12 May 2007
27 April 2007
quick update
Here is a quick update of what I have been watching.
Stranger than Fiction - Fun.
Grindhouse - More fun.
The Singing Detective - Turned off.
The Barefoot Contessa - Lots of fun.
The Ratcatcher - Sad but wonderful.
The Graduate - Classic.
Masulin Feminin - Brilliant
The Devil's Backbone - Boring, but okay.
Clerks II - Both boring and offensive.
Infamous - Okay but kind of boring.
Outside Providence - Turned off.
Harsh Times - Okay, but not all that good.
Fracture - Neither good nor bad, but entertaining.
The Man Who Fell To Earth - Borning.
Half Nelson - Brilliant.
Stranger than Fiction - Fun.
Grindhouse - More fun.
The Singing Detective - Turned off.
The Barefoot Contessa - Lots of fun.
The Ratcatcher - Sad but wonderful.
The Graduate - Classic.
Masulin Feminin - Brilliant
The Devil's Backbone - Boring, but okay.
Clerks II - Both boring and offensive.
Infamous - Okay but kind of boring.
Outside Providence - Turned off.
Harsh Times - Okay, but not all that good.
Fracture - Neither good nor bad, but entertaining.
The Man Who Fell To Earth - Borning.
Half Nelson - Brilliant.
04 April 2007
03 April 2007
Sunday Nap
The Big Lebowski (1998) - This is a great movie. Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah. Here's the fucking short verision.
26 March 2007
Bored On Monday
I am really bored. Its Monday night and I am exhausted, but I can't calm my mind down enough to sleep. Right now the three choices are more alcohol (which has been my answer the last few nights), reading something for work, or coming up with some movie related topic to talk about. Unfortunately I just realized that I can do both the alcohol and the blog at the same time.
What shall it be? I could talk about how the Stripes (1981) is a spoof of Full Metal Jacket (1987) (which is odd since it came out first) or how everyone I know (with a couple notable exceptions) loves Donnie Darko (2001). Instead I think I'll talk about Humphrey Bogart. I remember staying with a friend of my families when I was in high school. He had a laser disc and it was the coolest thing ever. I stay with him and his wife for one night and watched two movies, Blazing Saddles and To Have and Have Not (1944). I remember it so clearly. I was struck by the playful dialogue and the straight coolness of Bogart. At the time, he was the type of man that I wanted to grow up to be, quick witted, strong, cosmopolitan, a "lady's man," and morally ambiguous (even if predictably good).
But I grew up in Kansas and John Wayne was the Man. So I watched the Wayne films and talked about how cool he was, but he never reached the same level as Bogart for me. Wayne was an empty shell of a man compared to Bogart. Wayne lacked cosmopolitan wit and moral ambiguity of Bogart. It wasn't until I was in college that I rediscovered the joys of Bogart. One summer I InterLibrary Loaned every Bogart film I could get my hands on and still to this day I am keeping my eyes open for one that I haven't seen when I go to the local video store.
He made a lot films, but he was always done working by 5 o'clock. That was Scotch time. He also believed that people should be able to make an honest living without the government harassing them. In fact, he believed it so much that he and Lauren Bacall protested (with signs and the whole bit) against the Red Scare of McCarthyism.
I nearly forgot to mention that growing up my family had two hamsters, a male named Bogie and a female named Bacall, just FYI.
Enough with the trivia, let's look at some of his films. Yes, this is only the films I have seen him in and yes there are some glaring omissions.
Dead End (1937) - Bogart plays a bad man who comes back to neighborhood of his youth and has to face "justice". I think I talk about this film else where on this blog so I will not bore you all too much right now.
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) - This one is much like the one above only Bogart plays a seedy club owner who gets his own in the end.
The Return of Doctor X (1939) - Bogart as a zombie/vampire doctor who is stealing the blood of young woman to stay alive. Brilliant. The picture I have on my profile is from this movie. As far as I know it is the only time that he has played in such a role. Great fun if you can get your hands on it.
High Sierra (1941) - Classic Bogart, plays the criminal with a sympathetic heart.
The Maltese Falcon (1941) - This movie has on the greatest lines ever, "When I smack you, you'll take and like it." Jesus who can get away with that kind of line.
All Through the Night (1942) - Very odd movie where Bogart, a criminal, finds himself fighting Nazis in New York. The only point to this film is that isolationism doesn't work and we all need to be fighting in WWII. There is an amazing scene where the Nazis think that Bogart's character is a bomb expert and everything they ask him a question he can't answer he stands at attention and hails Hitler, oddly funny.
Casablanca (1942) - Do I really need to say anything about this film?
To Have and Have Not (1944) - The first Bogart film that I remember seeing him in. Not one of the best, but very good. And Bacall's first film, ever.
The Big Sleep (1946) - Not a great film, but the quick dialogue between Bacall and Bogart is amazingly fun to watch.
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) - Wow, this film is amazing. If you think that Bogart is just a "We don't need no stinking badges."
Sirocco (1951) - This was an odd Casablanca-type film about a mercenary/gunrunner who is actually a good guy.
Beat the Devil (1953) - Truman Capote co-wrote this and John Huston directed it, but it comes across as slightly schizo. I remember it being sort of all over the place, but very funny none-the-less.
The Caine Mutiny (1954) - This one with The Treasure of the Sierra Madre are two of Bogart's best performances. Here he is a Navy captain who has paranoid fantasies and takes them out on the crew until they take over the ship. There is a trial and the crew wins, but even everyone leaves the film feeling sorry for the poor crazy captain, who was just doing his duty. Amazing acting and story.
Sabrina (1954) - I'm not really sure how I feel about this one. An older Bogart steals away a much younger Audrey Hepburn. And I think, if I remember right he hated this film and was a complete ass on set. Of course, he was sort of a crazy old man by that time.
So there you are. A love of Bogart based on 14 of his films.
Here is an amazing clip of Bogart in The Caine Mutiny.
What shall it be? I could talk about how the Stripes (1981) is a spoof of Full Metal Jacket (1987) (which is odd since it came out first) or how everyone I know (with a couple notable exceptions) loves Donnie Darko (2001). Instead I think I'll talk about Humphrey Bogart. I remember staying with a friend of my families when I was in high school. He had a laser disc and it was the coolest thing ever. I stay with him and his wife for one night and watched two movies, Blazing Saddles and To Have and Have Not (1944). I remember it so clearly. I was struck by the playful dialogue and the straight coolness of Bogart. At the time, he was the type of man that I wanted to grow up to be, quick witted, strong, cosmopolitan, a "lady's man," and morally ambiguous (even if predictably good).
But I grew up in Kansas and John Wayne was the Man. So I watched the Wayne films and talked about how cool he was, but he never reached the same level as Bogart for me. Wayne was an empty shell of a man compared to Bogart. Wayne lacked cosmopolitan wit and moral ambiguity of Bogart. It wasn't until I was in college that I rediscovered the joys of Bogart. One summer I InterLibrary Loaned every Bogart film I could get my hands on and still to this day I am keeping my eyes open for one that I haven't seen when I go to the local video store.
He made a lot films, but he was always done working by 5 o'clock. That was Scotch time. He also believed that people should be able to make an honest living without the government harassing them. In fact, he believed it so much that he and Lauren Bacall protested (with signs and the whole bit) against the Red Scare of McCarthyism.
I nearly forgot to mention that growing up my family had two hamsters, a male named Bogie and a female named Bacall, just FYI.
Enough with the trivia, let's look at some of his films. Yes, this is only the films I have seen him in and yes there are some glaring omissions.
Dead End (1937) - Bogart plays a bad man who comes back to neighborhood of his youth and has to face "justice". I think I talk about this film else where on this blog so I will not bore you all too much right now.
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) - This one is much like the one above only Bogart plays a seedy club owner who gets his own in the end.
The Return of Doctor X (1939) - Bogart as a zombie/vampire doctor who is stealing the blood of young woman to stay alive. Brilliant. The picture I have on my profile is from this movie. As far as I know it is the only time that he has played in such a role. Great fun if you can get your hands on it.
High Sierra (1941) - Classic Bogart, plays the criminal with a sympathetic heart.
The Maltese Falcon (1941) - This movie has on the greatest lines ever, "When I smack you, you'll take and like it." Jesus who can get away with that kind of line.
All Through the Night (1942) - Very odd movie where Bogart, a criminal, finds himself fighting Nazis in New York. The only point to this film is that isolationism doesn't work and we all need to be fighting in WWII. There is an amazing scene where the Nazis think that Bogart's character is a bomb expert and everything they ask him a question he can't answer he stands at attention and hails Hitler, oddly funny.
Casablanca (1942) - Do I really need to say anything about this film?
To Have and Have Not (1944) - The first Bogart film that I remember seeing him in. Not one of the best, but very good. And Bacall's first film, ever.
The Big Sleep (1946) - Not a great film, but the quick dialogue between Bacall and Bogart is amazingly fun to watch.
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) - Wow, this film is amazing. If you think that Bogart is just a "We don't need no stinking badges."
Sirocco (1951) - This was an odd Casablanca-type film about a mercenary/gunrunner who is actually a good guy.
Beat the Devil (1953) - Truman Capote co-wrote this and John Huston directed it, but it comes across as slightly schizo. I remember it being sort of all over the place, but very funny none-the-less.
The Caine Mutiny (1954) - This one with The Treasure of the Sierra Madre are two of Bogart's best performances. Here he is a Navy captain who has paranoid fantasies and takes them out on the crew until they take over the ship. There is a trial and the crew wins, but even everyone leaves the film feeling sorry for the poor crazy captain, who was just doing his duty. Amazing acting and story.
Sabrina (1954) - I'm not really sure how I feel about this one. An older Bogart steals away a much younger Audrey Hepburn. And I think, if I remember right he hated this film and was a complete ass on set. Of course, he was sort of a crazy old man by that time.
So there you are. A love of Bogart based on 14 of his films.
Here is an amazing clip of Bogart in The Caine Mutiny.
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