tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post6442144982709907371..comments2024-03-29T00:03:18.432-07:00Comments on VINYL IS HEAVY: Viewing Log #28: Shape the way you play [1/4/10 - 1/10/10]Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-29515474759597156492010-01-12T21:56:40.929-08:002010-01-12T21:56:40.929-08:00Raj: "I particularly loved that shot at the e...Raj: "I particularly loved that shot at the end in that restaurant/club where there's that sliver of clarity between the fuzzily translucent doors." <br /><br />That's the same shot I was on about. What stuck with me about it is a combination of that sliver of clarity you describe and, if I remember correctly, this surreal sense that she's floating through the crowd.<br /><br />RWK: Too perfect might be my issue. It's so perfect it almost feels like it doesn't need to be watched. Almost. As for Reitman, his movies aren't exactly outright stupid and his images aren't exactly outright ugly, which is why he's so frustrating to me.<br /><br />And I think I may have sort of aped the log format for my blog-thing a couple months back, which blog-thing I've been needing to update and would likely have more motivation to update if I had more than 1 known follower. (Not going to say hint-hint, but was about to.)JFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07577343800808499897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-7285351817449278082010-01-12T10:13:54.286-08:002010-01-12T10:13:54.286-08:00Raj! Thanks for reading and thanks for the thought...Raj! Thanks for reading and thanks for the thoughtful comment. The incestuous pining is definitely something I should think more about. But at this moment what I took from it is just another instance of somebody demanding something from Vero that she just can't reciprocate; it says more about the niece than it does about Vero. It's also another person infatuated with this enigma of a lady. But coming from a young girl, as opposed to a older man (also a cousin, huh?), marks Vero as yet more perversely desired and set off--what is it that turns these two on? Simply her looks? Anyways, though I watched it twice this past week, I still kind of let it wash over me without building much of an argument about it. It was just pleasurable filmmaking (masterful no doubt) that I got wrapped up in the scare tactics and, yes, the geometrical dissections/intersections/convergences of Martel's frames. The frame the frame the frame.... bah.<br /><br />And, about the viewing logs: of course I don't mind. In fact, I'm flattered.Ryland Walker Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-35069094476901941432010-01-12T08:28:16.760-08:002010-01-12T08:28:16.760-08:00SPOILERS, I GUESS
Hey Ryland,
Also saw Headless ...SPOILERS, I GUESS<br /><br />Hey Ryland,<br /><br />Also saw Headless Woman a few weeks ago and was pretty fascinated by it. I loved the way each composition (and object in the frame) was sliced up or bisected/trisected as a visual shorthand for alienation, and I particularly loved that shot at the end in that restaurant/club where there's that sliver of clarity between the fuzzily translucent doors. <br /><br />But one thing I haven't been able to wrap my head around was the strange incestuous moments. I guess they're meant as another way to show that Vero is not only lost and isolated within her own life and set of relationships, but also from the basic codes of society. The incident with her niece paints this as kind of an endemic problem. But those are really loaded images for making a point that's ably made elsewhere, aren't they? Do you have another take on it?<br /><br />As always, love the site. I did actually steal your idea of writing viewing logs over at my blog (movies.sophonax.net), hope you don't mind!Raj Ranadehttp://movies.sophonax.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-32915161813312023872010-01-11T23:18:44.473-08:002010-01-11T23:18:44.473-08:00I'll say here that _HW_ is almost a little too...I'll say here that _HW_ is almost a little too perfect, but I do love a lot about it. Especially those mostly slo-mo shots.<br /><br />I dont know if Reitman's all that smart, tho. Definitely not an image-maker, that's for sure.Ryland Walker Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-13585858252141371362010-01-11T22:24:19.517-08:002010-01-11T22:24:19.517-08:00Had the swell fortune to see The Headless Woman th...Had the swell fortune to see The Headless Woman theatrically a few months ago. I was sufficiently bowled over, especially by that last shot. Best of the decade? I dunno. I guess I'm going to have to see it again, but it seems to be missing something that the stuff I'd marry if I could tends to have.<br /><br />I saw Up in the Air yesterday, and think that Jason Reitman would be an OK director in the classical Hollywood tradition if somebody would just lend him a new pair of knees. He's obviously smart. The problem is that he's not smart enough to know that the trenchant statement about American Right Now and the soppy middlebrow charm fiesta are (probably) irreconcilable modes.JFhttp://theapeswerealwaysdancing.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com