Vomiting, in my personal opinion, is one of the most disgusting and unpleasant aspects of the human experience. It usually is brought upon by things such as overwhelming stress, disease, or binge drinking/eating. While it happily is not an everyday occurrence for most of us, we tend to forget about it — and are usually satisfied not to have it linger in our minds while we’re happy and healthy.
The dramatic increase in vomiting in cinema has made me queasy to say the least. It is one of my go-to entries in what I call SSIM (Stupid Shit in Movies), and I think its completely unnecessary.
The metaphor is obvious: the idea of vomiting is often associated with cleansing and renewal — that you are ejecting toxins so that your body may recover to its normal state. The act implicitly suggests, also, a certain heightened degree of realism. However, there are several bodily functions that have gone undocumented in major Hollywood offerings, and graphic depictions of getting sick could be left out.
Today I was thumbing through a magazine rack at a Goodwill when I chanced upon a February 1962 issue of Pageant magazine that includes a short piece on Jean-Paul Belmondo. Belomondo was recently honored by the Los Angeles Film Critics for his career achievements. High-resolution scans of the original pages are at the bottom, following the transcription. Enjoy!
JB Meets CC
Photographed for Pageant by Marvin Newman
THE FILM HEROES of the young Frenchman at left are Bogart, Brando and Garfield. But put them all together and you still haven’t captured the essence of Jean-Paul Belmondo, the most off-beat European screen sensation in a decade.
There was once a time when shorts possessed little cultural currency, and many would argue they do today. However, I think there is going to be a big upswing in shorts-filmmaking-by-choice in the near future. Read the rest of this entry »
I picked this up after finding it on several best-of-decade lists. Very good movie, however not nearly as intellectually complex as critics would breathlessly lead you to believe. Sometimes being in another language and not being so formal gives you a few bonus points. Particularly striking is the scene in which Bruno “buys back” his child. The faceless customer instructs him not to walk over until his car has pulled away. In a Hollywood film, I would have expected the child to not be returned and Bruno to find an empty child seat, leading to a whole new set of priorities and struggles after giving away what money he has left. Ironically, the Dardenne’s show him mercy.
Overall, I thought L’Enfant is an interesting cultural critique of American pop culture. In our movies, man-children are considered funny, endearing, and are typically rewarded for their behavior (Talladega Nights, The Hangover). L’Enfant finds Bruno encountering a series of real, serious grown-up problems because of his behavior. And he suffers because of it.
Ace In The Hole (1951)
Dir. Billy Wilder
“They don’t make movies like this anymore,” a stuffy expert will frequently remind you in books and commentary tracks. But there is some truth to that claim. Here is a film unspoiled by recession-inducing special effects or superstar actors (outside of Kirk Douglas). Instead, it turns its focus to weaving together an absolutely brilliant, complex story from my favorite Austrian filmmaker.
Kirk Douglas plays Chuck Tatum, an alcoholic reporter that had been run out of every significant newsroom in the country. He lands a job in Albequerque, and sees an opportunity to get back on top when a local is trapped in a Native American cave. He orchestrates a plan to keep the man trapped for several days, so that he can build his exposure through a series of features. He encounters an unforeseen by-product of this development, as the cave becomes a tourist destination, a circus that he can no longer control. A biting critique of society at the time, the film’s themes ring true today in an age of TMZ and media-manufactured disasters.
9 (2009)
Dir. Shane Acker
9 (Elijah Wood) is the creation of a skilled scientist. He wakes up to a post-apocalyptic world where the machines fought man… and won. 9 and the other creations (#8, #7, etc.) are the only living things that remain. They spend the movie evading–and working to defeat– the machine that wreaked havoc on mankind.
Shane Acker is an incredibly talented animator. I watched this on Blu-Ray and the sets, textures, character poses and expressions are stunning. I love artists who are immersed in the minutiae of objects– paying close attention to not only their look but their function and character. The mise-en-scene is frequently arresting–sometimes causing my eyes to travel away from the action to soak it all in. Visually, it’s a great-looking film. He has a promising animation career ahead of him and it’s a great personal calling card. Unfortunately, the film suffers from a pedestrian story.
My latest short film, Fingers, has been selected for inclusion in the Paste Magazine quarterly DVD sampler (February-March 2010). If you or someone you know has subscribed to receive the DVD with the magazine, please keep an eye out!
Vomiting, in my personal opinion, is one of the most disgusting and unpleasant aspects of the human experience. It usually is brought upon by things such as overwhelming stress, disease, or binge drinking/eating. While it happily is not an everyday occurrence for most of us, we tend to forget about it — and are usually satisfied not to have it linger in our minds while we’re happy and healthy.
I picked this up after finding it on several best-of-decade lists. Very good movie, however not nearly as intellectually complex as critics would breathlessly lead you to believe. Sometimes being in another language and not being so formal gives you a few bonus points. Particularly striking is the scene in which Bruno “buys back” his child. The faceless customer instructs him not to walk over until his car has pulled away. In a Hollywood film, I would have expected the child to not be returned and Bruno to find an empty child seat, leading to a whole new set of priorities and struggles after giving away what money he has left. Ironically, the Dardenne’s show him mercy.
“They don’t make movies like this anymore,” a stuffy expert will frequently remind you in books and commentary tracks. But there is some truth to that claim. Here is a film unspoiled by recession-inducing special effects or superstar actors (outside of Kirk Douglas). Instead, it turns its focus to weaving together an absolutely brilliant, complex story from my favorite Austrian filmmaker.
9 (Elijah Wood) is the creation of a skilled scientist. He wakes up to a post-apocalyptic world where the machines fought man… and won. 9 and the other creations (#8, #7, etc.) are the only living things that remain. They spend the movie evading–and working to defeat– the machine that wreaked havoc on mankind.
