Start to finish, one of the best bits in one of the funniest films of the past 20 years. The Christinith Affair: THE OTHER GUYS.
Wednesday PM
A very brief, very advanced note of negativity about my year in film: these were the 2023 releases that disappointed me the most.
Unpleasant, dull, shrill, irritating. Or, in some cases, just bizarre: how do you make a film about a Cocaine Bear that isn’t a lean 90 minutes of absolute batshit thrills? (Narrator: It wasn’t.)
BEAU IS AFRAID.
SHAZAM: FURY OF THE GODS.
FAST X.
INFINITY POOL.
THE FLASH.
INSIDE.
65.
COCAINE BEAR.
Wednesday
Oh, how I love Akira Kurosawa’s DREAMS (1990).
Tuesday PM
JODOROWSKY’S DUNE (2013).
Tuesday
BELLADONNA OF SADNESS.
THE CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO.
WORLD OF TOMORROW 2.
Monday PM
Philip Haas’ 2009 exhibit "Butchers, Dragons, Gods and Skeletons”.
Monday
MY DINNER WITH ANDRES.
Sunday PM
If you were looking for a nifty Lee Marvin triple feature, I would suggest THE PROFESSIONALS, POINT BLANK, and PRIME CUT.
Sunday
One of my favorite films of the last 20 years: Pawel Pawlikowski’s exquisite IDA (2013).
Saturday PM
General appreciation for Sidney Lumet.
Saturday
Friday PM
Will we ever see Juno Mak’s SONS OF THE NEON NIGHT? It’s been so, so long…
Friday
General appreciation for an old favorite I first saw when I was far too young to understand it all: QUATERMASS AND THE PIT.
The exquisitely wackadoo American poster.
The slightly more subdued English version.
Thursday PM
General appreciation for the late great Buck Henry.
Behind the scenes on the JU-ON set, no one held a grudge.
A great film, but this scene really tears me up: 25TH HOUR.
Thursday
Happy Thanksgiving 2023, or as I now call it, Second Kidney Stone of 2023 Day.
Great staff and doctors over at Methodist Richardson. They hustled me in, got me scanned, made the determination and I was on my way in under three hours. Past similar experiences have averaged six.
Of course, the pain meds were held up at the pharmacy due to a (expletive) insurance issue. That’s okay. I accept the pain. The pain is now my friend. I’m gonna have well-hydrated, low-sodium good times with the pain, until the pain dissipates.
Having said all that: stay healthy, kiddos. And love each other. Except for your Relative Karens and creepy uncles; you must educate them with kindness and patience.
S
Wednesday PM
Never gonna have to pretend.
Wednesday
Kyu-hwan Jeon’s DANCE TOWN (2011).
John Woo’s A BETTER TOMORROW (1986).
Park Chan-wook’s LADY VENEGEANCE (2005)
Juzo Itami’s TAMPOPO (1985).
Tuesday PM
General appreciation for Tilda Swinton.
ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE (2013).
CONSTANTINE (2005).
JULIA (2008).
I AM LOVE (2010).
Tuesday
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST and great faces.
Cardinale.
Strode.
Stander.
Robards.
Elam.
Fonda.
Bronson.
Monday PM
My much-overused image for sheer disdain: De Niro in RONIN. Great film, also.
Whoever created this: genius.
“Who starts a song like that?!” “It’s magic.” Christian Bale letting it all hang out while making a connection with Amy Adams thanks to “Jeep’s Blues”: AMERICAN HUSTLE.
