Thursday, April 5, 2018

Roger Ebert (on Tree Of Life)

Many films diminish us. They cheapen us, masturbate our senses, hammer us with shabby thrills, diminish the value of life. Some few films evoke the wonderment of life's experience, and those I consider a form of prayer. Not prayer "to" anyone or anything, but prayer "about" everyone and everything. I believe prayer that makes requests is pointless. What will be, will be. But I value the kind of prayer when you stand at the edge of the sea, or beneath a tree, or smell a flower, or love someone, or do a good thing. Those prayers validate existence and snatch it away from meaningless routine.

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

PTA's Phantom Thread Pre-Show Playlist (70mm Screenings)

  1. “Blue Sands” – The Chico Hamilton Quintet
  2. “Portrait of My Love” – Cyril Ornadel & Starlight Symphony
  3. “You’re So Vain” – Carly Simon
  4. “Dolly Suite, Op. 56: I. Berceuse” – Gabriel Fauré, Katia Labèque
  5. “I’ll Always Be in Love with You” – Helen Forrest
  6. “I’m Making Believe” – Ella Fitzgerald & The Ink Spots
  7. “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye” – Roberta Flack
  8. “Nobody Does It Better” – Carly Simon
  9. “Impression of a Princess” – Danish State Radio Orchestra & Robert Farnon
  10. “My Ship” – Oscar Peterson and Nelson Riddle
  11. “Razor Love” – Neil Young
  12. “Suspicions” – Bernard Herrmann
  13. “Thirteen (Alternate Mix)” – Big Star
  14. “Coming Around Again” – Carly Simon
  15. “Portrait of Jenny” – Oscar Peterson and Nelson Riddle
  16. “Two Blind Loves” – Jack Teagarden and his Orchestra, Kitty Kallen
  17. “I’m On Fire” – Bruce Springsteen
  18. “Three Little Words” – Jack Teagarden and his Orchestra
  19. “Stay (feat. Mikky Ekko)” – Rihanna
  20. “Lord of the Manor” – The Everly Brothers
  21. “Come Sunday” – Oscar Peterson and Nelson Riddle
  22. “XO” – Beyoncé
  23. “Farewell (from the film The Constant Nymph)” – Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Altman in 2018/1975

I think Altman is, like F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of the great poets of failure. His real attraction is to that secret underside of the American dream: humiliation, embarrassment, loss of status, and the abiding anxiety the fear of these produces. 
-- Molly Haskell on NASHVILLE

Monday, January 8, 2018

Brawl on Cell Block 99 (Dir. S. Craig Zahler)

God Damn! God Damn!! God Damn!!!

The violence in the film, especially toward the end, is intensely shocking and graphic. Given that “do it on the set” attitude, did you stick with practical effects?
One hundred percent practical effects. There is nothing there that’s not practical. It’s the same thing: make it happen on the day, and figure it out. A couple of moments fell a little short, and we went back and did a little pick-up shoot after the movie was done. But it’s the same idea of how to affect the audience. My feeling is, if it’s a digital effect that doesn’t look entirely real, which is the case in $150 million movies, there’s nothing there, and you can feel it. If it’s a practical effect and it looks pretty good, but not 100 percent right, you can still feel there’s something real there. Maybe all the qualities aren’t completely right, the audience says, “That’s a little rubbery,” but there’s still something to talk about. Whereas when it’s digital and it doesn’t work, your mind goes, “Well, it’s all computers.” It’s a different thing on a subconscious level. It’s the same reason I try to have as few edits as possible in my movies, because every edit is a suspension of disbelief.

Saturday, November 4, 2017

Hamilton -- November 4th, 1977

Homecoming (Colgate University)

Set 1
Bertha
Good Lovin'
Brown-Eyed Women
Cassidy
It Must Have Been The Roses
Sunrise
New Minglewood Blues
Dupree's Diamond Blues**
Let It Grow

Set 2
James Gang Intro
Samson & Delilah
Cold Rain & Snow
Playing in the Band
Eyes of the World
Estimated Prophet
Other One
Drums
Iko Iko
Stella Blue
Playing in the Band (Reprise)

Encore
Johnny B. Goode

Notes:
a dosed show
band is wearing sunglasses
dupree's has a jingly, jangly fresh good feel. 1st set highlight
super fast too rushed eyes

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Madison, WI - February 3rd, 1978 ("Hygge")

...well i married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life...
the good ol' grateful dead at the dane county coliseum
seahawks/lions wildcard (one more) saturday night


Set1
Cold Rain & Snow
They Love Each Other
Looks Like Rain
Brown Eyed Woman
The Music Never Stopped

Set 2
Estimated Prophet
Eyes of the World
Playing in the Band->
The Wheel->
Playing in the Band
Johnny B. Good

Madison Square Garden - December 29th, 2013

It's early January. It's frigid. This set remains hot.
(Wildcard football -- the hapless Texans with Brock Osweiller beating the hapless Raiders with third string Connor Cook)

Set 2
Down With Disease
Carini
Waves
Twist
Golgi Apparatus
David Bowie

Encore:
Possum