I WISH YOU WOULD (Ryland Walker Knight, 2021)
Ryland's latest film reminds me of an unexpected combination of two independent artists with...
2021-03-16 23:53:34 +0000 UTC View Post
msicism posts
True Mothers (Naomi Kawase, 2020)
I know the conventional wisdom on True Mothers is that it's another Kawase dud. But I beg to d...
2021-03-16 03:11:06 +0000 UTC View PostNightjohn (Charles Burnett, 1996)
Nightjohn is based on a 1993 book by Gary Paulsen, a popular author of children's fiction. The...
2021-03-14 22:01:24 +0000 UTC View PostFour Films by Malcolm Le Grice
For a good long while, the films of the British structuralists were seldom seen, in part because of the...
2021-03-14 03:55:23 +0000 UTC View PostTo Sleep With Anger (Charles Burnett, 1990)
Early this mornin'
when you knocked upon my door
Early this mornin', ooh
when you knocked ...
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (Radu Jude, 2021)
With his 2018 film, "I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians," Radu Jude...
2021-03-11 19:01:57 +0000 UTC View PostQuo Vadis, Aida? (Jasmila Žbanić, 2020)
Quo Vadis, Aida? is fine work by any standard, but leave it to me to find some niggling proble...
2021-03-08 22:15:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe Quoddy Fold (Paulette Phillips, 2019)
A "quoddy," I just learned, is a type of sailboat traditionally used for fishing. It is very...
2021-03-08 03:13:45 +0000 UTC View PostLINE STARTS HERE!
I'm sure you've seen this by now, if you're the type of person who would watch things like this. I find this to be a multi-layered narrative worth unpacking. Bath and Body Works is a particular kin...
2021-03-08 00:33:34 +0000 UTC View PostFilms by Sara Kathryn Arledge
First, I want to thank James Hansen for alerting me to the fact that these films are streamable through the Pacific Film Archive. I'd have missed them otherwise. I recall first encountering Sara Ka...
2021-03-07 20:14:26 +0000 UTC View PostI've Been Afraid (Cecelia Condit, 2020)
The Internet is stupid, and for the most part, memes are the stupidest part of the stupid Internet. But...
2021-03-07 19:40:44 +0000 UTC View PostSocial Hygiene (Denis Côté, 2021)
The title is a sly joke. While it's true that in the course of Côté's film, an unseen character is de...
2021-03-07 06:06:13 +0000 UTC View PostWheel of Fortune and Fantasy (Ryusuke Hamaguchi, 2021)
THIS REVIEW IS TOTALLY SPOILERIFIC. SORRY.
A triptych of stories that are mostly unrelated, W...
2021-03-07 04:36:07 +0000 UTC View PostCome Here (Anocha Suwichakornpong, 2021)
For awhile now, I've needed to go back and rewatch Anocha's 2016 film By the Time It Gets Dark...
2021-03-05 19:13:14 +0000 UTC View PostThe Girl and the Spider (Ramon Zürcher and Silvan Zürcher, 2021)
[NOTE: Despite the watermarks on these stills, nothing will happen if you press 8.]
I think I can...
2021-03-04 22:11:09 +0000 UTC View PostThe Annihilation of Fish (Charles Burnett, 1999)
In getting started on the films of Charles Burnett, I decided to go with his film maudit, some...
2021-03-04 01:49:29 +0000 UTC View PostScattered Clouds / Two in the Shadow (Mikio Naruse, 1967)
As I mentioned at the end of my notes on Wife! Be Like a Rose!, Naruse certainly paid attentio...
2021-03-03 22:36:54 +0000 UTC View PostFrance Against the Robots (Jean-Marie Straub, 2020)
In just u...
2021-03-02 04:27:57 +0000 UTC View PostWife! Be Like a Rose! (Mikio Naruse, 1935)
If one wanted to embark on a post-structuralist analysis of Naruse, I'd submit that Wife! Be Like a...
2021-03-01 22:12:11 +0000 UTC View PostMarch Auteur Tiebreak: COCK/BURN
There were two clear leaders, so now let's see how this shakes out.
2021-02-26 06:37:31 +0000 UTC View PostHey gang, THE MURDER OF FRED HAMPTON...
is available to watch online, totally free.
Check it out.
2021-02-25 00:34:19 +0000 UTC View PostGaping Holes: Getting to Know You Pt.3
Hey, I still have a few days (and a few Naruses) to go, but I wanted to get the March poll going. As you may notice, I have swapped out a couple of nonstarters with new options. And I've dropped in...
2021-02-24 22:17:58 +0000 UTC View PostShort Takes, or, Catching Up From the Hard Freeze
Because of my exciting Bear Grylls adventure in Texas living, I've fallen a bit behind in writing up films. As it happens, I feel no particular need to go long on these.
2021-02-24 06:42:08 +0000 UTC
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Yearning (Mikio Naruse, 1964)
I'm all lost in the supermarket
I can no longer shop happily
I came in here for that special ...
Once Again, I Want to Die
I just learned that there is a new zoomer trend / meme asserting, quite sincerely, that Helen Keller never existed. Because, dude, there's just no way...
Older Brother, Younger Sister (Mikio Naruse, 1953)
First of all, my apologies for not being deeper into Naruse at this point. Last week was pretty rough. ...
2021-02-22 22:39:14 +0000 UTC View PostTwo Days in the Hamptons
Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King, 2021)
This is a film with a great deal ...
2021-02-20 20:15:43 +0000 UTC View PostWhat Did the Lady Forget? (Yasujiro Ozu, 1937)
An Ozu comedy, although neither as broad or as melancholy as I Was Born, But... This strikes m...
2021-02-19 07:33:40 +0000 UTC View PostA Little History
By some odd quirk of the YouTube algorithm, this excerpt from The Dick Cavett Show popped up on my watch list. It's just under 24 minutes, and I humbly suggest you watch it. It's a panel discussion...
2021-02-19 03:29:00 +0000 UTC View Post3x3D (various directors, 2013)
I watched this because I happened to have it on my fully-charged laptop when the power went out, and I needed a distraction from the biting cold. I certainly don't have insights to offer that can c...
2021-02-18 05:22:12 +0000 UTC View Post