Ok, well maybe absurdity is a better word. And I realize now tht I shouldn't have said the humor in the movie was "black." That term — "black humor/comedy" — is about the irreverent, counterintuitive glossing over of seriousness, violence, horror, etc., or a making light of something that we "should" think is appalling. This is not what "Blue Velvet" does... at all.

(A great example that always pops into my head when I think about the phrase "black humor" or "black comedy" is that scene in "Pulp Fiction" where the shock of Marvin's exploding head is immediately turned from an act of horror to pure slapstick thanks to the reactions of Vince and Jules. Y'know... "Oh shit I just shot Marvin in the face!" It's awful for all of a split second, then it becomes hilarious, not because Marvin's death is funny, or because the violence isn't horrific, but because of the tonal bait and switch.)

Instead, the humor in "Blue Velvet" comes from its innocent moments. Jeffery kind of humble-bragging and piling on the big-man-on-campus "flexing" when Sandy's around — shamelessly feeding the high school girl's picture of him as a cool, mysterious, grown-up college guy, despite the fact that he is very clearly a giant dingle; inexperienced, childlike, a little desperate and utterly unfamiliar and with what it means to be a sexual creature.



There's also plenty of humor in the overtly melodramatic performances of these characters when they're sleuthing around and, y'know, falling in love. Consider Sandy's explanation of her dream about darkness and sadness being beaten back by light exuded by "robins of love." The accompanying music and bizarre manic joy that overtakes her at that moment is delivered with a deft irreverence.


"There is trouble... until the robins come!"

Now, that said... Blue Velvet is like two movies in one. Like Lumberton itself, the movie pans back and forth between the relative innocence of the mundane, and the twisted, vile, hollow, senselessness of pure fucking evil.

I would never argue that the movie is "a comedy." Half the scenes are almost too upsetting to bear, whether it's rape and murder, torture, troubling Oedipal displays or the suggestion of a complete loss of self and the frailty and superficiality of morality.

Make no mistake, it gets bleak and serious as a heart attack, and turns into more of a horror film (in the true, human sense of the word) than even Mullholand Drive in its second half. BUT... that doesn't mean there isn't some nice weirdo deadpan humor in the movie.

I suppose the fact the humour is confined to innocence and that innocence is so totally destroyed in that film, it's ultimately always ironic. An exception to that is Sandy's dad. Not in terms of humour but that, while he's aware of the evil around him, he isn't corrupted by it (or presented as naive the way Sandy's 'goodness' is), or the scene where Dorothy is reunited with her son in which Lynch delivers her joy entirely straight. I love that he has the strength of conviction to do that, even though I'm not completely sure what he's trying to say with it, or even if I'd agree with it if I did.

Such a good movie.

This is a filme my cousin created 12 years ago that I finally put together for winter solstice. It's the solution to trolling and we had no idea about that when we made it. Let me know what you think. I play the Diabolical Dr. Lettich
https://youtu.be/uc6_eX422CU

I've never even heard of this, but I just read a synopsis and it sounds really interesting.

Just for kicks, here's IndieWire's Best Picture predictions for this year's Academy Awards.

wow yeah - sounds fascinating.

^^
I wouldn't discount "The Witch" for a Best Picture nomination though. It is actually eligible, despite being released in 2015. I looked at the eligible films and damned if it isn't listed. Not sure exactly how that works, but I think it more than deserves a nomination if that's possible. Of "horror" films that have been nominated in the past (Silence of the Lambs, The Sixth Sense) The Witch should have no problem meeting the quality criteria. Not that it's as good as SOTL, but it makes Sixth Sense look like half assed shit.

I've never watched an Oscars show. I have no idea who has won what ever. So I don't care.

I heard Amy Adams has buzz for Arrival and that one w/ Jake Jillenhal (sp?) so good for her. She's a great actress and deserves it.

But seriously - I have no interest in these kinds of awards.

I heard about this in an end of year list and I totally can't wait to see it.

Whoah! Well, excuse me sir. ;)

I have a longstanding interest in all this pop culture shit. Oscars more than Grammys. No. 1 records. Etc. It's just something I've always paid attention to. But I haven't actually WATCHED more than a 3 minute YouTubr clip from any Oscar show since '09, when I tuned in for the announcement of the Best Actor in a Supporting Role award, and immediately tuned out after Heath Ledger posthumously won. Damn right he won.

Anyway, I'm permanently pissed at the Academy Awards for not nominated Dark Knight for Best Pic. Can't take that shit back.

oh I wasn't being judgmental or anything. Just saying it's something that I've never even payed attention to. Not that I made a decision - it just doesn't interest me. See, I would have assumed Dark Knight DID win awards or whatever. I genuinely have no idea.

Dark Knight did win a couple of Oscars. Best Supportinf Actor for Ledger, and then I think a couple of tech awards (sound editing, I think.)

It SHOULD have been nominated for best picture though. In fact, the reason they've upped the maximum Best picture nominations from 6 or whatever to 10 is because of the blowback from not nominating Dark Knight. It was 7th or 8th in line that year. I'm not saying it should have won necessarily, but not nominating it was fucking STUPID.

You're welcome Mad Max: Fury Road. You're welcome Avatar. You're fucking welcome, dipshits.

Dark Knight does fucking rule.

The Crow. Always awesome.

man the
oscars are
the
most
blring show
on th e planet

or to paraphrase robigator: i hate the oscars! (drink a shot)

theyre
somewhat meaningful awards-- particularly in the technical fields i think

otherwise look to the ny critics circle for better appraisals

So the Oscars are just a mutual wank session for the hollywood elite to congratulate each other?

Muppet Christmas Carol.

Love that one. Good memories.

BAD SANTA

of course

(the first one)

GG Allen -Hated.

most of it disturbed and disgusted me. can't say I really liked it because im not into art self hate retard performance art.

though after exploring more of GG, I think his vocals and lyrics were kinda cool. he had a really snotty/mean voice but, man that shitting on or off staged shit and rubbing shit in da face shit/punching members attending the concert in the face well, it really didn't do it for me.

note: that he didn't really have much of a pecker/dick but something that was absent from his art which may be the cause of it all. poor guy. it wasn't even a inch long!!! the dudes dick doesn't even swagger below his balls. it juts pokes out like a pinky

anyway, sick shit. this GG was.

die hard 1 2 & 3 in the original vhs bha ha ha

terrible movies in general but better this shit than chrismas with the kranks or worse

Alien 1-4

Ended up rethinking my ranking. Came away quite liking Aliens. Still irritating but it does what it does better than 99% sf-action films.

New ranking:

Alien
Aliens
Alien 3 (Good in its own right, but out of step with the series)
Alien: Ressurection (A bit of a mess, saved by a couple of decent scenes)



Tootsie

Great period-piece rom-com.



The King of Comedy

Tragi-comedy where Sandra Bernhard steals the show (almost literally). Shame she hasn't been in more movies.



Carlito's Way

I've tried to like this film so many times but something about it just seems really off.

Manhattan Murder Mystery

Enjoyable but eventually quite tedious.



Across 110th Street

Excellent 70s gangster/blaxploitation movie. Sits somewhere between Mean Streets and Foxy Brown.

Love that one but my personal favorite of his (in the latter Lynch years) remains "Mulholland Drive". Saw it in a theater with like 2 other people upon initial release and towards the end, just when shit is getting REALLY heavy and psychedelic, the projector broke and the reel burned. I sat there, shaking in my seat for like 2-3 minutes before I realized it wasn't part of the movie. Now THAT'S immersive cinema.

daaaamn demonyo, you've been on a roll

& hank hill not from arlen, that's a great story

--

i saw monty python and the holy grail-- good laughs

i saw some japanese action shit that disappointed me greatly-- the machine girl (i think that's the title) and robo geisha. both nikkatsu movies both from the same director (coincidence), both start with great insane action but then turn into some lame flashback soap opera of explanations and big fucking yawn.

so i returned them unfinished

what else. hm. rr. i forget right now. had a fever etc.

oh yes, saw a bunch of rez movies

drunktown's finest - meh
powwow highway - funny, absurd
smoke signals - best injun movie made so far, no question

Haha, wow! A burning reel would've actually been the perfect ending to that movie.

Watched Mona Lisa again last night.



Great film. Bob Hoskins before selling out to Hollywood silliness (Roger Rabbit).

Hey now, I don't really think the first Die Hard can be called a terrible movie. The second. yes. The third was better than the second but still, woof. I didn't watch the crap after that. But the first is classic sort of.

Just re-watched for the first time in a few years. Liked it perhaps even more than I did before. Great movie.

Drive so unrealistic though. I just couldn't get past that. I haven't seen 11oth st in a while, but I recall it had a great soundtrack?

liked that movie very much.

Yeah, me too. I wasn't sure it would hold up. When I first saw it I was a bit blown away by the atmosphere and the music and the performances and how utterly different it was from what I expected after seeing the previews (looked like a stylized Bourne Identity type thing in the trailers). But it knocked me out because of its unexpectedness and the nature of its intensity.

I didn't know if it would still be a home run after three or four years. But this time I paid a lot more attention to the symbolism and the silent motivations of the characters, and the precision of the direction. I think just about every element of every shot is deliberate. There's no idle dialogue or random filler. It's planned out and executed like one of Driver's (here "the kid's") getaway routs at the start of the film.

I maintain that it's one of the best movies of the decade. I thought I was kind of alone in this, and that I was defending a movie that didn't meet traditional standards of "goodness" or whatever, but I hadn't realized Nicolas Winding Refn won the Best Director award at Cannes 2011, or that it was at or near the top of so many critic lists for that year.

Anyway, if you haven't seen Drive, see fucking Drive for the love of all that is holy.

i've seen it too many times to be impressed by it anymore

instead teh america-rah-rah hollywood clichés stand out more & more upon repetition

it's like that alvin lucier piece where he is speaking in a room different than the one you're in and the resonances of the structure start to erase all the details as he plays that loop back over & over.

you know the one i'm talking about?

it's a bit like that

Hah, I wrote up a reply thinking you were referring to Drive with the "American rag-rah" and Hollywood clichés comment. I was like, wow you must have watched it a LOT in 5 years if all you're seeing is clichés in that movie. Haha.

But then I realized you were taking about Die Hard and I totally get it. I haven't watched that movie in at least a decade. It's become too pasteurized by pop-culture references and *wink-wink* ironic "my favorite movie of all time" nonsense to have any enduring kick. I probably won't watch it again for another 10 years if ever, but I still think it's a classic.

Re: Alvin Lucier - Yep, I know the one. It's called "I Am Sitting in a Room" and I think it's an apt analogy for a movie like Die Hard. But not for Drive ;)

Has anyone seen Winding Refn's new one, the Neon Demon? It seems to be his most divisive film yet (which is saying something if you've seen Only God Forgives, which is essentially the anti-Drive). I am curious, but not too curious.

o yeah. i liked DRIVE and have defended it here as a beautiful, glossy, arthouse action movie. voyeuristic and great. so well done.

as for die hard yeah. the resonant frequencies cluster up. america good, european bad, yippee ki yey mother fucker, etc. etc. gets awful.

BUT it's technically a christmas movie so you can sneak it in past the OTHER, worse shit, like, um, too many to name (most recently, krampus).

btw, semi-watching batman w/ the penguin at the moment. the tim burton one. hard not to see frank reynolds anymore ha ha ha.

Batman Returns. Aesthetically pleasing, great DeVito performance, but pretty empty over all. Used to be my favorite movie ever. I had cups from MacDonald's to prove this ;)

Better than Batman Forever or Batman & Robin by miles, but not as good as Batman '89 (even though I prefer DeVito's mad Hitler Gormenghast monster to Nicholson's rockin' Joker), and, compared to the Nolan films, it doesn't even feel like an actual movie. More like a nice looking Disneyland ride or a toy set. :D

"For a Good Time, Call..."

Interesting lil movie about some girls that hate each other from college, but end up rooming together and starting a phone sex hotline. Interesting cameos.

Just watched episode one of The OA on Netflix and I think it's safe to say I'll be spending my entire weekend on it.

VERY promising Gaimanesque fairy tale sort of vibe. And beautiful.