Podcast?
The comments on the last post imply that a podcast would be in order (music + commentary), except that I don't have much in the way of a microphone and I don't know that Charles has much in the way of ability to download and listen to it, at least not reliably, so it will probably turn into a mix cd. Let me know if you want one. I don't know yet exactly what will be on it. I could add The Thermals' second album from this afternoon, especially "God and Country" with its tremendous raging against the almost unavoidable cynicism that can result from paying attention to world events and news from the White House, at least that's how I best interpret the song and its particular resonance for me. But it's more likely that I'll stick to the original list unless it fits in really well, not least because I was just as excited about it last year. Actual production probably won't commence until I get my hard drive enclosure, allowing me to work on my laptop, which will hopefully be this week.
I finished Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell after dragging it out as long as possible. I don't know if I want to say much about it other than that I actually considered reading straight through all 782 pages again. It reminded me, in various ways, of a number of British fantasies that I read back when that was more my thing, except that it's a lot more connected to the rest of society, albeit early 19th century society. I don't know if I would feel so fondly about this book if it didn't bring back early memories of reading, but I'd bet it would still be very good.
You may notice from the list at right that, in addition to Bright Leaves, I've recently watched Kundun and The Leopard, which have some parallels. Mainly they're both about powerful men trying to maintain their lives while power is being wrestled away from them. Of course, the stories are vastly different. Kundun is about the Dalai Lama, discovered at a young age and trained to take over at 18 except that Tibet is annexed by China and Kundun, the name of the Dalai Lama, is forced to flee to India. It felt like the first act in a larger story, which it is, since the Dalai Lama still hasn't returned to Tibet. I kind of liked it, but felt it was somewhat limited by the source material; the story couldn't follow a traditional narrative arc so it sustained interest by way of the visuals or waiting for impending doom.
For the most part, I couldn't stand The Leopard. Other than the scenes where Burt Lancaster laments the fate of the Sicilian people, I found it to be utterly boring. Apparently, the scenes at the ball, which take up the last fifty minutes of the movie, are supposed to be great, but no. Nothing happens: the happy couple stays happy, the old man feels even older and then dances and then sits down to dinner but has to get up because he is upset, the jilted girl stays jilted, and then it ends. Maybe if I watched it again with the commentary I would get it, but I don't feel like sitting through all 185 minutes again.
Bright Leaves was everything I hoped it would be. I have a feeling that if Ross McElwee made a documentary about the apocalypse it would probably still be charming and endearing, two adjectives which mostly describe how I think about Bright Leaves and Sherman's March. Those words may not imply quality, but that would be inaccurate.
MORE: Save Ferris It Means Everything 9.5 at Pitchfork
And, after seeing yet another Netflix commercial, I got to thinking that I would love something like what might be called Blankflix. The company, which would have to be some kind of arbiter of taste, would send you one movie at a time, which would have no label, no information, nothing. The DVD would have only that really simple menu with no graphics and just a "Play" button like you get on DVD-R's. The good part would be discovering things you didn't know would be any good, which is part of what I didn't like about Netflix. After waiting a few days for a DVD, I would be expecting it to be really good, so if it wasn't I'd be disappointed, and even if it was, that's no more than I deserved, right? This would be even better if it was like a $3 midnight movie on weekends at some theater. Now you see why this idea did not deserve its own post.
I finished Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell after dragging it out as long as possible. I don't know if I want to say much about it other than that I actually considered reading straight through all 782 pages again. It reminded me, in various ways, of a number of British fantasies that I read back when that was more my thing, except that it's a lot more connected to the rest of society, albeit early 19th century society. I don't know if I would feel so fondly about this book if it didn't bring back early memories of reading, but I'd bet it would still be very good.
You may notice from the list at right that, in addition to Bright Leaves, I've recently watched Kundun and The Leopard, which have some parallels. Mainly they're both about powerful men trying to maintain their lives while power is being wrestled away from them. Of course, the stories are vastly different. Kundun is about the Dalai Lama, discovered at a young age and trained to take over at 18 except that Tibet is annexed by China and Kundun, the name of the Dalai Lama, is forced to flee to India. It felt like the first act in a larger story, which it is, since the Dalai Lama still hasn't returned to Tibet. I kind of liked it, but felt it was somewhat limited by the source material; the story couldn't follow a traditional narrative arc so it sustained interest by way of the visuals or waiting for impending doom.
For the most part, I couldn't stand The Leopard. Other than the scenes where Burt Lancaster laments the fate of the Sicilian people, I found it to be utterly boring. Apparently, the scenes at the ball, which take up the last fifty minutes of the movie, are supposed to be great, but no. Nothing happens: the happy couple stays happy, the old man feels even older and then dances and then sits down to dinner but has to get up because he is upset, the jilted girl stays jilted, and then it ends. Maybe if I watched it again with the commentary I would get it, but I don't feel like sitting through all 185 minutes again.
Bright Leaves was everything I hoped it would be. I have a feeling that if Ross McElwee made a documentary about the apocalypse it would probably still be charming and endearing, two adjectives which mostly describe how I think about Bright Leaves and Sherman's March. Those words may not imply quality, but that would be inaccurate.
MORE: Save Ferris It Means Everything 9.5 at Pitchfork
And, after seeing yet another Netflix commercial, I got to thinking that I would love something like what might be called Blankflix. The company, which would have to be some kind of arbiter of taste, would send you one movie at a time, which would have no label, no information, nothing. The DVD would have only that really simple menu with no graphics and just a "Play" button like you get on DVD-R's. The good part would be discovering things you didn't know would be any good, which is part of what I didn't like about Netflix. After waiting a few days for a DVD, I would be expecting it to be really good, so if it wasn't I'd be disappointed, and even if it was, that's no more than I deserved, right? This would be even better if it was like a $3 midnight movie on weekends at some theater. Now you see why this idea did not deserve its own post.
Posted on Monday, August 29, 2005
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