Saturday, February 21, 2015
First Lines: Daniel Keyes - Flowers for Algernon
Dr Strauss says I shoud rite down what I think and remembir and evrey thing that happins to me from now on.
Rarely Heard: Steve Fisk - No 2nd Chance
Steve Fisk is mainly known and revered as the producer of a whole slew of now famous grunge bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, and many more. His solo work, however, hardly reveals his grunge background, but consists rather of very inventive and innovative studio manipulations, and is sometimes mindblowing. At least, I loved his 1987 solo album 448 Deathless Days.
From my library: Pauline Kael - Deeper Into Movies
Pauline Kael was the first film critic I got a notion for in my teens, and I started to collect all her books, mostly collections of her reviews from The New Yorker. You didn't always have to agree with her opinions, but her reviews were usually very long and extensive insights into the movies and it was simply a joy to join her on those journeys. Along the way she lead me to cherish The New Yorker, and I've always tried to purchase a copy, if I got my hands on one, which was extremely seldom here in Germany.
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
A depressed musician reunites with his lover, though their romance - which has already endured several centuries - is disrupted by the arrival of uncontrollable younger sister.
Somnambulant vampire tale is staged as an entertaining, but almost bleak reflection on today's civilization - from a deeply humanist perspective.
Maltin**: "Hip but terminally boring portrait...Intriguing at first, beautifully designed and well acted, but as writer-director Jarmusch portrays ennui he inspires a similar response from his aidience. Jarmusch devotees will probably disagree."
Friday, February 20, 2015
Alien³ (1992)
Ripley continues to be stalked by a savage alien, after her escape pod crashes on a prison planet.
Although it has a good premise, all the necessary ingredients and some great visual moments, this movie is from beginning to start incoherent, basically a total mess.
Halliwell (no star): "Grim, grey sequel that struggles, and fails, to add something new to the now familiar story."
Maltin**: "More-of-the-same sequel...Good performances, some scares, but a definite feeling of deja vu hangs over the proceedings."
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From my library: Jacques-Yves Cousteau & Frederic Dumas - The Silent World
As a kid I was a big Jacques Cousteau fan, not just of his TV documentaries; I also had (and still have) a large collection of his books. This is an early 1950s edition of his very first book.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Disgrace (2008)
After having an affair with a student, a Cape Town professor moves to the Eastern Cape, where he gets caught up in a mess of post-apartheid politics.
A slow-paced, subtle adaptation of J. M. Coetzee's novel that manes to retain its complex investigation of moral and political issues.
Maltin**1/2: "Provocative but not entirely satisfying drama...Poses as many questions (about South African culture) as it answers."
Deception (2008)
An accountant is introduced to a mysterious sex club known as The List by his lawyer friend, but in this new world, he soon becomes the prime suspect in a woman's disappearance and a multi-million dollar heist.
Atmospheric and fairly suspenseful thriller with an utterly predictable twist.
Maltin**: "A suspense movie made by people who've apparently never seen a suspense movie; painfully obvious from the word go."
Aliens (1986)
The planet from Alien (1979) has been colonized, but contact is lost so a rescue team with impressive firepower is sent to investigate.
Sensible sequel to a sci-fi classic and upping the ante on suspense and action, although there are some silly moments (alien mother riding the elevator).
Halliwell*: "Frightening but mechanical sequel with none of the half-assed poetry of the original."
Maltin***1/2: "Intense, exciting sequel directed by Cameron the same way he did THE TERMINATOR - once it gets going there's just no letup! Weaver is sensational in compelling leading role."
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