Author: john

The Bronx is Burning

Okay, this is a television series, not a film. I do recall when Arnab first launched this blog (thank you Arnab) that discussing TV and teaching methods was verboten (Frisoli asked about the former, Jim Kincaid the latter), but since this blog has grown, we’ve included a lot of chat (actually some really inspired writing, tho never from me) about television. The Sopranos, Deadwood, Rome–basically really strong HBO and Showtime programming. Continue reading The Bronx is Burning

Ocean’s 13

I thought someone had posted on this already, but I couldn’t find anything. Maybe I’m thinking of reynolds’s comments about Ocean’s 12. Or maybe our new search function sucks. Anyway, I can’t even find reynolds’s stuff on any of the Ocean films, which is perhaps just as well. I’ll try to recreate his comments from memory. I think you liked 11 and 12, is that right reynolds? Just good fun, all style and no substance but so what, actors are clearly having fun? Continue reading Ocean’s 13

Sam Fuller

I hate to shift gears, particularly since the thread on Xala is terrific, but I watched Sam Fuller’s The Big Red One last night and I was mightily impressed. I had seen this film long ago, on network television I think. Maybe it was USA or something, because I don’t recall much being deleted. But I couldn’t resist revisiting the film since it’s been “reconstructed”–that is to say, some 45 minutes have been restored. My recollection of the theatrical version is too dim to make any comments about the differences between it and the “reconstructed” version (for anyone who is interested in that, watch the bonus DVD, which has “before and after” scene comparisons). So let me instead just sing praises. Continue reading Sam Fuller

Indie Films, Genre, Structure

How do certain indy films (Little Miss Sunshine, Lost in Translation) achieve Hollywood-style success while others don’t?

I want to return to Little Miss Sunshine, because the film came up in my class today (after class, really). I was speaking with three students who plan to do a group presentation soon. My students are free to come up with their own topics and can structure presentation any way they wish, provided the presentation prompts a class discussion that helps us understand the larger issues of class (this is my American genres class, so the groups should help us advance–in interesting and not-necessarily academic ways–our understanding of genre). The group wants to talk about the indy film as a genre. My first thought was that the indy film is essentially anti-generic. But I didn’t want to dismiss the idea outright (frankly, I don’t know if the indy film can be called a genre or not–it’s an interesting problem), so I asked them to give me some examples.
Continue reading Indie Films, Genre, Structure

Peter Boyle

I had a few moments in between final exams to check out the headlines, and there is more sad news for fans of the films of the seventies. I knew Altman was ill, but I did not know that Boyle was ill as well. I don’t have much to say but I do think that Boyle (like Hackman, Nicholson, Duvall, et al.) belonged to a unique generation of American actors. I’m struck, now thinking about it, how many of the great leading male actors were just plain, well…plain. Not terribly ugly, but certainly not dashingly handsome. More important, though, is that Boyle was a gifted character actor. And he raised (for me, anyway) the status of the character actor. Or maybe he was a product of his time. Perhaps, during the late sixties and early seventies, the art of acting was changing anyway, and that actors were encouraged to seek out and play characters (like “The Wizard” in Taxi Driver), rather than become a movie star. In a lot of the films from the seventies, even the leading roles (like Joe) seem like characters, real characters. Anyway, I don’t have much more to say beyond this. Everybody loves Peter.

I Want Candy

Saw Marie Antoinette yesterday, and I’ll say off the bat I was a little disappointed. I’m tempted to blame my fondness for Lost in Translation, but I think Sophia Coppola’s new film is just okay. It has its moments, most of which are carried by Kirsten Dunst who gives a really terrific performance. And Jason Schwartzman’s Louis Auguste is great. When crowned the new King of France after his grandfather (played by Rip Torn, who like Molly Shannon, Shirley Henderson, and the massive Marianne Faithfull, is underexploited) suddenly dies of smallpox, Louis Auguste bows down, turns his head upward and prays “God help us, we are too young to reign.” Continue reading I Want Candy

The Devil and Daniel Johnston

I first heard about Daniel Johnston through Yo La Tengo. I bought a 7″ record that features sleeve art by Johnston. The recording is simple: Yo La Tengo calls Johnston at his home and asks him to sing “Speeding Motorcycle” into the phone while they play along in their studio. His voice, thin and raspy to begin with, sounds tiny and hurt as it comes through the receiver. But he sings with a lot of emotion and gets carried away. And if you look at the sleeve art while listening to the record, you pretty much get who Johnston is. It’s a drawing of him on stage strumming his guitar and singing “Speeding Motorcycle” with an adoring crowd cheering him on. The documentary sticks with this idea: Continue reading The Devil and Daniel Johnston

You, Me, Dupree and the Dan

Word is that Donald Fagen and Walter Becker have posted on their website an open letter to Luke Wilson, in which they demand a public apology from his brother for stealing the title character from their song “Cousin Dupree.” When I first heard about this, I thought “oh my, aren’t these guys taking themslves a little too seriosuly?” But then I read the letter. Continue reading You, Me, Dupree and the Dan

Cars

Saw Cars last and I enjoyed it. I’m a big fan of Pixar, and I’ve been really delighted with animated features coming from Emeryville, CA, the past two decades. Since Pixar merged with Disney last May, I’ve been eager to see what would come of the deal, creatively. Knowing Disney’s tendency to moralize, to idealize the American family, and to smuggle in apologies for consumer culture, I was wondering if Cars would be able to sustain the brilliance of Monsters, Inc. and the edginess of The Incredibles.

The film starts off on a high-kinetic note: the rookie Lightning McQueen, played by Owen Wilson, is on the verge of winning the Piston Cup. Suddenly there’s a crash and massive pile up (this sequence reminded me of the brontosaurus avalanche in King Kong: visually overstimulating and a little irritating). Lightning manages to get through the wreckage and come out in front. Shrugging off his pit crew’s pleas for fresh tires, he builds a commanding lead coming into the final lap. But about a quarter lap to go, he blows a tire. Then another. The favorite and the veteren cars–Chick Hicks and The King, respectively–close in on the struggling rookie. It’s all Lightning can do to stay get a 3-way tie in the photo-finish, forcing a run-off in Los Angeles, California, that will determine the winner. Thankfully, the film slows down considerably from here on out. The emphasis shifts from fast-paced action and exposition to character development and design. There are some amazing shots of Lightning’s trek across the country. Continue reading Cars