Figured I'd repost these here as this thread has livened up a bit as of late.
Permanenet Record (1988/Silver) An effective look at teen suicide and its after-effects. Suprisingly respectable direction, especially coming from a woman, and one with as little expierience as Silver. Keanu Reeves retains his Bill and Ted surfer accent, but he keeps it from crossing into laughable, and displays some early acting chops. The outdated music is the only real negative, but overall, enjoyable.
Reassemblage (1982/Trinh) An interesting experimental documentary, where the subjects of the film (the people of Senegal), are just as important to the overall mix as the filmmakers themselves. Not only a commentary on documentary filmmaking, but also just on the way we as humans look at different cultures and strange objects. This film, having been directed by a woman, also seems to have some sort of message about the female presence in the Senegal culture, although this was a little bit unclear. Technically, Trinh's rapid fire editing was enjoyable, but her choices in audio mixing seemed a bit odd at times.
Lapis (1966/Whitney) Momentum (1969/Belson) While I'm so glad to have finally moved into the avant garde section of my film course, I was not blown away by these first two selections. Yes, they both effectively dive headfirst into the idea of cinematic purism we've been discussing; producing something that can only be created on film, and yes, they are both visually and mentally stimulating despite the near-complete lack of any explanation, but I feel as though personally, I will most likely have trouble ever considering avant garde films independently from my preconceptions derived from the ending to 2001, along with various Windows screensavers and Media Player displays. Original for their era, but perhaps cheapened by the passage of time.
La Dolce Vita (1960/Fellini) Great black and white cinematography, great performance by Mastroianni, some interesting ideas tossed around by Fellini. Despite the many notable positive aspects here, the overwhelming redundancy and sprawling length of the film are stifling. The last 15 minutes were great, showing some similarities to 8 1/2, but it was too little too late here. And why is it that if you listen to the dialogue and watch the actor's move, they never sync up? Mildly annoying. Still very interested in seeing more Fellini though.
A Trip to the Moon (1902/Melies) Really liked the set construction, as well as the primitive special effects.
Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1895/Lumiere) Glad I finally thought to look this up online. Anyone know of other classic shorts I might find on youtube?
Wild at Heart (1990/Lynch) Decent. Could've used more Willem Dafoe.
