Seance (2000, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 250) Once again, kickin' it K-school. Authentically creepy. KK has the blissful habit of taking the soundtrack to almost nada for stretches. I like it. I'm tired of all this music. Everywhere I go there's always music playing as if I need a soundtrack to my life. A nifty idea, I guess-- IF I PICK THE TUNES. I used to like the Rolling Stones' "Angie" but cringe when I hear it now, because I heard it constantly over the Randall's intercom when I worked at an in-the-store bank. It seems I remember a David Mamet essay (in The Cabin?) where he rails against this very phenomenon. Anyway, it's more insidious in the movies (especially horror) because music is often a crutch for a filmmaker that can't effect the correct emotional response via the narrative. Charisma (1999, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 50) Authentically weird. I'm not afraid to say it-- I don't get it. There's a tree, a guy, nuclear weapons, and a lot of crazy shite. City on Fire (1987, Ringo Lam, 100) There are obvious similarities to Reservoir Dogs. 70s movie producer power couple Michael & Julia Philips got into some kind of row with Tarantino and fired a pretty scathing missive to Premiere in which they claimed Reservoir Dogs was virtually a line-by-line ripoff of City on Fire (as well as attributing most of Pulp Fiction to Roger Avary). Ever since then, I've wanted to see CoF, but only now got around to it. My verdict: There are definitely some components of RD that must have come from CoF: the failed jewelry heist, the undercover cop torn by his new-found devotion to his robber friend, and the climax with guns in everyone's faces. Things in RD not present in CoF: an interesting temporal structure, much better dialogue, and a plot so tight you could bounce a quarter off it. Ripoff? Maybe. Definitely not line-by-line, though. RD is just a much better movie, period.
- posted by Chip @ 4:10 PM //

 
Lunt says I have to rate these films. I don't know why but I'll go back and rate everything on a scale from 0 to 373 in tribute to Lord Kelvin.
- posted by Chip @ 2:56 PM //

 
The Butterfly Effect (2004, who gives a shit, 50) Someday I'll come back and write something about my theory on how this movie is "morally disjoint" (sorry, it's the only thing i could come up with). Call me an elitist, but I just don't want to see a Ashton Kutcher time-travel movie that uses pedophilia, prostitution, cancer, and blowing up infants as plot devices.
- posted by Chip @ 9:55 AM //

 
Crash (1996, David Cronenberg, 150)
- posted by Chip @ 10:22 AM //

 
Pirates of the Caribbean (2003, Gore Verbinski, 75) The shots of the (assumedly) Caribbean islands were stunning on a big tv (65'' 16x9). Chungking Express (1994, Wong Kar-Wai, 300) I watched it again to get ready for Fallen Angels. The second story with Faye Wong and Tony Leung is one of my all-time favorite pieces of moviemaking. Fallen Angels (1996, Wong Kar-Wai, 200) The Cooler (2003, Wayne Kramer, 200) I like the balls Kramer shows in making the reality of "cooling" the central conceit. Alec Baldwin shows the ass-kicking chops he made famous in Glengarry Glen Ross .
- posted by Chip @ 9:35 AM //

 
Bright Future (2003, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 300) K. Kurosawa is rising fast on my list of favorite directors.
- posted by Chip @ 9:06 AM //

 
Battle Royale (2000, Kinji Fukasaku, 125) What the fuck is going on in Japan? George Washington (2001, David Gordon Green, 300) I saw All the Real Girls before this, so I had a heads up. I love Malick and I love this.
- posted by Chip @ 9:06 AM //

 
The Brood (1980?, David Cronenberg, 200) Dr Raglin: Ben. Ben: Dr Raglin? Dr Raglin: Ben. Ben: Dr Raglin. (pause) Dr Raglin: Ben, I've got one word for you. Ben: Sir? Dr Raglin: Psychoplasmics. (they look at each other for a moment) Ben: Exactly how do you mean, sir? All or Nothing (2003, Mike Leigh, 250) I remember reading this Garry Wills article in The Atlantic years ago in which he said that Oliver Stone was such a great filmmaker and that he was making the film equivalent of novels. I didn't get it then and I don't get it now. Leigh seems to fit that description better. This is one more film in the Leigh mold, so if you like the mold... In a Lonely Place (1950, Nicholas Ray, 225) The perfect companion piece to Sunset Boulevard. As their heyday started to fade, film noirs (shouldn't that be films noir?) got more and more whack. 1950 gave us these two examples, both with screenwriters as the protagonist. Of course, leave it to Ray to upend the genre by smacking the audience with a ending that indicts the allure of the noir hero.
- posted by Chip @ 12:54 PM //

 
catching up... Cure (1998, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 300) Lola Montes (1950, Max Ophuls, 150) I liked it much better when I thought the circus scenes were fantasy. Forever Mine (2001, Paul Schrader, 150) Too much soap for my tastes. I like my Schrader grittier. Gretchen Mol is hot as all get-out. Goodbye South Goodbye (1996, Hao Hsiao-Hsien, 175) In the Mood for Love (2001, Wong Kar-wai, 325) As Tears Go By (1990, Wong Kar-wai, 125) Dressed To Kill (1980, Brian DePalma, 100) I'm either too dumb or too smart for DePalma films. I haven't figured out which. Flowers of Shanghai (1997, Hao Hsiao-Hsien, 300) Bad Santa (2003, Terry Zwigoff, 275) if you don't hit this shit, i got no sympathy. Last Samurai (2003, Edward Zwick, 75) Everything that is wrong with American film at this point in time. Lord Of The Rings: Return of the King (2003, Peter Jackson, 100) Things I don't want to see for another fifty years: massive battle scenes, hobbit-on-hobbit hugging, knowing looks from wise old wizards, 3 hour fantasy movies.
- posted by Chip @ 9:40 AM //