Society Dome: Another Week of Music & Movies

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Syriana (2005)
For all Gaghan's attempts to introduce characters into this morass of ideas, it still feels too much like homework and not enough like a movie. You'd really be better off reading a book, or even a good article.
Birth (2004)
I got this for camp value but it wasn't half-bad, as it turns out. A bit lugubrious and certainly too ponderous in moments when the camera slow-zooms into characters faces for an excruciatingly long time, but they manage to make a preposterous situation seem fairly interesting, and many of the characters reactions are quite believable. Unfortunately the film keeps you out of the loop for so long that at the end you're not entirely sure what was supposed to have happened, but I think I have a pretty good idea. Nicole Kidman looks elfy (sic) which is cute but she's sort of unlikable and unbelievable, and I'm not sure that that's not on purpose. Nice music (excpet for the Wagner) keeps things interesting, as do surprising (but small) roles from an unusually subdued Peter Stormare and a totally unrecognizable Anne Heche.
The Pink Panther (2006)
We actually stopped watching this. It just wasn't funny. At all.
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (2001)
Now this is awesome. Okay...I fell asleep, but I'm pretty sure if I'd stayed awake for the whole thing it would be my favorite movie. It isn't just low budget, it's like a bunch of friends got together and made a movie, only instead of being tedious and lame as such endeavors often are, they pretty much hit a homer. Three words: "critical lesbian shortage."
Transamerica (2005)
This was okay, but I guess I should've known from the Oscar noms that it wasn't a great film. I warmed up to it by the end but I found Felicity Huffman's mannered voice and dialogue to be distracting, and Fionnula Flanagan was so totally over the top, it was like watching a soap opera screen test.
Nacho Libre (2006)
Hmmmm. This was okay, but considering the level of talent involved, it should have been a lot better. Too many cooks, perhaps? Still, there are a few inspired moments of greatness, even if there's too much fighting.
Orange County (2002)
I still liked this the second time around. Ending is a little too long and sappy but there's some great stuff in here, especially Catherine O'Hara as a proto-Lucille Bluth. Cheers once again to Mike White. Here's hoping Nacho Libre, his third team-up with Jack Black, is another winner.
Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)
The Secret Lives of Dentists (2002)
I think I was confused and thought Alan Rudolph was some kind of importatn director (rather than the guy who butchered Breakfast of Champions), so this film was not what I was expecting. I find Campbell Scott (The Spanish Prisoner) sort of endearing, and he doesn't get many leading roles, but this film just wasn't very good. Scott and his wife are dentists who work together and raise three daughters. Scott believes his wife is cheating on him. Scott has poorly directed fantasy sequences starring Denis Leary, distractingly dressed like Tyler Durden. It's just dumb. And it really never goes anywhere. I've sat through worse, but I just felt like I'd really wasted my time with this film.
In Good Company (2004)
Next in our family drama trilogy, we have a love triangle featuring Scarlett Johansson, Topher Grace, and....Dennis Quaid (okay, Quaid's the dad). We've also got smaller roles from David Paymer, Selma Blair, and Philip Baker Hall, plus a cameo from Malcolm McDowell, who doesn't really seem worth it. Anyway, I was kind of in the mood for something light, and a little Scarlett never hurts, plus I'm weirdly obsessed with Paul Weitz due to his participation in Chuck & Buck, a film about weird obsession. It wasn't awful and it sort of evaded the typical Hollywood plot structure and ending, but it wasn't all that relevatory, either.
The Squid and the Whale (2005)
This is a lovely, upsetting film about everyone in a family treating each other horribly. Fortunately it's short and often funny so it doesn't bury the viewer in gloom. Written and directed by Noah Baumbach who wrote The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou with Wes Anderson.
Thunderball (1965)
I think I need a break from Bond.
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Hey, it wasn't a total disaster after all! Hooray! Definitely a geek's wet-dream (they could've stood to introduce characters more clearly for the rest of the audience) which stays pretty true to the first two films, even if it wasn't quite as visually stunning. They do try to pack an awful lot into this last film, probably too much, but they stay true to all the major characters and keep hope alive for the future of the series without cheapening the severity of several key moments. I could've lived without Juggernaut's dumb helmet (even with the "dickhead" joke) and several uses of the word bitch which were out of synch with the rest of the film series, but for the most part I have little to complain about. The biggest omission, obviously, and one of the few things I agree with the ranting maniacs at AICN about, is the lack of Jean's "Phoenix Force," which in the comics manifested as a giant bird of flames surrounding her. This would've looked really cool, it was hinted at in the end of X2, and would've been easy to do with CGI -- it would've also made the name Phoenix make a lot more sense, becuase here instead of relating to her rise after death, it's supposed to be something inherent within her ever since she manifested her powers. So: they really dropped the ball there, but with all the explosions and shit flying around it's hard to say "there should've been more special effects." I'm actually looking forward to seeing this again.
THX 1138 (1971)
Lucas' director's cut, replete with "Special Edition" critters and other effects-twiddling, is actually pretty okay. There are really only a couple of points where it becomes distracting or inappropriate; for the most part these additions are well-integrated and look much better than the changes made to, for instance, Star Wars, in the annoying digital fakery that goes on in the Mos Eisley scenes. And thank God he didn't touch Walter Murch's sound mix or Lalo Schifrin's musical contributions. I'm happy to report that this film holds up very well for me. I know I like a lot of crappy sci-fi, but if you haven't ever seen this film, I highly recommend it.
A History of Violence (2005)
I was a bit underwhelmed by this at first, but it grew on me the more I thought about it. Cronenberg's commentary is a lot more interesting than most.
Logan's Run (1976)
Hey, I stayed awake for the whole thing!
A League of Ordinary Gentlemen (2004)
Hey documentary fans: this film has been unjustly neglected in the wake of your spelling bees, penguins, quads, and stunt-gluttons. It looks and sounds great, which I can't say for some other big hit docs of late, although it suffers a teensy bit from unclear chronology here and there. For the most part, though, this is a fascinating history of bowling and the shifting place of bowling in our culture. And then there's Pete Weber's patented "crotch chop." Check it out.
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
Couldn't help myself. It's not bad; certainly better than the book (which isn't saying a whole lot). There were some moments where I was laughing at the film, and Hanks' speech at the end nearly had me gagging, but Audrey Tautou makes the whole thing eminently watchable (McKellen, Reno, Molina, et al don't hurt either). Considering the whole package was directed by Ron Howard, who I usually hate, this was surprisingly entertaining.
My First Mister (2001)
I wasn't sure if this would be a creepy pedophile movie or the sarcastic comedy it claims to be on he back cover, but with Albert Brooks I thought I'd give it a chance. Holy crap. Instead I was drawn unwittingly into a Hallmark Hall Of Fame Tragic Family Drama sapfest. And what the hell is Michael McKean doing here? Leelee Sobieski is actually pretty good, but Kelly pointed out that she has an unpleasant Helen Hunt thing going on.
The Pink Panther (1963)
Gotta love those Hollywood sets.
Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)
From Russia with Love (1963)
Vinterkyss (2005)
There was nothing particularly original or unusual about this, but it was good. Fairly well-drawn characters with a plot that doesn't get too neatly tied up but doesn't leave you hanging. Certainly not a waste of time.
Innocence (2004/I)
WOW. This is what cinema is all about. After the relative let-down of KussKuss and one of the worst Manhattans of my life at the downtown Luce (Phillip's "Union" Whiskey is, indeed, atrocious), we trudged back through the rain to a surprisingly short line for this film, which grabbed hold of me from the very begininng and never let go. I can't remember the last time I was so tense and curious while watching a film. The sound is incredible and sparse. The David Lynch comparisons come through most obviously in static shots of empty spaces with exaggerated "natural" room sound, as well as the filmmakers' ability to produce tension out of seemingly innocuous objects and interactions. I think the Peter Weir comparison is less apt than the Brothers Quay; think of the Quays and Lynch working together, without the idiosyncratic cliches of those creators, and you end up with a hypnotic, captivating, disturbing film that benefits greatly from the extremes of picture size and sound that the theater provides.
KussKuss (2005)
A film in which a somewhat interesting idea is played out to the detriment of character and audience involvement. It doesn't help that the subtitles were atrocious, full of inaccuracies and, in some cases, simply absent (Katjas and her father speak Russian which is never translated). There are also some really bad, obvious plot devices which we've seen a million times before (girlfriend unexpectedly returns to apartment because of forgotten keys, walks in on boyfriend grappling with other woman), in addition to a story potentially lifted from Margaret Atwood's "The Robber Bride." Ultimately it's a film in which people try to help one another but end up only hurting everyone around them, and no one seems to learn anything. Sort of depressing, but mainly disappointing.

April 16, 2005

Another Week of Music & Movies

A very frustrating experience at Block E last night was smoothed over by a great performance by Damien Jurado at the Turf Club. There were still a couple of unpleasant surprises: the sudden realization that we'd be coming home stinky from still-smokin' St. Paul, and openers Sail On, Sailor were really fucking loud (and the Clown Lounge was closed, so there was nowhere to hide, or talk). Otherwise, Damien more than made up for the hour (and $5) we wasted trying to get into the festival films at Block E (why does downtown have to suck so much these days?). He had four guys with him who were switching off between guitars, bass, keyboards, xylophone, and drums, and played a lot of songs from his new album that I didn't know. They skewed toward some very minimalist, droning songs that gave them a Low-like quality (but like, y'know, when Low rock out), and Damien came back for a solo acoustic encore, gracious enough even to finish with "Paperwings," which a couple of knuckleheads had been shouting out for most of the evening.

As always, a great singer's voice was sort of destroyed by the crappy bar sound, but not enough to ruin the show. Not even fatigue and a stupid drunk couple hooking up behind me could bring me down. Here's (most of) the setlist:

01. Lion Tamer
02. White Center
03. Night Out For The Downer
04. Sucker
05. Big Decision
06. Neverending
07. Icicle
08. Castles
09. Great Today
10. Omaha
11. Abiline
12. I Am The Greatest of all Liars
13. A Jealous Heart Is A Heavy Heart
14. Like Titanic

encore
15. ?
16. ?
17. Ohio
18. Paperwings

1-5, 7, 13: On My Way To Absence
12: Holding His Breath EP
10, 11: Where Shall You Take Me?
6, 8, 14, 18: I Break Chairs
9: Ghost Of David
17: Rehearsals For Departure

...

It was only a matter of time: Da Club Is Open

...

Another cute thing about the Turf Club is that the show started really late, so today we're way behind on everything, probably only going to see The Fearless Freaks, and then who knows what, since most of our friends are occupied (moving, Walker grand re-opening, etc.). Since we've still got enough punches for four movies, we're hoping to catch Rhythm Is It! and Czech Dream tomorrow, followed by Yang Ban Xi on Monday. I have my suspicions that the Sunday movies will be hard to do, however, since we have a big trip to the Minnesota Zoo planned, as well.

Meanwhile, I'm making progress on my latest song creation. It may be the first one to be worth sharing with people...we'll see.

04:42 PM | Permalink

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