Started watching Californication on Netflix. My first reaction was that the show is silly, shallow and highly entertaining, like most shows trying to capture the L.A. ethos. I love watching beautiful people get naked and screw each other over, but making Agent Mulder into a debauched writer is hard work; every clever turn of dialogue or plot seems to be toe-deep, and the moment his Hank Moody character takes on any kind of depth, he’s tossed back into an endless sea of vaginas. As much as I like the premise, I can’t help but feel the show’s crap, albeit beautiful crap. Let me know if I’m wrong on this cuz I probably can’t justify watching it any longer. But some current Netflix movies are not crap. Thing I love about Netflix is the variety of indie films and documentaries. I highly recommend Mud, one of the best coming-of-age movies I’ve seen. The 14-year-old protagonist is incredible, holding his own with Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon. Tough, raw and heartbreaking. The Motel Life’s also on Netflix and worth seeing if just for the scenes at the J.T., Pacific-Mart and elsewhere. Stephen Dorff has a great scene lighting a car on fire in the middle of Carson Valley. And we can forgive the filmmakers for using Virginia City as Elko because they make it look so beautiful. Take This Waltz, a quiet Canadian film with Seth Rogen and Michelle Williams, is an exceptional study of love and marriage. Compared to Williams’ Blue Valentine, which explodes with marital dysfunction, this film is thoughtful, gradually drawn, and ultimately devastating. “Video Killed the Radio Star” is the film’s theme song, if this helps paint a picture at all. Should also mention Downfall, which chronicles Hitler’s last days in his Berlin bunker. Felt like I was losing my sanity while watching it, but both Maria and I made it through. Extraordinary acting. Not for the faint of heart. Some interesting documentaries: Terms and Conditions May Apply, Inequality for All, and Tiny: A Story About Living Small. Also got Errol Morris’ The Unknown Known in my queue, which I can’t wait for—Morris is my favorite documentarian and was a great influence on me back in my film school days.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 20:36:34 +0000
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