Hey guys, I've had a lot of fun running this blog over the past couple years, but I've got a lot on my plate now and don't have as much time for watching movies or listening to music, let alone writing about the experiences. I think I'm gonna be calling it quits, but seeing as I inaugurated this blog with a list of 20 items, here's a few more movie and hip-hop related lists of that variety.
Top 20 directors:
Robert Bresson
Hong Sangsoo
Howard Hawks
Naruse Mikio
Daniele Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub
Werner Herzog
Nicholas Ray
Raul Ruiz
Oshima Nagisa
Chris Marker
Andrei Tarkovsky
Jean Renoir
Werner Schroeter
Eric Rohmer
Orson Welles
Alain Resnais
Josef von Sternberg
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Anthony Mann
Paul Verhoeven
Top 20 rappers:
Ghostface Killah
Raekwon
Kool G Rap
Andre 3000
Kanye West
Nas
Snoop Dogg
GZA
Ice Cube
Prodigy
Hittman
Jay-Z
MF Doom
Lil B
Cappadonna
Jean Grae
Kendrick Lamar
Killa Sin
Dres
Lauryn Hill
Top 20 films:
Floating Clouds (1955)
Gloria! (1979)
Eika Katappa (1969)
The Searchers (1956)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
Stalker (1979)
The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
India Song (1975)
Lancelot du Lac (1974)
Twentynine Palms (2003)
Night and Day (2008)
Tropical Malady (2004)
Die Nibelungen (1924)
The Devil Probably (1977)
Like You Know It All (2009)
Le fond de l'air est rouge (1977)
Othon (1970)
Contempt (1963)
The Long Goodbye (1973)
The New World (2004)
Top 20 hip hop albums:
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (Raekwon)
Supreme Clientele (Ghostface Killah)
Doggystyle (Snoop Doggy Dogg)
The Infamous... (Mobb Deep)
Fear, Love, and War (Killarmy)
Aquemini (OutKast)
Original Gangster (Ice-T)
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Lauryn Hill)
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Kanye West)
Ironman (Ghostface Killah)
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (Wu-Tang Clan)
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (Black Sheep)
To the East, Blackwards (X Clan)
Entroducing.... (DJ Shadow)
Wu-Tang Forever (Wu-Tang Clan)
Long Live the Kane (Big Daddy Kane)
Hittmanic Verses (Hittman)
808s and Heartbreak (Kanye West)
Operation Doomsday (MF Doom)
Hell Hath No Fury (Clipse)
Monday, July 27, 2015
07.14
As with many of the Pixar shorts I liked this one a lot more the second time. Nothing to write home about but cute.
Just as moving and impressive the second time. I only noticed two things I hadn't before: a drawing of Bing Bong in a montage at the beginning and when Bing Bong talks about going back in time and having breakfast twice. I thought that one was pretty good.
07.13
I was struck by how closely The Departed stuck to this script, but almost everything that was different was handled better by Scorsese. Just a run of the mill cop thriller.
07.11
Such a dull, cliched story, and so, so much longer than it needs to be. Not even Louise Brooks can redeem this one.
Still a fantastic film, don't get me wrong; but as with Andrei Rublev what once held such wonder and amazement for me often comes across as somewhat more banal and stilted. Many of the scenes retain their original magic though.
07.08
Better than I expected, even given the good reviews. Wish Havoc had a bigger hand in the production, but Illmind's beats are good too. Some of the tracks, like the staggeringly uncreative All a Dream, which has four verses all obviating one Biggie line, are true duds. Lot of really great ones too though.
For a bit it seemed like it was an all-time great. The initial rush wore off a little after a while but it's compelling throughout. Lines like "If I got a problem, a problem got a problem til it's gone" alone make it worth staying through the more wearying stretches.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
07.07
For all the toe fungus and abortion it's a very delicate movie, albeit with a raging emotional undercurrent. Doesn't hit quite as hard as Floating Clouds, but I think that's just because at heart I'll always be a sucker for scope. Anyhow magnificent, and I like Hara more with every new movie I see her in.
Monday, July 13, 2015
07.06
Huh, I kinda took it for granted that whenever I watched this again it would fully become for me what it is for so many people. But nah my memory was right, fantastic of course but not Floating Clouds-tier.
07.05
Part of it's undoubtedly the rip I saw, but this is one of the most dreamlike and aesthetically evocative Hollywood films I've seen. Hammered in how far above his peers Hawks is, probably the all-time best at capturing human movement on film.
07.04
As nice as it was to see this on film again I feel like it was probably a bad idea to rewatch it so soon after the last time, since it was a basically similar experience. It's still a momentous film and one of my favorites, but I no longer feel watching it that it's a semi-divine creation or anything. In a lot of ways I understand it better every time I see it but along with a better grasp of its superficial meaning I've lost the sense of wonder it once inspired in me, which I feel like is a microcosm of my overall experience with film in the past few years.
Saturday, July 4, 2015
07.03
Oh boy. One word that keeps recurring in reviews of this and most Lewton films is "moody," and it is moody, but you really have to be willing to go along with the crappy B-movie aesthetic to get caught up in that mood. There is a lot of really cool stuff here, intricate character relationships, meditations on depression and evil, and one of the darkest endings I've seen in an old Hollywood film. But like my friend said about Cat People it really does feel like a high schooler's first screenplay, I think largely due to time constraints. It might be that I wasn't in the right mind frame or that Robson, even with Musuraca on board, is no Tourneur, but I had trouble getting into this one. I like it more in retrospect though, might be a grower.
Given the locations and scenario I could hardly fail to like it. Something bugs me about Wellman though; the least I can say is he doesn't lend this the lyricism and atmosphere it deserves and could easily have evoked in more capable hands. And this is probably the fault of the screenwriter though it's a similar problem to The Ox-Bow Incident: the central situation could and should be ripe with dread and moral ambiguity, but instead it quickly sorts itself into black and white morality and resolves smoothly with only one likable character getting the ax (in fairness I expected that one to see it through to the end). I might feel less strongly if my man Richard Widmark hadn't been relegated to the role of one-dimensional villain rather than a complex character. It's still a good movie but one that sacrifices a good deal of potential insight for pleasantry.
07.02
Kind of a less ambitious and ambiguous but no less warm Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Surprisingly warm, in fact, given the content of Mann's other Westerns. Still very much Mann though, unlevel shootout and all. Anthony Perkins is perfectly cast as the tinhorn with the tin star, and Fonda is good as ever as his mentor. Leaves less of an impression than Mann's darker tales but it's quite fun.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
07.01
Beats are pretty impressive, rapping is sometimes amusing, I'm just not someone who can listen to this style of music for an extended period of time, and this feels hella extended.
Love the energy of Disc 1, due largely to Al Foster's drumming, but I think it climaxes too early and never really reestablishes its momentum. The flute's a nice addition to Disc 2 but while I enjoyed its grooves it didn't seem to go anywhere. Not a bad double LP at all, but not the monument I've come to expect from late-period Davis either.
06.30
I started this a couple of years ago and was really into the over-the-top screenplay and single-location shooting. This time, despite seeing it projected on film (damn it'd been too long), the histrionics started grating on my nerves after awhile, though I still think Aldrich does a commendable job with his condensed space (to echo my comments on Road House, it's no Ray but...). Rod Steiger's exchanges with Palance stand out from a lot of great actors working with kind of a baffling script, perhaps because those two feel like they're in on a joke no one else fully grasps. Not bad all in all if a bit tiresome.
Amidst a lot of nice pondering about the nature of age and money what makes this movie stand out as something special is the chemistry between Garfield and Fitzgerald, who have to be one of my favorite pairings in noir. Their scene at the mission transcends the emotionality of Hollywood genre conventions. Cool to see Brennan in a noir aside from To Have and Have Not, even if it's the same role he plays in every Western he's in. The finale I guess takes place in old oil-derrick-ridden Venice Beach; if not it's either another part of LA that's not there anymore or one I'm not familiar with (like the inside of a sound studio?). Other than the location and photography the ending's not too impressive; George Coulouris' villain never feels like much of a threat and it turns out he's not.
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Undoubtedly the high point thus far of my most recent session of noir spelunking. Aside from some banging desert locales and no less than three even more banging femme fatales we have a very odd character performed very oddly by Robert Young and the darkest string of coincidences this side of Detour. Capped off by an ending I totally didn't see coming despite seeing The Big Knife earlier that day. Young's character I think is supposed to be a likable rogue, but he's so conniving and Young's performance so taciturn he often comes off as more of a sociopath, lending an element of ambiguity to Young's voiceover testimony. And yet many of his actions seem to come from genuine moral instinct. Ditto for much of his supporting cast. It could come off as sloppy writing but everyone involved plays it so convincingly it ends up being one of my favorite merry-go-rounds of flawed but lovable noir characters.
Just one of the most enjoyable movies I've seen in a while. Pitch-perfect pacing and a palpable sense of place.
06.27
Feels less like the first half of a conclusion to a film trilogy than a 2-hour pilot for a TV series, but it's a show I'd want to keep watching. Catching Fire exceeded all of my expectations and while this wasn't on that level it still has a lot of stuff that makes it stand out from the young adult entertainment fold. There's somewhat more than surface-deep political ambiguity but its real appeal is its tendency toward quiet reflective moments in natural surroundings, for which I guess it sacrifices action. I'm sure Part 2 will have a fair amount of that.
The real-time approach means a huge proportion of the film is set aside for the climactic boxing match, which is good for showcasing Ryan's dedication to his craft but bad if the viewer, like me, doesn't have much interest in boxing. That said I can't say I wasn't entertained throughout. The ending is an insufficient payoff; I'm not sure whether it's good or bad that it avoids a more predictable but oomphier resolution.
06.26
One of the reasons I love noir is that stories about people thrust into disagreeable circumstances and how they deal with them are so appealing to me, and this is one of the most triumphant takes on that format I've seen. Not to mention it's fucking funny. There is a degree of Famuyiwa having his cake and eating it too, keeping one foot in social realism while including so many farfetched details in the plot, but the latter contribute to the feeling the film has of a fable without a clearly defined moral. Definitely one of the better films of recent years and my favorite of 2015 behind Inside Out, another story about growing up.
Gorgeous, evocative music. My Dad's right, the mix kind of sucks, but if I let myself get lost in the lyrics and instruments it's a powerfully nostalgic experience. There aren't any weak tracks but The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Whispering Pines, and Jawbone are especially moving.
The opener Ole Man Trouble is one of the best songs I've heard, which is maybe why the rest of the album had trouble quite living up to my expectations. Not that there aren't a lot of great songs and even a lot of great moments on the less impressive ones. Maybe if it'd all been original compositions it would've clicked more with me.
06.25
Henreid grievously miscasts himself and it's pretty weirdly paced but it redeems itself with an ending dripping with delicious tragic irony. Joan Bennett's portrayal of a gal who toes the line of a few tropes but doesn't fit neatly into any category is the other highlight.
Another movie with a lot of pacing issues that more than redeems itself with a great dark ending. A lot of the hipster lyricism actually works pretty well and whatever my beef with Maclean's unwillingness to hold a shot in a movie called Slow West he has a nice eye for landscape; I wouldn't have guessed it was shot in New Zealand.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
06.24
For someone who looks like a Who from Whoville Dick Powell is fucking awesome at playing tough guys. I love the trope of one guy barging headlong out of ignorance or stubbornness into a conspiracy whose proportions he can't grasp and which fucks him over by the time he does (e.g. Jawbone Station). Annoyingly after a bleak start to the film Powell's character gets bailed out of trouble whenever he's in too deep by a couple of good guys, but that doesn't rob this of a lot of great scenes.
06.23
Ida Lupino never ceases to impress me with her ability to convincingly convey characters running the gamut from beleaguered housewife to girl next door to ethereal chanteuse, as is the case here. She puts on some genuinely captivating musical performances despite, as mentioned by several characters throughout the film, lacking much of a voice. Negulesco doesn't milk the titular roadhouse for all its atmosphere the way, say, Nic Ray might, but it's still a neat location to spend some time in. Combined with great dialogue writing and a moody ending it makes for upper tier noir, even if I did drive across town to see it in stupid digital projection.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
06.22
It's hard to go wrong with yours truly when you put a bunch of shit that's inevitably gonna hit the fan in a tight place and just let it roll, but what uninspired fan-hitting. Some of the shit that made it in here's just unbelievable; basically a USC thesis film with a $150 million budget.
06.21
I think I missed a chunk of the beginning, though I definitely saw the MGM lion, so I'm not quite sure what happened to the recording. But what I saw is top tier nihilistic revenge thriller tearing through a series of alternately gorgeous and ugly Antonioniesque cityscapes. Michael Caine kills it with this quiet storm angel of death type character and Hodges milks the environment for all its worth. A distinct product of its time, but this is what neonoir should be.
Not as sordid or bleak as I'd hoped for a movie about the mystery behind the skeletal remains of a pregnant b-girl, but at least we're treated to Ricardo Montalban's disconcertingly charming grin whenever he uncovers some new unpleasant detail about his corpse. He does a subtle job transitioning his character from indefatigable optimist to at least a somewhat more drained and cynical detective. Other than Alton's underexposed cinematography Montalban's charisma was the biggest attraction to me, though most people point to Elsa Lancaster's performance as the standout. Like many procedural noirs it gets less interesting as it nears its inevitable ending but it's not a bad entry in the catalogue.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
06.19
Dull and facile, easily one of the worst Pixar shorts; and as much as I like their features those are not hallowed grounds.
The only Pixar movie I think I liked more was WALL-E, but while that matches the novelty and ingenuity, I don't think it has the level of insight or the emotional force of Inside Out. Certainly the most gorgeous and mature film to come out of Hollywood in recent memory, and probably hit too close to home, even down to the real-world protagonist moving to San Francisco. I'm not even that hot on the animation style, but this blew me away.
I'd had a number of false starts with this, and expected it to be a slog, but after the first 15 minutes or so it's non-stop entertainment. Groovy special effects, some dated in a bad way, mostly still awesome. The storyline isn't anything better than the average TOS episode, which this was obviously a huge influence on, but somehow the overall quality is a lot higher than that. 50s scifi divides pretty decisively for me into great and awful categories, and this fits cleanly into the former.
Boy, think how much more exciting going to the movies would be if any other mainstream director filmed things like Mann. I'm glad I came back to this; I can certainly understand why I found it offputting when I saw it as a kid in theaters, but this is great directing. Pretty weak story, only the most cursory nods at the Crockett/Tubs relationship, but based entirely on style and on the Farrell/Li relationship this is quality neonoir. I've been sleeping on Gong Li too, great femme fatale performance.
06.17
Easy on the eyes and consistently entertaining, but difficult for me to get involved in at the emotional or spiritual level at which it apparently wants to engage its audience. Between this and Written on the Wind I'm thinking prime melodrama-era Sirk isn't so much my cup of tea, but I'm still cautiously looking forward to Imitation of Life.
At first it seems like way too large a universe to be condensed into a 2-hour film, but despite a glut of tightly packed exposition it soon becomes evident that for all its would-be grandeur it's quite a small story, and I think it mostly succeeds in its modest ambitions. I was surprised to learn afterwards how critically reviled it was; it seems like something that would get lukewarm reviews but a lot of hate on places like IMDb. Nothing to write home about but I generally like movies where everyone involved seems to be having a lot of fun, and this qualifies for that criterion if nothing else.
06.15
It's hard to miss with Woolrich adaptations, and this is in the upper echelons of that privileged bunch. It's pretty much a dead body, a group of well-scripted tropes, a few locations, and the titular deadline, and we sit back and let the entertainment unfold. This was apparently Clurman's only foray into film directing and it is a bit stagey, but we also get deliciously cinematic stuff like the first closeup of the movie being a sleeping face with a fly walking around on it. The dialogue and interactions are the highlights but it's also got one of the most unusual killers in noir whose ultimate revelation is just slightly too well hinted at.
06.12
I tend to enjoy Gaye's albums more the more time I spend with them, so having as of yet given it only one close listen all the way through I'm hesitant to come to too decisive a verdict, but so far I'll say I like it a lot but it lacks on one hand the variety or on the other the depth to elevate it to the level of my favorites of his.
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Another one I need to spend more time listening to, especially since it's in a genre I'm not too familiar with. But regardless of the quality of the music it's brilliant from a conceptual standpoint, and the joy of the experience he captures never wears itself out, due I'm sure in no small part to the brevity of all of the songs and proportionally large amount of time Cash dedicates to interacting with his audience.
06.07
I'm glad I gave the original another shot, since I rewatched Redux recently with disappointing results. I'm in agreement with the majority that this is undoubtedly the superior cut, and a magnificent and otherworldly film experience. Someone the ending doesn't quite have the power I feel it should. Maybe it's setting itself up for failure by being so fantastic up to that point but the whole Kurtz situation never feels like a satisfyingly apocalyptic climax to the journey. Regardless, rightfully regarded as one of the great American movies.
Fun, and moreso in retrospect. Pretty weird that it has the same percentage as The Godfather or whatever on Rotten Tomatoes but I guess that's an inherent shortcoming of that system.
06.06
Seeing this again I'm even more astonished it made the splash it did, it seems like a wholly mediocre neonoir to me. Rushed pacing, underdeveloped relationships, well-trodden plot and themes...Who Framed Roger Rabbit covers the same territory with at least equal insight and ten times the entertainment value.
06.05
I mean it's Snoop and a lot of the beats are good so it's a pretty fun album to listen to but it's sad to think this is considered his best post-Doggystyle work. When it comes down to it I think he just lacks the organizational skills to build a strong album on his own. There's a stretch with 5 songs about bitches in a row, it's beyond belief.
As with The Ruler's Back, the mix is continually infuriating, but one I got used to a lot of quiet indeterminate mumbling with lovely cadence I started enjoying myself quite a bit. There's surprisingly little storytelling, the features from folks like Nas and Raekwon are huge letdowns, and the run of the mill beats often rely on recycled samples, but for all that it's more than a solid album that's a nice return to Rick's headspace. Adults Only sticks out like a sore thumb, nasty and unpleasant. When Kool G Rap or Ghostface include rape in their stories it's at least in the context of consciously over the top gangster narratives, whereas since his first album Rick continually relishes in the trope of consensual sex turned nonconsensual in a disturbingly giddy way. Pretty fucking upsetting.
Friday, June 5, 2015
06.03
Figured this would be a good way to celebrate leaving my job and breaking a long revival house hiatus, only to learn my old friend digital projection was gonna be leaving its shitstain all over it. Anyhow for a movie I don't really like this was my 3rd time seeing it in theaters and I liked it about as well as the 2nd. In any case I think I've reached some kind of homeostasis between unreasonable expectations and unreasonable backlash in regards to Malick's style.
I remember being bummed to show up to a sold out screening of this in LA a few years ago; my tolerance for wallowing in ugliness must have been shot to shit since then cuz I debated walking out of this one (in 35 no less!) a couple times out of sheer disinterest. I'm glad I stayed though, it's still a very powerful film even if it doesn't do as much for me as it did in my Hopper torrenting days.
06.02
Gangster noir that more or less succeeds in attaining the biblical proportions it's striving for. The story's a bit meh but dialogue, direction, and cinematography are among noir's most striking.
05.31
Yeah solid beats and lyrics and shit but for fuck's sake, when will underground hip hop ever pull its head out of its ass and stop eternally regurgitating the same shit.
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