rarr.

Celluloid #140

2012-01-22T11:28:00.000-08:00

In Theaters

Pariah (2011) Rees - Alike is a teenager who gets straight As and wants her parents to be proud of her, but she's also a lesbian - something they are in denial about. Alike feels out of place everywhere. At home she is supposed to be a good Christian girly-girl. At the lesbian club, she isn't hard enough. She befriends a girl from church and the two strike up a connection. At every turn, we see someone hurting Alike emotionally, and sometimes physically. My only complaint is that the music and poetry are too cheesy. 4/5

In Home

Fay Grim (2006) Hartley - This is a sequel of sorts to Henry Fool. I hate that this movie is shot at a diagonal. In order to get her brother out of jail, Fay strikes up a deal with the FBI to go on a spy mission. Along the way she also finds out that her husband isn't really dead. This is a slow thriller, artsy beyond belief, and includes Hartley's signature stilted dialogue. I have loved some of his other movies, but this one didn't do it for me. 3/5

the Good Son (1993) Ruben - Mark's mom dies and his father sends him to live with an uncle and cousins for a while. Henry is basically Mark's age and initially the two seem to have a good time roughhousing and breaking windows, but over time, Henry's hijinks seem increasingly sinister. The worst part is that no one believes Mark. Henry skillfully turn the adults against Mark under the guise that he is grieving. Except for the very last two minutes of the movie, this had the best ending ever! 4/5

HappyThankYouMorePlease (2011) Radnor - This is essentially a hipster ensemble romantic comedy. Sam is cute but immature. On the way to talk to his publisher, he gets tangled up with a young black boy escaping his foster home. His friend Annie is bald, falls for the wrong guys, and has a fan in Buster Bluth. Mary Catherine is Sam's childhood friend and she doesn't want her boyfriend Charlie to move to LA. In between Sam's adventures in babysitting, he also pursues a relationship with a local girl at a bar. He cute-schemes to get her to stay over for three days. Overall, he seems pretty annoying for dating purposes. The movie often comments on the cliches, but I can't decide if the self-reflexivity makes things better or worse. 2.5/5

the Red Shoes (1948) Powell & Pressburger - Victoria Page wants to become a famous ballet dancer. She gets picked up by a famous director, as does a young composer. Victoria gets notice for her role in the ballet called "The Red Shoes." That dance sequence is really interesting - beautiful and cool old-school special effects. Victoria also falls in love with the composer, much to the distaste of the director. He manages to separate them, but she chooses love over fame, at least initially. Tragedy ensues. 4/5

Celluloid #139

2012-01-15T15:14:00.000-08:00

In Home

Another Earth (2011) Cahill - When Rhoda is 17, she gets accepted to MIT (for something space-related), but kills two people in a family of three in a car accident caused by her looking out the window of her car at Earth 2. After four years in jail, she works as a cleaner and seeks out the remaining man from the accident. Meanwhile, it is discovered that there is "another you" on Earth 2. Rhoda and John develop a relationship while she keeps her mistake a secret. Rhoda also wins an essay contest to go to Earth 2. 4.5/5

Our Idiot Brother (2011) Peretz - Ned might be kinda stupid, as evidenced by his getting locked up for selling weed to an officer in uniform, but his actions come from a place of kindness. He just believes in honesty and in helping people out without exploiting them. After getting out of jail, he stays with each of his three sisters - Liz, an overprotective mother of two whose jerk husband is having an affair, Miranda - a career girl trying to break into journalism, and Natalie - Brooklyn hipster living in a space with too many roommates including her lesbian girlfriend. When Ned enters their lives,his naivete initially seems to ruin things, but really just gets everything out in the open. Sounds like it could be too indie cutesy, but actually works well except for the ending. 4/5

Sleeping Beauty (2010) Breillat - Modern retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but this time the spells cause Anastasia to live as normal until the age of 6, then to sleep for 100 years and wake up as a 16 year-old. During those 100 years, she dreams about traveling around and living with a family with a boy a little older than her. Once awake she searches for the boy from her dreams and has some sexual experiences of both a hetero and homosexual persuasion. Kinda boring and pretentious in an unenjoyable way. 2/5

Strictly Ballroom (1992) Luhrmann - Super campy Australian film about ballroom dancing championships. Scott gets dumped by his partner because she doesn't appreciate his new steps, which could get them disqualified. Fran, a beginner, approaches Scott and eventually the two begin practicing in secret and incorporating moves from Fran's Spanish background. Ultimate ugly duckling story with outrageous colors. 4/5

Westworld (1973) Crichton - In the future, the general public has the opportunity to visit virtual-reality type resorts where they can act out their fantasies. The resorts are Westworld, Medieval World, and Roman World. Once in the resorts, you can sleep with whoever and shoot at people without consequence because they are really robots. However, the robots seem to be malfunctioning and turning against the humans. Totally campy. 3.5/5

Celluloid #138

2012-01-08T19:03:00.000-08:00

In Theaters

A Dangerous Method (2011) Cronenberg - Cronenberg has moved on from the horrors of the body to the mysteries of the mind. Sabina S. comes to Dr. Jung as a patient suffering from hysteria. The root of her problem seems to be primarily sexual tied with feelings of shame and humiliation. Over the course of treating her with the "talking method" the two begin an affair. Additionally, Jung admires Freud and the two become friends, but their relationship deteriorates over time. The pacing of this film is really strange and overall it was just fine. 3/5

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011) Alfredson - The director of Let the Right One In is still exploring the theme of loyalty - this time with regards to the British Secret Service. We discover early on that there is a mole in the organization. We follow George Smiley around while he tries to figure out who defected. He's technically retired in retirement, but still has access to a lot of contacts. The film seems to to be deliberately confusing to the point that I couldn't keep the character straight. The pacing is slow and not nearly as thrillery as I would have thought, but still exciting in a smoldering way. 3.5/5

In Home

Source Code (2011) Jones - This film is essentially Groundhog's Day, but with a military element. A soldier essentially jumps time to a period 8 minutes before a train is bombed to death to try and figure out who is responsible. There is the thinnest love story and the ending is pretty bad. A disappointing follow-up to Moon. 2.5/5

2011 Round-Up!

2011-12-31T16:05:00.000-08:00

Favorite Films Released in 2011
10. Melancholia (Von Trier)
9. Cave of Forgotten Dreams (Herzog)
8. the Skin I Live In (Almodovar)
7. Take Shelter (Nichols)
6. Incendies (Villeneuve)
5. Tree of Life (Malick)
4. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Weerasethkakul)
3. Heartbeats (Dolan)
2. Drive (Refn)
1. Meek's Cutoff (Reichardt)

HMs: Weekend, Somewhere, Blue Valentine, Tabloid

5-Star Books Read in 2011 alphabetical order
Bonsai - Zambra
Ghostwritten - Mitchell
Log of the S.S. the Mrs. Unguentine - Crawford
Negative Space - Farber
the Shell Collector - Doerr
Sixty Stories - Barthelme
St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves - Russell
Stories of Breece DJ Pancake - Pancake
Subculture: the Meaning of Style - Hebidge
We're in Trouble - Coake

Best Albums
Unfortunately I think 2011 was a pretty meh year for music. I legitimately really liked Kurt Vile's Smoke Ring For My Halo and the Weeknd's mixtapes, in particular House of Balloons. Besides that, the chillwave albums by Toro y Moi (Underneath the Pines) and Washed Out (Within and Without) made the rotation from time to time. Here's hoping that next year is better, or I'll just continue my bingeing on 80s indie rock.

Singles
"Future Crimes" - Wild Flag
"Till the World Ends" - Britney Spears
"How Deep is Your Love?" - the Rapture
"212" - Azealia Banks
"Midnight City" - M83

Misc. TOP TEN
10. Grizzly Island sunset hike
9. Acoustic chillwave/Kate Bush car sing-alongs
8. Canoes/not rowboats
7. Eating Meat (feeling awake)
6. summertime DEBASER
5. Dance Central
4. Strawberry Canyon Pool
3. Roman & Corinne's Wedding
2. Family Bath
1. New Job
HM: Dominos: the game, the Whistle Stop

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Art Garfunkel Memorial Reading List (July - December 2011)

2011-12-30T18:55:00.000-08:00

1.) Ten Thousand Saints - Henderson (7/1)
2.) Orientation - Orozco (7/7)
3.) the Yiddish Policemen's Union - Chabon (7/10)
4.) You Don't Love Me Yet - Lethem (7/12)
5.) Everything Matters! - Currie (7/20)
6.) Visit From the Goon Squad - Egan (7/22)
7.) Crash - Ballard (7/27)
8.) the Boat - Le (7/28)
9.) Log of the SS the Mrs Unguentine - Crawford (7/29)
10.) Subculture: the Meaning of Style - Hebidge (7/30)
11.) the Tiger's Wife - Obrecht (8/3)
12.) All the Living - Morgan (8/9)
13.) the Ask - Lipsyte (8/20)
14.) the Secret History - Tartt (9/5)
15.) Starman Omnibus, Vol. 1- Robinson (9/9)
16.) Locos - Alfau (9/17)
17.) C - McCarthy (9/27)
18.) Anagrams - Moore (10/2)
19.) Invisible Cities - Calvino (10/4)
20.) Q Road - Campbell (10/7)
21.) Selected Works of T.S. Spivet - Larsen (10/18)
22.) Black Hole - Burns (10/19)
23.) Girl with the Curious Hair - Wallace (10/20)
24.) Transparent Things - Nabokov (11/1)
25.) Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It - Meloy (11/14)
26.) Retromania - Reynolds (11/15)
27.) the Tenant - Topor (11/20)
28.) I Would Have Saved Them If I Could - Michaels (11/26)
29.) Notable American Women - Marcus (12/5)
30.) We're in Trouble - Coake (12/18)

Test Pattern #10

2011-12-30T18:32:00.000-08:00

American Horror Story (Season 1) - This show is ridiculous in the best way. The Harmons move to Los Angeles from the East Coast in order to get a fresh start after Dr. Harmon is caught cheating and Vivien suffers a miscarriage. They move into a large home that unbeknownst to them has quite a history of horrendous murders and suicides. They also have no idea that anyone who dies in the house becomes a ghost that cannot leave the premises. There's a ghost rape and a notorious rubber man, a snoopy bitch neighbor, and lots of guest stars.

America's Next Top Model (Cycle 17) - Oh boy! The first All-Star season, so we see the return of Allison (probably my favorite contestant of all-time) and sweet country Laura from the short season. Without giving anything away, there was also a huge surprise ending where one finalist may have leaked something online before the end of the season was aired, causing all kinds of internet controversy and speculation.

Boardwalk Empire (Season 2) - This season improves on an already impressive debut. Jimmy is setting himself up to challenge Nucky's authority, turning even brothers against each other. Michael Shannon's character is losing his mind even more. Margaret faces all kinds of trials, and finds herself seeking forgiveness from her Irish family and absolution from the Catholic Church.

Bored to Death (Season 3) - Sadly this was the last season of the adventures of Jonathan (Jason Schwartzmann), Ray (Zach Galifinakis), and George (Ted Danson). Really nothing different from the previous two seasons...still lots of white wine and weed, and bumbling but usually successful detective work. Jonathan learns that his father is not his biological father and that he is the product of a sperm bank. George has to deal with his daughter's engagement to a man nearly his age. Ray continues to struggle with Leah, but enjoys his baby.

Dexter (Season 6) - For most of this season, I was pretty thrilled to learn that there will probably only be two more seasons. The formula has gotten quite tedious, and this season had some serious WTF moments. The first part of the season has Dexter exploring religion with his Reverend friend played by Mos Def. Simultaneously, the Doomsday Killer develops with a Professor of Religion (Edward James Olmos) and his former student (Colin Hanks) putting together tableaus from Revelations to bring on the "End of Times". The last moment of the season is a serious cliffhanger, so I am actually excited about the next season, despite the rest of this horrible plot.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Seasons 1-3, 7) - I had previously seen most of Season 6, and enjoyed Season 7 enough to warrant going back to watch the earlier episodes that I had never seen. The Gang is twins Dennis & Dee, and their friends Mac and Charlie. Danny DeVito joins the cast as Frank for Season 2. In general the episodes are not serialized, but there are jokes or characters that are returned to periodically to the delight of a regular viewer, but not crucial to the storyline. The humor is dark and pretty much a 20 minute episode will feature one or more character behaving badly. Highlights for me are "Charlie Got Molested", "Sweet Dee's Dating a Retarded Person", and the more recent "The Gang Goes to the Jersey Shore."

Skins (UK) (Season 4) - This season features the conclusion of the group that hangs with Effy. Effy herself becomes even more vapid and unsympathetic, despite her mental illness issues. The love triangle between her, Cook, and Freddie is also finally resolved. Emily and her girlfriend Naomi have major drama all season. JJ dates a girl with a kid. Katie and Thomas mostly bumble around all season, but have a little affair between them...which is still better than Pandora because I barely remember her from the season.

the Voice (Season 1) - So I'm realizing that I can stomach certain kinds of reality shows, but there definitely needs to be a competition element. What sets the Voice apart from the other singing competitions is that it has a lot more heart. The judges may tease each other, but they genuinely seem to like one another and they refrain from talking much shit to the contestants. I like the opening episodes of the "blind auditions", but I also enjoyed the showier performances that happen later in the season. I'm looking forward to Season 2 to hopefully watch with some friends.

Celluloid #137

2011-12-29T15:54:00.000-08:00

In Theaters

the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) Fincher - When I saw the original Swedish film last year, I had extremely low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the rape-revenge mystery-thriller. I think remakes (especially from foreign to English-speaking) are often incredibly unnecessary, but the only reason I decided to partake in this one was because of David Fincher's attachment to it. The movie is fine, but rarely even strays stylistically from the original except to tone down the more graphic scenes. 3/5

Shame (2011) McQueen - Brandon is struggling with sex addiction when his troubled younger sister comes to stay with him unexpectedly. I really liked the visual style and Michael Fassbender continues to be an actor to watch, however, the story is pretty medium. I don't mind having two main characters that are both incredibly unsympathetic, but we really don't know much about them at all, so there isn't really a clear "in" in this film anyway. I'm still interested in what McQueen will offer in the future, but this was a bit of a disappointment for his sophomore showing. 3.5/5

In Home

Escape From New York (1981) Carpenter - Totally campy, but fun film about a criminal, the notorious Snake Plissken. He is asked to rescue the President of the US from New York City. In the future, New York has been sectioned off from the rest of the country and criminals are sent there to fend for themselves. Isaac Hayes makes an appearance as "The Duke" (a ridiculous-looking villain), and Harry Dean Stanton plays "Brain". I enjoy watching films that imagine the future, especially when that future has already passed (1997 in this case). 3.5/5

Heat (1995) Mann - Ace Detective vs. Skilled Criminal in this extensive film by Michael Mann. Al Pacino plays the cop whose personal life is falling apart because he dedicates so much time to his job. Robert De Niro plays the successful mastermind who is a bit of a loner until he meets a young woman in a diner. At some point the two sit down and have a cup of coffee, but everything is leading up until the time when they will actually have to confront one another despite their mutual respect. 4/5

Jumper (2008) Liman - Dumb movie about David, a young man who can essentially beam himself anywhere in the world just by thinking about it. Samuel L. Jackson plays a really silly-looking villain who tries to capture and kill "jumpers" because they are unnatural. Meanwhile, David visits his hometown and reconnects with a childhood crush (Rachel Bilson) who he promptly whisks away to Rome, but tries to keep his ability a secret. Overall, everything about this is too cheesy. 2/5

Submarine (2011) Ayoade - Oliver is a teenager growing up in Wales. For the first part of the movie, we are witness to the awkward wooing of the angsty and sometimes cruel Jordana. After they get together, Oliver wants to share with Jordana about his parents' apparent imminent separation. However, Jordana reveals that her mom has brain cancer, which trumps Oliver's family drama. Oliver decides he needs to handle his issues on his own. Very twee, but often charming film. 3.5/5

Toy Story 3 (2010) Unkrich - I saw this on television while visiting my parents for the holidays, and it really hit a nerve about growing up and mortality. (Something that I'm typically sensitive about, but more amplified when I'm at home). The toys are taken to a local daycare, but are manhandled by the toddlers, so they try to return home to Andy before he leaves for college. Really recommended even for those who care little about cartoons...so many tears! 4.5/5

Warrior (2011) O'Connor - This has to be the fastest 2 1/2 hour film I have ever watched. You have the Dark Horse vs. the Underdog in this story about estranged brothers competing in a mixed-martial arts tournament with the toughest men in the world for a prize of 5 million dollars. Nick Nolte does a good job playing a struggling alcoholic father and Tom Hardy & Joel Edgerton are also a treat for their acting and fighting sequences. Pretty straightforward and perhaps formulaic, but really worked for me. 4/5

Celluloid #136

2011-12-11T11:45:00.001-08:00

In Theaters

My Week with Marilyn (2011) Curtis - This movie was pretty medium overall. It told the story of Colin Clark working his first job as a 3rd Assistant Director on the set of the Sleeping Prince with Laurence Olivier. During the shoot, he meets Marilyn Monroe who was already a huge star. Nothing new in the depiction of Marilyn as a tragic figure, but who also wields some control over her life by using her sex appeal as a means of manipulating the men around her. The tone of the movie is charming, but pretty insubstantial. That being said, Michelle Williams is amazing; so magnetic and does an incredible job of playing such an icon. 3.75/5

In Home

Cold Weather (2011) Katz - Indie mystery that takes place in Portland (the film's primary asset in my opinion). A guy and his sister live together and he finds a job at an ice factory - the only source of employment he can find despite his education in forensic science. His ex-girlfriend shows up in town. The hang out a few times before she goes missing. It comes to light that she works as an escort, and then many other complexities get revealed. 3.5/5

In a Better World (2011) Bier - Two boys at the center of the story, Christian whose mom has recently died from cancer and Elias whose dad and mom are separated. His dad also works as a doctor in third world countries. Elias gets picked on at school until Christian teaches the bully a "lesson" by beating him with a bike pump. The violence continues when a man at the park slaps Elias' dad and Christian thinks the boys should get revenge on the man despite the dad's insistence that being the bigger person is more important. 4/5

Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2011) Hartley - Documentary about the exploitation films made in the Philippines between the 1960s and 1980s. Notably, Roger Corman made use of the Philippines for his "women in prison" films. The Philippines also had a tradition of really gory low-budget horror films. This relationship between the U.S. and the Philippines began after WW2, when the Philippines was the only country on friendly terms. 3.5/5

Win Win (2011) McCarthy - Mike has a failing law practice and coaches a losing wrestling team at the local high school. He's running out of money, so when one of his clients goes on trial, he offers to become his guardian, primarily for the $1500 a month paid by the state for care. Shortly after this shady decision, the grandson shows up out of the blue. Kyle's mom is in rehab or just checked out in general, so he stays with Mike and his family. Kyle turns out to be a great wrestler, turning the team around, as well as Mike's life on the whole. 4/5

Celluloid #135

2011-11-27T16:17:00.001-08:00

In Theaters

Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 (2011) Condon - Bella and Edward finally get married, and big surprise, she gets pregnant instantly. The rest of the film could have been 45 minutes, but we are privy to at least three tame sex scenes and the length of the pregnancy. The tension is that this human-vampire hybrid could kill Bella in childbirth, and if it is born, the wolves will want to kill it. Jacob takes his shirt off within the first minute of the film and proceeds to get angsty and breaks away from his pack. It's still weird that everyone likes Bella, the music is still bad, and the dialogue still clunky as ever, but I really do think this is the weakest of the franchise so far. ??/5

In Home

Another Year (2010) Leigh - Tom and Geri are a nice old couple who seem to have carved out a nice simple life for themselves. They love each other and their adult son, have satisfying but unglamorous jobs, like to garden, cook for each other, and have friends over sometimes. Each season is a chapter in the film and centers on a visitor drinking too much and lamenting about aging in one form or another. These visitors may be grating, but they are relatable in ways that one would probably want to avoid (desperate, sad, lonely). 4/5

Ginger Snaps (2000) Fawcett - The quality of this film is too shitty. It turns out that the story isn't much better. Two sisters are really close and into doing creepy things together, and maybe have a death pact. Their relationship begins to fall apart when Ginger gets her first period, but Bridget believes that she was really bitten by a werewolf, causing to Ginger to act crazed and grow a tail. I would have been into a genre exploration of female adolescence, but I guess we already get that in Carrie and this film is just too embarrassingly bad. 2/5

To Die Like a Man (2009) Rodrigues - Our protagonist is Tonia, a pre-op MTF. She works as a dancer and has a spoiled young junkie for a boyfriend. Basically what ensues is a lot of cliched melodrama, but this film is unique in that we never hear any character speak. They appear to talk to each other sometimes, but while we can hear the diegetic noise, no dialogue. However, we see subtitles, so what is communicated isn't a mystery. 3.5/5

Celluloid #134

2011-11-20T17:27:00.001-08:00

In Theaters

Into the Abyss (2011) Herzog - In Herzog's latest documentary, he explores capital punishment. He interviews Michael James Perry, his accomplice Jason, their families, the families of the victims, and other residents in the town of Conroe, TX. It's 8 days before Michael's scheduled execution. While the topic seems full of interesting angles, I found myself often thinking of Errol Morris and wishing that he was at the helm instead. Herzog comes off as out of touch with the poor, uneducated people in the town. At times he puts words in their mouths, and they very clearly do not understand him. While I often enjoy Herzog's bizarre monologues and his presence in his documentaries, there simply weren't enough Herzogian moments that worked. The main thing that comes across in this film is that it is awful to to live in the middle of nowhere without work, education, or anything to do...leaving poverty and generations in prison. 2.5/5

Le Havre (2011) Kaurismaki - Charming film full of old people and immigrants. Marcel befriends a young escaped African immigrant. Idrissa stays with Marcel who feeds and shelters him, and also investigates how to get Idrissa to his mother in London. Meanwhile, Marcel's wife Arletty is diagnosed with terminal cancer, but keep the information from Marcel for fear of him not being able to cope with her impending death. Feels like a colorful contemporary fairy tale. 4/5

Melancholia (2011) Von Trier - It's the end of the world. A planet named Melancholia has been hiding behind the sun, but now it is set on a collision course with Earth. Meanwhile, Justine is getting married, but also suffering from debilitating depression. Her sister Claire is also a person prone to anxiety, but feels obligated to let Justine stay with her family while trying to get better. This movie is bookended by some really interestingly strange/beautiful images. At times it seems a little reminiscent of Tree of Life. This film is also unique in its portrayal of depression (and equation with the melodramatic ceasing of existence). Fascinating that Justine only finds relief when basking in the glow of the fatal planet. 4/5

In Home

Candyman (1992) Rose - The Candyman is an urban legend where if you say his name five times in the mirror, you summon him to life. At that point he will slice people in half with his hook. Helen is studying urban legends for her thesis and gets entangled with the myth's version at Cabrini Green Projects. She starts seeing the Candyman herself, but gets framed for a murder while she was blacked out. After being arrested, she has to be locked up because everyone believes her to be crazy, yet she still keeps seeing him and knows she is responsible for summoning him. 3.5/5

Celluloid #133

2011-11-12T17:00:00.001-08:00

In Theaters

Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) Durkin - We meet Martha just as she escapes the clutches of a cult in upstate New York. Her sister, Lucy, comes to pick her up after their 2-year estrangement. Lucy has been enjoying a wealthy existence with her tony husband; a huge contrast from the anti-materialistic lifestyle of the cult. The fascinating aspect of the film is its mood and deliberate confusion between dreams and memories. So much of this is shot in the "magic hour" only lending to its dreaminess. I think the film is a little too long and that the ending is strange. (I don't mind unresolved endings at all, but this one seems to evoke an unnecessary and probably fake-out element of danger). Also, John Hawkes is really great here - playing a character in the same vein as his Winter's Bone role, more charismatic than scary. Lastly, Elizabeth Olsen has an enviable body and I really didn't mind seeing her naked many times in the course of this movie. 4/5

In Home

Bill Cunningham New York (2011) Press - Bill Cunningham seems like the nicest old man. He's been the photographer for the NYTimes' "On the Street" and "Evening Hours" columns for decades. He is so nonjudgemental giving him the ability to chronicle emerging trends in fashion before most other people. He's also so uninterested in his own fashion (all though his blue smock jumper thing is pretty cute), doesn't care about food, rides a bike all over, and lives in a small apartment full of file cabinets. He always has a broad smile on his face, but has never had much of a love life (the film seems to indicate that he might be gay in this old school way where he doesn't want to pursue that lifestyle...he also goes to church every Sunday). Anyway, it was a pleasure meeting him. 4/5

Fright Night (1985) Holland - Charley and his girlfriend Amy are having problems. He's a little too distracted by horror movies, and this compulsion only gets worse when a likely vampire moves in next door. Of course everyone thinks Charley is crazy. Amy ends up getting seduced by "Jerry" the vampire and Charley gets a local midnight movie host to help rescue her and prove his sanity. Really silly. 3/5

Celluloid #132

2011-11-05T15:12:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

the Skin I Live In (2011) Almodovar - Antonio Banderas plays a crazed plastic surgeon who has had a pretty tragic family life. His wife cheated on him and got in a car crash, leaving her body completely burned. She kills herself rather than look like that. His daughter is traumatized by the event, spends some time in a mental hospital, gets released, gets raped, and then also kills herself. Now our doctor is on a crazy revenge kick. This film is both soap operatic and unpredictable. It's obviously a treat to look at because it's Almodovar and I appreciate his return to the bizarre over the bourgeoisie. 4.5/5

In Home

Basket Case (1982) Henenlotter - Super campy B-horror about Dwayne, a guy who carries around a basket with him to the various seedy motels he inhabits. The basket contains his former siamese twin, Belial, who appears to be made out of whatever faulty genes Dwayne was spared from. Belial looks like a disgusting blob with teeth and gets extremely jealous of any relationships that Dwayne develops. This hit the spot at 1 am after a night of excessive drinking and dancing. 3.5/5

Near Dark (1987) Bigelow - Mae is a pretty girl who also happens to be a vampie. Caleb is a country boy who falls for her before he discovers her identity, and ends up getting turned. They roll around with a rowdy group of vampires always looking for their next kill. Caleb and Mae both have less bloodlusty ambitions about killing...it's necessary for their survival, but unpleasant. Bill Paxton plays a goofy vampire who really enjoys his role. I really liked the Southwest setting and the unique way of getting out of their hellish situation. 4/5

Celluloid #131

2011-10-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Weekend (2011) Haigh - A love story between Glenn and Russell. They meet at a club on a Thursday and go home together. After the awkward morning after, they end up spending the afternoon together as well. Glenn finally reveals that he is leaving for the U.S. (P.S. this film is British) the next day. Glenn is significantly more political while Russell is more reserved and closeted about his sexuality. There are lots of conversations about being gay, and specific issues affecting that community that somehow don't come across as preachy. I also appreciate the fairly realistic portrayal of drug use in this film. Overall an enjoyable indie romance. 4/5

In Home

Evil Dead (1981) Raimi - Five friends rent a cabin in the woods. One of the former tenants happened to be an archaeologist who reproduced some type of Book of the Dead - causing the woods to come alive with evil spirits. Cheryl essentially gets raped by some tree limbs and roots and then one by one the friends all turn into the undead, except for Ash, which isn't very consistent. Gets really gory by the end, but the special effects are ridiculously bad. 3.5/5

Friday the 13th (1980) Cunningham - This summer camp is apparently cursed. Jason was a kid at camp who drowned while his counselors were fucking. Now his mom is out for revenge and trying to prevent the camp from opening. Hilarious to see Kevin Bacon in a small part, but I kept yelling at the "last girl" for being too much of an idiot. 3.5/5

Celluloid #130

2011-10-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Abduction (2011) Singleton - This could have been a perfectly fine thriller, but just ended up being too dumb. Taylor Lautner can't hold a movie together - he's just a dopey smile and muscles. The dialogue is really dumb and the plot gets super ridiculous (ex. declaration that there is a bomb in the oven seconds before it goes off). I was fine with the premise of a teenager discovering his picture on a "Missing Children's" website, but this delves into weird government secret spy territory. Also, the teenage romance is unwatchable. I wish she would have just gotten left somewhere. 2/5

the Room (2003) Wiseau - What to say about this cult favorite? Worst movie ever? Actually, probably not because the production value is better than I expected. However, this is certainly a great unintentional comedy about a man (Johnny - played by the director) and his fiancee who cheats on him with his best friend. The dialogue is hilariously bad, lending itself to many quotable moments. The sex scenes are also laughably bad (and one sequence is even repeated). I don't know...I feel like you should know what you are getting yourself into with this movie, but it is a "so-bad-it's- good" classic. ??/5

Take Shelter (2011) Nichols - A man keeps having nightmares and daytime hallucinations about a huge apocalyptic storm, followed by a variety of horrific events. Curtis starts expanding his backyard tornado shelter. He knows he's being irrational, but can't shake this feeling that something terrible is about to happen. His wife and young deaf daughter mean everything to him, so he feels the need to protect them at all costs, even though they have real pressing issues. As a viewer, one gets caught up in constant tension about whether Curtis is actually losing his mind. Deliberately paced, with memorable and scary imagery. 4.5/5

In Home

Haunting (1963) Wise - A professor interested in the supernatural comes across Hill House, where stories indicate that it is haunted. He has a few people come stay at the house who have had some connection to the supernatural (ESP, poltergeists, etc). Eleanor's mother has recently died and she feels like she is finally free to live her own life. Up until this point, she feels like nothing has happened and Hill House is the thing that she has always been waiting for. Eleanor is quite sheltered and fears being left out or being alone. The house singles her out for destruction, but she still wants to stay. While not very scary, this film has held up pretty well. 4/5

Interview with the Vampire (1994) Jordan - Starting in present-day San Francisco, Louis is being questioned by a journalist about his life - which happens to have started more than 200 years ago as a vampire. Back in 1700s Louisiana, Lestat becomes Louis' maker after he loses his wife and child. Lestat wants a companion, and Louis wants something other than his tragic life. Lestat is far more bloodthirsty than Louis, who prefers to spare humans when possible. During the Plague, Louis almost kills a girl after her mother dies, but instead Lestat turns her too. In a way, she is like a daughter to them, but even more aggressive than Lestat. I liked seeing Kirsten Dunst as a young thing, but something about this film fell fall for me. 3/5

Rabid (1977) Cronenberg - A woman who gets injured in a motorcycle crash has to undergo an experimental operation. She survives, but develops a need for blood. Her victims develop the same bloodlust. At first the community thinks there is some mutated outbreak of rabies, but in reality victims are turned through a bizarro stab inflicted through Rose's armpit. An early example of Cronenberg's penchant for body horror and a welcome twist on the typical vampire story. 4/5

Scream (1996) Craven - Casey and her boyfriend Steve are killed by a masked murdered obsessed with horror films. After their deaths, the focus is turned on Sidney, whose mother was killed just the year before. In a key scene, the rules of horror are explained (sex=death, vices=death, etc) just as Sidney is having sex with her boyfriend. In another reflexive scene, Randy is yelling "look behind you" while he's about to get stabbed himself. I hate Matthew Lillard, but I like that this film keeps you guessing. 4/5

Test Pattern #9

2011-10-13T22:05:00.000-07:00

Breaking Bad (Season 4) - Season 4 has only solidified Breaking Bad's position as the best show on air. Walt and Jesse are locking horns again, but both afraid of Gus and the power he has over their lives. Hank is recovering from his injuries, but still able to get dangerously close to discovering the meth lab and producer. Skylar is actually pretty down with helping out with money-laundering; a welcome change from her bitchy persona of the last season. I really think this might be the best season yet. It started off with so much great tension, to the point that I was worried that it wouldn't be able to maintain that emotional height throughout the season. Basically, I was wrong...some episodes might be quieter, but it all pays off with the finale. I can't wait for next season already.

Louie (Season 2) - I don't really like stand-up, but something about Louie CK and all of his self-depreciation works for me. I enjoyed Season 1, but I think this past season was even better, and darker. Louie seems to be addressing topics that affect many working in the comedy business (aging with Joan Crawford, joke stealing with Dane Cook, selling out, etc). However, some of the highlight episodes center around surprising laughing because you are uncomfortable moments (the decapitation and the bum bath scored by classical music come to mind). Also, anything with his daughters is pretty much amazing...ONE DUCKLING!

Skins (UK) (Seasons 1-3) - I've been pretty vocal about my love of teenage drama in the past, so it was really only a matter of time before I would succumb to the lure of Skins. The first two season follow a group of 17 year-olds in Bristol. The center of the group is popular Tony. There are some virgins who need to get laid, a romance with a teacher, eating disorders, a love triangle, a stalker, a pregnancy, a death, excess drinking, and fucked up family lives all around. It's really only one step removed from a traditional soap opera, and takes some pretty ridiculous turns, but by the end of the second season, I couldn't help but feel emotional about Jal and Sid and all of their futures. Apparently Skins changes casts every two seasons to introduce a new group of friends. I'm only halfway through the "second generation" that centers around Tony's younger sister Effy. Effy is pretty, but far less charismatic than Tony. Also, this group of friends seems more unlikely than the first group and the main drama focuses on two boys fighting for Effy's affection. In addition, you have girls exploring their sexuality, twin rivalry, Asperger's, growing up sheltered with a super religious mother, a new immigrant from Congo, excessive fucking in nearly every permutation, etc.

Sopranos (Season 2-6) - It's a great show. I cried when several people died, and with the exception of one, I had seen all of those characters commit really awful crimes on-screen. It's powerful how much you get sucked into this world, and Tony's convoluted sense of how life should be lived. Edie Falco as Carmella and Michael Imperioli as Christopher are the main highlights in all of the series. Carmella can be a materialistic bitch, but she has so much inner turmoil that she is probably the most sympathetic. Christopher starts off as the go-to guy for offing enemies, but he morphs into something much more than a cold-blooded killer. The ending was frustrating for me, as I'm sure it was for most people watching it, but I appreciate that this show often defies convention both in story and format.

True Blood (Season 4) - While I would still never recommend this show to anyone, Season 4 was a serious step up from the last couple seasons. The new "supernatural" introduced this time around was all the witches, and I found them easier to go along with than maenads and even the werewolves (all though they are still around, and better in limited doses). Bill and Eric's rivalry over Sookie finally comes to an apex, and then gets really weird. Jessica and Hoyt finally split up, and Sam's brother is thankfully out of the picture. I was glad to see less Tara and more Pam. Whatever happened to that Werepanther storyline? Anyway, it's also possible that this show isn't really getting better, but rather that I am getting used to its bizarro twists and introductions.

Celluloid #129

2011-09-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Restless (2011) Van Sant - Harold and Maude-type boy falls for an Annie Hall-styled manic pixie girl. Annabelle has terminal cancer and only three months to live. Enoch is death-obsessed, as evidenced by his hobby of attending strangers' funerals and chatting with the ghost of a kamikaze. This movie is just off. The pacing is wrong. The outfits are too precious. The soundtrack is too twee. Even the montage of them getting to know each other is too disgustingly cute, and the dialogue too awkward. The only thing I really liked about this movie was the way it looked, and seeing Portland settings. 3/5

In Home

An American Werewolf in London (1981) Landis - David and his friend Jack are backpacking around England. In a northern town, they stop into a pub only to be greeted by strange, unfriendly people. After getting kicked out, they are attacked by a werewolf. Jack dies, but David survives in a coma for a few weeks. Unfortunately, his injuries mean that he will turn into a werewolf himself at the next full moon. The Ghost of Jack informs David that the only way to prevent this catastrophe is to kill himself. A young nurse takes David in, where they have a pretty sexy time, only making it harder for David to accept his fate. This film has actually dated pretty well. 4/5

Bad Teacher (2011) Kasdan - Cameron Diaz takes a turn as the crass female lead. After Elizabeth gets dumped by her rich fiancee, she is forced to return to her teaching job in order to pay for a boob job. Totally unsympathetic and never really manages to redeem herself. Her new co-worker (Justin Timberlake) comes from some old money - setting off a rivalry between Elizabeth and Ms. Squirrel for his affection. Nevermind that he is a huge dry-humping dork. Jason Segel is the secret love interest, but even he deserves better. Just not very funny or all that scandalous, but not exactly the worst. 2.5/5

Foxes (1980) Lyne - Not a lot happens, but instead we get a feel for late 1970s L.A. Drugs, parties, sex through the perspective of four teenage friends. One friend, Annie, has a particularly difficult time dealing with her abusive father, and making poor decisions that make her vulnerable to other men. Janie tries to look out for her other friends, and is the most responsible, probably because her major problems stem from a strained relationship with her single mother. All in all a pretty bleak portrait of life and options for ladies at that time. 3/5

Gremlins (1984) Dante - An inventor comes across a cute creature at a store in Chinatown and decides to get it as a Christmas present for his son. The rules are that it can't get wet and can't eat after midnight. Of course, these rules get broken, causing scary gremlins to take over the town. Most of the film after the set-up and gremlin incubation, is just the gremlins goofing around. They break things, get drunk, skateboard, etc. Maybe that's the appeal for kids, but it gets a little boring. 3/5

Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) Craven - Introduced the world to Freddy Krueger - a child-killer who was burned to death and now attacks young people through their dreams. This film has pretty cool special effects. It also introduced young Johnny Depp as a pretty chill boyfriend to our protagonist Nancy. No one believes her, so she is forced to take matters into her own hands by bringing Freddy out of her nightmare and into the present reality. 4/5

Poison Ivy (1992) Ruben - Drew Barrymore plays a bad girl who befriends a rich but awkward girl. Ivy essentially ends up moving in. The mother is dying of cancer and the father is a creepy alcoholic who finds lvy attractive. What started out as a rebellious friendship, soon morphs into a competition between the girls for the affection of the parents, with deadly results. Really great if you are in the mood for 90s-style erotic thrillers. 3.5/5

Celluloid #128

2011-09-23T14:29:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Drive (2011) Refn - Really stylish film where Ryan Gosling plays a nameless stunt car driver/getaway driver for hire. "The Kid" develops a relationship with his young neighbor and her son. When her husband returns from prison, the driver decides to help him reconcile his debt with a "one last job" situation. Technically this is an action film, all though it can be quite deliberately slow-paced, which only serves to ratchet up the tension. While Gosling's character seems a bit of a Christ-archetype, he also represents the scorpion in the famous fable. A complicated hero, but really the strength of this film is the soundtrack, aesthetic, and attitude. 4.5/5

In Home

Martin (1977) Romero - A weirdo teenager thinks he may be a modern-day vampire. He satisfies his bloodlust by drugging young women, raping them, then cutting them with razor blades and drinking their blood. Then a local housewife takes interest in him and they start an affair. For a time, the presence of these fairly normal sexual encounters curbs his need to commit violence. 3/5

the Ruins (2008) Smith - Last summer, my book club read the book that serves as the basis for this film. Both are very silly tales of four friends on vacation in Mexico that encounter some very bad luck on a hike. Out near some Mayan ruins, a sinister vine grows that can kill and even psychologically torment people. The natives will also kill anyone who tries to leave for fear that the vine will spread. Besides the ridiculous premise of killer plants, this film is really gory, relying on squeamish shots to elicit reactions. 2/5

Celluloid #127

2011-09-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Circumstance (2011) Keshavarz - Admittedly I do not know enough about Iranian politics or what the Revolution was really about. One outcome that seems certain is that the culture has become increasingly conservative and restrictive - as evidenced by the presence of "morality police." Two high school girls are very close friends, who develop deep feelings for one another that leads to sexual experimentation. They also like to have fun drinking and dancing in clubs, but after getting in trouble, Atie's religious fanatic brother offers Shireen (an orphan) a way out of punishment by marrying him. You can imagine the complications... 4/5

the Interrupters (2011) James - Documentary about the incredibly high homicide rate in Chicago. Most of the violence is not gang-related, but rather interpersonal disputes over seemingly petty things. These initial disputes lead to a long chain of revenge killings, and the targets seem to be getter younger and younger. The "Interrupters" are a group of former gang members and street hustlers that have decided to turn their lives around, and to also do something about preventing or stopping deaths. Ameena, one of the Interrupters, is such an commanding on-screen presence. An appropriate companion piece to James' other documentary Hoop Dreams. 4/5

In Home

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) Rodriguez - Silly 90s movie that starts out as brother thieves taking a family hostage to escape to Mexico. However, when they arrive at a sleazy club across the border, the vampires start appearing. Most of what happens after that point is a series of ridiculous or gruesome ways to kill a vampire. It's like Tarantino just wrote anything he could think up. Also, so bizarre, but kinda cool that George Clooney is the lead in this B+ film. 3.5/5

Poltergeist (1982) Hooper - A strange paranormal presence is coming from the television or lightning. It causes inanimate objects to move. The tree outside tries to eat one of the children, and another goes missing during a storm. Carol Anne has apparently been sucked into another realm through the television, but can still be heard inside the house. The family has to hire a couple of mediums, and the mom has to go to the other side to get her daughter back. Number one lesson, don't live on top of cemeteries. 4/5

the Thing (1982) Carpenter - A crew of scientists are stationed in Antarctica. Strange things begin happening to a Norwegian crew and one the dogs morphs into a creepy alien creature. Thus creature has the ability to look like any living person or animal it comes into contact with - making it very difficult to be sure of the crew's identities. This film delivers on the physical/visceral end, while providing enough tension and questioning for your brain. 4.5/5

the Wicker Man (1973) Hardy - A girl has gone missing from some remote Scottish islands. The island people all practice some kind of paganism, and all sorts of weird naked hippie things happen. A detective from the mainland comes to investigate the missing girl, and he is a very devout Christian scandalized by the events he sees taking place. This movie is really not scary at all, hasn't dated very well, and includes a Burning Man scene. 3/5

Celluloid #126

2011-09-09T14:13:00.000-07:00

Going on a horror binge for the next couple months...

In Home

Carrie (1976) De Palma - So good! Misfit teenager is warped by her religious nut mother. She gets picked on in school for being strange (not to mention telekinetic) and for freaking out about getting her period in the gym shower. Some girls get in trouble for the gym incident and threatened with exclusion from the Prom. One girl has a conscience and convinces her boyfriend to take Carrie to the dance, so that she can have some type of normal experience. However, some of the other girls treat this as an opportunity to play an awful prank. This is a great extreme portrayal of the already horrifying process of adolescence, and mean girls receiving their revenge. 5/5

Children of the Corn (1984) Kiersch - A couple is driving across Nebraska to relocate when they hit a strange boy on the roads surrounded by cornfields. Upon further inspection, they realize that he was already dead due to a slashed throat. They are forced to stop in Gatlin; a small, extremely religious town. Not very populated to begin with, it's even eerier because there are no adults. They've all been killed by a group of culty kids who even sentence their own to death on their 19th birthdays. Campy effects and generally enjoyable creepy story. 4/5

Dawn of the Dead (1978) Romero - Four people get trapped in a mall with zombies. I find both of those things pretty horrifying, and their combination pretty awesome. 4/5

Halloween (1978) Carpenter - The slasher film that created the tropes for all films to follow. Laurie is a brainy teenager who doesn't have much luck with guys. Her two friends, Annie and Linda are sluttier. On Halloween night, Laurie and Annie find themselves babysitting, all though Annie also has plans to hook up with her boyfriend. Meanwhile, the local myth, Michael Myers, has escaped from the mental institute he was locked in 15 years earlier after killing his own babysitter....4.5/5

Onibaba (1966) Shindo - A lady and her daughter-in-law survive war-torn Japan by killing samurais and trading their bodies for grain. Then the son/husband's neighbor returns from war and informs the ladies that their man is dead. The daughter begins an affair with the neighbor. The mother tries to stop them by warning about Hell and demons as punishment for sin. The mother meets a samurai with a demon mask. When he dies, she puts the mask on to really scare the daughter. This movie is really cool looking and totally frantic at times. 4.5/5

Celluloid #125

2011-08-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

the Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) Wyatt - I have never seen any of the "Planet of the Apes" films, but found this one to be entertaining blockbuster fare. Will is a scientist working with chimpanzees to develop a cure for Alzheimer's. The side effect is that the chimps become really intelligent. Funding gets shut down, and Will takes a hidden baby chimp home with him. The baby's mother was one of the test subjects and he inherited the effect. Caesar reminds me so much of Nim from Project Nim, and in a way, their storylines are quite similar Caesar too has to spend some time in a caged center where he becomes increasingly discontent. 3.5/5

In Home

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991) Herek - When Mom leaves for vacation, 17 year-old Sue Ellen and her younger siblings are left with an elderly babysitter. As the title indicates, she dies early on and the kids decide to fend for themselves rather than call their mom and risk her coming back early. They quickly run out of money and trash the house ("the dishes are done man!"), so Sue Ellen has to get a job. She lands an unbelievable position at a fashion company by lying about her experience. This movie is zany, so 90s, and includes an early David Duchovny. 3.5/5

My Blueberry Nights (2007) Wong - This movie could easily be used as an example of how we often give a pass to films or even idealize them because they are foreign (I often fall prey to this). In reality, the story and aesthetic of this film is not very different from other Wong Kar Wai films, but somehow seeing English-speaking characters makes the dialogue seem cheesy. Elizabeth gets dumped and makes a friend at her local cafe, but shortly leaves town. First to Memphis and then later to Vegas. She meets two characters - an alcoholic who can't get over his wife leaving him and a gambler with daddy issues. I'm not really sure what the point of these characters is, other than to show Elizabeth that her life is far from being a tragedy. 3/5

2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967) Godard - Godard is in one of his more absurd moods. The ladies in the film talk directly to the camera, and our main protagonist works as a prostitute sometimes. Other than that, I watched this a little over a week ago, and nothing much has stuck with me. 3/5

Celluloid #124

2011-08-03T21:13:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Project Nim (2011) Marsh - Normally, I wouldn't have all that much interest in a documentary about a monkey, but this one is by James Marsh, the man who brought you the tear-jerking Man on Wire. This film is nowhere near as great, but still a worthwhile time. It starts in the early 1970s, when Nim Chimpsky is taken away from his biological mother and sent to live with a rich hippie family in Manhattan. Initially, he is raised much like a child and is taught sign language in order to communicate. After several years, this linguistics experiment is determined to be a failure, namely because Nim's internal chimp behaviors keep coming to the surface; the last straw being when he bites the cheek off of one of the teachers. He is sent back to the research facility that he was born in. Despite the tragedy (the scientists should have either never taken him, or committed to keep him in some sort of domestic human environment), this is really a movie about human nature. So many people in this film hook up, and some people even emerge as saviors. 4/5

Tabloid (2011) Morris - A really entertaining look at a huge character. Joyce McKinney started her path to fame through beauty pageants, but becomes notorious for a plot she carried out to "rescue" her boyfriend from the Mormons by kidnapping him for a 3-day sex binge. He's actually in England for his mission, but the "truth" of what exactly went down is never revealed. During her tabloid fame, Joyce goes through a period of exile and costumes after a stint in jail. There are also salacious pictures that emerge, further tarnishing her reputation. AND if the first brush with fame wasn't enough, Joyce gets another 15 minutes decades later when she has her dog cloned. Totally engrossing. 4/5

In Home

Just One of the Guys (1985) Gottlieb - Terry feels she is being cheated out of a journalism internship because she is a girl. To prove her point, she transfers to another school (for a week?) and present herself as a boy. She quickly falls in love with another boy that she befriends and tries to help get a date to prom. Terry finds herself lying to her new friend, and also to her preppy boyfriend, and realizing that maybe her snub had nothing to do with her gender. 3/5

Pink Flamingos (1972) Waters - Classic John Waters - at its core, this is a story about two warring factions competing for the title of "filthiest person alive." Divine's family lives in a trailer where her son engages in sexual acts often incorporating animals, and her mother hangs out in a playpen forever eating eggs. Connie and Ray believe they are the filthiest because they run a "baby farm" where they kidnap ladies, have their servant impregnate them, and get the babies adopted by lesbian couples. Gross and outrageous, but would you expect anything different? 3.5/5

Road House (1989) Herrington - Dalton is a renowned "cooler" known for getting bars into shape, but also rumored to have killed a man. He gets hired to perform his services for a rowdy bar, and after so many jokes about how people thought "he would have been bigger", he finally starts cleaning things up. Unfortunately, he also quickly makes enemies by firing some key staff and ultimately pissing off the wealthy man who has the entire town under his thumb. It doesn't help that Dalton also falls for that guy's ex. Lots of fighting, fires, explosions. It was kinda nice to see a fun action film for a change. 3.5/5

Celluloid #123

2011-07-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Partner (1968) Bertolucci - In hindsight, there was probably a good reason why I had never heard of this film. Starts off well with the tension and paranoia that seems commonplace in late '60s Italian features. Jacob meets his doppelganger and together they devise a plan for revolution based on experimental theater. There are some memorable scenes, like the foam party, but overall this plays out like a parody of foreign arthouse and is just too goofy for my taste. 3/5

Terri (2011) Jacobs - Terri plays like the sad Sundance version of Angus. Once again you have a fat kid, his small crude sidekick, and the pretty popular girl that he befriends after she is shamed. However, while Melissa in Angus has her eating disorder, here Heather's problem is that she is caught getting fingered in Home Ec. causing the whole school to demonize her. Except for Terri of course, because he already feels like a monster. The other main story is with the well-meaning Assistant Principal (John C. Reilly), who often acts too much like a dude and ultimately fucks up a lot. Besides having more energy and a great soundtrack, Angus is the better film, or at least character. The two leads both demonstrate that they have heart, but Angus at least has a brain, while it's unclear if Terri is just overly naive or actually a little slow. 3/5

the Trip (2011) Winterbottom - Steve Coogan and Rob Bryden go on a trip through Northern England under the pretense of restaurant reviewing. Each man represents a different path of adulthood. Rob is a family-man; mediocre, but with low-brow popularity due to his knack for impressions. Steve is more of a ladies' man with limited success in art house films, capturing critics' hearts, but not a grander audience. While both men an be funny in their ways, I rarely found myself laughing at anything. 3.5/5

In Home

Marwencol (2010) Malberg - Really incredible documentary about a man with a brain injury that uses art as a form of therapy. Mark was the victim of a brutal attack, and when he could no longer receive traditional therapy, he started constructing an extremely detailed town out of dolls to enact stories. The town is set in war ear Belgium, but many of Mark's friends appear in alternate form as characters. Mark himself has an alter ego (which looks like a Nicolas Cage doll), and often these stories end up being at least influenced by events in his life. He also takes photographs of the dolls posed in different scenarios, and I cannot emphasize enough how strangely moving and good these are. Eventually he gets discovered by a photographer and an art magazine editor, and they set up an art show for him. Highly recommended. 4.5/5

Night of the Shooting Stars (1982) Taviani - During the end of WW2, two groups of Italians fight against one another. Our main character is 6 year-old Cecilia, and we see the war essentially through her eyes. Some incredibly tragic events transpire - pregnant women killed in bombings and children being shot point blank. It's not always easy to know who to root for. 3.5/5

Play it Again, Sam (1972) Ross - Allan's wife Nancy wants a divorce to live a more "swinging" lifestyle. Allan's friends try to ease the blow by setting him up on dates. The most awkward dates in history. Of course he falls for the wife of the couple who are trying to help him. Initially this is because he doesn't recognize her as an option and therefore can just be himself. She's also pretty neglected by her husband, leaving the opportunity for their friendship to turn into something more. 3.5/5

Radio Days (1987) Allen - Plays like short stories from the '40s. Most deal with one particular Jewish family living in Brooklyn, but others focus on more peripheral characters, and include War of the Worlds, commercials, and human interest themes. A glimpse of old timey Brooklyn and nostalgic fun, but pretty fluffy. In some ways, people seemed to be more connected to one another because they were all listening to the same thing. 3.5/5

the River (1951) Renoir - Too much voiceover, too much imperialism, too much emphasis on traditional gender roles, and too much cheesy technicolor melodrama. 2/5

Test Pattern #8

2011-07-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

Boardwalk Empire (Season 1) - Exciting drama about Prohibition-era Atlantic City. Corruption and crime abound. Nucky Thompson is played by Steve Buscemi, and he basically runs the town. He starts a romance with a woman involved in the Temperance Club, only after dumping his Ziegfeld Follies dancer, the wonderfully pouty and often naked Paz de la Huerta. Other key characters are Jimmy and his common law wife. Jimmy befriends a youngish Al Capone, but that ultimately cause more trouble than expected.

Bored to Death (Season 2) - Jonathan (Jason Schwartzmann) is still totally adorable and charming. George gets diagnosed with cancer and starts an affair with his doctor, plus has to deal with the ever-changing media landscape making magazines obsolete. Ray gets dumped, but finds a cult following for his comics. This show is like popcorn...or whatever this hipster equivalent of popcorn is...

Eastbound & Down (Season 1 & 2) - A pretty funny series about Kenny Powers, a has-been professional baseball player trying to get back into the Majors. The first season is much stronger, focusing on Kenny's return home (onto his brother's couch) and trying to win back his high school sweetheart. By season 2, we have ended up in Mexico, battling depression and taking the local team for granted. I also could do with seeing less of Stevie in the future.

Game of Thrones (Season 1) - Love this shit! It has all the nudity and sleaze of Rome, but with much more compelling stories about families, feuds, mythical creatures, impending doom, etc. So far most of the drama deals with the Stark family and their rivals the Lannisters. The families were on friendly turns until an incest secret is discovered by a young Stark and the King of the Seven Kingdoms dies. There is also a crazy storyline with the Targaryen siblings seeking to reclaim the kingdom that the believe rightfully belonged to their father. The sister is married off to a savage leader and becomes the Khaleesi, and is probably my favorite character at the moment. However, Peter Dinklage's Tyrian Lannister is also a treat to watch. Dragons! Cannot believe I have to wait to watch more of this.

the Killing (Season 1) - This adaptation of a Danish show starts off very Twin Peak-ish but without the humor. Rosie Larsen is a seemingly good girl, but perhaps with some dark secrets. Her murder sets off an investigation that goes from the government, a Islamic community, and mob ties. Some complain about the amount of grieving we see the family doing, but I didn't mind that aspect. What's more frustrating is the amount of red herrings, and the notoriously unresolved ending. (Apparently that's being addressed early next season). I'm really into Holder, the former junkie white homeboy sidekick, and hope that his character isn't too simplified in the way that the finale may indicate. Rather than being angry about the ending, I'm looking forward to next season, and kinda hope Rosie's case never gets solved in a gesture towards reality.

Sopranos (Season 1) - A huge blind spot in my television watching, especially considering how many other HBO series I have seen. After season 1, I'm hooked. I like Tony as the sorta sensitive mobster, who maybe often fears for his life, but still commits enough heinous crimes to be interesting. His wife Carmela is amazing at not taking shit from anyone. I also really like Christopher and his girlfriend Adrianna. So much tension about who is going to get offed!

Treme (Season 2) - Why do I keep watching this show? Basically nothing really happens and still too much of each episode is taken up by music. In fact, in this season, so many of the plotlines revolve around individuals starting bands or trying to write songs. Janette is still my favorite, but she's mostly in New York this season. Big Chief is depressed. Sofia is being a huge rebellious brat. Some really terrible shit happens to LaDonna. Toni is still working cases. There's another key death this season, but how I wish more things would happen..

Celluloid #122

2011-07-06T20:07:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Beginners (2011) Mills - Oliver's dad has died. Five years earlier, his mother died, and six months after that Hal (the father) comes out to his son and starts living a pretty active gay life. Oliver naturally has to adjust to this news, but mostly he just appreciates how much his dad is "alive." They have many touching discussions, and I cried repeatedly. The parts that work less for me are Oliver and Anna's relationship and the scenes that are monologues featuring phrases like "this is what the stars looked like in 1955.." The problem with both is that they are just a little too cutesy. It wasn't enough to thoroughly bother me, and I still enjoyed everything else. 3.75/5 [decent +]

In Home

Angus (1995) Johnson - I went on a bit of a nostalgia kick this past Friday, inspired to watch this film probably for the first time in 15 years. The soundtrack is admittedly better than the movie, but I still have a soft spot for the the science-loving fat kid who finally gets to have a moment with his long-desired crush. A young James Van Der Beek plays the dick who makes fun of Angus, and attempts to humiliate him by getting him elected as Winter Ball King. Angus has trouble dancing and has to wear a plum-colored suit because it's the only thing that will fit. All in all, still a really likable teen film. 4/5 [good]

Heathers (1989) Lehman - Continuing the nostalgia kick, and filling in the gaps in my roommate's film-viewing, we sat down to watch Heathers. The most popular girls in school - 3 Heathers and Veronica Sawyer wreak havoc on the school population's self-esteem. Veronica is not totally comfortable with the Heathers' bitchiness, and when she starts dating the loner JD, they jokingly devise a plan to murder the lead Heather. JD is crazed so this joke quickly turns into reality. A string of murders happen, and are all made to look like suicides. This film is so witty, funny, and mean-spirited..but in the best way. Also, it is so clear that this film, no matter how satirical could be made today in this post-Columbine era. 4.5/5 [great]

the Omega Man (1971) Sagal - A plague has descended upon humans, that causes them to turn into zombies in stages. Charlton Heston plays a scientist who has been trying to devise cures for non-existant diseases. He is immune to the plague and eventually meets up with other humans after believing he was the last man on Earth. He hooks up with one and saves another. A fun 70s sci-fi time. 3.5/5 [decent]

Trees Lounge (1996) Buscemi - Tommy is kinda a loser. He spends his afternoons and evenings at the local bar. In fact, his apartment is right above the bar. He tries to get work as a mechanic, but when everyone denies him, the ice cream man dies and Tommy takes over his route. One drunk night, he takes home the teenage daughter of a friend. (A young Chloe Sevigny...so good in this role). Nothing much happens, but an accurate depiction of a life stuck. 4/5 [good]

Art Garfunkel Memorial Reading List (January - June 2011)

2011-06-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

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]

Test Pattern #7 - Part 2

2011-05-31T12:29:00.000-07:00

America's Next Top Model (Cycle 16) - The one good thing about this cycle compared to last, was that there really wasn't a clearcut winner from the beginning (I love Ann from last season, but total lack of tension or surprise). The problem is that I don't feel like anyone was really really strong. One of my favorites won, but overall this will be a forgettable season.

Chicago Code (Season 1) - Really great show that is like a hybrid of Law & Order but heavily influenced by the Wire. The new Chicago police superintendent is trying to crack down on corruption, a widespread epidemic in Chicago's political system. In particular, she is trying to convict one alderman who has his hands in the Irish mob, and pays off people all over the city. However, he is good at what he does, so it's hard to get anything to stick. Meanwhile, there is still everyday crime to deal with in the town. We get to know a handful of the officers and one undercover agent, all the more sad that Fox did not decide to renew this show for another season. I guess, I will just have to watch the show creator's previous project, the Shield.

Community (Season 2) - Community was a really interesting show this season. While there were general plot arcs, mainly it seemed as though the show was more focused on being "meta" about genre and television/film conventions. There's the animated Christmas special, the revisionist Western paintball finales, a Pulp Fiction/My Dinner with Andre tribute, and an episode about making documentaries. I think this show is so fun and smart, and really not like anything else on television.

Glee (Season 2) - Nowhere near as strong as the first season, but still some tearjerky moments and attention paid to the life of queer teenagers. The group finally makes it past Regionals, so the driving force this season is to win at Nationals. Relationship-wise, lots of boyfriend swapping, and one of the students realizes she is a lesbian, even if she is not ready to come out yet. The Britney Spears episode was a highlight, and any episode dealing with Blaine (especially the "Teenage Dream" performance. I'm fine with the addition of big girl Lauren, but I don't necessarily feel like she brings light to anything, and the only time you really hear her sing is the Waitresses "I Know What Boys Like"...a favorite of mine, but still. I'm pretty over the Finn/Rachel/Quinn dynamic which is sure to continue next season. Also, Gwyneth Paltrow was fun for one season, but I think she had too much screen time - Bring back Uncle Jesse!

the Office (Season 7) - the Office is a show that I wish would have ended somewhere around Jim and Pam's wedding, and yet I still have to watch. This was Steve Carell's last season, and the last half of this season seems to focus on saying goodbye in one form or another...really a perfect place to stop, but instead, apparently a new boss is going to take over and the show will continue. I liked having Holly Flack (Amy Ryan) back for a few episodes, and the addition of creepy Gabe was a good call in my opinion (all though it seems like he might be gone now). As usual, I wish the supporting characters would have more developed storylines, since this can be such a funny cast. In particular Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling) should be on screen way more because she is the best. I also always want more Darryl, and occasionally more Creed and Kevin.

30 Rock (Season 5) - This show used to be the highlight of NBC's Thursday night line-up, but this year that honor definitely has been handed over to Parks & Recreation. That isn't to say that this show isn't funny anymore, but when you go back and look at the episodes from Seasons 2 & 3, there just really isn't a comparison. The main problem this year was the disappearance of Tracy Jordan. Also, the show made Kenneth do too many stupid things...I think everyone is fine with him being a naive hillbilly, but he shouldn't be made to look like he suffers from a mental health condition. Alec Baldwin as Jack is great as always, but Elizabeth Banks as Avery just can't possibly live up to some of Jack's old love interests (I'm thinking specifically of Salma Hayek), all though, thank God Julianne Moore and her horrendous Boston accent are no longer around.

Walking Dead (Season 1) - AMC is doing a great job of presenting a variety of quality shows. The first season of Walking Dead does a get job of setting up a group of characters in a really high stakes world. A zombie epidemic has been unleashed, and the apocalyptic tone is fantastic. I didn't realize there were only 6 episodes, and things move along quickly. I feel like everyone knows that the end of the season really sucks...it's like the writers wrote themselves into a corner, but I have faith with the return of producer Frank Darabont, and a more hands-on approach, the story can be salvaged next season.

Celluloid #118

2011-05-27T17:29:00.000-07:00

In Home

Blow Out (1981) De Palma - Basically a poor man's the Conversation, but still a really enjoyable viewing. John Travolta plays Jack Terry, a sound man for shitty horror films, who also happens to have a guilty conscience for a wiring mishap that occurred while he was working with an undercover detective. One night while recording sound, he witnesses a car drive off a bridge. The accident results in the death of the governor, but Jack manages to save the girl in the car and unwittingly uncovers a larger conspiracy. 4/5 [good]

the Long Good Friday (1980) Mackenzie - Bob Hoskins plays a big shot in the London mob scene. He's trying to make a deal with some American businessmen so that he can eventually get out of the game. Meanwhile the IRA keeps bombing stuff and the cops are totally corrupt, so Harold has a hard time convincing anyone that he wants to be legit and keeping the gang's deals in order. Helen Mirren is really great as Victoria, the girlfriend. Not very action-packed, but still a good crime drama. 4/5 [good]

Thieves Like Us (1974) Altman - Three guys escape from prison during the Depression. They commit a string of bank robberies and hide out with relatives or in small towns. They all amass a reasonable amount of wealth, and two of them even find ladies to settle down with. However, one by one, they eventually reach the end of their good luck streak. 4/5 [good]

Celluloid #117

2011-05-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Bridesmaids (2011) Feig - Annie is perhaps less than thrilled when her best friend Lillian gets engaged. She's even less thrilled when she detects competition from a newer, richer, prettier (?) friend for Maid of Honor. Annie is already bummed out about her life. Her business went bust in the recession, her romantic life consists of a douchey, but handsome Jon Hamm as a callous fuckbuddy, and her two lame British roommates. The oneupmanship of the toast is hilarious, as is the face-off with a young female customer. I could have done without the scatological scene (and the sex scene involving food), but in general a funny and accurate portrayal of the nature o some female friendships. 4/5 [good]

Meek's Cutoff (2011) Reichardt - A feminist Oregon Trail story. A group of pioneers are trying to make it to the Willamette Valley by using a guide that has obviously, but accidentally gotten the group lost. Along the way, they also capture an Indian whom they hope can be a better guide. Michelle Williams is such a badass in this film, even set in an era where the women are forced to listen and never have final say in any decision. Eastern Oregon is both beautiful and really scary - a perfect background for a tense and quiet story. 5/5 [really great]

In Home

Airheads (1994) Lehmann - A goofy film about three metalheads (Brendan Fraser, Adam Sandler, and Steve Buscemi in strangely his most attractive role) who just want their demo played on the local radio station. When normal channels don't work, they end up taking the station hostage with realistic-looking water guns. During their coup, they manage to develop a following of fellow impassioned rockers. The film also includes lots of weird racial statements - I guess still reeling from the Rodney King incident. 3/5 [medium]

the Best Years of Our Lives (1946) Wyler - A bit too beloved of a film about three recent veterans of WW2. One man returns to his family, but struggles to return to his job at the bank that isn't always generous towards fellow veterans. Another captain comes home to his wife only to find that she is a moneygrubber and doesn't love him. - especially when he can't find a decent job. The last soldier was a Navy man who lost both of his hands in combat. His family struggles to treat him the same, but his girl still wants to marry him. Just a bit too sappy and normal for my taste. 3.5/5 [decent]

Don't Look Now (1973) Roeg - A quirky gothic tale about a couple who goes to Venice to cope with their grief over their recently drowned daughter. While in Venice they meet fellow British tourists, one of which is a blind clairvoyant. Even though the seer tells the couple that their daughter is happy where she is, they both become obsessed with contacting her spirit and they keep seeing her image around town. Getting involved with Satanic forces never proves beneficial, and the catastrophes of this film don't make the most sense. However, it's a Roeg film, so that shouldn't be the biggest shock. 3.5/5 [decent]

Easy A (2010) Gluck - Olive accidentally starts an untrue rumor about herself that she slept with some guy from community college. Initially outraged by the accusations, she finds that she actually likes the attention. She then agrees to do a favor for a gay classmate in the form of making people believe that they hooked up, so that he could stop being harassed everyday. Other nerds get in on this arrangement. Meanwhile, Olive's class is reading the Scarlet Letter - obvious parallels with her own life. The film also tries to incorporate some reflection on 1980s teen movies, most specifically John Hughes' films, but it doesn't go far enough or really do anything with this mild analysis. Mostly this film is just too annoying for the amount of voiceover and direct talking to the camera. Plus, the dialogue is just bad. 2/5 [bad]

Teorema (1968) Pasolini - A young man ends up staying with a family for unknown reasons. One by one, he sleeps with or has sexual encounters with all of them. The seem to be possessed by his dick. Once he leaves, each individual suffers. They stop eating or won't get out of bed. The son becomes crazy trying to create art. The parents each seek out random johns. His presence seems to have woken them up momentarily from the pointlessness of their existence, and his departure leaves them worse off than they were originally. 4/5 [good]

Test Pattern #7 - Part 1

2011-05-16T18:11:00.000-07:00

OMG! I have been watching so much tv! On top of that, everything that I have been watching as it airs along with the shows that I watch via my computer, are all coming to an end. Hence "Part 1". I'll try to have the second part out later this week...

Big Love (Season 4 & 5) - These two seasons were definitely the weakest of the entire series. The truth is, I just don't really care about Bill's political ambitions. Also, the loss of Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton) is a loss of a great villain. I mean, Albee is pretty despicable, but he so clearly hates himself, while Roman was full of delusions of grandeur. Nikki's daughter from her first marriage also joins the mix and creates some predictable drama of her own. Barb starts questioning the role of females in their church. Margene gets too into QVC and New Agey products...a really disappointing development for her character. Ben still struggles to keep it in his pants and is always too self-righteous to ever actually sympathize with him. Speaking of slutting it up, Rhonda is back for a bit. Nikki starts dressing normal. Bill's parents get old and even crazier. Sarah and Scott finally escape Utah. Also, not really into the new opening title sequence for these seasons. All in all, I enjoyed my time with the Hendricksons, even if I don't really like the path the show takes in the end.

Friday Night Lights (Season 5) - I always knew it would be a tearful goodbye with Coach Taylor and Dillon, Texas. I can't even claim that this season is that great. Julie is acting like an idiot in college. Tim Riggins spends most of the season in jail. Luke and Becky have some tension, but really nothing much happens to either one of them. Tammy as usual kicks ass at her job, even without support from the rest of the school. Vince learns the hard lesson that nobody really likes you when your head gets too big. For me, this show has always been it's strongest when the stories focus on Riggins or Matt Saracen. Their presence is sorely missed, but I am so thankful for a real conclusion to this show....a show that really more people should watch if they are into great dramas, small towns, or heart.

Fringe (Season 3) - Season 3 is all about the two universes, and the relationship between Olivia and Peter. Fake Olivia spends some time in our universe, while our Olivia is stuck in the alternate universe. Holes begin developing between the two places, and these provide the background for any "monster-of-the-week" episodes that even happen this season. For the most part, I love this season for how crazy and how serialized it gets. I can't imagine jumping into this show now...you need so much backstory from the past two seasons. That being said, if anyone has invested in this show so far, I can't imagine them being disappointed.

Mildred Pierce (HBO miniseries) - I loved the original Mildred Pierce film and I love Todd Haynes' visual aesthetic, so it's really no surprised that I enjoyed this 5-part retelling of this story of a woman who may be lucky in business, but maybe refuses to see how the people closest to her are the most terrible. These scenes are lush and deliberate. Kate Winslet is lovely, and Evan Rachel Wood plays a great spoiled brat Vida. It's beautiful to watch and still so scandalous to entertain.

Parks and Recreation (Seasons 1-3) - This is the first year that I have diligently been watching Parks & Rec as it airs. I had seen lots of episodes from the past two seasons, but when Netflix offered Season 1 & 2 to watch instantly, I knew it would be a good use of my time to revisit and fill in the gaps. I really like Tom and all of his sleaziness and slang, and am really glad that he got an actual love interest if only for a short time. Ron Swanson is a treat as the straight-man. Donna downing two shots at once is pretty great every time. April is a true favorite...also incredibly straight-faced and angsty and just fucking hilarious. I'm not really sure what Ann's purpose is any more on the show, but Rashida Jones' is so pretty that I don't even care. Watching Mark Brandanowitz transform from local playboy to square was an enjoyable transformation, but I have to say that his departure made way for the welcome addition of the ever upbeat Chris (Rob Lowe) and my current crush Ben (Adam Scott). Leslie is goofy and the perfect heart of this show. It's easy to recognize that this series has become the true star of NBC's Thursday night.

Party Down (Season 1 & 2) - More Adam Scott love! Failed writers, actors, musicians, and comedians unite while working for a catering company. Each episode is a different gig ranging from funerals, to Young Republican meetings, to orgies, and even Steve Guttenberg's birthday. Ron's meltdown is amazing, as are the gags about his giant cock (and the beginning of the use of "cramzi"). The dynamic between Kyle and Roman is really great - one-sided hatred (but deep down sympathy). Lizzy Caplan isn't even the worst as Casey. Just a really funny show and a shame that it couldn't last longer.

RuPaul's Drag Race (Season 3) - Finally someone not black wins! The campier version of ANTM (which is already pretty campy) brings back an all new group of drag queens. Even though I predicted win, place, and show really early in the season, I still appreciated that it wasn't too clearcut who would actually win the whole thing (last season was lacking some serious tension with a clear frontrunner). Loved having Chloe Sevigny and LaToya Jackson as judges.

Celluloid #116

2011-05-05T17:08:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

the Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011) Olsson - This documentary culls footage of the Black Power Movement and the subsequent heroin epidemic that marks the end of this idealistic era. The footage is from the cameras of Swedish journalists during that time. It's interesting to see visuals from an outsider perspective coupled with quotes from current hip hop artists. I also found it amusing that the Swedes even utilize extreme face close-ups in their news. This film would serve as a great primer for high school students. 4/5

Incendies (2011) Villeneuve - Twins attend the reading of their mother's will where she has left them with two envelopes to deliver. One is for "the father," the other for "the son"; both people they never knew existed. In order to deliver the letters and unravel the mysteries of their mother's life, they have to travel to her home country of Lebanon. The Radiohead soundtrack contributes to the already incredibly global feel of this film. I found myself getting extremely sucked into this story - one of the best films I've seen this year. 4.5/5

In Home

the Asphalt Jungle (1950) Huston - Later noir film that focuses on four characters trying to pull off a jewel heist. They get away with the crime, but get too greedy (typical). Anyway, pretty standard stuff..and features a young Marilyn Monroe slutting it up. 3.5/5

Scarecrow (1973) Schatzberg - Two men become friends while hitchhiking. One is an ex-con, recently out of prison, hoping to start up his own car washing business. Francis just wants to see his ex-wife and child whom he abandoned to join the Navy six years prior. The two get in a little trouble and do some jail time together, severely straining their relationship. This movie bothered me primarily for the dialogue. It just rings incredibly false. Plus, Francis is always telling weird lame jokes, and I already hate jokes as it is...This is my second attempt to watch a Schatzberg film (the other being Panic in Needle Park) and while he might get lumped in with better 1970s fare, I really think I should avoid him. 2/5

Celluloid #115

2011-04-28T17:26:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2011) Herzog - The 3-D aspect of this film is hardly a gimmick, but rather a way for the viewer to actually see what it is like inside the Chauvet Caves. They really are quite stunning - walls glittery with all of the minerals, stalagmites and -tites, bear skeletons, and the wonderfully interesting 30,000 year old cave paintings. In addition to the beauty of the cave, you also get the pleasure of typical Herzog queries about the soul, existence, and dreams that permeate humanity. 4.5/5

Poetry (2011) Changdong - A cute old lady has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She tries to cope by joining a poetry class, but finds herself being frustrated by lack of poetic inspiration. More importantly, she is the caregiver for her apathetic teenage grandson. It comes to light early on that he and five other friends were involved with repeatedly raping a classmate, leading to her suicide. The fathers of the boys are polite, yet completely inappropriate by trying to handle the situation by paying the girl's mother off. Mija (the old lady) doesn't have the money anyway, but feels highly conflicted. She is a woman whose own life has become quite sad, and beauty may be the only thing to keep her going. 3.5/5

In Home

Grave of the Fireflies (1988) Takahata - Sad story about two siblings whose mother was killed in a bombing. On their own, they seek shelter with an aunt, but she quickly becomes resentful of having to feed two extra mouths during a time of extreme rationing. Eventually the brother and young sister leave the aunt to live in a shelter alone. Having to fend for themselves, the girl soon becomes malnourished. 3.5/5

Logan's Run (1976) Anderson - In a colony in the future, people are not allowed to live past the age of 30, but are promised "renewal" in an elaborate ceremony at the end of their lives. Sometimes individuals run, and it is the job of "Sandmen" to kill them if they try to escape. Logan is a sandman given the task of destroying "Sanctuary," a place for those trying to escape to seek asylum. However, in undertaking this assignment, Logan's superiors remove his last four remaining years, causing Logan to actually look for a way out. He and Jessica, a young woman working for "Sanctuary," actually make it out of the colony into the outside world where they meet their first old man - played by a pleasantly bumbling Peter Ustinov. The film's premise is interesting enough, it just hasn't aged very well. 3/5

My Brother's Wedding (1983) Burnett - I loved Burnett's first film, Killer of Sheep, for its lyrical portrayal of the hardships of the black working class. This film focuses on the same group of people (pitted against the black bourgeois) with the climax being whether the main character, Pierce, will make it to his best friend's funeral or his brother's wedding. Basically, just not as compelling as previous fare. 3/5

Celluloid #114

2011-04-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Hanna (2011) Wright - It was really refreshing to see a teenage girl action hero (not dressed like a skank) and a woman as the villain in this film. Hanna is basically a feral child raised by her assassin father to be able to protect herself and essentially get revenge on this woman who caused Hanna to live in hiding in the woods anyway. While I enjoyed the basic premise, the soundtrack got a little too wild at times and many of the action sequences felt a too much like a music video. 3.5/5

In Home

Mon Oncle Antoine (1971) Jutra - Lots drinking and yelling in this Quebecois small town where everyone knows everyone else's business. All of the boys are scoundrels, but in a playful way. Benoit is our young protagonist and through his eyes, we are exposed to the mysteries of love and death. He also has to overcome his uncle's unhappiness with life in the country. 3.5/5

Plan 9 From Outer Space (1958) Wood - Aliens are trying to make contact with Earthlings to basically tell them to cool it with making bombs because eventually their stupidity will destroy the entire universe. For some reason the plan also involves reanimating corpses for use as thugs. Strange and campy. 3/5

Celluloid #113

2011-04-06T17:11:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Carancho (2011) Trapero - During my trip to Buenos Aires, I was shocked by how crazy the driving seems - rarely a stop sign to be found at an intersection and lines marking lanes treated as optional. Basically, driving seems like a chaotic free-for-all. It comes as no surprise that Argentina has thousands of deaths a year caused by car crashes. This Argentinian film focuses on a doctor who rides around in ambulances and a disbarred lawyer who is now an ambulance chaser for an insurance scam. Bloody, visceral, sometimes sexy. Tension develops to the point where you get nervous every time someone gets in a car, but also so thrilled. 4/5

Certified Copy (2011) Kiarostami - To begin, this seems to be about art. In particular, the idea that a copy can be just as important on an emotional level as the original. A man has written a book on this very subject and a woman who comes to a reading offers to show him around town. After a while, we get the impression that the two know each and may be an actual couple. However, the question remains - was the first part all an act, or their relationship a farce? Conceptually interesting, but doesn't quite add up to an enjoyable watch. 3/5

Jane Eyre (2011) Fukunaga - I've never read the book and am not typically interested in period dramas. I saw this because the director last did Sin Nombre. The film is lush, beautiful, and melancholy in tone. Jane is a girl first cast off by her evil aunt and sent to a boarding school where her only friend dies and everyone is beaten. By the time she gets a job as a governess on an estate, she is in need of affection which the vicious and temperamental Rochester gives her. It's easy to understand why she falls in love, but not to return to him. I know it's far too progressive for the time, but I just wanted to see this 19 year-old get to live. 3.5/5

In Home

Le petit soldat (1960) Godard - A film about torture and a war where everyone is wrong (namely France and Algeria) and maybe love is the only thing that can redeem a person with no ideals. Mostly the selling point of this film is getting to gaze upon Anna Karina's face. 3.5/5

Celluloid #112

2011-03-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Heartbeats (2011) Dolan - Super stylish and hipstery take on love and obsession. Two friends - Marie in her 50s-style vintage and Audrey Hepburn updo and gay Francis with his James Dean-inspired haircut and loud pants both lust after the same guy. Nicolas flirts equally with both of them in a way that can be easily construed as being friends. Francis and Marie compete with and undermine each other until a physical fight actually breaks out. I loved the attitude of this film - mean-spirited, neurotic, and totally exaggerated. My only complaint is that the boom mics kept getting in the shot and were quite distracting. 4.5/5

the Taqwacores (2011) Zahra - An interesting premise: a scene of Muslim punks, all dealing with feeling like outcasts from both communities and balancing seemingly contradictory ideologies. Based on a fictional novel presenting punk as a unifying force, but this novel has managed to inspire a real-life scene. Despite the promising subject, the movie is awkward and clumsy due to bad acting and preachy or forced dialogue. Rule #1 in movies: Show Don't Tell. Plus, our protagonist is a hopeless outsider that never makes any real strides in development. 2.5/5

In Home

Carnival of Souls (1962) Harvey - A strange cult movie where a girl somehow survives a crazy car accident then proceeds to become the church organist for a local town. Her neighbor pursues her relentlessly, and even though he's a creep, she hangs with him sometimes because she is scared of the dead-looking dude that randomly pops up. The highlight is the abandoned pavilion where dead couples waltz, and when the girl goes into a "devilish" trance and starts playing crazy music on the organ. 3.5/5

Destiny (1921) Lang - A woman makes a deal with the Grim Reaper that if she can save a life, he will bring her fiance back to life. Three times she tries and either fails or cannot bring herself to sacrifice the life of a baby. Bizarri, bleak, gothic, romantic ending redeems an admittedly confusing story. 3/5

Frenzy (1972) Hitchcock - Hitchcock is known for creepy and stylish thrillers - this film doesn't particularly deliver on either of those qualities. Instead, this is a pretty typical serial killer story where the main character is innocent but his buddy goes around strangling ladies. Few gaggy parts and overall very easy and entertaining to watch. However, I don't see this as very original or memorable. 3.5/5

One-Eyed Jacks (1961) Brando - Rio and Dad used to be bank-robbing buddies until Dad betrays Rio, leaving him stranded in a job gone wrong. After Rio serves five torturous years in prison, he goes looking for revenge on Dad. Dad is now the sheriff of a coastal California town. Married and with a lovely stepdaughter that Rio promptly seduces. For a western, pretty typical, but Rio plays such an extreme antihero (he's so despicable! why does Luisa or anyone ever do anything nice for him?) that it's hard to root for anyone. 3/5

Single White Female (1992) Schroeder - Well done entertaining thriller. Allie and her boyfriend break up because he's a cheater. In order to not give up her rent-controlled apartment, she searches for a female roommate. Hedy moves in and almost immediately becomes possessive and a little off. Her craziness soon gets out of control and at least one person dies as a result. There are some lesbian moments and so many shots of Jennifer Jason Leigh's boobs! (and none of Bridget Fonda's!) Sleazy and over-the-top, but still creepy and engrossing. 4/5

Celluloid #111

2011-03-16T17:36:00.001-07:00

In Theaters

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2011) Weerasethakul - In a Thai film, you come to expect a very slow pace and very lush beautiful scenery. Uncle Boonmee doesn't fail to deliver on those expectations, but also goes somewhere very strange...This film not only includes ghosts (that don't seem to be a big deal), but black Chewbacca-like creatures with red glowing eyes, bestiality, and general permeation of the supernatural. What is initially comically shocking eventually becomes commonplace, and while this essentially plays like a series of dreams, I really ended up enjoying it. 4/5

In Home

Performance (1970) Roeg - Roeg always does an interesting job at incorporating rock stars into his films (Bad Timing with Art Garfunkel, Man Who Fell to Earth - with David Bowie), and this time Mick Jagger gets a fair amount of screen time. A British gangster gets himself into a position where he needs to hide out - and what better place to hide than an apartment full of bohemians. He's freaked out by their free love and drugs, and initially the hippies don't really like him either. That is until they feed him some special mushrooms. Fun and one step above a B-movie. 3.5/5

Who's That Knocking On My Door? (1967) Scorsese - Early movie by Scorsese starring a very young and handsome Harvey Keitel. Mostly a love story between J.R. and a girl he meets on the ferry. However, things go sour when she reveals that she was a rape victim. The movie draws great attention to the gender double standard (he doesn't want to believe her and certainly doesn't want to date her, despite the fact that he has slept around plenty). J.R. wants to make an unfair classification of "broads" vs. "girls you marry." If gender issues doesn't make you interested, there are also a lot of really sexy make-out scenes. 4/5

Celluloid #110

2011-03-09T17:23:00.000-08:00

In Home

Badlands (1973) Malick - One of my all-time favorite movies. The landscapes are beautiful and ominous - so much flat and dry and moody sunsets. Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen are great as Kit and Holly, a young couple who goes on a killing spree through South Dakota and Montana. Kit is totally charming in this cool, indifferent way that it's easy to see his appeal to fifteen year-old girls as well as to the cops that eventually catch him. Normally, I do not like voiceovers in movies, but Holly's gives her a character a numb and innocent quality that I find so fascinating. 5/5

the Gold Rush (1925) Chaplin - Another charming Chaplin film where the Little Tramp gets in on the gold rush in Alaska. He doesn't actually look for gold, but frequents the town where everyone is lodged and lives with a couple mountain men. He of course falls for a local girl, who initially makes fun of him. The scene with the fork and rolls dance is great, as is the comedy of the house on the cliff. 4/5

How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It) (2007) Angio - I had no idea what a Renaissance Man Melvin van Peebles is! This documentary covers his life so far (he's 78) and all of its turns. He is most famous for directing, writing, and starring in Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song which jumpstarted the blaxploitation genre. He also wrote four novels in french, directed a film in the 1960s, made several Gil Scott-Heron - styled albums (in fact, influencing Gil), producing a couple Broadway plays, and writing a book about Wall Street. A total ladies' man and throughly entertaining to watch. 4/5

Old Joy (2006) Reichardt - Two old friends go camping and talk about old times, their current lives, and basically nothing. They both seem melancholy and like a wall has built up between them over time. The story itself is pretty boring, and the idea of dissatisfaction in your 30s is nothing new. However, this film is gorgeous if mostly for the recognizably lush Oregon landscapes - enough to make me feel a little nostalgic for the Northwest. 3/5

Celluloid #109

2011-03-05T15:22:00.000-08:00

In Home

Carlos (2010) Assayas - If you can imagine watching a five hour plus film (technically broken up into a miniseries now), you really should consider watching this. Carlos Martinez was a terrorist who primarily in the 1970s and 80s committed attacks on Europe in an effort to protest Israeli occupation of Palestine. He also claims to be a part of the "Internationalist Revolution" pertaining to support for Third World countries. This movie is really fascinating because Carlos is such an interesting and complicated character; totally charismatic and quite handsome. Assayas is a director that I often enjoy and that tackles such a variety of topics. This film is great to look at with a pacing that helps this film seem much shorter than its runtime. As a bonus, I also loved the soundtrack, even though the songs often seemed like strange choices other than their ability to tap into some nervous tension (artists featured include: the Feelies, Devo, and Wire). 4.5/5

the Counterfeiters (2007) Ruzowitzky - During the Holocaust, a "professional" counterfeiter is captured after he fucks up in his attempts to copy the dollar. Once taken to the concentration camp, he is separated to be part of a special unit dedicated to forgery. Unfortunately, creating perfect fakes of the British pound may save himself and his fellow jewish prisoners in the short term, but could ultimately tip the balance of the war towards the Nazis favor. Something seemed lacking in this film, and rarely is there a Holocaust-based film that doesn't evoke some emotional response. Also, it just seems a little too "Hollywood-approved foreign film." 3/5

I Fidanzati (1962) Olmi - A man and his longtime girlfriend seem to have reached some sort of lull in their relationship. He decides to take a job in Sicily for a year and a half. While there, he has a little fling, but ultimately realizes that he really wants to be with his girlfriend. Lots of charming scenes, including a really great party. Small town life looks pleasing, but not totally satisfying. 3.5/5

In the Year of the Pig (1968) de Antonio - Documentary about American involvement in the Vietnam War. Incorporates footage (memorably of the burning monk) with interviews of various government officials. All together, it adds up to a harsh, but not undeserved critique of the United States. 3.5/5

Celluloid #108

2011-02-23T18:11:00.000-08:00

In Theaters

Kaboom (2010) Araki - While the actual theater-viewing experience was horrible (one man could not stop cackling or yelling inane things, while another man was eating the neverending bag of popcorn in a way that popcorn-chewing has never sounded so disgusting), I still found enjoyment in this admittedly stupid movie. Smith and his lesbian friend Stella are first year college students who have a lot of sex. Mysterious and sometimes supernatural events start to occur, leading them to believe that the world may be coming to an end. 3.5/5

In Home

Alamar (2009) Gonzalez-Rubio - This documentary features very little dialogue, but incredibly beautiful scenery and a fairly touching subject. A man and his wife have a child. After some time, they decide to split up and she decides to take their young son back with her to Spain. Before she leaves, they decide to let the 6 year-old spend a few weeks with his father. Together they paint, spear fish, identify plants and birds, and wrestle around. Nothing much really happens, but it is really great. 4.5/5

Breakin' (1984) Silberg - Fun campy movie where a traditional dancer with proclivities towards ballet befriends some breakdancers. The breakdancers are currently embroiled with another crew, so the three team up to win the battle. Anyway, lots of dancing, bad acting, sorta fashionable clothes, montages, and an awesome soundtrack. 4/5

Careful (1992) Maddin - Too much desire! In an isolated mountain town, there's incest, murder, curses from dead relatives, animals with their vocal chords removed, and the constant fear of an avalanche. Guy Maddin is a master of the dreamy feeling film, and this one is no exception. Pastel light filters, weird saturation of color, and overly shiny things. Despite some confusion over plot and characters, overall I just love Maddin's style. 4/5

the Craft (1996) Fleming - Silly teen film about a group of girls that try to be witches. At first their powers are an uniting force in an environment that belittles girls and where guys always take advantage. After a while, jealousy gets the best of the former leader and the new girl Sara (a natural witch). They use magic to become beautiful, to get revenge, and to make boys fall in love, but the balance is not kept, so there are consequences to bear. 3/5

Flirting (1991) Duigan - Since this movie can be found in the "Cult" section of my local video store, I expected more gags and camp. Instead, what we see is a pretty normal coming-of-age story combined with an interracial teenage love story. It's always enjoyable to root for the underdogs. The only thing I would have changed was leaving out any politics. In addition, you get to see a young Nicole Kidman (looking like an amazon woman) and Naomi Watts (as the ugly girl!) 3.5/5

Hardcore (1979) Schrader - A girl from a religious and conservative family in Michigan goes on a trip with her church to California. Shortly after her arrival, she goes missing only to be discovered in a porno. Her dad goes out to CA to find her, but due to the secretive nature of the porn industry and his square looks, he can't get any information. He basically has to get deeply entrenched in the porn world. I though this was a good '70s style film, but not really as sleazy as I would have imagined. 3.5/5

Persona (1967) Bergman - A former actress has suffered from immense depression or some other mental hangup to warrant a stay in the hospital. She doesn't talk and when her nurse is invited along for her recuperation trip by the sea, she fills the silence with anecdotes revealing all sorts of personal information. Something happens to the women where they don't exactly switch places, but a bleeding of personalities and disorders seems to occur. In Bergman's impressive filmography, his crazy lady psychological thrillers are my favorite. 4.5/5

Stripes (1981) Reitman - Bill Murray stars in this party movie where he and his friend decide to take a break from their dead end lives to have some fun in the ARMY! Unfortunately this film hasn't aged the best. The jokes aren't funny and there's a weird problem with a premature story climax. I guess at least excessive boob shots are always a popular choice...3/5

Test Pattern #6

2011-02-17T18:00:00.000-08:00

America's Next Top Model (Cycle 15) - The high fashion cycle! (all though apparently cycle 16 will be a high fashion cycle). This cycle was good for all of the weirdos...big boobs Ester, spunky lesbian Kayla, the beautiful but shy Kendall, but there was never a doubt that the gangly awkward Ann would win the whole thing...I hope there's a little more tension next round.

Bored to Death (Season 1) - Hipster detective stories. I really like Jason Schwartzman. I think he's cute and weird and endearing. I've never really had a crush on him before, but this show makes it really hard to avoid. Basically "Jonathan" puts out a craigslist ad, offering his unprofessional detective services and occasionally people respond. He's also recently dumped and suffers from drinking too much white wine. Zach Galifinakis is enjoyable as is Ted Danson.

Caprica (Season 1) - Caprica was never going to be as good as the show it spun off from (Battlestar Galactica) but the season got kinda fucked by taking a long hiatus in the middle. This is the story of how cylons came into existence, but also features a heavy plotline focused on virtual reality. The religious differences between the colonies are more apparent than ever, and much drama stems from a fundamentalist monotheist group. There's a lot conceptually that could have worked for the show, but I have to admit that I got bored after a while, and I guess everyone else did too because it's been cancelled.

Dexter (Season 5) - Julia Stiles looks like a Cabbage Patch doll. I seriously got tired if seeing her every episode because she's not a good actor either. While I don't think this season was anywhere near the greatness of season 4, I did appreciate the break from the usual plot pattern.

Louie (Season 1) - Famously, I am known for not being into jokes and stand-up, so I was quite surprised to find myself enjoying Louis CK's new show. It helps that most of the twenty minute episodes are in skit format, and that Louis does a great job with self-deprecation and being a sympathetic slob.

Mad Men (Season 4) - The smaller version of Sterling Cooper was doing just fine, then the primary account, Lucky Strike decides to discontinue business. Of course this news hits everyone hard. Meanwhile, Don is dealing with being a divorcee and pursues a couple relationships. Betty continues to be a bitch. Peggy continues to be successful at her job, but less so in her personal life. Her friendship with Don is interesting and complex. Joan is back and I am worried for her for next season. The true star of the fourth season is Sally. She's approaching adolescence, the child of a broken home, and confused about the world. Every episode that featured her was a treat. For a more professional take on the show, read this article by Daniel Mendelsohn that just came out today.

Sons of Anarchy (Season 3) - Jax and his crew need to rescue his son from the IRA and somehow protect Gemma from ATF for a crime she didn't commit. I think this season spent way too much time in Ireland, but I am happy to see some characters meet their violent ends. Jax, Opie, and some of the more peace-oriented guys seem to be backing down from that position. It will be interesting to see if the action is upped next season.

Ugly Betty (Seasons 1-4) - While in Argentina on vacation, I got hooked on Betty Suarez and her great family and snotty work friends. This show had never really been on my radar before, but as something on in English to watch before going out..the best. After vacation, I had to watch the whole series. So melodramatic with the most ridiculous plots imaginable, but it's too hard not to love what you see here.

Celluloid #107

2011-02-09T16:45:00.000-08:00

In Theaters

Biutiful (2010) Inarritu - Critics seem to be lambasting this film for two main reasons: 1.) It's too long (which I can agree with...a good 30 minutes probably could have been shaved) and 2.) It's too depressing. To the second point, I don't really care. This is Inarritu's best film since Amores Perros. I think Inarritu has a problem with moralizing, but at least this time, he has kept the focus on one compelling character rather than his usual gimmick of intertwining lofty global narratives. Bardem's praise is deserved for his portrayal of a man involved in low-level crime, yet always trying to do the right thing, especially when it comes to his children. The list of obstacles is almost comical as they reach Book of Job proportions: bipolar estranged wife, problems with immigrants, financial hardship, and oh yeah, terminal cancer. However, this is still a really gorgeous film with interesting imagery and I found it to be a huge improvement over Babel. 3.5/5

Rabbit Hole (2010) Mitchell - Parents dealing with the death of a child could have easily entered well-worn cliched territory, but instead John Cameron Mitchell departs from his homosexual and sex-positive stories to bring this unsentimental portrayal to life. Becca and Howie have each found their own secret ways to cope with their loss (domesticity and regular chats with the accidental killer or attending group therapy and smoking a lot of weed). The film doesn't go for any easy tears, and I was surprised at how much I liked what I saw. 4/5

In Home

Dogtooth (2009) Lanthimos - A strange Greek family. The three children, all in their late teens or twenties, have been shut off from the rest of the world. Only the father can leave their lush compound. They learn alternate vocabulary for problematic words (ex. "telephone" means salt) and the parents lie to them constantly. The dad brings in an outsider, a female security guard from his work, to satisfy his son's sexual needs. After a couple meetings, sex begins to permeate the house in a disturbing yet somehow innocent way. From there, some scenes get really graphic and dark, venturing into Michael Haneke territory. Maybe it sounds horrifying, but I thought this film was so stylish and interesting...the best thing I have seen for a while. 4.5/5

Last Tango in Paris (1972) Bertolucci - An American whose French wife has just killed herself and a young woman with a dumb boyfriend both look at the same vacant apartment. For some inexplicable reason, they spontaneously have sex. Marlon Brando as Paul is a total jerk and abuses Jeanne. I guess we are supposed to root for them, but ultimately I couldn't buy into Jeanne really being into this dude. She's young and hot, and maybe not the smartest, but at least seems like she needs someone who will at least pay attention to her, and Paul seems like the worst option. I was into the ending and the tango scene is really great...it just seems too fickle or rushed in the plotting to finish things up. 3.25/5

Celluloid #106

2011-01-26T18:02:00.000-08:00

In Theater

Last weekend I had the pleasure of seeing two out of print films at the Castro Theater's noir festival...

Gaslight (1944) Cukor - In this B-movie noir, Paula falls in love with the shady Anton. He convinces Paula that they should move into the house that she has recently inherited from her dead aunt (whom Anton obviously killed). Once they arrive, Anton goes about convincing Paula that she is going crazy as a way to keep her confined in the house and in order to keep control over her. All in all, a pretty fun film. 4/5

Strangers in the Night (1944) Mann - This film was even more in the B-movie vein and had a plot that you could predict almost immediately (with perhaps one small twist). In any case the over-the-top performances make this short hour-long movie worth watching. Johnny has just been released from the Marines and has come to track down the girl who has been writing him letters. When he arrives at her address, he finds only her elderly mother and the mother's companion. The mom, Hilda, is a comedic, campy treat in her crazed expressions and her willingness to kill everyone around her in order to protect the secrets surrounding her daughter. It's totally ridiculous and gets wrapped up a little too fast. 3.5/5

In Home

Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) Apted - Sissy Spacek reminds you that in the 1970s and 80s, it was possible to be "weird-looking" and a great actor. She does a splendid job portraying the life of Loretta Lynn. Loretta got married at 15 and had four kids by her early 20s. Her husband initially encourages her to pursue singing at the local honky-tonks and then helps her get a song on the radio. However, with fame comes family strife. 4/5

Deliverance (1972) Boorman - Four friends from the Atlanta suburbs decide to take a canoe trip in the backwoods. Apparently the hillbillies are evil and commit violence and sexual assault for basically no reason. I don't really see what is supposed to be so great about this film. It tries to straddle the line between the men having conversations about philosophy, politics, and the environment, but then we are presented with such cartoonish villains. It just seemed like it was taking itself too seriously. 2/5

Celluloid #105

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

In Theaters

Blue Valentine (2010) Cianfrance - At once a romance and a break-up story, with the two narrative braided together. We see a charming young couple face some hard life situations, and perhaps irrationally decide to marry. In the break-up narrative, it's clear that booze, mild abuse, and disgust have entered the picture and hastened the demise of the relationship. While sometimes hard to watch, I never felt like I might cry (and I cry at everything). It was emotional with being very visceral and never going to the extremes that some critics may have you believe. You might be abele to predict where things are going, but that doesn't mean you still shouldn't watch this...Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling are both amazing actors. This is also the type of movie where it's interesting to have discussions with fellow viewers to see where they lay the blame (I personally think that Cindy was too hard on Dean, even if Dean is a little crazy threatening to kill himself and such...) 4/5

In Home

Henry Fool (1997) Hartley - Hal Hartley is so great with his dark, dry humor and stilted yet smart dialogue. This film is about the Grim family consisting of a quiet garbageman (Simon), his slutty sister (Fay) and their suicidal mother. Henry enters their lives by renting out the basement apartment, and encourages Simon to write poetry, while he pursues both of the ladies of the house. Simon's writing turns out to be brilliant if divisive among readers and publishers. He wants to repay Henry for the gift of expression by helping him get his mysterious "confessions" published. Drama. Estrangement. Etc. The only other Hartley film I've seen is Trust, but so far he's 2 for 2. 4/5

Valhalla Rising (2010) Refn - A saturated color spectacle about vikings on a journey home...or perhaps to Hell. This film manages to be deliberately paced while still incredibly gory. The imagery is so interesting and our protagonist is a one-eyed mute. The soundtrack and look and everything about this film was so stylish; I'm very curious to see Refn's other films, in particular the Pusher trilogy and the film Bronson from a couple years ago.

Celluloid #104

2011-01-08T16:00:00.000-08:00

In Theaters

Somewhere (2010) Coppola - The new Sofia Coppola movie fits the usual parameters of visually interesting and slow-paced. I love how everyone of significance in this film has to perform in one way or another (pole dancing, ice skating routine, piano playing, Rock Band, etc.) Our sad, wealthy protagonist this time is Johnny Marco, a has-been medium successful actor. His life seems really boring and empty despite being full of parties, sex, and a fancy car. Due to some unusual circumstances, Johnny has to spend a lot of time with his 11 year-old daughter, and the two develop a really sweet bond. The emotional climax didn't seem fully earned, but overall I really enjoyed this film. 4/5

In Home

Children of Invention (2009) Chun - Sad story of a Hong Kong immigrant and her two children. Her husband has returned back to China, and she keeps getting suckered into sketchy get-rich-quick schemes trying to make any money at all. (Her normal job is as a real estate agent, but of course no one is buying). One pyramid scheme goes especially wrong and she gets picked up by the police. She can't get in touch with her kids and fears that the cops will put them in an orphanage if she tells them they are home alone. The kids are resourceful and try to make some money on their own, by selling "inventions." The desperation in this film is so tangible. 3/5

the Girl Who Played With Fire (2010) Alfredson - The second in the trilogy, Lisbeth is a little less compelling, and the story a little less exciting. This time one of Micke's co-workers wants to run a story about an illegal sex trafficking ring, but as government officials are linked with the story, the reporter and his girlfriend end up dead. Lisbeth gets framed for the double homicide, so she goes on the run looking for the real killer. All fine and good for a thriller, there's just a few too many surprise family reveals. 3.5/5

Police, Adjective (2009) Poromboiu - A police officer is working a case involving three teenagers who like to get high sometimes. The law in Romania is very strict, and can put someone away for 3-7 years just for smoking a joint. Cristi doesn't want to ruin these kids' lives and would rather arrest the supplier. His boss is placing pressure to make an arrest and to stop spending so much time on the case. The climax is incredibly boring, and basically consists of Cristi being belittled and forced to look up several words in the dictionary. 3/5

Soul Kitchen (2010) Akin - Charming and somewhat meandering film about a restaurant owner who faces many obstacles. His girlfriend has just moved to Shanghai and wants him to come. An old acquaintance is shadily trying to buy the property that the restaurant sits on. His brother has just been recently paroled and needs a job despite his proven ability to repeatedly fuck up. Lots of unnecessary scenes and diversions, but mostly their additions are welcome. Much more lighthearted than the other film I have seen from Akin, Head-On, but not as good either. 3.5/5

Sweetgrass (2009) Barbash & Castaing-Taylor - A surprisingly engrossing documentary about sheep and sheepherders in Montana. They are taking their last trip through some public lands. You see how benign yet infuriating the animals are, and how fragile these seemingly tough cowboys can be when pressed to push themselves to the end of their physical abilities. 4/5

Vengeance (2009) To - Basically a typical revenge story where a French man hires some Chinese thugs to avenge the death of his daughter and her family. The twist is that he has a bullet in his brain and is losing his memory. After some time, he doesn't even recognize his daughter's picture so the need for revenge would seem null. However, this is not the case, and despite danger and ample bloodshed, Costello keeps pushing on, using written down clues and assistance from those around him. 3/5

Working Girls (1986) Borden - A day in the life of a prostitute working at the equivalent of a brothel, but in upscale Manhattan. The film is a little repetitive as we basically see Molly service her johns for what seems like a 12 hour shift, interspersed with chats with the other girls. It's also clear that the film is pushing a bit of a feminist agenda, as Molly is a lesbian and none of the girls do things they don't consent to. Their prostitution is hard work, but seen as a means of financial freedom. 3.5/5

2010 Blow-Out!

2010-12-30T17:38:00.000-08:00

Favorite Films Released in 2010

10. Tiny Furniture (Dunham)

9. Never Let Me Go (Romanek)

8. I Am Love (Guadagnino)

7. Exit Through the Gift Shop (Banksy)

6. Inception (Nolan)

5. Catfish (Joost & Schulman)

4. A Prophet (Audiard)

3. Black Swan (Aronofsky)

2. Winter's Bone (Granik)

1. Mother (Bong)

HMs: Social Network, Fish Tank, White Ribbon, and Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then

Most Fun in a Theater: Splice (Runner-Up: Machete)

5-Star Books Read in 2010 alphabetical order

American Rust - Meyer

Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Diaz

Cloud Atlas - Mitchell

Conquest of the Useless - Herzog

Europeana: A Brief History of the Twentieth Century - Ourednik

the Halfway House - Rosales

History of Love - Krauss

Let the Great World Spin - McCann

Lost City Radio - Alarcon

Mythologies - Barthes

Best Singles

"Teenage Dream" - Katy Perry

"Yamaha" - the Dream

"Boyfriend" - Best Coast

"Sexy Bitch" - David Guetta ft. Akon

"4th of July" - Kelis

Favorite Albums

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today

LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening

No Age - Everything in Between

Beach House - Teen Dream

Robyn - Body Talk Pt. 1

Misc. TOP TEN

10. Waffles (so trendy!)

9. Aunt Jackie

8. Slobfests

7. Major Lazer "Pon da Floor" video

6. 3 am Taco Bell

5. Bar 355

4. (tie) [so many new] GAYS & homemade ice cream

3. Swimming at Lassen Volcanic Park

2. Argentina

1. Making out

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Celluloid #103

2010-12-29T18:50:00.000-08:00

In Theaters

True Grit (2010) Coen - Surprisingly conventional film from the Coen brothers. I have never seen the original Western featuring John Wayne, but this film is still totally entertaining. A young girl teams up with a US Marshall and a Texas Ranger to track down the man who murdered her father. Drunk, babbling Rooster Cogburn, and the straight-laced LeBeouf are funny enough, and this film refrains from entering sappy territory, but ultimately was exactly what I expected watching the trailer. 4/5

In Home

All Good Things (2010) Jarecki - One of Ryan Gosling's two films this winter about failing marriages. David is the heir to a New York property empire. He marries Katie, one of the tenants, in large part because she doesn't come from money. Their relationship deteriorates due to his mental instability induced by the pressures from his father, and Katie's desire to have a child. She goes missing, and it looks as though David or someone else in his family may be involved in some foul play. All fine and good, but for a thriller, this film isn't very thrilling, and things take a weird turn involving cross-dressing. Perhaps more upsetting is the way Gosling's "old man" make up is handled, aging him way past any possible age he could have been in the film. Probably best to be skipped. 3/5

Cinema Paradiso (1988) Tornatore - Toto's childhood is spent causing mischief, getting slapped around by his grieving mother, and going to the movies at every opportunity. He befriends the projectionist, and later takes over that job after a terrible accident maims his mentor. Both a coming-of-age story and a love letter to the cinema, this seems like exactly something that would be nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film (not specifically a compliment). Totally emotionally manipulative and sappily nostalgic (it did indeed make me cry), but more importantly, is that the last hour feels forced and tacked on. 3.5/5

Elf (2003) Favreau - Somehow I had never seen this Christmas movie, but it had me hooked enough to watch it over my mother's shoulder during Christmas dinner this year. Will Ferrell as Buddy, the human raised by elves, totally made me laugh and the jokes were strong enough to make up for Zooey Deschanel's singing and the too heartfelt "everyone needs to remember the importance of Christmas spirit" ending. 3.5/5

Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) Banksy (???) - A documentary about the street art scene, specifically focusing on Banksy and Shepard Fairey. At first, this French man, Thierry (cousin of street artist "Space Invader") starts filming everything around him. Artists think that he is putting out a documentary about the movement, but really Thierry just compulsively films. Banksy, in an attempt to salvage some footage, encourages Thierry to leave him his tapes and to go out and make some art of his own...and then Thierry as "Mr. Brainwash" blows up. While, this subject on surface level is still compelling to watch, the real treat is in the question of reality. While, you never feel as though the filmmaker is winking at you, you still get the feeling that the entire thing (maybe Thierry's whole persona) is a manufactured hoax...a gleeful thought. 4/5

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010) Stern - Joan Rivers is apparently the hardest working woman in show business, but rarely gets the respect she believes she deserves. This documentary follows her around for a year. She loves to work and will take any kind of job. We see her in a play, doing shows in the middle of nowhere, roasts, Celebrity Apprentice, etc. The clear message is that it is really difficult to be an aging woman in general, and even more heartbreaking for the older woman entertainer. Joan is coping with what everyone fears about getting older. 4/5

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) Chechik - A family favorite in our house and only second to "Summer Vacation" in the National Lampoon's series. Clark Griswold and his family are hosting practically all of their extended family. Terrorizing the neighbors, the cat and squirrel incidents, and anything involving the great-aunt all make me laugh. 3.5/5

Pretty in Pink (1986) Hughes - Like many other '80s babies, I grew up on Molly Ringwald. This film is great for the clash between the classes, all though I will never understand what poor girl Andie sees in in bland rich boy Blane. Her best friend Duckie's devotion is touching and his rendition of "Tenderness" in the record store is the best. Harry Dean Stanton is also one of the sweetest and most human portrayals of a father on-screen. 4/5

the Runaways (2010) Stigismondi - Rather than the story of the Runaways as a band, this is essentially Cherie Curie and Joan Jett's feature. Michael Shannon as Kim Fowley plays a great sleaze who brings the girls together and convinces 15 year-old Cherie to transform herself into a Lolitaesque sex kitten. The band to this day still holds significance for being the first all-girl rock group with any real presence, even if their hype eventually overwhelmed them. Plus, the music is great even if the movie is medium. 3/5

Trash Humpers (2009) Korine - In general, I find Harmony Korine's films fairly infuriating, and yet I still keep watching them (I think maybe I secretly like getting riled up). Surface-level, this film seems like it should have induced the most rage, but I actually came away not hating it. While there is no narrative to speak of, and most of the action involves smashing televisions, tap dancing, firecrackers, maniacal laughing, and yes, as the title promises, dry humping trash cans, I think this film needs to be viewed in the tradition of Experimental films. On some level, it seems like Korine is addressing issues of alienation and the demise of the American Dream, but it's possible that I'm giving him too much credit. 3/5

Art Garfunkel Memorial Reading List (July - December 2010)

2010-12-28T19:49:00.000-08:00

1. the Corrections- Franzen (7/8)

2. American Rust - Meyer (7/8)

3. Orientalism - Said (7/17)

4. Atmospheric Disturbances - Galchen (7/22)

5. the Ruins - S. Smith (7/28)

6. Just Kids - P. Smith (8/3)

7. Illuminations: Essays and Reflections - Benjamin (8/11)

8. Light in August - Faulkner (8/13)

9. Remainder - McCarthy (8/17)

10. For the Relief of Unbearable Urges - Englander (8/19)

11. the Year of Magical Thinking - Didion (8/19)

12. I Am Not a Serial Killer - Wells (8/24)

13. Let the Great World Spin - McCann (9/4)

14. the History of Love - Krauss (9/11)

15. Europeana: A Brief History of the Twentieth Century - Ourednik (9/19)

16. Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned - Tower (9/21)

17. Bump City: Winners and Losers in Oakland - Krich (9/26)

18. the White Tiger - Adiga (10/2)

19. Under and Alone: the True Story of an Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Mst Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang - Queen (10/9)

20. Blow-Up and Other Stories - Cortazar (10/13)

21. Little Bee - Cleave (10/18)

22. Absurdistan - Shteyngart (10/23)

23. Generation Multiplex: the Image of Youth in Contemporary American Cinema - Shary (11/4)

24. Rainbow Stories - Vollmann (11/4)

25. Moravagine - Cendrars (11/8)

26. the Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet - Mitchell (11/18)

27. the Bathroom - Toussaint (11/19)

28. Conquest of the Useless - Herzog (11/19)

29. the Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Diaz (11/27)

30. Chronic City - Lethem (12/4)

31. Love and Other Obstacles - Hemon (12/13)

32. Decoded - Jay-Z (12/15)

33. Song of Solomon - Morrison (12/23)

Celluloid #102

2010-12-15T21:17:00.000-08:00

In Theaters

Black Swan (2010) Aronofsky - Similar in theme to the Wrestler in that a performer undergoes intense pressure to the point of their undoing. Nina is finally given the starring role in Swan Lake after years with the ballet company, but the director still questions her ability to play to the "Black Swan" side of the role because she comes across as pure and frigid. Nina embarks on a huge descent into madness that involves hurting herself and seeing an evil version of her face on other people. The role, her mother, and her sacrifices all seem to have led to this point. Shot in an interesting if nauseating way and full of psychological and sometimes graphic horror...to the point that my friend actually passed out during the film! I could have done without some of the CGI, but overall I was so into this film and its campy elements. 4.5/5

127 Hours (2010) Boyle - True story about Aron Ralston, a hiker/canyoneer who has an accident where he slips into a crevice and his arm gets pinned. He's stuck for five days, and in that time he fantasizes about his past, worries about water, and in general goes a little nutty. The whole time I was just waiting for him to cut his arm off; a graphic scene, but not worth the lead-up. Pseudo-inspirational and ultimately lacking something that I couldn't quite pinpoint. Now, I've really enjoyed Boyle in the past, but this movie and even Slumdog Millionaire with their music video aesthetics leaves me nostalgic for the days of dead babies and less happy endings. 2.5/5

Tiny Furniture (2010) Dunham - Aura has just graduated college and moved home with her talented artist mother and gifted teenage sister. She lets a guy stay at her place while her family is out of town, but they never have sex. She gets a job as a hostess and ends up unprotected fucking one the chefs in a pipe in the street. Basically, she's having a hard time as the tagline says. I like that Aura has a normal, somewhat flabby body which she feels confident flaunting and that she seems really genuine if somewhat privileged. Her story isn't anything new, but totally relatable and you can't help but feel for her even when she's fucking up. 3.5/5

White Material (2010) Denis - Madame Vial is a French National living in some unnamed African country. She and her family run a failing coffee plantation. When the country's political situation gets tense, the French are expected and generally evacuate, but Mme. Vial refuses to leave and wants to harvest the coffee one last time despite the danger. Her lazy adult son is attacked by some local kids and shortly after he begins to lose his mind. People who were once friendly become violent, but it is difficult to sympathize with the French, no matter if they were born there or not. Their colonization contributed to the strife in the first place. In any case, the film is beautiful and interesting for its conflicts. 4/5

In Home

A Man and a Woman (1966) Lelouch - Two people have children who go to the same school. By chance, Jean gives the woman a ride, and it turns out that both of them have deceased spouses. Her husband was a stuntman that got killed in an accident. Jean test drives cars and his wife committed suicide after he got in a terrible accident himself. This French film may be the epitome of an artsy foreign romance. 3.5/5

Celluloid #102

2010-11-20T10:50:00.000-08:00

In Home

Dead Alive (1992) Jackson - An overbearing mother tries to prevent her adult son from dating, and in her nosy efforts, gets bitten by an evil rat-monkey that transforms her into a zombie-like creature. The special effects are over-the-top and totally silly. The horror is gross-out rather than scary and can easily be lumped into the same category of much of Sam Raimi's horror films. In my opinion, the film starts out as really fun, but towards the end as the body count rises and the bloodfest is unrelenting, I started getting pretty bored. 3/5

Happy Together (1997) Wong - A gay couple wants to start over, so they leave Hong Kong for Argentina, but promptly break up on a failed roadtrip to Iguazu Falls. Fai gets a job as a doorman, while Wing starts working as a prostitute. After Wing gets badly beaten up, Fai takes care of him opening another chapter in their tumultuous and often painful relationship. Strikingly beautiful, as one would expect from Wong Kar-wai. 4/5

House of the Devil (2009) West - Horror film done in throwback 80s style. Samantha needs money quick and decides to take a babysitting job. When she arrives, Samantha discovers that she won't actually be watching a kid, but rather the elderly mother-in-law. Needless to say, things get weird and scary as the night progresses. This film is actually really stylish, combining Argento and Hitchcock shots with the 1980s. The soundtrack is really great and overall the film is fun and not too jumpy. 4/5

Celluloid #101

2010-11-12T17:04:00.000-08:00

In Home

Blind Beast (1969) Masumura - An evil blind masseuse drugs an erotic photo model and brings her to his lair of oversized body parts. He's trying to pioneer "the art of touching" for the blind. The film wants to straddle the tricky boundary between rape and love as Aki begins to appreciate someone worshiping her body. Ultimately an unbridled male fantasy, but so absurd that it's still interesting to watch. 3.5/5

Chloe (2010) Egoyan - Catherine suspects that her husband is cheating on her, but to be sure she hires Chloe, an escort to seduce him. Catherine perhaps gets too close to Chloe and gets turned on by Chloe's description of the affair. Needless to say, some people fall off the handle. A fun, trashy thriller. 3.5/5

the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2010) Oplev - An old man wants to solve the 40 year-old mystery of the disappearance of his niece. He hires disgraced journalist, Micke, to investigate before he has to serve a prison sentence. Meanwhile. Lisbeth is a talented hacker and researcher working on checking out Micke. She's pretty tough, but has to endure some evil woman-directed hatred in this film. She and Micke team up to work the case. I was intrigued and wary of the hype surrounding these stories, but I have to say this is really good for what it is: an engaging, slick, thriller. 4/5

Good Dick (2008) Palka - Really not as risqué as the title would have you believe. This is the story of a girl who likes to rent softcore from the local video store and the clerk that has deemed her the object of his affection. They both have their problems. She barely leaves the house and seems to have huge emotional walls. He lives in his car and apparently has a shady junkie past. However, he's actually really sweet and extremely persistent, and I liked their weird chemistry that often involves her verbally abusing him. 3.5/5

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) Allen - Three sisters and their love lives. Hannah is the oldest and most stable, but accused of not really needing anyone else. Lee begins having an affair with Hannah's husband Elliott. Holly is the youngest and flails a bit trying to make it as an actress/caterer. Holly is also connected to Hannah's love life by getting involved with her ex-husband. Pretty typical Woody Allen themes of fear of death, and complicated relationships. 4/5

Schizopolis (1996) Soderbergh - Really, who knows what is going on in this film? (and you are warned in the intro that it is definitely your fault as viewer if you don't get it). Here are some things that happen: the main character sometimes works a boring office job where he is unfairly promoted and sometimes he plays a dentist/stalker. Sometimes characters speak in descriptions of the type of dialogue without any content (ex. "generic greeting" or "cheerful-sounding query"). There's also Elmo Oxygen, a pest controller, who seduces bored housewives by speaking nonsense phrases. The thing is, even though I don't know the point or meaning of most of this, I still actually enjoyed watching the film. 4/5

Celluloid #100!

2010-11-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

In Home

Afterschool (2010) Campos - In a prep high school, everyone talks about sex much more than they are actually having it. Lots of porn is watched in the dorms and talk of blow jobs around the lunch table. The sexual "transgressions" are soon overshadowed by the fatal cocaine overdose of the popular twin girls on campus. Robert was filming them as part of a project for the Audio/Visual Club, but fails to get them any immediate help. This film is dark and instantly brings to mind many Haneke films, but Benny's Video in particular, especially in its examination of voyeurism. 4/5

Ajami (2010) Copti & Rihan - A neighbor boy gets mistakenly shot in a retaliation. In order to get a ceasefire, one Israeli family has to pay off a mob-like family. The sum is way beyond their means, which forces the son, Omar, to seek more illegal ways to pay their debt. His poor decisions regarding stealing cars, selling drugs, and falling in love with a Christian girl all have negative consequence for those around him. 3.5/5

Glen or Glenda (1953) Wood - A transvestite commits suicide, and what follows is a documentary-style segment that makes a case for dressing like a woman (more beautiful! more comfortable!). Surprising how much the film tries to encourage understanding and tolerance, for what I assume to be fairly deviant behavior in the '50s. The conflict lies in how Glen should let his fiancé, Barbara, know about his secret life as Glenda. 4/5

Prodigal Sons (2010) Reed - Paul grew up to become Kim, and returns to her hometown for a high school reunion. Kim has not been back to this small town in Montana since the transition. In addition, her brother Marc had a brain injury and desperately clings to a past that he is also incredibly bitter about...especially the popularity Paul received in high school. On top of all of that, it comes to light that Marc is actually the biological grandson of Orson Welles. Kim is the filmmaker and I appreciate that she doesn't come off looking like a saint as she is often incredibly selfish and impatient with Marc and his mental condition. Despite all of that randomness and drama, at its heart, this is a documentary about a broken family trying to find a way to reconcile, all though it sometimes feels like too much is trying to fit into the storyline. 3.5/5

the Secret in Their Eyes (2009) Campanella - A retired lawyer decides to write a book about a case that has plagued him for 20 years. Liliana was raped and beaten to death, but it took detectives and the police a year to catch him. Unfortunately, he was quickly released by a crooked politician. All the main characters are haunted by their pasts and full of regret one way or another. 4/5

Vincere (2010) Bellocchio - Mussolini was a player! He had a wife and a young daughter, but also impregnated his lover, who didn't know about his wife. Ida (the lover) gets insanely jealous, especially because she fronted the money to start his newspaper. They end up getting married, but later she is made out to be crazy and both her and her son are placed in institutions where nobody believes their connections to the dictator. A very stylish epic by a director who made an Italian film that I loved in the 1960s: Fists in the Pocket. Both deal with (perceived?) madness, but I prefer the manic style of the earlier film, and yet still appreciate that Bellocchio is still working. 3.5/5

The "Celluloid" portion of this blog has been going strong since May 2008. I try to blog weekly, but will usually skip it if I'm too busy or have seen less than three films in the previous week. Curiously, you can probably tell how depressed or hermitty I have been based on frequency of posting + quantity of films. For a little self-indulgence to celebrate 100, here's a list of probably my 20 favorite films of all time (in alphabetical order because I cannot choose to more certainty than this)

Badlands

Band of Outsiders

Breaking the Waves

Cache

Closely Watched Trains

Devils on the Doorstep

Down by Law

Fargo

Fight Club

Ivan's Childhood

Killer of Sheep

Killer's Kiss

Matador

the Proposition

Punch-Drunk Love

Royal Tenenbaums

le Samourai

Stroszek

Werckmeister Harmonies

Woman in the Dunes

Hopefully I can keep it together for another 100 more...

Celluloid #99

2010-10-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Enter the Void (2010) Noe - Neon nightmare with the sentiment "Life's a Bitch and then you die" and maybe that the key to life is the nipple. I was into the overstimulation of the opening credits, but sadly what follows is repetitive, pretty boring, and about an hour too long. Oscar and his sister Linda live in Tokyo. He deals drugs and she works as a stripper. Their parents died when they were young and they are unnaturally close. Their lives seem totally depressing and Oscar gets killed as the result of a series of bad decisions. This happens in the first 15 minutes I would guess, and then the rest of the movie he floats around watching his sister. 1.5/5

In Home

Claire's Knee (1970) Rohmer - Jerome is going to get married to Lucinde, but he runs into an old writer friend. She challenges him to an experiment where he would seduce the young neighbors. Jerome first tries Laura, but she rebuffs his advances. Then he becomes obsessed with Claire, and yes, her knee. So much talking and moralizing and philosophizing in all of Rohmer's films, to the point where I think I feel pretty medium about his work overall. 3/5

Friday (1995) Gray - So whatever. A film where two friends spend the afternoon getting high, flirting with girls, and avoiding paying back the guy who sold them the weed. Initially, I was disappointed because I didn't think the movie was that funny, but then I started laughing when describing the excessive farting to my friends, so maybe I did think it was a little funny after all. 3/5

Lacombe Lucien (1974) Malle - When Lucien gets denied acceptance to the Underground French Resistance, he ends up working on the other side for the German Police. Early on we see scenes of Lucien killing animals, so you know he's got an evil streak. The authority goes to his head, but he seems a little like a typical teenager when he develops a crush on the daughter of a Jewish tailor. 3.5/5

Nanook of the North (1922) Flaherty - A portrait of people living in the harshest of environments, often on the brink of starvation. Often considered the first documentary, scenes of the Inuit making an igloo or ice fishing are pretty remarkable. 4/5

Vengeance is Mine (1979) Imamura - Iwao has been a bad seed ever since he was a child. An initial rebellious streak evolves into adult murderous tendencies. While Iwao leaves a trail of bodies behind him in the midst of being on the run, his wife is carrying on a relationship with his father. For much of the film, Iwao poses as a professor at a hotel known for procuring prostitutes, and falls in love with the hotel owner. A typical arc for a crime story, but still very stylish. 4/5

Celluloid #98

2010-10-07T17:14:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Catfish (2010) Joost - Nev is a 24 year-old photographer who strikes up a friendship with 8 year-old Abby when she sends him a painting of one of his photos. Over several months, he becomes friends with much of Abby's family through Facebook, and even flirts with her half-sister. That's all I can really say without ruining things. All though I would like to point out that this film is being very strangely marketed. I saw it at a multiplex (it belongs at a smaller, artier, or niche theater) and the trailer makes it look like a suspense thriller, when really there is one sorta scary part and basically the film is about the evolving nature of relationships given current technology. 4/5

Never Let Me Go (2010) Romanek - Cathy H., Tommy D., and Ruth all grew up in a boarding school. One "subversive" teacher lets them know their fates - everyone at the school is being raised to become organ donors and will die before they reach middle age. In addition to this fascinating alternate reality, there's an ongoing love story. Needless to say, I cried and cried. It should be noted that this film is really gorgeous in addition to its compelling plot. 4/5

the Social Network (2010) Fincher - Extremely fun for a film that revolves around software creation and some legal proceedings. I love the quick witty dialogue and how seedy this Internet phenomenon gets. Nearly everyone in the film comes off looking like a villain, with the exception of Mark Zuckerberg's former best friend Eduardo. Highlights include the "Winklevi"- twin Olympic crew rowers and Justin Timberlake as the creator of Napster. This film succeeds because it's not really (or not solely) about Facebook, but rather classic themes of too much ambition, loneliness, and betrayal. 4/5

In Home

the Big Heat (1953) Lang - Detective Bannion is a bit of a rebel and is trying to solve a case of a faked suicide by a fellow policeman and the murder of his mistress. Bannion does not listen to his superiors when they tell him to back down, and then his wife gets killed in a car bomb meant for him. This noir is notable for how hard people punch each other, but otherwise a fairly typical storyline for the genre. 3.5/5

the Last Dragon (1985) Schultz - In New York, apparently black people love Bruce Lee and martial arts. Within the first ten minutes there are so many great outfits, a drag queen, and appearances by Rudy Huxtable and Bill H. Macy. Leroy may be good at fighting, but he's pretty innocent about many other areas of life, in particular, sex. A love story develops with Vanity while Leroy deals with accepting that he is the "one true master." 4/5

A Nos Amours (1983) Pialat - Suzanne is young and sexually liberated. She begins by dating Luc, but then she seduces an American, and later she is sleeping with Bernard. Father and daughter speak fairly openly about their affairs, but their family is totally dysfunctional. Everyone slaps each other, Suzanne's brother is too infatuated with her, etc. It becomes clear that Suzanne is looking for love in the boys she dates because her family cannot offer that. 3.5/5

Celluloid #97

2010-09-29T17:10:00.001-07:00

In Theaters

the Town (2010) Affleck - Fun heist movie turned love story. Doug and three friends all grew up in Charlestown and take up robbing banks and armored vehicles - the town's favorite pastime. When Doug has to check up on the bank manager from their latest job, he ends up striking up a romance with her. He tries to keep it a secret and a "one last job" scenario develops. For a while I was worried that the film was heading for some Shawshank Redemption territory, but it refrains from that sort of sentiment. 3.5/5

In Home

Burden of Dreams (1982) Blank - Pretty incredible documentary about the making of Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo. The main struggle is the key scene where a boat is lifted up a mountain to cross into a river. Amazing that they pulled it off at all, and showcases Herzog's tendency to make film-making as difficult as possible. There are struggles with the natives and with nature as a whole; leading to Herzog's famous line about "nature is full of obscenity..." As a herzog acolyte, I loved it. 5/5

Greenberg (2009) Baumbach - Roger Greenberg is pretty unlikeable, but also really easy to relate to. He has spent some time in a mental institute (for depression?) and now at 40, he's wondering how to live his life. He gets involved with his brother's personal assistant (Greta Gerwig - I'm so into her normal-looking girl body) who is 26. She spends her time singing, drinking, fucking, etc. and Roger probably had a similar lifestyle at her age. What is supposed to happen to those "emerging adults" in their 30s? 3.5/5

Man with the Movie Camera (1929) Vertov - Early experimental film comprised of images and lacking actors, a set, or an actual story. Instead we are presented with some interpretation of life in Russia and the film at barely over an hour achieves a really great rhythm. Favorite sections include the factory scenes and the sports section. Easy to see this film's influence on later filmmakers. 4/5

Nosferatu (1929) Murnau - Classic vampire story, but with an emphasis on a plague connection. Villagers think that young people are dying from the dreaded disease, not from getting their blood sucked. While (or maybe because) this film is so old, Nosferatu is legitimately creepy, especially in the scene where he's carrying a coffin around. I would have liked this a lot more if not for one thing - the music! So bad, so out of place. 4/5

Seven (1995) Fincher - Crime thriller about two detectives trying to solve a case involving a serial killer using the "seven deadly sins" as his template for seeking out victims. The crime scenes are gruesome, but Fincher has a way of still preserving an artistic visual style. Brad Pitt plays a sympathetic idiot, and the ending is clever if a little obvious. Totally whet my appetite for Fincher's newest out this weekend. 4.5/5

Test Pattern #5

2010-09-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

So before all of the new Fall shows start, I thought I should give myself a clean slate and post about the shows I have been watching all summer...

Dexter (Season 4) - Unfortunately some of the entertainment feeds I read totally spoiled this season for me, but even so, I really liked this season with John Lithgow as the primary antagonist. I think the season started a bit slow, but got going once Dexter and Arthur develop a closer relationship, things pick up. I gotten pretty used to the formula arc that every season seems to take (except Season 2...my least favorite season) where there's another serial killer on the loose. Debra is super annoying, but generally key in discoveries regarding the case, and the finales consist of Dexter killing the other serial killer. Even though I know and expect the plot to go that way, the chase is still fun, and entertaining to hear my roommate scream.

Friday Night Lights (Season 4) - The most tearjerky season yet. I literally cried every episode but two. Really, this season's core was about Matt Saracen and Tim Riggins and their continual heartbreaks. Matt and Julie break up, Matt loses his dad, and finally finds a way to move out of Dillon. Riggins couldn't hack it in college, so comes back to Dillon and tries to find a way to make a life for himself. He and his brother get involved in some illegal activity, but it's so sympathetic in this small town where it's hard to get ahead financially. I think this show has always been really good at dealing with racial issues, and this season they up the ante by moving the coach to the cross-town high school, which is demographically poorer and more diverse than relatively privileged Dillon High School. I enjoyed the additions of Vince, Luke, and Jess and it makes me really sad that next season will be the final season to cry about this town and these people.

Homicide: Life on the Street (Seasons 6 & 7) - Now, I'm pretty willing to name Homicide as one of the best shows of the 1990s, but the final season nearly tainted that impression. Season 6 introduces a few new, but not as beloved characters, but overall the season was still one of the best. The show dives deeper into some racial prejudices and takes an interesting direction with Kellerman's character. It's also the last season for Pembleton, which is both heartbreaking and fascinating to watch. Season 7 is a pretty big mess. At this point an additional couple characters are added which nobody really likes. The music also gets really strange this season and the storylines increasingly cheesy. I'm not really sure what happened to the writers or directors, but it was a definite misstep. I had to see the conclusion of this show...I just wish the last season wasn't so painful.

Peep Show (Season 1) - This show is easy to gobble up with 25 minute episodes and only 6 episodes per season (and available on Hulu). It's British and basically has two main characters who are roommates. They are both really pathetic but in completely different ways. Mark is really square and has a boring office job. He's also a little chubby, totally neurotic, and constantly plotting how to sleep with his co-worker while simultaneously worrying about some condition with his balls. Jeremy is a complete failure. He fancies himself an electronic musician, but he's awful and cannot land or keep any actual paying jobs. He is also obsessed with trying to get laid, but is only marginally more successful than Mark.

Sons of Anarchy (Seasons 1 & 2) - Maybe it's just me, but I feel like there is a mini-zeitgeist going on about motorcycle culture. The Dream came out with Yamaha. I happened to see the SF Vampire MC while drinking with some co-workers. Then there's Sons of Anarchy, which probably made me start noticing motorcycles at all. I'm pretty into this show...Katey Sagal is surprisingly hot as the main "old lady," the rival gang is a bunch of Latinos from Oakland, and there's this whole Hamlet thing going on between the main character (Jax) and his stepfather (Clay played by Ron Perlman) and Jax's dead father who left a manifesto behind. This show is full of likable gray characters with a strong sense of community and ties to family, but questionable morals in many other arenas. Season 2 features guest appearances by Henry Rollins and Alan Arkin...Season 3 is airing right now.

True Blood (Season 3) - My goodness has True Blood gotten ridiculous. I liked this season better than last season, but perhaps just because I've become numb to the sheer number of supernatural beings. At least Maryanne is gone...This time the main villain is Russell Edgington, a gay vampire who refuses to stop feeding on humans, has control over werewolves, and also wants to manipulate Bill, Eric, and get Sookie in his possession. This season includes fairies, werewolves, and werepanthers, and probably some other shit that I'm forgetting. Sam gets tired of being taken advantage of, Lafayette gets an annoying boyfriend, and Arlene is probably entering a Rosemary's Baby-type scenario. This show has gotten way past the point where I could recommend it to anyone and keep a clear conscience, but I just know I won't be able to help but watch next season.

Celluloid #96

2010-09-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

In Home

American Teen (2008) Burstein - No secret that I'm a fan of movies and shows about teenagers - such a crossroads in peoples' lives. This documentary examines a group of students from an Indiana high school that fit pretty easily into typical teen cliques. Nerds, jocks, princesses, weirdo arty girl, etc. However, they all aren't so different - white, middle to upper class, things mostly work out for them, etc. Easy to watch in any case. 3.5/5

Burnt Money (2002) Pineyro - Argentinian film about a famous heist. Nene and Angel are a gay couple with more complications than most. It is the 60s and Angel also potentially has some psychological issues. They are called in for a job involving an armored car, but the deal goes sour. They get away with the money, but cause too many deaths to get away with the crime. For the rest of the film, they are either in hiding or on the run. Pretty sexy and violent. 3.5/5

Lake of Fire (2006) Kaye - Documentary about both sides of the abortion debate. For the most part, the lines are drawn between the religious and more secular people. However, the most interesting, and often most intelligent-sounding are those who don't fall neatly into those categories: the Catholics in favor of Choice, Atheist Libertarians in favor of Life. That being said, for clocking in at two and a half hours, I don't really feel like this film sheds light on anything original. 3.5/5

On the Waterfront (1954) Kazan - Longshoremen are engaged in a mob/union scandal. Terry sets up Joey for a mob hit and subsequently starts trying to spend time with Joey's sister. There's also a radical priest encouraging workers to speak up against injustice. For a time, the movie turns very "brother vs. brother" when Terry gets subpoenaed to testify against the mob. 4/5

Revenge of the Nerds (1984) Kanew - Lewis and Gilbert start college, only to be kicked out of their dorm rooms immediately because the jock fraternity has managed to burn their frat house down. They band together with other school misfits to start a fraternity of their own, then figure out ways to exact their revenge on the guys who have historically made their lives hell. Aged pretty well, a lot of fun. 4/5

Shotgun Stories (2007) Nichols - A father dies leaving behind two sets of half-brothers. One set was abandoned; the other beloved. Those that were abandoned don't even have proper names - Kid, Son, Boy. Nevertheless, the two sides embark on a dangerous feud resulting in deaths on both sides, knowing that forgiveness will be the only thing capable of ending the bloodshed. Arkansas has never looked so slow and sad. 4/5

Trust (1990) Hartley - Melancholy film about Maria, a pregnant high school drop-out who accidentally kills her father. Our other protagonist is Matt, a genius who hates his father, carries around a grenade, and won't watch television. Both of their families are terrible. They are also trying to track down a woman who stole a baby. The film is very arthouse 90s, with lots of musing about modern love, work, and general existentialism, and I really liked it. "Respect + admiration + trust = love"...if only that formula worked. 4/5

Celluloid #95

2010-09-08T17:00:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

the American (2010) Corbijn - Basically a James Bond archetype, but with artsier prettier scenery, little dialogue, and slower pacing. George Clooney plays Jack, a weapons craftsman who works for some international entity and seems pretty lonely. He spends most of time working out with his shirt off and trying to date prostitutes. The film does a good job of ratcheting up the paranoia, but seems like it will be totally forgettable. 3/5

Machete (2010) Rodriguez - Awesome. While the film doesn't stray too far from Rodriguez's El Mariachi / Desperado storyline and tropes, I couldn't help but enjoy the bloodshed and hot but far from helpless ladies (who all have to make out with Danny Trejo at some point). Michelle Rodriguez is the best and I really liked Lindsay Lohan in her trashy/gaggy role. 4/5

In Home

Son of Rambow (2007) Jennings - Two English boys become friends of sorts. One is the son of a strict religious mother; the other barely has any adult supervision and just tries to please his older brother. It's the 1980s and together the boys try to make their own Rambo-style movie. Perhaps a bit too cutesy in my opinion. 3.5/5

Whip It (2009) Barrymore - Cute movie about a 17 year-old named Bliss who's having a hard time with her mother's domestic expectations and beauty pageants. She finds an outlet in roller derby, but has to keep it a secret. Most of the film follows your typical sports storyline and includes a teenage romance, but in both instances a nice "girl power" agenda for empowerment dominates, and really I'm a sucker for that. 3.5/5

Celluloid #94

2010-09-02T17:33:00.000-07:00

In Home

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) Carpenter - A police station is relocating, but on its last night of operation a violent mob attacks. The film is pretty hilarious in its depiction of "the ghetto" as essentially a place full of zombie-like delinquents out to get civilians. I think it's also interesting how diverse the film tries to be, even including a woman and a prisoner as part of the "heroes." Fun, simple concept for a genre film. 4/5

Earth Girls are Easy (1989) Temple - Really campy film about three aliens who land in Geena Davis' pool. She's having problems with her fiancée, and takes them to get make-overs to fit in. Overall a pretty stupid movie, but I actually enjoyed the outrageous love scene with Jeff Goldblum, the dance off at the club with Damon Wayans, and the song about blonds. 2.5/5

Mildred Pierce (1945) Curtiz - Very dramatic story about a woman who will do anything for her daughter. After her husband leaves, she is forced to fend for herself, which she does quite well by opening a chain of restaurants. The daughter, Veda, is the worst. She's selfish, cruel, and obsessed with money. Not to mention, Veda also takes up with her mom's new boyfriend. Scandalous. 3.5/5

Slums of Beverly Hills (1998) Jenkins - A quirky film about a family living in dirtbag hotels in Beverly Hills in order to stay in a good school district. Also, a cousin/niece moves in after a stint in rehab. For the most part, this feels like an arbitrary collection of silly scenes along the lines of a Todd Solondz film, but much lighter in tone. 3/5

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) Hooper - Really creepy, and sometimes legitimately scary classic horror film. This movie contains so many interesting visuals including a house full of animal skulls and Leatherface dancing around with his chainsaw. The shots were much weirder and cooler than I would have expected for so simple a story. Other highlights include a disgusting hitchhiker played by someone who could be James Franco's delayed, gross brother. I liked this movie so much more than I would have thought. 4.5/5

Celluloid #93

2010-08-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

In Home

Bright Star (2009) Campion - A romance springs up between the poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne. Their love is an inspiration to get Keats writing again, but he just can't make any real money, and his poor financial state prevents him from being able to marry Fanny. He's also really sick and his friends believe the best course of action is to send him to live in a warmer climate. I love the butterfly farm that Fanny assembles. 4/5

Happiness (1998) Solondz - A series of stories about miserable people. Bill is a pedophile that has raped at least two boys. Alan crank calls women to get off. Meanwhile, his fat neighbor Christina comes by to flirt, but she feels guilt for killing the maintenance man. Joy is the failure in the family and very unlucky in love. She falls for one of her refugee ESL students, who in turn steals her stuff. When I saw this film in college, I remember hating it, probably for the copious amounts of jizz. This time around, that didn't really bother me, but the film does seem more cartoonish and way more of a parody than I expected. 3.5/5

Life During Wartime (2009) Solondz - A sequel of sorts to Happiness. The characters are the same, but played by different actors. Bill is out of jail, Billy is off at college, Joy married Alan, and Trish is dating fat but normal losers. Not a terrible film, but definitely cannot stand alone. I watched these films back to back, and I'm glad or else I wouldn't have been able to pick up on a lot of the gags. Joy's new character was almost enough to ruin the film for my co-watcher. Best I can tell, this is a film about forgiveness, but it doesn't really do anything with that. 2.5/5

Quick Change (1990) Franklin - Bill Murray, dressed as a clown, robs a bank with his girlfriend and childhood friend. Randy Quaid is there for comic relief and to almost always ruin the plan. The trio is trying to make their way to the airport and ends up getting stranded in various New York neighborhoods, running from the cops and the mob. All the while, Phylis keeps trying to tell Grimm (Murray) that she's pregnant. Enjoyably silly. 4/5

Re-Animator (1985) Gordon - A scientist has discovered a serum to bring the dead back to life. However, all the kinks haven't been worked out and those re-animated tend to be more aggressive than their alive selves. Body horror along the lines of Cronenberg, but laughably unrealistic effects. More gross-out than scary. 3.5/5

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008) Zenovich - Documentary about Polanski's sex scandal with a 13 year old. The incident is portrayed as part of the grief and fall out from Sharon Tate's murder. Also, the film focuses on the corruption of the legal proceedings surrounding the case. If anything this documentary is biased in Polanski's favor, and I can easily see why. Undoubtedly, Polanski is a great filmmaker, and while it's not ever excusable to sleep with a girl that young, this particular girl was already experimenting with drugs, alcohol, and sex, and more importantly, she's even publicly forgiven him. 4/5

the Running Man (1987) Glaser - In the future, convicts are sometimes recruited to a gladiator-like game show called "the Running Man" where their survival can lead to a reduced or pardoned sentence. Ben Richards is wrongfully accused of massacring a bunch of innocent people during a military mission. He is forced onto the show and many battles ensue, all while he's trying to prove his innocence through an underground media network. Some things don't really add up, but a totally entertaining film. 3.5/5

Celluloid #92

2010-08-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

In Home

Abouna (2004) Harom - The father of two boys goes missing. They are approximately 11 and 15 and their mother decides the best thing is to send them off to Koran school. It's boring there and other boys pick on them (especially the younger brother Amine), but there is a nice, pretty deaf girl. They attempt to escape, get caught, and more drama happens. Very pretty to watch, and well shot, but very slow in pacing and quite arbitrary in story. 3/5

the Blue Angel (1930) von Sternberg - A college professor falls for a local nightclub singer, against his better judgment. They get married and go on the road together, but it's only a matter of time before Lola gets restless and essentially ruins the professor's life. 4/5

the Machinist (2004) Anderson - Christian Bale looks terrible! His character, Trevor, hasn't slept in a year and then he accidentally takes someone's arm off in a machine. Several people people make comments about "if he was any skinnier, he wouldn't exist"...lots of weird shit happens, and at times it seems like the film might be highly influenced by Fight Club, however the style or something about the story just seems off...3/5

the Messenger (2009) Moverman - Sgt. Montgomery gets assigned to "Casualty Notification" duty, basically making him responsible for telling families that their spouses or children haved been killed in action. Strangely, Montgomery starts essentially stalking one of the wives that he had to notify, but that plot line doesn't dominate the film. Mainly, there's a very clear anti-wat sentiment, showing how soldiers carry a lot of guilt about being "war heroes", or not seeing enough action, or just can't grieve properly. 3.5/5

le Million (1931) Clair - An artist is in a lot of debt, when by chance he buys a winning lottery ticket. However, the ticket is in his jacket in his girlfriend's house. It's pretty shabby looking, so she gives it away to an old man without thinking. Silliness ensues while Michel tries to track down his ticket. All in all, too silly and too much singing for my taste. 3/5

Tetro (2009) Coppola - Two brothers reunite in Buenos Aires after a long period of estrangement. Tetro is much older and curmudgeonly and Bennie is not quite 18 and has a lot of questions for the brother he grew up idolizing. Tetro took off when Bennie was a kid, promising to come back for him, but ends up cutting off contact with his entire family. Tetro has a lot of resentment towards his famous conductor father, resulting in a battle of genius. Bennie wants to encourage Tetro to write again, and hopes that success will validate his brother's existence. 4/5

the Warriors (1979) Hill - All the gangs in New York meet up to pledge a truce when the organizer of the meet-up gets shot. His death is wrongfully place on the Warriors, causing a new wave of violence to erupt. The Warriors have to fend off various rival gangs just to make it home. 4/5

Celluloid #91

2010-08-10T09:49:00.000-07:00

In Home

Big Fan (2009) Siegel - Dark comedy about a pathetic man who obsesses about football, namely the New York Giants, and in particular, the quarterback. He spends his days working as a parking attendant, listening to games or sports radio and often calling into these programs. One night he has the chance to meet his idol and through a drunken misunderstanding, gets assaulted into critical condition. He won't press charges for fear of how it will affect the team. 3.5/5

Black White + Gray (2007) Crump - Documentary about Sam Wagstaff, most famously known as the artist Robert Mapplethorpe's lover. This documentary seeks to give Wagstaff his due after being overshadowed by Mapplethorpe's fame. Wagstaff was a curator and art collector, who most notably amassed a huge collection of photographs, often photos of a nonacademic or nonprofessional nature. He was also largely responsible for championing the minimalism movement and of course, jump-starting Mapplethorpe's notoriety. This documentary was of particular interest to me because I just recently finished reading Patti Smith's new book Just Kids about her and Robert Mapplethorpe, and Sam to some extent. 3.5/5

Boys Don't Cry (1999) Peirce - Brandon lives in small town Nebraska in the early 1990s. He's trans-gendered, but has to keep it a secret or he will get killed. Everyone is bored and just drinks and fights a lot. Brandon falls in love with Lana who sorta has a past with John, and that makes John furious. Eventually the others find out. Lana doesn't care, but John and Tom take the worst kind of revenge. 4/5

Dear Zachary (2008) Kuenne - A total cryfest that starts out as a tribute to the filmmaker's murdered friend. Andrew was killed by his ex-girlfriend in a fit of rage. In a surprise to everyone else, she was pregnant with Andrew's son. The film then follows the fucked up Canadian justice system that managed to let her out on bail twice, and the custody battle between her and the grandparents. It's incredible how much you get swept up in this story about strangers. 4/5

the Man From London (2007) Tarr - A man finds a suitcase of money that was flung into the sea. He has problems with his family, especially with his daughter and her shitty employer. This is a Tarr film, so viewers should be aware of a few things: 1.) There is no dialogue for the first 30 minutes. 2.) The film is in black and white and incredibly beautiful, but also very slow and often difficult to pay attention due to the quiet nature of the film. 3.) There's a great scene involving dancing in a bar (something that has happened in at least one other of his films). 3.5/5

Seduced and Abandoned (1964) Germi - Peppino impregnates Agnese, his fiancé's 16 year-old sister. Their father decides the best course of action is for Peppino to marry Agnese instead of Matilde. However, Peppino doesn't want to marry Agnese because he believes that he deserves a virgin for a bride. A comedy of trying to maintain honor on all sides. 3.5/5

A Single Man (2009) Ford - It's the 1960s and George Falconer has to deal with the death of his lover practically in secret. George is suicidal, but things keep stopping him. This film is more about the visuals and the mood rather than the storyline. The coloring is very vivid, especially in scenes of beautiful people or of the pink California skies. 4/5

Some Like It Hot (1959) Wilder - Prohibition is in full swing. Joe and Jerry accidentally witness some Chicago mob justice and decide to get out of town by posing as female musicians. Also, Joe and Jerry are both pursuing Sugar (Marilyn Monroe) while trying to keep up their ruse. Granted, the girls are all portrayed as silly and stupid, but the film does seem a little transgressive for the time. 4/5

To Have and Have Not (1944) Hawks - Totally forgettable plot, but one watches this film to see the chemistry between Lauren Bacall and Bogart. She is incredibly hot (all though I could do without her singing) and features the famous line that starts "You know how to whistle don't you?" I just question for myself whether celebrity adoration is enough to make a film. 3/5

Vernon, Florida (1981) Morris - Errol Morris presents a picture of a backwoods town full of characters. Everyone is pretty strange, but not to the point that you want to laugh at them. There's the old men with their odd pets. Hunters obsessed with wild turkeys. Then town historian and his funny laugh. A preacher who gives the most boring sermons and a man who raises worms and doesn't trust books. All in all, lots of dudes that remind me of my grandpa. 4/5

Celluloid #90

2010-08-03T12:44:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Inception (2010) Nolan - So all though the hype is waning and the backlash perhaps starting, I found this film entertaining, visually appealing, and overall a summer blockbuster well above average caliber. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Cobb, a type of thief who steals people's ideas while in their dreams. One client approaches him to instead implant an idea into a competitor's mind, a particularly risky assignment. As the audience, we are cleverly taught the rules of dreamworld and end up traveling four or five layers deep into someone's sub-conscience. Even at 2 and 1/2 hours, I never found myself wanting to check the time, and it doesn't hurt that Joseph Gordon Levitt is especially handsome in the film. 4.5/5

the Kids Are All Right (2010) Cholodenko - So while Inception lives up to the hype, I really think critics are peeing their pants too much over this film. I think it's good, but nothing particularly special. A dysfunctional family dramedy where two lesbians, Nic and Jules, are raising two teenagers. When the older teenager turns 18, she and her brother seek out their sperm donor/biological father. The storyline gets a little predictable, but thankfully avoids many clichéd paths that it could have gone down. All around the acting is really good, and even features a small part played by Yaya from cycle 3 of ANTM. 3.5/5

In Home

Cries and Whispers (1972) Bergman - I loved all the red and white in this film, but maybe I just wasn't in the mood to watch Bergman, because I got really bored with the story. Three sisters are all under the same roof because one of them is dying. Another sister is carrying on an affair with the doctor. Besides that, lots of talking and pointing out the faults in one another. 3/5

Detour (1945) Ulmer - Al is trying to make his way out to California to meet up with his singer-girlfriend. He doesn't have much money, so he resorts to hitchhiking across the country. Everything is going fine until one of his drivers accidentally dies. In a series of bad decisions, Al decides to keep the car and take the guy's clothes. Unfortunately, his luck gets so much worse when he picks up a hitchhiker of his own. 3.5/5

the Fly (1986) Cronenberg - Seth is a scientist who has created a teleportation device. Unfortunately, when he tests the machine on himself, a fly is also present causing a really disgusting genetic fusion. Of course, with Cronenberg at the helm, you know the body/flesh horror is going to be really good, and this one gets pretty grotesque. I had a lot of fun squeaming on the couch. 4/5

Heavenly Creatures (1994) Jackson - Juliet is the new girl at school. She and Pauline become fast friends in part due to their leg and lung illnesses. The girls become obsessed with the idea of "the 4th World" and find much escapism in the form of a story about a royal family. One can see their need for escapism because adolescence is full of family and sexual drama, but this female friendship begins to go awry. Outsiders worry about homosexuality, but really everyone should be on alert for their plan of MURDER! Kate Winslet's debut film. 4/5

Lady Vengeance (2005) Park - Chan-wook Park makes the most visually interesting and beautiful films out of anyone working today. I love the pairing of the vivid aesthetics with strange often bloody stories. A woman gets out of jail after serving a 13-year sentence for kidnapping and killing a child. After she gets out, she arranges for the parents whose children were killed to take revenge on the actual killer. 4/5

Vanilla Sky (2001) Crowe - After watching Inception, my sister made comparisons with this film. I hadn't seen this since it was originally in theaters and was aware that it has generally been increasingly maligned as the years pass. Watching this again, I didn't hate it. In fact, I was pretty willing to go along until the last third or fourth of the film when the IT guy comes around, and so much explaining happens. Also, I cannot stand Cameron Diaz. As an idea, I think the dream/death realm is interesting, but it just makes me feel like I should probably watch the Spanish film that this was based off. 3/5

Celluloid #89

2010-07-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

In Home

Days of Being Wild (1991) Wong - York treats ladies badly. He breaks Su Lizhen's heart when she asks him to marry her. Then he turns around and breaks Mimi's heart when she proposes that he pick her up from the club regularly. York also wants to track down his biological mother. 4/5

the Naked Kiss (1964) Fuller - Apparently the title refers to a tell-tale sign of perverts. Kelly was a prostitute, but after entering a new town she decides to change her ways (after sleeping with the sheriff). She starts working at the hospital for disabled children (where she also records a creepy song with the kids) and gets engaged to a prominent person. Unfortunately, people have a lot of secrets to keep, and as a result Kelly is made to suffer. 4/5

the Princess Bride (1987) Reiner - A childhood classic for most of my peers, but recently I watched this with some of my friends and a five year-old. The five year-old hated it and chastised us for making her watch a "scary, violent movie" which of course the rest of us brushed off because it's so silly and rarely does one even see a little blood. (All though I will concede that the swamp scenes with the ROUS- "rodents of unusual size" probably freaked me out as a kid as well). It was nice to revisit Buttercup & Wesley, the Spaniard hellbent on avenging his father's death, and of course lovable Andre the Giant. 4/5

Repulsion (1965) Polanski - Carol is fragile and a little off mentally. When her sister goes out of town for a couple weeks, Carol loses it. It doesn't help that guys will not leave her alone...Polanski was really great in the 1960s with his thrillers involving crazy people (I'm also thinking of Knife in the Water) and so good at ratcheting up the tension. 4.5/5

Tony Manero (2008) Larrain - Raul is obsessed with "Tony Manero", the John Travolta character from Saturday Night Fever. The film is Chilean and takes place at a time when Chile was in huge political upheaval. I though the premise sounded entertaining; Raul's main goal is the perfect the ideal disco routine. However, this film is surprisingly really dark and Raul is up there for the prize of "worst person ever." 4/5

the Trial (1962) Welles - Appropriately creepy and stylish representation of Kafka's famous novel. Josef K gets charged with an unnamed crime. He gets tangled up in all kinds of bureaucracy without ever finding out the details of his case, along the way getting obsessed with acquittal. My favorite scene is a surreal moment of a multitude of little girls trying to get at Josef while he's behind bars. Making out on a huge pile of papers is also pretty good..4/5

Zombieland (2009) Fleischer - Columbus and Tallahassee are a mismatched pair teamed up for survival in a post-apocalyptic world full of zombies. Columbus is anxious, neurotic, and makes mention several times of his social awkwardness and how that has prepared him for a lonely life. Tallahassee is more interested in obtaining the "zombie kill of the week" and finding some twinkies. Along the way the run into a couple of girls to provide drama and love interest. I wish this film was scarier or more gory...all the references to "the rules" got a little tedious after a while. 3.5/5

Celluloid #88

2010-07-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

the Killer Inside Me (2010) Winterbottom - Casey Affleck essentially reprises his role from the Assassination of Jesse James.., but he's so good at playing the soft-spoken creep. Graphically violent, but maintains the feeling of Jim Thompson's novel. All around the acting is pretty strong, including Jessica Alba- even though half her performance involves getting her face bashed in. 4/5

Micmacs (2010) Jeunet - Silly, silly movie about a bunch of misfits who essentially start an arms war between two rival weapons companies. One is responsible for the bomb that killed Bazil's dad; the other for manufacturing the bullet lodged in his brain. Aesthetically, Jeunet is recognizable and enjoyable, however, this movie was not his best since it felt like watching a live-action cartoon. His other films always incorporate quirk and silliness, but there's usually another genre or element to add substance. 3.25/5

Winter's Bone (2010) Granik - White trash mountain people are so in! Ree is 17, raising her two younger siblings, tending to her mentally unstable mother, and tending their house when the local sheriff informs her that the house was put up as part of her father's bail. If he doesn't show up for court, then their little family will be homeless. Her dad has been absent most of her life, but especially in recent months, so tracking him down becomes quite a problem. 4/5

In Home

the General (1927) Bruckman - Keaton is not nearly as funny as Chaplin in this Civil War film where "Johnny Gray" is essentially trying to impress Annabelle by enlisting in th Army. A lot of the scenes take place on his train, and the scenery is quite beautiful. However, the story gets a little tiresome since it's really just Johnny chasing or being chased by other soldiers on a train all day. I will say that a one really cool image exists involving a train on a burning bridge. 3.5/5

My Night at Maud's (1969) Rohmer - Kinda boring film where two men run into each other after not seeing one another for 14 years. One is a devout Catholic (but still sleeps with women) and the other agnostic. The two spend Christmas with the agnostic's friend Maud. Maud and the Catholic have a love connection and spend most of the film philosophizing about religion and love. 3/5

Pepe le Moko (1936) Duvivier - For two years, the cops have been trying to capture the notorious thief and gangster, Pepe le Moko. Not only is he a criminal, but he's pretty rotten to his girlfriend and drops her when a Parisian girl enters the picture on her vacation to the Casbah. People who pretend to be Pepe's friends try to set him up to get caught by the police. Basically, he can't trust anyone, and he really wants to see the Parisian girl before she heads back to France. 3.5/5

V for Vendetta (2006) McTeigue - I don't know why I expected anything different, but this film was TERRIBLE. V is seeking revenge on those who have played a negative role in his life, but somehow he's doing it in the name of revolution against the government. Natalie Portman plays "Evey" and her character is incredibly stupid. Why does she go along with everything so easily? Maybe this film is supposed to be a warning against religious extremism, and I would have been fine to go along with that, except the love story is too ridiculous, the lines wooden and cheesy, and basically I felt like I had wasted a couple hours of my life. 1/5

Art Garfunkel Memorial Reading List (January - June 2010)

2010-06-30T16:24:00.000-07:00

1.) Winesburg, Ohio - Anderson (1/26)

2.) Paris Review Interviews, Vol. 1 (1/31)

3.) Olive Kitteridge - Strout (2/02)

4.) Film Form: Essays in Film Theory - Eisenstein (2/07)

5.) the Question of Bruno - Hemon (2/07)

6.) Success - Amis (2/13)

7.) the Halfway House - Rosales (2/17)

8.) Tales of the City - Maupin (2/27)

9.) Omon Ra - Pelevin (3/07)

10.) the Sorrows of Young Werther - Goethe (3/16)

11.) Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung - Bangs (3/21)

12.) the Sluts - Cooper (4/01)

13.) Blood Meridian - McCarthy (4/12)

14.) In Defense of Food - Pollan (4/13)

15.) Mythologies - Barthes (4/18)

16.) the Lazarus Project - Hemon (4/26)

17.) Thank You, Jeeves - Wodehouse (5/02)

18.) Doctor Glas - Soderberg (5/06)

19.) A Tomb for Boris Davidovich - Kis (5/11)

20.) the People of Paper - Plascencia (5/19)

21.) Last Exit to Brooklyn - Selby (5/25)

22.) Butterfly Stories - Vollmann (6/01)

23.) Cloud Atlas - Mitchell (6/08)

24.) Last Evenings on Earth - Bolano (6/18)

25.) Mysteries of Pittsburgh - Chabon (6/22)

26.) CivilWarLand in Bad Decline - Saunders (6/24)

27.) Lost City Radio - Alarcon (6/29)

Test Pattern #4

2010-06-28T16:54:00.000-07:00

America's Next Top Model (Cycle 14) and RuPaul's Drag Race (Season 2) - These are essentially the same show...lots of make-up, photo shoots, eliminations, etc. The end of ANTM was pretty anticlimatic since you knew who was almost certainly going to win four or five episodes before the finale. On the drag race, there was a similar lack of excitement because the front runner from the very beginning never got knocked off her throne. Lastly, I just wanted to mention that Season 1 of RuPaul is vastly better than this second season. The prizes may be jankier, but the contestants were much more creative and almost anyone from last season's top five could have beaten anyone on this season.

Breaking Bad (Season 3) - This has to be my current favorite show. Walter and Jesse are still making meth and still having to ward off members of the cartel. The DEA is mostly out of the picture this season, but the drama with Skylar and with their employer has skyrocketed. I'm still impressed by how good this show looks and it's almost impossible to not get sucked into the action, even when it gets totally over the top.

Fringe (Season 2) - I never regularly watched X-Files growing up, but I am pretty sure that Fringe is the modern equivalent. There's some sexual tension between the two main characters Olivia and Peter, both of which are part of the "fringe unit" of the FBI and investigate unusual or supernatural homicides, events, etc. I did not see all of the first season, but it seems like the show has really hit its stride during this second season. The episodes can mostly stand alone, but there is a really interesting overarching plot involving Peter and an alternate universe.

Glee (Season 1) - So, I know many people treat this show like a guilty pleasure. I for one have never felt too guilty about it. Sure the acting can be bad, or the songs can fall into cringe territory, but I think this show does have a lot of heart. At times the social agenda can be a little overbearing, but I love the teenage drama, and several episodes made me get a little misty. Sue Sylvester's insults are a treat and performance of "the Boy is Mine" are standouts.

Homicide (Season 3, 4, & 5) - This show is so good. Basically Law and Order with less time in the courtroom and better characters. I still have a season and a half before I finish the entire series, but so far seasons 3 and 5 have been my favorites. In season 3, three of the detectives are shot at and critically wounded when they go to the wrong address. That season also addresses the suicide of one of the detectives. In season 4, Frank Pembleton's stress finally takes its toll. Seasons 4 and 5 focus a lot on Luther Mahoney, a drug kingpin, and the frustrations regarding not being able to make any charges stick to him. Season 4 also brings about the new detective Kellerman, and Season 5 introduces Medical Examiner Julianna (played by Michelle Forbes aka Maryann from True Blood and Admiral Cain from Battlestar Galactica).

Justified (Season 1) - Timothy Olyphant plays Raylan Givens, a U.S. Marshall that might be a little trigger-happy. For a while, Raylan shoots someone in every episode, each time the shooting is "justified." A central part of the story is that Raylan has been stationed in his home state of Kentucky against his wishes. His father often falls on the opposite side of the law, as do any former friends. Unfortunately the women in this show are a little irritating. Ava in particular. I like his ex-wife Winona, especially her wardrobe, but even she is a little lame. Apparently, white trash is kinda in as far as television is concerned.

the Office (Season 6) - The Office is something that I definitely only watch out of habit these days. The tension is long gone. I'm so bored with Pam and Jim and their baby, and I miss the days when Michael was actually kinda a jerk...now he's just too nice. Kathy Bates is good most of the time, but I really wish more time was spent with the supporting characters. I miss Kelly and Angela and Kevin. Plus, I'd like to know what happened to Ryan now that he dresses like a full-fledged hipster instead of the bleach-tipped imbecile from last season.

30 Rock (Season 4) - By far the weakest season yet, but still has its moments of hilarity. Mainly I think the show could have been much better had they done the following: 1.) Gotten rid of Julianne Moore much sooner...that Boston accent was terrible. Actually, I'm not a big fan of the Avery character either. I miss Salma Hayek. 2.) Spent way less time with the Wesley "Future Husband" plot line. 3.) Spent way more time with TRACY!

Treme (Season 1) - David Simon's return to the screen after the Wire probably came with unreasonable expectations. This series is set in New Orleans, just months after Katrina. Since it is David Simon, the characters are great, but I found myself having two regular complaints. 1.) Too much music. I know N.O. is a music town, but sometimes close to a third of the show is just performances. 2.) Related to too much music is the feeling that the plot barely exists or progresses. For the most part there aren't very tangible conflicts. The main problem is LaDonna's search for her missing brother, and probably the second most visible problem is the tumultuous relationship between Annie and Sonny. Things admittedly picked up towards the end of the season, and I look forward to what lies ahead.

Celluloid #87

2010-06-24T15:19:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then (2010) Green - Leonard and Mary are an unusual couple living in isolated Kentucky. When Mary gets diagnosed with cancer, Leonard attempts to save her by turning their house into a "healing machine"...a romantic and tragic notion. This film is amazing aesthetically, using stop motion animation, but live actors and a large set. The "special effect" (namely involving the car accident) are really cool and I like that you can tell the process is so time-consuming. The narration is also really interesting, if perhaps a little uncomfortable or off-putting at times. The filmmaker sounds full of anger or on the brink of tears while speaking about things of a typically spiritual nature. Extremely limited release, but recommended if you can find it. 4/5

Splice (2010) Natali - I laughed so much at this B-movie-styled film about two biochemist and their weird human-animal creature. Without giving anything away, this film goes every place you would hope and takes a few welcome but totally outrageous turns. 4/5

In Home

Ace in the Hole (1951) Wilder - A big city newspaperman finds himself needing a job in Albuquerque and starts trash talking about the whole town, disgruntled with being reduced to working for such a "lowly" paper. Chuck's only goal is to write about a big story in order to regain his place at a big city newspaper. He gets a break with a story about a man trapped in a mine, but he manipulates the situation so much that he puts the man's life in danger. 4/5

the Lady Eve (1941) Sturges - Jean and her father are card sharks who decide to take a wealthy beer heir for his fortune. However, "Hopsy" falls for Jean and surprisingly she returns the feelings. He proposes marriage, but then discovers her true identity. The second half of the film, when Jean assumes a new identity as an English aristocrat, does not match up with the greatness of the first half, but overall a fun deception film. 4/5

Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) Richardson - Colin gets sentenced to a juvenile detention center for committing petty crimes. These crimes are mostly rooted in boredom and refusing to accept the limited options in life. Once locked up, the headmaster discovers Colin's talent for distance running and uses Colin to try and win the title against a local school. Part of the "Angry Young Man" movement in England. 3.5/5

Celluloid #86

2010-06-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Holy Rollers (2010) Asch - After being rejected as a potential husband in an arranged marriage, Sam accidentally gets into smuggling ecstasy via his shady neighbor. Sam is a orthodox Jew living in the Hasidic neighborhood in Brooklyn. Even though this film is based on a true story, for some reason I expected it to fall a little more on the dark comedy side. Instead, this is actually a pretty serious film about a young man struggling with tradition and the culture outside, faith, and the desire to be a man who can support himself. 3.75/5

Please Give (2010) Holofcener - Essentially a film about rich, white New Yorkers having a neurotic time. The main problems are rooted in guilt and privilege. This sounds like something I might hate, but in actuality, I thought this film was well-done and I appreciated that it stayed away from cheesiness and epiphanies. Alex and Kate run a vintage furniture store populated by the former belongings of dead people. They are also waiting for their old lady neighbor to die so that they can expand their apartment. The granddaughters of the lady develop relationships of varying degrees with Alex, Kate, and their daughter. In addition, Holofcener depicts bodies in such a bleak and unglamorous way. 3.5/5

In Home

Gates of Heaven (1978) Morris - Documentary about pet cemeteries and the people who open them, and the crazy pet owners that make use of them. The interviews with the pet owners depict obsessed people, but also often delves into tangential areas. A lot of time is spent with one family in Northern California who own one of these cemeteries. They are so quintessentially Californian with their self-help and positive thinking, recording music, and developing new religions. An interesting glimpse into the late 1970s. 4/5

the Gleaners and I (2000) Varda - Another documentary about "gleaning", a tradition akin to dumpster-diving or foraging. Varda also inserts herself often into the film with her musings about aging. At times, the film feels a little amateurish and I was annoyed with the street punks she interviews, but other than that a film that I was surprised that I got so sucked into. 3.5/5

Summer Hours (2008) Assayas - An old woman brings her three grown children together to discuss plans after her death. Two of the children live overseas, so she has the foresight to know that the estate will likely be sold. The house is full of art and artist-created furniture. Most of the film deals with how art is perceived, especially on the market, and how siblings deal with the loss of the one person who really holds them together. 4/5

Celluloid #85

2010-06-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

In Home

Un Chien Andalou (1929) Bunuel & Dali - Famous short film where eyeballs are sliced. Actually, these seventeen minutes are full of cool old school effects, and even a little shocking today, so I can only imagine the scandal it caused when it came out. 4.5/5

Divorce, Italian Style (1961) Germi - Fefe has had it with his overbearing, overaffectionate wife. Mind you, he's a creep who has feelings for his seventeen year old niece. Anyway, he finds out that "crimes of passion" can get one basically excused from spending much time in jail for murder. He fantasizes constantly about ways to kill his wife and eventually seeks out a man to cuckold of him --all too successfully. 4/5

Schindler's List (1993) Spielberg - Oskar Schindler begins as a greedy businessman who belongs to the Nazi Party. He decides he can make more profits by exploiting cheap Jewish labor supplied by the newly erected ghetto. Over the years, he develops bonds with some of his workers and devises a way to keep them out of the deadliest concentration camps. This was the first time I had ever seen this film and I found it a bit overrated and surprisingly not tear-jerking. Black and white was obviously used to convey a sense of gravity, but I thought the occasional items in color were pretty cheesy. 3.5/5

35 Shots of Rum (2007) Denis - A man and his grown daughter are very close. Each seems to struggle with being black and getting older. When one of the neighbors leaves, everyone else in the building gets really depressed and introspective. Josephine confirms that Gabrielle, another neighbor, has feelings towards her dad. Light on plot, heavy on mood. 3.5/5

Youth of the Beast (1963) Suzuki - Silly '60s gangster film with cool clothes, hip music, and snazzy hookers. An ex-cop gets involved with a gang in order to exact revenge for an old co-worker. He also has to find the gang boss's "Sixth Mistress", rumored to run a call girl ring and kill her or risk his own death. 4/5

Celluloid #84

2010-05-17T17:38:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

I Am Love (2010) Guadagnino - Annie and I saw this Italian film starring Tilda Swinton as part of our stint with the SF Int'l Film Fest. Basically, the film centers around the trials surrounding a wealthy family, whether that means issues with handing over the business or adult children growing up to get married or forge new identities. Emma (Tilda's character) embarks on an affair with one of her son's friends. Beautifully shot and avoids becoming predictable. My only real complaint is regarding the cheesiness of some of the love scenes, but I am willing to forgive those based on the quality of the rest of the film. 4/5

Wild Grass (2010) Resnais - A disappointment from the man who has directed such beautiful and generally serious films such as Night and Fog and Last Year at Marienbad. This film is just too silly. A man finds a wallet and that sets off a chain of events involving stalking the owner, her becoming obsessed in response, a dentist office, a plane, etc. The film feels a lot like three films mashed into one and that chaos did not pay off for me. 2.5/5

In Home

Charlie Bartlett (2007) Poll - Mediocre film about a young man expelled from private school and forced to attend public school despite his family's wealth. Every one of his previous expulsions has been due to an entrepreneurial spirit and desire for popularity. At the new school, Charlie embarks on a scheme of deceiving his psychiatrists in order to to supply his schoolmates with prescription drugs. Meanwhile, he is also predictably falling in love with the principal's daughter. 3/5

Donnie Darko (2001) Kelly - I'm still not exactly sure why so many people peed their pants over this film. This was my second viewing, far removed from a time when this film was being overly hyped-up. In general, I thought it was an entertaining, and pleasingly bizarre film about an emotionally disturbed teenager coming of age in the late 1980s. It doesn't hurt that the soundtrack is pretty great, Jake Gyllenhaal is easy on the eyes, and there are strange wormholes and alternate realities. I like that many of the elements are left mysterious and unexplained, and makes a good entry into this genre. 3.5/5

Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) Babenco - Two prisoners, revolutionary journalist and a male-to-female transgendered person share a cell. Luis passes time by recalling his favorite film to Valentin. Unfortunately, Luis is a mole for authorities trying to get information about a revolutionary cell out of Valentin. A real emotional bond develops between the two, with tension evolving from the threat of betrayal. For my taste, a little melodramatic...3.5/5

Love in the Afternoon (1972) Rohmer - A happily married man encounters a friend from the past. She slowly plots to seduce him and for a while he seems to hang out with her so often and in secret that the sexual affair seems inevitable. However, much like in La Collectioneuse, when it comes to sex, people often don't get their way. 3.5/5

Pixote (1981) Babenco - Pixote is a ten year-old sent off to a juvenile boarding facility in the slums of Brazil. In the detention center, many young men are killed off by those in charge, and their murders are blamed on other boys. It seems like no one makes it to their 18th birthday - the date of release. The film is unflinching in its depiction of drug use, specifically glue-huffing as a means to assuage fear. Interestingly, Babenco includes a trans-gendered character as one of the main protagonists. 4.5/5

Virgin Suicides (2000) Coppola - Moody debut from Sofia Coppola and one of my favorite movies from college. Set in 1970s suburbia, a group of teenage sisters captivate the imaginations of the neighborhood boys. The girls have to endure a strict upbringing by their parents, particularly their mother, who wants them sheltered as much as possible from the outside world. Heartbreaking and bizarre events happen, triggered by the suicide of their youngest sister. 4.5/5

Celluloid #83

2010-04-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Cracks (2010) Scott - Moody film featuring a predictable plot, but a great amount of tension and awesome, surreal, slow-motion diving scenes. A group of girls at a British boarding school are threatened by the addition of a new girl from a wealthy aristocratic Spanish family. She's beautiful and talented and has become the new teacher's pet--completely against her will. 3.5/5

In Home

Babel (2006) Inarritu - Once again Inarritu presents us with a series of intertwining stories, this time taking place in four different continents. The title alludes to the difficulty and confusion that come with a diversity of language and culture. This film is a bit of a mess, but not as bad as I remembered it upon first viewing. I was personally most attracted to the Tokyo storyline about the deaf-mute girls, but I have to acknowledge that is was the least connected to the other stories...3.5/5

la Collectionneuse (1967) Rohmer - Two men and a young woman live as roommates in a country mansion. At first the young woman is ignored or berated for her promiscuity, but after a while, both men pursue sexual relations with her (to varying success). 3.5/5

the Fifth Element (1997) Besson - In the future, a cataclysmic event is about to occur and can only be prevented by aligning ancient artifacts with the "fifth element" - a female alien-type. This film is flashy, colorful, full of action, and essentially the definition of a pop film. 4/5

Leon: the Professional (1994) Besson - A 12 year-old's family gets killed by a dirty cop during a drug bust and she seeks refuge with her neighbor, who happens to be a sensitive hit-man. I think this is the strongest film in Besson's filmography that explores the idea of turning young women into killers. (See also La Femme Nikita and even the Fifth Element) 4.5/5

Manhattan (1979) Allen - This film was the epitome of Woody Allen - neurotic, relationship-obsessed, and featuring a pairing between a 17 year-old girl and a 40-something man. Admittedly, I do not worship at the altar of Allen, so I found this movie to be fine, not something to drool over. People are cheaters, brokenhearted, or all too willing to compromise - all of which makes love look like a bad idea. 3.5/5

Maya Deren: Experimental Films (1943-1959) Deren - Lots of dance incorporated into these short films. Choreography is used as a stylized way to represent interactions. This is a fine collection of films, but as a side note, as I am being exposed to experimental film, I cannot help but compare this genre to poetry, by which I mean that both forms work better for me within the context of a narrative. One can use poetic language in a novel or experimental techniques within a film to make the overall artifact stronger, but each on its own leaves seems often a little silly. 4/5

McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) Altman - Revisionist Western that actually takes place in the Northwest. The title characters are essentially small business owners of the local saloon and brothel. Men from a larger business or trust seek to buy McCabe out. After he refuses, he faces severe danger to his life. Leonard Cohen soundtracks this film where everybody seems to be having a rough time. 4/5

Salesman (1968) Maysles - Documentary about Bible salesmen that provides a series of snapshots into peoples' homes. In addition to our glimpse into Middle America, we also get to see the inner workings of the salesman trade, including motivational conferences promising reward or punitive measures. Lastly, we see the casual racism present in the language of these aging men. 3.5/5

Celluloid #82

2010-04-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Date Night (2010) Levy - Last night I got suckered into seeing this romantic comedy for the married set. I like Steve Carell and Tina Fey in their respective shows, but I'm not a fan of them in starring roles in films. For two people who are often very funny, this movie rarely brought any laugh out loud moments.(The bloopers and a moment when my roommate gasped at a lizard featured in one of the previews elicited more chuckles) I didn't have high expectations, but even still, found myself getting annoyed with predictable lines and plot conventions. 1.5/5

In Home

Beauty and the Beast (1946) Cocteau - Surrealist take on the classic story. I enjoyed the old school special effects. In addition, in this version, the Beast exchanges outer appearances with the "handsome" man who originally asked for Belle's hand. 4/5

City Lights (1931) Chaplin - Chaplin is charming as ever playing the "Little Tramp." He falls for a blind girl who works at a flower shop. She believes him to be a wealthy man and he helps her get an operation for her eyes, knowing that she may reject him once she can actually see his shabby appearance. Abrupt ending, but nice in its irresolution. 4/5

the Draughtsman's Contract (1982) Greenaway - In 17th Century England, the lady of an estate makes an arrangement with a local artist. For twelve days, he will produce twelve drawings of the house and landscape as a gift to the woman's husband. In exchange, he will get full room and board and twelve sexual favors. 3.5/5

Innocent Voices (2004) Mandoki - While any story about the heartbreak of child soldiers should be incredibly moving, I was too annoyed by the hammy child actors. The film focuses on the terrors of turning 12 - the age when soldiers forcibly recruit boys into the military. They can try to hide or join the guerilla forces, but every option is a loser. 3/5

Lorna's Silence (2009) Dardenne - Lorna is in a sham marriage with a junkie in order to obtain Belgian citizenship. Her partner wants to kill the fake husband because it's quicker than getting a divorce. Lorna has a little more compassion and wants to avoid murder. She is put through the ringer for her humanity, which isn't all that surprising considering the brutality of many of the Dardenne brothers films. 4/5

Machuca (2005) Wood - At an all-boys Catholic school, a progressive priest decides to integrate some boys from the poorer neighborhood with the current students who are primarily children of the elite. Meanwhile, socialist president Allende has come to power, much to the frustration of the upper class. Gonzalo and Pedro (one of the new boys) become friends despite their class differences. 3.5/5

Phantom Museums (1979-2003) Quay - Stop-motion animation in the lineage of Jan Svankmajer. These shorts are creepy and surreal and have been featured in contexts as varied as MTV, art museums, and the film Frida. 4/5

the Searchers (1956) Ford - A John Wayne vehicle where a family is massacred by a tribe of Indians. One of the young girls is believed to have been adopted by the tribe. For five years, Ethan and Debbie's brother search for her. Once they find her, she doesn't want to leave. Whether this is chalked up to love of the Indians or brainwashing is unclear. There is some pretty blatant racism, but that mostly has to do with how this film has dated. Perhaps one could even argue against the racism, but then you have to side against the protagonist. 3/5

28 Days Later (2002) Boyle - Zombie film where nearly all of England is infected by a virus unleashed from a research lab. Our protagonists are a group of four: Jim, a former bike messenger; Selena, a tough and sexy black woman; Hannah and her dad. They band together in search of a military rescue station, but once they arrive, they are confronted with the ugliest side of humanity. 4/5

Test Pattern #3

2010-04-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

Battlestar Galactica (Seasons 1, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 4.5) - Jon and I spent a good portion of the end of last year watching this entire series. Season 1 had Jon jumping on the couch in excitement over the initials battles between the remaining human race and a race of robots called Cylons. I think this show is interesting for so many reasons that are probably better articulated elsewhere on the internet. In addition to this epic storyline with religious undertones about finding a new home, various plots deal with human rights, abortion, slavery, religious expression, the military, martial law and treason. I would guess that most viewers fall on the left side of the political spectrum, but sometimes the show seems to at least superficially take conservative stances--an aspect that I find fascinating, especially when you find yourself saying things like "just let Adama (the admiral and military leader) do what he wants" when I would never express a similar sentiment in real life. In addition to being thought-provoking, the show is immensely entertaining even when there are throwaway episodes. My only real complaint is that I think Season 4.5 could have been abandoned all together, as I prefer the ending presented at the end of Season 4.

Big Love (Season 3) - In this very short season, the focus is happily on Nikki Grant, the second wife and daughter to Roman Grant. Roman is despicable for his practices as "the Prophet" of Juniper Creek; exiling teenage boys and marrying off teenage girls. However, as his daughter, Nikki is still ever seeking his approval, this time in the form of lying to her own family by working in the law office who is responsible for prosecuting Roman. Nikki is my favorite character on the show, precisely because she makes bad and selfish decisions. In addition to that storyline, Bill and the other wives are courting a fourth wife, and Sara has to deal with a pregnancy that she cannot share with anyone.

Firefly (Season 1- the only season) - I was caught a little off-guard when I realized that this show was essentially a Western set in Space (for some reason, I imagined it to be more "Space-y"). At times you would be forgiven for not realizing that this had anything to do with Space at all. Mal captains a ship with a motley crew, that makes a living by transporting goods, often of an illegal nature. They are at odds with the government sponsored military, and therefore have to fly below the radar or at the outskirts of the explored planets. Meanwhile, part of the crew includes a brother-sister pair of fugitives. Overall, a pretty fun show that should have easily been renewed for additional seasons.

Homicide: Life on the Street (Season 1 & 2) - Before the Wire, there was Homicide. It was written by the same key players and used to air on NBC in the 1990s. Once again, the setting is Baltimore, but this time the main characters are all on the same shift in the Police Department. It's fun to see Richard Belzer play Detective Munch (as he does on Law & Order) and Yaphett Kotto play Lieutenant Giardello. The cast also features a Baldwin and Melissa Leo. A typical episode may focus on a case or a couple cases being handled by various pairs of partners, intertwined with the detectives' personal lives, philosophies, etc. The visual style is particulary gritty and nearly monochrome in Season 1. I also appreciate that the cases don't always get solved.

the O.C. (Season 2, 3, & 4) - I think Season 1 and 2 of this series aren't too bad in the context of teen dramas, but it would be difficult to make the same argument for the Seasons 3 & particularly 4. Season 2 sticks to the typical teenage high school/romance dramas of Season 1, with the additional drama of having Ryan's bad-boy brother Trey invade the lives of the main characters. Season 3 includes a lot of drama between Ryan, Marissa, and Marissa's new friend Johnny, who predictably loves Marissa. Johnny is perhaps the most tragic character on the show, never getting anything that would make him happy. After the death of one of the main characters at the end of Season 3, Season 4 takes a serious nosedive. The season starts out with a ridiculous revenge scheme, and then episodes later everyone seems fine and even more unbelievable relationships start up. The last episode is particularly saccharine and overall, I don't like the way loose ends are tied up.

RuPaul's Drag Race (Season 1) - Season 2 is only a few episodes from ending, but in a fit of impatience, Jon and I devoured the first season (it's only 8 episodes) via LOGO's website. This show is essentially America's Next Top Model, but with sewing, lip-synching, and much more bitchiness. Obviously, being a reality show, there are no real plot-lines, but it's difficult to not get swept up in the camp of it all. I loved Nina Flowers and Ongina, precisely because of their androgyny rather than "realness." Their styles just seemed so much more creative than the competitors and it is a shame that they didn't win. Either one of them would have dominated all of the girls in Season 2...

Celluloid #81

2010-03-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

In Theaters

Mother (2010) Bong - This mother will do anything to protect her idiot son. Their relationship is already inappropriately close and he is basically the focus of her entire life. When the son is accused of murdering a local girl, Mom heads up her own investigation. I love the dancing scenes and Bong Joon-ho's characteristically awesome visual style. 4.5/5

A Prophet (2010) Audiard - Malik is sentenced to six years in prison. Without any friends or family, he finds himself in a predicament when the Corsicans force him into doing a favor for them. Malik is constantly straddling the fence between the Arabs (his own ethnicity) and the Corsicans who provide him with protection. Gritty, often bloody. 4/5

In Home

Fitzcarraldo (1982) Herzog - Klaus Kinski plays a crazy idealist who has a dream of building an opera house in the middle of the Amazon. This film is remarkable in that it took four years to film and the famous scene of a steamboat being pulled over a mountain does not involve special effects, but actual hard work on the part of the locals and Herzog's film crew. As far as Herzog's crazy jungle movies go, I would always opt for Aguirre, Wrath of God, but I am super interested in watching the documentary about the making of this film called Burden of Dreams. 4/5

Good Hair (2009) Stilson - Chris Rock hosts and narrates this documentary about the black hair industry. He interviews celebrities, barbers and barbershop dudes, scientists, and platform hairstylist performers about relaxers, weaves, and black womens' hair in general. Rock also travels to India where the most desirable hair comes from. This documentary is very entertaining, much in part to the platform show, but also just because it is really funny and informative. 4/5

Heart of Glass (1976) Herzog - The legend surrounding this film is that most of the actors were hypnotized for the duration of the shoot. Whether that is true or not, the film does have a strange trance-like tone. The setting is a small Bavarian town, famous for its ruby-colored glass. When the keeper of how to make the glass dies, the town experiences a variety of odd happenings. One man babbles about prophesies (perhaps pertaining to future events in Germany) and there are some really cool scenes of glassblowing. The whole thing is capped off with an epilogue that is difficult to explain or interpret (involving people on the beach and birds and the killing of an imaginary bear). 4/5

Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959) Resnais - A couple in bed discuss the horrors of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. He is Japanese, but did not witness the tragedy firsthand. She is white/French and has her own baggage from suffering through France's occupation as young woman. Very artsy. 3.5/5

Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1998) Herzog - This is the documentary about Dieter Dengler, a guy who just wanted to be a pilot and got shot down early in his enlisted tour of Vietnam. Dieter is a charismatic eccentric, much in line with the characters that Herzog is attracted to. The film is strange because Herzog basically forces Dieter to reenact his time as a POW--probably the most traumatic time in his life. 3.5/5

Motorcycle Diaries (2004) Salles - A buddy roadtrip movie about Che Guevara and his friend Alberto--years before his infamy as a revolutionary, and this film remains mostly apolitical with small hints to his ideologies. This is the Che who still goes by Ernesto and is a semester away from becoming a doctor. The film is full of beautiful landscapes from around South America. This is my second time viewing this film, and while I was largely dismissive the first time, this time I found the scenes of the leper colony quite touching. 3.5/5

Raising Victor Vargas (2002) Sollett - An indie film about a Dominican family living in New York. Victor sees himself as a ladies' man, but his reputation is damaged when word gets out that he slept with a fat girl. Judy is the neighborhood hottie, tired of guys hitting on/harassing her. Victor pursues Judy and she agrees to let him hang around to keep the other guys at bay. Meanwhile Victor and his siblings have to appease their grandmother before she kicks Victor out of the house. 4/5

Celluloid #80

2010-03-11T17:30:00.000-08:00

In Home

Jeanne Dielman (1975) Akerman - This is the type of film that requires a fair amount of patience, but if you can calm down, it is ultimately worth watching. Featuring very little dialogue and clocking in over three hours, we basically follow around a housewife as she completes her multitude of chores and tasks over the course of approximately three days. Jeanne lives an extremely regimented life, occasionally interspersed with some light home-based prostitution for extra cash. While her routine might put you asleep, it's the breakdown of this routine that leads to much bigger consequences. 4/5

Melies the Magician (1896-1912) Melies - I recommend you skip the documentary and just watch the shorts on this DVD. Melies' films are funny and really cool to look at, but the format they are presented here (as a screening with an audience and narration by his granddaughter) gets pretty annoying. Besides the iconic "A Trip to the Moon," I loved the dancing in "The Infernal Cakewalk." 3/5

Mysterious Skin (2004) Araki - Odd but ultimately worthwhile film about sexual abuse. Our dual protagonists are two boys from small town Kansas. On the surface, they seem almost polar opposites. Brian is quiet, nerdy, and obsessed with alien abductions. Neil is gay and confident and wields his good looks around town as the local male hustler. Definitely makes me want to seek out more Araki. 4/5

Pickup on South Street (1953) Fuller - A man steals some film from a lady's purse. Somehow this film is linked with Communist plots. The woman is a former hooker and the man an active pickpocket, but despite their shady tendencies both characters are portrayed in a far more favorable light than the Communists. Fun noir showcasing the attitudes of the Red Scare. 4/5

Polyester (1981) Waters - Fairly mild Waters featuring the drag queen Divine. Her daughter is a slut who wants an abortion. Her son has a foot fetish that causes him so much anxiety that he stomps on ladies' toes. At some point the children become reformed and Francine (Divine) meets a "nice" guy, but you know that this happiness can only be short-lived. 3.5/5

Celluloid #79

2010-03-04T16:58:00.000-08:00

In Home

the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) Wiene - Sleepwalkers are the worst! Always walking around stabbing people and sometimes resembling contemporary goth/emo kids. This silent film is pretty creepy and surprisingly stylish. 4/5

Diabolique (1954) Clouzot - Crime thriller where a wife and her husband's jilted mistress team up to kill the husband. At some point, the corpse goes missing, causing a great deal of stress to the two ladies--especially when certain clues emerge that suggest he might not actually be dead. I thought the quaint "reminder" at the end, asking viewers not to be "devils" about spoiling the ending was pretty cute. 4/5

Fools Rush In (1996) Tennant - Romantic comedy where WASP and Latino cultures collide! Salma Hayek plays a fiery Latina who teaches Matthew Perry about the importance of family and faith. This films includes most stereotypes that one could think of about Latinos, and basically comes off as total bubblegum. 2/5

In the Loop (2009) Iannucci - British political comedy full of creative swearing. The whole story alludes to the situation with Bush and the beginning of the Iraq War, but really just about politicians and their ability or requirement to bullshit. My Girl's Anna Chlumsky returns!4/5

Red Riding: 1974 (2009) Jarrold - The first part of a trilogy about the "Yorkshire Ripper." The audience is dropped into the middle of a situation. Three girls have already been killed, and another murder occurs during the course of the film. We also have a journalist as our protagonist (who gets laid an inordinate amount of times), and he gets sucked into some of the seedier scenes in town. It's difficult to know what characters are important, and really even what is going on sometimes (why is he getting tortured? Why do we care that some character that was onscreen 3 minutes is now dead? etc). However, despite all of the confusion, I'm willing to continue along to the next installment, because I'm still holding out hope that in the next 4 hours, some questions will receive answers. 3/5

Selena (1997) Nava - This had my class in tears! Maybe I'm just too cynical, or maybe it helps that you go into this film knowing the ending, but really I think I wasn't emotionally moved because the acting is so bad...Also, biopics are not my favorite, even if Jennifer Lopez has a winning smile. 3/5

Celluloid #78

2010-02-24T16:54:00.000-08:00

In Theaters

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2009) Herzog - The plot is perhaps the least interesting part of the film- A man has some sort of spiritual awakening that causes him to "ascend to madness" and kill his own mother. Total Herzog moments of shots held too long until the audience laughs from nervousness, the Ostrich farm, and the pet flamingos. David Lynch as a producer may have contributed the stylish midget (Herzog has plenty of association with them as actors as well, but the suit makes the bit character feel more Lynchian) and more importantly, Grace Zabriskie. An enjoyable watch even if I would only consider it middle-Herzog. 3.5/5

Shutter Island (2009) Scorsese - A nice-looking film that at its best evokes the Shining. The plot centers around a dumb twist that one could predict early on in the film. Upon the reveal, frustration and tedium set it. For such an obvious twist, it sure has to be explained a lot. Of the two movies about madness I saw last weekend, I would wholeheartedly lean towards the other contender. 2.5/5

In Home

Men With Guns (1997) Sayles - A film that seems to take place in Guatemala, but never actually specifies a location. A doctor goes out to various rural villages to search for a group of former students that he taught as part of a humanitarian project. Of the eight or so, only one has survived, but instead of practicing medicine, he now hustles drugs. One by one, the doctor realizes that all the others have been brutally murdered by soldiers. Sayles also incorporates economic woes in portraying each village as the producer of only one crop. In the end, everyone is searching for a potentially mythical place called Cerce de Cielo. 4/5

Of Time and the City (2008) Davies - Stock footage + documentary-style contemporary film + poetry = a tone poem to Liverpool. The best is that Davies is a crank and doesn't like the Beatles. 3.5/5

Pierrot le Fou (1965) Godard - Stylish, cool 1960s France- A man gets fed up with his bourgeois lifestyle and leaves his wife for the babysitter. The two embark on a Bonnie and Clyde-style roadtrip. Anna Karina is as beautiful as ever. 3.5/5

Sunrise (1927) Murnau - A man and his mistress scheme together to create a plot to kill the man's wife. However, when it comes time to do the deed, he can't go through with it. The husband and wife end up spending a lovely day in the city and re-falling madly in love. When tragedy strikes, their rekindled love makes the blow that much more bitter. 4/5