Jeff Howard's Day Off

It feels great to be blogging again.  Like I said in my last post, I need to start making it a habit.  I miss the personal excitement I get over our little interactions.

John,
we seem to be in a similar spot on SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS.  I probably align with you the most on this one, though I can understand Brandon finding some deeper emotional connection to it.  It's a solid piece of work, in my opinion.  Worth the love, for sure.

I see you really liked 2 OR 3 THINGS I KNOW ABOUT HER.  Interesting.  I started watching it on hulu a while ago and gave up on it rather quickly.  Perhaps I just wasn't in the mood for it at the time.  I might need to give it a fair shake at some point.

I'm actually really stoked for SPRING BREAKERS.  I'm hoping it comes to Binghamton.  I'll be there opening weekend if it does.

Brandon,
I, unfortunately, care about the Oscars, as well.  I watch them every year, regardless of how disappointing I know in my heart they will invariably be. The year NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN won was probably the only Oscar ceremony I've ever enjoyed watching, and even then I was slightly aggrieved that THERE WILL BE BLOOD didn't win, despite my profound love for NO COUNTRY and the Coens.  ARGO is supposed to win on Sunday, and I truthfully don't mind if it does.  I've got nothing against Affleck, and actually get some pleasure out of seeing him redeem himself so triumphantly and find success as a director.  Good for him.  I'm glad you called me out for getting a little down on my hopes for ARGO.  I shouldn't be so despairing.  I blame Glenn Kenny and Matt Zoller Seitz.  They are among the few critics I follow on twitter and have been repeatedly disparaging ARGO lately.  It must be getting to me.  Truth be told, I was mildly excited for ARGO back in the autumn. I thought it could be last years THE IDES OF MARCH – not a great film, but a solid, engrossing one that is worth watching.  It could still very much live up to that expectation, and hell, for all I know, exceed it.  I'm hoping to see ARGO this week, as a friend of Chris' and mine might rent it on demand.  I will watch it with an open mind and hopefully a fair eye.

Can I just say - I love Haneke, if only because he always generates discussion between the two of us. This guy is a goldmine for controversy and debate. AMOUR is certainly his most mature film (kinda funny to say that about a 70-year-old), and I welcome more of his work having a similar subdued, emotional aesthetic.  It's infinitely better than his visceral, santicmonious one, even if I still remain a champion of "Le Cheval Morte du Ciné-club." :)  I was joking about BENNY'S VIDEO and the potential "fuck you" response from Haneke in the event that he does win an Oscar.  I really hope he doesn't respond in that way, though I wouldn't be surprised considering he seems to have made it his life's work to be brazenly anti-Hollywood.  Excluding the remake of FUNNY GAMES, Haneke's last three films (CACHÉ, THE WHITE RIBBON, AMOUR) have been largely finger-wagging free.  At least, overtly. They are more ambiguous and layered.  He really is a great technician and formalist, and I think letting that side of him show without being so abrasive is for the best.

THE WHITE RIBBON will long live as his masterpiece in my mind.  Maybe I'm just a sucker for the black and white.

Speaking of Haneke reminds me - have you seen his faux twitter account? If you haven't yet, you should. You will love it.

I'm with you entirely on BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD.  Did not register as all that powerful or moving to me.  Missing 20 minutes of it likely hurt its cause, but I feel I saw enough to be swayed one way or another.  When the Beirut/Arcade Fire-esque soundtrack crescendoed at the end, I really felt like I should have been on the verge of tears, but I wasn't.  Just sleepy eyed instead.  It's not a bad movie, it's just missing something, and is held back from greatness.  It might just be a little too contrived for its own good. "I felt suffocated by its deliberateness" is very well put.

I have a copy of Fincher's THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO laying around my room.  I'm thinking about giving it another chance soon.  I'm willing to concede that I might have underestimated it, if only because it was made by Fincher, who is a master director.  He's worth giving a second chance.