Movies

"Ghost Dog" was in the iTunes $8 and Under page so I bought and watched it for the first time in 10+ years. It holds up exactly as I remember it: flawed and frustrating yet deeply mesmerizing in significant part. It's a move that makes me want to think about it and pick it apart even though it almost feels thrown together without much thought.Whitaker is great. The soundtrack is amazing.
 

Stop Making Sense
Directing a concert movie is rather thankless. The show exists in its entirety without you, especially a show as tightly staged as the Talking Heads Stop Making Sense tour. Most times, the best that directors can do is stay out of the way. Most concert videos leave viewers complaining about shot selection. The easiest thing to do is keep it simple: show mostly the whole stage with occasional close-ups for solos etc. Jonathan Demme didn't do that, His POV is all over this clip. Cameras come from the front, back, sides, and different heights. There are tons of cuts and some shots last only a second or two. Yet I never once thought "Why is he showing me this instead of something else? Why can't he just keep the camera in one place a little longer?" Jonathan Demme helped tell the story of these concerts. RIP Mr. Demme, and Godspeed.
Also, available on iTunes for just $5.99. Best Concert Movie ever.
 
mgarbowski said:

Stop Making Sense
Directing a concert movie is rather thankless. The show exists in its entirety without you, especially a show as tightly staged as the Talking Heads Stop Making Sense tour. Most times, the best that directors can do is stay out of the way. Most concert videos leave viewers complaining about shot selection. The easiest thing to do is keep it simple: show mostly the whole stage with occasional close-ups for solos etc. Jonathan Demme didn't do that, His POV is all over this clip. Cameras come from the front, back, sides, and different heights. There are tons of cuts and some shots last only a second or two. Yet I never once thought "Why is he showing me this instead of something else? Why can't he just keep the camera in one place a little longer?" Jonathan Demme helped tell the story of these concerts. RIP Mr. Demme, and Godspeed.
Also, available on iTunes for just $5.99. Best Concert Movie ever.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that was an amazing tour and movie (which I bought a hundred years ago on VHS). Thanks for the reminder. Purchased.
 
mgarbowski said:
Did you see it live at Forest Hills?
Click to expand...
Well, considering it was 35 years ago (yikes!) I'm just not sure. I "know" I saw that show but my recollection of it was that it was at the Palladium. But a little bit of research says that tour didn't play there so who knows. Plus I watched the movie a million times so that could've tainted my memory of it as well.
 
Seth said:
Well, considering it was 35 years ago (yikes!) I'm just not sure. I "know" I saw that show but my recollection of it was that it was at the Palladium. But a little bit of research says that tour didn't play there so who knows. Plus I watched the movie a million times so that could've tainted my memory of it as well.
Click to expand...
People were playing a FB game recently about concert lists and I realized I had trouble remembering whether I saw certain bands at all much less where. But the Heads at Forest Hills is well-fixed in my memory. It was such a lovely concert venue for a few years there. I saw them twice there actually: the year before the STM tour and again for that tour. Fortunately the NYT can confirm all but my presence:
http://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/23/arts/rock-talking-heads-fans-get-a-night-to-remember.html
http://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/21/arts/rock-and-roll-talking-heads-in-forest-hills.html
 
mgarbowski said:
People were playing a FB game recently about concert lists and I realized I had trouble remembering whether I saw certain bands at all much less where. But the Heads at Forest Hills is well-fixed in my memory. It was such a lovely concert venue for a few years there. I saw them twice there actually: the year before the STM tour and again for that tour. Fortunately the NYT can confirm all but my presence:
http://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/23/arts/rock-talking-heads-fans-get-a-night-to-remember.html
http://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/21/arts/rock-and-roll-talking-heads-in-forest-hills.html
Click to expand...
Yeah, once I hit high school and had a job I turned into a concert kid, which sort of explains why I can't keep them all straight as I just went to so many. Wasn't like today though where you'll pay $150 to see someone at the Garden, was more like $3 for GA to get into Wollman Rink for the Schaeffer Festival when I first started. Could easily go to 20 concerts in a summer, and that's not even counting the big ones elsewhere. Anyway, Talking Heads 1980 in Central Park. I know I was at that one. Can't quite prove I was at Forest Hills a couple of years later though.
 
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

This was FUN! Crazy mashup of a classic tale with cutting edge special effects and cinematography. I had a blast with it.
 
Saw the new Spiderman: Homecoming movie. It was okay not amazing not bad just okay/good. Wouldnt waste my time seeing it in the theaters but if you do make sure you stay all the way to the end of the credits. The second end credit scene was the best part
 
As for Homecoming I actually thought it was quite good. Arguably the best Spiderman movie yet. Andrew Garfield was way too much of a hipster to be the classic dorky Peter Parker. Tobey Maguire was much better but I do feel the best Spiderman is a teenage Spiderman and Maguire was bit too old to start off with. Michael Keaton actually managed to make the Vulture cool which is a heck of an accomplishment considering in the comics he's an elderly man covered in Green feathers.

Baby Driver was also very good IMO. Very hipster with the music and chases but not in a bad way. I'm not sure Edgar Wright has really made a bad movie yet.

Really the only thing I've seen this summer movie season that I didn't really like was Alien Covenant.
 
I saw Atomic Blonde on Monday night. Charlize was badass in that movie and that's all that matters. It was a little weird in plot sometimes but overall some cool action for the sake of action.
 
Saw Boss Baby with the kids, i thought it was just alright but the kids loved it and thought it was the cutest thing ever.
 
Saw Dunkirk. Tableau movie, was nicely shot and sound was intense, but no plot or character development, etc.

I miss 80s and 90s Hollywood.
 
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