Due to unforgiving work hours and multiple out-of-town trips, I have neglected both the consumption blog and the consumption itself. What follows is a detail-free account of what I've not posted.
April 11:
The Love Movement (1998) by A Tribe Called Quest - I don't see why everyone hates it so much, but it ain't good. (5.5)
Visqueen (2007) by Unsane - Sounds like a dirty mix of already pretty dirty-sounding bands Future of the Left and Engineer. It's wonderful. (9.0)
April 12:
La Pointe-Courte (1955) directed by Agnes Varda - A mesmerizing, though far from perfect, early Nouvelle Vague entry. (7.0)
April 14:
Cabin in the Woods (2012) directed by Joss Whedon - The most fun I've had in the theater in a long time. (8.5)
April 16:
Lockout (2012) directed by James Mather and Stephen St. Leger - Not very fun. (5.5)
April 24:
Seven Bells (2012) by Secrets of the Moon - Dark and slow, almost gothic black metal. Worth the listen. (6.5)
Women & Work (2012) by Lucero - The first half represents their best work since Tennessee. The back half dragsa bit, but the whole is still a fine effort (8.0)
April 26:
Declaration of War (2012) directed by Valerie Donzelli - A modern story of adult children trying to deal with their toddler's cancer. It's full of vibrant camera-work, quick editing, a musical number, and multiple narrators that all give it the feel of a modern Nouvelle Vague film. (8.5)
Cropsey (2009) directed by Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zemen - A well-focused doc, but it couldn't hold my attention for 90 minutes. (6.5)
April 27:
A Storm of Swords (2000) by George R. R. Martin - Each entry in the A Song of Fire and Ice has been better than the last. This is a book just filled with Holy Shit moments. My first book on the blog! (9.5)
April 28:
"Check It Out! With Dr. Steve Brule", Season 2 - Not as funny or fresh as the first season, but John C. Reilly is still doing some great things with the doofus character. Check out the finale, "Friends and Death." (7.0)
I forgot to write down the dates:
The Manitou (1978) directed by William Girdler - An extremely silly horror starring a never more boring Tony Curtis (at least as far as I've seen him). The monster is creepy. Too bad he only exists for 10 minutes. (5.0)
Things to Come (1936) directed by William Cameron Menzies - The future as predicted by H.G. Wells. It's admirable for its technical ambition. The truncated version I saw through Criterion on Hulu was hard to follow, and a couple key performances felt stiff. (7.0)
Walker (1987) directed by Alex Cox - a hallucinatory trip to Nicaragua with a brilliant Ed Harris. (7.5)
May 4:
The Avengers (2012) directed by Joss Whedon - Easily the best film from the recent Marvel universe. It's fun and funny, and sometimes intelligent. I could expect nothing more from my summer blockbusters. (8.0)
May 7:
One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - There isn't much to say except that it is absolutely beautiful. In every way. It is a perfect piece of work. The Blog's first perfect score! (10)
May 8:
My Man Godfrey (1936) directed by Gregory La Cava - Quite clever and, more importantly, very funny. William Powell is the man! (8.5)
I Married a Witch (1942) directed by Rene Clair - Along with Clair, this film had on board Preston Sturges as producer, the beautiful Veronica Lake as the lead, and an uncredited script rewrite by Dalton Trumbo. I wish the group had turned out something more interesting than this mildly amusing film.
May 10:
Live (1975) by Magma - I don't like Magma. This I have confirmed. (5.5)
Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969) by Crosby, Stills & Nash - A classic. Better than Deja Vu. Deal with it. (9.0)
Diary of a Country Priest (1951) directed by Robert Bresson - Could a quiet tale of a priest, struggling to get his small town to accept him, really be Bresson's most accessible work? I certainly wouldn't have guessed it before. (8.5)
That's a light load for a whole month. Hopefully things go back to normal. I've been too long without a Zatoichi fix.
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