The Horse in Motion

#28 - Chronicle (2012) I had heard nothing of this film, so what...

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 00:17:36 -0400

#28 - Chronicle (2012)

I had heard nothing of this film, so what a delightful surprise it was! It is a science fiction film about these 3 teenage boys who find some weird thing in the woods one night that gives them… basically super-human powers. And one of the boys pretty much loses his cool and goes out of control.

The creative part of this movie is the cinematography. It’s mostly shot to look like you are seeing everything from one kid’s camera. I mean, I’m sure every film nerd wants to do this, but no matter how much of a social reject, I can’t imagine a teenager carrying a camera with him everywhere. Well… I guess it might be more plausible nowadays. That whole idea starts out insanely creative, but it slowly fades (yet naturally) away as the movie goes on.

The acting was also surprisingly good, for a bunch of people I’ve never heard of (NEWSFLASH: you don’t have to be famous to be a good actor). Chronicle actually opened at #1 at the box office, which makes director Josh Trank one of the youngest directors in history to have a #1 film (Spielberg was 28 with Jaws and Cameron was 30 with Terminator). Excited to see what he does next…

#27 - The Dark Knight Rises (2012) I don’t have much to...

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 02:38:32 -0400

#27 - The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

I don’t have much to say about this film - I’m not in the fashion of seeing blockbusters! This is my first film in the theater in 2012. I only saw two in the theater last year. The recent shooting incident is quite unfortunate… it’s not actually something to practically fear… but it somehow does not add to the comfort of movie theaters. Regardless of that incident, I still enjoy movies much more at home.

I didn’t read anything about this film… I was a big fan of the previous one, but it’s been so many years that my interest kinda died down. I don’t really watch superhero movies in general, so I found those parts of the film kinda cheesy. “Ooooo, Batman is at his lowest point in life, and he somehow must pick himself up!” Yeah, that happens in every superhero film. After Ledger’s Joker, every villain is going to seem lame. Bane was lame. I was REALLY surprised by Anne Hathaway’s awesome Cat Woman performance. Thanks to the movies, I thought Cat Woman had lost all credibility. And I somewhat believe Anne Hathaway is an obnoxious theater kid. But alas, her Cat Woman was a completely independent bad ass, yet the audience knew she was sad inside and felt sorry for her. The rest of the performances were pretty meh. I love him dancing around LA in cute indie films - but Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the last people I want to see as a super hero (well, he technically wasn’t a super hero in this film… but…). The little cameos were awesome, but yeah, a little distracting.

Overall, great movie. I actually haven’t seen any of the pre-Nolan films, so I plan on eventually watching all the Batman movies in order.

salesonfilm: Harold Lloyd in Haunted Spooks (1920)

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 02:21:16 -0400

salesonfilm:

Harold Lloyd in Haunted Spooks (1920)

lilja-youngblood: ABANDONED NEW YORK MOVIE THEATRE “The Kings...

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 02:19:06 -0400

lilja-youngblood:

ABANDONED NEW YORK MOVIE THEATRE

“The Kings Theatre, formerly Loew’s Kings Theatre, is a movie palace-type theater located at 1025 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, New York City. Opened in 1929, closed since 1977.”

#26 - Drive (2011) Why did I wait so long to watch this film?...

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:50:58 -0400

#26 - Drive (2011)

Why did I wait so long to watch this film? How could I have waited so long to watch this film? And what can I do to make sure I don’t wait so long to watch good films again? Not sure. But I mean, the title card is in PINK SCRIPT. If that doesn’t scream “Jessie’s movie of the year,” I don’t know what does.

And it certainly moves to the top of my ranks of 2011 films. The styling. I have only been to LA once in my adult life… but it was exactly how I always thought of it. Everything was either deco (30s), neon Eames (50s), or deco/Eames revival (80s). No other time period or style existed in my mind in LA. And that’s why it’s so beautiful. I’m completely smitten with this film’s soundtrack. The electronic sounds felt a little off at first, but it seemed to mesh as it went on. I was a little disappointed in the use of BRUSH SCRIPT font for the titles. I mean, with all the other careful art direction in this film, they couldn’t create a slightly better font than Microsoft?

The casting was perfect. I had doubts about Gosling when he first appeared on screen and doubts of Mulligan, but they worked. And Albert Brooks is an amazing asshole! The only thing I had really heard about this movie before was that people were shocked with how violent it was. Meh, not that crazy.

Movies I've Watched

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 00:51:10 -0400

I haven’t been updating shit… but here is a very very long list of 19 movies I’ve watched this year. That brings my total up to 25! Slightly behind…

*indicates a movie I would recommend

Thunderball

*Midnight in Paris

Live and Let Die

*Mighty Ducks (OK, only if you were a 90s kid)

Tiny Furniture

For Your Eyes Only

The Bat

Rocky

*Under the Boardwalk

*Adventures of TinTin

Margin Call

*Corman’s World

Pirates of the Caribbean 4: People are Still Giving Us Money

Roadie

*The Descendents

Moneyball

*Hugo

The Help

The Muppets

chaplininpictures: Sunnyside (1919)

Tue, 29 May 2012 00:26:57 -0400

chaplininpictures:

Sunnyside (1919)

etharzaherl: Modern Times <3

Tue, 29 May 2012 00:23:00 -0400

etharzaherl:

Modern Times <3

Google's The Horse in Motion

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:43:10 -0400

Google's The Horse in Motion:

I flipped out when I saw the Google Doodle today. The Horse in Motion! The amazing experiment that led to such great things, such as board games turned into movies. And of course, the namesake of my Tumblr :) Thank you, Mr. Muybridge!

I will be writing more soon. Watching movies (somewhat) just haven’t had time for write-ups.

#6 - Goldfinger (1964) Somehow, about 7 years ago, I decided...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:15:47 -0400

#6 - Goldfinger (1964)

Somehow, about 7 years ago, I decided this was my favorite Bond film? WTF??? This movie is horrible, horrible camp. And not even good over-the-top camp like the Batman TV series or Dr. Phibes. None of the action scenes are interesting, the whole plot is stupid. I was really pissed. Why was this my favorite??? I guess because I love the name Pussy Galore, and I was once obsessed with Catch Me If You Can which shows a clip from this film. And I love Shirley Bassey, who does the theme for this one. If you are watching Bond films, you can definitely, DEFINITELY skip this one.

Man, Connery was one HAIRY dude. That just wouldn’t fly in movies today.

I think I’ve been watching movies on track to hit my goal of 50… just haven’t been updating!

#5 - Alien (1979) Kinda crazy that I had never seen this film! I...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:00:06 -0500

#5 - Alien (1979)

Kinda crazy that I had never seen this film! I started using the library a lot… and they have a pretty good DVD collection that is easy to browse. Wow, this movie really blew me away. It’s my idea of a feminist manifesto: Fuck all y’all… all I need is my CAT. Everything about this film was perfect. The long, opening shots in the beginning, the acting, the score. The realism! In a scifi film! All the actors were pretty old, and there was pretty much no non-essential makeup. I mean, they actually took the time to think, “Why the hell would you worry about putting on eye shadow when you’re on this ship in the middle of nowhere???”

I don’t really have a top film list or anything (yet), but I’d say this would have to be at least in my top 50 of all time.

#4. From Russia with Love (1963) So my Bond story is this: I had...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:41:29 -0500

#4. From Russia with Love (1963)

So my Bond story is this: I had never seen a Bond film, until one winter break in college. My mom had probably seen them all, so we decided to rent as many as we could, and in order. I think we made it to somewhere in the 80s. The thing is, out of all the films, I liked From Russia with Love the least. What was I thinking???

James gave me all his Istanbul commentary… what a gray city! I liked the action and I loved the camp. Bond chases bad dudes around Istanbul and then on a train. Well, I guess they chase him on the train. I guess you could say all Bond films are sexist but since this is only the 2nd one… yeah it’s a little extra offensive.

#3 - Edward Scissorhands (1990) How could I have gone so long...

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:00:05 -0500

#3 - Edward Scissorhands (1990)

How could I have gone so long without ever seeing this film??? I had no idea I would love it so much. Yeah, I’ve seen a bunch of other Burton films, but I can’t believe how this one crosses German Expressionism with 60s Sunshine Pop. Who knew you could do that?!?! There has to be a term… for when a movie has a retro look and feel, but you know it’s still present day… like these present day people just haven’t changed their style in 20-30 years??? The only other example that sticks out in my mind is Napoleon Dynamite. The score was amazing! It also had a 50s choral feel. The story is pretty much Beauty and the Beast, with a few quirks, nothing really surprising. Just delightfully absurd.

#2 - Gosford Park (2001) How dreadful. Really! Well, if you are...

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:02:05 -0500

#2 - Gosford Park (2001)

How dreadful. Really! Well, if you are going to watch this film, do NOT watch it after watching the first two seasons and Christmas special of Downtown Abbey. You will be quite disappointed.

Gosford Park was written by Downton’s creator, Julian Fellowes. They have an insanely similar set up: almost the same time period, and the whole story is about the relationships and differences between the higher and lower class. I think I was expecting more mystery, more whodunit. The film made it pretty obvious who did it and how. All the story lines were just incredibly predictable. If this was an episode of Downton Abbey, it might be the worst. The only saving factor is the amazing cast… but even then, there is just so much talent, it’s hard for anyone to shine really. Sorry, just nothing in this film works… I can’t remember the last time I was so bored watching a movie (oh wait, yes I can, PECKINPAH).

#1 - Dazed and Confused OK, 2012 movies… this year, I am...

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:45:54 -0500

#1 - Dazed and Confused

OK, 2012 movies… this year, I am including movies I have already seen (I did not include these in previous years). The thing is, if I rewatch a movie, it’s because it was over 10 years ago. My goal is to watch 50 movies in 2012. I definitely did not hit that in 2011.

I loved this movie in high school, and fortunately because of the title, it was pretty easy to get James to agree to watch it. He had told me a hundred times how Jimmy Page wanted to allow them to use the song in the film… but Robert Plant did not! I don’t think I realized in HS how low-budget this movie felt (hi there, boom). It kinda bugged me, being older, how it pretty much aimlessly wandered. There’s really just one message at the end, “Enjoy yourself.” This film might be in the running for best non-cheezy high school movie. Yeah I love Hughes, and Can’t Hardly Wait and that, but it’s super cheez. This film is so honest. Remember how in HS, if you had a popular older brother or sister, you were automatically welcomed into the popular crowds. It’s like a monarchy or something! And there’s really nothing to do in HS except drive around. OK- this film does rip a huge chunk from American Graffiti. The stoner dude is the best… he needs more dorm room posters a la Belushi.

#36 - Sugar Hill Do you like zombies? Do you love the cheeziness...

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:01:06 -0500

#36 - Sugar Hill

Do you like zombies? Do you love the cheeziness of Blaxploitation films? Then Sugar Hill is PERFECT! I wasn’t expecting much from this film, currently available on Netflix watch instant. But I haven’t met a Blaxploitation film I haven’t loved yet. I also want to get into Turkploitation, but it’s hard to find stuff. Sorry, off topic, Blaxploitation and Turkploitation have NOTHING to do with each other, besides both having “ploitation.”

Sugar Hill is the name of our heroine (which is also the name of a small section of Harlem). Her lover is killed by some mob dudes, so she must get revenge! What is sweet Sugar gonna do? Why pick up her mean voodoo skills and call upon a zombie army! Duh! This is an AIP film, I don’t know why it felt so much better than the others. I think it might really just have been the makeup. It was a little tacky, but the zombies were borderline actually scary/creepy. Kinda MJ Thriller-esque.

#35 - The Craft One night, James and I felt like getting our 90s...

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:06:05 -0500

#35 - The Craft

One night, James and I felt like getting our 90s on. We have a little song we sing, it goes like this: 90s-90s-90s-ohhhh-90s-90s-90s. I guess you have to be here.

This movie was obviously targeted at the general teenage movie goers. The story is your basic cookie-cutter 90s stuff, but with majik thrown in! Whatever happened to sweet Neve Campbell? And Skeet Ulrich! He was said to be the next Johnny Depp! I love re-living tacky 90s nostalgia, but I’m usually out of luck for a partner because I don’t think James is into it… but HE actually picked the Craft because of the whole, ya know, Satanic element. Score!

#34 - An Education I’m not quite sure how it happened, but...

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 21:54:56 -0500

#34 - An Education

I’m not quite sure how it happened, but this film captures every “smart” high school girl’s dream. It’s just that growing up in the suburbs, there’s no culture. And there’s no one around you who gives a shit about music or film or culture. This is why I needed to go to school in NYC.

So back to the FILM here: Carey Mulligan is absolutely amazing. She’s adorable and innocent and perfect. She plays a high school senior (whatever that is in England) about to go to Oxford (I think Oxford is England’s Harvard?), BUT then she meets this amazing man, played by Peter Sarsgaard. He gives her everything of the cultured life she’s always dreamed of. They go to Paris! But as with all stories, things go wrong… I also ADORE Olivia Williams - teacher from Rushmore, playing yet another awesome teacher. When the opening credits ran, I couldn’t believe that Nick Hornby adapted this script - but somehow, he really nailed it.

Like the Best Zombies, VHS Just Won’t Die

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:19:52 -0400

Like the Best Zombies, VHS Just Won’t Die:

vhshitfest:

I was interviewed in this New York Times article on VHS. Pass this around, this is a huge deal for VHS!

- Dan Kinem

npr: gq: Hipster Cop Would Prefer If You Called Him “The...

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 13:12:29 -0400

npr:

gq:

Hipster Cop Would Prefer If You Called Him “The Gentleman Officer”

We tracked down the fashionable detective who’s essentially neutering more important media coverage of Occupy Wall Street with his meticulously disheveled locks and wry smile. He’s just too damn fun to resist.

GQ: How would you describe your style?
Rick Lee: I describe it as “traditional English country.” I love traditional English country clothes.

GQ: It’s funny because you’ve been anointed “Hipster Cop” now, but looking at all your pictures—I’m not sure that’s the right descriptor.
Rick Lee: I agree! I don’t have a beard. I don’t live in Williamsburg. Though off-duty I may look a little bit more hipster. I’m thin, so when I’m off-duty I like skinny jeans. And, well, I have about five pairs of Converse sneakers, but I’ve been wearing Converse sneakers since I was in junior high school. I’ve always worn Converse sneakers, they’re not just a fashion trend with me. I’ve always liked them. So off duty, I throw on skinny jeans, a T-shirt, and a cardigan. I guess you could say I look more hipster on the weekend. Or in the summer, I’ll wear my jeans cuffed, with wingtip shoes and a t-shirt and a vest. Unfortunately, I can’t wear jeans to work.

GQ: So there’s a detective dress code? That is not what cop shows would have me believe.
Rick Lee: Yes, unfortunately. The police commissioner might get mad if I wear jeans.

GQ: If “Hipster Cop” is inaccurate, what new fun cop moniker should we use?
Rick Lee: Uh…”Country Gentleman.” Or the “Gentleman Police Officer.”

Who knew this “story” could go any further? Here’s NPR’s take on it from the other day. —Wright