19 May
As a child who grew up in the early 90’s, Jurassic Park has been one of my favorite films. The movie has its flaws, but every time that I watch it I am always taken back to the mindset of my childhood self. I see the images and hear John Williams’ score, and my imagination instantly reverts to that of an 8-year-old discovering the wonder of a world where dinosaurs exist.
7 Feb
Barney’s Version, based on a book I haven’t read, isn’t a very good movie. It’s a kind of legitimization of self-hatred and an apotheosis of The Curmudgeon As Suitable Suitor. The mid-movie revelation of the main character’s looming Alzheimers and the last minute litany of good things bestowed upon mankind by him all seem tacked on to make sure we get the point, which is this: there’s nobody in the world so ensnared by their loathing of themselves and others that they can’t be redeemed by a swelling orchestral cloud over their backlit headstone.
28 Jan
Mike Leigh’s new film, Another Year, is nominally a reflection on the ways in which we cultivate the relationships around us, but more so it’s a dissection of the prickly dynamic between the emotionally strong and weak. Fortunately the film overcomes the prosaic symbolism of a garden, managed over the span of a year, by burrowing into the disparity between those who wish to give others help and those who clearly cannot be helped until they first help themselves. It’s a set up of character conflict that promises drama, but Leigh doesn’t seem as interested in anything as fabricated as drama, in the sense of any “movie” drama we’re trained to expect. Instead, the four pieces of his story – each corresponding to a season of the year – demonstrate the filmmaker’s gift for recording simple life moments, some triumphant, some humiliating, all of it true and awkward and real.
2 Jan
Hey, everybody. As seems to be my tradition, I am going to list a few movies that are now officially ten years old.
LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE
MEMENTO
DONNIE DARKO
THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS
OCEAN’S ELEVEN
IN THE BEDROOM
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
BLACK HAWK DOWN
MULHOLLAND DR.
MOULIN ROUGE
GOSFORD PARK
TRAINING DAY
MONSTER’S BALL
SHREK
MONSTERS, INC.
GHOST WORLD
SEXY BEAST
ZOOLANDER
If you’re like me, you tend to define your life by the movies that you saw, using them as a sort of signpost for a specific moment. I saw many of these films my first year living away from home, in Chicago. To think that these films are now ten years old really reminds me of just how far into adulthood I really am. High school is way behind me and college is starting to fade into the distance. It’s strange to think back on how different my life was back then. I had not yet lost anybody very close to me, nor had I met my now-wife. These movies represent, to me, a much more innocent time in my life, in which the future lay bright and shining before me. To me, the most important thing in the world was seeing as many movies as I could and trying to crank out some good work in school. As much as I still love movies, it is fascinating to see just how much my priorities have changed. It occurs to me that this may sound slightly mournful, but, I assure you, it’s not. Despite some major setbacks in my life, I’d venture to say that I’m the most content I’ve ever been. Maybe in another ten years, even more so.
Happy New Year, everybody.
13 Dec
16 Nov
THE ENGLISH PATIENT (1996)
Written and Directed by: Anthony Minghella
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe
If you’re like me, the first thing you remember when you think of The English Patient is an episode of “Seinfeld.” In it, Elaine is forced to see the film several times, consistently hating it. Everyone around her seems dead-set on proving to her that it’s a great film until she finally explodes in the theater and yells at the screen, “Quit telling your stupid story about the stupid desert, and just die already! DIE!” Is that an overreaction? Two hours into the movie, watching it for a second time, my answer is no.
14 Oct
Watched The Last Temptation of Christ for the first time recently. Made a murky impression on me. Thought it might be good to work that out. Not a lot of answers here, just some questions and observations. If you have any thoughts, find me. It’s an important movie. For those who believe, it challenges who we think Christ was in terms of his humanness rather than in the typical terms of his divinity. For those who think it’s all hokum to start with, it at least stretches out the plastic idea of Jesus the doe-eyed peacenik.
13 Sep
Friend-of-the-show Jacob Kindberg’s film Channel News is now available for purchase. I highly recommend the film. To read more about it, click here.
To purchase Channel News, click below.
10 Aug
SCOTT PILGRIM vs. THE WORLD (2010)
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Written by: Edgar Wright & Michael Bacall
Starring: Michael Cera, May Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Jason Schwartzmann
This weekend, a wild fantasy film born of underground rock and Super Mario Brothers hits the scene. It’s quirky, it’s funny, and it knocks your socks off at ninety miles per hour. It is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and it is here to make you think about death and get sad and stuff.
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