Great Moments in Literature
“It was all I could think of to say. I turned away from this woman and went to the bathroom, where I ran hot water over my hands, which is something I like to do in the colder months, it just makes me feel a little bit better. Then I touched my face with my warmed hands. It calms me down, it’s just this very normal thing that I do.” –Rivka Galchen, Atmospheric Disturbances, 2008 “ON THE SURFACE, THIS MAY SEEM TO BE A SUPER-HERO ACTION THRILLER! BUT, IF YOU PROBE DOWN DEEP, IF YOU ANALYZE EACH SUBTLE NUANCE, IF … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature
Top Fifty Films of the 00s — Number Forty-Nine
#49 — The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001). For all the precision that Wes Anderson brings to his filmmaking–the carefully constructed shots, the pristine cinematography, the merging of imagery with the rock’n’roll soundtrack so complete that it feels like the movie itself is breathing in time with each song’s backbeat–it is the ungainly sprawl of The Royal Tenenbaums that impresses most. Anderson has been upfront about drawing upon the works of J.D. Salinger, particularly those involving the Glass family, for this film, and it indeed comes across as a wildly inventive, overstuffed novel. Set in a arch, Bohemian, colorful New York … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 00s — Number Forty-Nine
The last time I saw Jesus I was drinking a bloody mary in the South
Twenty-second in a series… Due credit to the original photographer. (Posted simultaneously to “Jelly-Town!”) Continue reading The last time I saw Jesus I was drinking a bloody mary in the South
Though I’d like to look down at the earth from above, I would miss all the places and people I love
I definitely appreciate that Duncan Jones is trying to create a science fiction film that’s as much about ideas as it is about C.G.I. logistics with his feature directorial debut, Moon. Set in an indeterminate future era in which our … Continue reading Though I’d like to look down at the earth from above, I would miss all the places and people I love
One for Friday: Mike Watt, “Drove Up From Pedro”
When I was work in commercial radio in the mid-nineties, I was desperate for new, different music. This shouldn’t have been the case. I was, after all, primarily working for a “new rock alternative” station. The implication is that the sort of music I was craving would be there in abundance. That wasn’t the case. The most interesting new music stayed behind locked doors while the DJ booth shelves were loaded down with sound-alike bands built on the theory that Nirvana’s music was cool but could use a coat or two of high gloss. In 1995, we didn’t have Sleater-Kinney, … Continue reading One for Friday: Mike Watt, “Drove Up From Pedro”
Top Fifty Films of the 00s — Number Fifty
#50 — Triviatown (Patrick Cady and Brit McAdams, 2006). This documentary focuses on a trivia contest, touted as the world’s largest, which is staged annually by a college radio station in a small central Wisconsin city. In the manner of … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 00s — Number Fifty
Top Fifty Films of the 00s — An Introduction
Nearly ten years ago I was given a proposal from my old partner on the movie review program we did on college radio from 1990 to 1993. He suggested we each concoct our respective lists of the top fifty films of the nineties, adapting the traditional yearly top ten to a larger scale. While it had been years since we’d done the radio show together, we’d each remained avid moviegoers. In fact, we’d each taken little spins with movie reviewing and Academy Award analysis on other radio stations during the intervening years, he much more notably and productively than I. … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 00s — An Introduction
And our silver screen affair, it weighs less to me than air
McCabe and Mrs. Miller (Robert Altman, 1971). There are many who consider this film to be the quintessential Altman effort, and it’s not hard to see why. The hallmarks of Altman’s legend are all there: the overlapping dialogue, the moral ambivalence, the richly-conceived characters. Most importantly and impressively, the film is a thrilling example of the ways in which Altman pulls all these elements of his craft together to give the sense of a fully developed culture and society. The film is focused on the main characters, but the entire frame ripples with life. You feel as if you know … Continue reading And our silver screen affair, it weighs less to me than air
Pink macaroons and a million balloons and performing baboons and …
I found this thanks to Andrew Sullivan, during one of the few moments today when he wasn’t obsessing over Sarah Palin. (Posted simultaneously to “Jelly-Town!”) Continue reading Pink macaroons and a million balloons and performing baboons and …
Then I got tired of counting all of these blessings and then I just got tired
I’m so very tired. (Posted simultaneously to “Jelly-Town!”) Continue reading Then I got tired of counting all of these blessings and then I just got tired
