Friday, October 16, 2015
Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach)
20 minutes of Frances Ha was very, very average. The whimsy was much too much for me, not humorous... The early-20s-city-friendship-bluntness did nothing for me. This felt just like the first few episodes of Girls, I think with even the same male actor playing exactly the same quirky-bluntness role. What horrible descriptors I am using, but it is difficult to track down exactly what this tone is that I find so cliche. I liked Greta Gerwig... the humility, the earnestness, the warmth. But this isn't for me.
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Jane Eyre
4/4
My second viewing of Jane Eyre elevates it into one of my undeniable classics. It is unlike anything else I have ever seen; I am deeply in love with the characters, the story, the acting. Wasikowska and Fassbender construct a pair of characters and performances that is in my eyes comparable in strength only to the pair of Blue is the Warmest Colour.
I am thankful that Jane Eyre is so unique, at least in my history, because in such a case it is easy to call it a favorite movie of mine. I am sure that with exposure to other films of this genre I would be underimpressed by the Fukunaga take on Bronte. Yet I am overly happy that I get to call this simple and powerful piece a part of me. It is my first of the genre, so it will always hold a certain place. I think that the direction and adaptation are good, and no more; however, the performances will stand forever in me, and what Charlotte Bronte put into her masterpiece can scarcely be topped in all of cinema. Mia Wasikowska is so graceful and strong with every subtlety, is flawless and is built for the part. Michael Fassbender puts everything into the face of Fairfax Rochester-- every conflict is clear in this actor's eyes. The two together, with the assistance of an, in my opinion, unbelievable Charlotte Bronte dialogue, create a presence of immense power. I care so much for these characters that even referring to the actors is a little painful.
Jane Eyre is simple and small. It is a period piece. Maybe it has low potential to make a statement or make a difference. But it shook me.
My second viewing of Jane Eyre elevates it into one of my undeniable classics. It is unlike anything else I have ever seen; I am deeply in love with the characters, the story, the acting. Wasikowska and Fassbender construct a pair of characters and performances that is in my eyes comparable in strength only to the pair of Blue is the Warmest Colour.
I am thankful that Jane Eyre is so unique, at least in my history, because in such a case it is easy to call it a favorite movie of mine. I am sure that with exposure to other films of this genre I would be underimpressed by the Fukunaga take on Bronte. Yet I am overly happy that I get to call this simple and powerful piece a part of me. It is my first of the genre, so it will always hold a certain place. I think that the direction and adaptation are good, and no more; however, the performances will stand forever in me, and what Charlotte Bronte put into her masterpiece can scarcely be topped in all of cinema. Mia Wasikowska is so graceful and strong with every subtlety, is flawless and is built for the part. Michael Fassbender puts everything into the face of Fairfax Rochester-- every conflict is clear in this actor's eyes. The two together, with the assistance of an, in my opinion, unbelievable Charlotte Bronte dialogue, create a presence of immense power. I care so much for these characters that even referring to the actors is a little painful.
Jane Eyre is simple and small. It is a period piece. Maybe it has low potential to make a statement or make a difference. But it shook me.
Two experiences in contemporary theater
Two experiences in contemporary theater and I am in love. I find some human truth that I don't find in movies. Maybe I'm just naive. Maybe it's just realer. Maybe it's just two performances...
Metamorphoses and Love and Information have been definitively two of my best experiences of the last year. Thick reward. Rich contact. Immersion, flow...
I read four lines of poetry today on a thin piece of paper pasted to an office door and I saw a choppy 60-minute peer-production of a theater piece --- and I feel more intellectually invigorated than I have in months.
I need art
None of these movies is art, none of this music is art, none of this thinking is art..
I read the last twenty pages of Jane Eyre today while waiting for a meeting. I felt like crying
Metamorphoses and Love and Information have been definitively two of my best experiences of the last year. Thick reward. Rich contact. Immersion, flow...
I read four lines of poetry today on a thin piece of paper pasted to an office door and I saw a choppy 60-minute peer-production of a theater piece --- and I feel more intellectually invigorated than I have in months.
I need art
None of these movies is art, none of this music is art, none of this thinking is art..
I read the last twenty pages of Jane Eyre today while waiting for a meeting. I felt like crying
Sunday, October 11, 2015
9/4/15
What is this pattern of Ishmaels and Ahabs, Nicks and Gatsbys? The quiet, removed, strong and steady character and then the fascinating, extravagant, volatile character?
Would you rather be an Ishmael or an Ahab? A Nick Carraway or a Gatsby? Are you a character of passive observance but steady mental strength, or a loud, extravagant, volatile character, falling rapidly in a blaze of glory?
What is this pattern of Ishmaels and Ahabs, Nicks and Gatsbys? The quiet, removed, strong and steady character and then the fascinating, extravagant, volatile character?
Would you rather be an Ishmael or an Ahab? A Nick Carraway or a Gatsby? Are you a character of passive observance but steady mental strength, or a loud, extravagant, volatile character, falling rapidly in a blaze of glory?
7/24/15
I have been perturbed lately by advancements of plot in films. Under the Skin, The 400 Blows, Hiroshima mon amour..... What happens is the film establishes a basis structure and tone for a while, and then the plot kicks in and what happened before is lost, and I am unable to connect the two disparate parts. Maybe it is well-known that if one takes too long to begin a progression of events, the viewer will lose interest. But I'll say that the bases for these films are my favorite parts, and I could endure entire films of just those. It is, in any case, so unfortunate to lose a grasp on the characters when the setting and tone completely shift, and I lament that it truly impedes on my appreciation of these films.
I have been perturbed lately by advancements of plot in films. Under the Skin, The 400 Blows, Hiroshima mon amour..... What happens is the film establishes a basis structure and tone for a while, and then the plot kicks in and what happened before is lost, and I am unable to connect the two disparate parts. Maybe it is well-known that if one takes too long to begin a progression of events, the viewer will lose interest. But I'll say that the bases for these films are my favorite parts, and I could endure entire films of just those. It is, in any case, so unfortunate to lose a grasp on the characters when the setting and tone completely shift, and I lament that it truly impedes on my appreciation of these films.
good kid, m.A.A.d city: 4/4
To Pimp a Butterfly: 4/4
Extremely diverse, skillful and technical in every way, creative torrents, wide-minded, infinitesimally centered, dark intimacy, God-like reach and touch, boundless, sweeping, easy play between themes, pure aesthetic, divine flow, depth, death, pain, horror, beauty, love, a summation of all things musical and human for this generation, an album for the ages, powerful, painful, shocking, shocking in pain, shocking in love...... All of these words describe a work 'lesser' than Kendrick Lamar's two major-label albums. Exponentiate all of these terms to n and you will find his devastating duet, which exists in a spectacular and simple 'more'.
To Pimp a Butterfly: 4/4
Extremely diverse, skillful and technical in every way, creative torrents, wide-minded, infinitesimally centered, dark intimacy, God-like reach and touch, boundless, sweeping, easy play between themes, pure aesthetic, divine flow, depth, death, pain, horror, beauty, love, a summation of all things musical and human for this generation, an album for the ages, powerful, painful, shocking, shocking in pain, shocking in love...... All of these words describe a work 'lesser' than Kendrick Lamar's two major-label albums. Exponentiate all of these terms to n and you will find his devastating duet, which exists in a spectacular and simple 'more'.
The Departed
This is a tough rating, and it is a bold move on my part to talk about this movie on this site. Yet I have just come to believe that the essence of this blog lies not in the essence of the movies to which it applies itself, but rather in the essence of the experience of the movies (my essence during the viewing and reflection). Hence, Man of Steel could show up on this blog someday, despite being a film I would have previously thought of as built for Blog 1. It's all about what I make of the movie...
Having now justified the very existence of this post for myself, I make the claim that The Departed is a great film. In my opinion, it is almost flawlessly-acted (I would only call it "spectacular" or something with respect to its genre confines--- it is flawless, or very nearly), brilliantly-written (genre-independent), directed with master-prowess, etc etc. Every time I see this movie I find new things in the viney plot and am blown away by the creativity of the premise, and its equally creative consequences, not to mention the micro-script at almost every moment, which I love deeply in the scope of the film world. Phenomenal dialogue, premise, acting and direction drive this wild beast of a film. It is one of my favorites.
I understand that The Departed has low ambition with respect to the transcendentalism of most of the films I'm into nowadays, and that the fact that 90% of my Departed viewings (there have been many) have been in Eau Claire is meaningful to consider in terms of bias-evaluation. This is why I have not given it a rating on this site-- it doesn't stand next to the other films here. However, my subjectivity is extremely pleased with this film, for whatever reason. Again, I am willing to call it one of my favorites.
I want to note that I called the acting "almost flawless" because I intensely respect the performances of Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, even Martin Sheen to a degree, but I don't like Vera Farmiga's performance very well. There is both acting-ingenuinity and accent inconsistency, which is disappointing given that this is a Scorsese movie, and an excellent one. Nevertheless, I am extremely impressed by the performances of all the males.
More impressive is the writing by William Monahan, who I don't think has ever done anything else noteworthy. This is beyond belief for me, as the screenplay for this film is sensational in my eyes-- honestly, one of the best I have ever seen.
Anyways, good film.
Having now justified the very existence of this post for myself, I make the claim that The Departed is a great film. In my opinion, it is almost flawlessly-acted (I would only call it "spectacular" or something with respect to its genre confines--- it is flawless, or very nearly), brilliantly-written (genre-independent), directed with master-prowess, etc etc. Every time I see this movie I find new things in the viney plot and am blown away by the creativity of the premise, and its equally creative consequences, not to mention the micro-script at almost every moment, which I love deeply in the scope of the film world. Phenomenal dialogue, premise, acting and direction drive this wild beast of a film. It is one of my favorites.
I understand that The Departed has low ambition with respect to the transcendentalism of most of the films I'm into nowadays, and that the fact that 90% of my Departed viewings (there have been many) have been in Eau Claire is meaningful to consider in terms of bias-evaluation. This is why I have not given it a rating on this site-- it doesn't stand next to the other films here. However, my subjectivity is extremely pleased with this film, for whatever reason. Again, I am willing to call it one of my favorites.
I want to note that I called the acting "almost flawless" because I intensely respect the performances of Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, even Martin Sheen to a degree, but I don't like Vera Farmiga's performance very well. There is both acting-ingenuinity and accent inconsistency, which is disappointing given that this is a Scorsese movie, and an excellent one. Nevertheless, I am extremely impressed by the performances of all the males.
More impressive is the writing by William Monahan, who I don't think has ever done anything else noteworthy. This is beyond belief for me, as the screenplay for this film is sensational in my eyes-- honestly, one of the best I have ever seen.
Anyways, good film.
Saturday, October 10, 2015
An approach to film..
There's this concept in the art of movie-watching I think of as "putting yourself in the shoes". If you're watching Psycho and you put yourself in the shoes of the 1950's moviegoer, or the Hitchcock shoes, or the shoes of any character, you have the capacity to be scared. If you're watching Pacific Rim and you put yourself in the shoes of a consciousless being sitting before a screen with a vat of chemicals for a brain, you have the capacity to be entertained, and more meaningfully, fulfilled. Mad Max is a better example, or I like Man of Steel here. By putting yourself in the shoes, you virtually grow in your capacity to be fulfilled and to experience. I consider this a noble endeavor.
Coming to understand this concept was essential to my recent dive into Bergman-- had I not been able to inhabit the personhood or subjectivity of a 1960's intellectual, or one of the characters, or Bergman himself, I would not have been able to appreciate Bergman for what he is. And again, I am calling this a meaningful and respectable pursuit, rather than a critical "stepping down". To be able to put oneself in the shoes to appreciate a foreign art is a valuable capability, and does not involve sacrificing one's critical eye. It is not blissful ignorance, even. My experience of Man of Steel was not blissful ignorance, I firmly disbelieve, because I came out of that movie fulfilled, and I am extremely in-touch with the fact that ignorance tears my soul apart, every time. Thus it was not ignorance, and was rather a new approach to entertainment that allowed my soul to wholesomely accept a new kind of art.
Man of Steel fulfilled me, Pacific Rim fulfilled me, I know Mad Max would fulfill me, all of Bergman fulfilled me, all three-and-a-half hours of Seven Samurai fulfilled me..... this is a unique and valuable skill I have developed, and I am grateful for it.
Coming to understand this concept was essential to my recent dive into Bergman-- had I not been able to inhabit the personhood or subjectivity of a 1960's intellectual, or one of the characters, or Bergman himself, I would not have been able to appreciate Bergman for what he is. And again, I am calling this a meaningful and respectable pursuit, rather than a critical "stepping down". To be able to put oneself in the shoes to appreciate a foreign art is a valuable capability, and does not involve sacrificing one's critical eye. It is not blissful ignorance, even. My experience of Man of Steel was not blissful ignorance, I firmly disbelieve, because I came out of that movie fulfilled, and I am extremely in-touch with the fact that ignorance tears my soul apart, every time. Thus it was not ignorance, and was rather a new approach to entertainment that allowed my soul to wholesomely accept a new kind of art.
Man of Steel fulfilled me, Pacific Rim fulfilled me, I know Mad Max would fulfill me, all of Bergman fulfilled me, all three-and-a-half hours of Seven Samurai fulfilled me..... this is a unique and valuable skill I have developed, and I am grateful for it.
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