netflix barrage 001 - a series

I was going to post this on my old Myspace blog, but I figured this would be a good chance to start something new. Hopefully my scribin chops will improve w/ practice? Here's to rum and good times...

Laura (my <333) got a 3-at-a-time netflix account! So that means I'll be watchin 3 long awaited classics every week (& prlly more often before long ^^) & this seemed like a good excuse to bust out the blog.

Sixteen Candles (1984)
Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, and an unrecognizably young & dorky John Cusack round out the cast of this John Hughes high school fable. Amazing that we watched this one first, totally randomly, since its the first of his many movies in this vein. It is definitely composed of corny moment after corny moment, set to the perfect cliche song for each situation. It succedes in capturing the surreality of high school, and pushes it over the top. Ringwald's character in particular is slightly unlikable: I mean everyone forgot her sweet sixteen, but all she does is pout & whine & survive til the next day where she gets everything she wanted? Of course I can much more relate to AMH's geek, who's awkwardness & desperation is turned up to 11, but he still manages to earn some sympathy w/ some honest dialogues. He gets what he wants too (in a way?) but instead through persistence, fearlessness, and ofcourseluck. Long Duk Dong is a bit of a sore thumb - more offensive even than Breakfast at Tiffany's Mr. Yunioshi - he just talks mildly funnily to the awkward strains of koto, & the shot lingers for a moment or cuts to the family mouths agape as if you're laughing wildly - bleah. I look forward to more developed outings such as Pretty in Pink & Say Anything for my future 80s education, already having seen Breakfast Club.


Taxi Driver (1976)
A young De Niro and Scorcese must have shocked audiences in the 70s with this gritty portrayal of pre-Giuliani NYC - scum and violence are one with the neon-lit shiny streets, observed with disdain in the taxi driver's rear view mirror. Its an impressive tale of descent, though Travis Bickle's pretty lowly from the outset. Not everything works out, but not everything goes crazy south either, maintaining a realistic balance, but the outcomes to some scenes I think would've been more impactful if the consequences had been more dire - say, if the movie ended immediately after the climactic shootout. The way the camera slowly examined & left the scene & craned out over the street I thought the movie Was over. I wonder if it would've been too risky to not tie up all the loose ends like the closing scenes try to do. Also what if he had followed through at that campaign rally? Flinching up & running away was not how I expected that to turn out. The film features very interesting apperances by Peter Boyle, Harvey Keitel, a spritely Jodie Foster, and the director.


Psycho (1960) SPOILER WARNING
In this film adventure I'm also getting my Hitchcock education, having... never... seen... any of his stuff... shame on me!
This film had a lot to live up to, and save a slow going opening (it is 50 years old), I'd say it succeedes. Janet Leigh's facial expression alone at times was a visual feast, if her motives were somewhat questionable. Photography must have been intimately planned down to every detail, & the pacing keeps your interest. The psychological implications saved for the end are simply fascinating, great payoff. Truly the "master of suspense." North by Northwest, Vertigo, Rear Window, and more coming soon!