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| whiskeypriest |
 Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 12:35 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 6916
Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
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| Why is it that every time I see a spoiler alert or long blank post I am absolutely compelled to read it? It says don't look? I have to look! |
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I ask you, Velvel, as a rational man, which of us is possessed? |
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| mirgun |
| Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 12:47 am |
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Joined: 23 Oct 2009
Posts: 165
Location: New York City
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“Downtown Calling” by Shan Nicholson is a film about the scene in NYC from 1977 to 1985. President Ford had told NYC to “drop dead”, crime was the worst in the country , the Bronx looked like Berlin after WWII , hookers were dime a dozen, and there was freedom to be and do whatever one wished for, because nobody in the establishment gave a damn. As Cynthia Sley says “ people felt a liberation, it was an organic happening. They could not do much, but they were going to do what they could”
In this short period it shows the emergence of new genres of street art, fashion, no wave, post punk, hip hop and deejaying There’s a significant amount on the Mudd Club, Paradise Garage, Roxy. and the beginnings and convergence of hiphop with the downtown scene.There’s one great clip when Malcolm McLaren
Is asked to go to the Bronx, and he calls the Bronx “the suburbs” There’s some concern because he’s in his” swashbuckling-clown” era .
Of course what goes up must come down. When things were done for love of art in the early 80’s,greed and commercialism comes in and destroys what was good, and of course we see the beginnings of the AIDS crisis.
It’s a conventional, and panoramic view of the period, good for someone who wasn’t there.. I wish more would’ve been done given the enormous amount of music and art that was produced. I’d like to have seen the origins such as Max’s and CBGB’s. Debbie Harry who is narrating, sounds like she’s on a few 714’s
The film didn’t have the guts or the heartbeat I was looking for, but I still recommend it. |
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Mirgun |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 1:57 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| Good review. Do you know if there's film footage of those clubs available? I wonder if part of the generic nature you describe is a simple case of what's available to look at? |
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| mirgun |
| Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 5:43 am |
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Joined: 23 Oct 2009
Posts: 165
Location: New York City
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Joe Vitus wrote: Good review. Do you know if there's film footage of those clubs available? I wonder if part of the generic nature you describe is a simple case of what's available to look at?
Hmm I have to research. But the movie also has some footage of the Bronx,the subways with graffiti, interviews of some key people who were a part of of the scene etc.. you'd have to look at a lot of different links to gather it all up.
Here's the link to the short trailer for Downtown Calling
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=161162501406 |
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Mirgun |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 9:54 am |
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Quote: I’d like to have seen the origins such as Max’s and CBGB’s.
mirgun, Max's Kansas City opened in the mid 60's so its origin would have been before the film's era. When I used to go there in '70 to late '73 the joint was jumping. I'm sure it remained a hot spot even after I moved from NYC.  |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 10:10 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| Marc has forgotten more about Max's than all of us have ever known about it. He ought to be able to tell you loads. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 2:08 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| Not if he's forgotten it! |
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You've got a great brain. You should keep it in your head.
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| Trish |
| Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 8:17 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 2438
Location: Massachusetts
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| Annette Bening really is a revelation in The Kids are Alright, my favorite 2010 film so far. I hope she finally gets that oscar (but a nomination at the very least is a must!) |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:27 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12895
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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mirgun wrote: “Downtown Calling” by Shan Nicholson is a film about the scene in NYC from 1977 to 1985. President Ford had told NYC to “drop dead”,
They were rooting for the Yankees, for chrissakes. We have to have some standards. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:43 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
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Quote: Annette Bening really is a revelation in The Kids are Alright
I agree........she does deserve an Oscar. But what an unlikeable character she played. She's had alot of mother roles...... |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 11:52 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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Befade wrote: Quote: Annette Bening really is a revelation in The Kids are Alright
I agree........she does deserve an Oscar. But what an unlikeable character she played. She's had alot of mother roles......
It's The Kids Are All Right, not "Alright." Sheesh. The moviemakers take the trouble to correct The Who's spelling and so few pick up on it.
P.S. A quick check of internet data shows that "alright" is becoming more accepted in Britain, which partially excuses The Who. "Alright" is still considered all wrong in America, however. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 5:37 am |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
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Quote: Marc has forgotten more about Max's than all of us have ever known about it. He ought to be able to tell you loads.
Billy, I'm actually writing about that period of my life right now in my memoirs. Talk about sex, drugs and rock and roll. |
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| Trish |
| Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 2:33 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 2438
Location: Massachusetts
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billyweeds wrote: Befade wrote: Quote: Annette Bening really is a revelation in The Kids are Alright
I agree........she does deserve an Oscar. But what an unlikeable character she played. She's had alot of mother roles......
It's The Kids Are All Right, not "Alright." Sheesh. The moviemakers take the trouble to correct The Who's spelling and so few pick up on it.
P.S. A quick check of internet data shows that "alright" is becoming more accepted in Britain, which partially excuses The Who. "Alright" is still considered all wrong in America, however.
 correction noted |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 10:50 pm |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
Posts: 2621
Location: Houston
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Wild Grass (Les Herbes Folles)
One of the best ways I can praise a movie is to say "For most of the movie I had no idea what was going to happen next!" Examples here are titles like Pulp Fiction or In Bruges. For Wild Grass, however, I may have had the opposite reaction: for most of the running time of the movie, I had no idea what had just happened. And this was not good.
For maybe the first 20 minutes I thought I had a handle on things. The story was a bit eccentric and the movie sure wasn't making it easy for me to keep up, but I was hanging in there. Then the movie went off in a weird direction. For a few minutes after that, things sort of righted themselves with the appearance of Mathieu Amalric, one of my favorite French actors, as a likeable, sympathetic cop. But then he disappeared for the rest of the movie and after that things went wrong. Very wrong.
The tone of Wild Grass is all over the place. Scenes take place which have absolutely no bearing on the story, while other scenes are cut off when it seemed as if something really important was just about to happen. And I'll be nice and not even mention the final scene, which continued to irritate me long after I'd left the theater.
Reading some of the reviews for this movie afterwards, I gather that the director, Alain Resnais, is something of a sacred cow among critics and cineastes alike because he came along during the New Wave and is still working today. I guess for some of them that makes this movie damn near unassailable.
One of the comments in praise of the film noted that it is bound to frustrate audiences who demand "plot-driven" movies. No, I don't demand that plot be the one doing the driving. But it would be nice if plot were at least one of the passengers in the car. Maybe even the one holding the map and shouting out directions? |
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"I have a suspicion that you are all mad," said Dr. Renard, smiling sociably; "but God forbid that madness should in any way interrupt friendship." |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 8:21 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6950
Location: Black Hills
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| Resnais was the director of the plot-free Last Year at Marienbad, one of my least favorite Films Cinephiles Must See. And I had the book that inspired LYaM under my belt (The Invention of Morel, by Bioy-Casares) when I watched it. Plot wasn't holding the map. Plot had been mugged in a restroom back in Dalhart and left for dead. Condolences to you. |
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