Hey, someone is talking about it!

NY Times movie critic A.O. Scott digs into 'The Conversation'.

'The Conversation': an underrated classic

The Conversation has to be one of the most underrated movies of all time.

Featuring the direction of Francis Ford Coppola, acting of Gene Hackman, general moral ambiguity, remarkably tight filmmaking, a thriller/espionage intrigue and a plethora of beautiful shots, it's certainly a classic.

So why aren't more people talking about this film?

It's not as flashy as The Godfather and Gene Hackman's not as "cool" as Marlon Brando, but Hackman's lovable-loser status and the film's apparent simplicity combine with its moral complexity to create a modest film about epic things.

Plus, it features a young, strapping Harrison Ford.

Public Transit Woes

Compared to public transit in Paris, most American public transportation options are bound to disappoint. I was expecting this.

When I hopped on a COTA bus for the first time last night, I was, however, pleasantly surprised by the air-conditioned bus and its fancy electronic ticker denoting the stops as we passed. This was on the way to my destination.

My opinion of the busing system changed on the way home. After leaving the fun, outdoor screening of Raising Arizona early to catch the one bus per hour that was running on a Friday night, I had to wait nearly a half hour for said bus, which was late. Plus, I had no way of knowing where the bus was or when/if it would arrive. Their wasn't even a bus schedule posted at the stop to let me confirm what I had thought I'd seen earlier online.

In the meantime, I had to suffer weird looks from bar-going passerbys and drivers because apparently it's weird to be waiting for a bus in this country?

Finally, a bus came by, but it was demarcated with a bizarre letter-number combo, while my bus carried a simpler, more reasonable moniker: 2. Luckily, the bus driver was helpful enough to pull over at my wave and inform me that bus 2 should be coming behind her. After a few more minutes, I was successfully on my bus, headed home, after a long and frustrating wait.

To top it all off, I had to walk an extra three blocks home when the bus driver, failing apparently to note that "Stop Requested" was flashing across his electronic ticker, neglected to let me off at my stop.

In the end, I got home and it only cost me $3. As far as public-transit related snafus go, my night was pretty minor, but it was enough to make me never want to ride the COTA again.

Brüno ich not funny

I saw Sacha Baren Cohen’s new film Brüno last week, and I was sorely disappointed.

There’s already been a lot of media/blogger hoopla surrounding the movie, but I wanted to add my take.

Obviously, it was not as good as Borat, for a number of reason, only one of which being that he'd already done the same schtick successfully in that film. I was prepared for Brüno to be less innovatively funny, but I was surprised by a movie that was utterly childish and mostly unfunny.

Sure there are a few laugh-worthy moments (a bit with all-too-eager stage parents and another where a preacher tells us what music not to listen to if we’re trying to be straight – Indigo Girls, the Village People, I’m talking about you!), but the film is horribly uneven and, worse, often offensive.

Watching it was an overall uncomfortable and painful experience more so than a humorous one (Borat, too, had those moments, but Brüno is constructed almost entirely of them).

For me, most of the humor in Borat came from poking fun at the xenophobic/anti-Semitic/generally bigoted people he encountered along the way. Brüno really has less of that than you would expect. Sure there are some homophobes – it’s hard, however, to laugh at them when many of the jokes themselves are founded upon the "gag" of Brüno’s flamboyant homosexuality – but mostly there are just people who end up uncomfortable around Brüno; not because he is gay, but because he decides to talk about (and often act out) sex acts in a very explicit and inappropriate fashion. (I suppose this, in and of itself, is supposed to be funny, but I'm not a 12-year-old so it’s not). It’s hard to blame, or label as homophobic, the people who are weirded out by Brüno and his in-your-face behavior – behavior that would be equally frowned upon from a straight man.

Obviously, one could counter that this pointing out homophobia business wasn’t Cohen’s goal (although I think it at least partly was), but without that element, the film really falls flat. An endless stream of gross-out jokes and shock-jock humor, that, in the end, isn't very funny (sauf a few aforementioned skits).

And still on that point, if it was at all – anywhere, even a little bit deep down – Cohen’s goal to point out homophobia, I think Brüno is an utter failure and a homophobic film unto itself. I realize there is a certain amount of satire involved, but the Brüno image of a kinky-sex-crazed gay man that will aggressively proposition every male in sight is not something the gay community needs, especially when many already hold that view in their hearts.

Here’s to hoping that Cohen comes up with something better the next time around.

Musique: "Closer to Fine" Indigo Girls

Allons-y Alonzo!

"Pierrot!"
"Je m'appelle Ferdinand."

Jean-Luc Godard has blown me away again.

Musique: BET Awards/Michael Jackson tribute and keyboards in the newroom

Summer Watching List

Currently watching:
Arrested Development, on Hulu
Mad Men, Season 1 DVDs

Just watched:
Touch of Evil, Orson Welles
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Volver, Pedro Almodovar

Will watch:
Pierrot le fou, Jean-Luc Goddard
Capote
Public Enemies, out July 1

Musique: "Baby Be Mine" Michael Jackson

So in love with the nouvelle vague

Agnès Varda, director of Cleo de 5 à 7.

More stunning nouvelle vague geniuses in black & white here: http://todayspictures.slate.com/20090521/

Courtesy of Magnum Photos via Slate's "Today's Pictures."

Things I Like RIGHT NOW

Synecdoche, New York by Charlie Kaufman – Considering critics have compared it to Beckett, Proust, Kafka and Woody Allen, it was probably a given that I would like Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut. It doesn’t hurt that I find Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to be utter genius and the screenplay of Adaptation to be one of the most mind-blowing and innovative ever. I was not in the least disappointed by this movie despite my immense expectations. The words that come to mind in describing this film, however, don’t at first seem incredibly positive: it’s emotionally-disturbing, disorienting, agonizing, troubling, alienating and overall painful. But the true and sincere emotion that this multi-layered film evoked in me more than made up for the pain and discomfort of the viewing experience. Plus, Kaufman does manage to work in a view laughs and visual gags (often at our pitiful and pitiable main character’s expense) for levity’s sake. All this said, I can’t really recommend the film to anyone but myself. It’s not a particularly enjoyable experience, and the movie’s sentiments can very easily hit as clichéd or pretentious or simply irrelevant if you are not the type of person that spends a lot of time reflecting on subjectivity, art, isolation and regret. Still, I was moved in a strange and unpredictable way by Kaufman’s epically subtle and cerebrally tender work.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath – I know I’m a bit late to the game, but I finally picked up this novel and fell in love with it. As a Smithie, I believe it’s obligatory to have read this iconic and metonymic work by one of our most famous alumna. It is likewise obligatory reading for any self-reflective, self-deprecating, depression-prone, slightly counter-culture, literary young woman (look no further than 10 Things I Hate About You). So, I realize how clichéd it is to say that I’ve fell in love with the book, but I found the novel extremely touching and true. Plath captures so perfectly the universal inner workings of depression and her own downward spiral toward self-destruct that I sometimes felt like it was me she was describing on the page. It’s tragic and it’s touching, especially given the inevitable end of Plath’s real life story, but the simple elegance with which Plath writes is inspiring. And each moment, we sit by hoping that Esther Greenwood will find a way to get out from under that bell jar, because if she can do it, we can too.

The Smiths.

Musique: “Eye Know” De La Soul

Things I Like RIGHT NOW

Feed The Animals by Girl Talk – I’ve always heard amazing things about musical-collage artist Gregg Gillis a.k.a. Girl Talk, but I hadn’t gotten around to listening to him until recently. I just downloaded his latest album (available here); thankfully, he lives up to the hype. His “songs” – mash-ups that combine dozens of unlicensed samples – are a music nerd’s dream. Not only does Girl Talk produce hits as dance-worthy as the latest Beyoncé track, but he’s also creating a musical artifact of sorts – a catalogue of what’s hot in music. Each moment is meticulously worked and spliced. It’s a bit heady at times, but its beats have a mass appeal that is undeniable. Is Girl Talk the future of pop music? If so, I wouldn’t be too disappointed.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro – It’s been quite some time since I’ve been as moved by a work of contemporary fiction as I was by Ishiguro’s gentle and emotional masterpiece. A universal tale of lost childhood and wistful remembrance, Never Let Me Go is simultaneously a slow-burning reflection on the past and the fleeting nature of life and a compelling page-turner that will have you wondering what is ahead from the first page. Ishiguro has an amazing mastery of these two modes of narration. The power, passion and emotion with which the reader emerges upon completing this novel are unrivaled in this modern era. It is a must read, and I can’t wait to see what Ishiguro comes up with next.

Slumdog Millionaire by Danny Boyle – I know this one’s a bit overplayed, and it might be just at the moment of receiving too much praise to the point that it has become overrated, but I greatly enjoyed the movie-watching experience that Danny Boyle created with his most recent film. Sure it’s all a bit chanceful and the highs are too high for the lows which are too low, but I found it to be a both a great bildungsroman and a spot-on commentary on films, filmmaking and the modern spectator. Boyle gave the spectator exactly what he wants to see and made a great movie, i.e. a series of moving images, music, characters and story that pleases. Recently, I’ve seen a lot of movies that would make great books or plays but fail to measure up to the medium. Plus, how could I deny my love for a movie that uses M.I.A.’s music so aptly (even if she’s Sri Lankan).

Musique: “O…Saya” A. R. Rahman & M.I.A.