tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post1980999693490419590..comments2024-01-21T11:18:54.087-05:00Comments on Lost in the Movies: Reality Cinema 2002 - 2006 • "32 Days of Movies" Day 31Joel Bockohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-14903326908003050122013-05-22T00:52:42.510-04:002013-05-22T00:52:42.510-04:00Whoops, I meant Diana Oughton, not Kathy Boudin, w...Whoops, I meant Diana Oughton, not Kathy Boudin, with those last two links. Really worth reading if you get the chance (and pertinent to today's & tomorrow's Top Posts, incidentally...)Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-52455855299702555702013-05-18T14:12:13.823-04:002013-05-18T14:12:13.823-04:00And thanks for watching! Not sure if it's the ...And thanks for watching! Not sure if it's the period, but it seems much easier to get people watching the 60s chapter. I'm not a huge fan of 00s Western narrative film either but the docs, Asian & Latin American films were fantastic.Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-12010006272540029662013-05-18T14:08:23.344-04:002013-05-18T14:08:23.344-04:00Yeah, that film is a favorite I've seen at lea...Yeah, that film is a favorite I've seen at least a half-dozen times, including a screening with Mark Rudd in attendance. I wrote up the film here:<br /><br />http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/2008/10/weather-underground.html<br /><br />And the event with Rudd here:<br /><br />http://sixties-l.blogspot.com/2009/08/mark-rudd-and-weather-underground.html<br /><br />And while we're at it, a couple links you might find interesting related to Kathy Boudin.<br /><br />A series covering her life from a small newspaper in the early seventies:<br /><br />http://100years.upi.com/stories_text_1961.html<br /><br />And a TV movie loosely based on her life, starting Sissy Spacek:<br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005IXSTTI/ref=redir_mdp_mobile<br /><br />I swear there was a free version online but I can't find it now.<br /><br />Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-30519020840815351032013-05-18T12:48:47.303-04:002013-05-18T12:48:47.303-04:00Excellent selections, Joel. Since it hasn't be...Excellent selections, Joel. Since it hasn't been mentioned I found The Weather Underground doc a very strong work, not least because of the themes of violence for politics purposes and the sheltered lives many of the bombers had led prior to the wave of violence they undertook. Doug's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09219952832674415239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-74519335497413424972012-11-26T10:39:08.759-05:002012-11-26T10:39:08.759-05:00Thanks, STinG, as evidenced by its inclusion in my...Thanks, STinG, as evidenced by its inclusion in my Top Posts, this is one of my favorite chapters in the series.<br /><br />You raise an interesting point, which is that in some ways superhero blockbusters - not just the films you mention, but also X2 as I recall - grappled with post-9/11 questions more openly and directly than many 'art films'. They weren't in here because my control group was my own collection and I don't have any on DVD despite liking The Dark Knight particularly. In a way I'm glad because while it would have been interesting, it would have changed the more mournful, somewhat disoriented tone of this selection. One thing about the blockbusters, I felt, was that while they often tackled the minefield if post-9/11 intellectual questions (ironic, because we think of these films as being more visceral than intellectual) they didn't really capture that <i>feeling</i>.<br /><br />They do have moods though, and in some ways the moods are revealing. I suppose they have much to do with Sam Raimi vs. Chris Nolan, Marvel vs. DC, Spider-Man vs. Batman, but they also united the times they came out since by the late 00s country was more beaten down and full of self-doubt than it had been in the immediate wake of the attack (even in the early years of Iraq, there was kind of a self-deluding firmness or denial, as evidenced by the re-election of Bush).<br /><br />What did you think of he new Spider-Man (I can't believe they rebooted it so soon)? I haven't seen it yet.Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-29121244105346840272012-11-26T10:03:37.795-05:002012-11-26T10:03:37.795-05:00A really great visual study towards post-9/11 cine...A really great visual study towards post-9/11 cinema in the immediate impact, with the picks of 25th Hour, Gangs of New York, 9/11 and Iraq in Fragments. One such factor I would like to look in upon is how the event affected superhero films because there is a strict juxtaposition between the cheesy yet entertaining Spider-Man/Spider-Man 2 (the first being one of my favorite movies) and the dark dreary The Dark Knight/The Dark Knight Rises.STinGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00831190903494791629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-46643046038749094492011-11-01T21:17:28.366-04:002011-11-01T21:17:28.366-04:00Yeah, Rosenbaum commented on The Dreamers that he ...Yeah, Rosenbaum commented on The Dreamers that he had been an American cinephile in France back in '68, and he didn't remember nearly so much sexual activity (for better or worse)!<br /><br />I don't quite remember the ending of Collateral, but what you say here aligns with my view on another 00s thriller, included yesterday: Training Day. There's a lot of stylish, badass movies that ultimately compromise themselves by letting the dopey good guy overcome the impressive bad guy. Come to think of it, now I do kind of remember the ending to Collateral and I think I had the same impression you do.<br /><br />I think - and it sounds like you might agree - 2046 is the best selection of this lot, although The World and Iraq in Fragments are definitely up there too. When I first saw it I thought it was a very enjoyable movie, stylish to the hilt, but not really as great as In the Mood for Love. Since then, I've reconsidered, and I've seen a lot of other people (like Allan Fish) reconsider as well - that perhaps 2046 is the masterpiece after all. Ironically, though, I've only seen it that once - so it's really in my memory that it's grown so much. Now that I own it I will have to watch it again. The delectable Ziyi Zhang is certainly reason enough.Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610074516299275060.post-25010521523992504152011-11-01T05:07:40.802-04:002011-11-01T05:07:40.802-04:00As you'd mentioned in your comment, this compi...As you'd mentioned in your comment, this compilation does comprise of a number of documentaries - 6 of them to be precise! Well, suffice it to say, I haven't really had the pleasure of having watched them. So, I'll focus on the feature films covered.<br /><br />Here's what I've seen among these:<br /><br />City of God - A kinetic, disturbing & affecting look at teenage & drug violence. Excellent movie!<br /><br />Gangs of New York - I wouldn't club it with Scorsese's best works. However, that said, its not a bad film either. Great art direction & an excellent turn (as always) by Danniel Day Lewis, among other aspects.<br /><br />The Dreamers - I found this to be a curious & enigmatic work. On one hand I loved the various discourses on & the homages to classic world cinema; on the other, I was perplexed by the excessive sex & nudity, wondering if they really played much of a role in complementing the theme of cinephilia.<br /><br />Collateral - An entertaining ride, no doubt. It could have been a more memorable film had the director curbed his instincts by not going in for a cliched Hollywood climax. Tom Cruise was quite good though in a rare negative role.<br /><br />2046 - Ah, what an absolutely stunning work this was! Poetic, melancholic, visually ravishing, emotionally enthralling - the movie worked at so many levels! Christopher Doyle's work as DOP in Wong Kar-Wai's films have been extraordinary to say the least.Shubhajithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02040495040897333606noreply@blogger.com