28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

Mekas: Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania

watched it last week! I am in a Mekas kick right now, funneling through that awesome boxset a french company put out with many of his films and shorts.

[Izzy Black]

Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania is obviously Mekas' most famous film, so I suppose one of his other lesser known works would've been an option, but I still think it's a bit obscure to the extent that's often a film avant-garde inclined cinephilies might know about, but not a lot have seen, or at least, not a lot of people seem to really talk about it or write about it. Like you're much more likely to find a theoretical analysis of a classic Snow, Brakhage, Viola, or Tscherkassky film than a Mekas, I feel. I could be wrong about that, though. This is all purely anecdotal.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania is obviously Mekas' most famous film, so I suppose one of his other lesser known works would've been an option, but I still think it's a bit obscure to the extent that's often a film avant-garde inclined cinephilies might know about, but not a lot have seen, or at least, not a lot of people seem to really talk about it or write about it. Like you're much more likely to find a theoretical analysis of a classic Snow, Brakhage, Viola, or Tscherkassky film than a Mekas, I feel. I could be wrong about that, though. This is all purely anecdotal.

Bill Viola's early video work sucks (save for Reflecting Pool). Thats my theoretical analysis. His more recent installations, like Five Angels of the Millenium or all that triply slow-mo water stuff, are the only exciting stuff of his. Even the videos he made that are longer (Hatsu-yume, I Do Not Know What I am Like, etc.) aren't really that amazing, at least not enough to warrant a standing as one of the most visible names in video art or the avant garde.

[Izzy Black]

:/

[Raiders]

Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania is obviously Mekas' most famous film, so I suppose one of his other lesser known works would've been an option, but I still think it's a bit obscure to the extent that's often a film avant-garde inclined cinephilies might know about, but not a lot have seen, or at least, not a lot of people seem to really talk about it or write about it. Like you're much more likely to find a theoretical analysis of a classic Snow, Brakhage, Viola, or Tscherkassky film than a Mekas, I feel. I could be wrong about that, though. This is all purely anecdotal.

Well, other than As I Was Moving Ahead... (which I feel like has more recently become his most known and discussed film), it is the only one I have seen and is among my favorite films, as well as having a whopping 180 votes on imdb, so that's really the extent of my reason for naming it.

[Izzy Black]

Right, I was just saying I think it's still relatively obscure in terms of who has seen it and how much it's talked about, even given that it's one of his more well-known works.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

The 3 star viewing funk continues: Ron Mann's Twist (Ron Mann probably being the most average documentarist, always delivering a 3 star film every time out), Patrick Keiler's Robinson in Ruins which was way too dense in its social commentary of Britain to be accessible to non-Brits (at least on the first viewing) and way too sleepy in its narration given by Vanessa Redgrave. Her narraration was about as tone deaf as Shelly Duvalle's english narration for Un Homme Qui Dort. Also, Michael Powell's Thief of Baghdad was a 3 star effort.

Watching Stephen Frears' Bloody Kids now, there is much hope it will attain a rating above total mediocrity.

[Rowland]

As B-Side says, (nostalgia) is the best of the three (I think they form a triptych).

You should watch Lemon if you're after a sensual experience from avant-garde cinema. It's beauteous.

Lemon was alright, the silhouette shot towards the end redeemed it for me. As you and B-Side both correctly advised me however, (nostalgia) was brilliant, much better than I was prepared for after Critical Mass. After that pleasant surprise, I was excited to give more of Hampton's work a look, of which Maxwell's Demon and Surface Tension left me shrugging my shoulders, whereas the lesser known Gloria! is very good.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

just watched Destricted hmmmmm.....

The Marco Brambilla segment was pretty awesome, as was the Richard Prince one. The Gaspar Noe segment was egregious psycho-macho bullshit. Nice touch with [

Show Spoiler

the subtle crying baby sound effect mixed in the nausea-inducing sound design during the doll-sex scenes

], you are a provocative auteur Mr. Noe. The Larry Clark segment was good. The rest I was pretty indifferent to. 4/5

[Raiders]

Watching Stephen Frears' Bloody Kids now, there is much hope it will attain a rating above total mediocrity.

What the fuck has happened to Frears? I loved The Queen, but man has he been in a funk since. His most recent, Lay the Favorite, which basically went DTV, looks dreadful.

[EyesWideOpen]

What the fuck has happened to Frears? I loved The Queen, but man has he been in a funk since. His most recent, Lay the Favorite, which basically went DTV, looks dreadful.

If you have a movie starring Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta Jones, Rebecca Hall, Joshua Jackson & Vince Vaughn and you can't even get a theater release the movie must be especially awful.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

What the fuck has happened to Frears? I loved The Queen, but man has he been in a funk since. His most recent, Lay the Favorite, which basically went DTV, looks dreadful.

I dunno. Never been the hugest fan of his work. He has made a number of competent films but really has no crown jewel in his filmography. The Snapper, Bloody Kids, High Fidelity, The Hit are all good. The Queen and Dirty Pretty Things not that great. Thats all I have seen.

[Winston*]

I recommend My Beautiful Laundrette and Prick Up Your Ears.

[Izzy Black]

Rebecca Hall is terrific in Lay the Favorite.

[Russ]

I recommend My Beautiful Laundrette and Prick Up Your Ears.

Seconded. Those are two great films.

[Raiders]

Dangerous Liaisons is pretty stellar as well, and I love the style of The Grifters.. I also quite like Sammy and Rosie Get Laid. Frears in the 80's was top-notch.

[Winston*]

Was off work sick today so I watched The Ides of March. Looking at Gosling and Clooney's sharp grooming I realised I needed a haircut. So I went and got one. Probably the most important thing I got out of the film, along with the startling revelation of the presence of unscrupulousness in American political campaigning.

Also, I saw Beau Travail the other night at the cinema. I watched this years ago as part of a film swap with Boner. I didn't get it then, and I am glad that my review has been lost to the sands of time. A hypnotic take on isolation: through personal insecurity; geographically; culturally. Interesting to view after seeing White Material, which extrapolates on this film's postcolonial themes. Holy Motors might be the best showcase for Denis Lavant's virtuosity, but this has got to be the best employment of his unique appearance.

Going to further theatrical screenings of Trouble Every Day, which I've seen before, and 35 Shots of Rum, which I haven't seen, over the next month or so, interspersed with a couple of Leos Carax films and Badlands. Fun.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

Also, I saw Beau Travail the other night at the cinema. I watched this years ago as part of a film swap with Boner. I didn't get it then, and I am glad that my review has been lost to the sands of time. A hypnotic take on isolation: through personal insecurity; geographically; culturally.

When I initially saw it I had the same confusion. A month or so after seeing it I recognized its utter brilliance. I cherish those types of films because they only come about so often.

[dreamdead]

Influenced wholly by Karina Longworth's Grantland piece on the film, this weekend we'll be revisiting Super Mario Bros. I like to believe it'll be crazy weird and fascinating, but memories from 11-year-old dd suggest that the film will simply be the suck again.

[Qrazy]

When I initially saw it I had the same confusion. A month or so after seeing it I recognized its utter brilliance. I cherish those types of films because they only come about so often.

I saw it and still feel it's quite average.

[B-side]

Qrazy's no stranger to being wrong.

It bored me when I watched it, which is surprising given a lot of the films I cherish. I owe it a rewatch.

[baby doll]

Influenced wholly by Karina Longworth's Grantland piece on the film, this weekend we'll be revisiting Super Mario Bros. I like to believe it'll be crazy weird and fascinating, but 11-year dd suggests that the film will simply be the suck again.

Thanks for the link.

The major take away for me after reading that whole thing is that you can still get an NES system that works. How the fuck is that possible? Even in 1993, I had blow into the cartridge till my face was blue before I could get it to work.

Incidentally, I love this paragraph:

Mario and Luigi themselves — probably due to the limitations of technology, but maybe also in keeping with deeply ingrained Japanese cultural attitudes — proceed through every adventure and ordeal with a blank smile on their faces. (This is never more frustrating than when you've reached an advanced level and you make some misstep that returns supersize, fireball-enabled Mario to his natural state as a functionally useless but imperturbably spunky runt; if this game sends a tangible message to kids, it's that a cheerful disposition is worth fuck-all if you're small.)

[Qrazy]

Qrazy's no stranger to being wrong.

It bored me when I watched it, which is surprising given a lot of the films I cherish. I owe it a rewatch.

So you agree with me but I'm somehow wrong? You = Herpaderp.

[B-side]

So you agree with me but I'm somehow wrong? You = Herpaderp.

Just teasing, of course.

[Qrazy]

Just teasing, of course.

I bet the government put you up to it.