Art Garfunkel Memorial Reading List (January - June 2008)

So to be clear, Garfunkel isn't dead...but the list that I put out every six months of the books that I have read is somewhat of a tribute to him. Art's been keeping track of every book that he's read since the late 1960s. I started at the beginning of 2007...

1. Confusions of Young Torless - Robert Musil (Jan 12)
2. Desire and Delusion - Arthur Schnitzler (Jan 15)
3. Crying of Lot 49 - Thomas Pynchon (Jan 20)
4. No Man is an Island - Thomas Merton (Jan 20)
5. Gang Leader for a Day - Sudhir Venkatesh (Feb 3)
6. Obscene Bird of Night - Jose Donoso (Feb 8)
7. Confessions of Nat Turner - William Styron (Feb 19)
8. Executioner's Song - Norman Mailer (Mar 22)
9. Death of Artemio Cruz - Carlos Fuentes (Mar 23)
10. The Fierce and Beautiful World - Andrei Platonov (Apr 2)
11. Lady With the Dog and Other Stories - Anton Chekhov (Apr 4)
12. the Giver - Lois Lowry (Apr 7)
13. Atonement - Ian McEwan (Apr 8)
14. If on a winter's night a traveler - Italo Calvino (Apr 16)
15. Why We Watch: The Attractions of Violent Entertainment - Jeffrey Goldstein (Apr 17)
16. Dream Life of Sukhanov - Olga Grushin (Apr 26)
17. Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind? - Michael Eric Dyson (Apr 28)
18. Reeling - Pauline Kael (May 2)
19. the Dutchman and the Slave - Leroi Jones (May 5)
20. Oil! - Upton Sinclair (May 11)
21. Against Interpretation - Susan Sontag (May 12)
22. Coldest Winter Ever - Sister Souljah (May 16)
23. Heartsnatcher - Boris Vian (May 16)
24. Death of Adam - Marilynne Robinson (May 24)
25. Sheltering Sky - Paul Bowles (May 25)
26. Women, Race, and Class - Angela Davis (June 3)
27. Aura - Carlos Fuentes (June 4)
28. Journey to the End of Night - Louis-Ferdinand Celine (June 5)
29. the Disappointment Artist - Jonathan Lethem (June 7)
30. Play It as It Lays - Joan Didion (June 7)
31. Box Man - Kobo Abe (June 11)
32. Blood and Grits - Harry Crews (June 15)
33. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston (June 20)
34. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides (June 22)
35. Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole (June 28)

Celluloid #5

In Theatre

No outings this week

In Home

Crazed Fruit (1956) Nakahira - A cool movie about two brothers who fall for the same woman. Beautiful, sexy, and quite tense at times, this Japanese film also features a strong anti-Western vibe while simultaneously incorporating western/capitalistic elements (water skis, cocktail bars, etc.) Has a lot of youthful energy and rebelliousness. 5/5

Diary of a Lost Girl (1929) Pabst - Louise Brooks stars as Thymian, a young woman who is sent away to a girl's reformatory school by an evil stepmother figure after being raped by a family friend. She eventually gets to leave the school and gets tangled up with a different set of people who focus more on the vices in life. There's always something providing a struggle in her life. Brooks is charming to watch as usual. 4/5

For Y'ur Height Only (1979) Nicart - A Filipino James Bond spoof, where Agent 007 is replaced by Agent 00, played by Weng Weng, a midget with a really bad haircut. Agent 00 still kicks a lot of ass (mainly by aiming his kicks at his enemy's genitals) and still does well with the ladies, including the leading "Bond girl" in this film, "the Sex Pot." Extremely low budget with a plot that really doesn't make much sense, nevertheless adding to the charm. 4/5

Gimme Shelter (1970) Maysles - Documentary juxtaposing the New York and Altamont shows of the Rolling Stones 1969 American tour. In New York, one can see how Mick Jagger may have once held sex appeal and Keith Richards actually doesn't look like a corpse just yet. All in all New York seemed like a pretty great show. In comparison the Altamont show in the Bay Area seems like a complete nightmare; mainly for the notorious shankings wielded out by the Hell's Angels. 4.5/5

Masculin Feminin (1966) Godard - The boy from The 400 Blows is mostly grown up and pursuing a young woman who works at a magazine, but is also recording a pop album. Randomly, throughout the film between scenes, Godard posts screens of text that seem vaguely revolutionary or at least some sort of social commentary. Also, Paul (400 blows kid) gets a job surveying "the typical French woman" and asks them all sorts of questions ranging from "what type of birth control methods do you use?" to "where in the world are you aware of wars happening right now?" Basically, coming-of-age in France amidst counterculture and attempts to define gender and sexuality. 4/5

Sanjuro (1962) Kurosawa - I liked this film, but was also kinda bored. It's the sequel to Yojimbo, but practically the same story over again. The two sides warring each other in a village are completely idiotic, and an eccentric samurai (who also enjoys the bottle) is the only one who seems to possess an intelligence. While there's nothing wrong with this film, I really think people should just choose to watch this or Yojimbo...not both. 3.5/5

In News

* The "Up Series" is a documentary started in England which filmed fourteen 7 year-olds, and proceeding to return to film them every seven years. That series is currently up to 49 Up. The concept proved so popular that documentary series were started in several other countries including Russia, Japan, and...South Africa. Next month 21 Up South Africa: Mandela's Children will be available for rent, dealing with post-apartheid race relations, crime, and AIDS.

* Jean-Pierre Jeunet, director who brought us Delicatessen, City of Lost Children, and Amelie has a new film in production, Micmacs a tire-larigot...which roughly translates to "this endless mess."

Celluloid #4

In Theatres

Randomly this past weekend I saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I think I keep giving these Judd Apatow related projects a viewing strictly based on my affinity for the short-lived television show, "Freaks and Geeks." I pretty much had the same reaction to this film as my reactions to Knocked Up and Superbad, which is that parts made me laugh, but overall I didn't think it was that funny...enjoyable, but just not really my thing. Once again, our protagonist is adult dude who is sweet, but is totally a dude who plays video games all day and eats a lot of cereal. The story is also pretty familiar (a break-up, coping with the end of a relationship, meeting someone else, having to decide between the old girlfriend and the new love interest, etc.) I liked it, I just think people pee their pants a little too much over all of these films...3.5/5

In Home

-It was a slow movie-watching week for me. Partially a good thing because it implies that I actually had a bit of a social life this past week, but I also blame "Six Feet Under", as I am finishing up the last season of the series...

Batman Begins (2005) Nolan - I saw the trailer for The Dark Knight a couple weeks ago, which prompted me to catch up with the previous installment of the new Batman franchise. I actually enjoyed this movie quite a bit...dark, Christian Bale is good (Michael Caine is better!), just the right amount of action and character development. As the title implies, the movie is about Bruce Wayne's transformation and creation of the Batman persona, but he also has to save Gotham from the Scarecrow's mind-altering/mind-killing chemical terrorism. 4/5

Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) Cassavetes - While many Cassavetes films focus on relationships and the differences between men and women, in this film we see the 1970s "indie" version of film noir. Cosmo owns a strip club in Los Angeles, and one night a guy who owns a gambling joint across town, comes to Cosmo's club and convinces him to stop by his establishment sometime. Cosmo ends up losing $23,000 there and has some difficulties paying his debt off. 4/5

In News

* To my disappointment/relief, Werner Herzog is not remaking Bad Lieutenant. He is filming a movie by that name, but it isn't the same story, and Herzog apparently just discovered that the Harvey Keitel movie even existed.

* Chris Marker, the director most known for his beautiful short film La Jetee, has finally had some of his other films released on DVD. Titles include The Last Bolshevik, The Case of the Grinning Cat, The Embassy, The Sixth Side of the Pentagon, and seven more short films. They are supposed to have been available for the past couple months, but probably still not easy to come across.

*Criterion is actually going to release the highly controversial (and still usually banned film) Salo (120 Days of Sodom) by Pasolini. The film is based on the pornography of the Marquis de Sade, and has been known to cause some viewers to vomit upon watching it..others call it a masterpiece. It was Pasolini's last film before he was murdered. Available in August.

Celluloid #3

No "In Theatre" happenings this week...

In Home

Benny's Video (1992) Haneke - Part of the trilogy that includes Seventh Continent and Funny Games, this film focuses on a 14 year-old-boy who is fascinated with violent and disturbing videos. He commits a violent act himself when his parents are out of town, and his parents try to help him deal with the aftermath. Like Funny Games, Haneke seems to be making an explicit comment on media and violence, and specifically the audience's complicity in such acts. Fascinating and disturbing as usual...5/5

Clean, Shaven (1997) Kerrigan - Sound plays a huge role in this film that portrays a schizophrenic man in small town New England. There's very little dialogue, but lots of random noises, static, and voices. Peter Winter just wants to visit his daughter that had been given up for adoption at a very young age. Meanwhile, another young girl in town had been violently murdered and an investigator is snooping around for evidence and suspects Peter in the case. 3.5/5

Opera (1987) Argento - What I think people like about Argento films (if you like them at all, or maybe just what I like about Argento films) is a certain amount of campiness...awesome soundtracks, over-the-top killings that invoke laughter, vivid colors, and even some amount of charm in the obviously bad acting. However, of the 4 films that I have seen now, Opera is my least favorite. The plotline surrounds a young opera singer who makes her debut in "MacBeth" which is regarded as a cursed opera. Basically, having seen Argento films made 5-10 years earlier, it just seems like he has run out of ridiculous devices, plus instead of prog-rock or synthy/danceyness...this film's music is essentially 80s metal..not my personal favorite. 3/5

Playtime (1967) Tati - This film is full of grey imagery...concrete, chrome, grey suits. For the bulk of the film, M. Hulot bumbles around Paris. He's an old man facing a new, modern, sterile Paris. Nothing much happens and there is barely any dialogue, but rather a constant mumbling from American tourists and other crowds. Overall, the film is shot and feels like it's supposed to be a comedy, and I don't know if it's just because it's a French film made in the 1960s, but it's really not funny...the gags are pretty cheesy. However, the scene of the brand new restaurant is pretty fun (although not funny) but that's probably just because I like the dancing. It's a beautiful film, and I get the point, but it's just too long and in reality a little boring to watch. 3.5/5

Vagabond (1985) Varda - A film about a twenty-something French girl, Mona, who has "dropped out" and is travelling around, hitchhiking, camping, and working on the occasion in the French countryside. It's mostly linear with flashbacks to documentary-style interviews with people who had interacted with Mona. An interesting film about being intentionally homeless. 4/5

In the News

*Alejandro Jodorowsky, director responsible for El Topo and Holy Mountain, is coming out with a new film called King Shot. David Lynch is producing and the cast may include Asia Argento (Dario's daughter), Nick Nolte, and Marilyn Manson. I have no idea what it's about, but purportedly is somewhat of a gangster film...2009

*Limits of Control (new Jarmusch mentioned a few weeks ago) sounding better and better: Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, and Gael Garcia Bernal all expected to be a part of the cast.

*Vincent Gallo may not be directing any more films ever, but he is acting...in an upcoming Francis Ford Coppola film, Tetro.

Celluloid #2

Here's another installment of movie-happenings. I wanted to explain my particular ratings: 5/5 = loved it or really liked it (probably visually pleasing as well as a good story/characters/style). 4/5 = good, I liked it, worth watching. 3/5 = neutral, okay, fairly unremarkable. 2/5 = I didn't like it, not a good movie, but probably has something tolerable about it. 1/5 = terrible.

In Theatres

This past Friday, I had the experience of watching Harmony Korine's latest, Mister Lonely. The premise is a Michael Jackson impersonator meets a Marilyn Monroe impersonator and she convinces him to join her on a commune in the Scottish Highlands full of other celebrity impersonators, including the Three Stooges, Charlie Chaplin, the Pope, the Queen, and Abe Lincoln. The movie also contains a side story involving Werner Herzog as a priest and a bunch of nuns who jump out of airplanes to test their faith. The biggest problem with this movie is the dialogue. It's horrendous and, I believe, meant to be taken seriously. For instance, when Michael is about to move out of his room, he starts saying things like "goodbye chair", "you've been a good room", "I know I'll always remember you and I know you'll remember me." The film is full of cringe-worthy dialogue along these lines. I also don't think I'm ruining anything by saying that a scene involving singing painted eggs is enough to try anyone's patience.

Despite the bad dialogue and a story that doesn't really go anywhere, there are a few redeeming points that still made me glad that I at least saw this film once. Harmony Korine is good with visuals...he puts shots on the screen that are quite beautiful and often strange, sometimes hilarious (I laughed out loud a couple of times based solely on a visual). The opening scene is great. I also think Werner Herzog is fantastic. I'm not sure if Korine wrote him any dialogue or whether Herzog improvised all of his lines, but he's one of the only people that can pull off the ridiculous and ridiculously melodramatic. The scenes of nuns skydiving are also pretty great. It's really too bad that the side story wasn't the main story...2/5.

(PREVIEW) I have not seen any Guy Maddin films yet, but in the previews before Mister Lonely, I saw a trailer for a film by Maddin called My Winnipeg. It's in black and white and supposedly based on real events from Maddin's life as well as stories from Winnipeg...looks good.

In Home

The Bridge (2006) Steel - Notorious documentary about people who commit suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge (by far the most popular place to end one's life). Eric Steel and a crew observed and filmed for the entire year of 2004. While you do see footage of people jumping, the majority of the documentary is spent talking to family and friends of those who jumped. At its core, this documentary seeks to find out why people commit suicide and how they get to that point. 4/5

Cooley High (1975) Schultz - Apparently labelled "the Black American Graffiti," this movie focuses on a group of friends in their last year at a black Chicago high school. They go to parties, try to pick up girls, ditch class, etc. Everything is fairly carefree for most of the movie until two friends take a car out for a joyride and have to suffer the consequences. 4/5

Faces (1968) Cassavetes - This film is about the collapse of a couple's marriage, but it's also about coping with middle age and general unhappiness. Both husband and wife try to fill their voids with affection from other people which obviously doesn't make them feel any better. Gena Rowlands is lovely as usual. Cassavetes does a good job of making a beautiful, human film even if it's emotionally draining and feels long. 5/5

Jungle Fever (1991) Lee - My boss lent me the Spike Lee Joint Collection this past week and this was the better of the two films I watched. Wesley Snipes plays an architect named Flipper who hooks up with his white temp secretary, which then ensues to cause a scandal amongst both of their social circles. Through character discussions, we as an audience are exposed to discourse around the issue of interracial dating. This film also features Halle Berry as a crackhead! 3.5/5

The Long Goodbye (1973) Altman - Phillip Marlowe is a smart-ass. He's a detective in Los Angeles with some shady friends, a bunch of nude ladies as neighbors, and generally with someone out to get him. A lady hires him to find her husband, and that simple task results in a big mess for Marlowe to escape. Very enjoyable. 4/5

Mo'Better Blues (1990) Lee - Denzel Washington plays a New York jazz musician who is also very self-centered. He has two conflicts that he has to deal with: 1.) His saxophone player wants to start his own band 2.) He's sleeping with two ladies, who kinda know that he's sleeping with another person (and then definitely know). I'm not the biggest Denzel fan and I don't really know why Spike Lee made this movie...3/5

The Piano Teacher (2002) Haneke - This film was my introduction to Haneke several years ago. I loved it then and pretty much proceeded to watch his entire catalogue over the past couple years. Watching this again, it's amazing how normal the film seems until about thirty minutes in, then you get your first "what the fuck?"...followed by many more instances for the duration. 5/5

In the News

Nic Roeg, the director who brought you Art Garfunkel's sexual romp, Bad Timing, as well as The Man Who Fell to Earth and numerous films that I am interested in checking out, has a new film coming out sometime this year (I think): Puffball. As far as I can tell, the plot seems to revolve around an unexpected pregnancy and some witchcraft.

Nick Cave is supposedly writing the follow-up to The Proposition, called Death of a Ladies' Man. That title in itself is enough to be excited, but so is the prospect that the director of The Proposition, John Hillcoat, is expected to direct this as well. If this film does actually get made, don't expect to see it until sometime next year...

Lastly, Lars von Trier is expected to start filming Antichrist this summer. yay?