Some movies I just saw

[Nabubrush]

Sita Sings the Blues. Animated exploration of the story of Ramayana, with a jazz soundtrack. I can heartily recommend this, apart from the sort of inherent sexism built in to some of the mythology explored within. The film was made over a period of five years by Nina Paley. It's partly autobiographical, and the story behind the story gets into some copyright issues.

The Libertine. Mostly true Johnny Depp movie, about a 17th century poet/earl/hedonist. I didn't enjoy this quite as much as I expected to. Also it's sort of depressing.

White Ribbon. Great movie. Pretty dark. About some German kids in a little village before WWI. Lots of bad stuff happens.

I Served the King of England. Jirí Menzel movie about a hotel-worker in Prague before/during/after WWII. Some dark stuff in this, too, but it was really very funny.

The Road. Hm. I probably shouldn't have even watched this, since I'm such a McCarthy fanboy. It wasn't terrible. On another note, I didn't know this guy existed.

[side_show]

The Libertine was disapointing wasn't it?  I remember thinking: "Jonny Depp and John Malcovich?  I can't go wrong with that combination." Cut to 45 minutes into the movie when I wake in a movie theatre, bored out of my skull, barely able to stay concious.  Somehow the film just lacked life.

As for McCarthy, I recently gave up on reading Blood Meridian.  It was just unreadable to me, which was a surprize, as I've been told I am the type who would love McCarthy by more than one person.  I did really enjoy the film version of No Country for Old Men.  In fact, it's probably in my top ten favorite films.  Are other McCarthy novels more readable?

I just saw Precious.  It was okay, but my sister summed it up pretty well:  "an after school special, with swearing."  The acting was good for the most part.

I'm looking forward to seeing I'm Still Here .  I'm interested in what was done there. 

[Nabubrush]

My favorite is Suttree. I do think it's a bit more accessible. It's funnier, too - or as funny as he gets, anyway. Child of God and The Orchard Keeper were good as well.

[jay-ell]

Speaking of disappointing, I recently got almost one-quarter of the way through The Story of O.

I was less bothered by the overt misogyny, because I understood it as part of the world in which O had chosen to immerse herself. But I couldn't take it seriously because of the '70s hairstyles and flat-chested women...and it was much more softcore than I'd expected, at least up to the point where I cut it off. 

[Nabubrush]

I'm watching (again) Rollerball after work, a bit at a time. Something I never noticed before - James Caan plays Jonathan E as if he's just impersonating Adam Sandler. Not like Billy Madison or Little Nicky or whatever - Adam Sandler himself.

[pmcd9]

I'm watching (again) Rollerball after work, a bit at a time. Something I never noticed before - James Caan plays Jonathan E as if he's just impersonating Adam Sandler. Not like Billy Madison or Little Nicky or whatever - Adam Sandler himself.

I'm gonna have to watch that again to check that out.  I really love that movie.

[Nabubrush]

I'm gonna have to watch that again to check that out.  I really love that movie.

I would like it if you did, because it was really striking to me and I'd like to hear what you thought. It actually distracted me a bit.

[side_show]

I recently saw "Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus" which I found surprisingly engrossing.  I woke up in the middle of the night, couldn't get back to sleep and watched it, then went back to sleep, and the film seeped into my dreams. I kind of love Robert Downey Jr. and found his work in that film pretty engrossing.  Being that I'm my own below the surface freak, somehow it all worked for me.  It was surprisingly kinky and sexy - but then I realized afterward that the dude that made it also made Secretary and everything fell into place.

[Nabubrush]

Aha. Secretary was quite good, I thought.

[Asherdan]

I thought it odd you guys were talking about a Disney hoss movie but then I re-learned how to read.

[side_show]

I think both involve some light whipping of a female on all fours, so the similarities are there.

[Nabubrush]

Another issue I have with Rollerball: They're basically in the midst of the playoffs and they are introducing the game to young players who don't even recognize that the ball is heavy and made of steel. That is no way to run a sport.

[pmcd9]

Another issue I have with Rollerball: They're basically in the midst of the playoffs and they are introducing the game to young players who don't even recognize that the ball is heavy and made of steel. That is no way to run a sport.

As I recall, that sport had a high mortality rate.

[Nabubrush]

I was going to say that it doesn't really get terribly lethal until that last bit where they suspend all the rules (only two players finish the last bout shown) but I guess maybe it doesn't bear up under close inspection, because you're right. I think they cite a statistic that the most deaths in a game was nine. It just seems like you put in a few new guys in the playoffs and your performance is going to suffer a bit. Of course, the same could be said for your opponents, but you'd end up putting a pretty shitty product on the track for the fans, and that does make a difference for your economic survival.

There is the slightest chance I am thinking about this too much.

[theinevitable]

I just saw Visioneers.

man, I really just can't handle a lot of satire. People don't know how to do satire that isn't heavy-handed and simplistic and stupid. Most of the parts that were pushing hard on the Satire angle were unfunny and annoyed me. "we're all losing our individuality to corporations! everyone is obsessed with productivity and success! We watch Oprah and think she will make our lives better!"

however, Zak Galifianakis is unbelievably funny, and there were points where I was laughing so hard that I had to pause the movie.