2/27/10

Tom And Jerry



This MGM cartoon staple was never up to the standards of the Warner Bros. greats.

2/26/10

Spider-Man Cartoon



Although the animation for Spider-Man's 1960s cartoon series was not much better than that of his rivals from DC Comics, this Marvel Comics superhero had better storylines, and a much cooler theme song.

Batman 1960s Cartoons



The 1960s saw Batman also made into a cartoon, patterned after the hit live television show. A bit better than the dregs that were the Superman series of the same era.

1980s Superman


Superman Cartoon 1988 Intro - The funniest bloopers are right here

Still not up to the old standard.

Superman: Men of A.P.E



As a comparison to the Superman cartoon just below, check out this badly drawn and written cartoon from the 1966 kids television cartoon.

The Fleischer Superman Cartoons



This was the first in a series of 1940s cartoons release in theaters, and the interesting thing about it is how, compared to modern cartoons and comic books, realism plays such a strong role.

Look at the details of the city, the proportions of Clark Kent (aka Superman), and how the problems shown throughout the series, while based in cartoon villainy, also are dealt with realistically, in the sense that the characters are not exaggerated.

Max Fleischer also produced the Popeye cartoon series, and both were masterpieces of craftsmanship long since discarded. First came the cheapo tv cartoons of the 150s, then the Hanna-Barberazation of the 1970s, then the dark, modern cartoons of the last twenty or so years, but none that capture the realism and skill of these cartons.

Compare garbage like Shrek, or any other computer cartoon to the work displayed her. It's simply no contest.

Look at the realistic human movements. Simply put, computers cannot substitute for a real human touch.

It's a sham ethat such Golden Era work is in the past.

2/25/10

Daffy- The Commando



Racist WW2 era cartoon banned for decades from tv.

Daffy Duck And The Dinosaur



An early example of wacky, not cynical, Daffy. Loved that duck, as a kid. Channel 5, WNEW in NYC, in the 60s and 70s.

Day Of Wrath



An interesting film.

On Al Pacino

I think Al Pacino is a good actor. One who has given great performances. But, as with Robert De Niro, his best work is long behind him.



Most obviously, look at the film he won his Oscar for, The Scent Of A Woman, a piece of schlock, and compare it to his films from the 1970s: the two The Godfather films, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, and others. Hell, even look at Scarface, his camp classic.

In short, Al don't do dat no m'. Yes, he's older, but how often does he challenge himself. If I had his money and name value, wouldn't I do a schlock film for a paycheck, then produce indy films on the side, so my creative side was fed?

Ok, he has done a few indy and smaller films, but isn't he just always Pacino? I mean, yes, De Niro has sort of genericized himself with later roles that fed off of his, 'You talking to me? type persona, but no one's caricatured himself as much as Pacino since old Duke Wayne strode Hollywood.



C'mon, how many times has the word rant been linked with a Pacino performance? And therein the essence of my plaint. Granted, he's done far more than many actors have or could in their career, but is it to much to ask an actor to have integrity throughout his career, especially when he's a superstar like Pacino has been, for four decades? This fact is why he's a good actor, not a great one.

Al Pacino Top 10 List (2)

Al Pacino Top 10 List (1)

Hannah And Her Sisters- e.e. cummings

Hannah And Her Sisters- Conversion

Hannah And Her Sisters- Tumor

Hannah And Her Sisters- Trailer

Hannah And Her Sisters- Suicide Scene

2/24/10

Leslie West Interview (8)

Leslie West Interview (7)

Leslie West Interview (6)

Leslie West Interview (5)

Leslie West Interview (4)

Leslie West Interview (3)

Leslie West Interview (2)

Leslie West Interview (1)

Mississippi Queen



Saw Leslie West in the 80s- I think he was opening for one of the Yes concerts.

Scorsese on Kubrick

Scorsese on Charlie Rose

Scorsese Mashup: Sesame Streets

Scorsese's Bio (2)

Scorsese's Bio

Scorcese's Influences (3)

Scorcese's Influences (2)

Scorcese's Influences (1)

2/23/10

Crimes And Misdemeanors- Ending

Crimes And Misdemeanors- Family Memory

Crimes And Misdemeanors- If it bends....



'If it bends it's funny; if it breaks it isn't.'

Crimes And Misdemeanors- A poor loser....



'A poor loser agrees to do the story of a great man's life and in the process comes to learn deep values.'

Crimes And Misdemeanors- Trailer

Another Golden Era Woody Masterpiece:

Scorsese on Taxi Driver (Part 2)

Scorsese on Taxi Driver (Part 1)

2/22/10

Hitler Hears Of The USA-Canada Hockey Game



This scene from Downfall has been used on every major pop cultural event of the last few years, but it never gets old.

2/20/10

The Last Station.

I went with my mom to see The Last Station, which is one of the better biopics I've seen. It's about the final years of Leo Tolstoy and the tale involves the issues of his copyright. His wife, Sofia, wants to retain those rights, while Tolstoy wants to donate them to the people. (There are multiple ways of spelling both her name and his--I've seen both used).

I'd been getting a number of searches for Sofia Tolstoy as of late, and many have been finding my poem on her. She was very emotional and high strung (as both the film and her diaries show) and Leo would have been a pain in the ass to deal with, b/c he was one of these types who believed wealth was bad, etc.

Tolstoy is a very overrated writer--Anna K is a good book but not a great one--it is very politically preachy in parts. (Flaubert's Madame Bovary is better) and War and Peace has too many characters and not enough development. That is a book that is very much a chore. If you want something very long, Thomas Wolfe is better. Also, Tolstoy was a terrible art critic, and he was one of these who only thought art could be good if it agreed with his politics, which is dumb. So the man had his biases and blind spots, but of course, the movie makes him out to be nothing short of a "genius."

This is one of the better biopics, however, because it focuses only on the last part of his life, rather than trying to stretch it all out--from crib to coffin. But the added love stories (and reducing the film to be about 'love') was both very trite and Hollywoodish. I would just for once like them to make a film about the lives of a couple and have it NOT be about love--or that is, not make love the focus. Iris did it, Sylvia did it, Nora did it, etc.

But the film is well acted and odd that Helen Mirren sounded more Russian when she played Ayn Rand than when she played an actual Russian living in Russia.

Luis Bunuel Documentary

Polanski's The Ghost Writer

Polanski finished editing his latest film while under house arrest. The trailer looks like a regular hollywood thriller formula



But I'm still going to look for it and try to catch it on the big screen. Dan once said that Polanski is a better director when dealing with chamber cinema stories (Knife in The Water, Repulsion, The Tenant..). Even at best I don't expect Ghost Writer to be better than his noire Chinatown.

These are Dan's reviews on some of his work:

http://www.cosmoetica.com/B588-DES509.htm

http://www.cosmoetica.com/B563-DES488.htm

2/19/10

Eurotrash

This was a cinema term from my youth, when pretentious artsy films were released, but had no real art to them. A notable precursor to Eurotrash films was the crap of Jean Cocteau; but Eurotrash hit its heyday in the 1960s and 1970s.



Sorry, but Buster Keaton did it better.

Perhaps the first Eurotrasher, chronologically, was Luis Bunuel, whose pompous, bloated films were dull, although he had a modicum of filmic talent.



The same could be said by New Wave poseur Jean-Luc Godard: no depth, but a little skill, here and there.



How about Rainer Werner Fassbinder? His films were pretentious, but bad....yet, some were so bad that they engendered an Ed Woodian level humor to them.



The same could not be said for Pier Paolo Pasolini; possibly the worst film director who's taken 'seriously' as an artist by critics. Why? Because he was a Left Wing lunatic who stuffed all sorts of crap into his films with that sort of ideal.



But his films were garbage- soft core porno.

Yet, the films of Spanish B film superstar Paul Naschy (whose films I recently got and NEED to watch) were laughed at, as piffle. It's been well over 30 years since I saw a wolfman or a vampire ravage a bare Castilian breast, but, even though my memory is not perfect, Naschy's films were far superior to all the Eurotrashers I have named.



See?

2/18/10

Amelie.

Tonight my mom told me of a movie she'd rented. She told me the name of it was "Aime," the French word for "friend," and so I was prepared to watch a new foreign film.

But I saw that the film was actually the 2001 Amelie, a film I'd seen once before, but only got better upon rewatch. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the film is dreamy and whimsical, sweet yet clever. It is the ultimate feel good film, and how fun it would be to see things through the eyes of Amelie.

The character is a shy girl, one who decides she is going to make others happy by performing odd gestures. Roger Ebert had some good things to say as well. The way the story progressed reminded me of a Vonnegut novel--we're getting snippets of people, places, etc. The film is very picturesque and explores child-like innocence and imagination, and the way the story is told is quite novel in itself.

Here's the trailer:

Teorema

I thought Salo was bad, but Teorema, made in 1968, may be even worse- more pretentious, duller, and without a shred of humor.

It has Terence Stamp in a performance as, basically, a mannekin, and Anne Wiazemsky- the girl from Au Hasard Balthazar, as basically, a catatonic. Excited yet?

Watching this 98 minute piece of dreck made me wonder which was more unbelievable- the actual technical incompetence of Pasolini- from lighting that shows the movement of the lights to poorly framed scenes to bad acting, worse writing, a bizarre mix of sepia and color film, to characters that are silly to symbolism that is sillier to sex that is unconsummated onscreen to, well, ok, there's no shit, like in Salo.

But, maybe this shit needed more shit?

A full review will follow, but, damn, if there's a finer piece of overrated Eurotrash film out there, I don't want to see it. Pasolini was worse than Cocteau and Godard, two infamous Eurotrash poseurs who preceded him, and Fassbinder, too. He was also a terrible writer and poet; a man with no ideas and no ability to express them.

This is where a Kobo Abe or a Samuel Beckett is needed. Instead, it's just Pasolini. Zzzzzzzzzz....

I call this snippet, young queer with Pollock Syndrome:



This is idiot daughter readying self for catatonia:



Ugh! I guess we can be thankful for gay male prostitutes with psychoses, for one did PPP in not too long after Salo, and the world was saved from decades more of this shit!

De Niro Interview

De Niro Unbound



It was commonplace, 15-20 years ago, to hail Robert De Niro as unquestionably the greatest living American actor. But, then came his later period: all the retread cops and robbers roles, as well as the pathetic Analyze and Meet The comedies.

I make no pretense to having seen all the films the man starred in, but since it's widely acknowledged that his buddy, Martin Scorsese, has gone south, making big budget, ,lifeless films starring Leonardo DiCaprio, let's add the corollary, that De Niro is no longer the best actor in the business.

Part of this, I guess, is the desire for big paychecks, and the rest is that there simply is no one around making films of intellectual depth. Who would one include in such a category? Tim Burton, Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson? These guys do not make capital F films, they make lower case m movies.

And what actor could possibly compare to De Niro in his prime? Philip Seymour Hoffman? Brad Pitt? The former lacks the charisma and the latter lacks the chops. Tom Cruise, Little Leo DiCaprio? Neither of them has the acting range of a coyote.

No, there simply is no film actor who can do the work, and the work simply is not available.

Sad.

Smoke



Underrated film from the 1990s.

Harvey Keitel Interview (Part 4)

Harvey Keitel Interview (Part 3)

Harvey Keitel Interview (Part 2)

Harvey Keitel Interview (Part 1)

2/17/10

Mean Streets- The Scorsese Pan



It's the first time Marty did his patented pan. This film is so raw, compared to the polished, bloated, lifeless garbage he's done, of late, with Leonardo Dicaprio.

Mean Streets- Opening Credits

Mean Streets- Mook



Perhaps the key scene in the film, for it shows the difference between a phony and a real man. The guy who's called a mook doesn't know what the term is, but anyone connected would know that a mook was an asshole with no brains and all brawn. That the guy called such lacks both makes the scene funny, yet telling, in that all the wannabe tough guys are not real foot soldiers.

Mean Streets- Dickwaving

Mean Streets- Trailer

Battleship Potemkin: The Odessa Steps



A famous sequnce.

2/12/10

Larisa Shepitko's THE ASCENT

Russian director Larisa Shepitko became internationally known after her work "The Ascent" won the Golden Bear at the BFF (1977). It was her final work. I got the Eclipse Series 11 double-disc box and I just managed to see it. (I still have to see the other movie: Wings).
Set in WWII, the narrative follows two Belorussian peasant soldier who left their troop in search of help and got isolated in the snowy landscape.

This is the full movie:


The movie ends with a strong Christian metaphor, one of the two protagonist will have the fate of Jesus while the other will play the role of Judas. There's a strong tie between the Russian cinema and Christianity it seems.
Overall a solid movie and a beautiful cinematography. The Criterion (Eclipse) transfer quality is far better than the video posted above.

I still think Klimov's "Come and See" (also about WWii) is a better movie and definitely a must see.

The Mirror- Dream

The Mirror- Fire

Tarkovsky's The Mirror

2/10/10

Siskel & Ebert on Film Criticism.

Blue Oyster Cult Vs. Madonna Vs. Bob Dylan

Here is an interesting YouTube video. Wish some of the American Idol kids woul;d be as creative as this. His singing and guitaring are standard coffee shop stuff, but his mix is cool.

2/9/10

Scarborough Fair



This song is also a fave of mine, although best known as a Simon & Garfunkel song, it's really an old ballad.

Don't Cry

Ok, having seen ELP and Yes, when Asia (formed from those 2 bands) got together, I had to see them with some pals. However, there was a connection to Iron Maiden, as the gal I started writing poems for loved this song, and my abortive pursuit of her is inextricably tied to this song, in my memory.

Mr. Blue Sky



If one saw ELP, then seeing ELO had to follow.

Touch And Go



Saw Emerson, Lake And Powell (the alternate version of ELP) in the mid-80s.

Tom Sawyer

Rush was a huge concert draw in the late 1970s and early 1980s. saw them while in HS.

Charlotte The Harlot

Saw Iron Maiden in my last year of high school, or maybe a year later. This song was relevant to me, apropos of the gal I first started poesizing for:



Here 'tis live:



The lyrics:

Giving a swish with your arse in the air,
Don't you know what they're saying?
Charlotte you're so refined
When you take all the love that they're giving.
Sticking with every man that you find,
Don't you know what they're after?
Charlotte you've got your legs in the air,
Don't you hear all the laughter?

Charlotte the harlot show me your legs,
Charlotte the harlot take me to bed.
Charlotte the harlot let me see blood,
Charlotte the harlot let me see love.

Taking so many men to your room,
Don't you feel no remorse?
You charge them a fiver,
It's only for starters.
And ten for the main course.
And you've got no feelings,
They died long ago.
Don't you care who you let in?
And don't you know you're breaking
The law with the service you're giving.

There was a time when you left me standing there,
Picking up pieces of love off the floor.
Well Charlotte you left me alone in there,
To make your ends as a bloody whore.
Well Charlotte you told me you love me true,
Picking up pieces of love yesterday.
Well Charlotte you're draws are off color too
'cause you're making love all day.

Giving a swish with your arse in the air,
Don't you know what they're saying?
Charlotte you're so refined when
You take all the love that they're giving.
Sticking with every man that you find,
Don't you know what they're after?
Charlotte you've got your legs in the air,
Don't you hear all the laughter?

Dr. Feelgood

Saw Motley Crue in the mid-80s. This song always reminded me of my dead blood-brother Paco:

25 or 6 to 4 & You're The Inspiration



Saw Chicago in their Big Ballad phase:

Stop



Saw Jon Butcher in the mid-1980s.

The Voice

After the rainout concert, in 1988, of Squeeze and The Smithereens, it was 20+ years till my next concert- in 2008 Jess and I saw Celtic Woman.

Sexy babes with terrific voice. Here is one of my favorite songs:

2/8/10

Smokestack Lightning- The Yardbirds



Would have loved to have seen The Yardbirds.

Smokestack Lightning



Saw David Johansen, during his unfortunate Buster Poindexter phase, with another babe whose name has long since passed.

Stranglehold



Saw The Motor City Madman in the early '80s, as well. Stranglehold was always an asskicker in concert. Even if you disagree with Gonzo's Right Wing politics, he was a cool motherfucker.

Heart Of Gold



Like Yes, Neil Young was a concert-going staple I saw, early '80s.

Changes & And You And I



What kid never went to see the ubiquitous Yes concerts of the late 1970s and early 1980s?



I saw them two or three times at the Nassau Coliseum. 1979 or '80, then '81 and '82.



Who did not listen to this tune as their 'poetry' when young?

Is That Love?



Squeeze was one of the best songwriting bands from the 1980s. I compare them to The Zombies, in that regard. This is one of my favorite tunes of theirs.

A Girl Like You



Another concert I went to, in 1988, ended up being rained out. It was at Jones Beach, and I went with some pals to see Squeeze. This band opened for them, and 'debuted' this tune.

When the concert was called midway through The 'Fuckin' Smithereens' (the lame name the lead singer gave to themselves) set, wiothout any tunes from the headliners, a near riot broke out when Ticketmaster refused to return the concertgoers money. I engaged in a bit of mischief, as well.

Looks Like We Made It



After a first concert of The Godz opening for Motorhead, my second concert was at the old Felt Forum, under Madison Square Garden. I have to say that Barry Manilow (top that first/second concert duo!) put on a good show; but I only went with a gal to get in her pants. I failed in that quest, but also forgot her name (sense a theme?)

Ace Of Spades



Lemmy Kilmister was a psycho for one of the first speed metal bands, Motorhead. They also played under a different name when I saw them, in a bar, at 14, with a cousin of a friend of mine. Like the alternate band name, I do not recall the cousin of my friend's name.

Gotta Keep A Runnin'



The Godz were a band that was Ed Woodian in their horror- but, so bad they were good. I saw them opening for Motorhead, in my first concert.

Godzilla (BOC)



I saw this other 'Cult' as Soft White Underbelly, back around the same time. I saw them do the Big Green Stomper live, and it was a thrill for a Godzy fan from way back!

Gone



Interesting alternate take of a great tune from The Cult, in the mid-90s.

Still, I prefer the original tune, sans video:

Wild Flower



This is a great song from one of the greatest hard rock albums ever released, The Cult's 1987 tour de force, Electric.

That summer, I was in upstate New York, at a writer's forum, and I recall being alone in an auditorium with a young lady, bumping and grinding as this song played in the background.

Blackout In The Red Room



Love/Hate was one of the great party bands that never quite made it big. Like with some actors, the shit succeeds while good stuff misses.

Monkey Business



No, not Groucho and company, but Skid Row's fun killer song.

Edison's Medicine



Ok, so it wasn't the 1980s- it missed by 2 years. But this 1991 song by Tesla shows that heavy metal could have a bit of depth.

Here's just an audio version that does not freeze up so often:

The Black Dahlia



Brian De Palma is an overrated hack.

2/7/10

Literal Videos



Another interesting channel on Youtube.

Baby, Now That I've Found You- Video Cover



Interesting channel on YouTube

Alison Krauss- When You Say Nothing At All

Alison Krauss- Baby, Now That I've Found You



If Jess ever leaves me, I'm gonna go woo this little German honey.

A Clockwork Orange- Documentary



A doc on the 2 disk DVD of the film.

A Clockwork Orange- Rape Scene



Gene Kelly never forgave Kubrick for this.

A Clockwork Orange Trailer

2/6/10

Paul Newman Interview (Part 7)

Paul Newman Interview (Part 6)

Paul Newman Interview (Part 5)

Paul Newman Interview (Part 4)

Paul Newman Interview (Part 3)

Paul Newman Interview (Part 2)

Paul Newman Interview (Part 1)

Paul Newman

Newman And Woodward on What's My Line?

2/5/10

Siskel & Ebert - The Double Life of Veronique (1991)

Siskel & Ebert - Red (1994)

Siskel & Ebert - White (1994)

Siskel & Ebert - Blue (1993)

Siskel & Ebert - Mighty Aphrodite (1995)

Siskel & Ebert - Bullets Over Broadway (1994)

James Dean Screen Test

James Dean Biopic

Ironic James Dean

2/4/10

Siskel & Ebert '80s Outtakes: more bickering.

Siskel & Ebert - Patch Adams (1998)

Here's another really big stinker the 2 critics go to town on. I admit this movie was b-a-d.

Siskel & Ebert - North (1994)

I do recall this film coming out, but watching S&E review it is just hilarious. Ebert uses hate like 10 times in the review, and Siskel equally detests it.

Watching S&E is best when they are both slamming a movie together or arguing.


Siskel & Ebert - The Thin Red Line (1998).

Ebert misses the mark on this one--praising Saving Private Ryan yawnfest over this. Funny he'll crit the "cliches" in Full Metal Jacket but not see them in this one. But I still luv ya Roger.

Siskel and Ebert: Full Metal Jacket.

Ebert misses it with this one, big time:

Alec Guinness Interview (Part 2)

Alec Guinness Interview

Alec Guinness on James Dean

Alec Guinness



Before his Star Wars dreck, Alec Guinness was a serious actor.

2/1/10

J. Cameron's Avatar: when Hollywood runs out of stories

I saw it a few weeks ago. If you're looking for some substance, don't waste your time. Cameron rips off Pocahontas with a touch from Dances with Wolves. He steals themes from Myazaki's Princess Mononoke and from Nausicaa. What's worse from stealing something is not to appreciate -or understand- the essence of what you stole: while Myazaki's stories carries a message of harmony (with the nature mostly) and non-violence, Cameron turned that into 100% Hollywood macho superhero Vs supervillain combat show.

While I never really had any good expectations from Cameron's work, I wanted to experience the new level of CGI graphics, especially on 3D. I ended up watching it in Real-D (Digital 3D), a technology that was developed by Sony, where the depth of field of the screen is remarkable. Imax 3-D, on the other side, offers a more engulfing image (concave screen) with a more pop-up feel but a significant less depth of field. A third form of 3D (the most common one), is technically the least impressive... a simple 3D (known by Imax geeks as Lie-Max).
Overall it is the most impressive level of CGI graphics I've seen, soon Hollywood will save on paying millions for "human" celebs if this wave is popularized, and the actual question would not be "what" to watch (since it's all BS) but "how" to watch it.

The "thrill" of this experience lasted 15 minutes or so, after what even the 3D thing and the exquisite graphics were not enough to cover the lack of everything else.

The Bridge On The River Kwai Ending

The Bridge On The River Kwai Theme Song

The Bridge On The River Kwai Trailer