November 17, 2004
Potential Paper Topic
November 7, 2004
She Said Fuckabees
Huckabees was very reminiscent of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but I can’t really explain why. Or maybe I can. Both are wholly original, greatly imaginative, playful and melancholy at the same time, and both have as a plot device the bringing of big philosophy/psychology issues into everyday use. Maybe it is a new genre, not magic realism but some kind of philosophical realism.
My only complaint is the use of the African man.
Filed by cynthia rockwell at 9:36 am under Uncategorized
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How Am I Not Myself?
I (Heart) Huckabees is a nice nice movie. They finally found a good use for Jude Law. I actually liked him in this. And I even liked Marky Mark. And even Naomi Watts didn’t annoy me like she usually does. They took three very annoying actors and made silk out of their shit.
“Have you ever transcended space and time?”
“Yes. Well, time. Not space. Actually I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Filed by cynthia rockwell at 12:55 am under Uncategorized
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November 6, 2004
Morris vs. Moore
I just watched Fog of War for the first time and I think it’s a much more effective film than Fahrenheit 9/11 in terms of its potential to convince the opposing side (i.e., the Red States). My conservative parents won’t even watch Moore’s film because of its incendiary reputation, but I think they’d watch Fog of War and would be convinced by it. Sometimes you have to use an example that is more far-removed from the contemporary situation in order to get your message in. I liked Moore’s film a lot, but suspect that most of its effect was merely to preach to the converted. If you want to reach all those red states, the subtlety of Fog of War is the weapon to use. I think I know what I’m getting my parents for Christmas.
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November 5, 2004
Tricksey Art Films
As I and about a dozen other people sat staring at a black screen for at least 10 minutes last night during the screening of Derek Jarman films at MIT, I chuckled at what seemed like some sort of test: how long will an art-film audience watch a blank screen before suspecting that there is some sort of technical problem with the image rather than the artist’s intention? Last night the answer was about 7 minutes. But there were actual technical problems with the previous film, so our faith was shaken. Not Guy’s though–he told me he had seen Jarman’s Blue, which apparently is nothing but a blue screen with dialogue and sound, so the black screen was likely intentional. And in fact, it turned out that it was. Oh we of little faith.
Filed by cynthia rockwell at 12:29 pm under Uncategorized
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November 4, 2004
Tonight, Yo
Thursday, November 4 at 7 PM, Bartos Theatre MIT E15
Film Night with a discussion led by John Gianvito
A screening of “The Last of England” (UK/1987/87 minutes)
Directed by Derek Jarman
in conjunction with the exhibition “Cerith Wyn Evans: Thoughts
unsaid, now forgotten…”
A dark, personal, and deeply poetic meditation on late
twentieth-century England, “The Last of England” stands as one of
the late Derek Jarman’s most memorable achievements. The film’s
progression, from childhood innocence and the early days of WWII to
raging warfare, terrorism, and rampant homophobia, reflects a bleak
version of Jarman’s own life. This seminal creation is an elegant and
highly original visual masterpiece, featuring music from Marianne
Faithfull and Diamanda Galas.
“…the film is one of the few commanding works of personal cinema in
the late 80s–a call to open our eyes to a world violated by greed
and repression, how our skies, and our bodies, have turned poisonous.”
-Katherine Dieckmann, THE VILLAGE VOICE
Organized by John Gianvito
Gianvito is a filmmaker, teacher, and curator based in Boston.
Filed by cynthia rockwell at 2:35 pm under Uncategorized
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