Screening Log. Outer Space

Outer Space (Peter Tscherkassky) (1999)





A rather amazing experimental film assault.

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PilgrimAkimbo's breakdown [link]
At Senses of Cinema [link]
At offscreen [link]
At sixpackfilm [link]
you can buy the dvd here [link]

Screening Log. The Pillow Book

The Pillow Book (Peter Greenaway) (1996)

Screening Log. Jules et Jim

Jules et Jim (François Truffaut) (1962)



Third viewing.
I almost forgot how great Truffaut was.

Screening Log. Dog Day Afternoon

Dog Day Afternoon (Sidney Lumet) (1975)



Second viewing...even better than remembered.
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Great side-by-side comparisons of photos from the actual robbery with stills from the film [link]
Real life robber (John Wojtowicz) written response to the film [link]

Screening Log. Ace in the Hole

Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder) (1951)

Screening Log. Orlando

Orlando (Sally Potter) (1992)



An excellent film. A shame that I haven't yet read the novel...although I will fix that in the next week. I certainly plan on tracking down some of Potter's earlier works.

Screening Log. The Royal Tenenbaums

The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson) (2001)



Sixth viewing (maybe). Remains my favorite Wes Anderson.

Screening Log. Big Fish

Big Fish (Tim Burton) (2003)



-third or fourth viewing...watched in my Fiction Into Film class. A charming and interesting film whose sentimentality becomes a bit too much for me.

Screening Log. Punch-Drunk Love

Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson) (2002)



Second viewing. Needed to see this again after There Will Be Blood...and again I was not disappointed.

Screening Log. The Sweet Hereafter

The Sweet Hereafter (Atom Egoyan) (1997)



Third viewing. Not my favorite Egoyan (I keep wondering what the matter with me is), but still a very beautiful film. My only main issue with the film are in the The Pied Piper of Hamelin parts...after a while I started to feel beaten over the head with it, as if I couldn't make the connection earlier in the film. That's all.

Screening Log. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik) (2007)

Screening Log. There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson) (2007)

Screening Log. Rashômon

Rashômon (Akira Kurosawa) (1950)



Third viewing. Watched/read in my wonderful Fiction into Film class.

greencine [link]
notcoming [link]
ebert [link]
allmovie [link]
wikipedia [link]
dvdbeaver [link]
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Based on "In a Grove" & "Rashomon" by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Powell's Books [link] [link]
wikipedia (In a Grove) [link]
wikipedia (Rashomon) [link]
Rashomon full english text [link]

Screening Log. Blowup

Blowup (Michelangelo Antonioni) (1966)



at greencine [link]
at Antonioni archive [link]
at DVDBeaver [link]
at Strictly Film School [link]
Brief Rosenbaum review [link]

Cortázar and his story "Las babas del diablo"
Senses of Cinema article "La Mano Negra: Julio Cortázar and his Influence on Cinema" [link]
End of the Game and Other Stories (original publication) at Powell's Books [link]
Blowup & Other Stories (as it was later published as) at Powell's Books [link]

Screening Log. True Stories

True Stories (David Byrne) (1986)



-This isn't a rental car, it's privately owned.
-I'm 6'3", and maintain a very consistent panda bear shape.

Screening Log. Syndromes and a Century

Syndromes and a Century (AKA Sang sattawat) (Apichatpong Weerasethakul) (2006)



Every time I start to feel overly frustrated or bored with a Joe film some subtle element appears to put me back in that lulled meditative stated. I didn't find this as inducing as Tropical Malady or as much of an experience as Blissfully Yours, but still a damn worthwhile cinematic mediation.

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Joe's "video New Year's card" (as the great Michael Sicinski called it) titled Prosperity for 2008 can be viewed here. [link]

Screening Log. Juno

Juno (Jason Reitman) (2007)



Uh...Cute.

Screening Log. The 40 Year Old Virgin

The 40 Year Old Virgin (Judd Apatow) (2005)


One of the funniest "comedy" comedies that I've seen in a while. I wish I didn't wait so long to see it, and saw it in a loud and crowded theater.

Screening Log. La Antena

La Antena (Esteban Sapir) (2007)



A cute fairy tale of a film that is an adoration of the silent expressionist style, ie Fritz Lang, Georges Méliès, F.W. Murnau, etc (also can't help but think of the throwback style of Guy Maddin and JP Jeunet/Marc Caro). Though its a homage to an older style, the film offers some creative aesthetics of its own, which kept my attention when other parts lost me.

Screening Log. I'm Not There.

I'm Not There. (Todd Haynes) (2007)



Please pardon the following pretentious statement, but I feel like I finally understand how to watch a Todd Haynes film. I have never known exactly how to take them. I've always wondered how serious, how campy, how overly dramatic, how farcical, how "arty" (etc.) they are intended to be, and I guess I still don't exactly know because his movies are set on both utilizing and defying every category that can be thrown at them. Now I don't mean to overpraise (because I enjoy his innovations more than I enjoy his films), but he makes films that can be as much fun as one allows them to be and, for me, I'm Not There was a whole lot of fun.

I'm Not There improves on Haynes' earlier deconstruction of the "biopic" in Velvet Goldmine, and to a lesser degree Superstar. The constant, and often obscure, references (my favorite one being "See you later, Allen Ginsberg") kept me busy with just the language and look of the film, and there is clearly much more to be absorbed in future viewings. Yes parts of the film are annoying (the first few scenes with Marcus Carl Franklin as "Woody Guthrie") and others can be far too literal, or just seem out of place (Christian Dylan), but what an unique and refreshing film (especially in today's film world of mediocre formulaic biopics that are more prolonged impersonations than films with something to say or demonstrate; ie Ray, Walk the Line, Dreamgirls). I'm Not There is an extraordinary experience of evasiveness that demonstrates the act as much as it's character(s) or title.

EDIT: Two more things that I feel like praising: 1. casting David Cross as Allen Ginsberg, 2. most of the cover songs in the film, particularly Jim James and Calexico's version of "Going To Acapulco"...which can be downloaded here [link] (mp3 @ 320 kbps).