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GROUND RULES

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10 February 10 | | Comments
Red Riding 19832/10/10 They tell you, in situations like these, to not rush judgement.  Sleep on it, and see how you feel in the morning.  Don’t fire off that angry missive.  Don’t hate-text your ex.  Give yourself some time to cool down.  I’ve got no time for that sort of rationale, so here we go. I think 1983 was the best in the trilogy.  I say “I think” because I honestly don’t know.  Seems kind of silly since I just finished watching it, but, you’ll understand when I explain how distracted I was throughout the entire screening.  What could be so egregious, so unprofessional, so obnoxious that would make me lose my train of thought for so long, you ask?  Certainly something on par with sitting next to an infant on a transatlantic redeye flight, or at the very least, finding the only seat in the house is in the front corner in between two noisy popcorn munchers.  But no.  My outrage came from something much more trivial, something any sane person could overlook: the fucking focus. Pardon my angsty and amateur alliteration, but honestly: Do you know how to project a film?  No, no, back it up— do you interpret the world around you as light reflects and is absorbed into cones and rods in your eyeball, sending signals to your brain?  Do you have two working eyeballs?  Then how on earth can you argue that this movie is in focus?  The edges are dull, the text blurry, and there are no crisp edges to be found.  My own eyes are having trouble knowing where to look, because it all looks just slightly off. Now, I understand the target audience for this film on a Tuesday night is a devoted group of retirees whose eyesight may not be the best.  But I just got an updated prescription less than a month ago, so I know what I’m looking at.  Oh, and did I mention it’s my job to make sure movies look their best on screen?  I think I know what I’m talking about here.  I know “you don’t agree” that it is out of focus, and you think “that’s just the way it was shot,” but based on the exhibition quality I’ve experienced over the last three days—from ventilation systems louder than the film itself to masking issues and incorrect aspect ratios—I really think it’s you, not me. …so anyway.  It was thoughts like these that took over my attention span for most of the film, so I feel unable to fairly evaluate it.  What I can tell you is that the characters were more dynamic than ever before, and the story more coherent than the previous two installments.  If you can make it through 1974 and 1980 without wanting to give up, 1983 will definitely make it worth your while. Unless you see it at the Vogue Theatre, 3290 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, 94115 (415-346-2288).  Then I can guarantee nothing. (Too much?)

Red Riding 1983
2/10/10

They tell you, in situations like these, to not rush judgement.  Sleep on it, and see how you feel in the morning.  Don’t fire off that angry missive.  Don’t hate-text your ex.  Give yourself some time to cool down.  I’ve got no time for that sort of rationale, so here we go.

I think 1983 was the best in the trilogy.  I say “I think” because I honestly don’t know.  Seems kind of silly since I just finished watching it, but, you’ll understand when I explain how distracted I was throughout the entire screening.  What could be so egregious, so unprofessional, so obnoxious that would make me lose my train of thought for so long, you ask?  Certainly something on par with sitting next to an infant on a transatlantic redeye flight, or at the very least, finding the only seat in the house is in the front corner in between two noisy popcorn munchers.  But no.  My outrage came from something much more trivial, something any sane person could overlook: the fucking focus.

Pardon my angsty and amateur alliteration, but honestly: Do you know how to project a film?  No, no, back it up— do you interpret the world around you as light reflects and is absorbed into cones and rods in your eyeball, sending signals to your brain?  Do you have two working eyeballs?  Then how on earth can you argue that this movie is in focus?  The edges are dull, the text blurry, and there are no crisp edges to be found.  My own eyes are having trouble knowing where to look, because it all looks just slightly off.

Now, I understand the target audience for this film on a Tuesday night is a devoted group of retirees whose eyesight may not be the best.  But I just got an updated prescription less than a month ago, so I know what I’m looking at.  Oh, and did I mention it’s my job to make sure movies look their best on screen?  I think I know what I’m talking about here.  I know “you don’t agree” that it is out of focus, and you think “that’s just the way it was shot,” but based on the exhibition quality I’ve experienced over the last three days—from ventilation systems louder than the film itself to masking issues and incorrect aspect ratios—I really think it’s you, not me.

…so anyway.  It was thoughts like these that took over my attention span for most of the film, so I feel unable to fairly evaluate it.  What I can tell you is that the characters were more dynamic than ever before, and the story more coherent than the previous two installments.  If you can make it through 1974 and 1980 without wanting to give up, 1983 will definitely make it worth your while.

Unless you see it at the Vogue Theatre, 3290 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, 94115 (415-346-2288).  Then I can guarantee nothing.

(Too much?)

1 December 09 | | Comments

This Month in Interrupted Viewing: November 2009

At its beginning, November looked pretty bleak.  Not only was I failing to finish several movies, I wasn’t starting very many in the first place.  But I managed to rebound, coming back strong with almost a movie a day during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  I’m hoping to continue the recent surge in movie viewing, and get a little deeper in my Netflix queue in December.  In the meantime, here’s what I missed out on:

Mortal Kombat
Started: 11/14/09

Probably the best video game movie ever, I tend to put this on at least once a year.  I can still remember going to see it at the UA6 in Redwood City, not caring that my shoes were sticking to the theater floor from some unknown substance, inhaling Red Vines while Johnny Cage sliced Scorpion in half with a spiked shield.  Plus Christopher Lambert as Raiden?!  It doesn’t get any better than that.

Metropolis
Started: 11/17/09

There’s something fascinating about watching poor quality prints on an HD screen.  The imperfections really stand out, which I kind of enjoy.  Unfortunately, putting this silent classic on late at night means sleep will likely win out before finishing.  One of these days I’ll get around to it… I was enjoying it while I stayed awake.

Also still in progress: The Wire, Season Four.  Still have quite a bit to go before finishing, though.

1 November 09 | | Comments

This Month in Interrupted Viewing: October 2009

October was a reckless month.  So reckless that I feel obligated to compile, in list form, each movie and TV series I started watching that I still have not finished, along with a less-than-adequate excuse for my actions.  While my neuroses now compel me to stay through the end of most films (thanks to this blog), this month has been a return to form.

Consider this the retrospective where you review your month’s food log, and find a third of your lunches consisted of assorted Hostess snack-cakes.  And then you go cry in the bathroom while you flush the rest of the box.

A Thorn In The Heart (L’épine dans le coeur)
Started: 10/10/09

I have every intention of finishing Michel Gondry’s new doc about his aunt— but I had to turn it off 10 minutes in to go pick up my boss at the airport.  Horror took precedence over my to-watch queue this month, so this film was quickly (and unfairly) shuffled to the bottom.  But you can see it tomorrow on the big screen at the Clay Theater, as part of French Cinema Now!

The Wire, Season Three
Started: 10/20/09

I’m slowing down the pace this season, unfortunately.  I really need to devote a day to blow through a few episodes.  I’m enjoying seeing the connections back to season one. It’s just been so nice outside lately!

The Exorcist
Started: 10/23/09

After watching the less than frightening Pet Sematary, we put this on in hopes of getting the bejesus scared out of us.  It worked.  I can barely sit through one movie, so a double feature is a bit of a stretch.  Coupled with the drinks we had beforehand, it was bedtime only an hour in.  I may have to wait for the Blu-Ray to come out next October before restarting.

Tales From The Crypt, Season One
Started: 10/26/09

This show is like Goosebumps for adults, but only because it includes bad words and boobies.  The rest is cheesier than I remember.  But it’s length appeals to me, and it’s fun seeing familiar faces that are generally not in horror films.  No excuse here except pure laziness.

Suspiria
Started: 10/31/09

What, it was Halloween!  I’m impressed that we even got it started.  Geez.  You can watch it all online here.

3 October 09 | | Comments

On Movie Queues and Cosmology

Brian Greene says the multiverse is like swiss cheese: Our bubble universe is akin to one of the holes, and the cheesy, meaty part is space itself.  We can never get to another bubble though, because the cheese is growing faster than our own hole is expanding.

Now in that last sentence replace “cheese” with “movie queue,” and “own hole” with “ability to buckle down and actually start and finish any number of media.”  (Perhaps each bubble universe is representative of a different kind of queue: My Netflix list, downloaded premium cable shows, The Wire Complete Series, personal library to-watch, screeners from multiple festivals, submissions for upcoming festivals, and any new releases or second-runs in the theater.)

Some of these options take natural precedence over one another.  For example, I have been more compelled to continue The Wire Season 2, as I am smack in the middle of it, than I have been compelled to start watching Dexter Season 4 from the beginning.  (Episodic television can be so strenuous!)  But I need to watch a stack of 30-some narrative shorts to evaluate for possible recommendation into upcoming festivals by Monday.  Oh and don’t forget the Netflix envelope that’s been sitting on my desk for several weeks now— it’s just wasting away, money down the drain.  Better knock that one up higher on the list.

And of course there’s the hierarchy of daily life to contend with: If it’s light outside, I try to stay away from television screens.  If it’s chilly outside, exceptions could be made.  But only after the room is clean, or the couch is unoccupied, and laundry is done and lunch is made (with dishes done) and the cat’s food bowl is disassembled, washed, and reassembled.  Emails should also be responded to.  Wait, when is the ballgame today?  Okay, not for a few hours.  NOW it’s time to watch.  Unless tempted by video games.  (As despair sets in upon realizing my daunting list of to-do’s, it’s very easy to submit to the false satisfaction associated with accomplishing fictional tasks using only my thumbs.)

So, in an effort to at least quantify, if not prioritize, the media I feel obliged to consume, I offer this list of upcoming write-ups to watch for:

The Wire Season 2 
Sugar
A Thorn In The Heart
Stingray Sam
Wholphin Issue 9 (Do I even want to go there?) (no, I don’t want to go there)
Rudo y Cursi
Bored To Death Season 1 
The Road
Youth In Revolt (Book-(to script?)-to-screen comparison)
Up In The Air
On the bizarre nature of narrative shorts in general (see Your Awful Short Film)
Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo

…and that’s not including the plethora of DVDs and Blu-rays I’ve been sitting on for literally months since their arrival on my doorstop.  Oof.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go take out rival fortune-hunters with a grenade launcher from the back of a jetski.  At least that universe is finite.

7 September 09 | | Comments
I Love You, Man9/6/09 Having already seen (and possibly written about) this movie, I was going to use this space to write a love letter to Rashida Jones.  Instead I am saving that letter as a secret text document deep in the annals of my hard drive, that I’ll probably save to read at our wedding reception. So yeah, the movie’s a good one.  Thankfully between its theatrical and DVD releases, the buzzword “bromance” has been killed, and we can finally enjoy the movie for what it is: a solid comedy with a totally hot Rashida. Sorry.  It’s just… do you think she’s seeing anybody?  No, don’t answer that.  I don’t want to know.  You know when you meet someone and you can just tell they’re a good person?  That they’re right for you, and things really click?  I mean, I know I haven’t met her, but, she can’t be that cute on screen and then a complete failure at life, right? This movie also stars some guys trying to be friends, and I can relate to the subject matter of wanting to stay home with Rashida on Sunday night and watch HBO and make out instead of hanging out with some dudes.  Consistent laughs, phenomenal cast, and excellent use of Joseph Goebbels pun. And did I mention Rashida?

I Love You, Man
9/6/09

Having already seen (and possibly written about) this movie, I was going to use this space to write a love letter to Rashida Jones.  Instead I am saving that letter as a secret text document deep in the annals of my hard drive, that I’ll probably save to read at our wedding reception.

So yeah, the movie’s a good one.  Thankfully between its theatrical and DVD releases, the buzzword “bromance” has been killed, and we can finally enjoy the movie for what it is: a solid comedy with a totally hot Rashida.

Sorry.  It’s just… do you think she’s seeing anybody?  No, don’t answer that.  I don’t want to know.  You know when you meet someone and you can just tell they’re a good person?  That they’re right for you, and things really click?  I mean, I know I haven’t met her, but, she can’t be that cute on screen and then a complete failure at life, right?

This movie also stars some guys trying to be friends, and I can relate to the subject matter of wanting to stay home with Rashida on Sunday night and watch HBO and make out instead of hanging out with some dudes.  Consistent laughs, phenomenal cast, and excellent use of Joseph Goebbels pun.

And did I mention Rashida?

4 July 09 | | Comments
In an effort to contextualize my taste in movies, here is a grid representation of every DVD, Blu-ray, and VHS tape I own.  I generally have to love a movie to feel the need to buy it. However, it should be noted that while some of these I happily paid full price for (The Fall, The American Astronaut, Independence Day VHS), others were bargain-bin discounts worth the sale price and not much more (Austin Powers 1 & 2, The Mask).  A few were gifts (American Pie, Dawn of the Dead) and some I haven’t even seen (Eyes Wide Shut, Fugazi: Instrument). The rest are either remnants of an embarrassing teenhood (The Good Girl, The Animatrix, Moby: Play, and all Kevin-Smith-related-material), or movies that I love.  Click for a larger view, and don’t judge me too hard.

In an effort to contextualize my taste in movies, here is a grid representation of every DVD, Blu-ray, and VHS tape I own.  I generally have to love a movie to feel the need to buy it.

However, it should be noted that while some of these I happily paid full price for (The Fall, The American Astronaut, Independence Day VHS), others were bargain-bin discounts worth the sale price and not much more (Austin Powers 1 & 2, The Mask).  A few were gifts (American Pie, Dawn of the Dead) and some I haven’t even seen (Eyes Wide Shut, Fugazi: Instrument).

The rest are either remnants of an embarrassing teenhood (The Good Girl, The Animatrix, Moby: Play, and all Kevin-Smith-related-material), or movies that I love.  Click for a larger view, and don’t judge me too hard.

1 July 09 | 2 notes | Comments

Ground Rules

I originally started this movie log to keep track of all the movies I inevitably start and never finish.  Or start and finish in more than one sitting.  My attention span in recent years has gone down the tubes, and I usually pause a feature at least once, generally around the 45-50 minute mark.  In fact, I paused a movie to write this (Palo Alto, CA at 31:07-more to come on this later).  This was the original intent of logging when I started and finished each movie.

Looking back over the last few months, it appears that I’ve been pretty diligent about finishing movies in one sitting, which I don’t know is such an accurate depiction of my viewing habits.  In many ways, this log has forced me to finish movies more often than I am used to.  So I feel the need to establish some ground rules— what exactly I write about in this log, and what gets discarded.

This is easier said than done, though— it’s becoming clear that there is no universal rule for what gets written about, and what doesn’t.  In fact, I may learn more from what I turn off than what I actually complete.  I’m no film critic— this is as much of a historical log as it is a writing exercise to engage myself with what I just watched, and why I feel a certain way about the material.  It’s also an attempt to get back into a routine of stringing words together to create (hopefully) meaningful sentences and complete thoughts.

That being said, I won’t write about the following:
-Movies on TV, started with no intention of finishing
-Individual TV episodes
-Spec scripts I read less than half of
-Movies I’m somehow connected to through exhibition

I probably will write about:
-TV seasons in their entirety
-Individual episodes of Planet Earth (so jam-packed)
-Spec scripts I read more than half of

If I sit down with the intention of watching something, it’s a pretty safe bet that I’ll write about it, regardless of how long I watch it.  Scripts are a bit different, in that I can tell within 5 pages if I want to continue reading, and there’s really no point to recording the scripts I put down.

With these ground rules in mind, I may be posting more regularly.  Or maybe nothing will change, I’m not sure.  The point is:  If you haven’t already, feel free to use the “Hide Tumblelog” button.  Now resuming current programming.

Themed by Hunson. Originally by Josh