msicism

Immanence and Transcendence

Saint Maud (Rose Glass, 2019)

It's admirable how Saint Maud splits the difference between the au courant stylings of Elevated Horror and a fairly traditional psyc...

The 39 Steps (Alfred Hitchcock, 1939)

Watching these Hitchcock films recently, I noticed something I was doing somewhat unconsciously. As I logged them onto Letterboxd, I found myself refraining from automatically clicking on the ...

Elevating the Gallos / Vague Hollywood Memories

Well, I certainly enjoyed the unpredicted, 20-minute hailstorm that just happened. (Between pea-sized and golf-ball-sized). This planet is so fucked, etc.

But that's not the only bizarre occurrence...

Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)

"I got your double espresso right here, pal!"

This one was tricky. Although I usually try to formulate my thoughts on a film without reading a lot of outside criticism, I needed a hand wit...

Destello Bravío (Mighty Flash) (Ainhoa Rodríguez, 2021)

Occasionally you come across a film that is undeniably impressive but not what you'd call "good." Destello Bravío is extremely auteur-forward; there's nary a shot or a scene that does not aggre...

Lifeboat (Alfred Hitchcock, 1944)

[NOTE: I have decided to focus only on Hitchcock this month. I will turn my attention to Satyajit Ray in May.]

A fascinating film centered on social dynamics, Lifeboat nevertheless seems t...

Ste. Anne (Rhayne Vermette, 2021)

It is a very delicate thing indeed to forge a hybrid between narrative and experimental cinema. Too often the balance tips too far to one side or the other. This can result in avant-garde techniques bein...

Friday Quiz: Drug or Corporation?

1.

2.

3.

2021-04-09 19:08:46 +0000 UTC View Post

RIP to a Real One

That's how ruff ryders roll.

Waxing Nostalgic

Mousing around today, I found this 1993 review from the Austi...

Surface / Depth

The I and S of Lives (Kevin Jerome Everson, 2021)

Everson's films are a lot of things. They constitute an ongoing cinematic prose-poem about contemporary Black life. They could be ...

ACE! (Love has no borders, nationalies, or genders.)

Happy Asexual Awareness Day! ROCK 'N ROLL!!

Taming the Garden (Salomé Jashi, 2021)

Recently here in Texas we had a deep freeze, with record-low temperatures that surpassed anything on record since the 1980s. In addition to skidding cars and busted pipes, we lost some plant life. At my ...

A Paradox

A Glitch in the Matrix (Rodney Ascher, 2021)

I've seen three features and a short from Ascher, but it wasn't until I was halfway through A Glitch in the Matrix that I felt...

Species (Roger Donaldson, 1995)

A few random notes on Species, as we move through the film pictorially, in reverse.

1. Interesting, and a bit disconcerting, to see two Oscar winners cavorting with the likes of Michael Ma...

My Brother's Wedding (Charles Burnett, 1983)

It's a bit of a mess, but it's by no means a hot mess. My Brother's Wedding has narrative bones that are a bit stronger (not to say sturdier) than those of Killer of Sheep. But this doe...

April Auteur: Halfsies!

So rather than have a fourth vote, which would most likely resolve nothing, I am going to split my attention between Alfred Hitchcock and Satyajit Ray this month. This will probably mean that I delve int...

Krzysztof Kieslowski: Short Nonfiction Films

I could justifiably select Kieslowski to be the Auteur of the Month at some point. I've only seen three of his features (Red, Blue, and The Double Life of Veronique) and I have...

FINAL RUNOFF: APRIL AUTEUR

Who's it gonna be?

Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property (Charles Burnett, 2003)

Along with The Final Insult, this PBS documentary on the legacy of Nat Turner is the great discovery of my deep-dive into Burnett's career. (I still have one to go, My Brother's Wedding...

The Glass Shield (Charles Burnett, 1994)

How responsible is Harvey Weinstein for butchering The Glass Shield? I must admit, compared to the man's other crimes, this doesn't seem quite as pressing a question as it did 25 years ago, but ...

April Director: The Runoff

I've decided to throw every director who polled 10% or above in this runoff. Let's see how this goes.

April's Director of the Month

I still have a couple of major Burnetts to cruise through, but April approaches. So... Presented this month in order of number of films seen, then alphabetical.

All Light, Everywhere (Theo Anthony, 2021)

In these post-Marker, post-Farocki times, it's hard to imagine why someone would make a normal documentary, with structure and argumentation, when it's both easier and more theoretically correct to assem...

I Beg to Differ

A Zed & Two Noughts (Peter Greenaway, 1985)

I watched this for a project that asked writers to revisit films that were formative for our burgeoning cinephilia, the idea of course being that we have changed, our tastes have evolved, and a film from...

Short(er) Films by Charles Burnett

Several Friends (1969)

A meandering portrait of Black life in South Central L.A., Several Friends could be seen as a dry run for Killer of Sheep, altho...

Petite Maman (Céline Sciamma, 2021)

Lest we forget, Céline Sciamma is a prolific screenwriter, and aside from her own five features she has written scripts for films that, in their surface, appear quite different from her own films. One o...

Warming by the Devil's Fire (Charles Burnett, 2003)

Martin Scorsese's PBS series "The Blues" featured seven segments, directed by seven different directors. And in what can charitably be called an odd choice, Burnett was the only Black person among them. ...

Bad Film Re-Poll, with apologies

So my "situation" with Rebecca H. fell through. So could I prevail upon you to vote again?