The Brattle in the news...

Joshua pointed me to an article in the Globe on the Brattle's fundraising plans...

At Brattle, the light still flickers - Fund-raising deadline extended

I did a little digging into related articles and found...

Harvard Square struggles to maintain funky edge

The Brattle site has an update on their fundraising status on its front page...

The Brattle Film Foundation's PRESERVE THE BRATTLE LEGACY campaign has raised nearly $200,000. Although we are only half-way to our goal of $400,000, we are moving forward with programming our January-February calendar. With your continued support we will reach our goal and preserve the tradition of repertory film programming at the Brattle Theatre. We look forward to announcing new fundraising events in early January, so please stay tuned.

Keep on keepin on~

p.s. I'm gonna try a couple different looks for the blog in the near future. Don't be alarmed =)

KONG-FU

Saw KONG again while I was home for the holidaze. This time, with my best bud Zorknapp and his best gal, Sue. The entertainment gold doesn't tarnish any on viewing number two. Maybe I was a little hard on Adrien for not bringing fireworks to his onscreen connection with Naomi. They definitely had a couple of good moments. It's just that, well, sad to say, who can compete with Kong? Basically, a well-aged-but-not-old Sean Connery type, y'know, before that ridiculous ENTRAPMENT mess of a movie with Catherine Z...? Worldly-wise, hale and hearty, dinosaur-beater...

The intellectual Driscoll (dry skull?), the man of letters, "loses out" to the brute, the palooka, the King, who very literally paws at the dames with his big mitts. Playing second fiddle to a big gorilla... Hrmmm... I wonder if Bill Pullman turned this role down?

Man-o-man, the hot ape-on-dinosaur action doesn't stop being freakin amazing! Who gets to imagine these fights? How is Universal gonna come up with a ride for this movie? Just show the movie again, I say. I know Peter Jackson has been walking around with his dream of this movie for most of his life, but did he have this knock down, drag out, chuck-em-over-a-cliff-but-it's-not-over-yet battle all laid out in his head? Given the players involved in this fight, MATRIX and HK action flick fight choreographer Yuen Wo Ping could do no better. Frickin genius. Snapping, gnashing reptile jaws, muscled legs and tail, brought low by the opposable thumb! Granted, a massive thumb, the size of a man, and okay, backed up here and there with a good set of chomping teeth, and levered by some powerful arms...

Woo-hoo - that Flying Spaghetti Monster sure knows how to design intelligently - yay warm-blooded mammals! =)

A lot of the battle involves keeping Naomi's Ann Darrow out of danger, and seeing how Kong protects her while delivering the smackdown is truly a most impressive kind of courtship. The follow-up in attitude is just perfect, too.

I can't really do it all justice without something like spoiler-ness, so I'll just say it again - GO SEE THIS MOVIE!

Yes, there's quite a bit of violence, done to both creature and man, and some really skin-crawling creepiness when you get a glimpse at the insect life that thrives on the island home of giant reptiles and apes, but the goriest image you'll catch on screen, and treated so for the enhancement of Jack Black's P.T. Barnum of a director, and no doubt, the sentiment of Peter Jackson himself, is the spilled innards and exposed celluloid entrails of a film camera, eviscerated in a deadly fall.

Tommy guns and dinosaurs on Skull Island... Doesn't get any better than that!
Keep on keepin on~

I haven't seen any Christmas specials this year...

Some Christmas morning dial-up random rambling...

Heh, channel 11 out of NYC, aka WPIX - remember that f'd up over-the-telephone Intellivision game they'd play w kids way back when? where they'd call a kid viewer and have them control a player of some Intellivision game by yelling "Pix! Pix! Pix!" as fastspastically as they could to fire or jump or duck and such? Heh =) - well, they're running "The Yule Log!"

Would Laura Lynn Hardy be a good name for a porn actress? Hrmm... nah, probably not. Just confusing. Came to mind as a joke name when I just now caught "Laurel and Hardy" in a commercial pushing MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS (I think that's the title?) on later today.

Y'know, there was this charming little animated special I saw, many many years ago... I think I rented it sometime in high school or college. The B.C. CHRISTMAS SPECIAL.

Is B.C. still running in the funny papers? Yeah, THAT B.C. - the comic strip about the cavemen with their crazy "wheel" and "fire" and cave-babes and heavy thoughts for such small brains and that turtle whose shell looks just like the rocks the guys are always leaning on, y'know? Reading that strip always gave me the sensation of watching a couple minutes of M.A.S.H., y'know? I can't remember the names of the caveguys, but they somehow "felt" like the Pierce-and-the-other-guy duos of M.A.S.H.'s swamp... they even had a "hot lips" gal who'd cro-magnon-handle the boys, bash 'em good when they smarted off, y'know? Anyhow, yeah - THE B.C. CHRISTMAS SPECIAL. See, even before you WATCH any of it, you just KNOW it's gonna be good, something different, cuz the title is like a funny paradox! And, with it being B.C. and all, it's not really a special about celebrating G-love's birthday, but rather about holidayifying the practice and motivation behind giving gifts.

"Oh, you shouldn't have! It's funny, I had a rock, in storage, and I was just looking it over. An old, beat-up rock, that I decided I would put in the foyer, to put things on while hanging up pelts, y'know? But this! This will do so much better! Thank you, thank you! Now here, open mine... You'll never guess what it is!"

Actually, I think they were a bit more creative about gift making/finding/catching in the cartoon. I wanna say that the serpent got gift-wrapped once. Well, one of the big thinkers of the B.C. crew sees the bigger ramifications of creating a holiday around giving stuff to one another. See, this will create a new demand for stuff to be given, and if someone steps in there to create/giftwrap the supply for that demand, well, he could make a pretty... ummm... pebble? And this big brain goes on to explain the cost of this work, and the markup required, and the difference between the two, which he algebraically names X, the mystery amount, representing profit. And I think he throws some phrasing in there about how it'll be a huge success, a holiday for everyone, for the masses... and when pressed for a catchy name for this new holiday...

You guessed it - X-mass.

Isn't that brilliant?

Damn, and here I've gone and given it all away in the trailer. I hate that.

Keep on keepin on~

HAPPY HOLIDAZE! =)

An allnighter-fueled draft of my "Hey, look at this thing over here" Holidaze email...

---------------------------------------
2005EZ - the short form

Greetings, you poor fools who let your email addresses fall into my hands!

*sinister laughing broken up by a fit of coughing*

Right, well, enough w the pleasantries...

Please click here to point your browser and get your turn at viewing my slab of holiday 2005 digital scrimshaw.

Soulful Solstice Tidings and Best Wishes for less suck in the new year!~

Keep on keepin on,
brian out =)

---------------------------------------
2005X - the long form

I do like the way the DAILY SHOW crew and alums have tackled the challenge of an all-encompassing and respectful holiday season's greeting...

No matter what god, gods, Survivor, American Idol, or WB show you worship, or don't, have a merry Christmas!

=)

While I hafta admit I'm a sucker for the gift giving and cheer spreading frenzy this time of year inspires, in the end, the slackerly part of me insists on doing almost anything possible to opt out of making a list, checking it twice, choosing cards, writing something that doesn't suck, and sending these cards to all y'all in a timely manner. So instead, what I end up doing is crafting - Well, maybe "crafting" isn't quite the right word...?

The process is not so well designed or planned, really, and I imagine its essence might better be captured by the word "passing...," as in... passing a movement... or even better, passing a stone. There is definitely significant aggravation and pain involved, carried around for days before successfully dropping this thing in the digital bucket.

Pleasant, no?

What that translates to in actual practice...

I fire up some obsolete animating tools on my beat-up Mac and cobble together a digital "holiday card," a short animated video. It's nothing so glorious or alive as a Pixar diamond, but more of a little dropping (you recall the "passing" sensation?) with something of a holiday flavor to it, mostly thanks to my star and buddy ol' pal Santa Claus. Once the animation is completed, or more accurately, once I run out of time - bleah - I post it online, and then email the location out to my friends, family, colleagues, and a number of poor bastards who had the misfortune to find themselves cc'd w me on some mass email or other this past year.

I go through all this schizo slacking as my version of a "Happy Holidays" greeting card, hopefully at least equivalent to a selection from the what-overpriced-crap-is-cool-this-week arrangement at Urban Outfitters, y'know?

And once it's out, released into the (world) wild (web), YOU watch it... you're exposed to it... you experience it... and everything starts to fall into place... it's like the answer to a question that you didn't know you wanted to ask...

Or no, that's not right, not quite...

It's more like the answer to a question... that you didn't know would be on the test, and it counts for bonus points, and you can see the smart kid's paper in the next row real easy cuz he's a lefty and yeah, you might feel bad about it, for a while, but, oh! You'll do it! Cuz frankly, you really need those extra points! I mean, you took the class cuz you thought it would be fun, and there's a high G2B ratio, and your brothers last year all rated it as an easy "A" - where the heck did all this hardass attitude on lab grades and section participation come from? Now it's wrecking your GPA, so damn straight you'll do it!

And that answer, it opens a little door in your heart, and you're filled with peace and joy, and okay, maybe just a little bit of rage, cuz that voice in your head will NEVER stop until you buy that high-powered rifle and that map of local clock towers, and you feel the love... for Santa, and for me (just, y'know, please be gentle... unless you like it rough, then I'm your rag doll, baby!), and for everyone you know, and don't know, and you want to share this feeling, so you share the link, and thanks to those new-fangled internets, very soon, everyone everywhere is happy and everything is wonderful...FOREVER!~

So! I've done my part. Now, it's your turn...

Say... If there's a war on Christmas who's our Christmas Czar?

Happy Whatever~

Keep on keepin on~

render unto Caesar...

Is that how that phrase goes? Is that from Shakespeare or was it translated from Latin from a real primary source at some point... Or - no, that's some of that righteous word as dropped by G-zuss, yeah? Church and state talk from the Man Him-self. Go figure.

Isn't it funny how Romans get British accents in the movies? That just makes them automatically Roman, somehow. Or more authentic. Odd.

It's 6am, Christmas Eve. Not a hint of color to the sky outside yet. I wished a couple of people a soulful solstice this week in emails. That just passed, right? Shortest day of the year? Do the stices and noxes all fall on 22 or 23? The solstice really is the mother of all winter time holiday ceremony. Pagan... pagan-ish, at least. What with the "War on Christmas" and all, a solstice greeting has got to be least likely to offend anyone and still be seasonally appropriate.

I like riffing on the holiday greetings that Colbert and Cordry whipped off on comedy Central - "No matter what god or gods you worship... or don't, godless heathens... have a merry Christmas!"

Do the Scientologists have a winter holiday? Phaeton-wacking day?

I've been up all night tending to my Santa animation, putting presents together, thinking about pondering packing for the trip home, but not actually picking up any clothes or books or whatnot and truly getting ready. What's going on right now is I've got my computer rendering what I hope will be a final version of my digital holidaze thingamabob. I know it'll turn out to be too long. I wish I'd had the time to edit it down, and figure out better sources for audio, and shoot myself some better source materials for a page, and... and...

Ah well. This is the nature of this particular project in my life. Every year it's pretty much the same. This year, objectively, well, as objectively as I can offer in my sleep deprived, teeth shifting state, is very very very down to the wire.

Hopefully I can get something that doesn't suck posted before I hafta hop on the train. If I can stay awake once my journey starts, I'll work on cobbling together a holiday 2005 spam of an email.

Frack. I wanted to add links to the page for the Brattle... Ah, maybe I can do that once I'm home.

Why do I do this to myself?

Cuz you're an idiot?

Oh yeah...~

Crap, is my putting "Phaeton" in this entry asking for some kind of attack...? Crazy bastard alien animal spirits! But, it's the Phaeton what made me do it. I'm not responsible for any wrongdoing, it's the work of these alien ghosts muckin w my brainwaves. The best way to deal with it is to forget it ever happened and move forward with a clean, unresponsible, guiltless slate...

I dunno that I got that anything close to correct, but that's the gist I've picked up from DAILY SHOW, SOUTH PARK, and dinner party convo authorities...

Rambling now... Gotta pack.
Keep on keepin on~

life is a CABARET...

Just caught CABARET at the Brattle tonight. It's like THREESOME, or THREE OF HEARTS, or, actually, a whole lot of this season's NIP/TUCK, in a 1930s Germany night club. Liza kinda rocks, and that Joel Gray is damn spooky as the leader of the Kit Kat Club's Cabaret. Kinda kooky seeing Basil Exposition get it on with Lucille 2. =)

"Brian, don't be so literal!"
--- Sally Bowles, played by Liza Minelli, CABARET

Keep on keepin on~

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE!

Just got out of a screening of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. Such a perfect little film! I do adore this incredible science fictional yarn. Everyone should see this movie! No, no, that's not quite what I mean to say...

What I really mean is that everyone should WATCH this movie! I think that people have often seen it, just happened to have it on in the background during holiday get-togethers or dindins or drinks, y'know? But I'll bet half the people who have had the movie on the tube in front of them have NOT actually WATCHED it. Fix that, people!

A ton of bits of fun and associations...

That little moment where Mary leans over the counter to whisper into George's bad ear...

"Is this the ear you can't hear on? George Bailey, I'll love you till the day I die."

That is real world magic right there, that is.

Donna Reed is HOT!

Ernie and Bert!

Zuzu's petals!

I kept having flashes to moments from the BACK TO THE FUTURE movies. I remember having flashes to THIS movie when watching those movies, heh. All references and no original experience... Welcome to the future! Wack! Really, tho, I think Zemeckis or Spielberg, whoever was at the helm for certain decisions in the FUTURE flicks, took copious notes on LIFE for how to handle the details of alternate realities for a movie audience. Housing developments, cemeteries, storefronts and marquees on main street, even camera moves... Good crack.

In recent years, Jimmy Stewart, and particularly Jimmy Stewart in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, reminds me of my friend and old coworker, Chris. He would do the greatest character impressions, and his George Bailey, especially delivering the "scurvy little spider" tirade, is spot-on. I hope he's having a fine holiday in the vermont wild.

I know it's not possible for everyone to catch this movie on the big screen, in a darkened theater, the way they should. But you know, if you think about watching it this holiday (Saturday, Christmas Eve, 8pm, NBC), turn down the lights, gather your friends and fam round the televisional hearth, or whomver you're slummin the holidays away with, and watch it, but like a movie, intent. You will enjoy it. If you do it right, I bet it'll be like watching it for the first time ever. It is Good. =)

"Merry Christmas, movie house!"
--- George Bailey, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Keep on keepin on~

message from the digital mines...

Caught and banged and buffeted by that annual end-of-the-year down-the-drain time dilating vortex... Other clumps caught in the maelstrom that I am periodically dashed against are some chunks of work, bits of socializing, present shopping and (hopefully I'll actually get to it soon) delivering, and the self-imposed beating known as my holiday Santa animation...

In the home stretch of the Watch-A-Thon, I told myself that I should be okay with taking a "bye" on the Santa animation this year. That I was doing some good, solid, charitable goofing off instead of brainstorming and building for a decent bit of holiday Santa-mation, and that should be totally acceptable...

And I bought it...

...for a while.

But y'know what I was doing on the T the week after the 'thon? Sketching little 3-D Platonic solids that might get mashed together to make a Santa Claus face.

I usedta sketch and doodle a lot. For the last few years it seems that I only really get into it around December, and it's all crazy Santa Claus stuff. Can you say, "Issue?"

What a weird word - i s s u e.

Ever seen REINDEER GAMES? Some of Affleck's finest work... which I know doesn't mean a lot =). Really, friends know my feelings on Mr. and Mrs. Damon, and Ben's skills are quite limited. But, well, forget about Ben. See the movie for all the other fun and ridiculousness in it. What a gorgeous opening five minutes... All those Santas... =)

I had a bunch of proto-ideas skippin about in my head, but one seemed not-so-crazy enough and sorta fit me pretty well and I started to walk around with it on my mind all the time, right after that cool chick who told me I should take the stairs every other day instead of the elevator, and two weekends after the 'thon, after some fun tournament volleyballing w Earth-Shattering KaBOOM, I found myself cracking open some old school Mac software on my laptop to start building a dumb model of Santa Claus v.2005. And since then, every other late late night has dialed into early morning with me clicking and modelling, animating, Photoshopping, or rendering bits and pieces of my silliness. How or if it will all come together in a decent way, and in time (before I leave town to do Christmas w the parentals in Jersey), well, I don't know just yet. I foresee lots of Diet Pepsi, Chips Ahoys, pajamas, and sleep deprivation in my near future.

I've got a couple loads of laundry running now, so that I don't hafta take dirty clothes home w me this weekend, and also ray tracing some animation tests in the background on this machine. It's such a weird, sometimes creepy, zone, where working on computers intersects living... if you can call it that. Mostly the zone is filled with tangled wires and dust hippos sharing desk space with potato chips and cookies in tupperware and several cans of soda in various states of consumption and temperature, FAMILY GUY, FUTURAMA, and ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT on the tube, not-yet-wrapped Christmas presents, and cool spots on pillows. Note that this particular flavor of the zone manifests when your computer is in your bedroom.

Gotta go check on that laundry in a few...

Keep on keepin on~

Holiday Greetings from Secular Central

"No matter what holiday you celebrate, have a merry Christmas!"
--- Rob Cordry, THE DAILY SHOW

"No matter what your faith may be, Merry Christmas!"
--- Stephen Colbert, THE COLBERT REPORT

(I don't think I quite got the phrasing right for Colbert's holiday wish...)

Keep on keepin on~

overheard...

Went to see HARRY POTTER this afternoon, and afterwards, heard two women just out of KING KONG talking in the theater hallway...

"I don't get the dinosaurs... That just didn't make any sense!"

*sigh*

Keep on keepin on~

KING KONG & Brattle goodness!

This is the kitbashed email I sent out pushing KONG, WONG, and Capra this weekend. It's mostly what I blog'd yesterday, but has a few added little ripples...
-----------------------------------
Before you see KING KONG (and you CAN'T NOT see it)...

Check out the Brattle tonight for IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE at a fundraising screening. And save some time this weekend for a kickass Wong Kar Wai three-fer. The dramatic bittersweet threesome of movies is...

DAYS OF BEING WILD

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE

2046

If you can see them all, please do. Maybe spread it out over the Friday thru Sunday, to break up your Harvard Square holiday gift shopping (Curious George, Harvard Book Store, New England Comics, Black Ink, two crafts fairs, and - look out, boyfriends! - that deadly Jasmine row). That would be a helluva thing. I don't know if this is quite a "trilogy," but the stories certainly do interlock and trigger some powerful movie-world deja vu, and keep your eyes and ears open - they're all so frickin gorgeous and set to the sweetest soundtracks...~

There's also additional screenings of LIFE as well as a midnight event with "Dirty FOUND Magazine." Check out the Brattle's schedule and plan accordingly!

I'll try to dig up my old Wong Kar Wai blasts and post or link back to them at my blog. Hopefully soon. I'll likely be up in the small hours again tonight anyhow, post-vball and all... =)

And now for my hohum take on the new Peter Jackson flick, a small picture, but you might have heard of it...?

KING KONG! SEE IT!

SEE IT A DOZEN TIMES! I'll definitely be seeing it again =)

All the reviews and excerpts used to push this lean, mean, happy fun ball of entertainment - I've gotta say, they're all true, correct, and spot-on! This is

It's got everything, and in super-sized amounts! Romance! Comedy! Non-stop action! The environments are perfect. If Peter Jackson's re-creation of 1930s skyscraping Manhattan isn't completely accurate, it IS freakin beautiful. Jack Black is perfect as the overzealous director-showman. Except for perhaps being too hot for the period, Naomi Watts is a perfect retro-modern flapper damsel in distress. Adrian Brody... Well, he fits, but I hafta say, except for one little moment between the two of them, his chemistry with Watts pales in comparison to the electricity between Watts and King Kong. Crazyzay, but true.

RONIN-ish chase scenes, complete with deadly collisions and pile-ups... with savage land dinosaurs! Military artillery versus gigantic ape! Action-packed, brutal, even acrobatic, ape-v-dinosaur battles! Also, Berenice Abbot's NYC and the "Great White Way" brought to gorgous big screen life.

There's this one short cut, boiled down to an image, really, that just epitomizes the greatness of this story and its storytelling for the comic book/sci-fi/movie fan in me... We see the playwright Jack Driscoll (Adrian Brody), costumed in 1920s-30s wardrobe, beaten and scratched up, rushing thru the jungle brush, tommy-gun in hand, chasing after the sweet and beautiful Ann Darrow (vaudeville'd up Naomi Watts), with "Lost World" man-eating creatures on his tail... That, for me, is some powerful, joyous, crack.

Quick eyes will spot the Sumatran Rat-Monkey of Jackson's beauty of a zombie film, DEADALIVE. If you remember correctly, they're an abomination, created when the monster rats of some doomed ship came ashore on a lost little island and raped its native monkeys. Jackson genius, no? =) Some of you might remember me lamenting the "zombie technology gap" between Hollywood and New Zealand (w New Zealand in the lead) last year as a tangent off of my SHAUN OF THE DEAD blast. They know their zombies. Should add this quick follow-up now - Romero DID come out of retirement this year to close that gap with some LAND OF THE DEAD action.

Back to KING KONG... =)

Kong should be up for best actor this year. I saw so much more humanity out of him in this movie than from Tom Cruise in... well, almost everything, I think, bleah. I had these flashes when watching Kong in action, in e/motion, even, to Toshiro Mifune, of Kurasawa/samurai movie fame. Uncanny, really. Something, very wandering lone samurai about him...

If you pay attention to the credits, or probably all the behind-the-scenes bits about the effects and such on AccessHollywood or E! or SciFi you'll see a familiar name is actually behind the expression and motion-capture of the big ape. Amazing that he could be the go-to guy for this sort of work, but then, if it ain't broke, right?

At the start of the film, I thought I was picking up on a little pattern of K's, kinda like all the L's in Superman's universe, y'know? But after a while, I just mentally dropped it, so don't know if it was real and pervasive.

There's a sweet tip-o-the-hat to the original moviemakers Cooper and Wray dropped into some of Black's early dialogue. There might've been more, but those are the only names I know from the original. I've never seen the old school KONG all the way through, just clips and snips as part of documentaries and as examples of stop-motion animation and early flim special effects. I want to see it now.

Here's a crazy remark - the movie itself was all icing - really sweet and crispy icing, with little tiny STAR WARS figures laid into it to make it look like the Hoth battle scene from EMPIRE - after seeing my first trailer for Michael Mann's MIAMI VICE! =)

Woo-HOO! =)

I had no idea that this was in production. The trailer was maybe 15 seconds in when I said, "Hey... this looks like Michael Mann coolness..." Then some bits of Miami flashed on screen, and then Jamie Foxx buddied up w Colin Farrel (whom I don't love, but he does seem like a good choice at this time and place for a Sonny Crocket/Burnett, eh?)... and I just KNEW - MIAMI VICE! Probably embarrassed Joe pretty bad by saying so as loudly and excitedly as I did, heh. Frack, I can't remember a signature car from the trailer. I wonder what it'll be. Ah, the old Ferrari Daytona Spider. One of the only cars I ever bothered to learn the make and name of, heh. K.I.T.T.(the Knight Industries Two Thousand) and K.A.R.R.(the Knight Automated Roving Robot, heh) were modified 1984 Pontiac TransAms, did you know that? =)

Allright, enough already, right? If you haven't gotten the gist of this ramble yet...

GO SEE KING KONG!!! IT IS THREE HOURS OF ENTERTAINMENT GOLD!!

If you hafta go to the bathroom during the show, it's allright. Not in your seat, though! Get thee to the restroom! You're gonna come back and see it again, anyhow. Still, best make it quick =) I had to leave at what felt like the 1 hour mark, anticipating a lot of unmissable action in the following 2 hours. It was a few minutes after Kong first meets his blind date Ann Darrow. Of course, he picks her out of the crowd instantly, it being fate and all, but y'know, she emailed him to let him know that she'd be the one wearing the screaming-and-tied-to-two-posts. Just how I like to meet my dates, heh. It seems like what I missed was mostly angry Kong rushing thru the island jungle... Y'know, now that I think about it, perhaps the best/quietest time to run off might be when the crew leaves the island and the movie starts up again in Manhattan. There's a bit of quiet time setting things up, although the views of old Times Square are amazing...

Yeah, I thought about not getting any popcorn and soda, but how much more of a popcorn movie can this be? =)

Keep on keepin on,
brian out =)

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE & WONG KAR WAI!

Hot on the heels of my KONG plug...

But you can wait on KING, just a couple days, so that you can catch IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE at a fundraising screening tomorrow (tonight) at the Brattle, as well as a kickass Wong Kar Wai three-fer all weekend. If you can see them all, please do. Maybe spread it out over the Friday thru Sunday. That would be a helluva thing. I don't know if this is quite a "trilogy," but the stories certainly do interlock and trigger some powerful movie-world deja vu, and keep your eyes and ears open - they're all so frickin gorgeous and move to the sweetest music...~

The threesome of movies is DAYS OF BEING WILD, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, and 2046...

I'll try to dig up my old blasts about them and post or link to them in a next entry. Hopefully soon. I'll likely be up in the small hours again tonight, post-vball and all, anyhow... =)

Keep on keepin on~

The Eighth Wonder Of The World!

SEE KING KONG!

SEE IT A DOZEN TIMES =)

Some quick late night scattin' on it...

All the reviews and review excerpts used to push this perfect chunk of entertainment - they're all true, correct, and accurate!

It has everything, and in super-sized amounts! Romance! Comedy! Non-stop action! Vaudeville, even! The environments are perfect. If Jackson's re-creation of 1930s skyscraping Manhattan isn't completely accurate, it IS freakin beautiful. Jack Black is perfect as the overzealous director-showman. Except for perhaps being too hot for the period, Naomi Watts is a perfect retro-modern damsel in distress. Adrian Brody... Well, he fits, but I hafta say, except for one little moment between the two of them, his chemistry with Watts pales in comparison to that found between Watts and King Kong. Crazyzay, but true.

FRENCH CONNECTION-ish chase scenes... with dinosaurs! Military artillery versus gigantic ape! Action-packed, brutal, even acrobatic, ape-v-dinosaur battles! Also, the "Great White Way" brought to film life.

For comic book/sci-fi/movie fan me, there's this one short cut that just epitomizes the greatness of this story and its storytelling... of the playwright Jack Driscoll (Adrian Brody), costumed in 1920s-30s wardrobe, beaten and scratched up, rushing thru the jungle brush, tommy-gun in hand, chasing after the sweet and beautiful Ann Darrow (flapper'd Naomi Watts), with "Lost World" man-eating creatures on his tail... That, for me, is some powerful, joyous, crack.

Quick eyes will spot the Sumatran Rat-Monkey of Jackson's zombie beauty of a film, DEADALIVE. If you remember correctly, they're an abomination, created when the monster rats of some doomed ship came ashore on a lost little island and raped its native monkeys. Jackson genius, no? =)

Kong should be up for best actor. I had these flashes when watching Kong in action to Toshiro Mifune, of Kurasawa/samurai movie fame. Uncanny, really. If you pay attention to the credits, or probably all the behind-the-scenes bits about the effects and such on AccessHollywood or E! or SciFi you'll see a familiar name is actually behind the expression and motion-capture of the big ape. Amazing that he could be the go-to guy for this sort of work, but then, if it ain't broke, right?

Here's a crazy remark - the movie itself was all icing - really sweet and crispy icing, with little tiny STAR WARS figures laid into it to make it look like the Hoth battle scene from EMPIRE - after seeing my first trailer for Michael Mann's MIAMI VICE! =)

Woo-HOO! =)

I had no idea that was in production. The trailer was on screen for maybe 15 seconds when I said, "Hey... this looks like Michael Mann coolness..." And then some trademark bits of Miami, and then Jamie Foxx buddied up w Colin Farrel (whom I don't love, but he does seem like a good choice at this time and place for a Sonny Crocket/Burnett, eh?)... I can't remember a signature car, frack. I wonder what it'll be. Ah, the old Ferrari Daytona Spider. One of the only cars I ever bothered to learn the make and name of, heh.

Allright. Enough for now. I need to get some Zs. If you haven't gotten the gist of this ramble yet...

GO SEE KING KONG!!! IT IS THREE HOURS OF ENTERTAINMENT GOLD!! If you hafta go to the bathroom, during the show, it's allright, you're gonna come back and see it again =) I had to leave at what felt like the 1 hour mark, anticipating a lot of unmissable action in the following 2 hours. It was a few minutes after Kong first meets his blind date Ann Darrow. Of course, he picks her out of the crowd instantly, it being fate and all, but y'know, she emailed him to let him know that she'd be the one wearing the screaming-and-tied-to-two-posts. Just how I like to meet my dates, heh. It seems like what I missed was mostly angry Kong rushing thru the island jungle... Y'know, now that I think about it, perhaps the best/quietest time to run off might be when the movie leaves the island.

Yeah, I thought about not getting any popcorn and soda, but how much more of a popcorn movie can this be? =)

Keep on keepin on~

*flashback* Please DONATE/SPONSOR my Movie Watch-A-Thon! =)

A copy/paste w embedded links of my original Watch-A-Thon mass emailing...
----------
1. The form email...
----------
Hello,

I am raising money for the Brattle Film Foundation and would really welcome your support.

Please take a moment to visit my online fundraising page and make a donation. It's really easy - you can donate by credit card and receive a record of your donation. Here's my page.

All donations are secure and sent directly to Brattle Film Foundation. Please join me in supporting Brattle Film Foundation and a fabulous cause!

Thanks and best wishes,

brian paik
----------
2. The long-winded brian paik riff...
----------
Greetings, __________ (check all that apply)
[ ] friend!
[ ] neighbor!
[ ] family member!
[ ] friend of the family!
[ ] esteemed colleague!
[ ] teammate!
[ ] programs!
[ ] arch-nemesis, we meet again!
[ ] long lost [ ]college/[ ]high school/[ ]summer camp buddy!
[ ] one-time match.com date (isn't it about time we had that silly restraining order lifted?)!
[ ] person on my IM buddy list whom I don't remember who it is you are!
[ ] FBI agent tapping my email!
[ ] now stranger, but future best bud with the good fortune to be included with me in the cc list of a chain email sent by a mutual friend!

I'm emailing to ask for your support in the Brattle Film Foundation's Movie Watch-A-Thon. This non-profit organization programs and operates the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square. Have I not mentioned the Brattle Theatre to you before? I do seem to babble on about so many other matters, I'm not surprised. Well, I'll just tell you that I've been known to catch one of those new-fangled moving pictures there every once in a blue moon.

And speaking of heavenly bodies, my, but you are looking fine, aren't you? I mean, extraordinarily so. There's just something different about you, isn't there? Something vital that seems to energize the very air around you. I can't quite put my finger on it... Have you been working out, hitting the gymanotorium? Oh yes, yes, that must be it. You are cutting an even more impressive figure than I remember!

But I digress. Where was I? Oh yes, the Brattle Theatre's fundraising drive! The Watch-A-Thon I'm in is similar to the walk-a-thons you're probably familiar with, only instead of covering miles of asphalt and sidewalk, I'll be viewing miles of film! As a sponsor of mine, you can pledge an amount per movie watched, or donate a fixed amount, all to help preserve this wonderful little theatre and its excellent programming!

Oh, I see now that you're wearing your hair differently as well! That's a great look for you - very sharp, sophisticated, modern. I do approve! But I must say, it really is about the whole package with you, isn't it? I mean, that outfit! Or ensemble, I should say. Of course, you will modestly insist that you just threw that together. If only everyone could "just throw together" such style. Why, it almost pains me to look directly at you - so...radiant!

But where IS my head? Your stunning presence has completely distracted me from my purpose yet again. So taken I am with that glow about you, I've all but forgotten that I'm engaged in an appeal to your renowned sense of charity and celebrated generosity!

As a participant in the Watch-A-Thon, I'm seeking sponsors who will pledge a certain dollar amount donation to the Brattle for every movie I watch in the 23 days from November 11 to December 4. You KNOW I'm not all that keen on moviegoing, so you understand what a terrible hardship and chore this will be for me. =)

But, what can I tell you? It will be worth it to keep the Brattle's projectors running! I have a soft spot for this moviehouse where I first saw so many great films on the big screen. It's where my life changed just a little bit when I first saw Chow Yun Fat step-and-slide his way down that tea-house stairway railing, two guns a-blazin', partnered with Tony Leung in John Woo's HARD-BOILED -damn!- over a decade ago! The darkened theater where I first experienced movies like CITIZEN KANE, DONNIE DARKO, DOG SOLDIERS, FALLEN ANGELS, BOB LE FLAMBEUR, RIFIFI, CASABLANCA, TOUCH OF EVIL, TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS, METROPOLIS, JU-ON, YOJIMBO, AMERICAN ASTRONAUT, BUBBA HO-TEP, GOODBYE, DRAGON INN... Where I can go to see "What's Opera, Doc?" on the big screen, catch Monday night Noir flicks, and EVIL DEAD 2 and FREAKS on Halloween... and where I consistently go to see the best of film's past (BICYCLE THIEF), present (NAPOLEON DYNAMITE), and future (ONG-BAK).

So, what do you say, my extremely gorgeous chum? Would you care to pledge some of your very attractive dollars to help preserve this charming little theater and its fine programming? To make a one-time donation online with a credit card, check out my fundraising page (along with some more rambling).

If you'd like to make a PLEDGE-PER-MOVIE for the 'thon, email me back with an amount you're comfortable with. Or, feel free to accost me the next time we meet and let me know then. I suppose it's only fair that I should, well, WARN you that I foresee my final movie watch count being in the teens. So double-check your cyphering accordingly!~

Once the Watch-A-Thon period begins, I'll update you regularly on my progress, and when I can, cobble together reviews of the movies I consume along the way. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch a couple of them in your company. =)

For a schedule of upcoming Brattle screenings and more info about the Brattle Theatre and the Watch-A-Thon itself, check out the Brattle site!

If you're up for reading some much more eloquent cases for the preservation of this little-theater-that-should, check out the press links in the right column here.

Please pass this email and/or the justgiving.com link on to anyone you think might be up for helping the Brattle out, and thanks for any support you can offer!

Keep on keepin on,
brian out =)

a bit on NARNIA...

I've been meaning to do some more writing, but finding myself way unmotivated, mired in a spell of post-partem 'thon malaise... On the eve of opening day, I do have a bit of scattin' on NARNIA, mostly from an email I sent to Zorky...

Just rattling off what comes to mind about the flick...

A very satisfying and faithful (not Churchy faithful, but faithful faithful) adaptation of the beloved book (I love the book, and all the Chronicles).

While she makes a very regal and bitchy White Witch, I hafta say I don't love some of Tilda Swinton oddly sculpted witchy wardrobe. No biggie, really.

The battle scenes are very satisfying, with huge numbers on both sides, but shot so that you're never disoriented or lost in chaos. From what I can recall, the book might give a page or two to the ongoing battle, but focuses more on what goes on w Aslan at the stone table. The moviemakers quite rightly take this as license to put on a serious collision of two armies/menageries of all manner of fantastic creatures. Good crack.

I think I mentioned that the movie avoids any visible red bloodshed, but still delivers some solid sword-swinging and knock-down violence. Very smart really, to keep the movie suitable for kid viewing. Y'know, if you really and truly put stories told to children, or meant for children to read, faithfully onto the big screen, most would end up with an R rating for all kinds of ghastly frights, creatures, and violence. It's funny to SAY to a kid that someone's eyeballs shot out of his head when he got whacked w a club, but when you put that on screen, and it's not Bugs Bunny doing it (or even if it is, these days), we believe that kids can't handle it. Although they may inspire just as much analysis and interpretation by liberal arts grads, Lewis's original books are more for children's consumption than Tolkein's.

The "texture" of the live action married to the CG creatures seems different from that of Peter Jackson's RINGS films, but not necessarily better or worse. It is almost all brighter, in daylight and against the white of the Witch's winter, but again, not an automatic better or worse. I'm not certain, but my memory wants to tell me that that "texture" is something that belongs to the scenes in Narnia, as opposed to real world London, in the movie. If that is the case, extra well done. The talking animals are excellent. The perfect centaurs got me a little sentimental over the incredibly crappy but somehow acceptable half people half horsies of HERCULES and XENA, heh.

The children actors would not have been my first picks, physically, for the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve. They do a fine job as the Pevensie kids, tho, planting them solidly in their archetypal not-always-so-agreeable-but-always-family sibling roles.

There's one good blank from the books that the movie starts to fill in pretty nicely - how these London kids end up being proficient at swordplay - a little bit of training. It could've been pushed even further, but at least it gives a glimpse, which in a movie can always stand for as much as needed.

"Always winter, never Christmas." Anyone remember that from the XTC -or maybe it was Dukes of the Stratosphear?- song? Always loved that Narnia reference.

Another wonderful Narnia reference for me is from FAMILY GUY. It's actually what convinced me that the show was worth watching. I was pretty lukewarm on the show when it first kicked off. I had a lot of trouble getting comfortable w the scrotum-chinned design of a lot of the male characters, and in general, the ugliness of most of the characters overall. But there was this one episode where Peter offhandedly makes some remark about losing socks in the laundry, and the show does one of its crazy cut/flashbacks showing him sticking his head into the dryer after the sock and spotting Mr. Tumnus by the lamp post in Narnia, running off w his sock. That. Is. Genius.

Joe and I got passes to the advance screening because we did some work for the website for the Narnian Chronicles, the original series of books by C. S. Lewis. We were in the running to work on the movie website, under the management of Walden Media, who created the film, but when Disney stepped in as distributor, they flexed their muscle and brought in their own developers to handle it. Bleah.

I'm very glad that LION's being movied first. I was way dismayed a few years back when I saw new editions of the Chronicles on shelves at Curious George Goes To Wordsworth (is that the full name of the store - the kids' bookstore in Harvard Square?). They'd renumbered the Chronicles with THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW as book 1 and LION as book 2. NEPHEW was originally the sixth book published out of the seven, I believe, and that's the order that I read them in. I think that Lewis himself once explained the NEPHEW is SUPPOSED to be first, as it's sort of the "Genesis" book of Narnia, explaining the origin and creation of the world beyond the wardrobe, but y'know what. He's wrong. Starting in the "middle" with LION, and later hitting NEPHEW, is way more satisfying for the reverse deja-vu you get in finding out where familiar characters and places began, y'know? Sorta like seeing EPISODES 1-3 after 4-6... only... y'know... Good! Well, allright... at least, better. =)

Pardon the tangent rant there... Time to close this up. Hope there wasn't anything too spoilery in there. When you're at the movie, try not to think about asking Tumnus and the Witch if they're registered sex offenders. =)

Keep on keepin on~

while you're waiting...

I stumbled across this bit of web therapy tonight...

re: another crazy survey...

While I try to figure out what to do with myself and this space, post-Thon and all, I present a bit of a blog "cheat," made from 95% recycled materials, originally sent earlier today as an email reply to friends.
---------------
1. What time did you get up this morning?
6.45am... 6.57am... 7.27am... 7.40am... Still recovering a bit from all night TWIN PEAKS madness...

2. Diamonds or Pearls?
McDonald's french fries. Legos. Doubles volleyball at the beach.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE at the Brattle last night. Not the feel-good movie of the winter, but great for one of those frustrating, righteous indignant, "WTF is wrong w the world?" feelings, y'know?

4. What is your favorite TV show?
FUTURAMA, DAILY SHOW, DEADWOOD, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, FIREFLY, FAMILY GUY, SOUTH PARK, NIP/TUCK, PRISON BREAK, SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK, BATTLE OF THE PLANETS...

5. What did you have for breakfast this morning?
A sudafed, a gulp of Robitussin, and a multivitamin, chased w orange juice.

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
1. Korean food at the parentals'.
2. Sushi.
3. Fajitas at Border Cafe.
4. Bacon.
5. McFood.

8. What foods do you dislike?
Beans, sprouts, mushrooms, most green things and things that look like trees or brains, i.e. pickles, celery, brocolli, cauliflower.

9. Your favorite Potato chip?
McDonald's french fries. Then I'd hafta say Cape Cods, no salt.

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
Not listening to anything all that regularly now. But when I'm in the car I've got my summer driving-to-the-beach mix in the player.

11. What kind of car do you drive?
A Saturn.

12. Favorite sandwich?
1. Steak and cheese.
2. Hamburger club.
3. Years ago, when Elsie's was still around in Harvard Square, would've been the Turkey Deluxe Jumbo.

13. What characteristics do you despise?
Jerkassitude.

14. What are your favorite clothes?
Clothes comfortable enough to sleep in.

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where WOULDN'T you go?
Some place where volleyball can't be played.

16. What color are your eyes?
Black.

17. Favorite brand of clothing?
Gap, preferably on sale.

18. Where would you want to retire to?
Near the beach, ocean, and movies.

19. Favorite time of day?
1. Hangin after vball w food and drinks when the group isn't so massive we take up, like, eight tables.
2. Anytime I get to play some beach doubles w my friends.
3. McDonald's french fries.
4. Whenever I've got some time to kill and three episodes of something I really like waiting for me on my replayTV.

20. Where were you born?
Jersey.

21. Favorite sport to watch?
Volleyball.

22. Who do you least expect to send this back?
Me.

23. Person you expect to send it back first?
?

25. Coke or Pepsi?
Diet Pepsi.

26. Are you a morning person or night owl?
Night owl.

29. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone?
Not so much. The Watch-A-Thon is completed. I am a bit lost as to what to do with myself just now.

30. What did you want to be when you were little?
1. A video game developer.
2. A Lego kit designer.
3. An astronaut.

32. What is your best childhood memory?
Hrmmm... A snack picnic w my mom and sister featuring small peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

33. What are the different jobs you have had in your life?
Snack stand monkey, tutor, teaching assistant, film courier, animator, multimedia developer, digital media production monkey...

35. Nicknames:
Paik. Paikster. B. BP.

36. Piercings?
None... that I know of...~

37. Ever been to Africa?
Been to Africa, or "been to Africa?" I don't know what that means, but regardless, nope.

39. Ever been toilet papering?
Nope.

41. Been in a car accident?
Nothing serious, altho I did scare the hell out of a friend by rolling into his Pinto.

43. Favorite day of the week?
Saturday.

44. Favorite restaurant?
Border Cafe.

45. Favorite flower?
Tulips. Roses.

46. Favorite ice cream?
1. Emack and Bolio's usedta have an amazing apple pie a la mode.
2. Chocolate chip cookie dough.
3. Vanilla.
4. Ice cream sandwiches.
5. Chocolate Eclairs and Strawberry Shortcakes (Good Humor concotions on a stick).

48. Favorite fast food restaurant?
McDonald's.

50. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
None.

51. Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail?
The Watch-A-Thon coordinator at the Brattle.

52. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
Best Buy. Restoration hardware. Target. Gap. Toys R Us. Wordsworth (am I allowed to travel back in time?).

54. Bedtime?
Pretty consistently sometime between 1am and 4am.

Watch-A-Thon wrap and DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE@the Brattle...

Thanks to everyone who supported my movie craziness, I managed to bring in over $2,100 in donations and pledges for the Brattle - woohoo! THANKS, everyone =) You'll each get an extra 5 minutes to share at my iminent film addiction intervention, enablers!

At the finish line get-together at the Hong Kong, Ivy announced that the Watch-A-Thon itself raised over $8,000 in a little more than three weeks, with maybe a dozen "big-time" participants. Many more signed up, but were not so maniacal and aggressive about reaching out and movie-going as the top fundraisers. Prizes went to most movies watched and most funds raised. Top moviegoer, Jay, with a thon count of 28, won himself an iPod shuffle, and top fundraiser, Ed, with $2,300 raised, picked up a 10 DVD collection of Criterion Collection movies. Damn, I wonder if the Kurasawa samurai collection is part of that? Frack, that would be frickin shweet.

Although I didn't get to compare actual numbers of movies watched, I think I would've come in second in movie count, with 23.5 (although I only had 22.5 marked at the Kong). According to the JustGiving site, I definitely came in second in bucks raised.

*sigh* O well.

On the wider fundraising front, the Brattle looks to be on a pace to make about half of their $400K goal by the end of this year. Not as much as they'd been hoping/shooting for, but enough to feel secure in discussing and negotiating their next lease in February. That amount sort of buys them another two months to continue in current fundraising mode. So, if you've got a few bucks you don't know what to do with in the next couple months, please take them over to the Brattle for a ticket and/or a donation. Also just confirmed that my page at justgiving.com will be "open" thru April, so feel free to exercise your Visa or MC there in support of this most excellent movie house!

After sucking down some free buffet, and meeting some of my esteemed colleagues and competitors in the 'thon, I went and hit my last movie of the Watch-A-Thon run, a 7.30 show of DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE at the Brattle. I didn't have a stamp for it on my final 'thon card, cuz I turned that in at the Kong, but it would've been #23.5 - as of the finish line, I'd soaked in 18 Brattle screenings and 9 non-Brattle, for a total of 22.5 'thon movies.

DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE... Not the feel-good flick of the winter, and not what I expected from the title and trailer, but powerful flick for instilling one of those frustrating, righteously indignant, and quite despairing "WTF is wrong w the world?" feelings, y'know? The Jaguar "Gorgeous..." ad was notably (thoughtfully?) absent as part of the pre-show.

I really don't have the head to do the subject or the filmmaking justice, but the Brattle's summary and Boston Globe do a decent job of it. It is playing thru Wednesday at the Brattle. Do check it out. A bit of a harrowing eye-opening educational experience, but also a helluva sobering "snap out of it" counter to all the frickin holiday music that beats on you all day this holiday season.

Keep on keepin on~

The best thing I ever heard (frickinfrackinsazzafrazzin...):
"Second comes right after first..."
--- Buzz Aldrin, "Deep Space Homer," THE SIMPSONS

Finish line tonight...

A thousand words on the Watch-A-Thon count on the final day...


That's 18 Brattle screenings + (9 non-Brattle screenings x 0.5) = 22.5 Watch-A-Thon shows. The per-movie pledges with this movie count pushes my fundraising total over $2,000! Woohoo =) Thanks, everyone for your help and support!

Doesn't quite put me at the tip-top of the Watch-A-Thon-ers. This Ed fellow rocked the Brattle hard. There are gonna be some awards given for the top fundraiser and moviewatcher of the pack. After seeing Ed's strong work, I thought maybe I'd still have a shot at the moviewatching title, but check out Jay's endurance!

Impressive... most impressive...

Keep on keepin on~

TWIN PEAKS post-marathon burn...

I'm currently suffering from a bit of post-PEAKS marathon headache. I cannot honestly determine whether its cause is the sleep deprivation or the exposure to almost a dozen hours of the Happy Fun Ball core that is TWIN PEAKS. Was WONDERFUL, tho, reacquainting myself with Special Agent Dale Cooper, Sheriff Harry S. Truman, Andy, Hawk, Lucy, Shelly, Norma, Donna (Lara Flynn's more than Moira's, sorry, Moira), Audrey, Blackie, Ben and Jerry, Diane, and those cray-ay-zay Palmers!~

The exposure to the material triggered some funny combinations of sparking synapses, some recollection and a lot of cross referencing...

Laura's mom and Donna's dad are reunited on SEINFELD as the parents of George's stamp-glue-poisoned fiance, Susan.

Shelly and Bobby (not Bob) both end up on DAWSON'S CREEK.

Ed and Naomi appeared again as a loving couple on the big screen in Wes Craven's THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS. That's about all I remember from that movie, actually. I want to say they did it again in another flick, but can't call up a proper memory of such a thing.

I think that Russ Tamblyn was probably still metabolizing some drug deposits trapped in his body from the 60s when TWIN PEAKS was shooting. Also, I get to remember him as Sharky, the half-boy/half-shark of CABINBOY.

I suspect that David Lynch just happened to catch Harry Dean Stanton at his day job at the trailer park in FIRE WALK WITH ME, and didn't have to give him a character or any lines.

In a couple of scenes, with just the right look and camera angle, I can still see ERASERHEAD in Jack Nance.

I made a mix tape, or really, rather, an UNmix tape, of "The Pink Room" from the FIRE WALK WITH ME soundtrack.. JUST that song, over and over again for 90 minutes. It's what they're playing in the back room when Jacques sets Laura and Donna up with the lumberjacks and sex-show. I played that tape over and over again while working in the darkroom on photography projects. Great crack. Angelo Badalmente and Julee Cruise are pretty amazing when applied to just the right material.

Totally forgot that Heather Graham had anything to do with the series - wack.

Y'know, that show actually made sense to me once. =) Well, a kind of sense. When I like and enjoy David Lynch's stuff it's because he gives me just (barely) enough seemingly connected pieces to a puzzle and I get to fill in the missing ones myself. These pieces often involve some form of astral projection, E.S.P., dreams, devils, and time travel. Fun, no?

I ended up going solo, but found a couple of copacetic row-mates and we managed to "spot" each other safely thru the evening. =)

I Was hoping to catch DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE this afternoon before the evening Watch-A-Thon closing ceremonies, but it turns out there's into a showtime until 5.15, and the "finish line" festivities begin around 6. Frack.

Not quite in a state to put anything all the coherent - well, as coherent as I get - in writing, so I'll go with posting a few visual aids instead.

Hangin' in a chow line...~
Good times!~

After the midnight-ish screening of the TWIN PEAKS pilot, round 2.40am or so, the Twin Peak-ed line up for some cheery pie and coffee...


Brattle Theatre Creative Director Ned Hinkle works the TWIN PEAKS pie line.



Ned and Ivy Moylan give away some cool PEAKS marathon event posters. A few went out to trivia question answers and a few went out for recognition. They were kind enough to bestow one upon me for my Watch-A-Thon run. =)


And at the end of the marathon, the remaining survivors exit to discover it's a brand new snow day!~



Keep on keepin on~

The best thing I ever heard:
"My log saw something that night... Go ahead, ask it!"
--- Log Lady, TWIN PEAKS

GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK and NARNIA...

It's Saturday afternoon and I'm making a quick pit stop between movies and meals.

One more day of the 'thon! THANKS to everyone who's donated to the Brattle! Do spread the word and keep checkin the schedule yourself for flicks you might want to see. I'm shooting to catch DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE tomorrow sometime.

Caught a preview screening with of NARNIA with Kim, Jeff, and Joe this morning at the Boston Common and dig it mucho. The Pevensie girls don't quite match my imagined Lucy and Susan, but Edmund won me over (that jerkass), and Peter seemed pretty right on. My biggest concern over the realization of this film was the talking animals of Narnia - lip syncing unnatural jaw movements for english and all - but they totally work. The dialogue is punched up a bit for banter compared to what I remember of the book, and the battle scenes are impressive and action-packed without being complete chaos, y'know? And the filmmakers do a solid job of delivering "satisfying" violence without spraying the lens with blood. For the kids, donchaknow. It's probably nitpickable, but just now, I don't have the energy. I like it.

Last night I saw GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK with Rowan. Well-crafted is the description that comes to mind first. Compelling storytelling, and excellent atmosphere and ambience. If only the themes and materials were somehow relevant to life in America today...

I'm gonna catch AEON FLUX early this evening. I'm pretty much expecting schlock. The trailers look really disappointing given how excellent the original animated serial was.

Later in the evening I'm planning on hitting the TWIN PEAKS marathon at the Brattle. I'm not sure how long I'll last tho. Was out late w some volleyball goons last night and didn't get home til about 3 something and to bed til around 4. Then had to be up and into town early to get seats at that Narnia preview. Maybe some fried David Lynch in an overtired sleep-deprived state is just the thing to keep me up all night, tho. We shall see~

After getting out of GOOD NIGHT last night, I saw for the first time that the "dread" holiday lights in the Boston Common trees are on in the evenings again.

Keep on keepin on~

#17... THE MALTESE FALCON...

Just a long weekend to go til the end of the 'thon. There's still time to place your bets! Errr... that is, to sponsor, pledge, and donate.

Joshua let me know earlier this week that my justgiving.com page comes up under the second result when you Google "Brattle" and "fundraiser." How he found that out exactly... I don't know. =)

I love me some Bogart, Greenstreet, and Lorre in THE MALTESE FALCON. I do, I do! Noir icons, dramatically lit, breathing life into some great hardboiled Dashiell Hammett private detecting. It's all good. =)

Good turnout for the 7.30 fundraising screening. And from the applause, people are paying attention. I know on paper, it's not the most important thing in the world, but it's a happy place, and a kind of happy place, that would be sorely missed if shut down.

Upon hearing phantom footsteps behind me in the exit/restroom hallway before the show this evening, I wondered for the first time tonight if there are any ghosts in the theater.

Coming up this weekend, the documentary about the seeding of Lake Victoria w some monster salmon or some such eating fish, and its powerful effects on the economy and society of Tanzania, DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE, a Saturday matinee double feature of CINDERELLA and BLACK BEAUTY, and Saturday night, starting at 10pm, the TWIN PEAKS marathon, which kicks off with FIRE WALK WITH ME, then the television pilot, followed by the seven episodes of the first season. Cherry pie and coffee available to all attendees!


I wonder that the Brattle ghost tinkered w the lights in the men's room in honor of the PEAKS thon. I've noticed over the past week that it's gone from steady to spastic, on the fritz, like the light in a morgue scene from season one.

Walking back home from the square, a churchy bell somewhere behind me started tolling... and wouldn't stop. I lost count at around 35 or so. The bell started a few minutes before 10pm by my watch and kept going until I stepped inside my building, a few minutes after. What up w that?

I do love my movies, but seeing so many alone is a little bit sad...

Keep on keepin on~

The best thing I ever heard:
"When I slap you, you'll take it and LIKE it!"
--- Sam Spade to Joey Cairo, THE MALTESE FALCON

WATCH-A-THON update...

Apologies to my fellow moviegoers for the coughing from the mezzanine. I'm getting beaten up pretty badly by a cold right now, bleah.


At the end of day 20, coming into the home stretch, the movie count is at 13 Brattle screenings and 6 non-Brattle ones. That's 16 movies (non-Brattle screenings count as half) watched for the 'thon. Here's the roll call, along with rambling on screenings from this past week...

Friday, 11/11
HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (non-Brattle)

Saturday, 11/12
A MAN ESCAPED, dir Robert Bresson, Brattle series - The Films of Jacques Doillon

Sunday, 11/13
WALLACE AND GROMMIT: CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT (non-Brattle)
PONETTE, dir Jacques Doillon, Brattle series - The Films of Jacques Doillon

Monday, 11/14
LA PURITAINE, dir Jacques Doillon, Brattle series - The Films of Jacques Doillon
MON ONCLE, dir Jacques Tati, Brattle series - The Films of Jacques Doillon

Wednesday, 11/16
RAJA, dir Jacques Doillon, Brattle series - The Films of Jacques Doillon
A MAN ESCAPED, dir Robert Bresson, Brattle series - The Films of Jacques Doillon

Friday, 11/18
THUMBSUCKER, Brattle series - Recent Raves

Sunday, 11/20
SERENITY, Brattle series - Recent Raves
SERENITY, Brattle series - Recent Raves

Thursday, 11/24
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (non-Brattle)
Gorgeous film. Excellent cast and characters. Wonderful dialogue. Who would have believed that manners and etiquete could be so fun when applied to insults, romance, and cluelessness? Students with book reports will owe much to this movie in the years to come. There was a series of scenes that played as one extended shot, visiting conversations in different rooms and lighting on people hiding and searching for each other in the course of a ball in a fabulous mansion. I could see opportunities where it separate takes could be stitched together to create the illusion of a single one, but regardless, the effect was pretty cool (please pardon the use of technical jargon - "cool").

Friday, 11/25
WALK THE LINE (non-Brattle)
Joachin is amazing in this. I want to say it's this year's RAY, but I still haven't seen RAY - oops. He and Reese do an excellent job performing their characters' music. Seeing how Cash's rise intersected with those of other stars, and came out of Sam Philips's Sun Studio in Memphis is pretty cool. The hint of Things A-Brewin', y'know? That what we see in the movie, of Cash's life and music and talent, fit into a larger movement or picture. There are moments in this that demonstrate that people do sometimes find their destinies.

Something kinda nifty... There's a scene where Johnny Cash and June Carter are side-by-side on stage during "Ring Of Fire," and it's the first time I ever made the connection that the ring in the song might refer to a wedding ring.

Sunday, 11/27
TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE Brattle series - Give Thanks For Bogie
Aside from all the goodness in this movie, it's got a lot of value for me because I can see bits here and there, and feel the ambience, that Warner Brothers animators lifted for use in almost any Bugs Bunny short that has to do with gold, as well as the "fellow American down on his luck" bit. Classic, classic stuff. And y'know what, Bogie's great in this, but I think the old-timer, the prospector guide he and his partner hook up with, steals the show.

Also - "We don't need no stinkin badges!"

Sunday, 11/27
ISN'T LIFE WONDERFUL (non-Brattle)
A silent film by D.W. Griffith. Screened at the Harvard Film Archive with live piano accompaniment. Follows the lives of a family in Poland struggling to survive in the aftermath of the first world war. A longtime friend of the family courts the daughter, but until he can provide a home for her, the family will not allow her to wed. As poverty and hunger take their toll on the generally law-abiding citizenry, some turn on their own for survival. Even when desperate characters threaten to ruin their chance for happy marriage, the couple finds that their love, along with a LOT of potatos, can sustain them. Cheezy in parts, and old school melodramatic in others, but sweet, especially set against such trying, depressed times. Also, it was neat to hear what a piano might think chickens sound like.

Monday, 11/28
TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, Brattle series - Give Thanks For Bogie
THE BIG SLEEP, Brattle series - Give Thanks For Bogie
A kickass double feature! Man, Bogart and Bacall in these movies are the definition of "chemistry." Palpable stuff. Lauren Bacall is frightfully gorgeous, sharp, and tough.

The delivery of machine gun dialogue in these movies is so damn entertaining. Freshman Bacall does better than hold her own against Bogart, as they trade jibes and entendres throughout both stories. Of course, they're working with great material - Hemingway's TO HAVE (although supposedly his self-proclaimed crappiest work) via Faulkner, and Raymond Chandler's SLEEP (hardboiled eloquence) channelled by Faulkner again. Direction by Howard Hawks, who first put Bogart and Bacall together. Kickass classic stuff.

Tuesday, 11/29
AELITA: QUEEN OF MARS (non-Brattle)
Caught this at the Harvard Film Archive. All I'd known about this movie before last night was a blurb and film still from the pages of the ScienceFictionary I got as a kid. It was a pretty comprehensive one volume encyclopedia of SciFi films from the silent era to the early 80s. I read that thing cover to cover so many times and always experience a bit of satisfaction when I get to see a movie I've only known thru that book. Like a puzzle piece snapping into place. Or a bullet, sliding into the chamber.

AELITA is a Russian silent film about a Soviet rocket scientist who escapes to Mars after a domestic dispute and starts a workers' revolution with the Martian queen. It was screened with live piano accompaniment, AND, due to a mix-up in delivery somewhere, live English language dubbing of the Russian language dialogue. The pianist was a last minute sub, for the original musician, and he was flipping and shuffling sheets of different Russian music to draw from as the movie moved from scene to scene. As the film went on, he quickly learned to pull back on the forte when screens of text/dialogue would appear, to give our live translator some "room" to dub for us. I found myself kind of rooting for the whole production, as the two live parts of the movie hadn't had a chance to rehearse. A very interesting experience. The pianist reached into the piano to strum the wires inside as sound effects for Martian weapons - fun! The movie has everything - romance, intrigue, mystery, mistaken identity, and also, Martians! - although some of the plot turns are very sharp corners, probably for comedic effect, but perhaps blunted by the lag in translation. After all, comedy is all about tiiiiiiMING - TIming - tiii-mIng! The visual design/art direction fo the Mars setting is pretty freakin cool. The HFA's blurb mentioned it being a huge influence on sci-fi film design for years after its release, a major influence on Flash Gordon's Mongo (the old serials, not the Queen-fueled space opera =).

Wednesday, 11/30
KEY LARGO, Brattle series - Give Thanks For Bogie
Caught this tonight, and for the life of me, I really don't know WHAT movie Bertie Higgins watched?! Not that the movie was bad. Au contraire, mon frere, as Woodstock would chirp. It's just that in his song, he makes KEY LARGO sound like a romantic escapade, y'know? No hint of hurricane winds, twelve-foot waves, washed up bodies, and Edward G. Robinson's mobster mug. All of which figure quite prominently in the movie. Robinson is Johnny Rocco, the exiled mob boss looking to make a comeback, supported by his gang of classic thug types. They take over the Largo Hotel to use as the site for a clandestine transaction, holding its owners (Lionel Barrymore and Bacall) and off-season guests (Bogie as a World War II vet) hostage until the deal is done. Of course, this happens to coincide with the worst hurricane to hit the Keys in years, making for a very intense evening of Twister. Not as much Bogie and Bacall steam in this compared to the Howard Hawks double feature, but teaming them with Barrymore and against Robinson more than makes up for it.

That's all I've got for now...
Keep on keepin on~

The best thing I ever heard:
"Touch your lips to mine as you people do on earth..."
--- Queen Aelita, AELITA: QUEEN OF MARS