A personal diary keeping people abreast of what I am working on writing-wise.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

MY SECRET IS MY SILENCE

IN THE THEATRES...

I haven't actually been out to see much in the past weeks. My cold this week has laid me up something fierce. I lost my voice yesterday and have been generally miserable.

I did go see Miss Potter last week, the new movie with Renee Zelwegger as Beatrix Potter. I call it "Finding Neverland for girls," though I actually liked this one better. It's not so downbeat, and I really liked the animation they did with the Potter drawings. If there had been more of that, I might have found it better than woefully average. As it was, this little capsule was about as much of a review as it inspired, so I didn't write it up in full.



THIS WEEK IN DVD REVIEWS...

* Border Radio - Criterion Collection,the time capsule indie about L.A. punk rockers, featuring John Doe and Dave Alvin

* Chungking Express/Fallen Angels, an exquisite new Korean edition of a Wong Kar-Wai double A-side

* Extras - The Complete First Season, a riff on the outlandishness of the entertainment industry by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant also has some true heart to it

* Factotum, the DVD release of Bent Hamer's adaptation of the Charles Bukowski novel, with Matt Dillon as Hank Chinaski

* The Great Happiness Space, a chilling documentary about the male host business in Osaka

* The King and the Clown - Limited Edition, a massive set of Korea's biggest film from 2005, a historical romance.

* Martin - The Complete First Season, presenting the original 27 episodes of the Martin Lawrence sitcom

* Mouchette - Criterion Collection, an examination of human cruelty as it's visited on a young girl, courtesy of French master Robert Bresson

* Paradise Kiss, vol. 1, an update to my previous review of the Ai Yazawa-based anime



I must admit, I find it rather daunting to review films sometimes, particularly when it's an important release by a master like Robert Bresson. The Wong Kar-Wai double-set had my knees really knocking. I just don't even know where to begin when it comes to films I love that much, and I am so fearful of getting it wrong or looking foolish. I put my best effort in, and know I can barely touch the surface of what is there to talk about. It's a matter of gritting one's teeth, swinging blind, and hoping you hit something of substance.

Current Soundtrack: Roddy Woomble, My Secret is My Silence

Current Mood: still sick

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All text (c) 2007 Jamie S. Rich

1 comment:

Greg McElhatton said...

I'm glad you mentioned the Andy/Maggie relationship has being so important in Extras because so often I felt like I was the only one who was seeing that, with people fixated on the guest-stars or making comparisons to The Office.

Andy's telling Maggie over the phone that she needs to grow up while she's surrounded with all of her young-skewing possessions was probably one of the most memorable moments of television I saw in the past year; that one really hit home for me and hard, and without that relationship having been built up (and Ashley Jensen's marvelous portrayal of Maggie in that scene) it wouuldn't have been half as powerful.