Twelfth Five Films, 2007

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Woman on the Beach (Hong Sang-soo) at BAM. I'd planned to see two more of Hong's films in this series, but missed out for whatever reason. Woman on the Beach was a total crowdpleaser, full of unfortunate characters at once both sympathetic and slightly too selfish not to laugh at when they screwed up. A great date movie for the mildly misogynistic couple!
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The Long Goodbye (Robert Altman) at Film Forum. Still one of my favorites, though I didn't think it looked especially great on the big screen.
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Babyface (Alfred E. Green) at BAM as the first half of a Barbara Stanwyck "pre-Code" double feature. Yes, this is from 1933 before the moral censorship of the Production Code kicked, meaning there's a lot of very direct sexual innuendo, something at which Stanwyck excels. She sleeps her way to up the corporate ladder at a big New York City company, leaving destruction in her wake, before meeting her match at the top.
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Ladies They Talk About (Howard Bretherton/William Keighley) at BAM as the second half of that double feature. Stanwyck goes to jail for assisting in a bank heist, which makes a ton of hilarious women's prison scenes. A politician/evangelist bigwig who knew her as a kid falls for her even though she's on the wrong side of the law, and eventually wins her back.
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Wild at Heart (David Lynch) at MoMA. This is probably my least favorite David Lynch movie. I don't find his fantasies or the mise-en-scene delicious enough to offset the bizarre and unpleasant elements, a trade-off I think he makes well in Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, or Mulholland Drive.

Flesh Is Weak and Forms Break Down

I finally got around to listening to Shackleton's "Blood on My Hands" last night, though it's been out since last year, mostly because of the hype surrounding the recently released Villalobos remix, which I hope to get my hands on soon.

The original, though, is an absolute monster. There's a deep voice intoning some obtuse phraseology about the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, typical dubstep drums, and some pretty drone in the background. Then out of nowhere, just before the two-minute mark, drops this plaintive, hugely deep bass melody, absolutely down in the cellar somewhere. Definitely don't bother on laptop speakers and probably not iPod buds, but if you've got some good headphones or a subwoofer give it a listen.

Shackleton "Blood on My Hands" [Skull Disco, 2006]

UPDATE: It appears that Skull Disco just released a 2xCD compilation yesterday, which is convenient since up till now I think they've only put their stuff out on vinyl.

Saturday Night/Sunday Afternoon

I did manage to get to John Tejada's live PA at Luna Lounge last night. It was my first time to Williamsburg--I've only been through on the bus before--and I liked what I saw, though I'd need to spend more time and wander farther to form more of an opinion. A good lesson to remember for the future is that I really can only bear to stand around for about 2.5 hours at a time before I'm tempted to head home. That is to say, if I'd arrived around 1:30 instead of midnight, I probably could have stuck around until closing time. I didn't care all that much for what the opening DJ was spinning, but really enjoyed (as I expected) Tejada's performance. Next up, except for maybe Ted Leo or, if I get really lucky, LCD Soundsystem, will be Dub War on the early morning of May 20 featuring Kode 9 and Shackleton. I've only heard dubstep played out once, after a set by DJ/rupture, and it sounded good, but I'm guessing this will be a lot more massive.

Just finished Bill McKibben's The End of Nature, which I'd been meaning to read for a while and wish I'd actually read last year, since it provides a good conceptual grasp on the ongoing environmental destruction, particularly climate change, which can feel all-encomapssing and rather overwhelming for those who spend much time on the subject, as I did last year at Grist. It's also really well-written and, even at eighteen years old, a good introduction to climate change and the incredibly broad array of issues that may result.

Close Quarters

Yesterday as I was patronizing the cart where I get my bagel in the morning, I realized that I would go insane working there. This particular cart has two guys working in a space the size of a small walk-in closet, which means they must be really good at not bumping into each other and not smelling too bad, especially on hot days.

A Major Breakthrough

I've been playing Tetris (NES) for several months attempting to get some kind of really high score. I'd accrued about five games between 220 and 230k, finding it basically impossible to go any higher. Then today, somehow, I managed to hit 315,162. Technically, I think one could score maybe 400,000 given all the right pieces before they start falling so fast that you can't even make it all the way to the side before hitting bottom (level 17, I find), and I'm sure the theoretical high is probably close to 600,000, but I might have to stop playing for a while.

Potpourri

Yes, it's time for another all-encompassing potpourri post.

I got started playing this mini-golf game after watching some other people and have just scored my first 18, so I guess I'll probably never play it again, which is too bad since it was fairly diverting.

Taste of Chinatown on Saturday was glorious with ideal weather and a lot of good food for either one or two dollars a portion. I think I had Peking duck wrapped in a soft roll, spare ribs, sweet & sour tofu, pork dumplings, a shrimp/chive dumpling, numerous tiny pastries, and an iced plum tea; there was likely another item as well. It would have been fine sitting at a table, but eating while wandering through the crowds and watching one of the shopowners shoot off confetti and streamers was idyllic.

I've been reading some books on the computer from Project Gutenberg, the first of which was Dracula. It seemed cool at first and then I got bogged down toward the end (Ch. 22, specifically) so I just checked the summary to see how things turned out. I'm well into Something Fresh, which is my third Blandings Castle novel by P.G. Wodehouse. The writing style seems to differ quite a bit from Pigs Have Wings or Service with a Smile, probably because it was written forty years earlier, though it's still obviously no one other than Wodehouse. I recall being a bit frustrated at how formulaic the Jeeves stories seemed when I read a collection several years ago, but now I find that quality both hilarious and reassuring. I am also "leafing" through The Book of Good Manners, pub. 1922, which is alternately fascinating and hilarious.

Apparently I am no longer capable of even procuring tickets to a show, much less actually going. LCD Soundsystem is, of course, sold out for both New York dates. Panda Bear even sold out two months in advance, but luckily there's now a Monday show as well, so I got a ticket for that. You'll note that I've included John Tejada's live PA Saturday night at Lunalounge in Williamsburg in the sidebar, so maybe I'll go to that.

I've been listening to a lot of new recorded music, though, since I'm downloading better than ever with the new hard drive and our super-fast cable internet. Here's a list of things I've been listening to for anywhere from one day to a couple months (links coming later):

• Animal Collective: People EP
• Black Devil Disco Club: 28 After
• The Field: From Here We Go Sublime
• LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver
• Loco Dice: Seeing Through Shadows [12"]
• Appleblim "Vansan"
• Bebel Gilberto "Bring Back the Love (Prins Thomas Miks)"
• Jacek Sienkiewicz "Good Night"
• Kano "Layer Cake"
• Lovebirds "Behind You"
• Matthias Tanzmann "Nip Slip"
• Ripperton "10a"
• Skatebaard "June Nights South of Siena"
• Stardiver "Another Moment of Silence"
• Truckasaurus "Angels Sound Like Bottle Rockets"

Eleventh Five Films, 2007

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Playtime (Jacques Tati) at the French Institute. As mentioned previously, Tati is a literally stunning director. There's just so much visual information in this film, it's almost impossible to take it all in. Perhaps what makes it more difficult is that without any relevant plot or real character development, there is no way to weed out what might or might not be important at any one moment, thus forcing you to constantly keep shifting focus to different points of interest onscreen, of which there are often many developing simultaneously. I may wait a few years before trying this on for size again.
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The Ox-Bow Incident (William Wellman) at home on DVD. This was a lot darker than I expected, and took place in much more of a confined environment (is it even really a western?). There was also less Henry Fonda than I expected, which was too bad, although I did like Anthony Quinn. It looked very good, but the whole deal seemed too much like a clever concept rather than a full-fledged film.
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Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
at the IFC Center. I feel like I've been reading about this guy forever. In fact, I figured out how to spell his name long before actually seeing this. Basically we get a short drama based around a hospital which takes place twice, once in more rural surroundings, and once in the city. The first half is supposedly Weerasethakul's parents' generation (they were doctors), and the second half his own. The individual scenes in each half (many are repeated, some more precisely than others) are largely indeterminate, and the connections/contrasts between the opposing scenes are a big part of why I'm considering seeing this again before it's run ends at the IFC, something I don't think I've ever done before. Well, the mightily pleasant soundtrack and the particularly the gorgeous green backdrops for most all scenes in the first half of the film certainly wouldn't detract from replay value. Actually, I could just watch the slow, hypnotic dolly shot opening to a full-screen view of waving grass, over which the opening credits play, all day.
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The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (Sophie Fiennes) at MoMA. The general concept is that Slavoj Zizek uses actual or simulated sets from a number of films as backdrops for shots of him talking about those films, complete with clips from the films, into which he kind of edits himself. Or something. I tend to appreciate movies that use the medium to discuss other movies (see This Film Is Not Yet Rated, and Zizek has some interesting ideas, though I don't personally go in for a lot of psychoanalysis of films or directors, at least not as anything more than one of many possible superimposed interpretations of what probably needs no interpretation in the first place.
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The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Wes Anderson) at home on broadcast television(!). As I recall, back when this came out expectations were really high given the big budget, especially on my end. I probably had a much different, more limited idea of cinema, one in which Anderson loomed a lot larger than he does now. There are loads of hilarious small touches here and there (and everywhere), and I think the idea that the actors are playing actors who are more-or-less constantly filming themselves is still intriguing, if not ultimately fulfilling.
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Tenth Five Films, 2007

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Holiday (Jacques Tati)
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Traffic (Jacques Tati)
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I honestly don't know what to say about the films of Jacques Tati. Briefly: narrative takes a back seat to visual comedy, both slapstick and more complex manipulations of the mise en scene. I can tell you that the seats at the French Institute in Florence Gould Hall are among the least accommodating in which I have ever taken in a movie. Ideally I could link you to some of Jonathan Rosenbaum's writings, but I think they're all on paper.

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Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett) at the IFC Center. The low-budget black & white scenes of intimate, awkward dialogue could bring to mind Stranger Than Paradise or Mutual Appreciation, but this film feels more mature than either of those. World-weary without being jaded or snarky, Burnett presents characters who stumble dazedly onward through their meager surroundings, but retains a wry sense of humor, which seems to me critically important. I guess my feeling is that he captures on film some essential truth(s) about life, probably broader than though certainly inclusive of the neighborhood of Watts was like in the 1970's. There has been a ton of praise recently heaped on this film, but as usual if you read just one piece, read J. Hoberman's. (By the way, did you see his incredible Elliott Gould profile this past week?)
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Los Muertos (Lisandro Alonso) at Anthology Film Archive. I'll be reviewing this for Stylus.
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As Tears Go By (Wong Kar-wai) at home on DVD. This was a very enjoyable movie, but compared to most everything else I've seen by him, it doesn't feel as refined. It was, after all, his first feature. I must say, I am excited to see how Wong makes use of Jude Law in the upcoming My Blueberry Nights.
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This and That

A package arrived today and I've increased the storage space for my computer fourteen-fold. This probably means that in the near future I'll be spending a lot of time watching progress bars, moving data, reinstalling Windows, etc. Wow, won't that be fun.

Though my official birthday was Sunday, Saturday was my birthday (observed) as I met Max & Summer and Neal & Anna at MoMA where we saw several exhibits I'd seen before and many I hadn't. If I had to pick three things, they would be Pipilotti Rist's Ever Is Over All, Monet's Water Lilies (I had no idea it was 20' wide!), and this fairly small Charlie Chaplin photograph (I don't see it online) where he leers at you sans moustache with his shadow looming behind him, looking not unlike a devilish Tom Cruise.

A Red Letter Day

Except for the cool weather, today (or, as it's known at this hour, yesterday) is a tough one to beat. I received a birthday card as well as two checks (not birthday related) and a book, saw my favorite film of the year so far (Killer of Sheep), and ordered a 500GB hard drive and twice the amount of RAM currently in my laptop.

To top it off, (heads up for Brian) I reconfirmed most deliciously that the Grandma slices at Maffei Pizza (9th on Ed Levine's Top Ten NYC Slices) which I had for the first time on Tuesday are, in fact, terrific. To wit:

Thinner than a Sicilian, thicker than a regular slice, it's topped with San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, rosemary and basil. It's very fresh and juicy, almost like focaccia.

Ninth Five Films, 2007

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On the Bowery (Lionel Rogosin) at Anthology Film Archives. Having come to New York in the post-Giuliani era, it was great to see a portrait of the rough-and-tumble life down on Manhattan's skid row. Also a useful reminder of what bars used to mean back before everything city life got gentrified and sterilized. I really liked the vibe at Anthology and hope to get back there more often.
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Madame de... (Max Ophuls) at Film Forum. The use of movement both as part of the action within the mise en scene and in the editing was really virtuosic, particularly the dancing sequence which feels like a single, well-choreographed dance, even though the costumes and settings obviously change; somehow we get the time-lapse effect of montage without the jarring cuts normally associated with those kinds of scenes.
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Gunfight at the OK Corral (John Sturges) at home on DVD. A much more satisfying Sturges work than Ice Station Zebra, but gets much less out of the same story than My Darling Clementine, which was directed by John Ford eleven years prior. I suppose I ought to see Tombstone and Kevin Costner's Wyatt Earp for good measure. I also need to see more Kirk Douglas films; he steals basically every scene he's in here.
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The Beaver Trilogy (Trent Harris) at home on DVD, c/o Brian, who has a couple blog posts and numerous photos up from his visit. The story of Groovin' Gary, a misfit Utahan who talks too much and craves the spotlight. The first third, featuring Gary live and in the flesh, is mildly intriguing, though deepened by the two dramatizations to follow. I didn't care for Sean Penn's interpretation, though I felt it was a good bridge between the first and last parts. Crispin Glover was excellent in his version, though in some senses a different person altogether from the original oddball.
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Ugetsu (Kenji Mizoguchi) at IFC. I wish they'd had the new print as advertised (something got mixed up in shipping, I believe), but even slightly scratched and worn this is still one of my favorite movies of all time. I ought to be ashamed if I haven't sought out at least two more Mizoguchi films by the end of the year.
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