brakhage

The oscar party at Kazu's was sweet. Kazu's house is always fun. And spacing out to Brakhage shorts while hungry and deliriously tired is kinda cool too.

I walked into Chase bank this morning and unwittingly sat down next to my boss, KP. I saw him out of the corner of my eye after a few moments and felt an horrible thrill of terror rush through my body. He sees me, his face inflates, and he stands up and yells to the bank at large, "Tymon! He is a good boy!"

I melted.

He then had me do errands for him, he bought me lunch, and when i asked him if I could take a day off from work every week for martial arts classes, he agreed and even said he'd pay for them. Holy shit.

I'll probably end up watching Lost in Translation tonight with omata. "I have it in both widescreen AND full screen," he told me last night, "because i fucking love this movie."

it better be good.

Recommended Film: "mothlight" by s. brakhage

Recommended Music: The Figurines

Recommended Reading: 100 Years of Solitude

Recommended Video Game: FF Tactics

Recommended Food: Chicken & Brie Panini

Recommended Drink: Cranberry juice

Recommended Cigar: Nat Sherman Suave

Recommended Actress: Eva Green

Recommended Person: me

Recommended Recommendation: poopy

The Assassination!

I haven't been following the Oscar nominations very closely this year, even though I've been looking forward very much to watching them this sunday; so I was surprised to discover that one of the best films from last year, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford", was almost entirely overlooked.


This was without a doubt one of, if not the best film from last year. The performances from everyone involved were absolutely stellar; Brad Pitt has matured into an impeccable actor, totally capable of expressing any emotion or desire on-screen. He WAS Jesse James; the viewer is completely convinced that they are watching footage from a secret camera that was somehow present during all of James' exploits, detailing his dementia and unexplained desires.
Sam Rockwell, also, has becomea serious actor. I didn't think it was possible. I had always loved his work in comic films, but that's just it - I only thought of him as a comedic actor. This movie has completely changed my perception of what he's capable of.
But the real star of this show is Casey Affleck. His character, Robert Ford, is depicted in history as a cowardly opportunist; whether or not this is a fair label for him is something the film never clearly states. The decision is left open-ended for the viewer to make.

Regardless of what the history books say about Ford, Affleck portrayed his character astronomically. His big brother Ben should be ashamed of himself - Casey is such an incomparably superior actor to Ben that it's almost funny. The younger Affleck portrayed Robert Ford for everything that he was; an enthusiastic, immature, ambitious, jealous, mystique-obsessed teenage boy, that hero-worshiped the very ground that Jesse James walked upon.
The film was put together in a pseudo-documentary/drama style; very uniquely done. It was all the more intense because it laid the entire story at your feet in the beginning of the movie, so the whole time you're anxiously expecting the culmination of actions you already know will happen. This added an element of deep, manic tension that stays with you after the film has ended. The scene in which Ford assassinates Jesse James swoops down on you, unexpectedly, and the moment before the deed is committed, you know it's about to happen. It gave me a feeling similar to the unpleasant thrill you feel when you know you're about to throw up, or the feeling when you skip a step on stairs in the dark.
The fact that this film wasn't nominated for anything but Best Supporting actor (Casey Affleck, who deserves it more than anyone) is upsetting. It's unfortunate that more people haven't seen this masterpiece.

Bon Iver

My good friend Elysia showed me the music of Bon Iver recently. I didn't pay much attention to him until today. His album "For Emma, Forever Ago" is some of the best music I have ever heard. I truly feel like I've found one of the most important musical creations I'll ever find in my lifetime. One of the highlights:














"Someday my pain, someday my pain
Will mark you
Harness your blame, harness your blame
And walk through

With the wild wolves around you
In the morning, I'll call you
Send it farther on"

~ The Wolves (Act I and II)

The tenderness and strength in his falsetto is so far unparalleled. When he sings in his normal register, it's like he's taking whatever painful and joyful events from his life that inspired this album and slamming them into you; they become you.

He spent three months in isolation in a cabin in Wisconsin, and this album was the result. Iver's myspace has two songs on it that perfectly capture the epic, simple, complicated, sincere power and soul that he somehow harnessed.

This music is feeding my soul. It's making me believe in God. It's healing me.

I tell my love to wreck it all

Cut out all the ropes and let me fall

My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my

Right in the moment this order's tall

!!!

It's like this real, visceral heat that I can feel. It's destructive/love songs. She's gone, baby, gone. And yet it lingers.