February 2010
60 posts
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My Year In Movies #10: Daywatch
I’m not sure if I liked this film. I’m not sure if I disliked it. I can say for sure that it had the highest ratio of “Wow, that’s cool” to “Oh what the fuck?” of any film I’ve seen since Shoot ‘Em Up.
So there’s that.
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This is a song by my first actual band, Willis. We...
January 2010
47 posts
The Elizabethan definition of “rogues and vagabonds” included:
… All persons calling themselves Schollers going about begging, all Seafaring men pretending losses of their Shippes or goods on the sea going about the Country begging, all idle persons going about in any Country either begging or using any subtile cafte or unlawful Games … comon Players of Interludes and...
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This is a song by my first actual band, Willis. We...
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“Between safety and adventure, I choose adventure.”
– Craig Ferguson
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This is a song by my first actual band, Willis. We...
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My Year In Movies #9: Thirteen Days
“We were eyeball to eyeball, and the other fella just blinked.”
The United States (and the world) came supremely close to nuclear annihilation in October of 1962. Thirteen Days chronicles the events and decisions that almost lead to World War III, and it is as gripping and as tense as you could imagine it. Kevin Costner (who seems to enjoy being in movies about JFK) brings his...
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My Year In Movies #8: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Batman is awesome. The end.
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This is a song by my first actual band, Willis. We...
“One of these days I’m going to cut you into little pieces!”
– Pink Floyd
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My Year In Movies #7: Amelie
I’ve seen this movie before, so there won’t be much I have to say about it now. Suffice to say, Audrey Tatou is amazingly cute, and I enjoy the film very much.
This movie is all about the details. Everyth character has their idiosyncrasies listed and detailed, whether they come into play in the plot or not. The coincidences outlined in the plot, and Amelie’s reactions with the...
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My Year In Movies #6: Brief Interviews With...
David Foster Wallace’s book Brief Interviews with Hideous Men was a collection of unrelated short stories, many of which were structured as a series of interviews of which only one side is seen. The rest of the book is comprised of formally inventive and experimentally structured pieces. As such, it is unadaptable.
John Krasinski tried though. Oh, how he tried. And honestly, it’s...
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My Year in Movies #5: My Winnipeg
Guy Maddin is a strange dude.
My Winnipeg is a pseudo-documentary about his attempts to escape his hometown of Winnipeg, and his exploration of the rather strange and bizarre stories behind the city. (I say “pseudo-documentary” because while I’ve seen “mockumentary” used to describe it, I feel that term implies a very specific approach that Maddin doesn’t use...
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This is a song by my first actual band, Willis. We...
“Wrong, sir! Wrong! Under section 37B of the contract signed by him, it states...”
– Willy Wonka
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This is a song by my first actual band, Willis. We...
1 tag
“Royal O’Reilly Tenenbaum (1932-2001) Died Tragically Rescuing His Family...”
– The Royal Tenenbaums
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My Year In Movies #4: Sky Captain and the World of...
A precursor in shooting style to movies like Sin City and 300, with its reliance on green screen and CGI, Sky Captain tries ever so hard to rise above its influences and origins, and, unfortunately, falls flat on its face. Director/writer Kerry Conran obviously wanted to make something which hearkened back to 1940s serials, like Star Wars and Indiana Jones before it, but he got the words right...
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My Year In Movies #3: Primer
I’m not entirely sure I know what just happened in this film, and I’m pretty sure I love it.
Time travel as a conceit is hard to get right in any sort of medium, and very few movies have come anywhere close to an elegant solution to its inherent problems. Back to the Future is the only example I can think of right now which doesn’t play fast and loose with its own rules, but...
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This is a Jonathan Coulton cover I did a few...
Watchjosephmedwards:
Take Today - “Changes” (live 12.26.09)
That’s me playing the bass guitar, being all awesome and stuff.
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My Year In Movies #2: For All Mankind
A documentary on NASA’s moon landings, For All Mankind is composed entirely of existing footage and soundclips from the time, along with some audio interviews with the men who were there. It’s interesting if, like me, you are a giant nerd for films/programs about the space race (The Right Stuff, Apollo 13, From The Earth To The Moon, etc.), but it also offers nothing new or any angle...
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My Year In Movies #1: Following
Christopher Nolan’s first feature, Following, is a neo-noir, shot entirely in black and white, in which the unnamed protagonist embarks in abberrant behavior, gets involved in even deeper shenanigans, and eventually gets fucked over. (That sound about right? Ok then.)
Seriously though, it’s an obvious “first movie.” It suffers from a slight sense of “Ooh,...
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My Year In Movies: Overview
OK, so: my year in movies. I’m starting this series of posts to run through the end of 2010 until January 18th 2011, wherein I write up small pieces on every movie I see. Which, just based on the last weeks activities in that regard, will be a VERY LARGE AMOUNT. It will include any movie I see in any context (theatre, dvd, netflix instant watch, television, etc.), but only if I watch the...
I think I want to do a “movie a week for a year” 52-part writing series, but I’d already be behind schedule. Which is not that unusual.
i wonder if when spider man goes to concerts and...
prologic:
(via imightbestarlor)
Nah, Spider Man only goes to indie concerts and sits around and “feels the music.” It’s uncool to get excited an make hand gestures.
So when exactly DOES it become the future?
“The Monarch has his hands”
– “The Monarch has his hands in many sinister soups!”
My life as a shopping list.
Jeff: What if I panic? What if I say an accidental word?
Steve: An accidental word?
Jeff: Well, there's pressure, you know. The wrong word could just pop out of my mouth by accident.
Steve: Like what?
Jeff: Nipples?
Steve: Why would you say nipples in an interview?
Jeff: Because, I've just put the idea in my head, haven't I? Now I've got a flashing sign in my brain saying NIPPLES NIPPLES NIPPLES.
Steve: Alright, why nipples? Why not, thighs?
Jeff: Oh great, thanks a lot! Now I've got thighs in my head, too! How could you say thighs to a person with an interview?
Steve: Sorry.
Jeff: I mean, why don't you just throw in vulva? VULVA.
Patrick: Evening boys. What's the matter with him?
Steve: He's got female body parts multiplying in his brain.
Patrick: Excellent.
