I finally figured out how to embed videos in the blog, after "THEY"'ve made some changes to the script, code or whatever it is that determines the interfaces and options of our holy blogger webpages I don't know jack shit about.
Before I'll drift into the dystopian waters of machine reign, let me just bring you the discoveries of the previous days, that dragged me out of my blog procrastination:
+Brendan
About one week ago I finally got to see BRICK on DVD. I must say, that, normally, I'm all behind the spreading of good films, which means, that I'm happy to see good stuff rented or bought a ticket for on the box office.
In this case, the one lonely copy of BRICK had in fact been rented every single day I had come there to get it. (Opposed to the six damn copies of THE WICKER MAN.)
However, I finally wound up getting BRICK and watching it.
It is a truly remarkable film noir put into high school territory by first time feature director Rian Johnson. Johnson, who in the commentary track in a sympathetic way appears to be about twelve years old is about the same age as Oscar winning director Florian Henkel von Donnersmarck. /By the way: His commentary is really well made and worth the time and money of another rental day.
The film never ceases to loose grip of its suspense and mystery while establishing characters you constantly care and wonder about. Johnson's achievement with the script and the teens' language is an amazing thing of its own. I just love Lucas Haas as Kingpin. Even more than the protagonist Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who sometimes appeared to trying to hard...or at least ...I seemed to notice that somebody was pretending.
No matter, though, if you're interested in an inventive thrilling detective film, a hommage on film noir or an interesting and intriguing time to spend two hours, you should anyway buy and watch this movie.
The most fascinating thing, impact wise, is probably going to be how much people will have their first encounter with pretty pure Noir while watching this film. And they're eventually going to be inspired to check out THE MALTESE FALCON or the ultimate noir source material by Chandler and Hammett just as Johnson himself was inspired by the Coen's Miller's Crossing and an interview, in which they mentioned Hammett as their source of inspiration.
Another favorite performance of mine in BRICK comes from Noah Segan, who plays creepy crazy pure hearted DOPE...
+Werner
In the commentary track Segan mentions how he had always thought that god sounded like Werner Herzog.
Fucking A. My admiration for Segan's work escelated even more the minute he spoke such words of wisdom. I've always connected Herzog's soft yet determined and wise voice with those of some franciscans I know. Maybe it's due to his slight southern german accent, maybe because of the charisma of a man who has travelled the darkest places in this world.
I'm currently reading HERZOG ON HERZOG a wonderful interview book edited by Paul Cronin, which actually serves as a great inspiration for my own current first edeavours into the field of documentary filmmaking. Herzog's deconstruction of cinema verite came like an oasis to my parched cultural anthropologized mined. Finally someone who kicks some anthropologists' asses. Thank you, Werner.
[metanote: Don't get the wrong impression. The negative feelings you seem to get from the words I just used have nothing to do with any dislike for the great talent and ideas behind the wonderful direct cinema or cinema verite. It's just based upon my problems with anthropologists, who don't have the same idea about what it really is they're observing and analysing as me. Well....even that is wrong....sorrry. In fact I'm myself studying cultural anthropology but, to speak in Herzog's words am more interested in the ecstatic than the accountant's truth.
Furthermore it makes more sense to me to make a movie about human beings and their conditions (either documentary or feature film) or to write an article about the same issue than writing papers with selfimportant superficial theories, that are mostly suggesting the production of even more papers and the invention of new and better methods to really cover the RELATIVE problems of the issue.]
One of the things Herzog is mostly known for in the general (well...rather film or cultural interested) public is his on (in MY BEST FRIEND) and off screen collaboration with Klaus Kinski. Kinski's ...issues... are thrilling, confusing and probably most interesting for people interested in special psychological conditions. However...even more interesting seems to be how Herzog was able to handle all this human madness in the midst of the wild south American jungle.
+Lily
There are, however, as many different approaches to directing as there are directors.
I'm a sucker for anyything that happens on film sets. I also like it if two soccer teams start to let go of their civilized habits of oppressing their desire to just beat someone up and start a little fistfight.
Those two things combined result in amazing on screen entertainment. On set actor-director fights. Thank god for youtube. Because I got the dizzy feeling that there's even more footage like that out there.
Herzog and Kinski might finally be pushed from the throne of film set battles captured on video.
Aaaaahhhhh. I love that. My favorite moment is when the PA or whoever else tells the people to leave the set. Probably for their own safety. Just to make sure that David O. Russel won't accidentally smash somebody's face with a prop he's tossing around.
Paul Rudd and Michael Showalter have already been inspired by David O. Russel's wrath ...
+Neill
This is almost as funny and weird as Neill Cumpston's review of GRINDHOUSE, Robert Rodriguez' and Quentin Tarantino's latest combined piece of work. Be sure to hit the link to not miss pull quotes such as:
Then the second movie started. It’s called DEATH PROOF. You know what it isn’t-PROOF? Boner-inducing proof.
This one was directed by Quentin Tarantino, who’s been an actor in stuff like RESERVOIR DOGS and PULP FICTION (he’s also in PLANET OF TERROR and DEATH PROOF). This is his first directing job and the dude KICKS ALL SPECTRUM OF ASS. He kicks ass that isn’t even in the ass area. Like, his director skills are so stripper-with-chainsaw good they make you grow asses on other parts of your body that he then kicks. I hope he directs more movies. I would see them, burn down the theater, and then call the fire department so I could tell all the fireman about what a kick-ass movie it was. When they started to attack me with axes, I’d fly away because Quentin’s movie would have given me ninja flight.
Well...actually the whole review is a pull quote...so ...go read it!
