dbborroughs' Journal

9:27pm: Button Button vs The Box
A good review of the film that speaks of Richard Kelly's additions to the short story:
http://antagonie.blogspot.com/2009/11/whos-got-button.html

Don't read it if you don't want to know.

8:00pm: Happy Birthday DR Who
46 years and still going

7:59pm: Oh let me be a dweeb
One of my favorite films is Samson and the Seven Miracles of the World. Its a Muscle man movie set in China and I find it a great deal of fun. I've picked up a good number of copies trying to find the best one. over the years, all With a single exception being for five dollars or less. The single exception is Retromedia's most abysmal release which was letterboxed but the worst print imaginable (scratchy and choppy) and missing about 20 minutes. Why Retro put it out when everything the put out previously was light years better than this is beyond me. Its one of the worst transfers I've ever seen on tape or DVD of any film. Anyway last week DVD empire had a triple feature disc for sale used for 3 bucks and I figured what the hell I'll try it, what the worst that happens I'll hand it off to someone. Amazingly the disc has Samson letter boxed and while faded damn close to complete. Now I feel like an idiot for picking up the 15 dollar version when this is so much better.

5:52pm: My WTF moment for today
Well the non-work related one anyway...

They are putting out a Masters of Cinema edition (Thats a UK version of Criterion and I'm guessing Criterion will follow suit since they are selling T-shirts) of the Japanese mind bending horror film Haus (House). This is the 1977 film that was a huge hit at the NYAFF this year. its a warped film about a House that eats people...it was made by someone who really didn't know how to make films and was written by his young daughter. Its as wild and wacky as it sounds...but super deluxe editions of the sort that films like The Seventh Seal or Seven Samurai get? Clearly the movie has stolen some minds....

7:50am: Amazon's black friday deals for the week
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000452571&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=right-1&pf_rd_r=1PRZW1866ESSSFFVPZRV&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=501018391&pf_rd_i=12917411

11:14pm: Random Fiilm Notes
The Box is a mess. It certainly creates a mood and tension, but ultimately the tale fails to go anywhere. The premise that financially needy couple can get a million bucks by pushing a button withthe cost of the death of someone elsewhere in the world is of course intriguing. The problem is director Richard Kelly piles so much extra baggage on to it (I'm guessing since I haven't read the Richard Matheson short story) that there are way way too many loose ends floating around. Is it horror or Science fiction? I'm at a loss. Fans of Donnie Darko may groove to his confused nonsense, but I found it annoying, if soe what frightening. I can't recommend it.

Staten Island New York is an odd dramaedy told out of order about three people eho's lives intersect. Vincent D'Onofrio is a mobster looking for fame and to consolidate his power, Ethan Hawke is man in desperate need of money who desides to pull a robbery and Seymour Cassel is a deaf and dumb deli clerk who knows them both. The comedy, especially with D'Onofrio undercuts much of the film. Its an amusing tale that I watched to the end but ultimately I don't know why. Certainly the opening introduction is wonderful, but the rest is good but not great. Certainly not something I need ever see again.

Deadly Little Christmas is a no budget attempt at doing Halloween at Christmas...or rather something similar to Halloween. Give'em points for making a feature film with no money. Take them away for doing it poorly and ripping off so many other films. Think of this as the new version of coal in the stocking

9:29pm: Random notes
Recent christmas albums:
The new Sting Album isn't very good. Its rather dull actually.
Andre Bocelli's is actually quite good if not entirely Christmasy and a waste of the muppets.
Broadway Cares 11th album is good but Why its 2 discs is beyond me since ita about 70 minutes of music

Volume 6 of Tezuka's BlackJack is really good and probably contains some of the best stories including one wher Black Jack Barely appears (Revenge)

The Overlook Encyclopedia of Gangster films is typical of the Overlook series and very good. However its showing signs of being less Encyclopedic as its should be dealing with only some films in a series (The Yakuza Papers for example has 2 of 10 films) which also were written enmass, so they contain the same wording. They also shift wildly into crime films and police films and even thrillers (Silence of the Lambs is included) that don't belong. If they had wanted to go that far afield they should have called it something other than gangster films. As with all of the Overlook series its clear that some of the writers never saw the film or don't understand things in context. A review of one of the Republic serials goes on about the studios poor quality productions, which clearly indicates they never saw many films from the studio (I'm convinced they probably watched the serial on fast forward). I haven't spent a great deal of time with the book yet but I think that even though its a must have book for any film nut, it has more than its share of problems in its information and is probably the weakest of the series that I've run across.

6:03pm: Its been a weekend
lets just say that yesterday I was wearing my underwear backwards today I had a lovely time spending an hour on a ever changing series of subway trains...no I never did get to the Mr Fox windows...and its been downhill from there....including not knowing if I actually ordered something or not.

12:03am: The Red Shoes?
Finally saw Powell and Pressberger's Red Shoes.

Anyone want to tell why its suppose to be so great? As an artificial construction its amazing but I can't feel its heart.

9:00pm: video things from the web
Captain Berlin Vs Hitler Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVd2qV2Csis

The Japanese Spiderman opening credits
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcxioU7AMM4

The Wolfman Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS02xaTIdRI

Ironman2 footage (yes its the comicon footage)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fHC4omeaVc

5:38pm: The animated short film short list for the Oscars
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118011706.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&ref=vertfilm

10:30am: Before Disney and Mickey Mouse...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2nQD7erJTY

11:22pm: Flying Karamazovs
The brothers were in Bay SHore tonight and Dad and I went. It was apoor house, they had under half the seats full. I blame the lack of advertising. It was a good semi Greatest Hits show. Lots of asides and witty remarks. They did the challenge -any three objects more than an ounce, less then ten ponds no bigger than a bread box will be juggled and its either a standing Ovation or a pie in the face. Tonight it was pie in the face time, as a balloon with marbles in it, a backpack and a popcorn box with card board in it refused to co-operate even after modification. Jazz (impromtu juggling and verbal sparring) was great. Actualy it all was great fun even the Polish Appalachian Clog Dancing. A good time was had by all.

We also found a great restaurant 2 door down from the theater which we had to fly out of because of the lateness of our arrival..

11:58pm: Metallic Attraction: Kungfu Cyborg
Messy film billed as a Chinese Transformers is a actually a messy Romance comedy action film about a cop showing a cyborg the world. The cyborg falls in love with a female cop and well...stuff happens. Its a mess. There are some great bits (some of the romance, the robots questioning their creators as we question god) but after 100 minutes I still don't know what I saw or why.Its not the Transformers despite several sequences of Transforming. Not worth the effort to review.

7:43pm: Great screen comedy in New York
Two programs worth seeing on the big screen between now and Christmas NYC

First up is a two week run of Jacques Tati's masterpiece M. Hulot's Holiday at Film Forum. Its where Hulot was born and the world of screen comedy changed.

Tati made 4 Hulot features and a short and changed the way people look at whats funny. Holiday is a series of sketches about the title. Its a sweet little film that is often hysterically funny. I saw it and I was doomed.

Next was My Uncle. its Hulot vs modern life. The film won the Oscar. I'm not a fan of it. I find it more clever than funny.

PlayTime followed almost ten years later. Its an odd film that must be seen multiple times to be appreciated. I was cold towards it but I find it funnier on each viewing. Hulot is almost a secondary character to everyone else in it. The trouble is the jokes are rarely in the foreground and you have to watch this as big as possible to see them. The film effective ruined Tati.

Some where in here was a short, which I haven't seen.

Lastly if Trafic (yes one f). I love this film.Its an amusing jest of a film as Hulot has to deal with getting a car to a car show. Many people hate the film because its atypical Tati and Hulot. I love the film because its the most human.

Anyway Holiday starts a two week run tomorrow.

Upcoming is a three day double feature at Lincoln Center of City Lights and Modern Times. Chaplin on the big screen is reason to rejoice, more so the choices. They run the 20th to the 23rd of December. I'm going to give hulot a shot. Its too early to know if I'll make the Chaplins.

6:00pm: John Woo's Red Cliff opens this weekend
Its in some theaters and on pay per view on cable.

PLEASE remember if you see this version its missing 2 hours and 10 minutes or so of running time. Half the movie is gone- and from what I understand its all the exposition.

11:58pm: Operation Malaya
Once again Sinister Cinema releases a film that isn't on IMDB

Docudrama about the fight against the terroristic commies in Malaya (Malaysia). Its stock documentary footage a that tells the story of the countries battles with the terrorists and how everyone is better under British rule.

Good propaganda piece is actually quite entertaining in its way. Far from perfect, the films endless shots of soldiers in a jungle can be a bit much, it still manages to hold ones attention. I kind of thought I was going to get bored and turn it off but I actually made it to the end. There is something about the way its put together that holds one's interest. I'm guessing its the subject matter, which isn't something we see everyday.

I liked it.I have no idea if I'll watch it again but I thought it was worth the 70 minutes I put int seeing it.

9:36pm: British DVD stuff
Eddie Izzard's Stripped is out on a region 2 dvd as of next week. I thought they were recording the upcoming US shows....
(yes I ordered it)

Bill Bailey has a guide to the Orchestra.-I'm so frightened

6:14pm: Santa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc3ei1tseeM

8:06am: Roger Corman won an Oscar and I didn't notice
Roger Corman, director, producer, man responsible in good part for getting many of todays filmmakers started got an Oscar Saturday.
Mr Beaks at Ain't it Cool writes on it here:
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/43114

He mentions Cinematical's attack on Corman, but all one need do is note all the filmmakers he gave their start from Coppola to Scorsese to Demme to Nicholson (and their films) to know his influence was WAY greater than almost anyone else.

Congratulations Roger, and thank you for your movies and the ones that followed

12:01am: Bob Dylan with opener Dion
Saw Dylan at the United Palace Theater tonight.

I'm tired and my head and ears hurt so this will be brief for now with more comments later.

Dion was great. From the early days of rock and roll he still sounded spectacular Amazing. He did about 45 minutes.

Dylan came out a half hour later. He was announced by some one who said something like "And now the poet laureate of Rock and roll..." before trailing off into something that ended with Bob Dylan.

Dylan was great. the band was excellent. The sound was so loud that Lou complained. Both our heads hurt and ears rang.put this into one of the top five loudest concerts ever.For get the Dylan mumble jokes you couldn't hear what he was singing. Only when I was in the bath room could I make out what he was singing. It was an awful experience. You can't blame anyone but the sound tech for Dylan since Dion was fine.

That said Dylan put on a great show...I just wish my head wasn't still ringing,

4:28pm: LIbel and Twitter
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/17/law.technology/index.html

2:42pm: MR Fox in the Bergdorf windows
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/?p=18286

2:39pm: KEn Ober has left on the craftmatic. and the world is less fun as a result
former mtv host and tv producer Ken Ober has died.
If you love or hate Adam Sandler, Denis Leary or Colin Quinn blame Ober
http://www.pollstar.com/blogs/news/archive/2009/11/17/698144.aspx
http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2009/11/17/remembering-game-show-host-ken-ober/

11:29pm: Before the Fall (spoilers)
Saw this on IFC in Theaters service, though I know the DVD recently came out.

With only four days left before a meteor is to crash into the earth, the governments of the world tell the populations of the world. As panic and prayer ensue one man tries to make peace with himself, the world and his family. Unfortunately a serial killer has gotten out of prison and made his way to the family house in the country. Forced through circumstance he must now prtect his brothers children before the meteor kills everyone on the face of the earth.

Talk about damned if you do damned if you don't. This is not a particularly happy movie. they basically tell you at the start that there is no hope, so the question is do you lay down and go now or fight until the last possible minute. thematically this is the life of anyone who ever has been told they are going to die and decided to fight to the bitter end. I'm not sure we need a film this bleak to lay it out for us.

Actually I'm not sure what to think of this film. Its two excellent films, an end of the world tale beautifully made and nicely well modulated, more so since the whole notion of the adults knowing whats coming and the kids don't adds a nice shading to the tale. At the same time the serial killer story is well done and scary, with some nicely nasty turns. The problem is that in the process of shoehorning them together both stories are kind of undone. The meditative nature of the end of the world tale (which I should say kind of reminds me of Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice) gets lost when faced with the serial killer. The serial killer plot while very tense is short circuited by knowing beating hims doesn't matter. I have no doubt that should something like a meteor threaten the earth something like this could happen, but at the same time watching it kind of seems pointless. If the film could have somehow made the two parts work better together this might have been a great film. As it stands its a good film thats too bleak to contemplate and too fractured to feel satisfying.

Worth a try, but you'll know where its going from the outset so don't say I didn't warn you.