The Watercooler: The cove, the chef and the cold soul
After all the buzz surrounding The Cove since its Sundance premiere, finally catching up to the documentary at the theater turned out to be a significant disappointment. The film exposes the practice in Japan of rounding up dolphins and slaughtering them and then selling the meat as whale to unsuspecting grocery shoppers. It’s a horrifying procedure and few who see it will argue that it shouldn’t be stopped, but the filmmakers trade reasoned argument for button-pushing sensationalism.
The locals are eager to keep the dolphin-loving public from seeing the mass killings that take place in an isolated cove on the southern tip of Japan and they jealously guard it with the complicity of the local government and police force. As a result, former dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry (he worked on the popular 1960s US TV program Flipper) and his team must mount an espionage-like mission in order to document exactly what is going on. The espionage angle makes for gripping entertainment, but it consumes large chunks of the film and does little to further its cause.
Another problem is it preys on human emotion and our natural inclination toward dolphins. This hierarchy of animals where some have been judged ok to eat and others are off limits because they’re smart and cute is wrong-headed.
The best argument for not eating dolphins is that their meat contains extremely high concentrations of mercury, up to 5,000 times levels considered safe for human consumption. This point is made in the documentary, but its shortchanged in favor of scenes of O’Barry’s team outfitted with night vision gear trying to sneak in to areas where they can film the cove and ultimately scenes of dolphins being brutalized.
Based on his experiences with the Flipper dolphins, O’Barry is an anti-dolphin captivity activist. The irony is that shows like Flipper and places like SeaWorld are what led people to fall in love with dolphins in the first place. It’s kind of a contradiction and the documentary would’ve better served the dolphin cause by focusing on the mercury issue while also making a case against keeping dolphins in captivity.
I went into Julie & Julia with only an interest in the parts with Meryl Streep as Julia Child. The surprising thing is that Julie Powell’s story with Amy Adams was strong enough to stand on its own and I think Nora Ephron shortchanged both stories by forcing them together. It was a brilliant marketing maneuver – you get the younger audiences who might be familiar with Ms. Powell’s blog and book plus you get everyone else because of Meryl Streep – but the narratives feel rushed and neither one is given a chance to breathe. Also, the transitions back and forth between the two stories is awkward and a little irritating. As soon as you settle in to one woman’s tale, you’re forced to shift gears and readjust to the other one.
Having said that, Streep is still great and the film is lightly entertaining while imparting a gentle can-do message. It could’ve been better, but in many ways it’s better than I expected.
Cold Souls with Paul Giamatti takes a promising premise about souls that are bought and traded on the open market, but it never comes to life and it fails to impart much in the way of philosophy about the nature of souls or human consciousness. As much as this film has been compared to Charlie Kaufman, it nowhere in Kaufman’s league. Where Kaufman struggles with an abundance of overlapping layers of meaning, Cold Souls feels surprisingly empty headed. Even Paul Giamiatti (as Paul Giamatti) is a little disappointing.
That’s all I’ve got. Now it’s your turn.
Filed under: Watercooler
Tags: Amy Adams, Cold Souls, Julie & Julia, Meryl Streep, Paul Giamatti, The Cove
Alas, your reaction to The Cove confirms my greatest fears about it. I’m sorry that you were so unmoved by Cold Souls. I had greater hopes for its success. When Paul Giamatti plays himself disappointingly things are dire indeed.
Got to watch an in-flight movie to and back from our recent Cook Islands holiday destination – Aitutaki Atoll. The first – In the Loop – had me in tears of laughter at times and rates as one of the better comedies I’ve seen in quite a while. The second was Star Trek and I must say that even on the little monitor before me the film was fun. Sure it contains all the predictable by the numbers elements of run-of-the-mill blockheaders but it was very entertaining. I don’t get the strength of critical praise it garnered but I enjoyed the experience as a rollicking adventure. I think Chris Pine deserves the most praise for making a character work who could easily have come across as little more than a bland matinee idol hero.
I had planned to see Julie & Julia but it turned out the In the Loop was playing in the little art theater near hear so I went to see that. SUCH a funny movie, so many amazing one-liners. I’m glad we made the choice to see it (although my mother didn’t like all the cursing, lol).
The rest of the weekend was devoted to TCM. Friday was “Glenn Ford” day, so I caught Gilda for the umpteenth time and The Undercover Man for the first time, which is an interesting and well-done film about a g-man trying to nail a mobster.
Today was “Cary Grant” day. I caught Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, a little charmer with an all-around excellent cast and 2 of the Cary Grant/Hitchcock flicks: To Catch a Thief and Notorious (2nd favorite Hitchcock movie of all time). :D
Too bad about Cold Souls and Giamatti. I really like him.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the cove — I know it’s picking up some grass-roots love, but I haven’t been able to tell what effect that’s happening.
Yesterday, I even saw a bumper sticker on someone’s car advertising the cove — said something like “See it now, and help us stop it.” Or something. It was wierd as movie ads as bumper stickers are uncommon.
Also, appreciated your Julie & Julia thoughts…in reading both of their books, I thought Julia Child’s entire life was far more fascinating than I ever could imagine.
Julia Child’s entire life was far more fascinating than I ever could imagine.
RC, I know, right? I knew she was interesting because I knew the OSS stuff, but that’s about it. The film left me wanting to know more–is that a good thing or a bad thing? Hard to say.
So, yes, obviously I saw Julie & Julia. It was the only thing I saw, but that was OK because it was just exactly what I was in the mood to see. I was really surprised how much I laughed out loud, and I even teared up a time or two.
I can see Craig’s point about shortchanging the two stories and I somewhat agree. I could have watched two separate films. But if it makes people curious to learn more about either, that’s not so bad. La Streep was amazing, but Amy Adams deserves quite a bit of credit. I didn’t see Sunshine Cleaning, so I don’t know what she was like there, but it was refreshing to see her play a mostly straight, contemporary character. No nun or backwoods innocent or animated princess, ya know? She wasn’t as much the bitch as the screenplay said she was, yet she was much more so than I’ve previously seen from her, and that pleased me.
Notorious and To Catch a Thief are always good. Cary Grant = swoon.
I *soooo* want to see In the Loop soon!
My husband and I decided to unplug our brains and go see G.I. Joe. We have a wonderful local theater that has DLP projectors and fantastic sound for $5 matinee. We weren’t willing to spend good money on it. It wasn’t the worst movie we’d ever seen. It was way way better than Transformers 2 to be sure. I have to agree with Peter Sciretta from /film when he said that it was a movie that I would have enjoyed when I was 10. It was good fun, but it didn’t have nearly enough Ray Park for our tastes.
I was actually tempted to go see GI Joe this weekend too, though it’s not ordinarily my thing and I really wasn’t anticipating it. The only time I could have gone, though, was the late showing, and I wasn’t paying full price for that.
Nice that you have such good projection and sound at such reasonable prices, Starbelly! That’s awfully hard to find.
Glad to have you stop by RC and Starbelly.
Alison and Sartre, I loved In The Loop. One of my favorites of the year. I’m kind of tempted to see it again.
As for Cary Grant day, well he’s an LiC favorite and though it wasn’t Hitchcock’s deepest picture, To Catch a Thief is one of his lightest and most fun.
Cold Souls was the last film I saw of a long day so that could’ve impacted my opinion, but it just felt flat. Giamatti was fine, but he was the same as he always is. A little dialed back maybe, but still very familiar.
RC and Sartre, I kind of hate being critical of The Cove and it’s gotten great reviews elsewhere, I just didn’t find it as convincing as it should’ve been. Plus, the audience that really needs to see it is in Japan. Hopefully they will.
As for J&J, as I said above I was already on board Julia/Streep, but I was surprised how well Powell’s story played and Jennybee is right, Adams is quite good a relatively normal person for a change.
Starbelly, it’s funny you mention GI Joe because that was also on my list of things to see. I was in the mood for a little goofy, mindless fun. Turns out I probably should’ve seen that instead of Cold Souls. I figured it had to be better than Transformers which I fell asleep in the middle of. Maybe I’ll catch it next week.
True about To Catch a Thief, but then afterward we moved on to the much deeper and more complex Notorious. :D
Seeing Cary Grant in those 3 movies in one day, and pretty much back to back, really made it obvious what a wonderful and versatile actor he was. His comic timing and line delivery was impeccable, and he was excellent in dramatic roles as well.
I highly recommend In the Loop to those of you who haven’t seen it. It really is one of the best of the year. There were parts that made me giggle hysterically from the core of my being. What do they call it – belly laughs?
Thief and Notorious are almost like night and day, and yet there are similar themes running through them with the mistrust between characters.
I don’t think I’ve laughed at a movie harder this year than I laughed at In the Loop.
Also, glad to see you’re up and around Alison. As great as TCM is when you’re laid up sick…you can’t beat a good movie in a theater.
Also, I just watched Annie Hall and it made me like (500) Days of Summer even less.
They’re not the same movie obviously and I’m not even sure (500) was shooting for that, but somehow now it seems less original.
I caught Annie Hall again on PBS last week but I think I forgot to mention it in last week’s Watercooler. Every time I see that movie I appreciate it more. Another one with such priceless one-liners and sharp dialogue. I love little bits like Tony Roberts on the phone saying “What’s my mantra again?” just before they cut to another scene.
Thanks, Craig. :D
Sorry to hear you’re laid up sick, Alison. Get well soon.
Fans of In the Loop should try and get their hands on the BBC television series and its specials The Thick of It which offers the same caustic humor and political satire (confined here to the British civil service).
Yeah…
I was going to put some reference into my (500) DOS review concerning the (supposed) ANNIE HALL parallel between these two films. But I didn’t want to keep writing about it any longer than I had to.
Sounds suspiciously like marketing to me.
There are also clips of THE GRADUATE included in (500) DOS.
Give me a break. PLEASE.
Both ANNIE HALL and THE GRADUATE are bittersweet comedy classics that are landmarks for their particular generations. Their concerns and themes (not to mention all of their other monumental attributes) have made them timeless.
There is no way in hell that (500) DOS will be remembered as such decades down the line. If it is, I’ll be very surprised because it doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as those towering magnificent films.
Definitely with you on that point, Craig.
I saw three contemporary films in theatres, and two British film noirs at the Film Forum as part of the just-opened month-long Brit Noir Festival.
Bliss (Turkish) ** (Friday night; Cinema Village)
Beeswax ** 1/2 (Saturday night; Film Forum)
Julie and Julia *** 1/2 (Saturday afternoon; Edgewater multiplex)
The Third Man ***** (Saturday night; Film Forum)
Seven Days Till Noon *** 1/2 (Sunday night; Film Forum)
BLISS was a disjointed, convoluted morality tale that has traditional and contemporary mores clash in Turkey. Jon Lanthier calls it a “train wreck” of a movie. I couldn’t agree more.
BEESWAX is one of the movies where idle banter is supposed to forge some kind of a profound world view. But it’s grating, empty and too self-assured. The director was there to field questions at the Film Forum. The discussion was better than the film.
JULIE AND JULIA boasted another impressive turn from Meryl Streep as the iconic culinary figure, and Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci was fine too. Lightweight but engaging and entertaining.
THE THIRD MAN, which opened the Brit Noir Festival, and was a sell-out, again was a stunning example of how the greatest films never lose a step. This is my favorite British film of all-time. The Boulting film, SEVEN DAYS TILL NOON, was fun, but nowhere in a league with their best, BRIGHTON ROCK, which will screen later in the festival. I plan on going again on Monday night to see a rare noir, at Allan’s urging.
Ooooh, Annie Hall! Love that film. Glad you liked it, Craig. Did it live up to your expectations after all these years?
I finally saw “The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema” with Zizek. Brilliant, brilliant. I haven’t liked a personal cine-essay so much since Scorsese’s. His analysis of “Lost Highway” and “City Lights” in particular really knocked my socks off. He’s so much fun.
Nice to see you taking advantage of the great series at The Film Forum, Sam. I love that theater. The Third Man is awesome and is one of those movies that gets better and better with each viewing
Thanks for the reminder, Rob. I remember hearing about that a ways back and it never came anywhere near me. Maybe it’s on DVD?
So I spent the weekend with comedy, somewhat unexpectedly. Certain things got in the way of me seeing everything I intended to, but it worked out well.
In the Loop is very funny and well-done, although I sometimes struggled with the accents a bit. I think I missed some of the jokes but I got the overall of the thing. Very funny.
500 Days of Summer was better than I expected but not an instant classic. I love the leads and I like a lot of things about it, but it teetered on being overly clever and self-aware and that’s deadly for a movie like this. It works better than it probably should and I enjoyed it for what it was.
Also watched two of the greatest black comedies ever made, Dr. Strangelove and Evil Dead 2. They are two of my favorite films and my only real disappointments with either is that neither Kubrick nor Raimi ever made anything as funny since. I forgot how incredibly tight and visually brilliant Raimi is in Evil Dead 2. It actually brought me back down to Earth a bit on Drag Me to Hell, which borrows a lot from ED2.
Also saw Shampoo. I appreciate where it was coming from and I wanted to like it more, but I found it dry at times. Plus I have a love/hate thing with Warren Beatty. It’s hard for me to separate him from some of his characters, and George Roundy is right up there at the top of the list. Loved the ending though.
Joel, Shampoo is one of my favorite movies, though I drink the koolaid when it comes to Beatty, who is one of my favorite movie stars. I love the picture’s attitude toward him, he’s a self-absorbed innocent. Shampoo has a wonderful free-floating charm, and I love that it doesn’t score the typical points on the Jack Warden character, who eventually unexpectedly becomes the most likeable person in the movie, he goes with the flow.
Yeah Chuck, I’d have to agree with most everything you said. Julie Christie is sublime (as always). Jack Warden starts off as the heavy and slowly becomes the most sympathetic character in a film full of fairly unsympathetic characters. But I don’t necessarily read George as being an innocent. I think he knows who and what he is, he’s just incapable of being what other people expect him to be and in the end, he suffers for it.
Like I told Craig elsewhere, I saw this late Friday night after watching Dr Strangelove and I think I was just too tired to fully get into it. I can definitely understand its appeal though.
Thanks for stopping by Rob and thanks for the heads up on Perverts Guide. I’ve managed to miss seeing it so far, but I’m very curious to have a look.
Glad to see a few new faces in the comments section, by the way.
Joel perverts has its own website wherein the DVD is sold. http://www.thepervertsguide.com/ Netflix has it listed as a “Save”
I too struggled with the accent in In The Loop, plus there were times when I was laughing and would miss what was coming next.
Sartre, I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for The Thick of It on Hulu or Netflix, but so far no dice. I’m not a torrent guy and Im not sure the PAL DVD would do me much good. All the episodes appear to be available on YouTube though in 3 parts each.
Jennybee. Yes.
My favorite line in Annie Hall was when Diane Keaton notes how clean Beverly Hills is and Woody says “That’s because they don’t throw their garbage away…they turn it into television shows.”
That line you’re remembering Alison was actually spoken by a pre-famous Jeff Goldblum. I only remember because I paused and thought “Hey, it’s a pre-famous Jeff Goldblum!”
Miranda, I don’t think there’s a quality connection between Annie and Days, but there’s a structural connection. Days pretty much takes the same conceit of looking back at a failed relationship. Woody did it first and he did it better.
Sam, I’m thinking you should stay away from anything labeled (rightly or wrongly) “Mumblecore.” It’s just not your thing.
There’s a whole lot of hype surrounding Shampoo Joel, so I can totally see where someone might come to it and be a little underwhelmed. I predict that repeat viewings will highten the movie in your opinion…or maybe not. Beatty is a big hurdle if you don’t warm up to his persona. If nothing else, I enjoy Shampoo as a time capsule slice of a certain part of LA during a certain time.
Sam, I’m thinking you should stay away from anything labeled (rightly or wrongly) “Mumblecore.” It’s just not your thing.
LOL!!! I hear ya Craig. My track record there is not impressive.
Thanks Alison. Yes, that Film Forum is a treasure for so many of us.
Speaking of Film Forum Sam, You The Living leaves tomorrow. Did you ever sit down and watch the UK DVD you have?
I’m just going to take a sec to chuckle at the phrase “Joel perverts has its own website…”
(giggle)
First of all: let me second all the love for Annie Hall and The Third Man. You know what strikes me most every time I watch Annie Hall? Not only that it’s more romantic than most (if not all) modern rom-coms, but that unlike them, the “comedy” part is prevalent, and it’s still amazingly funny.
I saw Crimes and Misdemeanors for the first time yesterday, speaking of Allen. I watched it with my parents (who were big Allen fans back in the day, but hadn’t seen this one), and we all loved it. That one’s funny too, and not just the ‘funny’ half of it.
I’m curious about In the Loop
I saw Public Enemies at last last week, and reading back the watercooler from the monday after its release, I liked it a lot more than, well, all of you, except maybe Dorothy and Ryan. I loved it, really, and I want to see it again. I’m still mulling over why I loved it, because I agree with many criticisms leveled against it. My first attempt at reviewing it is on the blog.
The other movie the parents and I still plan to see is Tell No One, though i don’t know if it’ll happen. I’m curious though.
Is there anyone else who can’t wait for the start of Mad Men season three?
I was reading your blog post on Public Enemies Hedwig and frankly I’m kind of glad you fell for it even though it left me standing out in the cold.
I didn’t comment, because I don’t want to be a buzz kill and try and talk you out of it. Loving a movie is a wonderful thing and there’s a lot to like about PE…I just wish I also fell in love with it.
I was trying not to toot my own horn, but yes, Joel Perverts does have it’s own web site. May not be suitable for everyone.
Hedwig, I got to PE late like you and I liked it, although my comments were in a random Watercooler thread. I think the storytelling is erratic and I can concede some of the criticisms, but I really enjoyed it. I look forward to seeing it again, although I’m not sure if I will get to it in a theater or not because it’s shedding screens here fast. Blast, I wish my weekends weren’t so busy these days.
I’m a big Beatty fan too, Chuck. I liked that he used his star power to take on substantial projects like Bonnie & Clyde, The Parallax View, McCabe & Mrs Miller, and Reds. I’m guessing that Beatty was an important career role model for the likes of Depp and Pitt. Although far less ambitious in comparison Heaven Can Wait is a hilarious and touching romantic comedy that firmly lodged itself in my heart. It is remarkable how many of his films stand out as notable achievements despite the relatively few he made. Shampoo, like The Graduate and Easy Rider, seems to so perfectly express in filmmaking terms the counter culture zeitgeist of its time.
Joel and Craig, you’ll likely find the accents in The Thick of It tricky at times too – particularly the Scottish ones of Peter Capaldi and Paul Higgins. Both of whom have the most hilariously scabrous lines.
‘I wish my weekends weren’t so busy these days’. It’s not easy having a life.
“you’ll likely find the accents in The Thick of It tricky at times too – particularly the Scottish ones of Peter Capaldi and Paul Higgins. Both of whom have the most hilariously scabrous lines.”
I seemed to notice that the more vulgar and hilarious the line, the more they slowed down and enunciated their words, which was appreciated and probably not just for comedic effect. If you’re an alpha male ponce and you’re going to destroy someone verbally, you want to make sure everyone within earshot gets the full meaning of it.
“If you’re an alpha male ponce and you’re going to destroy someone verbally, you want to make sure everyone within earshot gets the full meaning of it.”
Beautifully said.
“Based on his experiences with the Flipper dolphins, O’Barry is an anti-dolphin captivity activist. The irony is that shows like Flipper and places like SeaWorld are what led people to fall in love with dolphins in the first place. ”
I had to yank this out of my review b/c it didn’t flow, but it’s right on. I didn’t think that much of the film. And the whole thing didn’t bother me as much as everyone else. Ultimately, it’s not pretty but it’s food production. IT’s not supposed to be pretty. Some cultures eat dogs. Some eat dolphins.
I’m curious what people are going to think about The Time Traveler’s Wife. I have to say, I got into it. I”m not sure that was the predominate feeling in the theater, though.
I went to see JULIE & JULIA this weekend and was surprised to see a friend of mine in it that I was in a show with once. Had no idea he was in it so it was a pleasant surprise.
I enjoyed the film, although I thought Streep’s portion was much more compelling and should have been its own film. Adams is fine but there’s not really much to her side of the story, it felt more like a typical romantic comedy set up.
Sartre, if/when Thick Of It hits legitimate US DVD, I’ll be watching it with the volume up and the subtitles on.
Also: Huge fan of Heaven Can Wait. It was probably the first Beatty movie I saw in a theater. My folks took me. The movie theater is now a Circuit City I think…or whatever has become of Circuit City now that they went under.
Anyway, it’s light, but almost perfect. Effortless and wholly entertaining.
KB, I hate to dump on a well-intentioned documentary, but in the end whether I agree with its argument or not, I don’t think it did a great job of making its case. And frankly, if you want to think rationally about it, more damage is caused to the earth from beef production than dolphin killing. I acknowledge that as a meat eater. Plus, if more people saw how cows were treated before, during and after slaughter… but I digress.
I’m curious about Time Travelers even though everything about it except the cast shouts “this is not your cup of tea”
You know Matthew, as I said above I went in assuming the Julie Powell/Amy Adams part would be empty, but I was surprised at how much there was to it. I’m not sure if it could’ve stood on its own or not, but I wish it had been developed more.
I also saw Heaven Can Wait in the theater, with my parents and my brother. One of the most fun movie-going experiences we had as kids. It’s a remake of Here Comes Mr. Jordan, which my parents knew of course and made us watch the next time it played on Channel 9 on the afternoon movie (or one of those channels). I actually really like both film versions of the story. And Heaven Can Wait has some of my favorite comic supporting actors of the time, like Charles Grodin, Dyan Cannon, Jack Warden. We also loved the theme music in my house. It played on TCM last week, along with North By Northwest, as part of “James Mason” day in the Summer Under the Stars series. I think I probably mentioned it in last week’s Watercooler, but it got upstaged by North By Northwest. :p
Hard to compare to NxNW, but Heaven Can Wait rules. Grodin and Cannon were hilarious.
For the record, I love (and also own) SHAMPOO.
Forgive me my red blood. But Warren was unbelievably hot in that. Lee Grant and Jack Warden are both terrific. I really dig Goldie Hawn as well. She’s a real adult woman in that film – clear eyed, mature. It’s a million miles away from some of the ditzy blondes she has played.
From the moment Jill finds that earring in her bed, she’s steeling herself for the conversation that she knows she has to have with George. She really needs to have all of the details on the table because then she’ll know that he’s “incapable of love” and she’ll be able to stand it.
Like he could even remember a minute fraction of all that…
joel’s right. Julie is sublime. ALWAYS. She’s fantastic in the film. But she’s absolutely electric in her scenes with Warren. I love the very last sequence with them together.
Jill was wrong about George. He could fall hard for someone. But It just wasn’t her. However, Jackie was practical and she had waited a long time for Lester to be free from Felicia. As bad as I feel for George, Jackie did the right thing.
The ending’s perfect. Most people don’t really change. And George got exactly what he deserved.
Just to clarify…
Although I find Warren unbelievably attractive in his earlier work, I am certainly willing to give him his due as an artist. Just because he’s gorgeous doesn’t mean I don’t take him seriously.
I totally agree with everyone in this thread who adores him.
Truthfully, there are better actors. But Warren possessed such incredible star quality and exceptional charisma that it hardly matters. What far outweighs that are his considerable talents as a producer and director.
Warren Beatty had an amazing impact on 20th century cinema. It’s entirely possible that some of the unforgettable films that he’s been in might not have been made without his guidance and influence.
Everybody talked about the chicks. They should really have been discussing the career.
He accomplished an enormous amount. It’s something that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Notorious.
Just had to say it again, as I’m pretty sure it’s come up in the WC every week for like the last month. And I still haven’t seen it.
Back from gallivanting in Boston and NH. Is anybody familiar with Boston, besides k? That place has really changed quite a bit in the last few years, construction-wise. Anyway, good times visiting friends and then a beautiful weekend and wedding at a house on Lake Winnipesaukee.
On the way back to the airport we had a few hours to kill and, naturally, went to the movies. It was great fun going to the Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge again. We saw Afghan Star, which was a much more straightforward story than I expected but still an interesting glimpse into contemporary Afghan culture.
Then our flight was delayed and connections were a mess and we “slept” in the airport in Atlanta. Nice airport, too loud at night.
I’ve tried to avoid your comments on The Cove and Cold Souls here, Craig, but I’m a little dismayed at the sense you didn’t particularly enjoy the latter. I was hoping it would be a little gem to kick off the fall. I still need to see The Cove and In the Loop.
I thought you might have enjoyed J&J a bit more than it sounds like you did, but any regular movie-watcher would be forgiven for getting annoyed at the fractured storytelling. Kind of inspiring about blogging, though, eh?
K Bowen, I’ve been quietly curious about The Time Traveler’s Wife and will take your experience into account.
Shampoo continues to hold up as one of Beatty’s best performances in one of Ashby’s best films.
My weekend film-viewing consisted of…
Friday: Thirst at the Bridge Theatre in San Francisco–the same theatre in which I saw Let the Right One In, and the only theatre I know of in the entire Bay Area to feature the Korean film; Obsession (De Palma); Carrie (De Palma); Mr. Soft Touch, a weak Glenn Ford-starring light melodrama; and Alias Nick Beal, a delightful noir starring Ray Milland. I have seen the De Palmas and John Farrow numerous times.
Saturday: Le Corbeau, which I had not seen in a great, long time; Notorious (yes, that film, Daniel); the wonderful Kiyoshi Kurosawa picture, Cure; De Palma’s The Fury; Dressed to Kill; Marked Woman, a disposable but okay 1930s Warner Bros. melodrama starring Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart.
Sunday: The Leopard yet once more; De Palma’s Scarface; De Palma’s Body Double; De Palma’s The Untouchables; De Palma’s Raising Cain; Thr3e, an astonishingly rote, pedestrian knockoff of Se7en from a couple of years ago (HUGE SPOILER FOR WHO WHO WANT TO SEE THR3E SOMEDAY): the novelist and screenwriter[s] apparently watched Adapation and thought the idea of one person being the hero, killer and girl all at once through multiple personalities was a wonderful one. Followed this with a late night excursion to see Orphan.
Monday, since we’re on Tuesday now: K-19: The Widowmaker and Shattered Glass (seeing Orphan put me in the mood to see more Peter Saarsgaard when he was ascending as a star), followed by De Palma’s Carlito’s Way and Mission: Impossible, capped off at around 4:00 am with the recent French film The Legacy (thank you, Sundance).
I’m also reading The Plague by Camus once more and I’m finding it more unnerving than before.
I want to finally sleep again sometime soon but first–In the Loop!
An entire DePalma retrospective. Nice, Alexander!
If I did that Alexander, you would be reading my obit. And I have energy for a 54 year-old man.
But that’s incomparable.
Sam Juliano, prominent film blogger and creator of Wonders in the Dark, died last night from complications arising from a film watching marathon. He was 54 years old and left behind a much loved wife and 42 children. Soft-spoken and obsessive, Juliano never looked the part of a hopeless film romantic. But, in the final days of his life, he revealed an unknown side of his psyche. This hidden quasi-Jungian persona surfaced during the Alexander Colman-like pursuit of total cinema nirvana. Sadly, the protracted effort to match Alexander’s capacity to endure unbroken hours of film watching ended early Sunday night in complete and utter failure. Yet even in certain defeat, the courageous Juliano secretly clung to the belief that life is not merely a series of meaningless accidents or coincidences. Uh-uh. But rather, it’s a tapestry of flickers and visual persistence that culminate in an exquisite, sublime cinematic experience. Asked about the loss of his dear friend, Roger Ebert, the renowned film critic, described Sam as a changed man in the last days of his life. “Things were clearer for him,” Ebert noted. Ultimately Sam concluded that if we are to live life in harmony with the universe, we must all possess a powerful faith in what the ancients used to call “magic lanterns”, what we currently refer to as cinema. Sam’s last uttered word was at first thought to be “noseplug”, but soon correctly recognized as “rosebud” – he remained a cinephile right to the end.
Obviously I will revisit Shampoo at some point in the future and hug it and love it and name it George or I will turn in my LIC membership card.
Alexander, thank you for mentioning Thr3e. I have to admit I kind of love the fact that this movie exists, but only because it’s so absurd in light of Adaptation.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha Sartre!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This one is one of the all time classics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And beneath all the fantastic humor, how perceptive you are!!!!
“the Alexander Coleman-like pursuit of total cinema nirvana.” hahahaha.
Alexander, I love Le Corbeau, but I’m dying to hear what you made of Thirst. Me and Sam have a little disagreement on this score and you can be the tie breaker.
Don’t feel bad, Joel. My list of movies I’m supposed to love but haven’t warmed up to is long and embarrassing. Alexander’s recently watched The Leopard is among them.
Daniel, I saw Cold Souls at the end of a trying day and there may have been a couple of Manhattans squeezed in there so I can’t say I’ve given it a fair shake. Your results may vary and I hope they do.
If you want to boil J&J down to a five star rating, I’d go with 3.5.
The passive movie watcher in me enjoyed it quite a bit, but the little bastard nit-picker inside kept pulling out things that didn’t work so well and I was left with one of those feelings that it could’ve been a lot better.
Craig, you can count me among the fans of Thirst. There was a section where I thought it went off the rails but the rest was so entertaining and clever that I could easily forgive the fact.
I even liked the part that went off the rails Sartre, that’s how in the tank I am for Thrist. The other bits were better, but I got some good laughs out of the part of which you speak.
Too funny, Sartre. Nicely written too. You ever need a job as an obit clerk, I can hook you up.
Alexander. That is crazy. You are not going to have any brainpower left by the time you hit 25. But it sounds like you’re having fun.
Craig, I typically find that a couple of Manhattans make most movies, good or not, a bit better so if Cold Souls didn’t charm you then maybe it wasn’t all that charming. I’ll see it for myself and find out, let you know.
I’m thirsting to see where you fall on it Alexander. Craig is right to call for a tie-breaker.
Thanks jennybee. I can’t take too much credit for the writing though as I re-worked the narrated obit from Serendipity.