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NickSkouras
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Joy (2015)
genius
Joy is some kind of weird genius masterpiece
growing on psyche and soul
there's some type of magic going on in the process of that endeavor.
David o. has definitely captured something as he has said in his near spectrum disorder with jennifer and bob
this film in particular, akin to great painters use of materials and color
a Strange alchemy that began in silver linings much more in American hustle, bale and renner, woooo what work
and now with this film it just struck me seeing an ad for it again a light went on.
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
this film is about NOW
A Coen Bros. personal film like llewyn davis. this and other films like spotlight, the big short, bridge of spies, trumbo, Mr. robot TV show, and candidates like Bernie sanders, who by the way is another Jewish man turning over money changers' tables, and Donald trump, ( dialectic opposites yet meet at the ends ), which are all anti-establishment, as is a growing # of citizens, is about the zeitgeist and our politics. as much as tech exponentially grows and changes so too does our fabric. religion, philosophy, economics, heroes, et al. the very physics of our nation and world. pretty heavy stuff for a Friday night at the movies. Hollywood is a great change agent and also opinion maker of that change. The Coens' say $ will rule the day.
BTW, i can watch swinton Tilda cows come home. i also missed woody Allen's touch on such matters. so.. render unto Caesar that which is his, and render me the freedom to go to the movies! bam!
August: Osage County (2013)
bravery
as far as the actors go... wow... to go there.... some people endure oceans of pain and isolation that many could never fathom. relentless and evolving. especially in rural places, in quiet nature, with no infrastructure but that of the soul and it's architecture. some deeply brave and ill begotten folks leaving legacies millions of miles long of worlds alien to most but so thoroughly real, developed and supreme in their ways.
those ineffable psyches nearly alien to most others. well... god bless them al... and all the rest of us too.
great film in those ways.
Spectre (2015)
a bender
so.... i swear this film was produced by rupert murdoch or some gov. agency to make mass surveillance seem not so bad after all compared with say murder n mayhem that the baddies are usually up to in these films.
we came away from seeing this movie saying, there wasn't so much at stake here, as in skyfall or most films, it was " just" surveillance.
aside from that quirk the film seemed a bit schizophrenic in that i noticed some hints of Italian/french new wave films, some seemed like digital oil paintings, and the totality was kind of like a william s burroughs cut up technique.
i mean, on the heels of the success of skyfall, w these actors, producers and director, it almost felt experimental or clumsy or.... i don't know what...
i still liked being in their company, it was just like hanging out with someone you adore but they're drunk or have a bad hangover. please tell me what you think on this angle.
The Insider (1999)
top 10
pre 911 film dealing w s.o.b.'s of the world. the powerful. elite. the world's changed so much since this film which is filled w such brilliance in most every aspect of production. i wish the same cast and crew and director of course would make a film about the financial meltdown of 2008.
we're all too aware of the dark parts of humanity in 2015.
seems like the internet has homogenized thought opinion and expression. i remember more diversity out there a decade and more ago. it's as if citizens, journalists, are afraid of original opinion, thought, instincts.
watched interviews lately, Ethan Hawke on Sam Jones' show, Colin Farrell on Charlie Rose, and others, where adults, at least perhaps the more sensitive artistic ( read, aware) have some deep questions about the world, maturity privacy and identity as the brave new world turns.
what is it about the dark aspect of man, especially at the top, that makes the world increasingly uneasy and suspect? why isn't it about righteousness and equity etc. about dignity, humanity, the spirit and awe of creation and all in it?
is it simply the nature of the lions bringing down the lambs? or maybe they've just never had the opportunity or environment for emotional, spiritual or IQ maturation.
whatever the case, there's always a pendulum swing. truly noble acts. even in the retelling of a true story such as this.
movies like The Insider, Michael Clayton, etc. show us that nobility in the face of such raw indifference. idk.
Independent Lens: The Great Invisible (2015)
American exception-alism
i spent many days and nights in new Orleans, driving in over that beautiful stretch of water on that lonesome and goose bump bridge, or flying into the venerable Louis Armstrong international airport.
the soul of the people down there, the food, the history, music, culture, magic, is unequaled in this country. African. Caribbean, french, Spanish, Canadian, native American, etc. etc.
when Katrina happened my best friend was tending bar at emeril's and living in the French quarter. thankfully Mr. lagasse had all his employees leave well in advance.
i couldn't return to Nola post Katrina after what i had seen televised.
my friend and many others never were to return either.
a few years on the deep water horizon disaster occurred. the people in the deep south are so plugged in to their environment and nature that it's both a blessing and a curse. they work in, on, with their land maybe more than what most do up north.
the night this show aired on PBS i was watching closely w my sweetheart. simultaneous w this show was the white house correspondence dinner. CNN was airing a red carpet event for the occasion.
and somehow it just seemed obscene. i mean here was a show about a total disaster for many forms of life not the least of which are the American human beings in, on and around the gulf, and on CNN there's that incestuous event up north where government and media take the " gloves off" and masturbate and congratulate each other and go home to their penthouses or whathaveyou and that's fine but i mean,
there was this beautiful man in the gulf region helping to feed so many families still waiting for any respite from BP or the Gov. there was a deep mistrust of gov. and corporate interests there, as you might imagine. and many of the people of the region refer to D.C., N.Y., etc. as " the north" which carries with it a historic significance which may be lost on many younger viewers.
OK so 911, the financial collapse ( theft and bonuses for $ mafia), global climate change, Katrina, super-storms, Deep Water Horizon, Detroit bankrupt, California in drought, relentless war, surveillance, and just a growing gulf between the corporate version via advertising imagery and the reality that most people and families live is again becoming more and more obscene.
i watched a bit of the correspondence dinner coverage and it was fine. a laugh or two in good spirit or whatever. but not a whole lot of mention from the commander in chief regarding any of the above issues.
and... we get to spend billions more next year to elect another celebrity corporate spokesperson again.. or.. president.
to say i'm not involved in the political process is an understatement and untrue at the same time. my politics are where i spend my money, time, efforts, and in trying to be kind and helpful to my fellow citizens and neighbors and be of service when and where i can.
that's my political action. and so i guess is this review.
so, sorry for the soapbox, but was feeling like saying something about this PBS show, Independent Lens, and documentary. the real hope and change as usual comes from artists, writers, documentarians, and fellow citizens, not the garbage peddled by ads and campaigns.
and 1/2 of this country suffers from a form of Stockholm syndrome.
Interstellar (2014)
man = universe
soooo....
lots going on here. 1st, hooray for nolan for this kind of art. someone has to carry the torch.
the film plugged me way back into my former incarnation immersed in cosmologic ontology so to speak
2012, remember that? came and went, and yet we may be living in the wake of a new cosmologic neighborhood in which physics and spacetime behave differently.
and our quantum brains and nervous system, not too mention our ineffable and immortal psyches are processing the new "channel" slowly but surely.
you know, the whole 40 is the new 25 sort of thing. our physiology and emotional IQ's not maturing as quickly? Entropy behaving differently?
after all, the Mayans said it was about Time, not the end of the world or whatever pop culture said it was all about.
at any rate, mcconaughy has grown these last couple years as has brad pitt, into men. matthew is relaying some awesome humanity here. effortlessly, as just a dude. not a superhero, or genius. but just someone who's paid his dues and is good at what he does and is a good dude to boot.
btw i recommend the book " Godel meets Einstein: Time Travel in the Godel universe.
as an old friend used to say, maybe we're the martians.
The Judge (2014)
un-frkn-believable
i've always had a certain affinity w mr. Downey
went in thinking, love him as a black guy or sherlock but a real person? we'll see.. and i love duvall so...
the trailer is so inadequate as an appetizer.
wow
many times during the film i simply looked at my sweetheart in joyful disbelief and when the credits rolled i was floored.
i heard that RDJr. wanted to make this for quite some time and i might realize why
it is in part a proactive completion of some of the 12 steps ritualizing on film, thru acting, a lot of themes of addiction and form whence it may come
there's a couple lines in the film where he tells someone to seek help, which he echoes in real life as on the howard stern show from last week where he tells a caller to go to al anon meetings
RDJs character uses the non violent warriors way approach when confronting many themes of family history and addiction which can lead one astray and the consequences there-in
while plugging the judge on the same stern show afore mentioned he said he wished to pay his old girlfriend sarah jessica a visit, to just catch up on life. he said you need enough time to pass. more 12 step stuff. making amends with those you've hurt or wronged while "using".
"using" is just when one is lost and in pain and hasn't yet been able to become aware or separate from the things which are causing relentless trauma and confusion and alienation from one's true self
i was to be in a band back in the mid 80's w RDJr and Patrick Dempsey, and was to rehearse in Sarah Jessica's moms' garage but due to a sudden illness, it was not meant to be.
at any rate... RDJr is finally growing up, not as an artist, but as a man, a human being and is still in the throes of that journey. as am i.
it's incredibly difficult work and a bit strange to get ones' mind around that we can be somehow separate from our true selves and not who we think we are and or want to be it's frightening sometimes. yet art and film and artists such as these, RDJr and his wife, making sure this got done, is an enormous tool that speaks to the countless among us on this journey.
AND btw i'm sure this film is a real treat for normal folks as well.
many layers to this film and a great effort by the director. Great writing and performances.
just wow. not much out there like it
St. Vincent (2014)
cool
loved it.
hailing from the same area as bill and him wearing the same thing i wore for a couple years straight didn't hurt either but i got the sense that this is a well traveled character.
i was flooded w memories while watching of those neighborhoods back east and the characters that inhabit them. w/o being too obvious or schmatlzy about it.
so kudos to the team for that.
and though it may have not had the emotional punch that some films in this genre have it was awesome in it's own way, cause that's how real life is sometimes.
maybe just a bit too numb or weathered to have all the tears flowing. it almost gets you there. what am i talking about, i was in tears at the films' climax.
anyway
film has been generous to me lately in what i've recently seen and i've reviewed them here on IMDb
yeah, bill is our treasure. not hunter s. not johnny depp. hanks nor whomever OK so it's bill and bob. murray and Dylan.
i mean who's left? who's survived? i adore my memories of living in chicago and new york/new jersey. around when SNL first came on TV and those 2 cities trading it's goods and treasures and times.
(though it's been nice to come out west where one an be i touch w a more true self w/o the affectations/accoutrements of big city institutions like the mafia, steel, cement, bitter cold, history, culture etc.)
great times those and i felt a bunch of that watching this film. remembering all the characters in school or on my block or at the laundrymat.
and all the stuff we all went thru separately and or together.
murray maintains the integrity of all the eras and areas ! this is a very important distinction.
he hasn't sold out and become hip and renewed or techie or whatever. so when he portrays a guy it's freakin real. good job bill. we're still here brother.
A Long Way Down (2014)
so nice
great film!
so good to see pierce brosnan doing this kind of work
along w other films he's recently done. well done.
wow. human beings huh? life. etc. love. the lives of strangers in our own towns. apartment buildings. humanity.
if we'd only have a bit more compassion each week. a small thing here or there for another.
turn off the spirit crushing TV programming and watch some good films like this one. might do the trick. if only for a moment.
better than nothing.
My Old Lady (2014)
great stuff
another great work like " long way down"
a mature teaching moment about sinister stigmas rampant in this world and how crippling some experiences can be especially in formative years
every one of our families have this sort of thing in them including bankers, presidents, coaches, teachers, doctors, billionaires, priests, waitresses and the homeless.
it answers the question of how there can be so much inequity and inequality in this world. the 1% are no different than the rest of us in this way and they make rules and laws, and many of them are desperate indeed and in need. they're just continuing the relentless cycle.
this movie and art like it can but for a moment stop the chatter and business of TV programming and ego driven awareness numbing pursuits and might even penetrate enough to see similarities in someone you may know
or perhaps something in yourself or a family member and muster the courage to begin facing things directly. it may be hard but not doing so is a relentless hardship that continues to cripple generations.
at any rate, its quality work by quality human beings w the real life awareness and experience to pull it off.
there's my soap box. not gonna edit. i'll just let it rip.
Gravity (2013)
Alchemy
hooray for cauron's golden globe.
"gravity" is about the stone that goes thru fire water etc and tempered into the diamond that fell to earth birthing humanity
after all isaac newtons theory of gravity was based on his alchemical studies
incidentally sandra bullocks' characters' name is stone
as i commented on previously re: spike jonze's "her", we need at least a couple, few generations of the technology age to be able to comment on it's effects let alone produce great art about. this has created the vacuum in any discipline or genre the last couple decades.
we've left the eternity of nature for the eternity of technology and intelligence but w "gravity" we're dealing w the eternity of space
we grappled w nature for a very long time, being isolated in it, it's relentlessness bearing down on the thoughtful, producing mighty works we've all benefited from
the rural spaces, the endless country. but space? the ultimate rural address
cauron takes the most basic function of reality and makes us grapple w it's loss. humanity isn't close to being done and neither are it's arts
when we finally begin to live within and without technology and space deep inside and outside of ourselves we will produce and begin to know a renaissance surpassing any that europe wrought in the arts or industry
we're finally creating new archetypes and myths that will serve us well making a more balanced species and world out of the furnace of old superstitions, and refined into the brave new freaking world we deserve and are creating
and like "her", "gravity" is about physics and meta-physics
brave new film making
Her (2013)
new religion?
another film in line w a couple recent films that i mentioned in the llewyn davis review, along w the film gravity and now "her", very 21st century in technique and/or theme.
"her" speaks to the as of yet unawareness of the increasing effect of technology on "reality" philosophy, ontology, religion? which is headquartered not in mecca, jerusalem, rome or the Himalayas, but in palo alto.
perhaps a reason we haven't become aware is the saturation and speed at which we consume. this is why cauron, spike jonez, etc. exist
i was wondering what happened to the intelligentsia. the new age gurus, leary, r.a.Wilson, alan watts. some filmmakers are beginning to slow their internal clock down enough and our new world is slowly making it's way into the arts.
the film made me wonder what will become of the tech have nots. the gulf between them and the exponentially savvy is creating virtual different species.
"her" deals w the physics subject a bit and made me think that w all the cameras we all use and the constant surveillance of reality, it's like a massive quantum mechanics experiment. observation messing w space time.
this film is speaking to a changing physics and reality that we may be faced with sooner than we think. the future is here, it ain't flying cars but more science fact, which it turns out is way cooler and deeper than science fiction.
turns out this spike can be to this decade what the other spike was to the 90's. i hope so anyway
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
piece of art
a film about any number of people
at any time in history juxtaposed with someone who changes the world.
this film is about bob Dylan, and,... everyone else. it's absurd. and awesome.
and so freaking mundane. reminded me a bit of the film "gravity". in that it's simply a snapshot of a certain day in the life unrelated to anything else. both great films. a trend that hopefully will be left to ones capable.
such as cauron and the coens
don't worry about the minutia just enjoy hangin out in that era for a week