Talk About Movies: Part 4
Somehow threads merged, so here's part 4 of our ongoing movie discussion.
Man On Wire is a masterpiece.
Still haven't seen Aftersun yet...I need to correct that.
I have not seen Man on Wire (and will correct that), but did enjoy The Walk though, especially as a flight movie at a good 10-12kms attitude 🙄
One of the only times the Academy and I were in total agreement...
speaking of Cage....Mandy tonight on the big screen at the Beverly in Vegas.
I'm planning a trip to NYC to see Stereophonic, but I also found out that MOMA is going to be screening Christian Marclay's The Clock.
I doubt I can sit through too many hours, but I'm looking forward to catching a few.
You have heard of this, haven't you?
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what's Stereophonic?
Hey, who has seen Jodorosky's Holy Mountain? It's one of those I've never seen, but it's playing at the Beverly this week...might have to go see that, too.
Speaking of Cage... his next roll in production right now... Spiderman noir.
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This just walked in the front door minutes ago... brand new Criterion 4k remaster.
Every time I hear "Under Pressure" and the "This is our last dance" refrain I think of Aftersun, a film that left me devastated.
A few years ago, I had a seizure while driving from New Hampshire to RI. I never made it out of NH. My daughter arrived and the nurse asked who she was. She just said, "I'm his daughter."
They are, in fact, my step-daughter and step-son, but we have been part of each other's lives since they were 5 and 3. When my wife died twenty years ago, they stuck with me and, I gu
I know that feeling, I have two kids from my first marriage, ive been in their life since they were 6 and 8, and they consider me their dad, so much so that when I got divorced they came and lived with me.
I call them my son and daughter, and they call me dad, no "step" BS.
Still that way 27 years later.
When my youngest passed my oldest son stepped up and basically handled most of the most difficult decisions for me because I was in no shape to do so.
My daughter helps me all the time still, but my son got married and he has moved away but still checks on me.
Thanks John, now I've got onions somewhere in the house, and I don't think I want to watch "Aftersun" anytime soon.
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Oh cool. Man, I haven't seen Broadway musical since Jersey Boy,, almost 20 years ago. Have fun!
Devil's Climb was a good watch if you like Free Solo, Dawn Wall type stuff.
Man on Wire. Single-minded guy does something which cannot be undone. It's okay. I didn't know he was out on that wire for 45 minutes, backwards and forwards eight times, lying down on it, teasing the cops on it.
Saw this years ago. It was great.
You need to do the Man on Wire / Man on Fire back-to-back watch.
Last night's Mandy screening was excellent. Pristine print, loud and clear sound...the small crowd cheering at the end. My 5th time watching it, 2nd on the big screen...just an immaculately made film with gorgeous cinematography, great performances, and amazing music.
Love a good revival house.
My favorite film from last year. Saw it twice in theaters.
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Perfect Days 2024
I finally was able to stream this lauded film. I had been reluctant to watch it since it was described about man who spent his time cleaning toilets and not much else. I’m not sure why marketers can’t find more exciting and accurate ways to promote a great film. Although Hirayama is shown doing that and brushing his teeth every day, there is a lot more to this film. The movie is similar to the storytelling style of the great director, Ozu. Like Ozu's films, it shows off the human experience in modern times using multigenerational social interactions. The cinematography also includes low level "tatami” (floor mat) shots and pillow shots that are marks of that great director. I think that the structure of the movie is based on the Japanese word komorebi, which refers to the way light and shadow filter through foliage, something that “only exists once, at that moment.” Komorebi effects are shown in the film using real trees and the spectacular Skytree of Tokyo. Like the occasional light sifting through tree foliage, we get to see many significant life moments that randomly light up in Hirayama's life and in other person’s otherwise mundane lives.
The protagonist, Hirayama is trying to live a life of solitude. He, like the movie itself, is a throwback. He prefers cassettes over digital stream, paper books over digital, and he prefers film cameras. We are not provided with his life history but it seems that he has estranged himself from his family to get peace. He lives for the moment. For Hirayama "now is now" and "next is next" . We experience 12 consecutive days in his life. Does he have some perfect days now? Lou reed’s great song “Perfect Day’ is in the film suggesting that he does. We also get to hear the “House of the Rising sun sung in English but also sung in a Japanese version with lyrics changed in a way to reveal some personal history. There are unusually played games of tic-tac-toe and shadow tag. There is a surprise kiss, an emotional hug, and a bicycle ride. We also see depictions of Hirayama’s dreams. Is that how our dreams look to us? After Hirayama experiences many interactions or observations involving persons of all ages and walks of life, the movie ends with a long take focusing on Hirayama. His inner emotional life is revealed. Grade A. Enjoy.
The Carpenters ITT
Spoiler
So, I talk about the Beverly theater in Vegas a lot because it's one great revival house, but there is something weird happening there tomorrow:
Back in 2006, I was involved with a movie called Ghosts Of Goldfield. It was a low budget horror movie shot in mid-Nevada, up near Tonopah, about 4 hours north of Vegas.
I was hired to rewrite the script but had to include three weeks of footage they had already shot before firing the director. they were basically rebooting. They hired a guy who had never directed before and had never even seen a horror movie in his life - to replace the fired director. So combine barely usable footage with a director who doesn't know what he's doing and you get - well, a disaster. No matter what I tried to do with a script that was already horrible before I attempted to make it better.
The movie is unwatchable, but because god has a sense of humor - it is the only produced film I have a writing credit on. But it sometimes aired on Cinemax and HBO and such.
Well, tomorrow, it is screening at the Beverly as part of a fund raiser - the producer of the film now runs a non-profit for at-risk women in Las Vegas, and they are calling the night the Most Horrible Horror Movie Ever - and the Beverly's Halloween schedule - and I've been invited lol.
Life is funny. I get to see a movie I wrote on the big screen for the first time, but I will no doubt disown the entire thing when I get asked about it lol.
So, I talk about the Beverly theater in Vegas a lot because it's one great revival house, but there is something weird happening there tomorrow:
Back in 2006, I was involved with a movie called Ghosts Of Goldfield. It was a low budget horror movie shot in mid-Nevada, up near Tonopah, about 4 hours north of Vegas.
there is a trailer!
Spoiler-free review of the trailer...I'd say it's Ghost Hunters meets The Shining
Spoiler
ok maybe a bit of an oversell but I'm just trying to help promote 😀
We can't see it in ourselves, even if we look in a mirror, but we can, if we care to, see it in others. The human face is a small miracle. We can, if we feel deeply enough, read all sorts of emotions, even contradictory emotions. I've seen it in others, fear and anger, resilience and vulnerability, desire and resignation.
James Agree writing about the final shot in City Lights says, " . . . it is enough to shrivel the heart." He's right, but not everyone can see what Agee sees in that final shot, that mixture of hope and despair. My students can't see it. They haven't lived long enough.
He also calls it "the greatest single piece of acting ever committed to celluloid."
And it's accomplished in close-up, no words, all the emotion communicated by Chaplin's face.
See the ending of Perfect Days. Nina Simone sings "Feeling Good" as we get a close-up of Hirayama smiling then about to cry then a kind of forlorn smile. How do we read this? We can even if we can't find the words to talk about it. Sorrow and relief? Happiness and sadness?
If Chaplin's performance with just his face alone may be the finest piece of acting ever, then Yakusho as Hirayama gives the second greatest performance on film. It's the miracle of the human face, and it's enough to shrivel the heart.
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We can't see it in ourselves, even if we look in a mirror, but we can, if we care to, see it in others. The human face is a small miracle. We can, if we feel deeply enough, read all sorts of emotions, even contradictory emotions. I've seen it in others, fear and anger, resilience and vulnerability, desire and resignation.
James Agree writing about the final shot in City Lights says, " . . . it is enough to shrivel the heart." He's right, but not everyone can see what Agee sees in that final shot
Yes, that final minute was bold choice to end Perfect Days and would be quite a challenge for any actor. Yakuso pulled it off.
I've been to Goldfield. Don't remember much, just that I passed through. Think I might've seen a trailer housing a brothel on the edge of town.
Of course, Dom, you'll get pointed out to the audience, perhaps asked to say a few words. Have fun stories at the ready. Mostly, have fun with it.
Starless is shear Magnificence... in years to come, people will be able to look back on that composition and the virtuoso nature of Bill Brufords performance, The Musicians Musician, with awe and disbelief.
It's funny, I just ordered the 50th anniversary Japanese release for RED... F*cking a half century old.
