Hmm... Not at all what I was predicting. But now I can't wait.
Hmm... Not at all what I was predicting. But now I can't wait.
I said earlier that the Spike Lee film was my most anticipated of 2008. Make it second.
That is one beautiful trailer.
I kind of wish I had tried harder to see it at TIFF now... Oh well, it's only about a month away right?
Last 11 things I really enjoyed:
Speed Racer (Wachowski/Wachowski, 2008)
Safe (Haynes, 1995)
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Parker, 1999)
Beastie Boys Story (Jonze, 2020)
Bad Trip (Sakurai, 2020)
What's Up Doc? (Bogdanovich, 1972)
Diva (Beineix, 1981)
Delicatessen (Caro/Jeunet, 1991)
The Hunger (Scott, 1983)
Pineapple Express (Green, 2008)
Chungking Express (Wong, 1994)
Hmm. I have no idea what to make of this now.
Holy fucking shit, what an abysmal movie. I'm not even talking underwhelming here. This was seriously an epic turd sandwich. Blech. Goddammit, Kaufman.
Movie Theater DiaryQuoting Donald Glover
Haha, you know what's funny? I just now watched the trailer and was amused that I guessed a bunch of the film's "trailer moments" right. That shot of PSH with all the notes on the table, of course, and the "It's been 17 years" line.
Movie Theater Diary
At this point, I guess the only thing really motivating me to see it is: who gets naked?
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Movie Theater Diary
Hmmm...I still think I'm seeing this one.
A classic.
Shame. Screenplay suggested there'd be more.
Rate his other films (writing credit)?
The Princess and the Pilot - B-
Playtime (rewatch) - A
The Hobbit - C-
The Comedy - D+
Kings of the Road - C+
The Odd Couple - B
Red Rock West - C-
The Hunger Games - D-
Prometheus - C
Tangled - C+
Same here.
Mmm...
Being John Malkovich - 8
Human Nature - 4
Adaptation - 8.5
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind - 8
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - 9
Synecdoche, New York - 3
Movie Theater Diary
Ehhh... well shit then.
The Princess and the Pilot - B-
Playtime (rewatch) - A
The Hobbit - C-
The Comedy - D+
Kings of the Road - C+
The Odd Couple - B
Red Rock West - C-
The Hunger Games - D-
Prometheus - C
Tangled - C+
Sometimes 8 has crazy moments.
6.5 seems to be my default score for any artistically ambitious film that doesn't quite overcome its very pronounced flaws. Kaufman's screenplay is simultaneously his most profoundly emotional and his most brattily undisciplined. Jokes fall flat every now and then. The film, and the deciding factor in my evaluation, is probably the least cinematically distinguished of the other 3 Kaufman-written films I've seen. The film feels really choppy, which was to be expected if this film was to be his most surreal and avant garde-like film to date (it is), but unlike that other "avant garde blockbuster" Inland Empire, Kaufman's directing is rather conventional and the choppy randomness and flat editing just emphasizes that.
It's a complexly self-reflexive film that I at least found fun in piecing it together. Performances are great, especially Samantha Morton. Make-up is superb.
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The Act of Killing (Oppenheimer 13) - A
Stranger by the Lake (Giraudie 12) - B
American Hustle (Russell 13) - C+
The Wolf of Wall Street (Scorsese 13) - C+
Passion (De Palma 12) - B
I think I may have confused JJL with Emily Watson. The movie's so convoluted and artistically bland that I had problems distinguishing who's who in most scenes.
Movie Theater Diary
Either way, I've already seen both of 'em naked.
For sho. Convoluted and a bit bland. For every sparkling moment (much of which is dependent on the actors) there is a garrish and routine one, and wait, I told myself sadly earlier she didn't but in fact she does, Michelle Williams also gets nude.
The Act of Killing (Oppenheimer 13) - A
Stranger by the Lake (Giraudie 12) - B
American Hustle (Russell 13) - C+
The Wolf of Wall Street (Scorsese 13) - C+
Passion (De Palma 12) - B
Yeah I'm going to see this.
[]
Almost. Open robe.
She was, btw, "I want to marry her" cute in this movie.
The Act of Killing (Oppenheimer 13) - A
Stranger by the Lake (Giraudie 12) - B
American Hustle (Russell 13) - C+
The Wolf of Wall Street (Scorsese 13) - C+
Passion (De Palma 12) - B
Just saw this yesterday at the Sitges film fest. Kaufman was there and briefly talked about how films are time machines and some other stuff. The movie is good - at least potientally. I did not see any flaws whatsoever in the script, the problem is that it's so hermetic, so closed within itself, that it requires much attention rapport from the viewer. Thing is, Kaufman is a writer and this mostly lacks the energy and visual composition than Jonze's and Gondry's films (specially the first - I wonder what he'd done with this material). This is mostly about a creative life marked by uncreativeness (yes, I wish to sound derridian) and an unhealthy obsession with oneself. It's not kafkian or beckettian or existentialist (adjectives I've encountered whilst reading about the flick) per se, it's main closeness is that to surrealism. It's an equivalent of reading a novel by Breton influenced by post-modernism (something a pretentious Calvino or even Vila-Matas might pen), a strange, angry world marked by a continuous stream of decadentism (and of course the usual Kaufman quirks). It works efficiently as an examination of literary/artistic "talent" gone insane - not to get into the whole "what is real/what is not" lynchian overtones which are much useless in this case, since it's not the point of Kaufman's discourse, he's over that; as a meandering of a tortured soul who keeps revisiting his own personas and spaces it doesn't hold up as well. But, I insist, a freudian interpretation doesn't get us anywhere, it's best to observe the film purely as a fragmented (but coherent) exercise on telling a sentimental journey; it does get a bit obnoxious near the end, with all its fancy meta-fictious play which doesn't invent anything, but the focus is never lost. And if you're able to get into that "ambiance" (I can't really find the right word) and keep logged in, it becomes a rather poignant - obscure, but inspiring - piece of film. Needless to say it is most complex and will require a second viewing (or third) but I've got a solid first impression - even if it's evidently less accomplished than Jonze's movies. That said, most females in this film rule, specially Samantha Morton.
Groovily enough, previous to watching the flick I stumbled into Lloyd Kaufman (who is being honored at the festival) and he pretended to be Charlie Kaufman. We talked for a bit and he autographed me a picture of him dressed as a woman. What a cool fucker.
Where have you been?
Being clubbed to death with baseball bats and then rising to my feet again. Or less figuratively speaking, living. Through a bizarre film-less period, ended by the festival.
Where have you been?
Does this mean we'll be seeing more of you?
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