Saturday, June 23, 2012

Off The Air

Hi there!

For the next week or so, 'Becca'lise and Craig will be occupied with moving to a new secret headquarters!  So for the meantime in-between time, please enjoy this lovely test pattern...


Friday, June 22, 2012

Gateway Drugs: Musicals

One of my biggest cinematic regrets is that I waited so long to see West Side Story. Lots of people (my wife included) have grown up with this film, I didn't see it until about two years ago. When I finally did see it I was blown away. Of course the songs are great, but what really got me was the sheer visual power of it all. The colors, the camera movement and the choreography are all unparalleled.

So what was it that kept me away from musicals for so long? Like many in my peer group I grew up on animated Disney films which by and large are musicals. I had no problem with those films. Maybe it had something to do with most musicals being 'old' movies, or maybe the fact that they were 'kissing movies'. I'm not really sure what it was. So what changed you ask? Well one fateful Halloween evening, teenage Craig decided to stay in and watch this movie he'd been hearing so much about from some of his more adventurous friends. It was a little film called The Rocky Horror Picture Show and it was airing on VH1! Nothing like bawdy humor and young Susan Sarandon in a bra to change a young man's opinion of a genre! Here's a list of some other movie musicals that might just open your mind...

The Blues Brothers
I've said it before and I'll say it again: THE BLUES BROTHERS IS THE GREATEST MOVIE MUSICAL EVER MADE! It has everything! Car chases, car crashes, a bazooka, explosions, dirty words, bumbling Nazis, and James Brown. What's not to love?

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Rhapsody in Blue

Say what you want about Disney, they've had some talented people working over there. For music week I wanted to write a post about the Fantasia films, and how beautifully they tell stories with just music and visuals.

But I woke up with an insane headache, so instead you are just getting a video of my favorite segment in Fantasia 2000. It's Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", with animation designed to imitate the work of famed artist/caricaturist Al Hirschfeld. Enjoy!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Soundtracks Of My Life: Jackie Brown


Yes I'm already doing another Tarantino soundtrack. So what? My column, my rules. And boy does this soundtrack rule. When Art Laboe dies, I want Quentin Tarantino to replace him. Sacrilege you say? Just give it a spin! This album is 100%, rock-solid proof that QT would take to the job like a duck to water. It's the ultimate slow-jam sampler. Perfect for all occasions: perfect for a slow cruise down the boulevard, perfect for a chill evening with your friends, and of course perfect for baby makin'! Simply owning this album will instantly turn you into the baddest ass on your block. And when you absolutely, positively got to kill every motherfucker in the room, accept no substitutes.

Key Tracks: Across 110th Street, Strawberry Letter 23, Midnight Confessions, Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Mix Tape: Cinema Songs

For years I've had a playlist on my iPod of "Cinema Songs". Not songs from films mind you, but rather songs about films. About actors, directors, genres, characters, techniques, etc. Seeing as it is music week here at the blog, I figured it was time to share this playlist with you dear readers. Please do enjoy and let me know if I'm missing any important classics. Maybe this could become a regular thing!
  1. Science Fiction/Double Feature by Richard O'Brien
  2. Cinemania by Stereo Total
  3. Matinee Idol by Rufus Wainwright
  4. The Right Profile by The Clash
  5. Candle in the Wind by Elton John
  6. Starlight by Lou Reed & John Cale
  7. Death of an Interior Decorator by Death Cab For Cutie
  8. The Union Forever by The White Stripes
  9. Godzilla by Blue Oyster Cult
  10. Papillon by Rilo Kiley
  11. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Deep Blue Something
  12. Clark Gable by The Postal Service
  13. Act Naturally by The Beatles
  14. Dreaming of Me by Depeche Mode
  15. What's Yr Take on Cassavetes by Le Tigre
  16. Experimental Film by They Might Be Giants
  17. Thriller by Michael Jackson
  18. Science Fiction/Double Feature (Reprise) by Richard O'Brien

Mozart Goes To The Movies

In film we hear a lot of the same classical pieces used time and time again. As avid audience members, we come to associate these pieces with specific moods or emotions. So if you happen to be an aspiring filmmaker looking to score your movie, here is an easy guide to picking the right piece for your scene. Or, if you're like me and like to have your own personal life soundtrack, this might come in handy for you too (wink wink).


If you want: Pretty and contemplative
Use: Piano Concerto No 5, Op. 73 ('Emperor') in E-Flat Major: II. Adagio un Poco Mosso by Ludwig Van Beethoven
As heard in: The King's Speech, Picnic at Hanging Rock

Monday, June 18, 2012

Soul-Mates

Whether you like it or not, certain songs belong to certain films. "As Time Goes By" belongs to Casablanca and "Scarborough Fair" belongs to The Graduate. Even if you had a previous relationship with the song, once it is married to the right image, the two become inseparable. They will be forever linked in your psyche. The following is a random list of songs that instantly put me in a theater seat.

Disclaimer: Some of these clips feature spoilers. Also, the Buffalo '66 clip is NSFW and will probably be pulled from Youtube soon.

Mean Streets
"Be My Baby" by The Ronettes


Double-Bill: Song Title Turned Film Title

Pretty In Pink and Weird Science

Friday, June 15, 2012

The Most Dangerous Game (1932)


An old review from my personal blog, Perfectly Swell.

 Yesterday I watched The Most Dangerous Game (1932) starring Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, and Leslie Banks. I watched this immediately after seeing Joel McCrea in Bird of Paradise with Delores Del Rio and Most Dangerous Game is way better. And at just over an hour, it gets to the point and doesn't drag its feet. Avid hunter Bob (Joel McCrea) gets shipwrecked and finds himself on an island inhabited by the bizarre piano-playing, hunting-obsessed Count Zaroff (Leslie Banks) and his other shipwrecked "guests." It's eventually discovered that Zaroff has grown tired of hunting conventional targets, and is moving on to a more "dangerous game" (get it? get it?): man! It seems that this nutcase Zaroff arranges these accidents at sea and makes a deal with the survivors: if they can survive from midnight until dawn without getting caught, they are free to leave. Count Zaroff hasn't lost yet. Aaaaaand go! Joel McCrea is pretty awesome ("This world's divided into two kinds of people: the hunter and the hunted. Luckily I'm the hunter. Nothing can change that."), and it turns out that Fay Wray is even hotter as a brunette, and she does that early-30s acting so well (make your eyes wider! Now tremble, dammit, TREMBLE!). But dude, Leslie Banks as Count Zaroff. This guy's face is insane. Don't stare too long, or you'll go absolutely mad! This film used many of the same sets as the classic King Kong, but I almost enjoyed this more than that old gorilla movie. Is that blasphemous? You have to admit...a crazy guy hunting people is a little more interesting than a giant monkey. Besides being an enjoyable, if not predictable, 30s romp in the woods (jungle?), it has a relevant message against hunting. As Joel McCrea says as he flees for his life, "Those animals I hunted: Now I know how they felt…" Hunting for sport is not cool, people. Hey! I've got a scathingly brilliant idea (thanks Haley Mills): why don't we put Sarah Palin on an island with a loony hunter and see how she likes it? Who's with me?! Netflix this little treasure, you'll enjoy it!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Blow-Up (1966)


Young fashion photographer Thomas (David Hemmings) may have inadvertently photographed a murder.

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By the middle of the 1960s it was undeniable that the baby-boomers were on the rise and the World War II generation was on the decline. While many in the older generation responded to this phenomenon with fear and aggression, others found it fascinating. Having already completed a trilogy of films (L'avventura, La Notte and L'eclisse) in  effort to understand his own generation's ennui, 54 year-old Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni decided it was now time to see what gave the younger generation angst. The resultant film is a beautiful synthesis of plot and theme. The character of Thomas has a hole inside himself which he desperately wants to fill. He tries with women, he tries with antiques, he tries with smashed guitars. At first-blush, each of these seems to be the answer to his prayers. Yet on closer inspection, they're just diversions. The hole is still there. The hole will always be there. Happiness can only be found by sticking close to the surface. If you choose to go deeper and keep blowing-up the photo of life, it will all eventually become just meaningless noise and emptiness. If you want to play the game, you have to buy in and live the lie.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

True Head Stories

Seeing as today is our 3-year wedding anniversary, we have decided to take the day off and leave you in the very capable hands of Ms. Rachel Dunnahoe. Everyone be on your best behavior and play nice!

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You can probably learn a lot about me just by watching two of my favorite movies of all time: Head (1968) and True Stories (1986). Despite being made decades apart, they have a lot in common. Both are (very) loose narrative films, both are made by and feature popular bands (The Monkees and Talking Heads, respectively), and both rely on quirky characters, bizarre devices, and offbeat humor that is intertwined with an amazing soundtrack.

So let’s showcase a little bit of that, shall we?

The nearest I can figure, the plot of Head is that The Monkees are tired of being manufactured but they just can’t escape the demands of Hollywood. So they jump off a bridge in an effort to commit suicide. Lighthearted, good clean fun, right? Being a movie that was written by all four totally high Monkees (and a totally high, then-unknown Jack Nicholson), there’s simply no way for that plot to just be served up plain and simple. As the Monkees sing in the movie, “We hope you like our story, although there isn’t one. That is to say, there’s many. That way there is more fun.” Plus the story is told in circles, “so when you see the end in sight the beginning may arrive.” Deep, man.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Made (2001)

Bobby (Jon Favreau) and Ricky (Vince Vaughn) are sent to New York by their mobster boss. Hilarity ensues.


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SPOLERS AHEAD!
Most twist endings are two-trick ponies. On the first viewing you get the joy of being taken by surprise. On the second viewing you get to notice all the little things you missed the first time. But beyond that, lies nothing. You never ever get to relive the surprise of that first viewing and admiring a filmmaker's cleverness gets old quick. Made avoids this pit-fall by simply having the "twist" be part of the film's natural progression  of both character and style. Just as Ricky and Bobby realize that they aren't gangsters, the film realizes it's not a gangster movie. The change-over is perfect: a story that began in a boxing-ring ends at Chuck E. Cheese. How better to exemplify putting aside all the cocky posturing of your 20s and embracing adult responsibility? Cassavetes would be proud. Our baby's all grown up!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Double-Bill: Rock 'n' Rebellion

Rock 'n' Roll High School and Detroit Rock City

Friday, June 8, 2012

Tiny Furniture (2010)

After graduating, Aura (Lena Dunham) finds herself back home living with her mother and sister.

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Though Orson Welles apparently had a long list of filmmakers whose work he detested, he chose to keep it to himself. He even instructed Peter Bogdanovich to omit a protracted rant on the subject from their interview book This Is Orson Welles. The lone filmmaker not protected by Welles' delicacy of feeling, was Michelangelo Antonioni. Film history is filled with many such divisive filmmakers. In recent years there's been Kevin Smith, Wes Anderson and Tyler Perry. The latest addition to this proud tradition is Lena Dunham. When it was announced that Tiny Furniture was going to get a Criterion release, the film-snob community nearly went into anaphylaxis over her age, gender, race, appearance and class. As if any of that precludes one's ability to make a good film! Don't like her movie? Make a better one! You obviously have a lot of time on your hands.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Disney's Best Villain Sidekicks!

Hooray, another Disney post!

What's that? You're tired of these?

Shut up! My blog, my rules!

Every good (bad?) Disney villain needs a sidekick. They need somebody to do their bidding, concoct evil schemes with, or hang out with just to look cool. Here are ten of my favorite villainous sidekicks, in no particular order!

Lucifer, Cinderella (1950)
Effing cats, am I right? Cats are perfect villain sidekicks, because they are pure evil by nature. Just ask our cat Wednesday, who has completely shredded our couch. Thanks a lot, Wednesday!  Lucifer is the pet cat of Lady Tremaine, aka Cinderella's evil stepmother, and he's a total jerk. Remember when he got dirty paw prints all over the freshly scrubbed floor?  He'd be dead for sure if he tried that at my house!

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Scream, Wilhelm, Scream!

A couple months ago, our dear friends Colin and Rachel asked if they could submit something to the blog. So as not to hurt their feelings we said, "yes". Who knew they would actually do it! This week's piece is by Colin, Rachel will get her shot next week. Though this isn't The Gong Show, we'd love to hear your thoughts on this little experiment either in the comments or on our Facebook page.

And without further ado, I give you what is easily the longest piece in Cinema Nerds/This Cinematic Life history...

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In the world of movies there are two constants: dorky-looking guys always seem to end up with girls jammed with more silicon and modifications than an upgraded PC, and everyone apparently has the same scream. Since 1951 over 130 films have given us the illusion that when anyone is shot, blown up, tossed over a railing, or taken down by a large aquatic lizard, it’s the same guy crying out in mock pain. Okay, so maybe it isn’t some incredibly wizened yet surprisingly well preserved thespian in all those rolls. With the permission of the Film Overlords, I’ve been asked to tell you all about a sixty-one year-old audio clip that unlike those associated with it, just won’t die. 

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

The Woman in Black (2012)


I was at my mom's the other day, flipping channels because we had a couple hours before "Mad Men" started. We decided to get The Woman in Black on demand...thought it would be a scary good time. My family and I got cozy and settled in, and turned off the living room light.

Right off the bat, the unnerving tone was set: gloomy exteriors, creepy dolls, music boxes playing eerie tunes, somber looking children. We all joked about Harry Potter looking too young to play anyone's father. We got quiet and nervous as our hero Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) poked around the freakiest old house you ever saw, and took turns yelling at the TV when he didn't get the hell out of there. My mom, who is a notoriously jumpy audience member, got a few good screams in. By the end, we all had our stomachs in knots from the tension. Scary good time? Mission accomplished!

I found myself thinking a lot about the film afterwards. I thought my friends Aaron and Becky might dig it, so I bought it and brought it over.  Not too long after starting it, Becky had to throw in the towel (we'll get you next time!) and Aaron and I bravely watched the rest. Aaron murmured a steady stream of "Oh fuck!" throughout the film and I had to move seats when a noise outside during an intense scene made me jump out of my skin! A scary good time was had again!

This film isn't perfect, but being that I like my creepy movies more atmospheric and unnerving than action-packed and gory, I enjoyed the hell out of it. Beware the woman in black!



Monday, June 4, 2012

The Long Goodbye (1973)

After helping a buddy escape to Mexico, private investigator Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould) must deal with a ton of cops and criminals who are after the guy. Also he's got a case to crack so that he can feed his cat.


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Until tax incentives made it cheaper to shoot elsewhere, a majority of America's film output was shot in Los Angeles. There's even a great documentary called Los Angeles Plays Itself about all the various ways the city has been used in film over the decades. That being said, there are really only a handful of films that have truly been able to capture this odd, sprawling city of streets and freeways. One of the most difficult aspects to capture is the light. When smog and the sun combine they make this wonderful haze that is uniquely Los Angeles. And thanks to a technique called "flashing", director Robert Altman and cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond were able to capture that special haze to give us the perfect melding of theme, setting and style. Can you really think of a more appropriate visual metaphor for this film than bright healthy sunshine filtered through a layer of thick sleaze?

Double-Bill: God's Lonely Man

Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy

Friday, June 1, 2012

Libeled Lady (1936)


A newspaper editor (Spencer Tracy) about to walk down the aisle finds himself in a heap of trouble when his paper publishes a false story about a society girl (Myrna Loy) and she threatens to sue. The solution? Use his feisty fiance (Jean Harlow) and his lawyer pal (William Powell) in a scheme to make the false story true. Scandal!

Would you just look at that still above? Such glamour! I can't handle it! This is 1930s comedy at its best. The dialogue crackles, the pacing is perfect, and all of the leads have great chemistry together, especially Powell and the ladies. This was Powell and Loy's fifth of fourteen films together, and he and Jean Harlow were a couple in real life.  Oh William, you slick handsome man you.

This film is stylish, funny, and an all-around joy to watch. These four leads were stars for a reason.  They burned bright on the silver screen and they're untouchable. It's especially bittersweet to see Harlow in such a vibrant role because Libeled Lady was her third to last film, and she died a year after this was released. In her short career she lit up the screen and secured her place as a cinematic legend. I just adore the spice that she brought to her comedies, and there will never be another quite like her.

See this film for the laughs, the memorable scenes (Powell being dragged down a river by a fish? Yes please!), and to marvel at a group of very talented actors. Enjoy!