The Hateful Eight (2015)

Happy Saturday! Celebrate your weekend by reading a blog post about someone else watching movies. No, I'm not kidding. Seriously! In this post I see some new Tarantino, a sci-fi classic, and watch three films to help me deal with the death of David Bowie. Here are tonight's selections:

21. The Hateful Eight
22. The Man Who Fell to Earth
23. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
24. Basquiat
25. The Day the Earth Stood Still

The Hateful Eight (2015)

This film is more a stage play than a movie, and that is not a bad thing. The dialogue and performances are really great. There is great fun in watching a room full of character actors play off of one another. Ennio Morricone's incredible score elevates the film even further. In my opinion, Inglorious Basterds is Tarantino's best, but this one is a close 2nd. 

Standout Moment: Samuel L. Jackson's big monologue is amazing. I love seeing him get a role that he can really sink his teeth into. 

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

David bowie has been incredibly influential to me, both as an artist and as a person. When I heard of his death I made the decision to seek out the few of his works that I had yet to experience. The Man Who Fell to Earth felt like a good place to start. This was a much stranger film than I thought it would be. I mean that as a compliment. The few details that we get about the society that Newton (Bowie) left are bizarre and well designed. It is really no wonder that his performance in this film continues to inspire and inform in the decades since its release. 

Standout Moment: When the alien (Bowie) walks into the antique store it truly felt like experiencing many of those strange items for the very first time. 

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004)

The 2nd film on my David Bowie list. He does not perform in this film, but his music is an integral part of the story. This film is my favorite of Wes Anderson's oeuvre. Bill Murray's performance is the very best of his career. The art direction, music, and the palpable feeling of nostalgia make this one of my favorite go-to films when I'm feeling down. It never fails to put a smile on my face. 

Standout Moment: The sequence set to Search and Destroy is my favorite part of the film. The editing is just perfect. 

Basquiat (1996)

This film was not on my radar until I looked up David Bowie's filmography. It felt like a good capper for my night of Bowie mourning. It follows the same structure as a typical artist biography, but the performances and the specific themes explored in the film elevate to one of the better films in the genre. 

Standout Moment: The whole reason I decided to watch this film was the promise of seeing Bowie play Andy Warhol. I was not disappointed. 

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

This is one of the most amazing films ever made. The story is great, the performances are amazing, and the special effects accomplish exactly what they need to do, and are never extended past the limits of their effectiveness. There is an ominous quality to the robots eye and motionless stature. The spaceship itself has informed tech design for decades. I watched this one with my boys, and they were as enraptured by it as I was when I first saw pictures of the robot in an old book about sic-fi and horror film when I was 8 years old. 

Standout Moment: The speech at the end is just as important today as it was the day the film was released. 

That's it for tonight! Tomorrow is going to be a big post. I'll be talking about ten films, and giving a rundown of my favorites so far. 

Y'all come back now, ya hear?
Josh D.
5181 Productions

Almost caught up! Tonight we go through films 16-20. 

16. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
17. Computer Chess
18. Room 237
19. WR: Mysteries of the Organism
20. Electric Boogaloo

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1978)

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes has always been on my list of films to watch, but I never really got around to it until now. This is one I watched with my boys. My youngest son especially loved it. It is a bit uneven, but there are some great set pieces and sight gags. I also appreciate what they accomplished on a shoestring budget. 

Standout Moment: The too-small war room is the best gag in the whole film. 

Computer Chess (2013)

This was a nice little film. They had limited resources to make it, and made the best of it. There are a few moments when the film loses its way a bit, but they are made up for by some other incredibly funny gags. It wasn't as good as it could have been, considering the subject and the great performances.

Standout Moment: The rebirth sequence was just perfect. 

Room 237 (2013)

I'm a huge Kubrick fan; to the point where it is borderline obsession.  Due to this, I have avoided watching this doc, because I wasn't sure how I would feel about it. Now that I've seen it, I can't stand it. It is inspiring to see how one movie can effect so many people, but beyond that it's just like listening to your weird cousin's conspiracy theories at Thanksgiving. You want to break from the conversation, but there's nowhere else to go. The beginning wasn't so bad, but when we started getting into the faked moon landing theories I wanted to just turn it off. 

Standout Moment: The only theory that made any sense was that Kubrick is using the film to discuss atrocities against the indigenous American people. This seems to fit the film and the rest of his work very well. 

WR: Mysteries of the Organism (1971)

This film is not for the faint of heart. I really didn't know what to expect when I turned it on, but suffice to say I'm glad my children weren't awake. There are some really fun moments in this film, and the documentary section about Wilhelm Reich was really great. I felt like it  loses its focus around halfway through, and despite some good scenes, it never really gains back its momentum.

Standout Moment: The impromptu musical number at the end was a pleasant surprise. 

Electric Boogaloo (2015)

Electric Boogaloo is just as much fun as the shlock that it's subject, Cannon Films, produced for two decades. I'm a huge fan of terrible films, and I got a huge kick out of finding out that the guys behind some of the most notorious ones were just as impassioned and misguided as I had imagined them to be. There are also some great interviews in this film. No one tries to pretend that they were making history or incredible cinema, but no one is bitter about the experience, either. 

Standout Moment: I recently discovered the joy that is Enter the Ninja, so it was great hearing a breakdown of why/how it was made. 

That's it for day four! Two more days of catch-up and then we will break into a less frantic schedule. 

Josh D.
5181 Productions

 

This is day three of my 365 film challenge. Today I'll be talking about films 11-15. If the blog suddenly loses pressure oxygen masks will drop from compartments in the ceiling. 

11. World's Greatest Dad
12. Call Me Lucky
13. Best of Enemies
14. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
15. Joan Mitchell: Portrait of an Abstract Painter

World's Greatest Dad (2009)

This is one of Robin William's best performances. The film is a great indictment of celebrity culture and the way humans act around death. Everyone wants a piece of you after you're gone, even if they despised you when you were around. As dark as the concept of this film is, it is consistently funny all the way through. I found this film to be much more honest about artistic accomplishment than most other media. Sometimes you have to just "luck" out in order to get any kind of recognition. 

Standout Moment: When Robin Williams' character tells his story on the Oprah-like show. His performance is perfect in that moment. 

Call Me Lucky (2015)

Part two in my Bobcat Goldthwaith double feature. Call Me Lucky proves that he is just as good at directing documentaries as he is at directing comedy. I had no clue who Barry Crimmins was before watching the feature. Expecting a lighthearted film about a stand up comedian, I was pleasantly surprised at the breadth of the story. Not only is Crimmins a great comedian and important figure in underground comedy, but he has used his past trauma to cause real change in America and overseas. This is one of the must watch films of last year. I can't say enough good about it. 

Standout Moment: I don't know if I can pick just one for this film. It is really great from start to finish. 

Best of Enemies (2015)

Our present, whether it be bad or good, is never too far away from the past that shaped it. This film was entertaining, but it was also depressing to see the beginning of cable news, politics being a difference of morality rather than policy, and the fall of intellectualism as an accepted part of American culture. The 60's were a tough time, and this film demonstrates the divide that was destroying the country. What's most depressing, though, is that it looks all too familiar. It is true what they say, history repeats itself. 

Standout Moment: Buckley's big explosion on air, and the aftermath of his actions is incredibly riveting. 

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

I find new things to laugh at every time I see this movie, and the number of times I have seen it have to be well into the hundreds at this point. My oldest son added about 30 more views to that number last year when he discovered it for the first time. This film holds a very special place in my heart. I bought it knowing nothing about Monty Python. I was around 13 years old and the cover of the VHS just really spoke to me. I took the movie down to the 9 in. TV/VCR combo in my Grandma's basement, settled into a bean bag, and hoped for the best. An hour and a half later, my life was changed. The end of the movie was unlike anything I had ever seen, in fact the movie itself was unlike anything I had ever seen. They didn't seem to care about structure, story, characters, or anything really, and yet it was still one of the funniest things I had ever watched. This film poked holes in my 13 year old world, and I am forever thankful.

Standout Moment: This time around I really noticed the music editing. Perfectly chosen songs utilized in the very best way. 

Joan Mitchell: Portrait of an Abstract Painter (1993)

This is the kind of documentary that I just eat up. I love stories of underrated artists working on their own terms and making a lasting impression. The film itself is a really nice balance of her work, her history, and herself as a real life character. 

Standout Moment: The interviews have a lot more back and forth than what is normal for these types of docs, it was a refreshing break from what one would expect from the medium. 

That's it for tonight, join us tomorrow for films 16-20.

Josh D.
5181 Productions

Mystery Train (1989)

2nd day! Here are films 6-10 of the 365 day film challenge. Let's go!

6. Mystery Train                                                                                                                                                     7. Calle '54
8. eXistenZ
9. Reservoir Dogs
10. Primer

Mystery Train (1989)

Mystery Train is proof that no one makes "nothing happening" quite as entertaining as Jim Jarmusch. The film follows three different stories of people staying in a crappy Memphis motel during a single night. All three vignettes operate as really incredible character studies. There isn't a structure in the traditional sense, nor does there need to be. 

Standout Moment: As in most Jarmusch films, at least for me, there usually aren't favorite moments as much as favorite characters. Steve Buscemi is my favorite in this film. His character has a wonderful arc that utilizes his skills as an actor very well. 

Calle '54 (2000)

I've watched this film several times and seems to get better and better. Director Fernando Trueba takes his camera all over the world to film his favorite Latin Jazz musicians play amazing music together. Not quite a documentary and not quite a concert film, but a wonderful joy through and through. 

Standout Moment: The Tito Puente section is marvelous. The joy that those guys have on stage is infectious, even if your watching them on a screen instead of a music hall.

eXistenZ (1999)

I love Cronenberg. I think he is one of the most singular filmmakers working today. That being said, this is one of his weaker films. There are some great moments in it, the art design is wonderfully grotesque, and the overarching theme of the film is prescient, but it doesn't have the character depth that a lot of his other films have. (My favorite of his is Videodrome, if you are looking for a qualifier). The story is cool, but I did not get to know the two main characters well enough to care about what happened next. 

Standout Moment: Jude Law assembling a gun out of the most disgusting meal one could imagine takes the cake for me. 

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

I have a love/hate relationship with Tarantino's work. I love watching his movies, but I can't stand his fanboys. I have never NOT been entertained while watching a Tarantino joint. He makes films for film buffs. It is fun to not only get involved with the characters, but how the film was created. There isn't much depth in his films, but that does not take away the joy of watching them. I have never understood the fanatic devotion to this film. It's a fun movie, and an exceptional first feature, but it is not a masterpiece by any means (feel free to argue with me on this point in the comments).

Standout Moment: I mean, come on, do you have to ask? Stuck in the Middle With You, hands down. 

Primer (2004)

This film is an incredible feat of independent filmmaking. The fact that such a complicated science fiction story could be told with so little money (and told relatively well) is of great importance to the current generation of filmmakers. There is honestly a lot to like about Primer, but most of it would spoil the story. The best I can say is to really pay attention; once the story takes off it doesn't stop. 

Standout Moment: The design of the machine is clever and pretty cool. 

That's it for Day 2, look out for films 11-15 tomorrow night. 

Josh D.
5181 Productions