The Auteurs

I love the internet. Today I happened across The Auteurs, an flat-out amazing website from the brilliant people behind DVD giant The Criterion Collection. This online movie service has a large library of terrific movies available to watch instantly for a few dollars a pop. I'm currently watching Branded To Kill (Seijun Suzuki, 1967), which is cool as hell, and the video quality is pristine. 

Aside from the wealth of great movies on tap, the site encourages discussion among friends and other movie lovers about all things cinematic, which is of course what this club is all about. You can connect with other movie buffs on Facebook, exchange ideas using their online forum, and more. I would definitely recommend that you check out this incredible new site.

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Wrap Up: Waltz With Bashir

Hello movie lovers! The second meeting of our little group was, in my opinion, even more fun than the first. Attendance for the screening nearly doubled from the first one, Waltz With Bashir was incredible, our libation manager Stu took us to a very cool little bar, and the discussion was very stimulating. Thanks so much to all who came!

Now for the wrap up. Not much to report on the clerical front, so I'll dive in to discussion topics.

• We discussed the interplay between subjective memory and documentary objectivity in the film, and agreed that the combination of fact, fantasy, and incomplete memory made for a compelling look into the mindset of the soldier both during and after combat. They also made for an interesting story, as Ari's journey to remember the past becomes ours as well.
• We spent a good deal of time discussing the visual style of the film, from the simple fact of its animation to the specific look and feel of the drawings. We agreed that the animation effectively reframed the images of wartime that are now ubiquitous at the cinema, allowing us to think about war and the protagonist's experiences in a new way. The visual style also sets up some incredibly powerful images in the closing moments of the movie (I won't spoil the moment by telling you anything more). We liked the style of the animation, and found that it was very effective in rendering the movie's alternately brutal and surreal imagery.
• Bobby made a big splash in his first meeting, dropping some serious historical knowledge about the events surrounding the Lebanon War and the Sabra and Shatila Massacre of 1982. I for one was glad to know more about the events behind this incredible movie, and am officially a more knowledgeable person on world history. Thanks Bobby.

I think that about covers it. I also would like to pose a question I forgot to ask in the meeting: what is your feeling about the fact that Ari's memory of his past does not seem fully resolved by the conclusion of the movie? I thought it made an effective statement that the mind protects itself from traumatic experience by veiling it in mysterious ways, such that the memory cannot fully restore the experience of the past. Write a comment and share your take on this!

Thanks again for attending! Save the date: our next meeting will be on Tuesday, February 3rd around 8pm. Start sending your picks now! There are also plans afoot to watch Persepolis this week, stay tuned for updates.

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The 11 Best Movie Posters of 2008

Attached to a medium defined by motion and sound, I am amazed by the power that movie posters have in representing films as still images. Some of the most successful posters are as memorable for me as the movies they promote, and often evoke powerful memories of my viewing experience long after I leave the theater. With that in mind, I thought I would share some of what are in my mind the most striking and well-executed movie posters of 2008. I couldn't pick just 10, so I thought I'd turn my speakers up to 11.

11. Waltz With Bashir

I love the color contrast of this image, as well as the piercing gaze of its central figure. The fires falling from the sky, the machine gun held clear of the water, and the gaunt men watching a scene we do not see make this poster very compelling for me. I can't wait to see this tonight! Click here for more information about the meeting.

10. Kabluey

This image is just funny, plain and simple. How can you not laugh at a depressed blue blob staring at its feet on the side of the road? The color contrast is really powerful here too; the orange tones that so nicely evoke a remote country feel make the blue cartoony figure really pop off the page.

9. The Eye

I think I would have ranked this higher if I didn't find it so utterly creepy. However, I think it is the most graphically sophisticated in terms of its execution, as the fingers emerging from the eye are so convincingly integrated into the image.

8. The Memory Thief

I know absolutely nothing about this movie, and yet I very much want to see it. This is a straightforward case of dazzling graphic design. The contrast of yellow details against a mainly black-and-white composition communicates a great deal of information about the movie, and presumably the spread of World War II history over the internet and digital media. 

7. Choke

A cool color scheme and provocative imagery make this movie seem very appealing indeed.

6. Gran Torino

This poster is all about Eastwood. Nothing more, nothing less. How can you pass on a movie with this guy's iconic profile on the cover? The answer is you can't. The lighting is also incredibly striking, and reduces his face to a mere sliver. Very cool.

5. The Dark Knight

The print campaign for this movie was staggering in its scale and diversity of imagery; the collage styling, Joker scribbles, and menacing bloody smile make this poster my favorite of the bunch.

4. Water Lilies

The expressions on the faces of these young girls communicate a growing and unembarrassed maturity with a splash of irreverent indecency. I love the way the colorful tendrils divide the two girls and weave their way around the almost lustful eye of the girl on the right. This poster stands out in my mind for the brilliant simplicity of its composition and its eye-catching colors.

3. Ballast

I want to know everything about this boy. His angelic expression mingles a deep melancholy with a plea for help that really draws me in to this movie. I love the way his face fills the whole image, and how the title leaps out of the deep black shadows in this stark color scheme.

2. Man On Wire

Composition is again the name of the game, as it communicates the vastness of the space occupied by a solitary wire walker in an image as iconic as the buildings it depicts. I love the soft blue light of early morning in this picture, and the way it imbues a dreamlike quality to the image. A beautiful photograph in any context. I also like the choice of such a short and sweet critical response and its appropriateness for the image.

1. Funny Games

I've just realized how prominently human faces have featured in this list, and should say without a doubt that this is by far the most striking. It evokes an incredibly specific tone not of sadness but rather of wholly exhausted terror. The texture of the photograph seems to have been softened slightly, giving it a painterly quality and a classic feel. I think the placement of the text is very intelligent, and love the weight of the bottomless black looming at the top of the page. I need to see this movie.

What posters made an impact on you in 2008?

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SLG Meeting Two: Waltz With Bashir

For our second meeting, we will watch the critically acclaimed animated documentary Waltz With Bashir, a story of Israeli soldiers during a war with Lebanon in the 1980s. Here are the details for tomorrow's screening:

What: Waltz With Bashir (Ari Folman, 2008)

Where: Sunshine Cinema (143 E. Houston betw. 3rd and 2nd) [Map] 

When: Tuesday, January 20th at 7:50 PM (8:00 Screening) [Tickets]

As we did last time, let's meet in the lobby. Tickets were sold out for The Wrestler at our last meeting, so it might be worthwhile to buy tickets in advance, but I don't expect any issues. We will pick our watering hole/meeting location after the screening, so if you're coming late give me a call. You should have my number.

No one has yet volunteered to be discussion leader this week. Any takers? I'm happy to lead again but would be happy to hand over the reins. Get at me if you're interested.

I will send a Facebook event invite for this meeting; please RSVP so I have an idea of who will be coming. I hope you can make it, and look forward to seeing you! Here is a trailer for the movie:

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Pork rind? Pork rind.

I am compelled to inform you of an incredibly significant event in the New York movie scene. The live action classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be screening this Friday night as part of the Sunshine Cinema's midnight movie series.

There are no words to describe my excitement. Buy your ticket here and meet me there. I'm bringing my nunchucks.

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Coming Attractions At IFC

I love checking my snail mail and finding new programs from my favorite movie theaters. Today's mailing gave me a reason to look forward to coming months at IFC, where a great lineup of recent releases will appear. Here are some movies that are getting me excited:

Che (Steven Soderbergh, 2008; Now Showing)

This 4.5 hour epic (shown in two parts) is getting a lot of attention from critics and fans alike. I look forward to seeing Benicio Del Toro playing the iconic revolutionary, although I am decidedly not excited about the running time. [Trailer]

Eraserhead (David Lynch, 1977; Showing 1/16-1/18/09)

I confess with great sadness that I have never seen a David Lynch movie, and I intend to remedy the situation by catching his first feature on the big screen. To be honest, I know very little about both the movie and its director, but I look forward to what promises to be a very weird and totally unique experience. [Trailer]

Crips and Bloods: Made In America (Stacy Peralta, 2008; Showing 1/23-2/5/09)

Legendary skateboarder-turned-documentarian has turned in two terrific films already (the outstanding Dogtown and Z-Boys and Riding Giants) and I'm sure his latest will not buck the trend. I expect this to be a compelling look into one of the most notorious subcultures of recent American history. [Trailer]

2009 Academy Award-Nominated Short Films (Showing 2/6-2/19/09)

If you're like me, you make your picks for the short film categories on your Oscar night ballot based on how cool they sound. This year, I'm really excited to get a chance to see the shorts that are always overshadowed by the big movies at Hollywood's self-congratulation party. This should be really cool. The lineup of shorts will be released after they are announced on January 22nd.

Gomorrah (Matteo Garone, 2008; Opens 2/13/09)

My favorite film critic, New York Times writer A.O. Scott (or as one blogger has hilariously dubbed him, Ayo! Scott), called this 'the best movie I've seen at [Cannes]... a furious and brilliant engagement with the times in which we live.' (NY Times review) I've heard terrific things about this exploration of Naples' criminal underworld. Oh, and it won this little award called the Palme D'Or. No big deal. [Trailer]

Tokyo Sonata (Koyoshi Kurosawa, 2008; Showing 3/13-3/26/09)

I had the pleasure of seeing this at the New York Film Festival, and found it to be a disturbing if very moving portrait of a Japanese family well on its way to total collapse. A father deceiving his family after losing his job, a young boy secretly spending his lunch money on piano lessons forbidden by his parents, a Japanese teenager seeking escape by volunteering for the American military--these are the fragments in Kurosawa's vision of the shattered nuclear family in modern Japan. [Trailer]

Hunger (Steve McQueen, 2008; Screening 3/20-4/2/09)

This story of protesters during the 1981 Irish hunger strike met with great acclaim upon its release at Cannes this year, where it won the prestigious Caméra D'Or as the best first film of the festival. Critics say that Michael Fassbender (who played, among others, the guy who wanted to fight in the shade in 300) turns in an astonishing performance as the IRA volunteer Bobby Sands. Definitely looking forward to this one. [Trailer]

For more information about these and other movies on the horizon, check out the IFC website.

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Wrap Up: 'The Wrestler'

Without a doubt, the club's first meeting was a blast, thanks so much to all who attended! We laid the groundwork for future meetings and had a great discussion of The Wrestler over a few beers at the Library. In these 'Wrap-Ups' I'll post some notes about the general topics of conversation, talk about logistics for the next meeting, and maybe throw out some ideas for further discussion. So, with that in mind, here's the rundown from last night's meeting.

Clerical Stuff

• Decided to meet bi-weekly. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, January 20th around 8pm. Save the date!
  
• Agreed to decide which movie to watch one week before the next meeting. Please post your picks for our next movie in the comments by next Tuesday, January 13th.
• Decided in favor of having a volunteer to lead discussion at each meeting. The next discussion leader has yet to be decided. Anyone interested?
• Decided to change the name of the club. Please brainstorm and bring your ideas to the next meeting!

Discussion (I will try my best not to spoil anything, but no guarantees)

• After agreeing that we all generally liked 'The Wrestler', the subject of the movie's ending was the first that we discussed. Some people found it to be a fitting conclusion, given that it glorifies Randy's passion as a wrestler and abstains from showing the potentially disturbing results of his actions. (Vague enough for you?) Others did not.
• We shared our thoughts regarding the often gratuitous violence and nudity in the movie. We asked how these elements contributed to its overall tone, how (if at all) they contributed to our understanding of Randy and Pam (Cassidy), and if they were overly sensationalized. We decided that they suited the movie's gritty subject matter and drove home the reality of the heavy toll that wrestling and dancing have taken on their aging bodies.
• Tom made a great point about the parallels between Randy and Pam, arguing that they both made a living by selling their flesh and struggled to come to terms with their age and the binding relationships in their lives.
• We talked about The Wrestler  in comparison with Aronofsky's other works, particularly with regard to its almost documentary style. We agreed that the gritty, behind-the-scenes feel achieved by the camerawork in this movie was more appropriate than the generally composed and smooth camera work of the director's earlier work.
• We also discussed the themes of Aronofsky's work that appeared in the movie, particularly his preoccupation with mortality, the need for personal affirmation, and elements of American mythology--in this case, professional wrestling. We wondered how this movie might be received by real fans of the sport, and discussed the insights it offers into the lives of pro wrestlers.

I think we all had a lot of fun talking about the movie. I certainly came away from the conversation with a better understanding of the movie than I had before, which in my mind is the greatest thing about this club. Everybody made great points and contributed so much to the conversation, so thanks again for coming! To those of you who couldn't make it, I hope we'll see you on the 20th!

As a last bonus, here's a link to the song that plays over the closing credits, a beautiful little tune written for the movie by the Boss himself. Enjoy!

Bruce Springsteen - The Wrestler

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SLG Inaugural Meeting: 'The Wrestler

At long last, this little group will finally hold its first meeting! I'm very excited. The people have spoken, and picked Darren Aronofsky's latest effort, 'The Wrestler', for our first movie. Here are the details for tomorrow's screening:

What: 'The Wrestler' (Darren Aronofsky, 2008)

Where: Sunshine Cinema (143 E. Houston, betw. 3rd & 2nd) [map]

When: Tuesday, January 6th at 8:10PM (8:20 Screening) [tickets]

Let's plan on meeting in the lobby of the theater. After the show, we will kick up our heels at a local watering hole, discuss the movie, and lay the groundwork for future meetings. The location is TBA, so if you're coming late give me a call. You should have my number.

I hope you can make it! Friends are definitely welcome. If you're not familiar with the movie, check out the trailer!

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