Beeswax (2009) ****Directed by Andrew BujalskiMy tweet:Beeswax (2009)- Funny, frustrating and dark, Bujalski's intriguing look at two passive twin sisters is solid mumblecore. **** out of 5Other thoughts:Beeswax may very well be my favorite mumblecore movie at this point, but that in itself isn't really saying much. I've written before about my skepticism regarding whether or not mumblecore has value as a genre. Beeswax didn't fully sell me on the merit of non-actors improvising their way through dialogue and story. It's hard to argue against the fact that the whole thing comes off like a rough draft, and the gimmick of the style stifles the quality of the final product. Could Beeswax have been even! better? Yes it could, but it's admittedly a pretty great rough draft. The story centers around identical twin sisters. One sister, who is wheelchair bound, is struggling with a vintage clothing shop she owns with a friend who is drifting out of her life. She's worried that her friend will sue her and take away the one thing that occupies just about all of her time and has become part of what she sees as her purpose in life. The other sister just broke up with her boyfriend and is looking to start her life fresh by teaching English overseas. The problem with both sisters is that they're not used to standing up to the difficulties of the world, and as such, they're struggling to maintain control when problems arise instead of retreating deeper into themselves. Meanwhile, a law student acquaintance of the sisters takes a romantic interest in the shop owner. He's not a bad guy, and he clearly has the best intentions at heart, but it's pretty clear that he's not the ideal candi! date for a boyfriend. In reality, neither sister wants him in ! their li ves at this point, but he's fairly insufferable which might be due to the stress of the fact that he's right in the midst of taking the bar exam. Beeswax is all about the fences people put up to keep others from getting too close. The fate of these sisters is left up in the air at the end, but the forecast doesn't look too promising especially for one of the two. Life must be lived actively, and when passivity reaches its breaking point, it's hard to see things getting better. The actors are really excellent, and these characters do feel quite real. It was a pleasure spending time in the world that Bujalski presents. He seems to know how to make mumblecore work. I'm still waiting, though, to see an example of the genre that doesn't feel like it could have been even better with more polish.
The Beaches of Agnes (2009) ****1/2Directed by Agnes VardaMy tweet:The Beaches of Agnes (2009)- Eclectic, eccentric & entertaining self-meditation of a cinema legend & creative genius. ****1/2 of 5Other thoughts:At over 80 years old, it's astounding to witness a creative genius still at the very top of her game. Varda was one of the pioneers of the French New Wave in the 1950s and 1960s. This eccentric autobiographical exploration perfectly matches the gumption of such an eccentric auteur. Varda could have written a book about her life, but I can't imagine the prose being as breathtakingly gorgeous as the visual flourishes and quirky surprises seen here. She talks about her childhood and her family with a bit of emotional disconnect, which may make the first hour of the film difficult to sit through for many viewers. It's when she delights in her recollections of her young adulthoo! d, her film career and especially her marriage to the great Fr! ench dir ector Jacques Demy who died of AIDS in 1990 that we really feel the sincerity emanate from the screen. There are a handful of moments where Varda recreates memories of her past either as a participant in the recreation or as an onlooker while others perform that do sometimes miss the mark. Still, Varda never comes off pretentious, which is saying something considering how provocative many of the images within The Beaches of Agnes are. Agnes Varda is a creative genius, often misunderstood, and all this and more is on pure display in what's ultimately a wonderfully colorful personal documentary.
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August 23, 2010The Runaways (2010) ***Directed by Floria SigismondiMy tweet:The Runaways (2010)- Adequate look at an explosive all-girl punk band that's not willing to get as down and dirty as it needs to. ***/5Other thoughts:There will always be an image in my mind of Dakota Fanning at the Screen Actors Guild Awards nominated for her performance in I Am Sam. The camera panned to her 8 year-old face when her category was announced, and she's wearing the most awkward toothy smile. Clearly, this little girl wasn't used to award shows which couldn't be more obvious by the look on her face. Well, that cute, sweet little girl is officially gone with her performance as Cherie Currie, the one-time teenage lead singer of! the pioneering punk rock band The Runaways whose life quickly spiraled out of control due to a brutal drug addiction.Fanning is great in the role, especially toward the end of the film when Cherie really takes a turn for the worst. This performance is astounding considering that Fanning is only 16 years old. In one sense, she was the perfect choice to play Cherie Currie; however, the choice of Fanning also proves problematic, though it's not at all her fault. Having a minor play Cherie Currie means that there's only so far director/screenwriter Floria Sigismondi can go to really get at the heart of Currie's demons. Too many times, the Cherie character only sort of does a bunch of really awful things, and as a result, the audience is left feeling like we're only scratching the surface. The Runaways could have been a lot darker and a lot more disturbing if an actress over 18 was cast to play the 15 year-old Currie.Kristen Stewart of Twilight fame plays Joan Jett who later we! nt on to one of the great female solo careers in the history o! f rock a nd roll. Though she has her moments, Stewart is pretty lackluster as Jett, offering a shallow, mannered performance which never feels real. She plays at Jett's quiet magnetism a bit too much, and the result leaves much to be desired. Oscar nominee Michael Shannon plays slimy record producer Kim Fowley who founded The Runaways almost solely on his own and led them to worldwide fame. His performance gives the film a sense of real malignancy which is so lacking when he's not on screen. Shannon imbues Fowley with such evil energy, not holding back and elevating a poorly written character into a magnetic, palpable presence. It's Shannon's charisma that's nowhere to be found in Stewart's Joan Jett.Sigismondi is a relatively new director and screenwriter, and though her screenplay lacks depth and allure, she clearly has potential as a director. There are a handful of moments that are so over the top that they become almost operatic, but unfortunately, they feel as if they come from! a different, better movie. One example involves Jett thinking up lyrics in a bathtub. After she's created "I Love Rock and Roll," she submerges herself underwater, and the camera switches to a shot looking up at Joan swimming in what looks like a vast ocean. There are a number of instances when characters' hands are shoved right to the front of the frame which come off quite visually arresting. Unfortunately, these directorial indulgences, while interesting on their own, do not flow organically and thus aren't earned. Yet, with the right script (written by someone else) and some carefully deliberated choices, Sigismondi might become a truly great director.The Runaways is not a bad film... it's just not an especially interesting one. In order to present the sometimes treacherous combination of sex, drugs and rock and roll with authenticity, there needs to a willingness to delve into the pitch black recesses of storytelling without any apologies whatsoever. The band The Runa! ways was willing to take huge risks by throwing themselves int! o a man' s world, and they changed music history as a result. This movie should have taken a page from its own subjects.
You Wish by Mandy Hubbard (TBR August 5th, 2010 from Razorbill Publishing) (finished already)The Secrets of April, May and June by Robin Benway (TBR August 3rd, 2010 from Razorbill Publishing)Thanks so much to Razorbill Publishing for giving me complementary copies of these two great books for review!Library:
From 2 different libraries... I know it seems like a lot, but I returned all the other books I had out, soooo.... it evens out, right? *cough*Kitchen Princess Vol. 1 (Manga)The Heart is Not A Size by Beth KephartMe, the Missing and the Dead by Jenny Valentine (one of my favorite authors)Margherita Dolce Vita by Stefano Benni (I'm in love with this imprint, Europa Editions!)Solanin by Asano Inio (Manga I've been trying to get FOREVER)The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti (I really haven't liked Caletti's work at all, but I'm giving her another chance)The Moving Toyshop by Edmund CrispinA Good Day for Love Letters- George Asakura (not sure how I feel about the art)Gentleman Prefer Blondes- Anita LoosCooking With Fernet Branca- James Patterson-HamiltonGourmet Rhapsody- Muriel BarberyThe Queen of the Tambourine- Jane GardamKimmie66- Aaron Alexovich (I wish this imprint hadn't closed, Minx w! as so great!)Emily the Strange: The Lost Days-Rob Reger (I hav! e no ide a what this is, it just looked cool. Is it a series?)The Ghosts of Ashbury High- Jaclyn Moriarty (YAY! I love this series!)The Evolution Man, or How I Ate My Father- Roy Lewis (Weird, I know :P)Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close- Jonathan Foer The Line- Teri Hall (I never got to finish it)Sorry- Gail JonesGimme A Call- Sarah MylnowskiWonderland- Tommy Kovac and Sonny Leiw (Pretty.... *gape*)JPod- Douglas Coupland (love it even more than I thought I would, considering I'm not a fan of the pessimistic, vaguely pretentious Generation X stuff)*deep breath* Even more than I thought I'd checked out.Bought:
All but 2 of these (the one on top and the one on the bottom) are from a used book store.! I got them for only 50 cents each down in Mississippi! *dance* Oh, and I got the Great Gatsby too, but I forgot to dig it out from under my bed (books are everywhere under there in my room, as I just got a new bookshelf and have yet to stock it). It's scary under there.Dr. Slump Vol. 1 by Akira Toriyama (my favorite manga ever! The art is so simple but genius. Toriyama is great.)The Taker- J. M. Steele A Farewell to Arms- Ernest HemingwayGreat Short Works of Mark TwainThe Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Writings- Oscar WildePygmalion and 3 Other Plays- George Bernard Shaw Pygmalion and My Fair Lady (in too horrible condition to show: my dog got a hold of it! Luckily I had finished it on the trip back from Texas :P)The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald (I like it much more than I expected to.)***********888Finally done with the list! I got a lot of great books this week, and didn't even spend that much money. A lot of these I've been trying to track down, and finally did, ! which is awesome :) Mostly mangas that weren't at B&N or e! ither of my libraries. So, what was in you mailbox this week?
The Martialartsnomad blog was back for day two of the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu seminar at Dragon Martial Arts Academy in Port Alberni. Gi day with the master was started with a variety of self defense moves such as escape from front and rear neck choke, and takedowns with gi collar. We looked at a variety of moves including escapes and finishing moves from the top. Early on in the warm up, Royce Gracie called a time out and told us to apply a little more struggle and force in our choking and strangling so that the defender can know what it feels like while practising the escape. He said we were being too gentle, and he wished he always had nice students like us to practice with! Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, after all, was developed and refined by the Gracie family in Brazil to deal with practical combat situations, both on the mats and in! the street.
After a number of drills, Royce Gracie started asking for questions from the group about what we wanted help with. We needed escapes from side control, mount, from locks and other situations. Gracie demonstrated the moves with a student a couple times, and sent us on our way to practice some more. Then students with more than a years experience were then paired up to roll, and then stripes and belt promotions were handed out.
Royce Gracie goes around the world now, giving seminars for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. As a Gracie, he still works to promote the art that bears his family name, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. The masters of the art are also there to ensure homogeneity in grading, and to bring the community together.
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