by Sam Juliano
A heartbreaking loss to Canada in the Men’s hockey ice hockey gold medal game put a bit of a damper on the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics, but USA fans can at least take solace in the fact that the Americans won the medal race quite handily. What I was able to watch of these games I enjoyed, but at some point I’d like to hear what our resident Olympics expert, Dan Getahun has to say in summarizing the games.
Allan’s silent film countdown is reaching it’s most interesting phase, with virtually every day sure to unveil the latest masterpieces. Similarly at ‘Good Fellas’ Dave Hicks marches on to the noir beat as it approaches the exact middle of his Top 100. His comment threads have been outstanding. Many thanks again to Dee Dee for all her work on the Oscar category posts, and to Tony for the sidebar polls. The time spent here was amazing, and we all all deeply grateful. Filmmaker Jeffrey Goodman also is moving forward with his excellent annual countdown, and his site has attracted a number of informed movie goers, fueling a terrific comments section. At ‘FilmsNoir.net’ Tony d’Ambra continues to raise the bar with posts that provide some fascinating overlaps.
In any case, with a monstrous blizzard crippling the northeast on Thursday into Friday, that has many still digging out, it’s been tough getting around. Still, with a little persistence, I managed three trips to the theatres to see a premiering documentary and two sets of Oscar-nominated shorts, that I saw for the first time in a movie theatre, rather than settling for you-tubes.
PRODIGAL SONS, a documentary premiering at the Cinema Village, is moving and fascinating, and it’s big surprise is the stuff of fiction. My review appears over the Monday Morning Diary. It concerns a transgendered former football player and class valedictorian, (who is the filmmaker) and the familial disconnection that plays out in with some dysfunctional twists. An enlightening Q & A with Ms. Reed, her mother, and one of her producers
The Oscar nominated shorts in both categories showcased a wide assortment of styles, but the results were a rather mixed bag. My favorite of the animated titles are the Wallace & Gromit like A Matter of Loaf and Death and a wildly creative Logorama. Of the Live Action shorts, I really liked The Door, Miracle Fish and The New Tenants.
I plan on seeing Audiard’s The Prophet this week, as I was unable due to circumstances beyond my control, to manage it over the past week.
As always, here’s a look around the blogosphere:
Tony d’Ambra is working off his tush putting together some fascinating cross-genre posts at Film Noir’s altar, and his latest brings in Michael Moore and Nicholai Gogol in an essential piece: http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/dead-peasants.html
At Good Fellas, Dave Hicks has Cagney on display for his #52 choice of his Top 100 noir countdown: http://goodfellamovies.blogspot.com/2010/02/52-kiss-tomorrow-goodbye-gordon-douglas.html
Dee Dee is cross posting the Oscar coverage at WitD over at her place, Darkness Into Light: http://noirishcity.blogspot.com/2010/02/31–days–of–oscarcountdown–with–sam_27.html
Dorothy Porker has a satirical post on Lars Von trier up at “Film Cheer”: http://filmcheer.com/2010/02/23/von-trier-tapped-for-denmark-tourism-ads/
John Greco (bless him!) has a fantastic review up at his place on Robert Siodmak’s The Spiral Staircase, a gothic 40’s Hollywood gem: http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/the-spiral-staircase-1946-robert-siodmak/
Troy Olson and his wife Trisha are nearing their trip-of-a-lifetime to China to claim their daughter Madelyn: http://troyolson.blogspot.com/2010/02/slowing-down-for-good-reason.html
When it comes to Hollywood in the early 30’s there’s one blogosphere expert that reigns supreme, and that’s Judy at Movie Classics, whose latest essay is another Wellman title, which is tough to find. This is a great review: http://movieclassics.wordpress.com/2010/02/27/safe-in-hell-1931/
David Schleicher has a great review up at his place on The Ghost Writer. And check out his Polanski ratings too and list your own: http://davethenovelist.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/the-ghost-writer/
Longman Oz has the jump on everybody with his reasonably favorable assessment of the new film by Todd Solandz at his place: http://noordinaryfool.com/2010/03/01/lifeduringwartime/
J. D. at Radiator Heaven has an excellent review up of a rather neglected film: Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle that’s a must-read: http://rheaven.blogspot.com/2010/02/mrs-parker-and-vicious-circle.html
Marilyn Ferdinand has a fantastic make-over at her site, and she’s got a great review on Shutter Island up by talented Roderick Heath that should at least give pause to the nay-sayers: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/?p=1238
Filmmaker Jeffrey Goodman continues his march through cinema’s greatest films with his annual countdown, which is up to 1951: http://cahierspositif.blogspot.com/2010/02/1951-place-in-sun-george-stevens.html
Donophon has Miami Vice as his #3 film of the oo’s, and he defends it with a spectacular essay: http://thelongvoyagehome.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-favorite-films-of-00s-3-miami-vice.html
Jon Lanthier continues to headline his excellent review of ‘The Life and Times of Tim’ (Season 2) at his place: http://aspiringsellout.com/
Just Another Film Buff takes a break from his scholarly essays and presents an equally tasteful presentation of his own best films and performers in a mock-up of the Oscars. it’s a great post!: http://theseventhart.info/2010/02/28/awards/
Congratulations to Ed Howard on the fabulous response he’s received under his comic evaluations at Only the Cinema. The latest is his 10-1 roundup: http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2010/02/best-comics-of-decade-20-1.html
Our friend “Anu” talks about the Oscars at his place, but prior to his latest post he has penned a review of Charles Burnett’s masterpiece Killer of Sheep that’s for the ages: http://theconfidentialreport.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/killer-of-sheep/
Craig Kennedy’s beloved “Watercooler” is up and running: http://livingincinema.com/2010/02/28/watercooler-the-calm-before-the-oscar-storm/
Dan Getahun has a terrific post up at Getafilm on the Oscar-Nominated Shorts: http://getafilm.blogspot.com/2010/02/review-2010-oscar-animated-shorts.html
The esteemed “Film Dr.” has a great post up posing a number of fascinating questions about Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker: http://filmdr.blogspot.com/2010/02/ambiguities-of-war-8-questions-about.html
Kevin Olson has a terrific Shutter Island review up at his place: http://kolson-kevinsblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/shutter-island.html
The endlessly-charming and affable Michael (a.k.a. Coffee Messiah) again gives respite to rigidity with this post: http://coffeemessiah.blogspot.com/
Natural wonders are always on display at Terrill’s Creative Potager blogsite, which always puts thing in the right perspective: http://creativepotager.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/baby-lambs/
Stephen Russell-Gebbet has a fascinating essay up at his place titled Avatar and Language: http://checkingonmysausages.blogspot.com/2010/02/avatar–and–language.html
Pat at Doodad Kind of Town has an Oscar round-up of ‘Costume Design’ at her place: http://doodadkindoftown.blogspot.com/2010/02/lamb-devours-oscars-best-costume-design.html
Shubhajit has a great capsule up at “Cinemascope” on Pixar’s Up:http://cliched–monologues.blogspot.com/2010/02/up–2009.html
Tony Dayoub has a great post up on the best films of 2006 at Cinema Viewfinder: http://www.cinemaviewfinder.com/2010/02/best–films–of–00s–2006.html
The ever-prolific Samuel Wilson’s latest review at Mondo 70 is Cisko Pike: http://mondo70.blogspot.com/2010/02/cisco–pike–1972.html
Jason Bellamy probes beneath the surface of The Last Station at “The Cooler”: http://coolercinema.blogspot.com/2010/02/weekly-rant-sort-of-speaking-in-tongues.html
Adam Zanzie has posted what appears to be a terrific contribution to the Preservation of Film Blogothon at his place: http://iceboxmovies.blogspot.com/2010/02/for-love-of-film-film-preservation.html
Andrew Wyatt has a great review up at his place of Wonderful Town: http://gatewaycinephiles.com/2010/02/25/film-diary-wonderful-town/
Our friend Ari has had some server problems at The Aspect Ratio, ut his year-end lists are still showcasing with Scott Gleine’s the most recent: http://theaspectratio.net/scott2009list.htm
Greg Ferrara’s latest review is on Shutter Island, and it asppears to be a mixed verdict, even as it’s so well written:http://cinemastyles.blogspot.com/2010/02/out-on-shutter-island.html
and my friend Kaleem Hasan is always doing his hardest at Satyamshot:
So what did you do this week? You know the drill.
Click on names for archives
Writers/Founders
Wonders in the Dark 
Thanks, Sam, for all the updates. This week is going to be mighty interesting…
Thanks JAFB. Yes the week leading up to the Oscars is always most interesting, even if this year’s race seems more predictable than it’s ever been before.
Hi Sam,
Thanks for the mention… and on the men’shockey game – one of the best, fastest, cleanest hockey games I’ve ever seen (could be the effect of on-line live coverage of CTV viewed on our little laptop – but I do think it was a great game). Being Canadian, the outcome was quite good as well. However, hats off to Team USA. They played excellent hockey and I felt for them as they accepted their silver medals. They were so close and had worked so hard.
Now I’m going to go and check out some of those amazing links you have provided. Best of the week to you!
Ah Terrill, I forgot that both you and J.D. are Northlanders, so my congrats! I know it was a great game and cleanly-fought. Canada was on paper the better team, and the USA did go further than most expected, so all’s well that ends well. I know you are in Vancouver Canucks country! I held season tickets to the New York Islanders hockey team during the Stanley Cup run in the late 70’s into the early 80’s. I had those seats with a few friends for six years, so I am an old hockey devotee. But I know the game is Canada’s national sport.
Thanks again for your valued contribution Terrill and for the kind words.
The quick round-up:
Where the Wild Things Are — ** Obnoxious, neurotic and pointless “kids flick for adults.”
The Ghost Writer — **** see review kindly linked to by Sam for more.
Decalogue 7 — **** Taking a break between 6 & 7 helped with the Kieslowski fatigue. I can’t imagine anything can top the first two parts in my mind, but I’m looking forward to the final 3 chapters.
David: You and I are in complete agreement on WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE! I just couldn’t appreciate it, even though I have adored the Caldecott Medal winning picture book it is based on.
Your GHOST WRITER essay is great, I enjoyed that, and as far as the Kieslowski, I am again with you, and nothing can match those early sections, but still your judgement is perfect.
Thanks as always for the round-up David!
Saw “The Ghost Writer” again this weekend, as well as repeat viewings of “The Ninth Gate” and “Diary of a Chambermaid” at home. That last one floored me even more than usual, after discussing it so much in the “Lovely Bones” thread. Bunuel owns Jackson’s hack license.
LOL Bob about Bunuel owning Jackson’s “hack license!” Seeing GHOST WRITER more than once is a wise pame plan, which I will also make good on soon. I love CHAMBERMAID!
Thanks so much for the re-cap!
Thank you, Sam for the kind mention and for so many interesting links.
This week I saw Psycho III (*1/2) and Psycho IV (**)
I remember watching both of those at one point — pretty stinky stuff. I’m curious if you are writing anything about those, because as bad as they are, it is kind of interesting to compare/contrast them to the original (I think Hitchcock may have laughed at all of them).
Troy, I’ve written about Psycho II recently but I must warn you that I come to conclusions that some have considered beyond the pale!
I don’t feel like I have anything to write about when it comes to III and IV – one or two interesting moments but nothing special at all.
Thanks Stephen! I’m definitely with you on those two PSYCHO sequels, which deserve no more than what you gave them! I’ll be stopping over at your place ASAP.
Thanks as always, Sam. In five hours my review of An Education will be going up on Lost in the Movies – check it out, one and all! Just enjoyed your Prodigal Son review & left a comment over there. (Btw, anyone who wants to catch up with my admittedly – but for the moment, inevitably – scattered output of late can visit The Sun’s Not Yellow for a month’s end round-up of my strongest work.)
Thanks Joel. I definitely will be checking out your AN EDUCATION review tonight, and I’ll be going through your blogs. Thanks for the fantastic comment you posted at PRODIGAL SONS. Much appreciated.
Hey Sam. Muchas gracias for the link.
I fell a tiny bit out of love with cinema at some point this week, having taken in well over 20 films during the Dublin Film Festival. Many films in note form to now try and turn into something worth reading! Plus, I think that a few days breather away from upholstered seats and large screens is all that I need to recover!
Fortunately, I am not too bothered about most of what is currently in cinema.
Will just mention one film from the festival for today. Every year, there is a tradition of the “surprise film” to end the festival with. Only the festival director (and that includes the projectionist!) knows what it will be. Yet, every year it quickly sells out the largest cinema theatre in Dublin once tickets go on sale!
This year, Noah Baumbach’s latest work “Greenberg” got the nod. Starring Ben Stiller, it is going to go down very well with anyone who liked his “The Squid and the Whale” from a few years ago. My brain is too mushed up to articulate clear thoughts on it just yet. However, I did enjoy what proved to be an unconventional tale of mid-life male crisis and romance.
Longman, I know I’m not the only person on this thread who would LOVE to know or read your assessment of Noah Baumbach’s GREENBERG! And I also know I’m not the only fan either of THE SQUID AND THE WHALE.
I don’t blame you for taking a break after that marathon. Your eyes need a rest, and you need to maintain your sanity!
I always love reading what you say about theatres in Dublin both for films and for theatre. Thanks as always for the much-valued contribution!
Sam, thanks for the mention.
Well, I watched quite a few movies since my comment at your last week’s Monday Morning Diary. Here’s what I saw:
Wednesday:
Claire Denis’ Trouble Every Day. My thoughts about it are ambiguous at best.
Friday:
Iron Man: easily one of the better superhero movies that I’ve watched.
Saturday:
1. A Bengali movie called Bhalo Theko (Take Care) – a very soothing movie, and some wonderful poetry.
2. A Hindi movie called Karthik Calling Karthik – a pretty good psychological thriller.
Sunday:
1. The smoothly paced German movie Nowhere from Africa.
2. Cache – the movie that is often ranked as Michael Haneke’s best work.
So you see, my movie watching experience was quite satisfying, and hopefully my Project 2000’s is now nearing its end. Planning to watch David Cronenberg’s Spider after posting this comment, and hopefully the much acclaimed French movie by Arnaud Desplechin Kings & Queen on Wednesday evening.
On the book front, I’m now in the last leg of the book In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Planning to write its review once I’m done.
Well Shubhajit, those are the recollections of a very busy man! And I do know you have reviewed the Denis film, and plan on taking a look. I just ranked Denis’s 35 SHOTS OF RUM among my best films of this past year, and several others are masterful: CHOCOLAT, VENDREDI SOIR, BEAU TRAVEIL. But Denis is not an easy director to appreciate in the beginning.
IRON MAN is certainly a well-regarded superhero movie; NOWHERE FROM AFRICA is fine enough and CACHE is indeed in my view Hanecke’s masterpiece.
I don’t know of BALO THEKO nor the Hindi movie KARTHIK CALLING KARTHIK, but I am always intrigued, and am often tempted in view of my friendship of Kaleem Hasan, who knows this cinema well. I’ll definitely write these down.
I love SPIDER, and consider the Despletchan film one of the ten best movies of the 00’s decade!!! I would love to read a review on it by you, as it’s a riveting and haunting film!
And you KNOW I’ll be there for the Capote review.
Thanks for the fantastic wrap!
Thanks Sam for your generous mentions.
I have been mostly reading about HUAC and Red Hollywood in the 30s and 40s , and watched these movies:
Michael Moores’ take on American capitalism in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis Capitalism: A Love Story (2009). For me as an Aussie I found it very informative. I had not heard of “dead peasant” insurance or the radical action taken by factory workers to get their entitlements from Citibank, nor of FDR’s actions in support of the workers who occupied the GM plant in the 30s, and his intention for an expanded bill of rights. This said, Moore failed to explain the causes of the GFC in plain terms. His street antics looked silly and were I fear counter-productive, giving easy ammunition to his detractors. He was very short on a solution, his closing answer of ‘democracy’ was basically empty.
Night Editor (1946) A sexually charged cult noir starring the queen of b-movies Janis Carter as a rotten rich dame who double-crosses her cop lover in a story exposing the lurid morals that sometimes accompany privilege. The dialog is heavy with sexual metaphors and one scene where Carter begs to see the bashed body of young woman is one of the most explicit portrayals of sexual psychosis in any noir. The atmosphere created by director Henry Levin and DPs Burnett Guffey & Philip Tannura is dark and claustrophobic. The only weakness is the framing of the story inside a wider newspaper at night theme (the movie was a pilot for a movie series which did not proceed).
Escape (UK 1948) A hidden gem of a thriller directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz starring Rex Harrison and Peggy Cummins. Moody noir photography on fog-laden moors at night, the use of flashback, and the dire consequences of a chance encounter give it a noir dimension. Harrison is great as a toff prison escapee and Peggy Cummins (Gun Crazy) is cute as a button as an upper-class girl who falls for Harrison a la The 39 Steps.
Ride the Pink Horse (1946) is classic noir. Screenwriters Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer, and Joan Harrison fashion a fascinating story from a pulp novel by Dorothy B. Hughes, and imbue it with a rare humanity. A disillusioned WW2 vet arrives in a New Mexico town to blackmail a war racketeer, but finds more than he bargained for. My review is here: http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/ride-the-pink-horse-1947-a-heart-full-of-soul.html. By chance after seeing the film I came across a fascinating essay by Alain Silver, who convincingly argues that Ride the Pink is not only a prototypical noir film but also as an embodiment of aspects of the aesthetics of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860)!
Voice in the Wind (1944) An obscure US film about the tragic fate of European refugees from WW2 stranded in Guadeloupe filmed on cheap sets on a studio back-lot and independently distributed. It is ‘some kind of movie’ – it looks and feels like a European expressionist silent with a dark pessimistic ending – fascinating!
Tony, I was thrilled to get that e mail about VOICE IN THE WIND, which is apparently one of your most notable finds, to rank up there with CHRIST IN CONCRETE in that sense. But this expressionist piece has eluded me (and I assume Allan) until your welcome announcement. I believe you did indicate however, that it wasn’t available on DVD or DVDR yet. I’ll be watching. Ditto for the ‘moody noir’ you introduce so compellingly with Mr. Harrison and Ms. Cummings, which is another the noir contingent here will want to check out. Alain Silver’s essay, where he contends that RIDE THE PINK HORSE embraces non-noir aesthetics (suggesting Schopenhauer no less!) must be quite the scholarly treatise, and the icing n the cake after your superlative review (which I’ve read).
The “dark and claustrophobic NIGHT EDITOR is another that noir fans will exult after.
And as we previously touched bases on Michael Moore’s documentary, I can say I am completely with you. Observationally it was reasonably successful, but Moore’s incessant penchant for grand standing diminished it ultimate worth.
As always, a masterful summation here!
Sam, thanks for the wonderful mention, and a perfect way to start another week, your “Monday Morning Diary”!
Again, I spent most of my week watching older movies I had never seen before. I have a little time on my hands right now so was able to see a few more than normal. These are: LITTLE CAESAR, Fritz Lang’s SPIES, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, CITY GIRL, THE HURT LOCKER (finally), ARMY OF SHADOWS, A NOUS LA LIBERTE, and THE LOVE PARADE. The one that particularly blew me away was Melville’s ARMY OF SHADOWS. It felt like an important piece to me to both THE GODFATHER (both the sound of Rota’s music and the way that Coppola uses it in the film) and THE FRENCH CONNECTION (and its use of the zoom).
Thanks, Sam, for another incredible wrap-up!
Hey Jeffrey! Thanks as always for the effervescent wrap, and I’m amazed at how you make use of your time what with the launching of PERIL on your filmmaking horizon. I’d love to know what you think of THE HURT LOCKER (which Joel has featured here today) and I couldn’t agree with you more on the Mellville masterpiece, and those two great works of cinema by Milestone and Clair. Your ongoing series is quite the motivational factor here too.
Thank you sir for the always appreciated wrap!
Sam, thanks so much for the words! I really enjoyed THE HURT LOCKER. Although it wouldn’t go down as a personal favorite, I had great admiration for much of it, particularly a couple of the action sequences (the long one after we meet Ralph Fiennes and the one with the human target). Also, I thoroughly enjoyed Joel’s review which I found both astute and provocative.
Thanks for continuing to make such a great contribution to my countdown and to the blogosphere, in general! We’re all lucky to have you.
And thanks so much for those final words Jeffrey! You are a prince!
Thanks too for expressing you feelings on THE HURT LOCKER, which are pretty much my own (as well as Joel’s) There had to be a reason that I resisted jumping on the bandwagon with all the critics, and in essence it’s a matter of “respect” rather than “love.” And then there is taste too, though I do have a track record of embracing the greatest so-called “war” films. But you are right, methinks.
Thanks again!
Sam, thanks again for the kind words…
Yesterday my wife and I saw The Last Station(****), with the two outstanding performances by Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren. Mirren is deserving of the Oscar but I would be surprised if Bullock does not win.
Not knowing much about Tolstoy’s life I found it interesting he was a vegetarian (which Iam too) and was amused by the almost “hippy commune” style living of his followers.
At home I watched a variety of films, some of which will be written about (White Dog and Notorious most likely).
The Last Station (Hoffman)****
The Uninvited (Irwin Allen)****
Stray Dog(Kurosawa)****1/2
Notorious (Hitchcock)*****
White Dog( Fuller)****
Bananas (Woody Allen) ***
The Lucky Ones (Burger)***1/2 (currently reviewed on my blog “Watching Shadows on the Wall”
The Sea Wolf (Curtiz) ***/2
Valkyrie (Singer)**1/2
I am also listening to Philip Norman’s biography of John Lennon.
John: You really do re-define stamina, enthusiasm and determination, and I must tip my cap to you for this week’s latest marathon. Allan must take a look at this!!!
Are you completely vegetarian John? No fish? Again, I must hand it to you, that’s not an easy proposition. One of the site regulars, my friend Jason Giampietro, is also this way, but I know he occasionally will eat some salmon and tuna.
As far as Mirren, yes she was extremely impressive, and of the five nominees this year, I would agree she’s the most deserving, though we both know she won’t win.
I would only give a bit more to the slapstick BANANAS of your ratings there, but that’s just for me a nostalgic fondness and a penchant to still -to this day- repeat some of the lines, like that uproarious scene at the airport where ‘Fielding Melish’ repeats every line of the ‘official interpretor.’ Great stuff.
But yes, Hitch’s NOTORIOUS is the only five-star masterwork of this still-impressive lot.
Thanks so much for this great re-cap!
Usual crap for me, watching old films, though delayed by havign a rotten stomach bug for much of last week.
Never mind, I RECEIVED THE NEW RESTORED 2½ HOUR METROPOLIS in the post today and will watch it tomorrow night. Happy days!
🙂 🙂 🙂
Who do I have to mug to get a copy of this?
Well you are certainly fortunate to get a crack at this restored version, and I do wait with baited breath for your reaction!!!
Thanks for the nod Sam. My viewing was all over the place this week, but the biggest surprise for me was a film that I’d never seen before called Moontide. It’s a 1942 Fox production starring Jean Gabin and Ida Lupino (!) with a villainous Thomas Mitchell telling Gabin not to drink so much (!) and a Daliesque montage sequence (!) that occurs when Gabin is drunk. And that does not even begin to describe how much of a bizarre mess this film is. In one scene Gabin and Lupino are married on a bait barge, and as soon as they are a rich doctor convinces Gabin to fix his boat instead of seeing his new wife. In the very next scene, Claude Rains tells Lupino, without explanation or justification, never to be modest around the house (?!). I have no idea what to do with this film, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.
LOL Donophon! I LOVE that description of the film and of your sighing response to it! Alas I have not seen this but will do some research on it immediately! And any film with Claude Rains always intrigues me. But Gabin, Lupino and Thomas Mitchell? Wow. I am not sure why I have not seen this, and I’m not even sure Allan has. Thanks for this very special re-cap, and again for your much-valued contribution to this thread.
I’ve been watching the shorts on You Tube, but for some reason I think this is a lackluster year in these categories. Last year was far better.
Boo on the USA loss, which all things considered was very disappointing.
Joe, I know it’s tough to take, but you have to look at the entire picture. Few thought they’d go that far.
Generally I agree with you Joe, but there were a few diamonds in the rough! As far as the USA hockey team, as I stated earlier, it was disappointing, but you have to give it to the Canadien team–they did it in the clutch and on paper they were the team to beat.
Thanks as always!
Thanks for the shout-out, Sam. As always, it is greatly appreciated. It was great to see our boys win the hockey final at the Olympics! It was a tough, well-fought game and I’m glad that it wasn’t decided in shoot-outs – a method I’ve never been fond of.
J.D.: As I stated to Terrill above, I entend my congratulations! Canada had a great tournament, which included som ebig blowouts over teams like Russia and the Czechs. The USA gave them a run, but it does seem fitting that the team with the most Gold Medals (Canada) won the men’s hockey finale. It was a great game.
Thanks as always for your support J.D.!
hey Sam,
Haven’t seen to much in the last couple of weeks, due to circumstances, but what I did see was…
and it was mainly due to me trying to clean up the clutter of video tapes and transforming it via a relatively new dvd player that records..
**** (as good as it gets)
Hollywood (1980)**** – Kevin Brownlow’s magnificent ode to the silent film world, showing that shown with care at the right speed, good prints, tinting (if appropriate) and a score (not one of those tinkingling pianos, nor organs) – that the silent film was a stunning achievement. 13 episodes and one of the supreme achievements
of television. Unfortunately, never released onto dvd, remour has it, due to copywright issues.
Yella (2007)* – A woman about to leave her hometown to get away from an abusive boyfriend, finds herself being taken to the station by her distraught ex, who veers the car over a bridge. Surviving, she makes her way to her new place of employment.
A German film with some nicely crafted segments, the crash is done with a lose of sound, until the the twacking thud of the impact with with the water, but essentially it’s an enlogated mystery with the pay-off of ‘An Occurance on Owl Creek Bridge’.
Capitalism: A Love Story****
Michael Moore’s latest assult on Capitalism, with jaw-dropping sequences of breath-taking facts illustrated with razor-sharp skill. The only bits that don’t really work are small segments where he does his customery agent provocator street stunts. The ‘dead peasants’ section, the charted screen graphics depicting Reagan’s effect on the classes, the Citigroup protests, the economic coup by the bankers, and FDR’s ‘Second Bill of Rights’ speech are as marvellous as any fiction film of the this decade. His proposition that democracy and the vote is the citizen’s last chance of social justice is worked out with the methodical precision of a general in battle.
Also saw ‘Heroes’ season 4. What a decline from the heights of it’s inaugral season. ‘Caprica’ is far more interesting, though essentially a piece of hokum.
But you still managed quite a bit here Bobby, especially the Brownlow marathon, which of course is justly celebrated. The DVD release I know was planned and cancelled several times, and one can only hope that it will eventually come to fruition. I quite agree it’s one of the ‘supreme achievements in television.’
I’m not really familiar with HEROES, but I am intrigued with YELLA (even though your rating here is marginal) as I am a fan of “An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge.”
Your assessment of CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY is much like Tony’s and my own, though my rating is lower than yours, as I think Moore’s arrogance mitigates some of his astute findings, and his attack on capitalism at its roots really is the height of hypocricy. Tony has also been expressing hid fascination with the ‘dead peasants’ section.
As always, thanks so much for your fecund contribution to this thread.
sam, I’m of the opposite opinion…in that he is attacking capitalisim and yet makes millions, and is still a socialist is commendable. Especially as he would, as a millionaire be paying a 90% tax rate. The opposite position would be for him to try to lose money by making lousy movies or to give it away. His success allows him the freedom to makes movies, otherwise, he’d be searching Europe with a begging bowl, like Welles.
I even understand his grandstanding, which is just an outcrop of his ‘Tv Nation’ series. It’s distracting, but provides light relief between the heavy dose of information, the yin to the yang, trying hit high, middle and low-brow tastes into activism. I wanted a molotov cocktail by the time I’d finished watching it!
A Matter of Loaf and Death IS Wallace and Gromit, not Wallace & Gromit like.
Indeed.
Sam, along with Cisco Pike I finally caught up with Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell, a film I find interesting in light of the director’s recent break with Sony over Spider-Man 4. I’ll elaborate on this elsewhere, but Raimi is clearly concerned with the respect owed to age. I also dipped into one of my Mill Creek boxes to examine a Florida-lensed, Civil War-set indie from 1955, Yellowneck, which is almost a bizarro-world version of The Red Badge of Courage. Less successfully, I tried to watch a Bengali rarity that turned up at the library: Mrinal Sen’s Calcutta 71. It’s an anthology film that opened with a harrowing episode of poverty as a poor family deals with a leaky roof. Unfortunately, the crap DVD stalled out on the second episode.
As always Samuel, a most eclectic lot there, and one I’m not all that familiar except for the Raimi, which you make an insightful contention on. I did like the film too, and thought it one of the past year’s two great horror entries (the other is THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL) and the old gypsy was the most unforgettable character. I see library DVDs are not always negotiable, sadly.
Yellowneck does sound most intriguing!
As always thanks for venturing to welcome, unchartered territory!
Hi! Sam Juliano, Allan, and WitD readers,
Hmm…Once again what an interesting round up of films (Animated shorts) to end your
week…with Prodigal Sons and a four star rating, Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts and Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts.
I will Cont…
First of all, Sam Juliano, thanks for the mention…as usual, but most importantly, these are the films that went through the DVDs “portal” and they are “Ride The Pink Horse,” “Side Street,” “Mystery Street,” “Cry Danger” and Lang’s “Secret Beyond the Door”..and I’am waiting to watch a never before seen film noir western?!? entitled “Secret at Convict Lake”…with film noir icons Ford, Tierney (Gene, not Lawrence…) and Zachary Scott…(and all the hard to find films screened at NoirCity Eight…)
( Sam, I mentioned last week that I did purchased two books…titled
Film Noir, Femmes Fatales and Crime Movie Vintage Posters From Day One. Book 1: Hollywood Studios Posters of the Silver Screen, Classic Period and The Gangsters Days. (Volume 1)
by Maximillien De Lafayette and Melinda Pomerol and Film Noir,
Femmes Fatales and Crime Movie Vintage Posters From Day One. Book 2: Hollywood Studios Posters of the Silver Screen, Classic Period and The Gangsters Days. (Volume 2)
by Maximillien De Lafayette and Melinda Pomerleau.
(
I’am not sure when Volume 3 and Volume 4 will be released but I will be keeping my “ear to the ground” once both volumes are released.)Oh! I’am not sure about that.. not after giving both Volume 1 and 2 the once over and…Volume 1 and 2 were kind of, a let down (Just stills (Some from the wrong films and posters images that may have been xerox…) for fans of Film noir my advice is to stick with author Eddie Muller’s The Posters and Graphics from the Classic Era of Film Noir: The Art of Noir…Because it’s much more informative and the posters are exquisite. (I’am not sure if the posters are from his (Muller) own private collection. 🙄 )
Arts…No comment…
Theatre, …No comment…
Music…No Comment
Food … Hmmm…a very light touch…as usual.
Sports… No Comment,…Oh! no, I didn’t even watch the Winter Olympics…
Politics…No Comment!
Sam Juliano, I guess that about wrap up my week in review for this week.
Cont…
The usual comprehensive wrap Dee Dee, and like John Greco, you are simply amazing with your tireless persuit of cinematic works and of genre volumes. I know Tony d’Ambra’s infectious promotion of RIDE THE PINK HORSE is quite the motivational factor here as well it should be, but the others you mention including Lang’s film, that ‘film noir western’ and SIDE STREET are especially stellar additions.
As far as this:
“Sam, I mentioned last week that I did purchased two books…titled
Film Noir, Femmes Fatales and Crime Movie Vintage Posters From Day One. Book 1: Hollywood Studios Posters of the Silver Screen, Classic Period and The Gangsters Days. (Volume 1)
by Maximillien De Lafayette and Melinda Pomerol and Film Noir,
Femmes Fatales and Crime Movie Vintage Posters From Day One. Book 2: Hollywood Studios Posters of the Silver Screen, Classic Period and The Gangsters Days. (Volume 2)
by Maximillien De Lafayette and Melinda Pomerleau.”
…..well this is the stuff that proves an exhaustive line of visual reference in this endlessly-fascinating genre, which you Tony, Dave and John greco has illuminated over the past years. As a collector, I always have supplemented my holdings with such treasures.
And yes, this was certainly a memorable weekend at the movies, since it was accomplished with difficult snow-covered roads as an obstacle.
Again, thanks for the terrific diary entry here, as always!
lol, Sam, “resident expert” on the Olympics is yet another title you too generously bestow on me! Well, all in all I thought this was a fairly impressive Olympics, certainly for the U.S. (most medals in Winter Olympics history for any country), but also for the Canadian hosts (most gold medals in a Winter Olympics for them) and the viewing public. NBC, despite its somewhat biased and limited coverage, somehow still turned out record ratings. And of course the games ended on a high note with yesterday’s game, thus almost single-handedly preventing this Olympics from being remembered for its gaffes and tragedies. About the only people justifiably disappointed today are the Russians, who had their worst-ever Olympics (medal count-wise) right when the attention turns to the 2014 games in Sochi. News reports today suggest their entire Olympic training program is being overhauled as a result of their embarrassing performance the last two weeks.
Anyway my personal favorites from the games were, as always, not the national achievements but the personal triumphs, such as Canada’s first ever home gold medalist (Alexandre Bilodeau) and of course the incredible achievement by the Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette. So all in all I thought it was a fine Winter Olympics.
Movie wise, of course, I’ve been almost completely out of it in the last month (aside from seeing Shutter Island and the Animated Shorts – thanks for the mention). Now I find myself under the gun this week with Oscar predictions, clueless on some categories (costume) and not having even seen some of the important nominees (The White Ribbon chief among them). Ah well, as I considered 2009 a disappointing year for film anyway, maybe it’s appropriate that I’m not as invested in its conclusion this week. On to the next…
Indeed Dan. I just read this morning that the Russian’s are angry with ‘fat cats’ running the program, and want to get a real athlete to oversee the next Olympics. That was a dismal showing for a once-commanding program. And I agree that the ratings were greatly bolstered by that final game, which most are now calling one of the greatest ever, but USA fans can certainly hold their heads high. Thanks for the great look into what made these games memorable. I only wish I could have watched it more than I did.
And here’s to a better year in film in 2010!
Thanks for the trrific submission here Dan!
Sam, part of me was actually happy Canada won the hockey game. Yes, as a dutiful American I was rooting for “our” team (what does that really mean when the best players on each team all play for the NHL anyway?), but hockey is Canada’s sport and the games were on their ice. I’m certain the victory for them meant more to the country as a whole than it would have for our own.
Personally I was glad to see the US perform so well in events we’re not usually great at.
Based on your recommendation, I made sure to catch up with Ajami this weekend and you were right. It’s easily my favorite of the 5 foreign language nominees this year… an unusually strong category this year I have to say. There isn’t a bad film in the bunch though I favor some more than others.
My main complaint with Ajami was the too-neatly resolved ending. I think a few frayed edges would’ve served the story better and felt less artificial.
Other than that, as I said over at LiC, I’m absolutely stunned that you liked Logorama. First of all, it’s a one-note idea dragged out for too long even by short film standards and second it just didn’t seem like something that would be your cup of tea. Your enthusiasm for it and others’ is making me rethink its Oscar chances. Loaf remains the safest bet, but I still think it might be too safe.
Craig: We were thinking alike here in a sense. I told my father after the game that hockey is just too vital to Canada, as it’s their national pastime, and a loss in such a critical game would devastate them far more than it would us, especially when you consider what Pierre astutely suggested-that the USA is lucky to have gone this far. And yes, the NFL is a conglomoration of players from Canada and the USA anyway. i can’t say I wasn’t a bit disappointed, in view of that equalizing goal with 24 seconds left, but when you put this in perspective you make a lot of sense.
Yes, as I stated at LIC I am a big fan of AJAMI, and am not at all surprised this is your favorite of the foreign-film shortlist. What you say about the tidy again though, is all too true!
It’s true that LOAF’s prohibitive status as the front-runner may backfire, especially since there are too many other categories that seemed locked. As far as LOGORAMA, I know I surprised you here, but as I stated at Dan’s site, I seem to be more accepting of this kind of thing with animation. I can almost dismiss this as the form being surrealistic, though that explanation isn’y really all that satisfactory. I still favor LOAF myself, but this was oddly one of my favorites of this lot.
Thanks as always for the superlative submission here!
Cont…
Hi! Allan, Troy and Sam Juliano…
Allan said,”Usual crap for me, watching old films, though delayed by havign a rotten stomach bug for much of last week.
Never mind…”
Allan, I’am glad to hear that you are on the “mend”…I wasn’t aware that you were under the weather.
Allan said,”I RECEIVED THE NEW RESTORED 2½ HOUR METROPOLIS in the post today and will watch it tomorrow night. Happy days!”
Now, that is “music”…to my ears, I must definitely, will be on the look out for it…because I have never watched Lang’s 1927(?) film Metropolis. (Thanks, for the heads-up!)
Sam Juliano said,”Troy Olson and his wife Trisha are nearing their trip-of-a-lifetime to China to claim their daughter Madelyn…”
Oh! yes, Sam, I’am following Troy, his wife Tricia and their beautiful daughter Madelyn’s progress as her progress is being posted too…on Troy’s blogsite.
Troy said,”I remember watching both of those at one point — pretty stinky stuff. I’m curious if you are writing anything about those, because as bad as they are, it is kind of interesting to compare/contrast them to the original (I think Hitchcock may have laughed at all of them).”
lol…Troy, without running the risk of being “disrespectful” to director Alfred Hitchcock…I’am quite sure that if he knew about these (as I clear my throat…)“sequels” he would probably be “spinning” in his grave!!!!
Sam Juliano said,”Dee Dee is cross posting the Oscar coverage at WitD over at her place, Darkness Into Light…”
Sam Juliano, right you are…what I’am doing is showcasing all the categories that “time” want allow me to post here on WitD…in order to transport all the categories over here to Wonders in the Dark on Oscar@ evening (March 08, 2010) in order for your readers to compare all of yours’ predictions of this year Oscar@ winners.
DeeDee 😉
Thanks again DeeDee, for following along with things on my other blog. It’s fun, carefree writing for me, so I enjoy it. We just got a brand new camera that does 1080p video, so I’m excited to give that a try and post some videos on the site.
As for Hitchcock — I always got the feeling that if he had seen the sequels to PSYCHO he would have made fun of them in his typically droll manner and moved on with things. I wasn’t around at the time when PSYCHO 2 came out, but I wonder what the hue and cry was around it? Anyone?
Troy, you’re mentioning this to Dee Dee made me realize that you have a lot going on apart from the movie blog, and Lucille and i just looked at the pictures of Madelyn (pre and post op) and that lovely assortment of pictures for the 1st birthday with Kevin and your entire family. I will definitely be commenting later tonight.
Here are some priceless pictures of Troy and Tricia’s daughter Medelyn and of that lovely 1st Birthday with Kevin and his wife and other family members:
http://olsonfamilymatters.blogspot.com/
Thanks Sam. Just quick FYI — those pre/post op picks aren’t our daughter, but are a friend’s daughter who had the same surgery (at the same hospital we will be going to). Pretty amazing what they are able to do…
So sorry about that Troy!!! OMG!!! i am really losing it.
As always Dee Dee, some lovely well-wishes and confirmations. Allan and I are both under the weather so to speak, and I continue to suffer from a mouth infection due to a root canal that this far has been resisted to two full rounds of antibiotics. The dentist has been unable to find the right solution, and perhaps after today’s draining of the culprit tooth and the assignment of a new anti-biotic, I can finally get some relief, as this infection has been here for over six weeks now. Some people are recommending “Levaquin” as a wide-spectrum antibiotic that might turn the trick. At least there has been no spread to this point, but it’s scary. Of course Allan has had his own share of problems too and it’s comforting to know he’s on the mend.
I hope to have that METROPOLIS version very soon, so you know what that means.
I received your Bad Girls of Film Noir DVDs yesterday and what can i say? I’m speechless.
Yes, troy’s Trip-of-a-Lifetime is imminent, and we can all celebrate in spirit with him!
Your Oscar presentations here are extremely popular and invaluable! Thanks you sweet lady!
The USA hockey loss was a bummer, especiallyafter that tying goal in regulation with only 24 seconds. And that wrist shot that beat the US goalie should have been stopped. But as others here have said, they had a great run, and few could argue with the silver.
Exactly my position too Peter! Thanks for stopping by as always.
From what I’ve heard, the US hockey team was lucky to be in the final. My sources had predicted Finland vs. Canada, with the letter winning the gold.
Sam, I’m grateful for the time you spent including all the above links. Thanks for making it easier for us to access all these sites.
In any case, with a monstrous blizzard crippling the northeast on Thursday into Friday . . . it’s been tough getting around. Still . . . I managed three trips to the theatres.
I bet they’d have to burn the house down — and the theater — to keep you away, Sam!
That is precisely right as per the impression I had Pierre! But people of course never look at it that way, always wanting to exceed expectations. But yes, the USA was not seen to have a change to gain the finals. So all in all, a great showing, and the Canadiens had a terrific run with some big blowouts. Thank You for the compliment on the links too. I’ll admit it is time-consuming, but so far I’ve been able to negotiate it. This week there are some great reviews out there.
LOL on your last comment Pierre!!!!!!!
You made my day!!!!!!!!
Always nice to hear about a new Wallace and Gromit. The others sound worth seeing also.
It’s been so long since I’ve been anywhere to watch a night of shorts.
Besides friends and family, guess I miss the action around the bay area. The most action out here is watching the corn grow.
Cheers!
Well, Michael, watching the corn grow allows for some meditation, and at least you can pace yourself a little better than if you were still out in San Francisco. The Wallace and Gromit is a gem, and I liked a few others too, but all in all a rather average lot. But this is the first time I ever saw shorts in this fashion at the theatres. I wanted to try it out once. Of course they are all on You Tube for you.
Thanks so much my friend!
Thanks as always for the linkage, Sam. Beyond getting ready for our big trip (which we didn’t find out about until Friday), I actually had some time to watch a few things…
My wife and I actually went to the theater for the first time since summer 2008 to watch SHUTTER ISLAND (****). While it wasn’t at all what either of us were expecting (thanks misleading marketing campaign!), I found it to be a good psychological drama and enjoyed the film noir/Hitchcock homages. I feel strange saying it was fun (seeing as Dauchau and drowned children are involved), but I actually enjoyed the unraveling of the story. Oh, and the two scared girls (“OMG, this is soooo scary”) who sat to my left reminded me of why I much rather watch movies in the home theater than in public.
At home, I watched two more 2009 films
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS ****1/2 (started at ****, but I had so much fun dissecting it that I had to give it another 1/2 star).
35 SHOTS OF RUM ****1/2
I’ve taken tons of notes and even got half-way through a post on all three of the aforementioned films. When time permits, I’ll post on all of them.
With the two ratings above, I came to the realization that I’m having trouble giving any 2009 films five stars — I’ve now hedged my bets and given ten films from the year ****1/2, but can’t seem to go all the way and call any of them masterpieces. It’s quite likely at least one of those ten IS a masterpiece and I’ll come to that realization later, it just didn’t feel that way while watching any of them.
My wife and I also continued our marathon TV viewing of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS and watched the third season over the course of the week (13 episodes). It made it mostly back to the quality of season 1, though there were still some minor issues and dead storylines. It was still fun watching and it setup what should be a fun season 4 (which we just started on). ***1/2
LOL on the two ‘scared girls’ Troy! But I can definitely see why, even with those harrowing sounds that permeated the soundtrach that contributed to the compelling mood of this film. A 4/5 rating of SHUTTER ISLAND is certainly fair enough as far as I’m concerned, and I think your enjoyment takes in its basic allure. I never read Lehane’s book, so for me everything was a surprise as I ignored spoilers beforehand. The harrowing Dachau flashback structure was one of the film’s best elements, and a number of atmospheric set pieces and island settings were used to excellent effect, methinks. I am a huge fan of 35 SHOTS OF RUM, (which I did go with the five-star rating on) but your own summary judgement is quite appropriate too. I must say that one review of yours I am eager to read for sure! My minority position on INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS is looking sillier by the day, but at some point I’ll give this yet another go and try and fathom conclusively what really bothered me about the film, and whether I can get around it. Still, I’d love to read what you pen.
It’s great that you and Trisha are deriving so much enjoyment from FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS. It seems like yesterday when I had my own series infatuations!
Thanks as always for the vigourous re-cap, and congratulations on your upcoming ‘big day.’
Sorry for checking in so late this week, Sam… was an incredibly busy day yesterday. Thanks for the link and the countdown is humming along nicely! We’re enter some spectacular noirs now, so things so get even more interesting.
The countdown has pretty much taken up my viewing time, so I don’t have much else to post this week. Although, I did re-watch the very good Eastwood western THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES. I know that some consider it superior to even Unforgiven, which I don’t agree with. But it is very good and was a good pickup for $5. I also was able to watch the Blu-Ray of Casablanca which looked great, although I’m not a huge “image quality” nut so it wasn’t exactly thrilling…. still always fun to watch a favorite classic again!
Yes Dave, your countdown has reached the point now where the interest will rise ten-fold, even though the first half has been terrific and delightfully personalized. Many of us can now venture to guess what the upper-wrong choices will be, and I’m prepared to make some predictions to myself. I am fairly certain I know what your #1 will be, but I’m mum. I’ll have to send you an e mail on it at some point.
Yeah, I wouldn’t think CASABLANCA would be improved much on blu-ray, but like you I always have an eye to upgrade. But I think with blu-ray collecting we need to be very selective. I also like THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES, but I’m with you that it doesn’t top UNFORGIVEN, which is one of two Eastwood masterpieces for me with LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA.
Great wrap Dave! Good Luck with the “second half” over at Goodfellas!
Sam Juliano said, “As always Dee Dee, some lovely well-wishes and confirmations. Allan and I are both under the weather so to speak, and I continue to suffer from a mouth infection due to a root canal that this far has been resisted to two full rounds of antibiotics. The dentist has been unable to find the right solution, and perhaps after today’s draining of the culprit tooth and the assignment of a new anti-biotic, I can finally get some relief, as this infection has been here for over six weeks now.
Some people are recommending “Levaquin” as a wide-spectrum antibiotic that might turn the trick. At least there has been no spread to this point, but it’s scary.”
Sam Juliano, I’am so sorry…to hear about your health problem. I most definitely, wasn’t aware of your health (dental) problem.
What can I do? …for you, other than “hope” that after your appointment with your dentist…that your infection “clear” up soon!
I most definitely, will keep you in my “thoughts” (always) and say a simple prayer for you…too!
Sam said,”Of course Allan has had his own share of problems too and it’s comforting to know he’s on the mend.”
Yes, troy’s Trip-of-a-Lifetime is imminent, and we can all celebrate in spirit with him!.”
Sam, most definitely, it’s comforting to know that Allan is on the mend and that we can all celebrate in “spirit” with very kind people like Troy, his wife Tricia and their families as they embark on a trip that will change not only their lives, but Madelyn life too.
Take care!
my friend,
DeeDee 😉
Sorry to be so late to this thread this week but I’ve been horrendously busy at work trying to get to grips with a new system. First off, sorry to hear that Sam and Allan have both been having health problems, and hope you both feel better very soon!
Many thanks to Sam for the kind mention – I’m still watching a lot of Wellman at the moment, plus other classic movies (just saw ‘In A Lonely Place’ the other day, which I loved), and have also just been catching up on series three of ‘Mad Men’, which is showing on TV here at the moment.
I’ve been absent from Monday Morning diary for a while so I just want to say three of the films I’ve seen recently (I can’t name all 20 or so).
I had a most interesting film connection last week by complete chance (I love when that happens). I rented the new Criterion ‘Hunger’ by Steve McQueen to check it out before I buy it (I had seen it once at the theater, once on bootleg as well), then from netflix–by pure chance– Kieslowski’s ‘No End’. These films cover so much similar ground I thought the film gods where shining down on me. Pretty cool. I had never seen ‘No End’ and loved it, actually a little more then ‘Hunger’, which I like more then most I think.
Now I think to continue this good luck, I am going to check out Henning Carlsen’s similarly titled, but different in nature ‘Hunger’ from 1966. I hear it’s fantastic, and it sound’s great too.
I caught ‘Shutter Island’ thought it was OK, but was pretty down walking home thinking about it… Scorsese with that much CGI? Bummed this Scorsese fan out.
_ _ _ _
I’ve been reading Rilke’s ‘Book of Hours’ and Trocchi’s ‘Cain’s Book’. I like both. The Rilke especially, as I’ve said before, to me he’s everything.
Personally I’ve starting work on my next screenplay, and a graphic design ‘group’ with two other friends, specializing in only highly individual creative work. Nothing corporate or for the bottom line, just stuff we agree with and can control. So far so good, taking very baby steps at this point.
Isn’t it strange how they’ve all drunk the CGI kool-aid? Every last one of ’em, it seems…
yeah, makes me appreciate the filmmakers with a strict no-CGI mantra even more (I’m looking at you PT Anderson and Jim Jarmusch).