Today is my ninth sobriety anniversary. Rather than write some dramatic celebratory entry (a quick perusal of the Notes reveals surprisingly that I haven’t done this for a few years, but it was a big tradition for me back on the MySpace blog, so it feels like I still do it every year), I thought I’d share with you a little bit of my own private tradition. I have two basic traditions on the anniversary: 1: eat a meal with my dad at the Carlisle restaurant The Hamilton, which, unfortunately, is postponed while I’m living in Erie, 2: I watch the documentary “Dark Days“.
“Dark Days” is a documentary by filmmaker Marc Singer. Singer has only made this one film, but it’s impact is so grand, he’s still a rather sizeable celebrity to those of us who follow the genre. The film follows a group of homeless addicts who live in abandoned subway tunnels underneath New York City.
Now, granted, I am an alcoholic from suburban Pennsylvania who, essentially, got scared straight when I almost had to spend one night in a homeless shelter, but the people in this movie, and the life it shows, have always seemed eerily close to my heart; you can argue that I have been nowhere near these people, but I know different: I am these people, even now. I narrowly escaped it and watching things like “Dark Days” is what I need to do to remind myself, whether it is ten years sober or 30, that I have been at and over the same precipice, and that every day is a miraculous blessing.
I implore you to explore the clips of the film I’ve embedded below. Not only is it an amazing story that is prime viewing for folks in recovery, it is a masterwork of the documentary form. One must consider what Singer had to go through to make his film (after spending tons of time becoming part of the underground community and convincing them to let him film them, he then actually trained many of them to operate the filming equipment with him. A major hurdle was, of course, getting the stuff down there. Once the movie made a profit, Marc successfully used the money to get most of the addicts out of the ground and on to their feet. Some of them are successfully sober mini-celebrities, to this day).
The first clip is the first ten minutes of the film. To me, just an absolute film-making marvel. I’ve included some random clips after that. If there’s a list of things that “keep my life saved”, then “Dark Days” is definitely on it.
I don’t have a whole lot to say by way of a prelude here. Just remember I am calling this list my favorites, not “the best”. There are very few that I wanted to see that I didn’t get to see; the only ones I can think of off the top of my head are “The Artist”, “Carnage”, and “We Need to Talk About Kevin”. As in the past, I have not included documentaries in the list, but I have put a non-ordered list of my favorite docs from 2011 at the end of this entry. OK, without further ado, my list:
10. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Just because a movie is a big budget crowd pleaser that isn’t, at it’s core, about deeply held human values or sad things, doesn’t mean it isn’t a hum-dinger of a film. “MI4” is an expertly-crafted action-spy-drama that at times literally had me on the edge of my seat. Although I knew Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt was not going to perish at any point, director Brad Bird somehow makes you believe he’s going to pull the trigger on him anyway. And back for his second “mission”, Simon Pegg adds true humor and some believable heart that stops short of being hokey.
9. Beginners
Hopefully someday our culture can get to a point where we can tell stories about gay folks without everyone having to make a big deal about the fact that it is about gay folks. That sure was an unwieldy sentence. Anyway, “Beginners” tells a new kind of story about gay folks: the story of a man in his twilight years, after his wife has died, finally able to “come out” in his final few months before his death; we get to see (in various flashbacks and flash-forwards) how this intense experience effects him and his son. The father and son are played absolutely perfectly by Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor, respectively. Would be on my short list for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar.
8. Paranormal Activity 3
This choice will probably get me killed by some of you. Listen, for all I know, these movies might be horrible. All I know is, they scare the crap out of me. I am a full-on believer in the “Blair Witch”-style realism, found-footage method. Not that I find them all good (see: “The Last Exorcism”), but for the most part, they really scare the crap out of me, and when a horror movie can successfully scare the crap out of me, I am highly appreciative. And “PA3” scared me even more than the first two. The Paranormal Activity films continue to do well what most horror films—even found-footage horror films—don’t have the balls to do: keep quiet and let the content of the film scare us. That’s what “Blair Witch” did so well and that tradition is very much alive and well in this installment.
7. The Beaver
It’s a shame that the controversy surrounding Mel Gibson’s oversize problems all but buried this tiny little drama (directed by Jodie Foster, who also co-stars) about a man so overcome with depression that he resorts to communicating with the outside world through a hand puppet of a beaver. What’s so amazing is that the premise is, of course, totally ridiculous, but the film pulls it off pitch-perfect, never too serious and never too ridiculous so that by the time the film ends, you are 100% on board. This is thanks in no small part to keen direction from Foster, but also the best performance of Gibson’s career, which I do not think is faint praise (even in film’s like “Signs” Gibson is an underrated powerhouse). Hopefully, someday the pallor surrounding Gibson’s off-screen persona will lift, and the world might discover this gem for the first time.
6. Melancholia
Really, there is not enough space here for me to properly ruminate on director Lars von Trier’s most ambitious (and most commercially successful) film to date. There is a ton going on, from infidelity, to calm depression, to a rogue planet colliding with the earth causing the end of all life as we know it. Somewhere in there are metaphors both interesting and obvious, a tremendous use of Wagner’s opera “Tristan and Isolde”, Keifer Sutherland, and some of the most breathtaking cinematography of the year (courtesy of Manuel Alberto Claro, who hasn’t worked with von Trier before, which explains why this doesn’t look like a von Trier movie). This one really has to be seen to be explained; I implore you to see it.
5. Hugo
The true genius of Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” is its ability to play on many intellectual and emotional levels at once without ever coming off as a hoity-toity movie for film snobs, even though one of its most potent undercurrents is an emotional homage to the history of film. Mixed up in that homage to film are themes on the loss of the ones we love, the desire to live forever, and the infinite sadness of childhood; all these themes are viewed through the prism of the world of “Hugo” as well as through the prism of film itself. Scorsese manages to make us care about the characters he’s crafted as well as the medium they inhabit with equal passion. If you are looking for a wonder-filled cinematic thrill ride with an emotional punch, this is for you; if you want to shed a few tears and also try to piece together exactly why you’re crying, “Hugo” will work for that, too. Oh, and if you missed seeing it in 3D, you missed out big time.
4. Drive
Ryan Gosling is beyond badass in this highly-stylized, atmospheric mood piece, and Carey Mulligan provides an emotional center in what I consider her true breakthrough performance. Here, just watch this:
3. The Future
This all-but ignored sophomore indie drama from Miranda July (her of the extraordinary first-feature “Me and You and Everyone We Know” from 2005) blew me away so much that after I saw it, I sat in stunned silence in my darkened apartment for at least 15 minutes, then showered in the dark for another 15 minutes. I was no longer thinking about the movie, but my own life. It is a “drama” about “relationships”, and certainly no film that fits that category has ever been so well-aligned with my own thoughts on the subject (currently largely cynical) while also enlightening me. Warning: it is told very unconventionally and some elements of it are intentionally annoying, but I have never seen a movie quite like it, and it is deserving of much more acclaim than it has received.
2. Meek’s Cutoff
In this quiet, deceptively-rambling “Western” (one must call it a Western due to its subject matter, but it hardly fits the genre) very loosely based on real events, the viewer is often unsure exactly what events are transpiring, whose side we are on, or what, really, we’re watching. Dialogue can be difficult to hear and characters meld together. And ultimately, the mystifying, vague ending leaves many viewers feeling cheated and let down. So of course, I found it to be one of the most amazing things I’d ever seen. The film defiantly skirts film convention in non-flashy ways to tell a story that is mystifying and vague, that questions the way we see good and evil, and leaves us feeling as lost and hopeless as the characters must feel. How is that for a film being successful: making the viewers feel the same powerful, horrid emotions it’s characters feel, just as the credits roll and we are left to our own lives with the lights going up.
1. The Tree of Life
“The Tree of Life” is more than a movie. It is more than a great film. It is the guttural, visceral, all-nerves-and-tears experience of love, life after death, and the birth of the cosmos; “The Tree of Life” is the questions we ask of eternity, and it is even the answers that come back. Perhaps you think this sounds corny, or that I am overstating the case? Well, maybe I am, but I don’t think so. Be warned that this movie is told unconventionally. It does not (for the most part) have a linear plot. It has many sections that are designed more to be felt than understood. It means to convey through images and sound the experience of being alive, and being dead, and being alive after others have died before you have; it means to tie these small, individual human experiences in with the whole of the universe from the beginning of time; it asks what our human presence means to the universe, what it means to us. And yes, very famously, there are dinosaurs. And Brad Pitt. Just watch it. You might not like it, but it also might change your life.
Movies I also really liked that just missed the cut, in no particular order: “Margin Call”, “Albert Nobbs”, “The Descendants”, “A Better Life”, “The Conspirator”, “Red State”, “The Muppets”, “Midnight in Paris”, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”, “Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas”, “The Ides of March”, “J. Edgar”, “Bellflower”, “Insidious”, “Certified Copy”, “Win Win”, “Your Highness”, “Skateland”, “Take Shelter”, “The Rum Diary”, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
And my favorite documentaries of 2011: “The Interrupters”, “Cave of Forgotten Dreams”, “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front”, “We Were Here”, “Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times”, “Honest Man: the Life of R. Budd Dwyer”, “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop”.
So. That was a pretty insane trip home (and lots of other places). I’m not even sure where to begin. This may end up being a ridiculously long and disjointed blog entry. I apologize in advance. If it ends up not being extremely long and disjointed, I will come back and delete this intro, and you will never read it.
First, I should like to thank my family (Dad, Mom, Sister) for their various forms of hospitality and much-needed displays of unconditional love. Yay human spirit and the familial bond! I feel pretty damn good about my family. You guys rule! And thank you to all my friends who made me feel as if I never moved away. I am blessed beyond belief with deep, intense, loyal friendships! In addition, a big frowny face to those who I had to miss on this trip (most notably, loyal blog reader and renowned Muse, Cory. Little does she know, my next trip home is going to be so all about her, she will have to call the cops on me. And the truly lovely Mercedes, whom I am unabashedly smitten with. Also, on-again-off-again blog reader Tiff, who I had *promised* a certain something to…well, next time, ok???). I was stretched a little thin to do and see everything and everyone I wanted, but it was fairly satisfying nonetheless.
My Zany Itinerary
Let me just show you the zaniness of where I’ve been the last week and a half. I am going to include tomorrow, as I go to Pittsburgh tomorrow for a work seminar. Here’s where I was, for the most part, the last ten days:
3/25: Erie, PA/ Carlisle, PA
3/26: Carlisle, PA/ Asbury Pary, NJ
3/27: Mantua, NJ
3/28: Brooklyn, NY/ Newark, NJ
3/29: Manhattan, NY/ Mantua, NJ
3/30: Mantua, NJ/ Carlisle, PA
3/31: Carlisle, PA
4/1: Carlisle, PA
4/2: Carlisle, PA/ Erie, PA
4/3: Erie, PA
4/4: Pittsburgh, PA
4/5: Pittsburgh, PA/ Erie, PA
And I aint even tired yet. Bring. It. On.
My Newville Tour
Early on in my trip, I had a little extra time to kill early in the morning, and I drove into Newville (the small town I grew up in) and walked around the town for the first time in many years (I have been there plenty as of late, but not actually walked around). I took some pictures of major landmarks in my life, also making sure to get a few pictures of some of the places that have played large parts in some of my blog entries. Here is a bit of a pictorial tour of Newville:
My first house, 66 Big Spring Avenue. My bedroom was the top two windows on the right of the picture.
I have been trying to upload the famous picture of my mother and I admiring my grandmother’s garden, but I am having some trouble, so here is a link to that picture on Facebook. And here is a picture of that back yard area today:
One of my most popular blog entries ever was “The Fruit that Ate Itself“, about me being bullied in a local church yard. I snapped some pics of that area in current day:
The church yard itself.
The line of trees is where the dreaded swingset and slide had been.
The Senior Center where the "fight" ended. Those are the bushes I flew through in the climactic moment.
If you’ve read my blog entry “Down the Rabbit Hole“, you may be interested to see this cellar door on one of my childhood neighbor’s homes:
OK, so just a few more pics here, but not related to any previous blog, just some Seth-historic stuff:
The very spot where I got on a school bus for the very first time.
This was my corner when I was a crossign guard.
Friendies
I had almost too much fun with friendies to try to sum things up here. I’ll hit some highlights:
I surprised Kate with my presence not once but twice, and she lost. her. shit. each time. First, Michael and I surprised her at her house:
It was also on this visit that this picture of Michael happened:
A few days later, I was strolling through Carlisle wasting a few minutes before picking up another friend, when I came across Kate and her family at the local eatery The Green Room. As I was leaving them I took this pic of Kate, her husband Matt, and their son Dylan:
Let me just take this moment to say, as I was strolling around Carlisle that night, I was struck by just how freaking cool of a town it is. Those of you who still live there, please do not take it for granted. First, it is totally adorable. And such a great pedestrian town! And for a relatively small town in central Pennsylvania, it is arts-friendly. Open mic nights, free music, poetry readings, public displays of photography, and on and on, are quite common. The area known as the square and the surrounding blocks are humming with a vibrant intellectual life (not to mention some fantastic cuisine). Please partake of what the gem of a town has to offer!
My brief time with Burke was spent in some fairly intense conversation that may, in fact, make me think about my life differently. Oh, and Johnny Depp is a fucking sellout.
I spent some truly hilarious time with Jenny. Jenny is quickly becoming a Major Friend. (if her name is unfamiliar to you, this was the last woman to be an “official girlfriend”…and if my hunch is true– that I am a lifetime bachelor– she may go down in the history books as the last woman to be an official Seth girlfriend…what a distinction!). Anyway, I sure do love this woman. She has the special ability to make me laugh until I am worried about my health…without saying anything. She has a non-verbal humor akin to Kramer. She can just look at me and I lose my shit. Here we are, loving life:
Of course, you know I saw Michael, and it resulted in a moment of hilarity that I am pretty sure you “had to be there” for, but we decided that Merle Haggard had at one point recorded the “classic” song “You’re Gonna Make Daddy Fart (and Momma Aint Gonna Be Happy)”. I still laugh when I type that.
Mary and I had one helluva time trying to find parking in downtown Harrisburg—notable because it’s usually not THAT hard. Sure, those few blocks in the very center of town are tough, but we were unable to find ANY spots on the street ANYWHERE. When we finally did park (in a garage) we ended up just hanging around Strawberry Square , when in fact we had intended to go to the Susquehanna Art Museum. I’m still not sure in the least how this distraction occurred, but we had a blast. But the major news from this venture is that Mary has OK’d some photographs of herself! You may or may not know that pictures of Mary are quite rare. She just hates pictures of herself, and of course I love taking pictures of people, so this is a friction. Plus, she really is one of the most exquisite women in existence, so I always feel as though the world in general is being deprived of some joy by the absence of Mary pictures. When I take a Mary picture, I have to show her, wheneupon she then either insists on immediate deletion, OKs the picture for my own personal collection but not anyone else’s eyes, or (the most rare) OKs a picture for online distribution. So here, lucky world, are 4 new Mary pictures:
That's the back of Mary's head in the lower right.
Staying at Dad’s
It is with much chagrin that I realize I did not take a single picture of my papa and me on this trip. *sad face* Nonetheless, I must say, spending time with my dad just gets more and more pleasant as the two of us age. It never stops surprising me how we continue to grow into friends (while he retains his essential papa-ness). He is one cool dude and we somehow never run out of things to talk about.
This also marked the first time in recent memory that I have stayed at Dad’s for multiple days without my sister also being there. In this sense it was entirely unique. The last time I stayed at my dad’s by myself for more than one night was way back when I was still drinking and on-again, off-again living there. So this was new, and really, really great. In a lot of ways, it felt like a true homecoming, learning how that house and I interact when I’m a grown-up, and sober, and left all alone with it. Turns out we get along just fine. And I sleep magnificently in my old bedroom. But it’s tough getting used to that shower again.
Hey Rosetta!
I’m gonna really have to shrink down the Hey Rosetta! story, or I’ll be here all day. So, in summary:
Here are pictures from Paul and I’s show in Asbury Park, NJ. It was a fantastic time, both Paul-wise (Paul, thanks for helping me see that not all my close friends have to be women!) and band-wise. Really, one of the more satisfying concert-going experiences I’ve had.
Then, I made an audible call and went to see them by myself twice more over the next three days, in New York City (more on NYC later). Long story short, I ended up basically knowing the band. But they started talking to me. I suppose when you are a band that is really famous and successful in Canada, and then you come to the states and are playing bars where most of the people are ignoring you, and there is a short fat guy with gray hair jumping around and screaming your lyrics, when he shows up to your NEXT show in a different state, it is worth taking note. So as I was taking this picture of the chalk board advertising their show in Brooklyn, a few of the band members were walking out of the bar and saw me and introduced themselves.
Because shows like this entail a lot of waiting around (if you insist, like I do, on front row) in small bars with no “backstage” area for bands, as well as lots of changing-out of gear between bands (not to mention trips to very small bathrooms), the two shows in New York would prove extremely fertile ground for me talking to the band. This went way beyond my previous “thank you, your music has meant so much to me” that I’ve been able to give other bands. This was basically a getting-to-know-you situation. Specifically cellist Romesh Thavanathan, lead guitarist Adam Hogan, and violinist Kinley Dowling spoke quite a bit to me and I was definitely on a first-name basis with them by the end of my second New York show, and I’d had a chance to speak to every member of this six-piece band. Certainly, this was fairly incredible, but also….in some ways, not as great as you’d think. Parts of this experience were awkward. I may blog more about this at some point, just because it was pretty intriguing (ever have your favorite band watch you as they are playing?) But don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It was an amazing experience. Here is a video I took of “Red Song” at Union Hall in Park Slope, Brooklyn, followed by a few select pictures of the New York shows:
I also managed to snag handwritten setlists off the stage two of the three nights. Here are scans of the setlists:
So now, for the benefit of probably just myself and maybe Paul, here is some Hey Rosetta! setlist discussion: on the first setlist shown, Bandages was skipped. On the second shown (from my thrid concert, Manhattan) ‘Bandages’ and ‘Red Heart’ were swapped in position (as were the two songs where a swap is indicated, ‘Yer Spring’ and ‘Welcome’…and talk about a way to open a show! “Lions For Scottie” into “Welcome”!) Here are all three setlists for shows I went to this tour:
Asbury Park, NJ
1. New Goodbye
2. Yer Spring
3. New Glass
4. Bricks
5. Another Pilot
6. There’s an Arc
7. Seeds
8. Red Heart
1. New Goodbye
2. Yer Spring
3. New Glass
4. Bricks
5. Another Pilot
6. There’s an Arc
7. Welcome
8. Red Song
9. We Made a Pact
10. Seeds
11. Red Heart
12. A Thousand Suns*
*’Bandages’ is on the setlist in the 12 spot, but ‘A Thousand Suns’ was played.
Manhattan, NY
1. Lions For Scottie
2. Welcome
3. Yer Spring
4. New Glass
5. Yer Fall
6. There’s an Arc
7. I’ve Been Asleep For a Long, Long Time
8. Holy Shit
9. New Sum
10. Seeds
11. New Goodbye
Encore:
1. Bandages
2. Red Heart
And now, for the record, the sum total of Hey Rosetta! songs I’ve seen, including the two acoustic shows I saw last year:
1. Red Heart–5 times
2. Bricks–4 times
3. I’ve Been Asleep For a Long, Long Time–3 times
4. Lions for Scottie–3 times
5. Bandages–3 times
6. New Goodbye–3 times
7. Yer Spring–3 times
8. New Glass–3 times
9. There’s an Arc–3 times
10. Seeds–3 times
11. Seventeen–2 times
12. Red Song–2 times
13. We Made a Pact–2 times
14. Another Pilot–2 times
15. Welcome–2 times
16. A Thousand Suns–1 time
17. Yer Fall–1 time
18. Holy Shit–1 time
19. New Sum–1 time
Mom’s/ Sisters
So my mom now lives with my sister, which makes visiting everybody much easier! It was quite nice to see everybody all at once! In the same breath, however, I must admit it made me feel as though I did a poor job of paying ample attention to everyone. When you are seeing a gaggle of loved ones all at once for the first time in a long time, it can be a strain to give equal time. I think specifically of the nephews, who I love uncontrollably but whom I was not able to give the sort of attention they are accustomed to receiving from me. When it came down to it, my mom and my sister were the center of my focus (not to mention the antics of Pumpkin Latte). Don’t get me wrong, I had a lovely time! I guess I’m just feeling some guilt, cause those boys worked up a good amount of anticipation for my arrival and I almost certainly dissapointed. That being said, the time with Momma and Sis was marvelous. LOTS of laughs, and a new momma/ son tradition: I claim her and I are going to do the Jumble together, and then I end up freaking out over how amazing she is at it, while I add absolutely nothing to the process (she really is amazing at the Jumble). Also, I “T”d my sister, which always rules. A brief but incredibly heartwarming time. Some select pics:
Sister and Pumpkin Latte, as she was taking their picture
Sis, Me, Mom
New York
The New York trip is another thing I shall have to gloss over, or I’ll be writing this blog entry until next week. I did what I typically do: I drive right into the city, pay a thousand dollars to park, and just walk around. I usually have very little plan other than one or two fairly simple goals. This trip’s goals: see sunrise from inside Central Park, and buy a New York Times from a newsstand and read the whole thing from inside a midtown Manhattan Starbucks during the morning commute hours. I’m not sure why I wanted to do these things, but once the goals were in my mind, I could not seem to let them go. I accomplished both, and although being in Central Park during sunrise was magical, it was not easy to get any great pictures of the event, due to the vast amount of:
a) Tall trees, and
b) skyscrapers
These things blocked the view of the actual sunrise rather effectively, but feeling the world come alive from within the park was quite joyous. Here is the best picture I got of the sunrise:
I spent almost two hours in the Starbucks, enjoying my latte and an incredible issue of the NYT. I suppose for a moment I felt as hip as I’ve always suspected I am. It was a quality time.
I spent the rest of the day wandering around, taking pictures, eating, even napping briefly in the tranquil section of Central Park known as the Woodlands. I also visited, for the first time, the Central Park Zoo, which was a lovely treat. Here is some video I took of the Sea Lions being fed (and putting on a little show) followed by some pictures:
Sunset, Brooklyn
Me in Central Park
Some Things I Learned
1. 8 months is not long enough to forget how to get around (but it IS long enough to cause some occasional navigation confusion)
2. When you are a single man in your 30s who moves away from everyone he knows and doesn’t visit home for 8 months, a surprising amount of people from all demographics will just straight-up ask you about your sex life. This is fodder for an entire blog entry at some point that will be in the form of a “rant”. FYI, nobody need worry about my sex life, mkay?
3. You may think where you live is boring, but leave it for a little while and then come back; you may just find it’s really cool.
4. There are really hot ladies everywhere.
5. Don’t tell people you got fat. You may think it will make your fatness less awkward, but it makes it moreso.
6. Things change. Buildings get knocked down, businesses change their name, streets get re-directed. Accept these things as a natural course of existence. (reminds me of a Hey Rosetta! song: “The schools that we went to have all been closed./ And all of my teachers are dead, I suppose.”)
7. You can walk further than you think you can.
8. If you move and your sports allegiances change a little bit, you can just kinda keep that to yourself on your first few visits home.
9. As you leave places you have stayed for just a day or two, remember to gather all your various “chargers”. We have a lot of chargers in this day and age.
10. Family and friends really are the best things in the world, even if saying so sounds cheesy and cliche. Fuck it, it’s true!
I Almost Forgot…
Today is my 8 year sobriety anniversary! The original purpose of this vacation was for me to have off and see my loved ones leading up to the big day. (I just have to complete my anniversary tradition of watching “Dark Days” on the anniversary itself) So…yay me! But also…yay you! Thanks everybody for putting up with my horribleness when I was horrible, and then helping me live such a satisfying and fantastic life in my sobriety! What a treat, to be able to celebrate the week leading up to it in the way I did. And how neat is it that I almost forgot today was the day??? That must mean life is pretty good. I love you, everybody!
As in years past, I shall now present a full list of my Oscar predictions, so as to have the list in one place in the public sphere, on the off-chance I hit it 100%, I can point to it and do a winner’s dance.
I have bolded who I think is going to win. The people I want to win have an asterisk after them. I have predicted one major upset (in the animated film category). I don’t make predictions in either of the shorts categories, as I know nothing about them at all.
Best Picture
“Black Swan,” Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
“The Fighter” David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
“Inception,” Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
“The Kids Are All Right,” Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers “The King’s Speech,” Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
“127 Hours,” Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
“The Social Network,” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceàn Chaffin, Producers
“Toy Story 3″ Darla K. Anderson, Producer
“True Grit” Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
“Winter’s Bone” Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers*
Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network” Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech”
James Franco in “127 Hours”*
Actor in a Supporting Role Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
John Hawkes in “Winter’s Bone”*
Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech”
Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone”* Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”
Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
Helena Bonham Carter in “The King’s Speech”
Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”* Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”
Animated Feature Film
“How to Train Your Dragon” Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois “The Illusionist” Sylvain Chomet*
“Toy Story 3″ Lee Unkrich
Art Direction “Alice in Wonderland”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1″
“Inception”*
“The King’s Speech”
“True Grit”
Cinematography
“Black Swan,” Matthew Libatique “Inception,” Wally Pfister*
“The King’s Speech,” Danny Cohen
“The Social Network,” Jeff Cronenweth
“True Grit,” Roger Deakins
Costume Design “Alice in Wonderland,” Colleen Atwood
“I Am Love,” Antonella Cannarozzi
“The King’s Speech,” Jenny Beavan
“The Tempest,” Sandy Powell
“True Grit” Mary Zophres*
Directing
“Black Swan,” Darren Aronofsky*
“The Fighter,” David O. Russell
“The King’s Speech,” Tom Hooper “The Social Network,” David Fincher
“True Grit,” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Documentary (Feature)
“Exit through the Gift Shop,” Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz*
“Gasland,” Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
“Inside Job,” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs “Restrepo,” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
“Waste Land,” Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley
Film Editing
“Black Swan”
“The Fighter”
“The King’s Speech”
“127 Hours”* “The Social Network”
Foreign Language Film “Biutiful,” Mexico
“Dogtooth,” Greece
“In a Better World,” Denmark
“Incendies,” Canada
“Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi),” Algeria
Makeup
“Barney’s Version,” Adrien Morot*
“The Way Back,” Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng “The Wolfman,” Rick Baker and Dave Elsey
Music (Original Score)
“How to Train Your Dragon,” John Powell
“Inception,” Hans Zimmer* “The King’s Speech,” Alexandre Desplat
“127 Hours,” A.R. Rahman
“The Social Network,” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Music (Original Song)
“Coming Home” from “Country Strong,” Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
“I See the Light” from “Tangled,” Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
“If I Rise” from “127 Hours,” Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong* “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3,” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
Sound Editing “Inception,” Richard King*
“Toy Story 3,” Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
“Tron: Legacy,” Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
“True Grit,” Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
“Unstoppable,” Mark P. Stoeckinger
Sound Mixing “Inception,” Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick*
“The King’s Speech,” Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
“Salt,” Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin
“The Social Network,” Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten
“True Grit,” Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland
Visual Effects
“Alice in Wonderland,” Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1,” Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
“Hereafter,” Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell “Inception,” Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb*
“Iron Man 2,” Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
“127 Hours,” Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy “The Social Network,” Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
“Toy Story 3,” Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
“True Grit,” Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“Winter’s Bone,” Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini*
Writing (Original Screenplay)
“Another Year,” Written by Mike Leigh
“The Fighter,” Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson “Inception,” Written by Christopher Nolan*
“The Kids Are All Right,” Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
“The King’s Speech,” Screenplay by David Seidler
Despite the fact that I am only a passing Rolling Stones fan, the documentary “Gimme Shelter” remains my favorite documentary ever, firmly within my top ten of overall films. First, it’s a Maysles brothers film, and they are basically the Copolla or Kubrick of documentarians. Their conception of where to put the camera and how long to keep it there are without peer.
Secondly, “Gimme Shelter” hinges upon the Stones’ free concert at Altamont that ended in murder. If you don’t know the story, read it here. The Maysles use the fact that folks watching the film almost invariably know how the story ends to build up a surprising amount of dread. I could not find a great clip on YouTube of the concert leading up to the bloodshed; but please watch the film if you haven’t to see THE example of masterful documentary editing. You can feel the exact moment that Mick Jagger knows he is fucked. He has a crowd of 200,000 in front of him, no security except fucking Hells Angels, and people are not listening to him. And if he STOPS playing, things could be even worse. It is tense, dread-filled, high drama that ended in real death.
The Maysles also make the interesting decision to intercut the concert footage with footage of Jagger watching the concert footage after the show is over and everyone knows someone died. These reaction shots from Jagger are incredibly interesting—and dare I say sometimes accusatory—and by far the most cunning use of the documentary medium I’ve ever seen. The Maysles should be household names (they went on to make documentaries like “Grey Gardens” and “Running Fence”).
There is, as far as I know, no more unique, pivotal, brilliant use of the documentary medium on American culture than Albert and David Maysles’ “Gimme Shelter”.
(oh also, there is some concert footage in the film that is not from Altamont. This footage is also extremely interesting, as it chronicles a very interesting and brief time in rock concert history: the very beginning of arena rock shows. It’s very interesting and clear that they were still figuring things out. I would kill to go to a show from this time period!)
And for the love of everything, don’t try to watch this using Internet Explorer!
Today’s Oscar blurb: While there’s always one major, controversial snub in the Documentary category, no nomination this year for “Waiting for Superman” is just kinda weird.
Due to the severe limitations of “top ten lists”, as well as the sheer amount of crap I love each year, I’ve decided to institute this general list of 50 things I plain-old loved in 2010. Most will be things that did not appear on my music or movies list, as well as things created, released, or performed in 2010, but I’m not going to limit myself with actual ground rules. Here are, quite simply, in no particular order, 50 things I loved in 2010:
50. The New York Times
Hear hear for a newspaper that still dares to have sections devoted to important things like science, business, and art. I’ve found it difficult to spend less than two hours on a copy—even on a day like Tuesday.
49. Red Bull Cola
It will probably be a short-lived experiment, but the delicious and almost-natural cola from Red Bull was a tasty shot of adrenaline (even if it was overpriced).
48. Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson in “The Other Guys”.
The movie itself may have been lacking, but these two good sports’ 5 minutes of screen time made the enterprise worth the price of admission.
47. “Dancing with the Stars”
For awhile, I hated myself for this guilty pleasure, until I realized it was actually genuinely compelling television. Cynical hipster naysayers need to actually watch a season (I should know–I am a cynical hipster naysayer)
46. The segment on NPR’s “Whad’Ya Know? with Michael Feldman” where they listed fake WikiLeaks
Far and away the most I’ve ever laughed at the radio.
45. The new Ansel Adams photographs
Whether or not they are actually Ansel Adams’ is still in dispute—but they’re terrific photographs anyway
The documentary that reveals (gasp!) how Prop 8 was engineered by the institution of the Mormon church. Enraging, and engaging.
42. VEVO on YouTube
Sure, this music channel on YouTube is 100% a corporate whore, but my year has been exponentially enhanced by concert footage of my favorite bands not shot by a drunk frat boy with a first generation iPhone.
41. James Franco’s “Palo Alto”
Franco’s collection of short stories is good—real good.
40. James Franco on “General Hospital”
Yeah, it’s on before I leave for work, so sue me if I watch it every now and then! Franco’s performance as–ahem–Franco was an over-the-top piece of performance art so nuanced (with nods to the real-world oddity of James Franco being on a soap opera) that I often found myself stunned something so lovely and sophisticated was happening on American daytime television.
39. James Franco in “127 Hours”
Portraying a not-so-likeable man within a bare-bones script who also has to cut off his own arm, Franco manages to make us like him, and makes us want to be better people, too.
38. James Franco’s art opening in New York
James Franco opened a gallery exhibit of his art in New York this year, and although not all of it is great, some of it is incredible, and it’s all very valid. To imagine a Hollywood star opening an art show he says–out loud–is about the “sexual confusion of adolescence” makes me think we may be living in a culture with, well…culture. See some of the art here.
37. James Franco in “Howl”
So, the movie kinda stinks, but Franco hits an underappreciated home run as the poet Allen Ginsburg, an unlikeable, grizzly gay man with so many conflicting character traits, it’s an amazing juggling act Franco had to do–and a bona fide joy to see. Also, John Hamm is in the movie, too!
36. Salvation Army Stores
Thanks to this discovery, the visual palette that is me (it seems absurd to call what I have a “fashion sense”) is evolving for the first time in a decade. (read: more sweaters)
35. Joel Stein’s column in TIME magazine
The most self-absorbed man in the newsmagazine business continues to get funnier, even as his subjects get more serious. Every week, I’m sure he’ll be arrested.
34. The Mac Wrap at McDonalds
I seem to be the only human alive not disgusted by this, either literally, morally, or some other, more etheral way. But I’m not disgusted. I’m delighted.
33. “Gimme Shelter” performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony by U2, Mick Jagger, and Fergie.
Rock and roll heaven. An absolute orgasm. And I don’t even like U2!
32. The repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Because even republicans want to get into Heaven.
31. Jonathan Franzen’s “Freedom”
Franzen is this generation’s Hemingway. And “Freedom” is his “A Farewell to Arms”. Read it. Just do it.
30. The March to Restore Sanity
I wasn’t there, and I didn’t see a lot of it, but I love it anyway.
29. The “LOST” finale
It’s much debated, but I was never an “I need answers to X, Y, and Z, and I need them freaking spelled out for me” kinda guy. I didn’t have LOST theories. I work more by “feel”. And the finale certainly felt right. I still cry, every time.
28. The “twist” ending of “Remember Me”
Everybody hates it. I love it. What’s new?
27. The Chilean miners
Seriously? This story was too good to be true. If they made this movie and it was fictional, you’d be all like “No way this would happen like this.” Just an unbelievable story. The rare event of real news being real entertaining–and then uplifting.
26. John Updike’s “Endpoint”
Sadly, this posthumous collection is the last poetry that will ever be released by Mr. Updike. Luckily, it’s amazing (but, also, terribly terribly sad.)
25. “The Good Wife” on CBS
I’ve just discovered it, so I have to get caught up, but it is tickling me.
24. Seeing Art Speigelman give a talk at Dickinson University
Seeing the legendary literary graphic novelist give a highly entertaining and informative talk was one of the live event highlights of my year, and nobody had a guitar.
23. My super-secret crush, The View‘s Sherri Shepard.
I will do unspeakble things to this woman. In the good way.
22. Mila Kunis and–yes–James Franco in “Date Night”
See #48 and substitute these actor’s names.
21. The comeback of The Atlantic
One of the oldest and most respected magazines in the world revamps itself and somehow does not end up sucking. In fact, it’s now better than ever, and just announced a profit for the first time in a decade. And thankfully, it is somehow still completely pompous.
20. Michael Vick
I sure know when to get back into Philadelphia sports, don’t I??? I simply love this real-life tale of redemption; if I didn’t believe in second chances, my own life would probably look a little bit different.
The Netflix-like service provides you with rotating art prints (and a neato frame). Sure, they don’t do much but hang there, but it’s a great way to explore what you like and don’t like about art. It’s interesting to find how your relationship with a piece of art changes as it hangs in your home; much different than seeing it for 5 minutes in a gallery.
17. Dogs
Still the best thing going.
16. “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon”
Fallon has really hit a stride that is pure magic. Sure, he’s not breaking new ground like his competition Craig Ferguson (who’s got a bit of briliiance working, as well), but Fallon’s show works miracles within a formula. Delicious.
15. The Fusco Brothers
The smartest, funniest comic strip in (or probably NOT in) your local newspaper just keeps getting funnier. And smarter. And harder to find.
14. BuyBack$
A store that is just cheap, used DVDs, CDs, and Blu-Rays? Yeah. I’m kinda all over that.
13. The re-release of new-age symhony In C.
Composer Terry Riley’s experimental, semi-electronic classical piece In C was re-released on CD this year, and it is just as addictive as when I first owned it back in high school. Shades of just about all my current favorite artists can be heard in this breakthrough work.
12. Cherry Crush
Because it’s fucking delicious.
11. “What Up With That?” sketches on Saturday Night Live
This is by far the most enjoyable recurring sketch on SNL I’ve seen in years. It has a concrete element of the absurd, and a perfect setting for uproarious celebrity cameos. And Keenan Thompson is a genius, I don’t care what you say! Click here for a selection of this year’s What Up With That’s on Hulu.
10. Roles For Women
There’s still not nearly enough meaty roles for women in movies—Hollywood, indie, or otherwise—but this year saw a few choicer roles than before, thanks to dandy’s like “The Kids Are All Right”, “Please Give”, and “Secretariat”.
9. Dan Simmons’ “The Terror”
One of the most interesting, and also more difficult, novels I’ve ever read. Simmons’ explorers-trapped-in-icelocked-ships-being-terrorized-by-unseen-monsters-yet-also-slightly-based-on-historical-fact-of-Franklin’s-lost-expedition has got to be the world’s first historical fiction gothic horror novel. And it scared the shit out of me.
8. Cleveland
It really does rock.
7. slate.com
The one-time almost-sad story of an great website gone bad is now a must-read internet newsmagazine. I have it set as my homepage.
6. Blu-Ray discs in Reboxes
Hey thanks.
5. The first fight scene in “The Book of Eli”, where Denzel cuts that dude’s hand off.
OK, so the rest of the movie is kinda hum-drum, but that knife scene by the underpass with above-mentioned amputation is pure badass movie magic.
4. Free concerts in the square in downtown Buffalo
I got a free front-row Ed Kowalczyk show, courtesy of the city of Buffalo, in a very attractive, quaint little square with a big statue of some dude (Mr. Buffalo?) in the center. Can’t wait to see next year’s schedule!
3. Katie Couric doing CBS’s Evening News
I just plain trust her. A throwback to old-school news.
2. The poster for The National’s album “High Violet”.
Good art and good music, all affordable? Sign me up. Check out the poster here.
1. “The Expendables”
The movie was pretty bad, but I’d watch these guys pop popcorn.
I swear, I am not trying to just be “different” with my list this year, although it does look a bit different from most of the year-end lists I’ve seen so far. It just felt like a year of great movies being overlooked (or, in my opinion, completely mis-read by the critics). It was a great year for movies, with both a plethora of hidden gems and a healthy dose of well-publicized quality films. And don’t get me wrong: a lot of the much-talked-about Awards-bait movies really are great, and they made the list, too. Also make sure to see the “honorable mentions” section after the list for movies that just barely missed the cut.
This year I’ve been able to see just about every movie with major awards buzz (or major indie cred) so I feel as though this is the best year-end movie list I’ve done. The only movies I wish I could have seen before making the list are: “Blue Valentine”, “Rabbit Hole”, “Another Year”, “I Love You Philip Morris” and I haven’t seen “Toy Story 3”, but I have never cared about the Toy Story movies.
So, here’s the list:
10. Ondine
Neil Jordan’s mermaid-out-of-water film is absolutely the saddest, most serious mermaid film ever made. It’s a fantastic show of cinematography meets soundtrack, and is a career best performance for Colin Farrell. It’s also a pretty good movie about alcoholism!
(“Ondine” is currently available to watch instantly on Netflix)
9. Exit Through the Gift Shop
This was definitely the year of the “meta-doc”; documentaries wherin you could not tell exactly what was real, how much was fictional, who exactly was making the documentary, and what they were “trying to say”. “Exit Through the Gift Shop” seperates itself from the pack by being a movie claiming to be made by Banksy (the world’s most famous graffiti artist and also probably the world’s most elusive human being, to the point that one could have a lengthy discussion about whether he actually exists. But–he does, ok?) But aside from the intriguing Banksy element, the entire film (without for a moment actually seeming like it) is a long meditation on the nature of art unlike anything on film since Orson Welles’ “F for Fake”. In the end, the film manages to ask if itself, as a film, is even worth your time; in essence, is the question even worth asking? (and what does it mean if a painting is worth more than a house?)
8. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
This was a cult classic the moment it was released. In turns hilarious, action-packed, and heartfelt, it’s also chock-a-block full of insider cultural references and populist brain candy. Plus, the best Brandon Routh cameo since “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”
7. Let Me In
I had been a huge fan of the original version of this film, 2008’s “Let the Right One In”. That film, a slow-moving, quiet Swedish meditation on childhood, eternal love and–oh yeah, vampires–is certainly an acquired taste and a nearly singular event in the world of movies. When I heard there was going to be an American remake, I feared the worst. (American re-makes of recent horror movies tend to make them all look like teenage slasher flicks). I didn’t even go to see the this year’s remake until it was in the dollar theater (and Mary had harangued me about it enough, insisting it was really good.) So I wnet, and it was really good. In fact, some days I think I like it better than the Swedish original. It maintains the contemplative, dirge-like heart of the original while satisfying what I did not realize was my desire to see just a little bit more vampire ass-kicking. (and the one-shot interior of a car rolling down a cliff is joltingly energizing.) And much kudos to the remake for maintaining the subtle yet gut-wrenching end of the first film and not feeling the need to show us more than we needed to see.
6. 127 Hours
Danny Boyle’s movie about the real-life hiker who had to cut his own arm off is as mesmerizing as the reviews would have you believe: visually arresting, sometimes shocking, with the performance of a lifetime by James Franco (who I crown this year’s all-around Most Talented Man); Boyle, Franco and crew explore the very pit of human nature in what could have been a treacly, overcoming the odds story but what is instead a “Trainspotting” for the 2000s.
5. Black Swan
It’s not very often that a gothic horror dance drama opens wide in American theaters, and rarer still that one of today’s most exciting filmmakers (Darren Aronofsky) teams up with some of the most under-utilized actresses in the business to make a movie that gradually makes them very unattractive. (that is praise) It’s not quite as creepy as the commericials make it look, but it was more “unsettling” than I’d expected. Points scored for guts alone. Also, like “Ondine”, a gorgeous pairing of visuals and music, often in hideous juxtaposition.
4. Jack Goes Boating
Philip Seymour Hoffman’s directorial debut (from a screenplay by Bob Glaudini based on his celebrated play) is certainly the most ignored film of the year. It’s theme of life never quite being the way we envision it—that relationship that is not perfect, the dinner that didn’t taste right, the car that you allowed to get dirty—is a difficult nut to crack, but Hoffman pulls it off with brio via a series of scenes in which his character, Jack, mimes his visualizations for his ideal life in the hopes that they’ll come to fruituion (including, naturally, boating). More than any film this year, “Jack Goes Boating” has stuck with me and influenced my worldview (it doesn’t score higher on the list due to a few minor characterization flubs). Also, thanks go to this movie for breathing renewed life into hipster-favorite band Fleet Foxes’ masterpiece self-titled album.
3. Inception
I’ve probably blogged more than enough about this movie this year already. You know how I feel about it. A nutty head-trip on the level of huge blockbusters like “Star Wars” that is actually about the sanctity of the human mind and the mysteries of memory, filmed like a technicolor Escher painting and sporting the most adventurous film score in decades. If Hans Zimmer doesn’t win an Oscar for this score, I’m moving to Canada.
2. Winter’s Bone
To simply read the plot synopsis of “Winter’s Bone” makes the film sound trite and cliche: a young girl living in the country, taking care of her nearly comatose mother and two young siblings, must find her absentee bail-jumping father or the bank will take the family home. But the plot itself is nearly forgotten in a maze of bizarre complications, both byzantine and grotesque. We follow our lead character (a breaking-through Jennifer Lawrence) through a series of back-country set pieces so authentic and abyssmal that you can almost smell the cat piss inside, and the cow shit outside. Although it is neither set in nor was it filmed in Pennsylvania, it is a world I recognize: backyards alitter with empty chicken coops, car engines and sun-bleached plastic swingsets, and in the houses men and women with rusty shotguns and unwashed flannel shirts and lice infestations. This is a world filled with angry people who do vicious things, and they do not want to help Jennifer Lawrence’s character on her mission to save her family. There is very little redemption in “Winter’s Bone” (though there is some) but it is a vivid, disheartening snapshot of a world almost never portrayed.
1. I’m Still Here
That’s right. My #1 movie is the Joaquin Phoenix “documentary” that just about everybody seems to hate. Well, first, it is not in any way a documentary, and second, it’s totally amazing.
I admit, on first viewing, I was also unsure how much was real and how much was fake. Either way, I knew immediately that I loved it. The “character” of Joaquin is a horrible man undergoing an almost comically difficult transformation. His friends (including Casey Affleck) seem to care very little, and facilitate his destruction to the very end. The final shot of the film is a cinematic kick to the balls that, quite literally, haunts my dreams.
A viewing of the filmmaker’s commentary on the DVD (which includes tracks by both Affleck and Phoenix) reveals in no uncertain terms that not one moment of the film is “documentary”. This is a fictional movie, which had a screenplay and everything. The one major difference between “I’m Still Here” and other fictional films is that, built into the story is a need for the film to be played out in public, with the world at large believing the events to be real. Rather than a “hoax”, this is just a natural necessity of the plot of the film. When viewed 20 years from now, after Phoneix’s “public meltdown” is long since forgotten, “I’s Still Here” will be able to be seen context-free and the nature of the masterpiece might then finally become clear.
(on a sidenote, mere weeks ago Entertainment Weekly quizzically wondered why “I’m Still Here” had not submitted itself for consideration in the Documentary category of the Oscars. Needless to say, this enflamed me. Had nobody at the world’s foremost entertainment magazine watched the film and then the commentary track? I promise you, world, there is no doubt that this movie is fictional and is intended to be seen as fictional. For instance, just a few minutes into the film—when watching the commentary track—Joaquin Phoneix’s “assistant” is seen on screen, at which point he says her “real name” and tells us “she’s the actress that played my assistant in ths movie.” This kind of reveal is repeated over and over again thoughout the commentary. You know. Like in a real movie.)
Never have I seen such bold, ballsy, artful filmmaking. There is, in the end, little “point” to the exercise. It is not a meditation on the nature of fame, or on the heriditary nature of drug-addled falls-from-grace. It is a character study, but an intensive one, and like all character studies, in the end analysis it makes us come face to face with our own characters, who we are, and what is right with us and what is wrong with us.
(“I’m Still Here” is currently available to watch instantly on Netflix)
Honorable mentions:
“True Grit”, “The Social Network”, “The Town”, “The Kids Are All Right”, “The Fighter”, “Ghost Writer”, “Greenberg”, “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work”, “Babies”, “Tron Legacy”, “Fair Game”, “Paranormal Activity 2”, “The Tempest”, “Jackass 3D”, “Secretariat”, “Please Give”, “A Solitary Man”
1. A few hours ago, I was at a place called Chloe Pizza here in Carlisle. I was there because, even though it seems to be your typical “strip mall” pizza shop (it’s the place by Giant supermarket) I have found it to have the best pizza in town. So I was eating a coupla slices, watching CNN on the TV they have in there. During a commercial break, some commerical comes on (I have no idea what it was for) and it started out with this line: “What if taking a chance didn’t exist?” I found this line so ridiculous and phony that I shouted “Oh my God!”. Note: I was far from the only person in the joint, but I was dining alone. Can you say embarrassing?
2. There’s certainly going to be a long blog about this in the near future, but I just want to put it out there that Pearl Jam is most likely not my favorite band anymore. I know to some of you, this seems like no big deal, while others of you may find this news mortifying. PJ was such a big part of how I defined myself for so many years. What’s keeping me from making an official announcement is that I have no idea what replaces PJ as my favorite band; I may no longer have just one favorite band. Things just don’t seem that cut-and-dried to me anymore. I still do and always will love Pearl Jam—big problem is, I don’t really listen to them much anymore. I’ll update on this once I’ve got it all worked out.
3. It’s official: something’s wrong with my back.
4. I just watched this. You should too:
5. As I was getting out of my car after I ate at Chloe Pizza, the NPR program I had been listening to (“Talk of the Nation”)—which I hadn’t really been paying attention to—must have been discussing something terribly interesting. I heard this just before I turned this ignition off:
“—and the world’s largest armada of advanced underwater robots is on it’s way—”
I daren’t turn the ignition back on to hear the rest.
Just for the record, on December 26th, I posted these guesses to the nominations for the documentary Oscar:
–The Cove
–Food, Inc.
–The Beaches of Agnes
–Burma VJ
–Which Way Home
The actual nominations are:
–The Cove
–Food, Inc.
–The Most Dangerous Man in America
–Burma VJ
–Which Way Home
I was ONE off—no “Beaches of Agnes” but “Most Dangerous Man” instead. Frankly, I am pretty friggen proud of that. You may think that was easy but it was not!
I just had to do documentaries separately from films this year; there was simply no way I was going to be able to choose a top ten films including docs. Unfortunately, although I’ve seen some really great documentaries this year, there are also a decent amount I haven’t been able to see yet and am not sure when I’ll get to see them. The ones I haven’t seen yet include: Outrage, Burma VJ, Garbage Dreams, The Most Dangerous Man in America, It Might Get Loud, Under Our Skin, and Which Way Home. I’d have waited to make my list if it looked like I’d get to see any of these really soon, but it’s not looking that way. So, without further ado, my favorite documentaries of the year:
10. Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders
This emotional and tense doc follows four doctors in war-torn Liberia; what could have been a bleeding-heart paint-by-numbers routine is a fully alive, vibrant, scary film.
9. Tyson
As I said immediately after I saw this, I’m still not sure if it’s actually any good as a piece of film or art. It just generally confused my sensibilities. But one thing is for sure, and that is that it has stuck with me, and any mention of Mike Tyson is now, in my mind, fully colored by this odd, affected, bizarre portrait of the man. One also wonders—as one often does in the most interesting of documentaries—how much of the material is about the subject, and how much is about the filmmaker.
8. The Beaches of Agnes
7. Anvil: The Story of Anvil
What I like so much about “Anvil: The Story of Anvil” is not the music. That aspect is downright horrible. No, what I like about it is the two distinct ways the film can be read: either as a joyous affirmation that our dreams are always within reach, or a sad proclamation that we should all, eventually, give up and settle (lest we risk being ridiculous). In the end, the film seems to say that the best path is a bit of both.
6. Mugabe and the White African
“Mugabe and the White African” is an incredibly exciting and, dare I say it—important film, and I certainly would have ranked it much higher—maybe even #1—if it weren’t for the fact that I felt aspects of it were a tad staged.
5. Capitalism: A Love Story
I know, I know, this movie has it’s share of haters. But I thought the ideas were big, but presented with alot of heart (and difficult concepts were made easy to understand), but most importantly, while past Moore films have left me feeling enraged and despondent, “Capitalism” made me angry–and extremely sad. The only problem is that the issue in this movie is so big, the individual feels helpless against it, which is a shame, since it’s the closest Moore’s come yet to moving me to actual action.
4. Valentino: The Last Emperor
There are two distinct ways to see this movie: either as an awed look at one of the last geniuses of the fashion industry, or as a final revelation that the fashion industry is full of slathering buffoons who don’t have those closest to them fooled in the least. I, obviously, fall into the latter camp. Scenes in which everyone is being very serious, or frantic, or sad, about a dress, played very comically to me, as this uber-serious Valentino tries to not laugh out loud at his heist of fame. One can’t help but think of Bernie Madoff—like the great swindler, Valentino seems to just be waiting to be found out. In our celebrity-drenched culture, we need more looks behind the curtain like this one.
3. Every Little Step
If you’re familiar with the plot of the musical A Chorus Line, then you’ll understand how genius of a concept it is to make a documentary of the audition process for the Broadway revival of the musical. It works in layers: as a keen post-modern life-imitates-art gimmick, as a deconstruction of the artistic process, as a statement on the disposability of individuals as artists, and as a celebration of those same individuals. Worth repeated viewings.
2. Food, Inc.
You’ve probably heard of this by now and don’t need me to jawbone you anymore about it. Watch it. I haven’t become a vegetarian yet, but believe this: it has changed the way I eat.
The Cove is everything I want in a documentary: it has something to say (the issue is Dolphins, but it’s somehow made a fresh issue again), it has interesting people in it, it has moments of excitement, and it ultimately acknowledges it is a documentary. Whether you give a shit about dolphins or not, methinks you’ll care for at least two hours if you watch The Cove. I have no idea why I cannot get these italics to go away.
Now, I am going to go out on a major limb here and predict which five documentaries will be nominated for the Oscar this year. (Please note, if you are a magazine reading person, then you know that none of the major entertainment mags have made their predictions yet.) If I am right on ALL FIVE, somebody has to give me something. I’m also going to guess the winner, but this is only my guess if I am right about all 5 nominees. If (as will almost certainly be the case) I am not right about all 5 noms, I will most likely change my guess going into the Oscar ceremony. OK, my guesses:
–The Cove
–Food, Inc.
–The Beaches of Agnes
–Burma VJ
–Which Way Home
1. I have this pesky head and chest cold that kind of refuses to become “fully realized”. I cough about 30 times a day but not really really badly. My nose is stuffed up but not terribly. I’m sneezing like a madman. Now I have a *minor* fever. It has been this way for about four days and I’m starting to get pissed, cause I KNOW it’s going to get worse before it gets better….why don’t you just get on with it, cold?
2. Have lost my Philip Larkin Collected Poems. Am freaking out.
3. If you like documentaries, and/or amazing, enthralling stories, may I recommend Deep Water, a truly incredible story about a round-the-world yacht race (it’s alot more interesting than the description sounds).
4. Did you know Abe Lincoln was colorblind?! It’s true!
5. Going to New York with my sister and my mom in a week…how friggen exciting is that?
6. Great nonsense from Deep Water: “New Equal Footing Mermaids Stop”
7. How many ways do I hate winter? 593. And yet, I am somehow managing to be as happy as I can remember in years recently. How do I account for this? My body slowly stopping dying. Quitting smoking and getting in shape is an incredible experience! I almost feel like I’m back on that “pink cloud” you experience in early sobriety. Life rules.
8. A man enters a restaurant. He gives the waiter his order of eggs benedict, but before the waiter walks away, the man says “Wait, wait…can you have the cook put that on this hubcap?”, and as he says this, the man reaches down into a bad he’s brought with him and prodices a very nice, shiny hubcap. “Sure,” the waiter says, clearly baffled. Shortly thereafter, the waiter returns with the man’s eggs benedict, served on the hubcap as requested. Before he walks away, the waiter says, “Excuse me sir, but can I just ask why you wanted your eggs benedict on a hubcap?” “Sure,” the man says. “There’s no plate like chrome for the hollandaise.” Christmas rules!
Notes From the Fire 
