...because it's been too long

CR5FC discussion is the ONLY thing that I miss about Facebook. So, as you've probably noticed, I created a new account just for our group there. I am not going to get email notifications, add any friends besides our group, or start customizing stuff. But I will participate in the group discussions and continue to "like" everything that Jason says.

Alright, let's get back on track here. Jeffrey and Brandon have been keeping the blogs alive for us - even if they just keep talking about Funny Games.

I'll have a post about Rohmer's Six Moral Tales as soon as I finish them all. In the meantime, here are some responses to all the stuff that has been written lately. **For those of you skimming this post, the first time a mention a new movie I'll put it in bold.

TV Club first.

Season 3 and 4 of The Wire were my favorite. Yes, it's an excellent police procedural (though as seasons progress it moves away from that) and drug procedural, but in my mind it is really a show about America, culture, and the all the things we do not usually talk about.

After you finish all 5 seasons of The Wire, check out Bill Moyers interview with David Simon. Moyers says, "What Edward Gibbon was to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, or Charles Dickens to the smokey, mean streets of Victorian London, David Simon is to America today."

CAN SOMEONE ELSE PLEASE WATCH TREME NOW?!?!?!?




I broke down and bought the first mothersucking Game of Thrones book. This season is just sooooo good that I can only imagine how addicting the books are. It was only $6 at Target and is sitting on my desk calling to me. I will start it after the season finale on Sunday.

Jeffrey, the Battle of Blackwater episode was awesome - the best hour I've ever spent watching a battle. It had action, tension, and great big and small moments. It was also my dad's first experience watching the show and he loved it.

Film Club.

I will probably not see The Innkeepers. If it was on NWI, I might give it a chance since it prompted Jeffrey to reference The Poetics of Space. But horror isn't usually my thing and it is not easily available.

Interlude.

Jeffrey, have you read House of Leaves? I know that it is contemporary and experimental, but it is also heavily influenced by Bachelard's work. It is one of those books that I can go back to once a year and still find new things to think about. Read it with an open mind, read it with an eye to form, read it with a sneer towards academia. Read it. Oh, and read it while listening to Poe's album, Haunted. It is very much a companion piece (you can google all the connections later).

Film Club.

I have a download of Oslo, August 31 but I have not watched it yet. Brandon's review of it interested me enough to at least go that far. I'll report back.

Waking Life bored Jason? WTF, dude? I watched that movie on a monthly basis my first year of college. It is a little unbearable for me now but for reasons other than boredom. I will forgive this faux pas since you called Slacker "a little tedious" and then gave it a 4 star rating.

Primer is another film that I watched a lot during college. I loved the whole tone of the film and how hard it made me think. It has been a few years since I have seen it; so, maybe I'll watch it again and see if I can still follow. I used to double-feature Primer with A Man from Earth. Those were fun nights.

I gave Julien Donkey-Boy back to John only half-watched. It was too unsettling. I know how that sounds, I should have pushed through. Give me time.

Martha Marcy May Marlene still resonates for me. It is a really interesting movie to look at. Olsen is perfect, complex, adorable. The film says a lot about the layers of emotional and psychological impact people can exert over others.

John and I are in agreement about District 9. I saw it before Film Club, but John wrote about it. I'll just copy what he said because I am basically in agreement with him.

I’d heard all of the positive buzz about the film, but I was still expecting to dislike it because of the pseudo-doc gimmick. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did, but, like I said, I ended up not caring in the end. After I did get sucked in and start enjoying it all, I was eventually let down by the film’s devolution into bad action movie moments (“I’ll never leave you, buddy”) combined with instances of over-the-top gore and an incredibly excessive dropping of f-bombs. These elements aren’t bad in themselves, but their use seemed jarring here and at odds with the established offbeat tone.

If you want to see the MUCH better sci-fi film of 2009, watch Moon. It is original, thought-provoking, and features the silky sweet voice of Kevin Spacey.

I really enjoyed Page One. David Carr is awesome, not insane.

If I were to watch a movie called A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell, there better be lots of sex. And it better be weird.

Since we all love arbitrary lists:

Top Ten Films I've SEEN since January 2012:

1. Damsels in Distress
2. Pauline at the Beach
3. Take Shelter
4. Le Reyon Vert
5. Lonely are the Brave
6. The Hustler
7. Small Town Murder Songs
8. Appaloosa 
9. The Secret World of Arrietty
10. Minnie and Moskowitz
11. Martha Marcy May Marlene