Jason's Blog, page 120

The Great Gumby

Gumby

Plan 9 From Outer Space

Down by Iron Man

Down by Law: It's a sad and beautiful world. Just like Stranger Than Paradise it gives a European look on America. The film was made in the 80s but has a timeless look. It could be from the 50s or from yesterday. I like that it takes its time to show boredom. Half an hour of the film takes place in a small cell. Also that Jarmusch just skips the actual escape, a sequence that could have been milked for tension, as if he just didn't find that interesting.

Iron Man 3: Yes, I went to see it. Why? Why, oh Lord? I don't know. It got good reviews and I liked the first one. It has some good stuff: The Air Force One passengers rescue, Iron Man fighting henchmen with only part of his Iron Man suit and the Mandarin reveal. But as a whole it's kind of tiresome. The climax of the film is so long and dragged out that half way through it you get bored. And when the story is over, end the film. Don't go on for another five minutes.

I saw Down By Law when it originally came out. It has images that has stuck in my head. Why is it that I saw Iron Man a couple of days ago and already I have problems remembering it. There are no really memorable images. Is it because of the number of images in the film, the fast editing? The scene of Benigni telling how he ended up in jail lasts minutes. Does the length of the shot and the static camera make it engrave itself in your brain?

Rain...

Miller's Crossing

Gangsters walk in the woods looking for a hat. Starring Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney and John Turturro, written and directed by the Coen brothers.

What's the rumpus? It's still the Coen brothers' best film. It might be fairly low budget, but it looks great. It has both the small moments and the big setpieces, and a beautifully constructed script that is endlessly quotable. I was just speculatin' about a hypothesis. But was it even nominated for an Oscar? Nuts! Shame on the Academy. Look into your heart. Eddie Dane is a great bad guy and Jon Polito as Johnny Caspar is strangely sympathetic, almost running off with the film. Always put one in the brain. Re-watching it, you notice small details, like the number of times Verna says "heart". A masterpiece, but if I'd known we were gonna cast our feelings into words, I'd've memorized the Song of Solomon.

Mutiny on the Bounty

I've only seen parts of the Clark Gable and Mel Gibson versions. Apparently every generation gets its own retelling of this story. Doesn't that mean that there's time for a new one, and if so is there any other director than Terrence Malick that should get the job?
It's a bit hard to get past Marlon Brando's attempt at a British accent, and he's an odd choice for the part. Okay, there is some brooding involved in the Fletcher Christian role, but he never really gets to do much Marlon Brandoing. Maybe he just didn't care at this point. It's a shame that the film version of On The Road never happened, with Brando as Neal Cassady and Montgomery Clift in the Jack Kerouac part. Even censored, it could have been interesting.

Cigarette 2.0

Oh la la

drawn by Charles Berberian

Mummy and Girl