well, nobody needs a "reminder", these are basic things everyone knows.

the question is not whether we should remember. the question is: given that the world and people are shit: how does one deal with that?

but that isn't the right question really, because the shittiness of life does not operate at an abstract, conceptual level like some platonic idea of the shitty. it is always real and specific and concrete, and complex, and complicated. the concept of shittiness derives from that concrete experience, not the otjer way around.

so it is good for all of us (who have to deal with the shit of life) to see a complex and complicated scenario of specific shittiness without actually being a part of it. that is the relief and the medicine. you witness it, but you are not in it. there is distance.

and witnessing it one might boohoo or haaahaaa, depending. but whatever happens, it's not you, the spectator, who is in it. lucky it's not you! it is someone else, a character, who is being tragic or ridiculous. relief!

and so, from the detachment of purged emotions, the ability to process and the freedom to think about how to deal with shitty things like that. which is not a luxury the trapped have amidst their suffering.

and that there has been theatre since the greeks.

Haha, this site is so cool.


I just watched October Sky. That's actually a lie, I haven't yet but I will tomorrow.


Also, Stockholm.

It's almost like a ballet. Some scenes are truly phenomenal. I loved the roundabout scene at the very end

yes, this movie is on YT, but I only found out just now.






and also:





which was more annoying than entertaining actually

I watched Neighbors (which was actually pretty fun and dumb) and Neighbors 2 (which was less funny and more dumb).

I watched 65 and it was meh, l but I’d watch Adam Driver in anything.

Also Uncle Buck! Holds up despite that child abuse scene

Watched THE VERDICT, classic noir. super awesome.

watched Born Yesterday again. My wife's fave. old classic.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and call those first two animated Spider-Man movies the best Spider-Man related audiovisual media out there. Spectacular Spider-Man is an amazing series too, but those movies are downright GORGEOUS. From all the little visual details to the amazing scenery, the kinetic action and the clever plotting and writing - there's very little to criticize. The sequel even manages to up the ante in the humor department. Looking forward to the third one next year.





What can I say? I have a soft-spot for Wes Anderson movies. So I'm far from unbiased here. But I enjoyed it a lot. What I've been seeing throughout his latest two movies (the previous one being The French Dispatch) is a director who's gotten so confident in his visual style and particular type of storytelling, that he's willing to take chances that might put off some people but really cater to others.


Anderson's interest in the media - be it print media or as is the case here, stage plays, has taken the driver's seat in the last few years. He's crafted another loving homage to a medium that seems antiquated to some. If anything bogs it down a bit, it's the sheer scope he's going for here. There are so many characters in there he clearly intends to have some sort journey that in the grand scheme of things it might be a bit muddled. Given some very meta-observations within the movie, this might have been at least partly intentional though. The jury's still out on whether the themes were established stringently enough or if they were a tad undercooked. A re-watch will help.


However, what is there is gorgeously shot, really well-acted and just really charming in its embrace of camp. And the themes touched upon - being stuck in limbo, loneliness and not quite being able to "figure life out" are certainly timely ones that are bound to strike a chord with quite a few.


Anderson movies always had a very particular look to them, but it's noticeable just how many layers have been added to his scene compositions over the years. It's astounding how much is going on on the screen simultanously in Asteroid City. It's a spectacle. That alone is worth the price of admission.

I turned off French Dispatch.

too fey

It was just kind of a shite movie really

Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge

watched UNDER THE VOLCANO with Finney.

drunk gets drunker til he dies drunk.

It was way better than Innisherin.

Innishrin is my new low.

I used to praise middling movies by saying "its better than Darkman."

Then I would say "It's better than The Thief, his wife, her cook, ad the lover"

Now I say, "It is better than Innisherin"

After Hours

haaaahaaaahaaaaa! these are quality jokes.

i'll reuse (and change the titles). "it's better than guardians of the galaxy" (or whatever).

finney is fucking great in under the volcano btw. i mean he was usually great, but here--whoa! out of this world (literally, in the end).

i wanna read the novel, i do.


ooooh that one is great fun, very 80s, i want to rewatch (seen a few times)

I never watched Under the Volcano because I thought it was Joe vs The Volcano which is FUCKING HORRIBLE

hhahahahaaaaaaa! fuck, i hated tom hanks most of the time. he used to look like a fucking giant baby. he's more tolerable in old age.

anyway check title #11 listed here:

https://sites.prh.com/modern-library-top-100

Vamps.

I do not trust a list that does not include Moby Dick as # 1

oh but it's a 20th century list (now i notice the website itself doesn't mention it but yeah, time-bracketed)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOSf9f5_qZ8

That makes sense.

A technical achievement. The movie is really well-shot and quite a spectacle. The performances were great too.


However, I feel like Nolan's tendency to accentuate the spectacular over the more subtle notions once again was a bit of a detriment. To be fair, he seems to have gotten better at depicting emotional interaction, there were only a few pieces of dialogue that felt stilted. But his baffling decision to check off most of Oppenheimer's liaisons as well as a lot of points of interest in his biography without actually giving them enough time to breathe and develop, made the movie seem quite bloated.


The sequence depicting the Trinity test and the aftermath - as seen from the perspective of Oppenheimer, were quite powerful. But leading up to that was a methodical checklist of events in Oppie's life that would have been interesting, if only some of the consequences of the subjects touched upon were actually shown or explored more.


And after the Manhattan Project section, the movie turns into Twelve Angry Men with a constant overbearing score in the background and a ton of exposition. Also: None of the quiet discomfort of Twelve Angry Men.


I wished someone had told Nolan to dial it down a bit and actually focus on what kind of movie he wants to make - because when it was good, it was REALLY GOOD. Cillian Murphy is great in the lead and the performances in general did lend a lot of personality to the overall atmosphere. But the way the story was told seemed a tad disjointed.