I enjoyed it, though it's kind of emotionally exhausting. It's also the most masculine movie I've seen in a while in some ways, I can't remember anything that's so unabashedly and unironically othering with regards to women.
Monday, December 30, 2013
12.29
I enjoyed it, though it's kind of emotionally exhausting. It's also the most masculine movie I've seen in a while in some ways, I can't remember anything that's so unabashedly and unironically othering with regards to women.
12.28
I'm sure there are easier ways of seeing a Lifetime Original Movie than driving across town and paying ten bucks. It didn't help matters that this was a matinee screening full of old people who made noises indicating they appreciated the severity of what was happening every few minutes.
The main appeal is the adorable relationship between the eponymous characters, but unfortunately I had trouble getting into the movie as a whole. It always wigs me out when fantasy societies are based on some weird random thing. Like with Monsters Inc. the scream energy thing kind of makes sense, because monsters scare people. But teeth man? I don't know, it seems pretty strange.
12.27
Now this is magnificent. It gets a lot weaker when the story comes in, but when it's just wallowing in the decadence, that's where it's at. It's actually pretty nutty that three hours of mindboggling hedonism has been generally given the critical stamp of approval, I guess that's a testament to Scorsese's talents.. DiCaprio and Hill murder their roles. Pretty frustrating that he never really got his comeuppance. Here's a review that I think really gets it:
http://blog.sundancenow.com/weekly-columns/bombast-122
12.25 movie
So ridonkulously fun in a way that holds up the second time around. It's a lot bigger in a few ways than the first two but it feels like a natural continuation of them, albeit with the wrinkles more ironed. The humor could easily play too cutesy but they end up striking a great tone, and I dig how the sentimental parts are both knowingly over-the-top and pretty sweet.
Monday, December 23, 2013
12.21 movie
It is incredibly fun watching these characters interact. The relationship between Bale and Lawrence's characters is especially awesome. It's not a genre I'm particularly fond of, mostly because it requires some kind of annoying twist at the end, but for people who dig grifter flicks, I could see it being one of their favorites. But even for us who don't, it's so vibrant and its menagerie of characters so bizarre it seems like it would have a pretty wide appeal. And Amy Adams...damn what's the recipe?
12.20 movie
A lot of the individual scenes are among the best of the series, but as a whole it doesn't rise far above the middle mark. Bardem's character is a pretty major missed opportunity -- he has a few fantastic lines but he just seems so, I don't know, small. The explosion at MI6 after the cold open makes it seem like this is gonna be one of the biggest threats of Bond's career, but it's just a dude who wants to kill one person. I think there's a structural issue too -- it feels like the meat of the movie should occur after Bardem's introduction, but it's actually just a brief segue to the last act after that. I don't mean to sound so negative, it's definitely solid, just a lot less satisfying than I like my James Bond.
12.13 movies
This strikes me as having three indistinct parts, namely, in ascending order of interest to me, Freudian psychodrama, McCarthyism allegory, and nutty western. Regarding the psychology, I think there's a lot worth saying but it's mostly been covered; suffice it to say the web of relationships that binds the cast together is maybe the most intricate in all of old Hollywood. One character I don't hear much about but who's one of my favorite anti-heroes it the Dancing Kid, whose icy-Hawks relationship with Johnny brings a lot of the scenes to life. The witchhunt stuff lends the film its intensity. I'm pretty terrified of that kind of thing as it is, and it's particularly well-handled here; I especially like how everyone's interest just kind of peters out at the end. The western elements are just magical -- a lair hidden behind a waterfall, a saloon built into a cliff face, a secret underground passageway, exploding mountains, a beautifully rendered forest stream -- it's all so ridiculously up my alley. Seeing it on 35 definitely increased my appreciation for the color process too. Altman's 70s output has a similar muddiness, but without the clarity of primary colors showcased here. Ray brings all this to life in that particular way of his -- I don't think there can be anything like it, even vibe-wise, again. I really love this movie.
Haha, yeah that's the good stuff. It's basically exactly what I imagined, but it's no less cool that they made such a movie. I don't know, imagine a cross between Poison and Anatahan. Up there with Fassbinder's best.
12.12 movie
I love its progeny, especially the Lethal Weapon movies; this isn't as good, but it's a fun time passer. The highlight is Murphy's scene at the redneck bar. Great chemistry between the leads, probably would've been more memorable with some higher stakes.
12.11 movie
Not particularly insightful, mostly because Ice-T's a horrible interviewer. Probably the coolest thing is all these people performing acapella off the top, it evens the playing field when you don't have era-specific beats going on behind you. Definitely doesn't live up to its potential but it's fine.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
12.09 movie
Ooh, this really doesn't hold up too well. Was CGI that bad just 10 years ago? I think the main issue though is that it relies entirely on Depp for its quality -- if the story had been more interesting, I think it could've made a pretty darn decent movie. Boy I miss the structure something like TCM lends to my viewing habits; I got to this perusing for easy entertainment on Netflix, which I suppose is what I got.
Monday, December 9, 2013
12.06 movie
This was a badly discolored print which is unfortunate -- which is the only kind of celluloid degradation that bothers me off the top -- and I was exhausted at the time, but despite that I had a great time. I think I actually prefer Fassbinder's early style even if he hit his creative peak later on. This is kind of like Jeanne Dielman but more powerful and much funnier. I could definitely see myself making something like this.
Friday, December 6, 2013
12.05 movie
This screened as part of a series on digital restoration, and opened with a talk by Sony's head of that explaining the process and whatnot. The most noteworthy thing about this one is that the original tone of black and white parts hasn't been seen since the 50s because all the restorations since then have been printed on color stock which blue-ifies the greyscale (apparently some dye process peculiar to the time mitigated this problem in the original prints). Like most people I'm not too hot on digital projection but at least it was great to see one of my favorite movies on the big screen. Apropos, this most definitely holds up! Could there ever be anything like it? It's a French New Wave movie made within the studio system, but more than that it's like watching the golden age of Hollywood collapse under the weight of its own bullshit. It's also, along with The Graduate, something that I think every highschooler should see. It's more on the nose than that one, but it's also more pessimistic and probably better. Truly unique shit.
12.03 music
Another dope cover from the man. Beats are unsurprisingly layered and beautiful, lyrics are solid and horny as all get out, but the more I hear the more I'm thinking Quik's most unique talent lies in his ability to structure the shit out of an album. I mean, he's up there with Kanye. He's also just as inscrutable sometimes. He has a great introduction to his umpteenth sex track: "Sometimes I just don't even understand why people like this dirty-talkin shit, you know what I'm sayin? But since they do and people buyin this shit, I'ma kick it like this...." And that track is actually some fly Butlerian shit 10 years before Jean Grae put out God's Gift (I guess Super Hoe started it all, but this takes it up a notch). The outro has a pretty rich yo mama on Tim Dog and a great MC Eiht diss.
Choice cuts: Jus Lyke Compton, Only Fo' Tha Money, Niggaz Still Trippin'
Monday, December 2, 2013
11.28 movie
Fantastically written and directed, and also pretty darn unique. Off the top the only thing I can think of that has a similar vibe is this bizarrely underseen movie from 1976 called Loose Ends, though this is more concerned with the passage of time. Love the landscapes too.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
11.26 movie
So fucking fresh. Jennifer Lawrence is an outrageously talented actor.
11.24 movies
Surprisingly respectful for a movie with entitled tourists as protagonists. Also some definitely insightful political dialogues regarding the justifications of dictators. The ending, which probably would've been considered conservative at the time, strikes me as pretty apt in this time of fetishization of left-wing so-called revolutionaries. Nice to see Jose Ferrer in an actual role; I know he's one of the most respected actors of all time but previously I'd only seen him in Lawrence of Arabia.
Carne's version is exponentially more charming and engaging, but on the plus side this has Fonda and Price. Overall it feels pretty maudlin and leaves a yucky aftertaste. How do you mess up Beethoven's 7th?
Sunday, November 24, 2013
11.23 movie
Pretty dang solid cop meets femme fatale drama. The dialogue-free sequences are especially well-directed. I also tend to be a sucker for movies that spend so much time exploring one location. Also noteworthy is Novak's character, who after all ends up being in it for love instead of money, which is both super adorable and perhaps unique to the murderous female trope. Wikipedia has a surprisingly large "critical response" section for such a minor noir, and the consensus seems to be that it's good but derivative of Double Indemnity specifically. I don't really see it, and in any case it's far superior to Double Indemnity from where I'm sitting.
11.22 movie
The perfect conclusion to the best trilogy since Aoyama's Kitakyushu one. I hope they make more, I really love sequels.
11.21 movie
People talk about Oscar bait but I don't hear too much about Palme d'or bait. Despite that I liked it a lot. I do think it's kind of tacky that Adele starts liking oysters only after she starts eating pussy, but whatever.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
11.20 music
Undoubtedly the most famous hip-hop album I hadn't heard, and as such there were a ton of "oh that's where that's from" moments, which are always fun. But aside from that, what an incredible album! I was gonna make a list of all the amazing little things about it but that'd be a lot of work and I also don't want to ruin it for the exactly none of you who are both reading this and either haven't heard this or are going to hear it. But take my word for it, there's a lot of them. Plus his style is so addicting. His rhymes are simple but almost always natural and the storytelling remains unique, at least from what I've heard.
Choice cuts: Children's Story, The Moment I Feared, Mona Lisa
11.19 music
The first three tracks are stellar. It's still good after that but not as good. I'm not sure I'll ever fully appreciate Rakim the way other people seem to. I also noticed this felt like a very long 50 minutes. Paid in Full felt really long the first time too, but it was also the first 80s rap album I heard, so I attributed it to that. But now I think it must be something about these guys.
Choice cuts: Follow the Leader, Microphone Fiend, Lyrics of Fury
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
11.18 movies
Not as fresh as the first two, but still a lot of fun. The special addition CGI stuff is far more obnoxious here too, which is saying something.
I remember at the time thinking it was a travesty this wasn't at least nominated for Best Picture. I guess it was a disappointing revisit. I think my uncle's right in that the biggest thing the prequel trilogy is missing is a Han Solo type character. I love Obi-Wan, but it's pretty stale other than that. It also rubs me the wrong way that they scramble to tie up all the loose ends.
Monday, November 18, 2013
11.17 music and movie
Erick and Parrish go three for three in terms of both album covers and music. Maybe it's not quite on the level of the first too, but it's still mad creative and very fun. Redman and LL Cool J shine on their features.
Choice cuts: Hardcore, Rampage, Jane 3
Still my favorite of the series. Sequels and prequels, even at their best, tend to suck some of the mystery out of a created world. This is simple but eerie, if that's the right word, and still feels pure even with all the retconned CGI stuff.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
11.16 movies
This is basically a melange of art-movie tropes from the last thirty years. It's also Duras-lite and made for these kind of audiences to eat up, but it's also definitely a good movie. One thing I've noticed in many modern movies is that you can have as much orientalism as you like as long as you stick in some subversion. I'm not sure whether or not that bothers me, but certainly something like Temple of Doom feels less hypocritical.
Kind of does what Lessons of Darkness does for the Persian Gulf via sci-fi for Macao via noir, although this is much less grandiose. It's hit and miss, but I'm glad I saw it.
11.15 movie
Seemed like it could be part of that Parmenidean blob that is middle-tier Fassbinder, but a day later I'm substantially fonder of it than while I was watching, and I enjoyed it at the time too. Fassbinder tends to be a grower for me on the whole. Highlights of this are the scenes in Morocco and the toothpick telephone.
Friday, November 15, 2013
11.14 movie
They have these $5 flashback Thursdays downtown and boy it's fun to see a famous movie with an audience who doesn't clap at the director's name but claps when the leads first kiss. The movie's not as awesome as the OG Pirates of the Caribbean ride or Pac-Man World 2 or Lang or Sternberg's best work, but it has an otherworldly artifice in common with those that's right up my alley. The first part is great, then it gets a bit dour and unsatisfying when they get to the eponymous temple, then it picks up some steam again at the end. It definitely makes me want to revisit its bookends, especially Raiders.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
11.11 music and movie
This album sees Gang Starr coming more into their own with a style they'd rock with complete confidence by Hard to Earn. Primo's as good as ever, and Guru's just such a fun rapper to listen to. That second verse on No Shame in My Game...shit. Take Two and Pass is also some of the best weed rap I've heard since Guru doesn't seem interested in portraying marijuana as cool, but as something analogous to a morning cup of juice: "...but I'm not advertisin / just tellin of an aspect, a part of our lives and...." The only downside is it does end up feeling kind of repetitive by the end.
Choice cuts: I'm the Man, No Shame in My Game, Conspiracy
What makes this stand out to me is the decidedly uncomfortable chemistry between the two leads. I've never seen a big mainstream movie with such a blatantly sexualized relationship between a 12-year-old and a 40-year-old. I actually wasn't too hot on Oldman's character, he seemed like kind of a stock eccentric bad guy type. Overall I think it's pretty great.
God I love Nas. More than any other MC I've heard he really is always moving forward. Even when he goes places that I don't think really work for him I've gotta give him props for his consistent adventurousness. But I actually thought most of this did work really well. Some of it's a little stale, but it's a consistent album with a few brilliant moments. I love his countdown from 8 to 3 friends on NYSM2 and almost shooting a fan on Favor for a Favor (and come on, it took Nas to think of a texas chainsaw joke for Scarface of all people?). I also dig when he majorly mixes up his flow in Big Things if I remember right, though I'm trying to place whose that is...the closest I'm getting is Bun B but I don't think that's exactly right. Anyhow definitely a good album. Creepy cover too.
Choice cuts: Small World, Dr. Knockboot, Undying Love
Monday, November 11, 2013
11.08 movie
I haven't seen a new release in such a crowded theater in probably years, that was a lot of fun. Tom Hiddleston is also such a joy to watch. The rest of it's fun too.
Friday, November 8, 2013
11.07 movie
Hell yeah, easily the best film I've seen from this year so far. I didn't like the sex movie too much, but McQueen seemed like a guy with a lot of potential, and he definitely lives up to it here. I know it's pretty unchiq to care about acting, but good performances are some of my favorite things about the movies in general, and they abound in this one. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong'o especially stood out, and Michael Fassbender continues to establish himself as probably the best actor of his generation (unless you consider Nic Cage of his generation). Lol at the role Brad Pitt cast himself in. Also Hans Zimmerman is the laziest douchebag in the industry.
11.06 movies and music
After my 10th-grade binge and subsequent lack of involvement, Hutton was probably the first experimental filmmaker I got into, so it was especially cool seeing some of his stuff on film. Probably more walkouts in the course of the evening than any other screening I've been too, which surprised me since I've always thought of Hutton as one of the most accessible avant gardists. I'd seen the first two New York Portraits, but this one wasn't available back when I marathoned his works. I had pretty much the same impression of this as of those: lots of beautiful images, but not put together particularly well. It's like an album that has a lot of great songs but ends up being somewhat of a letdown because of the overall structure. Of course I also think At Sea is too rigorously structured. Is it terribly bourgeois to prefer something like Images of Asian Music or Time and Tide? In any case I don't remember any of the shots from the first two being as good as the one with the flapping clothes or several others in this, so I think this has the edge.
I think I'd gotten this and Skagadfjordur mixed up in my mind, but regardless, one of the most beautiful films of the 90s. Also somewhat reminiscent of Cornell.
A floating repairman! So pedestrian but so sick. Like a more rigorous Vertov. But maybe I'm just thinking that now cuz that shot looks like something straight out of Vertov.
I remember thinking this was just a tepid warm-up for Time and Tide, but I was trippin balls, this shit rocks! Reminded me super strongly of that scattershotly brilliant book Winter's Tale.
Aw man, kind of a letdown. I mean I wasn't expecting the inconsistent bleeping, repeated performances, and dada brilliance of Long Live the Kane, but I was at least expecting some more creativity from the man's battle raps (that's not to say he doesn't prove he could still rhyme with the best of them on some of the tracks). After the "no faggots" line I was curious to see how Kane reacted to Mr. Cee's coming out, and in an interview about that the interviewer also asks him what he thinks his best album was and he says this one because it's from a more worldwide perspective whereas the first one "was a dope local album." Damn straight but I ain't tryna hear your corporatized bullshit King! I should emphasize it's still a more than solid album and I'll probably get more out of it on future listens with more reasonable expectations (and I should say again, there are some fantastic lines), but it's no Long Live the Kane.
Choice cuts: Mortal Combat, Wrath of Kane, I Get the Job Done
11.05 music
I can't remember the last time an album made so little of an impression on me.
Choice cuts: En Focus, I Be Blowin', I Am I Be
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
11.04 movies
Ooh what pretty colors. I love Yanco and the whole aquatic suburbia of course. The metafictional stuff is a bit on the cutesy side for me, but it's short enough not to be too grating.
Yehhhhh it's not bad, I've just never been a fan of these "photographing poor people on the street" type shorts. Not for moral reasons, I remember a classmate in highschool made a film where he shot random people on the 3rd Street Promenade and his friend did a voice-over improvising internal monologues for each of them, and that shit was funny as hell, but on the whole they're just not that interesting. I liked the stuff with the two lovers though.
Varda's no Marker, but she laid off the Varda-centric stuff for once here and I think made a pretty darn cool political document. I also tend to forget that the Panthers were pretty conservative at heart, but it's cool how adamant Huey was about gender equality, even if it didn't reflect the reality of the movement. Also Varda was there last night and she actually seems like a pretty uninteresting, or maybe just predictable, person, but that's not gonna stop me from bragging about having met her before she kicked it.
Most played
Whoa, I just found out iTunes has a feature that lets you see the songs you've played the most. For anyone who's curious, here's mine:
1. Figaro - Madvillain - 25
2. House of Flying Daggers - Raekwon ft. Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, Method Man - 22
3. Winter Warz - Ghostface Killah ft. Raekwon, U-God, Masta Killa, Cappadonna - 21
4. Knowledge God - Raekwon - 19
5. Game - Lil B - 18
6. Still DRE - Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg - 17
7. Xxplosive - Dr. Dre ft. Hittman, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, Six-Two - 17
8. One (Ghostface Killah ft. TMF) - 17
9. Verbal Intercourse - Raekwon - 17
10. Some LA Niggaz - Dr. Dre ft. DeFari, Hittman, Xzibit, Knock-Turn'al, Time Bomb, King T, MC Ren, Kokane - 16
11. Jesus Walks - Kanye West - 16
12. Ruff Ryder's Anthem - DMX - 15
13. Be Easy - Ghostface Killah ft. Trife - 15
14. Benzie Box - Danger Doom ft. Cee-Lo - 14
15. The Next Episode - Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg - 14
16. The Champ - Ghostface Killah - 14
17. Blood on the Leaves - Kanye West - 14
18. Road to the Riches - Kool G Rap and DJ Polo - 14
19. That's That - DOOM - 14
20. Shook Ones Part II - Mobb Deep - 14
21. Doper Skill - Viktor Vaughn ft. Kool Keith - 14
22. Cool Whip - Deke Monopoly ft. Anonymoose - 13
23. What's the Difference - Dr. Dre ft. Eminem, Xzibit - 13
24. Forgot About Dre - Dr. Dre ft. Eminem - 13
25. Anti-American Graffiti - J Dilla - 13
Wow, I guess I listened to 2001 more than I realized this summer. Pretty embarrassing selfie there too.
1. Figaro - Madvillain - 25
2. House of Flying Daggers - Raekwon ft. Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, Method Man - 22
3. Winter Warz - Ghostface Killah ft. Raekwon, U-God, Masta Killa, Cappadonna - 21
4. Knowledge God - Raekwon - 19
5. Game - Lil B - 18
6. Still DRE - Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg - 17
7. Xxplosive - Dr. Dre ft. Hittman, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, Six-Two - 17
8. One (Ghostface Killah ft. TMF) - 17
9. Verbal Intercourse - Raekwon - 17
10. Some LA Niggaz - Dr. Dre ft. DeFari, Hittman, Xzibit, Knock-Turn'al, Time Bomb, King T, MC Ren, Kokane - 16
11. Jesus Walks - Kanye West - 16
12. Ruff Ryder's Anthem - DMX - 15
13. Be Easy - Ghostface Killah ft. Trife - 15
14. Benzie Box - Danger Doom ft. Cee-Lo - 14
15. The Next Episode - Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg - 14
16. The Champ - Ghostface Killah - 14
17. Blood on the Leaves - Kanye West - 14
18. Road to the Riches - Kool G Rap and DJ Polo - 14
19. That's That - DOOM - 14
20. Shook Ones Part II - Mobb Deep - 14
21. Doper Skill - Viktor Vaughn ft. Kool Keith - 14
22. Cool Whip - Deke Monopoly ft. Anonymoose - 13
23. What's the Difference - Dr. Dre ft. Eminem, Xzibit - 13
24. Forgot About Dre - Dr. Dre ft. Eminem - 13
25. Anti-American Graffiti - J Dilla - 13
Wow, I guess I listened to 2001 more than I realized this summer. Pretty embarrassing selfie there too.
Monday, November 4, 2013
11.03 movie and music
In some ways this feels phoned in, but it also jibed so impeccably with my mood when I heard it (and probably pretty well with my sensibilities overall) that I ended up really fucking liking it. I was recording with Big Daddy Russ yesterday and we were talking about DJ Quik. I was saying that he didn't impress me too much lyrically on the last album I heard from him and BDR was tryna convince me that it's all in his flow. I listened to a couple tracks from Quik Is the Name and didn't really hear it, but he's just perfect in this. Kurupt definitely has some kosher lines but it's really all Quik's show, mostly because he actually seems to actually care about the project. It's kind of jarring hearing this right after his first album without any transition, but he's made the leap into the 21st century head-first production-wise. Every beat is creme de la creme, and speaking of which Cream N Ya Panties has the best sample ever on the hook. Yo-Yo kills it on Whatcha Wan Do, haven't heard her since that Ice Cube track. Quik never leaves the pocket either, without sacrificing creativity. Add in its brevity and I think I'll be getting a lot of play outta this. Also I like how this one critic characterizes West Coast backpacker rap as "what happens when guys with enormous vocabularies smoke a lot of weed."
Choice cuts: Cream N Ya Panties, Hey Playa (Morroccan Blues), Jupiter's Critic & the Mind of Mars
(I couldn't find a screenshot so here's a publicity still.) Gee if my parents knew I'd grow up to watch golden age Hollywood they wouldn't have bothered making me wait til I was 14 to watch old James Bonds in an effort to instill gender equity in me. I don't really get why the writers made such a point of establishing the protagonist's Hammeresque levels of mac daddy PI-ness only to have him act like a pussywhipped schmuck throughout the second half (the ending maybe gives it some context), but it does make for some great lines early on:
"Now Mr. Sorelson, there are just two things I'm interested in: women and money. Right now I happen to be long on women."
After awhile the preciousness gets kind of wearying though, and it ends up a decidedly mediocre entry into the noir canon (though a great title for the final track on my upcoming noir-themed album). The highlight is the relationship between the main guy and the blond dime on the left side of that poster, but unfortunately she's not the leading lady. Other neat moments: a rear-projected roller coaster ride, a dead-on transition from a photograph on a pamphlet to a moving image, and a weird visual fadeout before the audio in the scene's finished. Again I dig this IMDb reviewer's description: "This little programmer is one of the many forgotten little baubles that used to dot TV land back in the days before all those rotten Infomercials took over late night viewing."
Sunday, November 3, 2013
11.02 movie
It's nice to see a movie ever once in a while that feels tailor-made for you. I last saw this at a screening two years ago when I was just starting college and it feels more personally relevant than ever now. I mean the score did strike me as kind of wack this time around (except for that fantastic piece that plays over the credits and when he gets in his car to drive to his cabin) and it's also much more transparent about its debt to Greek philosophy than I had remembered, but the real appeal is the sense of being in a nightmare, and it's got that down pat. Also an awesome menagerie of Fassbinder regulars and some of his most striking choreography and compositions (someone told me Michael Ballhaus secretly directed it, but I haven't found any corroborating evidence for that). I'm super stoked for the upcoming Fassbinders now, hope there's some other stuff on par with this or the epilogue of Berlin Alexanderplatz.
10.31 movie
Somehow made even less of an impression on me this time, though I do really like the ending.
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