Beltmann

I dunno Brock, "Sex Tape" might set a pretty high bar for summer films this year.

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

Good to see you around these parts, old pal.

And, has a Tweedy song on the soundtrack! (Summer Noon.) What's not to love?

And a Wilco song ("Hate It Here").

Linklater has been a Wilco fan for a long time, and so has Ethan Hawke.  (For those unfamiliar, it's worth mentioning that Tweedy did all of the music for the 2001 movie Chelsea Walls, directed by Ethan Hawke.  And the movie is overflowing with Wilco references, including one scene where the band is the backup band on stage.)

When I saw the new video, I couldn't help but think of The Red Balloon (1956), which is a classic, well-known short film by Albert Lamorisse about a persistent balloon that follows a young schoolboy as he travels through Paris.  (There was also a variation in 2007 by Taiwan's Hou Hsiao-Hsien, which is very good but not, precisely, a movie for children.)  I don't know if the "Summer Noon" video is intentional homage, but the connection seems very strong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2Y1tRBOXfA

That reminds me of the morning I woke up and had the sinking feeling that I didn't bring my baseball glove home after the previous night's game.  This glove was well-worn (12 seasons!) but still a treasured, perfect extension of my shortstop arm.  Horrified, I remembered what must have happened... so I raced to the garage and, luckily, found my glove right where I left it--on the roof of my car.  I had somehow managed to drive all the way home from the ballpark without the glove ever sliding off the car.

I retired that glove a few years later, but still have it.  Its replacement is now in its 11th season.  Two gloves have steered me through 26 seasons of high school baseball / city league softball, and I'd be more inclined to part with my first-born than one of those gloves.

When I was 13, I found a $20 bill in a wave pool, and later that same day I found a $10 bill lying on a sidewalk.

That was fascinating.  Thanks, Diane!

AM: Box Full of Letters

BT: Misunderstood

ST: Via Chicago

YHF: Poor Places

AGIB: Handshake Drugs

SBS: You Are My Face

WTA: Bull Black Nova

TWL: Whole Love

That's today, anyway.

AM: It's Just That Simple

BT: Why Would You Wanna Live

ST: My Darling

YHF: Reservations (although I still love it)

AGIB: Wishful Thinking

SBS: Leave Me (Like You Found Me)

WTA: Solitaire

TWL: Sunloathe

I didn't put too much thought into this, but while reviewing the tracklists, I was struck by how this was a tough exercise for albums 1-5, and equally tough for albums 6-8--but for the opposite reason.  If there are any Wilco songs that routinely compel me to locate the skip button, they are all post-AGIB.

Another observation: The crossover between these two threads speaks to Wilco's enduring, varied, highly personal output.  For example, I absolutely love "Dash 7" and "We're Just Friends," two tracks that are often cited as bottom-tier by other fans, and there's plenty listed in the other thread that I considered for my "least" list, such as "You Never Know" and "Say You Miss Me."  Whenever I see someone list "Sunloathe" as a favorite, my mind boggles, and then I realize that mostly I'm just glad someone somewhere finds it resonant.

Wilco Me, I came here to see your list.  Since you are usually a fount of Wilco positivity, I thought your particular list would be particularly intriguing.  Alas, no list from you.  Come on, now--you can't use a thread about disfavor to offer only raves.  Give us your list! 

My wife quotes that bit a lot.  That was an inspired moment.

The sheer velocity of the day is what is widely misunderstood.  It's hard to explain to anyone who hasn't lived it.

Thanks for sharing, Crow!  I always appreciate your personal contributions to this community.

Unfortunately, there are a number of colleagues (those under 30 predominately, though not exclusively) check their phones openly during class while students are forbidden from bringing theirs.

Two years ago our employee handbook added language that explicitly prohibits teachers from using their phones during student contact time or planning periods.  This didn't affect me in the slightest, since I never used my phone during the day, anyway.  At the same time, however, our site adopted a policy that does allow students to use their phones, e-readers, iPods, or other items during "non-academic" times, such as study halls or off periods.  And next year, there is a district-wide initiative called "Bring Your Own Device" that will openly encourage students to bring their devices, connect to the school network, and use it for any kind of school-related reason, such as quick web research while in class.  It might prove very beneficial and lead to classroom innovations, but it might open a terrible can of worms, too.  I guess we'll find out!

I know what you mean about allowing yourself a brief moment of downtime and knowing that you'll pay for it later.  One of the reasons I'm so nose-to-the-grindstone during the day is that if I let up at all, I'll end up working that much more at home in the evening, which is unfair to my mental health and my family's well-being.  (As it is, I can work a frantic 11-12 hours during the day and still wind up further behind in my workload than when I started.  This current level of workload is, of course, unsustainable and basically precludes any kind of new creativity, but administrators and politicians don't comprehend the realities.)

I'm a public school teacher, and I turn my phone off while at work.  In all seriousness, I don't even think about my phone between the hours of 7am and 4pm.  There's nearly zero opportunity for checking messages.  Maybe I'll check during lunch if I'm expecting some kind of emergency message, but otherwise I leave it untouched in my bag.  (Lunch, far from being a break, is actually one of the most frantic periods of the day: In 20 minutes I need to eat, check work email, set up for the next class, and literally sprint down the hall to use the bathroom, if there's still time.)  Wasting time on the Internet while at work?  Unthinkable.

I also know that my experience is mine alone.  I can't speak for teachers in other districts or other states.

EDIT: Noticed that I said "9am" when I meant to type "7am."

I just rewatched "The Host" with the kids recently. Great flick. I may have to check out "Snowpiercer" based on his work with "The Host". The premise of "Snowpiercer" sounds incredibly ridiculous though.

The premise is indeed ridiculous, but rather than suppress it, the movie embraces and thrives on that fact.  Realism is not achieved nor attempted; it's probably closer to fable than anything else.  In its own way, The Host, too, seemed to comprehend its own absurdity.  Bong Joon-Ho is a director who often weaves that thread, and I'd especially recommend Mother and Memories of Murder.

I'm very eager to see that documentary.  Isn't it released on Blu tomorrow?

I caught Snowpiercer over the weekend.  It works very well as both adventure and parable.  But what I admired most was its singular tone, which maintains an impressive balance between sincere and outlandish.  The clever premise--and allegorical elements--could easily have been heavy-handed, but instead the movie carries its freight very lightly, making room for over-the-top absurdism and knowing winks at genre conventions.  With its stylized violence, it often resembles a gonzo Korean actioner, but its tantalizing production design keeps us focused on the subtext rather than the blood.  Each new train car is a new, increasingly ingenious and lunatic extension of the microcosm.  In other words, it takes its themes seriously without taking itself too seriously.

I'm not sure if Snowpiercer would crack my top ten of 2014, but it deserves to be in the conversation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFpfJNiUDpY

I haven't seen that yet, but in general I really like David Wain's singular brand of non-sequitur humor.  Plus, I'm pretty much always in the mood for a satire taking aim at overworked romantic movie cliches, from the team responsible for Wet Hot American Summer.

I've been waiting for both Locke and We Are the Best! to arrive in Milwaukee.  I've been a huge fan of Moodysson ever since Show Me Love (1998), and it's great that he seems to finally be back in the groove.  Also, Snowpiercer opens here today, so that's on my priority list.

Yeah, that was a great kicker!

 I just knew that it was going to drop onto my open wound, but somehow he managed to sniff it back up every time. Nasty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=332eiA6SX1c

Peter Stormare in Minority Report.

I can still see it in slow-motion closeup: Sloppy meatballs sliding across the dorm room floor.

It was sixth-grade camp, a longstanding West Bend tradition that involved new middle schoolers spending a weekend at a local campground.  Like everyone, I had eagerly anticipated this event for several years, and the first day lived up to every expectation and rumor.  Volleyball, hiking, floor hockey, campfire songs, totally rad counselors who were (cool!) high school seniors.  Best of all, dinner was one of my favorites: spaghetti and garlic bread.  Eventually it came time to hit the pillow.  We traded bad jokes from our bunks, and planned merciless, sure-to-be-unfulfilled pranks on the girls just down the path.  And then... the stomach began to churn.  Sweat formed on the eyebrows.  The ears began to boil (right?).  There was no holding back.  I leaned over, and spewed a red river of spaghetti and meatballs that cascaded across the floor and underneath several other bunks.

"Do you miss home?," asked one of the counselors.  No, but I miss my dignity, I wanted to say.

The good news?  I got to stay, and enjoy a second day of awesomeness.  Plus, somehow I avoided becoming forever known as The Kid Who Totally Hurled At Sixth-Grade Camp.

I'm not sure why, exactly, but I've been asked to provide a cover blurb for a novel by a new author that will be published this fall.  I start reading this week.  After that, I'm going to jump into Cymbeline, in my quest to read at least one Shakespeare play each summer until none are left.  Only nine more to go!

If we can have a running list of strong albums, why not movies, too?

Here are my favorites of the year so far, based on availability in southeast Wisconsin:

1. The Past / Asghar Farhadi / France

2. The Wind Rises / Hayao Miyazaki / Japan

3. The Selfish Giant / Clio Barnard / UK

4. The Grand Budapest Hotel / Wes Anderson / USA

5. Ida / Pawel Pawlikowski / Poland

6. Caesar Must Die / The Taviani Brothers / Italy

7. The Immigrant / James Gray / USA

8. The Rover / David Michod / Australia

9. Museum Hours / Jem Cohen / Austria

10. Life Itself / Steve James / USA

Asghar Farhadi has a rare gift as a writer: Although they require unraveling, his characters always have motivations that are complex and totally convincing. Watching his movies is like reading a novel where all the moving pieces come together with complete precision.  The Past is his second bona fide masterpiece in a row.

The best new film that I’ve seen recently was The Rover.  Images matter more than dialogue in David Michod's primitive yet graceful quest story.  Underneath the barren landscapes and surface violence lies a fragile main story about two survivors, told almost entirely through subtle reaction shots and careful closeups of intense, searching, vulnerable eyes.

Best Short Film: Possessions / Shuhei Morita / Japan

Best Summer Movie: Edge of Tomorrow / Doug Liman / USA

Most Unfairly Dismissed: Labor Day / Jason Reitman / USA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2-_lt4kwXE