a record of consumption, part nine (being a new film journal) the horror continues

9.5.2022
Rob Reiner Misery 1990
(rewatch)
4K Essential rewatch via Kino Lorber. This film reminds me of all the nut jobs that got so upset with the last season of GOT. I remember saying to a group of them I thought the last season was pretty good and had to run to escape being tarred and feather, was quite shocking..

Down the Road: The Making of Drive My Car 2022
Criterion Collection.

Bryan Forbes Seance on a Wet Afternoon 1964

Shocking Shocking business. Richard Attenborough and Kim Stanley in this visually arresting film shot by Gerry Turpin (camera operator on Peeping Tom) with memorable score by John Barry. Hard to not think of Attenborough as the serial killer from the crazy 10 Rillington Place film, he gives such an eerie performance here, as does Kim Stanley whom makes you want to wash the grime off when the film ends. Great stuff.

9.6.2022
Robert Eggers The Northman 2022
(rewatch)
Better the second time. Good looking film.

9.7.2022
Wayne Wang Chan Is Missing 1982
(rewatch)

Second time in the last 6 months watching this. Beautiful mix of hommage, comedy, grit, novelistic story telling, and low key ambiance. Just comes close enough to having a non-plot to be totally intellectual engaging and exciting in a way few films are. Abstractions with light and off beat moments give it an experimental quality that fits well with the story and the San Francisco charm. Great film.

9.8.2022
Martin Scorsese Raging Bull 1980
(rewatch)
4K Criterion Collection disc. 50th time rewatch? Endlessly have watched this film over the last 30 years. Grain jumping off the screen like water spraying from a waterfall, more beautiful than the Mona Lisa. If one wants to have the most visceral experience from a film, just tune into the editing by Thelma Schoonmaker, probably the best editing in any film that I can think of.

9.9.2022
Richard Benjamin Mermaids 1990
Bob Hoskins!

9.10.2022
Alex Garland Men 2022
Great performance by Rory Kinnear as numerous f*cked up characters in this bizarre film.

9.11.2022
Jim Sheridan In the Name of the Father 1993
(rewatch)

From the Imprint Films Jim Sheridan boxset. Some really awe inspiring film-making here, like when we see John Lynch and Daniel Day-Lewis hammered dancing in a bar to Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone with an hard cut to driving into London with "I arrived in London on the 26th of June" Daniel Day-Lewis voice over. Beautiful film.

Jim Sheridan The Boxer 1997
(rewatch)
From the Imprint Films Jim Sheridan boxset. Classic with Daniel Day-Lewis and Emily Watson.

Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes Menace II Society 1993
(rewatch)

Second time watching the Criterion Collection 4K disc. Beautiful nihilistic film. Larenz Tate's performance here as nihilist O-Dog in contrast with his Darius Lovehall in Theodore Witcher's Love Jones so striking.

9.17.2022
Woody Allen Vicky Cristina Barcelona 2008

9.18.2022
Al Reinert For All Mankind 1989
(rewatch)
Via Criterion Collection, essential 4K rewatch. Brian and Roger Eno, and Daniel Lanois soundtrack.

Woody Allen Manhattan Murder Mystery 1993
(rewatch)

9.20.2022
George A. Romero Dawn of the Dead 1978
(rewatch)

Theatrical cut from the 4K Second Sight boxset. Had some friends in town who felt like having cocktails and watching horror films so our October of Horror films starts early. Nothing much better than this 1978 classic Dystopian film by Romero. Destruction of Mall Life = Dystopian.

David Cronenberg Shivers 1975
(rewatch)

The Horror continues. Arrow Blu ray. Favorite Cronenberg film, with Scanners second. Beautifully unsettling end of the world film, at times subtle, and at times not. Great humor, erotic horrors and many challenges to morals.

9.21.2022
Ari Aster Hereditary 2018
(rewatch)
The Horror continues. Maybe 5th time watching Aster's classic. Great film.

9.23.2022
Ari Aster Midsommar 2019
(rewatch)

The Horror continues. Second time watching the 4k extended cut version via A24. Much prefer this one with its complete virtuosic film-making. Don't care for the actors as much as Hereditary, but such a beautifully shot and constructed film, aurally and visually.

9.24.2022
Sam Raimi The Evil Dead 1981
(rewatch)

The Horror continues. 4K version, after several rewatches, I don't enjoy this as much as the second version, but the film has some great moments, and the rawness is quite intoxicating. The shots of the woods are some of the best moments in horror ever.

John Carpenter The Fog 1980
(rewatch)

The Horror continues. Classic Inverness California horror film. Love the relationship between Jamie Lee Curtis and Tom Atkins, similar to Curtis and Stacy Keach in Roadgames from 1981.

9.25.2022
Paul Schrader Hardcore 1979
(rewatch)
Favorite Schrader film, along with Light Sleeper. Last section in San Francisco blows your mind.

John Sayles Lone Star 1996
(rewatch)
Essential.

9.26.2022
Carl Franklin One False Move 1992
(rewatch)
Carl Franklin Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, episode one 2022
The Horror continues. Spending time with the master Carl Franklin.

9.27.2022
Wes Craven A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984
(rewatch)
The Horror continues.

9.28.2022
Andrew Dominik Blonde 2022

Huge fan of Dominik's films (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Killing Them Softly, Mindhunter) but was a bit concerned if this would be a waste of time given I hate biopics and didn't see the point in another Marilyn Monroe film. Was not familiar with the Joyce Carol Oates 2000 biographical fiction novel and walked into this film with no reference, and decided not to read the negative reviews of the film, because really what is the point of that if you haven't seen it? Loved the film, loved the cinematography by Chayse Irvin which is so dark and high contrast at times he makes Weegee seem like a disney photographer. Love the lush soundtrack by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, maybe one of their best, and loved the performances by all. This film is another reminder for myself not to take film critics seriously, or to not read them at all, and form my own opinion on a film instead of letting their own ideas replace ones I have.

9.30.2022
John Patton Ford Emily the Criminal 2022

10.1.2022
Paul Schrader Cat People 1982
(rewatch)
The Horror continues. Serious John Heard performance.

Jack Sholder The Hidden 1987
(rewatch)
The Horror continues. In the late 1980s I would watch this often on (I assume) HBO, along with They Live and some other classics, this film left a big impression. Had not seen since then.

10.2.2022
Amy Holden Jones The Slumber Party Massacre 1982

The Horror continues. From the director of the great film Love Letters (Jamie Lee Curtis and James Keach) and writer of Mystic Pizza, comes a film about a serial killer brutalizing young girls, and finally turning their party into a bloodbath.

Tobe Hooper The Funhouse 1981

Great carny film from the director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist, and Lifeforce. Horrible killer in this film, would keep the devil up at nights. Great atmosphere, and some wonderful aerial shots of the carnival.

Gary Sherman Dead & Buried 1981
(rewatch)
The Horror continues. Mobs of deranged blood thirsty townspeople wreak havoc in Mendocino California.

10.3.2022
Robert Bierman Vampire’s Kiss 1988
The Horror continues.

10.4.2022
Ken Russell The Lair of the White Worm 1988
The Horror continues. Horror film with Hugh Grant. Strange one, not without interest. Ken Russell apparently indulged in some dipsomania during the filming.

10.7.2022
Mike Newell Four Weddings and a Funeral 1994
(rewatch)
Another but totally different Hugh Grant classic.

10.8.2022
Siân Heder CODA 2021
(rewatch)
Solid film.

10.9.2022
John Boorman, Rospo Pallenberg Exorcist II: The Heretic 1977
The Horror continues.

Ti West X 2022
The Horror continues.

10.10.2022
Tobe Hooper The Funhouse 1981
(rewatch)
The Horror continues. Second time this week. Amazing the first time, better the second time.

10.11.2022
John Scheinfeld Chasing Trane 2016
John Coltrane doc.

John Carpenter The Thing 1982
(rewatch)
The Horror continues. 4K version of the masterpiece. Favorite horror film. Love this photo of the crew in Alaska.

10.12.2022
Michael Laughlin Strange Behavior 1981
The Horror continues.

10.13.2022
Tobe Hooper The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 1986

The Horror continues. Bizarre follow-up to the hard to watch classic, strange and funny with essential performance from Dennis Hopper.

10.14.2022

Daniel Roher Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band 2019
A rare thing; a good music documentary.

David Robert Mitchell It Follows 2014
(rewatch)
The Horror continues. Second time around, not doing much for me and the family.

Tony Williams Next of Kin 1982
The Horror continues.

10.15.2022
Nicolas Roeg Don’t Look Now 1973
(rewatch)
The Horror continues. Every October, one must spend time with the master and his great work.

10.16.2022
Robert Harmon The Hitcher 1986
(rewatch)
The Horror continues. One of those films I remember seeing on cable as a kid, but no memory of the film. Actually not bad, starring Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Unrelenting.

10.21.2022
Christian Tafdrup Speak No Evil 2022
The Horror continues. Danish horror film with a With a Friend Like Harry vibe. Pretty heavy throughout, not sure about the ending but overall a solid film with a fantastic atmosphere.

Alice Lowe Prevenge 2016
The Horror continues.

10.22.2022
Michael O’Shea The Transfiguration 2016

The Horror continues. Young man in South Brooklyn talks about how realistic vampires are in all the horror classics to his new girlfriend. Kills people, drinks their blood, and pukes up a little when he is not doing that. Good film.

Don Coscarelli Phantasm 1979
(rewatch)

The Horror continues. Second time watching, the avant'garde qualities really become apparent in this film, an unusual one with a really strange quality to it from the editing and general construction.

10.23.2022

Curtis Harrington The Fall of the House of Usher 1942, Fragment of Seeking 1946, Picnic 1949, On the Edge 1949, The Assignation 1953, The Wormwood Star 1956, The Four Elements 1966, Usher 2000
The Horror continues. Very engaging Curtis Harrington shorts form the Indicator blu ray. Many take the Maya Deren style and give a horror edge.

Rubén Galindo Jr. Grave Robbers 1989
(rewatch)
The Horror continues.

Dennis Donnelly The Toolbox Murders 1978
The Horror continues. Serial killer wreaking havoc in an apartment complex.

Eskil Vogt The Innocents 2021
(rewatch)
The Horror continues. Four kids in an housing estate with telepathic powers.

10.24.2022
Ian Brennan, Ryan Murphy The Watcher 2022
The Horror continues. Uninspiring coastal grandmother aesthetic: bland beige and off-white.

10.25.2022
Paul Lynch Prom Night 1980
The Horror continues. Early Jamie Lee Curtis film.

10.26.2022
Anna Biller The Love Witch 2016
(rewatch)
The Horror continues. De Palmaesque Post-Hitchcock film with witchcraft, nudity and sex.

10.27.2022
Mark Rosman The House on Sorority Row 1982
(rewatch)
The Horror continues. Better than one would think.

10.29.2022
Abel Ferrara The Addiction 1995
(rewatch)

The Horror continues. Initially saw this in the theater, made a big impression. The high contrast black and white with pitch black blood made so beautiful by cinematographer Ken Kelsch. Great film, and the party sequence at the end is just pure cinematic bliss, heightened by the Joe Delia score. Great film.

10.30.2022
José Ramón Larraz Vampyres 1974

The Horror continues. From the director of Symptoms from the same year, this beautifully shot film (the dp was Harry Waxman who also shot The Wicker Man) where blood on a car window looks like it should be in a museum. Two female seductress vampires who lure men to their mansion to seduce and drink from them, has similarities with Claire Denis's Trouble Every Day from 2001 with the mixture of eroticism and cannibalism.

William Friedkin The Exorcist 1973
(rewatch)

The Horror continues. Essential. Shot by Owen Roizman, editing by Norman Gay and Evan A. Lottman. The mother coming out of the subway section with subliminal frames inserted like the one above have quite an effect, even after 20-30 viewings.

• The Power of Christ compels you
• You're Going To Die Up There
• Could you help an old alter boy father
• Your mother sucks codpieces in Hell, Karras, you faithless slime
• Until she rots, and lies stinking in the Earth
• You keep it away... ahh! It burns! It burns!
• Especially important, is the warning to avoid conversations with the demon. We may ask what is relevant, but anything beyond that is dangerous. He is a liar. The demon is a liar. He will lie to confuse us. But he will also mix lies, with the truth to attack us. The attack is psychological, Damien, and powerful. So don't listen to him. Remember that... do not listen.
• Come into me! Goddamn you take me! Take me!

10.31.2022
Mike White White Lotus season 1 ep 1 2022

Andrew Semans Resurrection 2022

body and spirit are intertwined, and metaphysical realities are manifested in the physical world

MANDALA VI (2018) by Chi Yun

If in the Hudson Valley of New York, please visit the Pinkwater Gallery in Kingston where my wife Chi Yun has 2 of her meditations on nature-abstraction, shamanism, spirituality, and metaphysics are on view from now until 11/27, with an opening on Saturday, October 15 from 6 to 8pm.

Regarding the Mandala Series:

The paintings are a meditation on three cosmic zones. There is a core circle which is starting from the observational zone. It symbolizes looking within, reflection and inside the Earth. The second circle is the connection between myself, earth and nature. The outer circle represents enlightenment and transformation. All these molecules are forming into a whole, searching for completeness.  This vision of the Mandala is rooted in Shamanism, The Occult, and Buddhism, yet has been transformed through my individual process into something more unique and personal.

a record of consumption, part eight (being a new film journal)

7.22.2022
Dennis Hopper Out of the Blue 1980
(rewatch)
4K rewatch via Severin Films. Seriously tough to watch film, but worth the pain it inflicts.

7.25.2022
Roman Polanski Tess 1979
(rewatch)
From Thomas Hardy's 1891 novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, with a screenplay by Polanski, Gérard Brach (Frantic, The Bear, The Tenant, Repulsion, Cul-de-sac, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Identification of a Woman), and the British translator John Brownjohn. Moving score by Philippe Sarde, with a subdued palette by the two heavies Ghislain Cloquet and Geoffrey Unsworth. The film is dedicated to Polanski's late wife Sharon Tate, whom was convinced he would make a film of Tess one day. In Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, we see Margot Robbie (Sharon Tate) buying her husband a copy of Tess from an antiquarian bookseller in Westwood (image above).

7.26.2022
Peter Crane Moments 1974
Last film from The Pemini Organization. Only 42 people have marked this film as watched on letterboxd.

7.27.2022
Donald Glover & Hiro Murai Atlanta season three 2022
Favorite show on television right now.

Nicolas Winding Refn Pusher 3 2005
Volume three follows Milo (Zlatko Burić). Less effective of the Pusher Trilogy, but great music by Peter Peter and Peter Kyed, worth watching the movie for.

David Cronenberg Eastern Promises 2007
(rewatch)
Essential 4K rewatch, via Kino Lorber. For my 9-5 we were studying tattoo/body art history and trends, which got me thinking about the books of Russian Criminal Tattoos by Fuel Design, and then of course to Cronenberg's great Eastern Promises. Where body art takes an extremely offensive and irritating art world nonsense trajectory in Crimes of the Future, with charlatan artists as superstars (which has plagued contemporary art), and art enthusiasts as brainless consumers, we see it pure and in the street here in Eastern Promises.

7.28.2022
Billy Wilder The Apartment 1960
(rewatch)
Essential 4K rewatch, via Kino Lorber. Kino is insane these days with their releases.

7.30.2022
Mark Robson The Harder They Fall 1956
(rewatch)
From Indicator's Columbia Noir #5: Humphrey Bogart boxset. Only film I have seen more than once. Good scenes in this film, the best is the You Yellow Dog bit. This actress is really wonderful.

Carl Franklin Devil in a Blue Dress 1995
(rewatch)
Criterion Collection 4K. Fourth time I have seen this film in the last 2 years. Perfect film, best Denzel film. Just unreal how good it is. This and One False Move are some of the best examples of Neo-Noir films that are get better with each viewing and are like a drug you can't stop pushing or a cocktail you can't put down.

8.3.2022
Michael Mann Collateral 2004
(rewatch)
4K.

8.6.2022
David Cronenberg Crimes of the Future 2022
See review above in Eastern Promises.

8.7.2022
Martin Ritt Hud 1963
(rewatch)
Esssssssssential Paul Newman.

8.9.2022
Skye Borgman Girl in the Picture 2022
Netflix true crime doc.

John McNaughton Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer 1986
(rewatch)
Arrow Films 4K. Essential 4K rewatch, even more disturbing coming at you in such high fidelity.

8.10.2022
Stuart Heisler Tokyo Joe 1949
Mediocre Bogart film.

8.13.2022
Philip Haas The Music of Chance 1993
Blu ray from Imprint Films out of Australia. Lesser known 90s film, based on the novel by Paul Auster (whom has a cameo in the film). Perfect film, a nod of the hat to Sisyphus with Mandy Patinkin and James Spader as two characters whom enter into a purely novelist world where they are pushed into building a stone wall which resembles a lovely piece of Land Art, due to owing money to Joel Grey and Charles Durning, with M. Emmet Walsh as their overseer/caretaker. Samantha Mathis and Chris Penn show up as bit roles. Wonderful cyclical story, seen through the eyes of our heroes and artificially through the use of a model of the world. Both real and artificial, a film and just simply a story, what we are seeing with our own eyes, and how narrative manipulates reality (and manipulates narrative), and consumes its tail creating circles of confusion.

8.14.2022
Dario Argento The Bird with the Crystal Plumage 1970
Arrow films 4K. Mostly watch these films for the soundtracks. This one with Ennio Morricone getting into a late 60s Miles Davis zone.

Dario Argento Tenebre 1982
Arrow films 4k, music by Goblin.

Jaume Collet-Serra Non-Stop 2014
(rewatch)
Non-Stop, The Grey, and Taken are the 3 most rewatchable Liam Neeson action films. Pure pleasure.

8.15.2022
Bernard Rose Candyman 1992
(rewatch)
4K Essential Cinema. Starring Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd, Xander Berkeley, Kasi Lemmons, and Vanessa E. Williams. Novel by Clive Barker (The Forbidden"). Beautifully shot by Anthony B. Richmond. Really love Xander Berkeley in this film, an often seen face in 90s cinema, like in Todd Haynes Safe as the husband. He usually plays a somewhat loser character, or in Terminator 2 as the step father... very talented actor. As is Tony Todd who plays Candyman here, and Madsen's wonderful performance as the student of chaos.

8.17.2022
Mike Hodges Get Carter 1971
(rewatch)
Essential 4K rewatch, BFI disc. Brutalist architecture, cars speeding and blurring, Caine at high level intense low level comedy, one of his most subtle performances. Industry destroying the sea, and getting rusted out and destroyed in the process. Beautiful film, not much better.

8.21.2022
Jonathan Demme Married to the Mob 1988
Off beat film from the master (Caged Heat 1974, Melvin and Howard 1980, Something Wild 1986, The Silence of the Lambs 1991, Philadelphia 1993 to name a few).

Sam Peckinpah The Killer Elite 1975
(rewatch)

8.23.2022
Dave Franco The Rental 2020

8.24.2022
Tamara Jenkins Private Life 2018
(rewatch)

8.26.2022
John Carney Once 2007
(rewatch)

8.27.2022
Roger Donaldson White Sands 1992
(rewatch)
Strong memory of this film a few times being seen in high school. Great performances by Willem Defoe, Mickey Rourke, and M. Emmet Walsh.

8.28.2022
Dan Trachtenberg 10 Cloverfield Lane 2016
(rewatch)
4K. Would be great to see part 2 where the end of this film leaves us.

8.29.2022
Diao Yi’nan The Wild Goose Lake 2019
Sublime and visionary film from the director of Black Coal, Thin Ice. Hard to put into words after one viewing, this film is insanely profound!

9.1.2022
Richard Tuggle Out of Bounds 1986
Great 80s sleazebag Los Angeles wrong man / drug thriller film starring Anthony Michael Hall and Jenny Wright. Anthony Michael Hall gives a solid performance as a chill kid from Iowa whom moves to Los Angeles, has a crush on a hip girl, and then has to start running from the law and from the drug underworld. Normally not into him, but he gives a tough performance here as a strong kid, fish out of water, and too mellow to be irritating. Great cast includes actors you know their faces but not their names like Raymond J. Barry, Pepe Serna, Glynn Turman, and Jerry Levine. Good stuff.

9.2.2022
Ethan Hawke The Last Movie Stars 2022
Documentary on Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman. Good attempt at showing the range and virtuosity of these two actors. Any road to cinephilia usually starts with Hud, The Hustler, The Fugitive Kind, The Verdict, Cool Hand Luke, and The Long Hot Summer. I remember around 2000 picking up the Library of America 2 volumes of the writings of Tennessee Williams, after seeing quite a few of the films, there was a very strong desire to read the actual pages and have a deeper understanding. Again and again these Williams inspired films were studied by this young enthusiast and the 2 actors above became essential. I am sure that Ethan Hawke and many of the actors in this doc had a similar history with these great films, and at times it was quite lovely to see the enthusiasm like with Vincent D'Onofrio explaining the difference between a bland reading and a reading under the method of method acting. The zoom infiltration of the film was frankly a bummer, as was the confusion that happened when an actor was on zoom in a conversation, and then transitioned to doing a voice over. Also having actors claim they are not familiar with the works but still participating, one wonders why not pick someone else or have no-one at all besides the 2 heavies we are here to see? Do we always need a contemporary voice in documentaries about true visionaries?

Joshua Logan Picnic 1955
Based on the play by William Inge. Stars William Holden, Cliff Robertson, Susan Strasberg, Kim Novak, Arthur O'Connell, and Betty Field. Good for architecture enthusiasts into American industrial architecture, specifically grain silos which are beautifully explored in this film.

9.3.2022
Ryusuke Hamaguchi Drive My Car 2021
(rewatch)
Second time with this film, first in the theater and now the Criterion Collection blu ray. Between viewings I purchased and read the Haruki Murakami short story Drive My Car to get a better idea of the narrative. The sophistication in story telling in this film is hard for an old amateur like myself to completely understand, the levels of subtle storytelling that go through the film and reappear takes an extreme amount of mental abilities, something I maybe don't fully have, but luckily my wife hits the pause button every so often and not only illuminates but explains these subtleties. I say illuminates because half of the narrative streams I probably would not have noticed if not pointed out. Such a beautiful film visually and aurally it can be hard at times to actually take in all the concepts coming at you. The idea of story within story is certainly an essential part of the history of the novel from Georges Perec to Don Quixote, Hamaguchi adds to this lovely history with his films, but very much in his own style, where the perception of the layered story is not in the foreground, but can be more like a dream or fragmented or words during sexual encounters happening and not happening. Truly profound stuff which will probably need another few viewings to truly reveal itself.

Matthew Weiner Mad Men Season two through seven 2008-2015
(rewatch)
Good stuff. Show goes from being pretty good to amazing at it progresses.

a record of consumption, part seven (being a new film journal)

5.18.2022
Paul Thomas Anderson Inherent Vice 2014
(rewatch)

Nothing better than the moment this film hits heavy into the Can. Some psychedelic magic starts that never lets up. Not long after we hear Johnny Greenwood doing a Can hommage and an endlessly beautiful soundtrack continues throughout the film. A classic Chandleresque plot approaching nonsensical non-plot rarely has moments of clarity, and reaches an extreme with the Martin Short section which would have made Edward Lear uncomfortable. One way to watch a film like this (or The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, The Long Goodbye) is to treat the plot as a level of rhythm which acts as a Fire Music foundation enabling an array of instruments to interact in a purely aesthetic way bringing forth and giving jouissance. Utter blissful moments overwhelm this film, like Josh Brolin as a Renaissance Detective, the search for Eric Roberts as Wolfmann aka Wolf-Man, and numerous poetic/comedic names floating around like Sortilège, Shasta Fay Hepworth, Ensenada Slim, Dr. Buddy Tubeside, Sauncho Smilax, Esq, Luz, Amethyst Harlingen, Smedley, Puck Beaverton, Stone Turntable Magazine, and many more. Cast includes Michael Kenneth Williams, Benicio Del Toro, Jena Malone, Martin Short, Martin Donovan, Jeannie Berlin, and Hong Chau. Cinematographer by the master Robert Elswit (Redbelt, Hard Eight, Punch-Drunk Love, The Bourne Legacy, The Town, Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, and Nightcrawler). Novel by Thomas Pynchon, interpreted by Paul Thomas Anderson: "Do you need to use the facilities... do you need to use the bathroom before touring the facilities". Editing by Leslie Jones. Great film, one of Anderson's best.

Gordon Parks Shaft’s Big Score! 1972
(rewatch)
This was on television often in the late 80s/early 90s. Spent many late nights watching this as a kid. Not so crazy about it this time around, but has good moments and a wonderful aesthetic.

5.19.2022
Stacy Peralta Powell Peralta: Public Domain 1988
(rewatch)
Classic.

Robert Aldrich The Big Knife 1955
(rewatch)
Essential.

Dennis Hopper Easy Rider 1969
(rewatch)

Bringing in the aesthetic of the 1970s with Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, Karen Black, Terry Southern, Jack Nicholson, Warren Finnerty, Phil Spector, László Kovács and Donn Cambern. Ending is tragic, but so beautifully shot (László Kovács) and edited (Donn Cambern), it really leaves you speechless.

5.20.2022
Joel Coen Fargo 1996
(rewatch)
My wife and I are watching comfort movies, this one in 4K. I repeat lines from this film seems like everyday.

5.21.22
David Fincher Se7en 1995
(rewatch)
Stretching the concept a bit, but another late night comfort movie. Comfort for some at least, including myself.

5.22.2022
Jeffrey Eger & Miriam Eger Sonambients: The Sound Sculpture of Harry Bertoia 1971

Spent the day with Jeffrey Eger, looking at his collection of books, and he asked me if I liked Harry Bertoia. I said hell yes, especially his sound work. He gave me a copy of documentary on the subject, which is a really great film.

John Ford The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962
(rewatch)
Essential 4K rewatch. First Ford film in this format I believe. Hopefully The Searchers to follow.

Chloé Zhao Nomadland 2020
(rewatch)
Essential 4K rewatch.

5.23.2022
Miloš Forman Loves of a Blonde 1965
(rewatch)
A film that has left an extreme memory for this viewer, but only a second time viewing. Strong early work by the master Forman.

5.24.2022
Donald Glover Atlanta Season Two: Barbershop 2022
Hiro Murai Atlanta Season Two: Teddy Perkins 2022

Some really great episodes scattered through Donald Glover's show Atlanta, especially these two masterpieces: Barbershop with Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry) attempting to get a haircut from barber Bibby (Robert S. Powell), and Teddy Perkins with Darius (LaKeith Stanfield) attempting to get a free piano with multi-colored keys from rich eccentric Teddy Perkins (Danny Glover). Both episodes, and some others in the series, are departure episodes both poetic and nonsensical, not unlike the Barry episode ronny/lily with the freak kid and father. Really powerful narratives in this season with Sisyphean struggles, unlike much of what is normally encountered in current television. Great stuff.

Stuart Baird U.S. Marshals 1998
Relates to the 1993 film The Fugitive with Tommy Lee Jones and crew.

5.25.2022
Kasper Collin I Called Him Morgan 2016
Doc on Lee Morgan.

5.28.2022
John G. Avildsen Rocky 1976
(rewatch)
Essential 4K rewatch.

Jimmy Wang Yu One-Armed Boxer 1972
Raw and beautiful martial arts film.

Richard Linklater SubUrbia 1996

Steven Soderbergh The Limey 1999
(rewatch)

Essential 4K rewatch. Fragmented structure can be either jarring or refreshing, depending on your mood. This time I found it quite nice, last time a few years ago I think it annoyed me slightly. Love the Bill Duke part "There's one thing I don't understand. The thing I don't understand is every motherfuckin' word you're saying".

Harold Ramis Groundhog Day 1993
(rewatch)
Essential 4K rewatch.

5.30.2022
Dario Argento The Cat o’ Nine Tails 1971

Had not seen this Argento film before, perhaps my favorite after Suspira. Apparently it was Argento's least favorite film. Too Hollywood for him. I loved the thriller aspect of it, and some great performances, great film.

5.31.2022
Dario Argento The Cat o’ Nine Tails 1971
Watched with Arrow films commentary with Alan Jones and Kim Newman.

Martin Scorsese GoodFellas 1990
(rewatch)
Essential 4K rewatch. RIP Ray Liotta.

6.1.2022
Tom McCarthy Stillwater 2021
Not a bad Matt Damon film.

6.2.2022
Penelope Spheeris Suburbia 1983
(rewatch)
Could watch this film over and over.

Michel Franco Sundown 2021
Solid film with Tim Roth as Londoner hanging out in Mexico, drinking and having sex.

Sergio Sollima Revolver 1973
Oliver Reed speaking Italian. Not great but worth watching.

6.3.2022
David Lynch The Straight Story 1999
(rewatch)
Imprint Films blu ray. Underrated Lynch film.

John McNaughton Wild Things 1998

Florida Neo-Noir from John Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer McNaughton. Not on the level as other Floridian Neo-noirs like 92 in the Shade, Night Moves, or Body Heat. Two songs by Morphine, one of the worst bands or the 1990s, turned a mediocre film into a real honey bucket. God I hate the band Morphine!

6.6.2022
Kevin Macdonald Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang 2016

Anthony Mann The Tin Star 1957
(rewatch)
Essential Mann western with Henry Fonda, Anthony Perkins, Lee Van Cleef, John McIntire, and Russell Simpson. Shot by Loyal Griggs.

Tom Surgal Fire Music 2018
History of Free Jazz from Ornette Coleman to FMP.

Adam Wingard The Guest 2014
Ex soldier David (played by Dan Stevens) comes to a small town to wreak havoc in a Bourne Identity style, but more sadistic.

6.7.2022
Jonathan Glazer Under the Skin 2013
(rewatch)
Best Glazer film, would watch more often if its bleakness did not overwhelm. Pure magic.

Martin McDonagh Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2017
(rewatch)

Essential film for enthusiasts of Frances McDormand, Caleb Landry Jones (understated performance), Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Abbie Cornish, Lucas Hedges, Zeljko Ivanek, Peter Dinklage, Clarke Peters, and John Hawkes.

6.11.2022
JG Thirwell & Sten Backman Silver Mantis 2019
Live at Tinker Street Cinema in Woodstock NY.

6.12.2022
Peter Crane Hunted 1972
From the Indicator Films boxet The Pemini Organisation, the short lived independent British film production company, active between 1972 and 1974. This short film stars Edward Woodward (The Wicker Man) and June Ritchie.

Richard Franklin Cloak & Dagger 1984
Classic 80s film I had never seen, but did now via Vinegar Syndrome, in a lovely 4K box set. Directed by the great Australian director Richard Franklin (Road Games, Patrick) whom has cited Hitch as his major influence. From the story by Cornell Woolrich, and written for the screen by Tom Holland (the writer not actor). Solid performances by Henry Thomas, Dabney Coleman, Michael Murphy, William Forsythe. John McIntire, Jeanette Nolan, Eloy Casados, and Tim Rossovich.

6.13.2022
Cary Joji Fukunaga No Time to Die 2021

This is one of those films where the cast (with the exception of Daniel Craig and Jeffrey Wright) turns a mediocre film into a total piece of hogwash. Some of the worst actors working today, dominating the scene and getting paid to stink up films, are here in a completely unnecessary manner and given carte blanche. One wonders if on opening night millions of people were throwing up in their mouths a bit from the theme song? It is nothing but unspeakable, just an unspeakable bit of rotgut, like the Malek accent. Just completely disagreeable. Headache inducing. Frightful. Bad-tempered. Churlish. Filthy. Disobliging. As rotten as a dishonorable melon farmer. In fact, the film is completely without honor and in fact possibly has no value?

Bill Hader & Alec Berg Barry season three 2022

Last episode and rewatch of various episodes from the season. Was interested in but not super excited about this season initially, but in episode six (crazy motorcycle episode, a trippy aesthetic experience when motorcycles are flying through traffic) the show starts getting seriously great, up there or surpassing previous seasons. Totally abstract European art film, with the Hader/Berg black comedy, nonsense mixed with Fellini or Tarkovsky, with a bits of extreme violence to fuck things up. Ends beautifully with last episode.

6.14.2022
Chad Stahelski John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum 2019
(rewatch)
Near essential 4K rewatch. Very tired Wick moves about the city trying to stay alive. Great film, few annoying actors/characters that bring it down, but overall amazing film. Mark Dacascos is so great in this.

Alfred Hitchcock Shadow of a Doubt 1943
(rewatch)
Essential 4K rewatch. One of the Hitch films you just can't stop watching. Something about the way he does Santa Rosa, the quality of light captured by Joseph A. Valentine, the bizarre conversations between Henry Travers and Hume Cronyn, the basically incestuousness interactions between Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotton. None better.

6.15.2022
Nicholas Ray The Lusty Men 1952
(rewatch)
Once a year rewatch of this peripheral western classic. Stars Susan Hayward, Robert Mitchum, and Arthur Kennedy. I spent my 20s watching Arthur Kennedy in roles where he was closer to middle age, and it is always a bit strange seeing him here as the good looking wet behind the ears rodeo rider turned dirty dog Wes Merritt. Great performances by all, and one of Ray's best. Based on King of the Cowpokes by Claude Stanush and screenplay by Horace McCoy (They Shoot Horses, Don't They?) and David Dortort, and shot by the great Lee Garmes (Hawks' Scarface, Shanghai Express, Morocco, Duel in the Sun, Nightmare Alley, Portrait of Jennie, and The Desperate Hours). Deep pleasure to watch.

6.16.2022
John Dahl The Last Seduction 1994
(rewatch)
Classic 90s Neo-Noir. Not much better in this area of film.

6.17.2022
John Dahl The Last Seduction 1994
(rewatch)
Two nights in a row watching this film.

6.20.2022
Clint Eastwood Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil 1997
(rewatch)

Matthew Weiner Mad Men season one 2007
(rewatch)

6.21.2022
Peter Crane Assassin 1973
From Indicator's Pemini Organisation boxset. British mercenary film stars Ian Hendry as a sleazy killer arriving into town to do a bit of dirty business. Ian Hendry familiar as the almost equally sleazy Martin in Antonioni's The Passenger. Something about his visual aesthetic suits these rolls.

a record of consumption, part six (being a new film journal)

4.2.2022
Kwon Oh-seung Midnight 2021
Korean serial killer film.

Woody Allen Hannah and Her Sisters 1986
(rewatch)
"I'm going through a period where I can't be around people" (Max von Sydow).

4.3.2022
King Hu Come Drink with Me 1966

Martin Scorsese The Last Waltz 1978
(rewatch)
Essential 4k rewatch, via Criterion. First time I heard The Band, was watching this film, and remember watching the 116 minute film 3 times in 2 days.

Tim Hunter River’s Edge 1986
(rewatch)
Very Lynchian in atmosphere. Shot by Frederick Elmes, whom worked with David Lynch, Ang Lee, Charlie Kaufman, Jim Jarmusch, and Todd Solondz. For the role of drug and mannequin man Feck, Tim Hunter had wanted John Lithgow, but the part was also offered to Harry Dean Stanton whom declined it, but luckily passed the script on to his friend, Dennis Hopper.

4.4.2022
Martin Scorsese The Last Waltz 1978
(rewatch)
Scorsese & Robbie Robertson commentary.

Eliza Hittman Forever’s Gonna Start Tonight 2011

Kasi Lemmons Eve’s Bayou 1997
Lemmons directorial debut, Southern Gothic film about a prosperous Creole-American community in Louisiana. Lemmons is known as Ardelia Mapp in Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs and Bernadette Walsh in Bernard Rose's Candyman. Great film.

Clio Barnard Dark River 2017

4.5.2022
Thomas Vinterberg Another Round 2020
(rewatch)
Stunningly beautiful film, up there with Vinterberg's The Celebration and The Hunt. Love the Yves Klein ending.

Johan Renck Chernobyl 2019
(rewatch)
Essential 4K rewatch.
 
4.6.2022
Alexander Payne Sideways 2004
(rewatch)
Once a year rewatch.

4.9.2022
Jon Watts Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021
Dizzying layers of meta.

4.10.2022
Philip Kaufman Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1978
(rewatch)
Essential 4K rewatch.

4.11.2022
Peter Sollett Metal Lords 2022

Nicolas Winding Refn Pusher II: With Blood on My Hands 2004
Refn is the master of blissfully pushing viewers to their extremes, a euphoric use of music, and giving nudity and sex an almost offensive quality.  Mads Mikkelsen gets quite heavy in the film, beautiful performance. Soundtrack by Peter Peter (Pusher, Bleeder, Pusher 3, and Valhalla Rising).

4.13.2022
James Whale  The Invisible Man 1933
(rewatch)
Essential 4K rewatch.

Woody Allen Alice 1990
(rewatch)
Watching this for William Hurt, film not as great as I remembered, not bad though.

Ridley Scott Blade Runner 1982
(rewatch)
Essential 4K rewatch.

4.15.2022
Tony Maylam White Rock 1977
Documentary on the  XII Olympic Winter Games Innsbruck 1976 hosted by James Coburn. Beautifully shot.

4.17.2022
Denis Villeneuve Dune 2021
(rewatch)
Third time with this film, this time on 4K disc, much better sound and image this way, great film.

4.23.2022
Theodore Melfi St. Vincent 2014
(rewatch)
Traveling lately for work and family so less time in the dark enjoying plato's cave, got to sneak in a rewatch of St. Vincent. Not speaking of the lusterless musician, but the Naomi Watts / Bill Murray / Melissa McCarthy film.

4.24.2022
Joel Edgerton The Gift 2015
(rewatch)

5.1.2022
Bertrand Tavernier Round Midnight 1986
Stunning Tavernier film with the great tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon as the fictional Dale Turner and François Cluzet as Francis Borler, in a fiction film loosely based on the relationship between French author Francis Paudras and Bud Powell. Turner's character also uses Lester Young as inspiration. We also see Herbie Hancock. Martin Scorsese, Philippe Noiret, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, Alain Sarde, Billy Higgins, John McLaughlin, Ron Carter, Tony Williams, and Freddie Hubbard. Gordon's performance is beyond words.

Matt Reeves The Batman 2022
Beautifully shot by Greig Fraser (Dune, Killing Them Softly, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Bright Star) and edited by William Hoy and Tyler Nelson. Not a great film, but hard to not be impressed by its visual qualities.

Michael Winner Death Wish II 1982
(rewatch)
4K from Vinegar Syndrome. Not exactly essential 4K rewatch, but a great example of early 80s sleazy cinema that takes it a bit too far in making the viewer feel uncomfortable, and needing to take a shower to get the grime off, but not necessarily in a bad way. Part of the appeal for this film is the gritty krautish soundtrack by Jimmy Page.

Paul King Paddington 2 2017
(rewatch)
Didn't hit me much on a second viewing, but certainly not without interest. High Grant gives great performance.

5.2.2022
David Lynch Mulholland Drive 2001
(rewatch)
Essential 4K rewatch. Second time this year, first via Criterion Collection 4K, now StudioCanal. Stunning package and presentation. Love the Edward Hopper inspired package design.

5.3.2022
Sam Jones Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off 2022

5.4.2022
Stacy Peralta Powell Peralta: The Search for Animal Chin 1987
(rewatch)
Middle school favorite.

Stacy Peralta Bones Brigade: An Autobiography 2012

Buzz Kulik The Hunter 1980

Norman Jewison In the Heat of the Night 1967
(rewatch)
Essential 4K rewatch via Kino Lorber.

5.5.2022
Mike Leigh Meantime 1983
(rewatch)
Huge Mike Leigh fan, but only second time seeing this. Classic for lovers of his work, and the work of Tim Roth, Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, and Phil Daniels.

5.6.2022
Robert Eggers The Northman 2022
For my wife and myself, this was one of the most anticipated films of the year. Not huge huge Eggers fans, but certainly liked his other two films. After the credits ended, and my wife with a big smile said "how did you like it", I wasn't sure what to say. It took a couple of days to sink in, reflecting on it in my mind, for me to respond back to her "yes I liked the film, very good, would like to watch it again pronto". A few things that confused me initially was that the film aesthetically look, at times, like a video game, which was a bit off-putting. Also the story can be quite subtle and the references to Shakespeare needed some time to sink in. In a time when many Indie filmmakers are going out and making some of the worst piece of garbage super hero films, it is refreshing that Eggers makes a visionary big budget film, with layers of meaning, and performances worthy of the actors. Good stuff.

5.7.2022
Ivan Passer Born to Win 1971
(rewatch)
Great blu ray presentation from Fun City Editions. Love this film.

Chad Stahelski John Wick: Chapter 2 2017
(rewatch)
Essential 4K rewatch.

5.12.2022
Rick Charnoski, Buddy Nichols The Tony Alva Story 2019

Justin Kurzel Nitram 2021
Caleb Landry Jones won best actor at Cannes for this film. No f'en joke.

5.14.2022
Robert Eggers The Lighthouse 2019
(rewatch)
Post The Northman, getting into some Eggers rewatches. My favorite of his films, an absurdist aesthetic masterpiece in the tradition of Samuel Beckett, David Lynch, Krzysztof Penderecki, Harold Pinter, and Maya Deren.

5.15.2022
Alain Corneau Tous les matins du monde / All the Mornings of the World 1991
(rewatch)
Essential film for fans of Jordi Savall, Marin Marais, Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe, and the French school of bass-viol composers in general.

Michelangelo Antonioni Blow-Up 1966
(rewatch)
I could spend days watching the park scenes in this film on repeat, or even just having the sound going.

Dario Argento Profondo rosso / Deep Red 1975
(rewatch)
David Hemmings double feature. Despite not being a fan of this film, the Goblin soundtrack is quite memorable and comedic accidental truck killing at the end is perfect. Looks beautiful in the Arrow 4k Dolby Vision release.

Sebastian Meise Great Freedom 2021
Prison film with Franz Rogowski.

5.16.2022
Stacy Peralta Powell Peralta: The Bones Brigade Video Show 1984
(rewatch)

Stacy Peralta Future Primitive: Bones Brigade Video II 1985
(rewatch)
Both childhood favs.

5.17.2022
Adam Leon Italian Studies 2021
non mi è piaciuto.

Various Television :

Reinaldo Marcus Green We Own This City 2022
Has moments of interest, but the story moving all around doesn't really work. Jamie Hector really stands out, great actor.

Antonio Campos The Staircase 2022
Couldn't finish.

Brian Watkins Outer Range 2022
Was not particularly enjoying this show, and then found the last two episodes, and especially the ending to be too problematic. "Too problematic" seems to be my words for a lot of recent television, where moments in the show are quite good (like the actors, or the music), but an overall feeling of disappointment creeps in.

Kogonada & Justin Chon Pachinko 2022
In general, wasn't crazy about the show, but Justin Chon's Episode 4 was pretty good, especially in the way The Cure’s In Between Days (played live by Luamel) playfully interacts with the end of the episode.

Alec Berg and Bill Hader Barry season three 2022
Entertaining. Agree with my screening partner when see says "I sure miss the acting school".