Beltmann

The Paradise Lost documentaries are all compelling; it's been fascinating to watch the story twist and turn over the course of three films, with the directors even doubling back and making corrections to their previous work. (I remember seeing the first one when it was first released and being gobsmacked.) The experience deepens, too, when you throw in West of Memphis, a 2012 documentary produced by Peter Jackson that builds on the Lost trilogy. (I watched that just a few weeks ago.) And if you want more still, there's an okay feature film by Atom Egoyan called The Devil's Knot. Even more

You are in for a treat. (Word of advice: Skip Season 2... or watch Season 2 and know that it isn't representative and the ship will be righted.) Personal trivia: I bought a ping-pong table for my daughter because of this show. It's worked out exactly as planned, which is awesome.

I'm interested in Romania's serene new wave, and that's one of the best, I think. There's a merciless intimacy in its portrayal of a man who must choose between two loves. It's been several years since I saw it, but I still remember the rich, unhurried qualities of the post-coital scene with his mistress, and especially the agonizing confession scene, in which we visibly see the wife's trust--no, her entire life's meaning--evaporate.

I actually came here this morning to mention Pat's "RIP Ian" sign, which I thought was really great and nobody around me seemed to even notice that it happened. He held the sign up for the audience as the band exited the stage. Ditto on the return of bbop! Thanks, Paul! (I was hoping you were present, but never saw you. We were on the second level.)

For me, "Feed of Man" was the highlight, partially because it was unexpected but mostly because I love it and had never heard it live. (Jeff reported that "Feed of Man" was played because it got the most online votes, with 36 (the next highest was 8). He said someone in the audience must have stuffed the ballot box.)

North American release was 2014. I'd say it's fair game for either list. It's not much different than, say, a Moroccan movie made in 2012 that isn't released in the U.S. until 2014--it's a 2012 work, yes, but of course U.S. critics should consider it for their 2014 lists.

Thanks guys. I had never heard of Courtney Barnett, but a quick sample right now has already convinced me to buy the album. Sounds fantastic.

I saw Charlie's Country in early October, and it's really stuck with me. Here's what I wrote elsewhere: Ethnography plays an appealing role in the Australian Charlie’s Country, since director Rolf de Heer lingers on the details of how to carve hunting spears, cook fish, and dance in the bush. The movie stars David Gulpilil as an aging Aboriginal man unable to adjust to the laws and regulations of colonization. To these Midwestern eyes, the movie—which starts funny but carefully charts how Charlie’s mounting sense of persecution in his own land eventually goads him into lashing out—confirms d

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7uWygcyHrM Fun little horror movie that starts as a tribute to '80s killer-in-the-woods slashers, but then pivots into something totally different, and far more melancholic.

Over the last week or so, I've enjoyed sharing some Halloween-ish movies with my 6-year-old boy: The Invisible Man (1933); Young Frankenstein; and Joe Dante's Matinee. In a few more years he's getting Tremors! Donna, I love the "theater floor" costume idea. Didn't you also, one year, have your daughter dress up as a sick child with no health insurance? That was great!

I saw Ida over the summer in a very large art-house that seats 1,000, but there were only about a dozen of us there. Somehow, that empty cavern added an extra layer to the film's spare, grey, austere vibe.

Yeah, I thought we knew about the eyes a very long time ago.

That's a good story, A-man. Not too long ago I was in a hardware store, and the clerk noticed my Uncle Tupelo T-shirt. He said his dad was from St. Louis, and that's why he knew about the band. I wear that shirt a lot, but that's the only time anyone ever said anything about it.

Making a distinction between "film" and "movie" on the grounds that one connotes art and the other popular culture is, in my view, a meaningless endeavor. Those connotations are illusory, and have the effect of vastly oversimplifying the world of cinema--the binary is both reductive and artificial--which is, ironically, quite the reverse of the intended effect. After all, cinema contains multitudes: Makers of moving pictures work in fiction, documentary, experiments, animation, shorts, Hollywood, independents, the underground, advertising, and on and on, and all of them ultimately share a co

Hi, Jeremy!

I think the title of Boyhood is a misdirection, because its main subject isn't childhood so much as it is time: It's about the passage of time, yes, but also about how time leaves its mark, and about how to find meaning in the present moment. It's also about how maturation--whether in a child or in a parent--takes time. (On a smaller level, it's also about how the technology of an era becomes part of that time's DNA.)

Some viewers have complained that Mason eventually grows into an unlikable, mumbly cipher. I can see where they are coming from, I suppose, but that's not how I responded to him. I thought it was fascinating how the movie, which is so introspective about the mundane, quotidian details of everyday life, deepens its substance by evolving into a rare example of a movie that chooses to gaze at an equally introspective personality. I think audience resistance to the older Mason says something about how unaccustomed we are to seeing such characters on our screens.

Since posting my initial batch in June, I think the only films I've seen that might deserve consideration are The Great Beauty, Under the Skin, Boyhood and Le Week-End. The summer has been relatively weak, with the caveat that many of the most interesting releases never found their way to Milwaukee. I'll have to catch up with them on Blu.

It's very quiet in that scene, but unmistakable. Bonus: If you stay through the end credits of Boyhood, "Summer Noon" plays in its entirety as the final featured song.

I'm seeing A Most Wanted Man today. The other two are, um, lower priorities. (I'm slightly interested in Begin Again, but only because the director also made Once.)

More info about Season 2's plot: http://uproxx.com/tv/2014/07/fargo-season-two-will-travel-back-in-time-while-keeping-the-story-in-the-family/

I'm there. The first batch was so strong that I'm primed for more. The idea of starting from scratch is promising, too, as long as the quality sticks.

Just a few for starters, off the top of my head: Big Star Fountains of Wayne The Feelies Beulah The Broken West The Lemonheads Weezer The New Pornographers The Apples in Stereo The La's Brendan Benson The Rentals The Format Voxtrot The Gaslight Anthem Imperial Teen Some of them might be loose fits, but there is a lot of room in those categories. Most of those are power pop rather than pop punk.

That's the sequel to Boogie Nights, right? Dirk Diggler in the videotape '90s!

Good to see you around these parts, old pal.