Art Garfunkel Memorial Reading List (January - June 2011)

1.) I'm Not Stiller - Frisch (1/4)

2.) Freedom - Franzen (1/10)

3.) the Voice Imitator - Bernhard (1/13)

4.) Super Sad True Love Story - Shteyngart (1/21)

5.) Jesus' Son - Johnson (1/24)

6.) Flowers in the Attic - Andrews (1/30)

7.) Girls to the Front: the True Story of the Riot Grrl Revolution - Marcus (2/2)

8.) the Lover's Dictionary - Levithan (2/4)

9.) the Stories of Breece DJ Pancake - Pancake (2/4)

10.) Ghostwritten - Mitchell (2/11)

11.) We Need to Talk About Kevin - Shriver (2/26)

12.) Our Circus Presents - Teodorovici (3/9)

13.) Moby Dick - Melville (3/11)

14.) Scorch Atlas - Butler (3/15)

15.) the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Skloot (3/22)

16.) Correction - Bernhard (4/3)

17.) Imaginative Qualities of Actual Things - Sorrentino (4/9)

18.) Heart of a Dog - Bulgakov (4/12)

19.) Fugue State - Evenson (4/14)

20.) the End of Vandalism - Drury (4/19)

21.) Sixty Stories - Barthelme (4/20)

22.) the Cannibal - Hawkes (5/3)

23.) Bonsai - Zambra (5/4)

24.) Negative Space - Farber (5/11)

25.) the Film That Changed My Life - Elder (5/17)

26.) the Stain - Ducornet (5/17)

27.) Nobody Move - Johnson (5/18)

28.) Ablutions - DeWitt (5/19)

29.) Teen Movies: American Youth on Screen - Shary (5/22)

30.) the Shell Collector - Doerr (5/24)

31.) the Vagrants - Li (5/25)

32.) Interpreter of Maladies - Lahiri (5/26)

33.) Bossypants - Fey (5/28)

34.) the Empty Family - Toibin (6/2)

35.) the Other City - Ajvaz (6/6)

36.) War Trash - Jin (6/16)

37.) St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised By Wolves - Russell (6/23)

38.) We - Zamyatin (6/29)

Celluloid #121

In Home

Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) Morrissey - Totally campy Warhol/Morrissey film where a mad scientists is trying to create a male and a female zombie that will procreate. He selects a human man that he believes to be a quite a ladies' man (when in fact this individual is thinking about becoming a monk). This guy's best friend is the real casanova, but the scientist's wife finds her own personal use for him. Really bloody and hilarious. 3.5/5 [decent]

I Am Curious: Yellow (1967) Sjoman - Starts off with pseudo-documentary stylings, where Lena interviews Swedish citizens about political issues of the day. Lena is also the director's lover/muse, but he loses interest as her sexual experimentation regarding free love becomes more overt. There are some really campy hippy scenes that I hope are meant to be at least a little ironic, considering Lena is often portrayed in a light typical to early 20-somethings where they want a cause to champion. I like that Lena is a little chubby and seems to flaunt her flesh while simultaneously feeling a little self-conscious. 3.5/5 [decent]

Soylent Green (1973) Fleischer - This movie is just one of those great 1970s sci-fi films, where the future being portrayed is essentially right now, but their version is so of its time with the colors and costuming and so delightfully 70s. In the future, there is no more food so citizens eat processed colorful blocks of nutrition that are carefully rationed. These are called "Soylent Red", "Soylent Yellow", etc. Soylent Green is by far the favorite. An investigator uncovers the secret behind Soylent Green and pays dearly for his knowledge. 3.5/5 [decent]

Twilight (2008) Hardwicke/Twilight: New Moon (2009) Weitz/ Twilight: Eclipse (2010) Slade - Okay, so here's the point where I lose basically all credibility for having good taste in film....I have to say that I have enjoyed watching these movies in rapid succession. This is not a huge surprise to me given my predilection for teenage drama, like to keep up on cultural phenomena, and the fact that I enjoy other shows and movies dealing with monsters. Overall the acting is noticeably bad, everyone mumbles, the music is strange, and I can't really feel that great about the ridiculous portrayal of romance setting an unreasonable example to impressionable adolescents. I don't even understand why this vampire and this werewolf are that into Bella - she's boring and stubborn and really not a very good friend. However, during the third film I found myself gasping and yelling "NO!!" at the television...obviously I have been sucked in. My roommate and I even end up talking about how minus the supernatural elements, this is actually a really accurate portrayal of high school. I would say that the first film is the best, the second really not very good, and the third definitely better than the second. I would not recommend this to anyone...I feel like you know who you are if this would appeal to you. That being said, I am pretty thrilled to watch the next installment in November (vampire baby ripping Bella's stomach open!!)...and Team Edward (even if he is a liar and kinda a creep...) ??/5 [N/A]

Celluloid #120

In Theaters

Super 8 (2011) Abrams - I was really excited to see this film - JJ Abrams doing an homage to ET and Close Encounters + Coach Taylor! For the first 2/3, I was so down. The kids were compelling and actually pretty decent actors, and I liked all of the nostalgic qualities. I easily got sucked into the kids' interpersonal dynamics and their individual family dramas and the film they work on together. Things begin to fall apart for me when the kids have to evacuate town. The plot that ensues goes beyond my ability to suspend disbelief (and I am not referring to anything monster-related, more with discovering and comprehending some secretive research that even the military police couldn't find..). Towards the end, I guess we are supposed to feel sympathetic for this creature and the connection between it and the protagonist kid...I didn't buy it. My heartstrings were untouched for the ending, because I really feel like the film never earns that kind of emotional attachment. Abrams may be channeling Spielberg, but he could have tapped that emotional vein in a much more effective way. 3.5/5 [decent]

X-Men: First Class (2011) Vaughn - I really only saw this film because I was visiting my parents. Not something that I would normally seek out, but I got a little sucked in by the overwhelmingly positive reviews. This movie is fine for summer fare. I always enjoy Michael Fassbender, and without a doubt, he is the most compelling reason to watch this film. There's nothing wrong with this film, but it's just difficult for me to get excited by mutants and their superpowers...even if it is couched in civil rights era rhetoric. 3.5/5 [decent]

In Home

Gran Torino (2008) Eastwood - I really don't know why we are supposed to find an old cranky man's racism charming or sympathetic. I'm not opposed to the basic premise of this film: a man is recently widowed and angry at the world. He begrudgingly befriends a Hmong teenage boy who lives next door. He imparts wisdom to the neighbor through the benefit of his years, and in turn learns from the boy due to his foreign culture. The problem is that the dialogue is bad, and the acting is perhaps even worse...not something that normally bothers me in a film until it it is so egregious that it becomes distracting. 2/5 [bad]

the New World (2005) Malick - After watching Tree of Life last week, I was jumping at the chance to watch the remaining Malick film unseen by me. I'm sure that I originally overlooked this film because of the presence of Colin Farrell, but rest assured, he is far from annoying and Malick is clearly running this slow-paced show. This is the lyrical story of the romance of Pocahontas and John Smith. A glimpse at "wild america" and the tension between the old and new cultures. The young woman who plays Pocahontas is stunning and has such an interesting face. Tree of Life seems like a natural next step after this movie (moving from early history and American myth, to even more personal American myths expanded to the mysteries God and the universe). 4/5 [good]

Zombie (1979) Fulci - The special effects are bad, but sorta charming in their badness. This will hit the spot if you want a zombie film, and even features some elements not normally seen in the genre: voodoo, tropical settings, and most notably - a fight between a zombie and a shark. 3/5 [medium+]

Celluloid #119

In Theaters

Blank City (2011) Danhier - Documentary about the No Wave scene in New York during the early 1980s. Somewhat about the music, but primarily focusing on the film scene consisting of Jim Jarmusch, Nick Zedd, Richard Kern, and Amos Poe among others. This film paints a picture of a gritty New York with a strong community of poor kids squatting in abandoned buildings and making art with each other. Interviews with Lydia Lunch and James Chance are particularly entertaining. 4/5 [good]

the Tree of Life (2011) Malick - Scenes of outer space, dinosaurs, and evolution are mixed with slightly less abstract dramatic episodes from 1950s Texas. The Texas scenes are still atypical because they consist of mainly nonlinear moments full of lots of whispering and inner monologues. Several of these scenes affected me in an incredibly emotional way, but could be just as simple as a son hugging his father. Overall, as a viewer, you are witnessing some pretty universal turmoil, mainly dealing with the complexities of relationships and the loss of innocence that accompanies the transition out of childhood. I don't know exactly what to make of the inclusion of the dinosaur scenes except to set a certain type of tone, much like I'm not sure what to do with the surreal religious ending. I really wish that the naturey screen saver parts were much shorter, but I loved the Texas parts and how beauty in this film. It really isn't like anything else I have seen, and want more people to watch it, if only to have someone else to talk to about it. 4/5 [good]

In Home

Before the Rain (1994) Manchevski - A young priest tries to save an Albanian girl. In another scenario, a woman finds out that she is pregnant, but is having an affair and wants a divorce. A man returns to his home in Macedonia after 16 years abroad as a photographer. Each of these narratives are connected by a cycle of violence of particular interest for this part of the world during the mid-90s. 4/5 [good]

les Enfants Terribles (1950) Melville - A brother and sister are a little too close. They don't exactly do anything inappropriate but take every opportunity to undermine each other and destroy the other's chances at love. 3/5 [medium]

Zelig (1983) Allen - Fake documentary about Leo Zelig, a man who can transform into different identities and dubbed the "Human Chameleon." Leo wanted to be liked so much that he would distort his image to fit in. He stops transforming once he falls in love with one the therapists who studies him. Then scandals become unearthed as it seems that his various personalities had previously married other women, committed vandalism, etc. He goes from being a beloved icon to a loathed man - not all that different from the cycle of celebrity today. 3.5/5 [decent]