Recovery Time

I really needed a break after that Alphabet Film Festival. I managed to spend the entirety of this past week trying to catch up on season finales of my favorite shows. However, now that I have distanced myself from the marathon of movies that I experienced, I can finally share a few highlights:

• I think the movies that will most stay with me are Days of Heaven and sex, lies, and videotape.
• If I were ever to sacrifice my soul to become a film director, my only purpose would be to make good movies that begin with the letters "q" and "x".
• No, really, The Quiet Man sucked.
• Movies on the cusp of greatness: The Adventures of Robin Hood, Full Metal Jacket, His Girl Friday, Malcolm X and y tu mama tambien.
• The drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket is one of the funniest characters in cinema history.
• Holocaust movies can very easily lose their relevance.
• I really shouldn't have made someone or something eat it for every movie I watched. I quickly ran out of ideas.
• I reluctantly learned to enjoy and appreciate horror movies although I'm still not a horror junkie. Horror movies are still only good when suspense is built from an unknown opponent.
• Crime movies also don't age well. White Heat was good but not great yet it was still more timely than Little Caesar and Key Largo.
• Edward G. Robinson is still the shit though.
• I can't seem to hate movies very easily. That's a good sign, right?

I think by the final stretch, I was really exhausted. In the midst of my Woody Allen marathon now, I'm liking the idea of just enjoying a movie instead of having to watch it. Until the next ridiculous idea of mine!

Observe and Report...

...is a really fuckin' funny film. Alliteration. I saw it over a month ago and still think it's hilarious. I'll actually write about it when I see it again. It's already been pulled from local theaters because of how many people didn't like it. I'm not one of those.

I'm a hungerin...

WOW. There are a million words that could describe this movie and I'm terrible at thinking of one. I'm far behind on writing about recent movies but I just got back from this film (finally reaching the lowly screens of Nashville) and my eyes are still wide open. I have no idea what to do with myself right now. I will never look at food the same way and it will take awhile before I can watch a movie again (ok that's not true). Shit. I can't even function right now. Powerful. Devastating. Disturbing. Heartbreaking. Fucking awesome. That's my general consensus right now. I love when painters make movies. There's always a certain look to them and I'm always astounded by them. (Here's lookin' at you Mr. Schnabel)

I loved the fact that half the movie was silent. In fact, the only real sequence of dialogue is between Bobby and the priest and took far too long. I think I had gotten so used to no dialogue that I was tired of their conversation and just wanted another powerful silent scene. The scene where the SWAT team is brought in to beat the prisoners is one of the best shot, powerful scenes I have ever seen. And the tension that builds with them beating their shields? Crazy good. Man, I want to bottle the feelings I am experiencing right now from this movie and relive it every day. There are very few movies that last with me like this one. I just want to watch it again now. God, I can't even organize my thoughts. Bobby looked like Christian Bale from the Machinist. Creeeeepy. I never get grossed out or shocked from movies and yet again, Hunger surprised me.

His name is Steve McQueen. Steven fucking McQueen! You have earned my eternal gratitude.

Grade: A