picture start (or, wil rambles on and on about movies he’s recently seen)

My writing muscles have atrophied over the last three weeks, and they need to be warmed up so I can get back to work.

Please enjoy this rambling braindump about movies which I hope will start knocking some of the cobwebs off:

I watched a ton of movies in the last three weeks, including a ton of Academy screeners, provided to me by my vast underground network of Big Hollywood Super Players. My thoughts, let me show you them:

I loved everything about Juno, from the casting to the dialog to the photography to the soundtrack (which I bought the moment the credits began to roll) and I was surprised at how much I liked There Will Be Blood. I loved Boogie Nights, but I feel like everything Paul Thomas Anderson has done since then has been one big, "My jerking off! Let me show you it!"  Daniel Day Lewis made this movie for me, and I spent a lot of hazy hours thinking about what a gift it is — and how much dedication and hard work is required — to transform an idea and words into a living, breathing character.

The Orphanage was enjoyable, and if you liked The Ring and The Others, I think you’d like it, as well. Maybe it was the drugs, but I felt a step ahead the whole time, so I was forced to just enjoy the photography and MILFiness of Belén Rueda.

I gave up on 3:10 to Yuma after 35 minutes. I felt like I missed the first reel, or something, and didn’t know who the characters were, or why I should care about them. Bummer, because I really like westerns.

I thought No Country for Old Men was beautifully shot and brilliantly performed, but it didn’t shake the Earth for me like it apparently has for everyone else who’s seen it. I thought it ended abruptly, and it wasn’t until hours later that I realized, "Oh, they wanted it to be Tommy Lee Jones’ story, not Josh Brolin’s." I understand the Sheriff is a richer character in the book, and I probably would have
felt more satisfied with the whole thing if the Coen Brothers had included more of his backstory. Bummer, because I really like westerns.

I thought Control was okay, but your enjoyment of the film is going to be directly proportional to how much you love Joy Division, I think. It’s not deep enough for casual audiences, and felt a little long to me. I wanted to see more of Ian and Deborah’s relationship, and I was surprised that I didn’t, since it was based on her book and she was one of the producers. I loved the music, I loved the photography, and I thought it was cool that they shot it in color and processed it down to black and white. The actors sound great as Joy Division, much better than those modern bands who are stealing their sound. She Wants Revenge and Interpol, I’m looking in your direction.

I watched lots of older movies, too: Breach was okay, and I was pleasantly surprised to see Ryan Philippe totally hold his own with Chris Cooper. I’d skip it unless you’re a Chris Cooper fan. Or a Laura Linney fan. Which I am. But two MILF comments in one post may give you all the impression that I’m some kind of weirdo, so let’s just move on . . .

I tried — twice — to watch The Zodiac. I read books about this guy like crazy when I was a teenager (growing up in Richard Ramirez’ Nightstalker Los Angeles gave me an insatiable curiosity about serial killers) so I was really looking forward to this movie. I can’t point to one factor, but it never grabbed me.

The Last Picture Show goes in my top ten of all time, meaning I’ll have to knock something off to make room, but I don’t know what. I couldn’t help but feel like Lucas tried — and failed — to copy it with American Graffiti. It made me want to watch The Grapes of Wrath again.

I watched Chinatown for the first time since I was 19 or 20, and I’m really glad I did. For all the time I spent in my 20s worrying about being in my 30s, I remember something someone told me when I was 29 (paraphrased): "Your 20s are about gathering information and experience, and your 30s are about putting it to use." I still feel like I have a lot to learn, but I feel more sure of who I am — way more sure of who I am than I did when I was younger — and I don’t know what relevance this rambling tangent had when I started talking about it, but watching Chinatown in my 30s was a profoundly different and much more rewarding experience than it was when I was younger. "Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown."

The same thing goes for The Natural. I forgot that The Natural really isn’t about baseball, and have to admit that "Pick me out a winner, Bobby," nails me in my weepy manbits the same way "Hey, dad . . .  want to have a catch?" does. I would have found this movie overly sentimental and too magical when I was a cynical 24 year-old with a copy of Howl in his pocket. Hell, I probably did. I’m glad I watched it without the baggage of being young and cocksure.

28 Weeks Later didn’t do for 28 Days Later what Dawn of the Dead did for Night of the Living Dead, but I like Robert Carlyle and can think of worse things to do with 90 minutes than watch The Infected do their thing.

I’m ashamed to admit that I hadn’t seen Spirited Away until this month. I loved every single thing about it, and I think it may edge out Akira in my top 5 Anime of all time. I know, blasphemy, but I responded to it on a level that I never have with Akira. It’s similar to the way Blade Runner moves me in ways that Star Wars does not. And we all know how much I love Star Wars. Oh, fucking hell, I guess I should just get this over with: if I had to choose, entirely on their individual merits, and took out the nostalgia, toys, and significance in my childhood, and look at them in a vacuum, Blade Runner resonates much more powerfully with me. I think it’s a better film. Hey, maybe I’ll watch that Final Ultimate Really We Mean It director’s cut in a little bit. I’m supposed to ramp up to normal activity slowly, so maybe I can justify it.

I’m sure I watched other stuff, but it’s not coming straight to mind, so I guess it’s safe to say that whatever else I saw didn’t make much of an impression.

Heh. There was a time when I’d look at all of this, say out loud, "who gives a fuck what you think about movies?" and delete the whole thing because it’s not that interesting to anyone but me. Maybe it’s residual drugs in my system, or part of that thing I mentioned earlier about being in my mid-30s (yipe), but I needed to write this because thinking about all of it has taken up cycles in my brains that I need for other stuff. So here it is, and if you’re reading this, I guess it’s safe to assume that you found something worthwhile in it, so at least I haven’t wasted your time.

Back in the days when Tony Pierce wasn’t spending his time trolling his own commenters and generating controversy for the sake of building page views, he wrote a fantastic post about avoiding blogging burn out, which was something we were all talking about in those days when we were all sort of defining what blogging was and wasn’t, making it up as we went along (but not admitting that we were.) I forget exactly what the advice was (and it’s all massively awesome advice that should be required reading for everyone — including Tony, today — who aspires to do more than talk about their cats with their blog) but it can be distilled down to a couple of things: write what you want to, write what’s on your mind, and don’t worry about who is reading it. It’s such simple and logical advice, but clearly isn’t easy to absorb and put into practice, because I need to remind myself about it at least twice a year. I used to worry a lot about wasting people’s time with my blog, but now I save that obsessing for my books.

Oh, totally unrelated to movies, but because I’m thinking about it: I bought the remastered Joshua Tree last week, because my original CD, which I bought at Tower Records in 1987, had a scratch across Running To Stand Still right when he sings "Cry without weeping." This scratched copy of Joshua Tree was one of the first CDs I ever bought for myself, and I couldn’t bring myself to replace it, so I’ve been listening to it this way, with the clicks and pops, for at least 15 years. It made me feel a little sad to replace it, like I was letting something go that I wanted or needed to keep around, but I haven’t been listening to the physical CD for years, and I figured it was okay to replace the music with a pristine version, while saving the original CD for keeping in The Vault of Memories.

Whew. This is the most I’ve written in a month, and it is ram-buh-ling. I’m tired, now. I think I’ll go for a walk.

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78 thoughts on “picture start (or, wil rambles on and on about movies he’s recently seen)”

  1. Laura Linney & Holly Hunter. Two actresses I admire so much for their strong presence on screen. Great to see you Wil returning to regular programming. 🙂

  2. Afro Samurai: Absolutely incredible art, and Sam Jackson in both starring roles. There’s apparently a video game version in the works as well, spreading the pwnage to yet another medium.

  3. Nice to have you back at full power!
    (just a lurker)… Bladerunner better than Star Wars – agreed. It’s not even a contest.

  4. Glad to read your ram-bulins, Wil. Here’s another vote for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Since you like Westerns, I think you’ll like this one. Last Picture Show-ah,wow. Larry McMurtry. Archer City, Texas,located further off the radar than Bumfuck, is the setting both real and cinematic for Last Picture Show. Larry has bought up the dying small town downtown, and in every dead business puts a book store. It is called Book City, and it is worth a roadtrip. I liked the book store in the old garage. And around the corner from the town square is the old theater-the last picture show.

  5. Gah. Note to self, don’t post before drinking morning coffee. The bookstores in Archer City are called Booked Up, not Book City. Though they are a book city. I’ll slink away now….

  6. Yes, I definitely agree that you need to give 3:10 To Yuma another try. It does take a few minutes to pick up, but it’s worth it. Russell Crowe and Christian Bale were wonderful. The story line is hard to catch, but when you do catch it, it keeps you thinking. It’s not a movie you can just stare at in a vegetative state and then expect to have enjoyed. You do have to pay attention, and not just to the obvious goings-on. You have to watch the subtle notes as well. There’s so much going on under the surface. Give it another shot. See if you can’t stick it out for the first hour, and by then, you’ll be into the story. Defintely enough to finish it.
    Shauna

  7. Yay! Glad to see you back and ram-buh-ling.
    I agree with you on 3:10 to Yuma and wish I had stopped watching it early also. Assuming you actually have something better to do or watch, it is not worth the time. And yes, that is a bummer because I really like westerns too.
    I am not saying it was awful, but rather that it was very unsatisfying in terms of what I want from a western. They mess with the typical western formula and normally I appreciate a twist in the plot. However, the one thing the movie never delivers and every western NEEDS is that moment of greatness for the “good guy”. You can kill the good guy in the end if you want…I am fine with that…but he needs to be a bad ass for a moment. Instead, Christian Bale is a good looking douche throughout the entire movie and I am left with unfulfilled expectations. Oh and I am pretty sure that a one legged man in the “Old West” wouldn’t be running and jumping over roof tops. Kind of unrealistic.
    3:10 to Yuma…The guys are hot, the plot is not.

  9. I want readers. I don’t need readers.

    I know I use Rolling Doughnut as a pulpit for a wide range of topics, and not all of these are interesting to the same people. I think about that, but when I blog, I aim for this advice, which…

  10. Welcome back!!
    No Country for Old Men, the movie, is pretty much a faithful adaptation of the book. There were very few changes made. I read the book first then saw the movie a few weeks later. Enjoyed them both.

  11. No Country does end abruptly but I felt it was entirely intentional and that it worked really well. They clearly decided to treat deaths quite differently from pretty much every other movie out there. There’s no great speech, no emotional music, no slow-motion shots, no screams etc. I dug it. The shift in character focus was quite interesting as well.
    The very end I have no problem with because the story was finished. There was nothing left to tell about the characters relevant to this story.
    The Final Cut is the best version of Blade Runner btw, a must-see for any fan.
    As for 3:10 to Yuma I can’t say I had any major issues with the plot. Sure I’ve seen better, but I didn’t have any problems getting into the movie and it actually kept my attention. However I do enjoy the 1957 original more.

  12. I think a post like that is good when too many ideas got built up in your system. This post gleefully dribbled out, kinda like the brown, syrupy mucus that comes out after sinus surgery.

  13. Hmmmm … syrup.
    Crazy. The first album I ever bought was the Joshua Tree, as well!! Except that it was a tape. CDs at the time were still the devil’s work for us over in the East Bloc (mind you, merely defiance due to poverty). I always thought it’s the best album to listen to while driving through the california desert. Something I actually did.
    Have you watched Hard Candy yet? That Ellen whatserface is amazingly talented.

  14. madth3, I was thinking the same thing about “Zodiac” vs “The Zodiac”. In fact I accidentally rented “The Zodiac” before quickly realizing it wasn’t what I wanted (I was looking for the more well known Jake Gyllenhaal movie).
    So now I’m curious which one Wil is referring to.

  16. Blade Runner is good but creepy at the same time. I had a mad crush on Harrison Ford, which is the only reason I saw the movie. It was disturbing – compelling, but so bleak and dark.
    Dang, I don’t remember your being in Family Ties, Wil. I loved that show. I think my favorite line of all time from that show was Steven saying, “Why…is there a kangaroo…in my living room?” *snert* Although the repartee between Alex and Ni-ick was pretty good too. Nick: “Do you eat like this all the time?” Alex: “What? With forks?”

  17. Apologies…
    Steven’s direct quote was “There was a kangaroo…in my living room.”
    Steven: Alex, parents are conditioned to put up with a few minor accidents when they leave their children home alone. A broken vase, spilt milk on the rug… There was a kangaroo… in my living room.
    Alex P. Keaton: …He was just here for the party dad.
    Steven: Then I guess I’m overreacting.

  18. Who gives a fuck who gives a fuck what you think about movies?
    Please read that carefully so that you don’t misinterpret it.
    The super duper special box edition of the latest Bladerunner came in a briefcase and included a die cast spinner car. I really wanted it but wanted the precious little empty space in my house more. So I bought it for my mom for Christmas. Bladerunner is one of her favorite movies.
    Did you ever play the computer game?
    Movies I’ve seen lately:
    The Call of Cthulu: Interesting. Short.
    The Invastion: Body snatchers remake.I thought the modern day metaphor for the thing dehumanizing us was weak. They also mixed metaphors I think. Focus is important in film.
    Across the Universe: I had high hopes for this that were not met.
    30 Days of Night: Very enjoyable vampire movie.
    Martian Child: Autobiographical account of David Gerrold’s experience adopting a child. Good, but something was missing. I’m not sure what.
    Good Luck Chuck: Surprisingly enjoyable comedy although I feel like I’m being tolerant.
    Mr. Woodcock: Again, I was surprised how much I enjoyed this. I didn’t like the ending.
    Stardust: Based on the book by Neil Gaiman. One of the best fantasy movies I’ve seen in the past decade.

  20. Wil, you pretty much influenced me to see Juno…thank you. I probably never would have seen it otherwise; this post was the first thing that came to mind when a female friend called me up and asked if I wanted to go with her to see it. It’s an amazing movie.

  21. I’m a huge U2 fan and I love the special edition Joshua Tree. Of all the extra’s, I’m glad they included “Outside It’s America” because the VCR tape copy I have is on it’s last legs. And the video for “Red Hill Mining Town”. . . well you can see why they never released it. The uber ernest expressions are hilarious (although Bono does look hot). Watch that one first for a laugh.

  22. Wil: I know I’m late to the party-but I’m glad you’re
    feeling better. I’m glad if you did have to take it
    easy, you had a great selection of movies to watch…I think out of all your choices..Star Wars is still the best..for pure enjoyment alone.
    Have you ever seen the original “Stagecoach”? The
    first glimpse of John Wayne
    standing next to his horse on the trail is worth the
    price of admission (or the
    Netflix-if you will!)!
    Hope the snozzola feels better!
    Julie

  23. Your “ramblings” are never a waste of time. I rather enjoy your more rambly posts. And please, talk about movies, albums, and books as much as you want! I’ve picked up on some really cool stuff from listening to what you think (JoCo, Scalzi, etc.) so I trust your opinions. And if I ever disagree (and perhaps I have once or twice but I can’t remember any specific time) – oh well, it doesn’t make your opinion (or mine) any less valid.
    Glad to hear you’re feeling better!
    Cheers!

  24. Regarding the replacement of The Joshua Tree, I submit a bit of paraphrased advice from Alan Alda. In his book, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed (which I highly recommend), he explains the title. After his dog died when he was a kid, he kept crying when they went to bury it. His dad suggested that maybe they should have the dog taxidermied so they could keep him around. Unfortunately, they couldn’t describe the expression that the dog normally wore when asked by the taxidermist. So, even though he did his best, the expression that the taxidermist put on the dog was horrified and horrific, a grotesque mockery of how the dog looked in life, and it really nailed home the fact that they were trying artificially preserve a moment in the past, rather than moving forward. So, congratulations on replacing your scratched and ancient copy of the Joshua Tree.

  25. Yaaaay Spirited Away! That’s one of my faves as well, I grew up on those movies, thanks to my grandfather, who would record them for my family and send them to us from Japan. (On VHS, some of which I think we still have)
    And welcome back! Glad to hear you’re feeling better!

  27. THE NATURAL! Love, love, love when Glenn Close stands up, backlit with her halo hat glowing. Cue music.
    The moment where the chubby bat boy picks out a winner for him after his magical handmade bat breaks is HAWESOME.
    Hey! Joshua Tree was my first CD (non-vinyl) as well.

  28. Wil,
    Loved your review of these films. I have only seen “Juno” so far, but I wanted to suggest that you check out “Into The Wild”. Every time I watch it I can’t decide what I love more, the captivating story or the beautiful cinematography.
    Emily

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