monkey man is such an obnoxious vanity project the guy literally rips off his shirt and a bunch of girls scream DURING THE WORST TRAINING MONTAGE I’VE EVER SEEN! YOU EXPECT ME TO THINK HES A SUPER SOLDIER AFTER HE PUNCHED A RICE BAG AND HELD WATER AND NOTHING ELSE?? oh you wrote and directed and produced this huh? no fucking shit
like I don’t know who this dev patel guy is but he seems like an acceptably attractive dude and like people pounding off to him think it’s praxis
it also has an incredibly vague and insulting plot that I can’t believe no one is complaining about
learning that A. this movie was slotted for just getting dumped on streaming services til jordan peele picked it up and B. that it was filmed mostly during covid makes a ton of sense. excited for it to be forgotten
I watched Mikey and Nicky on criterion channel and it also gave me the distinct impression that movies were probably better 50 years ago, John Cassavetes playing the most annoying human being on the planet and Peter Falk playing against type as kind of a real pitiable scumbag, two friends on a one-crazy-night adventure where one is trying to get the other assassinated, one of the best movies I’ve seen in awhile.
As someone who watched all of Peele’s twilight zone including the season 1 finale where cg corpse rod serling nick fury-walks Zazie Beetz through the twilight zone multiverse …producing is not that guys strong suit
Les Maîtres Du Temps (Time Masters), recommended as something in the vein of Scavengers Reign. directed by René Laloux (Fantastic Planet), character designs by Moebius. a children’s movie about the inevitability of death? “why is it called Time Masters when one only shows up right at the end?” that’s life, kid
got the opening theme stuck in my head from listening to it multiple times when syncing subtitles
Watched both ‘Along with the Gods’ movies (2017s Two Worlds & 2018s Last 49 days) and it is one of those rare cases where Part Deux clicks with me way more than the first does, especially since they make so much more use of the cast than the first did.
Liked that more than i anticipated, second one gets my recommendation for sitting through part numero uno to fill in somr blanks that you only understand if you have seen #1.
I saw Jane Schoenbrun’s new movie I Saw the TV Glow last night. On paper it sounds kind of lame and overdone – an A24 movie about millennials nostalgic for a creepy 90’s TV show that turns out to blur reality and fiction. But under that incredibly marketable premise, there’s a lot more going on. This movie really got under my skin. I connected with its portrayal of late 90’s middle school/high school alienation and hyperfixation/escapism on a particular media object that speaks to you deeply from some place worlds away from your shitty situation.
You get to see footage of the show itself, and it’s actually really compelling. Sort of a blender of 90’s preteen and teen supernatural thriller television, with the most clear reference points being Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Pete & Pete, and Are You Afraid of the Dark… But with a solid dose of fucked up underground 80’s SOV movies mixed in that gives it a great edge.
The twist of the true nature of that show was actually pretty original, and it WORKED for me.
It’s a very trans movie about childhood and about the existential dread of repression. It’s also a hardcore millennial nostalgia piece, and I guess I’m not immune to that.
I saw it at a special event where the director gave a Q&A, and they limited the responses to trans attendees FIRST. There were enough of them excited about the movie that ALL questions came from them, which resulted in much better questions than you normally get at a director Q&A.
I wish it were a Means TV thing! I’m sure it’ll stream eventually but I don’t know where. Schoenbrun’s previous movie, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, which I also liked a lot, is streaming on HBO Max, so maybe it’ll go there.
watched Velvet Goldmine with audio commentary by todd haynes and producer christine vachon. i like his commentaries he always has a bunch of notes he prepped like a big nerd (my kinda big nerd)
apparently all the parts with ewan singing were recorded live like he’s prince in purple rain or something. cool guy. the part when he’s got his wang flipping everywhere was improvised. he was only supposed to moon the audience.
A friend of mine streamed Mars Express. What an absolutely spectacular flick. Everything I love about Ghost in the Shell in a rich, living, stunningly-realized vision of Mars.
I saw I Saw the TV Glow last night, I keep flipping between thinking it’s really interesting and feeling like it basically doesn’t work. its strength imo is containing without resolving the both/neither thing of identification w media where you see yourself reflected (I am here) and see yourself on the other side (I am there), and in either case you’re outside of yourself. between it and We’re All Going to the World’s Fair idk if there’s anyone dealing more competently w like, these internally contradictory technology-induced aspects of subjectification. I hate how most of it looks, except a few scenes that I really loved, so I guess if I’m being ungenerous that’s an uneven experience and if else that’s a nice texture of like, aesthetic approach and avoidance. the last sequence in the fun center is fairly devastating, reminded me of this from foucault madness and civilization:
This, then, is the phase of abasement: presumptuously identified with the object of his delirium, the madman recognizes himself as in a mirror in this madness whose absurd pretensions he has denounced; his solid sovereignty as a subject dissolves in this object he has demystified by accepting it. He is now pitilessly observed by himself. And in the silence of those who represent reason, and who have done nothing but hold up the perilous mirror, he recognizes himself as objectively mad.
plus the audio mix is incredible even if I hate all the music.
