Never fear, Minkin is here.
This was a difficult month for me (per usual, I guess), for many reasons, chiefly dealing with side effects from my medication (
akathisia). I managed to tie January for most watches in a month! I was somehow able to participate in two challenges and not come in last on either, which surprised me. I did make quite a bit of progress on Cinema Safari too - which I feel like Inyo County may hopefully be coming to a close soon - with just a few more things to wrap up before being ready to post. Still though, I guess I managed to accomplish quite a bit, despite all the setbacks I experience regularly - I just hope September goes by smoother - as there will be quite a few unknowns to be met in the future. Per usual, I keep track of everything, with links to screenshots/reviews at the
film log thread, just in case you can't get enough walrus-brained rambling nonsense. But here's my rankings for what I watched:
New Watches:
An exuberant display of the potential that an assembled collection has for creating an idealized “old” toy train civilization. This is not a critique of accuracy of replicating reality in plaything form, instead this is a celebration of design – that gives equal credit to all the toys, regardless of origin or construction. There’s a degree of egalitarianism here – as toys built for different social classes of children (be it wood or cast iron) are all proudly displayed here. The narrator is quick to remind us that these are not scale models – those miniature versions of reality, that strive for accuracy and are employed by adult hobbyists – no, these are toys built to be used and enjoyed by everyone. This film therefore has a difficult balance to maintain – by avoiding the trappings of the model railroad crowd – and to instead focus on this sort of ultimate childlike fantasy train world that’s being created here. For there’s enough perfectly crafted scale model trains in existence – and though those displays’ trains move, the towns remain utterly static, and so they seem devoid of life, outside of the trains. In Toccata for Toy Trains, the Eames instead give us something closer to reality, by employing different layers of toys – all of them on the move to some appointment or destination. Being a replication of reality, the creators’ personality gets to be observed by their deliberate choices in its creation. A darker mind (such as me) might add homeless people or train derailments, but here its a perfect little fantasy world with the worst thing that could happen might be a sad goodbye at the station. By recreating these aspects of reality, we see the childlike view of idealized living – with everyone hurriedly on the move getting to somewhere. Thus, if anything, the Eames’ piece says the most on the nature of the commute – how we’re all in a rush to get to our destination, so much so that we never stop to appreciate our surroundings, and just sort of accept the chaos and utilitarianism of it all as functional rather than artistic. Like people never think of their commute to work via bus as transcendental art. That all said, Toccata for Toy Trains focuses on the commute and the hurried aspect of people getting to their destination, rather than create the sort of model train fantasy of bridges and tunnels (which are both absent here) that you’d expect – no, this is just people moving speedily with a purpose and function – to get where they need to be. Anyway, this is perhaps a 13 minute demonstration as to why the Eames think plastic sucks, but it ends up being such a loving tribute to play of all kinds – as this perfect send-up to the toy train.
02. LSD: Insight or Insanity? (1967) - Los Angeles County - Rating: 6/10
03. Patriotism (1972) - Santa Barbara County - Rating: 6/10
04. Viktor und Viktoria (1933) - Berlin / England - Rating: 6/10
05. I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) - Sen Bernardino County - Rating: 5/10
06. Jack the Ripper with Screaming Lord Sutch (1963) - England - Rating: 5/10
07. A Day in Death Valley (1944) - Inyo County - Rating: 5/10
08. Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) - Kern County / San Bernardino County - Rating: 5/10
09. Flight of the Navigator (1986) - Florida / Norway - Rating: 5/10
10. On Guard - Bunco! (1974) - Los Angeles County - Rating: 4/10
11. Blood Simple (1984) - Texas - Rating: 4/10
12. Drawing for Beginners: The Square (1949) - USA - Rating: 4/10
13. How to Be a Friend (1972) - Los Angeles County - Rating: 3/10
Rewatches:
Laurel and Hardy’s many attempts to deliver a deed to a gold mine to the right person, with plenty of trouble along the way. A great part of Laurel and Hardy’s comedy comes from their air of respectability – their attempts to be proper gentlemen – which then clashes with their constant goofy situations they end up in – but they’re always apologetic and proper, even when falling onto their face. As even when they’re at their best, they still manage to muck things up, as they don’t exactly have the capability to take care of themselves – as even simple tasks become oversized challenges for them – and it’s incredibly endearing and relatable. As we too can see the comedy inherent in our mundane daily lives, the exaggerations we make in speech (I’ll eat your hat), or our attempts to portray calm normalness when surrounded by an insane world. And as someone who’s a fairly recognizable character wherever I go, I too feel this connection to Laurel and Hardy. For even the simplest of tasks turn into a great ordeal – trying to light a match, to climb a rope, to put on a shoe – every little thing becomes a grandiose disaster, but still carried out in the guise of earnest respectability. Though the 4th wall audience finds their antics to be comedic – their actions fall into a category of pity by their compatriots – which is also how we would experience these events ourselves in person. As both Laurel and Hardy have little capability to take care of themselves – and they honestly need someone to look after them, lest they harm themselves or someone else – by their sheer confounded, pitiable, yet endearing excuse of an attempt at life. They can feign lucidity and logic for brief periods, but it’s only a matter of seconds before their limitations become known. So, at their heart, Laurel and Hardy are quixotic in the care of gentlemanliness, and maybe it’s better to lovingly laugh along at their attempts of geniality then to feel sorry for their patheticness – and perhaps we too can share that sentiment to the particular characters we meet in our lives. For Laurel and Hardy live in a fantasy realm, and constantly find themselves at odds with the harsh reality that actually surrounds them – and that, is why they are so iconic – that they can’t discern their imaginary world apart from the misery of existence. At the end of the day, this is just pure joy of cinema – with everyone involved having a fantastic time making this. The highlight though is their At the Ball dance sequence – which we’re slowly in the process of learning so that we can bust it out as a party trick at our handfasting. So, we too say it best to love these people for who they see themselves – and to carry that forth into our realities as well.
A man, accused of betraying traditional medicine, is sacrificially killed, and might come back as a vengeful murderous spirit, a Tabanga if you will. Yes, there’s a killer tree on the loose, it looks ridiculous and makes this movie a lot of fun to watch and make fun of – but there’s so much else going on in this film beyond the Tabanga. For instance, this is a film about fighting against “superstitious” traditional beliefs – and of course the Western savior complex runs high here – touting the superiority of science over plants and magick, without any inkling that these people might have a valid wish to retain their beliefs, even at their own peril. So it’s a complicated issue, made all the more intriguing because there’s radioactive fallout from atomic tests covering the island and adding a different spin to the whole supposed superiority of Western progress. I like that the Dr says “its no more radiation than an X-ray” – as though that’s perfectly reassuring, especially when x-ray technicians use shields to block themselves from the repeated exposure to radiation. So, it’s a lot of personal battles between the ethics of forced medical attention on people who are dedicated to their beliefs vs fighting a plague and getting these people help – it’s a tricky field to navigate, even without the killer tree on the loose (which was revived by the curiosity of the scientists doubting the islander’s beliefs). Then there’s also the matter of Orchid, an “outcast” of the tribe who then acts as the helper for Dr Mason – and there’s a lot of gay tension between the two. As Dr Mason doesn’t want to get married to the amorous Dr Arnold, as she keeps rebuffing him as she wants to focus on her career. But Orchid helps Dr Mason in rather personal ways – especially during showering and toweling off. Plus being an outcast of the tribe – this othering of her, as she wants to escape to a bigger island that’s more accepting – its all just incredibly queer coded. You can also read into her outcast status as being a part of an imposed asylum that she’s subjected, but I’ll just casually mention it instead of exploring that further. I think what works here is that, despite the asshole Drs thinking of themselves as superior to the natives (even calling the native people simple minded), at the end of the day – the power of magick prevails – as traditional beliefs turn out to be quite a bit more than they thought. And sure the film looks down upon the native people and says the Drs are superior, but it’s nice to see those Drs get some semblance of comeuppance with their scientific meddling, and even better that it ends up being such a goofy looking monster to boot.
03. The Tin Man (1935) - Los Angeles County - Rating: 7/10
04. Chic Point: Fashion for Israeli Checkpoints (2003) - Israel / Palestine - Rating: 6/10
05. Serene Siam (1937) - Thailand - Rating: 5/10
06. Corny Casanovas (1952) - USA - Rating: 5/10
Partner highest rated:
How to Be a Friend (1972) - 8/10 (I suspect her rating was for the rifftrax commentary, not the short itself. My rating is always based on the unriffed film)
Partner lowest rated:
Blood Simple (1984) - 3/10
Partner fell asleep during:
LSD: Insight or Insanity? (1967)
Flight of the Navigator (1986)
Watching Source:
YouTube - 14
Download - 2
DVD - 2
Disney+ - 1
-Stayed alive and out of the hospital:
-Challenges: <400 Checks:
28th (out of 32) + Official Top Lists:
26th (out of 30)
-Polls submitted:
1971
-Cinema Safari: Inyo County still. +1 film. Did a lot of historical research + started reading a book for the county - I'm getting close to being done with it hopefully!
-Deep Space 9 progress:
- watched 2 episodes of TOS instead
-Rewatch backwards from Nov 2021 progress: +6 films! (but still in Sep, 2021)
-ICM awards: AFI 100 Thrills (Platinum) + 500 Cult Movies (Bronze)
-Continue short form reviews:
ful rewatches
