TUNE ALERT: Metronomy – Old Skool
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Category Archives: Week 10
Movies I’ve watched this week – 13/05/16
Week #10. It’s been 2 weeks since I’ve been to Cinematheque and I’m having withdrawals.
Scooby-Doo (2002) dir. Raja Gosnell
07/05/16
rewatch
How James Gunn managed to maintain an even moderately successful career after penning this is truly a modern marvel. Truly defines the genre of weird cinema. Was an odd viewing with my 8-year-old sister, revisiting something from my childhood only to have it resonate into hers. The freaky dog-demons that plague Mystery Inc are substantially less spookier than I remember (I was ready to relive my childhood spooks) and the film as a whole acted as a reminder why I hate Rowan Atkinson. The recurring allusions to stoner culture in small excerpts from Shaggy and Scooby’s lives are the greatest thing about this. ★★½
Dogs in Space (1986) dir. Richard Lowenstein
07/05/16
Continuing the completely unintentional dog trend for the night (I do love dogs though) came possibly the greatest hidden gem in Australian cinema. Lowenstein’s Dogs in Space serves itself up as an unconventional Australian mid-point between Altman’s Nashville (1975) and Linklater’s Dazed and Confused (1993) (a triple bill to die for), and as he navigates the trashy crevasses of late-70s suburban Melbourne he manufactures the mood of youth in ways I’ve seen no other Aussie drama do (we’ll leave Snowtown out of this). The late Michael Hutchence (a very torn and sultry Michael Hutchence at that) is faaaaaantastic here, and makes me a little sad he didn’t further pursue a little acting on the side. ★★★★
The Master (2012) dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
09/05/16
rewatch
Was inspired to revisit this following the release of Radiohead’s latest record due to Jonny Greenwood’s contribution to the film’s score, who, continuing his sonic collaboration with the latter portion of PTA’s filmography, strikes out some uneven, fiery and disconnected strings which scold the film in an unnerving fashion. The blu of this look unreal on my brand new Samsung. ★★★★½
Grizzly Man (2005) dir. Werner Herzog
10/05/16
An absolutely phenomenal work of art curated by Herzog, not only a tragic tale of human arrogance but a frightening insight into a man’s utter obsession with the natural world; Herzog’s voiceover is divine, a fitting narrator to a horrifically haunting battle between these two entities. Straight to the top of my favourite docos list. Shook me to my core. “I believe the common denominator of the universe is not harmony, but chaos, hostility, and murder. ★★★★★
Inception (2010) dir. Christopher Nolan
11/05/16
rewatch
Written for Letterboxd:
A film I can’t help but renew my infatuation with despite all of Nolan’s inherent flaws; exposition layering exposition layering exposition and the safeness of his directorial approach are among the plenitude of annoyances that struck me this revisit, but those the almost perfect rounding of Cobb’s plot (I feel completely indifferent towards Cillian Murphy’s whole bit) and those fleeting moments of heightened drama in the midst of the film’s final, veneered act always seem to pull on my reluctant heartstrings. The backing characters just kinda do things–the star studded ensemble undoubtedly helps boost what would’ve been a stale series of supporting characters otherwise–and although they are just there to serve as pawns in Cobb’s big game they occasionally have their moments of unrestricted joy. This once sat at the top of my favourite films list (it has been yeeeeears since I last watched), and in so many ways remains a most important film to me, a staple in my cinematic love-life, something of a precursor to my now engulfing cinephilia. It’s cheesy, it’s ridiculous, it’s laughable at times and it steps out on its mythology a tad too often but it’s a film that I cherish right now and probably always will–bleh. No rating
STYLE
A film’s style, a director’s style, or even a movement’s style provide the viewer with a plenitude of analytical content and once you latch on to these patterns, a new world of cinema can be unraveled. A film’s style in particular as posited by Bordwell and Thompson refers to the distinctive pattern of techniques we find in a film–may they be choices in mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing or sound–and relates to their overall organisation with in the filmic form. Scorsese hones a very unique style, one replicated in part by many contemporary directors today (David O. Russell, Paul Thomas Anderson) exemplifying the quality and importance of his stylistic influence.
A common Scorsese trait is to tend to the story of a single, desperate character, burgeoning on the edges of a certain social group, and to track the intricacies of their movements; usually following them up as they rise (sometimes literally) through the ranks and always following them down as they descend into the pit of madness they themselves curated and their exile from their chosen (sometimes the greater) society. As acclaimed Aussie film critic David Stratton writes “There’s so much information stored inside him it’s as though he’s bursting at the seams; he talks in a rapid-fire style as though he doesn’t have enough time to describe everything he knows. He’s like a character in a 1930s movie.” Such personal characteristics are directly channeled into the style of his films; their crammed nature and extended runtimes are simply homes for the plethora of information and detail Scorsese feels the need he has to convey.
Video Essays (potpourri)
Video essays: probably in my top 10 all-time favourite things to watch. I’m probably in agreement with the majority of what was said in today’s lectorial (week #10, for future reference) about the ‘new essay’ age. These wonders provide a much richer experience than the traditional essay, a given considering all its visual and aural material, but a well needed richness that demands the viewer’s precise attention (There is something so satisfying in the act of viewing something where someone has taken to the time to delve into the rabbit hole of cinema and pick out even a few little bits and pieces, rearrange them, and then put them back together).
The academic pushes towards this medium are deserved, and the creativity that such a platform opens up is both inspiring, given a newfound creative freedom, and terrifying; sometimes limits aren’t always detrimental. Making a good video essay as opposed to a good traditional essay is indeed a difficult task. It requires greater patience (a ginormous amount of extra time), an compositional adequacy both with the essay’s visual and narrative elements, and demands greater confidence in its presentation. But in turn comes a much more rewarding experience–if everything works out in the end, you have in your hands the sweetest result of a century+ of video evolution: insight.
Some YouTubers in the area I’m keeping (relatively) up to date with:
The Walkman Effect
Sony Walkman advert from 1979.
At once one of the most insanely fascinating and traumatically uncomfortable images I’ve ever seen. A simpler time, for rollerskaters and on-the-fly music lovers alike. And this isn’t even the most enthralling part: enter, the Walkman effect. This refers to “the way music listened to via headphones allows the user to gain more control over their environment“, something we’ve all experienced at least once in our iDriven lives.
Initial models that featured two headphone jacks even included something called a “hotline” switch which, when pressed, activated a microphone which lowered the volume in order to allow those listening to have a conversation without removing their headphones. How’s that for innovation?
Of course, criticisms regarding the potential isolating factors involved in the worldly detachment achieved through plugging and playing cropped up, but how can one even consider the potential for narcissism when they’re tied ear-to-ear, arm-in-arm with their best friend in the whole wide world? and they can chat on the way? Unreal.