Saturday, February 22, 2014
Friday, February 21, 2014
R.I.P. Bob Casale
Eulogy:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-devo-guitarist-bob-casale-dead-20140218,0,4188114.story#axzz2tzEvqTaZ
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First Lines: Raymond Carver - Where I'm Calling From
J.P. and I are on the front porch at Frank Martin's drying-out facility.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Rampart (2011)
Set in 1999 Los Angeles, veteran police officer Dave Brown, the last of the renegade cops, works to take care of his family, and struggles for his own survival.
Above-standard cop story with a good cast is basically about a low-life slowly becoming aware of what his misdeads lead to.
Maltin**: "James Ellroy and director Moverman, who cowrote the screenplay, paint a bleak picture of their "hero" that only gets bleaker as the movie goes on and give us nothing to take away when it's all over. What's more, Moverman shoots key moments in such a distracting way that it's hard to focus on their content. Disappointing reunion for Harrelson (who's great), Foster, and Moverman, who made THE MESSENGER together."
New Stuff: Nosferatu - Phantom der Nacht
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Last time I saw this movie was in 1979; I want to check it out again, especially for the soundtrack and the opening sequence in the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo.
Frances Ha (2012)
A young woman in New York, who doesn't really have an apartment, apprentices for a dance company, and throws herself headlong into her dreams, even as their possibility dwindles.
Lively slice-of-life story successfully recreated in black-and white Nouvelle Vague style manages to entertain, and the lead performance is a treat.
Maltin***: "Effervescent portrait of a free spirit...Unpretentious b&w film, heavily scored by the music of Georges Delerue, pays unabashed homage to filmy of the French New Wave."
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
First Lines: Anne Tyler - Breathing Lessons
Maggie and Ira Moran had to go to a funeral in Deer Lick, Pennsylvannia.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
The Night Listener (2006)
In the midst of his crumbling relationship, a radio show host begins
speaking to his biggest fan, a young boy, via the telephone, but when
questions about the boy's identity come up, the host's life is thrown
into chaos.
Although the movie has atmosphere, good cinematography and a good lead performances by Robin Williams, it is slow-paced and a bit stodgy and the mysterious plot makes you wonder, what David Lynch could have achieved with the same novel.
Maltin**: "The nascent intrigue in this adaptation of Armistead Maupin's novel never bears fruit here; a gloomy, unsatisfying film that thwarts a talented cast."
