Current Obsessions

-Manchester Orchestra - Wolves at Night, Vampire Weekend - Mansard Roof
-Battlestar Galactica: Razor [you mean I have to wait until April for new episodes?]
-Vernors Ginger Ale + vanilla ice cream
-Douglas Coupland's youtube videos promoting his new book [that I haven't read]
-sandwiches
-Rock Band + beer = Don doing his best Keith Moon impression
-Coveting an Eee Pc
-Cherry Coke Zero

What are y'all into that I should be checking out? [plz don't say Dragonforce]

Let's hear it for old people!

Sidney Lumet is 83 years old. The last film he made that I love without reservations was made in 1975.* How the hell is Before the Devil Knows You're Dead watchable, let alone one of my favorite films of the year? BTDKYD is a classic heist-gone-wrong film where two brothers plan to rob their parents' jewelry store in order to solve their financial problems. The robbery takes place near the beginning of the film and we flash back to the motivations and decisions behind the 4 main characters' actions. All of this is pretty common for heist films, what is uncommon is how deep we get into these characters. In this film the characters are the story, rather than pawns for the plot. This heightens the stakes when we see things inevitably spiral out of control.

Albert Finney, Ethan Hawke, and Marissa Tomei [mostly topless for the first 1/3 of the film] are all fantastic, but this is definitely the Phillip Seymour Hoffman show. He looks almost amphibian, like a red-faced frog manipulating the events closing in on him. It's an amazing performance in that we can still relate to him and the decisions he makes, even though his character is so offensive. Also Michael Shannon [who was so fantastic in Bug] threatens to steal the movie in two short scenes. He manages to exude the calmness and control that truly dangerous people possess. The only real fault I have with the film is the jarring way the flashbacks are introduced, cutting back and forth between still frames, but it does get your attention. It's also a relentlessly bleak film, but I don't really have a problem with that. Now I have to track down some of Lumet's recent work to see if it matches the quality of this film.


*Many people would choose Network over Dog Day Afternoon, but I have problems with it. Also I haven't seen The Verdict yet

Then I woke up

I just got back from watching No Country again. It was one of those times where I decide to go to the Grand 4 minutes before the film starts. Here's a bunch of stuff I loved, and some stuff I picked up on the second time around.

-Tommy Lee Jones' lines are incredible. "Age flattens a man," is probably my favorite.
-I love the way Moss carries his rifle at his hip like a soldier. It's a nice visual cue that tells us he's a veteran.
-"His name's Chigurh." "Sugar?"
-The scene with the mariachi band is hilarious. Just a classic Coen Brothers moment.
-The scene in the gas station is probably still my favorite in the film. It's just so menacing. It starts out just weird and a little funny, then he puts that crumpled up wrapper on the counter and the tension just ratchets up.
-"These fellas look like managerial types"
-When Moss returns the second time his feet are bleeding, he's holding an uzi and dressed in a bloody wife-beater and jeans. Did anyone else think of Die Hard? I mean, it's too similar to be unintentional, right?
-"Are you going to shoot me?" "It depends. Can you see me?"

I'm still floored by the way the ending plays with our expectations. It shifts the focus of the entire film onto a character that seems pretty minor up to that point. It was nice to watch without having to deal with the ways the story is intentionally [I think] confusing. I'm still trying to figure out exactly why Moss returns to the scene of the crime. I'm not 100% sure he knows what he's going to do when he gets there.

This was probably my second most anticipated film of the winter [behind only There Will Be Blood, holy crap that looks good] and it's nice to not be disappointed even after a second viewing.

Backlog #2 Existenz

Hmm. How to review Existenz?

Don't watch Existenz because it sucks. The End.

I could spend a half hour writing about the symbolism and sexuality in this boring as shit movie, but I'm going to write about Blade Runner instead. I saw it again last week and realized that I hadn't written anything about why I liked the film, just how much I liked the experience. I've always thought the whole discussion of whether or not Deckard is a replicant is one of the least interesting discussions one could have after seeing it. I prefer to think of Deckard as human, because then the film boils down to being about a man who learns how to be a person through his interaction with robots. I love how fragile he is, how vulnerable, how in every interaction with the replicants he is close to death. I think that's the main point of the film, that everyone is close to death. Whether it's 4 years or 100 everyone has a finite lifespan. And choosing how to spend the time we have is what makes us who we are.

What else do I like? I love lots of tiny throwaway visuals:
-The way the camera speeds up when Deckard pulls his gun on Leon and Leon slaps it away
-The scene where Deckard sips from a shotglass and blood runs into the glass [much harder to spot on DVD]
-The way Edward James Olmos hits Deckard with his cane to get his attention

Hopefully my next backlog DVD will be better.

Yeah, I'm that guy

...that actually likes the way No Country for Old Men ends. I can see the problems people are having with it, and it's kind of fun to imagine the ways the film could have ended that would be more satisfying to a mass audience. [I'll get to those once more people have seen it] But I can't imagine a traditional ending that doesn't make the film indistinguishable from your garden-variety thriller. This film deserves more than that. The way it ends ties up the theme of the whole movie beautifully. It's a film about the inevitability of death, always heading for us, unstoppable. But the last scene gives us a vision of hope that even in death we will not be alone. I feel I'm explaining this in a retarded manner, but it's because I don't want to give anything away. See it and maybe you'll understand.

The cinematography is beautiful, and I think the film as a whole does a great job of translating the uniqueness of Cormac McCarthy's writing to the screen. It's also more violent and less funny than I expected, but I think it was because I was expecting more Coen Brothers and less McCarthy. I think a huge sticking point for a lot of people is going to be those last 15 minutes or so. I would guess just from listening to people leaving that 80% of the crowd tonight hated the ending. That's going to be tough to overcome. I just know I'd like to see it again.

Backlog #1: Modern Romance

Maybe my goal to get through my backlog before the new year was a little ambitious. I don't think I'm going to make it. I also got off to a horrible start. Modern Romance is an early Albert Brooks film, and I should have known better than to buy it without seeing it. See I always like about 35% of an Albert Brooks film. This one's basically about a guy who keeps breaking up and getting back together with the same woman. There are a couple of funny scenes, especially his 'date' with another woman the involves him driving 5 blocks, then turning around and driving her home. The bad news is that his character is generally unlikable. The really bad news is that the unlikable character dominates the movie. The really, really bad news is that the unlikable character that dominates the movie doesn't really do much that could be considered funny. The good news is that my family's video store gets a shiny, barely watched DVD for their shelves as soon as possible.

See it with an actual girl please

What's happened to me? I'm used to finding the weak spots in films like Lars and the Real Girl and harping on them repeatedly. So why can't I this time? Am I getting soft in my old age?

OK the portrayal of mental illness in L&tRG is simplistic... and easy... like Robin Williams hugs Matt Damon and everything's ok easy. And the way the town rallys around Lars and his problem is more like the way we think a small town should be than how they actually are. So why am I so willing to give it a pass?

It's easy, and obvious, but it doesn't take shortcuts. It doesn't wink at you, or make fun of Lars, or any of a dozen other missteps it could have taken. I wasn't taken out of the film at any point by a scene that didn't make sense, or a performance that seemed over the top [two common mistakes in most romantic comedies]. And the whole thing is damned cute, funny, and above all enjoyable.

I obviously watch a lot of movies and I am at a point where I know what kinds of films I like. A good percentage of the films I like are beautiful and profound, but not enjoyable. And I'm fine with that. But I also get afraid. Afraid that I've grown so hard to please that I've lost the ability to watch a movie like I did when I was 15. To be entertained on a simple level. A film like L&tRG hits that part of me dead on, and it's a feeling that I miss.

"Too bad she won't live. But then again, who does?"

I had a funny thought while watching Blade Runner last night at the Cinerama.

"I've never seen this movie before."

Now that's silly. I've seen Blade Runner at least half a dozen times. I even sat through an old VHS of the original version with a friend who swore that the voice-over enhanced the story [it doesn't]. But as silly as the thought might have been, it was also true in a way. I'd never seen Blade Runner like this. I'm not talking about sweeping changes in the story. This version is being marketed as "The Final Cut" but it's still largely the same. In fact I was surprised how few changes I could actually spot. The newness I was feeling was a result of the venue. I had never seen Blade Runner so big and so loud. Home theater systems are getting more and more advanced, but I'm convinced that nothing at home could recreate this experience. It's funny and a little sad that so few people have seen it this way. More than any other film I've seen this year [even Transformers] Blade Runner, a 25 year old movie, is the one that demands to be seen on the big screen.

I could probably write a great deal on Ridley Scott's skill at providing his audiences director's cuts that actually improve the films [see Kingdom of Heaven for the best example] but I still have American Gangster to see and the DCs of Legend and Gladiator in my backlog pile so I will save that for another day.

Feel it closing in

To be entirely truthful Control could have been 2 hours of a black screen and Joy Division songs and I would have felt good about it. You see, Joy Division's music kills me. I think most people who say they like Joy Division say it the same way people say they like the Velvet Underground. They like how influential the music was on other bands who they like better. This is not the way I feel about them. The songs hypnotize me and make me want to go to sleep, while at the same time making me want to dance and fuck and scream. It makes me want to live and die at the same time.

Which leads me back to the film which is largely about Ian Curtis' contradiction-filled life. He's supremely confident that success is on its way, yet afraid of that same success. The stage for him is the place where he is most himself, yet at the same time it's the last place he wants to be. He feels his marriage is a mistake, but finds himself unable to leave it. He wants to live and die at the same time.

Oh and it's beautiful. And unexpectedly bright considering the darkness of it's subject. It's also terribly funny in places, especially anything featuring the band's manager. The music is fantastic of course, and it is woven into the storyline in unexpected ways. I love the way She's Lost Control starts out in the studio and transitions into a live show seamlessly, and the way Isolation focuses on Curtis in the studio, dampening the background and focusing on the vocal.

I saw Control at the Harvard Exit, a theater I hadn't been to in 5 years. It's still gorgeous, and I love the foreign movie posters on the walls. I need to go there more often. Hopefully the next film I see there will be just as good.

Too many new things!

New apartment, new bed, new library card! I'm drowning in newness. Things are starting to come back to normal so I feel like I will resume a semi-regular blogging schedule soon. [lucky you!] I spent the last couple of nights in Seattle seeing films I really enjoyed in beautiful theaters. I feel like a very lucky guy. First I saw Control at the Harvard Exit. Then tonight I saw Blade Runner at the Cinerama. Both nights the film and the venue matched each other perfectly. I'll be posting my thoughts on each very soon. Also, I've vowed to get through my backlog of never-watched DVDs before the new year. There's about 40 of them in a box in the other room. I've had a few of these discs for more than 2 years. It's a little ridiculous. Anyway I plan on posting a little bit on each one.