No half stars. All Hans everything.
Pod recs: Rewatchables, Big Picture, 70mm, Escape Hatch (Dune Pod)
Everything about this film delighted me except the cinematography, which I know is meant to be off-putting, alienating, and grotesque, but the fisheye lens usage bordered on gimmickry. However, I love how the cinematography works to defang the male gaze in a way that is very thoughtful.
Great movie. Part of a long line of favorite stories about manmade creatures achieving self-actualization!
Like watching a Nat Geo documentary about a very particular primordial ooze that birthed many of my favorite things. It’s also a delightful, joyful movie about creativity, collaboration, and finding beauty in failure. I was long overdue in watching this!
This film feels like a spiritual successor to Catcher in the Rye for many reasons. Catcher's about a disaffected teenager who feels alienated from his friends and family wandering around NYC in search of ducks while overcoming the death of his little brother. Llewyn's about a disaffected folk singer who feels alienated from the folk music scene wandering around NYC in search of a cat while overcoming the death of his former musical partner. The ducks are Holden; the cat…
What a treat to watch something that is classically essential. All the voices and images and stories will stick with me, but the tragic end of Venus Extravaganza and the shot of her with the boombox on the river — whoa. This is also just a beautifully shot cinéma vérité doc. Even the interviews are lush.
On the other hand, it’s equally illuminating to read critiques from writers like bell hooks that get at — among other things — the…