Month: December 2017

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is currently in theaters and was just nominated for six Golden Globes, and it is pretty awesome. I went in totally expecting a Coen brothers movie because Frances McDormand is in it and I basically had only seen the trailer and read nothing about the movie. If I had been … Continue reading “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is currently in theaters and was just nominated for six Golden Globes, and it is pretty awesome. I went in totally expecting a Coen brothers movie because Frances McDormand is in it and I basically had only seen the trailer and read nothing about the movie. If I had been paying literally any attention at all, I would have realized that this film is by the ever-clever Martin McDonagh, whose film In Bruges (HU DVD 7081) is tops.

Not to get too spoiler-y, but one of the weird things about this movie that it dramatically follows through on all the promises it makes, and that follow through is immediate in almost every case. There’s very little on-screen reflection. You see a gun, it gets used. You think, “Oh, bad thing about to happen,” and then it does. Someone says, “You should do this bad thing,” and in the next scene, they do it. Or the inverse: try to be a better person, and in the next scene they do. It’s not a long, drawn out process of change. There is a big exception to this, but I found it really interesting that there’s very little hesitation. The characters are characters of will, who follow through on their impulses immediately. When we get our copy here at the library, I think this bears further study.

The other weird thing about this movie is that it’s full of truly kind people doing truly heinous things. And that just never gets addressed. It’s totally non-judgmental. Which is something that this movie shares with In Bruges.

Seven Psychopaths (HU DVD 10962) is the missing link for me, and I’m super excited to watch it. But Three Billboards is definitely one to catch in theaters if you can.

 

A Very Kubrick Christmas

What’s your favorite Christmas movie? Today, Ethan Epstein of the Weekly Standard argues that Eyes Wide Shut is a Christmas movie. Having been subjected to a running explanation of this theory in literally every spare moment of the past month (hi Ethan!) I’m inclined to agree.So, what makes a Christmas movie? Eyes Wide Shut certainly … Continue reading “A Very Kubrick Christmas”

What’s your favorite Christmas movie? Today, Ethan Epstein of the Weekly Standard argues that Eyes Wide Shut is a Christmas movie. Having been subjected to a running explanation of this theory in literally every spare moment of the past month (hi Ethan!) I’m inclined to agree.

So, what makes a Christmas movie? Eyes Wide Shut certainly has all the Christmas trappings, but is it a Christmas movie? Perhaps it is a Christmas movie in some particularly subversive way: Christmas is ever present, but hardly mentioned. It is there only in its most commercial forms. Is there a single religious reference to Christmas? I’m not sure. I’ll have to ask my local expert.

I’m certain, of course, that the movie is saying something about Christmas, I’m just not sure what it is. But more importantly, I think a movie can be set at Christmas or be about Christmas without fitting into that set of movies obligatorily watched solely during the holidays, of which Muppet Christmas Carol is the highest and most worthy example. (That’s my favorite Christmas movie. I regret to inform Ethan Epstein of the Weekly Standard that he will have to settle for attending AFI’s screening of Muppet Christmas Carol, as his new favorite Christmas movie did not make the list.) Perhaps the isolation of Christmas movies is in fact what defines them. Would you watch it only at Christmas? Then it’s a Christmas movie.

In any case, if Eyes Wide Shut (HU DVD 132) isn’t your cup of eggnog, here are a five more unusual suggestions that feature Christmas for you to watch this holiday season.

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Tokyo Godfathers (HU DVD 819): The story takes place on Christmas Eve in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Middle-aged has-been Gin, aging transvestite Hana, and teenage runaway Miyuki are homeless friends who have formed a makeshift family structure bond. That bond is tested when they find an abandoned baby while searching for food in a trash dumpster. They try to care for the infant themselves, and travel throughout the city in search of the baby’s parents.

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The Thin Man (HU DVD 4971): Nick and Nora Charles, a former detective and his rich, playful wife, investigate a murder case mostly for the fun of it. This movie occurs around Christmas, includes an adorable Christmas Morning scene.

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Tangerine (HU DVD 12856): It’s Christmas Eve in Tinseltown and Sin-Dee is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend hasn’t been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the working girl and her best friend, Alexandra, embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles. The film notably stars and is about two transgender women of color.

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Batman Returns (HU DVD 4702): Batman must face the Penguin and Catwoman in this nightmarish tale. Plenty of Christmas in this. But like Burton scary Christmas.

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It Happened on Fifth Avenue (HU DVD 13717): The secret inhabitants of a boarded up mansion on Manhattan’s ritzy 5th Avenue include a philosophizing hobo and some GI families who are unable to find apartments during the post-World War II housing crunch. It just so happens that it happened at Christmas.

New Acquisitions: November 2017

Happy Friday! Here’s the list of every DVD that crossed my desk in November 2017. One interesting film we got is David Lynch: The Art Life: It was a big month for renumbering DVDs, which really reminds me how many movies we have in our collection! Take a look, and whether it’s a new or … Continue reading “New Acquisitions: November 2017”

Happy Friday! Here’s the list of every DVD that crossed my desk in November 2017. One interesting film we got is David Lynch: The Art Life:

It was a big month for renumbering DVDs, which really reminds me how many movies we have in our collection! Take a look, and whether it’s a new or an old one, you’re sure to find something worth watching.

America by the numbers : the new deciders – HU DVD 14713
American patriot : inside the armed uprising against the federal government – HU DVD 14782
The Americans. The complete fourth season, Discs 1 – 4 – HU DVD 14321
The B-side : Elsa Dorfman’s portrait photography – HU DVD 14767
Bandoneon! (a combine) – HU DVD 14701
Banned cartoons : a historical archive of the shameful, racial abuses of Hollywood’s yesteryear – HU DVD 14728
Battle for Iraq – HU DVD 14780
The big bang theory. The complete first season, Discs 1 – 3 – HU DVD 14684
The big bang theory. The complete second season, Discs 1 – 4 – HU DVD 14685
The big bang theory. The complete third season, Discs 1 – 3 – HU DVD 14686
The Big bang theory. The complete fourth season, Discs 1 – 3 – HU DVD 14687
The big bang theory. The complete fifth season, Discs 1 – 3 – HU DVD 14688
The big bang theory. The complete sixth season, Discs 1 – 3 – HU DVD 14689
The birthday party – HU DVD 14773
Black America since MLK : and still I rise – HU DVD 14275
Bullfighter and the lady – HU DVD 14718
Cancer : the emperor of all maladies – HU DVD 14774
Cartoon rarities of the 1920s – HU DVD 14726
Cartoon rarities of the 1930s – HU DVD 14727
Certain women – HU DVD 14712
Chantal Akerman par Chantal Akerman – HU DVD 14716
Churchill – HU DVD 14722
City of ghosts – HU BLU 6961
City of Gold – HU DVD 14714
Córki dancingu = the Lure – HU DVD 14768
Dashiell Hammett’s the glass key – HU DVD 14566
David and Lisa – HU DVD 14724
David Lynch : the art life – HU DVD 14723
Escape from Fort Bravo – HU DVD 14721
Eva Hesse – HU DVD 14742
Festival : folk music at Newport, 1963-1966 – HU DVD 14720
Finders keepers – HU DVD 14738
Germans & Jews : history is the memory of a people – HU DVD 14741
Gran Torino – HU DVD 6110
I saw what you did – HU DVD 14740
Insiang ; Mysterious object at noon – HU BLU 14681
Insiang ; Mysterious object at noon, Discs 1 – 2 – HU DVD 14681
Invitation to a gunfighter – HU DVD 14744
It! : the terror from beyond space – HU DVD 14779
Joe Kidd – HU DVD 14778
John Cage : journeys in sound – HU DVD 14703
King Charles III – HU DVD 14769
L.A. rebellion : creating a new black cinema : DVD anthology 1971-2006 – HU DVD 14694
Law of the border ; Taipei story – HU BLU 14683
Law of the border ; Taipei story, Discs 1 – 2 – HU DVD 14683
Life on parole – HU DVD 14781
Lifeforce – HU BLU 14776
Lifeforce – HU DVD 14776
Malcolm Morley : the outsider – HU DVD 14709
La Mission – HU DVD 14743
The mod squad. Season 1, Discs 1 – 8 – HU DVD 14704
The mod squad. Season 2, Discs 1 – 7 – HU DVD 14705
The mod squad. Season 3, Discs 1 – 8 – HU DVD 14706
The mod squad. Season 4, Discs 1 – 8 – HU DVD 14707
The mod squad. Season 5, Discs 1 – 8 – HU DVD 14708
Open score – HU DVD 14702
Police story 3 : Supercop – HU DVD 14731
The professionals – HU DVD 14736
The race underground – HU DVD 14715
Rachel Carson – HU DVD 14717
Revenge ; Limite – HU BLU 14682
Revenge ; Limite, Discs 1 – 2 – HU DVD 14682
Rio Conchos & Take a hard ride – HU DVD 14775
Riot on Sunset Strip – HU DVD 14739
Risk : how much of your own life are you willing to risk? – HU DVD 14730
Saigon : year of the cat – HU DVD 14734
The scalphunters – HU DVD 14771
The secret life of Walter Mitty – HU DVD 14568
The servant – HU DVD 14733
Southwest of Salem – HU DVD 14745
Squidbillies. Volume 3 – HU DVD 11369
Squidbillies. Volume five – HU DVD 11371
Squidbillies. Volume four – HU DVD 11370
Squidbillies. Volume six – HU DVD 11372
Sterile cuckoo – HU DVD 14772
Suddenly! – HU DVD 14567
The thief – HU DVD 14565
To walk invisible : the Brontë sisters – HU DVD 14737
Unreal. Season 1, Discs 1 – 2 – HU DVD 14690
Valdez is coming – HU DVD 14770
Van Gogh’s ear – HU DVD 14766
Wonder Woman – HU BLU 14777
Wonder Woman – HU DVD 14777
Zero days – HU DVD 14735