Films Viewed (November 2007)

Syndromes and a Century
89 Gator Mine
Control
This is England
Lars and the Real Girl
Eraserhead
Wristcutters: A Love Story
Talk to Me
No Country for Old Men
El Topo
Beowulf (Digital 3-D)
House of D
Shrek the Third
I Am an Animal
I'm Not There
The Holy Mountain

Lawrence of Arabia
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Key
The Charles
The Landmark

The Senator
Other (DVD, BMA, suburban multiplex)

TOTAL: 19 (18 features, 1 short)

NOTES: The month started out pleasingly with Syndromes and a Century, another excellent choice for the BMA free film series. The series continues this Thursday, December 6th, at 8PM with Je t'aime, je t'aime. It certainly will be a busy night in Baltimore, but I would suggest making the time. For more on the film, read this here.

The month ended pleasingly with my first screening of Lawrence of Arabia, a film I have refused to sit down and watch until I could see it properly. I got to do so (thanks to the Senator) and I was not disappointed.

I enjoyed attending the premiere of local filmmaker Josh Slates' 89 Gator Mine. In the spirit of full editorial disclosure, I must say I am among the many financiers of the endeavor. I left the theater well satisfied. Josh and I are the same age, and I felt that he captured the insanity of post-Cold War proletariat America very accurately.

The Russian Fantastik revival series at The Charles wrapped up with an appendix of head-scratchers that were "Not Russian, but still Fantastik." It is always a pleasure to see films like Eraserhead or The Holy Mountain again, as each viewing reveals new details and layers. I must admit that seeing Jodorowsky's classics again and being prepared for what was about to unspool was not the same as being slapped in the face by them upon first viewing at a friend's house when we sat down to "watch some movies."

It is interesting to try to summarize my thoughts on the month's films after having the opportunity to express myself so frequently here. Many of the films I have not discussed are doing well and are receiving oodles of press (do you really want or need my thoughts on Shrek the Third?). The ones I probably enjoyed the most are dead and gone at this point in terms of seeing them in the theater. But that is what DVD is for, correct?

Speaking of DVD, I did finally rent and watch Talk to Me and found the film very compelling in a number of ways. I was especially struck by the sequences involving the riots in Washington DC following Dr. King's assassination, as these riots, rarely discussed publicly, seem to be remembered only in their continuing aftermath. I look forward to the coming exhibit at UB in regards to what happened in Baltimore in the same sad and tense times as a form of education on the subject.

Please let me know if you would like to discuss any of the above films in more depth. I will return shortly with my thoughts on film exhibition in Baltimore in general this past month.

Also, on an aesthetic note, I am a man of words primarily, and not so good with the graphic design. Let me know if my "color-coding" above is good, bad, or ugly (I am thinking it is a little of all three at the present moment). I will continue to tinker with the presentation of the page.