WEEK 73

73. A PLACE IN THE SUN, dir. GEORGE STEVENS, 1951

WEEK 72

72. CLEO FROM 5 to 7, dir. AGNES VARDA, 1962

we've been without internet for quite some time, just got it back!
it was a good break, though i'm sorry for the late post:)
i loved juliet's last "any film, any director, any time" post. i watched a couple random documentaries -- this and this,
and went on monday night to see this, which i thought absolutely incredible. surely watched some other things that are slipping my memory...
i saw 'the beaches of agnes' (2008) awhile ago, loved 'the gleaners and i' (2000), but have never seen cleo:)

WEEK 71

MANY OPTIONS.

71. ANY FILM IN THE THEATER, dir. ANYBODY, ANYTIME

Maybe this is a cheap trick.

I don't want to stray too far from the FO model of specific film assignments, but this week I'd like to try going out into the world and comparing notes when we get back. I considered picking something I know I'd like to see this week, but one can't count on a film's availability everywhere...so let's keep it loose.

Don't be surprised if I come back in seven days talking about one or all of the following: films by Ross Lipman, SWEETGRASS, HARMONY & ME, or something else that might come out on Friday. There's some nice stuff out at the moment.

***LET'S GO TO THE MOVIES***

WEEK 70

not to be lame,
but to be honest.
sometimes life gets in the way,
and sometimes you are in the mood to watch things you hadn't intended on watching,
then realize they have taken the little space you had in the week
to watch the things you planned to watch.
sometimes life requires catch up
and more catch up
and more.
for this, this blog kind of rocks, because unlike life-life,
which generally just keeps a-rolling and doesn't really give you catch up time but more a choice between things to let slide forever and things to check off,
here we can actually feel like we get some do-overs:)
so i'm taking mine. again.
see ya next week. when i will have finally finished the last half-hour of l'avventura (!!) and watched last weeks pick.
xx

WEEK 69

69. MEMORIES OF MURDER, dir. BONG JOON-HO, 2003

We watched THE HOST and MOTHER in quick succession this weekend, both of which were great. I'd like to continue the train of thought.

WEEK 68

68. L'AVVENTURA, dir. MICHAELANGELO ANTONIONI, 1960

i am posting this because:
1. it sits on a shelf in our house + i have never seen it (jarek has of course).
2. i read in juliet's interview with leanne shapton that she (shapton) is fascinated by monica vitti's hair in the film. i also am immediately drawn to piles of beautiful hair, it's a magnetic pull of something mysterious and enticing and hidden. like looking into something that is not explained, something rooted in the animal, in caves. and i think i like the feeling of semi-obsession, cannot-look-away-ness, desire.
3. i'm pretty sure juliet has already seen it, so, knowing that she has much on her plate at the moment, thought it might be a nice week for her not to re-watch but to catch up and breathe easy:)

oh, a p.s. to phantom readers of our blog: i highly recommend watching last week's post (who's that knocking at my door, martin scorsese, 1967) the night before going to see shutter island (scorsese, 2010). we did it, lots of parallels...

WEEK 67

67. WHO'S THAT KNOCKING AT MY DOOR, dir. MARTIN SCORSESE, 1968

i loved mean streets (1973), taxi driver (1976), the last waltz (1978), raging bull (1980), the king of comedy (1982), after hours (1985), goodfellas (1990), cape fear (1991), the aviator (2004), no direction home: bob dylan (2005), the departed (2006). i haven't seen shutter island yet or this one,
and there are some i probably overlooked in this list + numerous others i have yet to see, i'm sure to add to my seen + loved scorsese list. his track record is incredible.
actually going to watch it tonight, to help stave off the getting-behind-trap i fell into last week:)

WEEK 66

CATCH UP*****update @ bottom of page.

everytime i get on track it seems i get off again fast! sometimes for reasons beyond my control:
i never got to finish the friends of eddie coyle because more than 3/4 through the dvd froze + wouldn't start again. it was an impromptu + excited library rental, and one that i was extremely into watching until the dvd gained a mind of its own.
so i am unfinished with that one, waiting for a hopefully scratch-free disk to come in the mail
<>AND<>
i still have to watch juliet's pick from last week, which looks great, but i had a hectic week and didn't make it that far down the to-do list...
sometimes things move too fast to grab hold of everything in the time frame you set to keep. but now my weekend is upon me (monday/tuesday) so i'm looking forward to finding out the end of eddie coyle + watching your pick, juliet:) x
*UPDATE: i watched born to win this morning and thought it was pretty unbelievable (read:amazing). i found it the absolute perfect thing to watch on the tail of herzog's bad lieutenant: port of call - new orleans (2009), which we saw in the theatre last night. so i guess i'm glad i didn't have time to see it during the week afterall! i had many vague ruminating reservations watching bad lieutenant but couldn't really put it to name until i saw born to win. i think so much of my ability to connect to a movie is stitched into the subtleties of tone of the film, and here is where bad lieutenant:port of call + born to win split paths. ostensibly covering some similar issues, born to win for me hit the mark as it traveled the lines of humor + grit + the realities of illness/addiction, i laughed and also felt pretty devastated by what was in front of me, where bad lieutenant contained some/too many over the top and messy moments that just left me feeling pretty empty for the most part. it was compounded i think by perpetual laughter in the audience, which is always hard to digest when it seems more out of a nervous-i-don't-know-what-to-feel place. usually i like the i-don't-know-what-to-feel vibe in a film and sometimes the constant seeming-out-of-place audience laughter aids in my process of clarification of how i feel about the film myself, but not really this time. i think i wanted bad lieutenant to be born to win before i knew what born to win was all about. it feels good to laugh when it is clear you aren't laughing because there is something you are not willing to digest. born to win felt to me a difficult movie in terms of the emotions it coaxed from you as the viewer (be here and laugh with us now, be here and feel the weight of what this really means a moment later). if i am asked to be emotionally present before a film i want it to be worth my time + with born to win i got back what i paid out emotionally in droves.

WEEK 65

65. BORN TO WIN, dir. IVAN PASSER, 1971

We had the great privilege of seeing INTIMATE LIGHTING the other night with Ivan Passer in person. One of the writers behind Milos Forman's early films (LOVES OF A BLONDE, THE FIREMEN'S BALL), Passer made his directorial debut with the beautiful INTIMATE LIGHTING before coming over to the states. Long live the Czech New Wave.

This week's film was Ivan Passer's American debut. Anxious to see it.

WEEK 64

64. THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE, dir. PETER YATES, 1973

this caught my eye on the library shelf (criterion). ooooh the library is so awesome!
think i'll watch it tonight!
[i was behind on my netflix -- my source for nearly all film orgy views, great but requires a level of diligence which i am periodically lacking -- + didn't get things back in time for juliet's last pick, so i am a film behind, but just sent back cria cuervos so will get the new one in the mail + then catch up asap:)]

WEEK 63

63. THE WHOLE SHOOTIN' MATCH, dir. EAGLE PENNELL, 1979

CRIA CUERVOS was a beautiful movie, quiet, filled with sweet sadness. Ana Torrent! Geraldine Chaplin! It is impossible to take your eyes off either of them.

I remembered the feeling of being a child.

Also, I'll be humming "Porque te vas" for the rest of the day today.

This week: Rhan got me this DVD for Christmas. I know nothing about it. Let's learn together.

WEEK 62

62. CRIA CUERVOS, dir. CARLOS SAURA, 1976

i loved the spirit of the beehive so much it has taken all my energy
not to just repost it.
so, instead i've chosen another film co-starring ana torrent, the magical (and best dressed!) little girl from the spirit of the beehive.
sooooooo excited for this one.

WEEK 61

61. ROOM 666, dir. WIM WENDERS, 1982

Something short and (hopefully) inspiring this week.

WEEK 60

60. CLAIRES KNEE, dir. ERIC ROHMER, 1970.

somehow this will be the first of his movies that i have ever seen.


ERIC ROHMER, 4 APRIL 1920 - 11 JANUARY 2010

WEEK 59

59. A GRIN WITHOUT A CAT, dir. CHRIS MARKER, 1977

I liked LATE MARRIAGE a great deal--the glimpse into another world, its frankness with sex, how tenderly it seemed to manage the perspective of each character. An excellent, awkward final scene. I thought it was solid.

This week: a major doozy. I am very excited to see this film.
We must put aside some time and attention for it.