Monday, August 31, 2009

WEEK 42



42. JULIA, dir.ERICK ZONCA, 2008

continuing for the moment in the recent-release category.
hoping juliet and rhan haven't seen this already...
just got home, hectic day, promisepromise to add on w. models & night train comments once i am fully awake and alert.

Monday, August 24, 2009

WEEK 41


41. NIGHT TRAIN, dir. JERZY KAWALEROWICZ, 1959

discussion of MODELS to come soon...

polish film noir this week. it's meant to be excellent.

Monday, August 17, 2009

WEEK 40



40. MODELS, dir. ULRICH SEIDL, 1999

i saw animal love a couple weeks ago. i really liked it, if one can say they really liked a film about people and their deeply dysfunctional relationships with their animals, and with themselves.
models may not be as traumatic a watch...
i am only partly through our last film. it has been extremely hot and we are (reasons financial and political, the lack of funding works well with environmental ethics in this particular case!) air-conditioner free. the fans aren't cutting it and i've been loathe to be inside. however, pretty into what i saw before the heat drove me out of the house and into the lake. will finish it up tomorrow and add-on, i promise!

Monday, August 10, 2009

WEEK 39


39. SHADOWS IN PARADISE, dir. AKI KAURISMAKI, 1986

IN THE LOOP: the trouble with having seen this film a week ago is that i'm forgetting the specifics. this is compounded by the fact that IN THE LOOP, even while i was watching it, had more good lines than i could possibly keep up with. solid performances, scathing insults, and a story whose basic points seemed scarily plausible. this is the kind of film that ordinarily might have slipped under my radar. i'm happy it didn't. i laughed a lot!

THIS WEEK: deadpan and beautiful. i love aki kaurismaki. i'm excited to see this.

Monday, August 3, 2009

WEEK 38



38. IN THE LOOP, dir. ARMANDO IANNUCCI, 2009

posting a current film for a change, shock-value. and, i thought it might be nice for juliet and rhan to emerge post- or in-the-midst-of sopranos viewing into a new james gandolfini vehicle. looks to have potential. let's see how it goes.

i thought i would get to re-watch atlantic city by today. i didn't. however,
i did:
1. watch animal love (dir. ulrich siedl, 1995).
2. swim in the lake 4x throughout the week.
3. eat many, many grapes.
4. make a felted "sheepskin."
5. finish the 2nd season of madmen.
6. get through the work week.
etc.etc.etc.
none of this alleviates my guilt not having (re-)watched. my primary memory of the film is of susan sarandon washing herself with lemons at a kitchen sink in front of a window. a nice image, but not enough to post about. i remember liking it, but not much else. i went on a walk tonight to think about what to post, and wondered, "is the impetus to re-watch a film directly tied to the memory of the first time one saw it? if one remembers a film well after having seen it once, if it sticks in the mind vividly, is one more likely to want to watch again?" it would seem the opposite should be true -- the lack of memory should drive a desire to re-create memory. a hole wants to be filled. yet i think the more i love a film, that is, the more i remember having loved it, the more likely i am to want to rewatch it,
again and
again and
again.
i must have liked atlantic city, but i don't remember having loved it.
i should re-watch to be sure.