Beltmann

I'm never frustrated when someone doesn't share my enthusiasm. People have to come to things in their own way and in their own time. Since my tastes trend non-mainstream, I rarely make recommendations to family and friends. After all, I know what I like and why, but that doesn't mean anyone else will like it or like it for the same reasons. When asked, I just talk about things and describe my own reaction to it, and then let people make up their own mind about whether that's something that might interest them.

Unfortunately, I have never seen Dreamscape. Well, I hope so. Of course Inception, like all movies, inspires thought of some kind. (Heck, Tommy Boy made me contemplate the prospect of losing my father, but I'm not sure that qualifies it as a masterpiece.) I'm unconvinced that Nolan is interested in seriously examining any sophisticated notions about dreams and the subconscious, which might explain why the film lacked both emotional and cerebral suspense (at least for me). I spent the movie thinking, Man, this is so damn cool! instead of Oh my god, I hope they get out of there in time!

Well, I'm not sure how "smart" Inception is beyond its ingenious construction--it flatters the audience by saying, "See, I knew you could keep up!," but it doesn't really give the audience much to chew on in terms of deeper ideas. That's not intended as criticism; after all, the movie is designed as a big-budget summer entertainment, and on that level it succeeds wildly. We would be very fortunate if every blockbuster action movie was so well-crafted. I agree that many movies benefit from connecting to the viewer on some relatable emotional level, but for me that didn't really happen at In

Personal observation that may or may not be relevant: I teach high schoolers, and eight years ago it was fairly easy to get teens interested in Wilco. These days, though, it's much more difficult. Today's teens pretty much consider Wilco and their music to be stuff for older folks. Apparently, the gap between modern teens and Wilco-coolness is wider than ever before. Closing that gap is certainly possible--last year I turned a few kids on to Wilco--but it's tougher than ever before. (That was bound to happen eventually, wasn't it?)

Should have kept the Brewers cap...

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, "This Land Is Your Land"

I still follow James with enthusiasm, and just listened to a Better Than Ezra CD while on a road trip in June.

Seems like bad business to target a dwindling market.

New song, "Looking Up," is available for download at the official website. It's excellent.

I am going to watch that soon, very, very soon.

Yesterday I watched Roberto Rossellini's Paisan, which is a series of vignettes depicting Italian characters interacting with occupying forces--mostly American--as WWII winds to a close. The idea is to deliver a portrait of war comprised of the stories that are usually pushed off to the side, such as an innocent villager taken as a guide, or priests who agree to house several Army chaplains for a spell, or a young pickpocket who steals the boots of a drunk American M.P. Apart from the wooden acting--the neorealistic style includes non-professional actors--the movie has a compelling verisimil

Marah - Life Is A Problem

My grandmother, for one.

Don't have time to elaborate right now, so I'll just quickly chime in: I loved it.

That would be in the running for me, too. (I think White is hilarious and criminally underappreciated.)

Best trilogy of all-time? I thought everybody knew it was The Apu Trilogy.

Has this been posted yet? National VEVO Event on YouTube "Live at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on May 15, 2010. A VEVO event on YouTube. Directed by Chris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker, the proceeds from the event will benefit the Red Hot Organization." Lots of terrific HD videos and interview segments. Put this on a DVD and I'd buy it immediately.

Quick note of FNL awesomeness: In tonight's episode, two characters went to see the Heartless Bastards at a music festival in Austin. This show has always featured awesome music. Looks like this thread went no further than Season 2. Not sure how many people stuck with the show after the mediocre sophomore season, but Season 3 was a return to form, and Season 4 has been terrific so far--perhaps the best since the first.

Yeah, the original is not just one of the best vampire movies I've ever seen, it's one of the best movies, period, I've seen in the last few years. I'm curious to check out the remake, I suppose, but I'm definitely glad to have seen the original first. I don't want a carbon copy in which the only difference is American faces, or a dumbed-down Hollywood version (which might be likely). But if they can somehow bring an American sensibility and thoughtful interpretation to the project, I'd welcome the project. I don't want to re-ignite an old war around here, but I think of Infernal Affairs--

They already did, starting in 1914, then again in 1921, 1925, 1939, 1969, 1971, 1976, 1978, and 2006. That doesn't include various sequels like The Land of Oz (1932) and side projects like the upcoming The Great Powerful. There have been roughly 20 Oz-related film projects over the decades; the 1971 one is a well-known Turkish version. And once we start counting up TV projects, it gets out of hand. I've seen bits of the 1914 version, but the earliest one I've seen in its entirety is the 1925 version, which features Oliver Hardy in a supporting role about a year before he hit it big with t

Good advice all the way around.

Jeff hates all of you.

Destroyer Pavement is true for me, too.

Coppola's Tetro is plenty interesting--and beautiful to look at--but I'm not sure it really amounts to much.

You watched those back-to-back? Good grief. (I like one a lot more than the other, but neither one is easy viewing. Reminds me of the time an old friend attended a festival of films by his favorite director, Ingmar Bergman, but came back feeling suicidal.)