{"id":127779,"date":"2017-05-02T08:07:09","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T12:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=127779"},"modified":"2021-07-28T19:10:47","modified_gmt":"2021-07-28T23:10:47","slug":"april-2017-viewing-diary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=127779","title":{"rendered":"April 2017 Viewing Diary"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I just dash these off. Superficial bullet-point analysis for the most part. It&#8217;s a good way to keep track of what I&#8217;ve seen, for year-end lists, of course, but also for future reference. I also always love the discussions on such a diverse list of films\/TV.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Feud<\/strong><\/em>, Episode 6, &#8220;Hagsploitation&#8221; (2017; d. Tim Minear)<br \/>\nI&#8217;m sorry my <i>New York Times<\/i> gig is over. It was a lot of fun re-capping <i>Feud<\/i>. Not a perfect series but with so much to think about and discuss &#8211; especially for true-blue Davis\/Crawford fans (maybe even more so Crawford, since her reputation took such a hit with the book by her ingrate daughter). Jessica Lange gave the performance of her career in <i>Feud<\/i>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/04\/09\/arts\/television\/feud-bette-and-joan-hagsploitation-recap.html?_r=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Here&#8217;s my re-cap for episode 6<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Feud<\/em><\/strong>, Episode 7, &#8220;Abandoned!&#8221; (2017; d. Helen Hunt)<br \/>\nPretty bleak and brutal ep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/04\/16\/arts\/television\/feud-bette-and-joan-abandoned-recap.html?_r=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Here&#8217;s my re-cap<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Dead Ringer<\/em><\/strong> (1964; d. Paul Henreid)<br \/>\nYou know Paul Henreid was Victor Lazslo in <i>Casablanca<\/i>. He also played opposite Bette Davis in <i>Now, Voyager<\/i>, helping to create one of the most memorable and sexy moments in cinema (a moment that started a trend): putting two cigarettes in his mouth and lighting both, one for him, one for her. He and Davis remained lifelong friends. He directed from time to time and he directed her in this, done in between <i>Baby Jane<\/i> and <i>Sweet Charlotte<\/i>. Davis plays identical twins (a gimmick she had done before back in the 40s.)<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Strait-Jacket<\/em><\/strong> (1964; d. William Castle)<br \/>\nIf you have not seen this movie, what can I say. You are missing out on a wonderful and COMPLETELY unique experience. This was the film that Crawford did in between &#8220;Baby Jane&#8221; and &#8220;Sweet Charlotte.&#8221; I covered it in that re-cap. Not to be missed. It includes one of my favorite film gestures of all time:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/gE19akrHlX5S0\" width=\"480\" height=\"432.9795918367347\" frameBorder=\"0\" class=\"giphy-embed\" allowFullScreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/gifs\/joan-crawford-strait-jacket-gif-gE19akrHlX5S0\">via GIPHY<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The Manchurian Candidate<\/em><\/strong> (1959; d. Richard Condon)<br \/>\nOne of the most paranoid movies ever made. Also one of the best films about the reality of the kind of brainwashing that POWs experienced. It was the work done by psychologists trying to re-program those who came home from the Korean War after being in captivity that began our real understanding of mind control, which is now the basis for understanding cults and helping people get out. ANYWAY. Angela Lansbury steals the whole damn thing. A truly magnificent performance. <\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Win It All<\/em><\/strong> (2017; d. Joe Swanberg)<br \/>\nMeh. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/win-it-all-2017\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">My review.<\/a> <\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Hidden Figures<\/em><\/strong> (2017; d. Theodore Melfi)<br \/>\nOne my top 10 last year. This is my first re-watch. Once again, I wept during the opening scene. And I just took it from there. Great film. Taraji Henson&#8217;s performance, if anything, is even greater than I remembered. A throwback. To a 1940s women&#8217;s picture. A Bette Davis part. She is brilliant.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Treasure of the Sierra Madre<\/em><\/strong> (1948; d. John Huston)<br \/>\nYou know, I block out just how nasty the themes of this film are. Incredibly bleak outlook on humanity. What greed does. Bogart is brilliant. (My friend Farran Nehme wrote <a href=\"https:\/\/www.filmcomment.com\/blog\/tcm-diary-tim-holt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a wonderful essay on Tim Holt<\/a> for Film Comment.)<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Some Came Running<\/em><\/strong> (1958; d. Vincente Minnelli)<br \/>\nGod, this film is gorgeous and Shirley MacLaine is heartbreaking. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?attachment_id=128624\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-128624\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/k6pVEjULwrgRy.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"223\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-128624\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Shattered Glass<\/em><\/strong> (2003; d. Billy Ray)<br \/>\nI was having a discussion with a friend recently about plagiarism and our fascination with it. And how repellent we find it. This led to stories of fabulism, and outright sociopathy &#8211; like Jayson Blair and Stephen Glass. I LOVED this movie when it first came out, and I was one of those people who watched the Stephen Glass thing go down in real time. Long story short, as someone who was working in the burgeoning tech-bubble of late 1990s New York, it was extraordinary and exciting to me and my tech friends that &#8220;one of us&#8221; &#8211; a WEB WRITER &#8211; basically cracked this whole thing open. We couldn&#8217;t believe it! I was fascinated in particular with Stephen Glass because of his sheer brazen audacity. None of this would have happened in a more technologically savvy era. It went down in the brief &#8220;moment before,&#8221; when there were still people &#8211; even media people &#8211; who rarely got on the Web. Peter Sarsgaard is brilliant in what could be a totally thankless role. Hank Azaria is amazing. Hayden Christensen is so good. It&#8217;s an amazing film. <\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Supernatural<\/em><\/strong>, Season 12, Episode 17, &#8220;The British Invasion&#8221; (2017; d. John F. Showalter)<br \/>\nI have been over the BMOL since they appeared so even the TITLE of this one was a turnoff. I am so un-attached to this season that when they toss around the name &#8220;Kelly&#8221; or &#8220;Dagon&#8221; it takes me a second to even remember who they are talking about. Can you imagine? These are major characters, they are the reason for the entire season. Mick is not compelling enough to take up that much space. But it was good to see Eileen again. However, it wasn&#8217;t developed. One side-eye from Dean does not a development make. Come on, people, build some tension from episode to episode, and NOT plot tension. EMOTIONAL tension.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Dogfight<\/em><\/strong> (1991; d. Nancy Savoca)<br \/>\nOne of my favorite movies. I can&#8217;t even count how many times I&#8217;ve seen it. It always works. Welcome to the second longest-running thread in my site&#8217;s history: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=33135\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matt Zoller Seitz and I Discuss Nancy Savoca\u2019s Dogfight<\/a>. People are still finding that 2011 post and commenting. And the FIRST longest-running thread is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=7931\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this post<\/a> from 2008, which, who the hell could predicate THAT, I certainly didn&#8217;t guess it when I wrote it. Someone put the post on Reddit in a discussion about the book and that&#8217;s when the floodgates opened. I read somewhere that this post is a &#8220;rite of passage&#8221; for those who just finished the book and want to talk. I don&#8217;t comment there anymore but I keep the thread open. People still show up from time to time. Back to <i>Dogfight<\/i>: an extraordinary film, one that continues to move me, no matter how many times I&#8217;ve seen it.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>13 Reasons Why<\/em><\/strong> 13 episodes<br \/>\nI watched the entire thing in 4 days. Which really isn&#8217;t the way to watch it. Each episode is so deep and rich and complex (and painful) that it should be lingered over, thought about, processed. Trigger warnings should just be assumed. It&#8217;s heavy heavy stuff. But since it&#8217;s also a cliffhanger, of sorts, you have to keep going. I am now in the midst of a much slower re-watch, and the re-watch is an entirely different experience since now I know how all the pieces put together. I&#8217;m seeing so much more. I have some issues with it, one in particular, but it&#8217;s not a fatal flaw. The creators never really worked out why the hell the main kid took so long to listen to the tapes &#8211; it strains credibility &#8211; but the rest of it is so strong I overlooked it. What I really want to say though is that I am so impressed with this young cast that I barely even know what to do with myself. These are kids, and each character is an EXTREMELY difficult role. Basically you have to cast for the type: jock, nerd, good girl, bad girl &#8230; but you also have to cast an actor who is deep enough to go where this series needs EVERYONE to go. These actors blow me away. I am in love with each and every one of them and could not be more impressed. It&#8217;s hard for kids sometimes to &#8220;gel&#8221; into an ensemble. Sometimes an ensemble takes a bit more seasoning. But this is a real ensemble. Each character plays his or her part. Nobody is a &#8220;type&#8221; after all. And all you nerds out there who say stuff like &#8220;I hate jocks&#8221; &#8211; and think it&#8217;s okay &#8211; well, first of all, you should be ashamed of yourself. It&#8217;s no different from saying &#8220;I hate artsy-fartsy types&#8221; or &#8220;I hate AV Club guys&#8221; or whatever. But anyway, that&#8217;s a side issue (and a huge pet peeve). But anyway: JOCKS are just as likely to commit suicide as waify young girls reading sad poetry. Maybe even MORE likely because they are expected to have no &#8220;soft&#8221; emotions. Boys are far more at risk for suicide than girls are, in general. ANYWAY. MY POINT. You meet all the characters and they &#8220;present&#8221; as types. Because it&#8217;s high school and that&#8217;s what it&#8217;s like. The &#8220;popular&#8221; kid, the &#8220;unpopular&#8221; kid, the prissy A-student, the sweet-faced cheerleader who&#8217;s nice to everyone, the crowd of dumb jocks &#8230; and then bit by bit, episode by episode, layers are pulled away. You just never know what other people are going through. And you should care about it. You shouldn&#8217;t just care about yourself. You shouldn&#8217;t judge other people: and that goes for jocks judging nerds, but it also goes the other way. Like I said, there are some elements that don&#8217;t work for me, and one HUGE part that really holds the series back, but overall, I was so so impressed, especially by the deep thoughtful and complex acting done by everyone in this young cast. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?attachment_id=128625\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-128625\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/6362719234553774161607656422_cast.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"462\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-128625\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/6362719234553774161607656422_cast.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/6362719234553774161607656422_cast-100x77.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/6362719234553774161607656422_cast-200x154.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/6362719234553774161607656422_cast-400x308.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Casey Anthony<\/em><\/strong>, 3-part documentary (2017)<br \/>\nI keep trying to quit this sociopath. I was tapped out on Casey Anthony even before she went to trial. And here we are, 10 years later, and I&#8217;m tuning in. Screw you, Casey! Plus: you did it. And you don&#8217;t care. You are an empty shell of a human being.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Graduation<\/em><\/strong> (2017; d. Cristian Mungiu)<br \/>\nMungiu is one of the best directors right now in the Romanian New Wave and <i>Graduation<\/i> is his latest. (If you are not familiar with his work, start with <i>4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days<\/i> &#8211; but make sure you&#8217;re ready. His films are not easy. And then watch <i>Beyond the Hills<\/i>, which I think is a masterpiece.) <i>Graduation<\/i> is devastating, in that slow creep of inevitability way &#8211; similar to what Asghar Farhadi does in his films. Amazing film. <\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Get Out<\/em><\/strong> (2017; d. Jordan Peele)<br \/>\nBelieve the hype. That&#8217;s all I can say. I am so happy that this movie has killed so definitively at the box office. GOOD. It&#8217;s a great era for horror films, and this one is unlike any other horror film I&#8217;ve ever seen.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?attachment_id=128626\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-128626\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/26gs6vEzlpaxuYgso.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"266\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-128626\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Heal the Living<\/em><\/strong> (2017; d. Katell Quill\u00e9v\u00e9r\u00e9)<br \/>\nThis movie flattened me. It is extraordinarily beautiful and emotional. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/heal-the-living-2017\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">My review for Ebert.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Feud<\/em><\/strong>, Episode 8, &#8220;You Mean All This Time We Could Have Been Friends?&#8221; (2017; d. Gwyneth Horder-Payton)<br \/>\nThe finale. I went and saw it at a huge public screening at Lincoln Center. Ryan Murphy, Tim Minear, Jessica Lange, Alfred Molina and Catherine Zeta-Jones were all there for a QA afterwards. The standing ovation Lange got when she walked onstage wasn&#8217;t QUITE as explosive that the ROAR that came at the end of <i>Hamilton<\/i>, but it was an ovation that kept going &#8230; and going &#8230; and going &#8230; and going (I&#8217;m serious) &#8230; and going. It was incredible and I felt so fortunate to be there.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?attachment_id=128623\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-128623\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/33494286144_dacdab5807_z.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-128623\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/33494286144_dacdab5807_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/33494286144_dacdab5807_z-100x75.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/33494286144_dacdab5807_z-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/33494286144_dacdab5807_z-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Burn, Motherfucker, Burn<\/em><\/strong> (2017; d. Sacha Jenkins)<br \/>\nA Showtime doc about the LA riots post Rodney King, but it was really about the history of the relationship of the LAPD and LA&#8217;s African-American community. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/burn-motherfucker-burn-2017\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">My review for Ebert.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Supernatural<\/em><\/strong>, Season 12, Episode 18, &#8220;The Memory Remains&#8221; (2017; d. Philip Sgriccia)<br \/>\nI cannot believe it is episode 18. I honestly don&#8217;t remember much of this season. And I&#8217;m having trouble remembering this episode. So clearly the memory DOESN&#8217;T remain. I feel like the final moment &#8211; carving the initials &#8211; was in a very nice sweet spot for the characters and their fan base &#8211; but in order for the moment to REALLY land you have to have been investing in the characters all along, which this season has not done. Being worried about your legacy has to come from somewhere. Not just random &#8220;let&#8217;s wind down over beers in the bunker&#8221; talk. (The bunker, y&#8217;all. I want to torch it to the ground myself.) Just thinking out loud, especially since I just re-watched &#8220;Kids are Alright&#8221;, which also was about Dean worrying about what legacy (if any) he would leave behind: What if Sam and Eileen had had a romance? A one-episode thing? What if the entire episode had been about that, in the same way &#8220;Kids are Alright&#8221; was about Dean\/Lisa. And what if, of course, it didn&#8217;t work out, leaving Sam with regrets, annoyance about his life, worrying about himself. Member the retirement community episode where Sam first met her? That episode TOO was all about &#8220;what&#8217;s going to happen to us? Will we grow old? Who will we be if we are old?&#8221; etc. So there&#8217;s a nice continuity there &#8211; Eileen maybe sorta brings that with her &#8211; and so why not explore that? Leaving Sam with an emptiness when she moves on or whatever. THEN carving your name into the table might have a truly TRAGIC aspect, like hieroglyphics from an ancient world that nobody even remembers. That&#8217;s just one idea off the top of my head. Pick your poison.  I also don&#8217;t like how the demons now explode. I miss demons who had to communicate by slitting the throats of innocent people, and making a &#8220;call&#8221; through the pool of blood. Not this abracadabra Shazzam stuff. Clearly I will never be satisfied with this season if this is the level I am criticizing, so I will stop now. But there were some good moments here, and glimmers &#8211; FINALLY &#8211; of the relationship between the brothers. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?attachment_id=128627\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-128627\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/tumblr_inline_o1v0hmbXbu1syd60m_500.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"210\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-128627\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Blonde Crazy<\/em><\/strong> (1931; d. Roy Del Ruth)<br \/>\nI own this one. One of the many Warner Brother pre-Codes that Jimmy Cagney did with Joan Blondell. It&#8217;s a really good movie but I haven&#8217;t seen it in a long time. In this re-watch it was like I really GOT just how dark this film is, just how sleazy. It&#8217;s pretty explicit. Very depressing. They&#8217;re so good together.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?attachment_id=128621\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-128621\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BlondeCrazyGif1.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"425\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-128621\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Supernatural<\/em><\/strong>, Season 3, Episode 2 &#8220;The Kids Are Alright&#8221; (2007; d. Philip Sgriccia)<br \/>\nFINALLY. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=124111\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Re-cap up.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Hysteria<\/em><\/strong> (2011; d. Tanya Wexler)<br \/>\nSaw at Ebertfest. What a HILARIOUS film, but spikily feminist too. It makes its points, but it&#8217;s never didactic. It&#8217;s funny and totally absurd and yes, based on true events. The Victorian-era gentleman who invented the vibrator. Director Tanya Wexler and star Hugh Dancy were both at the Festival. I was on a panel with both of them earlier that morning, and then I did the QA with them onstage after the film. By the end of the day, it was like we were old friends. Well, exaggeration. But enough that Dancy said to me he was sorry he wouldn&#8217;t be there the next day to see my film. So freakin&#8217; nice. It was great to see that film in a theatre that seats 1500 people. It was packed. The film really does set its tone from the jump, and never deviates. Not an easy thing. It&#8217;s a romantic comedy. Filled with women having orgasms. And alarmed Victorian gentlemen taking notes from the corner of the room. Fabulous. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ebertfest.com\/films\/hysteria\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Here&#8217;s Ebert&#8217;s review.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?attachment_id=128628\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-128628\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/tumblr_n2wji1TXF21t5lxlvo1_1280.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"388\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-128628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/tumblr_n2wji1TXF21t5lxlvo1_1280.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/tumblr_n2wji1TXF21t5lxlvo1_1280-100x63.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/tumblr_n2wji1TXF21t5lxlvo1_1280-200x125.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/tumblr_n2wji1TXF21t5lxlvo1_1280-400x250.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>To Sleep With Anger<\/em><\/strong> (1990; d. Charles Burnett)<br \/>\nI had not seen this film. It is extraordinary. Robert Townsend was at Ebertfest to do the QA with Burnett and it was a great conversation. Burnett stayed for the whole Fest and sought me out to talk to me about my film (he wanted to know what camera we shot it on), which was so flattering.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The Handmaiden<\/em><\/strong> (2016; d. Park Chan-wook)<br \/>\nCritics raved about this film. Many put it on their Best-Of the year. I had missed it, and I love Park Chan-wook&#8217;s work so I was excited. I didn&#8217;t really care for it though. It was an HOUR too long. Normally I don&#8217;t care about length but when it&#8217;s an HOUR too long, and when you feel a sense of dread\/exhaustion when 2 hours in the title card &#8220;Part III&#8221; goes up on the screen, you know something&#8217;s wrong. Clearly, the majority of critics do not agree with me. Gorgeous imagery though and really inventive plot. You think you know &#8220;whodunit&#8221; and &#8230; not in your wildest dreams could you guess the machinations of that plot.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>July and Half of August<\/em><\/strong> (2015; d. Brandeaux Tourville)<br \/>\nThe film I wrote. Seen on a screen three stories tall. What a thrill. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/festivals-and-awards\/ebertfest-2017-day-3-a-special-short-the-worlds-greatest-actress-and-more\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Review here!<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>They Call Us Monsters<\/em><\/strong> (2017; d. Ben Lear)<br \/>\nAn amazing documentary about juvenile criminal offenders doing adult time. It focuses on three kids, all of whom signed up to take a screenwriting class with a teacher who shows up at the prison once a week. Over the course of the class, the three kids develop a story together, write it out, and then eventually &#8211; the plan is &#8211; that script will be turned into a short film. The documentary is really about the travesty of locking up kids as adults, with no chance for rehabilitation (since the prison system is not about rehabilitation anyway). The three young men profiled here have all done HORRIBLE things. Heinous crimes. But they&#8217;re also &#8230; boys. Kids. They&#8217;re not even adults yet. You get to know them, their families. It was very special seeing this with my sister Jean, who is a teacher of kids just a little bit younger than the ones in the film. She recognized so much of the behavior, particularly in the classroom setting. The director Ben Lear is the son of Norman Lear (who was also at Ebertfest!)<\/p>\n<p><strong><em> Variet\u00e9 <\/em><\/strong> (1925; d. Ewald Andr\u00e9 Dupont)<br \/>\nEvery year at Ebertfest, a silent film is shown, along with accompanying music by the three-person Alloy Orchestra. Alloy Orchestra creates scores for silent films, innovative and fresh, emotionally connected to the action onscreen. They sit in the orchestra pit at the Virginia Theatre, and make such gigantic sounds for an orchestra made up of only 3 people. <i> Variet\u00e9<\/i> is an extraordinary French film, starring the great German actor Emil Jannings. Variet\u00e9<\/i> is innovative in its camera techniques, and very very influential at the time. There&#8217;s one amazing swooping point of view shot: what the audience below looks like to a trapeze artist swinging above. I always love the silent film entry every year, especially since most of them are films I&#8217;ve never seen. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ebertfest.com\/films\/variet\u00e9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Here&#8217;s an essay on the film.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?attachment_id=128629\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-128629\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/maxresdefault.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1037\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-128629\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/maxresdefault.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/maxresdefault-100x54.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/maxresdefault-200x108.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/maxresdefault-768x415.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/maxresdefault-400x216.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Elle<\/em><\/strong> (2016; d. Paul Verhoeven)<br \/>\nIt was the thrill of a lifetime, being in the presence of Isabelle Huppert, someone I consider to be the greatest actress of our time. She leaves everybody else in the dust. When she walked out onstage, she got an ovation like the one Lange had received. I was crying. She is a legend. Who continues to do bold brave new work. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/elle-2016\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">I reviewed <i>Elle<\/i> for Ebert.<\/a> It was on my Top 10 last year.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Mind\/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw<\/em><\/strong> (2015; d. Rick Goldsmith)<br \/>\nDirector Rick Goldsmith was in attendance to present this documentary about basketball phenom Chamique Holdsclaw and her battle with mental illness. It&#8217;s about the difficulty of proper diagnosis, and dealing with stigma &#8211; and this is especially true in the case of athletes (as well as African-Americans). Holdsclaw has become an advocate and activist. She was diagnosed with what I was diagnosed with, and &#8211; like me &#8211; got diagnosed pretty late. She was a fighter, a warrior, and surrounded by coaches and family members who didn&#8217;t understand. Her background was very tough. It&#8217;s an important film. Holdsclaw was going to be in attendance but she was in recovery from a foot injury. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?attachment_id=128630\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-128630\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/chamique_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"820\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-128630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/chamique_2.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/chamique_2-78x100.jpg 78w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/chamique_2-156x200.jpg 156w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/chamique_2-312x400.jpg 312w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Pleasantville<\/em><\/strong> (1998; d. Gary Ross)<br \/>\nBoy, was this a treat. I&#8217;ve always loved this film. I wrote a piece a long time ago, partnering it with <i>Blast from the Past<\/i>, two films dealing with nostalgia from very different perspectives. But taken together, they make a poignant starting-point for conversation. Seen now, so many years after its release, it&#8217;s pretty clear that <i>Pleasantville<\/i> is a masterpiece. I don&#8217;t use that word lightly. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ebertfest.com\/films\/pleasantville\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Here&#8217;s Ebert&#8217;s review.<\/a> Gary Ross was an amazing guest, funny and personable, and he hadn&#8217;t seen the film since it was first released. &#8220;I had a lot on my mind when I made it,&#8221; he said it. Interestingly enough: when I first saw it, it seemed to be a commentary on nostalgia for the good old days, and how the good old days were only good if you were in a certain demographic. But now, it seems to be a pointed commentary on the time we are actually living in right now. <\/p>\n<p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?attachment_id=128631\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-128631\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/tumblr_oet8hdGHba1r4z58xo1_500.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"259\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-128631\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n<strong><em>Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You<\/em><\/strong> (2017; d. Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady)<br \/>\nA new film from the directors of the unforgettable <i>Jesus Camp<\/i>. This a profile of Norman Lear, a man who basically created our culture as we know it. A man unafraid to take on the huge issues. I mean, there was a transgender character on <i>All in the Family<\/i>, for God&#8217;s sake. It&#8217;s a great documentary. Norman Lear is still with us. It was incredible having him there. <\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Being There<\/em><\/strong> (1979; d. Hal Ashby)<br \/>\nMy father loved this film, and loved the line, &#8220;I like to watch.&#8221; Cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (father to Zooey) was in attendance as a guest. The film still plays like a bat out of hell, and I&#8217;ve never seen it with an audience. The laughter was explosive. It&#8217;s a biting satire, and &#8211; again &#8211; it&#8217;s difficult to watch and not think about our current-day problems in this country. &#8220;Chauncey Gardner&#8221; was thrown about as a reference point at some point early in the chaotic reign of 45. It is SUCH a funny movie. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ebertfest.com\/films\/being-there\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Here&#8217;s Ebert&#8217;s review.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?attachment_id=128632\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-128632\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/i63vZJBTtVV96.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-128632\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>De-Lovely<\/em><\/strong> (2004; d. Irwin Winkler)<br \/>\nI had never seen this before. The film playing on the final day of Ebertfest before everyone flew out of town. It destroyed me. Mum and I were a wreck afterwards. A lovely film, celebratory and gentle. <\/p>\n<p><strong><em>42<\/em><\/strong> (2013; d. Brian Helgeland)<br \/>\nGod, I love this film. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=69651\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">I wrote about it after I first saw it.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Small Crimes<\/em><\/strong> (2017; d. Evan Katz)<br \/>\nSome very good things here. Definitely worth checking out. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/small-crimes-2017\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">My review for Ebert<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Flames<\/em><\/strong> (2017; d. Zefrey Throwell and Josephine Decker)<br \/>\nI asked for and received a link to this extraordinary film from the publicist since I would be missing it at Tribeca. Eventually I will write about it. I am a huge HUGE fan of Josephine Decker&#8217;s work. She&#8217;s directed two features thus far (<i>Thou Wast Mild and Lovely<\/i> and <i>Butter on the Latch<\/i>) and they are almost their own genre. You can&#8217;t compare them to much else. One can already say that they are &#8220;Decker-esque.&#8221; She is a unique visionary with a style that has to be experienced, compelling, haunting, with an eye for details that other photographers\/directors would sell their souls to have. <i>Flames<\/i> is a documentation the love affair with her co-director, Zefrey Throwell. They only dated for 8 months but it was extremely intense and it took them forever to extricate themselves, especially since they had decided to document their relationship and wanted to finish this film. It sounds self-indulgent. Maybe it is. But when your &#8220;self&#8221; is as interesting as Decker, when your perspective is as personal &#8230; then please. Indulge your &#8220;self&#8221; as much as you like. I can&#8217;t stop thinking about this film. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?attachment_id=128633\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-128633\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/tumblr_oombt7aHDC1slsalco3_1280.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-128633\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/tumblr_oombt7aHDC1slsalco3_1280.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/tumblr_oombt7aHDC1slsalco3_1280-100x56.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/tumblr_oombt7aHDC1slsalco3_1280-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/tumblr_oombt7aHDC1slsalco3_1280-400x225.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Intervention<\/em><\/strong> &#8211; a minor marathon<br \/>\nI was so wiped out from Ebertfest I couldn&#8217;t really focus on anything the week following. So I unwound watching <i>Intervention<\/i>, a show that always makes me realize that &#8211; contrary to my own perception &#8211; I&#8217;m not doing too badly.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Buffy the Vampire Slayer<\/em><\/strong>, Season 1, Episode 1, &#8220;Welcome to the Hellmouth&#8221; (1997; d. Charles Martin Smith)<br \/>\nI&#8217;ve never seen <i>Buffy<\/i>, can you believe it? So along with the <i>Intervention<\/i> escape, I watched the pilot. I enjoyed it. Not sure if I will continue. 6 seasons are quite a commitment. But I really liked it.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The Handmaid&#8217;s Tale<\/em><\/strong>, Episodes 1 &#8211; 3<br \/>\nBeen having some interesting conversations on Twitter and Facebook about this. I have not read this book in decades. It blew me away when I first read it. I do love Margaret Atwood, although I think she&#8217;s written better books. <i>Cat&#8217;s Eye<\/i>, first of all, and then the unforgettable <i>Bodily Harm<\/i>. But I think this series is doing a good job of portraying the true horror in <i>Handmaid&#8217;s Tale<\/i>. Visually, it is superb. Terrifying. <\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Revolutionary Road<\/em><\/strong> (2008; d. Sam Mendes)<br \/>\nI need to re-read this extraordinary novel. I remember seeing the film when it first came out, and being blown away in particular by Leonardo DiCaprio. But, of course, it was Kate Winslet who got the Oscar nom. Typical. I thought she was wonderful (although her American accent, as always, left much to be desired.) But it was LEO who stunned. And I already think he is a great actor. He&#8217;s fanTASTIC. It was fun to see Winslet and DiCaprio reunited too. Maybe this would be the sequel of <i>Titanic<\/i> if those two got together, a depressing thought.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?attachment_id=128634\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-128634\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/tumblr_m6ey3e0VKK1qjvprl.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"208\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-128634\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Supernatural<\/em><\/strong>, Season 12, Episode 19, &#8220;The Future&#8221; (2017; d. Amanda Tapping)<br \/>\nThere were some good scenes here, although Castiel&#8217;s purpose on the show has not been clear for 5 seasons now. All he does is fuck up, be self-pitying, lose his angel wings and then &#8211; despite the dissipating sense of connection with the brothers &#8211; be rewarded with empty &#8220;You&#8217;re our brother&#8221; speeches from Dean. But there was a good scene with Castiel late in the game, but the problem is that Dean&#8217;s annoyance with Castiel totally reflected my own annoyance with Castiel (similar to the &#8220;I have no purpose&#8221; arc of Castiel last season). This is the writers acknowledging the problem of Castiel IN THE TEXT. Like: why are you HERE anymore? And unfortunately, I do not think the actress playing Dagon is very good. Her performance feels lazy to me. I&#8217;m sorry. I feel like a starving fan at this point, so I love when ANYthing in the series now allows for relationships to &#8230; EXIST. One of the major problems for me is that Sam has vanished almost entirely as a character. It&#8217;s a travesty. I am sorry if my strong words hurt anyone&#8217;s feelings, those who love what&#8217;s happening. I am not trying to tell you that you should feel the way I feel. I&#8217;ve read a couple of fan things on Twitter, people who are guessing that this season is &#8220;off&#8221; because both JA and JP had pregnant wives, and maybe they wanted to take a year off from painful scenes. Bullshit. People who say this have no idea how TV works, and also what it means to be a professional actor of the caliber of these two guys. They&#8217;re ACTORS. Nobody is going to sit around a writer&#8217;s table with network producers present and say, &#8220;Well, our actors have a lot of personal stuff going on, let&#8217;s not give them much to do.&#8221; Please. This is not how the industry works. The industry is a place for grown-ups. It&#8217;s a job, not a therapy session. To me, JA and JP look bored out of their minds. They have not been given anything compelling to do. Pregnant wives or no, they&#8217;re actors, they&#8217;re not being given stuff to act. As &#8220;hard&#8221; as the painful scenes are, that&#8217;s why they&#8217;re in the business. To get an opportunity to do what they do best. What has happened to the series is a result of chaos on the backend, a newbie showrunner, and new writers who seem to understand the LYRICS of the show but not the MUSIC. <\/p>\n<p>Sorry to end this viewing diary on a negative note. It&#8217;s been one hell of a month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I just dash these off. Superficial bullet-point analysis for the most part. It&#8217;s a good way to keep track of what I&#8217;ve seen, for year-end lists, of course, but also for future reference. I also always love the discussions on &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=127779\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2627,4,31],"tags":[1687,269,2532,2493,1855,2206,1151,121,2480,339,2062,129,466,2517,2450,403,2044,78,2148,2504,2346,302,2263,1699,1382,2637],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127779"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=127779"}],"version-history":[{"count":55,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":158439,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127779\/revisions\/158439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=127779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=127779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=127779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}