Date: 2009-11-18 13:23 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

The Mack [1973]

1. She begs him to be her pimp. He says he'll think about it.
2. Killer accordion.
3. Sweaty bassist at the Player's Ball.

Date: 2009-11-14 08:54 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

La Moustache [2005]

1. The shoelace breaks. Just like it did before.
2. It's raining so hard that he literally cannot see through the window. The house where he grew up no longer exists.
3. The man shows him pictures that he doesn't remember. But they actually do exist. It's at this point he accepts that he really has to go along with what's happening.

Date: 2009-11-13 11:07 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

The Young One [1960]

1. The old man has died and his corpse is still lying in the bed. It has one boot on and one boot off. On a table by the bed is a bottle of whiskey and an empty (but previously used) glass. Miller discovers the corpse and says, "So, he finally kicked it." He notices the bottle just sitting there. Picks up the glass and brings it halfway to his lips. Then he looks over at the bed and thinks better of it, puts it back down. Later he goes back to his cabin and has a drink from his own bottle of whiskey.
2. Smooth tracking shots of the pursuit through the swamp.
3. She walks across the pier awkwardly in her high-heeled shoes. Then she begins to skip across an imaginary hopscotch board.

What a great double bill this would make with The Intruder!

Date: 2009-11-11 10:42 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

True Stories [1986]

1. The movie was designed for the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Not widescreen. Very unusual for a 1986 theatrical release. Perhaps Byrne designed it that way so that it wouldn't lose much when shown on video?
2. "Linda! Larry! There's no concept of weekends anymore!" He bows and the lights dim except for the spotlights on the table. The other actors are motionless.
3. He pours the colored sand onto the floor in a circle around himself.

Date: 2009-11-09 08:38 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

The Grapes of Wrath [1940]

1. She reads the postcard one last time and then gently tips it into the flames.
2. The immaculately creased white trousers worn by the camp superintendent.
3. Three shadows in the dirt.

Date: 2009-11-07 09:50 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

Scott Walker: 30 Century Man [2006]

1. On tour: Roy Orbision, The Walker Brothers, Lulu.
2. Newspaper headline: "Scott hides away in a gloom-world"
3. Someone compares Walker to Francis Bacon. Later, in a recording studio, a percussionist plays a giant piece of meat while Walker listens from the control booth.

Date: 2009-11-06 15:17 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

Les félins [1964]

1. Jane chops up some herbs, takes a roast leg of mutton out of the oven.
2. "He wants proof that you suffered." He presses RECORD on the tape machine.
3. Lalo Schifrin's score. Plucked strings, harpsichord. In a scene towards the end we even get some Dixieland.

A jazzy little movie. If only the screenplay had been a little tighter and the direction a little less arty. Still, I liked it. By the way, the American title Joy House is completely lame.

Date: 2009-11-05 10:16 Subject: Flu? Security: Public

What if you think you have the flu?

Date: 2009-11-05 09:06 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

The Men Who Stare at Goats [2009]

1. "What's with the air quotes? Are you implying that I'm only capable of ironically strangling you?"
2. "The silence of the goats."
3. He demonstrates the Predator.

Pretty good! I think it falls a little short of the grand slam it could've been with a more seasoned director, but the script is solid and so is the acting. It reminded me a bit of Dr. Strangelove: it's very, very funny but at the same time what's at the core of the movie is also pretty sad.

Date: 2009-11-02 14:47 Subject: (no subject) Security: Public

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan [2006]

1. He throws down the bag and the hen squawks.
2. "Let's go back to New York, at least there are no Jews there."
3. He comes back to the table and presents the hostess with a white bag.

Date: 2009-11-02 14:43 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

Black Sunday [1960]

1. Bulging eyeballs.
2. Her face transforms, ages.
3. Behind the torn canvas is a lever which operates the door to the secret passageway.

Date: 2009-11-01 12:25 Subject: (no subject) Security: Public

"Like all middle-western towns and cities, Chicago had very pronounced seasons—it was reported to have its hottest summers—the coldest singers—the wettest springs and the windiest falls of any city in the world—as well as being the windiest city anywhere. This may or not be true but, oddly enough, it is a legend that Chicagoans themselves support. It is a very odd fact that Chicagoans never boast about their city, yet they secretly seem to love it. If you tell a Chicagoan that Chicago is one of the hottest cities in America, he will glare at you and reply that it is the hottest city and a hell-hole to live in. Yet, he seldom moves."
-- Robert Ryan

Date: 2009-11-01 11:18 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

Eyes Without a Face [1960]

1. Forceps.
2. He pours a small glass of port then grabs her.
3. "Smile. Not too much."

Date: 2009-10-31 21:04 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

The Seventh Victim [1943]

1. They unlock the door. In the room is a single chair and, hanging from the ceiling, a noose.
2. "I've always wanted to die."
3. Flickering overhead light in the hall.

Date: 2009-10-31 21:00 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

Fiend Without a Face [1958]

1. Mental vampire.
2. The fiend is like a cross between the baby in Eraserhead and a mugwump from Naked Lunch.
3. The corpse, and beside the half-open coffin a pipe.

Date: 2009-10-30 08:46 Subject: LC concert Security: Public

"I don't know when we'll get out this way again," Leonard Cohen said last night. "But tonight we're going to give it everything we've got."

The man was telling the truth. The show, at the Rosemont Theater, was about three hours long, including an intermission and an encore so lengthy it was like a whole separate concert. I think he must have played almost 30 songs. There was a nine-piece band behind him, incredibly tight and well-honed. It was a completely immersive show--like living in his music for several hours. And not a bum song in the whole lot. He's in a class by himself. I've always liked him better than Bob Dylan. The fact that he was never made out to be the troubadour of his generation is entirely to the good. He has a humbleness that's really moving to me.

For me I think the biggest revelation was the first song after intermission, "Tower of Song." He stood behind a programmed keyboard, playing an automatic beat. And he got in a hilariously primitive keyboard solo. For the first time I realized what a funny song it really is. The audience ate it up.

He was wearing a fedora the whole show and he played that hat like a guitar: taking it off, sweeping it over his heart, extending it in front of him while bowing. He went down on his knees several times during the show. Prayer, supplication. Showmanship.

It was raining when we left the theater, and we were damp by the time we got home. About 1am. But wow, was it worth it.

Date: 2009-10-29 13:43 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

Detroit 9000 [1973]

1. Kissing asses, busting asses.
2. Big suede hat with a gold belt around the brim.
3. Scatman Crothers frowns at his drink, puts it down.

Date: 2009-10-27 10:11 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

Tales from the Crypt [1972]

1. She scrubs blood out of the fur carpet. Well, red paint.
2. He bends over and sees his reflection in the mirrored coffee table.
3. Two parallel walls of razor blades.

Date: 2009-10-26 08:59 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

The Tingler [1959]

1. Composer Von Dexter had obviously listened to Bernard Herrmann just a few too many times.
2. David, referring to LSD: "It's not a drug, it's an acid."
3. The Tingler wraps itself around his arm and begins to crush him. Very, very Cronenberg.

Date: 2009-10-25 14:13 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public Music: Jimmy Scott - I Didn't Know What Time It Was | Powered by Last.fm

Vampyr [1932]

1. The corpse turns into a skeleton.
2. Reverse gravedigger.
3. Her eyes wide with bloodlust.