11.26 movie

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Francis Lawrence, 2013) - theatrical

So fucking fresh.  Jennifer Lawrence is an outrageously talented actor.

11.24 movies

Crisis (Richard Brooks, 1950)

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.

The Long Night (Anatole Litvak, 1947)

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?

11.23 movie

Pushover (Richard Quine, 1954)

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 Hangover Part III (Todd Phillips, 2013)

The perfect conclusion to the best trilogy since Aoyama's Kitakyushu one.  I hope they make more, I really love sequels.

11.21 movie

Blue Is the Warmest Color (Abdellatif Kechiche, 2013) - theatrical

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.

11.20 music

The Great Adventures of Slick Rick (Slick Rick, 1988)

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

Follow the Leader (Eric B. and Rakim, 1988)

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

11.18 movies

Return of the Jedi (Richard Marquand, 1983) - rewatch

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.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, 2005) - rewatch

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.

11.17 music and movie

Business as Usual (EPMD, 1991)

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

Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977) - rewatch

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.

11.16 movies

Tabu (Miguel Gomes, 2012) - theatrical

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.

The Last Time I Saw Macao (João Pedro Rodrigues and João Rui Guerra da Mata, 2012) - theatrical

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

Fox and His Friends (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1975) - theatrical

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.

11.14 movie

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Steven Spielberg, 1984) - theatrical, rewatch

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.

11.11 music and movie

Daily Operation (Gang Starr, 1992)

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

Leon (Luc Besson, 1994)

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.

I Am... (Nas, 1999)

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

11.08 movie

Thor: The Dark World (Alan Taylor, 2013) - theatrical

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.

11.07 movie

12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013) - theatrical

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

New York Portrait, Chapter III (Peter Hutton, 1990) - theatrical

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.

In Titan's Goblet (Peter Hutton, 1991) - theatrical, rewatch

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.

Lodz Symphony (Peter Hutton, 1993) - theatrical, rewatch

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.

Study of a River (Peter Hutton, 1997) - theatrical, rewatch

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.

It's a Big Daddy Thing (Big Daddy Kane, 1989)

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

Buhloone Mindstate (De La Soul, 1993)

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

11.04 movies

Uncle Yanco (Agnes Varda, 1967) - theatrical

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.

L'opera-mouffe (Agnes Varda, 1958) - theatrical

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.

Black Panthers (Agnes Varda, 1968) - theatrical

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.

11.03 movie and music

BlaQKout (DJ Quik and Kurupt, 2009)

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

The Last Crooked Mile (Philip Ford, 1946)

(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."

11.02 movie

World on a Wire (Rainer Werner Fassbiner, 1973) - theatrical, rewatch

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

Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1975) - theatrical, rewatch

Somehow made even less of an impression on me this time, though I do really like the ending.

10.30 movies

Mutiny (Abigail Child, 1983) - theatrical

Pretty annoying.

Mayhem (Abigail Child, 1987) - theatrical

Child said it was her attempt to make a feminist noir.  Decidedly a step up from the above but it's also a subject that appeals more to me.

To and No Fro (Abigail Child, 2005) - theatrical

Forgettable reworking of a Mexican Buñuel.

Mirror World (Abigail Child, 2006) - theatrical

Fun stuff.

ELSA merdelamerdelamer (Abigail Child, 2013) - theatrical

A subversion or something of this time Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp filmed an eponymous baroness shaving her pubic hair.  It's only three minutes long and I don't remember much but I liked it.

Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978)

Same audiovisual setup as The Omen, but my friend actually got it to synch up pretty nicely.  The movie's definitely fun, but seems to wear its lack of ambition on its sleeve.  The notion of this unstoppable force of evil is a cool idea, but it doesn't really do too much with it.  Could've used some of Texas Chainsaw's humor I think.  It's also a trip to me that Carpenter directed this.