Kinetic Eye

Diva (Jean-Jacques Beineix, 1981)

2012-01-15T20:04:00.000-08:00

Some films are like old friends. "Diva," for me, is one of those. I first saw this film in the mid-1980s as a young teen. Before watching this film I would have told you there were two styles of music I didn't like...country and opera; after watching this it was just country (and then once I got a bit of Hank and Patsy in me, I had to admit there was some country I could stand as well). "Diva" is every teenage boys dream. To meet the woman in your dreams and give her that which she desires. To live a life of adventure and intrigue. Certainly not what you'd expect from the life of a moped delivery boy. Interesting to watch this film today when cassette, reel-to-reel, vinyl recordings are nearly obsolete. When everyone is carrying a hi-quality recording device in their pocket. But nonetheless, 20 years later this film still retains its charm. I watched it most recently with my 16-year-old son. He too enjoyed the film. It was fun to catch Dominique Pinon, who we'd just watched recently in Delicatessen, Micmacs and The Oxford Murders). I also love Richard Bohringer and Thuy An Luu as the savior and his angel who come to our main character Jules' (Frederic Andrei) aid. I used to dream about having a warehouse with a great stereo and a steel clawed tub.

Rating: 7/10

To think ask of this flm: What does this film tell us about our modern-day selves? How much have we changed in 20 years? What's your take on Cynthia Hawkins? What qualities does she represent in the film? What about Jules (Andrei)? Alba (Luu)? Gorodish (Bohringer)? How might this film look if remade today?

Flammen & Citronen/Flame & Citron (Ole Christian Madsen, 2008)

2012-01-07T11:03:00.000-08:00

This film focuses on two members of the Holger Danske resistance during World War II. Thure Lindhart, as "Flame," is always on edge and quick to the trigger; his decision-making faculties are eventually impacted by his choices of lovers and friends. His closest friend, "Citron" (played by Mads Mikkelsen - Casino Royale, Valhalla Rising, Clash of the Titans), has issues of his own - a broken marriage, a penchant for drunkenness, but loyal to the core. Enter Copenhagen, 1944 as Nazi occupation weighs heavy on the Danish ideal. Citron & Flame are widely known for their Nazi killing sprees and seen as heros by the populus. They meet their match in Gestapo leader Hoffman (played by Christian Berkle - Valkyrie, Inglorious Basterds). The blend between their violent encounters and their reality moments makes the film tangible. Worth a view.

Rating: 7/10

Questions to ponder while you watch: Who are your friends? Who are your enemies? What is of value to you? Where do your loyalties lie? Toward your country? Toward your family? Toward your friends? How far are you willing to go to defend your loyalties and allegiances?

The Mothman Prophecies (Mark Pellington, 2002)

2011-12-03T14:07:00.001-08:00

Richard Gere plays John Klein, a reporter who loses his wife Mary (Debra Messing) after a series of mysterious events transpire. Soon after her death he is lured to a small West Virginia town where he teams up with the local sheriff (Laura Linney) to try to solve a string of mysterious happenings there.
The premise of the film is picked up from true events that happened in Point Pleasant, West Virginia in 1966 and 1967. Residents there claimed to have see a mysterious figure known as The Mothman. These stories were brought together in the book The Mothman Prophecies (John Keel, 2007) where the mysterious force is seen as alien and tied to UFO phenomenon. The bridge collapse which occurs at the end of the film is a real event that occurred with cause that still remains a mystery.

The movie does not dwell so much on the UFO possibility, but rather leaves the viewer asking: What is the mysterious force? Is it demonic? Is it alien? Is it a force from another dimension? Is it some human mutation? There are definite ties to technology as the key conduit by which the force communicates. This trick me of Japanese horror films like Ringu or Suicide Club.

I find it interesting that more and more, horror films are downplaying the spiritual aspects of these types of mysterious incidence. In the Paranormal Activity series psychics and experts in the paranormal are brought in, but no priests. In Insidious a minister friend is brought into the discussion but quickly dismissed, there too it is a psychic friend who ultimately is able to help. In Mothman it is actually a former scientist who Klein turns to for help.

Lots of loose ends in this film. The relationship between Klein an his wife is not built up enough in the beginning; an his relationship with Linney's character is implied, but not built up much in the storyline. There are several other chinks in the plot that keep this film from earning higher marks.

Worth seeing if you're a fan of horror or sci-fi genres.

Rating: 5/10

Questions to ask while watching: What are you afraid of? What would scare you? Do you believe in the supernatural? On what do you base this belief? Do you believe in God or not? How does that impact your viewing this film? Do you believe in the possibility of alien life? This story is based on a true story. Plausible? If so, why? If not, why?

Stranger: Bernie Worrell on Earth (Philip di Fore, 2005)

2011-09-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

The electronic keyboard legend who nobody knows. He's inspired many. Been sampled by plenty. But who, indeed, is Bernie Worrell. The keys behind Parliament Funkadelic who also accompanied the likes of the Talking Heads and the Allman Brothers. Yet in a Robert Johnson type of tale. The talent has come at a price. Maybe it was his soul he traded away...or his sanity at least. Worrell lives when he plays. And when he's not playing...the precariousness of life becomes his pre-occupation. An interesting snapshot of a life teetering in balance. And a revelation of a talent you might have missed. Music fans, especially those of the aforementioned artists or even electronic music or spaced out jazz will find this film of worth.

Rating: 6/10

Das Leben der Anderen/The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006) - Rating: 4/5

2011-06-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

Two films kept buzzin' in my brain as I watched this: Coppola's "The Conversation" and Truffaut's "Fahrenheit 451." In "The Conversation" Gene Hackman plays the man listening in on people's lives who gets drawn into their stories. In "Fahrenhit 451" our lead firefighter finds that he too is drawn more to the interests of those he's supposed to destroy.

Rating: 7/10

The Terminator (1984, James Cameron)

2011-06-24T21:13:00.000-07:00

It's interesting to note how our eyes have adjusted over the pas 20 years. I remember The Terminator being pretty cutting edge with the effects back in '84. Watching the movie today is almost hard to bare. The scenes of Arnie's head, which is clearly a replica; and the overused Back to the Future lightning effects; and the jittery stop motion animation. The film does succeed in giving the back story for the series but that's about all that's left of value in this now very dated feeling sci-fi classic.

Rating: 5/10

Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari/The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920)

2011-01-25T20:19:00.000-08:00

It has been a good 15 years since I last watched Caligari. Then it was a 16mm print projected without sound, this time streamed in hi-def from Netflix into my family room. This tinted version was a great find. For the first time I noticed the braids of the Doctor. I could imagine Mickey Rourke playing this role in an updated version. Veidt (who you may remember as the German officer in Casablanca) playing the goth somnambulist Cesare. I picture a young Peter Murphy in that role today. Weine dreams up sets and situations that made me think of Terry Gilliam today. And then there was XTC's song "Somnambulist" that kept running thru my head (something I would have been listening to 15 years ago). Anyhow. This is a classic film that needs no updating in special effects or soundtrack. The visuals are stunning. I was amazed at how this film draws you in and keeps you captivated.

Rating: 9/10

Things to note: Note the use of sets to heighten the mystery and suspense. Note costuming and make-up. Note use of facial expressions and gestures. If you are watching a hi-def transfer you can get a good look at the faces. How are they like our own? Different? What cinematic techniques are used to help tell the story?

Constantine (2005, Francis Lawrence) - Rating: 3/5

2010-03-18T11:05:00.001-07:00

Adaption of DC/Vertigo comic "Hellblazer." Keanu Reeves plays demon hunter John Constantine. The film is filled with angels and demons mythology drawn predominantly from Catholic understanding the mystical creatures of good v evil.

Copyright Criminals (Franzen/McLeod, 2009)

2010-03-09T16:38:00.000-08:00

While rap is the principle music style that draws upon samples and turntable use, numerous musical genres have drawn upon these tools. When, however, does a sample or a beat step into the realm of being covered by copyright? If I distort the sample, slow it down, play it in reverse, run it through delays and effects does it still qualify as the sound it originally was? This short film, which aired on Independent Lens, jumps into the fray and presents multiple sides of the argument. Many big names including George Clinton, DJ Spooky, Clyde Stubblefield, Chuck D and Steve Albini present their cases for and against. You get to decide who is and who is not a copyright criminal.

The Cure "4:13 Dream" (Geffen, 2008)

2010-03-01T18:22:00.000-08:00

The Cure age fairly well. In fact I rather liked this release. They draw from much of the same palette of sounds as we’ve heard before: chimes, layered, heavily chorused guitars. The drums are heavier and the mix more modern (more low end on drums and bass, crisper on Robert’s vocal). “Underneath the Stars” is moody and warm. It is The Cure set in a contemporary sound. “The Only One” has a very classic “Love Cats”-like sound. “The Reason Why” is a bit dark, bit over the top. “The Real Snow White” is certainly one of the stronger tracks. “I know the dress was tight but it was all I had to wear.” The other track that stands out is “This. Here And Now. With You.” Like the distorted bass and over-effected guitar lines.

Rating: *** (out of 5)

Branford Marsalis “Contemporary Jazz” (Columbia, 2001)

2010-03-01T18:21:00.001-08:00

Branford Marsalis – Saxophones
Joey Caladerazzo – Piano
Jeff “Tain” Watts – Drums
Eric Revis – Bass
Recorded 12/1-4/1999 Bearsville, NY

In the Crease – Great opening track. This is what I wanted ot hear when I picked up this CD. Classy, elegant, great playing across the board.

Requiem – Things slow down a bit with this elegant ballad.

Elysium – My 7 year old thought this onde sounded like music from a Tom & Jerry cartoon. More free flowing. Sax scurrying. Piano chasing. Drums effecting. And then they all catch the groove.

Cheek to Cheek – Just watched Fred & Ginger in “Top Hat” the other night. Was nice to catch this rendition.

Tain Mutiny – Lots of drums in this one from Jeff “Tain” Watts.

Countronious Rex – Brings you into a jazz house for a bit of southern style jazz fun.

Rating: **** (out of 5)

The Cure “Greatest Hits” (Elektra, 2001)

2010-03-01T18:21:00.000-08:00

Looking for a Cure fix? The hits are all hear. Spanning 1979 to 2002 (pre-release) this collection does pull together some of their greatest. I kept tabs on The Cure for roughly the first half of the songs, from “Boys Don’t Cry” (off the album by the same name) to “Love Song” (off Disintigration).

Rating: **** (out of 5)

Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick, 1998)

2010-02-09T11:31:00.000-08:00

Rating: 6.5/10

Malick lines up quite the roster for this Guadalcanal diary: Nick Nolte, Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, John Travolta, George Clooney, Woody Harrelson and many others. The star power bogs this film down a bit. [Compared to a film like Herzog's "Rescue Dawn" which has similar pacing and less star power (no names other than Christian Bale and this was before the Batman hype).] So we've got a batch of soldiers trying to get up a very grassy hill. Fighting against an unseen enemy much of the time. The real enemy being their own mental and emotional demons which incite a lack of drive and a struggle to push onward. The script is wonderful...very Malick. And the sweeping low angle shots help you to feel like you're down in the dirt with these men.

Üç maymun /Three Monkeys (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2008)

2010-02-05T22:44:00.000-08:00

This is a powerful film on many fronts. The screenplay, written by Ceylan and his wife, is wonderful. Ercan Kesal, who plays the politician, is a doctor in real life and friend who also collaborated on the script. The characters are hard. Very real. Gökhan Tiryaki's cinematography is phenomenal. Every shot constructed and framed just so. The color tone of the film stock helps to set the stage and emotion. As the characters fall into a life based on lies and swindling; their mental, physical and emotional states crumble. We see this acted out and portrayed on the screen.

Heart of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (Bahr/Hickenlooper/Coppola, 1991)

2010-02-05T22:34:00.000-08:00

"Heart of Darkness" is a fantastic documentary @ the making of "Apocalypse Now." It struck deep when I watched it in '91; it still hit hard was I watched the DVD tonight. Highly recommend this filmic testimony to Coppola's own life transformation during the making of this now legendary film. The documentary is created in part with footage shot by Eleanor Coppola. Strains from a recording of Orson Welles reading the radioplay "Heart of Darkness" echo throughout. But the story of how the film was made is as captivating, maybe even more riveting than the film that emerged out of all of this. [Similar in some respects to Les Blanks "Burden of Dreams" about Werner Herzog's shooting of "Fitzcarraldo."]

Jarhead (Sam Mendes, 2005)

2010-02-03T12:53:00.001-08:00

Certainly the film skews a bit to the left. But it asks some questions which are right. Military service, even minus a war, takes an emotional toll on all who are enlisted. There is a mindset that comes into play with each of our soldiers. The goal is to be engaged--thrust into the heart of theatrical combat. In the case of this movie, the soldiers are thrust into the heart of war but never given a chance to fight. The film likens this to having a girlfriend, but being unable to consummate the relationship with her. These men are sex starved and turn to typical male perversions to get by. Similarly they long to engage in the violence of war. They are even brought to the front lines. But are denied the opportunity to "get in bed" so to speak with the enemy.

Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury/Hamilton (Hill/Wang, 2009)

2009-12-22T21:44:00.000-08:00

I've seen a mixed bag of classic novels illustrated in comic book form. The fact that Bradbury lent his voice to the introduction of this graphic novel speaks volumes--especially if you look at his skepticism of Truffaut's film adaptation of the same. Hamilton gives the novel a timeless quality that says this could be in the now, or it could be yet to come. In an age where we step closer to the wall culture (absorbed by the screens and interactive appliances) that Bradbury describes--Fahrenheit 451 is certainly a novel that speaks to our times--a prophecy if you will--and Hamilton translates the novel into images (often times tongue-in-cheek) brilliantly.

The Homecoming by Bradbury/McKean (Collins Design, 2006)

2009-12-22T21:38:00.000-08:00

A fan of Bradbury and McKean both I had high expectations for this illustrated novel. Probably too high. In many ways McKeans artwork is similar to that I remember in my boyhood copy of Bradbury's "The Halloween Tree." And with "The Homecoming" it's neither McKean or Bradbury who fail to shine. It's still a great story. And McKeans illustrations are top notch. I think my greater disappointment is with the typography. Unlike standard graphic novel forms--the type is set more like a children's book, and the font style is forced upon the reader. What happens then is a disconnect between story and artwork.

Batman: The Killing Joke (Moore/Bolland, DC, 1988)

2009-12-21T13:16:00.000-08:00

Written by Alan Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta) and drawn by Brian Bolland (Judge Dredd), Batman: The Killing Joke presents the complex psychological relationship between Batman and the Joker. The graphic novel also gives some insight into the origin of the Joker. Like Batman, it is life's tragic twists and turns that deliver a former engineer on the down-and-outs into a situation which will spawn his new persona. In this novel we get a sense of the capacity for violence by both Batman and The Joker. Recommended reading for Batman fans along with Arkham Asylum: Serious House on Serious Earth (Morrison/McKean, DC, 1989)

Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)

2009-12-20T16:26:00.001-08:00

In the novel "Children of Men" PD James leans on the issue of spiritual bankruptcy and apathy with men today as a possible cause for our future demise. For her, man’s conduct in the sight of God, has been so atrocious that God may punish man by rendering them infertile. In the scenario the only one who will lift man out of this condition is God, by some miraculous act.

Alfonso Cuarón takes a very different approach. Seeing the fallen condition of man as intellectual, yes, but also overtly political.

Alfonso Cuarón is quoted as saying, “There's nothing more beautiful than elusiveness in cinema.” In this politically charged film he weaves issues “elusively” under the surface of the main story line. While immigration and infertility are spoken of in the foreground; assisted suicide, pollution, religious freedom, loneliness and mental health are all issues the flow through the background of this film.

Cuarón also provides visual cues linking to famous new events such as 9/11, Abu Graib, Guantanimo and the death of Princess Di.

Both book and film are powerful in their own rights. Both call us to re-examine what it means to be human. What it means to be both children of men; and children of God.

Control (Anton Corbijn, 2007)

2009-12-20T16:14:00.001-08:00

"This is a crisis I knew how to face. Destroying the balance I'd kept."

Through the eyes of many Ian Curtis represents the dark voice of Joy Division--the band who took its name from the legion of women forced to provide pleasure to Nazi soldiers during the second world war.

Curtis' lyrics place one in an arena of loneliness and abandon. Questioning the life God has given him. And wondering when God will reach down and pull him out of the misery of relationships, financial condition, depression and disease.

Rather than wait for God...Ian sought his own way out. His wrestling for control (as the movie is aptly titled) over.

The movie places things askew to some degree as it is seen through the lens of his wife and their relationship, which was turbulent at best.

An understanding of the music and the back story of Joy Division and New Order (the band which emerged out of the ashes of Ian's death) helps provide balance to this flick.

A movie that fans will find of some interest.

The 9/11 Report by Sid Jacobson & Ernie Colon (Hill and Wang, 2006)

2009-12-12T08:42:00.000-08:00

This offering comes from two men with comic experience. Sid Jacobsen once served as managing editor at Harvey Comics, he created comic characters such as Richie Rich, and later worked at Marvel. Ernie Colon worked at Harvey, Marvel and DC with comics such as Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and The Flash.

Swallow Me Whole by Nate Powell (Top Shelf, 2008)

2009-12-07T12:30:00.000-08:00

Nate Powell offers a riveting portrayal of a two adolescents wrestling with varying degrees of dementia. We are first introduced to the grandmother and her hallucinations. Then we find that Ruth and her brother Perry experience varying levels of hallucinations. What seem like innocent fantasies begin to interfere with life as Ruth and Perry enter their teens. Perry learns to cope with his hallucinations. Ruth does not. What seemed to be a magical tie between grandmother and granddaughter--evolves into a life-hindering issue for the young girl. Powell takes the reader into the mind of Ruth. The reader experiences the joy of the fantasies of the girl Ruth; and how the fairy-tale world is not so readily accepted as she steps towards adulthood. Powell as author and artists presents a moving story of dementia and its impacts on all those around.

air: Letters from Lost Countries by Wilson/Perker (Vertigo, 2009)

2009-12-06T12:03:00.000-08:00

"Air" is an action thriller in comic form. The beautiful, mysterious sky waitress. The handsome, mysterious love interest/spy. A plot line that always has you guessing who is who. A graphic novel akin to "Bourne Identity."

"Night Fisher" by R. Kikuo Johnson (Fantagraphics, 2005)

2009-12-06T11:09:00.000-08:00

Disaffection. Disconnection. Disassociation. There is a way things should be. We grow up under the care of parents. But sometimes parents face struggles--marriages, finances. We grow up under the umbrella of authorities--in our community, in our schools. But sometimes we rebel against these authorities. We learn to work the system. Success, at least the on paper variety, can be achieved even in light of disrespect for authority and alienation of one's self from the community they move in. In "Night Fisher" the kid who is set-up to succeed fails. The kid who by all means should fail...succeeds. What we expect to happen in this novel, is not what plays out. Youth long for role models, they long for affection and success. But reality is a far different coin. Powerful black-and-white illustrations present this compelling tale of Loren and Shane and those they associate with.

"Y: The Last Man - Book 1: Unmanned" Vaughan/Guerra/Marzan (Vertigo, 2002)

2009-12-06T11:02:00.000-08:00

Interesting premise in the era of H1Ni. The premise: a plague that wipes out all people with a Y chromosome befalls mankind. All men die. All...that is...except one man and his male pet monkey. Why? That is the big question that is left unanswered in this first installment of "Y: The Last Man." It is interesting how the novel presents women, in their attempt to cope with life without men. Who will rule? Who will provide companionship? How will the race continue? All questions that emerge in this graphic novel. The artwork is fairly standard comic book form. The story is compelling enough to keep you reading. And certainly you will want to move on to Book 2 after reading this.

"Pride of Baghdad" by Brian K Vaughan & Niko Henrichon (2006, Vertigo)

2009-12-06T10:47:00.000-08:00

This is a brilliant work. Henrichon's artwork is fantastic. Vaughan's story is riveting. This is a parable. A tale told about animals who relish in their captivity and once set free discover that the freedom they once long, is not as delightful as they might have hoped...in fact freedom is fatal. This tale is based on a true story of several lions who escaped the Baghdad Zoo after the city was shelled by American infantry. The animals reluctantly step outside of the "comfort" of their cages and into life of newfound freedom on the streets of Baghdad. The story parallels that of the Iraqi people who grew comfortable under the reign of their keeper Saddam. They envisioned a life of freedom. America sought to free them of their tyrant ruler so that they could achieve this dream. But the realities of freedom prove much more of a burden then expected. And a certain longing for the life prior--even though a tyrant was ruling over them--returns. Powerful material on the pages of this graphic novel.

"Mijeong" by Byun Byung-Jun (NBM, 2003)

2009-12-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

I have been absorbing a number of graphic novels lately. The artwork in Mijeong is amazing. A manhwa or Korean comic, loosely inspired by Wenders "Wings of Desire." The content, however, much darker...disturbing. Young girls selling their bodies for money to indulge in shopping. Old men who desire them. Kids who have lost touch...or just don't care. The suicide of an old man. The murder of a principal. The suicide of a young girl. Her sister and her friends debate over what to do with the body. I watched "River's Edge" recently. Similar vibe. Powerful drawings which portray a landscape without joy or hope.

Mamma Roma (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1962)

2009-06-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

A woman enters a life of ill repute in order to make ends meet. At an early age she gives up her son with a promise to resume her life with him one day. Sixteen years later she has earned enough to break free from her past indiscretions. She picks up her boy and takes him off to Rome to start their new life. He is a symbol of her salvation – but she is already tarnished and cannot escape. She cannot escape her pimp--who refuses his own escape into a life of marriage and work in the sticks. She also cannot give up her "friends" from the street. This is who she turns to for aid. As for her son, he cannot assimilate. He is not the bright, neer-de-well child she had hoped he might be. In the end he bares her cross; but she is not saved through his death. The closing shot: Mamma Roma staring out her window at the Vatican and the only true source of salvation? Pasolini again weaves an undercurrent of religion, politics and philosophy under the surface of his filmic parable. Beautifully scripted and shot.

Kingdom of Heaven (Ridley Scott, 2005)

2009-06-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

I know I have reviewed this before, but had picked it up the other night to watch once again. There is a bitter irony to the title of this film, as the Crusades did anything but bring about the Kingdom of Heaven. In a pluralistic sense, something this film pushes towards, that is the beauty of Jerusalem. There's an Alpha Blondy song where he sings, "Christians, Jews, Muslims we can all be free. To live together and pray. Amen. Let’s give thanks and praises.” That is what this film is about in many ways. Praying together--and fighting together for a mutual cause. The cause of a pluralistic Jerusalem, shared by the people of the book. As-Salaam-Alaikum. A greeting which itself feels the bitter sting of irony as we witness the next round of Crusaders from France heading toward Jerusalem at the end of the film. Off to disrupt any semblance of peace. I'll get off my horse for now.

Caracas: Love Unto Death (Gustavo Balza, 2000)

2009-06-09T07:58:00.000-07:00

There are lots of subtleties in this Venezuelan film and first effort from Gustavo Balza. We get a sense of the terrain: street violence, Catholicism, corrupt police, music, large apartment complexes, family dynamics, absent fathers and very present priests. We enter a family where unplanned pregnancies are a pattern and now a new generation of unplanned children is about to begin through the pregnancy of Aixa. Her grandmother, who has raised her, is encouraging abortion and confers with her doctor who is contemplating whether he will do this. Her priest fights against it. The father of the child is a street thug and murderer. He and his partner are always at the outskirts of this film, and yet it is their actions that have brought the family, the doctor, and the priest to deal with much deeper issues. The film gives us clues relating to the past lives of central characters, but does not fully flesh those out, and that is fine. There is no time to fully dwell on the past in this world where the present is demanding the attention of all. Balza presents a rich tapestry of interwoven story lines all building to an unexpected end.

Anthem (Bill Viola, 1983)

2009-06-05T22:11:00.001-07:00

A US Flag. A low hum. Woods. Lamp in a dark room. Factory. Man in white shirt. Eyeball. Girl in train station. Woods. Sap on tree. Several Shots. Snake crawling up tree. Girl in train station. Hum. Microscope shot. Cityscapes. Girl in train station. Smoke stacks. Bridges. Veins in arm. Rifinery. Flame. Howl in slow mo. Girl in train station. Steam. Fog. Lights in fog. Flashing lights on vehicles. Night light. Light on stove. Soft lit living room. Pillow. Woman’s eye. Lamp. Bread. Girl in train station. Cantaloupe and knife. Girl in train station. Melon seeds. Hand by leg. Cat scan. Oil rig by bridge. Different tones of slow screen. Semi. Workers. Rig. Machine. Fire. X-Ray. Vent. Surgery. Bird. Hall. Girl stoops over and picks up glass of water and drinks. Blade. Man working with machines. More intense scream. Surgery. Heart beating. Dialysis machines. Eyeball propped open. Body part. Chest sewed together. Eye surgery shots. Medical shots. Skull. Black. Girl in train station. Screaming. Howl in slow mo. Stays on girl in train station for extended period of time. Abandoned spaces. Oil rig. Girl in train station. Safeway. Phone booths. People on the street. Beach shots. Necklace. Girl in train station. Black. [Anthem=chorus sung repetitively between each verse of a psalm]

Die Fälscher/The Counterfeiters (Stefan Ruzowitzky, 2007)

2009-06-05T12:33:00.000-07:00

The Counterfeiters is a different kind of war film. At times "Hogan's Heroes" came to mind--in terms of the relationship between "Sally" and Herzog being akin to that of Klink and Hogan. At other times Renoir's "Grand Illusion" came to mind. Especially the scene where they have a festival celebration with several of the inmates dancing in drag. Sally is our tragic figure and our hero. He is a Russian Jew living a counterfit life. In other words it is not the life he intended. But that life was robbed of him long ago. And then again his life as a counterfitter in Germany was robbed of him. And in a way his life as a counterfitter for the Third Reich was also robbed of him through the allied victory. Many ways to play on the title. It is a World War II film; it is a concentration camp film; it is a film about the treatment of Jews and yet it is different. As a viewer of this film one brings their own cinematic experience of the war and the holocaust with them into the viewing of this film. This Academy Award winner--Best Foreign Language Film--is worth a gander and will likely stir up some interesting conversation.

The Goebbels Experiment (Lutz Hachmeister/Michael Kloft, 2004)

2009-05-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

This is an amazing documentary with narration consisting entirely of excerpts from Goebbels diaries. Read by Kenneth Branagh and meticulously integrated with archival footage--this film presents one man's serious undertaking to achieve the utmost for his highest (Hitler). Goebbels takes the art of propaganda very seriously--both how their efforts are received amongst their own people; and how the rest of the world is reacting to their propagandistic efforts. We get into the war within Goebbel's head, which wavers and meandors, never quite knowing who is friend or foe. And we get some insights into Goebbel's the film critic as he pans and scans theatrical releases from within the walls of the Third Reich.

40 films | 40 years

2009-04-28T16:55:00.000-07:00

Having just turned 40 I thought I'd look back at the last 40 years and some key films released each of those 40 years that have shaped my appreciation for cinema in some way, shape or form. And so...here you have it..."40 films 40 years."

1968: George Dunning, Yellow Submarine
1969: Jean-Pierre Melville, L’ Armée des ombres/Army of Shadows
1970: Robert Altman, M*A*S*H
1971: Sam Peckinpah, Straw Dogs
1972: Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather
1973: William Friedkin, The Exorcist
1974: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Ali: Fear Eats The Soul
1975: Milos Forman, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
1976: Sidney Lumet, Network
1977: George Lucas, Star Wars
1978: Alan Parker, Midnight Express
1979: Francis Ford Coppola: Apocalypse Now
1980: Martin Scorsese, Raging Bull
1981: Stephen Spielberg, Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982: Richard Attenborough, Ghandi
1983: David Cronenberg, Videodrome
1984: Jim Jarmusch, Stranger Than Paradise
1985: Terry Gilliam, Brazil
1986: Brothers Quay, Street of Crocodiles
1987: Barbet Schroeder, Barfly
1988: Mira Nair, Salaam Bombay!
1989: Denys Arcand, Jesus of Montreal
1990: Luc Besson, La Femme Nikita
1991: Jonathan Demme, Silence of the Lambs
1992: Neil Jordan, The Crying Game
1993: Jim Sheridan, In The Name of the Father
1994: Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction
1995: Michael Radford, Il Postino (The Postman)
1996: Joel Coen, Fargo
1997: Roberto Benigni, Life is Beautiful
1998: Wes Anderson, Rushmore
1999: Andy & Larry Wachowski, The Matrix
2000: Steven Soderbergh, Traffic
2001: Ron Howard, A Beautiful Mind
2002: Fernando Meirelles, Cidade de Deus/City of God
2003: Mikael Håfström, Ondscan/Evil
2004: Michel Gondry, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2005: Fernando Meirelles, The Constant Gardener
2006: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Babel
2007: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
2008: Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

"Notes for a War Story" by Gipi (First Second, 2007)

2009-04-04T09:04:00.000-07:00

What I liked about Gipi's "Notes for a War Story" was that he purposely did not attach time or geographic reference. This is a war story befitting of anyplace at any time--Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa...America. The story is not so much about war...but life after war. Especially in that time between the resolve of war and the relative peace that follows. War, in this story, shatters the lives of several young men. Their sense of place, community, family and purpose all impacted by war. Superbly drawn and told--"Notes..." is a gripping story that leaves you wondering what will happen next.

"Persepolis 1 & 2" by Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon, 2004/2005)

2009-04-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

In the case of "Persepolis"--DO NOT see the movie first. I saw the movie after reading the two graphic novels and while it was interesting, it leaves out much of the detail presented in the books. A few months before I picked up "Persepolis" I had caught the BBC documentary "Rageh Inside Iran" (http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/rageh-inside-iran/) which presented several unique stories of Iranian people. My hairdresser is also from Iran. One of my current favorite singers, Azam Ali, is an Iranian transplant to the United States. Iran's history has impacted our lives in the U.S. Whether it was the hostages back in the Carter and Reagan eras; or the current administration in Iran; we are impacted by this country so far away. "Persepolis" gives some insights into the life of someone growing up and living in Iran over the past 40 years. This graphic novel fills us in on life in this misunderstood country.

Leon:The Professional (Luc Besson, 1994)

2009-03-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

Interesting film. In many ways made me think of Scoresese's "Taxi Driver," especially the relationship between Travis (Robert DeNiro) and Iris (Jodi Foster)--in which you have an older, introverted man playing savior to younger (want to be a woman) girl. In both there is a certain sexual tension played out by circumstance. In "Leon" it is between Leon (Jean Reno) and Mathilda (Natalie Portman)--characters thrust together after unfortunate circumstance. In both films sexual release is ultimately gained through violence. And in both films violence is justified in the minds of the violator--for Travis Bickle he is on a mission to cleanse the city; for Leon, he is a "cleaner" as well, it is his job, his profession; and as a killer he is the consumate "professional." In "Leon" it is ultimately Mathilda who plays savior to Leon, releasing him from his robotic existence and helping him to regain humanness. Gary Oldman and Danny Aiello do well in support roles in this film which has it's share of unexpected twists and foils.

Buy this film now:
Leon - The Professional (Uncut International Version)

Ondskan ["Evil"] (Mikael Håfström, 2003)

2009-02-11T10:29:00.000-08:00

A coming of age film with a twist Ondskan (Evil) is not scary monster dark; it's scary people dark. The story of Erik, a teenage boy whose home life is a wreck--his mother despondent, his stepfather physically abusive. Erik internalizes at home, but takes out his aggression out on his schoolmates. He is expelled. His mother sends him to a high-priced boarding school where he hopes to kick his violent habits. However, the upper class men of the school will make this difficult. In Erik one finds hope for redemption and recovery despite all the goes on to thwart his efforts. The evil of the school boys in this film is vicious. The abuses on campuses are believable and easy to relate to; though certainly most only have experienced lighter shades of the abuses portrayed in this film. Acted well. Shot well. An engrossing film worthy of viewing.

We Jam Econo (Tim Irwin, 2005)

2009-01-22T20:39:00.000-08:00

I needed to watch this film. It opens up with these three guys sitting in a non-descript front lawn in Pedro telling the story of how it all began with the Minutemen: D. Boon, Mike Watt, George Hurley. So Boon's mom, wanting to keep the boys out of trouble, picks up some instruments and tells them they've got to learn to play. At some point they move from Deep Purple and Creedence covers to something unique with funk, punk, rock and country elements all jammed together. These were real guys. Best friends...and at times worst enemies....who just wanted to make music. And the scene that embraced them (and scoffed and spit at them as well) was the California punk scene. So littered throughout this film are interviews by those who they encountered and influenced along the way from Black Flag and The Descendents to Sonic Youth and Slovenly to R.E.M. and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The Minutement were the real deal. Real guys who didn't really want to be rock stars. Guys who did not abide by standard record making procedures. This is a nice after school special kind of story about boys who met when the big kid fell out of the tree on the other kid. It's also a story about the punk scene that emerged in the late 70's and early 80's. It's also a tragedy, about a band that loses it's voice tragically just as they reach the pinnacle of any mainstream success. It's about guys who stuck to their guns and stayed real.

Adaptation (Spike Jonze, 2002)

2009-01-22T20:19:00.000-08:00

Charlie Kaufman has written some fascinating screenplays including "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Being John Malkovich." Now we get "Adaptation" which is like Pirandellos "Six Characters..." in reverse. Rather than characters being abandoned by there author; we have an author who decides to join his characters. Nick Cage is brought on to play Kaufman and his slightly askew twin. Tilda Swinton and Meryl Streep are our other A listers who are on board for this otherwise "B" feeling movie. Never a dull moment though with Jonze visually delivering the goods on Kaufman's script; and Cage playing two variations of Kaufman's written character. The story moves from the world of the frustrated writer to the world of his dull subject matter, which turns out to be not so dull at all; but rather filled with murder, intrigue, mystery and spy-thriller style action as the nosy writer uncovers the secrets of his subject. I had seen this film when it was initially released, and it was nice to see it again.

Thunderball (Terence Young, 1965)

2009-01-22T19:59:00.000-08:00

What is it about Bond and boyhood? I think I was probably 10 or 11 when I was first introduced to Bond via "Goldfinger" and "Dr. No" as weekend matinees at the local movie house or on television. Now my son is at that age where Bond is a big deal. Probably something to do with girls and guns. We just watched "Thunderball," which won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1966. Couple interesting twists to this Bond flick of the Sean Connery variety. First, if you scan the cast it was quite ethnically diverse pulling actors from a number of different countries. Second, there were lots of interesting special effects between 007's gadgetry (including a rocket pack) and quite a few underwater scenes--the biggest being this massive underwater fight sequence towards the end of the film. I admit I am still a sucker for a good Bond film, and we have worked through many of them in the past months. So what is it about Bond? It's definitely not the sappy love scenes that are gratuitously thrown in every 15-20 minutes. Probably more the elements of intrigue and suspense as we try to navigate which of the women he's sleeping with are pawns and which are his enemies. And you always expect someone to be lurking in the corners of any room 007 enters. It's about excitement that we would normally never encounter in real life. It is then an escape. A fantasy. A moment of movie magic. And we finish the film happy to know that Bond worked everything out in the nick of time (did we ever doubt him).

Smart People (Noam Murro, 2008)

2009-01-16T10:01:00.000-08:00

I wanted to like this film, but that was really hard to do. First off, very hard to relate to anyone in the film: Denis Quaid as the washed out widower professor. It's like you want to tell his character to "get over it all ready." He's grumpy and does not undergo any transformation. Next, Sarah Jessica Parker, feeling like she just stepped out of "Sex and the City" and donned a Doctors robe. Not feeling it. Ellen Page carries over her "Juno" style acting as the doted on daughter. And Thomas Haden Church is the loser brother. Not a lot of chemistry. Quite depressing really. Poorly acted. Not much joy in any of these lives.

The Assassination of Richard Nixon (Niels Mueller, 2004)

2009-01-13T21:06:00.000-08:00

Don Cheadle and Naomi Watts, set up a solid foundation for Sean Penn’s character study of Samuel J. Bicke—a classic “loser” whose marriage is floundering and who just can’t quite connect with the expectations of the culture surrounding him. We step into Bicke’s life just as it’s looking like he might buck the trend of screw ups. He’s working as a salesman and doing well; the this false security net soon is pulled out from under him and we watch as his job, his marriage, his dreams are eaten up until there’s no one left to blame but Richard Nixon. There’s no doubt of Penn’s abilities to conjure up complex characters like Bicke. The film is cleverly written, well crafted cinematically, but the subject matter is rather dour and there’s not much hope at all for the characters you meet in this film. While this is a technically excellent film, there is not much in the line of its characters with which we connect with. It’s hard to have sympathy for anyone in this film other than the ill-fated passengers on the plane that Bicke boards at the close of the film. Bottom line, worth seeing for Penn’s portrayal, clever writing, interesting cinematography; an uplifting or inspiring film, however, this is not.

Celebrating Bird (Gary Giddens, 1987)

2008-12-12T08:14:00.000-08:00

Great insight into the life of the legendary sax man from Kansas City. This documentary features a lot of archival footage along with rate interviews w/Parker's first wife, Rebecca Davis Parker, along with bandleader Jay McShann, Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Hanes, Leonard Feather, Roy Porter, Frank Morgan and Bird's New York companion, Chan Parker. Understanding the life lends much to understanding the emotion behind the music. If your a jazz fan, this is a documentary you will want to see.

Brute Force (Jules Dassin, 1947)

2008-07-13T15:13:00.001-07:00

Sometimes you stumble upon a great film just spinning through the dial at 10 PM on a Saturday night. Such was the case when I stumbled upon Jules Dassin's prison breakout flick "Brute Force." The ensemble in cell R117 were pretty amazing. While Burt Lancaster was a key player, there was plenty of room to breathed for the rest of the cast. Hume Cronyn plays the sadistic, if not Hitler-esque, jailer who runs the place more like a Nazi prisoner of war camp than U.S. prison. The men in cell R117 are in lock-up for...robberies and gambling. But on the inside murder is not our of the question as a means of revenge. The payback scene in this film is particularly dark and grusome (a man attacked by acetylene torches and then smashed by heavy machinery). It is also interesting how the pin-up girl (acctually just this very hauntingly beautiful face) spawns the fantasies of these men which we see as visual side-bars giving us insights into their past situations, their crimes and the true nature of their hearts. The final scene revolves around an escape plan that is bound to fail...and yet the prisoners ultimately succeed in achieving what was necessary. Certainly for some escape from this hell on earth IS finally achieved through death. If you should watch this film, I'd recommend that you not approach this as a jail-break film. I think it is a film that reflects back on the horrors of war, of "brute force," and it's impact on the psyche of men.

Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Andrew Adamson, 2008)

2008-06-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

I was pleasantly surprised by this latest installment of the Narnia series. I definitely helped having see the first (or having read the book) as you pretty much dive right into the action in this serial edition. Definitely more action and adventure to be found here. The four children seem rightly out of place in Narnia several hundreds of years later. The Gospel message is once again very clear in this movie. I think the premise of this film rides well with 2 Peter 3 which says: "remember the words spoken of old...that in these final days mockers will come with their mockery, people who go the way of their own desires, who will say: Where is the promise of his coming?" Just as King Miraz and his followers have forgotten the Narnians and even the Narnians have given up on the promise that the kings and queens of old would return. The 2 Peter passage continues: "For since our fathers were laid to rest, all things remain as they have been since the original creation. But they are unaware, as they wish to be, that the skies existed from of old, and the earth formed from water and standing in the water, but the word of God." Likewise at Cair Paravel they have forgotten the orginal creatures of Narnia and life as it used to be. Furthermore if we follow this passage we read: "Do no forget this one thing, dear friends, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day." So it was with the Pevensie children and with Aslan. And as it is with God so is it with Aslan for "he is patient with you, because he does no want any to be destroyed, but all to come to repentence."
C.S. Lewis' nicely painted allegory translates well to the screen for this adventurous romp that is friendly for the eyes of children of all ages.

X: The Unheard Music (WT Morgan, 1986)

2008-02-12T16:02:00.000-08:00

I first saw this film at the Majestic Theatre in Madison in 1986. It is a great film that gives insight into this seminal punkabilly band who ended up in the hands of former Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek. X is one of those bands that was cool to be into in part because they were "X." So many of their lyrics still echo in my head. Songs with interesting titles, "Your phones off the hook but you're not," "Johnny hit and run Paulene," "White Girl" are all cleverly crafted rock classics. Think Johnny Cash/June Carter gone punkabilly and you've got X. Today the band tours as The Knitters doing, ironically, music that is very much in the Johnny/June vein. This film captures a classic band in their heyday leaving no doubt as to their place in punk and rock history.

Rope (Alfred Hitchcock, 1948)

2008-02-12T15:51:00.000-08:00

It has been probably ten years since I last sat down and watched Hitchcock's "Rope" starring Jimmy Steward, Farley Granger and John Dall. This film is an interesting experiment. Other than the establishing shot for the opening titles, the entire film takes place inside of one apartment in what seems to be one continuous shot. The film occurs in near real time--the film characters live out just over 2 hours in this 80 minute film. The film begs numerous questions about human superiority, and the rights of those who own intelligence over those who may not be so inclined. Who decides who is intelligent and who is not; who is superior or inferior; who should live and who should die? Is this a realm for man to even step into? What happens when man decides to play with natural order? Brandon (John Dall) "The good Americans usually die young on the battlefield, don't they? Well, the Davids of this world merely occupy space, which is why he was the perfect victim for the perfect murder. Course he, uh, he was a Harvard undergraduate. That might make it justifiable homicide." Brandon see murder as an art: "I've always wished for more artistic talent. Well, murder can be an art, too. The power to kill can be just as satisfying as the power to create. " The dialogue in this film is sharp. Keep your ears peeled because so many one liners worthy of discussion fly past. This short film about an upper crust dinner party has plenty of twists and turns to keep things interesting in a way only Hitch could do.

X-Men: The Last Stand (Brett Ratner, 2006)

2008-02-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

I was a huge X-Men comic book fan back in the day when Wolverine and Kitty Pride first came on the scene. It is interesting to see how Dr. Xavier's band of mutant heroes translates to the world of film. Patrick Stewart actually makes a good Xavier. In this installment the Kelsey Grammer appearance was a bit odd. On the other had with Famke Janssen as Jean Grey/Phoenix it is as if she leapt out of the comic book. There's a lot of drama in this episode with limited spurts of "adrenaline-fueled fun" (as the New York Daily News quote appears on the box). I was actually surprised at how much having read the comics, albeit 20 years ago, came in handy. I wonder if the average movie viewer would have enough of the back story to know about Rogue, Kitty Pride and others who make more brief appearances in the hallways of Xaviers school. I think it's time now to introduce The New Mutants.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (Tim Story, 2007)

2008-02-01T22:21:00.000-08:00

This one was fair. It's rated PG for some of the violence evoked from superheroes fighting their arch nemesis. Other than that it is fairly tame and probably fine for older kids. The movie brings back the fantastic foursome who have become paparazzi-chased stars as well as world-saving heroes. This time the threat to the world comes from a force out there in the universe that could readily devour planet earth. Not only do you get the Fantastic Four but you get the Silver Surfer and Doom as well. There's this whole wedding drama that weaves in and out of the movie that gets a bit sappy at times. Not as good as the first, but did feature some good action sequences; and some interesting effects with the Silver Surfer.

Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979)

2008-02-01T22:11:00.000-08:00

"In space no one can hear you scream." Ridley Scott's original Alien film was not the balls to the wall horror thriller that later films in this series came to be. I'd actually place this film more in the category of 2001: A Space Odyssey or Solaris (take your pick of the 1972 Tarkovsky version--which is excellent--or the 2002 Steven Soderbergh version--which was good). The cinematrography of Alien is tremendous. The architecture of the ship is amazing. H.R. Giger's design of the alien is really incredible and the ability to transfer that to the screen. Such very powerful patterning and us of textures. Such a melding of metallic with organic features. The cast is great: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerrit, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt. One worth revisiting nearly 30 years later.

Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour 3D (Bruce Hendricks, 2008)

2008-02-01T21:57:00.000-08:00

This one is for those of you who might read this blog and have daughters who are fans of the illustrious Hannah. I got up early this morning and reserved tickets through "Fandango" for a morning showing of this highly-hyped Disney concert movie event. The tickets for the movie, while a fraction of actual concert ticket/parking/t-shirts/snacks cost, were still nearly that of what I paid to see the Police in 1985--of course the police today are about 10-20x what I paid back then so I'm not sure where I'm going with that remark. Anyhow, a few notes... First on the 3-D. Wow! 3-D is not the 3-D of the days when you had one red lens and one blue. The glasses actually look more like Jake and Elwood Blues sunglasses. And the process is pretty amazing. The 3-D did work for the concert video and there were several previews for other movies coming out using the same technology. As far as concert moves go. My favorite is still the Talking Heads' "Stop Making Sense" which I remember going to and having everyone on their fee dancing. This was not the case with little girls and their dad's at 10:50 in the morning. It reminded me a bit of Madonna's "Truth or Dare" (1991) concert film except Madonna is a better singer, dancer, actress whose entourage and band were much better as well. But, to make a daughter happy, I can recommend this one and let you know it's mildly entertaining and the band is pretty rockin'

Tcheka: Nu Monda (2007, Times Square/Four Quarters)

2008-01-10T22:42:00.000-08:00

This is music that will stir your soul. This is deeply personal and deeply spiritual music. Tcheka has a unique approach to guitar that is both percussive and melodic at the same time. Behind him an additional guitar, bass and percussion. The copy I picked up had an accompanying DVD with an 80 minute concert video. Watching Tcheka perform live gives you a sense of the joy that emanates from his person. It is with sincerity, love and deep passion that he delivers his lyrics and interacts with his fellow instrumentalists.

Spanish Harlem Orchestra: United We Swing (2007, Six Degrees)

2008-01-10T22:40:00.000-08:00

Picture yourself on the streets in Harlem. Black, brown and white skin intermingling. Dancing to the killer Latin rhythms of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. Okay. So maybe you’re in your kitchen in Iowa, or living room in Colorado, or sun room in Saint Louis. This music WILL make you get up and dance. I recommend having someone around to dance with you when you pop this on the CD player.

Vusi Mahlasela: Guiding Star (2007, Ato Records)

2008-01-10T22:39:00.000-08:00

Songs in Zulu, Sotho and English talk about stark realities. Mahlasela is joined by fans such as Dave Matthews, The Hlanganani Brothers, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and others. Lyrics are packed with power. The “Song for Thandi” speaks of a young woman who is terrorized and handed a gun for the purpose of killing herself: “She picked up the gun. Metal was against her head. Telling herself she’d be better off dead. When suddenly…She felt a baby kicking inside. It was good to be alive.” You must hear the whole song for the full impact. But I found myself moved by so many pieces on this recording.

Tinariwen: Aman Iman: Water is Life (2007, Harmonia Mundi/World Village)

2008-01-10T22:37:00.000-08:00

”In a Touareg tent in a dusty desert town of Kidal, northeastern Mali, a stick-thin ragged man with a loose afro took a turn on a cheap electric guitar plugged into a battery powered amp.” This recording is amazing. It is raw. It is real. It is rock and roll. And yet…it is not. What happens when Western instruments end up in the hands of those living in the desert who are familiar with more traditional instruments and African and Arabic rhythms. That is Tinariwen. It is organic and original and worldly and magical.

Zap Mama: Supermoon (2007, Heads Up)

2008-01-10T22:35:00.000-08:00

With Supermoon, Marie Dauline gains her wings. This is a splendid recording featuring some of worlds finest musicians backing her in the studio. Zap Mama has moved now from female a cappella group to a fully instrumentalized concept group led by the fine vocal stylings of Dauline. African, Caribbean and Funk rhythms back the multi-tracked layers of Marie Dauline’s versatile vocals. If this is your first exposure to Zap Mama you will want to track back to releases like hip-hop/reggae-laced Amazone (1999) to the fully a cappella Adventures in Afropea (1993)

The Bridge (Joris Ivens , 1927-28, 11 Min, Silent)

2008-01-08T19:08:00.001-08:00

Ivens presents every facet of one bridge in Rotterdam.Bridge ultra wide. Bridge wide. Bridge medium. Camera man (various angles). Tracks on bridge. Front view from train entering and traveling through bridge. Side view from train. Looking down from train onto water. Looking down at pilings. View of train from tracks. View of bolts on top of bridge and the steam that emits from the train and floats up. Looking up while riding on train.. View of steel beams coming together. Another view moving through bridge looking up through the “X” beams. Med wide shot, side view from a distance train crossing bridge moving left to right. Wide shot looking through steam stacks on boar towards bridge. Cable car passing. Top of bridge peeking out behind. Pilings from below. Bottom beams from below to pilings to water. Shots of beams to support brackets. Train passing tilt up to towler. Guide wides. Bolts. Man ascending ladders and walkways. Shot looking down from up in tower.

Castro Street (Bruce Baillie, 1966)

2008-01-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

Blue swirling and industrial noise. Lamplights. Smoke from a refinery or factory. Sound of industrial machinery. Passing wires. Piping from a commerce city. Train moving. Chicks. Train sounds. “Rail Road” crossing sign. Train. Person walking. “3463” Steam release. Movement right to left. Smokestack in red while something is passing. Sound is such a major component of this film. Certainly not a film that is easy to. Southern Pacific 3463 out in a field. Negative image of the conductor. An orchestral loop. Yard. Riveting (literally). Swirls of smoke. Pipes. And constant movement. Layers of textures. Words from the sides of trains. Most movement is side to side. One shot about 2/3 way through is long tracking shot moving up. Followed by distorted blue and then cemebt. Man with hat. Rig. Flute sounds. Blue sky and workers, distorted as if through a spoon. Bell ringing. More layers of trains. What stands out is not the subject. “Good loving” Shapes. (Did Quay Brothers borrow from this look?) Man walking in inverse. Sign for “Castro Street.”

Ringu (Hideo Nakata, 1998) & Jisatsu saakuru/Suicide Club (Sion Sono, 2002)

2008-01-08T18:34:00.000-08:00

I recently watched a pair of Japanese horror/suspense films (Suicide Club, Ringu) and found it interesting at how many characteristics in common. For example, the VICTIMS in both movies were school aged girls and boys. In both films there was a CURSE (though not necessarily labeled as such) which is channeled through electronic media: in Suicide Club a pop band sends messages subliminally through the TV, PCs, and CDs - the mysterious originator of the curse communicates through cell phones; in Ringu the curse is transmitted through TV via VHS – the mysterious originator of the curse also communicates through a phone. There is an originator of the CURSE in both films who is/was a child or children. Adults are ultimately drawn into the curse because their own children or relatives are victims. In both films there is an apparent resolution which turns out to be false. A solution is found in the real world that is false; why - because the issue is truly a spiritual one. SPIRITUALITY does come into play in both films but is not played up. There is a sense that there is a dark or otherly realm where these curses, if you will, stem from. EVIL is not the term that is used in either film. Actually there seems to be some sympathy for whatever deity might be causing the curse - definitely this is so in Ringu. SUPERSTITION does come into play. Each film opens with children telling superstitious tales which turn out to be true. Curses, boogie men and secret societies seem to exist because the children first, and later the adults, start to believe. What I am left wondering is... What is the deeper spiritual fuel (in Japanese culture) for these superstitious tales? How do Japanese look at technology in spiritual terms? Both of these films portray the channeling of spirits through technology. While no direct references to Buddhism are made in either film there is certainly and underpinning of spiritual unrest which leads to a break in the peace. Any insights you have are welcome. What is also interesting with Ringu is that it was later adapted by Hollywood and has enjoyed an immense cult following. I have not seen this version. I assume it has all the accutraments of recent American horror films. Ironically, the Japanese film Ringu has no blood and gore to speak of; in fact most of the suspense scenes are reliant on music and lighting.

Mitt liv som hund (My Life As A Dog)(Lasse Hallström,1985)

2008-01-08T18:31:00.000-08:00

This is a films about the need for nurturing and comfort in our lives. It is a film which revolves around the life of a boy; but the focus comes back to the women in his lives. The common symbol that ties all women together is breasts. Breasts represent womanhood with the young tom girl; sexuality with the woman at the glass blowing plant; nurture with the mom; comfort from the aunt and the old woman. The boys mother hides her breasts under layers of clothing and blankets as she gets sicker and removes herself more and more from her boys’ lives and thus no longer offering food (the boys in fact prepare her meals); companionship (she only reads to herself); comfort (she cannot take the time to listen without going into a coughing fit). Breasts come up in odd places: a milk pitcher made at the plant has two breasts on it; a local artists fashions a sculpture that is supposed to represent motherhood but is ultimately banned from the town square because it shows the woman’s…breasts; the old man is titillated (no pun intended) when the boy reads ads for brassieres from a department store catalog. The other symbol that is subtler in this film is that of the dog. The boy is actually forced to part with his dog when he goes to live with his uncle and aunt. He then takes on some qualities of the dog he has lost: loyalty, love, companionship. There are two realms in the movie. The realm of “death” represented by the dying mother; the social workers; the older brother with his toy gun; the boy’s girlfriend who seeks connection in all the wrong ways. This realm represents a dysfunctional approach to living. It is a realm where dogs offer comfort – not breasts. The other realm is that of “life” in the village with the uncle and aunt where work stops in the town to watch a man ride a unicycle on a tight rope; it’s a realm where people get caught up in soccer games and where imaginations of children and adults are allowed to soar. It is also a land of breasts – but no dogs.

GNN Battle Ground: 21 Days On Empires Edge (Stephen Marshall, 2004)

2008-01-08T18:29:00.002-08:00

This documentary produced by the Guerilla News Network proved to be very insightful and well balanced. I really expected something heavy with violence and language and leaning heavily to the left. Instead I found a documentary which wove together several compelling stories out of Iraq in such a way that both my 12-year-old and I could find several points of discussion. I think it’s important that we discuss this war with our children and this movie offers a great place to start.

Forbidden Planet (Fred M. Wilcox, 1956)

2008-01-08T18:29:00.001-08:00

Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Prospero’s Books (Peter Greenaway, 1988) Walter Pidgeon as Dr. Edward Morbeus (aka Prospero). Leslie Nielsen as Commander John J. Adams.

The Prisoner (1967)

2008-01-08T18:27:00.000-08:00

I first stepped into the world of the Prisoner in 1987 watching the entire series back-to-back in cafeteria at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Back then I would have said this show was pretty “trippy.” More recently my sons have gotten hooked on this classic British television program. These are meant to be watched in sequence. Warning: you can’t watch just one.

Merci pour le chocolat (Claude Chabrol, 2000)

2008-01-08T18:24:00.000-08:00

This is a murder mystery unlike any I have seen. There is an intense focus on the characters at hand. The film examines the intertwining of the lives of a pianist, his wife, their son, his (possibly) estranged daughter and her mom. They all have their own quirks and psychosis. And somehow a past murder steps into the films present to threaten two of the characters at hand.

World According To Sesame Street (Linda Goldstein Knowlton, Linda Hawkins, 2006)

2008-01-08T18:23:00.001-08:00

Somewhat propagandistic, yet interesting look into the process of launching Sesame Street programming and curriculum into another culture. This film focuses on the launch of programs in Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia. The film shows how different cultural values, political ideologies and warfare impact how and where Sesame Street hits the streets.

The War Game (Peter Watkins, 1965)

2008-01-08T18:21:00.000-08:00

The cold war is over, but that does not make this movie any less riveting. We can watch movies like Atomic Cafe and laugh at the old "run, duck and cover" newsreels. Peter Watkins while showing the ridiculousness in the notion that ducking under a table in a nuclear war would offer much protection; it also shows the dire consequences of how quickly society would fall into anarchy in such a situation. Maybe in the context of so many of our war strewn landscapes today this rings more true.

The Name Of The Rose (der Name der Rose) (Jean-Jacques Annaud, 1986)

2008-01-08T18:17:00.000-08:00

I had high expectations for this film adaption of the Umberto Eco book. My wife and I had both been recommended the movie by two different people. The movies features Sean Connery as William of Baskerville a monk and Sherlock Holmes figure along with a very young Christian Slater as his understudy-slash-Watson. The murder mystery is set in historical church. It was an alright movie.

Mothlight (Stan Brakhage, 1963)

2007-07-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

How does one explain a Brakhage film ? To today's multiplex moviegoer the short films which make up a lifetime's work may elicit a response like, "What kind of drugs was he on?" But this kind of response fails to get the point of Brakhage's corpus of films. Stan Brakhage made personal documentary films. Stylistically, many would label his films surreal or avant garde, but that which he was striving for was very organic and personal. How doe one capture the feeling of being drunk on film? (Desistfilm, 1954) How does one express the joy of making love to one's wife? (Wedlock House: An Intercourse, 1959) How does one capture the pregnancy and birth of a first child? (Window Water Baby Moving, 1959) What happens to bodie when we die? (The Act of Seeing With One's Own Eyes, 1971) What kind of film does one make before they die of cancer? (Comingled Containers, 1997; Love Song, 2001) Brakhage films deal with the very personal. The parts of life we don't usually like to talk about. Sometimes they are also childlike and whimsical. Remember as a child pressing your fingers so slightly against your closed eyes and seeing the dizzying array of colors that are produced. Stan would try to replicate these spots and blotches of closed eye visions in many of his hand-painted films. For him, the film was more like his canvas and he took painstaking measures in addressing each frame. If you watch one of these films on DVD you can stop and goe frame-by-frame to see what I mean. Stan worked with a number of film formats including IMAX film which offered a larger canvas to work with. For Stan film was very tactile. Something to be held. Projection and environment became integral parts of the film. He would meet regularly with friends and filmakers who would share their silent films whose soundtracks would be made up of children playing, crying, people talking, guitars strumming, music playing in the background. Films were meant to be shared, discussed, enjoyed with friends. Mothlight (1963) falls in the whimsical or curiosity seeking category. For this film Brakhage collected bits of moths which had been zapped by a buglight along with grass and other yard particles. No camera was used - rather the bits where assembled using tape - roughly the width of 16mm film. Projecting the light through these bug bits and grass strips gives one a sense of how film flows through the camera. This film flows with its battery of wings and things for just over 3 minutes which in film terms would be around 4500 frames. I remember seeing this film in a number of classes and at special Brakhage film showings on the University of Colorado campus or at the Public Library in Boulder Colorado where Stan at which Stan was usually present. Brakhage films remind me of the personal nature of film. Really of any artistic media. We often get clouded by the mass marketing of movies, music and art; that we lose track of the original intent and purpose. Personal expression of emotions, of intellect and of worship. For Brakhage, and others like him, film was an attempt to capture not just their personal vision, but their search for meaning, for God, for transcendence.

Bridge to Terabithia (Gabor Csupo, 2007)

2007-07-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

Like the recent remake of Charlotte's web, this book to screen adaptation fell a bit flat for me. The development of the main characters, Jesse (Josh Hutcherson) and Leslie (Anna Sophia Robb), was a bit weak. I think their relationship could have been developed a bit more, particularly through their romps in Terabithia; however, we never get a full sense of their fantastical adventures until the very end of the movie when Jesse builds the bridge and brings his sister, May Belle (Bailee Madison) over to the land to play. While billed as an adventure akin to the Chronicles of Narnia, this film certainly falls short and any true glimpses of the magical land until the very end.

Rest in Pieces: A Portrait of Joe Coleman (Robert-Adrian Pejo, 1997)

2007-06-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

This documentary is not for the faint at heart. I had never heard of Joe Coleman until I saw this film, although his paintings look familiar. His life could be classified as an ongoing freak show. And yet his is a torn and confused life. Torn between the mythologized figures of his departed parents and a perverted perception of Jesus Christ. The image of Joe in his quietude, meticulously decorating his painting of murderer Ed Gein whilst surrounded by oddities usually reserved for Ripley's Museums and traveling side shows in his New York apartment says much about his person. How does a person become mired in the world of murderers, the macabe and masochistic tendencies? His story is presented in meticulous detail through his paintings. Each work of art that he produces is deeply personal. Coleman is vocal both in speech and in his work speaking out against the cancer he calls cities, sexual perversion, divorce and violence; and yet these are the very things which infect his own existence. In the movie Taxi Driver, Betsy (Cybill Shepard) calls Travis (Robert de Niro) a "walking contradiction." In many ways Coleman is this as well; and yet he is not - for he exists amidst the oddities. Ironically, Coleman played a de Niro look-a-like in a recent film. As a film the Coleman documentary flips between interviews, archival footage/photos, and staged sequences with Coleman as the star. There are several segments with Coleman and director Jim Jarmusch (Down by Law, Stranger Than Paradise) in a Catholic Church. I think the goal was to have the two discuss the role of faith and the church in Coleman's life. Unfortunately Jarmusch, sporting his Route 666 tee shirt, knows nothing about Catholicism, faith or Jesus Christ. The discussion on faith is thus lackluster, lowering itself to talk about spitting on church grounds and faked confessions. A better look into Coleman's own twisted perceptions of Christ can be found in his book the Man of Sorrows in which he illustrates a variety of apocryphal and Biblical texts to which he has chosen to ascribe. I found this portrait of an artist interesting because of the faith element in it. Coleman wants to be a Job-like figure who is tormented in life and yet retains some semblance of faith and belief. While his exploits push him to the fringe of darkness and despair; he still has a lingering attachment to the church. This dichotomy between corrupt and Christian; sacred and profane is something he portrays in his paitings (dad/mom; sinner/saint; skin/bones; naked/clothed) - and so Joe Coleman seems torn in life as well as on canvas.

Howl's Moving Castle (Hayao Miyazaki, 2004)

2007-06-29T18:51:00.000-07:00

It is refreshing to see a film that is not 3-D computer animation. Although, ironically, some of the finishing audio work for the American release of this film was done by...Pixar. This film features some fascinating hand-drawn anime styled Japanese animation. The film meshes victorian style scenary with fantasy and futuristic elements. The story line has plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing where things are going and how the story might end.

Jeux interdits/Forbidden Games (Rene Clement, 1952)

2007-06-29T18:41:00.000-07:00

The film begins with Parisians fleeing their city as German planes bare down from the skies. A young girl chases after her dog not knowing that she will catch the eye of planes above. Her parents chase after her only to be gunned down. The girl opens her eyes after the smoke of the attack clears in the arms of her dead mother and embracing her dog, who is now dying as well, from the trauma of the incident. This movie lets us witness first hand the trauma of a child in wartime. The girl lands in the country home of another family where she comes to know a warped sense of God through her first encounter with a priest and the teaching of a young boy. She becomes obsessed with buying dead animals - of which there seems to be an endless supply. Ultimately she finds herself alone. Again. This movie wrestles with the WHY of life. It wrestles with loneliness. And somehow in the innocence of the two children bigger lessons of life are imparted. Forbidden Games reminds us today of a kind of childhood that has been lost in our own time. This is not a war film, but a war time film. Through it we can learn about those who are having to live through war times even today.

Forbidden Zone (Richard Elfman, 1980)

2007-06-27T16:27:00.000-07:00

It was a recent viewing of Corpse Bride (Tim Burton, 2005) that actually stirred me to want to watch Forbidden Zone again. The last time I saw this film was probably 15 years ago. The common ties between the films: they both paint reality as hum drum and hades or some other dimension as being more colorful; and they both are scored by Danny Elfman who also makes a singing appearance in each. Forbidden Zone was actually directed by Elfman's brother. The film was meant to be a vehicle for the Mystic Knights of Oingo Boingo to show off their theatrics. It is that. The film itself if cabaret, it's Caligari, it's swing (before swing was hip again), it's whacked, a bit perverse, allout bizarre, totally low budget, midnight movie kind of fare. This is not great film making, great plot or great cinema. It is interesting if you were ever a Oingo Boingo fan (especially some of the extras on the disc) or a Danny Elfman fan or just want to step on a low-budget traveling fair ride into "The Sixth Dimension" where King Fausto (Herve Villechaize - "da plane, da plane") and his robust commandeering Queen Doris (Susan Tyrrell) await you. If anything skip through to the music numbers as they romp through Cab Calloway, Josephine Baker and other cabaret classics. The film is rated R for language and some character clotheslessness.

Corpse Bride (Tim Burton, 2005)

2007-06-20T21:25:00.000-07:00

Tim Burton's stylistic sense works well in the realm of stop-motion animation. I've always felt Danny Elfman has worked well with Burton from the musical angle. This film in particular recalls glimpses of Elfman's own film efforts in The Forbidden Zone (1980). There's not much for CGI here - rather everything is arduously produced in stop-motion. From this standpoint the film is nearly flawless. Truly tricking the eye into witnessing seemless movement from the figuirines which act upon the screen. Part of what helps is the music. Part of what helps is the great array of talent tapped for voice work - Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman, Joanna Lumley, Albert Finney, Christopher Lee and so on. The film paints the world of the living as rather dull and dead; the world of the dead, on the other hand, is rather lively. The storyline is very Brothers Grimm-esque. It's not to "horror"-ble for kids and not to cartoony for adults. The animation is somewhere between Brothers Quay and Pixar - although no computers are used to craft the characters. And the experience is one worth repeating. Check it out.

Torst (Thirst, Igmar Bergman, 1949)

2007-06-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

This film was recently released by Criterion as part of an Early Bergman collection. The acting troop is not full of the familiar Bergman faces - which is good. This is a film about stress and tension...in relationships, marriages in particular, at work, in our heads. The central figure is a young dancer who is travelling with her husband across war-ravaged Europe. Flashbacks reveal scenes when her first love reveals he is married. When the wife of this man calls on her. When she is forced to have an abortion which leaves her sterile. And we know she is injured in such a way that has affected her career in the ballet. Not an uplifting film. A film, in fact, I didn't think I liked. But a day later some of the issues and scenes are still running around in my head so maybe there is more to this film than I wanted to give it credit for. Definitely worth a view if you are a Bergman fan as it gives some insight into issues he brings out in later films. Gunnar Fischer is the cinematrapher. His style too has not yet fully developed and that shows in this film.

Ascenseur pour l'échafaud aka To the Elevator Gallows (Louis Malle,1958)

2007-06-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

Louis Malle's debut feature Ascenseur pour l'échafaud is fantastic. I actually picked up the Miles Davis soundtrack many years back and never thought I'd find the film. Now it is out thanks to our friends at Criterion. The film is a murder mystery that has lots of twists and turns and lots of subtle action that you need to note on screen to fully get the complexity of the plot. The elevator is central to the plot and that's all I will give you. Jeanne Moreau is beautiful in here onscreen meandorings. Her counterpart on-screen, Maurice Ronet, launched into a career that spanned nearly one hundred films following this movie. The Miles Davis soundtrack fits perfectly. Definitely a movie I will watch again.

The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)

2007-06-19T17:31:00.000-07:00

Ah, little lad, you're staring at my fingers. Would you like me to tell you the little story of right-hand/left-hand? The story of good and evil? H-A-T-E! It was with this left hand that old brother Cain struck the blow that laid his brother low. L-O-V-E! You see these fingers, dear hearts? These fingers has veins that run straight to the soul of man. - Rev. Harry Powell, Night of the Hunter

This is a great film. The James Agee screenplay gives this a stage-like feel at times. Robert Mitchum is one scary dude as the Rev. Harry Powell - sadistic killer (wolf) in preacher (sheep) garb. This film has it's share of twists and turns. Silent film star Lillian Gish makes an appearance as Rachel Cooper. You've also got Shelly Winter who is brilliant. There's also plenty of humor to offset the implied violence by "Birdie Steptoe" and "Icey Spoon." I really like the scene where they are floating down the river and this Bjork-esque song kicks in like something out of von Triers "Dancer in the Dark."

Out of the Past (Jacques Toureur, 1947)

2007-06-19T17:26:00.000-07:00

Robert Mitchum in his early years did some amazing work in films like this one. A young Kirk Douglass plays a back seat role to Mitchum's lead. The plot is a bit willy nilly, but the character interactions are what get you in this film. Whether it's the relation between Jeff (Mitchum) and "The Kid" or Mitchum's interactions with his two love interests. There are enough twists the first go around to keep you trying to figure out what's going on. There's enough subtle twists to make this fun to watch again and again.

Shaggy Dog (Brian Robbins, 2006)

2007-06-16T12:27:00.001-07:00

I think kids movies are always much more fun to watch with kids. I just watched the Tim Allen remake of Shaggy Dog which also featured Danny Glover and Robert Downey, Jr. of all people. It was fun. Not great cinema. But that's not the point of these made-for-tv caliber films.

Oh Heavenly Dog (Joe Camp, 1980)

2007-06-16T12:25:00.001-07:00

Interesting to watch this 27 years after initially catching it in the theatre. Interesting to watch this with my own kids and somewhat surprised at the use of profanity in this film. The cinematography was the big surprise in this otherwise "campy" comedy. Some beautifully of mostly rainy London street scenes. For those who saw this when it came out it makes for a nostalgic romp. For today's kids, they lost interest at times. Definitely not the high-paced adventure kids find today.

Meet The Robinsons (Stephen Anderson, 2007)

2007-06-16T12:24:00.000-07:00

The animation was great. The musical numbers were fun. The plot weak and contrived. All the makings for a great Disney theme park ride. Not for a great movie however. There was plenty Disney propaganda from the Mickey Mouse cartoon preceding the movie to subtle Tomorrowland looking scenary in the film itself. Hopefully not the direction we'll see films going now that Pixar is in the hands of Disney.

Hail Mary (Jean-Luc Godard, 1985)

2007-06-15T13:22:00.002-07:00

It's not uncommon for people to wonder things like, "What if Jesus were born today?" or "What kind of letter would the Apostle Paul write the Christian church today?" So why not ask, "What might a virgin birth look like today?" What the film fails to do is erase the Christian church from its context. Easter and The Trinity are mentioned - so who is this child being born to the characters Mary and Joseph if the Christ has already come? The anti-Christ? There are just a lot of weaknesses in the plot and how it gets placed into a modern context that really weaken this film.

This is a film that rides the coat tails of its controversy. The marketing on the box says "Before 'The Last Temptation of Christ,' 'The Passion of the Christ' and 'The Da Vinci Code' - there was 'Hail Mary'" A quote from Godard reads, "The church wants to keep the copyright of their story." The liner notes read: "Denounced by the Pope and banned and boycotted worldwide, this suprisingly serene and lyrical work translates the Virgin Birth into tangable contemporary terms..." That said this film is similar to "The Last Temptation..." in that it places thoughts into this contemporary Mary that the mother of God would not have had. Like "The Passion..." it takes great liberties with the biblical script. And like "The Da Vinci Code" - well it's not like "The Da Vinci" code except it takes place in France.

The other film that comes to mind that took a similar approach in attempting to modernize an aspect of the Gospel is "Jesus of Montreal" which cleverly paralleled the life of an actor playing Jesus in a Passion play with that of Christ himself. The difference is that "Jesus of Montreal" was clever and was not afraid to laugh at itself where appropriate.

While this is an interesting film in light of the approach to faith and spirituality of the mid-1980's. What may turn some off is how often Godard takes advantage of the opportunity to show Mary in her nakedness - certainly as an intended irony since Joseph is not allowed to see her, touch her, or have her sexually. Certainly there is controversy if one wants to make
this controversial. For the most part it is a meager attempt to present a modern day virgin birth.

Ganja & Hess: The Complete Edition (Bill Gunn, 1973)

2007-06-15T13:22:00.001-07:00

I had high hopes for this film that was said to have escaped the grasp of its blacksploitation producers and found itself in an honarary position at Cannes in 1973 as an art film in the vein of Bergman. I tell you now it is not a visually stunning film. It's not that well crafted. And it definitely does not even step into the realm of Bergman. Even as a low budget horror film it does not succeed. I will also tell you I did not make it through the entire film but rather ended up scanning through for some redemptive bit of cinematrography or directorial mastery. It wasn't there.

Dead Kennedy's - In God We Trust, Inc. - The Lost Tapes

2007-06-15T13:20:00.000-07:00

I first heard of the Dead Kennedy's in 1982. There was a girl who looked like an 8th grade version of Excene Cervenka (of the band X) who sat in front of me in my English class who had a Holiday Inn Cambodia t-shirt. I also had a guy in shop class who would cut the DK symbol out of wood. At the time we were living in Boulder, Colorado which is where Jello graduated from High School. DK's were one of those bands whose legend preceded them. This DVD presents the reality of who the DKs were. They weren't great musicians. They weren't even great poets. They were just a bunch of geeky guys who brought angst, politics, non-conformist themes (and the F-word) into there music. Jello was not afraid to speak against the establishment. They also had a cool record label name with Alternative Tentacles. An album like "In God We Trust, Inc" is one that was etched into my brain from my teen angst days. This DVD shows the DKs were...human.

The original recording session for the album "In God We Trust, Inc." was on June 19, 1981 at Mobius Music. The tapes from that session deteriorated before they could mix the album so they ended up re-recording the songs on August 22, 1981. There was a video crew at the session on June 19 session that took an audio feed from the board. That video is made available on
this DVD along with Live versions of each of the songs as performed between 1979 and 1986.

Donzoko (Akira Kurosawa, 1957)

2007-06-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is Kurosawa's adaptation of Maxim Gorky's dark drama "The Lower Depths." Kirosawa stays true to Gorky's intent. The opening scene of people dropping their refuse onto this place points to the kind of derelect persons we are going to find: a prostitute, a drunk, an actor, a thief, a landlord, a tinker. One might even wonder if they have gone to hell and that is what we are getting a glimpse of. Kurosawa's film is set almost entirely in the shabby surroundings of the room that all of these people share. Occasionally we escape into the outer perimeter of the building - leaving us to ask why - for Kurosawa embeds much meaning into the set, the sound, the composition of the shot. From a filmic standpoint Kurosawa takes on Gorky's drama and takes it on as his own. The characters in this presentation are painted as "cliches" and even joke about this. They have fallen into the cliched roles that would be expected of derelects likes themselves including their inability to climb out of their situation - except through death - and drunkeness. This film is a bit slow moving at times, but the character studies, the painting-like composition of shots, the minimalist use of sound all make this an interesting film to watch. Kurosawa also retains the line of social commentary which was intended by the author Maxim Gorky.

Les Bas-fonds (Jean Renoir, 1936)

2007-06-06T07:46:00.000-07:00

This is Jean Renoir's take on the play "The Lower Depths" by the proletarian writer Maxim Gorky. I watched Renoir's film after watching Kirosawa's take on the same. Renoir's presentation is santized for the French audiences. He uses a wealthy Baron who is brought to poverty through a bout with gambling as a substitute for the old pilgrim. The thief is played by French film star Jean Gabin. He is handsome and clearly the redeeming figure in this version who rising out of the Lower Depths and escapes with the girl. A much different picture than painted by Gorky of a foul and hideous lodging house full of social derelicts. If you divorce Gorky from the film the Renoir version feels like a Renoir film complete with Jean Gabin and a romantic outlook on life where there is hope for escape to some far off land. In the play there is a line from Luka (the pilgrim): "There -- you say -- truth! Truth doesn't always heal a wounded soul. For instance, I knew of a man who believed in a land of righteousness. He said: 'Somewhere on this earth there must be a righteous land -- and wonderful people live there -- good people! They respect each other, help each other, and everything is peaceful and good!'" Renoir is like this man who believes in "a land of righteousness." And he paints such a picture in his film.

The Science of Sleep (Michel Gondry, 2006)

2007-06-04T08:12:00.000-07:00

An interesting film in that is weaves in-and-out of the dream and waking like of its principal character Stéphane Miroux (Gael García Bernal). Certainly no accident that his neighbor and similar self who he falls in love with (possibly) shares his name Stéphanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg). The teaser on the back say "while collar drudge by day, genius by night" that is not really an apt description. Stéphane comes to France after the death of his father to take a job that was set-up by his mother. He thinks he is getting a creative design job only to find out he is a typeset layout guy for girlie calendars. The bulk to the film is about how this person who confuses his dream life with real life interacts with his co-workers, his mom, the girl next door (who he thinks is linked to his dreams). Worth checking out. One of the delightful features on the DVD is the featurette about Lauri Faggioni who creates the clothe creatures featured in the film.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Larry Charles, 2006)

2007-06-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

What do you say about Borat? It's a film about cliches. It shows that if you search hard enough you find people who parody the portraits that we paint of them (right wing Christians, country bumpkins, New York society folks, politicians, TV news media). The film is full of 12-year-old potty humor that is presented by to older guys. The crudeness probably outweighed the actual funny portions of the film.

The Queen (Stephen Frears, 2006)

2007-06-02T14:49:00.001-07:00

The Queen provides a probable back story as to what was happening with the royals when Diana's death goes down. There's enough dialogue within the royal family to hint at possible make the conspiracy theorists happy. This is all veiled in the early part of the film. There is the whole political positioning of Blair, who is the great hope for England at the beginning of the film and whose downfall is predicted by the Queen (allusion to Iraq). But the biggest question to ask when watching this film, "Who is the queen?" Is it "The Queen," "The Queen Mother" or Diana, who receives a funeral befitting...a queen. Always interesting in these bio-flicks how they meld actual media footage with the film footage to blur the line between the fact and the fantasy.

That Darn Cat (Robert Stevensen ,1965)

2007-06-01T19:15:00.001-07:00

Revisiting old Disney movies can be fun. This one features some interesting people like Elsa Lanchester (The Bride of Frankenstein) as the snooping neighbor and Roddy McDowell as the wannabe boyfriend next door (very Norman Bates-esque character down to a thing for killing birds and the constant mention of a mother who we never see). Then there are some of the Disney regulars like Hayley Mills, Dean Jones and Ed Wynn. A fun romp where we've got multiple games of I Spy going on at any given time. Lots of hidden adult sub-humor. It was light fare for a family movie night.

Saw (James Wan, 2004)

2007-05-31T16:52:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure I wanted to see this film, but seeing it on the shelf at the local library I decided to view this and see what the hype was about. The film melds the suspense genre and the shock and gore horror genre for something that falls between Hitchcock and Tobe Cooper. To be sure, you are always wondering just what's going to happen. And while there certainly some things you predict. Wan's timing of when he makes these happens leaves you second guessing. Then there are a handful of things which hit you from out of the blue. There is some gratuitous blood and gore, particularly in the beginning when we have this flashback to the police uncovering various horrid crime scenes that is really unecessary to the plot. This is not something I'd recommend everyone go out and see. If you've got the stomach for it there is a suspenseful payoff.

The Plot Against Harry (Michael Roemer, 1970)

2007-05-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

The Plot Against Harry is one of those independent films that emerged long before "independent films" was a buzzword. The film opens with a very documentary feeling (think Robert Wiseman) sequence of shots in a prison. We then enter into the life of a "two-bit raqueteer" Harry Plotnik (Martin Priest) who steps out of prison and into a world where his numbers rackets are slipping away, what little influence he had in the gangster realm is gone, and through an auto accident he is reunited with his ex-wife only to discover he has two grown daughters. This was an interesting film, a comedy (think Bob Newhart dry, Woody Allen wit, Truffaut dark). A fun film find. Not greatness - but enjoyable nonetheless.

Shrek the Third (Chris Miller, 2007)

2007-05-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

Shrek the Third was...well...it felt like a third film. The freshness had worn off. The humor was a bit watered down. The plot was ultra thin. If this was a cartoon on Nick I would have been impressed, but as a feature film does not hold its own - especially after a strong first and second installment.

Happy Feet (George Miller, 2006)

2007-05-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

On the DVD for Happy Feet there is an old Warner Brothers cartoon roughly 5 minutes in length about a chicken who sings jazz against his parents will. It's a great little cartoon that reflects the cultural values of its day along with overt references to pop icons of the time. Happy Feet also seeks to reflect on cultural values, in particular our treatment of the environment, using the music and voices of many pop icons to do it. The big difference is that Happy Feet takes 90 minutes to convey the same message that the jazz singing chicken summed up in five. While it's great that Warner Brothers showed some concern for Global Warming in one of their animated flix; this message gets lost in the barrage of musical numbers designed to sell the Warner Brothers companion soundtrack. While the 3D animation was fantastic, the animated characters lacked depth, the dialogue was hum drum, and dancing penguin never quite struck a chord.

Aeon Flux (Karyn Kusama, 2005)

2007-05-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

Aeon Flux strives for the depth of the Matrix but falls short (at least of the depth of Matrix I - probably on key with III). The acting is fair. The special effects are good. The premise is interesting and there are enough nuggets left unsaid that keep you paying attention along the way to know what is going on. I had pegged this as a predictable sci-fi romp based on the promos; but I had pegged the plot wrong. I had figured the focus was on the Utopian ideal which was only possible through heavy government control. Which was partially true, but mixed into the equation was this disease which had made the Utopian vision necesary; cloning as a means to replicate; a solution to cure the need to clone - which is rejected due to love of self. Like the Matrix there were 2 or 3 scenes where the plot comes to a hault to interject some sociological and philosophical issues. Worth a view - maybe two to get some of the subtleties that pass quickly on screen.

A Zed & Two Noughts (Peter Greenaway, 1985)

2007-05-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

How to describe films by Peter Greenaway. He puts things on the screen which fill the darker recesses of our imagination. There are the curious things that we sometimes stumble upon in our thoughts. He grabs these and films them. His visual treatments are magical and yet sometimes the beauty on the screen is in something we should find obscene. The music of Michael Nyman which accompanies many of his films is a driving force that accents the visuals and draws us into the film. "A Zed & Two Noughts" is loosly a film about two brothers, both zoologists, and their search for the meaning of life. But this innocent premise is only a rouse for the black comedy the springs up around it. This film is visually stunning. It might be seen as a precursor to films like "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover" (filled with ruddy hues and chocolaty textures) and "Prospero's Books" (Greenaway's visual masterwork). Probably his best films, in regard to plot, character and comedy, would be "Drowning by Numbers" and "Belly of an Architect." Greenaway's films are not for the faint at heart. "A Zed..." is no excepetion with it's short documentary forrays into film studies on decomposition.

Sweetie (Jane Campion, 1989)

2007-05-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you rediscover a film that made a dent in the brain once long ago. For me the original dent was probably a showing at an art house in Denver or Boulder, Colorado (I can't remember which one) back in 1989. Now watching "Sweetie" again I was really glad I did. It's a bit rough around the edges as Australian films can be. We meet Kay (Karen Colston) at the beginning of the film. The character is one of those awkwardly beautiful people who fumbles through a life full of mild insecurities. She hooks up with Louis (Tom Lycos) who is almost handsome and has insecurities of his own. The relationship between these two is like a colorful version of the relationship between Henry (Jack Nance) and Mary (Charlotte Stewart) in David Lynch's "Eraserhead" (1978). Instead of "baby" - however - Louis and Kay end up with "Sweetie" who is Kay's sister. I need to mention Clayton (Andre Pataczek) the boy next door as well, as he plays into the plot as well. When we are introduced to Sweetie she comes off as a neo-goth punk persona. But truly she is a foul-mouthed girl trapped in a woman's body living by whim and indulgence. What transpires is an interesting character study of a dysfunctional family that end with some hope that Kay and Louis will veer off into some pattern of "normalcy" - wahtever that may be. Worth a couple hours of your time to check it out. (Rated R for some crude language and a couple segments of non-sexual nudity)

Tristan & Isolde (Kevin Reynolds, 2006)

2007-05-24T14:51:00.003-07:00

A classic story brought to life in the highly stylized cinematic style of films like Lord of the Rings, Kingdom of Heaven, and Gladiator. This film gets a little heavy on the fluff and the love affair such that it loses some of its edge and some of the story line.