Sheesh, already another month over and done with. There isn't too much to update upon since December. There's been a big plus (only had psychosis twice in January!) but my meds appear to be taking their toll on me - causing
myoclonic seizures which are rather annoying more than anything else - and its some med that's causing it - and I can't see a neurologist until July... fuck. I also had a night where I fainted like 3 times - knocking a ton of stuff over, and then even apparently had an actual seizure... so I've no clue what's going on, but it must all be related to these fucking medications.
I did put quite a bit of effort into watching films for the 1992 poll - as 10 films (out of 16 seen all month) were from 1992 - which coming from my limited viewing abilities, was quite impressive. Did try to get as much overlap between 1992 and the Sci-Fi / Fantasy challenge as possible - but didn't quite end up working out that well, all the same.
The only other disappointment was Cinema Safari - as I haven't put any work into finding stuff for Berlin. Inyo County is still being held up by the art piece - which is mostly done already, its just waiting for that last step, then it can go live... so hopefully some day soon it will work out.
For those so inclined. I keep a Pinterest board of accompanying screenshots for all films watched,
here + a link to all films seen with links to reviews and screenshots -
here.
So, not a terrible month, disappointing, yes, and a lot of medical bullshit unfortunately. As Ween tangentially said: The good meds are killing me.
New Watches:
A trio of would-be thieves (roughly) plan out and execute a robbery of a bookstore. These guys are quite dedicated to their craft of thievery – that they plan a practice run of their mom’s house to get a feel for it, and then they decide to buy a gun to help with intimidation to make it armed robbery. It ends up being a very lackadaisical approach to theft – where they don’t exactly have any need to steal from people. They treat it almost as a hobby – that they find the act of stealing to be, well, fun / exhilarating – perhaps a rush of adrenaline. It’s where they feel the stakes are low enough to not be overly concerning – as risking jail time for $183, but not putting in effort to disguise themself – as they still don’t really know what they’re doing. It’s that they see themselves as sort of master criminals as they want to be career thieves, who steal whatever they want and effortlessly escapes. For they have the delusion of being professional thieves – that they can get away with any crime job they want – because: they know how to steal from their mom’s house. At best, they treat the whole affair as a sort of game – that they find it all amusing – be it playing with the gun during planning, or celebrating a job well done with burgers. Closer to their actions and thoughts – they seem to live in a fantasy of their own doing – where they think they can get away with these crimes effortlessly, and that they wont face death or prison, because they are so skilled at robbery. Even the Dr Pepper gun seller guy warns them not to use a gun – lest they get killed because of it – but this doesn’t even phase them, and they go ahead with the purchase (which honestly – the gun probably cost more than the amount they stole). People aren’t usually this enthusiastic, methodical and delusional about armed robbery of a Bookstop – but to them, it comes across as just another way to pass time. We hear tidbits of their, well, incompetence – like needing / asking for a bigger bag to put the loot in, or that the manager would “remember” him. But they even admit how “easy” the robbery was – that they can rob someone at gunpoint and treat it so casually. Anyway, this isn’t too bad of a start for Wes Anderson – as it begins a trope common to many of his movies – of people living in sort of fantasy worlds built off of their self-image of superiority / infallibility, and thinking they can will reality to go as they wish – despite whatever the odds might be.
02. You'll Change (1992) - USA - Rating: 6/10
03. Franz Kafka (1992) - Poland - Rating: 5/10
04. Snowman's Land (1939) - Canada - Rating: 5/10
05. Adam (1992) - England - Rating: 5/10
06. Bad Ol' Putty Tat (1949) - USA - Rating: 4/10
07. Atlantic Rim (2013) - Florida / New York - Rating: 3/10
08. What is a Map (1949) - USA - Rating: 2/10
Rewatches:
A horse ride through the countryside and town, set to Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust, in this animated short. The music is from the final part of Berlioz’s opera, where Faust and Mephistopheles are riding horses to hell, as Faust has traded his soul to the devil in order to save his gal pal. In the opera, the scenery becomes more twisted and disturbing as they approach hell, but in this short, we witness what appears to be Faust’s life flashing before his eyes -as he remembers memories of riding a carousel, or playing jump rope. So, rather than the imagery becoming more unsettling, as though going through the many gates of hell, Faust is given a last minor reprieve of happiness before it’s all to be taken away from him for eternity. So, it’s an interesting juxtaposition between Faust’s last moments before being sent to hell, and his fond reminisces for moments of levity. This all culminates in a collage of animation – showing a sampling of all that has happened in Faust’s life, as he can no longer focus on any one specific memory, but is instead witnessing everything at once – with the little moments that stand out in his life, before he too finally joins the dancing circle leading to hell. Its an intermix between what Faust sees on his last journey by horse – the countryside, sprinkled with crow harbingers of death, and then the moments of his life that provoke a strong memory – which is mostly of his childhood, having fun experiences of joy with other kids. Peppered into the memories are animations of the orchestra (performing the music we hear), who add to the dramatization, but also seem to signify judgment from the heavens. Some of the voices are depicted as angelic, but there’s also vocalists singing from the libretto, as well as a conductor and musicians – which are all intermingled between Faust’s past (childhood games) and his current trajectory of dancing into hell. The presence of the musicians therefore brings Faust’s fate closer to home – that we’re witnessing one of our midst being taken away, and we too might be amongst his ranks some day as well. Anyway, this brief retelling of the end of Faust’s life brings forth an intriguing interpretation of mortality and that this question of judgment isn’t too far away from our existence as well.
02. Mom and Dad Save the World (1992) - San Bernardino County / Saturn - Rating: 7/10
03. Jídlo (Food) (1992) - Czechia - Rating: 7/10
04. Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth (1992) - Japan / Indonesia - Rating: 6/10
05. A Sense of History (1992) - England - Rating: 6/10
06. It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (1992) - USA - Rating: 5/10
07. Colossus and the Headhunters (1963) - Italy / Slovenia - Rating: 4 /10
08. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) - England / USA - Rating: 4/10
Watching Source:
YouTube - 9 films
HBO Max - 2 films
Archive - 1 film
Blu-Ray - 1 film
Disney+ - 1 film
Download - 1 film
Netflix - 1 film
Other Year end Goals
-Stayed alive and out of the hospital:
-Continue short form reviews:
Polls submitted:
1992 +
Sweden
Challenges: Sci-Fi / Fantasy -
27th (out of 30)
Cinema Safari: Uhhh...... Didn't work on anything all month I'm sorry to say
-Star Trek progress: +3 (DS9 = Finished Season 4!)
-ICM awards: Bronze ICM
Decade lists: 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 80s
-Rewatch backwards from Nov 2021 progress: +5 films (Now at May, 2021)
-MST3K: +2 (6x05 + 12x02)
-Watchlist:
-List-iest Film: Franz Kafka (1992) - 1 list (Annecy)
Until next month,
Make the Madness Stop
Curious to read the book it's based on. 8/10
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gang unite
ful rewatches
