"I don't really care for movies; they make everything seem so close up."
- Macon Leary (William Hurt - THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST 1988)
Well we here at film babble have boxed up all our DVD copies of 2004 political documentaries including of course FAHRENHEIT 911, BUSH'S BRAIN, OUTFOXED, and GOING UPRIVER - THE LONG WAR OF JOHN KERRY and we're sending them to OHIO. We implore you to do the same.
Well there is a lot to cover this post - Richard Linklater DVDs, roc docs, and lists galore.
Let's go -
In current release in theaters :
DiG! Dir. Ondi Timoner. This is the story of 2 bands - The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. Both came to the LA scene in the mid '90's offering a retro '60's alternative to the grunge and manufactured pop of the day. Both flirted with major record label deals and came dangerously close to getting the "next big thing" title. Neither achieved more than modest cult success. So why the movie you ask? Because Timoner was there from the beginning filming both these bands as friends jamming on stage together to backstage humilations to personal disses and questionable behaviour of all kinds. If any roc doc can make a claim to be considered the 'real-life Spinal Tap' its this one.
BJM frontman Anton Newcombe is the source of much of the tension and exaggerated rivalry. He dominates the footage with paranoid rants and pretentious pontificating about his 'revolutionary' songwriting. Meanwhile Courtney Taylor of the Dandy Warhols has exaulted praise for Newcombe except a little concern about the competitive stalking of sorts. He also comes across a bit big-headed -"I sneeze and out come hits" he tells a record company executive upon being told their album was being shelved. "Well if that's the case I'm sure Capitol will finance your handkerchiefs" was their response. That Taylor narrates this movie works for me but others (including Newcombe) have criticized it for being biased.
I'm sure most people reading this are not familliar with these bands - Brian Jonestown or the Warhols - I myself knew precious little going in so the good news is you don't need to know anything beforehand. It's a good tuneful time at the movies that's funny and as involving as most dramas. I dug DiG! Bet you will too.
- DCJ
Because of the confused email we got over what the Hell I HEART HUCKABEES was about we were compelled to name :
THE TOP 5 MOVIES THAT SEEM DESIGNED TO MAKE YOU SAY "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!!?"
1. MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001)- Dir. David Lynch (HONORABLE MENTION : ERASERHEAD, LOST HIGHWAY, TWIN PEAKS, and everything else he's ever done)
2. BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1970) - Roger Ebert wrote this sleazy '60's sex flick directed by Russ Meyer and incomprehensible to the world at large. Remember that when Roger puts down yer favorite film.
3. BRAZIL (1986) – Dir. Terry Gilliam. Brilliant but mind boggling. A classic of glorious confusion.
4. HEAD (1968) – Robert Rafelson. The Monkees try to destroy their cute TV image with the help of Jack Nicholson and the most psychedelic songs of their canon and end up destroying their career and the movie-goers mind. It's a satire of Westerns, boxing movies, romances, dance pictures, war dramas, and every thing else you can cram in 90 min.
5. THREE WOMEN (1977) – Robert Altman. This movie based on a dream the director had is fascinating and a magnet for the eyes but what the Hell it means is beyond us. Shelly Duvall, Sissy Spacek, and Janice Rule are the 3 women - that's all I can tell you for sure.
HONORABLE MENTION: JOE VS. THE VOLCANO, HOWARD THE DUCK & THE BLACK HOLE. Just don't know what to make of those either.
Contributors to this WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!!? list were : DCJ, Amanda Fromwell, Anderson Moran, Bertie Shafer, and Sarah Weber.
Email CookieCulture :
cookieco@sprynet.com
And now some top notch babblin' about one of our favorite directors in -
OUR SPECIAL RICHARD LINKLATER SECTION:
To celebrate the fact that a spify brand new DVD of Linklater's classic debut film SLACKER has been recently released in a CRITERION collection edition, DAZED AND CONFUSED has gotten the Special Edition treatments and his most recent film BEFORE SUNSET has also just hit the DVD market we decided to give the man his film babble due. So here goes :
BASIC FILMOGRAPHY AND INITIAL GUIDE TO THIS BLOG:
S - SLACKER
DAC - DAZED AND CONFUSED
NB - THE NEWTON BOYS
BS - BEFORE SUNRISE
SUB - SUBURBIA
WL - WAKING LIFE
T -TAPE
SOR - SCHOOL OF ROCK
BS II - BEFORE SUNSET
The Richard Linklater Repertory Company Role Call:
Julie Delpy – BS, WL, BSII
Ethan Hawke – BS, NB, WL, T, BSII
Adam Goldberg – DAC, BS, WL
Charles Gunning - S, NB, & WL
Nicky Katt - DAC, SUB
Kim Krizan - S, DAC
Richard Linklater – S, WL
Michael McConaughey – DAC, NB
Parker Posey – DAC, SUB
Willie Wiggins – DAC, WL
5 GREAT LINES FROM THE MOUTHS OF RICHARD LINKLATER CHARACTERS:
1. "Withdrawing in disgust is not the same as apathy." - This was written on a card handed to somebody in S (This line was quoted in R.E.M.'s "What's The Frequency Kenneth?" Monster 1995)
2. "George Washington was in a cult, and the cult was into aliens, man." - Slater (Rory Cochrane DAC
3. "Your kids have all really touched me, and I'm pretty sure that I've touched them." - Dewey Finn (Jack Black - SOR)
4. "Idealism is guilty middle-class bullshit." - Jeff (Giovanni Ribisi - SUB)
5. "Did you ever have a job that you hated and worked real hard at? A long hard day of work. Finally you get to go home, get in bed, close your eyes. And immediately you wake up and realize that the whole day at work had been a dream. It's bad enough that you sell your life for minimum wage but now they get your dreams for free." - Guy Forsyth WL
More later...
is the Green Art Nail
