Two movies
I just finished Fish Tank, which I loved. It made me so uncomfortable at times that I had to keep taking breaks. I watched it in six sessions over the course of three days.
I also loved Cabin in the Woods. I am really looking forward to all the writing that’s going to come out of it once everyone moves past the inarticulate nerd rapture stage.
Considering resubscribing to Netflix’s DVD service to burn through these over the summer.
Just finished Thom Andersen’s BRILLIANT Los Angeles Plays Itself, which I’ve been watching a little bit at a time for a few weeks. Because it uses clips from more movies than it’s even possible to get the rights to, Los Angeles Plays Itself is almost never shown, but, amazingly, is available on YouTube in twelve 13-15 minute sections. Above is part one. If you are at all interested in the history of Los Angeles in terms of cinema, architecture, politics, or mythology, check it out right now, while you still can.
Seriously, I can’t say enough good things about this film. It’s already changing the way I work and the way I see the city. Those night shots I’ve been doing of West Hollywood? Direct result of watching Los Angeles Plays Itself.
They are the most boring.
Ernst Haas + West Side Story. Two great tastes that taste great together.
(Source: salveo, via fourtwoseven)
”[Cat on a Hot Tin Roof] was originally to be filmed in black and white, as was the standard practice with ‘artistic’ films in the 1950s…However, once Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor were cast in the leads, director Richard Brooks insisted on shooting in color, in deference to the public’s well known enthusiasm for Taylor’s violet and Newman’s strikingly blue eyes.” (via)
“Evil Shall With Evil Be Expelled”
Last night, Danny, Janna, Joe and I went to a free advance screening of David Fincher’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Being a fan of the books, I loved it. A pretty faithful adaptation, it only differed in a few logistical ways, and while there were a couple of plot points from the second book that I felt shouldn’t have come into play, I understand why they were necessary. In all, the movie felt like Silence Of The Lambs for a new generation.
I liked this movie quite a bit, in spite of the fact that I think the books are dumb dumb dumb and bad for women (don’t start with me, Garrett). David Fincher is a better director than Stieg Larsson was a writer. Go see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo this holiday season, but don’t see it with your parents because that will be awkward.
Sorry—I didn’t take what you said the way it probably sounded! I’m pretty into it, too (in fact, since I have access to it for another 24 hours I’m going to re-watch that crazy opening sequence right now, and probably get sucked into watching the whole thing again), and I’d love to see it in a theater someday. Some of my best movie-going experiences have been special showings of movies I already knew and loved.
I’m definitely a believer in the big screen experience, but I’m also on a budget, and there’s a huge difference between paying $6.99 to watch it at home and the $27 it would cost for two people to see it in a theater. As someone who used to go to the movies two or three times a week but can no longer afford to go, like, ever, I really appreciate a chance to see a new movie.
Thank you, Time Warner, for supporting my shut-in lifestyle by making Melancholia available OnDemand. In HD, even.
