Rob Christopher's Blog, page 93
December 23, 2020
3 things about Lulu Wang’s THE FAREWELL
The Farewell [2019]
1. Professional crier.
2. She pulls up her shirt, revealing the cupping marks on her back.
3. Outside the window of her hotel room, a plume of cigarette smoke dissolves in the air.
Rob’s Best of 2020
Not necessarily released in 2020, these were nevertheless some of the songs I listened to all year long: a personal time capsule of the past twelve months.
December 21, 2020
3 things about Billy Wilder’s THE APARTMENT
The Apartment [1960]
1. Strand of leftover spaghetti on the tennis racket. He wraps it around his finger.
2. On her way out, she deposits a dime on the desk.
3. Key to the executive washroom.
December 19, 2020
3 things about George Cukor’s HOLIDAY
Holiday [1938]
1. Drinking champagne out of a trophy.
2. The way Lew Ayers says, “I’ll be–here.”
3. She closes her eyes and presses an elevator button.
December 16, 2020
3 things about Chantal Akerman’s GOLDEN EIGHTIES
Golden Eighties [1986]
1. Scissors as rhythm track.
2. Screwing on the stairs.
3. We finally get outside at the very end.
December 14, 2020
3 things about Leo McCarey’s THE AWFUL TRUTH
The Awful Truth [1937]
1. A ready-to-go eggnog cart.
2. “I don’t know what to say.”
“If you leave now, you won’t have to say anything.”
3. Cuckoo clock.
December 13, 2020
3 things about Michael Curtiz’s WHITE CHRISTMAS
White Christmas [1954]
1. Dashing from Florida to Vermont. And then they get there and there’s no snow. Early global warming musical.
2. “Sisters” is gay enough the first time around; the second time, it’s like gay on top of gay.
3. A minstrel show number that, thankfully, has almost nothing to do with minstrel shows.
December 12, 2020
3 things about Alfred Hitchcock’s MARNIE
Marnie [1964]
1. “Don’t crowd me, lady. I’m fighting a powerful impulse to beat the hell out of you.”
2. She retreats somewhere deep inside herself and offers no resistance.
3. Rolled up newspaper as telescope.
December 6, 2020
3 things about David Lynch’s THE STRAIGHT STORY
The Straight Story [1999]
1. Grabber for $10.
2. Unexplained pack of dogs.
3. When he orders a beer, the bartender asks him, “What flavor?”
December 2, 2020
3 things about Terrence Malick’s A HIDDEN LIFE
A Hidden Life [2019]
1. She tries to comfort her. Mud-caked fingers on her head.
2. “Sign this, you’ll be free.”
“I am free now.”
“Then why am I here?”
3. A room entirely in black with a wet floor.
