I put out a poll over which Disney film I hadn’t seen before should I watch. The majority of people said either ALICE IN WONDERLAND or SWORD IN THE STONE. I decided to get stoned and try Alice. I was actually very unimpressed on multiple levels. I thought it was going to be more trippy/colorful than it ended up being. That’s possibly due to the fact that its been hyped for years regarding it’s psychedelic aspects. Regardless I did not care for Alice. She is a spoiled brat with no common sense. The Walrus and the Carpenter moment felt like such old-school animated film where we just do something completely different from everything else. It broke up the pacing and added nothing to my experience. I end up being on everyone else’s side because Alice is super rude. I may be biased because I generally don’t like the story of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland." I had to read it in high school and it was never a story that grabbed me like it did other people. This is one of those stories that are famously co-oped into part of people’s identities where they have a sort of biblical connection to the text. That being said I liked all the Cheshire Cat stuff.
Quarantine Watch #106: Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
I had seen many scenes from this before, but I hadn’t ever sat through the whole thing. While being an epic film, this is just so restrained. Everything takes it’s times. Scenes take 10-15 minutes to finish which helps add up to the 2 hour 40 minute runtime. Every one of the lead actors are fantastic. I’m so happy Claudia Cardinale got billed above Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda, because she deserves it. Controversially, I think this is a better Morricone score than THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY. I’ll admit that is more iconic, but all of the harmonica cues are so tense and beautiful. Everything sounds like a creaky barn door moving back and forth. The train scene is so great, complete with the gun in the shoe. It’s also such a weird pairing of writers (Sergio Donati, Sergio Leone, Dario Argento, and Bernardo Bertolucci), but in another sense it just works so well.
Quarantine Watch #105: Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics (2020)
This is a film that feels like it was made for me. I’ve been wanting to experiment with psychedelics from sometime now, every year getting more and more serious. It also had so many comedians and musicians I love. All of this considered, it just didn’t work as a documentary for me. I would have appreciated it if everyone’s stories were in youtube videos. It just wasn’t that structurally cohesive nor scientific which I wanted more of.
Quarantine Watch #104: Black Orpheus (1959)
I am a sucker for stories based in Greek mythology. This is such a vibrant film in its locations, production design, costumes, and everything. It’s one of the most alive films I’ve seen. The little bits of the original myth are handled so well with a really tender love story wrapped around it.
Quarantine Watch #103: Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969)
This movie and EASY RIDER make me really think I wish I was coming of age in the ‘60s instead of late ‘90s/early aughts. All of the acting is great. Young Elliot Gould is great. It feels so of the ‘60s but also timeless. I feel like this situation could easily happen between best friend couples today. Parts are funny and parts are just exploratory of the human condition.
Quarantine Watch #102: The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
I just got the Criterion release of this so I wanted to rewatch it and check out the bonus features. I never noticed that Léa Seydoux and Lucas Hedges were in this, but it is easy to get dwarfed by the amount of amazing talents on display here. Wes Anderson has interesting periods in his time. Some thought his time doing things like THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS and RUSHMORE was his greatest, but he has gone through a second renaissance with MOONRISE KINGDOM, ISLE OF DOGS, the upcoming THE FRENCH DISPATCH and this one. This is so fun, idiosyncratic, and whimsical. The dialogue is almost musical. No one else could else make a film like this.
Quarantine Watch #101: Eyes Without a Face (1960)
I saw Pedro Almodóvar’s THE SKIN I LIVE IN at the Cannes Film Festival back in 2011 and I had no idea that it was essentially one longer/telenovelay version of this film. The pacing is so fast it feels like only 30 minutes happen. The surgery scenes are fantastic for the time and the mask is so simple yet scary simultaneously. My favorite scene though is when she goes to see the dogs. It’s just so sweet.
Quarantine Watch #100: Ratcatcher (1999)
What a dark yet real coming-of-age tale. It’s so sad, yet so alive at the same time. There are some many images and scenes that are moving and engaging. I was on the verge of tears during the mouse scene. The scene in the bathtub is so playful and alive. The image of the field of wheat feels like a painting and she could have just made a film of that image alone. It’s interesting to see a young Tommy Flanagan on display. Other standouts of the cast include Leanne Mullen and William Eadie.
Quarantine Watch #99: Paths of Glory (1957)
Wow, this was great. It’s so ahead of its time in both writing and the cinematography. This is as good as other court-martial films like A FEW GOOD MEN, however while there is logic in A FEW GOOD MEN, this is just absurd that it enrages me. It’s easy to see parallels to this and CATCH-22 regarding the illogical chain of command in the military as well as war itself. Mireau is one of the most despicable villains I’ve seen in a movie (I JUST WANT TO PUNCH HIM!) while Dax is one of the greatest heroes. It is a comedy of errors, a tragedy, a rally cry, and a protest at the same time. Cowardice is totally on display and ironically the men accused of cowardice are the bravest. This is also the time I think Michael Douglass and Kirk Douglass look the most similar.
Quarantine Watch #98: Jules and Jim (1962)
Jeanne Moreau is amazing. This is one of those performances that just stands out as great. She is so full of life it feels unreal at times. This film kind of helped me be a little more secure going into my 30s. All three of these people are in their thirties although they play like kids and live like they’re in their 20s. It’s admirable. I feel like I have been both Jules and Jim throughout my life too.
Quarantine Watch #97: Summer of 84 (2018)
I’ve wanted to see this for some time now, but it never was available of streamers and I didn’t want to pay for it. Now that my roommate has Shudder, I’m taking advantage of it. There’s a lot of STRANGER THINGS, THE GOONIES, REAR WINDOW (and it’s ripoff DISTURBIA), and THE GIRL NEXT DOOR in this horror film. The pacing in the beginning wasn’t the best, but by the second half, it really gets into its groove. There are a lot of scenes with so much edge-of-your-seat tension specifically the one where Mackey comes by the house and uses the phone. This movie is also a 4 act movie — after it’s over it adds a whole other element that twists the story. Rich Somer is so good in this. He has such a babyface that he's often typecast as the jilted man in a relationship (RUN, LOVE, GLOW). To see him in this really show’s his range.
Quarantine Watch #96: Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I had to rewatch it. Every single member for the cast is phenomenal: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Sean Penn, Pheobe Cates, Brian Backer, Robert Romanus, Ray Walston, Vincent Schiavelli and Eric Stoltz all shine. It’s a movie I can quote the whole way through and is just so smart and fun about being in high school. The wardrobe is also so of the era and great. The Soundtrack is one of my favorites. Aloha, Spicolli.
Quarantine Watch #95: The Rules of the Game (1939)
There’s a lot of fun screwbally things in here that remind me of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST and THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOUGEOISIE. In terms of Jean Renoir films, I’m more partial to LA GRANDE ILLUSION, but there’s still a lot here to like.
Quarantine Watch #94: Water Lilies (2007)
This movie is the queen of holding a moment where two people are about to kiss, but then they don’t. It is the longest hold out for two people kissing that when they finally do, it’s one of the best kisses in cinema. I have enjoyed every Céline Sciamma film that I’ve seen. All of them are small and intimate. This one is not as mature and focused as her other films, but it is still enthralling. The subplot with the best friend doesn’t really connect with me though. I get it’s showing another side of coming of age sexuality, but the love story between Marie and Floriane is just so much more compelling. However the moment at the end between Anne and François is just fantastic. Adèle Haenel looks exactly the same as she does now and yet at the same time looks like a completely different person. It’s interesting to think of her as 18 and then her starting to date the director later. Pauline Acquart has such a unique look to her. She looks like a different person with each angle the camera shoots her at. There are also two compositions in here that blew me away: 1) the picture below when Marie sees Floriane and François kissing and 2) when Marie and Floriane hold hands over the bed longingly when Floriane is about to go have sex with François. At times she looks 14 then 16 then 26. This also shows me that it can’t be worth it to get into synchronized swimming — it just doesn’t seem fun.
Quarantine Watch #93: Cahuenga Blvd (2005)
This short film really didn’t do anything for me. It reminds me of the films my friends and I would make in high school. I can see some of the techniques Andrew Haigh would eventually use in his other films like WEEKEND, but overall this was just nothing. The lead actor’s line delivery was also so monotoned that I found it hard to really feel for him.
Quarantine Watch #92: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
My sister’s boyfriend wanted to watch this as we were trying to Netflix Watch Party for the first time. Some stuff obviously no longer holds up (the homophobia/transphobia stuff specifically), but some of the jokes are still funny. Sure, it’s super broad, but it’s actually interesting to look at this young Jim Carrey and see what he is playing with. He definitely indulges and the film feels masturbatory because of it, but the character is also very smart and motivated, which helps get people past it. I never noticed the obvious LETHAL WEAPON homage until this viewing. I guess I just wasn’t paying enough attention.
Quarantine Watch #91: Seconds (1966)
The cinematography in this is outstanding. That needs to be said right off the bat. The fisheye lens coupled with the movement of the camera and the production makes this feel like something out of a Salvador Dalí painting. The scene with the parade and the naked stomping on the grapes is SO of the ‘60s. I feel like these parts would be different if this was made during any other period. Salome Jens is very pretty and the black and white photography complements her so well she is even more illuminated. This is actually the first Rock Hudson film I’ve seen. I’m excited to see more of his work. The whole thing is also structured and feels like a Twilight Zone episode in the best ways.
Quarantine Watch #90: Modern Times (1936)
There is something seriously timeless and enchanting about most of Charlie Chaplin’s films. THE GREAT DICTATOR stands as one of my favorite films. I wanted to explore more of his work. This is as smart as it is silly. He saying so much not only about the time he filmed it but also as America on the whole in regards to it’s need for industrialisation and capitalism. I also think Charlie Chaplin is the first person to do bullet time (Without slowing the film down) when he accidentally does so much cocaine that he is able to dodge bullets in prison. Paulette Goddard is GORGEOUS in this. She leaps off the screen and from the second I see her I am enthralled by not only her beauty but her spunk. She is FANTASTIC in this. It’s a crime she wasn’t nominated for an Oscar — or that this film wasn’t nominated for any Oscars. The skating scenes are also just lovely. Other standouts is the score, the production design, and the spare amount of not only sound but title cards. I was honestly shocked by the people speaking since I expected it to be completely silent.
Quarantine Watch #89: Jimmy O Yang: Good Deal (2020)
Jimmy’s attitude is what carries the special. He’s so aggressive with low energy. His confidence is huge, despite being a stand-up comedian which is usually self deprecating. His commentary on Asian stereotypes is on point. This is a lot of fun.
Quarantine Watch #88: Skate Kitchen (2018)
I really wanted to watch this for sometime and now with the HBO series BETTY out I had to check it out before starting the series. The highlight of this film are the skating and acting talent of these women, specifically with Rachelle Vinberg and Nina Moran as major standouts. I’m also a sucker for a skating film -- it always draws me in. Combining this unique look of Long Island and Manhattan works hand in hand with the coming-of-age aspect of the drama.
