tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62541305033041803902024-03-16T13:45:58.488-07:00Potion LordsTERRORIZED BY TRIVIALITIESSigns of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.comBlogger250125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-43015103227477032732024-01-09T13:05:00.000-08:002024-01-17T13:23:50.352-08:00Films in 2023<p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Here are my favorite movies, documentaries and mini-series that I watched in 2023.</i></span></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03);"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMwbbsM-rr5b9aPStX1wAICSOUSGqqay-__uLpnPa33V0bySqaMUCy-fgZSYHtQrDY8Oh3wIgILeTd-HrHr63JFC16O9E7GJIXysJGnIP9LGpZaDpr1470OhVhAHU3G5muFLUtF0iVXnW1jcwJewcl4AiD_GbW6uTmQ-6EvpQRxN_EXDjXqRXQq9QXJz5y/s2048/The%20Sixth%20Commandment.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMwbbsM-rr5b9aPStX1wAICSOUSGqqay-__uLpnPa33V0bySqaMUCy-fgZSYHtQrDY8Oh3wIgILeTd-HrHr63JFC16O9E7GJIXysJGnIP9LGpZaDpr1470OhVhAHU3G5muFLUtF0iVXnW1jcwJewcl4AiD_GbW6uTmQ-6EvpQRxN_EXDjXqRXQq9QXJz5y/w320-h240/The%20Sixth%20Commandment.jpg" title="Eanna Hardwicke as lunatic narcissist Ben Field in The Sixth Commandment" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Eanna Hardwicke as lunatic narcissist Ben Field in The Sixth Commandment</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03);"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03);"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>OUTCRY</b>: </span><span style="font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">American criminal justice dissected through an objectively humanist lens: A truly incredible document showcasing corruption at every single level of the modern legal system - all within a single case. </span></span></span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Apparently this came out a few years ago but only hit my radar in September. Regardless, (</span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">besides the final season of Succession), </span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">this was my favorite piece of content I watched all year: fascinating, shocking, disheartening</span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419;"> </span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">and powerful. </span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One of the best ‘true crime’ documentary series you will see.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03);"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT</b>: This is a phenomenal four part BBC miniseries about an extraordinarily twisted series of recent crimes in the UK. Clean, tight, gripping - as good as it gets. </span><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(For anyone interested in psychedelics that watches this: in real life, the drug Ben was giving them was 2CB)</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">.</span></span><span style="font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Mental.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03);"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><b style="font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">THE OLD OAK</b><span style="font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">: Syrian refugees find their way in an economically depressed North England town in master Ken Loach's final film, built on another righteous script from Paul Laverty. A beautiful testament to the power of community. Pure soul. “Solidarity not charity”.</span></span></span></p><p><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>TALK TO ME</b>: A bad trip to the other side of underneath. A legitimately creepy Australian twist on supernatural teen horror featuring a g</span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">reat cast of young actors. In my mind this</span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> doubles as an anti drug movie. </span></p><p><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>LOVE HAS WON THE CULT OF MOTHER GOD</b>: Peacecreeps, broken souls and lost hippies adapt and distort New Age language in order to find meaning and money in this brilliant three part deep dive into drug and alcohol fueled madness. I think her downfall has everything to do with the guilt she was likely harboring for leaving her kids. This is the best short form cult documentary since Heaven's Gate.</span></p><p><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJcCTNUMagFjlbdj0f8GDCbn4Yjpb_65l4RFSMGta38SHWQ5sNYOJlNDoG9HZGMLBP2tyPwuMV_bhjgDbNJARkuc1bLMG1NJo-1Aaoecf1Uhc4rLtSlpfyCq3d-Wk38schQouG9SsnSB9UnIlO1nuomtkA9cOA5aXblfZd1oqZ74SqciACjqAq59pGPr3y/s1800/amy-carlson.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJcCTNUMagFjlbdj0f8GDCbn4Yjpb_65l4RFSMGta38SHWQ5sNYOJlNDoG9HZGMLBP2tyPwuMV_bhjgDbNJARkuc1bLMG1NJo-1Aaoecf1Uhc4rLtSlpfyCq3d-Wk38schQouG9SsnSB9UnIlO1nuomtkA9cOA5aXblfZd1oqZ74SqciACjqAq59pGPr3y/s320/amy-carlson.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Amy Carlson is Mother God in Love Has Won.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>PALM TREES AND POWER LINES</b>: This drawn out, slow burn study of grooming makes for quietly intense, occasionally difficult viewing - and ends on a refreshingly downcast note. A very strong debut from Jamie Dack.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03);"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>R.M.N.</b>: Cristian Mungiu is one of the finest filmmakers alive, a new movie from him is always something to celebrate. In this bleak new realist drama on the social condition, </span></span></span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">as xenophobia spreads like wildfire,</span><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03);"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> he explores fear and othering in a </span></span></span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">small town in Romania</span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. The final scene was wild - I did not see that coming. </span></p><p><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>SICK OF MYSELF</b>: A woman gives herself a skin disease in order to compete for attention with her grifter artist boyfriend. Intelligently observed, brilliantly acted and the funniest movie I have seen in a long time.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03);"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>THE ROYAL HOTEL</b>: Two women tend bar in the outback as they navigate the gaze of dysfunctional males in this tense and menacing gem from emerging talent Kitty Green. Features a phenomenal cast of familiar Australian character actors from classics like Snowtown and Animal Kingdom. </span></span></span></p><p><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON</b>: A group of immoral men engage in a dastardly plan to steal money from the Osage. Loved the final shot and that bold Marty cameo at the end.</span></p><p><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU</b>: The best alien invasion movie in years. Focused, well executed, no bullshit storytelling made by someone who understands the language of cinema. Looks amazing too. Fun movie.</span></p><p><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5mAn3SFLaPQ1enX3WQ286RNS7lheJwFSzyqF1WMdCSRQLqp_6bHg24Soxk7Mez7saAHAR4PNZefsAoSwsI48lBAjFCYOBzrH-PqkswlacWeyk_ltB8OBaEvIetcIL1MaRNCyAb8zJvv_Uxtx6SMOKVezMHPxvtXDGuXg2gSp_9Giws7DDCLQakjmwK8BE/s3024/old%20oak.heic" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2552" data-original-width="3024" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5mAn3SFLaPQ1enX3WQ286RNS7lheJwFSzyqF1WMdCSRQLqp_6bHg24Soxk7Mez7saAHAR4PNZefsAoSwsI48lBAjFCYOBzrH-PqkswlacWeyk_ltB8OBaEvIetcIL1MaRNCyAb8zJvv_Uxtx6SMOKVezMHPxvtXDGuXg2gSp_9Giws7DDCLQakjmwK8BE/s320/old%20oak.heic" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>"Strength, solidarity, resistance": a still from The Old Oak.</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03);"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03);"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Also worthy of note was </span></span></span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Jonathan Glazer’s low-key study of complacency and complicity in the face of industrialized death <b>THE ZONE OF INTEREST</b>, </span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">the brutal Danish horror </span><b style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">SPEAK NO EVIL</b><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, </span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">the extremely sad Hulu documentary <b>NEVER LET HIM GO</b>, the tough-watch Swedish series about crippling </span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">misogyny</span><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03);"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and abuse <b>RIDING IN DARKNESS</b>, the UK crime procedurals <b>THE LONG SHADOW</b> and <b>THE HUNT FOR RAOUL MOTE</b>, and the home-spun HBO doc <b>TELEMARKETERS. </b></span></span></span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I also recommend the documentary about families escaping North Korea </span><b style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">BEYOND UTOPIA,</b><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03);"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">French legal drama <b>ANATOMY OF A FALL</b>, study of neighbor disputes in the hills of Galica <b>THE BEASTS</b>, and the </span></span></span><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03);"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">dystopian trip zone study of identity and decadence <b>INFINITY POOL</b>.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03);"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03);"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeAVmFk9f4PxyHMeVdpGEGQKa-l5JnCv8bM3_ncE21L3QWaxsfVbUt79bz00KY-vU8k4jvvyjccs8IyYUG-CNxGJXFQSLcnIl4kmnlF8kHAXgLKBVzdo46u5ScVx8PsY12ZteVfLE_GCdM6TrunyeIySegQy5-OrGjMYDhoTRmHFqETll99W9x4fd5CBKi/s9600/outcry.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5400" data-original-width="9600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeAVmFk9f4PxyHMeVdpGEGQKa-l5JnCv8bM3_ncE21L3QWaxsfVbUt79bz00KY-vU8k4jvvyjccs8IyYUG-CNxGJXFQSLcnIl4kmnlF8kHAXgLKBVzdo46u5ScVx8PsY12ZteVfLE_GCdM6TrunyeIySegQy5-OrGjMYDhoTRmHFqETll99W9x4fd5CBKi/s320/outcry.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Greg Kelley, the subject of Outcry.</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03);"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><br /><span style="font-size: 17px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span></span><p></p>Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-72143014969043024782023-01-10T12:57:00.004-08:002023-01-10T15:02:58.904-08:00Films in 2022<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The best movies, documentaries and series in 2022.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDFCvaHbNA0uSWWgGeKjw4IC-jicRmosgLO3SuwomnaCHjdihCk9GZU4YMxiORKq5Usx-6ypCGpXwaSqiNQ6U0RkQc8utZpIL-h6iUBLDzBzu41a2vX-14qqFS0EZ5FOgUDazc5A3z9g0LK5D8v6H8n7s80hJgZDDfsv-sIQt0CKLK-ewXc4Y0I4lb9A/s3656/nancy%20in%20the%20vow%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2423" data-original-width="3656" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDFCvaHbNA0uSWWgGeKjw4IC-jicRmosgLO3SuwomnaCHjdihCk9GZU4YMxiORKq5Usx-6ypCGpXwaSqiNQ6U0RkQc8utZpIL-h6iUBLDzBzu41a2vX-14qqFS0EZ5FOgUDazc5A3z9g0LK5D8v6H8n7s80hJgZDDfsv-sIQt0CKLK-ewXc4Y0I4lb9A/w400-h242/nancy%20in%20the%20vow%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Nancy Salzman in The Vow Part Two</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>TÁR</b>: I remember being seriously disturbed and amazed by </span></span></span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">Little Children, </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Todd Field's previous film released in 2006. He finally returns with a brilliant, timely study of power - and how it is wielded within institutions - told through the story of a composer/conductor's fall from grace. </span></span></span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">The only appropriate word I can find for it is Masterpiece. </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> I can't remember the last time a character this fully formed hit the screen; Cate Blanchett is outstanding. The s</span></span></span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">cript is an intellectual feast and the </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">final shot has got to be the most confounding and brilliant of the year. </span></span></span></p><p><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>THE VOW PART II</b>:</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is difficult, stomach-churning viewing but is one of the most intimate and revealing documents of human behavior control ever filmed; it explores the manipulative sociopathy of a megalomaniac misogynist and the (NLP based) systems developed to exploit vulnerable minds. </span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">Part I was an excellent overview of the NXIVM cult and it's adherents but Part II is on a whole other level - m</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">ore access to key people and a much deeper dive </span></span></span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">as it unfolds over 6 hours.</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">The footage of Raniere’s brainwashed minions dancing outside his jail cell is unbelievable, the ‘NXIVM 5’ are truly camera ready lost souls for modern times. </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Nancy Salzman is the most fascinating character of 2022 and her</span></span></span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"> brutally honest, soul-searching testimony - and the tragic ending sequence - will stay with me for years to come. On HBO.</span></p><p><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>THE NORTHMAN</b>: Robert Eggers' viking epic takes you to another world. A brutally realistic revenge movie dealing with ritual/sorcery/mysticism in AD890 Iceland - this is wild, visionary filmmaking. If you get the chance see it on a big screen, do it. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>RESURRECTION</b>: An unbelievably twisted movie about extreme psychological abuse and control; an unsettlingly imaginative, very well written script is brought to life with a restrained Haneke-esque coldness and anchored by a bravado woman-in-crisis performance from Rebecca Hall. Writer/director Andrew Seamans is one to watch.</span></span></span></p><p><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>TRIANGLE OF SADNESS</b>: Once again Ruben Östlund wages class war in the most entertaining and engaging way possible, this time by humanizing and degrading models and oligarchs on a cruise. Totally relevant comedy. </span></p><p></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: Times; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXt9ZJ4gRLMrSknnwbTRljK_R2aVpTSXYlQBGPnDl1gn-Ja_jukCtJkZxxSgdnxwPMxV82jPdlLbDe8ITvk_U6F0GV50vJYvWzW3HBN17wF0kXOntpHoYfaARmeYybm41FO-eJtYPt_2Vk9kP3XpLB5SIZs783yHr2HuP_IAe1KwpVCRs4q2wY-qYDdQ/s620/eddie-redmayne-good-nurse.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="620" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXt9ZJ4gRLMrSknnwbTRljK_R2aVpTSXYlQBGPnDl1gn-Ja_jukCtJkZxxSgdnxwPMxV82jPdlLbDe8ITvk_U6F0GV50vJYvWzW3HBN17wF0kXOntpHoYfaARmeYybm41FO-eJtYPt_2Vk9kP3XpLB5SIZs783yHr2HuP_IAe1KwpVCRs4q2wY-qYDdQ/w400-h251/eddie-redmayne-good-nurse.webp" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Eddie Redmayne as Charles Cullen in The Good Nurse</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>THE GOOD NURSE</b>: I was never an Eddie Redmayne fan until I watched this - now I think he may be the best actor of his generation. He</span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is downright revelatory in the English language debut from Danish master Tobias Lindholm. Very dark subject matter handled with grace and care. On Netflix.</span></p><p></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></p><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>THE ETERNAL DAUGHTER</b>: Joanna Hogg deploys rigorous form in the service of a severely moody and stunningly shot ghost story. I haven't seen a haunting this convincing since Personal Shopper; it must have been mind blowing to see in a theater. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>TWO SHALLOW GRAVES</b>: There were a lot of good true crime documentaries this year (Sins of Our Mother, Murdaugh Murders, Raincoat Killer) but this documentary on the McStay family murder case airing on Discovery+ is exceptional. Once the mysteries of the crime are laid out in detail in the first few episodes, it moves into an all access courtroom drama that almost plays like a mini <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Staircase" target="_blank">Staircase</a>. Much like that classic, truth is elusive, motives are unknown and nothing is set in stone. The audacious Brady violations and assumptive leaps in logic from the prosecutors were alarming. The brother and the mom cleaning the crime scene is extremely shady. Merritt probably did it but an unjust outcome nonetheless. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: times;">NITRAM</span></b>: There is something sinister about the way Justin Kurzel portraits the undereducated Australian underbelly. This return to his realist crime roots is a masterful five alarm fire about how we treat behavioral issues and mental illness, and the consequences of our collective ignorance. Caleb Landry Jones is absolutely phenomenal as Martin Bryant. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>SECRETS OF PLAYBOY</b>: This powerful ten part documentary series completely rewrites the company's history and exposes </span></span></span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">the woman-hating rapist ‘Hef’</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> and his co-conspirators</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> as misogynist monsters, </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">all </span></span></span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">while methodically breaking down his sex trafficking organization that destroyed lives for decades.</span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">A </span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">surprisingly</span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"> harrowing watch. Available on A&E and Hulu.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpZjgS_3iiFhco5izrrS4iB4r2hrdkGZkPdcCkFr__mta6Tgy6pJBuyNhwEEpswOzsB1s2Vk5aYNibWDiK_CZ0kwydVX-JXBHkPABGb08UunSyTS3Sia77YWNHOjNBO4321Hz8CNndO4mecczEfqEOqgK1DktUx8b7Zb0j3hCoan0AImA9vc0nai2Qew/s2000/triangle.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpZjgS_3iiFhco5izrrS4iB4r2hrdkGZkPdcCkFr__mta6Tgy6pJBuyNhwEEpswOzsB1s2Vk5aYNibWDiK_CZ0kwydVX-JXBHkPABGb08UunSyTS3Sia77YWNHOjNBO4321Hz8CNndO4mecczEfqEOqgK1DktUx8b7Zb0j3hCoan0AImA9vc0nai2Qew/w400-h266/triangle.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dolly De Leon steps up in Triangle Of Sadness<br /></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">Also worth mentioning are James Gray's </span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">super soulful autobiographical tale </span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>ARMAGEDDON TIME</b>,</span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">Australian arthouse crime thriller <b>THE STRANGER</b>,</span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">master dramatist Joachim Trier's heavy stunner </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD</b>, the beautifully</span> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">observant second season of <b>LAST CHANCE U BASKETBALL</b>, Nathan's hysterically insane meta commentary <b>THE REHEARSAL</b> and </span></span></span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">the unforgettable, searing unclassified images in </span><span face="TwitterChirp, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>CHERNOBYL THE LOST TAPES</b>. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMq8vyWBioDzXCsOUmcUgn_r1RaGhBhCCvkWCwsdiluQ0JDv5Vtss7fBCMZEU2rRdjkSvBBbiWKSlCKdnEPAlLEdu2-Dsra-xWCDjD7d3WHM68mRu6UBLU2x9p5jeD-vJkaxWdYvX6Y517Yt_T0kCRd42NiCiKnexT37_XNMBZEQysI4NSgMkRZoIa3Q/s615/chernobyl.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="615" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMq8vyWBioDzXCsOUmcUgn_r1RaGhBhCCvkWCwsdiluQ0JDv5Vtss7fBCMZEU2rRdjkSvBBbiWKSlCKdnEPAlLEdu2-Dsra-xWCDjD7d3WHM68mRu6UBLU2x9p5jeD-vJkaxWdYvX6Y517Yt_T0kCRd42NiCiKnexT37_XNMBZEQysI4NSgMkRZoIa3Q/w320-h218/chernobyl.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Sacrificial lambs step into the abyss in Chernobyl The Lost Tapes</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-943329431390315152021-12-31T23:44:00.002-08:002021-12-31T23:44:32.640-08:00Films in 2021<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTiAEq884u6XkN-Dkd-N_GkjYR2mqxnRPc4E5_DzGDFkZihrEiR-D_TR6zGK-Ap-JM4GYpawz6ucXWIuKId2ov6p1W6uyAGtVm87NdJrnOPzdJjRC73np_6sGkrc91R9TkIHeklGbvUexmoIUc3_xUN2G9YpKY7UnOo6lLnCUSprfxDXjLcFQ9j6daWw=s1374" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="1374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTiAEq884u6XkN-Dkd-N_GkjYR2mqxnRPc4E5_DzGDFkZihrEiR-D_TR6zGK-Ap-JM4GYpawz6ucXWIuKId2ov6p1W6uyAGtVm87NdJrnOPzdJjRC73np_6sGkrc91R9TkIHeklGbvUexmoIUc3_xUN2G9YpKY7UnOo6lLnCUSprfxDXjLcFQ9j6daWw=s400" width="400" /></a>
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THE INVESTIGATION</b>: Released as a 6 part series but plays like one in-depth 4.5 hour movie. I gained more respect for actual real life detective work
watching this than anything I’ve ever seen. Incredible series. Forward thinking,
intelligent work executed with style and grace. Søren Malling as the man in
charge of the case wears the world in his eyes, what a fantastic actor. Episode
3 alone is better than everything else I saw last year. Tobias Lindholm has
never written or directed anything less than phenomenal. On HBO.
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PROCESSION</b>: The best documentary this year is a heavy duty real life psychodrama that takes us deep into the souls
of traumatized men and is one of the most insightful and revealing films about
suffering/healing I have come across. Powerfully collaborative filmmaking led by
Robert Greene. On Netflix. Abolish the Catholic Church now.
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THE NORTH WATER</b>: Another "TV series" that was better than any movie this year.
Andrew Haigh’s follow up to the severely underrated film Lean On Pete is a
five hour masterstroke; an epic adventure of the finest mythic caliber
imaginable. Jack O’Connell is phenomenal and Haigh is without a doubt the
strongest talent in British cinema. </div>
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DUNE</b>: Saw once on the biggest screen possible (1.43 IMAX at Citywalk) and
again at home. If "dreams are messages from the deep" Denis Villeneuve again
lets us know anything is possible with the power of imagination. A vision of
messianic prophecy resonating through spacetime.
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THE BEATLES GET BACK</b>: Mind blowing deep dive into their creative process.
Watching Paul get lost in writing music as everyone else stands around is
mesmerizing. Yoko is the epitome of cool. Reaches a hysterical crescendo when
the baby-faced chin-strapped bobby's show up. Interesting to watch in the
context of the separate albums they were making outside of the film at the time (McCartney
crafting his solo debut as John and Yoko release their freaked out experiments and Harrison's controversial Moog album).
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COLLECTIVE</b>: This is the best kind of documentary: on the ground as it happens,
no talking heads whatsoever, and serving as a record of extremely important
work. In this case, of a Romanian news team uncovering and exposing enraging corruption. And
the fire footage they suddenly hit you with near the beginning is as scary as anything I’ve ever
seen. On Hulu. </div>
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QUO VADIS, AIDA?</b>: A UN Base in Srebrenica 1995 is the setting for this intense
true story of displacement and massacre. A slow onset of panic builds to a
harsh pinnacle of sorrow. On Hulu (for the most part I think Hulu chooses
their foreign and art films well).
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LAST CHANCE U BASKETBALL</b>: I found this 8 part documentary series on an east LA
jr college team deeply inspirational; full of individual heartfelt human stories.
Coach Mosley throws every form of logic, motivation and prayer possible at
these kids to help them push their lives in the directions they are meant to
be going. On Netflix.
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ANTEBELLUM</b>: Went in knowing absolutely nothing about this and haven't heard anything about it since. Wild original
filmmaking. Grapples with the legacy of slavery in a direct and artful way. I
thought it would have been stronger without the twist/reveal.
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THE ALPINIST</b>: Wonderful documentary about a fearlessly tapped-in psychedelic
mountain climber literally doing the impossible in his own humble way. Whether
tragically confused or deeply inspired - a soulful, thought provoking life is
revealed. Inevitability hits hard, no matter what. On Netflix.</div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: times;">
I was shook when I heard Kim Ki-duk died of Covid in December of 2020.
Apparently he was in Riga, Latvia where he had moved to find financing for
his films and presumably get away from the controversy in Korea. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;">
<div><span style="font-family: times;">A few of my favorites of his:</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Mobius</b></span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: times;"><b>3 Iron</b></span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Spring Summer Fall Winter & Spring</b></span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Crocodile</b></span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Arirang</b></span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: times;"><b>The Isle</b></span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: times;"><b>The Bow</b></span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Pieta</b></span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: times;">One of the most far out, renegade, brilliant beyond genius visionaries
cinema has ever seen has left the stage!</span></div>
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Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-23665440265384771982021-01-16T22:58:00.004-08:002021-01-17T00:14:07.786-08:00Films in 2020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-6CmYowHbnSe5fQRoJzG0up5VQk0nnTdy0s1LGetylqpt58yhJWWg1AlIA_YDMiWu7HfGScW8htJvu0Jk7Tl6I1neSImV8_MIwlgWMnpQCkkCHSyzyM2j0IX-zxOEIwZRzQYy-I7fG3q/s1600/lazzaro.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-6CmYowHbnSe5fQRoJzG0up5VQk0nnTdy0s1LGetylqpt58yhJWWg1AlIA_YDMiWu7HfGScW8htJvu0Jk7Tl6I1neSImV8_MIwlgWMnpQCkkCHSyzyM2j0IX-zxOEIwZRzQYy-I7fG3q/s320/lazzaro.png" width="320" /></a></div><p><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.01);"><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">HAPPY AS LAZZARO: Beautifully done modern Italian realism exploring sainthood and the potential good of humanity. Visually stunning 16mm and thematically rich material from Alice Rohrwacher.</span></span></span><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.01); color: #0f1419; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (I think this was released the year previous but I only saw it in the spring).</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1419;"><span style="font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">LOVERS ROCK: My favorite part was when the toaster enters the party dancing hard and is handed the mic. He sets the party off and into a magical sequence that expresses the ferocity, range and power reggae music can have when properly amplified. Tremendous!</span></span></span></p><p><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">HEAVEN'S GATE: Fascinatingly empathetic deep dive into inexplicable minds of madness. The new standard-bearer for cult documentaries.</span></p><p><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">ALEX WHEATLE: A young reggae fan navigates his youth in this powerful and direct plea for education. </span><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">After Lover's Rock, this is the second entry on this list from Steve McQueen's Small Axe series.</span></p><p><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.01); color: #0f1419; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">NOMAD IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BRUCE CHATWIN: Lovely new Herzog documentary about his twin flame adventurer. Elegant and compelling work as always from Werner. </span></p><p><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">CORPUS CHRISTI: Religion and violence collide in an intense trip into the heavy faith of Polish juvenile delinquents. The ending was wild. </span></p><p><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.008); color: #0f1419; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">THE SCHEME: Excellent documentary about FBI corruption told through the world of college basketball shenanigans. </span></p><p><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.01); color: #0f1419; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">STRUGGLE THE LIFE AND LOST ART OF STANISLAUS SZUKALSKI: Fascinating portrait of a brilliant artist processing the horrors of WWII from an apartment in Burbank. </span></p><p><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.008); color: #0f1419; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">PIECES OF A WOMAN: A very, very intense and bravado first act mellows out and into a fairly standard yet potent exploration of grief with amazing performances from Shia LaBeouf and Vanessa Kirby.</span></p><p><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">FIRST COW: Another rich fantastical submersion into the Pacific Northwest from Kelly Reichardt. </span></p><p><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.008); color: #0f1419; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">SORRY WE MISSED YOU: Two masters of cinema take on the gig economy. What a blessing to have another film documenting the people's struggle from Paul Laverty & Ken Loach.</span></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7af140IIK-UgVSSzXmp-6GHpa_0SF5yh4fq1lGHYgMXX599pyEpDvhwCUaTHXPCFaKzJvoK9tPn8xjvS6TWMeGHlvtCjNm1ZQBQIfKJ3FEU6tCbSy_6Jf0UGxFRBCZCwKbSK8JFCY5fZ/s1280/stan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7af140IIK-UgVSSzXmp-6GHpa_0SF5yh4fq1lGHYgMXX599pyEpDvhwCUaTHXPCFaKzJvoK9tPn8xjvS6TWMeGHlvtCjNm1ZQBQIfKJ3FEU6tCbSy_6Jf0UGxFRBCZCwKbSK8JFCY5fZ/s320/stan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span face="-apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.008); color: #0f1419; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-26474221413727232142020-01-07T21:42:00.001-08:002020-01-07T21:42:41.886-08:00Films in 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Six films and six documentaries in 2019.</div>
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<br />AN ELEPHANT SITTING STILL: Held moments and intricate thoughts from a suicidal soul. Wonderfully dark poetic realism from 29 year old Chinese author Bo Hu, in his first and final film. <br /><br />LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT: As soon as I stopped trying to follow the story, and think linearly, I loved it. Bi Gan is trying to do something new in filmmaking. Like Bo Hu, he was Chinese and 29 when he made this, though he lives to tell the tale. The theater scene and title card were particularly amazing.<br /><br />TRIPLE FRONTIER: A macho study of the male ego executed perfectly by J.C. Chandor and a great cast. Chandor is a real talent, looking forward to what he does next. <br /><br />BORDER: When diversity goes wrong: From somewhere deep within the collective human psyche comes a dark cinematic vision of deformity. Timely & utterly unique. <div>
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UNCUT GEMS: More madcap adventures through the streets of NYC from the Safdie Bros, this one perhaps their most thrillingly intense.<br /><br />LUCE: A engrossing story about expectation and minority experience, revolving around one of the more complex and intriguing characters in any film this year.<br /></div>
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<br />COLD CASE HAMMARSKJOLD: A gruesome reality is revealed in this captivating trip through the halls of an almost unbelievable conspiracy. A truly fascinating documentary. <br /><br />LEAVING NEVERLAND: Very hard to watch these two men coming to terms and grappling with going public about the abuse. Complicated, sad, compelling, heroic. The final nail in the coffin of Michael Jackson’s personal legacy.</div>
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<br />SEA OF SHADOWS: The folly of human ego is on full display in this National Geographic documentary on the totoaba fish trade in the Sea of Cortez. Great footage; tragic and sad.<br /><br />THE AMAZING JOHNATHAN DOCUMENTARY: A dying magician wills a class A documentary into his life that manages to make poignant commentary on art, the nature of reality and methamphetamine. <br /><br />ELVIS PRESLEY THE SEARCHER: Enlightening deep dive into the life and mind of a pioneer. Skews drug/food addiction for a focus on his musical inspirations and achievements. Refreshing.<br /><br />ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT: A set of abominable parents feed their daughter knowingly to a peado to protect their reputations; a crazy, wild, often genuinely shocking story featuring some of the worst people I’ve come across in a documentary in quite some time. <br /></div>
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Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-12419335431516339302019-12-26T19:55:00.000-08:002019-12-26T19:55:03.316-08:00Rinpoche - Heruka Songs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnALb_xAmmByds9fZgVPkYOHYlp0KbQmOII3nfQLFTcO3GHqEpLpxMxDu-thwIpin8aRGUJRgsvB-TYf__RUiE143wtjgEleeQLVjJ3gdCjZ7BPuNpqTMUTiNAsxxGjA0BGZgjJBS3qtl/s1600/a3033597764_16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnALb_xAmmByds9fZgVPkYOHYlp0KbQmOII3nfQLFTcO3GHqEpLpxMxDu-thwIpin8aRGUJRgsvB-TYf__RUiE143wtjgEleeQLVjJ3gdCjZ7BPuNpqTMUTiNAsxxGjA0BGZgjJBS3qtl/s400/a3033597764_16.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://alteredtapedstates.bandcamp.com/album/heruka-songs">https://alteredtapedstates.bandcamp.com/album/heruka-songs</a><br />
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New album from Rinpoche, out on cassette and digital on Australia's Altered States Tapes.Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-84959916595024450722019-11-16T03:38:00.001-08:002019-11-16T03:38:19.729-08:00Peter Mettler - YoshtoyoshtoAnthropological psychedelic science in a live, improvised setting from filmmaker Peter Mettler.<br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/136851526?color=ffffff&byline=0&portrait=0" width="640"></iframe><br />
<a href="https://vimeo.com/136851526">Yoshtoyoshto (2015) Live Performance at VIDEOEX</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/grimthorpefilm">Peter Mettler</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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"Gaining knowledge from modified consciousness is an old human trick"<br />
<br />Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-35188027863312415332019-11-07T06:16:00.001-08:002019-11-07T06:16:40.927-08:00Jove - Never Say Never<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ngUwh_rbtyE" width="480"></iframe><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">A song taken from the 1977 LP Into The Shrine by Jove.
Never Say Never written by David Jove and Ed Ochs.
Ochs wrote the liner notes for the album and later wrote a book titled <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Spy-David-Meaning-Existence/dp/1475107889">Freedom Spy</a> about the enigmatic psychedelic shape-shifting cultural pioneer, David Jove.
This upload is a recording of the first play of a sealed vinyl copy of the album I was lucky enough to find. No effects, compression, EQ, etc have been added. </span>Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-52154059297087964932019-04-04T22:44:00.001-07:002019-04-04T22:45:38.694-07:00Gossiwor - Lighthouse <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2-Ki-4kzwzg" width="480"></iframe><br />
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A wonderfully mystic album from John T. Gast & MC Boli as Gossiwor on <a href="https://5gatetemple.bandcamp.com/">5 Gate Temple</a>.Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-30952592477936901322019-03-31T20:23:00.001-07:002019-03-31T20:23:04.176-07:00Jim O'Rourke - Fast Car<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xJWxkYu8WgU" width="459"></iframe><br />
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A brilliant cover of the Tracy Chapman classic by Jim O'Rourke performed solo,live in Japan in 2002.Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-18441423468051064282019-03-13T17:11:00.002-07:002019-03-13T17:11:14.424-07:00Zbigniew Karkowski - Perceptor<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UkTN5M_IE5U" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0a0a0a; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is the second track on the CD included the DVD/CD release Karkowski did with his wife Atsuko Nojiri, titled Continuity, for Asphodel in 2007. It's one of his darkest, most psychedelic works and exemplifies the skill and power he had over sound. Please put some time aside to disappear into this piece while playing it loud through good speakers.
"All materials on this release developed and composed at The Compound and at Recombinant Media Labs, San Francisco. Mixed and mastered at Asphodel Studios, San Francisco."
"Where langues ends, music begins" - ZK</span>Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-22335671855613748902018-12-23T15:41:00.001-08:002018-12-23T15:41:55.710-08:00 Films in 2018.<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The films that resonated with me the most this year... thank you for your continued readership.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #14171a;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">LEAN ON PETE: A boy walks with his horse. A towering achievement in graceful, grandiose, introspective, empathic melancholy that does not rely on trauma or evil to create drama - just the sad reality of the aloneness we will all one day have to contemplate. Echoes of Bela Tarr, Bergman even. </span></span><span style="color: #222222;">Just about the saddest movie I've ever seen and absolutely heartbreakingly brilliant.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">HAGAZUSSA: A HEATHEN'S CURSE: A Witch ekes out a life in 15th century Europe. Immersive psychedelic horror of the highest quality. A slow motion bad trip; brave for its dwelling on the depraved depths of darkness. An extremely impressive debut from Lukas Feigelfeld. Makes every other 'horror' film this year look like child's play.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">COMING HOME BOWE BERGDAHL VS THE UNITED STATES: Disinformation, Patriotism, the psychology of captivity, introspection, torture & madness are deftly explored in this thought-provoking, multi-facetted, very disturbing documentary. The interview with Bowe is astounding. Without a doubt the best, most important and woefully underseen documentary of the year.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">PATERNO: The methodological inner workings of self delusion are deftly explored with masterful nuance by Al Pacino. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">In modern times rarely do we come across a case of institutionalized evil of this caliber; here astutely recognized, studied & fortuitously rendered by the filmmakers. Patriarchal power unveiled. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Barry Levinson has been on a roll lately by taking on modern current events and getting the finest actors of our time to do some of their best work ever. Check out his and Pacino's other recent collaboration, You Don't Know Jack and his film </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">with Robert De Niro, The Wizard Of Lies).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">ANNIHILATION: The microscopic destroys the macrocosm as refracting cells divide identity and matter; the Endtimes arrive as corrosion of form. A haunting and deeply trippy film. The best Sci-fi film in eons. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #14171a; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">HOSTILES: On the frontier of the American West in 1892 patriot soldiers are broken by genocidal revenge. A complex, intense film about man’s ability to remain human when imbued with savagery. Christian Bale is incredible. Another amazing film from Scott Cooper. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #14171a; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">MANDY: An masterfully impressionistic visionary skillset is on display in Panos Cosmatos’ second headtrip. Have peacecreep hippie weirdos ever been so accurately portrayed on film before? Definetely not in this century. A wild, intelligent, insane and deeply psychedelic movie. Bravo.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #14171a; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">FIRST REFORMED: An astute study of what it means to die for a cause and the motivations and approaches available; in this case environmentalism. It also brings into modern times themes similar to Bergman's Winter Light: crisis of spirit, sacrifice and the existence of God.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #14171a; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">SUNSET: Utilizing the film language developed in his debut masterpiece Son Of Saul, Laszlo Nemes returns with an immersive, labyrinthine tale of discovery in turn of the century Budapest.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #14171a; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">ACTIVE MEASURES: Makes the case that the American president is a comprised Kremlin asset laundering Russian kleptocrat and mob money through Trump Towers. Very well done and quite alarming. Democracy corrupted; we are living in historic times. Excellent documentary. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #14171a; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-64513469057985975512018-01-03T03:38:00.001-08:002018-01-31T19:01:42.359-08:00Films in 2017<i>Ten movies that resonated with me this year. Thank you for reading. </i><br />
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LOVELESS: Andrey Zvyagintsev brings us another searing indictment of humanity; a tragically relevant portrait of narcissism within a disintegrating family. It's an intimate, dour film largely told through colors and atmosphere - a poignant and powerful work as always from arguably the finest filmmaker working today. <br />
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VOYAGE OF TIME: A profound, all encompassing, pagan masterpiece that tracks the evolution of Earth from before time until it's end. This is a bravado, ridiculously ambitious big picture from the singular Terrence Mallick. The confounding beauty of the images seamlessly integrating the macrocosmic and microscopic were unutterably sublime – but it was the narration that I found even more astoundingly poetic. While watching the film I assumed it was sourced from holy texts from throughout history, I was amazed to find out Mallick had written it all. <i>“Oh Mother, abyss of light, all beholding...”</i><br />
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I, DANIEL BLAKE: Ken Loach and Paul Laverty savagely attack the corporatization of public services and the maddening banality of hostile bureaucracies. It makes sense that this simple, direct call to action - with such a powerful ending - caps off the most important and radical filmography to ever emerge from the United Kingdom. Thank you Ken.<br />
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TWIN PEAKS THE RETURN: Beyond film; an 18 hour journey into Samsara, where time is looping and the immaterial prevails along further explorations into impermanent non-self reality; so subtly illuminated in the physical realm by the atomic bomb motif – as above so below, atom to star. The final episode with the two characters driving through the night together was as a magnificent distillation of Lynch's inner world realized that I have come across. David pulls out all the stops and transcends limits in what may be the culmination of his vision.<br />
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PERSONAL SHOPPER: An extremely rare movie: a ghost story that is actually sort of realistic and also at times genuinely scary. If you smoke weed, watch it stoned. Kristen Stewart is amazing.<br />
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ONE MORE TIME WITH FEELING: I shed a couple tears during this portrait of Nick Cave in mourning by Andrew Dominick. Some of the looks on his face as he is trying to elucidate his feelings on the death of his son will be with me for a very long time. It was also cool to see Warren Ellis working in the studio. Powerful stuff.<br />
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BLADE RUNNER 2049: In sure form once again, Denis Villeneuve utilizes his control of cinematic language to create a visceral psychedelic darkness that flows effortlessly throughout a subversive story of a slave awakening.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">THELMA: A Qigong witch explores the potentials of consciousness in this visionary tale for a New Age from Norway's finest dramatist, Joachim Trier. It starts slow but evolves into a unique, trippy thought provoking work.</span><br />
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THE SUNSHINE MAKERS: <i>"Those that say, don't know; those that dont know, say."</i> This mantra of the psychedelic underground is apparently no longer relevant for a certain generation. I never thought I'd find out who was making our acid all those years but here we have a straight forward look at the once secret world of LSD manufacturing - in particular, chemists Nick Sand and Tim Scully, two heroes that profoundly changed world consciousness. It's done in the standard, unremarkable, talking-head style documentary format but the topic is an important one. It's difficult to truly fathom the number of lives these men enhanced.<br />
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WHITNEY CAN I BE ME: A tragic, human portrait handled with class by Nick Broomfield.<br />
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THE MEMORY OF JUSTICE: The best film I saw this year was actually from 1976 - an epic documentary from marcel Marcel Ophuls that has been beautifully restored by HBO. It's a brilliant, profound, complex, 5.5 hour deep dive into the Nuremberg trials and an examination of the bureaucratic excuses the Nazi scum attempted to hide behind. If you haven't seen Ophuls' other films they are well worth seeking out, especially A Sense Of Loss (on the ground in Belfast, 1972) and Hotel Terminus (Klaus Barbie and CIA activity after WWII).<br />
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Addendum: Just caught up with a few movies from last year that are as good or better than the ones above: the very entertaining art-word satire THE SQUARE, dystopian horror IT COMES AT NIGHT and the ultra-heavy documentary on emotional healing work in a prison THE WORK FOUR DAYS TO REDEMPTION which will probably stay with me longer than all the other films mentioned. </div>
Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-40965120101425994162018-01-03T01:38:00.002-08:002018-01-03T01:40:24.893-08:00John Cage & David Tudor, 1963.An incredible film of Cage and Tudor shattering notions of what music can be:<br />
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...and this Q&A from after a performance of Empty Words in 1978 is full of inspired wisdom:<br />
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<a href="https://vimeo.com/66399560">John Cage 1978</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user9055335">Larson Associates</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-33154118161225583662017-03-06T01:23:00.003-08:002017-03-06T01:24:10.228-08:00Transfiguration of the Oracle <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tkRnSStDils" width="560"></iframe>Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-32834969860747159732017-02-22T15:38:00.001-08:002017-03-06T00:51:59.951-08:00Stockhausen LecturesNever have I seen someone elucidate so eloquently about music or creativity. Based in science as well as spirit, Stockhausen's ideas are rock solid and fully hold up under scrutiny. While I was very aware of his importance and I had heard a few pieces and read <i>about</i> him, the genius of Stockhausen remained illusive to me until I heard<i> him</i> speak about his ideas. I cant recommend watching all the videos below all the way through enough. For the uninitiated there is a 48 min documentary titled Tuning In that serves as a good introduction. It intersperses his music with segments from the series of seven lectures he gave in English in the UK in 1972 and 1973. Also below are two of the lectures themselves (the rest are on youtube). The first is a clear, concise breakdown of the Four Criteria of Electronic Music: what it is actually is and how it functions, direct from the pioneer himself. He details the creation of his piece Kontate and discusses many of his most important discoveries. It's fascinating, educational, funny, insightful and mind expanding; absolutely essential viewing for anyone remotely interested in taking electronic music seriously. Below that is a three hour talk about his composition for two pianos and ring modulators titled Mantra. The manner in which he explains this universal piece makes it so one doesn't need to know how to read music to understand the concepts at work. He shares some especially revelatory wisdom during the QandA in part three, the final moments are powerful and moving.<br />
<i>So there we are</i>.<br />
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FOUR CRITERIA OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC:<br />
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MANTRA:<br />
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TUNING IN:<br />
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<br />Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-68415490612357108622017-01-06T08:55:00.000-08:002017-01-15T08:22:42.288-08:00Films in 2016<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><i>...in an effort to continue a long standing tradition below are ten notable films from 2016...</i></span><br />
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<b style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Graduation</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPD02JYKc9ISwdLvevttXr92zykJo-rsiKXXNqcMDFM3YwjJmwjshhq6Pslgax0h9b6bpljwUnSvH5Pa_BcRBv4lV45vFxfUB9Cza8cB6bG85gCozA2n1OhRBCiETBmS2VfNd6RXogBSRG/s1600/BACCALAUREAT_MUNGIU__c_Mobra_Films_r-0-2000-0-1125-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPD02JYKc9ISwdLvevttXr92zykJo-rsiKXXNqcMDFM3YwjJmwjshhq6Pslgax0h9b6bpljwUnSvH5Pa_BcRBv4lV45vFxfUB9Cza8cB6bG85gCozA2n1OhRBCiETBmS2VfNd6RXogBSRG/s320/BACCALAUREAT_MUNGIU__c_Mobra_Films_r-0-2000-0-1125-crop.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: white;">Corruption born of desperation rots the Romanian education system; Deeply nuanced, intelligent </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">writing and directing from modern master Christian Mungiu. Every scene a drama unto itself.</span></span></div>
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<b style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">Tony Robbins I Am Not Your Guru</b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Seekers in the managerial class are evangelized by a superhuman and his music cues; p</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">rone to inexperience, weak minds gravitate to authority; in search of the ecstatic - hypnotized by a giant. </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">A peek into nightmarish never-ending team building exercises that only corporate culture could celebrate. However, m</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.26px; white-space: pre-wrap;">essages of Empathy and Will are critical. A spellbinding documentary. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fascinating, powerful. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.26px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I salute the giant. </span></div>
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<b style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">American Honey</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; letter-spacing: 0.26px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Midwest; homeless kids; rap music in cars. </span>A film that exudes life.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.26px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> A scattered, poetic vision of youth; a patriotic, hopeful mirage of America. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">4</span></span><br />
<b style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Macbeth</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.26px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stunningly photographed and directed, the pacing perfectly intertwined with the artistry. A towering achievement from Justin Kurzel.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">5</span></span><br />
<b style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Midnight Special</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">Faith and the believer unite as 10th dimensional beings reveal themselves in search of a Christ-like E.T. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">6</span></span><br />
<b style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Arrival</span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.26px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not since The Fountain has multidimensional consciousness been so eloquently dealt with. Well-paced, thoughtful excellence.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">7</span></span><br />
<b style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Heaven Knows What</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">An otherworldly dream-state reality from the Safdie Bros. Grimy, raw & beautiful. Brilliant electronic score. Arielle Holmes is amazing in this and American Honey, a raw talent.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">8 </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Who Took Johnny</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.26px; white-space: pre-wrap;">A haunting real life conspiracy at the highest levels of control. We've known the truth, here we get closer to proof. Then again, maybe the mom is insane. A mysterious movie. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">9</span></span><br />
<b style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Witch</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">Initiation into the coven; An intelligent look at religious madness. A few stunning bravado shots, especially of the witches lair. I read the director studied Klimov's Come and See, it shows. An incredible debut film.</span></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Only The Dead See the End of War</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.26px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Heavy, brutal war footage, Fallujah sequence especially. Non-political, poignant, disturbing.</span></span><br />
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<br />Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-17261409557334911802016-01-03T02:24:00.003-08:002016-01-03T02:25:00.751-08:00Psychedelic mix for Perpetual DawnI recorded a mix for Tigerbeat6's Jodorowsky themed Perpetual Dawn party. In their words: "<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">An Unbelievably fine crafted deep mix spanning the outer-most </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">realms of freeform electronic soundart experimental psychedelic ambient drone noise electroacoustic and so on and so forth."</span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/232411252&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(I didnt make the mix with that filmmaker in mind but after submission it was titled after the name of the party)</span><br />
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Tracklist:<br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Nocturnal Emissions - Sealing a Phase </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Francis Dhomont - Le Flux Des Sons </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Ulf Bilting & Zbigniew Karkowski - T Tex</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Rashad Becker - Dances 1</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Maja Ratkje - Acid</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">LST - Lewd Strewth Truth</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Killing Sound - Eight Methods</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Wolfgang Voigt - Rückverzauberung 6.2</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Alvin Curran - Canti Illuminati </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">SPK - In Flagrante Delicto</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">This Mortal Coil - FyT</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Black Dice - Trip Dude Delay</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Oake - Nihnin ned Bargund</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">SPR - Concubine</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Chris Watson - El Divisadero The Telegraph</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Time Machines - 4-Indolol, 3-[2-(Dimethylamino)Ethyl],Phosphate Ester: (Psilocybin)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Nurse With Wound - Soliloquy for Lilith</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Pauline Oliveros - Horse Sings From Cloud</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Vanessa Amara - King Machine</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Nocturnal Emissions - Blended Senses</span>Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-68549113655177090132016-01-03T02:14:00.004-08:002016-01-03T02:16:48.963-08:00Best films of 20151. Son of Saul<br />
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Heavy immersion into death camp extermination realized with unprecedented vision by Laszlo Nemes, a first time filmmaker that studied under Bela Tarr. A brave, important exploration of the Sonderkommandos' hell on earth in 1944 Poland. I saw a 35mm presentation with Nemes in person and the man definitely knows what he is doing. Best film in years.<br />
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2. Sicario<br />
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Probably the best movie about drug wars ever made. The two double climaxes, especially the table scene, were truly thrilling. Immorality reigns supreme. Intense.<br />
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3. It Follows<br />
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A visionary nightmare in a timeless dream state. An amazing follow up from David Robert Mitchell after his incredible teenage study Myth of the American Sleepover. Brilliant, refreshing and genuinely scary.<br />
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4. Eden<br />
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An authentic, emotional portrayal of growing up with house music and probably the first film to take the culture seriously. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bBNTUtafMc">Amazing soundtrack too of course</a>.<br />
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5. Jimmy's Hall<br />
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Set within a lush Irish countryside, master filmmaker Ken Loach explores a 1939 land rights struggle that rings poingently true in today's climate. The summation on many of Loach's themes- the destructive nature of the church, workers rights and the power community- are all represented here. If this is truly the final film from Loach he has ended on a beautiful high note. Thank you Ken!<br />
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6. A War<br />
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Moral complexities haunt this timely and relevant film on the human cost of politics. Tobias Lindholm and Pilou Asbaek have done it again.<br />
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7. Ex Machina</div>
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Concise, intelligent sci-fi with fascinating ideas and a perfectly creepy vibe. Great sets and locations too. </div>
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8. Anime Nere</div>
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Authentic Italian mafia story totally gripping from start to finish with the enormity of the film's power emerging in it's final frames.</div>
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9. Colt '45</div>
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Taut and bleak French crime film brilliantly directed by Fabrice Du Welz and shot by the great Benoit Debie.</div>
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10. One On One</div>
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The damaging mindlessness of following orders is dissected in modern master Kim Ki-Duk's latest no-budget treatise on spiritual violence.</div>
Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-32885054517955898782015-05-28T22:32:00.003-07:002015-05-28T23:49:13.451-07:00RadioActive Lamb<a href="http://www.discogs.com/label/10975-Radioactive-Lamb">RadioActive Lamb</a> was a record label operating in the UK from 1990 -1995. They are probably best known for their rave classic <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVv8AJqry80">Mohamed's Mind</a> as 2 Kilos ?. Pretty much every release they made was something special and most have been severely slept on over the years. As far as I can tell it was a crew of a few guys that did all the music under a variety of alias'. A lot of it wasn't on Youtube so I uploaded a few gems for posterity's sake and also found a few tracks others had shared. Check them out below. <a href="mailto:tearsofjoyrecords@gmail.com">Email me</a> if you want MP3s.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kADx4t7QOp0" width="459"></iframe>Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-36432768206275923412015-05-27T16:57:00.004-07:002015-05-27T16:58:10.667-07:00Jimmy's Hall<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrnCfMut_mShaftazPi1sV9B1OL4ToLvk6XnyRfm4LpPyYS1oImIBCasuj4m3PfDWNhFjMMw3m_M7Thk9ZW9xpHjCEkuS2uMb9WuQxxxXFrmYWlD8n_hd8TdH4WDpdsnpmNNvKsxcG_JcQ/s1600/jimmyshall620350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrnCfMut_mShaftazPi1sV9B1OL4ToLvk6XnyRfm4LpPyYS1oImIBCasuj4m3PfDWNhFjMMw3m_M7Thk9ZW9xpHjCEkuS2uMb9WuQxxxXFrmYWlD8n_hd8TdH4WDpdsnpmNNvKsxcG_JcQ/s1600/jimmyshall620350.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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One of the great collaborations in cinema history is that of director <a href="http://potionlords.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-films-of-ken-loach.html">Ken Loach</a> and writer Paul Laverty. They have made what is apparently their final film, Jimmy's Hall. Ken Loach is truly the people director and Laverty has written some of the UK's greatest dramas for him. Here, the lush landscape of Ireland serves as the backdrop for a story about land rights and division of wealth that rings poignantly true in today's climate. With the encouragement and support of the locals Jimmy, based on the life of James Gralton, builds a community center that offers free art/dance/poetry/politics classes. Problems arrive when a pigheaded priest attempts to shut him down in a power play thinly disguised as morality. Most of the story takes place in the years just after the Irish/British war - so when the newly installed government starts removing farmers from their own land Jimmy and his crew stand up for the people and get involved. The film explores the complex relationship between the state, the church, the Irish Republican Army and the young people in the hall that are branded as communists. Jimmy's Hall is the summation of many of the themes Loach has explored throughout his 50 year career including the destructive nature of church power, community building and struggle against oppression. Loach's film is strongly anti-religion and he is just as brutally critical of the establishment as ever- not many young directors are brave enough to do what he does. This was released in the UK and Europe in 2014 but no sign of it playing in the states as of spring 2015. A damn shame not to get to see this masterpiece the big screen. Bravo Ken.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NBH4jearF1ZrbZVi6rAUh60tFSbfRnPj7OwtkKKZm76FzmLg58lJiQxm-bQ_yZPb5FeTl2x95N25qXpiVzUA_0MYt5rEkKGXC6GHM9YkA36ytTIEnIOjcg6tO76_VkKHIRMkYZEtvXnv/s1600/jimmy-s-hall-2014-003-cyclists.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NBH4jearF1ZrbZVi6rAUh60tFSbfRnPj7OwtkKKZm76FzmLg58lJiQxm-bQ_yZPb5FeTl2x95N25qXpiVzUA_0MYt5rEkKGXC6GHM9YkA36ytTIEnIOjcg6tO76_VkKHIRMkYZEtvXnv/s1600/jimmy-s-hall-2014-003-cyclists.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-58716959285725901182015-04-11T20:09:00.001-07:002015-04-11T20:09:46.909-07:00City Illusion - Vineland 12"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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From the heart of Hollywood Babylon emerges the debut 12" by Los Angeles' City Illusion. Side A holds the original mix: a pensive survey of unsettling electronic atmospheres within a cavern of dub; a bass weight meditation born of unholy tradition during Belshazzar's Feast. A pressurized sub invocation & a breakbeat version lie on Side B by forthcoming Tears Of Joy artists Live For Each Moon and Romeo, respectively. Mastered & cut at D&M. Released in an addition of 115 with jacket and insert.</div>
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A: Vineland<br />B1: Vineland (Live For Each Moon Dub)<br />B2: Vineland (Romeo Version)</div>
Out now in all good shops or purchase the <a href="http://tearsofjoy.bigcartel.com/">vinyl here</a> or <a href="https://pro.beatport.com/release/vineland/1508191">digital here</a>.Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-86596576082049946142015-02-10T05:48:00.001-08:002015-02-10T05:48:47.539-08:001991: Zbigniew Karkowski Interview Absolutely incredible interview with Karkowski. The ideas he enacted are fully explained here.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HfyzKQ-6JJE" width="459"></iframe>Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-29596181962269973102014-12-29T22:19:00.002-08:002015-01-15T12:03:37.695-08:00Top 10 Movies of the Year 2014<div>
<b>The Immigrant</b></div>
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James Gray's modern American classic about the price of freedom. Marion Cotillard is a revelation yet again. The shot of her in the confession booth with her face emerging from the darkness is the best movie moment I saw this year. Pure class, pure cinema.</div>
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<b>Maps To The Stars</b><br />
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The sharpest, most brutally realistic dissection of Hollywood culture ever made. A precision look at the damaged psyches within a morally corrupt system that creates monstrous children and churns out content for morons. The actor that plays the spoiled kid deserves an Oscar for being so repulsively vile. </div>
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<b>Welcome to New York</b><br />
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A return to form for Abel Ferrara and arguably his best film. A much darker look at debauchery than Leo DiCaprio's Wall Street fantasy from last year. Gerard Depardieu is awesome as DSK. The stunning final shot as he looks into the camera was the best ending of any film this year.<br />
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<b>Under The Skin</b><br />
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A uniquely psychedelic vision about the alien within that rides the line between experimental and classical perfectly. Not since Enter The Void have we seen something this trippy on screen. A triumph for Jonathan Glazer.</div>
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<b>Abuse Of Weakness</b><br />
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One of the great Catherine Brilliat's most personal films. Deals with her recent stroke and her run in with a famous con man swindler. Up there with Fat Girl and Romance as one of her best. Isabella Huppert is astonishing as always.</div>
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<b>Starred Up</b><br />
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Masculinity, violence, respect, anger. All throughly dissected in this hardcore British drama about their incredibly harsh prison system. Tremendous.<br />
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<b>Foxcatcher</b><br />
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Patriotism, ego, homosexuality, sport, manhood, insanity. Steve Carrel as <a href="http://www.historyvshollywood.com/video/john-du-pont-interview-1988/">John du Pont</a> is one of the more complex and creepy character studies I can recall. And I finally gained some respect for Channing Tatum. Amazing film.<br />
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<b>Southcliffe</b><br />
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Not a film per se but a mini-series from the UK. This three hour deconstruction of a killing spree is an intricate portrait of grief. Inventive, scary, affecting.<br />
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<b>Force Majeure</b><br />
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Heavy movie about a family in crisis punctuated by moments of pure comedy. Bergman-like moments of existential grief mixed in with some of the biggest laughs of the year. Totally unique.</div>
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<b>Wolf Creek 2</b><br />
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The horrors the outback come alive once again in Greg McLean's follow up to his 2005 classic. Largely inspired by the unholy killings of <a href="http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/predators/milat/discovery_1.html">Ivan Millet</a>. </div>
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Late contender for Movie of the Year: <b>Whiplash. </b>The nerve wracking intensity of musical performance has never been captured like this before. Amazing performances, great music, and lots of huge laughs. A modern classic.</div>
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I also very much enjoyed the visceral exploration of alternate dimensions via Ketamine of <b>Coherence</b>, the unexpectedly twisted end to Bobcat Goldthwait's Bigfoot film <b>Willow Creek</b>, David Michod's wonderfully harsh statement on the value of human life <b>The Rover</b>, the awesome rendering of relativity and fifth dimensional timespace in <b>Interstellar</b>, the composed and nuanced paranoid nightmare of <b>Night Moves</b>, the foreboding mysticism of <b>I Origins</b>, the allegorical home invasion in <b>Borgman</b>, Von Trier's epic journey into hell <b>Nymphomaniac</b>, intense crime picture <b>The Drop</b>, the price of conformity exposed in <b>Cheap Thrills </b>and the Australian crime epic<b> Son Of A Gun.</b></div>
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Documentaries:<br />
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I recommend checking out the inspiring and truly heroic public defenders in <b>Gideon's Army</b>, the demented pedophile cult exposed in <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/secrets-of-the-vatican/"><b>Secrets Of The Vatican</b></a>, the obsessive art recreation in <b>Tim's Vermeer</b>, the unfathomably evil oil company killing people and gorillas in <b>Virunga, </b>Nick Cave autobiography <b>20,000 Days On Earth </b>and the eight <a href="http://video.pbs.org/video/2365361345/"><b>Mind Of A Chef</b></a> episodes that focus on the brilliant chef Magnus Nilsson (Season 3, episodes 9-16). I also very much enjoyed Lisa Kudrow's brilliant and hysterical satire of Hollywood idiocy <b>The Comeback</b>.</div>
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Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6254130503304180390.post-57764073402190846712014-12-19T10:28:00.002-08:002014-12-19T10:28:54.845-08:00A Private Realm - Excommunication & Withdrawal LP<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Interstate, 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14.3999996185303px; line-height: 15.6800003051758px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<i>"The Age of Reason and its industrial, post-modern antecedents are facades obscuring the seething dream world of primeval urges that surfaces only in sleep."</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.3999996185303px; line-height: 15.6800003051758px;">Tears of Joy presents the debut album by A Private Realm. Their first release was a 12" and DVD on Tears of Joy in late 2012.</span></div>
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Excommunication & Withdrawal evokes the deadening American landscapes of school shootings, military suicides & general societal dissolution. Thematically the album draws from a variety of inspirations: the media's exploitation of the traumatized, the roots of extreme Islam, the skullduggery of the Cryptocracy, and Elem Klimov's Come And See, the classic film on the unthinkable horrors of the Nazi occupation of Byelorussia- all of which are filtered through the fried brains of two one-time LSD dealers.</div>
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Made with a variety of old synths, new modulars, noise boxes, voices and drum machines, musically the work moves from softer ethereal pieces inspired by the likes of This Mortal Coil through to blasts of electronics inspired by the likes of early SPK & the recently departed noise visionary Zbiegniew Karkowski. As lifelong warehouse rats the inevitable thrust of the LP is techno, inspired by the militant sounds of the obvious masters.</div>
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Written and recorded under duress in a shitty apartment in North Hollywood while surrounded by poverty, drug abuse and suicide.</div>
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Released in an edition of 190 with unique hand silk screened sleeves and stamps, color print insert and download code (with one additional song that wouldn't fit on the vinyl). Mastered by Kris Lapke.</div>
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Preview tracks can be <a href="https://soundcloud.com/tearsofjoyrecords/a-private-realm-excommunication-withdrawal-lp-short-preview-clips">heard here</a>. </div>
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A:<br />1. Raining Stones<br />2. Newtown Families<br />3. Ulster Shadows<br />4. What Smart Is *Digital Only<br />B:<br />1. Through A Glass Darkly (PTSD Struggles)<br />2. Dreamhealer<br />2. Kill Hitler<br />3. Cowan Cryptocracy Mix)</div>
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Available now from the <a href="http://tearsofjoy.bigcartel.com/">Tears of Joy shop</a> or in stores December 22nd.<br />Digital available from iTunes, Beatport, etc...</div>
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<i>"Do not be lulled into believing that just because the deadening American city of dreadful night is so utterly devoid of mystery, so thoroughly flat-footed, sterile and infantile, so burdened with the illusory gloss of baseball-hot dogs-apple-pie-and-Chevrolet, that it exists outside the psycho-sexual domain. The eternal pagan psychodrama is escalated under these modern conditions precisely because sorcery is not what '20th Century man' can accept as real."</i></div>
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<i>Also available now: TEAR005 Rinpoche - <a href="http://www.juno.co.uk/products/rinpoche-beyond-the-hills/554420-01/">Beyond The Hills </a>12"</i></div>
Signs of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14864043057606682535noreply@blogger.com0