I’ve been thinking about having a “directed by bob Dylan’s son” movie night myself
Missing: woke George Soros documentary
I’ve been thinking about having a “directed by bob Dylan’s son” movie night myself
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party girl is kind of like a jane austen adaptation if you think about it!
actually a suggestion to bridge the space might be whit stillman’s love and friendship. it’s an adaptation of lady susan - an austen i haven’t read - starring kate beckinsale and chloe sevigny, who perform with a modernity that contrasts with the setting in a very funny way, kate beckinsale is like if party girl parker posey was 20 years older and better at performing normality. it’s very lightweight but enjoyable
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oh amazing, I’d never heard of this one. I’ll take a peak! It sounds perfect
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Obligatory:
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There are two videos I feel compelled to completely watch whenever they appear despite how many times I’ve seen them. That is one.
This is the other
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Today I watched the cinematic masterpiece known as Crab Goalkeeper.
I was like, “Huh, that guy looks a lot like Kuze from Yakuza 0!” and it turns out it’s the same actor, who is also playing a yakuza, and yakuza are more involved in this film than you would think.
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How did you watch this?
Someone unceremoniously uploaded it to YouTube.
Apparently the director did another movie called The Calamari Wrestler starring real life Japanese wrestling legend Osamu Nishimura and I have to watch this immediately.
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I’ve actually seen Calamari Wrestler! It’s pretty funny, though I can’t say it really stuck with me too much and the main guy’s voice got on my nerves because of an effect they use. It was kinda cool, though, and I hope you like it! I’ve still been meaning to see Crab Goalkeeper, though, for sure.
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Rad. Thanks!
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i have never seen nor heard of this but now i’m convinced it’s the greatest movie ever made
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I drifted in and out of Barry Lyndon last night and just finished Marie Antoinette. I probably don’t have anything new to add about these, but it’s fun to write, so here are my quick takes.
Barry Lyndon
It took a little while for me to get a feel for what the focus here was, the unsentimental, brutish opportunist clawing his way toward every potential step up in status — Generally, I feel like rags to riches stories are presented as an underdog coming up in the world, a shining example of grit and perseverance (maybe more so in America). I liked that this made little effort to make him sympathetic, simply an amoral man driven by the need for more and willing to do whatever to keep it, just like those he eventually surrounds himself with.
Marie Antoinette
I didn’t like this one very much. Everyone felt flat and undeveloped, the modern music was fun in a couple scenes, but the amount of interludes got tired pretty quickly. They’d probably have gotten messier in a more modern version. The Favourite pushed this idea further and I think it worked a lot better for it — ‘The rich are a different kind of creature.’
Maybe a sympathetic portrayal of this figure was a fresh take at the time (or especially intriguing coming from Sophia Copolla), but given the state of reality these days… I don’t really care if she likes Siouxsie and the Banshees.
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Babe (1995)
George Miller’s AU Animal Farm for children was my childhood movie and I re-watched it for the first time not remembering much except certain imagery and the way scenes themselves made me feel. Upon rewatching I realized it was a movie I completely remembered and yet not at all.
I think the movie really stands out from a technical perspective, elaborated more below. You could teach a film class (actually a YouTube video) on the examples of show don’t tell exposition in this thing.
What sticks out to me most is how much darkness the story contains, but in a way that is accessible and, in my opinion, healthy. There’s death, trauma, abuse. Though the spirit of the film is just oozing with hope and light. To be trite: the dark world never extinguishes the pig’s light, and through him others shine. As a child I felt things like fear, despair, and sadness watching this film, but never overwhelmingly so.
It was a cathartic watch and I think it’s a beautiful film. Especially if you appreciate some dark humor. The deadpan delivery of the narrator in the opening scene makes the slaughtering of these piglet’s parents hilarious. (You don’t see the slaughter, just a truck)
Not to mention the work the Henson company, the multiple special effects teams, production, and cast. Early CGI, puppetry, live animal trainers, set designers and crew, all come together in a way I’ve never seen achieved by another film. Movie lovers may recognize the name Andrew Lesnie as cinematographer. Now that I know that, I can see LoTR in this film. My favorite performances are by James Cromwell and Magda Szubanski. Hugo Weaving plays a patriarchal dog.
Some screengrabs and behind the scenes I’ve compiled for your pleasure.
CGI Work
Live animal trainers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKfMG2d_qT8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV2NGR2vDWI
Screengrabs
Thank you for reading!
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I’m watching all 5 Highlander Movies
Only liked the 1st one. 2 is the worst so far, 3 was a little bit better but a bad movie overall.
i’m watching 4 with no hopes.
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I just finished watching Amadeus and came in and out of a very late-night viewing of Eyes Wide Shut last night.
The latter might be one of my favorites to think on, so I wanted to share a few analyses that I’ve enjoyed. Broey Deschanel’s video essay and friend of the show Liz Ryerson’s two hour exploration. I think the freudian / secret society elements are ripe for film theory — though this one definitely seems to attract the conspiracy type, especially post-QAnon / Espstein.
I really enjoyed Amadeus but want to digest a bit more.
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One of the load-bearing moments in my mind and my mind only is this random exchange from 30 Rock:
Liz is going through Tracy’s Porn Parody collection
Liz: The Curious Case of Benjamin Butt. Nice 
Tracy: 
Liz: I’m-a-do-us? What does that even mean??
Tracy: It’s a pun on Amadeus, dummy!
LOVE Eyes Wide Shut. Also, Broey Deschanel is pretty much the only video essayist I can stand. Happy to see her get a shoutout around these parts
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Everyone please note the type of posts that I expect to be tagged in going forward ^
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Following the meandering thread of my current personal film fest, I followed up the tense paranoia of Eyes Wide Shut with Perfect Blue tonight.
I’d only ever seen Paprika, and tbh was not expecting the degree of intensity from this one. YIKES. A friend came over and we both dove in blind — I was gripped throughout. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so viscerally the urge to scream (…at my TV) to a character before. I think I’d get a lot out of a second viewing sooner than later.
@MoH Seeing WG’s AD home tour flipped the “Yea, I would” switch in my brain.
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Anyone else here seen Brainscan? (1994, director John Flynn, starring Edward furlong) I first saw it when I was 16 and that dudes room immediately became goals. Now that I have a sony dvd player with a big huge remote control and two CRTs that are over 30” apiece, I feel like I’ve reached this goal like 16 years later.
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