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.
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