Eddie's Viewing Log

Janne Frank's Diary · **Joined:** Wed Jul 04, 2007 8:16 pm **Posts:** 948

Eddie Yang wrote:

Life wouldn't be complete without it.

And Marilyn Monroe films in general.

InHuman · **Joined:** Sat May 23, 2009 2:59 pm **Posts:** 264

Eddie Yang wrote:

InHuman wrote:

Le Beau Mariage is good, but seriously, the heroine is the most annoying creature ever, and that music *ROTFL*

What's your favourite Comedy and Proverb?

C'mon the music was great (i.e. the dancing scene between Romand and Dussolier). And don't you start calling Beatrice Romand a creature, she a goddess!

She's probably the least attractive Comedy and Proverb female lead though...

Eddie Yang · **Posted:** Tue Jun 22, 2010 3:30 am **Post subject:** Re: Eddie's Viewing Log

PRENOM CARMEN Jean-Luc Godard 1983
Fun and games. Godard comes off loose here with what could possibly be his least serious film, since it's also his wackiest. The play between images and sound, Beethoven and the screeching of cars, waves pounding and bouts of lovemaking, even a Tom Waits song, is much more freewheeling than usual as if Godard childishly fidgeted with all the keys and buttons in the editing table. It makes the film more fun than his other '80s work. Yet it kind of left me wanting much more, because Godard has always been playing, experimenting around and creating some of the most majestic things in cinema all the while making a film ideologically enlightening. Godard's beautiful framings are still there, but I thought this was all just hocus-pocus that went nowhere. Anyways, it's still a romp and there's plenty of beautiful women to go around.

Allison Almodovar · **Joined:** Thu Jul 05, 2007 8:46 pm **Posts:** 465

Eddie Yang wrote:

LE BEAU MARIAGE Eric Rohmer 1982 IN DA CINEMA
Beatrice Romand is desperately persevering to find a husband well-suited for her. Her friend introduces her to Andre Dussollier and Beatrice at once thinks that this man is the one, but is the feeling mutual? It's almost like a screwball comedy done with the relaxed style of Rohmer, but the undertones are pretty tragic. Romand's character is so naive that she can get into your nerves, and Rohmer seems to completely understand her predicament because no matter how annoyed we get at her we're almost surely on her side. Romand's performance is great but it is Dussollier who steals the show. There's a scene where Dussollier is at the receiving end of Romand's flirtations and all he does is listen with a crooked smile that suggests either annoyance or pity. And the climax scene where he tells her that he doesn't love her is plain and simple acting at its zenith. Dussollier is as good here as he was in the Resnais films. The film is less interesting as character development (Six Moral Tales > Comedies and Proverbs?) but it has wit and a lot of humor thus it's very good.

I didn't realize that was Andre Dussollier!! I'll have to see this film again, as it was my favorite Rohmer at first. I don't tell everyone that, bc several people do not like the Beatrice Romand character. But I love her! She is supposed to be annoying and it's funny. Oh wow, a younger Andre. I can't wait to see this one again.

Will · **Joined:** Fri Dec 11, 2009 6:07 pm **Posts:** 42

Some good stuff going around here. I'm getting to those Costa films soon enough (just watched Bones last week and thought it was fantastic). Great to see you gave Rio Bravo another chance and liked it! Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is delighful as fuck. I still need to see Slow Motion and glad you liked Prenom: Carmen.

Eddie Yang · **Posted:** Tue Jun 22, 2010 9:35 am **Post subject:** Re: Eddie's Viewing Log

THE PROWLER Joseph Zito 1981
The Tom Savini Show.

Janne Frank's Diary · **Joined:** Wed Jul 04, 2007 8:16 pm **Posts:** 948

Yeah, the behind the scenes on the DVD with Savini geeking out over slitting throats was more fulfilling for me than the actual movie but then again: I'm a Savini fanboy.

Eddie Yang · **Posted:** Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:29 pm **Post subject:** Re: Eddie's Viewing Log

Savini's one of my heroes too (especially in my DIY filmmaker days). Made me realize how you can make a great film with just using corn syrup and red food coloring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUZFCLf2 ... re=related

Janne Frank's Diary · **Joined:** Wed Jul 04, 2007 8:16 pm **Posts:** 948

Eddie Yang wrote:

Made me realize how you can make a great film with just using corn syrup and red food coloring.

I did a nostalgic trip back to my splatter amateur days last summer and had about 70 people OD on corn syrup and red food coloring...

TRAILER

When I was about 17 and just started making movies Savini was God.

roujin · **Joined:** Thu Aug 21, 2008 1:25 am **Posts:** 754

My favorite 80's Godard is Hail Mary. Second would definitely be Prenom Carmen, which is not only hilarious, but ridiculously beautiful. I don't really know what it's about or what it's saying about anything, but it's a fucking blast.

I didn't know what to make of Slow Motion on the other hand (though individual moments - that ending - are sublime).

Eddie Yang · **Posted:** Tue Jun 29, 2010 10:17 am **Post subject:** Re: Eddie's Viewing Log

Janne Frank's Diary wrote:

TRAILER

Never has there been anything more pleasurable than to make stuff like this. IT'S SO FUN!!!

roujin wrote:

My favorite 80's Godard is Hail Mary. Second would definitely be Prenom Carmen, which is not only hilarious, but ridiculously beautiful. I don't really know what it's about or what it's saying about anything, but it's a fucking blast.

I didn't know what to make of Slow Motion on the other hand (though individual moments - that ending - are sublime).

Hail Mary is my fave too.

I love how Godard could become so spiritual with this and Helas Pour Moi, which you should see now! if you haven't.

Eddie Yang · **Posted:** Tue Jun 29, 2010 10:20 am **Post subject:** Re: Eddie's Viewing Log

MONKEY BUSINESS Howard Hawks 1952
Anarchic awesomeness. Hyper Cary Grant cruising in a convertible with The Blonde Bombshell MM, rollerskating, jive dancing, scalping his wife's ex-boyfriend, cuddling with a chimpanzee. Oh Cary, this is your show!

Eddie Yang · **Posted:** Tue Jun 29, 2010 10:35 am **Post subject:** Re: Eddie's Viewing Log

THE RED QUEEN KILLS SEVEN TIMES Emilio Miraglia 1972
If giallos such as these haven't anything else to offer other than their berserk execution of the most preposterous murder-mysteries imaginable, at least they have in spades gorgeous women willing to show any amount of flesh they can bare, eye-popping psychedelia found not only in the maniacal cinematography but in the eccentric costumes as well as the bizarre set designs, and it's always amusing in a boisterous sense to see how these twist and turns are gradually revealed. There's nothing much to salvage from this story, but hey there's boobies!

Eddie Yang · **Posted:** Tue Jun 29, 2010 11:14 am **Post subject:** Re: Eddie's Viewing Log

QUEEN OF DIAMONDS Nina Menkes 1991
Think Chantal Akerman crossed James Benning - Akerman for her minimalistic yet arousing portrayals of womens' lives filled with loneliness and despair, and Benning for the unforgettable beauty of his compositions of American landscapes. Nina Menkes' elliptical portrait of a blackjack dealer (wonderfully played by the director's sister, Tinka) isn't anything close to narrative, rather it presents itself something akin to a visual poem. Images such as a burning palm tree in the desolate desert, a man singing to our heroine in a park bench, a crowd watching a dead body being carted off the street, or the ritualistic scenes of our heroine dealing hands to strangers in the casino. Things like these could or could not be part of any semblance of plot (probably in the extreme edges of the tale); yet even if these sequences don't point to any sort of meaning story-wise, the emotions of loneliness and alienation ring out even louder. The director called her film, "a minimalist post-pop emotional X-ray of the U.S." It's not a pretentious description at all; the desolation of the American landscapes is palpable and as Berenice Reynaud said, "[Queen of Diamonds] uses rigorous visual composition to penetrate the innermost recesses of the soul."

Eddie's Viewing Log

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