tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5959282444878015042024-03-12T20:37:08.219-07:00Charm City Cineastecharmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-54091090382094451842012-08-07T14:08:00.001-07:002012-08-07T15:33:05.329-07:00new online address for CCCPLEASE NOTE:<br />
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Charm City Cineaste has moved.</div>
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<a href="http://charmcitycineaste.wordpress.com/">http://charmcitycineaste.wordpress.com/</a>
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It will be a messy move, but the July 2012 Films Viewed should be up before the end of the day today (Tuesday, August 7th, 2012).</div>
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I am going to have to say goodbye to the color coding (not supported on Wordpress from what I can see). Where I saw the film will now be listed in parentheses following the capsule review.</div>
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Thanks for reading. I hope I have been helpful so far, and I hope to continue to be helpful in the future.</div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-14689014515088776512012-07-13T13:29:00.002-07:002012-07-13T13:33:48.554-07:00Films Viewed (June 2012)PLEASE NOTE: BLOGGER IS A HORRIBLE PIECE OF GARBAGE OF A BLOG PLATFORM. I COULD NOT FIX THE POSTS IT MESSED UP, SO I MADE IT SO THAT YOU COULD READ THEM UNDERNEATH THE POST WHERE YOU CAN'T BUT WHERE THE LINKS WORK. HOPEFULLY, NEW FORMAT (OR NEW HOME FOR THIS BLOG) COMING SOON.<br />
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<span style="color: lime;"><i><a href="http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Possession/60001056?strkid=1928633182_3_0&strackid=282cd89ddadd8211_3_srl&trkid=222336">Possession (1981)</a></i> </span>retains its power, rising from word-of-mouth film underground praise to full on uncut re-issue. A man and wife break up. She has met someone else that can give her something he cannot. Flat-out amazing histrionic fever-dream cinema.<br />
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I missed <i><span style="color: red;">O<a href="http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/On-the-Bowery/70226885?strkid=2015461681_0_0&strackid=596ccf29a17f2f5e_0_srl&trkid=222336">n The Bowery</a></span></i> when it bowed as a revival, so I rented it. Bums of varying character and type struggle to survive in this hybrid feature/doc. Short and far from sweet.<br />
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I was part of only maybe the fourth audience to see <i><a href="https://movies.netflix.com/movie/Beasts_of_the_Southern_Wild/70229269?fdvd=true">Beasts of the Southern Wild</a></i> at a special sneak preview via WYPR/MFF. A girl comes of age in a place on the brink of destruction. Wild, heartfelt, and free. Opens this weekend at the Charles. Check it out.<br />
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<i><a href="https://movies.netflix.com/movie/70138801?locale=en-US&&fdvd=true"><span style="color: red;">Haywire</span></a></i> was about this woman who was really good at kicking ass and killing people and what happens when she has to "go rogue". Directed by <a href="http://dvd.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?locale=en-US&personid=87154&fcld=true&vt=tl">Steven Soderbergh</a>. A simple pleasure, but a well-constructed one.<br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"><i><a href="https://movies.netflix.com/movie/Prometheus/70217911?locale=en-US&&fdvd=true">Prometheus 3D</a></i> </span>was "eh," never rising above being a sci-fi/action thrill-ride. Dealt with "big questions" in ways that were at best quasi-profound. Many others were more sorely disappointed by this movie. But, you know, the air conditioning worked and the popcorn was fresh.<br />
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<i><a href="https://movies.netflix.com/movie/The-Circus/60034529?locale=en-US&&fdvd=true"><span style="color: lime;">The Circus</span></a></i> continued the Charles theater's Chaplin revivals. A great opportunity to continue my film education.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">I really liked </span><i><a href="gainsbourg: A Heroic Life"><span style="color: red;">Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life</span></a></i><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">,</span> despite how French and whimsically arty it was. I bought the concept and approach, didn't mind the puppets, got to hear <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K6y_CyOzHE&feature=related&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DbMdXi6f5KRg&has_verified=1">some great music</a>. Sometimes things were being alluded to that I did not understand, but the dude <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMdXi6f5KRg">lived an insane life</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://www.google.com/"><span style="background-color: white;">I really liked </span><i><span style="color: red;">Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life</span></i><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">,</span> despite how French and whimsically arty it was. I bought the concept and approach, didn't mind the puppets, got to hear some great music. Sometimes things were being alluded to that I did not understand, but the dude lived an insane life.</span></a>
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<span style="background-color: white;">It was good to finally have the time to sit down and view Jimmy Joe Roche's <i>"Black Midnight Death Trip" </i>and <i>"Daydreams." </i>Experimental video made with <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jimmyjoeroche/black-midnight-death-trip-jimmy-joe-roche">a device I helped him create and assemble via Kickstarter</a>. A good weird half of an hour.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://www.google.com/">It was good to finally have the time to sit down and view Jimmy Joe Roche's <i>"Black Midnight Death Trip" </i>and <i>"Daydreams." </i>Experimental video made with a device I helped him create and assemble via Kickstarter. A good weird half of an hour.</a>
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<i><a href="https://movies.netflix.com/movie/Moonrise_Kingdom/70228041?fdvd=true"><span style="color: lime;">Moonrise Kingdom</span></a></i> is a <a href="http://dvd.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=17266066&fcld=true&vt=tl">Wes Anderson</a> movie, and it is about the things this his movies are about. I bought into the world he has created this time around quickly and enjoyed it, although opinion among my friends is divided.<br />
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<i><a href="https://movies.netflix.com/movie/60024538?fdvd=true">T<span style="color: lime;">he Life and Death of Colonel Blimp</span></a></i><span style="color: lime;"> </span>sort-of left me cold, like other "masterpieces" <a href="https://movies.netflix.com/movie/Tokyo_Story/60031727?locale=en-US&&fdvd=true">I could name</a>. Maybe I am not British enough to appreciate it? The more I read post-screening, the more I seemed to remember enjoying it.<br />
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<i><a href="https://movies.netflix.com/movie/Public-Enemies/70111115?locale=en-US&&fdvd=true"><span style="color: red;">Public Enemies</span></a></i>, on the list for some time, helped a summer afternoon pass by. Seems like the predecessor of most of the aesthetic and approach of the series <a href="https://movies.netflix.com/movie/Boardwalk-Empire-Season-1/70146682?fdvd=true">Boardwalk Empire</a>, another slow-burning piece of filmic work I enjoy.<br />
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There is a new film group in Baltimore called <a href="http://sightunseenbaltimore.com/">Sight Unseen.</a> They presented a series of short experimental films from the Enoch Pratt's film print collection at the Wind-Up Space entitled <i>"Sights and Sounds".</i> This was fun and good and I look forward to more events like this one.<br />
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I wound up seeing the revival of <i><span style="color: lime;"><a href="https://movies.netflix.com/movie/The_Royal_Tenenbaums/60021794?locale=en-US&&fdvd=true">The Royal Tenenbaums</a></span></i> twice the week in showed. I also watched it once at home on DVD with the commentary track on. It was just that kind of week.<br />
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<i><a href="http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Abraham-Lincoln-Vampire-Hunter/70208250?fcld=true">Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter</a> </i>was a movie where Abraham Lincoln kills vampires.<br />
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<i><a href="http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Safety-Not-Guaranteed/70227946?fcld=true">Safety Not Guaranteed</a></i> won me over, taking its oddball premise and fleshing it out enough to be enjoyable. The solid ensemble performances helped, also.<br />
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Sometimes I get nostalgic for the East Baltimore of my ancestors and I put on <a href="https://movies.netflix.com/movie/Hairspray/60025089?fdvd=true"><i>Hairspray </i>(1988)</a> with the commentary track.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Key</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: lime;">The Charles</span></span><br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: purple;">The Rotunda</span></span><br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: blue;">The Senator</span></span><br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #783f04;">The Landmark Harbor East</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">MICA Brown Center/ Wind-Up Space/ Suburban Multiplex</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: red;">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span></span><br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">(Please note: Whenever possible, all titles are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)</span><br style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Total: 14 features, several short films (9 features, one short film program in theaters/ screenings) </span></span><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">rooms) </span></span>
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<br />charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-41040727771148859562012-06-14T11:51:00.001-07:002012-06-14T11:51:48.448-07:00Films Viewed (May 2012)<i><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/Wanda/70052668"><span style="color: yellow;">Wanda</span></a> </i>was an excellent way to kick off my 2012 Maryland Film Festival weekend. A woman drifts, disempowered, through her life. As <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Search?&v1=john+waters&fdvd=true">John Waters</a>, screening host and film selector, put it, "a feminist film about a dumb woman." Great rare opportunity to see it on the big screen.<br />
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I must recuse myself from reviewing the collection of <a href="http://www.md-filmfest.com/film-guide-2012.cfm?id=170"><i><span style="color: yellow;">Genre Shorts </span></i></a>that played the festival as I hosted the screening.<br />
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I must recuse myself from reviewing <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/Francine/70232076"><i><span style="color: yellow;">Francine</span></i> </a>as I helped host the screening.<br />
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I have yet to be disappointed by a performance and screening by the Alloy Orchestra. This one, for the silent film <a href="http://www.md-filmfest.com/film-guide-2012.cfm?id=179"><i><span style="color: yellow;">From Morning 'till Midnight</span></i>,</a> was especially good. The films servea as an odd artifiact, German Expressionism taken to such extremes it played like Kubuki theater. A man who works in a bank steals money from it to unleash his wild repressed passions and manages to destroy his entire life in one day.<br />
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In <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/The_Turin_Horse/70172962"><i><span style="color: yellow;">The Turin Horse</span>,</i></a> a man and his daughter endure against nature. They begin to lose the fight, as we all do. A wonderful introduction to the films of <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=30027968&vt=tl">Bela Tarr</a> via his final film. Long takes, nothing happens, hypnotically paced... why aren't these "viewing preferences" on Netflix?<br />
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<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Attenberg/70153552?trkid=2361637"><i><span style="color: yellow;">Attenberg</span></i> </a>was just great. A woman navigates the confusions of sex and romance with the help of a more worldly friend and nature documentaries as her father battles a terminal illness. More proof that something is going on in Greece besides a dept crisis.<br />
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I still can't decide about <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/Damsels_in_Distress/70208790"><i><span style="color: lime;">Damsels in Distress</span></i></a>. Sure, it was another <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=20003040&vt=tl">Whit Stillman </a>film, and I enjoyed the other three very much. But something was wrong here, something that films like <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/Kicking_and_Screaming/70052286"><i>Kicking and Screaming</i> </a>manage to capture about college life that this one misses. It is never a problem to watch <a href="http://gretagerwig.tumblr.com/">Greta Gerwig</a> do anything for a feature's runtime, so I guess I am for this film. I can see why others might not be.<br />
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<i><span style="color: red;">T<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/Tim_and_Eric_s_Billion_Dollar_Movie/70226294">im and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie</a></span></i> was the apex of a sudden interest in this comedy team that I have onlty grazed the work of historically. Tim and Eric try to turn a post-apocalyptic wasteland of a mall around to raise money they owe that the blew on making a terrible billion dollar movie. Meta meta meta. Cameo cameo cameo.<br />
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It is thanks to the industriousness and dedication of a MICA student that I got to see <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/The_Long_Absence/70042219"><i>The Long Absence</i></a>, subtitled by said student as a culminating project of his studies. A woman, missing her husband, suspects that an amnesiac drifter may in fact be him. Prime 1960s French cinema, lost to us English-speakers due to no subtitles. Until now.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #b45f06;"><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/The_Avengers/70217913"><i>The Avengers</i></a> </span>was great fun, made more excellent by being in the hands of <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=20037948&vt=tl">a knowedgeable director</a>. Superheros assemble to fight a planetary menace.. Enjoyable to those like myself who have seen all the films leading up to this one, but also accessable to people who are not as familiar. This is what a summer popcorm movie should be like.<br />
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<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/Girl_6/70044782"><i><span style="color: red;">Girl 6</span></i></a> had been sitting on the list for a very long time. An aspiring actress becomes a phone sex operator and begins to lost herself to her "new role." A notorious <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=53982&vt=tl">Spike Lee</a> bomb championed by a friend in college. An interesting oddity, but we are a long way away from 1996.<br />
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<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Rhyme_Reason/60004497?trkid=2361637"><i><span style="color: red;">Rhyme and Reason</span></i></a> is a documentary about hip hop culture made when the culture was in serious transition (mid-1990s). Wu-tang is rising, Puff Daddy is about to become a Platinum selling artist. Glad to see it floating around on Netflix Instant on a headcold-plagued weekend.<br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/The_Dictator/70228042"><i>The Dictator</i></a> </span>was not a funny as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSWC5cic9jo"><i>Borat</i>,</a> not a terrible as <a href="http://model-misbehaviour.blogspot.com/2009/07/flop-why-bruno-failed.html"><i>Bruno</i></a>. I wasn't offended, but I rarely am.<br />
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I went to see <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/70178619"><i>The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel</i></a> with my father, and I was easily the youngest person on the theater. A group of British boomers, portrayed by A-list British actors retire to India and act up a storm. Fine for what it was.<br />
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<span style="color: yellow;">2012 Maryland Film Festival</span><br /><span style="color: #33cc00;">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: #6600cc;">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: #00cccc;">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: #663300;">The Landmark Harbor East</span><span style="color: #663300;"><span style="color: #ffff66;"></span></span><br />MICA Brown 320/ Suburban Multiplex<br /><span style="color: red;">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: Whenever possible, all titles are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 13 features, 8 short films (18 in theaters/ screening rooms) <br />
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charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-6887410979731629842012-05-11T18:48:00.001-07:002012-05-11T18:48:52.402-07:00Films Viewed (April 2012)<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/For_the_Love_of_Movies_The_Story_of_American_Film_Criticism/70114994"><i>For the Love of Movies</i></a> was a movie about movies, so it had that to overcome. Still, it was an interesting look at the history of the film critic, a now endangered species, and a plea for their importance and continuing relevance. I am a writer of criticism, so I could take heart, but the writing is on the wall as we enter <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORSJ2YcYYHw">the New Dark Ages</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/70208253"><i><span style="color: lime;">Jeff, Who Lives at Home</span></i></a> was sweet and simple, coaxing good performances from talented players. A man who cannot seem to make it out of his mother's basement leaves the house. Pat ending, but otherwise interesting work, a new way to get into the old plot mechanics.<br />
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Every so often, I re-watch <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/1181532"><i><span style="color: red;">The Big Lebowski</span></i>.</a> I continue to enjoy it.<br />
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<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/Bad_Boys_II/60029167"><i>Bad Boys II</i> </a>is an arch, insane film made at the height of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWS-FoXbjVI">America's W-era shrillness</a>. So many bizarre choices are made, so many performances phoned in... the film is a series of sensations and set pieces that almost feel like scenes from different films. An <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_action_comedy_films">Action Comedy</a> from <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=168103&vt=tl">Michael Bay</a>. Many thanks to the <a href="http://whamcity.com/wordpress/gunkys-basement/">Gunky's Basement</a> boys for searing this one onto my retinas.<br />
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<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/We_Need_to_Talk_About_Kevin/70189353"><i><span style="color: lime;">We Need to Talk about Kevin</span></i></a> was an exploration of the terror of the late 1990s, the realization that the success America had achieved was soon to fade and that the kids weren't all right. A mother lives in the aftermath of a senseless slaughter perpetrated by her psychopathic son. Could have been the worst sort of melodrama, instead comes alive coldly and precisely under the direction of <a href="https://www2.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Lynne_Ramsay/20016632?fdvd=true">Lynne Ramsay</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/We_Need_to_Talk_About_Kevin/70189353"><i style="color: black;">Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?</i></a> is a continuation of my exploration of the films of <a href="http://www2.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Frank_Tashlin/20014663">Frank Tashlin</a>. Another cartoon come to life. Simple post-modern self-reflexive fun. In guessing this is what <a href="http://alumnus.caltech.edu/%7Eejohnson/critics/godard.html">Godard went to see</a> when he needed to laugh.<br />
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<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/The_Raid_Redemption/70228043"><i>The Raid: Redemption</i></a> blew off the suburban multiplex screen, kicking and punching. A police squad raid a high-rise full of criminals. You have seen this before, but not as well done or as enjoyably executed.<br />
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<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/70178625"><i><span style="color: red;">The Muppets</span></i></a> was okay.<br />
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<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Myth-of-the-American-Sleepover/70134636"><i><span style="color: red;">The Myth of the American Sleepover</span></i></a> was a knock-out debut, especially if you came of age in the time before smartphones. Young people navigate the last weekend of the summer and the ending (or beginning) of their adolescence. All first-time actors. I found <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3248880/">Claire Sloma's </a>performance especially luminous.<br />
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It was such a nice time to get together with some friends and watch <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Usual-Suspects/1084379"><i>The Usual Suspects</i>.</a> The film holds up, unlike others <a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/what-happened-to-all-the-post-tarantino-directors/">from the era</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/Gerhard_Richter_Painting/70222624"><i><span style="color: lime;">Gerhard Richter Painting</span></i></a> was a chance taken that paid off handsomely. I was unfamiliar with the artist before the film, but found it a serene mediation on the artistic process. Thanks to the Charles for showing it.<br />
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<br />Key<br /><span style="color: #33cc00;">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: #6600cc;">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: #00cccc;">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: #663300;">The Landmark Harbor East</span><span style="color: #663300;"><span style="color: #ffff66;"></span></span><br />MICA Brown Center/ Johns Hopkins Shriver Auditorium/ Suburban Multiplex/ Video Americain<br /><span style="color: red;">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: Whenever possible, all titles are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 11 features (6 in theaters) <br />
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<br />charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-48487862226284527352012-04-19T15:03:00.002-07:002012-04-19T16:27:04.183-07:00Films Viewed (March 2012)<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/70175439"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">A Separation</span> </a>lived up to the hype, an engaging and dramatic Iranian film about a couple's disintegration under <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_system_of_Iran">Sharia Law</a>. You think you might not want to see this, but, trust me, you do. This was <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/27/us-oscars-aseparation-idUSTRE81Q06X20120227">a well earned Academy Award</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/Songs-for-Cassavetes/60020233"><span style="font-style: italic;">Songs for Cassavetes</span></a> was part of my last rentals at the <a href="http://www.baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/video-americain-closes-charles-village-location-not-because-of-me/">Charles Village Video Americain</a> (two stores in the chain remain open). A film about the turn-of-the-century American music and arts underground focusing on the legends and emerging stars of the scene. The kind of film I didn't need to see when I was living it, but one I definitely appreciate now as <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Fuck%20you%20I%20won%27t%20do%20what%20you%20tell%20me">a statement of the principles</a> I still continue to live by.<br /><br style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/Half-Japanese-The-Band-That-Would-Be-King/60000289"><span style="font-style: italic;">Half Japanese: The Band That Would Be King</span></a> has been on "the list" for forever. It is an interesting trope of the lionizing/canonizing "rock docs" that they always choose a certain work that is the greatest by the group. I am now very curious to hear <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charmed_Life_%28Half_Japanese_album%29">"Charmed Life"</a>, but I suspect it will leave me feeling <a href="http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/291097/291097,1229371970,1/stock-photo-senior-man-shrugging-shoulders-and-raising-hands-with-open-palms-22074610.jpg">like I usually feel</a> about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half_Japanese">Half Japanese</a>.<br /><br style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"You're Not Fooling Anybody"</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">"You're Still Not Fooling Anybody"</span> were paired on the same VHS tape. Very controversial work in <a href="http://www2.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Quentin_Tarantino/20001496">the Tarantino era. </a>Now, I feel like it is akin to beat-diggers pointing out other DJs sample sources. Not that exciting. Still, a masterful editing job that points out (convincingly) that Tarantino "sampled" a plot-line from another film for the heist from <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/Reservoir-Dogs/902003"><span style="font-style: italic;">Reservoir Dogs</span></a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/The-Essential-Charlie-Chaplin-Vol.-11/70024666"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">"A Day's Pleasure"</span> </span>and </a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/The-Essential-Charlie-Chaplin-Vol.-11/70024666">"The Kid"</a> </span>were a double feature at The Charles, which continues its Chaplin retrospective. I will have to miss <a href="http://www.thecharles.com/go/revivals">this month's installment</a>, but I highly recommend you check it out. "The Kid" was especially enjoyable, if I bit creaky and melodramatic at times. To be fair, when you are birthing an art-form, you're gonna do some things that will later become cliche.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/70175130"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">Coriolanus</span></a> was a tough-minded Shakespeare adaptation, very in tune with the issues of today. Set in a dystopian future world but still done "full Elizabethan" in terms of dialogue, the story charts the rise and fall of a warrior who would be king. Well, he would be king if he didn't like killing and fighting so much. Great performances highlight this rarely-adapted or performed work.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Doggie-Woggiez-Poochie-Woochiez-All-Dogs-Go-On-Tour/260639483995992"><span style="font-style: italic;">Doggie Woggiez! Poochie Woochiez!</span></a> was the <a href="http://www.everythingisterrible.com/">Everything is Terrible</a> collective's most recent collection of lovingly compiled video garbage. This time around, the focus is on dogs, and the ostensible "frame" is a re-make of <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/Holy-Mountain/70065390">Jodorowksy's Holy Mountain.</a> A mind-melting 90 minutes, presented at <a href="http://wholegallery.blogspot.com/">the Whole Gallery</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/70202146"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Wanderlust</span> </a>had me in hysterics in the (otherwise empty) Landmark Harbor East theater in which I viewed it. <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=80591&vt=tl">Paul Rudd</a> and <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=20000576&vt=tl">Jennifer Aniston's </a>characters stumble into a commune after their Manhattan life crumbles in the new economy. <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=20028859&vt=tl">David Wain</a> directs a stellar supporitng cast. Perhaps made more resonant to me by how often I have rubbed elbows with the "other" American music and arts underground (the one with the jam bands and the drum circles).<br /><br />It is safe to say that <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/70206672"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">The Hunger Games</span></a> was a good night at the movies, even for a neophyte to the series like myself. <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=30091218&vt=tl">Jennifer Lawrence</a> was note perfect, the dystopian world fully realized. I look forward to more of the films, but I fully admit I will probably never get around to reading the books.<br /><br />I will never not enjoy watching <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/60011651"><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153); font-style: italic;">Sunrise</span>,</a> an early silent film that never fails to personally satisfy and gratify me. A "symphony of the country and city" in which a man is tempted to leave his wife and then reconsiders. A beatifically shot, wonderful window into a lost world and culture.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Everyting is Terrible: The Movie</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">2 Everything 2 Terrible 2: Tokyo Drift</span> were similar experiences to the above works of the EiT Collective. Just an amazing mind-melt. The first focused on those dusty "educational" videos in the free rental section of the video store of yore and the ones you would find from the 1980s at the 1990s flea market. The second expanded on the theme, gained form, ate my brain.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/movie/70170041"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Project Nim</span></a> examines what happens when you raise a chimp as a human. Can it acquire language the way a human baby would? This documentary raised many good questions not only about language acquisition but also about the (flawed) humans conducting the experiment and their intentions.<br /><br />I am glad to have seen <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohl6ryB213A"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Khodorkovsky</span>,</a> despite its plodding, pedantic tendencies. <span jsid="text" class="commentBody">An engaging and illuminating film that serves as a window into the end of the USSR (and the rise of Putin).</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Key<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"></span></span><br />Video Americain / Whole Gallery<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: Whenever possible, all titles are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 12 features, 4 short films (9 in theaters/venues) <br /></div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-8989447369988125712012-03-04T17:36:00.002-08:002012-03-04T18:28:05.470-08:00Films Viewed (February 2012)<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Drive/70189289"><span style="font-style: italic;">Drive</span></a> became the talk of the town this fall. I missed it, and eagerly anticipated its release on DVD. I was not disappointed. A man who drives people away from criminal enterprise navigates his increasingly complicated life. Noirish and 1980s, over the top yet low key, and buoyed by some amazing performances. Everything I enjoyed about <a href="http://www2.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Quentin_Tarantino/20001496">Tarantino in the 1990s</a> brought flawlessly into the 2010s.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/70117539">Red Tails</a> </span>took a while to get going, but was a solid entertainment. The Tuskegee Airmen fight racism, inner demons, and Nazis in this WWII epic. The right notes were hit, the action kept front and center while the story developed efficiently around the set-pieces.<br /><br />I have been interested in director<a href="http://www2.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Frank_Tashlin/20014663"> Frank Tashlin </a>for a bit, and have finally gotten to see one of his films. <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Jayne-Mansfield-Collection-The-Girl-Can-t-Help-It/70051415"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The Girl Can't Help It</span></a> is a cartoony piece of pop culture fluff, notable for the A-list 1950s rock and roll captured on the soundtrack and in performance. It looks like <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/movies/dvd_extra_lewis_and_tashlin_J2xQ3wa571Z5aVF5JRXsVL">more of his films are hitting DVD</a> these days, and I hope to check out more.<br /><br /><a href="http://gallery.mailchimp.com/93c70071a873656af1e5fe543/files/Schedule_January_2012_2.1pdf.pdf">A monthly Chaplin series</a> has begun at the Charles, this time around featuring the shorts <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Chaplin-Revue-Disc-1/60034522"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">"A Dog's Life," "Shoulder Arms", and "Sunnyside." </span></a>To me, you can't go wrong watching film's greatest artist blaze trails and elciit belly laughs shortly after the birth of the medium. I am looking forward to taking in this series over the course of the year.<br /><br />The next week's revival was the complete opposite, a grim slog through <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Autobiography-of-Nicolae-Ceausescu/70139544"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceaususcu</span></a>, the narrative created solely from propaganda and state films from throughout his time as the leader of the Romanian people. As the descendent of Eastern Bloc Poles, I find such film-going difficult but valuable.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/70209134"><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51); font-style: italic;">Pina 3D</span> </a>is a tribute to an artist taken suddenly and too soon. <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=98391">Wim Wenders </a>coordinates a tribute to her brand of groundbreaking and transgressive dance and artistry with the help of her surviving troupe. A tribute to the power of collective artistic action and a guided tour of the work of an underappreciated artist. Well, anyway, I don't remember <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5TQ4GF8rNI">Robin Williams mentioning her in his dance</a> in <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Birdcage/308880"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Birdcage</span></a>.<br /><br />Whoa, <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Bride-Wore-Black/70060490"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">The Bride Wore Black</span>!</a> A prime <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=20024611">Truffaut</a> just sitting out there waiting to be watched. A husband is murdered on his wedding day. The bride seeks revenge. Sound familiar? <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Kill-Bill-Vol.-1/60031236">It should</a>. Such an engaging blend of technique and atmosphere, both pastiche and homage. A good time.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Ratatouille/70045269"><span style="font-style: italic;">Ratatouille</span></a> was just what was needed to lighten my spirits on a particularly melancholy weeknight. A rat learns how to be a chef. It gets more ridiculous and wonderful from here. Really about the trials and tribulations of being an artist working in a mass produced commercial medium. Glad I saw it, although I am clearly late to the party.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Key<span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span class=" down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link"><img src="img/blank.gif" alt="Link" class="gl_link" border="0" /></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"></span></span><br />Suburban Multiplex/ Video Americain<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: Whenever possible, all releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 7 features, 3 short films (7 in theaters)<br /></div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-19161216827596992662012-02-05T16:47:00.000-08:002012-02-08T16:00:39.377-08:00Films Viewed (January 2012)<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Life-During-Wartime/70124680"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Life During Wartime</span></a>, a sequel to <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Happiness/11819494"><span style="font-style: italic;">Happiness</span>,</a> is filmmaker <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=87285">Todd Solondz'</a> meditation on the aftermath of unspeakable acts and (obliquely) the state of Israel. Heavy, philosophical, and free of transgressive acts. An entirely different film from the first on several levels.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Artist/70189319"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">The Artist</span></a> has been a bit of a minor sensation in the world of Baltimore film, opening with some fanfare on two screens at the Charles. Interesting in technique, this (mostly) silent black and white film watches the rise and fall of stars at the advent of the talkies. A perfect showcase for the throwback mugging of <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=30087988">Jean Dujardin</a>. Didn't blow my mind, wasn't terrible.<br /><br />The Charles theater revival series helped me check <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-French-Connection/60011660"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">The French Conn</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">ection</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>off my list. Two cops go after a big heroin bust in a complicated and crumbling 1970s NYC. A showstopping breakthrough for director <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=32145">William Friedkin</a> that delivers the action movie goods but aspires to to do more (and sometimes succeeds).<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Red-Desert/70137008"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">Red Desert</span></a> represents my first technical disappointment with a screening at the Charles in some years. Having just seen the rapturous Criterion restoration of the film on a hi-def television, this print looked muddy and dark (problem with the bulb? problem with the projector?). In a film so carefully color coded, the effect for me was ruinous. Still, I focused more on other aspects of the film this time around and discovered new things.<br /><br style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);"><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Descendants/70142819"><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51); font-style: italic;">The Descendents</span></a> deserves the acclaim piled upon it, the story of an aging and reluctant patriarch deciding the fate of his family's land inheritance while also dealing with his wife's coma and apparent infidelity. Just note perfect. As a divorced kid, I can relate to many aspects of this dysfunctional family tale.<span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" class=" down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link"><img src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Link" class="gl_link" border="0" /></span></span><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Weekend/70033707"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">Week End</span></a> is always good, <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=20000182">Godard</a> throwing up his hands and saying "I give up." A wonderful mess of a film. The revolution is just around the corner as two crude bourgeois cardboard cut-outs head for a weekend in the country. Nice to see it with a friend of a friend who does not often wade in such waters.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Moneyball/70201437"><span style="font-style: italic;">Moneyball</span></a> </span>was not a bad choice for a rental. A small-market baseball general manager figures out how to utilize statistics to build a successful team. Filled with Pyrrhic victories, sharp dialogue, and solid performances.<span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" class=" down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link"><img src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Link" class="gl_link" border="0" /></span></span><span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" class=" down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link"><img src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Link" class="gl_link" border="0" /></span></span><br />Hoo boy, <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/A-Dangerous-Method/70158333"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">A Dangerous Method</span></a>! Freud meets Jung, Freud loses Jung... you know the story. Or do you? <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=20029921">Kiera Knightley</a> gives a brave and open performance as the test case at the dawn of a new era of psychoanalysis and psychiatry.<br /><br style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Tinker-Tailor-Soldier-Spy/70202128"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy</span></a> was a jolly good time, all grey and drab and British. Cold war spies battle back and forth as spies do, cautiously, silently and cleverly. Cream of the crop ensemble cast, <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=30091399">perfect director</a> for such material. Sure, it was the CliffsNotes version of the plot, but I'm a quick study.<br /><br style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Mill-The-Cross/70167127"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">The Mill & the Cross</span></a> serves as an auspicious introduction of more contemporary films to the Charles theater revival series. <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=40101">Rutger Hauer</a> as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieter_Bruegel_the_Elder">Breugel</a>, painting the world around him. A smart, visually sumptuous art film. Who were all those people packing the screening? Good for them, and good for the Charles.<span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" class=" down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link"><img src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Link" class="gl_link" border="0" /></span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Key<span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" class=" down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link"><img src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Link" class="gl_link" border="0" /></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"></span></span><br />Suburban Multiplex/ Video Americain<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: Whenever possible, all releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 10 features (8 in theaters)<br /></div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-22498522174871633222012-01-08T13:55:00.001-08:002012-01-08T14:32:27.430-08:00Gaps in My Filmic Memory 2011NOTE: Despite safeguards against it, I apparently forgot to write up a few films I viewed this past year. If you remember any more movies I saw and didn't remember to write down, please let me know.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Tree-of-Life/70116681"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">The Tree of Life</span> </a>is a baffling omission since I enjoyed it so thoroughly. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Terrence_Malick/58351">Terrence Malick</a> makes films rarely, but, when he does, I find them spectacular. A family is the focus of this cosmic pondering of the meaning of life which is not afraid to go all the way back to the beginning (of life itself) to get to where it is going. Some theaters put up signs indicating that there would be <a href="http://www.theawl.com/2011/06/the-tree-of-life-no-refunds-sign">no refunds</a> for the new <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Brad_Pitt/73919">Brad Pitt</a> vehicle. In any case, it sure wasn't a direct hit on the <a href="http://www.uncoached.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/movie_theater_1-465x333.jpg">"Joe Popcorn" </a>crowd. (June 2011)<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Wild-Child/60020873"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">The Wild Child</span></a> was a late <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Francois_Truffaut/20024611">Truffaut</a> revival that I was happy to see, the (based on a true) story of a "wild boy" who is brought in and nurtured by a doctor who in interested in his condition. My newly-sharpened "horse sense" says the child fell somewhere on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum">the autism spectrum</a>, but that's my take. It was bonus to have <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSnQa1rE3xY">this song</a> stuck in my head throughout. (Saturday, December 3rd. 2011)<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Key<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"></span></span><br />Suburban Multiplex/ Video Americain / Creative Alliance<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: Whenever possible, all releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 2 features (2 in theaters) </div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-76629925777054925822012-01-01T14:40:00.000-08:002012-01-08T14:33:09.372-08:00Films Viewed (December 2011)Seeing a preview of <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Young-Adult/70173046"><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51); font-style: italic;">Young Adult</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>was a nice alternative to the Mount Vernon Monument Lighting hoo-ha. A woman returns from the big city to try to re-kindle a romance with her high school sweetheart. So what if he is happily married and anew father? So what if she is an alcoholic train-wreck of a human being? Cruel and grim and very in tune with the status updates of my fellow class of 1994 high school graduates.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_Girls"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chelsea Girls</span></a> was a rare treat, an <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Andy_Warhol/97301">Andy Warhol film </a>dual-projected at the Creative Alliance thanks to <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Putty-Hill/70134663">Matt Porterfield</a>. Various Warhol superstars interact in improvised scenes like they are on some alternate reality speed-drenched soap opera. Not for the short of attention span, each scene plays out in one take, the audio alternating to give emphasis to one scene over another as the two projectors unspool.<br /><br />I missed the recent screenings of <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Diner/444509"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Diner</span></a> at the Charles, so I substituted with Netflix Instant, where it happened to be available at the time. Although I am certain I have seen the film before, it felt new. Local Baltimore guys pull together and fall apart as adult life emerges in 1959 Baltimore. As excellent cast kept loose and improvisatory. It is amazing to see how different early 1980s Baltimore (posing as 1959 Baltimore) looks in comparison to 2011 Baltimore.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Tin-Men/60021854"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">Tin Men</span></a>, another in a series of <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Barry_Levinson/54812">Barry Levinson's</a> "Baltimore films" screened via <a href="http://www.md-filmfest.com/">the Maryland Film Festival</a>, was somehow totally new to me. Two aluminum siding salesment engage in a game of oneupsmanship that eventaully involves the affections of a wife. Great to see. A local like myself takes umbrage at Danny DeVito's attempt at the Baltimore accent, but it is a minor point.<br /><br />After much anticipation. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Rainer_Werner_Fassbinder/20004930">Fassbinder</a>'s <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/World-on-a-Wire/70224110"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">World on a Wire</span></a> finally played Baltimore. A man is embroiled in a computer scandal involving virtual realities. Made in 1973, the film anticipates many concerns of contemporary Science Fiction film and literature. A three and a half hour subtitled German film... that right there should tell you whether or not you are on board.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Groundhog-Day/563104"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">Grondhog Day</span></a> concluded the second series of <a href="http://bmorecultured.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/1113-groundhog-day-1117-wye-oak/">Gunky's Basement</a> on a high note. A film that has the unfailing ability to put me in a better mood. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Bill_Murray/66728">Bill Murray</a> gets trapped in the same day, learns lessons. What's not to like?<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Elite-Squad/70100721"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Elite Squad</span></a> was on the list for a while, having never played Baltimore. A man who is a member of an elite Brazilian mercenary squad approaches retirement and burn-out as the chaos of the favela play out around him. The film has been <a href="http://www.andrewpurcell.net/?p=121">criticized for being too right-wing</a> and definitely takes the collegiate leftists to task repeatedly. Remains an adrenalized thrill ride nonetheless.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/My-Week-with-Marilyn/70202150"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">My Week with Marilyn</span></a> was a delightful dishy cream-puff of a movie, an account of one man's interactions with Marilyn Monroe (<a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Michelle_Williams/162903">Michelle Williams</a>) and Sir Lawrence Olivier (<a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Kenneth_Branagh/10668">Kenneth Branagh</a>) over the course of the troubled production of the film <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Prince-and-the-Showgirl/60021755">The Prince and the Showgirl</a>. Brought to life by excellent performances throughout.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">Z </span>was a film I have been meaning to see for some time. A politically assassination plays out in a corrupt Latin American country. Manages to feel both torn from the headlines of its time (the late 1960s) and wickedly satirical. Much credit must be given to director <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Costa-Gavras/20003295">Costa-Gavras</a> for pulling this off.<br /><br style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Adventures-of-Tintin/70121502"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Adventures of Tintin 3D</span></a> began an epic run through the holiday season's films. Tintin buys at model ship at a flea market and adventures ensue. Fun, frenetic and in three dimensions.<br /><br />I caught <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Le-Havre/70189309"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">Le Havre</span></a> right before it closed at the Charles. A kindly reformed reprobate takes in an immigrant boy on the run. Retaining some of director<span class="st"> <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=20040790">Aki Kaurismäki</a></span><a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=20040790"> 's</a> previous filmic bite while remaining upbeat. A deadpan fairytale.<br /><br />I read <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Of-Mice-and-Men/60021607"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Of Mice and Men</span> </a>for the first time in the hopes of helping my students with Sophomore English, a year I have never taught. This is a well-known and well-executed adaptation of the work. It was good to finally sit down and watch it.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Mission-Impossible/765912"><span style="font-style: italic;">Mission: Impossible</span></a> began a game of catch-up with the <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-01/-mission-impossible-leads-final-box-office-weekend-of-2011.html">(current) #1 movie at the box office</a>. A great twisty thrill-ride from <a href="http://charmcitycineaste.blogspot.com/2010/01/lost-years-of-cineaste-1995-1997.html">the years I was away from the screen</a>. The <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=22591">De Palma</a>-crafted action sequences were top-notch and sometimes ridiculous.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Tuesday-After-Christmas/70139535"><span style="font-style: italic;">Tuesday, After Christmas</span></a> was a Romanian film about a man caught between his wife and his lover over the holiday season. Long takes and superb naturalistic performances kept this one afloat. I look forward to continuing to explore contemporary Romanian cinema.<br /><br />I kept the disc of <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Sleeping-Beauty/70151001"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">The Sleeping Beauty</span></a> so long it wound up on Netlfix Instant. A dream-like loose re-telling of the Sleeping Beauty story from directoer <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=10971">Catherine Breillat</a>. Way weirder than <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Bluebeard/70117905">Bluebeard</a> while still remaining engaging.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Shame/70211042"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">Shame</span></a> was a "date night" movie that proved to be a nice bracing alternative to the usual holiday cheer. A sex addict spirals as his sister arrives to complicate his life further. A stunningly crafted film that makes me want to see the director <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=30110111">Steve McQueen</a>'s first film. <a href="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01292/steve-mc-queen_1292234i.jpg">This</a> Steve McQueen, not <a href="http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/famecrawler/2009/01/stevemcqueen.jpg">that one</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Mission-Impossible-II/60000521"><span style="font-style: italic;">Mission: Impossible II</span></a> was, for me, the most "eh" of the four films. Director <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/John_Woo/20000604">John Woo</a> can pull off a good action sequence without a doubt, but the rest of the film was too mired in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nu_metal"><span class="st">nü-metal</span> </a>American era trappings. Worst use of <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Ving_Rhames/77715">Ving Rhames</a> in a Mission: Impossible movie.<br /><br />I much preferred <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Mission-Impossible-III/70041961"><span style="font-style: italic;">Mission: Impossible III</span> </a>with all its <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/J.J._Abrams/20036674">J.J. Abrams</a> coordinated spectacle. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Philip_Seymour_Hoffman/42408">Phillip Seymour Hoffman</a> turned in a great "bad guy" performance and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin">MacGuffin</a> was finally recogized as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin">MacGuffin</a>. Best use of <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Ving_Rhames/77715">Ving Rhames</a> in a Mission: Impossible movie.<br /><br />I am a sucker for films like <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Sherlock-Holmes-A-Game-of-Shadows/70202148"><span style="font-style: italic;">Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows</span></a>. Victorian-era setting, buddy cop bromance movie dynamics, that hint of British sophistication... good times.<br /><br />Seeing <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=30049">Fincher'</a>s take on <span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255); font-style: italic;"><a style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255);" href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Girl-with-the-Dragon-Tattoo/70207663">The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)</a> </span>wasn't too redundant. I am of the original Swedish films only in my understanding of the phenomenon. Once we got past that "gother than goth" title sequence it was off the races, this time around the relationship between Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander more emphasized. One of these days I need to read this thing. The copy I bought while waiting for an appointment with the back surgeon is still staring back at me from my bookshelf.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Mission-Impossible---Ghost-Protocol/70173048"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol</span></a> completed my run through the series. Director <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=20002695">Brad Bird</a> brought a new sensibility to the series and made the transition from animation to live action admirably. I think I was suffering from a bit of "action sequence fatigue", but overall the film was a good time.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Gentlemen-Prefer-Blondes/60004540"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">Gentlemen Prefer Blondes </span></a>was a raucous 1950s musical comedy starring <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=64955">Marilyn Monroe</a> and <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=80861">Jane Russell</a>. A beyond iconic performance by Monroe, although I think I preferred Russell's performance overall Another dipping of the toe into the genre-spanning work of revered director <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=40240">Howard Hawks</a>, who one day I am going to sit down and really look at career-wise.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/War-Horse/70172928"><span style="font-style: italic;">War Horse</span></a> capped off the cinematic year. When I told people I was going to see it, they made a face I am now calling the <a href="http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumblarge_450/1257479413wcBX0v.jpg">"War Horse face."</a> A two and a half hour epic done in the old <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/David_Lean/53644">David Lean</a>/ <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/John_Ford/31013">John Ford</a> style. Boy meets horse, boy loses horse... will boy regain horse? I sometimes surprise myself with my ability to be engaged by such sentimental material.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Key<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"></span></span><br />Suburban Multiplex/ Video Americain / Creative Alliance<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: Whenever possible, all releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 23 features (14 in theaters)<br /></div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-65289937220291990012011-12-12T17:06:00.000-08:002011-12-12T18:25:03.544-08:00Films Viewed (November 2011)<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-British-War-Collection-Went-the-Day-Well/70022450"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">Went the Day Well?</span></a> was that rare propaganda film the transcends its intent enough to become a valid film experience. A British town faces a stealthy Nazi invasion. Essentially, the message is <a href="http://www.panynj.gov/photo/police/police_report_suspicious_activity-2.jpg">"Report Suspicious Activity,"</a> but I still had a good time.<br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Beats-Rhymes-Life-The-Travels-of-A-Tribe-Called-Quest/70166139"><br /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"><a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Beats-Rhymes-Life-The-Travels-of-A-Tribe-Called-Quest/70166139">Beats, Rhymes, and Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest</a> </span>was a fond look back at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_age_hip_hop">golden Age of hip hop </a>coupled with the stresses and realities of being a part of this innovative and influential group. We watch as they implode yet again. One of those things I missed in theaters (it's Baltimore-area run was only a week or so in a County Cineplex) and waited impatiently for on DVD.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Taking-of-Pelham-One-Two-Three/26653183"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></a>was a prime slice of vintage popcorn thrillride set in a decaying and bankrupt New York. A subway train is highjacked, a ransom is demanded, the clock ticks. Satisfying on many levels. Grimy, gritty and wise-ass till <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n35PfUpWyak/SwprqAkBZrI/AAAAAAAASDE/xv6ANjTprAY/s1600/The+Taking+of+Pelham+One+Two+Three.JPG">the last freeze frame</a>.<br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Seduction-of-Mimi/946071"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Seduction of Mimi</span> </a>was screening in Toronto when I was there a few years ago. I filed the title in my filmic memory bank and finally managed the time to rent and watch. Earnest worker Mimi is a man of honor in this savage lampoon of hypocritical Italian morays. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Lina_Wertmuller/98469">Lina Wertmuller</a> has won me over, and I look forward to seeing more of her films.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Martha-Marcy-May-Marlene/70167126"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">Martha Mary May Marlene</span></a> has divided viewers, some finding it unaffected and not very satisfying. I found it to be a taught psychological thriller worth my time, an evocation of a nightmare anchored by <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Elizabeth_Olsen/30107864">Elizabeth Olsen</a>'s performance. A woman returns from a mysterious disappearance into a commune/cult with much damage to attempt to unravel.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Hugo/70202136"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">Hugo 3D</span></a> was such a direct hit on me that I feel like an unreliable praise-giver. A young boy lives in the walls of a train station while unraveling mysteries that have to do with his father and the birth of cinema. Charming, beautifully shot... a movie I want to live in.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Lilya-4-Ever/60027586"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Lilya 4-Ever</span> </a>tells the brutal story of a Eastern European girl's descent into prostitution. Bleak, bitter, no holds barred film-making that never felt like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploitation_film">Exploitation</a>. A little too plodding, (the situation the woman lives in is so godawful that the reasons she would choose this life become clear quickly) but altogether effective once you settle in.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Immortals/70153860">Immortals 3D</a> </span>was other eye-popping <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=30091517">Tarsem Singh</a> film, this time viewed in a Dundalk movie theater with mediocre (dark) digital projection and a terribly blown out sound system. A movie-going experience as close to watching a film on bootleg DVD in a theater as I have yet to encounter. The plot was a miss-mash of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword-and-sandal">sword and sandal epic</a> and Greek mythology. Mickey Rourke goes predictable over the top as a the villan. I say "eh".<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Melancholia/70184165"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Melancholia</span></a> is why I go to the movies, to see and experience something new. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Kirsten_Dunst/26444">Kirsten Dunst</a>'s character's wedding party, already a disaster, concludes at the beginning of a much bigger global one. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Lars_von_Trier/20007955">Lars Von Trier</a> captured the mood of my Fall inadvertently in film. Armageddon: now more than ever.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Leopard-Italian-Version/60037956"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">The Leopard </span></a>was a sumptuous feast of a film, still going strong two hours into the run-time. An Italian man of means and privilege who has lived by the old codes tries to adjust to the new ways. He remains stuck between eras as the modern state of Italy is born around him. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Burt_Lancaster/52371">Burt Lancaster</a> is used effectively and well. One of those "on the list" films that the Charles theater revival series finally presented an excellent opportunity to see.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Dune/464403"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Dune</span> </a>capped off the month. As it is a film I have seen many times and know a great deal about, I thought of it this way this time around: the first half is an excellent example of <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/David_Lynch/57211">David Lynch</a> on a big budget, all stops pulled. The second half is like a very long preview for the film that could have been appearing on the screen for the next several hours <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfQjQ1Vm-ro">had Lynch had final cut.</a> Always a great film to dive into; many thanks to the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/GUNKYS-BASEMENT-Film-Series-Presented-by-Dan-Deacon-Jimmy-Joe-Roche/228160647220302">Gunky's Basement</a> crew for doing it again.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Key<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"></span></span><br />Suburban Multiplex/ Video Americain<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: Whenever possible, all releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 11 features (8 in theaters)<br /></div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-79857351363216087142011-11-07T14:18:00.000-08:002011-11-07T15:35:45.686-08:00Films Viewed (October 2011)<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Shoot-the-Piano-Player/19599445"><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">Shoot the Piano Player</span></a> remains the prime <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Francois_Truffaut/20024611">Truffaut</a> that I don't quite get, more a playful mishmash of genre styles than <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-400-Blows/70048120">his other movies</a> from <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Jules-and-Jim/660602">that era</a>. A formerly famous musician in exile gets caught up in various gangland misadventures and a tangled romance. I think I just prefer when <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Jean-Luc_Godard/20000182">Godard</a> <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Band-of-Outsiders/60021427">did this sort of thing</a>, which would probably really bug Truffaut considering their <a href="http://insidemovies.ew.com/2010/05/27/godard-truffaut-and-their-spiky-friendship/">complicated relationship and rivalry.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Summer/1011729"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Le Rayon Vert</span>,</a> brought to me courtesy of the Charles theater revival series, is a mid-period <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Eric_Rohmer/79405">Rohmer</a>, a director I have only encountered via his <a href="http://www.criterion.com/boxsets/417-six-moral-tales">"Six Moral Tales</a>" series. A difficult woman flops in and out of various encounters and situations over the course of a ruined summer vacation. I love any film that dares question the surety of summer fun in the sun, and I found <span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span class=" down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);"><img src="img/blank.gif" alt="Link" class="gl_link" border="0" /></span></span>the films modes of alienation to be very engaging. Just call me Mr. Sunshine!<br /><br />I was really happy to see <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/In-a-Better-World/70144553"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">In A Better World</span></a> despite having never heard of the <a href="http://oscar.go.com/nominations/category/foreign-language-film/synopsis/in-a-better-world/688796">Oscar-winning</a> Danish film. Masculine roles are explored via the story of two troubled boys and their distant, complicated fathers. Perhaps made more resonant thanks to the nuanced perspective of a female director and my professional experience as a teacher of dudes.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Videodrome/1093793"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Videodrome</span></a> was a classic key <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/David_Cronenberg/20492">Cronenberg</a> I had yet to encounter, a film ahead of its time and a look towards our frightening future of image consumption. A surreal dream of a film that rides the line between horror and Neo-noir skillfully until finally giving in to gore. Another quality <a href="http://blog.md-filmfest.com/2011/10/19/gunkys-basement-season-2-continues-with-videodrome-oct-25/">Gunky's Basement</a> screening.<br /><br />It is amazing I have not seen <span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Grapes-of-Wrath/60011158">The Grapes of Wrath</a> </span>before now. A digitally restored VHS copy has been floating around my personal possessions for years, purchased when I began teaching and found a crate of the novel among my potential texts for my first teaching assignment. Like a lot of things that year, I never quite got to it. A great film to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late-2000s_recession">see now</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Take-Shelter/70170060"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Take Shelter</span></a> is already clearly one of my films of the year. A family man struggles with apocalyptic visions in workaday Ohio. The masterful choices make the film powerful and effective, leaving the viewer guessing until the very end. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Michael_Shannon/20039331">Michael Shannon</a> has never been more perfectly cast.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Dracula/22495228"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Dracula (1931) </span></a>was a nod to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween">the season</a> and a diverting choice off the Netflix Instant queue. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Tod_Browning/20007680">Tod Browning</a>'s version of this classic tale appears aware of how campy it is, and the whole thing is just so creaky, ridiculous, and over-the-top that a modern viewer can't help but hear the <a href="https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&gbv=2&sa=X&ei=Omq4TvmGJufU2AXYk8XMDQ&ved=0CBgQvwUoAQ&q=netflix+mystery+science+theater+3000&spell=1&biw=1600&bih=1054">MST3K</a> gang riffing on it in their heads. I prefer <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/James_Whale/98683">Whale'</a>s <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Frankenstein-Bride-of-Frankenstein-The-Legacy-Collection/70012479">Frankenstein</a> from the same year for having a bit more meat on its bones in terms of subtext and atmosphere. I don't think I've ever seen the film in its entirety until now, but the text has been referenced so many times it felt entirely familiar, especially <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqej6t29ygc">the first twenty minutes</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Key<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"></span></span><br />Suburban Multiplex<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: Whenever possible, all releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 7 features (5 in theaters)<br /></div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-41106492469248454002011-11-07T13:22:00.000-08:002011-11-07T14:17:37.234-08:00Charm City Cineaste Four Year Anniversay: 2007-2011Just a quick note to mark the beginning of a fourth year of this blog.<br /><br />CCC has become a strange sort of feedback mechanism for me. Through it, I am able to quickly share my thoughts about films I've seen and have a handy reference to aid my filmic memory. Did I see <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Rachel-Getting-Married/70105368">Rachel Getting Married</a>? Yes, I did. In <a href="http://charmcitycineaste.blogspot.com/2009/02/last-year-at-marienbad-c-rachel-getting.html">January of 2009</a>.<br /><br />I remain happy with the current format as a writing exercise. I know sometimes I don't feel like writng these capsule reviews, but I give it my darnedest. We live in a culture of instant communication and the format is a nod to that. At the same time, the lag on my posts means a film is often out of theaters by the time you read my thoughts. But maybe I am just the tipping point to putting it on the queue for later viewing.<br /><br />Speaking of the queue, how about that <a href="http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/01/7561166-is-your-netflix-queue-in-trouble">Netflix</a>, huh? What seemed like the happy future of film viewing has become quite the mess, current indicators being that Netflix is going to stay the course for now. I remain a Netflix subscriber, but I know millions have left the service, and there were some involved conversations in my household over our subscriber status, especially during the <a href="http://seekingalpha.com/article/298918-netflix-kills-quikster-but-it-may-not-matter">Quikster</a> fiasco.<br /><br />I still believe that streaming remains the future of film watching, but I am no longer sure what form that future will take. So many things we feel comfortable with (the video store, the movie theater, the television/cable channel) just don't seem to presage what is coming. In the meantime, <a href="http://buy.videoamericain.com/main/main.cfm?c=114&v=1&sn=1452">Video Amercain</a> is offering membership deals for anyone who dumps their Netflix account in a movement they are cheekily hashtagging as <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelhumphrey/2011/10/10/occupy-netflix-angry-commenters-flood-ceos-blog-post-again/">#occupyvideoamericain</a>. It seems there is still some fight left in this beloved Baltimore institution, and I hope my travels will take me there more often in the coming months.<br /><br />So, here we begin another year of me seeing movies and briefly writing about them. My focus on film exhibition in Baltimore is gone, but my current life/work situation dictates that unless the film is delivered to my doorstep or available instantly, a short walk to <a href="http://www.thecharles.com/">the Charles theater</a> on a Saturday morning or Friday night is about all I have time for these days.<br /><br />Thank you for reading and I hope I can continue to be of service.charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-57722384137351844162011-10-09T14:49:00.000-07:002011-10-09T15:43:56.508-07:00Films Viewed (September 2011)<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Attack-the-Block/70178256"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Attack the Block</span></a> was a rollicking good time, a perfect film to close out the summer. A rag-tag band of British public housing toughs contend with an alien invasion. Well executed and an eerie echo of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_England_riots">what happened in England</a> this summer.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpfSP-EJXI8"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Cluny Brown</span> </a>was a return to more classic Charles theater revival fare. The films remains unavailable on DVD and was <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Ernst_Lubitsch/56759">Ernst Lubitsch</a>'s last completed film. In pre-World War II London, a plumber's niece falls for a Czech refugee. Smart, sophisticated, and tonally askew. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Jennifer_Jones/46873">Jennifer Jones</a> gives a memorable performance, her odd energy quite modern for a film released in 1946.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Rango/70137742"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Rango</span></a> was an odd duck plucked from the Netflix queue. An example of the kind of film I used to see in the movie theater when I went to the movie theater more often. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Johnny_Depp/23954">Johnny Depp</a> voices a chameleon who goes on an epic journey through the desert. As the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rango_%282011_film%29">wiki page</a> says, a "computer-animated Western comedy-drama film." A visually stunning, smartly crafted crowdpleaser.<br /><br />I was warned away from <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Cedar-Rapids/70138638"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Cedar Rapids</span> </a>during its local bow, but I still found value in it. I think you have to have spent a lot of time around Midwest corny earnestness to really enjoy this film. A small town insurance agent loses his naivete in the big bad city of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Rapids,_Iowa">Cedar Rapids, Iowa</a> during an insurance convention. A strong ensemble keeps the film afloat. No masterpiece, but I did not find great fault with it.<br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Elevator-to-the-Gallows/70047266"><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Elevator to the Gallows</span></a> was another classic finally checked off the list thanks to the Charles theater revival series. Moody and prone to almost improvisatory excursions, I found the film to be live up to its reputation. A contract killer gets stuck in an elevator following a job, but there is much more to the story. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascenseur_pour_l%27%C3%A9chafaud_%28soundtrack%29">Miles Davis score</a> is also notable.<br /><br />Good ol' <span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Starship-Troopers/1181616">Starship Troopers</a> </span>capped off the month thanks to the <a href="http://www.md-filmfest.com/">Gunky's Basement</a> crew.. The debate continues over the film, but I continue to find it a dark satire on the dangers of Fascism (a good article on this is <a href="http://www.avclub.com/articles/starship-troopers,41966/">here</a>).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Key<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"></span></span><br />Suburban Multiplex<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: Whenever possible, all releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 6 features (4 in theaters)<br /></div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-79127975466741531672011-09-02T17:56:00.000-07:002011-09-02T19:25:25.701-07:00Films Viewed (August 2011)<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Cowboys-Aliens/70153714"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cowboys & Aliens</span></a> employed an ampersand in its title. I saw it with my father. We both agreed it was "all right."
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<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Proud Flesh</span>" was a short film made by two experimental filmmakers and musicians (<a href="http://chiaragiovando.com/">Chiara Giovando</a> and <a href="http://jennygrafsheppard.com/">Jenny Graf Sheppard</a>) which featured several of my friends as actors. A Western of sorts. I was happy to have an opportunity to see it so many years after its completion, as it has not been commercially released and was only screened locally a few times. A trailer can be seen <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ5m7H63TDE">here</a>.
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<br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Beginners/70148804"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Beginners</span></a> was a bit too precious for its own good at times, but had a compelling, <span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span class=" down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);"><img src="img/blank.gif" alt="Link" class="gl_link" border="0" /></span></span>(based on a true) story at its core. A man discovers his father is gay after the death of his mother, continues to have problems emotionally. It was a pleasure as always to watch <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Melanie_Laurent/30128193">Melanie Laurent</a> and <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Melanie_Laurent/30128193">Christopher Plummer</a> on the screen. I enjoyed director <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Mike_Mills/20004174">Mike Mills'</a> art films, and have watched his progression into more mainstream fare with interest. Netflix confuses him with the bass player for REM, but that is not him.
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<br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Jaws/60001220"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">Jaws</span></a> remains a good time at the movies. Having seen it so many times as to have borderline memorized it, one is allowed to notice smaller details, especially when a 35mm restored print is on the big screen. The film also marked a welcome return to the Charles theater revival series, which will continue into the fall (for details, <a href="http://www.thecharles.com/go/revivals">go here</a>).
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<br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Tabloid/70145748"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">Tabloid</span></a> was a lesser <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Errol_Morris/20007039">Erol Morris</a> documentary, but still told a bizarre and compelling story comptently. A beautiful but unstable woman falls instantly in love with a young Mormon man. Things get decidedly complicated (and tabloid-worthy) from there.
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<br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Crazy-Stupid-Love./70167068"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">Crazy, Stupid, Love.</span></a> has title-punctuation problems but was otherwise a sharper variety of romantic comedy from an <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Glenn_Ficarra/30107992">indie directing team.</a> Of all the rom-coms this summer, I chose this one. Great cast and pleasingly complicated. The ending was improbable, but I must forgive it that flaw.
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<br />During a trip to Chicago, I saw <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Future/70166263"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The Future</span></a>. Here, it is clear that is a movie. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Miranda_July/20049458">Miranda July</a> manages to stay true to the vision and voice of her debut film, but takes things in a much darker and despairing direction. A couple in their mid-thirties realizes that they are in their mid-thirties. Let us just say, in some ways, the film was a direct hit on the creeping dread of someone born in 1976. Should be playing at the Charles theater in the coming weeks.
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<br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Man-Who-Fell-to-Earth/736007"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">The Man Who Fell to Earth</span></a> was another <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Nicolas_Roeg/79258">Roeg</a> to check off the list, and was not the space fantasy I expected. Far from <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Ziggy-Stardust-and-the-Spiders-from-Mars-The-Motion-Picture/60027682">Ziggy Stardust: The Movie</a>, what transpired on screen was much more realistic and cynical. A perfect snapshot of mid-seventies rock star excess and post-Watergate cynicism/paranoia.
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<br />As Hurricane Irene approached, I spent a weekend watching various Netfilx items of interest. First up, <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Jim_Jarmusch/20006469">Jim Jarmusch</a>'s break-out film <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Stranger-than-Paradise/70075715"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Stranger than Paradise</span></a>, which reminded me of the attitude and interests of the art and music underground denizens I encountered in the 1980's, when I was just getting started out trying to be cool. Two NYC toughs go on the make with a newly-arrived Hungarian woman. Gritty yet mannered, cool to the touch and deadpan, the film marks the beginning of the Jarmusch style, which I have greatly admired for some time.
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<br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Pale-Flower/60032625"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Pale Flower</span></a> popped on and off the Netflix Instant as the storm raged outside. A tough-as-nails Japanese Noir from <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Masahiro_Shinoda/20017688">a director</a> I have yet to explore. A hardened killer recently released from prison meets a highborn lady looking for excitement in the gambling dens of early 1960s Tokyo, and the two begin a run through the urban jungle. Guess how it turns out? Not too well.
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<br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Bananas/60001204"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Bananas</span></a> is an early <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Woody_Allen/1557">Woody Allen</a> film. Things are schticky and Mad magazine anarchic as Woody's protagonist gets mixed up in the politics of a Latin American country. Fun, diverting, and about to expire on the Netflix Instant queue, so why not?
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<br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Trash/70003097"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Trash</span></a> was also about to expire in more ways than one. A junkie hustler wanders through the New York City of the 1970s and becomes involved in various capers and misadventures. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akNgEFwkCsA">Andy Warhol</a> "produced", <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Paul_Morrissey/65932">Paul Morrissey</a> directed. So trashy and insane and non-acted it became somewhat compelling. Here is <a href="http://www.badlit.com/?p=12163">an article </a>about other underground films that have been streaming on Netflix Instant.
<br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Something-Wild/60020655">
<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Something Wild</span></a> was a successful 1980s re-invention of the romantic comedy road movie from director <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Jonathan_Demme/23791">Jonathan Demme.</a> Three actors (<a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Jeff_Daniels/21741">Jeff Daniels</a>, <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Melanie_Griffith/37202">Melanie Griffith</a>, <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Ray_Liotta/55547">Ray Liotta)</a> are so on-point and in their moment it is astounding to watch. A professional man is "kidnapped" by a wild woman who asks him to pretend to be her husband. A joyride that soon spins out of control. Blink and you will miss a cameo by Baltimore's own <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/John_Waters/97576">John Waters</a>.
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<br /><div style="text-align: center;">Key
<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The Music Box Theater(Chicago)</span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"></span>
<br />Suburban Multiplex
<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span>
<br />(Please note: Whenever possible, all releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)
<br />Total: 12 features, 1 short film (7 in theaters)
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<br />charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-85548101826246021312011-08-07T15:26:00.000-07:002011-08-07T16:23:43.645-07:00Films Viewed (July 2011)<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Transformers-Dark-of-the-Moon/70153859"><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">Transformers: Dark of the Moon</span></a> was an awful film.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Frownland/70084094"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Frownland</span></a> was a paranoid, claustrophobic low budget nightmare of the highest order. It truly achieved something very sweaty, creepy, and mean. A loser continues losing both his mind and his ability to survive as he stumbles further and further down the rungs of New York City.<br /><br />I became interested in <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Videocracy/70123504"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Videocracy</span></a> due to the recent <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/07/22/murdoch-wrote-own-simpson_n_57305.html">Rupert Murdock mess</a>. What has happened in Italy is truly frightening, a country <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1Ho-mT63us">ruled by a television/media cult of personality</a>. The film itself was flawed and got going slowly, but improved over the course of its run-time.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Page-One-Inside-the-New-York-Times/70169900"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Page One: Inside the New York Times</span></a>, although not revelatory, was a diverting hour and half probing the seeming end times of the newspaper business. I particularly enjoyed/despaired over the coverage of the looting of the Tribune Company by <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDy7vn7-LX4">Sam Zell and his cronies</a>, which was the last nail in the coffin of my subscription to the Baltimore Sun.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Uncle-Boonmee-Who-Can-Recall-His-Past-Lives/70139516"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Uncles Boonmee who can Recall his Past Lives</span></a> popped up suddenly on Netflix Intstant, being available for streaming before it was released on DVD. Another intriguing meander through the filmed worlds of <span itemprop="description"><a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=20043367">Apichatpong Weerasethakul</a>. This was a film I was conflicted out of seeing at this year's <a href="http://www.md-filmfest.com/index.cfm">Maryland Film Festival</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Captain-America-The-First-Avenger/70153850"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Captain America: The First Avenger</span></a> won me over for being made "correctly" to someone whose sensibilities were formed as a child in the 1980s. Managed to covey a simple story well. Like with Pokemon, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_dipFgIzRQ&feature=related">you gotta see'em all</a> when it comes to the Marvel movies.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Harry-Potter-and-the-Deathly-Hallows-Part-II/70120085"><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);">Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two</span></a> was the end of a saga I began following with mild interest with the release of the first film. I'm such a dilettante that I skipped one of the films and only made it to the first Quidditch match in the first book. Others were clearly much more invested in the phenomenon. I just like watchin' a a good wizard movie, I guess.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);"><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Terri/70170061">Terri</a> </span>had a brief a six-day run at the Charles. A film that captured the sad awkward misery of middle school/ early high school perfectly. A young misfit passively rebels as his living situation deteriorates. Notable performance by <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=20002118">John C. Reilly</a> as a well-intentioned lunkhead of an assistant principal.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Rabbit-Hole/70124092"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Rabbit Hole</span></a> was a dark journey of grief and loss made somehow "safe for filmic consumption. All about moments of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oEnYhjFW84">emotional acting.</a> A couple approaches middle age and ponders the tragic accidental death of their young son. The Netflix envelope sat there by the television for a long while before my girlfriend and I were ready to plunge in.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span itemprop="description"> </span>Key<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: Whenever possible, all releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 9 features (5 in theaters)<br /></div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-86597369414041319622011-07-17T18:22:00.000-07:002011-07-17T19:49:04.280-07:00Films Viewed (June 2011)<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Hangover-Part-II/70167070"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Hangover, Part Two</span></a> was the kind of film you watch and are saddened by due to its non-existent cast chemistry and high budget pointless seediness. Then you leave the theater and think "that was okay." I am pretty sure there was some sort of hypnotic suggestion in the last five minutes that made me think that. Of course, I bought the ticket, so I can't complain. another foray into "movies my students are going to see this summer" cinema.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/X-Men-First-Class/70170269"><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0); font-style: italic;">X-Men: First Class</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>was X-Men, M<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Mad-Men-Season-1/70072582">ad Men</a> style! Diverting and unafraid to re-write comic book mythos to make for a better story, this prequel got in and did its job of selling popcorn well.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Who-Is-Harry-Nilsson-And-Why-Is-Everybody-Talkin-About-Him/70141656"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Who is Harry Nilsson (and why is Everybody Talkin' about him?)</span></a> was a solid documentary about an artist to which I am underexposed. A bit too defensive of his obvious substance abuse issues, but otherwise engaging,<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Biutiful/70117585"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Biutiful</span></a> was a huge downer, the first time I have seen Barcelona, Spain painted in such a harsh and ugly light. A man on the margins realizes he is dying, trying to finish up his life correctly. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/WiRoleDisplay?personid=30061555">Innaritu</a> needs to make a new sort of movie soon.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Super-8/70171581"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Super 8</span></a> was another slick summer popcorn-selling machine, this time humming along as a straight-up tribute to all things summer and <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Steven_Spielberg/87835">Spielberg</a>. Young people make a movie in 1979 as mysterious events unfold around them.Fleshed out correctly for maximum nostalgic impact with some solid performances.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Midnight-in-Paris/70181730"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">Midnight in Paris</span></a> is the highest grossing <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Woody_Allen/1557">Woody Allen</a> film of all time. A man falls in love with the Paris if the 1920s, gets a chance to go back in time to visit it. Found myself having many fond "English major" flashbacks as Owen Wilson's character converses with Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and the rest of the expatriate gang.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Umbrellas-of-Cherbourg/1077059"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Umbrellas of Cherbourg</span></a> has been on the list for a while, and I am glad to check out Cahterine Denuve being young and falling in love, especially in <span class="st"><a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Jacques_Demy/23819">Jacques Demy</a>'s jarringly realistic 1960's French musical. From that part of the early summer when I harbored the illusion of spare time and restful evenings.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Submarine/70136077"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">Submarine</span></a> was rushed into theaters before people could think too much and would just go see it. On paper, it sounded good. A British "coming of age" film written and directed by<a href="http://www.netflix.com/WiRoleDisplay?personid=30072419"> a rising British comic writer and actor</a>. In execution, things remained tonally off and minor key, the emphasis placed in the wrong places. Maybe next time around?<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Spirit-of-the-Beehive/70053552"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Spirit of the Beehive</span></a> was a last minute "Oh... rent two get one free?" choice at Video Americain. Very difficult to encapsulate. Stunningly beautiful and hypnotic. A young girl living at the dawn of Franco's reign in Spain is powerfully moved by an encounter with James Whale's <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Frankenstein_Bride_of_Frankenstein_The_Legacy_Collection/70012479?trkid=2361637">Frankenstein</a>. Very much a film from an imaginative child's perspective, if you can remember what is was like to be eight years old.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Warrendale/70142070"><span style="font-style: italic;">Warrendale</span></a> was a Canadian verite documentary set in a school for emotionally disturbed children. Very powerful and very close to the bone. I watched it the morning my films were due back at the video store. Maybe not the best start to my day, but powerful regardless.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Overlord/70008899"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Overlord</span></a> was an odd duck, sitting there about to expire on the Netflix Instant queue, so I went for it. An intermixing of archival footage and new material, both focusing on the movements of a British soldier in the second world war. Came off stuck between a conventional war film and art-house fare.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Quiet-City/70078380"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Quiet City</span></a> was a happy surprise, showing up off of the Netflix queue due to some shuffling around. A boy and girl meet entirely randomly and accidentally and spend a weekend together. Held in place by the brave and open performance of the leads actors Erin Fisher and Chris Lankenau, Quiet City works wonders with very little. You can watch the entire film on <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7969355289575303249">Google Video</a> right now.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Green-Lantern/70143807"><span style="font-style: italic;">Green Lantern 3D</span></a> was the beginning of my stumbling through the summer movie season, the promise I made myself in May getting harder and harder to keep. Ryan Reynolds becomes a galactic guardian. This is a "B" movie dressed up in "A" special effects, which makes it less fun. I was raised on the fun of the Million Dollar Movie, and this movie cost three hundred million and managed to have half as much fun as the carpet barn monster<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Virgin-Suicides/60000909"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The Virgin Suicides</span></a> was fun to revisit, remaining an auspicious directorial debut for Sophia Coppola. Grown men reminisce over a fabled and doomed group of sisters that lived next door, just out of reach. I think when I first saw it I didn't get the teenage awkwardness was intentional. I guess a decade of being around it has made me fluent in it.<br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Bad-Teacher/70141587"><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 102, 0);">Bad Teacher</span></a> was a good premise executed too broadly, standing in a pale shadow to Bridesmaids in terms of summer comedy fare, but still passably funny. A very talented supporting cast definitely kept Cameron Diaz afloat. An aspiring gold-digger gets sidelined into another year of teaching and becomes caught up in a "race to the top" in terms of standardized test scores, all in the hopes of using her cash bonus to purchase breast implants.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Loulou/60004378">Loulou</a> </span>has been floating around my VHS piles for some time. A woman gives up her bourgeoisie existence to pursue a life on the run with charming thug Loulou. The role was a breakout for Gerard Depardieu. I enjoy the works of director <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Maurice_Pialat/20018653">Maurice Pialat</a> but they remain hard to find in the US. His films were so far ahead of their time I feel like we are only now catching up with them.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;">Key<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"></span><br />Suburban Multilpex/ Video Americain<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: Whenever possible, all releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 16 features (7 in theaters)<br /></div><span class="st"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-34321994987423405462011-06-12T16:09:00.000-07:002011-06-12T17:54:35.245-07:00Films Viewed (May 2011)<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Super/70135881#height1735"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Super</span></a> was a dark journey through the underside of the superhero psyche. Scuzzy and brutish, even for me. Somehow, I was won over by the end, but I hope I never spend too much time dwelling in the murky depths of sadness, vitriolic anger, and isolation this film plumbs.<br /><br />The collection of <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Maryland Film Festival Opening Night Shorts</span> was a nice beginning to a busy weekend of film. For more info on the four shorts, go <a href="http://www.md-filmfest.com/film-guide-2011.cfm?id=81">here</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/We-Were-Here/70170070#height849"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">We Were Here</span> </a>was a wrenching documentary about life in San Francisco through the AIDS crisis. Well done work with super heavy material.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/My-Joy/70139519#height1451"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">My Joy</span> </a>was another grim slog (you may be noticing a trend in my film-watching). A truck driver in the Ukraine travels through what America will be like shortly. Then, after an encounter with a prostitute, the story takes a decided turn, drifting into unknown territories and other, seemingly unconnected narratives. I thank the festival for bring such challenging and edgy work to the big screen in Baltimore.<br /><br />I must recuse myself from reviewing <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Green/70178265?trkid=1660#height69"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Green</span> </a>as it was one of the films I hosted at the Festival. For more information on the film, go <a href="http://www.md-filmfest.com/film-guide-2011.cfm?id=43">here</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smallpondfilm.com/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Small Pond</span> </a>was the first feature from Josh Slates, a filmmaker with Baltimore ties. It chronicles the titular misadventures of a misanthrope living in a small college town, working at the pizza place and going nowhere fast.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Oregonian/70169899#height598"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The Oregonian</span></a> was a film which derived much of its aesthetic from the later work of <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/David_Lynch/57211">David Lynch</a>. A woman attempts to piece together what is happening during a surreal journey following a car crash. A film like this is supposed to stick with you, to haunt your dreams. In my case, it did not.<br /><br />I must recuse myself from reviewing the double feature of <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Convento/70178262#height69"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Convento</span> </a>and <a href="http://www.ifc.com/news/2011/05/premiere-dan-deacon-hilvarenbe.php"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Hilvarenbeek</span></a> as I hosted the screening. For more on both. go<a href="http://www.md-filmfest.com/film-guide-2011.cfm?id=36"> here</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.md-filmfest.com/film-guide-2011.cfm?id=36"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">Thor</span></a> kicked off the summer blockbuster season correctly, the right mix of palace intrigue among the gods and "fish out of water" situations for those same gods on earth. Nothing mindblowing, but still a good time. This is surprising considering how "echh" <a href="http://tumbly.dotsara.com/post/5295877647">the first stills</a> make the film look. Pulling off a <a href="http://secondchanceandhappytails.yolasite.com/resources/RainbowBridge-cats-dogs.jpg">rainbow bridge</a> on film is not the easiest task.<br /><br />I had a lot of faith in <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Bridesmaids/70184047#height1982"><span style="font-style: italic;">Bridesmaids</span></a>, going to see it by myself on opening weekend as part of a vow I have made to see all of the many 2011 summer films of note. Now that the film has caught on and found its audience, I am happy for its success. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Kristen_Wiig/20062608">Kristen Wiig</a>, <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Maya_Rudolph/20049498">Maya Rudolph</a> and the rest of the cast put in stellar ensemble work in a very funny (and very raunchy) comedy.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Illusionist/70134430#height1976"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The Illusionist</span> </a>was minor but very visually beautiful. An aging illusionist comes to small town, takes on a young female stowaway, and navigates the paternal/platonic relationship between them as best he can. Bittersweet and poignant.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Mystery-Science-Theater-3000-Manos-The-Hands-of-Fate/70003577#height1903"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Manos: The Hands of Fate (Mst3k version)</span></a> is the perfect blend of a beyond-bad movie and the gang in top heckling form. This particular episode of the show is alchemical for me, creating something somehow greater that it's combined parts. During a month where I really needed it, I laughed so hard it hurt.<br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Pirates-of-the-Caribbean-On-Stranger-Tides/70159956#height2219"><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides </span></a>was checked off the summer movie list without great fanfare. I enjoy pirates. There were pirates in the film. And also there were mermaids.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Ten/70066359#height1659"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The Ten</span></a> was a Netflix Instant "oh sure why not," an uneven collection of sketches in film form from <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/David_Wain/20028859">David Wain</a> and company based around <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments">the Ten Commandments. </a>Not as bad as I heard it would be. Didn't catch it during its one week run at the Muvico (pre-Cinemark). Then, four years later...<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Accattone/70027414#height1853"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Accattone</span></a> was a gritty early <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=71676">Pasolini</a>, the story of a charismatic but woefully inept pimp trying to survive in postwar Rome. Came up favorably in an article on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_neorealism">Italian neorealism</a> so I went for it before it disappeared from the Instant queue.<br /><br /><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Cave-of-Forgotten-Dreams/70145740#height2186">Cave of Forgotten Dreams 3D</a> invariably takes some explaining, as I had to travel to Georgetown in Washington DC to see it. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay?personid=41467">Werner Herzog</a> is given unprecedented access to film a cave cut off from the world for aeons to capture the oldest known pictorial creations of humankind. Excellent, magical. Looks like it opens in the Baltimore area this month, so my long and expensive day-trip may have been a folly. Oh well, I've gone further for less.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Jazzoo"</span> was a 16 millimeter short film projected on the side of a wall in West Baltimore in honor of a friend's birthday. A trip to the zoo scored to jazz (get it? Jazz? Zoo? Jazzoo). A nice backyard time as the sun went down on a scorcher of an afternoon.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Cocaine-Cowboys/70058098#height1598"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Cocaine Cowboys</span></a> is an excellent marriage of an unbelievable story and well done documentary filmmaking. The men behind the "cocaine pipeline" in Southern Florida in the 1970s and 1980s (and the ensuing skyrocketing murder rate) tell their darkly enthralling tale. Hard to mess this one up.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Key<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);"></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">2011 Maryland Film Festival</span><br />Suburban Multilpex/ Georgetown AMC 14<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: Whenever possible, all releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 15 features, 7 short films (16 in theaters)<br /></div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-71693405292602923192011-05-10T17:08:00.000-07:002011-05-10T18:16:49.717-07:00Films Viewed (April 2011)<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Animal-Kingdom/70129388#height1758"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Animal Kingdom</span></a> has been on "the list" for a while as I missed it during it's "one week wonder" run at the Charles despite the sizeable critical buzz surrounding this Australian import. In a genre as worked over and picked over as the "crime family" film, to see something new and interesting being conveyed is a marvel to behold. A young man comes of age and must decide whether or not to join the family business. Many strong performances and a plot that keeps you guessing until the very end. Bravo.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Meek-s-Cutoff/70148683#height226"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Meek's Cutoff</span></a> was the first of a series of films seen on a weekend trip New York. The screening preceding ours at the Film Forum included a Q and A with Michelle Williams herself, but my traveling companion and myself were not so lucky. Another winner from director <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Kelly_Reichardt/20041145">Kelly Reichardt</a> in which some pioneers become lost on the Oregon Trail (and, no, this has nothing to do with the <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/photos/uncategorized/2009/02/09/oregontrail.jpg">beloved PC game</a>). Revisionist Western? Feminist critique? Too slow and "nothing happens"? I am more with the former and less with the latter, but I dig on <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Michelangelo_Antonioni/20009700">Antonioni</a>. so...<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Blank-City/70117055#height627"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Blank City </span></a> at the IFC Center was an excellent document/documentary of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Wave_Cinema">No Wave</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Transgression">Cinema of Transgression</a> scene of the bombed-out and broke NYC of the late 1970s and the early 1980s. Typically, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Wave">music of No Wave</a> overshadows these filmmakers. In this case, the elements were balanced out nicely without losing the interconnections.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Bill-Cunningham-New-York/70141814#height1391"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Bill Cunningham NYC</span> </a>was just a treat, a warmly humanist film documenting the work of the New York Times "street photographer." An untold story I am glad I didn't miss on my second trip to the IFC Center. Yes, I went to New York City and "all I did was see movies." Are you surprised?<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Jane-Eyre/70142825#height2359"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">Jayne Eyre</span> </a>took a while to get into for me, as I have taught the novel and seen a few of the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/find?s=tt&q=jayne+eyre">many adaptations</a> which preceded this one. Once properly adjusted, it was clear that things were beautifully shot, effective narrative strategies were employed, and performances were convincing. A worthy addition to the "subgenre" of Jane Eyre adaptations.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Who-Framed-Roger-Rabbit-Special-Edition/60027274#height1738"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Who Framed Roger Rabbit?</span></a> was as good as it has ever been. A cartoon rabbit implores the help of detective in this technically groundbreaking pre-CGI Noir riff. Of course the sub-plot was about a real estate scheme! An excellent conclusion to the first installment <a href="http://whamcity.com/wordpress/gunkys-basement/">Gunky's Basement revival series.</a>.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Futurama-The-Beast-with-a-Billion-Backs/70096914#height1015">Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Back</a>s</span> was the last <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurama">Futurama</a> movie I got through without drifting off. The third and forth films did not hold my attention enough for me to count them on this list. Funny for 21 minute episodes, not so much for 90 minute movies. Kudos to David Cross and his voice characterization of Yivo, an alien with relationship issues. It saved the film for me.<br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Search?oq=wholphin+issue&ac_posn=-1&v1=wholphin+issue&search_submit="><br />"Successful Alcoholics"</a> is a short film included in the thirteenth issue of <a href="http://www.wholphindvd.com/">Wholphin</a> in which two people enjoy life as drunks. So do we until the hammer comes down and it is clear that reality is about to encroach.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Town/70127227#height1970">The Town</a> was a solid caper film which will live forever in the shadow of <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Gone-Baby-Gone/70065115#height1611">Gone Baby Gone</a>. The film kept one's interest and made some surprising moves. Still, it ended a little bit convoluted and implausible, but the crowd must be pleased. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Ben_Affleck/20000016">Ben Affleck </a>seems like he has returned <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Gigli/60029186#height1765">from the wilderness</a>, and if he keeps doing work like this, I will remain on board.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Four-Lions/70129391#height1163"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Four Lions</span></a> is a British comedy about four terrorists. There, I said it. Effective and pioneering satire from comedy writer and first-time director <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Christopher_Morris/20059741">Christopher Morris</a>, whose work I have followed with some interest. Certainly controversial, a bit half-baked, the film still manages to turn terrorism into slapstick, no mean feat.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Key<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">New York City Screenings</span><br />Video Americain/ Suburban Multilpex<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: All releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 9 features, 1 short film (5 in theaters)<br /></div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-61193811935917113602011-04-09T16:42:00.000-07:002011-04-09T18:20:49.446-07:00Flims Viewed (March 2011)<a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Beetlejuice/293204#height1710"><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0); font-style: italic;">Beetlejuice</span></a> remains a cultural touchstone of my formative years. The film, about newlydeads "living" in a pictureesque New England town invaded by both the spirit world and the rich and jaded from the big city, still holds up. It was interesting to watch the film as an adult. The character of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetlejuice">Beetlejuice</a> is a lot more lecherous than I remember, for example, and I never really thought of the film in terms of it being a narrative about the co-opting of (literally) underground artists and gentrification. Thanks to the <a href="http://www.md-filmfest.com/index.cfm">Gunky's Basement</a> crew for putting another great screening together.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Putty-Hill/70134663#height69"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-style: italic;">Putty Hill</span></a> has been <a href="http://charmcitycineaste.blogspot.com/2010/06/films-viewed-may-2010.html">mentioned here before</a>, and I stand by my original observations. Truly wonderful and challenging new American underground filmmaking. As of this weekend,<a href="http://www.thecharles.com/"> the film is still playing</a> at the Charles theater.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-Adjustment-Bureau/70130140#height1845"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Adjustment Bureau</span></a> was an odd, half-realized kettle of fish. A man discovers that the world is controlled by a celestial bureaucracy. He falls in love with a woman and goes against this organization. Too mild, too safe, and a waste of some great potential in terms of premise and acting talent. Too bad.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Hot-Rod/70058022#height1448"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Hot Rod</span></a> was recommended to me by one of my students, a freshman in high school. I found it amusing and wound up laughing out loud twice. A young man tries to prove his worth to his stepfather by jumping on a motorcycle over a great distance. Andy Samburg is talented and I am excited for when he can pull off in a feature what he does so well in his <a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/1397/saturday-night-live-snl-digital-short-lazy-sunday">digital shorts</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Gentlemen-Broncos/70117317"><span style="font-style: italic;">Gentleman Broncos</span></a>, savaged by critics, is, in my opinion, a fine <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Jared_Hess/20057641">Jared Hess</a> film. It was oddly scatological and too quirky at times, sure, but I think I "got it." It boils down, perhaps, to this question: Have you ever been a nerdy little dude bullied and snookered by older nerds when spending your afternoon in the comics shop? If so, this film's premise will make perfect sense to you.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Drive-Angry/70143760#height1719"><span style="font-style: italic;">Drive Angry 3D</span> </a>was absolutely ridiculous, a mash-up of all the "good parts" of a certain specimen of ultraviolet foulmouthed action film. Nicholas Cage plays a character back from hell (yes that's right... actual, literal hell) seeking vengeance on the man who murdered his daughter. This is the kind of "grindhouse" film I wish <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Quentin_Tarantino/20001496">Quentin Tarantino</a> could manage to make. The film also has the dubious distinction of having the lowest-grossing opening of a 3D <span style="font-style: italic;"></span><em></em>film ever widley released in theaters in the United States. Thanks to "the guys" for tagging along!<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Tamara-Drewe/70138791#height2328"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Tamara Drewe</span></a> was great. A modern riff on Hardy's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far_from_the_Madding_Crowd">Far from the Madding Crowd</a>, the film, based on a<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_Drewe"> newspaper strip turned graphic novel</a>, follows the romantic misadventures of the title character after her return to the English countryside of her origin. A refreshing film from a female author's perspective expertly brought to the screen by <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Stephen_Frears/31864">Stephen Frears</a>, a director whose work I enjoy. Another "one week wonder" I missed at the Charles.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Enter-the-Void/70118776#height2488"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Enter the Void</span></a> was a hard slog of an arthouse movie, a film meant to transport that would up mostly being just vexing to this viewer. By the end, I felt like I had had a tolerable time, but director <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Gaspar_Noe/20041031">Gaspar Noe</a> appeared trapped in his own drug trip. Admittedly, a fun film to watch with a friend who works in film production. The phrase "bad boy provocateur" was exchanged quite a bit in our protracted conversation as the film digitally spooled out before us.<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Futurama-the-Movie-Bender-s-Big-Score/70082044#height1627"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Futurama: Bender's Big Score</span></a> counts, technically, as a film, right? I enjoy television programs, but I choose not to talk of them here. If you enjoy television programs, you may want to check out this great new blog I just found out about, <a href="http://rabbitearsbyrobin.blogspot.com/2011/04/welcome-to-my-blog.html">Rabbit Ears</a>. I am big fan of the author!<br /><br /><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Get-Low/70117559#height1650"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Get Low</span></a> lived up to my fears, a movie just not for me, really. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Bill_Murray/66728">Bill Murray</a> was great (of course). A hermit faces up to his troubled past as he prepares to die. Inspired by a true story, uplifting and touching, so you know I didn't like it that much. Sorry, gang.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Key<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><br />Video Americain/ Suburban Multilpex<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: All releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 10 features (4 in theaters)<br /></div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-74695895584688924302011-03-15T16:36:00.000-07:002011-03-15T17:32:31.824-07:00Flims Viewed (February 2011)<a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Bone/60033690">Bone</a>, an exploitation film from the early 1970s, was an interesting grab from the Cult section of Video Americain. A situational drama in which a black man holds a wealthy white couple for ransom in Beverly Hills. Could have been formulaic. but was instead redeemed by a literate/literary script and excellent perfomances by the cast, most notably Jeannie Berlin and Yaphet Kotto.<br /><br />I now understand why <a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Zombieland/70123542"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Zombieland</span></a> was such a powerful phenomenon among my students when it hit theaters. Just a great post-apocalyptic thrill ride, conscious of itself and genre in good ways. Bill Murray's cameo steals the show, but Jessie Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin are no slouches either. A weekend night well spent.<br /><br />It was great to see <a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Nightjohn/70030999">Nightjohn</a> in and of itself, but to spend time listening to filmmaker Charles Burnett speak on his decades of experience making independent film was a unique opportunity and a memorable experience. <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Charles_Burnett/20027937">Add this African-American filmmaker's movies </a>to your Netflix queue and prepared to get schooled. Start with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nXw-8MXhVE">Killer of Sheep</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Another-Year/70139376"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Another Year</span></a> was another <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Mike_Leigh/54195">Mike Leigh film</a>. Quite a lot of ink was devoted to it in Film Comment without a single mention of how much it is reminiscent stylistically of some of the films of <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Yasujiro_Ozu/20010222?trkid=1457035&lnkce=mdp-director">Yasujiro Ozu</a>. A steady, happy aging couple bears witness to the trials and tribulations of their damaged friends and crumbling extended family. Much more accessible than the aforementioned Japanese director's work, at least to me.<br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Smiles-of-a-Summer-Night/60037955"><br />Smiles of a Summer Night</a> never fails to impress with its sexual frankness, mirthful bawdiness and rather jaundiced views of relationships. Seen on a trip to Philadelphia at a screening series being curated at <a href="http://ihousephilly.org/">International House</a>. A nice print, well projected. Always bet on <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Ingmar_Bergman/20000363">Bergman</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Troll-Troll-2-Double-Feature/60030068">Troll 2</a> may be, in fact, the "best worst movie." It is a truly terrible film, but something about it is so odd and surreal that it fascinates. A boy goes to the town of Nilbog with his family. The "people" of the town (who are actually trolls) are attempting to turn them into troll food. Baffling undercurrent of anti-vegetarianism throughout. A fever dream, truly <a href="http://www3.merriam-webster.com/opendictionary/newword_display_recent.php?id=4502">craptastic</a>. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcRyNY13Nnc">A documentary about the film</a> is currently making the rounds.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Rome-Open-City/70128031">Rome, Open City</a> felt like homework for grad school I kept avoiding. I decided to rent it from Video Americain after Netflix Instant pulled it down. A great <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_neorealism">Italian neorealist</a> masterpiece with an interesting production history. Many excellent moments and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0DhYkAR87o">one iconic scene</a>.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Micmacs</span> was the usual bag of grewgaws and whirlygigs from director <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Jean-Pierre_Jeunet/163934">Jean-Pierre Jeunet. </a>Never really came together for me. The lukewarm reviews on this one were, to me, fairly spot on. When JPJ hits, he hits big. When he misses, he winds up over the barn.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Key<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><br />Video Americain/ Johns Hopkins/ International House<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: All releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 8 features (3 in theaters)<br /></div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-40511990713232985492011-02-11T17:38:00.000-08:002011-02-11T18:50:03.585-08:00Films Viewed (January 2011)<a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Unforgiven/1080395"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Unforgiven</span></a> was as good as I have heard it is. I remember seeing posters for it at Golden Ring Mall cinemas during the summer of 1992 and saying "That movie looks badass!" It was and is. A classic (new) Western. Thanks, <a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/True-Grit/70142543">True Grit</a>, for inspiring a newfound interest in this genre!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/I-Love-You-Phillip-Morris/70112491"><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">I Love You, Phillip Morris</span></a> comes across an audacious satire yet is based on a true story. Jim Carrey made me forget <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfFLHexJnUA">he was Jim Carrey</a> for a while while still allowing me to enjoy his Carrey-ness. An average Joe discovers he is gay, leaves his wife. becomes a con man, falls in love in prison and... I think you better just see it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Home/70117695"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Home</span></a> was one of those flicks that sits there on the Netflix Instant queue and then, one night, the time is finally right. A French family keeps an uneasy peace in a house next to coming superhighway. When the cars start whizzing by, things begin to unravel. An interesting exploration of the impact of the modern urban environment on those who deal with it. <a href="http://www.gottabemobile.com/wp-content/uploads/sweaty_arm.jpg">Baltimore in the summer</a> suddenly seemed more bearable after seeing this film.<br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Blue-Valentine/70122316"><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Blue Valentine</span> </a>is receiving well-deserved hype. The closest I have seen in film to portraying the tortured nature of working class love and relationships in post-industrial America. Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling both turn in masterful performances, bringing into sharp relief characters that we all know but who rarely receive a proper treatment on the big screen.<br /><br />I was told that <a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The-Green-Hornet/70117699"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Green Hornet</span></a> was terrible, but the slams seemed personal and vindictive. I checked it out anyway, had a good time, and recommended it to others who also seemed to enjoy it. Flawed in the way that <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Michel_Gondry/20031333">all Michel Gondry films</a> are flawed, but still a good time. Christoph Waltz was superb once again as an arch-criminal trying to get with the times. Rent it and have fun. I had no issues with it in 2D.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The-Great-Ecstasy-of-the-Sculptor-Steiner-How-Much-Wood-Would-a-Woodchuck-Chuck-La-Soufriere/70037907"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">"The Great Ectasy of the Sculptor Steiner"</span></a> was a short film from Werner Herzog's prime time. The story of extreme "skifliers" gorgeously shot, both in triumph and wipe-out. Like some Bizarro World episode of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WvhviqvQ0o">Wild World of Sports</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The-King-s-Speech/70135893"><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The King's Speech</span></a> is receiving rave reviews, and deservedly so. A stuttering king needs to speak in public, and a man who knows how tries to help him. The king fights him like hell, as a king would. Great performances in a film that can please both mother and son, Joe Popcorn and Joe Arthouse. Good for it, and good for The Senator!<br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The-Great-Ecstasy-of-the-Sculptor-Steiner-How-Much-Wood-Would-a-Woodchuck-Chuck-La-Soufriere/70037907"><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">"How Much Wood Would a Wood Chuck Chuck"</span></a> was on the same disc as the Herzog doc above, and was a lesser affair for me. I enjoyed finding out about the odd art of cattle auctioneering, but lost interest during the endless run of cattle call after cattle call.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The-Great-Ecstasy-of-the-Sculptor-Steiner-How-Much-Wood-Would-a-Woodchuck-Chuck-La-Soufriere/70037907"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">"La Soufriere"</span></a> rounded out the disc of Herzog docs, and was enjoyable. Nothing beats the daredevil thrill of Herzog getting footage on an island about to be annihilated by an angry volcano. Nature in all it's violence and disease.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Stanley-Kubrick-A-Life-in-Pictures/70078541"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures</span></a> was a thorough and quietly artful documentary about the life and (mostly) work of Stanley Kubrick. A nice review of his body of work and an excuse to re-visit the box set sometime soon.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Valhalla-Rising/70120168"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Valhalla Rising</span></a> was just freakin' awesome. A slave who is good at killing named One Eye (!) kills people and trucks with Vikings and Christians to various degrees of success. As if a Conan movie was co-directed by Bergman and Malik. Wow.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Alien-Collector-s-Edition/60029356"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Alien: Director's Cut</span></a> was screened as part of <a href="http://whamcity.com/wordpress/gunkys-basement/">the Gunky's Basement series</a> and was a scary thrillride gross-out once again. There are so many good things about this movie that I forgive it for giving me nightmares. Unfortunately,the film works every time in this way.<br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/42nd-Street-Forever-Vol.-4/70112659"><br />42nd Street Forever: Vol. 4 </a>was another curated grindhouse trailer compilation. To my point of view, the trailers are often better than the films, I am now especially interested in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078766/">Americathon</a>, as I do love a good satire. Since the trailer was included, the film probably wasn't one, but oh well... I will give it a spin sometime.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Somewhere/70124976"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Somewhere</span></a> was just great, if you like that sort of film, and by that sort of film I mean the work of director <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Sofia_Coppola/20007418">Sophia Coppola</a>. Another filmgoer's comment that "Jeez! Nothin' happened in that movie!" was a sign that something, in fact, did. Closed yesterday at the Charles. I would say to look for it on home video.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Key<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><br />Video Americain<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: All releases are now linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 11 features, 3 short films (6 in theaters)<br /></div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-62168119022244617592011-01-02T15:49:00.000-08:002011-01-02T18:28:22.163-08:00Films Viewed (December 2010)<a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Repo-Man/60002052"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Repo Man</span></a> was, as always, a scorching punk blast. It was great to see a nice print projected on the big screen with the audio cranked. Many thanks to the <a href="http://www.md-filmfest.com/">Maryland Film Festival</a> and the <a href="http://whamcity.com/wordpress/gunkys-basement/">Gunky's Basement</a> crew for making this happen.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The-Fighter/70113534"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">The Fighter</span></a> could get lost in the year-end prestige-film Oscar-bait shuffle, but I say give it a chance. Not so much a sports film as a story about one particularly dysfunctional working-class Boston clan. I had a good time, but I grew up amongst <a href="http://www.africanamericanculture.org/ess.html">such characters.</a><br /><br />To re-watch <span style="font-style: italic;">Mickey's Christmas Carol</span>, an enjoyable viewing memory from my childhood, was an experiment. Has my appreciation of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol">Dickens' <span style="font-style: italic;">A Christmas Carol</span></a> been ruined forever by <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10008502-christmas_carol/">Robert Zemeckis</a>? The answer: No, not really. Also, I am not eight years old anymore.<br /><br />I have turned watching the first episode of <a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Fanny-and-Alexander-TV-Version/70018144"><span style="font-style: italic;">Fanny and Alexander: The Television Version</span></a> into a Christmas-eve tradition. The turn-of-the-century Swedes celebrate Christmas sumptously, are also dsyfunctional and sad. I always enjoy checking in.<br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Scott-Pilgrim-vs.-The-World/70117312"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World</span></a> still ruled upon a second viewing. I feel that one day this film will get its due, perhaps now that the DVD is available to the young people? Of course, I am also a huge fan of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OpCuehX20E">Pootie Tang</a>, so maybe I will remain in the minority on this one.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/True-Grit/70142543"><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">True Grit</span></a> was a rough and ready adaptation of a book <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Grit_%28novel%29">I have not read</a> that stands in the shadow of a film of the same name that <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN-j4GDqjv4">I have not seen</a>. A young woman seeks revenge, hires a sozzled <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYsw0KVRjCM">Dude</a>, meets <a href="http://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/22/a-true-grit-primer-know-your-la-boeufs/">a fancy-pants guy</a>. People get killed. The Coen Brothers continue to rule, and long may they reign. Watching and enjoying this has sparked my interest in the viewing of more Westerns, I genre I take in only sparingly.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Black-Swan/60034390"><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">Black Swan</span></a> scared the hell out of me, leading to night wracked with nightmares filled with the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jaI1XOB-bs">images and ideas presented</a> in the film. A young woman makes it to the top of the ballet game, at great cost. My sleepless night following my viewing is the sign of an effective psychological horror film, as well as a reminder of why I don't watch too many of them.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Home-Alone/596974"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Home Alone</span></a> capped off the year. I dismissed the film at the time of its release, watching the beginning and ending sequences on the pay channels when the film was in heavy rotations after its run as <a href="http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=homealone.htm">a box office juggernaut</a>. To be in a theater surrounded by others who were clearly more impacted by the film, listening to them recite the dialogue verbatim, added to my appreciation, not to mention the realization that Home Alone is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hughes_%28filmmaker%29">John Hughes</a> movie.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Key<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><br />Video Americain<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: All releases are now linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 6 features, 1 short film, 1 portion of a television program also released in truncated form as a film (5 in theaters)<br /></div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-52010266365933905522010-12-09T13:00:00.000-08:002010-12-09T14:59:00.693-08:00Films Viewed (November 2010)<span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest</span> was the "oh, okay" last installment of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Trilogy">Millennium Trilogy</a>. The narratives were seen through to the end dutifully. Not as absorbing as the first two films, but still engaging. I saw a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stieg-Larssons-Millennium-Trilogy-Deluxe/dp/0307595579/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291931846&sr=1-1">special-edition hardcover set</a> at the chain bookstore yesterday that makes the books look more literary. Sure, fine. But you should really buy them <a href="http://www.atomicbooks.com/index.php/catalogsearch/result/?q=stieg+larsson">here</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Hereafter/70134615"><span style="font-style: italic;">Hereafter</span></a> was a Clint Eastwood directorial effort. Sad real-deal psychic retires, but <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPw-3e_pzqU">they keep pulling him back in</a>. I feel Eastwood's films are hit or miss and will watch his <a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Unforgiven/1080395">avowed masterpiece</a> one of these days. He is an old man who makes movies in the old style. Sometimes there is a comfort in this.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Hot-Bubblegum/70147005"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Hot Bubblegum</span></a> is a Hebrew-language sex farce from 1981 in the style of American Graffiti and Porky's. One night, Netflix Instant was throwing some crazy suggestions my way. Who am I to say no the gods of random?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.anneverton.com/murray.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Bill Murray Life Lessons 2009</span></a> was another filmic effort from local upstart Ann Everton, who once cut my hair on the stage of the Senator theater. Watch her take on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfpfN62yDq8">Meatballs</a> here. Read her interview on the City Paper <a href="http://citypaper.com/film/ann-everton-1.1070797">here</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Logorama </span>won the 2010 Oscar for Best Animated Short and can be seen <a href="http://www.vimeo.com/10149605">right here</a>. Worth your time.<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The-Wild-Parrots-of-Telegraph-Hill/70025655">The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill</a> has been the subject of inside jokes between my girlfriend and myself for some time. The ending truly had us soaring out of the living room. No, he doesn't eat the parrots.<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Tropical-Malady/70033362">Tropical Malady</a> shows the promise of director <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apichatpong_Weerasethakul"><span class="fn">Apichatpong Weerasethakul</span></a>, but I prefer his later films. One that sends you running to the Internet for assistance. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Malady">With help</a><span class="fn"></span>, I figured out what in the heck happened in the second part.<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);" href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Dogtooth/70119657">Dogtooth</a> remains the talk of the Baltimore arthouse circuit. Perhaps better the second time around, as you can put things together more thoroughly. No matter how hard a helicopter parent will try, the outside world will eventually seep in to even the most hermetically sealed household.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The-Secret-in-Their-Eyes/70124687"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The Secret in Their Eyes</span></a> as just fine. The one the spoiled all the Oscar betting pools earlier this year. I am with those who feel it was essentially an episode of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OlCVNn9ZeY">Law & Order,</a> but a really good episode of<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8lDYrvTILc&feature=related"> Law & Order</a>.<br /><br /><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Possession/60001056">Possession</a> has been the talk of the Baltimore arthouse rental circuit in recent times. A couple's relationship deteriorates due to adultery in 1980s Berlin, but hoo boy, there is more to it than that! Let us just say that Isabelle Adjani's character is having <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxVdtYAs8-w">one monster of an affair</a>. A psycho-sexual blend brought to boil. If enough people add it on Netflix, maybe someone somewhere will get the message that this needs a proper re-release.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/House/70131178"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">House</span></a> (1977) is me playing catch-up to the movie-going talk of the town this past spring, after a new print had a limited engagement run at the Senator. A group of young girls visit a ghost house in the country. Wonderful lunacy, highly stylized and very Japanese, ensues. Not scary, still gory.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One</span> was the first film seen at <a href="http://www.thesenatortheatre.com/">the newly re-opened Senator theater</a>. The theater has been stripped to the bone by the prior tenant, but it is good to have it opened. I have a feeling this little film that is mostly about some teenagers camping in the woods and being angsty and sad is going to go far!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Bright-Leaves/70000087"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Bright Leaves</span></a> chronicles documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee's family's involvement with the tobacco trade in North Carolina, but is much more than that. I am very forgiving of his films with their many side-trips and rambles. Not a good as <a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Sherman-s-March/60035348">Sherman's March</a>, but I found it very absorbing.<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);" href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Hideaway/70125526">Hideaway (Le Refuge)</a> was a "one week wonder" at the Charles. A woman addicted to drugs discovers she is pregnant with her lover's child after she and her lover overdose, resulting in the death of said lover. And that is just the first ten minutes or so! Suprising throghout, there was a plot twist that had the audience reacting like they caught something I didn't. Clearly, I need to see more <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Francois_Ozon/20008445?trkid=1457035&lnkce=mdp-director">Ozon</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Heart-of-Glass/60024249"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Heart of Glass</span></a> is a prime Werner Herzog film that I have been meaning to give my viewing attention to for some time. The secret of making ruby glass is lost in a Bavarian village, a shepherd has visions of the future, and things slowly go horribly awry, descending into madness. Herzog hypnotized the majority of the cast before each take. You know, because he's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xQyQnXrLb0">like that</a>.<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/American-Grindhouse/70134411">American Grindhouse</a> was a thorough and informative overview of the different types of films that played the grindhouse circuit in the American heyday of such movie houses. Of the "DVD supplement" school, but not terribly so. I would love a doc on the actually movie theaters and what it was like to go to them, perhaps focusing on the more infamous ones.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Key<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><br />Suburban Mulltiplex/ Video Americain/ DVD/ Online<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD</span><br />(Please note: All releases are now linked to their pages on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 14 features, 1 short film, 1 anthology collection of short films (5 in theaters)<br /></div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-19445993801091608742010-11-09T17:04:00.000-08:002010-11-09T18:50:41.237-08:00Films Viewed (October 2010)<span style="font-style: italic;">The Social Network</span> was hands-down great if you are a fan of David Fincher and are as interested as I am in the new<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendster"> socially networked world</a> that has emerged in recent times. Still in theaters due to great reviews and solid box office. I say see it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The-Heartbreak-Kid/579424"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The Heartbreak Kid</span></a> (1972) was an odd one. I have been meaning to see more of the films of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_May">Elaine May</a> since reading an appreciation of her early work in <a href="http://www.filmlinc.com/fcm/fcm.htm">Film Comment</a> a few years ago, and Netflix provided the opportunity. Why this was re-made (<a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_heartbreak_kid/">apparently terribly</a>) by Ben Stiller and company is a mystery since the original barely functions plot wise. Hard to go wrong with a young <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLWBu9TmlJk&feature=related">Cybil Shepard</a>, though.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/My-Son-My-Son-What-Have-Ye-Done/70117560"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?</span></a> is what happens when Herzog and Lynch get together AKA Awesome + Weird. If you are a fan of either, this is highly recommended.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/My-Son-My-Son-What-Have-Ye-Done/70117560">Plastic Bag</a>,</span> a short by <a href="http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Ramin_Bahrani/30052524?strackid=6d6142278485306a_0_srl&strkid=2021423228_0_0">Ramin Bahrani</a> voiced by Wener Herzog, was an extra feature on the above DVD. Haunting, minimal, and effective.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The-Jerk/651726"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The Jerk</span></a> was a surgery-recovery choice while trolling through the Comcast On Demand at my mom's house. Early Steve Martin has its moments, but he is not in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNWx7_tZRcI">full filmic blossom</a> quite yet.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Extract/70117306"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Extract</span></a>, another On Demand choice, was like <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0431918/">Mike Judge</a> lite. Diverting but never quite got anywhere interesting.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Jaws-3/60028468"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Jaws III</span></a>: works every time. I wish I could see it in the original 3D. Perhaps James Cameron could get behind this restoration as well as his <a href="http://www.imdb.com/news/ni5024344/">other more personal conversion projects</a>?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/I-Need-That-Record/70101468"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">I Need That Record!</span></a> was an uneven love letter to the now-disappearing independent record store, my home away from home wherever <a href="http://www.thetruevinerecordshop.com/">a reputable one</a> can be found still surviving. The good outweighed the bad in this, but the writing is on the wall.<br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The-Art-of-the-Steal/70123257"><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The Art of the Steal</span></a> was a double hit in my apartment that it was about both the art world establishment and the world of the non-profit. Delineates the art heist of the century and shows one idea of the art museum (small, for the common man, for arts education, not for critics) losing out in favor of the predominant mode (bus tours, big show, gift shops).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Trash-Humpers/70125540"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Trash Humpers</span></a> was quite a rough ride, courtesy of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005101/">Harmony Korine</a>. A lo-fi American nightmare. I think one day all films will look and play out like this one. This is because I am a cynical person. <a href="http://filmmakermagazine.com/news/2010/10/trash-humpers-too-trashy-for-netflix/">Banned from Netflix</a>!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The-Thing/1038926"><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">John Carpenter's The Thing</span></a> was a gory paranoid hoot, especially on the big screen. I can see why many old-school FX Fangoria types pledge their allegiance to this one. Screened as part of the new series Gunky's Basement (more info on future screenings <a href="http://www.whamcity.com/">here</a>).<br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Blind-Woman-s-Curse/70067218"><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Blind Woman's Curse</span> </a>was a WTF Japanese Yazuka/Horror hybrid. Absolutely bizarre at points. An oddity in both genres. Not a bad way to spend a Friday night.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The-Killer-Inside-Me/70123097"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The Killer Inside Me</span></a> was an eyebrow-raising look inside the mind of a psychopath. Not for the faint of heart. Memorable performances throughout from Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba, and Kate Hudson. A <a href="http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Kate-Hudson-Ignores-All-Advice-Joins-Another-Rom-Com-17765.html">rom-com</a> it was not!<br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Import-Export/70071616"><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Import/Expor</span>t</a> was another great film from <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0782430/">Ulrich Seidl</a>, a director I was introducted to by John Waters via his Maryland Flm Festival screening pick of <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dog_days/">a prior film of Seidl's</a> in 2004. In it, a woman leaves the Ukraine to find work in Vienna. A man leaves Vienna to find work in the Ukraine. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShpW27jT5m8">Bleak and terrible things</a> happen, thanks to the new global economy. Hooray Capitalism!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The-City-of-Lost-Children/379713"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The City of Lost Children</span></a> can now be checked off <a href="http://charmcitycineaste.blogspot.com/2010/01/lost-years-of-cineaste-1995-1997.html">the list</a>. A big beautiful film that somehow feels empty and hollow. The way-station between <a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Delicatessen/60000704">Delicatessen</a> and <a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Amelie/60022048">Amelie</a> that makes you feel <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_City_of_Lost_Children">creeped-out/uncomfortable</a> more than a few times.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Water-Lilies/70072400"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Water Lilies</span></a> was a French film about two young women coming of age who. Yes, there is synchronized swimming, but it was shot strikingly. Yes, there is LGBT sexual confusion and tension. Yes, you can watch it on Netflix Instant. Played DC, but never made it to Baltimore.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.netflix.com/Movie/I-Am-Love/70125365"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">I Am Love</span> </a>did make it to the Charles, and I regret not catching it on the big screen, as it was clearly meant to be seen. Sumptuous visuals detail the downfall of a wealthy woman (Tilda Swinton) who manages <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tofH4-Bn0E0&feature=player_embedded">to wear a different super-chic dress</a> in every new setting in the film. She gives it away, all for love. Operatic and borderline ridiculous, I still had a good experience with it.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Key<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">The Charles</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">The Rotunda</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">The Senator</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Landmark Harbor East</span><br />Suburban Multiplex<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Netflix/ DVD/ On Demand</span><br />(PLEASE NOTE: all DVD-available releases are now linked to their page on the Netflix website)<br />Total: 16 films, 1 short film (2 in theaters)<br /></div>charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-595928244487801504.post-71547225032322210762010-10-28T11:27:00.000-07:002010-10-28T12:49:56.158-07:00Charm City Cineaste Three Year Anniversary: 2007-2010Well, three years have passed since I started this blog. Many things have changed.<br /><br />I began during <a href="http://www2.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=11999">a time of great upheaval</a> and uncertainty in the film exhibition landscape in Baltimore city. There was a lot of nervous energy in the air back then. That time has passed.<br /><br />As the dust settles, there are <a href="http://www.thecharles.com/">clear winners</a> and <a href="http://www.myspace.com/senatortheater">clear losers</a>. As one Baltimore theater-owner sunk lower and lower into the depths, I eventually decided to turn away from reporting the details, which had become tawdry and wince-inducing. I admit I am clearly biased. I was upset that Baltimore was losing a place to see films, even temporarily, and I was losing any sense of decorum over the situation. I think turning away from it here was my acknowledgment of that bias, but I know I more than got my digs in.<br /><br />In terms of film exhibition now, the Charles theater's ownership is now also in charge of the Senator theater via a deal with Baltimore City. The Rotunda soldiers on, having recently added a new third screen. The Landmark Harbor East is a place to pay an insane amount of money to see a first-run film. The demand placed upon the mid-sized theater to handle blockbuster films like <a href="http://www.inceptionending.com/">Inception</a> has lead to sold out screenings and other dilemmas, your dollars burning away as the clock ticks on your overpriced parking-metered spot. In the case of the Landmark, I feel you might as well go the 'burbs. The others remain solid options.<br /><br />But I must acknowledge that while this landscape has changed, I have changed as well. I don''t make changes easily or well, and have stuck with going to the movies regularly long after most have shifted habits, if the habit was there at all. What could possibly beat seeing a film on the big screen, engaged in the communal experience, munching on popcorn, out on a Friday night?<br /> <br />Well, the answer is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpiL-uSbp68">Netflix</a>. I fought it for a long time, but this is the new model. For the price of seeing a non-matinee film at the Landmark, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adfs4HLskGQ&feature=related">I got King Kong in the trunk</a>.<br /><br />Sure, I have the additional help of an up-to-date HD big screen television and an Internet connection to said television. Now, I have a <a href="http://instantwatcher.com/">Netflix Instant</a> library bigger than I can even comprehend at my disposal. Wonderful and challenging films like <a href="http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Bluebeard/70117905?strackid=59b384257f252e40_0_srl&strkid=1429558581_0_0&trkid=438381">Bluebeard</a> and <a href="http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Import-Export/70071616?strackid=5ad111cc680a05a4_0_srl&strkid=1382437478_0_0&trkid=438381">Import/Export</a>, which never played on any Baltimore screen, are suddenly and instantly available to me.<br /><br />It hurts to say all of this. I don't want to betray film house culture, film stock, popcorn machines, popcorn slingers. Sometimes I think this is just a new option that I will integrate into the others, but I know better. I know that I am not from movie-theater-love from childhood, and am more of a "movies on television" person historically.<br /><br />In any case, to reflect this shift and to make my blog more user-friendly, I will now link to the Netflix page of any film I watch via that service when I list a film's title. This coming month that is pretty much all of them.<br /><br />I know I am too orderly and willful to stop this blog now, but I foresee a day when I see no films in theaters in a given month. I already skipped seeing anything at the Charles last month for the first time in this blog's history. I had my reasons, but it was strange to realize.<br /><br />So, I will continue on into year four of this blog. The next interesting/terrifying thing that may become a topic for reporting could be the end of the arthouse movie-theater experience in Baltimore entirely. I certainly hope this is not the case, but as the <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=blue%20hair">blue hairs</a> shuffle off this mortal coil, the <a href="http://www.thedailytech.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/asus-bamboo-u-series-notebook.jpg">laptop generation</a> wonders why anyone would pay for a movie at all.charmcitycineastehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08008682704152335736noreply@blogger.com0