Why This Is Hell

2011 Films: 2-12

2011-01-30T23:55:19Z

I'll save ~~three~~ four Terence Davies movies and Black Swan for another two posts.

( 2: Scontri stellari oltre la terza dimensione (Stellar clashes beyond the third dimension, Starcrash), (Lewis Coates, 1979) )

( 3: Empire Of The Ants (Burt I. Gordon, 1977) )

( 4: The Men Who Stared at Goats (Grant Heslov, 2009) )

( 5: The Lord of the Rings (Ralph Bakshi, 1978) )

( 6: Monsters (Gareth Edwards, 2010) )

( 7: Dans Paris (Inside Paris, Christophe Honoré, 2006) )

( 8: Molière (Laurent Tirard, 2007) )

( 9: Et après (Afterwards, Gilles Bourdos, 2009) )

( 10: Lucky Bastard (Everett Lewis, 2009) )

( 11: Mulligans (Chip Hale, 2008) )

( 12: Dorian Blues (Tennyson Bardwell, 2008) )

comments

2010 Films CXVII-CXIX

2010-12-18T21:38:12Z

This juxtaposition is why I love my job...

( CXVII: I Spit On Your Grave (Meir Zarchi, 1978) )

( CXVIII: Dougal and the Blue Cat (Serge Danot, 1972) )

( CXIX: Pollux et Le Chat Bleu (Serge Danot, 1970) )

comments

2010 Films LXXXVI-LXXXVIII - and a Mystery [solved]

2010-08-10T10:22:25Z

( LXXXVI: The Stepford Wives (Bryan Forbes, 1974) )

( LXXXVII: A Boy and his Dog (L.Q. Jones, 1975) )

( LXXXVIII: Warlords of Atlantis (Kevin Connor, 1978) )

Totals: 88 (Cinema: 20; DVD: 56; Video: 1; TV: 11)

I recall seeing a film as a child - late 1970s, early 1980s - in the Saturday night at the movies BBC1 slot, which I recall was set in some lost civilisation and ended with an army on the steps (of a pyramid?) and some kind of death ray, which turns bodies to skeletons. For years I've assumed it was Warlords, but I think not. I wonder what it was? I seem to recall wondering if the main character was William the Conqueror, which was clearly wrong. It seems to be Atlantis, the Lost Continent (George Pál, 1961)

comments

2010 Films XXIX-XXXV

2010-04-02T09:26:05Z

( XXIX: Meteor (Ronald Neame, 1979) )

( XXX: Gumshoe (Stephen Frears, 1971) )

( XXXI: 8 1/2 (Federico Fellini, 1963) )

( XXXII: The Anderson Tapes (Sidney Lumet, 1971) )

( XXXIII: Superman (Richard Donner, 1978) )

( XXXIV: Flash Gordon (Mike Hodges, 1980) )

I'm holding back on A Single Man, because it needs a spoilery rave and rant.

I've been looking for the following for ages - there's a Wise director's cut, but I wanted the original release, the Star Trek trilogy box was films 2-4 and there was stupidly expensive boxset of the ten. Star Trek movies don't show up in CEX. But finally I found a cheaper complete films boxset on Amazon, and so I've got all the films should I wish to watch/rewatch them.

( XXXV: Star Trek: The Slow Motion Picture (Robert Wise, 1979) )

Totals: 35 (Cinema: 8; DVDs: 19; TV: 8)

comments

It Depends What You Mean by Apolitical, I Guess

2010-03-28T17:36:14Z

"From The Godfather to Jaws to Star Wars, we see films that are increasingly plot-driven, increasingly visceral, kinetic, and fast-paced, increasingly reliant on special effects, increasingly 'fantastic' (and thus apolitical), and increasingly targeted at younger audiences."

Thomas Schatz (2003) "The New Hollywood", in Julian Stringer (ed.) Movie Blockbusters, London: Routledge, p. 29

comments

2010 Films XXVI-XXVIII

2010-03-28T11:44:42Z

This is a little bit out of sync - I have three other films to fit in here - but I don't want to overtalk about these and they belong together.

( XXVI-XXVIII: Star Wars: Episodes IV-VI (George Lucas 1977; Irvin Kershner 1979; Richard Marquand 1983) )

So, Flash Gordon or Superman next?

Totals: 28 (Cinema: 7; DVDs: 15; TV: 6)

comments

2010 Films XVI-XXI

2010-03-05T09:27:30Z

( XVI: The Towering Inferno (John Guillerman, 1974) )

( XVII: Victim (Basil Dearden, 1961) )

( XVIII: Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds (Phillip J. Bartell, 2006) )

( XIX: The Fluffer (Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, 2001) )

( XX: HellBent (Paul Etheredge-Ouzts, 2004) )

( XXI: Paris (Cedric Klapische, 2008) )

Totals: 21 (Cinema: 3; DVDs: 12; TV: 6)

comments

2010 Films VII-IX

2010-02-05T00:31:13Z

( VII: The Strangers (Bryan Bertino, 2008) )

( VIII: Day of the Locust (John Schlesinger, 1975) )

( IX: Dirty Harry (Don Siegel, 1971) )

Totals 9 (Cinema: 2; DVD: 4; Television: 3)

comments

Golden Globes

2010-01-18T12:07:47Z

A bit depressing to see Cameron winning; pleased to see the nods for Up.

( Results )

comments

Resolutions Revisited

2009-12-30T19:43:24Z

Well, it was my gaff, my rules, but...

( * Watch the rest of the Top 100 )

( * Read the Inspector Morse novels )

( * Watch my Hitchcock Boxsets )

comments

2009 Films

2009-12-28T00:44:04Z

( I-X )

( XI-XX )

( XXI-XXX )

( XXXI-XL )

( XLI-L )

( LI-LX )

( LXI-LXX )

( LXXI-LXXX )

( LXXXI-XC )

( XCI-C )

( CI-CX )

( CXI-CXXI )

comments

2009 Films CXII-CXV

2009-12-20T15:39:50Z

( CXII: Der Amerikanische Freund (The American Friend, Wim Wenders, 1977) )

( CXIII: Where the Wild Things Are (Spike Jonze, 2009) )

( CXIV: A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2009) )

( CXV: Humpday (Lynne Shelton, 2009) - spoilers )

Off to see Avatar 3D.

Totals: 115 - [Cinema: 35; DVD: 70; Television: 10]

comments

2009 Films CII-CXI

2009-12-16T15:38:47Z

Brief comments to catch up:

CII: The Parallax View (Alan J. Pakula, 1974)
1970s conspiracy thriller built around an assassination, and who saw what. Warren Beatty in the man watching his back.

CIII: Jennifer's Body (Karyn Kusama, 2009)
There's a great movie to be built around the tagline "She's evil, not high school evil", but this isn't it. Despite the Juno pedigree, this lacks the sharpness of that script, and just doesn't play enough with the conventions - nor make much sense.

CIV: C'era una volta il West (Once Upon A Time in the West, Sergio Leone, 1968
This doesn't quite have the sweep of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, and lacks Clint, but still a gripping, thrilling, amusing, western full of dialogue you'll be wanting to quote for days. A harmonica player and a desperado join forces to help a widow who is bullied by the buiders of the railroad. Tarantino should watch and note how to do it properly.

CV: The Card Player (Dario Argento, 2003)
From Argento as scriptwriter to Argento as director, scriptwriter and father of one of the cast. A giallo, perhaps, but in any case a horror thriller cast in the mode of Hostel and the Saw series (which it predates. A cop is forced to play online poker to save kidnapped blondes. Predictably total bollocks but fun.

CVI: The Outlaw Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood, 1976)
Eastwood clearly paid attention whilst doing the man with no name - not exactly a revisionist western, but a spin on The Searchers which shows more respect for native Americans than the white settlers. I really need to bone up on American Civil War iconography to follow the ins and outs of westerns.

CVII: Lenny (Bob Fosse, 1974)
Biopic of the Russell Brand of his day, one of those comedians who made Bill Hicks and Richard Pryor possible: Lenny Bruce, here played by Dustin Hoffman. The narrative leaps around, and aspires to documentary, but I'd say the ending was botched. In glorious black and white.

CVIII: Im Lauf der Zeit (Kings of the Road, Wim Wenders, 1976)
Wenders is one of those directors, like Greenaway, who was very big in the 1980s but has vanished from mind. I appear to be working through the boxset given what else I have on the to watch pile, and this is no bad thing. This is a road movie, in glorious black and white, and at times looks like a western - albeit one shot on the borders of East Germany. The plot, such as it is, concerns the travels of a cinema engineer and an estranged husband. It's an 18, which is a little harsh, but it does include male nudity, a major character taking a dump and a cameo masturbating. Probably ninety minutes too long, but indulge it.

CIX: Celia (Anne Turner, 1989)
Rewatch of a film both charming and disturbing - the story of nine year old Celia in Australia in the era of the red scare and the rabbit epidemic. Like Heavenly Creatures (Peter Jackson - what happened to him?), this takes us into a child's psyche. It was mismarketed as horror, but it is certainly disturbing.

CX: Red Eye (Wes Craven, 2005)
Effective but frankly barking thriller that is not exactly typical of the director's oeuvre. A hotel receptionist's father is held sort-of hostage to ensure her co-operation during a flight home. The criminals seem to have gone to far much trouble to achieve what they want - a carefully placed bomb would have diposed of the plot. Brian Cox collects another easy paycheck as yet another father possibly marked for death, and the principals are pleasant enough to watch.

CXI: Be Cool (F. Gary Gray, 2005)
Gruelish Elmore Leonard sequel where various gangsters, rappers and Russians fight over owed money, witnesses to an assassination and a disputed music contract. John Travolta treds water, James Woods offers an amusing cameo, and the best bits involve The Rock as a gay bodyguard. Ho hum.

Totals: 101 - [Cinema: 32; DVD: 69; Television: 10]

Meanwhile, back at the totals:

2913 / 4000 words. 73% done!

comments

2009 Films IC-CI

2009-11-25T01:02:09Z

( IC: Top Gun (Tony Scott, 1986) )

( C: Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (Sam Peckinpah, 1974) )

( CI: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Terry Gilliam, 2009) )

Totals: 101 - [Cinema: 30; DVD: 63; Television: 8]

comments

2009 Films XCIII-XCVIII

2009-11-13T15:49:09Z

( XCIII: City that Never Sleeps (John H. Auer, 1953) )

( XCIV: Insomnia (Christopher Nolan, 2002) )

And did you see what I did with my choices?

( XCV: Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978) )

( XCVI: The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980) )

( XCV: Sita Sings the Blues (Nina Paley, 2008) )

( XCVI: Animal Farm (Joy Batchelor and John Halas, 1954) )

( XCVII: Like It Is (Paul Oremland, 1998) )

( XCVIII: Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum, Volker Schlöndorff, 1979) )

Totals: 98 - [Cinema: 29; DVD: 62; Television: 7]

comments

N0000!!!!!

2009-10-15T21:54:16Z

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/oct/15/red-riding-film-ridley-scott

Ridley Scott to remake Red Riding Trilogy/Quartet.

And to set it in the US.

Just what we need.

comments

2009 Films LXXI-LXXII

2009-09-20T23:18:04Z

( LXXI: District 9 (Neill Blomkamp, 2009) )

( LXXII: The Boat that Rocked (Richard Curtis, 2009) )

Totals: 72 - [Cinema: 21; DVD: 48; Television: 3]

comments

2009 Film LXX

2009-09-09T00:26:01Z

I see Kim Newman gave away a plot point in his Sight and Sound review. Do I keep schtum?

( LXX: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009) )

Totals: 70 - [Cinema: 20; DVD: 47; Television: 3]

comments

2009 Films LXIV-LXIX

2009-09-04T19:47:49Z

( LXIV: Moon (Duncan Jones, 2009) )

( LXV: Paycheck (John Woo, 2003) )

( LXVI: Impostor (Gary Fleder, 2002) )

( LXVII: The Time Traveler's Wife (Robert Schwentke, 2009) )

( LXVIII: Sylvia Scarlett (George Cukor, 1935) )

( LXIX: The 24th Day (Tony Piccirillo, 2004) )

Totals: 69 - [Cinema: 19; DVD: 47; Television: 3]

comments

2009 Film LXIII

2009-08-28T00:04:05Z

Warning - spoilers for the novel

( LXIII: The Man Who Fell to Earth (Bobby Roth, 1987) )

comments

2009 Films LX-LXII

2009-08-26T15:06:11Z

( LX: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (Stanley Kramer, 1967) )

( LXI: The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (Rebecca Miller, 2009) )

( LXII: The Fall (Tarsem Singh, 2006) )

Totals: 62 - [Cinema: 17; DVD: 42; Television: 3]

comments

2009 Films LVII-LIX

2009-07-31T00:45:10Z

( LVII: Walkabout (Nicolas Roeg, 1971) )

( LVII: Herr Tartüff (F.W. Murnau, 1925) )

( LIX: Edmond (Stuart Gordon, 2005) )

Totals: 59 - [Cinema: 16; DVD: 40; Television: 3]

comments

Mixed Felines

2009-07-30T23:31:36Z

W-e-e-e-l-l - there was a kerchunk of the unexpected when things were going better than they have any right to be, and the cynic in me says that if things are better than they ought to be then... clearly you've misjudged the situation. All I will say that if you've spent some time dealing with someone, and saying how much you want to meet up and that meeting doesn't happen, it's rather odd to ignore texts and phonecalls, to delete an entire email account and to look at the website of the person, all within a couple of hours of not meeting up.

Draw a veil.

I am insanely pleased with my I Pod Touch and the ability to post from the Carbuncle (curiously the Secret Campus does not support them, so Eduroam will allow me to go online at the campus on the hill but not my employer). I am also pleased with my new Macbook, and Scrivener, although the wireless keeps falling over.

Marlowe clearly would like to come to the pub with me - and some evenings I am half way down Oxford Street before I shake her off. In such cases I hear a crying when I get back to Lime Kiln Road and she appears, having presumably waited all along. Failing that the chances are she'll be at the end of the ten foot, or appear over the fence of Guildford Road. She's getting good at walking to heel. Oddly she has stopped going upstairs - with the exception of today - and how Tilda has made this her territory is not clear. I thought Marlowe had stopped yuvving me, but today she was all over me and weally weally yuvs me (and is clearly jealous of the laptop).

Tilda has stopped bringing me presents, but (and she's just appeared there now) has fallen in love with Dave's old bed and has been there more or less constantly for the last fortnight. I will have to vacuum the duvet and put a sheet over it. My sleep is thus uninterrupted by cats - just my thoughts and bladder - but it is disconcerting to wake up and see a cat staring at you via a mirror.

I skipped out on seeing a couple of the Edinburgh warm-ups at the Carbuncle - I wish I'd seen Pappy's Fun Club, but they'll be back - although I saw Adam Hills and Brendan Burns tonight. I can see why Hills is used as a compere, and I can't believe that Burns's miming of singing "The Rainbow Song" via the slit of his penis wasn't offensive. In glorious and hilarious bad taste, in a way that Julian Clary's show wasn't (that was the first night of the tour, pre-Edinburgh, but using the word ring and playing with butt plugs isn't enough to be funny).

Meanwhile I saw the Festival brochure, and little stands out as unmissable - although I note Reginald D. Hunter, Sarah Millican and Stewart Lee. Tickets bought for them. I can't be bothered with Alistair McGowan.

My autumn:

23 Sep: Sammy J. in The Forest of Dreams
17 Oct: Reginald D. Hunter
21 Oct: Sarah Millican
24 Oct: Stewart Lee
6 Nov: Milton Jones
7 Nov: Jim Jeffries
12 Nov: Daniel Kitson
21 Nov: Sean Hughes
27 Nov: Mitch Benn and the Distractions
8 Dec: Lee Mack

I'm going to be a social bunny - sitting on my own in the dark.

Did I mention I might be an extra on the next Ross Noble DVD?

I need to get reading and viewing for the seventies book - it's slow work.

Having sat on two Sofacinema dvds for a month I'm determined to get my money's worth this month, but I'm also trying to watch the second series of Ashes to Ashes which I recorded (then Skins, The Inbetweeners, a fistful of Clint Eastwood movies, and various other films). Today I watched the first half of Blackpool, in which I think Tennant wins against Morrisey in the battle of the Davids and I ponder which things I've seen have had Sarah Parrish rather than Sarah Lancashire. Amusing to spot the Doctor Who exhibition in one shot, but I'm less convinced by the lip syncing - it feels too derivative of Dennis Potter. The author went on to do Desperate Romantics - which I've yet to see, but appears to be about a generation later than even the Next Generation (most of whom died before the originals: cf the dates of the Six Blokes of Romanticism, Blake, Coleridge and Wordsworth vs Byron, Keats and Shelley).

I feel the urge to go somewhere this Saturday - maybe to Eastbourne or (again) Bexhill - but I ought to be good and work. I probably ought to do St Leonard's before those bookshops close too.

comments

2009 Films: LIII and LIV

2009-06-22T00:52:31Z

( L'Auberge Espagnol ((The Spanish Inn) Pot Luck, Cédric Klapisch, 2002) )

( Religulous (Larry Charles, 2082) )

Totals: 54 - [Cinema: 16; DVD: 35; Television: 3]

comments

2009 Films: LII

2009-06-17T17:27:46Z

52 up!

( Silent Running (Douglas Trumbull, 1972) )

Totals: 52 - [Cinema: 15; DVD: 34; Television: 3]

comments