Beltmann

I don't have any specific complaints about the LOTR trilogy, but man, those movies were a chore to sit through. I would much rather watch Godfather III than any of those again, no kidding. I think there's "something really special" in the Fanny Trilogy (1931's Marius, 1932's Fanny, and 1936's Cesar), the Toy Story movies, and also the aforementioned Apu and Three Colors series. And I'd throw in the Mr. Hulot movies, too, except there's more than three of 'em. And let's not forget about the Friday series.

People keep saying this, and I keep being surprised by it.

Hey man, now you're really living. This must be your lucky day in hell, you beautiful freak.

I have no idea what this means.

All I know is that Godfather III is unfairly maligned, and Back to the Future II is a total piece of crap. I still vote Apu.

I voted for Reservoir Dogs. For me, JB, KB1, and PF are tied for second--I like them all equally, but for totally different reasons.

Beat me to it. Without question, that's my favorite trilogy of all-time. That's my write-in vote!

Huh. And here I thought those were some of the most interesting moments. Damn, I wish I had noticed that they serve no purpose.

One of my all-time favorites.

I thought it was great. It's not really about Bob Dylan, though--it only uses the familiar celebrity of Dylan as a catalyst for introducing other ideas, the real subjects of the movie.

Koyaanisqatsi is the better film, but Powaqqatsi has the better music! I actually have a poster for the third one, Naqoyqatsi, hanging in my classroom--mostly to provoke questions. I actually thought of these films recently, when I was watching a German documentary called Our Daily Bread... if you like this trilogy, you must look into that one, too.

Typical Kaurismaki--which means that it's another movie about the downtrodden marked by economical and inexpressive acting--but this time he's also made, apparently, an homage to '50's crime films. A widely disliked security guard suddenly finds himself the object of a beautiful woman, but of course she's actually a gangster's moll trying to steal the guard's keys to a jewelry store. There are many things to like here (especially the colorful and oddly geometric cinematography), but the theme that man often provokes his own damnation isn't quite worked out, and the plot leaves too many quest

I only had time to watch the first half, and very few made much of an impact... but the one with the Hispanic nanny is probably my favorite so far. I'm hoping to finish the rest of the them tonight.

Yep. Woulda been great to see ya!

Plus, last night I revisited Blazing Saddles for the first time in at least a decade. That sucker holds up.

I think my favorite show of 2007 was given by the National...

I saw Freshwater Collins open for somebody once--Guster, maybe?--and thought the band didn't live up to their local hype. Not bad, certainly, but I also didn't hear anything that made me want to rush out and hear more.

Yes.

Checking that one out tomorrow. Too bad Lumet is pretty much dismissed these days--take, for example, the way last year's Find Me Guilty was systematically ignored by critics and audiences, despite being a pretty darn good movie. This new one's getting a little more attention, but not by much. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to it. I'm hoping to make it a double bill with I'm Not There, if time permits.

Thanks for the link--I picked up new stuff by Devendra Banhart and the Weakerthans. Also worth noting: Amazon's Black Friday sale has all sorts of bargains. A bunch of CDs and DVDs are dramatically marked down... for example, I picked up 300 for 6.99.

We ate at George Webb's today. Still had a gift card from last Christmas.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Maudie!

I haven't been a huge fan of his recent foray into navel-gazing minimalism--10 on Ten being the nadir--but Abbas Kiarostami's Five Dedicated to Ozu really makes something out of virtually nothing. It consists entirely of five seaside shots that range from 8 to 27 minutes long, starting with waves aggressively crashing on a piece of driftwood and ending with an astonishing night shot that captures the moon's reflection in the sea as layers of natural sound--frogs croaking, roosters crowing, storms thundering--build towards an unnerving cacophony. Besides a penchant for long takes and a virtua

Beat me to it!