have to settle in right behind those, though, since the only character in the film that wears a cowboy hat is a villain.

Ben,

Watch a movie. Quit spending your time hacking into celebrity computers.

Jeff,

I haven't seen any of the films on your 1935 list except for The 39 Steps. I will add the '35 list to the list site later today.

Here's my stab at a '39 list. Some of these I haven't seen in a decade plus, but so what, here goes...

1939

1. Destry Rides Again (George Marshall)
2. Stagecoach (John Ford)
3. Only Angels Have Wings (Howard Hawks)
4. Frontier Marshall (Allan Dwan)
5. The Rules of the Game (Jean Renoir)
6. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Frank Capra)
7. Young Mr. Lincoln (John Ford)
8. The Roaring Twenties (Raoul Walsh)
9. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming)
10. Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming)
11. Jesse James (Henry King)

Lisa,

There's a problem if Jason is posting more often than you are. Shame.

Chris,

I probably won't have a Simpsons list too soon. I had a couple of days of binge watching, but haven't done much watching since. I'll see if I can finish Season 7 before the end of September, but no promises.

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Just because I like it...

An entire season in Paris.

2011-09-12T22:41:00.000-04:00

Midnight in Paris is still playing at Cinemapolis through September. The film is an arthouse juggernaut. A true blockbuster! Who'da thunk it? Jeff and Woody are vindicated.

Boozed Out Baboon

2011-09-11T16:46:00.003-04:00

I'm willing to forgive Brandon's obvious lapse in sound judgment. Our poor boy has been on a drug-and-alcohol-fueled rock 'n' roll tour for far too long. He hadn't seen a movie in weeks. He's malnourished. His only source of protein has been the moonshine that he's been swilling for breakfast. We can't be too angry with him for falling for Seth Rogen's version of Alf.

Re-posting my Paul thoughts in a shameless attempt to shame Brandon into a more sober perspective:

I was in a bad mood after having to stay late at work yesterday so I chose to go see a 10:20p showing of Paul to wind down.

If you like...
...gratuitous strings of vulgar language (for the sake of cheap laughs rather than honest character exploration), pseudo-science, nerd ignorance and prejudices, cheap shots at fundy evangelical caricatures, anal probe jokes, notorious product placement, hit-you-over-the-head-obvious-because-you're-stupid film and pop culture references, dumb road trip conventions, bromantic deconstructions of male friendships, cardboard characters, and a lame plot that doesn't do much to transcend any of the weakest of the above...

If you like all of those things, you'll love Paul.

I don't like any of those things.

I hate Paul.

Greg Mottola, you make me weep.

Honestly, I prefer ALF. The writing is much stronger. Seriously.

Bryan Cranston's Contagion

2011-09-10T09:49:00.002-04:00

Hey guys,

I don't feel like writing. Common problem these days, huh?

Yesterday, I spend the day at work helping out guys who are now homeless because of the flood.

By the time I was finished at 9:30pm, I was happy to see that the Binghamton Regal was open. I needed to watch something stupid. I was hoping to catch Rise of the Brandons Who Idiotically Think That Paul Is Better Than Adventureland, but I just missed that monkey mess. Instead, I was able to catch a 10:10pm showing of a movie that I hadn't heard anything about: Contagion. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Starring Bryan Cranston (okay, he's only got a small role and I had no idea that he was going to be in this based on the poster, but he still OWNS this movie).

Short Review:
Contagion is worth seeing if you're in the mood for a non-water-based natural catastrophic disaster film after a long day.

Contagion reminded me of Fincher's Zodiac. Maybe not to that same level, but Soderbergh ignores a lot of the normal thriller aspects to this sort of story and focuses on people doing their jobs. It's mostly UN-thrilling.

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I came home late and watched a few episodes of The Simpsons. I can't remember if you guys love this season or not, but I think that I do. Bart sells his soul! Lisa gives up meat! Homer goes digital, then gets dumped in the "real" world! Marge buys a $90 suit! Maggie shoots Burns! Great stuff.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dentist

2011-09-06T13:51:00.002-04:00

Chris wrote: "I'm really wishing I lived in the house from the movie right now. I've got a wisdom tooth that is bugging the hell out of me."

I just had a giant temporary filling crack apart and fall out last night. I'm not supposed to go back to the dentist for a few more weeks. For a root canal. I'd probably be better off just letting one of those little Dark buggers come at me with a razor.

And a couple of nights ago, I had a nightmare about my teeth falling out. I had to check my mouth in the morning. This is the only recurring nightmare that I have that I always remember.

Still, maybe DBAotD really scared me more than I realized and is now working its way through my system, looking for release. Or maybe I've just had dentists chastise me too often for not flossing frequently enough.