The Room (2003)

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The Room (2003)

(spoilers ahead!)

The Room is the bad movie you wish for when you want to watch bad movies. I know I raved about I Know Who Killed Me as a great bad movie, but The Room is on a different level. It’s pretty infamous by now, so nothing I’m saying here is probably anything new, but the movie is just so awesome and weird, really unlike anything you’ve ever seen. It’s a bad movie I’d rewatch again anytime because it is really entertaining. But just for someone who doesn’t know the movie, I’m trying a plot summary here: Johnny (Tommy Wiseau, the writer/director/auteur) is in love with Lisa (Juliette Danielle), but she loves his friend Mark (Greg Sestero), who doesn’t really seem to love her but just can’t help himself sleeping with her. Add about half a dozen unresolved plotlines and you have a movie that makes no sense whatsoever. It plays mostly in one room, in which people at all times randomly enter and often leave again after 10-20 seconds. But actually, the less said, the better. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, go watch it now and come back to us trying to look at some of the thematic aspects of the movie.

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You Belong on the Radio - German Music Charts (2)

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You Belong on the Radio - German Music Charts (2)

So, it’s time for the charts again and also time to look at Germany again, just like in the beginning. Which was over two months ago, but I still have to search for new songs now. But there are enough, so let’s get started!

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The Grey Zone (2001)

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The Grey Zone (2001)

The Grey Zone is the Holocaust movie that every other Holocaust movie isn’t. As Roger Ebert points out in his review, The Grey Zone denies us any kind of hope, which most other Holocaust movies do. Things may be bleak, but not all is forsaken. Here it is. That doesn’t mean there aren’t people who try to do good things, but the strength of the movie (or more specifically the script), is that it doesn’t allow you to find easy answers. Often the questions seem so difficult, that an answer seems impossible. I came to this movie after watching The Pianist (which I really liked, more than The Grey Zone), because the idea of an even tougher Holocaust movie intrigued me, if that word can even fit in that context. It is a good and uncomfortable movie, with some flaws that keep it from being great, but it definitely is a movie that stays with you. Which flaws? Some of the conversations just go on to long, reminding us that the movie’s origins are in a play (and all of it is done by Tim Blake Nelson, play, screenplay, direction), but the worst part is definitely Harvey Keitel’s accent. Everyone talks in normal English, but Keitel applies the heaviest German accent you can imagine and it’s unnecessary and completely ridiculous. Some of the other actors also evoke that feeling that they really wanted to play the part of a poor, conflicted Jew, starved and desperate, but this is not a movie that should boast itself with semi-big names (sorry, Natasha Lyonne, Mira Sorvino and Steve Buscemi, even David Arquette is more convincing). It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen about the Holocaust and despite its missteps that counts for something. And the fact that you’ll probably never forget some of its images.

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Frozen (2010)

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Frozen (2010)

(spoilers ahead)

Frozen is an example of so-called “survival horror”, though it’s a weird genre, since there aren’t so many contenders. But what else could it be called? It has all the characteristics of a horror movie, only without the monsters or killers. Well, except for the wolves, but that’s my least favorite part of the movie anyway. It’s really effective in making you scared and wanting to look away, which is what a good horror movie should do. The story of three people trapped on a ski lift is inherently scary, especially because the movie makes the situation plausible. You keep wondering how they will get out and for the most part they don’t even act too stupid. The dialogue at times is pretty lame and none of the characters is really sympathetic, but the movie works anyway. And despite the wolves. The problem with the wolves is that they add drama and stakes to a situation that already is as dangerous and scary as possible. They seem perfunctory. The movie would have worked without them and they also seem implausible (even they maybe are not). Anyway, the movie is good enough, I guess, despite its flaws, just because it frightens you so much and that makes it hard to forget it. You don’t remember the flaws as much as the panic of wondering if it’s a good idea to jump off a ski lift.

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Comics Are for Everyone - Africa, Five Years From Now (Futures End)

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Comics Are for Everyone - Africa, Five Years From Now (Futures End)

This time around, I thought I look at a collection of relatively recent comics at things I noticed. Much like Daniel Quinn, I’m trying to avoid Africa for now (until I work on it with my current course), but it doesn’t hurt to take a look at it from time to time. It’s one of my favorite topics because its stereotypicalization is so widespread and accepted. It’s AFRICA, one continent where all the problems are the same everywhere and no distinct culture is really known. Africans are starving, poor and need our help. That’s the short version.

In Action Comics: Futures End, one of the issues of DC’s Futures End month, we see Clark Kent in the future (five years from now… don’t ask, it’s complicated – or rather convoluted) being another white savior.

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Generation Cynical

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Generation Cynical

How often do you hear people, especially teachers, say that the youth of today is not what it used to be, that they are lacking in intelligence, interest, motivation, anything really. “It wasn’t like this when I was young!”, “It’s so different now!”, “Oh, today’s kids…!” I often disagree with any of these assumptions, just on principle because I never think kids are dumb or worthless, but our hope and future, so it’s up to us to show them the way and not to complain about them all the time. Besides that, I think that most talk about how things were different in the past is nonsense because history rather repeats itself than to change, and while I think that some things have evolved for the worse, I disagree with most of the aspects that people talk about normally. Changes in modern generations are also not necessarily bad and rarely intentional, and often reflect what they learn in our society. Why am I saying all of this? In a recent lesson, I had the strong feeling that the kids were much different than I was at that age and I couldn’t help but wonder if that’s true and if it is, why?

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Ordinary People (1980) [Part 1]

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Ordinary People (1980) [Part 1]

(spoilers ahead)

Ordinary People is an exceptionally observant movie about families, psychological problems and relationships. It shows hard truths about people and is not idealizing anything, which is not what I had expected from a 1980 movie. Its screenplay (by Alvin Sargent) is excellent in its dialogue and structure. Robert Redford’s direction is so deliberate, his touch is almost too visible (not for me, but I assume some people might be bothered by it). The acting is flawless throughout, it’s almost impossible to pick anyone. But overall, the movie is just good in the things it has to say and how it says them. It obviously worked in 1980, but I think it’s just as relevant today.

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1-0-0, That Spells 100!

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1-0-0, That Spells 100!

Well, it might be silly to some, but I can’t help but celebrate a little that this is my 100th post! It’s 100, you know? 100 posts in about four months. Again, maybe that doesn’t sound much to you, but I did not expect that to happen when I started this blog in May and I certainly didn’t expect to hit that mark so soon. But here we are and I want to spend the time today with reflecting and analyzing what happened in that time and in my posts. So the same as I’m doing all the time, just a bit more meta and self-indulgent.

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Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

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Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Guardians of the Galaxy is the very definition of a fun movie. It’s extremely entertaining while you watch, exciting, funny and if you get into it even a little touching. It doesn’t completely hold up when it comes to its plot and all of its characters, but that’s not something you’re really aware of until after the movie. Most of the characters are brilliantly written, acted or animated, which is one of the best aspects of this movie. Rocket Raccoon and Groot alone would make a great movie, but in connection with the other characters, they work even better. Even Drax the Destroyer is surprisingly successful. The pop culture references are enjoyable and the jokes are really, really funny, which is not something you find often nowadays, where attempts at humor in a blockbuster movie are often cringe-inducing or infantile. But I couldn’t imagine another movie making a joke about Jackson Pollock and sex and getting away with it. The worst part of the movie is its boring villain, Ronan the Accuser and his scenes are the only parts of the movie that drag.

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The Three Flawed Pillars

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The Three Flawed Pillars

After over 5 years of teaching critical thinking, some ideas seem to repeat themselves, so last year I turned it around for my English course and first introduced what I think are the cornerstones for most problems in our society, before moving on specific topics where you can find those ideas. It worked insofar as that everyone is more aware of these things, but it also makes a good running joke whenever I mention them again. And the students now try to use them for an answer when I ask something. They learned fast that in most cases, they’ll be right with one of the three words I introduced. And I use those words often enough in my posts to warrant some explanation. Which words am I talking about and why are they so important? Good thing you ask, that’s what we’re here for today, kids!

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Looking Back at 1980 Week

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Looking Back at 1980 Week

As I said at the beginning of the week, this was an experiment. I had this crazy idea to do a theme week on one year and to continue doing that on random years in the future. I really enjoyed planning and writing it, but I’m not sure how well it was received. The statistics are never as clear as I wish and while the number of visitors was good, it was a bit worse than the last two weeks. I don’t take the statistics seriously enough to say it was a flop, but without any other feedback, I don’t have much to go on.

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Our Life Is a Movie: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

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Our Life Is a Movie: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

(spoilers, I guess, but either you’ve seen it already or you probably won’t ever want to anyway)

The Empire Strikes Back is not a movie I thought would ever end up here, though it’s always a challenge to find something worth discussing in popular movies like this. My motivation was in picking my favorite movie from 1980 and I realize that it’s Empire. It’s probably the best Star Wars movie because it’s so entertaining and dark at the same time, it’s never boring and the ending still breaks my heart. The music is some of the best film music ever composed and the cliffhanger at the end laughs at all those movies nowadays that call themselves Part 1 and Part 2 (except Kill Bill, maybe). It’s really a good movie and it surpasses all the other movies from 1980 for me (although, Ordinary People came in close just a few days ago, surprisingly).

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You Belong on the Radio - 1980 Edition

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You Belong on the Radio - 1980 Edition

Of course I couldn’t do a year’s theme week without looking at this year’s songs. Because there is only one 1980 week, I decided to look at the top 10 of the top songs of the year from Germany, the UK and US simultaneously, since they also overlap pretty much. Is the music of 1980 as dark, detached and depressing as everything else this week? We’re about to find out!

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This 80s Movie: Cruising (1980)

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This 80s Movie: Cruising (1980)

(spoilers ahead)

Cruising is a confused movie, confused about its intention, its story and ending, but also about what it wants to say about homosexuality. And, to get straight it, it should say something about homosexuality. Being one of the few movies to deal with the issue, it shouldn’t act like it doesn’t have an opinion on it. But the movie is so unfocused and messy that it shouldn’t be a real surprise. On the surface a crime mystery about a killer who kills gay men who indulge in the leather scene, the movie doesn’t do much but being grim, cold and dark, while having a protagonist that never allows us to know what happening inside of him. The movie got its attention only because it tackled homosexuality and supposedly showed gay sex in a graphic way before it had to be cut. Would this be a movie a killer in a heterosexual swinger scene, it probably would never have seen the light of day.

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Music Box in 1980: Joy Division's "Closer"

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Music Box in 1980: Joy Division's "Closer"

I almost couldn’t decide on an album to pick from 1980, not because there was no good music, but because there wasn’t much that spoke to me. There’s not a favorite album of mine from 1980 or something with a personal meaning. So I just picked an album I like and that I knew would offer me something to write about, Joy Division’s Closer, which was released two months after Ian Curtis had committed suicide. It is unsurprisingly dark and cold, yet undeniably powerful.

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This 80s Movie: Prom Night (1980)

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This 80s Movie: Prom Night (1980)

(spoilers ahead)

Prom Night is a terribly formulaic and terrible slasher movie. It sets up everything it needs for a by-the-numbers slasher concept and follows it through without even the slightest hint of surprise. It starts out with a wrongdoing in the past, makes a time jump of six years (in which all the characters age by about 15 years), just so that a killer can take revenge on them for what they did as kids. It’s amateurishly filmed and acted, the dialogue is boring and even the murders are uninventive. Actually, the murders astonished me the most, since there is no attempt made to graphically show them at all, although movies like this are all about showing grisly murders. A lot of them happen off-screen and it takes the movie over an hour to even get there. Considering this is one of the first examples of slasher movies, it should have been clear to anyone seeing it in 1980 that there wouldn’t be another gem like Halloween anytime soon.

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Poster of a Girl: 1980 Edition

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Poster of a Girl: 1980 Edition

It’s 1980 Week! What does that mean, you ask? Well, I decided to try out doing theme weeks from time to time, dedicating each post during that week to cultural artifacts (movies, comics, books, music) or historic events from one specific year. In the future, I will pick those years randomly, but for a start I decided on 1980, the year I was born, because, well, today’s my birthday. I don’t know how this will work out, so it’s an experiment. But I like experiments, obviously, which means I’m very excited!

To get an overview of this particular year, I thought it would be nice to look at its movie posters. I looked at all the posters of 1980 that can be found on IMP Awards and picked out the ones I found interesting. Which is still a lot (49). But because there are so many, I grouped them in categories, because many things repeat themselves. Without further ado, let’s give it up for 1980!

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