I wanted to share with you, an account of an experience I had a few weeks ago at the Iron and Wine concert in downtown L.A.
The show was amazing (big shocker there) and it was so despite the most determined efforts of a group of hipster fuckwads behind me. I won't get into the agonizing details of their vain attempt to sully one of the most moving musical experiences I've had in recent history. Let's just say, it confirmed what I've always thought:
Concerts would be great if it wasn't for the fucking audience.
Anyway, what I wanted to talk about (and not have this spill over into a long, angry diatribe against certain members of the audience) was when Sam Beam and his sister came back onstage for the encore. He ditched his band, it was just him, his sister, and his guitar. He only played one song for the encore, The Trapeze Swinger. Which I would bet dollars to donuts is not one of the, if not THE most beautiful song ever written. On top of that, the room fell silent when he played, allowing each of us to crawl inside our own space and feel as if he was playing that song just for each of us, individually.
What also made it special was that Trapeze Swinger has a certain affiliation to Cinnamon because it was used in a video Nate made for mom and also due to the fact that Nate pointed out how Sam Beam was like the human version of Cinnamon. His head blanketed by hair, his demeanor peaceful, calm, serene, and full of wisdom.
He starts playing the song, the noise in the room drops to zero. And in those 7 or 8 minutes something happened that I've never experienced before in a concert. I felt some kind of merging (again attributed to the fact that it felt like he was playing that song just for me) wherein it felt like the words were leaving Sam Beam's mouth along with the gentle plucking of his guitar and floating out into the air. And in that time they ceased to be concrete things, infusing with my thoughts, memories, and grief. It was as if the words brought Cinnamon back to life for those few brief blissful minutes. They became a part of everything.
I know that sounds vague and quasi dazed but it's hard to explain. But it got me thinking about all of the things we cherish, like the little sense triggers that unleash an onslaught of memories and moments. And how through music, movies, books, conversations, sights, or whatever it may be, through those instances where we are lucky enough to catch ourselves and realize what wonderful things have happened to us. This is how he lives forever.
It's like my man E said...
"There are two kinds of Christmas people, those who like their Christmas lights to stay on solid and those who like them to blink. As a kid, I always had a thing for sitting in the dark and watching the lights blink on and off at random. In the end, what we have are these little, great moments. They come and they go. That's as good as it gets. But, still, isn't that great?"
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Takk You
Sigur Ros is a benefit to humanity.
Not a very bold statement or even original one, and maybe I'm just on a high from seeing Heima today.
For whatever reason, as of this moment nobody could talk me down from that.
Here's what I mean.
Sigur Ros makes music for the very reason music was meant to be made. There is no prior knowledge one needs of musical history in order to enjoy the sound these people produce. There is no need to understand even the basics of musical instrumentation or songwriting in order to enjoy these tracks. There is no need to understand the language in which the lyrics are sung. What makes this band so special is that their music transcends all limitations. I don't mean this to sound naive and gushing, I am writing from what I feel when I listen to their music and it is the reason I will continue to listen to their music for as long as I have the ability to hear. When you listen to Sigur Ros (at least when I do) I forget about all of the bullshit that is associated and very much a part of "the industry." All of the things that are what we commonly associate as popular culture and what it takes to be successful within that culture. You forget about the coffee, the assistants, the meetings, the phone calls, the errands, the parties, the handshakes, the scripts, the interviews, the press kits, the publicists, the managers, the executives, grocery shopping, interns. It all disappears and all you are left with, is the music.
I remember that the point of all this is to share a common experience with other people, an experience or a thought or a memory or a moment or a fragment of a memory of a thought. To share that with total strangers and hope that through the darkness and the neurological chain reaction it triggers you find some kind of understanding that helps you feel like you are a part of the world. That's what I think the point of all this is, to connect, to share, and to learn. It seems so simple and some how these four guys and girls from iceland have found to way to do that at a very profound level. And they did it all on their own (with a lot of help I'm sure) from their little country in their little homes based on their little lives. Through all of that they made me appreciate the world and my part in it. A tall order for a band, and I'm sure someone could find fifty ways to call bullshit on me during this post. I can't help it, it's sigur ros. Terence Malick understands it, David Gordon Green understands it, Nathaniel Carota understands it, Explosions in the Sky understand it (a lot of other creative entities do too but I must refrain from acknowledging them right now). We live in a spectaculr, changing, breath taking world and we make our own lives and we do the best we can. Isn't that great?
P.S.
When I say other creative entities, I, of course refer to my family and friends. I could list them here but you guys know who you are. That's pretty great too.
Not a very bold statement or even original one, and maybe I'm just on a high from seeing Heima today.
For whatever reason, as of this moment nobody could talk me down from that.
Here's what I mean.
Sigur Ros makes music for the very reason music was meant to be made. There is no prior knowledge one needs of musical history in order to enjoy the sound these people produce. There is no need to understand even the basics of musical instrumentation or songwriting in order to enjoy these tracks. There is no need to understand the language in which the lyrics are sung. What makes this band so special is that their music transcends all limitations. I don't mean this to sound naive and gushing, I am writing from what I feel when I listen to their music and it is the reason I will continue to listen to their music for as long as I have the ability to hear. When you listen to Sigur Ros (at least when I do) I forget about all of the bullshit that is associated and very much a part of "the industry." All of the things that are what we commonly associate as popular culture and what it takes to be successful within that culture. You forget about the coffee, the assistants, the meetings, the phone calls, the errands, the parties, the handshakes, the scripts, the interviews, the press kits, the publicists, the managers, the executives, grocery shopping, interns. It all disappears and all you are left with, is the music.
I remember that the point of all this is to share a common experience with other people, an experience or a thought or a memory or a moment or a fragment of a memory of a thought. To share that with total strangers and hope that through the darkness and the neurological chain reaction it triggers you find some kind of understanding that helps you feel like you are a part of the world. That's what I think the point of all this is, to connect, to share, and to learn. It seems so simple and some how these four guys and girls from iceland have found to way to do that at a very profound level. And they did it all on their own (with a lot of help I'm sure) from their little country in their little homes based on their little lives. Through all of that they made me appreciate the world and my part in it. A tall order for a band, and I'm sure someone could find fifty ways to call bullshit on me during this post. I can't help it, it's sigur ros. Terence Malick understands it, David Gordon Green understands it, Nathaniel Carota understands it, Explosions in the Sky understand it (a lot of other creative entities do too but I must refrain from acknowledging them right now). We live in a spectaculr, changing, breath taking world and we make our own lives and we do the best we can. Isn't that great?
P.S.
When I say other creative entities, I, of course refer to my family and friends. I could list them here but you guys know who you are. That's pretty great too.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
No More
Another reason...
I speak for a man who gave for this land
Took a bullet in the back for his pay
Spilled his blood in the dirt and the dust
He's back to say:
What he has seen is hard to believe
And it does no good to just pray
He asks of us to stand
And we must end this war today
With his mind, he's saying, "No more!"
With his heart, he's saying, "No more!"
With his life he's saying, "No more war!"
With his eyes, he's saying, "No more!"
With his body, he's saying, "No more!"
With his voice, he's saying, "No more war!"
Yeah, nothing's too good for a veteran
Yeah, this is what they say
So nothing is what they will get
And there's no American way
The lies we were told to get us to go
War criminals let us be straight
Let's get to the point where our voices get heard
And I know what I'll say
With his mind, he's saying, "No more!"
With his heart, he's saying, "No more!"
With his life he's saying, "No more war!"
With his eyes, he's saying, "No more!"
With his voice, he's saying, "No more!"
With his body, he's saying, "No more war!"
No more innocents dying
No more terror rising
No more eulogizing
No more evangelizing
No more presidents lying
No more war
With our minds, we're saying, "No more!"
With our hearts, we're saying, "No more!"
With our lives, we're saying, "No more war!"
I speak for a man who gave for this land
Took a bullet in the back for his pay
Spilled his blood in the dirt and the dust
He's back to say:
What he has seen is hard to believe
And it does no good to just pray
He asks of us to stand
And we must end this war today
With his mind, he's saying, "No more!"
With his heart, he's saying, "No more!"
With his life he's saying, "No more war!"
With his eyes, he's saying, "No more!"
With his body, he's saying, "No more!"
With his voice, he's saying, "No more war!"
Yeah, nothing's too good for a veteran
Yeah, this is what they say
So nothing is what they will get
And there's no American way
The lies we were told to get us to go
War criminals let us be straight
Let's get to the point where our voices get heard
And I know what I'll say
With his mind, he's saying, "No more!"
With his heart, he's saying, "No more!"
With his life he's saying, "No more war!"
With his eyes, he's saying, "No more!"
With his voice, he's saying, "No more!"
With his body, he's saying, "No more war!"
No more innocents dying
No more terror rising
No more eulogizing
No more evangelizing
No more presidents lying
No more war
With our minds, we're saying, "No more!"
With our hearts, we're saying, "No more!"
With our lives, we're saying, "No more war!"
Here's to the State...
One reason why Eddie Vedder is a genius...
Here's to the judges of William Rehnquist,
Who wear the robe of honour in their phoney legal fort.
Oh, justice is a stranger when the partisans report,
When the court elected the president it was the beginning of this war.
Whoa here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,
William Rehnquist, find yourself another country to be part of!
And here's to the government of Dick Cheney,
With criminals are posing as advisors to the crown
And they hope that no one sees the sights and no one hears the sounds
'Cause the speeches of the president are the ravings of a clown
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Dick Cheney, find yourself another country to be part of
And here's to the churches of Jerry Falwell,
Where the cross, once made of silver, now is caked with rust
And the Sunday morning sermons pander to the fear of men in lust
Heaven only knows in which God they can trust
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Jerry Falwell, find yourself another country to be part of
And here's to the laws of John Ashcroft,
Congress will pass an act in the panic of the day
While the Constitution is drowning in an ocean of decay
And freedom of speech is dangerous, I've even heard them say
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
John Ashcroft, find yourself another country to be part of
And here's to the businessman of George W.,
Who want to change the focus from Halliburton and Enron
And their profits, like blood money are spilling out on the White House Lawn
TO keep their hold on power they're using terror as a gun
While the bombs that fall on children don't care which side that they're on
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
George W., find yourself another country to be part of
Here's to the judges of William Rehnquist,
Who wear the robe of honour in their phoney legal fort.
Oh, justice is a stranger when the partisans report,
When the court elected the president it was the beginning of this war.
Whoa here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,
William Rehnquist, find yourself another country to be part of!
And here's to the government of Dick Cheney,
With criminals are posing as advisors to the crown
And they hope that no one sees the sights and no one hears the sounds
'Cause the speeches of the president are the ravings of a clown
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Dick Cheney, find yourself another country to be part of
And here's to the churches of Jerry Falwell,
Where the cross, once made of silver, now is caked with rust
And the Sunday morning sermons pander to the fear of men in lust
Heaven only knows in which God they can trust
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Jerry Falwell, find yourself another country to be part of
And here's to the laws of John Ashcroft,
Congress will pass an act in the panic of the day
While the Constitution is drowning in an ocean of decay
And freedom of speech is dangerous, I've even heard them say
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
John Ashcroft, find yourself another country to be part of
And here's to the businessman of George W.,
Who want to change the focus from Halliburton and Enron
And their profits, like blood money are spilling out on the White House Lawn
TO keep their hold on power they're using terror as a gun
While the bombs that fall on children don't care which side that they're on
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
George W., find yourself another country to be part of
Thursday, September 13, 2007
It's A Motherfucker
"With your beauty so precious and the seasons so fast..."
I don't really know what else to say. Thirteen years just seemed to have blinked by and now he's gone, he was always there and now he's gone. We have been preparing ourselves for this on and off for the past five years, they tell you that goldens don't live much longer than 9 years old. Through all that time you figure we would have found a way to not make it hurt as much but I can assure you that is definitely not the case. That nauseating feeling circulated through my body when I heard, as if preparing myself for the massive upheaval that was about to occur. You can't blame us for wanting to keep him around forever, anybody who spent more than five minutes with him was instantly hooked. He had the ability to heal wounds with just a look of that slightly amused dead pan expression he always wore. His compassion and love made him unique, but his sense of humor made him a life saver. He never wanted to be left alone, he never excluded anybody (except when it came to eating), and he would listen without judgement or complaint. He would make a complete ass of himself and never act embarassed or self-concious, or make someone else feel small when he did. He was perfect so we didn't have to be, he was our therapist, best friend, and confidant. He never asked for anything in return. That's what I'll miss I suppose, he was full of that spirit that makes you appreciate life and more importantly your life a little bit more. We're all looking for it, we're lucky in that we found it in such a silly creature. I miss you buddy, but I know you're doing the exact same thing you were doing down here, so I'm not worried.
There's a Calvin and Hobbes I thought of today, well actually, two of them and I couldn't stop thinking about them all day today. The first being one where Calvin finds a raccoon that dies a few hours later. Calvin says this in reponse to the whole event, it pretty much sums it up...
"This is where dad buried the little raccoon, I didn't even know he existed a few days ago and now he's gone forever. It's like I found him for no reason, I had to say good-bye as soon as I said hello. Still...in a sad, awful, terrible way, I'm happy I met him. What a stupid world."
And the other one is one where Calvin and Hobbes are in bed saying goodnight to each other. They realize, however, that they can meet up in each other's dreams so they can continue to play. Bill Watterson said he wrote that after his cat had died and he thought the best way to see her again was in his dreams.
I hope I see Cinnamon in my dreams, and Summer too. It's so hard to imagine him not being around, maybe I can see him whenever I want, maybe he will be around forever. He would like us to think so I imagine.
This is a song I've been thinking about a lot today. I was going to just use a quote, but here's the whole thing...
Keep a fire burning in your eye
Pay attention to the open sky
You never know what will be coming down
I dont remember losing track of you
You were always dancing in and out of view
I must have thought youd always be around
Always keeping things real by playing the clown
Now youre nowhere to be found
I dont know what happens when people die
Cant seem to grasp it as hard as I try
Its like a song I can hear playing right in my ear
That I cant sing
I cant help listening
And I cant help feeling stupid standing round
Crying as they ease you down
cause I know that youd rather we were dancing
Dancing our sorrow away
(right on dancing)
No matter what fate chooses to play
(theres nothing you can do about it anyway)
Just do the steps that youve been shown
By everyone youve ever known
Until the dance becomes your very own
No matter how close to yours
Anothers steps have grown
In the end there is one dance youll do alone
Keep a fire for the human race
Let your prayers go drifting into space
You never know what will be coming down
Perhaps a better world is drawing near
And just as easily it could all disappear
Along with whatever meaning you might have found
Dont let the uncertainty turn you around
(the world keeps turning around and around)
Go on and make a joyful sound
Into a dancer you have grown
From a seed somebody else has thrown
Go on ahead and throw some seeds of your own
And somewhere between the time you arrive
And the time you go
May lie a reason you were alive
But youll never know
I don't really know what else to say. Thirteen years just seemed to have blinked by and now he's gone, he was always there and now he's gone. We have been preparing ourselves for this on and off for the past five years, they tell you that goldens don't live much longer than 9 years old. Through all that time you figure we would have found a way to not make it hurt as much but I can assure you that is definitely not the case. That nauseating feeling circulated through my body when I heard, as if preparing myself for the massive upheaval that was about to occur. You can't blame us for wanting to keep him around forever, anybody who spent more than five minutes with him was instantly hooked. He had the ability to heal wounds with just a look of that slightly amused dead pan expression he always wore. His compassion and love made him unique, but his sense of humor made him a life saver. He never wanted to be left alone, he never excluded anybody (except when it came to eating), and he would listen without judgement or complaint. He would make a complete ass of himself and never act embarassed or self-concious, or make someone else feel small when he did. He was perfect so we didn't have to be, he was our therapist, best friend, and confidant. He never asked for anything in return. That's what I'll miss I suppose, he was full of that spirit that makes you appreciate life and more importantly your life a little bit more. We're all looking for it, we're lucky in that we found it in such a silly creature. I miss you buddy, but I know you're doing the exact same thing you were doing down here, so I'm not worried.
There's a Calvin and Hobbes I thought of today, well actually, two of them and I couldn't stop thinking about them all day today. The first being one where Calvin finds a raccoon that dies a few hours later. Calvin says this in reponse to the whole event, it pretty much sums it up...
"This is where dad buried the little raccoon, I didn't even know he existed a few days ago and now he's gone forever. It's like I found him for no reason, I had to say good-bye as soon as I said hello. Still...in a sad, awful, terrible way, I'm happy I met him. What a stupid world."
And the other one is one where Calvin and Hobbes are in bed saying goodnight to each other. They realize, however, that they can meet up in each other's dreams so they can continue to play. Bill Watterson said he wrote that after his cat had died and he thought the best way to see her again was in his dreams.
I hope I see Cinnamon in my dreams, and Summer too. It's so hard to imagine him not being around, maybe I can see him whenever I want, maybe he will be around forever. He would like us to think so I imagine.
This is a song I've been thinking about a lot today. I was going to just use a quote, but here's the whole thing...
Keep a fire burning in your eye
Pay attention to the open sky
You never know what will be coming down
I dont remember losing track of you
You were always dancing in and out of view
I must have thought youd always be around
Always keeping things real by playing the clown
Now youre nowhere to be found
I dont know what happens when people die
Cant seem to grasp it as hard as I try
Its like a song I can hear playing right in my ear
That I cant sing
I cant help listening
And I cant help feeling stupid standing round
Crying as they ease you down
cause I know that youd rather we were dancing
Dancing our sorrow away
(right on dancing)
No matter what fate chooses to play
(theres nothing you can do about it anyway)
Just do the steps that youve been shown
By everyone youve ever known
Until the dance becomes your very own
No matter how close to yours
Anothers steps have grown
In the end there is one dance youll do alone
Keep a fire for the human race
Let your prayers go drifting into space
You never know what will be coming down
Perhaps a better world is drawing near
And just as easily it could all disappear
Along with whatever meaning you might have found
Dont let the uncertainty turn you around
(the world keeps turning around and around)
Go on and make a joyful sound
Into a dancer you have grown
From a seed somebody else has thrown
Go on ahead and throw some seeds of your own
And somewhere between the time you arrive
And the time you go
May lie a reason you were alive
But youll never know
Sunday, September 02, 2007
I wish you'd've done this for me when I was a kid. But you didn't have a drug problem then.
I feel like so much has happened since I last posted. It feels like as if an entire summer just breezed by like a cane field in a high wind. A lot to talk about, not nearly enough time to do it. And since this will probably be the last post I write for another couple of months (I knew it, I AM like Salinger), I will try to get to the meat 'n mud of it all.
Something I would like to address right off the bat, I can not, CAN NOT wait for The Darjeeling Limited. If I had to go out on a limb, and with this blog I find that I most frequently do have to, I would say it's the movie I'm most excited for this summer. Followed in a close second by Noah Baumbach's Margot at the Wedding (more on that closer to its release date). Anderson is my favorite director working right now and I suppose the reason for that is because he is the director I most aspire to rip off in my own work. After having just watched the Royal Tenenbaums, I realized just how comforting his movies are and how pleasant they are to re-visit. Darjeeling looks like all that and more, it feels like he's going after bigger emotional game here while sticking true to his obsessions and fantastic visual style. I've heard the complains that Anderson has made the same movie over and over again, but I feel like you could say that about a lot of great directors and Anderson is a GREAT director. They have obsessions, themes they can't seem to shake, and god forbid a visual style. If Anderson made a movie that looked like something Spike Lee had directed, I'd be kind of let down. It's a delicate tight rope to walk and I understand the complaint completely, I guess it just doesn't bother me. I think the reason is because Anderson's movies all take place within their own meticulously production designed universes. So all of the behavior and peculiarities of the characters are not meant to be mocked because to them in their world they are completely justified (listen up napolean dynamite). And that's the key to Anderson's work, he never talks down to his characters, he celebrates them in all refracted flaws and glories. They are capable of the best and the worst in and from each other. He also seems to cherish the notion that family is whatever you make of it, it's our job to make each other happy and to love each other. If he's not one of the most optimistic and hopeful voices in filmmaking I don't know who is? Plus he wraps it all up in some of the most sharply observed comedy in American filmmaking, he's not out to rub your face in shit because he thinks its good for you, nor beat you over the head with his pleas for forgiveness (take that Haggis). Okay I'm done, but go see Darjeeling, I would like to right a full review right here at this blog. And what's that you say? You would like to read it, okay if you insist. Will there ever be a rainbow?
Also a quick aside, I was saddened and upset at the news of Owen Wilson's health problems. It doesn't mean anything but I wish him the best and I hope he gets the help he needs and recovers quickly. I think the media coverage of this is disgusting, I wish magazines like People and US Weekly would just go away and never come back. Wilson has accomplished some great work in his career and I look forward to more, I hope he gets better.
The screening for ASD went over like gangbusters last week (ASD is what they will be calling it on JoBlo, Chud, and AICN when the time comes). I love it to death, I'm a little biased of course, but I think its a masterpiece. It felt at home up on the big screen and I think thats quite an accomplishment. And even after driving across country, pre-production, and being there every day for the shoot. I still find myself getting caught up, immersed, and watching the movie not as crew but as a fan. I think there's something to be said for the storytelling talent at work when you can pull somehing off like that. And Flip like Wilson, I can't wait to see what he does next. You'll get a better write up over at the REAL director's blog. It's quite an accomplishment, I tip my non-existant cap.
I feel like there's so much more to squeeze in here, Josh Ritter, No End in Sight, New York City, John Wells Productions, U.S. News and World Whatnot, Resignations, why Once and Zodiac are the two best movies of the year so far, how little has changed since All the President's Men, San Francisco, The Genius of Wes Anderson (oh wait I already covered that), the genius that was THE SIMPSONS MOVIE. Okay, I'm over stimulated, I better sit down here for a minute. Wait a minute, I AM sitting down.
...And her.
Au revoir,
I like fruit baskets because it gives you the ability to mail someone a piece of fruit without appearing insane. Like, if someone just mailed you an apple you'd be like 'Huh? What the hell is this?', but if it's in a fruit basket you're like 'This is nice!
I like sports; I like professional football. I like to get to the stadium and see the games live, you know. And I paint my chest before I leave the house. But I don't have many friends, you know, so I usually just do punctuation and tack on a group already in progress. But sometimes it works out kind of weird because we ended up on TV one time and it said 'JETS?'
Something I would like to address right off the bat, I can not, CAN NOT wait for The Darjeeling Limited. If I had to go out on a limb, and with this blog I find that I most frequently do have to, I would say it's the movie I'm most excited for this summer. Followed in a close second by Noah Baumbach's Margot at the Wedding (more on that closer to its release date). Anderson is my favorite director working right now and I suppose the reason for that is because he is the director I most aspire to rip off in my own work. After having just watched the Royal Tenenbaums, I realized just how comforting his movies are and how pleasant they are to re-visit. Darjeeling looks like all that and more, it feels like he's going after bigger emotional game here while sticking true to his obsessions and fantastic visual style. I've heard the complains that Anderson has made the same movie over and over again, but I feel like you could say that about a lot of great directors and Anderson is a GREAT director. They have obsessions, themes they can't seem to shake, and god forbid a visual style. If Anderson made a movie that looked like something Spike Lee had directed, I'd be kind of let down. It's a delicate tight rope to walk and I understand the complaint completely, I guess it just doesn't bother me. I think the reason is because Anderson's movies all take place within their own meticulously production designed universes. So all of the behavior and peculiarities of the characters are not meant to be mocked because to them in their world they are completely justified (listen up napolean dynamite). And that's the key to Anderson's work, he never talks down to his characters, he celebrates them in all refracted flaws and glories. They are capable of the best and the worst in and from each other. He also seems to cherish the notion that family is whatever you make of it, it's our job to make each other happy and to love each other. If he's not one of the most optimistic and hopeful voices in filmmaking I don't know who is? Plus he wraps it all up in some of the most sharply observed comedy in American filmmaking, he's not out to rub your face in shit because he thinks its good for you, nor beat you over the head with his pleas for forgiveness (take that Haggis). Okay I'm done, but go see Darjeeling, I would like to right a full review right here at this blog. And what's that you say? You would like to read it, okay if you insist. Will there ever be a rainbow?
Also a quick aside, I was saddened and upset at the news of Owen Wilson's health problems. It doesn't mean anything but I wish him the best and I hope he gets the help he needs and recovers quickly. I think the media coverage of this is disgusting, I wish magazines like People and US Weekly would just go away and never come back. Wilson has accomplished some great work in his career and I look forward to more, I hope he gets better.
The screening for ASD went over like gangbusters last week (ASD is what they will be calling it on JoBlo, Chud, and AICN when the time comes). I love it to death, I'm a little biased of course, but I think its a masterpiece. It felt at home up on the big screen and I think thats quite an accomplishment. And even after driving across country, pre-production, and being there every day for the shoot. I still find myself getting caught up, immersed, and watching the movie not as crew but as a fan. I think there's something to be said for the storytelling talent at work when you can pull somehing off like that. And Flip like Wilson, I can't wait to see what he does next. You'll get a better write up over at the REAL director's blog. It's quite an accomplishment, I tip my non-existant cap.
I feel like there's so much more to squeeze in here, Josh Ritter, No End in Sight, New York City, John Wells Productions, U.S. News and World Whatnot, Resignations, why Once and Zodiac are the two best movies of the year so far, how little has changed since All the President's Men, San Francisco, The Genius of Wes Anderson (oh wait I already covered that), the genius that was THE SIMPSONS MOVIE. Okay, I'm over stimulated, I better sit down here for a minute. Wait a minute, I AM sitting down.
...And her.
Au revoir,
I like fruit baskets because it gives you the ability to mail someone a piece of fruit without appearing insane. Like, if someone just mailed you an apple you'd be like 'Huh? What the hell is this?', but if it's in a fruit basket you're like 'This is nice!
I like sports; I like professional football. I like to get to the stadium and see the games live, you know. And I paint my chest before I leave the house. But I don't have many friends, you know, so I usually just do punctuation and tack on a group already in progress. But sometimes it works out kind of weird because we ended up on TV one time and it said 'JETS?'
Friday, June 15, 2007
Yippee Kay Yay Mr. Falcon
Hello there, I know it's been a few hours north of a month since my last post.
I'd like to make amends right now, by giving you folks a little something I like to call.
Ethan's People, A new segment for the people by the people.
Actually, it's really more of a rant that I've been thinking about for quite some time, and by some time I mean the past couple of hours and a few minutes here and there while I was on a run today.
As you no doubt have heard, it is now official: Live Free or Die Hard has been rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, language, and a brief sexual situation, apparently.
What da fuck?
Granted, I knew about this several weeks prior when it was officially leaked via bruce willis through some drunken rant he gave at a nets game wherein he not only revealed the rating but how uniquely jersey trash he actually is. So this really isn't new news, however, it is upsetting. And there are several reasons why: but first let me issue a disclaimer:
I here acknowledge that we as citizens of the planet earth were and are still in no need of a fourth die hard movie especially one called live free or die hard. I was always a little against the project from the beginning, primarily because die hard with a vengeance was so goddamn good (and as Spiderman 3 proved) it is very hard to go out strong on your third movie. There was a sense of completeness there like they waited five years between die harder, they got John McTiernan back, everything had come full circle. When it was announced, after many gestating years of rumors and false starts, i was more than anything in need of a reminder as to what a fourth die hard movie could be. Plus the whole set up just seemed like a cash-in and a lame one at that. Techno terrorists? Live Free or Die Hard? Bald Bruce Willis? The whole enterprise just seemed so smug and aware of its ludicrous existense that it seems like it wants to fit nicely next to Snakes on a Plane for a double feature of shit. The only saving grace behind this comatose franchise being brought back to life via mouth to mouth from the guy who did not only underworld but underworld 2 was that it would be loud, vulgar, and violent. Not that I am ordinarily in need of those things in movies (in fact people are usually idiots when it comes to that stuff) but Die Hard has a certain finesse when it comes to those topics in that it never seems gratuitous or mean spriited like Eli Roth type torture porn (and I will always call it that), I at least hope it would be a satisfying action movie. Then the trailer came along and I wasn't blown away by it or completely assuaged in my fear. But it did look like fun with one shot that pisses me off only because I had the idea for using a car as a missile against a helicopter many many years ago except I always imagined it taking place over a very small river, not sure if that would have worked. I don't know what's more depressing, that I thought of it or that Die Hard 4 is the Die Hard that wound up using it. Anyway, the trailer had some lame parts, it seems a bit too jokey and self aware in a way the old movies were not and the Kevin Smith cameo looks pretty bad and I really like kevin smith. In essence, red flags. Then I hear this bullshit about a PG-13 rating and I lost it.
Why is it that filmmakers are allowed to carve up, disembowel, castrate, behead, and dismember teenagers (usually Female) at the drop of a hat and still get away with an R rating. Why is it okay for teenagers to sneak into those movies (The very same who are getting killed) but the idea of such a fragile minded young individual sneaking into an R rated Die Hard movie is too appalling to consider. I won't turn this into a rant against the MPAA because violence always gets a free pass no matter what especially when it comes to sex. But how come horror is allowed to be R now but action is not. The R Rated action movie has all but disappeared, replaced in its stead by the Neal Moritz shit parade. Classics such as The Fast and the Furious Trilogy, S.W.A.T Stealth and many more have been produced under the guise of this bullshit bastard. And it was in these films that they stumbled upon a formula, if they could only subtly hint at the mindless violence of the 80's action movies without showing anything, they could make a bundle. They could get every kid in every mall to be exposed to the kinds of movies they want to see without their parents having to be dragged along, its win win for everybody. Blood and mayhem were replaced by rapid fire editing and an inane inability to accurately stage an action sequence. Violence was something to be feared on screen. Which is weird, because for a time in the early to mid 90's there were moments when it seemed impossible to escape another R- rated action movie ready to fire somebody out of a tower on alcatraz and have them impaled on a fence post. What happened? was this a reponse to 9/11 (a half assed one at that). Did kids suddenly exhibit their buying muscle while adults just gave up and watched the very things that makes being an adult great go to waste?
I've realized that i've already typed more than I intended to, I will continue this tomorrow.
Until then...
to be continued...
I'd like to make amends right now, by giving you folks a little something I like to call.
Ethan's People, A new segment for the people by the people.
Actually, it's really more of a rant that I've been thinking about for quite some time, and by some time I mean the past couple of hours and a few minutes here and there while I was on a run today.
As you no doubt have heard, it is now official: Live Free or Die Hard has been rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, language, and a brief sexual situation, apparently.
What da fuck?
Granted, I knew about this several weeks prior when it was officially leaked via bruce willis through some drunken rant he gave at a nets game wherein he not only revealed the rating but how uniquely jersey trash he actually is. So this really isn't new news, however, it is upsetting. And there are several reasons why: but first let me issue a disclaimer:
I here acknowledge that we as citizens of the planet earth were and are still in no need of a fourth die hard movie especially one called live free or die hard. I was always a little against the project from the beginning, primarily because die hard with a vengeance was so goddamn good (and as Spiderman 3 proved) it is very hard to go out strong on your third movie. There was a sense of completeness there like they waited five years between die harder, they got John McTiernan back, everything had come full circle. When it was announced, after many gestating years of rumors and false starts, i was more than anything in need of a reminder as to what a fourth die hard movie could be. Plus the whole set up just seemed like a cash-in and a lame one at that. Techno terrorists? Live Free or Die Hard? Bald Bruce Willis? The whole enterprise just seemed so smug and aware of its ludicrous existense that it seems like it wants to fit nicely next to Snakes on a Plane for a double feature of shit. The only saving grace behind this comatose franchise being brought back to life via mouth to mouth from the guy who did not only underworld but underworld 2 was that it would be loud, vulgar, and violent. Not that I am ordinarily in need of those things in movies (in fact people are usually idiots when it comes to that stuff) but Die Hard has a certain finesse when it comes to those topics in that it never seems gratuitous or mean spriited like Eli Roth type torture porn (and I will always call it that), I at least hope it would be a satisfying action movie. Then the trailer came along and I wasn't blown away by it or completely assuaged in my fear. But it did look like fun with one shot that pisses me off only because I had the idea for using a car as a missile against a helicopter many many years ago except I always imagined it taking place over a very small river, not sure if that would have worked. I don't know what's more depressing, that I thought of it or that Die Hard 4 is the Die Hard that wound up using it. Anyway, the trailer had some lame parts, it seems a bit too jokey and self aware in a way the old movies were not and the Kevin Smith cameo looks pretty bad and I really like kevin smith. In essence, red flags. Then I hear this bullshit about a PG-13 rating and I lost it.
Why is it that filmmakers are allowed to carve up, disembowel, castrate, behead, and dismember teenagers (usually Female) at the drop of a hat and still get away with an R rating. Why is it okay for teenagers to sneak into those movies (The very same who are getting killed) but the idea of such a fragile minded young individual sneaking into an R rated Die Hard movie is too appalling to consider. I won't turn this into a rant against the MPAA because violence always gets a free pass no matter what especially when it comes to sex. But how come horror is allowed to be R now but action is not. The R Rated action movie has all but disappeared, replaced in its stead by the Neal Moritz shit parade. Classics such as The Fast and the Furious Trilogy, S.W.A.T Stealth and many more have been produced under the guise of this bullshit bastard. And it was in these films that they stumbled upon a formula, if they could only subtly hint at the mindless violence of the 80's action movies without showing anything, they could make a bundle. They could get every kid in every mall to be exposed to the kinds of movies they want to see without their parents having to be dragged along, its win win for everybody. Blood and mayhem were replaced by rapid fire editing and an inane inability to accurately stage an action sequence. Violence was something to be feared on screen. Which is weird, because for a time in the early to mid 90's there were moments when it seemed impossible to escape another R- rated action movie ready to fire somebody out of a tower on alcatraz and have them impaled on a fence post. What happened? was this a reponse to 9/11 (a half assed one at that). Did kids suddenly exhibit their buying muscle while adults just gave up and watched the very things that makes being an adult great go to waste?
I've realized that i've already typed more than I intended to, I will continue this tomorrow.
Until then...
to be continued...
Sunday, May 13, 2007
The Songs You Wrote, Got Me Through A Lot, Just Wanna Tell You That.
After a whole "day" of travelling, it's good to be back home. Real real good.
I am in anticipation like you would not believe to be back in the city with the old karl krew. You know the ones I mean.
I'm excited for Tess's big celebration. I'm excited to meet the one who calls herself Hughes.
I'm excited for John's...
I like John.
All in all, should be a hoot 'n a holler about which I should be reporting constantly. As long as you care to listen.
But just to let you know, as a wise man once said.
"It's a very exciting time."
I have tried to post on my blog for the past week, both times they were videos cribbed from YouTube that I found quite quirking. And both times I was denied, no stairway style.
I hope this one works.
I've been thinking about Elliott Smith a lot recently (I know, I know the collective eye roll begins with the oh hear comes another plea for Mr. Smith) After hearing New Moon, the collection of B-Sides and lost recordings just released this week, I am simply stunned as to the man's songwriting abilities, I think he is unrivaled in his age bracket. Even the stop he didn't put on the album is better than what most slave over to press to disc. It's inspiring and then a bummer for its just another reminder of what a colossal we lost when he died. After listening to the cd, I decided to take a trip over to the Audio-Video solutions store where the Figure 8 album cover was shot in front of. It's quite a sight actually, thousands of hand-written notes by fans from various points throughout the last three years since his death. Some of them are touching and poetic, some not so much, and some were inspired. The common thread through all of these was, "Your music got me through a lot of shit." or "I wouldn't have made it without you, thank you so much." Obviously, more elegantly worded than that. Now, it's debatable whether or not that's true, I can't speak for the people who wrote the messages, and a lot of music is supposed to do that. But I think it's really interesting that all of Mr. Smith's fans chose to thank him for that particular part of his music, as if to suggest that his talent and his emotional gifts as a songwriter somehow translated into therapy for a few listeners. And to me that is what's so fascinating about his music and ultimately rewarding, the constant push and pull between disaster and recovery. On the one hand, his music culminates with some really dark subject matter, places no human being likes to see inside themselves or inside each other. On the other hand, here is a guy who would get up on stage with a guitar and just release all of this and people got better because of it (or so they thought). That's why to me, his music has always been much more complicated than happy/sad, sure there are sad moments in it, but I think his music is about survival. Ultimately he succumbed, but that by no means makes him a martyr for the music. It just proves once again the age old wisdom that music is immortal and in a strange way, so is Elliott. (I know I stole that from the end of Big Fish, but it works really well.) Anyway I was just thinking about that, and just how I wish he were still around.
I'm gonna try posting a video in the next entry (we'll see if it works this time, thank you very much youtube.) I'm not sure when it's from, but it's Kevin Devine covering The Biggest Lie, which is an Elliott Smith song and if there's anyone I want to hear covering Mr. Smith, it's Mr. Devine. (To give credit where credit is due, Bright Eyes also does a fantastic cover of it as well, there's even a video on youtube of Mr. Oberst playing that song in a what looks like a gymnasium in full on halloween get up, I think it's from the year he died, check it out I'll let Nate post that one, even though he swore off videos for a while.)
Happy Mother's Day too, if you want you should check out this website, it's got a pretty moving short film directed by Robert Greenwald. Just reminds you the simplicity of the message and how complicated it is to put it in action. Hope you all did something special and worthy of yo mama.
http://mothersdayforpeace.com/
Good night america,
"You look and him like you've never known him
but i know for a fact that you have
the last time you cried who'd you think was inside?
thinking that you were about to come over
but i'm tired now of waiting for you
you never show."
I am in anticipation like you would not believe to be back in the city with the old karl krew. You know the ones I mean.
I'm excited for Tess's big celebration. I'm excited to meet the one who calls herself Hughes.
I'm excited for John's...
I like John.
All in all, should be a hoot 'n a holler about which I should be reporting constantly. As long as you care to listen.
But just to let you know, as a wise man once said.
"It's a very exciting time."
I have tried to post on my blog for the past week, both times they were videos cribbed from YouTube that I found quite quirking. And both times I was denied, no stairway style.
I hope this one works.
I've been thinking about Elliott Smith a lot recently (I know, I know the collective eye roll begins with the oh hear comes another plea for Mr. Smith) After hearing New Moon, the collection of B-Sides and lost recordings just released this week, I am simply stunned as to the man's songwriting abilities, I think he is unrivaled in his age bracket. Even the stop he didn't put on the album is better than what most slave over to press to disc. It's inspiring and then a bummer for its just another reminder of what a colossal we lost when he died. After listening to the cd, I decided to take a trip over to the Audio-Video solutions store where the Figure 8 album cover was shot in front of. It's quite a sight actually, thousands of hand-written notes by fans from various points throughout the last three years since his death. Some of them are touching and poetic, some not so much, and some were inspired. The common thread through all of these was, "Your music got me through a lot of shit." or "I wouldn't have made it without you, thank you so much." Obviously, more elegantly worded than that. Now, it's debatable whether or not that's true, I can't speak for the people who wrote the messages, and a lot of music is supposed to do that. But I think it's really interesting that all of Mr. Smith's fans chose to thank him for that particular part of his music, as if to suggest that his talent and his emotional gifts as a songwriter somehow translated into therapy for a few listeners. And to me that is what's so fascinating about his music and ultimately rewarding, the constant push and pull between disaster and recovery. On the one hand, his music culminates with some really dark subject matter, places no human being likes to see inside themselves or inside each other. On the other hand, here is a guy who would get up on stage with a guitar and just release all of this and people got better because of it (or so they thought). That's why to me, his music has always been much more complicated than happy/sad, sure there are sad moments in it, but I think his music is about survival. Ultimately he succumbed, but that by no means makes him a martyr for the music. It just proves once again the age old wisdom that music is immortal and in a strange way, so is Elliott. (I know I stole that from the end of Big Fish, but it works really well.) Anyway I was just thinking about that, and just how I wish he were still around.
I'm gonna try posting a video in the next entry (we'll see if it works this time, thank you very much youtube.) I'm not sure when it's from, but it's Kevin Devine covering The Biggest Lie, which is an Elliott Smith song and if there's anyone I want to hear covering Mr. Smith, it's Mr. Devine. (To give credit where credit is due, Bright Eyes also does a fantastic cover of it as well, there's even a video on youtube of Mr. Oberst playing that song in a what looks like a gymnasium in full on halloween get up, I think it's from the year he died, check it out I'll let Nate post that one, even though he swore off videos for a while.)
Happy Mother's Day too, if you want you should check out this website, it's got a pretty moving short film directed by Robert Greenwald. Just reminds you the simplicity of the message and how complicated it is to put it in action. Hope you all did something special and worthy of yo mama.
http://mothersdayforpeace.com/
Good night america,
"You look and him like you've never known him
but i know for a fact that you have
the last time you cried who'd you think was inside?
thinking that you were about to come over
but i'm tired now of waiting for you
you never show."
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
All the Way to New York City
I was thinking about how much I love quiet music.
Quiet shows, quiet audiences, that's where I feel it.
I was thinking about how some of the music I like can be talked over when played live.
This is for all those quiet performers.
It's also for all the people, places and moments I miss in New York City.
I wish I could take you with me
All the way to New York City
We could get an apartment there
Be closer to our families.
We could take my station wagon
And fill it to the brim
And wave goodbye to all our lovely friends
Never to return again
You could write for picture shows
And I could get a job waiting tables
At a restaurant where famous people like to go
We could buy old overcoats and walk through the snow
All the way around central park
Our cheeks as pink as wild roses
We could take the subway home
And stare at our reflection in the window panes of the train
And see how much New York has changed us.
Quiet shows, quiet audiences, that's where I feel it.
I was thinking about how some of the music I like can be talked over when played live.
This is for all those quiet performers.
It's also for all the people, places and moments I miss in New York City.
I wish I could take you with me
All the way to New York City
We could get an apartment there
Be closer to our families.
We could take my station wagon
And fill it to the brim
And wave goodbye to all our lovely friends
Never to return again
You could write for picture shows
And I could get a job waiting tables
At a restaurant where famous people like to go
We could buy old overcoats and walk through the snow
All the way around central park
Our cheeks as pink as wild roses
We could take the subway home
And stare at our reflection in the window panes of the train
And see how much New York has changed us.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Got my main man adam duritz on the speed dial.
The following are not my words, they are those of Adam Duritz.
Wise and dreadlocked.
This is for that girl who decided to let me know she thought dashboard confessional sucked as I walked towards St. Mark's place however long ago that was.
Feast on it.
For instance, I think Chris Carrabba is a great songwriter. I think Dashboard Confessional is a great band. I hadn’t heard of them until Gil Norton (see Recovering The Satellites (1996)) told me he was going to make an album with them but (and take this with a grain of salt since I pretty much worship the ground Gil walks on-if you agree, let’s hang out and that’ll be our “scene”, I guess) I think A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar (2003) is a fabulous album (and, as I later discovered, so are The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most and The Swiss Army Romance). I was flattered to be asked and proud to be on Dusk and Summer (2006).Then a little while later I started hearing all about something called “Emo”. Now I’m not saying Chris started the movement; I’m just saying he was the first I heard of it. I have to admit I was a little more inclined to like Emo than any other scene just because Emo is short for “emotional” (I think) and I like the idea of music that has actual feelings involved in it. I was starting to get really worn out by “irony”. It’s just too easy to be clever and NOT care.
So, in “Hands Down“, the opening song from A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar when Chris sings:Hands down, this is the best day I can ever remember
Always remember the sound of the stereo
The dim of the soft lights
The scent of your hair that you twirled in your fingers
And the time on the clock when we leave cause it’s so late
And it’s one thing we shared together
The streets were wet and the gate was locked
So I jumped in and I let you in
And you stood at the door with your hands on my waist
And you kissed me like you meant it
And I knew that you meant it
I know that he means it. I really do because there’s too many details for it to mean anything else. “Hands down, this is the best day I can ever remember” might seem like a corny line in the hands of someone else but not when Chris sings it and DEFINITELY not when ANY songwriter follows that line with the 10 lines that follow it in this song (even if I got some of the lines wrong). So if that’s “emo”, count me in.
Long live AD and DC
Wise and dreadlocked.
This is for that girl who decided to let me know she thought dashboard confessional sucked as I walked towards St. Mark's place however long ago that was.
Feast on it.
For instance, I think Chris Carrabba is a great songwriter. I think Dashboard Confessional is a great band. I hadn’t heard of them until Gil Norton (see Recovering The Satellites (1996)) told me he was going to make an album with them but (and take this with a grain of salt since I pretty much worship the ground Gil walks on-if you agree, let’s hang out and that’ll be our “scene”, I guess) I think A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar (2003) is a fabulous album (and, as I later discovered, so are The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most and The Swiss Army Romance). I was flattered to be asked and proud to be on Dusk and Summer (2006).Then a little while later I started hearing all about something called “Emo”. Now I’m not saying Chris started the movement; I’m just saying he was the first I heard of it. I have to admit I was a little more inclined to like Emo than any other scene just because Emo is short for “emotional” (I think) and I like the idea of music that has actual feelings involved in it. I was starting to get really worn out by “irony”. It’s just too easy to be clever and NOT care.
So, in “Hands Down“, the opening song from A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar when Chris sings:Hands down, this is the best day I can ever remember
Always remember the sound of the stereo
The dim of the soft lights
The scent of your hair that you twirled in your fingers
And the time on the clock when we leave cause it’s so late
And it’s one thing we shared together
The streets were wet and the gate was locked
So I jumped in and I let you in
And you stood at the door with your hands on my waist
And you kissed me like you meant it
And I knew that you meant it
I know that he means it. I really do because there’s too many details for it to mean anything else. “Hands down, this is the best day I can ever remember” might seem like a corny line in the hands of someone else but not when Chris sings it and DEFINITELY not when ANY songwriter follows that line with the 10 lines that follow it in this song (even if I got some of the lines wrong). So if that’s “emo”, count me in.
Long live AD and DC
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Why Am I So Pathetic? Don't get it.
I just wanted to write a few things before I go to bed. It's about 1:36am now and I've fallen into this weird habit of going to bed later for no particular reason. It's not like I'm galavanting around town, naked as a jaybird, I'm just sitting here, watching t.v. or reading shit online. Trying to read the huge pile of books in my to read box, not really getting any of it done. I've become quite skilled at wasting a lot of nights. The only problem with this comes when I wake up early in the morning, I just can't not do it. I really like being up in the morning and I want to start waking up earlier but I feel like that would sacrifice sleep, and since I don't drink coffee, nor do I handle being tired very well (as evidenced by the USC tour guide who spotted me yawning emphatically during her speech), I need to find a way to get to bed earlier and wake up earlier. Then everything will be alright.
Wow.
There you have it, I just wasted four minutes of my night right there typing out that nonsense.
I hope I didn't waste your time.
Quick Things: (Seriously this time)
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Blinking Lights and Other Revelations is definitely on my list for desert island records (however that notion has become someone outdated with the invention of the ipod). No other album in the small history of my musical life has the ability to re settle me the way that one does. There's something about his vocals and the story he tells on that album, it's like listening to a voice on the other end of the phone in the middle of the night telling you not to worry beceause bad things happen, good things happen, and the lights are always blinking no matter where you are.
Secondly, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone is some kind of musical miracle. I say that because somehow Explosions in the Sky have managed to out do everything that has come before in their musical cannon (no small feat). That is not to say their earlier stuf is now negated, but they soar to ridiculous heights on this album. The weird thing is, it didn't hit me at first. Sure I loved it and was completely bown away by it, but this album is like meeting a good friend for the first time. You hit it off at first but there's still some hesitancy due to the fact that you don't know each other. Then somewhere along the trail everything clicks and you need to be best friends with this person, right now. That might be a little abstract, but that's the best I could come up with. This is their most complex album, the melodies swirl in and out of each other with such precision and skill that the narrative is much stronger on this album than it has been before. On top of that there is a much more spontaneous shift to this record, as if to suggest these songs are being recorded on the spot. I have no idea how they do it, it has the raw surging power of a live show with the emotional complexity of superb storytelling. It fucking rocks.
Last thing, I promise. Annie Hall is a great great movie. All I have to say about it is that it once again proves that the need for any kind of movie about the ins and outs of relationships has been negated. It was Say Anything, Chasing Amy, All the Real Girls, and now Annie Hall, actually, I would also like to add Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to that list. All of these movies say it all and it pisses me off. Maybe I can find a way to incorporate Ned Beatty into my movie, they wouldn't see that one coming.
Okay that's it, I'm going to bed.
"this is the day
that i give myself up cold
the dust of ages
settles on your days
and so you shake your coat off
and get on your way
bloodshot and trembling
a new day has begun
the dust of ages
settles on your days
and so you blow it all away
and get on your way
the dust of ages
settles on your days
but i'm not fuckin' around anymore
i'm on my way"
Wow.
There you have it, I just wasted four minutes of my night right there typing out that nonsense.
I hope I didn't waste your time.
Quick Things: (Seriously this time)
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Blinking Lights and Other Revelations is definitely on my list for desert island records (however that notion has become someone outdated with the invention of the ipod). No other album in the small history of my musical life has the ability to re settle me the way that one does. There's something about his vocals and the story he tells on that album, it's like listening to a voice on the other end of the phone in the middle of the night telling you not to worry beceause bad things happen, good things happen, and the lights are always blinking no matter where you are.
Secondly, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone is some kind of musical miracle. I say that because somehow Explosions in the Sky have managed to out do everything that has come before in their musical cannon (no small feat). That is not to say their earlier stuf is now negated, but they soar to ridiculous heights on this album. The weird thing is, it didn't hit me at first. Sure I loved it and was completely bown away by it, but this album is like meeting a good friend for the first time. You hit it off at first but there's still some hesitancy due to the fact that you don't know each other. Then somewhere along the trail everything clicks and you need to be best friends with this person, right now. That might be a little abstract, but that's the best I could come up with. This is their most complex album, the melodies swirl in and out of each other with such precision and skill that the narrative is much stronger on this album than it has been before. On top of that there is a much more spontaneous shift to this record, as if to suggest these songs are being recorded on the spot. I have no idea how they do it, it has the raw surging power of a live show with the emotional complexity of superb storytelling. It fucking rocks.
Last thing, I promise. Annie Hall is a great great movie. All I have to say about it is that it once again proves that the need for any kind of movie about the ins and outs of relationships has been negated. It was Say Anything, Chasing Amy, All the Real Girls, and now Annie Hall, actually, I would also like to add Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to that list. All of these movies say it all and it pisses me off. Maybe I can find a way to incorporate Ned Beatty into my movie, they wouldn't see that one coming.
Okay that's it, I'm going to bed.
"this is the day
that i give myself up cold
the dust of ages
settles on your days
and so you shake your coat off
and get on your way
bloodshot and trembling
a new day has begun
the dust of ages
settles on your days
and so you blow it all away
and get on your way
the dust of ages
settles on your days
but i'm not fuckin' around anymore
i'm on my way"
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
It's Natural to Be Afraid...
Well, I hope you all read up and studied each and every manufactured thought that appeared in yesterday's L.A. times concerning the box office success of 300 versus the relative disappointment of Zodiac. Like I said, I hope you didn't break anything in your fit of rage. Then again, it's important to remember these are just half rate idiots writing for a stupid newspaper and they don't really care about telling a good story or even telling the truth. They write whatever will give them the quickest easiest answer to complicated questions, actually most journalists do that too come to think of it.
Anyway getting down to business, this article pissed me off in so many ways, I don't know where to begin.
Let's start with the basic assumption the article makes:
That 300 is a new cultural phenomenon in league with Star Wars, The Matrix, or Lord of the Rings. And like those films it's success is based around the fact that it supposedly celebrates the things that movies do best (visuals, speed, classic story telling) and how it is invincible to any sort of criticism because the very thought of analyzing such a work would rob of the purpose it serves as a movie. It's not a dissertation after all.
The first part of this I would like to debunk is that 300 is some kind of cultural phenomenon. That simply is not true, you need a little bit more time than a week to prove that. You also need a better response than the movie has gotten thus far. If you apply this logic to every movie than in this year alone, Norbit, Wild Hogs, and Ghost Rider would be considered cultural phenomenons. Not to mention scores of other movies most people only remember as something they dug out of their ears. I would even argue that Lord of the Rings is not quite yet a cultural phenomenon, it was at one point but I think the true test is to see how long it stays in the public sphere of conscious after its initial release. Star Wars has passed that test (the original trilogy anyway, but I won't get into that now), and I think the original matrix will any day now. The point being, 300 is a movie that made a shit load of money on its opening weekend and it surprised some people. are we really going to remember this, ten years later, as a watershed day for cinema? That's the dumbest thing I ever heard.
The article then goes onto to discuss the drubbing the movie received by the critics. Which is also inaccurate, for according to metacriic the movie received a score 53 which it describes as mixed to average reviews. Compare that to the score of 27 received by both Norbit and Wild Hogs. Point being, while it didn't get great reviews, a couple of big critics like entertainment weekly and rolling stone liked it. And even the people who didn't like it didn't hate, the sampling the L.A times takes are from critics who really hated it, of which there a few. Not to suggest that this means the movie is great, but the article essentially claims that the critics who hated the movie some how took away from it political or social commentary that wasn't there and therefore only existed so critics could rag on it. First of all, most of the negative review of the movie I've read and even the two they quote in the article (and you can see these reviews at www.metacritic.com) hated the movie because it is poorly made, not because they didn't agree with its politics (as dunderheaded as they may be). They hated it because the writing is lousy, the acting is a lot of screaming and little else, and the fact that the entire movie strives to be a feature length gorgeously rendered video game. Any mention of the nationalistic, drumbeating, pro war homophobia that supposedly exists in the movie, goes by as more of an afterthought. More like, yes the movie sucks and p.s. here is some weird shit in it. The article, however, quotes director Zack Snyder as laughing off the reviews, saying they came across as "so neo-con" and "so homophobic" (yes his actual words) and that "they couldn't just go see the movie without trying to over-intellectualize it." This is idiotic in so many ways, first of all he uses the words neo-con and homophobic as if he doesn't know what they mean. And I think it's very interesting that he equates intellectualizing something with being neo-con and homophobic. Does one make you the other? I guess I never thought about it that way. He also doesn't seem to understand that when someone accuses you, based on your film, of subscribing to a certain set of ideas, that doesn't mean they are always right. However it doesn't mean that pointing those ideas makes them fervent followers of them. I actually don't even know what he's trying to say, it doesn't make any sense and he sounds really stupid saying it. The critics pointed out how homoerotic the movie is to deflate the toxic machismo that seems to permeate every frame of the damn thing. They said it to make fun of you mr. snyder, not gay people. The article acts as if no movie in the history of cinema had ever grossed a lot of money while receiving mostly negative reviews. It kinda happens all the time, and it's one of the great mysteries of life, hopefully this writer will sleep better knowing he has contributed much by way of public knowledge about the subject. What it seems to me, with all of this, is that Snyder made an irresponsible movie (and that's okay by the way). He made a politically irresponsible movie and he won't cop to it, I think he put a lot of shit in there without realizing it and refuses to admit it because he will come off as a buffoon. Well, tough shit, own up to it at least, I think that's what the Spartans would have wanted. That's the man's way of dealing with it.
The final part of this article that actually enraged me (the other stuff just kind of got on my nerves, whereas this part sent me off the fucking cliff). The writer attempts to make some half assed connection between why 300 succeeded and why Zodiac failed to attract any of that attention.
Oh no he didn't.
I've been harboring this ever since I became aware of the 70 million opening for 300. Dammit, that was Zodiac's money and it fucking earned it. Why a movie like 300, that is chest thumping, simple, comic book gore gets the audience, whereas a devastating, thoughtful, and supremely executed detective story like Zodiac gets none. Why can't they both get it? I imagine there are more than enough people in this country to make up for Zodiac's deficit, right? Why Zodiac didn't do well is for another blog, I want to dicuss why 300 did so well instead. The article supposes that is because David Fincher made the movie for himself and for no one else. That he wasn't thinking about the audience or the critics, only about himself. Well, moron, filmmaking is an extremely personal artform and in case you forgot, David Fincher's (along with several other thousand) name will be attached to this movie forever as not just the director, but as the guiding vision. If he doesn't make it for himself, than why make it in the first place? I hope this guy knows that his name and only his name will be attached to this shitty article forever, so he is not allowed to blame anybody else for this debacle. Second of all, the claim that Zodiac is somehow inaccesible is complete and utter bullshit. I have not been more enthralled by a movie like that for a long time, how is that not accessible. And obviously not every audience member shares the same tastes as me. But it doesn't really matter whether people like it or not but there is something in this movie for everyone to at least check out. To least buy a goddamn ticket. Also, God forbid, a director tells a story without the usual cinematic pay offs. God forbid he makes a murder mystery not about the violent porn of most serial killer movies (and stupid T.V. shows by the way) but about the cereberal and haunting life of its own that a case can take on when it infects the mind of ordinary human beings. God forbid a director attempt to show the transformation of a city and its media from mild indifference to the kind of paranoid delusions we still suffer from today. God forbid a director try to make a movie not about death, but about how life rebounds or doesn't from that death. Again, these are not radical concepts, merely interesting ideas explored with precision and depth by the makers of Zodiac. It is not like some kind of thought exercise that will only appeal to intellectuals (christ, I liked this movie) but rather a movie that poses a lot of interesting questions and theories but allows its audience to come to its own conclusion. Dammit, that's what filmmaking is all about and it pisses me off that because Fincher doesn't revel in bloodletting, he somehow has receeded into the dark corncers of artistic pretension, and that nobody should see his movie. That is complete and utter bullshit, to the highest degree. I loved Zodiac, I was into every single minute of it, and I watched it feeling as though I was in the hands of one of the most capable story tellers working today. Other than that, it was a weird and deeply confusing artistic experiment that left me feeling cold and indifferent because Fincher didn't include an ending where Jake Gyllenhall cuts off the Zodiac killer's head in slow motion with a battle axe while sreaming something about the glory of the San Francisco Chronicle. Oh yeah, everybody.
Okay, I've chewed everybody eyes and ears for about long enough now. I hope this rambling tale of magic and heroism made a little bit of sense. Again I should have prefaced this by saying I haven't seen 300 yet and maybe all of this is moot. However, I plan to and when I do, you will be the first to hear about it.
Go see Zodiac.
"i said johnny and i, we got lost tonight, but we doubled our chances we've got somewhere to go, we've got devils chasing us to hunt us down, and we know we can't go like this from now, i've got a feeling of you, and we danced for so long, i want your arms around me, said never gonna let you down, never gonna let you down, but i will always let you down "
Anyway getting down to business, this article pissed me off in so many ways, I don't know where to begin.
Let's start with the basic assumption the article makes:
That 300 is a new cultural phenomenon in league with Star Wars, The Matrix, or Lord of the Rings. And like those films it's success is based around the fact that it supposedly celebrates the things that movies do best (visuals, speed, classic story telling) and how it is invincible to any sort of criticism because the very thought of analyzing such a work would rob of the purpose it serves as a movie. It's not a dissertation after all.
The first part of this I would like to debunk is that 300 is some kind of cultural phenomenon. That simply is not true, you need a little bit more time than a week to prove that. You also need a better response than the movie has gotten thus far. If you apply this logic to every movie than in this year alone, Norbit, Wild Hogs, and Ghost Rider would be considered cultural phenomenons. Not to mention scores of other movies most people only remember as something they dug out of their ears. I would even argue that Lord of the Rings is not quite yet a cultural phenomenon, it was at one point but I think the true test is to see how long it stays in the public sphere of conscious after its initial release. Star Wars has passed that test (the original trilogy anyway, but I won't get into that now), and I think the original matrix will any day now. The point being, 300 is a movie that made a shit load of money on its opening weekend and it surprised some people. are we really going to remember this, ten years later, as a watershed day for cinema? That's the dumbest thing I ever heard.
The article then goes onto to discuss the drubbing the movie received by the critics. Which is also inaccurate, for according to metacriic the movie received a score 53 which it describes as mixed to average reviews. Compare that to the score of 27 received by both Norbit and Wild Hogs. Point being, while it didn't get great reviews, a couple of big critics like entertainment weekly and rolling stone liked it. And even the people who didn't like it didn't hate, the sampling the L.A times takes are from critics who really hated it, of which there a few. Not to suggest that this means the movie is great, but the article essentially claims that the critics who hated the movie some how took away from it political or social commentary that wasn't there and therefore only existed so critics could rag on it. First of all, most of the negative review of the movie I've read and even the two they quote in the article (and you can see these reviews at www.metacritic.com) hated the movie because it is poorly made, not because they didn't agree with its politics (as dunderheaded as they may be). They hated it because the writing is lousy, the acting is a lot of screaming and little else, and the fact that the entire movie strives to be a feature length gorgeously rendered video game. Any mention of the nationalistic, drumbeating, pro war homophobia that supposedly exists in the movie, goes by as more of an afterthought. More like, yes the movie sucks and p.s. here is some weird shit in it. The article, however, quotes director Zack Snyder as laughing off the reviews, saying they came across as "so neo-con" and "so homophobic" (yes his actual words) and that "they couldn't just go see the movie without trying to over-intellectualize it." This is idiotic in so many ways, first of all he uses the words neo-con and homophobic as if he doesn't know what they mean. And I think it's very interesting that he equates intellectualizing something with being neo-con and homophobic. Does one make you the other? I guess I never thought about it that way. He also doesn't seem to understand that when someone accuses you, based on your film, of subscribing to a certain set of ideas, that doesn't mean they are always right. However it doesn't mean that pointing those ideas makes them fervent followers of them. I actually don't even know what he's trying to say, it doesn't make any sense and he sounds really stupid saying it. The critics pointed out how homoerotic the movie is to deflate the toxic machismo that seems to permeate every frame of the damn thing. They said it to make fun of you mr. snyder, not gay people. The article acts as if no movie in the history of cinema had ever grossed a lot of money while receiving mostly negative reviews. It kinda happens all the time, and it's one of the great mysteries of life, hopefully this writer will sleep better knowing he has contributed much by way of public knowledge about the subject. What it seems to me, with all of this, is that Snyder made an irresponsible movie (and that's okay by the way). He made a politically irresponsible movie and he won't cop to it, I think he put a lot of shit in there without realizing it and refuses to admit it because he will come off as a buffoon. Well, tough shit, own up to it at least, I think that's what the Spartans would have wanted. That's the man's way of dealing with it.
The final part of this article that actually enraged me (the other stuff just kind of got on my nerves, whereas this part sent me off the fucking cliff). The writer attempts to make some half assed connection between why 300 succeeded and why Zodiac failed to attract any of that attention.
Oh no he didn't.
I've been harboring this ever since I became aware of the 70 million opening for 300. Dammit, that was Zodiac's money and it fucking earned it. Why a movie like 300, that is chest thumping, simple, comic book gore gets the audience, whereas a devastating, thoughtful, and supremely executed detective story like Zodiac gets none. Why can't they both get it? I imagine there are more than enough people in this country to make up for Zodiac's deficit, right? Why Zodiac didn't do well is for another blog, I want to dicuss why 300 did so well instead. The article supposes that is because David Fincher made the movie for himself and for no one else. That he wasn't thinking about the audience or the critics, only about himself. Well, moron, filmmaking is an extremely personal artform and in case you forgot, David Fincher's (along with several other thousand) name will be attached to this movie forever as not just the director, but as the guiding vision. If he doesn't make it for himself, than why make it in the first place? I hope this guy knows that his name and only his name will be attached to this shitty article forever, so he is not allowed to blame anybody else for this debacle. Second of all, the claim that Zodiac is somehow inaccesible is complete and utter bullshit. I have not been more enthralled by a movie like that for a long time, how is that not accessible. And obviously not every audience member shares the same tastes as me. But it doesn't really matter whether people like it or not but there is something in this movie for everyone to at least check out. To least buy a goddamn ticket. Also, God forbid, a director tells a story without the usual cinematic pay offs. God forbid he makes a murder mystery not about the violent porn of most serial killer movies (and stupid T.V. shows by the way) but about the cereberal and haunting life of its own that a case can take on when it infects the mind of ordinary human beings. God forbid a director attempt to show the transformation of a city and its media from mild indifference to the kind of paranoid delusions we still suffer from today. God forbid a director try to make a movie not about death, but about how life rebounds or doesn't from that death. Again, these are not radical concepts, merely interesting ideas explored with precision and depth by the makers of Zodiac. It is not like some kind of thought exercise that will only appeal to intellectuals (christ, I liked this movie) but rather a movie that poses a lot of interesting questions and theories but allows its audience to come to its own conclusion. Dammit, that's what filmmaking is all about and it pisses me off that because Fincher doesn't revel in bloodletting, he somehow has receeded into the dark corncers of artistic pretension, and that nobody should see his movie. That is complete and utter bullshit, to the highest degree. I loved Zodiac, I was into every single minute of it, and I watched it feeling as though I was in the hands of one of the most capable story tellers working today. Other than that, it was a weird and deeply confusing artistic experiment that left me feeling cold and indifferent because Fincher didn't include an ending where Jake Gyllenhall cuts off the Zodiac killer's head in slow motion with a battle axe while sreaming something about the glory of the San Francisco Chronicle. Oh yeah, everybody.
Okay, I've chewed everybody eyes and ears for about long enough now. I hope this rambling tale of magic and heroism made a little bit of sense. Again I should have prefaced this by saying I haven't seen 300 yet and maybe all of this is moot. However, I plan to and when I do, you will be the first to hear about it.
Go see Zodiac.
"i said johnny and i, we got lost tonight, but we doubled our chances we've got somewhere to go, we've got devils chasing us to hunt us down, and we know we can't go like this from now, i've got a feeling of you, and we danced for so long, i want your arms around me, said never gonna let you down, never gonna let you down, but i will always let you down "
Go ahead, Cornelius, you can cry.
I'm not going to post anything of my own today.
I would instead like you all to read this article from the L.A. Times about 300.
Try not to smash something...
300': It's just a movie -- or is it?
Call it a grand, vivid spectacle -- nothing more, nothing less.
PATRICK GOLDSTEIN
March 20, 2007
DON'T tell the critics, but "300" is a new kind of action movie, a clever synthesis of the stylized epic storytelling practiced by Peter Jackson in "Lord of the Rings" and the stop 'n' start fast-motion cutting of the Wachowski brothers' "Matrix" series. Let's call it Hyper Cinema. "300's" entire visual environment — its billowy wheat fields, its stormy gray skies, even blood that miraculously evaporates before it hits the ground — is a fabricated universe, created by 1,300 effects shots generated in a computer after the actors have gone home.
It's a gamer's view of the world that film critics don't relate to because they seem to have forgotten the kick they got from reading comics as kids. When I went to see "300" last week, the theater was full of scruffy guys who looked like they spent a lot more hours playing Final Fantasy X11 or God of War II than working out at the gym. In an era when it's increasingly difficult to reach young males, "300" offered a vivid spectacle of glistening pecs — as one admirer put it, "Ray Harryhausen crossed with Leni Riefenstahl" — that couldn't be replicated at home.
"We took a singular idea and went all the way with it, which I think resonates with audiences," director Zack Snyder, whose only other feature was a remake of "Dawn of the Dead," said on the phone from London. "It gives you that feeling that made you go to movies in the first place, as in 'Holy [smoke], that was awesome!' "
Populated with unknown actors, the retelling of the gory battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC was airily dismissed as hokum by America's leading critics.
Where the fanboys saw an easily identifiable theme — "me and my buddies are gonna band together and kick some butt" — critics spied pandering trash. The Boston Globe's Wesley Morris called "300" "action porn." The New York Times' A.O. Scott said " '300' is about as violent as ' Apocalypto' and twice as stupid." And the Washington Post's Stephen Hunter, dripping with disdain, exclaimed, "Go tell the Spartans that their sacrifice was not in vain; their long day's fight under the cooling shade of a million falling arrows safeguarded the West and guaranteed, all these years later, the right of idiots to make rotten movies about them."
Those idiots grossed $129.2 million in just 10 days. And Snyder says he wasn't perturbed by the nasty reviews. "Nah, I love 'em, they were funny," he says. "The reviews were so neo-con, so homophobic. They couldn't just go see the movie without trying to over-intellectualize it."
The critics were disturbed by a host of issues, not the least being the film's macho belligerence, cartoonish lack of interest in history and racial stereotyping of Xerxes' Persian hordes as dark-skinned, decadent club queens. But a key reason critics reacted so harshly is because they have been trained to value realism over fantasy, whether it is the stoic drama of Clint Eastwood's "Letters From Iwo Jima" or the cool psychological precision of David Fincher's "Zodiac," which has flopped at the box office, despite critical raves.
"Zodiac" had everything a critic could love. It was smart, full of context and armed with a compelling narrative about an obsessive search for an enigmatic killer. Unfortunately, Fincher is a filmmaker who has little interest in what audiences — or studio executives — think about his movies. He makes them for himself.
In contrast, Snyder's "300," with its Xbox ethos, is a movie made for a generation of visual sensation seekers. Critics are largely shaped by the aesthetic of the cinematic past, which is why you often get the feeling they've been dragged, kicking and screaming, into a new world they describe as coarser, more superficial and less intellectually stimulating than the golden age of their moviegoing youth.
The complaints are almost always the same. "It's an epic without a dream," said one critic. "The loudness, the smash-and-grab editing, and the relentless pacing drive every idea from your head, and even if you've been entertained, you may feel cheated of some dimension — a sense of wonder, perhaps." Those words were written 30 years ago by Pauline Kael, reviewing "Star Wars."
If anyone knows how late critics come to the party, it is Fincher, whose breakthrough 1995 thriller "Se7en" was roundly dismissed by many of the same top critics who were "Zodiac's" biggest admirers. The Wall Street Journal's Joe Morgenstern called it "ponderous," Time's Richard Schickel dubbed it "twaddle" and Newsweek's David Ansen described its style as being a cross between "a Nike commercial and a bad Polish art film."
Now that his work is more familiar, Fincher is considered an old master, at least compared with a nervy upstart like Snyder. As it turns out, the two men's backgrounds are surprisingly similar. Fincher, who is only four years older than the 40-year-old Snyder, began his career at ILM doing optical effects on George Lucas films before directing a series of commercials and music videos for everyone from Aerosmith to Paula Abdul. Snyder had a similar career path.
"I'm part of the 'Star Wars' generation — it's what made me want to become a director," Snyder says. "Blade Runner," "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Excalibur" — films he saw in his mid-teens — are the ones he cites as big influences.
It's obvious that Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" series has served as an influence as well. "300's" deformed hunchback, Ephialtes, who betrays the Spartans, is uncannily reminiscent, both in physical form and in moral ambiguity, to "LOTR's" Gollum.
Snyder has learned that film is a subliminal art, in the sense that he uses his visuals to supply the film's emotional underpinning. In "300," the sky is always dark and unsettled, as if to signal the bitter bloodshed to come. "We tried to make the sky reflect the emotion in the movie, which you can't do in a regular movie," he says. "That's what is great about this kind of green-screen filmmaking. It's not just the actors who matter. Every element in the frame supports the emotion of the moment."
Sadly, our critics, who seemed content with hooting at "300," have lost touch with what makes movies different from other art forms. Hollywood's mass-audience films are not a literary or an intellectual genre. Never have been, never will be. They are built around visuals and emotion, the two elements that "300" used to capture the public imagination.
No one understands this better than 13-year-old Tristan Rodman, who saw "300" (with his dad, since the film is R-rated). "I guess the critics have not liked the movie for the same reason that the majority of people in America did like it," he told me. "Most people just went to see it. Not for the acting or the story, which was just OK, but for the spectacle."
Tristan got a great thrill from seeing "300." And whether you're a critic or just a fanboy, isn't that what people have always gone to the movies for?
I will write more on this tomorrow, stay tuned...
I would instead like you all to read this article from the L.A. Times about 300.
Try not to smash something...
300': It's just a movie -- or is it?
Call it a grand, vivid spectacle -- nothing more, nothing less.
PATRICK GOLDSTEIN
March 20, 2007
DON'T tell the critics, but "300" is a new kind of action movie, a clever synthesis of the stylized epic storytelling practiced by Peter Jackson in "Lord of the Rings" and the stop 'n' start fast-motion cutting of the Wachowski brothers' "Matrix" series. Let's call it Hyper Cinema. "300's" entire visual environment — its billowy wheat fields, its stormy gray skies, even blood that miraculously evaporates before it hits the ground — is a fabricated universe, created by 1,300 effects shots generated in a computer after the actors have gone home.
It's a gamer's view of the world that film critics don't relate to because they seem to have forgotten the kick they got from reading comics as kids. When I went to see "300" last week, the theater was full of scruffy guys who looked like they spent a lot more hours playing Final Fantasy X11 or God of War II than working out at the gym. In an era when it's increasingly difficult to reach young males, "300" offered a vivid spectacle of glistening pecs — as one admirer put it, "Ray Harryhausen crossed with Leni Riefenstahl" — that couldn't be replicated at home.
"We took a singular idea and went all the way with it, which I think resonates with audiences," director Zack Snyder, whose only other feature was a remake of "Dawn of the Dead," said on the phone from London. "It gives you that feeling that made you go to movies in the first place, as in 'Holy [smoke], that was awesome!' "
Populated with unknown actors, the retelling of the gory battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC was airily dismissed as hokum by America's leading critics.
Where the fanboys saw an easily identifiable theme — "me and my buddies are gonna band together and kick some butt" — critics spied pandering trash. The Boston Globe's Wesley Morris called "300" "action porn." The New York Times' A.O. Scott said " '300' is about as violent as ' Apocalypto' and twice as stupid." And the Washington Post's Stephen Hunter, dripping with disdain, exclaimed, "Go tell the Spartans that their sacrifice was not in vain; their long day's fight under the cooling shade of a million falling arrows safeguarded the West and guaranteed, all these years later, the right of idiots to make rotten movies about them."
Those idiots grossed $129.2 million in just 10 days. And Snyder says he wasn't perturbed by the nasty reviews. "Nah, I love 'em, they were funny," he says. "The reviews were so neo-con, so homophobic. They couldn't just go see the movie without trying to over-intellectualize it."
The critics were disturbed by a host of issues, not the least being the film's macho belligerence, cartoonish lack of interest in history and racial stereotyping of Xerxes' Persian hordes as dark-skinned, decadent club queens. But a key reason critics reacted so harshly is because they have been trained to value realism over fantasy, whether it is the stoic drama of Clint Eastwood's "Letters From Iwo Jima" or the cool psychological precision of David Fincher's "Zodiac," which has flopped at the box office, despite critical raves.
"Zodiac" had everything a critic could love. It was smart, full of context and armed with a compelling narrative about an obsessive search for an enigmatic killer. Unfortunately, Fincher is a filmmaker who has little interest in what audiences — or studio executives — think about his movies. He makes them for himself.
In contrast, Snyder's "300," with its Xbox ethos, is a movie made for a generation of visual sensation seekers. Critics are largely shaped by the aesthetic of the cinematic past, which is why you often get the feeling they've been dragged, kicking and screaming, into a new world they describe as coarser, more superficial and less intellectually stimulating than the golden age of their moviegoing youth.
The complaints are almost always the same. "It's an epic without a dream," said one critic. "The loudness, the smash-and-grab editing, and the relentless pacing drive every idea from your head, and even if you've been entertained, you may feel cheated of some dimension — a sense of wonder, perhaps." Those words were written 30 years ago by Pauline Kael, reviewing "Star Wars."
If anyone knows how late critics come to the party, it is Fincher, whose breakthrough 1995 thriller "Se7en" was roundly dismissed by many of the same top critics who were "Zodiac's" biggest admirers. The Wall Street Journal's Joe Morgenstern called it "ponderous," Time's Richard Schickel dubbed it "twaddle" and Newsweek's David Ansen described its style as being a cross between "a Nike commercial and a bad Polish art film."
Now that his work is more familiar, Fincher is considered an old master, at least compared with a nervy upstart like Snyder. As it turns out, the two men's backgrounds are surprisingly similar. Fincher, who is only four years older than the 40-year-old Snyder, began his career at ILM doing optical effects on George Lucas films before directing a series of commercials and music videos for everyone from Aerosmith to Paula Abdul. Snyder had a similar career path.
"I'm part of the 'Star Wars' generation — it's what made me want to become a director," Snyder says. "Blade Runner," "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Excalibur" — films he saw in his mid-teens — are the ones he cites as big influences.
It's obvious that Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" series has served as an influence as well. "300's" deformed hunchback, Ephialtes, who betrays the Spartans, is uncannily reminiscent, both in physical form and in moral ambiguity, to "LOTR's" Gollum.
Snyder has learned that film is a subliminal art, in the sense that he uses his visuals to supply the film's emotional underpinning. In "300," the sky is always dark and unsettled, as if to signal the bitter bloodshed to come. "We tried to make the sky reflect the emotion in the movie, which you can't do in a regular movie," he says. "That's what is great about this kind of green-screen filmmaking. It's not just the actors who matter. Every element in the frame supports the emotion of the moment."
Sadly, our critics, who seemed content with hooting at "300," have lost touch with what makes movies different from other art forms. Hollywood's mass-audience films are not a literary or an intellectual genre. Never have been, never will be. They are built around visuals and emotion, the two elements that "300" used to capture the public imagination.
No one understands this better than 13-year-old Tristan Rodman, who saw "300" (with his dad, since the film is R-rated). "I guess the critics have not liked the movie for the same reason that the majority of people in America did like it," he told me. "Most people just went to see it. Not for the acting or the story, which was just OK, but for the spectacle."
Tristan got a great thrill from seeing "300." And whether you're a critic or just a fanboy, isn't that what people have always gone to the movies for?
I will write more on this tomorrow, stay tuned...
Monday, March 12, 2007
Would You Erase Me?
Okay, another blog entry I've owed for a long time. I think it's pretty good though that the last entry I made was a little more than a week ago, the window is getting smaller. And I'me excited about that, maybe I can close it between a week next time.
Maybe...
So first things last, I need to give you guys an Oscar recap. The most pressing issue of the whole issue is how once again the Oscars took a lot of short cuts and rewarded films that didn't deserve nominations. I should break this down nomination by nomination, don't worry I'm not going to go through them all. And yes I am aware of the fact that they are almost a month old and therefore no longer relevant, so don't bother pointing that out.
Best Picture
The best of this lot was Babel, plain and simple. With The Queen and Letters From Iwo Jima a close second respectively. It seemed though as the announcement loomed that the award was up for grabs between the two least deserving titles, The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine. Don't get me wrong both films I enjoyed, but the Departed fucked up in a lot of vital areas that made it severely not great. And Little Miss Sunshine is just kind of slight, there are moments in that movie I love but others that just seem like they came out of the indie dysfunctional family cookbook. Watch this film and compare it with the much more delicate Squid and the Whale and you will see why the academy sucks so hard. But that makes sense the Oscars were never about making difficult choices, because these awards are for the regular movie going audience. Snide as that sounds it is not intended to be, what I mean is that the Oscars are meant for people who don't see a lot of movies for whatever reason that may be. The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine were the most popular at the box office and they were clearly the most widely seen. However, The Departed simply had the obvious distinction of an iconic american director and a classic genre studio movie. Compared to the upstart "indie" that Little Miss Sunshine claimed to be, the message from Hollywood was clear, tonight, we honor ourselves.
Best Director
I was against all the buzz I was hearing about Scorsese winning. I thought this was another of those Academy covering their own asses and giving an award to a nominee for a career that they so callously ignored in years past, rather than the film at hand. And yes Scorsese should have won it many times for many other films in the 70's and 80's (except when he lost against Redford, if there was some way they could have tied that would have been acceptable, Ordinary People for life). And yes he is a great filmmaker and one of most influential of pure craft of any other american director. However, when it came down to it, he made a film that was more interested in piling up bodies than about whether or not anybody cared about those bodies. I remember reading an article (spoilers ahead, stop reading if you haven't seen the movie) where Scorsese said one of his main stipulations in agreeing to do this movie was that everybody had to die, plain and simple. I think he just had this idea in his head that he was going to do something radical in a mainstream movie and kill off all the big stars so that he could get across his message that our world is rotting from within. I just think the job he did on the departed was more interested in the destination than the journey. Paul Greengrass on the other hand, took an extremely difficult subject matter and handled it with such precision and with nary a mis step that it's breathtaking. He made a better film and he had a lot more at stake between the two of them and when it comes down to a directorial award, that should come into consideration. Anyway, the point of all this is, all was forgiven when I saw Coppola, Spielberg, and Lucas giving the award to their pal. I gave in, it was very nice to see at least for a few seconds and in a completely staged proceeding that some people can remain friends in this business for so many years. I'm glad he won, he just should have pulled a Ving Rhames and given it to Greengrass out of gratitude. That's all I got to say.
Best Screenplay (Original and Adapted)
Once again the Screenplay award fucked up, they really never get this one right. The same I said for best picture applied for these two awards (Won by Little Miss Sunshine and The Departed). As far as adaptations go, I think Children of Men should be studied in classes for many years to come as a model of a pristine film adaptation. The amount of information conveyed in that script without any kind of expository tidal waves and the amount that they pared down to get to the essential meat of the story really makes the movie in my opinion. And it's easy to lose sight of that admist the visual miracles being performed but watch it again and see how subtly and convincingly the writers give us a world with unlimited possibilities and how easily they get right to it, like they've been living there all along. As for original, Pan's Labyrinth connects two stories in a way that seems to just flow rather than grasp for any kind of thematic resonance. The way Del Toro handles his material gives the sense that he has had this material inside of him for a long time and he knew it down to every single beat and pause. Michael Arndt's script, while charming had a lot of snappy zingers in it and uses a lot of easy characterizations to make emotional shortcuts. It's a good script but Del Toro's script feels like a fairy tale, artful and timeless.
Okay that's enough, I've chewed everyone's ear off enough about how I think I have all the answers and the academy just misses the boat year after year. Obviously none of this really matters, the movies are the movies and they will stay that way for all of us to enjoy and argue about for years to come. By no means is this a definitive answer, and really, I don't know what I'm talking about.
I think I'm going to call it a evening on that note, next time, a thrilling post on the week that was Bike Week 2007. On that note, keep smiling america.
"where 24 turn 25, i heard you try to take your life, why
you don't realy know.
where 24 turn 25, there so much pression in this times to be
something that you don't.
where 24 turn 25, i try to hold your head up high, why
well i don't realy know.
where 24 turn 25, make this the best time on your life, why
i don't realy know."
Maybe...
So first things last, I need to give you guys an Oscar recap. The most pressing issue of the whole issue is how once again the Oscars took a lot of short cuts and rewarded films that didn't deserve nominations. I should break this down nomination by nomination, don't worry I'm not going to go through them all. And yes I am aware of the fact that they are almost a month old and therefore no longer relevant, so don't bother pointing that out.
Best Picture
The best of this lot was Babel, plain and simple. With The Queen and Letters From Iwo Jima a close second respectively. It seemed though as the announcement loomed that the award was up for grabs between the two least deserving titles, The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine. Don't get me wrong both films I enjoyed, but the Departed fucked up in a lot of vital areas that made it severely not great. And Little Miss Sunshine is just kind of slight, there are moments in that movie I love but others that just seem like they came out of the indie dysfunctional family cookbook. Watch this film and compare it with the much more delicate Squid and the Whale and you will see why the academy sucks so hard. But that makes sense the Oscars were never about making difficult choices, because these awards are for the regular movie going audience. Snide as that sounds it is not intended to be, what I mean is that the Oscars are meant for people who don't see a lot of movies for whatever reason that may be. The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine were the most popular at the box office and they were clearly the most widely seen. However, The Departed simply had the obvious distinction of an iconic american director and a classic genre studio movie. Compared to the upstart "indie" that Little Miss Sunshine claimed to be, the message from Hollywood was clear, tonight, we honor ourselves.
Best Director
I was against all the buzz I was hearing about Scorsese winning. I thought this was another of those Academy covering their own asses and giving an award to a nominee for a career that they so callously ignored in years past, rather than the film at hand. And yes Scorsese should have won it many times for many other films in the 70's and 80's (except when he lost against Redford, if there was some way they could have tied that would have been acceptable, Ordinary People for life). And yes he is a great filmmaker and one of most influential of pure craft of any other american director. However, when it came down to it, he made a film that was more interested in piling up bodies than about whether or not anybody cared about those bodies. I remember reading an article (spoilers ahead, stop reading if you haven't seen the movie) where Scorsese said one of his main stipulations in agreeing to do this movie was that everybody had to die, plain and simple. I think he just had this idea in his head that he was going to do something radical in a mainstream movie and kill off all the big stars so that he could get across his message that our world is rotting from within. I just think the job he did on the departed was more interested in the destination than the journey. Paul Greengrass on the other hand, took an extremely difficult subject matter and handled it with such precision and with nary a mis step that it's breathtaking. He made a better film and he had a lot more at stake between the two of them and when it comes down to a directorial award, that should come into consideration. Anyway, the point of all this is, all was forgiven when I saw Coppola, Spielberg, and Lucas giving the award to their pal. I gave in, it was very nice to see at least for a few seconds and in a completely staged proceeding that some people can remain friends in this business for so many years. I'm glad he won, he just should have pulled a Ving Rhames and given it to Greengrass out of gratitude. That's all I got to say.
Best Screenplay (Original and Adapted)
Once again the Screenplay award fucked up, they really never get this one right. The same I said for best picture applied for these two awards (Won by Little Miss Sunshine and The Departed). As far as adaptations go, I think Children of Men should be studied in classes for many years to come as a model of a pristine film adaptation. The amount of information conveyed in that script without any kind of expository tidal waves and the amount that they pared down to get to the essential meat of the story really makes the movie in my opinion. And it's easy to lose sight of that admist the visual miracles being performed but watch it again and see how subtly and convincingly the writers give us a world with unlimited possibilities and how easily they get right to it, like they've been living there all along. As for original, Pan's Labyrinth connects two stories in a way that seems to just flow rather than grasp for any kind of thematic resonance. The way Del Toro handles his material gives the sense that he has had this material inside of him for a long time and he knew it down to every single beat and pause. Michael Arndt's script, while charming had a lot of snappy zingers in it and uses a lot of easy characterizations to make emotional shortcuts. It's a good script but Del Toro's script feels like a fairy tale, artful and timeless.
Okay that's enough, I've chewed everyone's ear off enough about how I think I have all the answers and the academy just misses the boat year after year. Obviously none of this really matters, the movies are the movies and they will stay that way for all of us to enjoy and argue about for years to come. By no means is this a definitive answer, and really, I don't know what I'm talking about.
I think I'm going to call it a evening on that note, next time, a thrilling post on the week that was Bike Week 2007. On that note, keep smiling america.
"where 24 turn 25, i heard you try to take your life, why
you don't realy know.
where 24 turn 25, there so much pression in this times to be
something that you don't.
where 24 turn 25, i try to hold your head up high, why
well i don't realy know.
where 24 turn 25, make this the best time on your life, why
i don't realy know."
Friday, March 02, 2007
And the winds to gravel roads.
Last night's entry came through only as an aborted one. I planned to write a small re-cap of what has happened to me in the past week, but it felt like the words were being rippped untimely from my brain. I gave up and settled on quoting a really good tom waits song instead.
But now I'm here to settle a few scores.
I need to gush for a second, I just saw Josh Ritter at the el rey and I think he is one of the greatest musicians alive today. I know I say that a lot, but his lyrical abilities are astounding, not to mention is excellent guitar plucking skills. He's also damn funny and a great peformer, see what I mean? I'll sum it up this way, the album version of Thin Blue Flame is jaw dropping but hearing him play that with just an acoustic guitar will make your heart swell. He really is a great man, I just can't get enough of him now. Just listen for one of his songs in A Slow Dissolve, used ingeniously by the way, and it's one I can't get out of my head. But that's a good thing, not a bad thing like the Beyonce medley I had in there a while ago.
A post script to that, the submarines are also really good too. For just a guy, a girl, two guitars, a couple random instruments and a laptop they know how to make some shit happen. My appreciation for them was deepened greatly by this performance.
A quick recap of some movies I've seen recently, I think last time we talked, I had just seen Letters from Iwo Jima. Since then I haven't seen much, let me think actually.
The Lives of Others
Definitely deserved the academy award, if only it hadn't been up against Pan's Labyrinth. I hate to make choices like that, but seriously Lives of Others is pretty flawless. It's recreation of the Stasi in the mid-80's of Germany feels monotonously real and the passion of the film is subdued to the very end when it hits you and it feels like a great story has just been told.
The Astronaut Farmer
I have a soft spot for movies like this (see Millions) but rest assured this one is really good (also see millions). First of all, it's beautifully shot with some surreal and beautiful desert farm landscapes that can only really exist in movies or places where you live. It's got a great flippant sense of humor that refuses to rest when the hokier parts of the story threaten to take it over. The Polish Farmers are not just merry pranksters, they mean every word of what they say, and I think it can be as cheesey as it wants to be, cause the shit's real.
Breach
A damn compelling and fine film. Chris Cooper is scary good, real scary good. Billy Ray furthers the promise he showed in Shattered Glass, I could definitely see him becoming a buttoned down Michael Mann. His ability to peer into the minds of working men is un parallleled in hollywood. He just does it to the stiffs who work in an un funny version of the office. What is most interesting about Breach is how it explores the contradiction inherent in the intelligence system. It's designed to deal with some of the most melodramatic and epic shifts in human history. Yet its operators are taught to be detached liars who keep secrets from everyone so that they can operate with as little emotional influence as possible. Ray nails that and it makes breach a fantastic character piece.
That's pretty much it for now, I need a full blog for an oscar re cap. Look at...the craziness
Also everyone needs to play laser tag with Gabe at some point in their lives. Especially if he uses his trademark method he crafted at action zone, to see that in action again is like watching kareem pull off a sky hook. But seriously Gabe, any time you're up for it again, color me tickled pink. I'm really itching to get back into the fog machine filled sweat covered, acne and dirty kids infested Doogan controlled arena that is laser tag. Also we gotta beat to those kids next time, that was really embarassing. I'm waiting.
"Though I'm here in this far off place
My air is not this time and space
I draw you close with every breath
you don't know it's right until it's wrong
You don't know it's yours until it's gone
I didn't know that it was home ‘til you up and left"
But now I'm here to settle a few scores.
I need to gush for a second, I just saw Josh Ritter at the el rey and I think he is one of the greatest musicians alive today. I know I say that a lot, but his lyrical abilities are astounding, not to mention is excellent guitar plucking skills. He's also damn funny and a great peformer, see what I mean? I'll sum it up this way, the album version of Thin Blue Flame is jaw dropping but hearing him play that with just an acoustic guitar will make your heart swell. He really is a great man, I just can't get enough of him now. Just listen for one of his songs in A Slow Dissolve, used ingeniously by the way, and it's one I can't get out of my head. But that's a good thing, not a bad thing like the Beyonce medley I had in there a while ago.
A post script to that, the submarines are also really good too. For just a guy, a girl, two guitars, a couple random instruments and a laptop they know how to make some shit happen. My appreciation for them was deepened greatly by this performance.
A quick recap of some movies I've seen recently, I think last time we talked, I had just seen Letters from Iwo Jima. Since then I haven't seen much, let me think actually.
The Lives of Others
Definitely deserved the academy award, if only it hadn't been up against Pan's Labyrinth. I hate to make choices like that, but seriously Lives of Others is pretty flawless. It's recreation of the Stasi in the mid-80's of Germany feels monotonously real and the passion of the film is subdued to the very end when it hits you and it feels like a great story has just been told.
The Astronaut Farmer
I have a soft spot for movies like this (see Millions) but rest assured this one is really good (also see millions). First of all, it's beautifully shot with some surreal and beautiful desert farm landscapes that can only really exist in movies or places where you live. It's got a great flippant sense of humor that refuses to rest when the hokier parts of the story threaten to take it over. The Polish Farmers are not just merry pranksters, they mean every word of what they say, and I think it can be as cheesey as it wants to be, cause the shit's real.
Breach
A damn compelling and fine film. Chris Cooper is scary good, real scary good. Billy Ray furthers the promise he showed in Shattered Glass, I could definitely see him becoming a buttoned down Michael Mann. His ability to peer into the minds of working men is un parallleled in hollywood. He just does it to the stiffs who work in an un funny version of the office. What is most interesting about Breach is how it explores the contradiction inherent in the intelligence system. It's designed to deal with some of the most melodramatic and epic shifts in human history. Yet its operators are taught to be detached liars who keep secrets from everyone so that they can operate with as little emotional influence as possible. Ray nails that and it makes breach a fantastic character piece.
That's pretty much it for now, I need a full blog for an oscar re cap. Look at...the craziness
Also everyone needs to play laser tag with Gabe at some point in their lives. Especially if he uses his trademark method he crafted at action zone, to see that in action again is like watching kareem pull off a sky hook. But seriously Gabe, any time you're up for it again, color me tickled pink. I'm really itching to get back into the fog machine filled sweat covered, acne and dirty kids infested Doogan controlled arena that is laser tag. Also we gotta beat to those kids next time, that was really embarassing. I'm waiting.
"Though I'm here in this far off place
My air is not this time and space
I draw you close with every breath
you don't know it's right until it's wrong
You don't know it's yours until it's gone
I didn't know that it was home ‘til you up and left"
Thursday, March 01, 2007
San Diego Serenade
I never saw the morning til I stayed up all night
I never saw the sunshine til you turned out the light
I never saw my hometown until I stayed away too long
I never heard the melody, until I needed a song.
I never saw the white line, til I was leaving you behind
I never knew I needed you til I was caught up in a bind
I never spoke i love you til I cursed you in vain,
I never felt my heartstrings until I nearly went insane.
I never saw the east coast til I move to the west
I never saw the moonlight until it shone off your breast
I never saw your heart til someone tried to steal,
Tried to steal it away
I never saw your tears until they rolled down your face.
I never saw the sunshine til you turned out the light
I never saw my hometown until I stayed away too long
I never heard the melody, until I needed a song.
I never saw the white line, til I was leaving you behind
I never knew I needed you til I was caught up in a bind
I never spoke i love you til I cursed you in vain,
I never felt my heartstrings until I nearly went insane.
I never saw the east coast til I move to the west
I never saw the moonlight until it shone off your breast
I never saw your heart til someone tried to steal,
Tried to steal it away
I never saw your tears until they rolled down your face.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
You ain't even in my top ten again!
Hey there, the moment you have all been waiting for, like the salivating dogs that you are...
TOP TEN FILMS OF 2006.
I'm sure you are all stunned, taking a few steps back away from your keyboards as you read this.
How can you have a top ten list for the year in film 2006 in the middle of February of the following year.
Well the short answer to that is it took me a while to see Letters From Iwo Jima, and I had to do this right.
Otherwise what are we fighting for.
So, without further apu, I give you...
1. Pan's Labyrinth
I guess it gave it all away right there, but I hope you read on even though it's all downhill from here I guess. While not the most original choice for best film of the year (thank you very much TGWSY). It is still an absolutely worthy choice, Guillermo Del Toro is one of the greatest living directors for his precise lack of pretension and child like wonderment at the world. With this film he has crafted the best kind of fairy tale, frightening yet some how comforting at the same time. He refuses to coddle us to sleep and the result is a film that grows with every waking thought I have of it. And I have only seen it once, it's mind blowing.
2. Children of Men
Another one from the three best directors of 2006 (more on that later). Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men is a great film because it functions perfectly on the level of three different kinds of films. One, it's a breathless action film with some of the most original and inventive battle scenes in recent memory. Two, it's a pitch perfect political commentary with some of the most frightening imagery to tackle Iraq, Abu Ghraib, and the domestic war on terror since mainstream journalism gave up on it so long ago. And three it's a moving personal redemption story about a man who realizes that it's about time he gave a damn again. We should take notice and act accordingly.
3. Babel
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, Guillermo Del Toro, and Alfonso Cuaron made the three best films of 2006 and they have one thing in common. The Mexican thing, I guess, but also their films share a big universal theme, the effect children have on the world. Babel is a devastating account of what happens when our universal differences reveal universal truths about the world we all share. Some accused it of being unrelenting, yet I found it oddly hopeful. Some accused of it being an excercise in pretentious melodrama, I thought it's ultimate theme was so subtle it only reveals itself if you connect the emotional dots rather than the narrative ones. In other words, Iñárritu is a unique talent, and this is his best film.
4. United 93
The film no one wanted turned out to be one of the most essential films of the year. Not simply because of its subject matter (by the way there have been a lot of movies made about 9/11 since 9/11) but the way it handled a worldwide tragedy not with kid gloves, nor with some kind of bullshit grandoise message about the meaning of it all. Paul Greengrass is nothing if not a humane filmmaker and his clear eyed perception of the events of that day are shattering. United 93 is not a story of heroes but about ordinary people who acted heroically and ultimately suffered a tragedy not a sacrifice. Expertly crafted and performed, Greengrass' reminds us how hard we were hit that day not how hard we hit back.
5. Letters From iwo Jima
Yes, this film is that good. Usually Eastwood's laissez-faire direction fails to live up to the hype but this time he has found a new friend in melancholy and the result is an emotional involvement not usually found in his films (I blame that as of recent on Mr. Haggis). A deep sadness hovers over this film matching that of the ultimate futility of the Japanese stand on Iwo Jima. A sadness that can only come from being ordered die and not knowing what for. A personal and tragic take on war that is all the more satisfying for its honest understanding of the so called "enemy." Succesfully blending the elusive combination of war and anti-war, Eastwood has made a film about violence, allegiance, and ultimately death that is his best work to date.
6. The Queen
Sometimes a movie doesn't have to do much more than be perfectly cast, meticulously scripted and directed without a wrong note or beat. That may sound like a lot but The Queen pulls it off so deftly, without drawing too much attention to itself that it surprises you in the best possible way. In capturing the royal family in the days after Diana's death, Stephen Frears and company have made an invigorating document examining what role the monarchy still plays in modern British society. Mirren's Queen is utterly fascinating in how cold and stubbon she appears, yet how absolutely right she is in her convictions. As exciting as a behind the scenes documentary, as heartbreaking as a personal memoir, in other words: perfect.
7. Half Nelson
I had some kind of ridiculous fever dream that after Ryan Fleck's powerful and searing Half Nelson, all those piss poor teacher in a bad neighborhood movies would cease to be made. Then Freedom Writers came out and that dream died. Nevertheless, Half Nelson damn near obliterates the entire genre with its refusal to settle for any easy answers, and its unblinking eye for character details. Gosling really has to be seen, his performance does things in one scene that some actors can't do in an entire film. Shareeka Epps is right there with him, devastating in her refusal to stoop to cute kid histronics, she and Gosling make the film soar. Half Nelson is a good reasoon why independent film will always be relevant.
8. Marie Antoinette
One of the most unfairly dumped upon movies of the year (except for the most unfairly dumped upon, to be documented later). Sofia Coppola's melancholy, colorful, and (god forbid) fun take on the Marie Antoinette story is one of the definitive "girl" stories of the last ten years. It sucks you in with its candy color palette the way Marie herself was seduced by it, then as the years wear on the moments of sadness begin to creep in, and we understand this is not just a story about a girl who wanted to party all day and sleep all day. It's about a girl who lost something and took a country with her to find it, kind of a perfect companion piece to the Queen and I just made that up.
9. A Scanner Darkly/Fast Food Nation
Okay this is a bit of a cheat, I guess this is my top eleven, but whatever, I do shit like this all the time. The reason Scanner and Fast Food are tied for 9 is not because they are made by the same filmmaker (Richard Linklater) but because they represent two of the most satisfying political films of the year. In a way they are kind of a one two punch for Linklater, Scanner being the paranoid nightmare of a country ruled by fear, and Fast Food Nation looking past the paranoia to how suffocatingly toxic parts of this culture have become and how difficult it is to go about fixing them. These two films are not preaching to the choir they are inspiring to the masses.
10. Shortbus
Perhaps the most flawed film on the list. Sure the acting is amateurish and the story basically non existant, but this was hands down one of the most enjoyable films of the year. You know how some movies just get a feeling right and the damn thing has you singing. Shortbus accomplished that in spades, it's joy and optimism are infectious and its daring exploration into the mental and physical effects of sex is achingly beautiful while never once descending into simple minded gloom. It's also a big fuck you to the prudish, misogynistic, and homophobic rhetoric of our Bush administration culture and a great movie about living in New York. A lot was made of the sex in this movie but what will suprise you most isn't the size of its package, but the size of its heart.
Some other movies I really liked this year (tied for 11th place basically...)
The Science of Sleep, The Fountain, Inside Man, Deliver Us From Evil, Blood Diamond, Monster House, Cars, Volver, World Trade Center, Little Children, Bubble, Sweet Land, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, The Prestige, Neil Young: Heart of Gold, The Lake House
Worst Movie of 2006.
Snakes on a Plane
I know this is an easy target, but this movie really pissed me off and I'm glad it died a quick death. It took everything that is fun, spontaneous and absurdly hilarious about watching a bad movie (the MST3K phenomenon) and turned it into a buzz filled internet marketing phenomenon. Watch as hilarity ensues when bad filmmakers intentionally make a bad film all the while assuring us that they are actually talented and are just slumming for our benefit, fuck this movie.
Most Underrated Movie of 2006
The Fountain
The Fountain was unfortunately written off as pretentious sci fi babble, and not to get all Travers on you here, but god forbid a movie uses the visual medium to express ideas rather than explain everything through the character's flapping mouths. The Fountain blows out the conventions of science fiction, romance, and visual effects into a film that can best be described as an experience. One wrapped in the mysteries of life, death and love that somehow communicates all of those things without any kind of compromise or cyniscm. Maybe that's a pretentious explanation but isn't that what we're supposed to feel when watching movies?
Most Overrated Movie of 2006
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
It still baffles me as to how many critics lovingly heaped praise on this movie and adorned many of their own top ten lists with its annoyingly long title. I admit, Sacha Baron Cohen has talent and his ability to improvise is impressive but its a shtick and it gets old real quick. Okay I get it, American are thoughtless, racist, sexist, homophobic etc I don't think Cohen simply exposing that is anything the least bit revolutionary or even new. It also allows him to hide behind his character and not really comment on it or get involved in it. The film too often stoops to some Jackass type stunts that prove two things to me. One being that Cohen didn't have enough ideas to sustain a movie as short as Borat is anyway. And two, that maybe all he wanted to do was gross us out, mission accomplished but that doesn't make him a genius.
There you have it, the Mexicans came and kicked all our asses, except for a few that is. And we wrap us this year (a bit late) with the comforting knowledge that there will always be more than enough movies to stock a top ten list. Hopefully they stick around and it's not a matter of finding them.
"I put my feet up on the coffee table
I stay up late watching cable
I like old movies with Clarke Gable
Just like my dad does
Just like my dad did when he was home
Staying up late, staying up alone
Just like my dad did when he was thinking
Oh, how fast the years fly"
TOP TEN FILMS OF 2006.
I'm sure you are all stunned, taking a few steps back away from your keyboards as you read this.
How can you have a top ten list for the year in film 2006 in the middle of February of the following year.
Well the short answer to that is it took me a while to see Letters From Iwo Jima, and I had to do this right.
Otherwise what are we fighting for.
So, without further apu, I give you...
1. Pan's Labyrinth
I guess it gave it all away right there, but I hope you read on even though it's all downhill from here I guess. While not the most original choice for best film of the year (thank you very much TGWSY). It is still an absolutely worthy choice, Guillermo Del Toro is one of the greatest living directors for his precise lack of pretension and child like wonderment at the world. With this film he has crafted the best kind of fairy tale, frightening yet some how comforting at the same time. He refuses to coddle us to sleep and the result is a film that grows with every waking thought I have of it. And I have only seen it once, it's mind blowing.
2. Children of Men
Another one from the three best directors of 2006 (more on that later). Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men is a great film because it functions perfectly on the level of three different kinds of films. One, it's a breathless action film with some of the most original and inventive battle scenes in recent memory. Two, it's a pitch perfect political commentary with some of the most frightening imagery to tackle Iraq, Abu Ghraib, and the domestic war on terror since mainstream journalism gave up on it so long ago. And three it's a moving personal redemption story about a man who realizes that it's about time he gave a damn again. We should take notice and act accordingly.
3. Babel
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, Guillermo Del Toro, and Alfonso Cuaron made the three best films of 2006 and they have one thing in common. The Mexican thing, I guess, but also their films share a big universal theme, the effect children have on the world. Babel is a devastating account of what happens when our universal differences reveal universal truths about the world we all share. Some accused it of being unrelenting, yet I found it oddly hopeful. Some accused of it being an excercise in pretentious melodrama, I thought it's ultimate theme was so subtle it only reveals itself if you connect the emotional dots rather than the narrative ones. In other words, Iñárritu is a unique talent, and this is his best film.
4. United 93
The film no one wanted turned out to be one of the most essential films of the year. Not simply because of its subject matter (by the way there have been a lot of movies made about 9/11 since 9/11) but the way it handled a worldwide tragedy not with kid gloves, nor with some kind of bullshit grandoise message about the meaning of it all. Paul Greengrass is nothing if not a humane filmmaker and his clear eyed perception of the events of that day are shattering. United 93 is not a story of heroes but about ordinary people who acted heroically and ultimately suffered a tragedy not a sacrifice. Expertly crafted and performed, Greengrass' reminds us how hard we were hit that day not how hard we hit back.
5. Letters From iwo Jima
Yes, this film is that good. Usually Eastwood's laissez-faire direction fails to live up to the hype but this time he has found a new friend in melancholy and the result is an emotional involvement not usually found in his films (I blame that as of recent on Mr. Haggis). A deep sadness hovers over this film matching that of the ultimate futility of the Japanese stand on Iwo Jima. A sadness that can only come from being ordered die and not knowing what for. A personal and tragic take on war that is all the more satisfying for its honest understanding of the so called "enemy." Succesfully blending the elusive combination of war and anti-war, Eastwood has made a film about violence, allegiance, and ultimately death that is his best work to date.
6. The Queen
Sometimes a movie doesn't have to do much more than be perfectly cast, meticulously scripted and directed without a wrong note or beat. That may sound like a lot but The Queen pulls it off so deftly, without drawing too much attention to itself that it surprises you in the best possible way. In capturing the royal family in the days after Diana's death, Stephen Frears and company have made an invigorating document examining what role the monarchy still plays in modern British society. Mirren's Queen is utterly fascinating in how cold and stubbon she appears, yet how absolutely right she is in her convictions. As exciting as a behind the scenes documentary, as heartbreaking as a personal memoir, in other words: perfect.
7. Half Nelson
I had some kind of ridiculous fever dream that after Ryan Fleck's powerful and searing Half Nelson, all those piss poor teacher in a bad neighborhood movies would cease to be made. Then Freedom Writers came out and that dream died. Nevertheless, Half Nelson damn near obliterates the entire genre with its refusal to settle for any easy answers, and its unblinking eye for character details. Gosling really has to be seen, his performance does things in one scene that some actors can't do in an entire film. Shareeka Epps is right there with him, devastating in her refusal to stoop to cute kid histronics, she and Gosling make the film soar. Half Nelson is a good reasoon why independent film will always be relevant.
8. Marie Antoinette
One of the most unfairly dumped upon movies of the year (except for the most unfairly dumped upon, to be documented later). Sofia Coppola's melancholy, colorful, and (god forbid) fun take on the Marie Antoinette story is one of the definitive "girl" stories of the last ten years. It sucks you in with its candy color palette the way Marie herself was seduced by it, then as the years wear on the moments of sadness begin to creep in, and we understand this is not just a story about a girl who wanted to party all day and sleep all day. It's about a girl who lost something and took a country with her to find it, kind of a perfect companion piece to the Queen and I just made that up.
9. A Scanner Darkly/Fast Food Nation
Okay this is a bit of a cheat, I guess this is my top eleven, but whatever, I do shit like this all the time. The reason Scanner and Fast Food are tied for 9 is not because they are made by the same filmmaker (Richard Linklater) but because they represent two of the most satisfying political films of the year. In a way they are kind of a one two punch for Linklater, Scanner being the paranoid nightmare of a country ruled by fear, and Fast Food Nation looking past the paranoia to how suffocatingly toxic parts of this culture have become and how difficult it is to go about fixing them. These two films are not preaching to the choir they are inspiring to the masses.
10. Shortbus
Perhaps the most flawed film on the list. Sure the acting is amateurish and the story basically non existant, but this was hands down one of the most enjoyable films of the year. You know how some movies just get a feeling right and the damn thing has you singing. Shortbus accomplished that in spades, it's joy and optimism are infectious and its daring exploration into the mental and physical effects of sex is achingly beautiful while never once descending into simple minded gloom. It's also a big fuck you to the prudish, misogynistic, and homophobic rhetoric of our Bush administration culture and a great movie about living in New York. A lot was made of the sex in this movie but what will suprise you most isn't the size of its package, but the size of its heart.
Some other movies I really liked this year (tied for 11th place basically...)
The Science of Sleep, The Fountain, Inside Man, Deliver Us From Evil, Blood Diamond, Monster House, Cars, Volver, World Trade Center, Little Children, Bubble, Sweet Land, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, The Prestige, Neil Young: Heart of Gold, The Lake House
Worst Movie of 2006.
Snakes on a Plane
I know this is an easy target, but this movie really pissed me off and I'm glad it died a quick death. It took everything that is fun, spontaneous and absurdly hilarious about watching a bad movie (the MST3K phenomenon) and turned it into a buzz filled internet marketing phenomenon. Watch as hilarity ensues when bad filmmakers intentionally make a bad film all the while assuring us that they are actually talented and are just slumming for our benefit, fuck this movie.
Most Underrated Movie of 2006
The Fountain
The Fountain was unfortunately written off as pretentious sci fi babble, and not to get all Travers on you here, but god forbid a movie uses the visual medium to express ideas rather than explain everything through the character's flapping mouths. The Fountain blows out the conventions of science fiction, romance, and visual effects into a film that can best be described as an experience. One wrapped in the mysteries of life, death and love that somehow communicates all of those things without any kind of compromise or cyniscm. Maybe that's a pretentious explanation but isn't that what we're supposed to feel when watching movies?
Most Overrated Movie of 2006
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
It still baffles me as to how many critics lovingly heaped praise on this movie and adorned many of their own top ten lists with its annoyingly long title. I admit, Sacha Baron Cohen has talent and his ability to improvise is impressive but its a shtick and it gets old real quick. Okay I get it, American are thoughtless, racist, sexist, homophobic etc I don't think Cohen simply exposing that is anything the least bit revolutionary or even new. It also allows him to hide behind his character and not really comment on it or get involved in it. The film too often stoops to some Jackass type stunts that prove two things to me. One being that Cohen didn't have enough ideas to sustain a movie as short as Borat is anyway. And two, that maybe all he wanted to do was gross us out, mission accomplished but that doesn't make him a genius.
There you have it, the Mexicans came and kicked all our asses, except for a few that is. And we wrap us this year (a bit late) with the comforting knowledge that there will always be more than enough movies to stock a top ten list. Hopefully they stick around and it's not a matter of finding them.
"I put my feet up on the coffee table
I stay up late watching cable
I like old movies with Clarke Gable
Just like my dad does
Just like my dad did when he was home
Staying up late, staying up alone
Just like my dad did when he was thinking
Oh, how fast the years fly"
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Let us hope that we are preceded in this world by a love story.
I don't have too much to say tonight. Other than Sweet Land is a fine film.
I finally got around to seeing it and it was well worth it. It's amazing how Hollywood is incapable of capturing a romance that feels like it could actually happen. Sweet Land nails it, every sweet, tender, and aching moment of it. It's not about who can out wit each other like some kind of game, it's about a glance that shouldn't have happened but you're glad it did anyway.
I could go on forever about this sort of thing but if you want a sweet and refreshing romance, check out sweet land any way you can. I think it's gone from movie theatres so put this one on your netflix queue or go look for it at blockbuster.
That's all I got, I'll have more later.
I know in the past I've found it hard to say
Tellin' you things, but not tellin' straight
But the more I pull on your hand and say
The more you pull away
Dry your eyes mate
I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up
There's plenty more fish in the sea
Dry your eyes mate
I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts
But you've got to walk away now.
I finally got around to seeing it and it was well worth it. It's amazing how Hollywood is incapable of capturing a romance that feels like it could actually happen. Sweet Land nails it, every sweet, tender, and aching moment of it. It's not about who can out wit each other like some kind of game, it's about a glance that shouldn't have happened but you're glad it did anyway.
I could go on forever about this sort of thing but if you want a sweet and refreshing romance, check out sweet land any way you can. I think it's gone from movie theatres so put this one on your netflix queue or go look for it at blockbuster.
That's all I got, I'll have more later.
I know in the past I've found it hard to say
Tellin' you things, but not tellin' straight
But the more I pull on your hand and say
The more you pull away
Dry your eyes mate
I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up
There's plenty more fish in the sea
Dry your eyes mate
I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts
But you've got to walk away now.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Fashion Awards
It's 4:43am on a Tuesday Morning.
And I'm going to a fashion show.
I'll let E tell you the rest...
let's go down to the fashion show
with all the pretty people that you don't know
we'll sit down in the velvet chairs
they'll hand awards out for best hair
and if we don't win one, well, then
we'll blow off our heads in despair
we'll blow off our heads in despair
i smell magic in the room
flashing lights and sonic booms
lovely saps all without a care
nobody said that the world was fair
and if they did say so, well, then
we'll blow off our heads in despair
we'll blow off our heads in despair
let's go down to the fashion show
with all the pretty people and piles of blow
we'll sit down in the velvet chairs
and hang on tight to our bus fare
and if it falls between the seats
we'll blow off our heads in despair
we'll blow off our heads in despair
And I'm going to a fashion show.
I'll let E tell you the rest...
let's go down to the fashion show
with all the pretty people that you don't know
we'll sit down in the velvet chairs
they'll hand awards out for best hair
and if we don't win one, well, then
we'll blow off our heads in despair
we'll blow off our heads in despair
i smell magic in the room
flashing lights and sonic booms
lovely saps all without a care
nobody said that the world was fair
and if they did say so, well, then
we'll blow off our heads in despair
we'll blow off our heads in despair
let's go down to the fashion show
with all the pretty people and piles of blow
we'll sit down in the velvet chairs
and hang on tight to our bus fare
and if it falls between the seats
we'll blow off our heads in despair
we'll blow off our heads in despair
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