Inmate's Snazzily-Titled Film Log

January 10th: Inherent Vice



liked this, although i feel like i need to see it again already. i was really tired in the beginning so i had a hard time paying attention. maybe a little disappointing, but i think i would've liked it more if i was feeling up to it. it wasn't quite as crazy as i was expecting it to be, although it was certainly really surreal. the master is still pta's masterpiece, although i've never loved a pta film on first watch so maybe this will become a favorite one day.

+

January 13, Part 1 and 2: All Through the Night



pretty fun and Bogie is great. it lays it on pretty thick with the anti-nazi stuff and after the fifteenth person is knocked out with a single blow it starts to feel pretty unrealistic, but it's still really good.



Lifeforce



a total cluster**** of a movie, but the occasional moment of brilliance/pure fun makes it worthwhile and enjoyable. it definitely has the ingredients for a great examination of desire and sexuality, but it's so ******* messy. i think it changes protagonists at least five times. i still liked it.

January 14th, Parts 1 and 2: Minority Report



i guess it's an improvement for spielberg in that it contains some moral ambiguity, but it's a step down in feels pretty cold. i get that it's somewhat intentional, but i don't think tom cruise's ****** acting or the general lack of emotional depth involved was on purpose. it has its moments though.

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Dr. No



the strength of this movie relies almost entirely on james bond iconic persona, which i find really fascinating for some reason and i'm really interested in exploring the rest of the bond films. so far the only other bond i've seen is skyfall.

January 15: Revenge of the Nerds



i guess i just like laughing at nerds. needed more james cromwell.

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3.5 to Inherent Vice eh. Hmm... I still haven't seen it, but I so want to.

We have bush!

Personally, I thought Die Hard 2 was the weakest film in the franchise.

January 16: Unbroken



dull as ****.

January 17th: Ida



beautiful movie. contrasts ida's super strict and religious lifestyle with her aunt's secular lifestyle but presents them both as equally meaningless. the cinematography is some of the most gorgeous i've ever seen. good movie.

Did you expect anything else from Unbroken?

__________________
5-time MoFo Award winner.

not really, but i guess i was hoping i would feel some sort of emotional connection in place of depth, but there wasn't even that.

January 18: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb



about time i saw this. can't really say anything about it that hasn't been said a million times before, but yeah this was great. i think i only laughed like twice, but the satire is still really good and sellers, scott, and sterling are all a joy to watch.

+

January 19, Parts 1 and 2: The Blob



like a ****** episode of the x-files, except with worse direction and some statement about youth culture that was done 10x better by nicholas ray three years earlier. the scenes where the blob actually does stuff are pretty cool though.



Blue Ruin (rewatch)



i was initially reluctant to watch this again because, even though i loved it, it wasn't something i cared to see again, but it was just as good the second time. there are so many little touches that let it achieve a realism that most films couldn't even dream of. seriously, it's probably the most grounded thriller i've ever seen, yet it's also super suspenseful and thrilling and brutal and a fascinating mediation on violence and revenge and desperation and family values with great performances and cinematography. great movie.

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January 20th, Parts 1 and 2: Love and Death



my second favorite allen i've seen, after annie hall. definitely the funniest. usually allen gets on my nerves, but he's good here, and diane keaton is great. a lot of the fun just comes from watching allen fit his classical-yet-modern style into this foreign setting and he really makes the most of it.



Bullets Over Broadway



pretty good, although it feels pretty slight and i feel like allen has done variations on a lot of this a million times in his career. the part at the end with cusack coming to terms with the fact that he's not a real artist was one of the more profound scenes i've seen in an allen film, though. great cast too.

January 21st: Boyhood



movie of the year. it is by no means perfect, but as an experience it's pretty much flawless, as in, i enjoyed every minute of it. i don't know how linklater makes dialogue seen so effortless, but between this and the before trilogy, he seems to have mastered it. i've never seen a more accurate depiction of conversation in a fictional film before than i have in his movies. i didn't cry during it, but it made me really emotional and it pretty much nailed my childhood in a lot of ways. it has it's problems (feels sorta planned out, some of the more philosophical conversations at the end get to be a bit much), but it ends up as this fantastic collection of moments that is able to capture way more about life than any of those other generic indie movies of the last 10 years.

Boyhood for the win!

This thread's been missing for days. I'm so glad it's back. I need my snazzyness fix.

January 22nd: To Be or Not To Be



a lot of fun.

Oh I want to see Love and Death so badly! It looks like the most interesting Woody Allen movie that I haven't seen yet.

i have now seen more woody allen films than any other director. here are my rankings:

annie hall
love and death
blue jasmine
the purple rose of cairo
new york stories segment
radio days
crimes and misdemeanors
broadway danny rose
bullets over broadway
manhattan
stardust memories
hannah and her sisters
a midsummer night's sex comedy
zelig
magic in the moonlight
another woman

i still think he's kind of overrated, but i do really like the first seven, and i only dislike the last couple. i don't think he's anything special, but i'm willing to check out pretty much everything he does.