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Spring Season: Weeks 31/32
Saturday night was really weirdly beautiful, cold and rainy, but in a way that we don't normally get, where everything turns all black and shiny and reflective. I think it doesn't usually rain enough late enough in the year for us to get much of that combination, by the time it's dark enough at night to still be out and about in it, the rain generally turns to snow. It was nice.
SO NATURALLY I WOKE UP TO A WINTER FUCKING WONDERLAND ON SUNDAY. It's still not actually that cold, but the snow will NOT let up, just fat sticky globs of it falling all damn day, and NOW I'm really starting to feel the total loss of 2020 as a year, with all the movies I care about officially fucked off to next spring at the earliest (or going straight to Disney+, DISAPPOINTING) and this pandemic bullshit now officially spanning from one winter to the next. I'm TIRED. The lack of sleep probably doesn't help!
New restaurant at work! The old one shut down when the lockdowns started, and we all assumed they were coming back at some point, but I guess not. I want to check out the new place, but I also don't, because I've been saving so much money with my sad little noodle lunches. Also COVID. Dilemma!
I bought new pants! This probably doesn't sound like a big deal, but aside from stupid t-shirts from the internet, I go out and buy new clothes so rarely because I hate it, and buy actual NEW clothes even MORE rarely, and for ages now, pretty much all of my go-to jeans have been tearing right across the inner thighs, and it's been real bad. So I bought a bunch of jeans! They are brand new and they were on sale and they fit me good and I feel good when I wear them! Hooray!
Our 'rona numbers FINALLY dropped back down under thirty active cases, after being stuck above forty ever since fucking Labour Day weekend, so that's good! Waiting to see how things look after Thanksgiving though, eek.
Speaking of, Thanksgiving was fine! The day off work was VERY welcome, and even though it's Tuesday and I'm back for one last day, having holiday Mondays off breaks up the work week REALLY nicely, since the weekends are already pretty light on stuff to do? Much better than just getting an 8-day week off instead, since that wouldn't really feel THAT different, chopping up the seven-on gives way more bang for your buck. I'M RAMBLING. MY EYES HURT. MOVIE TIME.
8th Continent (2017): Not as clever as it thinks it is. Evocative and sad at first, but too lengthy and lingering. Something to meditate on, I guess? But you could easily cut this down to one minute, slap some somber text explaining what's happening on it, and it would be indistinguishable from a well-done television PSA about the refugee crisis.
And When I Die, I Won't Stay Dead (2015): I think movies like this are the closest I'll ever come to being a person who cares about poetry, and I'm grateful to them for that.
The Argument (2011): THIS IS SO STRESSFUL, WHAT KIND OF HORRIBLE FUCKING MOTHER, HONESTLY
Belinda (2017): Christ, real lives are depressing.
Brazil (1985): Even though 12 Monkeys is my forever fav, this is pretty undeniably Gilliam's masterpiece, why even try to fight it? Listen, kid, we're all in it together.
Brothers (2014): Turns out I have a much higher Eggers tolerance in bite-size form! Short and sharp, very nice.
Passe ton bac d'abord (1978): Good to know that the constant shitting all over women starts young in Pialat's world. Fuck this movie.
Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (1978): A silly little cartoon of a movie. Heavy on goofy comedy, light on actual kung fu action. Contains both Jesus Christ: Superstar and Popeye homages. Fun!
Hang Loose (2015): A total toxic scrub, but make him vaguely endearing? Interesting little snippet out of a larger story.
Hellraiser (1987): No tears, please. It's a waste of good suffering.
Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore (2010): A nice little endcap to watching all of those gross ass movies last month~
The Hours (2002): Whaaaat am I missing here? This was the most nakedly 'plz give us awards' bullshit I've ever seen, my god.
I Remember Nothing (2015): This is either an insightful glimpse into an experience I've never had, or pretentious nonsense, and I don't know if I can ever truly know which! People with epilepsy, help me out!
In Absentia (2000) I think I just prefer knowing what I'm looking at. And why I'm looking at it. Still, there are few things as viscerally upsetting than a pencil lead breaking.
The Killers (1946): Convoluted but nicely laid out, a puzzle where all the pieces are neatly delivered and placed one at a time. Lancaster destroys all of the scenery, the thing is gorgeous throughout, the music is fantastic, all around a good time.
Lamb (2015): Just a boy and his baa, SO sweet and lovely, and those samosas looked damn tasty.
The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972): HOW THE FUCK DID THIS WEIRD ASS HORROR-BY-WAY-OF-HILLBILLY-ASMR-DOCUMENTARY MAKE 25 MILLION DOLLARS?????
Little Fugitive (1953): Charming in places (LET ME LOVE YOU, KIND PONY RIDE GUY), but my tolerance for kids just bein' kids is... low.
London (2005): This movie made me want to do so much cocaine, oh my god. Preferably in a giant bathroom off of a Van Gogh, but hey, I'm not picky.
Lost in America (1985): So Albert Brooks has been saying 'OK BOOMER' for forty damn years, huh?? Way to fuckin' nail it, my dude. My kingdom for one of these movies to end with the rich assholes NOT just getting to be rich again at the end, though.
Loulou (1980): It took me like half an hour to realize Gerard Depardieu was the title character, not Isabelle Huppert, which doesn't say GREAT things about how well this held my attention. Whatever, everyone in it fucking sucks, but the smash cut to depressed saxophone playing was pretty funny.
Mad Max (1979): This movie's just got such 'we get ONE TAKE' energy that makes the stunts feel so excellently fraught, even if they're relatively low-key compared to where the series ended up going, you know?
Mifune: The Last Samurai (2015): Shallow but enjoyable. You're not gonna learn much, but the reminiscences are nice, and Keanu's narration is very soothing.
La gueule ouverte (1974): Eeeeenh. The last twenty minutes or so were real solid, I just can't bring myself to care about Pialat's brand of skeezy manpain.
Mynarski Death Plummet (2014): As soon as this started, I thought that it reminded me of The Tesla World Light. About a minute later, I remembered who the fuck Mynarski was, and realized that this was almost certainly an NFB jam, in which case it was absolutely gonna be by the same guy who made the Tesla one, and YUP, I was correct! Dude's got a real specific style, I guess. Anyway, this was beautiful, and I rewatched it the second it was over.
A Night at the Garden (2017): Bleak shit! Nothing ever fucking changes, does it?
Only Angels Have Wings (1939): Pairs real nicely with Mynarski Death Plummet. How did I only realize on this go-around that Cary Grant is straight up just playing Han Solo in this?
Pagan Invasion, Vol 1: Halloween -- Trick or Treat? (1991): MORE VHS SATANIC PANIC NONSENSE, PLEASE. I want to live inside the super-long CGI opening to this thing, it is genuinely amazing, oh my god.
Phantom Lady (1944): A razor-sharp premise, executed stylishly and with absolutely no fat. Just fantastic.
The Real Story of Halloween (2010): It's a fuckin' History Channel special, what do you want from me? It makes happy.
Rebels of the Neon God (1992): Never really feels like it's going anywhere, but it's definitely got its moments alongside an insidiously catchy score. Seriously, I was humming that damn bass line for DAYS afterward.
Revolver (2005): GUY RITCHIE GOES ARTHOUSE. What the FUCK is this movie. Kabbalah is a hell of a drug, you guys.
Roadtrip (2014): Insomnia and inertia and human connection. This got me feeling some kinda way.
Save Yourselves! (2020): BACK TO THE 'RONA THEATRE WATCH #1. Yes, I've started going to the movies again now that our numbers have subsided somewhat. Remember August? Those five minutes when movies started coming out again? That was nice. ANYWAY. 'Aging millennial anxieties but in an alien invasion' is such an easy premise that is really only bearable in small amounts, but everyone here is so charming that it absolutely worked for me.
A Scandal in Paris (1946): A lot of fun, cornball ending aside. Way to throw it all away for a girl, dude, those crooks were THERE for you, you backstabbing piece of shit.
Stille Nacht I: Dramolet (1988): this
Stille Nacht II: Are We Still Married? (1992): shit
Stille Nacht III: Tales from Vienna Woods (1993): is
Stille Nacht IV: Can't Go Wrong Without You (1993): weird
Thirsty (2019): Ech, idk man. I think they were going for a hardcore female gaze kind of thing, but the way the black guy gets fetishized made me feel REAL uncomfortable. Even though it was Maya Rudolph voicing the mosquito, if the message was anything other than 'white women are parasites', I didn't get it.
This Unnameable Little Broom (1985): More weird shit from the Quays! I don't know what the fuck this was, but... I think I liked it?
Mille soleils (2013): The blurring of the lines between fiction and documentary worked really well here, just lovely stuff. Really made me want to watch Touki Bouki.
Too Cool for School (2015): I feel like I was meant to feel sympathy for this poor horny kid, but... ew. No.
Drzenia (2018): Didn't get it! Though it kinda felt like a lamer, boy version of The Fits. Maybe you have to have been a teenage boy?
Le vieil homme et l'enfant (1967): Oh boy do I hate how relevant this still is! Basically the story of a sweet old man who's been radicalized by Fox News and how easily kids absorb prejudices! There are no easy answers here! It's sad but beautiful but upsetting but sweet but ultimately unsatisfying in a way that feels frustratingly true to life!
The Virgin Suicides (1999): Mmmm, gauzy.
The War With Grandpa (2020): BACK TO THE 'RONA THEATRE WATCH #2. Aggressively bad and unfunny, but hey, these are desperate times.
Washingtonia (2014): Evocative, but I'm not sure of what. Didn't really work for me.
We're Going to the Zoo (2006): Kinda wish it had leaned into the heightened reality aspects (the moths flying out of the wallet was such an odd beat, but I wish there were more like it), but I liked it for what it was! Baby Safdies figuring out how to make movies, aww.
You Are Not I (1981): Great atmosphere, maybe a little too long for all that it does and doesn't entail? Didn't quite get it, but I want to.
TV time! That meme that was going around Twitter recently made me miss watching lots of television, and while I don't see that changing greatly any time soon, I want to at least start paying lip service to what shows I HAVE been watching, however few they may be! They're just little, serialized movies, after all!
Mostly it's just wrestling at the moment, though! I'm up to June in my effort to watch all of AEW from the beginning, looking forward to being caught up and not having to dodge spoilers for title changes and whatnot!
Lower Decks is over! It was cute, and grew on me more over the course of the season, and I will look forward to more, but mostly I'm glad it's over because that means it's DISCO TIME THURSDAY. HYPE HYPE HYPE!
SO NATURALLY I WOKE UP TO A WINTER FUCKING WONDERLAND ON SUNDAY. It's still not actually that cold, but the snow will NOT let up, just fat sticky globs of it falling all damn day, and NOW I'm really starting to feel the total loss of 2020 as a year, with all the movies I care about officially fucked off to next spring at the earliest (or going straight to Disney+, DISAPPOINTING) and this pandemic bullshit now officially spanning from one winter to the next. I'm TIRED. The lack of sleep probably doesn't help!
New restaurant at work! The old one shut down when the lockdowns started, and we all assumed they were coming back at some point, but I guess not. I want to check out the new place, but I also don't, because I've been saving so much money with my sad little noodle lunches. Also COVID. Dilemma!
I bought new pants! This probably doesn't sound like a big deal, but aside from stupid t-shirts from the internet, I go out and buy new clothes so rarely because I hate it, and buy actual NEW clothes even MORE rarely, and for ages now, pretty much all of my go-to jeans have been tearing right across the inner thighs, and it's been real bad. So I bought a bunch of jeans! They are brand new and they were on sale and they fit me good and I feel good when I wear them! Hooray!
Our 'rona numbers FINALLY dropped back down under thirty active cases, after being stuck above forty ever since fucking Labour Day weekend, so that's good! Waiting to see how things look after Thanksgiving though, eek.
Speaking of, Thanksgiving was fine! The day off work was VERY welcome, and even though it's Tuesday and I'm back for one last day, having holiday Mondays off breaks up the work week REALLY nicely, since the weekends are already pretty light on stuff to do? Much better than just getting an 8-day week off instead, since that wouldn't really feel THAT different, chopping up the seven-on gives way more bang for your buck. I'M RAMBLING. MY EYES HURT. MOVIE TIME.
8th Continent (2017): Not as clever as it thinks it is. Evocative and sad at first, but too lengthy and lingering. Something to meditate on, I guess? But you could easily cut this down to one minute, slap some somber text explaining what's happening on it, and it would be indistinguishable from a well-done television PSA about the refugee crisis.
And When I Die, I Won't Stay Dead (2015): I think movies like this are the closest I'll ever come to being a person who cares about poetry, and I'm grateful to them for that.
The Argument (2011): THIS IS SO STRESSFUL, WHAT KIND OF HORRIBLE FUCKING MOTHER, HONESTLY
Belinda (2017): Christ, real lives are depressing.
Brazil (1985): Even though 12 Monkeys is my forever fav, this is pretty undeniably Gilliam's masterpiece, why even try to fight it? Listen, kid, we're all in it together.
Brothers (2014): Turns out I have a much higher Eggers tolerance in bite-size form! Short and sharp, very nice.
Passe ton bac d'abord (1978): Good to know that the constant shitting all over women starts young in Pialat's world. Fuck this movie.
Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (1978): A silly little cartoon of a movie. Heavy on goofy comedy, light on actual kung fu action. Contains both Jesus Christ: Superstar and Popeye homages. Fun!
Hang Loose (2015): A total toxic scrub, but make him vaguely endearing? Interesting little snippet out of a larger story.
Hellraiser (1987): No tears, please. It's a waste of good suffering.
Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore (2010): A nice little endcap to watching all of those gross ass movies last month~
The Hours (2002): Whaaaat am I missing here? This was the most nakedly 'plz give us awards' bullshit I've ever seen, my god.
I Remember Nothing (2015): This is either an insightful glimpse into an experience I've never had, or pretentious nonsense, and I don't know if I can ever truly know which! People with epilepsy, help me out!
In Absentia (2000) I think I just prefer knowing what I'm looking at. And why I'm looking at it. Still, there are few things as viscerally upsetting than a pencil lead breaking.
The Killers (1946): Convoluted but nicely laid out, a puzzle where all the pieces are neatly delivered and placed one at a time. Lancaster destroys all of the scenery, the thing is gorgeous throughout, the music is fantastic, all around a good time.
Lamb (2015): Just a boy and his baa, SO sweet and lovely, and those samosas looked damn tasty.
The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972): HOW THE FUCK DID THIS WEIRD ASS HORROR-BY-WAY-OF-HILLBILLY-ASMR-DOCUMENTARY MAKE 25 MILLION DOLLARS?????
Little Fugitive (1953): Charming in places (LET ME LOVE YOU, KIND PONY RIDE GUY), but my tolerance for kids just bein' kids is... low.
London (2005): This movie made me want to do so much cocaine, oh my god. Preferably in a giant bathroom off of a Van Gogh, but hey, I'm not picky.
Lost in America (1985): So Albert Brooks has been saying 'OK BOOMER' for forty damn years, huh?? Way to fuckin' nail it, my dude. My kingdom for one of these movies to end with the rich assholes NOT just getting to be rich again at the end, though.
Loulou (1980): It took me like half an hour to realize Gerard Depardieu was the title character, not Isabelle Huppert, which doesn't say GREAT things about how well this held my attention. Whatever, everyone in it fucking sucks, but the smash cut to depressed saxophone playing was pretty funny.
Mad Max (1979): This movie's just got such 'we get ONE TAKE' energy that makes the stunts feel so excellently fraught, even if they're relatively low-key compared to where the series ended up going, you know?
Mifune: The Last Samurai (2015): Shallow but enjoyable. You're not gonna learn much, but the reminiscences are nice, and Keanu's narration is very soothing.
La gueule ouverte (1974): Eeeeenh. The last twenty minutes or so were real solid, I just can't bring myself to care about Pialat's brand of skeezy manpain.
Mynarski Death Plummet (2014): As soon as this started, I thought that it reminded me of The Tesla World Light. About a minute later, I remembered who the fuck Mynarski was, and realized that this was almost certainly an NFB jam, in which case it was absolutely gonna be by the same guy who made the Tesla one, and YUP, I was correct! Dude's got a real specific style, I guess. Anyway, this was beautiful, and I rewatched it the second it was over.
A Night at the Garden (2017): Bleak shit! Nothing ever fucking changes, does it?
Only Angels Have Wings (1939): Pairs real nicely with Mynarski Death Plummet. How did I only realize on this go-around that Cary Grant is straight up just playing Han Solo in this?
Pagan Invasion, Vol 1: Halloween -- Trick or Treat? (1991): MORE VHS SATANIC PANIC NONSENSE, PLEASE. I want to live inside the super-long CGI opening to this thing, it is genuinely amazing, oh my god.
Phantom Lady (1944): A razor-sharp premise, executed stylishly and with absolutely no fat. Just fantastic.
The Real Story of Halloween (2010): It's a fuckin' History Channel special, what do you want from me? It makes happy.
Rebels of the Neon God (1992): Never really feels like it's going anywhere, but it's definitely got its moments alongside an insidiously catchy score. Seriously, I was humming that damn bass line for DAYS afterward.
Revolver (2005): GUY RITCHIE GOES ARTHOUSE. What the FUCK is this movie. Kabbalah is a hell of a drug, you guys.
Roadtrip (2014): Insomnia and inertia and human connection. This got me feeling some kinda way.
Save Yourselves! (2020): BACK TO THE 'RONA THEATRE WATCH #1. Yes, I've started going to the movies again now that our numbers have subsided somewhat. Remember August? Those five minutes when movies started coming out again? That was nice. ANYWAY. 'Aging millennial anxieties but in an alien invasion' is such an easy premise that is really only bearable in small amounts, but everyone here is so charming that it absolutely worked for me.
A Scandal in Paris (1946): A lot of fun, cornball ending aside. Way to throw it all away for a girl, dude, those crooks were THERE for you, you backstabbing piece of shit.
Stille Nacht I: Dramolet (1988): this
Stille Nacht II: Are We Still Married? (1992): shit
Stille Nacht III: Tales from Vienna Woods (1993): is
Stille Nacht IV: Can't Go Wrong Without You (1993): weird
Thirsty (2019): Ech, idk man. I think they were going for a hardcore female gaze kind of thing, but the way the black guy gets fetishized made me feel REAL uncomfortable. Even though it was Maya Rudolph voicing the mosquito, if the message was anything other than 'white women are parasites', I didn't get it.
This Unnameable Little Broom (1985): More weird shit from the Quays! I don't know what the fuck this was, but... I think I liked it?
Mille soleils (2013): The blurring of the lines between fiction and documentary worked really well here, just lovely stuff. Really made me want to watch Touki Bouki.
Too Cool for School (2015): I feel like I was meant to feel sympathy for this poor horny kid, but... ew. No.
Drzenia (2018): Didn't get it! Though it kinda felt like a lamer, boy version of The Fits. Maybe you have to have been a teenage boy?
Le vieil homme et l'enfant (1967): Oh boy do I hate how relevant this still is! Basically the story of a sweet old man who's been radicalized by Fox News and how easily kids absorb prejudices! There are no easy answers here! It's sad but beautiful but upsetting but sweet but ultimately unsatisfying in a way that feels frustratingly true to life!
The Virgin Suicides (1999): Mmmm, gauzy.
The War With Grandpa (2020): BACK TO THE 'RONA THEATRE WATCH #2. Aggressively bad and unfunny, but hey, these are desperate times.
Washingtonia (2014): Evocative, but I'm not sure of what. Didn't really work for me.
We're Going to the Zoo (2006): Kinda wish it had leaned into the heightened reality aspects (the moths flying out of the wallet was such an odd beat, but I wish there were more like it), but I liked it for what it was! Baby Safdies figuring out how to make movies, aww.
You Are Not I (1981): Great atmosphere, maybe a little too long for all that it does and doesn't entail? Didn't quite get it, but I want to.
TV time! That meme that was going around Twitter recently made me miss watching lots of television, and while I don't see that changing greatly any time soon, I want to at least start paying lip service to what shows I HAVE been watching, however few they may be! They're just little, serialized movies, after all!
Mostly it's just wrestling at the moment, though! I'm up to June in my effort to watch all of AEW from the beginning, looking forward to being caught up and not having to dodge spoilers for title changes and whatnot!
Lower Decks is over! It was cute, and grew on me more over the course of the season, and I will look forward to more, but mostly I'm glad it's over because that means it's DISCO TIME THURSDAY. HYPE HYPE HYPE!