-
flix we partook of over the hump
since flix are The artform of the last century, and since we do not live on sw alone (riiiight? 😮 ), this thread is a continuation of a long-term topic i started elsewhere. (due to a recent format switch which renders the above link illegible- and my no longer being able to trust the judgment of the moderator at that location- i am resuming this thred here
) it is intended as a terse record of my film explorations, with (a personal emphasis of mine) occasional comment on the music therein. organic (“off-topic” ) crosstalk is encouraged; everyone is welcome to regard any subject raised herein as jumping-off points for whatever remarks you wish to add
digressions happen; the Hump goes on
my comments on each mentioned film are designed for punchiness, speed of digestion and maximization of recognition (i.e. if you’ve seen a flik but aren’t sure if you recall it, i’ll describe it in such a way so as to increase the chance you’ll remember it, so as to provoke discussion). as such, they don’t qualify as “critiques” or “reviews”. on the other hand they’re not quite “blurbs” either (e.g., “i Loved it!” sez gene shalit in a movie’s newspaper ad, flecks of dried pastrami spitting out his big bushy mustache :p ) instead, i refer to them as “humps” or “humpins”, after this thred title :sur: either way, y’all are also welcome to contribute “humps” of your own, and your “humps” may be as long or short, in-depth or glib as you wish to make them
i tend to avoid new releases; home video’s my preference. that said, unless i cite a film’s year of release it came out within the last decade or so. anyhoo, on to my now-traditional opening:
What hump? You know what hump :p because previous incarnations of this thred are all but obliterated (the net, after all, is such an ephemeral medium :dead: ), i wish to begin by recapping of some of my faves covered on previous Humps. though i’m tempted to include a few better-known ones such as Flirting With Disaster, Fight Club, Party Girl, Pi, Pierrot Le Fou, Being John Malkovich, Lock Stock & 2 Smokin Barrels etc, the idea here is to Provoke Fruitful Discussion. and mentioning flix already discussed to death ain’t the way to get That ball rollin, so i’ll skew a bit more esoteric & emphasize those i feel proud & lucky to have discovered; let’s see if That rings any of yer bells
first, 4 i’ve already amazon-reviewed:
venice/venice– henry jaglom’s incisive, escapist, subversive, sublime meditation on reality, movies & wuv 😎
some prefer cake– low-budget, superfun, sanfran-style slacker-love hijinx
high art– complex, convincing professional & personal relationship between a heroin-addicted photographer (yummy ally sheedy :kiss: ) and a photomag editor 😎
clockwatchers– lisa kudrow, toni collette & yummy parker posey (:kiss: ) navigate office politics as peon temps; subtle, poignant, superfun
also:
gummo (harmony korine dir.)- absorbing, visceral, 4-day-old-body-stench-soaked window unto brain-cell-killing white-trashdom
happiness (todd solondz dir.)- marvelous, wickedly funny, panoramic window unto middle-class alienation, shallowness and sexual self-loathing, jersey style :p perfectly-cast, nuanced turns by philip seymour hoffman, lara flynn boyle, jon lovitz, camryn mannheim, louise lasser, dylan baker (as the pederast who nonetheless maintains a surprisingly healthy & frank relationship with his pre-teen son) etc : ) soundtrack features increasingly stinky (this stuff does Not age well) 70s/80s cheese such as “mandy”, “you light up my life” and air supply :p
daytrippers (parker posey, anne meara, greg mottola dir.)- superfun misadventures during a family-station-wagon trip into manhattanbossanova-tinged richard martinez score
blue in the face (wayne wang dir.)- superfun, cameo-crammed ensemble comedy about a brooklyn cigar store’s oddball neighbors
the real blonde (matthew modine, kathleen turner, daryl hannah, tom dicillo dir.)- superfun, cameo-crammed ensemble comedy about careers, romances & milieux of several manhattan artiste-types :rolleyes: fun jim farmer score & yummy bridgette wilson :kiss:
career girls (mike leigh dir)- superfun, poignant london vignette about two college chums reuniting six years later
fallen angels (wong kar-wai dir.)- not as well-known as wong’s Chungking Express, but a more stylin, cooler, noir/french-new-wave tale of a hongkong hitman, his ardent Gal Friday and an eccentric, enterprising mute who breaks into retailers’ shops at 3am, reopens them and forces passersby to be his customers :crazed:
tieta do agreste (carlos diegues dir.)- gorgeous, breezy brazilian flick bout an urban madam (sonia braga) who returns to her small home village in style; features Excellent caetano veloso bossanova score :happy:
the mystery of rampo– poetic, involving japanese mindphuque about a novelist’s femme protagonist seemingly coming to life 😎 excellent akira senju score.
book of life– hal hartley’s stylin, supercool, introspective, compact (63 minutes), pomo-tech jesus-vs-satan armageddon faceoff set in turn-of-millenium nyc : )
pillow book (ewan macgrrrregarrrr, peter greenaway dir)- dense, stylin, supercool story of a japanese model compelled to combine carnality & calligraphy
dream with the fishes (david arquette, cathy moriarty, kathryn erbe (:kiss: ) )- complex, superfun pact between a suicidal guy & terminally ill guy to help each other carry out their final wishes
relax it’s just sex– superfun 16mm dramedy about a “gay man trapped in a straight woman’s body” (hilarious jennifer tilly) and the luvlives amongst her mixed-persuasion posse, including convincing lori petty and radiant serena scott thomas :kiss:
a life less ordinary (macgrrregarrr, camdiaz, ian holm, danny boyle dir.)- superfun crime-spree romp about heaven’s attempts to orchestrate love between a rich girl & a janitor :stupid:
splendor (gregg araki dir)- yummy kathleen “90210” robertson’s the magnetic crux of this superfun, slick-hip romcom in which she works out a menage-a-troi living arrangement with 2 guys 😎 features fun kelly macdonald (who made her debut in danny boyle’s Trainspotting) and a cool remix of everything but the girl’s “before today”
do i think these are among the Best films made in the last decade? geez, how do i know. i don’t concern myself here with posterity, only conveyance of personal taste & sensibility. all i know is i certainly found them among the best Fun
vt
np (now playing): leftfield’s rendition of john barry’s You Only Live Twice “space march”
Sorry, there were no replies found.
Log in to reply.