A movie that begins with a couple not having sex, and ends with another couple not having sex, so what's in between? People who learn to talk to each other by talking to themselves, that's what. And a brief bit of sex, which is cut short when they start talking about it and realize they misunderstand each other.
Good to see Island Video getting some cameo love, but really...was it just too obvious to casually mention the greatest video store in the world?
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
A Night At The Opera
Some elaborate set pieces from the slapstick kings:
A stateroom the size of a coat closet is stuffed with a shipful of stowaways, and staff, and all their accoutrements.
"Is it my imagination, or is it getting crowded in here?"
The backstage ropes of an opera house become a jungle gym.
For a change-up, a musical interlude features Harpo playing (guess what) harp and piano.
The opera? Oh yeah, that. It's Il Trovatore. What, you thought this movie was about an opera?!?!
A stateroom the size of a coat closet is stuffed with a shipful of stowaways, and staff, and all their accoutrements.
"Is it my imagination, or is it getting crowded in here?"
The backstage ropes of an opera house become a jungle gym.
For a change-up, a musical interlude features Harpo playing (guess what) harp and piano.
The opera? Oh yeah, that. It's Il Trovatore. What, you thought this movie was about an opera?!?!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
When You're Strange
The PBS "Independent Lens" series brought to my living room this first-ever Doors documentary, with all the bad words bleeped and naughty bits blocked out. I could tell, despite Congress' best efforts, that those were the best parts.
It's a straight-up, here's-what-happened-next story, without any current "no-here's-what-I-remember" statements to compare/contrast. The wealth of concert and studio footage is what makes it worthwhile. Robbie Krieger shoots a perturbed look while he's trying to work; Ray Manzarek takes a deep drag and gives it a try; John Densmore is a friggin' hero; Jim sure looks cute and deranged. Then someone takes some still photos that end up in a courtroom, and they didn't even show the best parts, and PBS couldn't show them if they wanted to.
One good thing about this uneven but revelatory film: It will reset your Doors queue, so you can restart with the familiar or check back with something you've taken for granted. Like "Spanish Caravan," or "Crystal Ship," ... or "Light My Fire"...
There were some pseudo-Jim scenes created with backstory in mind -- really, when's the last time you saw someone dressed like that, in a car like that, pulling up to a gas pump that looked like that, and handing cash to someone dressed like that? I give that a big ten-four, good buddy.
But those scenes were a sideshow, not the main attraction.
Big up to the producers for getting Jim Ladd on board as the voice of Jim Ladd on the radio. I remember during Roger Waters' "Radio KAOS" tour, going up to the DJ booth on the floor to see Jim Ladd in action. Great voice to guide you through, like always.
It's a straight-up, here's-what-happened-next story, without any current "no-here's-what-I-remember" statements to compare/contrast. The wealth of concert and studio footage is what makes it worthwhile. Robbie Krieger shoots a perturbed look while he's trying to work; Ray Manzarek takes a deep drag and gives it a try; John Densmore is a friggin' hero; Jim sure looks cute and deranged. Then someone takes some still photos that end up in a courtroom, and they didn't even show the best parts, and PBS couldn't show them if they wanted to.
One good thing about this uneven but revelatory film: It will reset your Doors queue, so you can restart with the familiar or check back with something you've taken for granted. Like "Spanish Caravan," or "Crystal Ship," ... or "Light My Fire"...
There were some pseudo-Jim scenes created with backstory in mind -- really, when's the last time you saw someone dressed like that, in a car like that, pulling up to a gas pump that looked like that, and handing cash to someone dressed like that? I give that a big ten-four, good buddy.
But those scenes were a sideshow, not the main attraction.
Big up to the producers for getting Jim Ladd on board as the voice of Jim Ladd on the radio. I remember during Roger Waters' "Radio KAOS" tour, going up to the DJ booth on the floor to see Jim Ladd in action. Great voice to guide you through, like always.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
In The Bedroom
What I like about the DVDs I've seen of films directed by Todd Field (other than the direction, pacing, acting, story, etc) is that there are no commentaries. No "Making Of" documentaries, no interviews ... nada. I'm a big fan of all the extras, but those still lead back to seeing a film.
When you go to a movie theater, you don't get any of those extras. You get a movie, and you figure it out for yourself after the lights go up and you leave the room. If seeing the DVD and figuring it out for yourself isn't enough, he's not going to spend the better part of an hour jabbering about it. That's what bars and cafés next to movie theaters are for.
Field is a disciple of Stanley Kubrick (and was cast as the overly gabby piano player in Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut"), and Kubrick made some of the most enigmatic blockbuster films that you couldn't explain if you tried, which makes you want to watch it again.
So check out a Todd Field film next chance you get, and if the studio made someone sit for an interview or record a commentary, do yourself - an honest hard-working film nut - a favor and skip it.
When you go to a movie theater, you don't get any of those extras. You get a movie, and you figure it out for yourself after the lights go up and you leave the room. If seeing the DVD and figuring it out for yourself isn't enough, he's not going to spend the better part of an hour jabbering about it. That's what bars and cafés next to movie theaters are for.
Field is a disciple of Stanley Kubrick (and was cast as the overly gabby piano player in Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut"), and Kubrick made some of the most enigmatic blockbuster films that you couldn't explain if you tried, which makes you want to watch it again.
So check out a Todd Field film next chance you get, and if the studio made someone sit for an interview or record a commentary, do yourself - an honest hard-working film nut - a favor and skip it.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Gigi
"Thank Heaven For Little Girls" is a tune I remember (for some reason) from my childhood, and seeing this movie for the first time made me realize Maurice Chevalier certainly was a dirty old man, wasn't he? In a charming, French sort of 1950's way.
Words and music by Lerner and Loewe, directed by Vincente Minnelli, no wonder it won 9 Oscars:
Best Picture
Director
Adapted Screenplay
Art Direction
Cinematography
Costume Design
Film Editing
Scoring of a Musical Picture
Original Song (no, not "Thank Heaven..." Not even for "I Remember It Well." It was for (doy) "Gigi." I don't remember that one from my childhood at all.
Hmmm, no acting awards ... not even for Maurice Chevalier! Guess he wasn't all that.
Words and music by Lerner and Loewe, directed by Vincente Minnelli, no wonder it won 9 Oscars:
Best Picture
Director
Adapted Screenplay
Art Direction
Cinematography
Costume Design
Film Editing
Scoring of a Musical Picture
Original Song (no, not "Thank Heaven..." Not even for "I Remember It Well." It was for (doy) "Gigi." I don't remember that one from my childhood at all.
Hmmm, no acting awards ... not even for Maurice Chevalier! Guess he wasn't all that.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Date Night
The second film in my all-day Columbia City Cinema Fest, and a charming comedy relief between two Very. Serious. Films.
It doesn't really make it as an action film -- I don't think anyone expected it to -- but plenty of little moments are there for the taking. The reason we're pulling for Phil and Claire is not necessarily because we identify with them, but because we see how they identify with each other, which is much more important. We see Phil come home and slouch into himself without acknowledging his wife, but we also see them entertaining each other at a restaurant when Claire, at Phil's request, makes up outlandish imaginary conversations between nearby strangers.
The idiosyncrasies and personal flaws of others, which we sometimes carry as boredom or annoyance, are also the very key to our connections with each other, and as demonstrated here, a source of comfort when the rest of the world is going to hell.
Plus, I would crawl over melted, Ebola-infected shards of glass atop an undersea oil gusher, just to see Tina Fey deliver lines like this:
"If we're gonna pay this much for crab it better sing and dance and introduce us to the Little Mermaid!"
It doesn't really make it as an action film -- I don't think anyone expected it to -- but plenty of little moments are there for the taking. The reason we're pulling for Phil and Claire is not necessarily because we identify with them, but because we see how they identify with each other, which is much more important. We see Phil come home and slouch into himself without acknowledging his wife, but we also see them entertaining each other at a restaurant when Claire, at Phil's request, makes up outlandish imaginary conversations between nearby strangers.
The idiosyncrasies and personal flaws of others, which we sometimes carry as boredom or annoyance, are also the very key to our connections with each other, and as demonstrated here, a source of comfort when the rest of the world is going to hell.
Plus, I would crawl over melted, Ebola-infected shards of glass atop an undersea oil gusher, just to see Tina Fey deliver lines like this:
"If we're gonna pay this much for crab it better sing and dance and introduce us to the Little Mermaid!"
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Secretary
A good old-fashioned mental health breakdown / inappropriate workplace behavior / BDSM love story, made completely charming because of the freakishly adorable Maggie Gyllenhaal as first-time job seeker Lee Holloway.
She presents, to put it politely, some major issues. But so does Mr. Grey (James Spader), who needs someone to get his coffee, and to type every word correctly, and to spank.
Spader chews some scenery (but only after the job interview, a treasure trove of ill-appropriate questions in a tightly measured manner). It's Gyllenhaal's fractured attempts at connection and disconnection that carry it. And the physical comedy: her dumpster-dive is pure comedy gold.
Lee Holloway already knows pain. She has all-too-willingly inflicted it upon herself in attempt to feel something. Mr. Grey only knows what makes his own self tock, and doesn't really think about how to please Miss Holloway, or anyone for that matter. He's like this all the time.
Surprisingly, the heroine and anti-hero are the ones who develop a true intimacy. Discuss:
There's a conventional rom-com love story here, but the conventional love story is not what's handed to us, because she wants to feel hurt but also to know it's normal to feel that.
When she's folding laundry with her conventional love story boyfriend (the one you would think you're supposed to root for because he's not an evil clown of a boss), she can't even bring herself to say the names of body parts without embarrassment. And to no one's surprise, they develop no intimacy.
After they have sex, he asks meekly, "Did I hurt you?" When she pauses and sighs, "nooo...," her disappointment fills the screen.
Back at work, she is given strict orders, disobeys to push the boundaries, tests her own limits ... and is accepted and loved for who she truly is.
And we witness true intimacy.
And also, Maggie Gyllenhaal's naughty bits. Happy Shiny Couples, beware.
She presents, to put it politely, some major issues. But so does Mr. Grey (James Spader), who needs someone to get his coffee, and to type every word correctly, and to spank.
Spader chews some scenery (but only after the job interview, a treasure trove of ill-appropriate questions in a tightly measured manner). It's Gyllenhaal's fractured attempts at connection and disconnection that carry it. And the physical comedy: her dumpster-dive is pure comedy gold.
Lee Holloway already knows pain. She has all-too-willingly inflicted it upon herself in attempt to feel something. Mr. Grey only knows what makes his own self tock, and doesn't really think about how to please Miss Holloway, or anyone for that matter. He's like this all the time.
Surprisingly, the heroine and anti-hero are the ones who develop a true intimacy. Discuss:
There's a conventional rom-com love story here, but the conventional love story is not what's handed to us, because she wants to feel hurt but also to know it's normal to feel that.
When she's folding laundry with her conventional love story boyfriend (the one you would think you're supposed to root for because he's not an evil clown of a boss), she can't even bring herself to say the names of body parts without embarrassment. And to no one's surprise, they develop no intimacy.
After they have sex, he asks meekly, "Did I hurt you?" When she pauses and sighs, "nooo...," her disappointment fills the screen.
Back at work, she is given strict orders, disobeys to push the boundaries, tests her own limits ... and is accepted and loved for who she truly is.
And we witness true intimacy.
And also, Maggie Gyllenhaal's naughty bits. Happy Shiny Couples, beware.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Garbage Dreams
New tag: "Almost"!
I almost made it to the closing credits before nodding off. It isn't because of the subject matter - the Zabbaleen, an Egyptian underclass, has found a method of survival by voluntarily recycling all of Cairo's waste that they can lay hands upon. I've been doing that for way too long myself.
I just naturally nod off about twenty minutes before the credits, is all. Then I rent, borrow, or buy the film so I can see what I missed.
It's happened with Truffaut's "The Green Room" and Brando in "The Fugitive Kind" when they were on a local movie network. It happened with this film too, but I got the gist of it.
I almost made it to the closing credits before nodding off. It isn't because of the subject matter - the Zabbaleen, an Egyptian underclass, has found a method of survival by voluntarily recycling all of Cairo's waste that they can lay hands upon. I've been doing that for way too long myself.
I just naturally nod off about twenty minutes before the credits, is all. Then I rent, borrow, or buy the film so I can see what I missed.
It's happened with Truffaut's "The Green Room" and Brando in "The Fugitive Kind" when they were on a local movie network. It happened with this film too, but I got the gist of it.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Dreams, aka "Akira Kurosawa's 'Dreams'"
I probably don't need to explain that I go to the twice-yearly Friends of Seattle Public Library sale not for the books, but for the DVDs. And like everyone else, I never know what I'll find there until I find it. The sale isn't just an outlet for the Seattle Public Library to offload their surplus material. Anyone can donate whatever is in their personal collection and at some point it'll probably show up in a cardboard box in Magnuson Park's Building 30.
Which is the best way of explaining how I found a homemade copy on DVD-R of this film, in a clear plastic slimline case, and oh yeah it was Sunday (half-price day) so it cost me fifty cents instead of a dollar. And there was a second DVD-R of a film called "Four Rooms" in the same case. I've since given each of them their own slimline.
The video doesn't skip exactly, but it jumps around as though the player is trying to catch up, or the video isn't able to keep up. There are no subtitles. It's on a standard single-layer (4.7 GB) disc rather than a dual-layer disc.
So now thanks to some anonymous donor who made something less than an ideal bootleg but something more than a coaster, I have a sampler of this Kurosawa dream-journal, and the Seattle Public Library has fifty more cents to help ease their budget woes.
If I had a dream about walking through a van Gogh painting, I don't think my dream-van-Gogh would be the only character who speaks perfect English. Or that he would be played by Martin Scorsese. But lacking subtitles, I thoroughly enjoyed that Kurosawa's dream-van-Gogh did exactly those things.
Which is the best way of explaining how I found a homemade copy on DVD-R of this film, in a clear plastic slimline case, and oh yeah it was Sunday (half-price day) so it cost me fifty cents instead of a dollar. And there was a second DVD-R of a film called "Four Rooms" in the same case. I've since given each of them their own slimline.
The video doesn't skip exactly, but it jumps around as though the player is trying to catch up, or the video isn't able to keep up. There are no subtitles. It's on a standard single-layer (4.7 GB) disc rather than a dual-layer disc.
So now thanks to some anonymous donor who made something less than an ideal bootleg but something more than a coaster, I have a sampler of this Kurosawa dream-journal, and the Seattle Public Library has fifty more cents to help ease their budget woes.
If I had a dream about walking through a van Gogh painting, I don't think my dream-van-Gogh would be the only character who speaks perfect English. Or that he would be played by Martin Scorsese. But lacking subtitles, I thoroughly enjoyed that Kurosawa's dream-van-Gogh did exactly those things.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Children of Men
A war movie not about territory (a bridge, a beach, airspace) but about: a baby. A person.
There won't be any abstract "victory" by moving forward or holding the line. Either the baby makes it, or not.
This movie reminded me of "Cloverfield," which is just about one of the most territory-centric war movies in recent memory. It had a similar up-close, in-the-street, lookout-for-that-exploding-car feel that kept up the pace and tension, even during the sequences that merely set up some later scene.
All the way up to the final shot, whether the baby makes it is an open question, no matter how much territory they've covered.
There won't be any abstract "victory" by moving forward or holding the line. Either the baby makes it, or not.
This movie reminded me of "Cloverfield," which is just about one of the most territory-centric war movies in recent memory. It had a similar up-close, in-the-street, lookout-for-that-exploding-car feel that kept up the pace and tension, even during the sequences that merely set up some later scene.
All the way up to the final shot, whether the baby makes it is an open question, no matter how much territory they've covered.
Friday, April 9, 2010
High Society
A musical remake of "The Philadelphia Story" with an all-star cast including Grace Kelly's final screen appearance, the first pairing of Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, a Cole Porter score and Louis Armstrong getting into the act as well.
So why, after seeing this, did I have the feeling that it just didn't have that something that can grab me and hold on? Maybe that first paragraph holds the key. It's a lot of work to make that many things work well together. The production is superb, but focusing on the story has its advantages. Maybe I just need to see "The Philadelphia Story" to get the proper perspective.
So why, after seeing this, did I have the feeling that it just didn't have that something that can grab me and hold on? Maybe that first paragraph holds the key. It's a lot of work to make that many things work well together. The production is superb, but focusing on the story has its advantages. Maybe I just need to see "The Philadelphia Story" to get the proper perspective.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
American Boy
I love me some movies through the mail. Who needs Netflix when friends are all around?
Although Big Star reunions and some 1971 Grateful Dead were the centerpieces of this set of discs I received recently, I watched "American Boy" first (a couple of times - it's less than an hour) because... well....
...because they just don't make Italian/Jewish actor junkie road manager murderers (in self defense) like they used to, do they? They also don't make Martin Scorsese documentaries like they used to, but that's a separate issue.
Steven Prince played a guy who sold some guns in "Taxi Driver," but aside from that he has a lot of stories to tell. A LOT of stories. Way more than an hour's worth, but that's all Scorsese gives us here, and it turns out to be plenty. Including one about reviving an OD victim with a shot of adrenaline, which I immediately found familiar without needing to go through the Tarantino back-catalog.
And then, he went to work at a gas station... or ... was that before, or after, he became Neil Diamond's road manager...?
Although Big Star reunions and some 1971 Grateful Dead were the centerpieces of this set of discs I received recently, I watched "American Boy" first (a couple of times - it's less than an hour) because... well....
...because they just don't make Italian/Jewish actor junkie road manager murderers (in self defense) like they used to, do they? They also don't make Martin Scorsese documentaries like they used to, but that's a separate issue.
Steven Prince played a guy who sold some guns in "Taxi Driver," but aside from that he has a lot of stories to tell. A LOT of stories. Way more than an hour's worth, but that's all Scorsese gives us here, and it turns out to be plenty. Including one about reviving an OD victim with a shot of adrenaline, which I immediately found familiar without needing to go through the Tarantino back-catalog.
And then, he went to work at a gas station... or ... was that before, or after, he became Neil Diamond's road manager...?
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
UHF
Harrison came back to town and pulled this one off the shelf. I had found it on the racks at the gasping-for-breath Hollywood Video. He thought it was simply another collection of 'Weird Al' Yankovic's music videos. Kids today!
No, really, there's a storyline. 'Weird Al' somehow is put in charge of a TV station, and of course puts a janitor (Seinfeld's 'Kramer') in charge of a kids show. Luke from "General Hospital" is simply beguiling in his Thomas Dolby-from-outer-space supporting role. Parodies of Indiana Jones, MTV, "Treasure Of The Sierra Madre," and "Network" are joined at birth by cameos from Dr. Demento, Emo Philips, Billy Barty... good fun.
The double-sided disc had a terminal case of skipping and scratches on the "widescreen" side, so we had to finish watching it in Pan'n'Scan. Just like on UHF stations back in the day.
Hey, I caught a continuity error: When Weird Al Rambo jumps into the helicopter (um, where'd that helicopter come from again?), he adjusts the rear-view mirror. But when the outside shot shows the chopper taking off .. there's no rear-view mirror!!! WTF?!
In other words, if you have enjoyed both "Airplane!" and "The Simpsons" for their non-stop kaleidoscopic pop culture riffs, you'll like this. And if you have seen, or even heard of, "Kentucky Fried Movie" or "Drive-In," you'll love it....
No, really, there's a storyline. 'Weird Al' somehow is put in charge of a TV station, and of course puts a janitor (Seinfeld's 'Kramer') in charge of a kids show. Luke from "General Hospital" is simply beguiling in his Thomas Dolby-from-outer-space supporting role. Parodies of Indiana Jones, MTV, "Treasure Of The Sierra Madre," and "Network" are joined at birth by cameos from Dr. Demento, Emo Philips, Billy Barty... good fun.
The double-sided disc had a terminal case of skipping and scratches on the "widescreen" side, so we had to finish watching it in Pan'n'Scan. Just like on UHF stations back in the day.
Hey, I caught a continuity error: When Weird Al Rambo jumps into the helicopter (um, where'd that helicopter come from again?), he adjusts the rear-view mirror. But when the outside shot shows the chopper taking off .. there's no rear-view mirror!!! WTF?!
In other words, if you have enjoyed both "Airplane!" and "The Simpsons" for their non-stop kaleidoscopic pop culture riffs, you'll like this. And if you have seen, or even heard of, "Kentucky Fried Movie" or "Drive-In," you'll love it....
Friday, April 2, 2010
To Have And Have Not
Howard Hawks bragged that he could make a great movie out of Ernest Hemingway's worst book, and he was right. This is what "Casablanca" wrought, the intrigue of war and politics broken up by musical interludes AND ... Bogey finally (!) getting the girl. But not just any girl....
This was Lauren Bacall's film debut. She was 19 years old when she filmed this scene:
Within a year, Bogey & Bacall were married. They remained husband and wife until his death in 1957.
{whistles}
This was Lauren Bacall's film debut. She was 19 years old when she filmed this scene:
Within a year, Bogey & Bacall were married. They remained husband and wife until his death in 1957.
{whistles}
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The Magnificent Seven
Having just seen "Seven Samurai" the week before, how could I not follow up with one of the greatest tributes to Kurosawa.
At 128 minutes, it's a full hour shorter than the original, giving up much of the story of the desperate townfolk to focus more on the all-star cast of heroes. Eh, Hollywood for ya. Still, like its inspiration, it doesn't drag over the course of those two hours.
From the MGM/United Artists box, four discs for eight bucks in a bin at Safeway. For this disc, that comes out to just slightly more than 28 cents plus tax for each magnificent fighter. And it's only fractions of a penny each when you consider that "They Fought Like Seven Hundred!"
At 128 minutes, it's a full hour shorter than the original, giving up much of the story of the desperate townfolk to focus more on the all-star cast of heroes. Eh, Hollywood for ya. Still, like its inspiration, it doesn't drag over the course of those two hours.
From the MGM/United Artists box, four discs for eight bucks in a bin at Safeway. For this disc, that comes out to just slightly more than 28 cents plus tax for each magnificent fighter. And it's only fractions of a penny each when you consider that "They Fought Like Seven Hundred!"
Thursday, March 25, 2010
High Fidelity
"What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"
A must-see for obsessive collectors and list-makers. Directed by Stephen Frears.
All I know is, it was on the rack during Hollywood Video's death watch. I took it home and watched it, not even knowing that it was almost exactly the tenth anniversary of its original release.
Let's see what the Scarecrow Movie Guide has to say:
"This film is most appropriate for boys who are obsessed with something (records, movies, comics, ex-girlfriends) and spend most of their time drinking and masturbating."
Heh.
Uh.
Hmmmm.....
A must-see for obsessive collectors and list-makers. Directed by Stephen Frears.
All I know is, it was on the rack during Hollywood Video's death watch. I took it home and watched it, not even knowing that it was almost exactly the tenth anniversary of its original release.
Let's see what the Scarecrow Movie Guide has to say:
"This film is most appropriate for boys who are obsessed with something (records, movies, comics, ex-girlfriends) and spend most of their time drinking and masturbating."
Heh.
Uh.
Hmmmm.....
Monday, March 22, 2010
The Naked Kiss
This disc needs an upgrade!
Samuel Fuller, who began his career by depicting the useless horror of war in "The Steel Helmet" and ended it by depicting the useless horror of war in "The Big Red One," here depicts the useless horror of daily life as seen by a former prostitute. Gotta love a film that starts with a woman beating the crap out of a man, then he pulls off her wig revealing her bald head, then she rifles through his wallet, taking only the $75 she is owed and leaving him with the rest. All the while, a wild jazz score is playing like these two are the second stage at a nightclub.
In non-anamorphic, no-extras, you'll-watch-this-movie-and-like-it style, a disc as bare-bones as Criterion has ever made.
Wait a sec ... there's a trailer ... woo-hoo!
Samuel Fuller, who began his career by depicting the useless horror of war in "The Steel Helmet" and ended it by depicting the useless horror of war in "The Big Red One," here depicts the useless horror of daily life as seen by a former prostitute. Gotta love a film that starts with a woman beating the crap out of a man, then he pulls off her wig revealing her bald head, then she rifles through his wallet, taking only the $75 she is owed and leaving him with the rest. All the while, a wild jazz score is playing like these two are the second stage at a nightclub.
In non-anamorphic, no-extras, you'll-watch-this-movie-and-like-it style, a disc as bare-bones as Criterion has ever made.
Wait a sec ... there's a trailer ... woo-hoo!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Crazy Heart
My first trip this year to the Columbia City Cinema, the day after the Academy Awards, to soak up Best Actor Jeff Bridges.
Completely unrecognized by the politico-industrial-awards machine were Robert Duvall as a small-town bar owner, and Colin Farrell as a country music superstar. Maybe because they were each playing a role you might expect from the other? And maybe that's how they were able to make the character work for them.
I just watched this other film recently and couldn't help but notice the parallels.
Completely unrecognized by the politico-industrial-awards machine were Robert Duvall as a small-town bar owner, and Colin Farrell as a country music superstar. Maybe because they were each playing a role you might expect from the other? And maybe that's how they were able to make the character work for them.
I just watched this other film recently and couldn't help but notice the parallels.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Now, Voyager
I wanted to use the Friday night KCTS flick to give Harrison a little primer in mid-20th Century studio classics. He was skeptical and started to doze off about halfway through. Can't say that I blame him -- many times I will rent or buy something, begin watching it, and just before the final reel ... I wake up, and it's over already.
So Harrison trudged off to bed while I watched Bette Davis go from ugly duckling to beautiful swan. Just as she's turning that corner, with about 20 minutes left ... I woke up and the credits were running. I hate when that happens.
So Harrison trudged off to bed while I watched Bette Davis go from ugly duckling to beautiful swan. Just as she's turning that corner, with about 20 minutes left ... I woke up and the credits were running. I hate when that happens.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)