I was never a big Velvet Underground fan, don't own any of their records, but after watching this documentary I know a lot more about the group, their history, their members, their albums, and their music in general. All of which were very interesting.
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See How They Run 2022
An Agatha Christie pastiche - funny, clever, entertaining.
Viewer Jan Vitek provides a more thoughtful review:
letterboxd.com/janvite/film/see-how-they-run-2022/ -
Tales from the Crypt 1972
Horror stories about bad people and the things that happen to them. Not very good, but strangely compelling.
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Far from Heaven 2002
"Two thumbs down - and that's just from me!" remarked my wife in discussing this clinker of a movie. I agree - make that four.
You really don't know what they were going for in this film about gay and racial prejudice in Hartford, Connecticut in the 50s. Its garish colors suggest that the whole thing is a tongue-in-cheek cartoon. Racial insensitivity and small-town liberalism are clubbed into us, with maid Viola Davis and gardener Dennis Haysbert standing in for…
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LennoNYC 2010
This biography / documentary covers the time Lennon spent in the U.S. - from 1971 on, wasn't it? It pretty much starts with Sometime in New York (brief appearances by Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Rennie Davis) and the years of "radical politics," moves briefly to LA for the disastrous Rock and Roll sessions with Phil Spector, then back to New York for Madison Square, Walls and Bridges, his immigration troubles, fatherhood, Double Fantasy.
I found it a bit scattershot, but…
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John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky 2018
Essentially a documentary and retrospective about the making of the Imagine album. Good stuff. I especially enjoyed seeing Klaus Voorman as an old guy. Nicky Hopkins and Hari Georgeson were on hand.
As you'd expect, with any kind of reissuing of old material, Yoko Ono's production is all over this, ensuring she gets what's hers. Many people tell the camera how great she and her art are. Some read from her 1964 book Grapefruit.
I should complain? I have my…
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Wordplay 2006
This is a very well-done movie about competitors in the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, and about the event itself, organized and hosted by Will Shortz, the longtime New York Times puzzle editor.
We learn what a puzzle editor does, how a puzzle creator goes about their work, and about the fanaticism and dedication of puzzle solvers everywhere. It's all a buildup to the tournament, of course, and it's well done, but a bit lengthy. But it's much better than trying to make a movie about chess.
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The Last Temptation of Christ 1988
I'd wanted to read this novel, by Nikos Kazantzakis, for a long time, but a recent reading of Zorba the Greek (same author) suggested that a movie version might be more accessible. The prose of Zorba is sweeping and dense and difficult; Last Temptation looked even more so, and longer.
This film version, from Martin Scorcese, was simply fantastic. Beautifully filmed. Great eye for detail, for everything. This is certainly what it must have looked like. Christ and his disciples…
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Woman of the Year 1942
I didn't think too much of this, though I guess it was better at the time. Certainly the Criterion people think so. But I probably shouldn't judge an 80-year old movie by contemporary standards.
This is the first of nine films that Hepburn and Tracy would make together. They work at the same newspaper (remember them?), he's a sports writer, she's a truly amazing political columnist, second-only to Eleanor Roosevelt in her influence. She speaks many languages fluently and counts…
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Maestro 2023
I did not know what to expect from this movie, but it turned out to be essentially a biography of Bernstein and his wife Felicia. A biography with a lot of song and dance, a la La La Land. Good numbers to be sure, and the music (mainly Bernstein's) is top notch.
But the story arc is a little disappointing, in that there isn't one. Lenny is gay, his wife knows it, just urges him to be discreet. And that's…
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The Lost Weekend: A Love Story 2022
I really enjoyed this documentary produced by May Pang about her relationship with you know who. It covers a lot of ground, with a wealth of information, details, photographs, and videos from what was, by all accounts, a happy and productive time in Lennon's life. The sketched animations are particularly nice. Also interesting is that this was made with apparent cooperation and blessing from Julian Lennon. As I mentioned, wonderful photos that you won't find anywhere else (except maybe in…
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The Laundromat 2019
This was a not particularly good movie about... what, exactly? The idea that shell corporations and the whole financial industry are rotten? I knew that. Meryl Streep is underused and implausible as a consumer protection detective digging for the truth. Is the snide wink-wink attitude an attempt to win us over, or just an admission that nothing ever changes?