God's Own Crunk

Sis passed this along, and I post it here because it’s Noah Baumbach, who directed Kicking and Screaming, the L’Atalante of films about Gen-Xers afflicted with post-college stress. As I was telling Sis tonight, Baumbach tops the list of talented hipster directors on the popular radar: I like him better than Whit Stillman and Wes Anderson, people who might hate being grouped together:

But as it turns out, “Frances Ha” is absolutely charming: funny, sad, cringe-inducing and heartbreaking but, above all, brimming with authenticity, thanks in large part to a winning star turn from indie darling Greta Gerwig. This is a great showcase for Gerwig’s abiding naturalism; not a single moment from her feels cutesy, self-conscious or false.

She and director Noah Baumbach, who worked together on the 2010 comedy “Greenberg,” co-wrote the script, creating a sense of realism through a series of absurd moments. Frances is goofy and guileless, awkward and affectionate but clearly decent-hearted to the core, which only makes her misadventures more agonizing and makes you root harder for her to find true happiness.

via ‘Frances Ha’ Review: Greta Gerwig Shines In Charming, Hopeful Comedy.

Other than knowing that Jodi Arias was convicted of murdering her boyfriend yesterday, the only thing I knew about her was that CNN’s Headline News has devoted several months to following her trial. As for Kim Kardashian, I know from the tabloids (online and at the market) that she’ gotten fat and she feels used. Yep, whattacountry:

For starters, I really have only the vaguest idea who Jodi Arias is. According to cable news producers, this trial is a really, really, really big deal.

I remember reading the joke, “Far in the future, aliens will come and find the relics of our modern civilization and conclude that Kim Kardashian was our queen.” I really don’t understand why I’m supposed to care about this woman, and I don’t understand why it seems that I’m constantly being told things about her.

via Why the Right Is Growing Cynical About the ‘Common Good’ | National Review Online.

Some good views recently…

I had no interest in Silver Lining Playbook when it came out, but novelist Bret Easton Ellis kept pimping it on Twitter as the best thing he’d seen in some time, so I finally got around to watching it … a funny thing happened on the way to the Pay-Per-View. [terrible title for a movie, btw – I still have to reference IMDB when trying to remember if it’s lining or linings, b/c it’s nonsensical otherwise /brex]

This is old news, I know, buuuuttttt…

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Other than The Dark Knight, 1994′s iteration of The Crow was the best film based on a graphic novel, period. I get they’re doing this for money, but some films don’t need to be remade – this is one of them:

The 1994 original starred Brandon Lee as Eric Draven, a murdered rock star who is brought back to life by a supernatural bird – “the crow” – so that he can avenge his own murder and that of his fiancée. The film was based on an acclaimed 1989 comic book of the same name.

Lee was tragically killed during an accidental shooting on the film’s set, but The Crow went on to become a hit at the box office and spawned three sequels without him, the most recent coming in 2005.

In April 2011, reports of a remake emerged and Bradley Cooper was soon rumoured to be frontrunner for the Eric Draven role. However, the project was stalled by a legal dispute and Cooper later dropped out.

via ‘Hobbit’ actor Luke Evans cast lead role in ‘The Crow’ | Film & TV News | NME.COM.

A fast three hours, that one – and it wasn’t a propaganda piece about the mythical greatness of Barack Dat Obama. Aside from being a gun lover and a regular visitor to OperatorChan, I’ve also recently started watching The Unit (I know, I’ve mentioned it) and ZDT has all kinds of porn for anyone who likes shit like that – it’s Operator Lust at it’s finest. I come from a family of redheads so it’s rare that I find them attractive, but I would love to have lots and lots of secks with Jessica Chastain – perfect for the role, naturally beautiful and oh-so-bangable. Strangely, she’s only 3 years younger than me since she looks about 25 or so. The one thing that’s frustrating about watching this film, or The Unit, or reading books about Operators, is how much I realize I’ve wasted my life.

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http://kck.st/Z1HJRR

It’s old news, I know. But it’s new to me. The largest Kickstarter project of all time is already 175% funded, the film will shoot this summer and be released next summer. I sooo can’t wait. Veronica Mars ranks second only to The Wire in my list of GOAT shows - Buffy’s third, of course.

I’ve referred to it as the perfect movie, a contention I stand by. Go to the link and check out some of the cast-members today. Wiley Wiggins has changed the most (he looks weirdly androgynous) and it pains me to see that Joey Lauren Adams, second only to Parker Posey among indy queens with whom I’d love to spend a week in Telluride, appears to have had some work done. I still love her and her squeaky voice (and her blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nudity in SFW): 

Yes, it’s true, all you former little freshman piggies: Cult high school party flick “Dazed and Confused” is nearly 20 years young.

Many of the cast members celebrated the occasion in Austin, Texas, this week during a special screening of the now classic 1993 film about teens carousing about town, drinking beer, making out, and listening to those sweet sweet ’70s jams.

via ‘Dazed and Confused’ 20-Year Cast Reunion—Did Any of the A-List Alums Like Affleck or McConaughey Show Up? | Movie Talk – Yahoo! Movies.

Another installment of the Academy Awards has come and gone, and what did we learn? Well, I learned this morning that Argo won for Best Pic, and I’m to understand it probably deserved it, although Bret Easton Ellis’ Twitter feed led me to believe for several days that Silver Linings Playbook was the Best Movie Ever. Oh, and The Onion called a 9-year-old girl a cunt, because satire. 

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The notion of Independent Film, like Independent Music, came of age (again) when I came of age – the late 80s/early 90s. Of the, er, auteurs of indy film – real, bare-bones, super-low-budget indy film – Richard Linklater was my favorite. Slacker, a film about absolutely nothing – absolutely nothing, mind you – more than a day among proto-hippies in Austin, was probably the first such film I ever watched, and something about it hooked me … and lots of other people.

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