Blow-up, for the very first time. It's now one of my favorites. Also, I found it strangely relevant to this day and age, especially to the mentality of my hipster generation.
Last night: Dogura Magura by Matsumoto Toshio. But fell asleep (which should be impossible!)! My excuse: I have a cold. I'll be making another run at it tomorrow. I think it's the fault of my analgesic, not the movie.
A Christmas Tale, playing at this year's NYFF.... lucky enough to snag a press screening before it appears late next week. Tonight the fest opens with The Class.... I'm stacking up here on my contemporary French cinema!
Coffee and Cigarettes -- the usual mixed bag as is the case with most short-film collections. Though mostly I liked it a lot (especially "Cousins" with Cate).
Empire of the Sun... Christian Bale was better at 12 than most highly trained, experienced, adult actors... followed by Matchstick Men. pretty good. love Alison Lohman. she's impossibly cute. i'll marry her right now, without knowing her personally.
and to agustin... i'm an outrageous dude disciple. watch it one more time. if you dont start to feel like you've found the meaning of life, it's just not for you
The wife and I finally caught up with "Tell No One" last weekend, which just opened here. We both agreed immediately that this was the best movie, by far, that we had seen this year despite being 1) french, and 2) technically from last year.
In part: David Cronenberg's Shivers clips on youtube. I own this movie on VHS but I haven't seen it in a while and wanted to refresh my memory a bit. Clicking is so much more convenient than digging through storage boxes.
In full: a new short film by experimental filmmaker Diane Kitchen called Ecstatic Vessels- extreme close-up shots of nature; a beautiful color study shown in 16mm at an outdoor screening by the MadCat Women's International Film Festival here in San Francisco. It was the last film shown in a set of films accompanied by a live band's soundtrack.
In full, feature-length department: the Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter, a very warm documentary that humanizes the WWII propaganda icon by first-person accounts of five "Rosies" interviewed on-camera. Made in 1980 by Connie Field (with Rob Epstein, future director of the Times of Harvey Milk, the Celluloid Closet etc. on the crew as an assistant editor)
I just watched Moulin Rouge! For the first time...blasphemy, I know. All I can say is that the Academy really f***ed up by not nominating Baz Luhrmann for best director, especially since Opie won that year. Why is Miley Cyrus (sp.) recording albums but Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor aren't? Why can't more directors of movie musicals find a happy medium between star power and actual talent?
Boogie Nights. And this time (my third) I couldn't get over how fantastic that soundtrack is. I mean, in that drug dealer scene alone, you have "Sister Christian", "Jessie's Girl" and "99 Luftbalons"-- all right in a row! Plus that epic opening shot set to "The Best of My Love"= pure perfection.
If you count rewatches, then The New World, which is simply breathtaking (and grows immensely with each viewing). So great it sent me on a druggy high for about three days afterwards. Wow, did I mention that I loved it?
dame james henry I totally agree, but you failed to mention my two favorites =) When I think of Boogie Nights it's all "Living Thing" and "God Only Knows" on repeat in my head.
Muriel's Wedding - Toni Collette is still the best chameleon her generation has. And Rachel Griffiths is a hoot! And that weird sister who just says, "You're terrible, Muriel!"
I just got sucked into The Color Purple last night. Shug was singing "Sister" to Celia, and Oprah was about to punch out Harpos Girlfirend. how could I turn that off.
I ended up watching the whole thing and crying like a baby as usual.
With an afternoon free from lectures yesterday, I ventured hopeully to the cinema. Ended up seeing Swing Vote, which wasn't bad per se, just incredibly dull. Basically any time either of the two presidential candidates weren't on screen, I was toying with the idea of leaving early. Which I never do.
The question is: Which house would you rather live in? A house run by a computer that will provide every comfort for your DNA sample and cooperation (added bonus: Julie Christie as your house mate. And lots of surveillance cameras!) or a house that you can instantly redecorate just by drawing on the design plan (added bonus: er, view of a lighthouse and the sea)?
Manhattan Melodrama (1934) a really great movie with William Powell, Clark Gable and Myrna Loy, I mean, great cast right there. I really, really enjoyed it. I'm going to Choke in an hour.
My favourite song from Boogie Nights would have to be "Compared To What" by Roberta Flack. And they play all five glorious minutes of it as every single character is getting screwed over. "Will you be my mom?" Heaven.
The most recent movie I watched was yesterday, and it was Kill Bill Volume 1. As much as I enjoy it, it has all the signposts what I find wrong about Volume 2 and especially Death Proof. Still, I consider it his last good movie, though nothing tops Jackie Brown for me.
On Saturday night I watched FALLEN ANGELS in part (second viewing) and SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS in entirety (first viewing). Both are remarkable experiences from film-makers with very strong command of the visual language of film.
It was interesting to see Wong playing with such distorting wide angle lenses on ANGELS. I'd forgotten how much of a visual departure the film was in his body of work - a way of making it stand out from the lighter CHUNGKING EXPRESS that preceded it.
And SUNRISE. While for once the earnest orchestral score of yore really did irritate me (something humbler would work better for a modern audience), it's amazing to see how much freer film language could be when realistic dialogue wasn't the anchor yanking all scenes into a forced realism. Some nice early sound design work here that, if I'm not mistaken, preceded JAZZ SINGER's use of synchronised sound.
Recent cinema views: MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS (not great, but not nearly as bad as all and sundry say - it is a film by its maker); WALL-E (great, but not overwhelmingly great - I feel reluctant to declare unreserved love that felt stronger in the first half than the second... there's that dialogue thing again, yanking the drama into reality).
And the film I saw in my head this weekend - Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD, which I finally read. They have a lot of work to do to get this right, but if it's an honest adaptation, it will blow CHILDREN OF MEN utterly out of the water for being a fairly toothless tech-friendly futuristic parable in the face of real storytelling. And it will win no Oscars, nor even be nominated beyond acting roles... it's far far too heavy for that crowd. Heavier than BLOOD and OLD MEN put together.
I just got done watching the MST3K episode of "Manos: The Hands of Fate." Other than that "Burn After Reading" on Monday.
ReplyDeleteGomorra => A-
ReplyDeleteBelieve the hype.
Brand Upon the Brain!
ReplyDeleteDisturbingly brilliant
Blow-up, for the very first time. It's now one of my favorites. Also, I found it strangely relevant to this day and age, especially to the mentality of my hipster generation.
ReplyDeletePicnic At Hanging Rock
ReplyDeleteThe Big Lebowski for the first time yesterday night.
ReplyDeleteLiked it, but don't get why everyones LOVES this movie, please do explain.
Last night: Dogura Magura by Matsumoto Toshio. But fell asleep (which should be impossible!)! My excuse: I have a cold. I'll be making another run at it tomorrow. I think it's the fault of my analgesic, not the movie.
ReplyDeleteparanoid park
ReplyDeleteEncounters at the End of the World.
ReplyDeleteOh, Werner Herzog conjuring the image of a chimp riding a goat makes for a good film any day.
A Christmas Tale, playing at this year's NYFF.... lucky enough to snag a press screening before it appears late next week. Tonight the fest opens with The Class.... I'm stacking up here on my contemporary French cinema!
ReplyDeleteThe Talented Mr. Ripley, again.
ReplyDeleteSaw Repulsion last night...in the big screen. La Deneuve is impossibly beautiful, but damn...
ReplyDeleteisthatsowrong --you should introduce yourself to me at these press screenings.
ReplyDeletechrista --omg. i love Deneuve back then. Well now still...
We watched Independence Day in Blu-ray last night. The movie hasn't aged very well.
ReplyDeleteCoffee and Cigarettes -- the usual mixed bag as is the case with most short-film collections. Though mostly I liked it a lot (especially "Cousins" with Cate).
ReplyDeletelast night I saw JINDABYNE and i really, really liked it...
ReplyDeletetonight I'm seeing THE VISITOR, which looks very good 2 me
Empire of the Sun... Christian Bale was better at 12 than most highly trained, experienced, adult actors... followed by Matchstick Men. pretty good. love Alison Lohman. she's impossibly cute. i'll marry her right now, without knowing her personally.
ReplyDeleteand to agustin... i'm an outrageous dude disciple. watch it one more time. if you dont start to feel like you've found the meaning of life, it's just not for you
The wife and I finally caught up with "Tell No One" last weekend, which just opened here. We both agreed immediately that this was the best movie, by far, that we had seen this year despite being 1) french, and 2) technically from last year.
ReplyDeleteWow...I'm so embarassed.
ReplyDeleteStardust.
I am so behind, and so not getting out of the house.
In part: David Cronenberg's Shivers clips on youtube. I own this movie on VHS but I haven't seen it in a while and wanted to refresh my memory a bit. Clicking is so much more convenient than digging through storage boxes.
ReplyDeleteIn full: a new short film by experimental filmmaker Diane Kitchen called Ecstatic Vessels- extreme close-up shots of nature; a beautiful color study shown in 16mm at an outdoor screening by the MadCat Women's International Film Festival here in San Francisco. It was the last film shown in a set of films accompanied by a live band's soundtrack.
In full, feature-length department: the Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter, a very warm documentary that humanizes the WWII propaganda icon by first-person accounts of five "Rosies" interviewed on-camera. Made in 1980 by Connie Field (with Rob Epstein, future director of the Times of Harvey Milk, the Celluloid Closet etc. on the crew as an assistant editor)
I saw "Bangkok Dangerous" and "Evening" yesterday.
ReplyDeleteI just watched Moulin Rouge! For the first time...blasphemy, I know. All I can say is that the Academy really f***ed up by not nominating Baz Luhrmann for best director, especially since Opie won that year. Why is Miley Cyrus (sp.) recording albums but Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor aren't?
ReplyDeleteWhy can't more directors of movie musicals find a happy medium between star power and actual talent?
Election. It gets better on second viewing!
ReplyDeleteBoogie Nights. And this time (my third) I couldn't get over how fantastic that soundtrack is. I mean, in that drug dealer scene alone, you have "Sister Christian", "Jessie's Girl" and "99 Luftbalons"-- all right in a row! Plus that epic opening shot set to "The Best of My Love"= pure perfection.
ReplyDeleteSweet and Lowdown. Didn't care for it.
ReplyDeleteIf you count rewatches, then The New World, which is simply breathtaking (and grows immensely with each viewing). So great it sent me on a druggy high for about three days afterwards. Wow, did I mention that I loved it?
dame james henry
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, but you failed to mention my two favorites =) When I think of Boogie Nights it's all "Living Thing" and "God Only Knows" on repeat in my head.
In the theaters, it was Robert Davi's directorial debut "The Dukes". Enjoyable, but nothing new.
ReplyDeleteOn DVD, it was a Hong Kong film called "Dog Bites Dog" solely because Edison Chen is in it.
Muriel's Wedding - Toni Collette is still the best chameleon her generation has. And Rachel Griffiths is a hoot! And that weird sister who just says, "You're terrible, Muriel!"
ReplyDeleteGAH I LOVE IT.
six degrees of separation. stockard was sublime.
ReplyDeleteNathaniel.... you gonna be at the NYFF opening party tonight? I'll look for you there....
ReplyDeleteCase Closed-one truth prevails the movie: The Bombed tower. I'm a sucker for detective stories and this anime show has got my number.
ReplyDeleteI just finished The Sound of Music like a half hour ago, which I've never actually seen before. I DON'T KNOW HOW THINGS LIKE THAT HAPPEN.
ReplyDeleteA preview screening of Miracle at St. Anna's. The bookends of the story are entirely unnecessary but I enjoyed the rest of it.
ReplyDelete"Burn after reading"... Brad Pitt was GREAT!
ReplyDeletenever seen before:
ReplyDeleteVisconti's Death in Venice
Recently reseen:
Todd Haynes' Far From Heaven
The Great Debaters, at the class screening I was supervising.
ReplyDeleteIt was actually pretty good.
In Full: Tom McCarthy's The Visitor. Quite lovely.
ReplyDeleteIn Part: Roger Spotiswoode's The Children of Huang Shi. I fell asleep for about 10 minutes early on. Oops. I don't think I missed up.
up = much
ReplyDeleteShine.
ReplyDeletesomebody stop kamila from hurting herself.
ReplyDeletethat's a lotta bad movie back to back girl.
I just got sucked into The Color Purple last night. Shug was singing "Sister" to Celia, and Oprah was about to punch out Harpos Girlfirend. how could I turn that off.
ReplyDeleteI ended up watching the whole thing and crying like a baby as usual.
haven't been to the theatre since Iron Man in the summer, I'm sad to say.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to the movies this sunday!!!! Gotta catch up with you all.
Persepolis and Poster Boy.
ReplyDeletewall-e, finall-e
ReplyDelete"Miracle at St. Anna"
ReplyDeleteA complete mess, but a really interesting, ambitious mess that I found much more compelling and entertaining than either of Eastwood's WWII flicks.
Finally caught up with MASTER AND COMMANDER just this evening.
ReplyDeleteHard to believe that Peter Weir and Michael Bay work in the same industry.
American Movie
ReplyDeleteGone with the Wind. I'm done.
ReplyDeleteThe Notebook for the first time.
ReplyDeletecringe.
congratulations Goatdog. HE'S KNOW SEEN ALL BEST PICTURE NOMINEES. That is crazy.
ReplyDeleteWith an afternoon free from lectures yesterday, I ventured hopeully to the cinema. Ended up seeing Swing Vote, which wasn't bad per se, just incredibly dull. Basically any time either of the two presidential candidates weren't on screen, I was toying with the idea of leaving early. Which I never do.
ReplyDeleteBack to back just this afternoon:
ReplyDeleteDemon Seed (1977) and Paperhouse (1988)
The question is: Which house would you rather live in? A house run by a computer that will provide every comfort for your DNA sample and cooperation (added bonus: Julie Christie as your house mate. And lots of surveillance cameras!) or a house that you can instantly redecorate just by drawing on the design plan (added bonus: er, view of a lighthouse and the sea)?
Manhattan Melodrama (1934) a really great movie with William Powell, Clark Gable and Myrna Loy, I mean, great cast right there. I really, really enjoyed it. I'm going to Choke in an hour.
ReplyDeleteDame James Henry and mikadzuki
ReplyDeleteMy favourite song from Boogie Nights would have to be "Compared To What" by Roberta Flack. And they play all five glorious minutes of it as every single character is getting screwed over. "Will you be my mom?" Heaven.
The most recent movie I watched was yesterday, and it was Kill Bill Volume 1. As much as I enjoy it, it has all the signposts what I find wrong about Volume 2 and especially Death Proof. Still, I consider it his last good movie, though nothing tops Jackie Brown for me.
We watched Citizen Kane in my IB Film class last Thursday. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than the irst time I saw it.
ReplyDeleteWell, of course I had to watch Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.
ReplyDeleteThat scene with Big Daddy and Brick...wowee!
Wish they hadn't censored it thematically, but still a hell of a show.
Reservation Road, a true downer.
ReplyDeleteOn Saturday night I watched FALLEN ANGELS in part (second viewing) and SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS in entirety (first viewing). Both are remarkable experiences from film-makers with very strong command of the visual language of film.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to see Wong playing with such distorting wide angle lenses on ANGELS. I'd forgotten how much of a visual departure the film was in his body of work - a way of making it stand out from the lighter CHUNGKING EXPRESS that preceded it.
And SUNRISE. While for once the earnest orchestral score of yore really did irritate me (something humbler would work better for a modern audience), it's amazing to see how much freer film language could be when realistic dialogue wasn't the anchor yanking all scenes into a forced realism. Some nice early sound design work here that, if I'm not mistaken, preceded JAZZ SINGER's use of synchronised sound.
Recent cinema views: MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS (not great, but not nearly as bad as all and sundry say - it is a film by its maker); WALL-E (great, but not overwhelmingly great - I feel reluctant to declare unreserved love that felt stronger in the first half than the second... there's that dialogue thing again, yanking the drama into reality).
And the film I saw in my head this weekend - Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD, which I finally read. They have a lot of work to do to get this right, but if it's an honest adaptation, it will blow CHILDREN OF MEN utterly out of the water for being a fairly toothless tech-friendly futuristic parable in the face of real storytelling. And it will win no Oscars, nor even be nominated beyond acting roles... it's far far too heavy for that crowd. Heavier than BLOOD and OLD MEN put together.
- The Opinionated Australian
The Times of Harvey Milk.
ReplyDeleteWhich...wow.