4.1 ~ Documentary of the Week

"Chain Camera" (2001)

From Netflix: "Award-winning director Kirby Dick gave video cameras to 10 students to record their lives at Los Angeles's John Marshall High School (the same high school used in the filming of Grease and Buffy the Vampire Slayer) -- with no limitations on what they could shoot. After one week, the cameras were given to 10 new students, and so on, forming a virtual chain letter and a portrait of young America at the turn of the 21st century."

This documentary takes place in LA during the 99-00 school year...Just as the description above says, several students were asked to document their lives for a week, then pass the video cameras on, making a chain letter of sorts. Of the hundreds of students that participated, 16 of their stories made it to the film. The videos are completely uncensored, so it's an eye-opening view of modern teenage life that very few people get to truly experience unless they've lived it...I started high school the year this was filmed, so I relate to the stories in here, and though I haven't lived these particular stories, there are elements I feel I have lived myself, or that maybe someone I know has been through.

The first girl is a very pretty Asian girl...she seems relatively normal at first glance, but she soon lets us know that she was bulimic at some point, that she runs away from home and frequently finds herself homeless, begging her friends for money and underwear, and that she aspires to be a stripper. Another featured student is an Ethiopian girl who is underwhelmed and disillusioned at the American experience because the propaganda in her country led her to believe she'd have many more rights and freedoms here. Considering that the city I live in is predominantly comprised of immigrants, and many of the kids I went to school with were born in other countries, this is something I can personally relate to. And then there's Cinnamon, the "boring" girl that is so smart and opiniated, that people automatically are intimidated by her and write her off. That I COMPLETELY identify with. I was THE smart girl in class since I can remember, and I always felt invisible because of it. In high school, I decided to take advantage of my intelligence and turn my smarts into a weapon, so I became "the girl you don't want to mess with", which I MUCH preferred but meant much drama in order to keep people in check. Ahh, the wisdom of age, when you realize you don't have to be any ONE thing to be happy and self-actualized...

I found watching this kind of surreal, because I see a seventeen year old as a kid (My little brother is 17 now) and yet I remember being seventeen, and making very adult decisions that I was sure I could handle then. These kids are months away from being adults, and yet they are KIDS. It's such a crazy time in one's life...What made it even more surreal is that I used to have a video diary when I was 17 that I recently ran into, and it AMAZED me at how candid I was about sex, relationships, therapy, EVERYTHING. I was so much more AWARE than I give 17 year olds credit for, even though I'm only 23 now. On the one hand, it seems that maybe my 17 was more mature and had more of a spark than today's 17 (and most of the time, that's EXACTLY what I think), but on the other hand maybe my parents thought the same way about me. Crazy.

Incredibly interesting film about racism, eating disorders, peer pressure and other important issues straight from the people that LIVE them. Definite must-watch. Unless you're in high school and you want something to watch with your parents...easiest way to get preemptively grounded! :)

3.3 ~ #4

"Aliens" (1986)


From Netflix: "In this acclaimed sequel, the only survivor from the first film, Lt. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), finds her horrific account of her crew's fate is met with skepticism -- until the disappearance of colonists on LV-426 prompts a team of high-tech Marines to investigate. This release features an introduction by director James Cameron, commentary by cast and crew members and both the theatrical and special edition versions of the film."

This was the first movie on the list that I was COMPLETELY blown away by! What a badass movie! I hate Sci-Fi (as I've mentioned before) and I haven't been a fan of horror movies since I was in high school, though admittedly this was a pretty tame version of a horror film...it still managed to elicit SCREAMS from me and even more jumps...which reminds me, a special thanks to my husband for letting me crush his hand for over 2 hours! LOL

Yes, this movie was over 2 hours as well. I think they've all been so far except for "12 Angry Men"...this one didn't feel that long though, probably because I was so into it.

I was wondering why the creator of the list would make me watch a sequel instead of the original (this is the second movie in a quadrilogy), but at least according to my husband, this was the best of the series. I think that might have been the reason why I was so into it; as a sequel, the movie didn't bog down the first hour with backstory and character setup, it just dives right into the story assuming you've seen the first film and you already KNOW these people. That could be a bad thing, but this film does such a good job at getting you up to speed in a concise way that even not having seen the first film, I never felt lost or confused by what was going on.

Seriously, AMAZING movie. BADASS, even. highly recommended, and from someone that isn't even a fan of the genre.

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ok, well obviously I'm a little late with this one, and I only have 4 days left in this week to receive, watch, and write about week 4's movies to catch up. In case you'd like to watch along, these are this week's films:

#5: "American Beauty"

#6: "Amadeus"

DOTW: "Chain Camera"

Thanks for reading guys! and tell your friends! I'd love to get more people involved in the film discussions!

And feel free to follow me on Twitter!

-D

3.2 ~ #3

"Akira" (1988)

From Netflix: "Based on the popular anime series, Akira is the story of two childhood friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, who are pulled into the post-apocalyptic underworld of Neo-Tokyo. Kaneda is a bike gang leader, and Tetsuo is a member of a tough motorcycle gang who becomes involved in a covert government project called Akira. On his way to save Tetsuo, Kaneda runs into a group of anti-government activists and corrupt scientists, and a bloody battle ensues."

WOW.

I did NOT want to watch this. I HATE anime, I HATE sci-fi, I HATE apocalyptic type movies. This is ALL of the the above.

I had to watch this movie in two parts, as my electricity went out during my initial attempt. I saw the first forty minutes one night, then the last 90 minutes another afternoon (yep, another one that's over 2 hours long).

Here's some initial notes I took during those first forty minutes:

"dubbed" (I really dislike dubbed movies. I prefer subtitles over dubbing ANY DAY)

"fluid animation, almost like live action" (the animation really is superb, crazy to think this was released in the 80s)

"reminiscent of 'Cool World'" (great movie, if you haven't seen it. And story-wise, this movie is nothing like Cool World. The animation and movement reminded me of it, though)

"horrifyingly bloody"

"we're spoiled by CGI but the work of these animators really should be appreciated" (what can I say? I was REALLY impressed by the animation)

"Anarchy."

"130 minutes long" (<--- I found out while I was watching, and that kinda took my enthusiasm down another notch) "watching movie made me really anxious for seemingly no reason" (it did. I'm glad it got shut off when it did. The suspense of the first half hour was physically affecting me.)

"Hard to follow" (I learned later this was by design)

"female violence and nudity" (only one incidence of this, but it wasn't as graphic as it could have been. I guess I just noted that in case it was a recurring theme)

"kind of a mindfuck" (true.)


These are the notes I took in the last 90 minutes:

"don't find out what Akira is until an hour and 11 minutes in. Don't see it until an hour and a half in" (also true.)

"He's our friend, not yours! If someone if gonna kill him, it should be us!" (<---I just really liked that line)




That's it.


I hardly wrote throughout the last 2/3 of the movie because it actually got interesting enough that I wanted to pay attention. Also if you blinked, you'd miss something important, so it was in my best interest to not distract myself. The first 40 minutes were so hard to follow that I didn't even care enough to try to pay attention, which I guess would have obviously helped me out later on in the film.

At the end of the movie (I'm keeping this entry spoiler free) I had a simultaneous feeling of "Oh Em Gee I GET it!" and "What the HELL did I just see?!"...My husband, who watched the movie with me and is a great fan of the film, says that my reaction is a pretty normal one. I told him that the movie is good enough to GIVE you a feeling when you're done seeing it, but that it seems like the kind of movie that one would enjoy more the second time around. He says that even as a fan, he thinks the movie is too long to rewatch very often. I think I have to agree. Maybe I'll watch it again at some point to see if I was right.

Overall, I'm glad I watched this, though I left overall a bit dazed by it. It's very violent, and pretty confusing, but if you have a couple of hours to spare, it's definitely worth a watch.

-D

3.1 ~ Documentary of the Week

"Live Nude Girls Unite" (2000)

From Netflix: "This critically acclaimed documentary follows a group of San Francisco exotic dancers who decide to unionize to gain better wages and sick pay and to protect themselves against secret customer videotapes. Julia Query, a dancer at the Lusty Lounge, leads the unionization effort as the workers sort out their demands and go through the difficulties of bargaining with the union-busting law firm their managers hire."

Important note: this movie is SO not safe for work!

So, apparently I'm more familiar with the Lusty Lounge than even I was aware...I once saw a piece about it in Real Sex or some such program with my husband, and it seemed so novel to us we decided then and there that we would open a similar establishment in Miami! Then again, most businesses spark this entrepreneurial spirit in us, but that's not to say it wouldn't be cool. I think I could TOTALLY run a peep show. That seems like it would be just my bag...a career that is fun, sexy, and in control...LOVE IT!

It's crazy though how these girls were being treated before they formed their union! They were scheduled based on their race, they were being videotaped by customers with no protection for their privacy, ridiculous! They risked losing their jobs if they called in sick, because they were only allowed to call in sick in the first place if they could find someone with lighter skin than them AND larger breasts than them to replace them on their shift. Otherwise, their options were work sick, or lose your job.

The part that bothers me most about this whole situation I suppose is that it seems that these girls were treated like this for so long because maybe the owners looked at them as less than first-class citizens BECAUSE they're exotic dancers. I doubt a bunch of secretaries would have stood for the "lighter skin/bigger boobed replacement or you're DONE" rule, an office manager wouldn't even DREAM of enforcing such a requirement. But because we're talking about "sex workers", maybe they felt it was an occupational hazard of sorts, and therefore it was OK to make them work sick under this rule. Maybe they felt they could get away with more because who is going to defend a bunch of strippers?

No one.

They're going to defend THEMSELVES.

The girls got together, hired lawyers, and went through a months long process of back and forth with their managers that were looking after their own interests and hiring lawyers of their own to make it not only legal but TO BE EXPECTED that if you worked in that establishment, you would be held to standards that were discriminatory, and that you might even have to deal with unsafe situations and dangerous clientele.

An eye-opening look at an industry that most of us never really think about, this film is worth watching if only for the opportunity to see the legal process at work and to learn about unions and what they mean to businesses and employees. And, uh, there's a lot of boobies and nether regions to pause on if you're not so interested in all that. ;)

2.3 ~ #2 (please watch film before reading review, may contain spoilers)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

From Netflix: "Stanley Kubrick's quiet masterpiece probes the mysteries of space and human destiny. While investigating the appearance of mysterious monoliths throughout the universe, astronauts David (Keir Dullea) and Frank (Gary Lockwood) battle their ship's intelligent computer, HAL-9000. This epic sci-fi drama based on Arthur C. Clarke's story "The Sentinel" was nominated for four Academy Awards and won for its stunning special effects."

Ok, first thing I have to say is that I have had SUCH a hard time trying to motivate myself to watch this film. It weren't for the fact that I am dedicated to this project and doing it properly, I would SO skip this one. ugh. It seems like such a BOY movie LOL.

First impression: So THAT'S where that classic sci-fi music comes from! LOL

Second impression: Holy Ghost! It's 2 and a half hours long?!

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(BTW, I had a moment of clarity in the shower earlier. Everyone says 'oh god!' or 'jesus christ!' when they want to exclaim, but the holy ghost gets no play. let's hear it one time for the holy spirit, y'all!)

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-7 minutes in: is this all going to be animals attacking each other? :yawn:

-8 minutes in: people in gorilla suits = FAIL. I could play a better gorilla and I have no formal gorilla training.

-12 minutes in: PLEASE can I just shut this off and PRETEND I watched it?!

-13 minutes in: There's that MUSIC again!

-15 minutes in: Holy Ghost, help me. This fucking blows.

-16 minutes in: Dude, this movie IS all about animals attacking each other...

-19 minutes in: A person!

-23 minutes in: WOW! SOMEONE SPOKE! A SOUND OTHER THAN INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC AND ANIMAL GRUNTS WAS JUST HEARD!


ok, you get my drift. I am not AT ALL interested in this type of stuff. Stanley Kubrick is a genius and all that, but...no. This is just not my bag. Great use of music to convey emotion, though.

-Cool furniture, too.

(idk if you've caught on, but I'm writing as I watch...I shall continue for the next 2 hours because, well, that's how long is left in the movie and I'm trying to maintain my sanity here.)

-They use A LOT of music in this film. Like, in place of dialogue. Interesting...

-LOL. the photos they're looking through say "DAYUM" at the bottom. Late 60s ebonics?

-In the coming weeks, I'm going to have to watch ANOTHER Kubrick classic, "A Clockwork Orange". It's supposed to be disturbing as hell. Have I mentioned I am VERY not looking forward to that one?

-GREAT camera angles. Truly. and I know I've already said it, but this film makes GREAT use of music to set moods.

-Crap. Turns out there's a THIRD Kubrick movie on the list, Dr. Strangelove. Can I handle THREE of this man's films? I've only ever seen The Shining, and I thought was great, but I've heard A LOT about how disturbed this guy was.

-HOLY GHOST! A FOURTH?! Full Metal Jacket is also a Kubrick film. sonofabitch.

ok, ok. back to the movie (I paused it this whole time to my research...WHAT?!)

-Oh, wow. I'm sorry. 51 minutes in: "smile for the camera with the weird black wall chunk" LMAO that hand motion ("get in a little closer") KILLED me!

-These grunting, guttural sounds that are serving as music right now are driving me batshit. Oh wait, now there's a remarkably high pitched 30 second whistle. Lovely.

-an hour and half left EXACTLY. shoot me.

-54 minutes in: GREAT fucking shots. This whole minute is GORGEOUS.

-that HAL9000 computer sounds terrifying. Both it's voice, and the very idea of it. that's the last I'll speak about that, because I don't know if it has anything to do with the rest of the plot, but I imagine it must.

-68 minutes in: ANOTHER remarkable shot. The cinematography is amazing, even if the story is really not holding my attention...

-77 minutes in: ok, this is starting to get creepy.

-79 minutes in: SUPERcreepy.

-87 minutes in: INSANE!

-92 minutes in: it looks like these effects are being done with Legos. The movie is over 40 years old, so...forgiven.

MORAL OF THE STORY: TECHNOLOGY WILL KILL US ALL. (at least, that's what I gather with 45 minutes left in the film.)

-97 minutes in: WOW.

104 minutes in: this movie TOTALLY reminds me of that "Portal" video game...there is no cake! The cake is a lie! LOL

111 minutes in: wow. it's all starting to make sense.

112 minutes in: that fucking groaning again. I wish it would stop.

116 minutes in: SO confused. I feel like I'm looking at an old school screensaver.

122 minutes in: WTF?!?!?!?!?!?!? When will it end?!

126 minutes in: that....was a 15 minute screensaver. why, oh why? That was excruciating. oh and now I'm REALLY fucking confused.

127 minutes in: terrified.

ok, MORAL OF THE STORY: Stanley Kubrick was a NUT. He was a complete fucking creep. The end.

When the credits began, I said out loud, "YOU'RE FUCKING KIDDING!!! REALLY?!" Mind you, not "really?" like "wow, seriously?" but "really?" like "you've got to be SHITTING me that I waited all this time for THAT!"

I guess I should say something about how humankind relies on technology too much, and it's going to lead to the end of our humanity, etc. etc. But I'm too fucking annoyed at the thought that I spent 2 and a half hours of my life on this to give a crap right now.

In short, besides the cinematography, I don't understand why ANYONE would want to watch this film, let alone why people think it's so phenomenal. Then again, the only people I got reviews from (all of which were good) were men, and men like some weird things, don't they? Hmm...let's chalk this up to "well, at least I can say I've seen it."

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And with this, the second week of the project is complete, the first week of movie watching and reviewing is in the books, so to speak, and we can look forward to next week, when I'll be watching these movies, among others:

#3: "Akira"
#4: "Aliens"
DOTW: "Live Nude Girls Unite"

BTW, I would love if people watched the movies along with me, even if it's just the ones you haven't already seen, not just so I can speak candidly without worrying about spoilers, but so we can discuss! :)

Thanks! "See" you next week!

-D

2.2 ~ #1

"12 Angry Men "(1957)

From Netflix: "A guilty verdict means death -- but the jury's not about to let that spoil their day. Twelve men must decide the fate of an 18-year-old boy accused of fatally stabbing his father. Only one (Henry Fonda) wants to take the time to coolly deliberate the case. Sidney Lumet (Network) made his directorial debut in this fiery drama that illuminates all the petty impediments on the path to justice."



I actually saw this movie in high school English, so anywhere from 6-10 years ago, I'm not sure what year I saw it...I thought it was a great movie then, though it couldn't have left much of an impression considering I had forgetten I'd seen it till I popped in the DVD and saw the opening scene.

It's in black and white, which I love, though I have very little experience with films this old. Movies back in the day were so much more dramatic, and I think much better acted, considering that because the effects and flash were lacking, a movie could only be carried by great acting. People don't appreciate good acting anymore...

It's incredible how jaded people can be that because they're so wrapped up in their own situations, they don't realize that throughout the movie, they are talking about a person's life, how something as BIG as whether a person lives or dies is in their hands, and based on their prejudgments, they are willing to let a person die without a second thought. The message of this film rings just as true now as it did in the fifties...people need to stop and think before they make decisions...just because something seems easy or simple doesn't mean it is. Choices require thought, especially considering that whether you realize it or not, your choices affect everyone around you.

It's not just about choices, either. Every day people hear about celebrities, friends, people in general...and based on a few things we pick up about them, we imagine an entire persona on people that we may not know very well, if at all. People we have never even met, we imagine we know better than we know ourselves based on a few tokens of information. And what is human nature to do when we think we know someone? We judge them. We can't help it, our ancestors did it for survival. "There's that guy again. I see him everyday and he hasn't attacked me yet. He must be ok." Nowadays, we can't help it anymore than they did, we even (and especially) do it to people that mean us no harm. How often to we read gossip rags or watch E! news and take something a celebrity has done or said personally? We've all done it...but why? We don't know these people, we don't know why they do or don't do the things they do or don't...but that doesn't stop us from judging them. Maybe the most important message of this film is that we should GENUINELY try to live and let live, make an effort to not stake entire ideas of people on an activity or photo or whathaveyou. Focus on yourself and don't run around thinking you have any right to form ideas about people you don't really know.

In short, great film. Really makes you think. Made me think, anyway. If you're the type that must have loud noises and explosions to keep entertained, this isn't for you. But if you're down for a great story, try this one on for size.

2.1 ~ Documentary of the Week

"American Swing" (2008)

From Netflix: "Mathew Kaufman and Jon Hart direct this documentary that chronicles the rise, heyday and decline of New York City's Plato's Retreat, the legendary sex club that catered to adventurous heterosexual couples in the 1970s and beyond. Featuring frank interviews with former members and graphic footage of the club's activities, the film explores how a once-thriving center of free love imploded amid drugs, tangled relationships and the rise of AIDS."

First off, I've gotta say that as a very sexual person, I can totally see the appeal of swing clubs and swinging in general, but as a wife that has always been a little more jealous than the average person, I'm fairly certain that I would castrate my husband if he ever even brought this up as a topic of conversation.

So, that being said...

If I was single, this would totally be my scene LOL

This film is pretty interesting because while it might seem that introducing outside sexual partners might be a bad idea to the average marriage, and maybe in a lot of cases it was, the couples interviewed here are couples that have been married for decades and only feel that their partnership was enhanced because of the swinging. This I can also understand, because I have done a fair share of studying into relationship therapy and the 2 biggest topics of arguments among couples are money and sex, not in that order.

So, doesn't it make sense then that as long as both parties are sexually satisfied, even if it's not with each other, and trust is maintained in the relationship, that that might be the most healthy relationship in existence? Well, of course. But then there's the whole jealousy thing, like I mentioned before. I am not the type to differentiate love and sex. Or rather, I am, but I can't be sure that my partner is that type as well, and that would be my main problem with the idea of swinging.

If people had better communication, and they could just drop their inhibitions with each other and ask for what they want in bed, rather than giving up on satisfying each other and deciding to get satisfaction from other people, maybe swinging wouldn't be something that people felt they'd need to do. I imagine if it's just a fun thing for both parties, why not partake in any case? But I assume that it's like the experiences I've heard about from friends that have had threesomes with a partner that had been monogamous with them...someone ends up hurt because they weren't really as ready for it as they thought they were. The chances of both parties in a couple being as open REALLY to the idea of swinging as they think they are, especially AFTER the first experience, is probably slim.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you ARE in a partnership that could use some extra excitement in your love lives, and you can be absolutely certain that both you and your partner can leave the emotions at the door and just have a good time...then by all means! Perhaps in another time or with a partner that I didn't care as much about (LOL) I could totally be there with you. But I can say for damn near absolute sure that this isn't the lifestyle for me :)

Cool film, lots of old footage, though a little NSFW, both for the footage and the dialogue...if you're not into raunchiness, this is one you oughta stay away from. Fun movie otherwise! Lots of interesting people giving interesting interviews, cool look into where swinging came from and how it gained momentum...great 70s soundtrack too!

BTW, if you are in any way grossed out or otherwise creeped out by OLD people talking VERY openly about sexual acts, IN DETAIL...maybe you should skip this one ;)