The Filmcake

July 21st – July 27th

“Mad Men – Season 1″ (AMC) – As the Season 2 premiere approached, the critical esteem coalesced and the Emmy nominations were announced, I felt lost not having seen a single episode of this series. And the “very long wait” warning on Netflix wasn’t very promising. Luckily, the entire first season was available OnDemand. So we watched the 13 episodes of the first season over the course of the week.

I’m hooked. It continues the tradition of the HBO dramas, like “The Sopranos”. It’s full of the deep themes and complicated characters. But the thing that has impressed me most are the details. There are little details in the set dressing, in the costumes, the hair, that really pull you into the period. I love it.

The Werewolf of Washington – Dean Stockwell as a Werewolf in Watergate era Washington. This movie is perhaps only watchable because of its sure awfulness. There are some things that certain cheaply made horror movies have that lift them into the realm of camp or even cult status. This movie lacked most of those things. The film made a few failed attempts at parodying the then timely Nixon presidency and Watergate scandal. And there wasn’t much else–acting, special effects, cinematography–to redeem those failures. Most strikingly, this film was the polar opposite of the next film I would watch.

Bad Taste – Where Werewolf of Washington was a jumbled mess of awfulness, Bad Taste was clearly the work of a talented filmmaker (Peter Jackson’s first film). While it was obviously cheaply made in terms of cost, this movie had the eye of someone who could make something out of nothing. It was so much better than Werewolf. The special effects were infinitely better. The cinematography was infinitely better. The direction was infinitely better. What a surprise.

For me, watching Bad Taste right after Werewolf of Washington was a symbol of a lot of the amateur art you see whether it be writing, music, or film. You don’t need Final Draft to write a screenplay. You don’t need a Les Paul and your own PA system to make music. And you don’t need a big budget to make a movie. You really just need passion and talent. If you don’t have that to begin with, you’re really just wasting your time & money. I saw plenty of passion and talent in Bad Taste…not a whole lot of it in Werewolf of Washington.

Batman Begins – Had to watch this one again in preparation for The Dark Knight. Man, I must’ve been drunk or asleep the first time I watched this. There was so much of it that I didn’t remember. What I was really watching for most of all was the Joker card reveal at the end.

Control – Rock photographer and music video director Anton Corbijn’s bio-pic of Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis. This is no Ray or Walk The Line. This one was very nicely directed without the tired bio-pic cliches, excellently photographed in black & white, and stellarly acted by Sam Riley in the lead role.

The legendary Sex Pistols gig of June 4, 1976 was supposedly only attended by about 30-40 people. But that handful of people would shape the Manchester music scene. Morrissey was there. Members of the Buzzcocks and The Fall were there. And of course, members of Joy Division attended the show separately and are said to have become a band as a result. That’s enough right there for a good movie. Watching this one with the very enjoyable 24 Hour Party People would make for a great double-feature.

This film traces Curtis’ life from a kid listening to records in his room through a miscalculated marriage and to his final struggle with epilepsy. To see Riley transform this character…to see Riley/Curtis’ stage dancing evolve into a commentary on his own ailment…and to see where fear and uncertainty can finally lead someone. Man. The performance was certainly convincingly heartbreaking if it wasn’t entirely sympathetic.

The Dark Knight – I have to admit that this one lived up to the hype that I had created for myself. I’m not a huge superhero fan. I am a fan of good movies though. And this one was pretty damn good. The greatest compliment I can give it is that as I’ve talked about it and thought about it, I realize that I must see it again. I’ve created so many questions that can only be answered through a second screening. Heath Ledger’s performance is certainly Oscar worthy. And his makeup was perfect. That seems weird for me to say. But the simple detail of seeing the pores on his nose through the makeup added this weird level of realism that made him all the more creepy. This one will have to be one that I come back to later. And thanks to just finishing Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, I’m seeing her philosophy in lots of other stuff…including Batman (and, more overtly, in “Mad Men”). More on that later…

July 14th – July 20th

The Atheism Tapes - This was a collection of six interviews conducted by Jonathan Miller (with Colin McGinn, Steven Weinberg, Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins, Arthur Miller & Denys Turner) for his documentary series Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief. These extended interviews didn’t make it into that series…so they are shared here in this collection. It was all very interesting stuff. I really enjoyed the interview with Arthur Miller. I’ve never read (or seen) Death of a Salesman or The Crucible. And now I feel so completely lacking.

The other interviews were all interesting and enlightening to various degrees. The interview with Denys Turner, however, was almost completely lost on me. I’m not sure what he was trying to convey. A lazy Sunday afternoon in a semi-sluggish state resulting from the previous night festivities of your 10th wedding anniversary is probably not the best way to watch that particular interview. Whether or not I dozed off a couple of times during that interview, I’m not sure if I would have retained any more of it. Something about asking now whether god exists, but why anything exists at all…I’m…getting…sleepy…

July 7th – July 13th

Independence Day – Another one DVR’ed over the weekend. It’s still a bunch of fun. Watching the White House get blown up is worth all of the bad dialogue. It’s still a little weird whenever the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers show up in a movie…especially a disaster movie. Especially when the tops of the buildings get blown away. Too soon!!! Er, too early!!!

Summercamp! – Had to watch this one because it was co-directed by Brad Beesley (Okie Noodling, Fearless Freaks). And I see that Beesley was one of the directors of the short lived “Rollergirls” A&E series. Interesting. Anyways…I thought I was going to have a tough time with this one. When I was that age, the thought of summer camp wasn’t all that appealing to me. Now that I’m a childless adult, the thought of watching a whole bunch of kids at summer camp doesn’t appeal all that much to me either. And in the beginning of the documentary I was on the verge of becoming annoyed. But as the film let us get to know these kids a little more, I have to say I was really drawn in. A lot of these kids weren’t just children, they were interesting and complex people. Of course, I’m sure there were a big share of little shits and bores that didn’t make the final cut. And the chickadee girl just broke my heart. I wanted to break through the TV and give her a big hug.

Alan D. Wilson, www.naturespicsonline.com, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 retrieved at Wikimedia Commons

Space Camp/War Games – These two came together in one of those cheap double-feature DVD packages. I had to have it. I’m fond of both of those movies. The space and computer stuff fascinated me as a kid. Now, the space stuff doesn’t seem terribly outdated while the computer stuff seems downright nostalgic. They’re both still a bunch of fun. And, I heard on Filmspotting the other week that War Games was getting a limited theatrical re-release, for its 25th anniversary, on July 24th. And, apparently a “sequel” is to be released directly to DVD on July 29th.

Be Kind Rewind – Michel Gondry’s visual and special effects prowess are second to none. He can make beautiful and awe inspiring things happen before your eyes. And most of the time, he doesn’t use CG as a crutch. His effects are more like magic. You may know that nothing supernatural is happening…but you still can’t quite believe your eyes. That being said, this movie lacked the kind of story that could keep up with the visual feast. It’s still well worth watching.

Persepolis – I so, so love the idea of animation and/or graphic novels that tell personal and dramatic stories. They can be such a great media for these kinds of stories. A graphic novel doesn’t have to be a comic book and an animated feature doesn’t have to be dumbed down for the kids. They don’t have to be about talking animals and superheroes. There is so much that you can do with them…they shouldn’t be wasted. And they don’t have to be six-year Pixar projects either. They can be lo-fi. All you need is a good story and a drawing. I know there is plenty of good stuff out there…they just don’t always make for a good transition to the big screen.

June 30th – July 6th

Hell on Wheels- We caught this one at Noble Theatre at OKCMOA. First we had dinner at the Museum Cafe–taking advantage of their Prix Fixe Menu($28/person which includes the movie ticket)–and then we saw the movie. It was a documentary about the inception and early struggles of women’s roller derby in Austin, TX. Director Bob Ray was in attendance and answered questions following the screening. It was like deadCENTER never stopped.

So, I was already an admiring fan of Satan’s Cheerleaders. Tattoos and bangs are enough to make me swoon on just about any day of the week. But add roller skates and some fierce competitiveness and I’m all in.

These girls are sexy. There’s no doubt about it. No argument. But that doesn’t do them justice. They’re sexy and just plain bad-ass. They’ve embraced the punk rock & DIY aesthetic and made something out of it that continues to grow and continues to build admirers worldwide. There may be splinters here and there as conflicts ensue. But in the end, this is feminism at its core. Its women coming together to create something great.

At one point, the newly founded derby league was described as a place where a bunch of loners could come together. That was enough to sell me on it. Part of me was kind of jealous…that I wasn’t of the opposite sex living in Austin. If I can’t be a derby girl, dammit, I want something in my life with half the passion of those girls on skates.

I’m already anxiously anticipating the Oklahoma Victory Dolls’ next home bout on July 26th at Miles’ Roll-A-Way Rink. And I’m even looking forward to Whip It!, Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut starring Ellen Page that revolves around derby the derby culture.

I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With- I was let down by this one. There were a few laughs here and there. But it was too scatter-shot to be really funny and too devoid of emotion to otherwise be compelling. I’d much prefer an episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” with Jeff Garlin as Larry’s manager than Jeff Garlin as star/writer/director. Maybe I need to see Marty…

I’m Not There- I wouldn’t call myself a Dylanophile, but I got my share of references in this not-so-conventional biopic. And that made it a lot of fun. I thought it really got to the essence of artistry as invention. Nothing is new and nothing is old. Everything is borrowed and everything is lent. If it tugs at your heart, does it matter how authentic it really is?

And while I’d seen clips before, I was still somewhat taken aback as to how Cate Blanchett was more physically Bob Dylan than anybody else in the film. And her Jude Quinn wasn’t a novelty part. She truly pulled off the portrayal. I must get to a record store and buy more Dylan.

“The Hill” (TV series)- We DVR’d this six episode series and watched them all back-to-back. It was a behind-the-scenes look at Capitol staffers for Florida Representative Robert Wexler (The Fighting 19th!). Much like with Hell on Wheels, I found myself yearning to be in their shoes. If only I could have pursued a D.C. internship back in college…

The series was an interesting look at both the process and the personalities behind it. I was enthralled. It fed my political geek hunger. Those people were me…but with more ambition and more connections (and as a result more prestige and more money). I wanted more episodes. Why does this not interest everybody else like it interests me? Why didn’t “K Street” last beyond ten episodes?