Requiem For a Dream (2000/Aronofsky) A long overdue rewatch, although so strong are the images and themes in this film that I had remembered much of it. Perhaps the most accurate depiction of the lives of drug users next to the last half of Goodfellas. Memorable for its unapologetic portrayal of extreme pain, humiliation, and tragedy, made even more effective because of the interweaving four storylines all with the similar theme. Aronofsky utilizes perhaps the most blazingly unconventional, in-your-face, edit-happy directorial style in modern or in all cinema, which makes it one of the most emotionally difficult but aesthetically rewarding viewing experiences in memory. Eagerly awaiting The Fountain.
Blackboard Jungle (1955/Brooks) A decent, if not outdated look at juvenile delinquency at the turn of the century. Famous for being the first film to use rock and roll music, it's somewhat ironic that the film opens with a message to the viewers warning them of a social plague. It almost seems as if the film can't decide whether its purpose is to entertain or to inform. Either way, good performances by Vic Morrow, the always amazing Sidney Poitier (in an eerie similar role reversal from To Sir, With Love) and the recently departed Glenn Ford.
Zerkalo (1975?/Tarkovsky) While it presents its images in a wider range of formats than Last Year at Marienbad, covers more chronological ground than Wild Strawberries, and doesn't ever really find its way into any sort of long-term narrative the way Mulholland Dr. did, this perhaps stands, at least in my mind, as the least impressive of the films of its kind, although it is interesting that this film is the only autobiographical one among the bunch. Tarkovsky executes some nice camera moves at certain points, and some of the slow-motion, silent sequences work pretty well, but overall, the emotional effect is lost. I'm still very interested in seeing some more of Tarkovsky's work.
