Art Garfunkel Memorial Reading List (January - June 2015)

1.) Seiobo There Below - Krasznahorkai (1/10)
2.) Kaspar - Handke (1/13)
3.) Dead Souls - Gogol (1/26)
4.) Existentialism is a Humanism - Sartre (1/27)
5.) Lean on Pete - Vlautin (1/29)
6.) Observatory Mansions - Carey (2/8)
7.) A Book of Memories - Nadas (2/28)
8.) Under the Frog - Fischer (3/6)
9.) Girl in a Band - Gordon (3/9)
10.) Tank Girl, Vol. 1 - Hewlett (3/10)
11.) Absalom, Absalom - Faulkner (3/18)
12.) Sex Criminals, Vol. 1 - Fraction (3/20)
13.) Sex Criminals, Vol. 2 - Fraction (3/21)
14.) Against Joie de Vivre - Lopate (3/25)
15.) Tragic Magic - Brown (3/28)
16.) Wittgenstein's Nephew - Bernhard (3/30)
17.) the Consummation of Dirk - Callahan (4/4)
18.) North American Lake Monsters - Ballingrud (4/8)
19.) the New Jim Crow - Alexander (4/12)
20.) the Luzhin Defense - Nabokov (4/15)
21.) Ways of Seeing - Berger (4/16)
22.) the Jade Cabinet - Ducornet (4/19)
23.) the Influencing Machine - Gladstone (4/20)
24.) Autoportrait - Leve (4/21)
25.) Sexual Perversity in Chicago - Mamet (4/22)
26.) A Minor Apocalypse - Konwicki (4/27)
27.) the Illusion of Separateness - Booy (4/28)
28.) Orfeo - Powers (5/5)
29.) Locas II - Hernandez (5/12)
30.) Loitering - D'Ambrosio (5/12)
31.) the Oranging of America - Apple (5/14)
32.) Pimp: the Story of My Life - Slim (5/21)
33.) In the Image - Horn (5/26) 
34.) the Sopranos - Warner (5/31)
35.) Fun Home - Bechdel (6/2)
36.) the UnAmericans - Antopol (6/8)
37.) the Empathy Exams - Jamison (6/13)
38.) the Atlantic Ocean - O'Hagan (6/19)
39.) the Blood Oranges - Hawkes (6/22)
40.) Pnin - Nabokov (6/29)

2014 in Review!

Films Released in 2014
10.) Gone Girl (Fincher)
9.) Jodorowsky's Dune (Pavich)
8.) Only Lovers Left Alive (Jarmusch)
7.) the Grand Budapest Hotel (Anderson)
6.) Ida (Pawlikowski)
5.) Whiplash (Chazelle)
4.) Boyhood (Linklater)
3.) We Are the Best! (Moodysson)
2.) A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Amirpour)
1.) Under the Skin (Glazer)

HMs: Advanced Style, Birdman, Blue Ruin, Borgman, the Double, Kumiko Treasure Hunter, Nightcrawler, the One I Love, Palo Alto, Proxy, Stranger By the Lake

5-Star Books Read in 2014
Anthropology - Rhodes
Baron in the Trees - Calvino
Daytripper - Moon
the Hour of the Star - Lispector
Locas - Hernandez
Men We Reaped - Ward
A Naked Singularity - De La Pava
Palomar - Hernandez
Remember Why You Fear Me - Shearman

Albums in 2014 (Alphabetical)
Caribou - Our Love
Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else
EMA - the Future's Void
FKA Twigs - LP1
Lykke Li - I Never Learn
Perfect Pussy - Say Yes to Love
Perfume Genius - Too Bright
Robyn & Royksopp - Do It Again EP
Tacocat - NVM
Zola Jesus - Taiga

Misc. Top 10 2014
There were too many good things this year for a Top 10. Here's a sampling:

Being an officiant, Keith moving in, losing 25 pounds, returning to Lassen for a magical swimming time, also an excellent swimming in Lake Siskiyou + cave exploration on my sister roadtrip, meeting Tallulah, becoming real friends with Belinda, ending a long period of accidental celibacy, the Drag Race/Gong Show/Creepshow/Weirdest Movies weekly hangouts, D&D, You Must Remember This podcast, Love & Rockets comics, Ladies' Night, Goth Night, & Massachusetts Spring Break with Nora

Happy New Year! Already Looking Forward to 2015!

Art Garfunkel Memorial Reading List (July - December 2014)

1.) the Pleasure of the Text - Barthes (7/1)
2.) Like Life - Moore (7/1)
3.) the Remains of the Day - Ishiguro (7/6)
4.) Daytripper - Moon (7/8)
5.) Oryx & Crake - Atwood (7/12)
6.) A Universal History of Iniquity - Borges (7/14)
7.) Behind the Beautiful Forevers - Boo (7/18)
8.) Summer Sisters - Blume (7/21)
9.) Lost in the Funhouse - Barth (7/25)
10.) Honored Guest - Williams (7/30)
11.) Ice - Kavan (8/4)
12.) Betrayed by Rita Hayworth - Puig (8/9)
13.) the Passage - Cronin (8/20)
14.) A Naked Singularity - De La Pava (8/31)
15.) Lipstick Traces - Marcus (9/9)
16.) the Pure & Impure - Colette (9/11)
17.) the Hour of the Star - Lispector (9/12)
18.) Northline - Vlautin (9/14)
19.) Nadja - Breton (9/15)
20.) Anthropology - Rhodes (9/16)
21.) Falling in Place - Beattie (9/22)
22.) Ubik - Dick (9/26)
23.) Criminal Vol. 1- Brubaker (9/29)
24.) the Magus - Fowles (10/7)
25.) Role Models - Waters (10/8)
26.) In Persuasion Nation - Saunders (10/15)
27.) Bad Behavior - Gaitskill (10/21)
28.) I, Etcetera - Sontag (10/23)
29.) Petersburg - Bely (10/29)
30.) Asterios Polyp - Mazzucchelli (10/30)
31.) Evidence of Things Unseen - Wiggins (11/5)
32.) the End of the Affair - Greene (11/11)
33.) Chimera - Barth (11/17)
34.) From Hell - Moore (11/22)
35.) Vanishing Point - Markson (11/25)
36.) the Savage Detectives - Bolano (12/11)
37.) Main Lines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste - Bangs (12/21)
38.) A Sorrow Beyond Dreams - Handke (12/24)
39.) Reasons to Live - Hempel (12/26)
40.) Don't Kiss Me - Hunter (12/29) 

Art Garfunkel Memorial Reading List (January - June 2014)

1.) Transatlantic - McCann (1/5)
2.) Maus I - Spiegelman (1/8)
3.) Airships - Hannah (1/12)
4.) Hero - Moore (1/17)
5.) This Is Running For Your Life - Orange (1/25)
6.) It Happened in Boston? - Greenan (1/29)
7.) Emperor of the Air - Canin (1/31)
8.) Vampires in the Lemon Grove - Russell (2/4)
9.) Teaching a Stone to Talk - Dillard (2/7)
10.) the Maid's Version - Woodrell (2/11)
11.) Locas - Hernandez (2/15)
12.) Men We Reaped - Ward (2/20)
13.) the Lime Twig - Hawkes (2/24)
14.) City of Night - Rechy (3/4)
15.) the Assistant - Malamud (3/8)
16.) Baron in the Trees - Calvino (3/13)
17.) the Nearest Exit May Be Behind You - Bergman (3/18)
18.) the Heart That Bleeds - Guillermoprieto (3/26)
19.) the Sandman Vol. 1 - Gaiman (3/30)
20.) Amusing Ourselves to Death - Postman (4/1)
21.) Kentucky Straight - Offutt (4/4)
22.) Henderson the Rain King - Bellow (4/9)
23.) A Constellation of Vital Phenomena - Marra (4/14)
24.) the Little Friend - Tartt (4/21)
25.) the Goldfinch - Tartt (4/29)
26.) the Isle of Youth - Van Den Berg (5/2)
27.) Palomar - Hernandez (5/7)
28.) Our Lady of the Flowers - Genet (5/13)
29.) Mumbo Jumbo - Reed (5/19)
30.) Omensetter's Luck - Gass (5/26)
31.) Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat - Sacks (5/30)
32.) Let the Right One In - Lindqvist (6/5)
33.) Remember Why You Fear Me - Shearman (6/11)
34.) Encyclopedia of Early Earth - Greenberg (6/15)
35.) Pee on Water - Glaser (6/15)
36.) Searching for Caleb - Tyler (6/20)
37.) Ballad of the Sad Cafe - McCullers (6/23)
38.) Ayiti - Gay (6/24)
39.) the Boys of My Youth - Beard (6/26)

2013 in Review!

Favorite Films Released in 2013
10. Fill the Void (Burshtein)
9. Inside Llewyn Davis (Coens)
8. This is Not a Film (Panahi)
7. Leviathan (Castaing-Taylor & Paravel)
6. Side Effects (Soderbergh)
5. Computer Chess (Bujalski)
4. Spring Breakers (Korine)
3. Before Midnight (Linklater)
2. Her (Jonze)
1. Stories We Tell (Polley)

HMs: Short Term 12, Beyond the Hills, Amour, Blancanieves

Favorite Films 1st Seen in 2013
And the Pursuit of Happiness (Malle) 1986
I Killed My Mother (Dolan) 2009
the Lovers on the Bridge (Carax) 1991
Sherman's March(McElwee) 1985

5-Star Books Read in 2013
the Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Chabon
Americanah - Adichie
Black Power - Carmichael
the Changeling - Williams
City of Thieves - Benioff
Concrete - Bernhard
Homesick: New and Selected Stories - Berlin
the Last Samurai - DeWitt
Leaving the Atocha Station - Lerner
Purple Hibiscus - Adichie
Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984 - Reynolds
Speedboat - Adler

Misc. Top 10 2013
10. Having all students that have been at my school longer than me graduate
9. High School Girl Reunion
8. Tomato Jam
7. Impromptu Santa Cruz trip complete with surprise Gin Blossoms concert
6. Twin Peaks Party
5. Camping, specifically John reading the interpretative descriptions for hiking
4. Tule Elk in the Fog
3. the Clock by Christian Marclay
2. Barcelona and floating around in the Mediterranean Sea
1. Spirit Quest a.) Death Valley b.) Travertine Hot Springs c.) Solo pool time in Ridgecrest

Art Garfunkel Memorial Reading List (July - December 2013)

1.) Gemini - Tournier (7/1)
2.) This is Where I Leave You - Tropper (7/1)
3.) the Book of My Lives - Hemon (7/2)
4.) Pastoralia - Saunders (7/5)
5.) Rising Up and Rising Down: Some Thoughts On Violence, Freedom, and Urgent Means - Vollmann (7/19)
6.) the Changeling - Williams (7/23)
7.) the Emigrants - Sebald (7/28)
8.) Motherless Brooklyn - Lethem (8/4)
9.) Black Power - Carmichael (8/8)
10.) A Clockwork Orange - Burgess (8/11)
11.) Concrete - Bernhard (8/13)
12.) They Don't Dance Much - Ross (8/18)
13.) 253 - Ryman (8/22)
14.) Homesick - Berlin (8/28)
15.) the History of Luminous Motion - Bradfield (9/1)
16.) Middle C - Gass (9/11)
17.) Purple Hibiscus - Adichie (9/22)
18.) Life After Life - Atkinson (9/28)
19.) the City in History: Its Origins, Transformations, and Prospects - Mumford (9/29)
20.) Man in the Holocene - Frisch (9/30)
21.) Story of the Eye - Bataille (9/30)
22.) Down By the River Where the Dead Men Go - Pelecanos (10/4)
23.) Long, Last, Happy - Hannah (10/23)
24.) Americanah - Adichie (10/31)
25.) Suttree - McCarthy (11/8)
26.) the Ocean at the End of the Lane - Gaiman (11/10)
27.) Where'd You Go Bernadette - Semple (11/13)
28.) Dear Mr President - Hudson (11/17)
29.) the Son - Meyer (11/24)
30.) Mysterious Skin - Heim (11/26)
31.) World Within the Word - Gass (12/3)
32.) Speedboat - Adler (12/6)
33.) the Graphic Canon, Volume 1 (12/6)
34.) the Book Thief - Zusak (12/11)
35.) Going After Cacciato - O'Brien (12/17)
36.) the Burglar - Goodis (12/19)
37.) My Dark Places - Ellroy (12/27)
38.) A Thousand Years of Good Prayers - Li (12/31)

Art Garfunkel Memorial Reading List (January - June 2013)

1.) What Is Cinema? - Bazin (1/3)
2.) For A New Novel - Robbe-Grillet (1/12)
3.) Life: A User's Manual - Perec (1/16)
4.) A Million Heavens - Brandon (1/19)
5.) the Art of Fielding - Harbach (1/24)
6.) Give Us a Kiss - Woodrell (1/27)
7.) Consider the Lobster - Wallace (1/31)
8.) Seven Gothic Tales - Blixen (2/12)
9.) Altmann's Tongue - Evenson (2/18)
10.) Flying Leap - Budnitz (2/20)
11.) Hunts in Dreams - Drury (2/25)
12.) Black Skin, White Masks - Fanon (3/5)
13.) Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt - Hedges & Sacco (3/11)
14.) the Palm-Wine Drinkard - Tutuola (3/12)
15.) See Under: Love - Grossman (3/20)
16.) American Salvage - Campbell (3/22)
17.) Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Chabon (3/30)
18.) the Sisters Brothers - DeWitt, P. (4/2)
19.) At the Mouth of the River of Bees - Johnson (4/9)
20.) Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York - Sante (4/16)
21.) City of Thieves - Benioff (4/19)
22.) Black Swan Green - Mitchell (4/25)
23.) the Magic Barrel - Malamud (4/28)
24.) Paris Trout - Dexter (5/2)
25.) the Third Policeman - O'Brien (5/8)
26.) Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-84 - Reynolds
27.) the Wavering Knife - Evenson (5/21)
28.) Leaving the Atocha Station - Lerner (5/23)
29.) Zazen - Veselka (5/28)
30.) the Last Samurai - DeWitt, H. (6/5)
31.) Gender Trouble - Butler (6/11)
32.) V. - Pynchon (6/22)

Celluloid #163

Titles seen in January, ranked in the order I liked them:

the Collector (1965) Wyler
This is Not a Film (2013) Panahi
Amour (2013) Haneke
Enter the Dragon (1973) Clouse
Jason and the Argonauts (1963) Chaffey
Bloody Birthday (1981) Hunt
Rust and Bone (2013) Audiard
Night of the Demon (1957) Tourneur
Primer (2004) Carruth
the Children (2008) Shankland
Forbidden Planet (1956) Wilcox
Zero Dark Thirty (2012) Bigelow
the Year My Voice Broke (1987) Duigan
Hell Drivers (1957) Endfield
the Fire Within (1963) Malle
Silver Linings Playbook (2012) Russell

2012 in Review!

So it wasn't the end of the world after all...

Favorite Films Released in 2012
10. Django Unchained (Tarantino)
9. Magic Mike (Soderbergh)
8. the Loneliest Planet (Loktev)
7. the Master (P.T. Anderson)
6. A Separation (Farhadi)
5. Moonrise Kingdom (W. Anderson)
4. the Kid With a Bike (Dardenne)
3. Holy Motors (Carax)
2. Looper (Johnson)
1. Beasts of the Southern Wild (Zeitlin)

HMs: Argo, Perfect Sense, Haywire

Favorite Films 1st Seen in 2012 (alphabetical)
Another Earth (Cahill) 2011
the Arbor (Barnard) 2011
the Brood (Cronenberg) 1979
A Face in the Crowd (Kazan) 1957
House (Obayashi) 1977
Paper Moon (Bogdanovich) 1973
Phenomena (Argento) 1985
Red Balloon/White Mane (Lamorisse) 1956/1953
Santa Sangre (Jodorowsky) 1989

5-Star Books Read in 2012 (alphabetical)
Birds of America - Moore
Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation - Chang
the Devil All the Time - Pollock
the Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven - Alexie
Pulphead: Essays - Sullivan
Self-Help - Moore
Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays - Didion
Suddenly, A Knock on the Door: Stories - Keret
This Is How You Lose Her - Diaz

Best Singles
"I Love It" - Icona Pop
"Sulk" - TRUST
"Wild Desire/Bad Thing" - King Tuff
"We Found Love" - Rihanna
"Give Out" - Sharon Van Etten
"Slow Down" - the Team
"Baby's Wearing Blue Jeans" - Mac DeMarco
"Baby" - Ariel Pink
"You Know You Like It" - AlunaGeorge
"Girls" - Royal Headache
"Know Me" - Frankie Rose
"Millions" - Eternal Summers
"Feel So Close" - Calvin Harris
"Jumanji" - Azaelia Banks
"Call Me Maybe" - Carly Rae Jepsen

Favorite Albums
Cloud Nothings - Attack On Memory
Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
Ty Segall - Slaughterhouse
Grimes - Visions
the Babies - Our House on the Hill

Misc. Top 10
10. New car, new glasses, new hair/30 is pretty all right
9. Warehouse Cafe - Port Costa, CA 
8. Canadian trip w/my sis (even if Canadians don't know how to party)
7. 4th of July kiddie pool
6. Don Pepe's + Fresno Wedding ("Sex Family")
5. Year-round hiking club. Special shout out to Point Reyes
4. Oliver learning my name
3. New additions to Oakland, whether by relocation or birth
2. RETURN to LASSEN
1. Caribbean waterfalls & too much rum punch

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Art Garfunkel Memorial Reading List (July - December 2012)

1.) Too Loud a Solitude - Hrabal (7/1)
2.) Ice at the Bottom of the World - Richard (7/7)
3.) Monstress - Tenorio (7/16)
4.) Herzog on Herzog - Cronin (7/18)
5.) Bastard Out of Carolina - Allison (7/22)
6.) Pedro Paramo - Rulfo (7/23)
7.) Slouching Towards Bethlehem - Didion (7/25)
8.) Self Help - Moore (7/26)
9.) Translations - Friel (7/27)
10.) Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning - Nelson (8/1)
11.) Devil in the White City - Larson (8/10)
12.) Babel: Collected Stories (8/16)
13.) Hero With a Thousand Faces - Campbell (8/22)
14.) Kitchen Confidential - Bourdain (8/26)
15.) the Rings of Saturn - Sebald (9/2)
16.) What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank - Englander (9/6)
17.) Little Disturbances of Man - Paley (9/12)
18.) Suddenly, A Knock on the Door - Keret (9/16)
19.) Columbine - Cullen (9/22)
20.) Telegraph Avenue - Chabon (9/30)
21.) Stay Awake - Chaon (10/3)
22.) Pork - Freddi (10/8)
23.) A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again - Wallace (10/15)
24.) the Collected Stories of Peter Taylor (10/23)
25.) This is How You Lose Her - Diaz (10/26)
26.) Conversation in the Cathedral - Vargas Llosa (11/7)
27.) Farming of Bones - Danticat (11/12)
28.) Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? - Moore (11/14)
29.) Our Band Could Be Your Life - Azerrad (11/23)
30.) Gimpel the Fool - Singer (11/28)
31.) the Map and the Territory - Houellebecq (12/3)
32.) Habibi - Thompson (12/5)
33.) Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation - Chang (12/13)
34.) Tell Me a Riddle - Olsen (12/17)
35.) the Lime Works - Bernhard (12/21)
36.) Room - Donoghue (12/24)
37.) Knockemstiff - Pollock (12/30)

Celluloid #162

In Theaters

Killing Them Softly (2012) Dominik - This is the follow-up to the beautiful and compelling the Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Some amateur criminals stick up a card game, causing more professional mobster hitman to get involved. The setting seems to be Detroit or a similarly destitute place, and the place looks haunting. Annoyingly, Dominik decided to intersperse the violent plot with speeches from Obama in his pre-presidential days to make a clumsy political/economic  connection. Also, I found the music to be much too on the nose, creating an overall heavy-handed effect. 6/10

In Home

Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984) Firstenberg - Super ridiculous, but fun sequel where the breakdancers must work together to save the local community center. Also, Turbo tries to win over a girl, and Kelly sacrifices ballet opportunities in France to help out her friends. The best! 8/10

Dark Horse (2012) Solondz - A loser 30-something works and lives with his parents. His younger brother is significantly more handsome and successful, leaving Abe to be the "dark horse" in the family.  He starts an unlikely relationship with a woman that he meets at a wedding, and almost immediately proposes marriage to her. Things continue to get weirder and darker as the film progresses, all though I don't know why you would expect anything different from Solondz. 6/10

In Time (2011) Niccol - A Logan's Run-styled theme from a director that I know most fondly for my adolescent favorite Gattaca. You can tell that it's the same guy for the look of the film, the obsession with class differences in a future setting, and yet another pivotal nude ocean swim. In the future, time becomes our currency. They stop aging at 25, but only get to continue living if they earn more time by working, gambling, or stealing. Will Salas gets a century from a man trying to commit suicide. After leaving the ghetto, he gets involved with an heiress, and the two go on a Robin Hood-type spree. 7/10

Snowtown Murders (2012) Kurzel - A true story about a series of murders in Australia, unique because the killer was charismatic enough to get other people to help him. This film is really depressing, and takes more than a while to get going. Initially, we see three young boys getting taken advantage of by a neighborhood pedophile. The oldest boy is 16 and understandably wants some sort of revenge - an opportunity that becomes available through his mother's boyfriend, the killer. Just overall, this film doesn't add up to much of anything. 5/10

Celluloid #161

In Theaters

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (2012) Condon - Well, I'm glad it's over. The first scene immediately reminded me how cringey this series has been, but that also there's a lot of unintentional humor. Renesmee looks like a creep for the first part of the movie. Apparently her existence is a problem in the world of vampires because they fear vampire babies ("immortal children") for their lack of self-control. However, Resnesmee is only half vampire and wasn't bit. Whatever. At least this movie features a battle scene that is really satisfying until it is totally undermined. ??/10

In Home

Being Elmo (2011) Marks - So unfortunate how Kevin Clash has been disgraced in the news lately, because this documentary paints him as a pretty nice guy. Clash started making puppets an putting on local shows when he was 10. By the time he was finishing up high school, he was working for a local television show, and then shortly after, started working on the Captain Kangaroo show. Clash became the first black puppeteer to work for Jim Henson, and until recently, still ran the puppet workshop for Sesame Street and touring around the world with his character, Elmo. 7/10

Body Double (1984) De Palma - An actor catches his wife cheating and gets fired from his job all in the same day. He finally thinks he catches a break when another actor offers to let him apartment-sit. In addition to free rent, there's an impromptu nightly striptease show courtesy of a neighbor woman that's visible through a telescope. One night, the actor sees the neighbor get into some trouble with an intruder, and he tries to follow her the next day to warn her. This all spirals into a bigger conspiracy involving the porn industry - typically good De Palma. 8/10

Bonsai (2012) Jimenez - Adaptation of a pretty great novella intertwining the course of a romantic relationship with the process of writing. The movie is not nearly as successful as the book, but for reasons I cannot pinpoint. 6/10

God Bless America (2012) Goldthwait - Dark satire about America's obsession with reality television. One man gets fed up with how stupid people have become. In particular, he's upset about how people cannot have real conversations or interactions, but can only relate through inane pop culture. To top it off, his own young daughter is turning into a spoiled monster. After contemplating suicide, he teams up with a similarly jaded teen and goes on a killing spree. 5/10

Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2012) Duplass - So yeah, Jeff is 30, a stoner, and lives with his mom. His older seemingly more successful brother is having his own problems with his marriage; namely being worried that his wife is cheating. Jeff keeps following these "signs" about a person named Kevin all ver town while trying to help his brother. Pretty enjoyable to watch, even if the plot sounds like a ridiculous mess. 7/10

the Lady (2012) Besson - So sad! A story is recent history that I had no knowledge about. Since the 1970s (probably earlier), Burma has been under military rule. Movements developed to pursue democracy, but early on one leader was executed and essentially turned into a martyr for that cause. The martyr's daughter is the focus of this biopic. Aung San Suu Kyi moves to England after her father's death. There she grows up, marries, and has children. When her mother has a stroke, she returns to Burma where professors convince her to pick up her father's legacy. Despite her election success, she undergoes 15 years of house arrest. An unusual film for Luc Besson's typically action-packed filmography. 7/10

Celluloid #160

In Theaters

Holy Motors (2012) Carax - I really cannot begin to explain what this film is about, but I loved it. A man goes on a series of "appointment" throughout the day, working as some sort of existential actor fulfilling emotional scenarios in others' lives. These appointments involve elaborate disguises and range from heartfelt to absurd. There's motion capture fucking, a song by Kylie Minogue, a naked dwarf who kidnaps Eva Mendes, murders, grief, etc. This film has plenty of ecstatic imagery to spare. 9/10

In Home

the Deep Blue Sea (2012) Davies - Hester is having an affair with Freddie. Her husband is just a little too rulesy and seems to be under his mother's thumb despite his advanced age. Freddie is not necessarily much of a prize given his mood swings and violent temper, but even so, they have extreme passion and lust for one another. Hester is unlucky to live in a time that won't grant her freedom. This is maybe the best that I've ever seen Rachel Weisz (not that she's a particular favorite of mine), but the non-linear structure of the film undercuts much of the weight that I assume is associated with certain emotional scenes. 6/10

Goodbye First Love (2012) Hansen-Love - Camille is 15 and in love with 19 year-old Sullivan. They have a lot of sex and possess the naivete monopolized by adolescents. Sullivan struggles to know what to do with himself in life and is planning a trip to South America with some friends. Camille is devastated even though the trip is only supposed to be for ten months. Her fears are confirmed when Sullivan fails to return for many years beyond that and the two lose touch. Camille tries to move on with her life and even falls for one of her professors, but when Sullivan reenters her life, the chemistry just cannot be denied. 7/10

Keyhole (2012) Maddin - Guy Maddin's version of a ghost story? Ulysses is a gangster who ends up in a haunted house version of his previous home. He vows to win back his wife. There are plenty of disturbing things going on in the rooms - the wife has her naked father chained to the bed, Ulysses' son Manners is trying to revive his drowned sweetheart, and other family dysfunction. Features typical Maddin style and obsession with silent film era-style. This film is also notable for featuring one of the "Kids in the Hall" raping a ghost. 8/10

Perfect Sense (2012) Mackenzie  An interesting little indie sci-fi where the apocalypse is experience as a series of epidemics attacking one of the five senses. It starts when people begin losing their sense of smell, but after a few months, everyone gets used to this way of life and copes well until another syndrome strikes, leaving people without their sense of taste. Amidst these calamities, Susan (an epidemiologist) and Michael (a chef) strike up a precarious romance. 8/10

Trishna (2012) Winterbottom - I've never read Tess of D'Urbervilles but apparently this is a modern version of that story set in India. Trishna is the oldest daughter in a poor family and is given an opportunity to make a lot of money when a tourist offers her a job in his father's hotel. The son, Jay, also finds Trishna very beautiful and the two fall in love despite their different classes. However, the power dynamics quickly take their toll and it's clear this romance is doomed early on.. 7/10

Tyrannosaur (2011) Considine - An old drunk is maybe at the lowest point of his downward spiral. He has killed his dog during a drunken fit and has gotten into a brawl with some local hoodlums when he seeks refuge in a charity store run by a middle-aged Christian woman. She responds to his obvious distress by praying for him. Joseph visits Hannah several more times, sometimes to harass her, but soon the two develop a friendship when it becomes clear the Hannah's seemingly easy life is actually full of a lot of darkness and struggle. 7/10

Celluloid #159

In Theaters

This Must Be the Place (2012) Sorrentino - Sean Penn plays an aging rockstar who looks remarkably similar to Robert Smith, and has the strangest soft voice. Cheyenne is pretty bored with his cozy life in Ireland, but all that changes when his estranged father dies. He flies to New York for the funeral and discovers that his father spent the majority of his life searching for the Nazi responsible for torturing him in the concentration camps. Cheyenne decides to adopt this cause as his own, taking him all over the country. Also, David Byrne plays himself in the film. 7/10

In Home

Margaret (2011) Lonergan - Lisa is partially responsible for causing a bus accident that results in a woman getting run over and killed. Lisa's also a teenager so we see her at school, having sex, and fighting with her mother in that particular way that daughters and mothers do. In general she emotionally manipulates everyone around her. She also gets it in her head that the bus driver should be fired despite the fact that she initially lied to the police to cover up for him. Lisa is not a particularly likable person, but that's perhaps what makes this film so compelling for its long run time. Lisa is played by a pre-True Blood Anna Paquin. 8/10

Miss Bala (2011) Naranjo - A young woman named Laura is trying out for a beauty pageant gets sucked into the dangerous world of drugs and violence in Tijuana just for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. She tries to escape several time, but the drug guys always find her. Not wanting her family to be involved, she endures multiple indignities to protect them. This film makes Laura suffer so much - I guess to show the world how rough things are in Tijuana, but this shouldn't be news to anyone. 6/10

Monsieur Lazhar (2012) Falardeau - A teacher at a private Montreal middle school hangs herself in her classroom. The students take her death very hard and the administration hires an older Algerian immigrant to take her place, since they don't have a lot of options. Monsieur Lazhar's methods are much more strict and old-school compared to the other teachers. We also find out that he is grieving for his own family and struggling to be allowed to stay in the country. 7/10

Celluloid #158

In Theaters

Cloud Atlas (2012) Wachowskis & Tykwer - Adaptation of a beloved recent novel, but scraps many of the strengths of the book, namely the structure, to present a chaotic, jumbled film full of cheesiness, voiceovers, and heavy-handed messaging about how we are all connected. There are six distinct settings and sets of characters ranging from the 1800s to a post-apocalyptic time. I wouldn't say that I was ever bored for the nearly 3 hour run time, but probably best left in text form. 6/10

the Loneliest Planet (2012) Loktev - A couple is travelling around the Georgian Caucuses with a guide. Minimal plot, but incredible scenery - almost like watching something from National Geographic (and I'm guessing the title is a play on the Lonely Planet travel guide series). Not much happens until a group of men show up with guns and start speaking aggressively in a foreign language to the couple. Then something kinda small happens, but it changes the mood for the rest of the film, and undermines this seemingly ideal relationship. 8/10

the Sessions (2012) Lewin - This is the story of a man suffering from polio who has spent the vast majority of his life in an iron lung. In his later 30s, he gets a gig interviewing subjects to write an article about people with disabilities and their experiences with sex. This prompts Mark to start thinking about losing his own virginity. He gets in touch with a sex surrogate that provides him with his first sexual experiences, and maybe even falls for him. Crowd-pleasing, but a little too tidy-inspirational for my tastes. 7/10

In Home

Bernie (2012) Linklater - Bernie is a well-loved assistant funeral director in a small Eastern Texas town. He gets involved in a scandal when one widow develops a particularly close relationship with him. However, the widow soon becomes very toxic, jealous, and extremely possessive of Bernie, to the point that it's not surprising that he would feel smothered. Anyway, when she turns up missing, and Bernie is the primary suspect, the town refuses to believe that he had anything to do with it, or if he did, she most certainly deserved it - so deep is their affection for him. 7/10

Oslo, August 31st (2012) Trier - A man is finishing up a stint in rehab after struggling with drug addiction. His friends no longer know how to treat him, and he seems to struggle to find meaning in any human interaction. Trier is great with party scenes (see the "Deceptacon" sequence in his last film Reprise), but everyone should know this is a huge bummer of a movie...not that I have a problem with that. 7/10

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2012) Ramsay - Eva maybe always felt a little ambivalent about having a child, and Kevin fulfilled her biggest fears. Manipulative, even as an infant, Kevin cries constantly unless his father is around. He refuses to speak or potty-train long past appropriate ages. It's clear from the beginning of the film that Kevin has committed some Columbine-styled atrocity, and we are left to sort of the blame with Eva. 8/10

Celluloid #157

And for October's viewings:

Phenomena (1985) Argento - 9/10 : A girl has a special connection with insects; a quality that comes in handy when she withstands a series of attacks.

the Brood (1979) Cronenberg - 9/10: Psychotherapy and homicidal mutant children will ruin your life!

Tetsuo: the Iron Man (1989) Tsukamoto - 8/10: I don't claim to know really what is going on here, but a man with a metal fetish becomes turning into a metal machine to hilarious and often disturbing effect.

Argo (2012) Affleck - 8/10: Political thriller about getting 6 Americans out of Iran by using the guise of a sci-fi film production team.

Christine (1983) Carpenter - 8/10: A nerdy boy loves his car so much. And apparently the car loves him back and won't let anyone get between them.

Bless Their Little Hearts (1984) Woodberry - 8/10: LA Rebellion film about underemployment and the effects on self-worth and relationships.

Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) Chbosky - 8/10: 90s coming-of-age story dealing with depression, homophobia, molestation, and general feelings of being an outcast.

Pet Sematary (1989) Lambert - 8/10: A family moves to Maine, next to a busy road and a cemetery that has powers to bring the dead back to life - just not the same as they were.

A Tale of Two Sisters (2004) Kim - 7/10: Two girls return home from a mental institute only to be tormented by their stepmothers and some ghosts.

Cabin in the Woods (2012) Goodard - 7/10: Meta horror movie where a group of friends who fit the archetypes (The Slut, The Jock, The Fool, The Nerd, & the Virgin) are unknowingly placed in a scenario where they have to fend for their lives.

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2012) Ceylan - 7/10: A group of men go searching for bodies around the countryside, and along the way discuss matters of getting older.

Ballerina (2009) Normand - 7/10: Documentary about 5 Russian ballerinas working at the Kirov.

Taken 2 (2012) Megaton - 7/10: Liam Neeson has to kick so much ass again, when his family is taken yet again...

Deathdream (1974) Clark - 7/10: A young man comes back from Vietnam - as a zombie!

the Paperboy (2012) Daniels - 6/10: Campy white trash mystery-thriller. Maybe trying too hard to achieve camp factor that it doesn't work...

the Innkeepers (2012) West - 6/10: Disappointing follow-up to House of the Devil. These ghosts are slow and boring.

Wuthering Heights (2012) Arnold - 6/10: Depressing love story of two adolescents in the English moors. He's black, and her brother drives him away. As adults, Heathcliff gets his revenge.

Pontypool (2008) McDonald - 2/10: Movies based on radio performances = so boring! I couldn't finish it, and it is a rare occasion when I turn a film off.

Celluloid #156

I've gotten so far behind in reviews that I considered just giving this up all together, but after 5 years, it seems a little sad to just stop. I'm hoping to resume writing regularly after the new year, but in the meantime, here's a ranking of everything I saw in September (picking up after the last entry):

House (1977) Obayashi - 10/10: A bunch of Japanese girls visit an aunt's house that is controlled/haunted by an evil cat who takes them out one by one. Ridiculous & bonkers in the best way!

Santa Sangre (1989) Jodorowsky - 10/10: Bizarro love story of sorts. Cults based on armless heroines. Circuses. Inappropriate parent/child relationships.

Looper (2012) Johnson - 9/10: Smart time travel movie where the main character has to face killing his future self, but can also have a hand in preventing future world tragedy.

the Master (2012) Anderson - 8/10: PTA! Vaguely about Scientology, specifically about the master/disciple relationship, and a lot of sex.

God's Country (1985) Malle - 8/10: Documentary about the economic changes in Middle America after Reagan took office.

Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) Bresson - 8/10: Sad tale from the viewpoint of a donkey.

What Time Is It There? (2001) Tsai - 7/10: Taiwanese (aka slow) where a street vendor who sells his watch to a girl leaving for Paris, can't stop thinking about her

Bachelorette (2012) Headland - 7/10: Bridesmaids + Mean Girls.

Celluloid #155

In Theaters

Cosmopolis (2012) Cronenberg - The dialogue is so cold and stiff in this film that initially I hated it. However, after a while I settled into its cadences and decided to view the film more how I treat "cult movies" than as a serious endeavor. Eric spends most of his day in a limo travelling across town to get a haircut. Along the way he eats a couple meals with his wife, has sex with basically every woman who ends up in the car, gets stuck in the middle of a protest involving rats as currency, and even has a prostate exam. 2.5/5

Killer Joe (2012) Friedkin - Quite possibly the blackest black comedy I have ever seen, and the movie that I am most grateful to have gone alone without accompaniment for the screening. Joe is a detective, but works on the side as a killer for hire. This idiot drug dealer, Chris, has his drugs stolen by his mom, and his solution to the problem is that she needs to die in order for him to collect the insurance money to pay off the suppliers. Unfortunately, without the money upfront, Chris is forced to offer up his virginal sister to Joe as a retainer. A total white trash noir full of violence and super depraved sex. 3.5/5

Lawless (2012) Hillcoat - Three brothers live in Franklin County, Virginia during Prohibition. They make a pretty nice living distributing moonshine, benefitting from a local legend that their family is invincible. However, the two older brothers are seemingly tough from birth, while Jack the youngest just doesn't have the same violent streak. The cozy arrangement they have with local law enforcement gets unsettled when a new evil official from Chicago is brought in. He immediately sets his sights on taking the brothers out. There's an annoying voiceover at the beginning and end, but otherwise I really liked this film. 4/5

In Home

the Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) - An alien lands on Earth, but he looks surprisingly human, so he's able to blend in. People at a boarding house take him in. He becomes close with one woman and her son, and also tries to track down a scientist who may be able to help him get back. The main message is that Earthlings need to start making better decisions to avoid war or else they will destroy the entire planet - something definitely on the minds of many in the 1950s. Also, very charming special effects. 3.5/5

A Face in the Crowd (1957) Kazan - Andy Griffith as you've never seen him before! After spending a night in jail for drunken behavior, Lonesome Rhodes gets interviewed and recorded for a local radio station. He gains popularity and eventually becomes a star. However, the fame gets to his head and starts giving up the values that made him popular in the first place, and develops a personality more sinister and pathetic. 4.5/5

Outside the Law (2010) Bouchareb - Three brothers from Algeria are forced to move to France. One is jailed for political unrest. One comes back from the army and starts a family. The youngest makes his living through providing vices - namely prostitutes. The brothers end up at each others' throats based on where they place their identity (French or Algerian). All together this story is fine, but a little too close to a message movie. 3/5

Celluloid #154

In Home

Calendar (1993) Egoyan - Strange little film where most of the time we follow a photographer in Armenia with his wife and a tour guide, taking pictures of historical monuments for a brochure. These scenes are interspersed with evidently present-day scenes where the photographer is on a bunch of dates with various women. All the dates take place at his house, and every time he pours the wine, this becomes the cue for the women to ask to use the phone. Their calls are always in a foreign language (probably Armenian?) and seem to be erotic in content. Once the calls begin, the photographer takes out a notepad and begins writing. 3/5

3-Iron (2004) Kim - We meet a young man who breaks  into peoples' homes while they are on vacation, but instead of robbing them, he cleans things up, maybe takes a bath, looks at photo albums, or masturbates. At one house, it turns out that the wife is still there. It also turns out that she is abused by her husband, and finds herself strangely attracted to this intruder. The young man gets sent to jail, but the connection has already been made. 4/5

Wages of Fear (1953) Clouzot - Some town in Central America is suffering from extreme poverty. A fire breaks out at an oil field where many people have died. A reward is offered to the first truck that can deliver a shipment of nitroglycerin. It's an extremely dangerous job that requires two people per team. The liquid is very flammable and cannot be shaken around too much or it will explode and kill everyone around. Some poor men from the town and a couple of has-been gangsters take the job...but I think you know how this saying ends. 3.5/5

Celluloid #153

In Theaters


the Dark Knight Rises (2012) Nolan - I've always liked this franchise, but I don't love it. I go for the spectacle, and this delivered on that front. Batman is getting old, and doesn't want to help out Gotham anymore, however, once Bane comes on the scene, someone must put a stop to it so he limps out of retirement. I like Tom Hardy a lot in films like Warrior, Inception, and Bronson, but here he has to wear a ridiculous mask and have a voice that is somehow reminiscent of the giant turtle mountain from the Neverending Story. I think the most welcome addition was Anne Hathaway as Cat Woman. Anyway, I would think you would know by now whether this is your kind of deal. 3.5/5

In Home


Bad Boy Bubby (1993) de Heer - Bubby is 35 and has been locked up in an apartment with his mother for his entire life. She abuses him in the worst ways. Besides never allowing him to leave the house, go to school, or even become a little socialized, she also engages in incest and beats him occasionally. Then she reconnects with Bubby's father and essentially kicks Bubby out. Alone on the streets, people surprisingly take good care of the weirdo. He eats a lot of pizza, ends up singing in a band, and has a fair amount of sex for a gross-looking idiot. 3.5/5

Broken English (2007) Cassavetes - Parker Posey's recent appearance on Louie and my recent viewing of Party Girl made me want to seek out more of her work. She plays Nora, a 30 something who cannot get it together when it comes to relationships. Everyone else in her life is coupled up, but she just keeps meeting the wrong guys. Then she meets a younger French guy at a party, and the two hit it off. The relationship hits a snag when he decides he has to move back to France. He asks her to come with, but she's too afraid, and doesn't feel like they know each other well enough. After more time passes, she takes a huge longshot and tries to find him in Paris. The movie and tone are all quite fine, but why does Nora wear the worst clothes?? 3.5/5

Imitation of Life (1959) Sirk - A struggling actress takes in a black woman, Annie, and her daughter Sarah Jane, even though she doesn't really have money to pay them. Sarah Jane can pass for white and struggles throughout the movie to distance herself from her mother and her black identity. Meanwhile, Lora does become famous and almost gets involved in a love triangle with her daughter and a man - Thankfully we don't get into some Mildred Pierce territory. Tragedy is the only logical ending for this very melodramatic (not in a bad way!) film. 4/5

the Red Balloon/the White Mane (1953-1956) Lamorisse - These two short French films are incredibly charming, and I think would be ideal to show children (and adults) to introduce them to world cinema because there's barely any dialogue, and instead you get a series of beautiful and memorable images. I think I probably liked the Red Balloon a little more - a young boy starts getting followed around by a balloon. Other boys get jealous and try to steal it and later to destroy it, but the balloon and the boy keep getting reunited as he walks around the city. In the White Mane, a wild horse escapes capture by a bunch of French cowboys, but gets nabbed by a young boy. Both are worth 30 minutes of your time. 4.5/5