January 2014 (so Far)
12M. RIP peter
O’Toole: Full watch thru of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. Fucking awesome movie. Great
cinematography in the desert.
13M Tokyo Drifter – Sleeping
on this movie a bit made me like it more. Suzuki wraps nior in a stylized coat
like Point Blank, but it’s also a gutsy move when you know the back-story: he
would be fired from the studio for his brashness despite his approach
filmmaking in a Carver-like way: this is my job as a contractor, I hope to god
it puts food on my table.
14M Into the
Night – Maybe not deserving of the rap it gets, but Just watch After Hours or
Something Wild for the same ideas OR Spies Like Us for something funnier from
Landis.
15M Big Star:
Nothing can hurt me. Awesome rock doc, but only because of the band’s cult
status. Alex Chilton’s Flies on Sherbert Years are the coolest here. Also James
Luther Dickinson’s lifestyle and approach toward art. Third might be the best
rock album of all time.
16M Rooster
Cogburn – Katherine Hepburn is Old.
17M The Game –
this is a rewatch, but for the first time I saw it on VHS. I think Fincher has
a better style palette (lighting, color, wardrobe, props) than Michael Mann or
Scorsese. This is his peak with that and with the conventions of plot. Whereas
Pulp Fiction or Momento use editing, the Game uses a large amount of large plot
devices to continually expand the parameters of the entire story. I think this
movie is better than Se7en.
18M The stress
with showing Kind Hearts and Coronets to my mom was washed away after she fell
asleep, thank god. A re-watch I appreciate herete the British chin-up delivery
of Dennis Price’s jet-black attitude towards disposing of the D’Ayscoynes. It’s
Alec Guiness’ sheer amount of time on screen that has him understated here; one
cant’ help but Obi Wan and Prince Faisal and (my favorite) Gulley Jimson to The
Duke, The Banker, The Parson, The General, The Admiral, Young D'Ascoyne, Young
Henry, Lady Agatha. Guniess’ range is not Caine-like or, dare I go to the
extreme of, Cruise-like, but it’s him disembodying himself fully into a
character and adding the toppings on after.
16. Memoirs of a Beatnik. This is not about being a hippy,
in fact DiPrima says “some of us sold out and became hippies” or something or
over. This is pure sex, but also a look at living the playful, un-bound life.
16. The Hunger Games MFIME again, sadly, this time harder to
buck than holes. Jennifer Lawrence aside, it’s a great book. I wish I had read
it pre-movie. This book is dark, sure, but the pacing and command of the reader
Collins’ gets out of it washes away any reservations one may have. That said,
it is popular. And if people like the story so overwhelmingly, what does that
say about our day and age? I’m looking for a Collins interview to see if she
comments.
17. Catching Fire – Pretty good. I don’t think it’s as good
as the first one.
19M Gimme
Shelter. Watch the stones listen to Wild Horses at Muscle Shoals. Watch them
see the Hell’s Angels kill someone and with it, the 1960s.
20M More docs: The War Room is an awesome movie, regardless of your political views, but
in lieu of your aspirations, be they political or not. This could be a required team building exercise.
18. You Shall Know Our Velocity – I read YSKOV in November or
Oct so it counts but here are my thoughts. I just wasn't that interested at
points, but I love the idea of the book. It is freewheeling and massively
mysterious around the outside of the main story. I’m thinking Eggers AHWSG is
in the future.
19 Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl’s book is readable and manageable both as an amazing memoir of the uncertain horrors of
the Holocaust and the beautiful philosophical residue that came from it, which
he expands upon and wraps everyday life in.
21M A Brief History of Time. Yes the movie. Not the book. Yes I am on an Erroll Morris kick. This movie is a gem.
22M Hoffa is Nicholson and DeVito acting well, but the story leaves a little to be desired as a biopic. Iit's set up well, but the story is told in broad strokes; Hoffa's wife and family is little involved. I think what this film does say is that DeVito is an underrated director, though. His production credits on projects like Man on the Moon and Gattacca, and his work on this stylized biopic, the surreal, jet-black Death to Smoochy; the similarly dark Throw Momma From the Train; and the lovable cult film Matilda show DeVito as a man of many talents, to say nothing of his acting credits.
