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Final post...
Hi everybody ( Read more... ) -
Monkey Business (Howard Hawks, 1952)
Molly and I set out to watch a film called Far From Vietnam but there was a problem with the pirated copy having only Spanish subtitles. So we got a Netflix account (we were horrified to find they'd gotten rid of the queue, which is like half the reason Netflix makes sense). We looked at this and thought, Grant, Hawks, Marilyn, shouldn't be too bad ( Read more... ) -
People Will Talk (Joseph L. Mankiewicz. 1951)
I loved this! Cary Grant used up to his full potential. Funny and wholsome but with a hint of darkness. I dont' know what to day. I'm supposed to live up to my New Year's resolution and stop using Livejournal (and Hotmail) and replace with Wordpress or something. But not until I finish posting for the remaining 2011-watched films. One more to go, ( Read more... ) -
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Steven Speilberg, 2001)
I don't care how terrible this movie is. I was so so triggered by it. In a cold and dreary and boozy Christmas DVD viewing, the holiday blues hit me like a mack truck. I have spent time watching films like La Verite (suicide by pills), Shame (attempted suicide by wrist-cutting), Another Year (drinking with dread-filled abandon), Sans toit ni loi ( ( Read more... ) -
Shame (Steve McQueen, 2011)
What disappointment! Shame does away with everything that made Hunger so refreshing. The use of cinematic realism, the contemplative pacing, the argumentative and compelling style. I also think of the negative consequences of setting a film in America, which already has a dangerously taboo and repressive attitude toward sex in some circles, and ( Read more... ) -
The Help (Tate Taylor, 2011)
This was a weirdly scatological take on civil rights. -
When Harry Met Sally (Rob Reiner, 1989)
"Meg Ryan is a remarkable actor" Damien once said, "she actually has negative charisma. She has the ability to actually sap charisma from other actors."
Jenna said, "Fuck you, I like Meg Ryan."
So after I had to watch Sleepless in Seattle she began to speak the praises of *this* movie ( Read more... ) -
Chungking Express (Wong Kar Wai, 1994)
I had forgotten completely about the drug smuggling portion of this. Jenna asked, "do you think that Faye returns to him?" (1) and I thought no. Yet I couldn't completely place why. Maybe it's that the not-so-directness of her approach. Her motivations only seemed half-formed in the film. Her desire to escape seems pretty unspecific ("maybe ( Read more... ) -
La Vérité (Hentri-Georges Clouzot, 1960)
Grace Paily has this short story that contains a discussion as to whether the author has a commitment to honesty in the form of tragic endings "truth first. No hope" her bed-ridden father says after hearing the story of a heroin addicted mother permanently estranged from her son. "No it's not like that, Pa" the character replies, "it's a different ( Read more... ) -
The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)
The Night of the Hunter is like a storybook. It's like Where the Wild Things Are mixed with The Big Bad Wolf. It's a misfit film enough that you don't know if it's going to end terribly or not. It seems plausible that any horrible thing might happen ( Read more... )