Inarticulate Speech of the Trailer Park I am the perfect candidate audience for this. I watch a couple theatrical projects a day. I love film and am hungry for new and/or intelligent experiences. Plus, I have a passion for “folded” films, films that about themselves in some way. Moreover, this project comes with Sundance buzz… Continue reading American Movie (1999)
American Pie (2001)
Jericho, my Butt! A very interesting film given some realities: this is successfully engineered to tap some cultural acupuncture point — and it does so after the first film provided valuable information about what audiences thought funny. The first film was uncentered by design: the idea with such things is to cheaply provide a model… Continue reading American Pie (2001)
American Pie (1999)
Slow Times at Ridgemont Sex jokes are never about sex, instead about class. It is possible to make a comedy that is sincerely about high schoolers, and because they are obsessed with sex, be about sex. ‘Ridgemont High.’ This has no sincerity or charm. It is aimed at the class it makes fun of. Posted… Continue reading American Pie (1999)
Along Came Polly (2004)
Safe The story in this movie revolves around the choice between safety and richness. Because it assumes we are stupid, it has two story lines to hammer the point home, the point that safety is the wrong choice. And then in the highest of ironies, the picture is fabricated and presented in a way that… Continue reading Along Came Polly (2004)
Ally (2002)
Mulsim Porn I’m interested in what makes Muslim porn different. It surely exists, but you won’t be finding much on IMBD. Porn is a special sort of film. I believe that film in general is where we do most of our experiments in how we reason about the world. Yes, even in popular film. Depending… Continue reading Ally (2002)
All the Real Girls (2003)
Diversions Warning, if you watch this on DVD, avoid the commentary at all costs. This is a case where the creators are inarticulate nitwits, but what they have created has a particularly intelligent design. Superficially, this is the simple formula: boy meets girl; boy loses girl; boy gets girl back. With this edition, the two… Continue reading All the Real Girls (2003)
3 Idiots (2009)
Five Lives and a Funeral The structure is a compelling nesting. We have the linear story of two school chums plus one who search for a lost third buddy. There are a number of twists in this that make it more than just a framing device. We get a lot of storytelling craft in how… Continue reading 3 Idiots (2009)
All the King’s Men (2006)
Lucy in the Sky The critics hated it. The public stayed home. But I liked this. A lot. It is cinematic. Powerful cinema. And I am telling you I liked this with a bit of surprise on my part. That’s because it has two actors who often play this introspective game, where they let you… Continue reading All the King’s Men (2006)
All the King’s Men (1949)
Actors, Politicians As a film, this hasn’t aged well. The various elements, especially the acting, now seem dated and… well, lousy. In its day we overlooked all its shortcomings because it was grand and relevant and seemingly true. That political sweep still resonates. But I suspect that where the film reflected political reality, it and… Continue reading All the King’s Men (1949)
All About Eve (1950)
Fabrications I admit, I find the story of the Mankiewcz brothers to be one of the most interesting in all filmdom. Part of the allure is their experimentation in narrative perspectives and the nature of fabrication. Here, the fabrication is extra sweetly dimensional. We have a movie about movies, actresses portraying actresses with resonances among… Continue reading All About Eve (1950)