mumbled

The definition of "mumblcore" was only made known to me a few weeks ago (much thanks to Jason for the enlightenment). Of course, in retrospect, I have seen plenty of mumblecore films without realizing they were "mumbelcore." Moreover, I've seen several films that I would classify into that genre but seem to be left out when looking at the wiki list posted by Chris. And, like John, I have reservations about the inclusion of a few that are on there.

A brief aside about a rather innocuous point from John's post:
I'm not sure that labeling certain films mumblecore is necessarily "silly," though I agree that it can be reductive. However, it seems obvious that most of the films grouped in the wiki list posted by Chris do have something in common - whether it be in style, influence or the way ideas and themes are portrayed. Labeling helps to define certain expressions in art and culture and, whatever its flaws, has at least a small useful purpose. That said, Bujalski's point (as posted by John) about getting out of any sort of movement because there is "not much point in making films that other people have already made" is valid and vital to the progression/transcendence of said movement. It is how culture moves forward.

Chris, your comparisons of COLD WEATHER to BORED TO DEATH and David Lynch are interesting - and not ones that I would have ever considered. I guess I get the connection with them even if I'm not sure I totally buy into it. The film does have a character drawn to amateur detective work just like in BORED TO DEATH and also has a mysterious man in a cowboy hat (LOST HIGHWAY) and small(-ish) town intrigue.

Your point about the film lacking an overall focus is well-taken. It probably, maybe does. However, I'm not sure Katz set out to make a film with any sort of overall focus because an overall focus seems irrelevant when telling this story. Katz is not trying to make a point or tie things nicely together; rather, he's trying to give us a snapshot into a brother-sister relationship during a period of uncertainty and reconnection. He does with with warmth and an intimacy that makes the characters seem like they could be our friends or our brothers or our sisters. Also, I think it is actually rather clever to tell this well-known story hidden in the mystery plot.

In leaving questions unanswered and encouraging a feeling of unfinished business, Katz is definitely drawing upon a post-modern influence. This was probably part stylistic choice and partly related to how the film was conceived and made. Like you said, we all see different things and rate movies on a different scale. I like when films leave a lot for me to fill in. There are many ways they can do this. For example, BLACK DEATH leaves the viewer to fill in something entirely different than COLD WEATHER does. These are two films I happen to really appreciate even though I seem to be in the minority on them in Film Club.

So, for me, I guess, I felt that the characters were developed and that the story reached all the potential it needed to given the circumstances. I know, this isn't much in the way of "proving [you] wrong." I can't speak to why John likes COLD WEATHER better than DRIVE for two obvious reasons: I'm not John and I haven't seen DRIVE. But I'm not sure I could/would compare them. They seem to be doing different things for different reasons - though I understand your question. It just feels like it would be a difficult one to answer. **EDIT** While I was writing this post, John took up the COLD WEATHER vs. DRIVE challenge. One more reason DRIVE needs to hit the cheap theaters for me.

I agree with you about the pacing and the comedic elements. I think they are both subtly well done.

Hopefully, TINY FURNITURE becomes available soon. I would say that it's important to see if for no other reason than that it's written and directed by a young and talented female and has an uniquely female perspective on life that is missing from a lot of films. There are plenty of other merits to TINY FURNITURE but I won't go into them here.

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Since you brought up BORED TO DEATH...have you seen the first few episodes of season 3? Hilarious. The humor in that show is so unique and Schwartzman, Danson and Galifanakis are awesome. I hope Zoe Kazan's character comes back soon. Speaking of Zoe, you should watch THE EXPLODING GIRL. I'd consider it a mumblecore film.