{"id":139034,"date":"2018-10-04T09:08:51","date_gmt":"2018-10-04T13:08:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=139034"},"modified":"2021-03-21T08:51:10","modified_gmt":"2021-03-21T12:51:10","slug":"september-2018-viewing-diary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=139034","title":{"rendered":"September 2018 Viewing Diary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Slacker<\/strong><\/em> (1990; d. Richard Linklater)
\nDid a little walk down Richard Linklater lane, starting at the top, and then going all the over the place chronologically. If you think about Linklater, and his extraordinary body of work – and you go back and watch Slacker<\/i>, it’s – frankly -awe-inspiring how strong he started out, how he started out with a Joycean time-locale-obsessed non-story, with people talking, having experiences, moving on, moving past one another. This is a bold bold statement of a film. He’s not trying to please anyone, or using this as a “stepping stone” to larger budgets. This is not an ingratiating film. It’s challenging. It’s about all the things Linklater cares about, deeply. It’s not just a statement of purpose. It’s a deeply vulnerable act, saying “This is who I am. These are the things I think about. I haven’t come to any conclusions. But this is the human condition as I see it.” <\/p>\n

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Dazed and Confused<\/strong><\/em> (1993; d. Richard Linklater)
\nAnd so it is not surprising that his follow-up film will be equally as personal, a walk down his own memory lane (and many other people of that generation) … and not only THAT, but a film that people STILL quote from. It’s a classic. And two years later came Before Sunrise<\/i>. And look where THAT two-person film has led us. And him. And he’s doing all of this out of Austin. On his own pace, his own time, and – most importantly – his own terms. <\/p>\n

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Waking Life<\/strong><\/em> (2001; d. Richard Linklater)
\nThis movie … I saw it in the theatre when it came out, and it was so soon after September 11 – a month later – it was the first movie I saw after that terrible day. And what a movie to see. I will never forget that experience, sitting in the theatre, wounded, in a RAGE, still in a state of hypervigilance, cut off from what I knew as reality for all time, hurt, etc. and THIS was the movie I saw. I won’t say it healed me, but I felt like healing was POSSIBLE as I watched this extraordinary film. (And Alex Jones, of all people, has a cameo? Linklater’s comments about Jones are fascinating. Watching him take on national prominence has been totally surreal for Linklater.)<\/p>\n

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Destination Wedding<\/strong><\/em> (2018; d. Victor Levin)
\nThe movie has some issues. It’s way over-written. I said to Allison after that I could SEE the words on the page, even though Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves are two talented actors. But they are fun to watch. And this movie has the most ludicrous sex scene I’ve seen in a long LONG while. (This month’s viewing diary contains TWO ludicrous sex scenes.) Played out in one long take, it was my favorite scene in the movie. Keanu Reeves manages to make his orgasm hilarious. Not to be tried by amateurs!<\/p>\n

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\nTape<\/em><\/strong> (2001; d. Richard Linklater)
\nAnother one from 2001, and another one I saw in the theatre. I haven’t seen it since. This was a script brought to Linklater by Ethan Hawke. So it’s slightly different than the others (although throughout his career Linklater has often directed things written by other people, or done projects either to generate money for his next film – and each time, he brings his own stamp). It’s a claustrophobic nightmare, this film, and although you can feel its stage origins at times – it’s quite wrenching, with three excellent performances from Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Robert Sean Leonard (never better, honestly). It’s also very timely – a complex look at “he said she said.” <\/p>\n

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Bad News Bears<\/em><\/strong> (2005; d. Richard Linklater)
\nA perfect “assignment” film for him. First up: it’s a baseball movie, and Linklater played baseball. Secondly: it’s a classic from the era which clearly informs a lot of his stuff. He doesn’t soft-pedal the story, and neither does Billy Bob Thornton. These kids are maniacs. And Sammi Kane Kraft who plays the young pitcher with a killer fastball … who died, tragically, in a car accident … she brings a level of verisimilitude to it, because she clearly can play. She was discovered on a baseball diamond in Los Angeles. It’s just so damn sad. <\/p>\n

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The Canterville Ghost<\/strong><\/em> (1944; d. Jules Dassin)
\nCharles Laughton stars as the ghost in this adaptation of the Oscar Wilde story. Wrote a thing on it, should be out this month.<\/p>\n

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The Aviator<\/strong><\/em> (2004; d. Martin Scorsese)
\nI love it. Was working on something which should come out in the next month or so. Needed a re-watch. <\/p>\n

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Boyhood<\/strong><\/em> (2014; d. Richard Linklater)
\nWrote about it here<\/a>. Not my favorite Linklater, but there’s much here I admire (the whole form of the project, and Linklater’s obsession with time passing and how he attempted to put that onscreen – the sheer level of determination it takes to pull off a movie like this). And Patricia Arquette’s performance. Plus that parade of husbands! They aren’t “villains”, not at the outset: they’re charming, they’re kind, etc. But then they’re revealed. This feels very very real to me. <\/p>\n

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School of Rock<\/strong><\/em> (2003; d. Richard Linklater)
\nI’ve probably seen this Linklater more than any other. I believe this film – like Groundhog Day<\/em> – will be watched long after we are all dust. Boyhood’s fine, and it wins awards, and something like School of Rock doesn’t win awards. But it has staying power. <\/p>\n

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Starting Over<\/strong><\/em> (1979; d. Alan J. Pakula)
\nBurt Reynolds said that this was one of the best movies he ever made. He referenced it constantly, in interviews, on the Carson show, everywhere else. He wanted to do more movies like this. It’s a terrific film. And Candice Bergen practically steals it with her ridiculous scene singing to him in the hotel room. You can’t even believe it’s happening. You also can’t believe Burt Reynolds keeps a straight face. He was a genius at that. <\/p>\n

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