John Wayne’s footprint at the Chinese Theatre.
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The Saddest Music in the World
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Guy Madden’s “The Saddest Music in the World” is one of the strangest films I’ve seen for a good long while. And to boot, it’s a musical. Set in Canada during the depression in a surreal nightmare-like (I was going to say “dream-like”) version of Winnipeg, this film is hard to watch but worth-while if you’re up for something very “art-house”. I dislike the term art-house; I don’t think it really means anything; but it conjures up the right connotations for this film. Stylistically it resembles a music video or a cartoon; at times it has the overwhelming creepy/uncomfortable feeling that I remember experiencing when I watched “Eraserhead”.
What’s it about? I don’t think I’ll be 100% on the money saying what a film like this is about after only one viewing. Sure, it’s set in the depression and involves a music competition (to find the saddest music in the world) to which punters travel from all over the world. But I think it’s an allegory (or a parable, or whatever you want to call it) about the USA, (globalisation?), power, greed, and decadence. And as you might guess, it’s not in favour of its subject matter.
I didn’t enjoy the film but I’d like to see it again. I would recommend it – but only if you’re into “that sort of thing”.
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Mystic River and the Friedmans
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Capturing the Friedmans
A documentary about a family coping after two of its members are accused and incarcerated for child abuse. Definitely worth seeing. I had nightmares about Marty Friedman after seeing this.Mystic River
Mystic River has a brutal and disturbing message. I was shocked and angry when I left the movie theater. I was expecting a Clint Eastwood number more along the line of Unforgiven. I calmed down and Tash told me what she thought. I have a different point of view now, but I think I need to see it again to take it all in. Despite this – see this film. You may not like it but if you ‘go for the ride’ you may experience quite a trip.Interesting post on the Internet Movie Database claiming the film is ‘leftist propaganda’. I actually thought that it was ultra right-wing, law of the jungle propaganda at first, but Eastwood doesn’t strike me as being that way inclined.
I do not recommend watching these two back to back. Too full on.
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The Wicker Man
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Now this is a coincidence – I finally get to listen to Active over the net and I’m tuned into ‘Anger Management – Keeping music evil’, and they play a number which feature a sample from ‘The Wicker Man’ which we watched the other night. My flatmate, Rich, who is a bit keen on metal/industrial/etc was telling us how The Wicker Man had influenced some of the bands he knew of.
Cool movie – those crazy pagans…
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Vanishing Point
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I love this film! Watching it last night gave me more new insights into some of the metaphors and meanings in the film. And that car, that car is a work of art in itself… -
Paris, city of light
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This is the space ship Cygnus from the Disney film ” The Black Hole “. I think that a designer might have been inspired whilst in Paris?
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Mulholland Drive
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I have created a new section on the site called blah_blah. This section is intended for longer rants that are too long for regular blogs.
Mulholland Drive is the subject of the first such rant. I think that I understand the film, and hopefully my take on it will hold water. Feel free to comment on it – I’d love to know what other people who have seen the film think.
Update (March 2007): erm, yeah, blah_blah no longer exists….
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Vanishing Point
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When will the 1971 film Vanishing Point be released on DVD? The shite remake is freely available but the classic is not. It is one of the best movies I have ever seen. The soundtrack is also fantastic.
“in honor of the last american hero, to whom speed means freedom of the soul”
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blade runner
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watched blade runner (for the second time I think), this time thinking about the question “is Harrison Ford a replicant?”. I was glad I did because the penny dropped at the end and a great movie got a whole lot better.
How did ridley go from blade runner and alien to gladiator? it seems incredible to me that those movies were directed by the same guy.
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dvd madness
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finally bought a dvd for my laptop. The Big Lebowski gets first screening followed by American Beauty. Both those movies kick some serious arse. Tash watched Withnail and I and Deliverence too. They apparently also kick arse.
Oh yeah, now have just over 300MB of ram on board. heh heh yeh yeh