notes in the pockets

Childhood Fear

2009-02-02T16:26:00.000-08:00

On this week's IFC News Podcast, Matt and Allison discussed movies targeted towards children that are actually very frightening and also other things that scared them as children. It got me thinking about what I saw when I was young that freaked me out. It was this music video:

Around 1998, I was probably 8 years old and a latchkey kid. I would come home from school to an empty house and watch music videos. I loved MTV back then. They played Eagle Eye Cherry (anyone remember him?) and Green Day and (since I lived in Europe) lots of Aqua. Sometimes however, they would play the Massive Attack "Teardrop" music video. At the time, I didn't know what the song was because I was to frightened to watch the video. The plastic baby singing in the womb and the fluids surrounding it and the close ups of its eyes and small moving mouth. Ahhhhh! It scared me so much. Watching it now, it's totally harmless, but it was emotionally scarring for me at the age of 8.

Interestingly, only a few months ago did I find out that it was the music video for "Teardrop." The House theme song? A song I actually really enjoy and was even my ringtone for a while? Wow.

81st Academy Awards Nominations

2009-01-24T13:20:00.000-08:00

[List of Nominations]

The Academy has released its list of nominations for the films of 2008. Their choices, frankly, are disappointing. It's hard to expect much from the people who gave an Oscar to "honest to blog" and they are continuing to disappoint.

Firstly, Rachel Getting Married received the biggest snub this year. When the film was first released there was talk of it potentially being nominated for Best Picture and it almost certainly getting a nomination for Best Screenplay. What happened between now and then? There is no Best Picture nomination nor one for Best Screenplay. Jenny Lumet, the writer of this film, deserves an award. The dialogue is sharp and natural. There were few cliches lines and some moments cut so close to the bone for anyone with a family. The more I read about this film the more I realize that nothing is a coincidence in its script. The bi-racial Lumet's inclusion of an interracial couple was no coincidence and I'm starting to think that maybe the relationship between the two sister resembles her relationship with her older sister, Amy. At the very least, Anne Hathaway was recognized (even if Rosemarie Dewitt has better).

Secondly, isn't Slumdog Millionaire getting just a little too much love? The film is entertaining and totally watchable but also shallow and sentimental. It played to me like Disney film. The heroes are always good and the villains are very evil. The love story is very cliched. Why exactly are these two destined to be together? It's never quite explained. When watching this at parts I felt like I was seeing a watered down City of God. Thinking back on it, there's very little there in terms of subtext or depth of the script. A movie doesn't deserve such recognition for being entertaining and visually appealing.

P.S. The Wrestler received little attention here either. It should have been a candidate for Best Picture.

Here are my (totally biased) picks for who should win in each major category.

Performance by an actor in a leading role

Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)
Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

Achievement in directing

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard
“Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle

Best documentary feature

“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
“Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
“The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
“Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
“Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

Best motion picture of the year

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
“Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nominees to be determined
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production, Christian Colson, Producer

I don't feel much passion about most of these picks, however. The selection was pretty terrible.

Wendy and Lucy (2008)

2008-12-29T07:20:00.000-08:00

Thank God for Kelly Reichardt. A kind of female director that comes by rarely. She has crafted a story that features an interesting female lead in a universally relatable story. Wendy and Lucy is the story of a girl (Michelle Williams) traveling to Alaska for work in a fishery with her dog Lucy. Along the way she makes a stop in a small Oregonian town finding that her car will no longer start. Noticing that Lucy is hungry, she attempts to shoplift some dog food and gets caught and arrested. During her time in the store she had left Lucy tied up out in the front and she disappears by the time Wendy has returned from her stint in the jail.

Reichardt has only so far had one other major feature, the film Old Joy. Admittedly, I haven't seen it but I added it to my netflix queue as soon as I finished with Wendy and Lucy. Recihardt's minimalistic style is good enough to rival Van Sant's modern minimalism for the spot of my favorite modern film style.

During a period of economic crisis, this film is wholly relevant. Wendy leaves her small Indiana town to find work in Alaska because she has to. During her stop in Oregon she asks a small time security guard about the number of jobs in town and he reaffirms her beliefs by saying that there are few. Even if few are in the state that Wendy is in, many have been losing jobs and others have been finding it harder to find work. Small business are putting the brake on hiring new employees and the big business are having major layoffs. As a statement on the current economic state, Reichardt's film is very 2008. Even if this year had no big break out hits, Wendy and Lucy is the quintessential 2008 film.

Michelle Williams is in the position to carry the whole movie and she does it well. Reichardt reportedly thought that Williams was too pretty to play this role so she asked her to not wear make-up or shower for two weeks. She looks the part of a vagabond. She has hardly anything in common here with her previous role. Her performance is subtle and she has few lines of dialogue which she delivers superbly. Nothing grand happens in the film plot-wise but the importance of all the seemingly minisclue things that happen can be seen in Williams' face throughout the whole film.

Reichardt's choice of imagery is beautiful. It's beautiful in its modesty. It shows you simple images of American life and American wilderness that create a perfect backdrop for Wendy and Lucy's story. I was moved by what I saw.

If you have a chance to see Wendy and Lucy, I would highly recommend that you take it (especially if you're one of those that is convinced that 2008 was a crap year for film.)

2008-12-17T14:53:00.000-08:00

[The Auteurs]

Criterion has stepped up their game. Criterion Collection, the company that is best known for releasing very well restored versions of classics and modern classics on DVD with many awesome extras is now online. I'm not surprised that Criterion decided to upload a couple of films online. The success of Hulu.com has proven that watching film and TV online is what so many people are moving to. Their film viewing medium comes in the form of a site called The Auteurs. There is a feature called "Festival" which has some obscure films to be viewed for free and some others which you can view for $5. My favorite feature on the site is the forums. Many great discussions on film happen on the message boards. Arguably it's the only place to read some great film debate and criticism in which you can also join in.

Daily Hate

2008-11-22T08:43:00.000-08:00

I'm sick of hearing about Twilight. This book is the bane of being a high school aged female in 2008. The movie adaptation was released yesterday and all of these annoying giddy girls in my English class saw it at midnight on Thursday night and gushed about it all through class. Then I came home and, of course, all of my favorite movie critics had reviewed it and hated it. They all did realize though that it doesn't matter what they have to say since fangirls will think this is the OMG BEST MOVIE EVER MADE. Here are the reasons I will never see or read the Twilight series:

1. It's a huge metaphor for conservative values -
There is a protagonist named Bella and a vampire named Edward. He really wants to drink her blood or something and so he can't get close to her because the temptation is just too much, and in the heat of the moment, it's really hard to stop. Teenage abstinence? Check. Then I read that in a later book, after the couple has married, Bella is carrying a demon child but won't abort and will probably die giving birth. Anti-abortion? Check. I guess the conservative crowd has started pushing it on girls at a young age. I would be a very disappointed mother if this is what my kids were reading.

2. The fans are psychotic - The guy who plays the vampire in this movie did some mall appearance or something and teenage girls with bleeding scratches on their neck would come up to him and say "Look, I did this for you." Oh, and there's this video.

3. It's just fucking ridiculous and gives girls the wrong idea about what love actually is causing many males and females of my generation to live in unhappy marriages.

Inauguration Challenge

2008-11-06T10:19:00.000-08:00

Jezebel published an article today about The Daily Beast challenge to Project Runway designers. They each had to craft a dress for the First Lady to wear on Inauguration Day using these materials: "Laura Bush’s 2005 Inaugural Ball dress, an American flag, burlap potato sacks and $10 worth of trims of their choice." At the time of the challenge they didn't know that Michelle Obama would be the First Lady to wear their design.

My favorite would definitely be Leanne Marshall's (Season 5 winner) dress.

It's classy and elegant, it reminds me of classic Americana. It recalls the early 60's and would be suiting for Ms. Obama, after all she's the closest will come to another Jackie O.

Check out all the rest and tell which is your favorite.

Thursday Meme

2008-11-06T10:08:00.000-08:00

My girlfriend tagged me to do a meme ages go and I finally got around to it.

1. Were you named after anyone? My paternal grandmother.

2. Do you still have your tonsils? I do. They have yet to give me problems.

3. Would you bungee jump? Never. I don't like heights.

4. What is your favorite cereal? Anything with low sugar and cinnamon flavor. I'm not a huge cereal fan.

5. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Nope. I usually wear my converse that are well worn in that untying isn't necessary.

6. What is your favorite ice cream? Vanilla bean.

7. What is the first thing you notice about people? Their face and hair, I think.

8. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? I can't communicate effectively.

9. What was the last thing you ate? A blackberry cereal bar and a glass of milk.

10. What are you listening to right now? Bob Dylan - Tangled up in Blue

11. Last movie you watched? Hamlet. I had to see it for school. It was boring.

12. What did you dream about last night? I didn't have any dreams that I remember.

13. What book are you reading? I'm reading Hamlet for school and Swann's Way by Proust for myself.

14. Summer or winter? Winter.

15. Do you have any special talents? I retain useless information like no other.

Prop K

2008-11-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

In other news, California voters yesterday also voted on Prop K. If passed, Prop K will stop police enforcement of laws against prostitution and put an end on anti-prostitution programs.. Prostitution is already marginally legally in other parts of America, for instance in Rhode Island it is legal as long as done indoors and in Nevada though only in counties of less than 400, 000 residents. Prostitution was bound to become mainstream and culturally accepted, it's already happened to porn. Porn stars are celebrities today. Years ago, some racy photos of Vanessa Williams cost her her Miss America crown and now Paris Hilton's sex tape does nothing to hurt her career in fact it helped her status.

I'm undecided on Prop K. I'm morally opposed to prostitution. However, Prop K will definitely be a leap towards minimizing all of the risks involved with working as a hooker. It's time these men and women at least have some sort of safety.

Unfortunately, it failed. Maybe they'll try again in 2010 with Prop 8.

This Presidential Election

2008-11-05T12:25:00.001-08:00

I voted for the first time yesterday. It felt nice to have officially given my support to Barack Obama. As soon as I arrived home from the polls, I turned on CNN and left it on for the next 7 or so hours. All of their numbers made me so anxious, all of the first results to arrive were slated towards McCain. Then they announced that Obama had Vermont... and later Pennsylvania and New Jersey and Illinois and Florida until he won with 349 votes, a landslide victory over Senator McCain. I went to bed happy. Then this morning I awoke to much negativity on my Facebook page. Apparently, everyone I go to school with now plans to assassinate Obama, move to Canada or find a way to make Texas secede from the US. I got plenty of it at school too. Then on my Twitter page I found out that Prop 8 had passed. It puts a huge damper on any of my high spirits. What's going to happen now? What will all of these gay couples that wed in California do? From what I've read, they will all have to hire lawyers to decide if the marriage will still be legal and what will be done. I can't believe that it's so easy to just give a group of people a right and take it away. Oh wait, but gay marriage isn't a right after all, huh, it's just a privilege and a privilege can always be taken away. I read that almost 80% of all the money going to support for Prop 8 was coming Utah and the Mormon community. Do they not have anything better to do than support discrimination against people based on who they date? I don't feel happy about the election much anymore. I'm stoked that Obama is president, it shows that people have started using their brains but then I think of all the gay couples who were married in California and it kills me to know that they now have to live with the uncertainty of their future. I hope that soon we'll see real change.

Last 5

2008-10-22T17:34:00.000-07:00

I think that my only reader will get even more upset if I don't post something soon. I thought I'd steal Cinebanter's patented "Last 5" and discuss the last five things I saw on any moderately sized screen.

5. The Fold

www.thefold.tv

The Fold is the point where the Twilight Zone and soft-core porn meet. I like the artistic freedom that the internet gives directors. Internet series' like Young American Bodies take full advantage of the freedom's in what they can show. This series is definitely for an older crowd. Basically, there's a time-travel machine invented by a guy with Asperger's who just wants the machine so he can go back in time and have sex with Joan of Arc. His CEO father, who is funding the project wants to stop sex from ever happening through the use of the machine. There's plenty of comical sex, though it's never particularly graphic. There's a woman who's super power is being able to see people's fetishes by looking at them. And a phenomenon called the "World Wide Orgasm." Put it all together and... hilarity ensues.

"SEE IT!"

4. Mad Men

I don't think I can say anything about this show that hasn't already been said. Set in the early 1960's business world, the viewer becomes so immersed in the time period. It's all perfect, the alcohol, the cigarettes, the clothes, the hairstyles, the conservative attitude. It's set in that crucial time period where Nixon was voted out of office and JFK voted in. Everything is spot on. No one is always good or always bad. I feel sympathy for characters I don't even like because they're portrayed from so many different angles. The dialogue is snappy, original and always pleasant to hear. After all, the great conversation makes the shows and films. I wonder how much things really have changed since that time. All the sexism the male charters have towards the females seems absurd and kind of comical from a 21st century perspective. But I can't help and wonder about how much of it is still present today.

"If you're not watching this yet, start right now."

3. Be Kind Rewind

I'm not a Michel Gondry fan. However, I am a big fan of the music video work he did with Bjork many moons ago. His surreal visual style and effects worked for me in that setting but not in a film setting. I think his visuals are interesting but a little unimpressive and too zany the majority of the time. The concept behind Be Kind Rewind is that Mos Def and Jack Black play buddies who work at a video store. One night during some crazy stunt, Jack Black becomes magnetized and erases all the tapes. Since the original owner of the store has left them in charge they decide to re shoot all of the movies through their interpretation. Their versions start gaining notoriety but they eventually get caught in a legal battle over copyright. I feel almost entirely neutral about it. I liked Melanie Diaz, she's good in everything.

"Meh."

2. Religulous

Bill Maher's documentary was entertaining but hardly educational. I don't think that anyone would have his or her opinion swayed by seeing this. My main criticism is that I got too much of what I didn't want. For instance, he interview some men at a "Truck Chapel" who didn't really have anything insightful to say, it seemed like an excuse to get some laughs. I could have used way less wackos and idiots whom I almost felt bad for because of how much they were ridiculed whether they realized it or not. I know that sometimes it's hard for a documentary to present its subjects seriously especiall when they are saying things that are ridiculous but it can be done: see Jesus Camp. It also gave me too little of what I wanted. Bill only takes to the educated people very briefly, the Vatican astronomer which he interviewed about science had much insight as did a Catholic priest that he talked to outside the Vatican. He also brought up the topic of the clash between the liberal Dutch community and conservative Muslims in that area. That was interesting, Bill! He seemed to be so worried about how religion would bring our demise yet he glossed over the most convincing arguments. I don't care about how absurd Scientology and Mormonism are. I already know. People can believe whatever they want, it's fine with me as long as it isn't forced on anyone or used to justify hate. My Grandmother attends church regularly and it means something to her. The thought of someone mocking my Grandmother's beliefs to her seems insanely cruel. On top of that, the long rant at the very end seemed a little too tacked-on-last-minute though insightful.

1. Crawford

It's showing for free on Hulu. Go watch it.

hater

2008-10-10T18:14:00.000-07:00

Firstly, I know nothing about the Twilight series or the movie adaptation that is about to be released, plot-wise. I have never read the books and don't plan to. I already know that I hate this story, these characters and basically everything about this entire franchise. The Twilight fans are some of the most annoying people in existence (I used to think that the LOTR and Harry Potter fans were terrible, now they're hardly noticeable, in fact do they even still exist? all I hear is this Twilight hullabullo), lusting over a fictitious character is really lame. A factious vampire? A new echelon of pathetic. Girls in my English class talk about this book as if it's the next big romance or something. Really? The overview of these characters' relationship that I have been given goes something like this:

Edward: Bella, I love you!
Bella: How can you love me? You're perfect and beautiful. And I trip on stuff!
Edward: You smell good, obviously... Let's cuddle!
Bella: OK!

Oh wow, I might faint from all the dizzying, sweep-you-off-your-feet romanticism.

Secondly, why is this being so heavily publicized at Comic Con? It's not a comic book. It's some lame quasi-sci-fi vampire crap for teenage girls who get off on reading Anne Rice. I understand the promotion of films like the upcoming Wolverine and Watchmen, they belong there, but not Twilight. Getting girls into Comic Con through Twilight is really cheap and frankly insulting.

It's dandy and all that teeny boppers and at least reading something, but I just wish they were sensible enough to read something better than a bored Mormon housewife's fantasy version of this vampiric love. It's just another thing in the world reminding young girls that they won't be happy without a guy by their side. It's sad, and why I will never see or read Twilight.

+/-

2008-09-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

09/29/2008

Positive:
1. My college essay writing process for St.Edward's is going well. I wrote a hunk of my paper in 15 or so minutes and it's not half bad or cheesy.
2. I've been applying for jobs at all of the local movie rental places. Hopefully one will call me back for an interview soon. *knock on wood

Negative:
1. Passive aggressive text messages? I will admit to having sent them when angry but man, are they annoying. Never again.
2. I did not get to watch Tokyo Story today like I had planned. I was distracted.

4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days

2008-09-22T23:23:00.000-07:00

1980's era Romania had the lowest living standards in the entire Eastern Bloc. For a lack of a better word, it was a shithole. My father was a student in Bulgaria in the 80's. In '85 (two years before the setting of this film) he took a train to Berlin, it passed through Romania. As it stopped, the locals noting that it was an international train climbed aboard and began begging for food, cigarettes. Every passenger on the train was warned that they were somewhere dangerous. As I watch 4 Months that scenario is with me. I can't help but parallel what I see to Bulgarian society. The bathrooms, the living quarters, I've seen them before. It's so familiar, it's eerie. It's as if this is all happening in the neighborhood where I grew up.

The plots follows roommates Otilia and Gabita as they navigate to get an abortion for Gabita. Since aborting the fetus could lead to charges of manslaughter and 5-10 in jail. The leads have to go through a sketchy deal to hire a repulsive man to do the operation. The character of Mr. Bebe is so real. He's negative and rude and pessimistic. Wouldn't you be the same way if you were in this shithole? The actress who plays Otilia gives a great performance and makes the sense of urgency palpable. This film is difficult. It's still. It's cramped. It's suffocating. It's urgent. And mostly, brilliant. A standard for real time flicks and a story being told through dialogue. It doesn't rely on any flashy effects, the camera hardly moves.

During the final scene, the two leads eat a meal and the camera is close enough to capture them both. They are trapped in a secret together and you, the viewer, are too.

milk at st. anna

2008-09-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

I just caught the trailer for Milk. Oooh, it looks so promising, just these two minutes make it clear that Sean Penn is fabulous as the openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk. Filmspotting did their 5 most anticipated movies for fall '08 recently, and from their choices, Milk is my numero uno. Great cast (James Franco, Sean Penn, Diego Luna and Josh Brolin) + fabulous director (Gus van Sant) = Success!

+ Joseph Gorden-Levitt is stellar
- I don't care much for war movies
+ I've been impressed with earlier Spike Lee offerings (25th Hour, Crooklyn)
- Mixed reviews/no particularly striking acceptance in said reviews

Meh, pros and cons even out. I'm not opposed, I'll check this out.

watchmen

2008-09-16T09:35:00.001-07:00

A copy of Alan Moore's Wathcmen arrived in the mail today. The back cover's bent slightly, no big, it's still readable.

The trailer for the movie adaptation looks promising. However, I have no idea about what to expect, my knowledge of Watchmen is comparable to my knowledge of rare spider species. Maybe the next few days will change that.