G R E E N G O L D  F I L M

I don't always love or agree with A.O. Scott's reviews but I wanted to flag this passage about Sam Mendes from the review today of his (Mendes') new film, Away We Go (co-written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida), because it perfectly describes my feelings toward Mendes' other films.  Note, I still want to see this movie even if it sounds pretty awful:

To observe that they inhabit no recognizable American social reality is only to say that this is a film by Sam Mendes, a literary tourist from Britain who has missed the point every time he has crossed the ocean. The vague, secondhand ideas about the blight of the suburbs that sloshed around “American Beauty” and “Revolutionary Road” are now complemented by an equally incoherent set of notions about the open road, the pioneer spirit, the idealism of youth.

Or something. Really, “Away We Go” is about the flight from adulthood, from engagement, from responsibility, even as it cleverly disguises itself as a search for all those things. But the dream of being left alone in a world of your own making, far from anything sad or icky or difficult, is a child’s fantasy. Not an unattractive or uncommon one, it must be said, and for that reason it is tempting to follow Burt and Verona into the precious, hermetic paradise that awaits them at the end of the road. You know they will be happy there. But you should also understand that you are not welcome. Does it sound as if I hate this movie? Don’t be silly. But don’t be fooled. This movie does not like you.

'The smug self-regard of this movie, directed by Sam Mendes from a script by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, takes a while to register, partly because Ms. Rudolph and Mr. Krasinski are appealing and unaffected performers and partly because the writing has some humor and charm.'

18 recently discovered Life magazine photos of Marilyn Monroe circa 1950.

Hilarious NYT article on Michelle Larcher de Brito, 16 yr old Portuguese tennis star and the sport's loudest shrieker.  Link thru to the the short audio clip.

Trailer for The Road.

From Criterion, see this movie:
In 1979, Louis Malle traveled into the heart of Minnesota to capture the everyday lives of the men and women in a prosperous farming community. Six years later, during Ronald Reagan’s second term, he returned to find drastic economic decline. Free of stereotypes about America’s “heartland,” God’s Country, commissioned for American public television, is a stunning work of emotional and political clarity.

Anders (director) and Aaron (d.p.) were nice enough to cast me in their spec commercial for Miracle Grow.  Here's the rough cut.

Ross McElwee is mostly famous for his documentary Sherman's March but it's actually two of his other films; Time Indefinite and 6 O'Clock News that I think are really on another level.  They're both films that I'd like to make copies of and then send as gifts to all my friends.  To me he's the best around when it comes to personal documentary filmmaking.  Unfortunately YouTube doesn't have any clips available from those films, so the one below, just for a taste, is from Sherman's March.  But you can also click here and here for un-embed-able clips from some of his other films.  All are available on Netflix so I'll ask that you move them to the top of your queue and save me some money in postage.

No idea how recent this is (I think its old), but I find it tremendously entertaining.  A Bonnie Prince Billy "tour diary."  Here's a bit of it:

q: Do you smoke weed? 
a: yes we do sometimes.
q: What do you think of Lars Von Triers oeuvre? 
a: we are not partial to the school of thought that puts a group of movies or records under the classification of an individual. so...we liked BREAKING THE WAVES and THE IDIOTS, but not for any of the same reasons. We will probably not see DOGVILLE.q: Do you like Godspeed You Black Emperor, or do you think that they are a bunch of pretentious Gorecki rip-offs?a: no and no.