The Old Joe is New Again

Common wisdom might say only a zealot would take a job that ended in certain death. Such wisdom forgets junkies and short sighted young people--these are the kinds of people who might take a job as a Looper in Rian Johnson's 2012 movie of that name. An amazing Sci-Fi noir, the movie has style and attitude with a genuine understanding of what makes good noir work.

A lot of people think noir is detectives and/or bad people in trench coats with a tragic ending. The introduction many people have had to noir as a concept in the past twenty years was probably Sin City, the anthology film in which the best story has Mickey Rourke as a big, strange looking guy who's willing to go any distance for his ideals. It's a good story but it's not really noir. A noir is almost always a tragedy in the classical sense of the word--that is, a story where the protagonist comes to a bad end and it really is his or her fault in some way. A good noir is the story of a guilty protagonist.

Looper is obviously to some extend about age. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in prosthetic make-up rivalling Mickey Rourke's in Sin City, plays Joe, a "Looper", a mob employee who murders people sent from the future so that their bodies can be untraceably disposed of. They're called Loopers because, sooner or later, every Looper knows that he's going to have to kill the future version of himself sent back. That's why all the people sent back are wearing hoods. They also have, strapped to their backs, the compensation--twenty or so bars of gold which the Looper can use to live comfortably for thirty years until he's forced to go back in time and be shot.

To a typical young hoodlum, thirty years sounds like a million years and the people working as Loopers tend to make other self-destructive lifestyle choices. Joe doesn't seem different from any other and doesn't seem to have many compunctions about murder or betraying a friend. Then Joe meets his future self, who unexpectedly comes back unbound and without a hood.

The older Joe is played by Bruce Willis, which is why Gordon-Levitt wears the funny nose. I have nothing against Joseph Gordon-Levitt, he's a decent actor and was good in Rian Johnson's Brick, though I don't think anyone's looking for him in movies. I think he's a guy who gets work more because filmmakers like him than because audiences do, Looper could certainly have done with casting someone who looked more like a young Bruce Willis. I remember hearing Terry Gilliam, in the 12 Monkeys DVD commentary, talk about how he likes Bruce Willis' nose, describing it as something that starts at the top as a beautiful Roman nose that then gets abruptly chopped off halfway down. Gordon-Levitt's prosthetic just approximates a normal Roman nose.

12 Monkeys is a movie many people have compared Looper to and its time travel logic is similarly satisfying. But Willis sitting down across from Gordon-Levitt in a diner establishes the film as being more about the contrast of perspective that comes with age. Older Joe doesn't seem to like younger Joe--he knows exactly how irresponsible this kid is and he's had the benefit of having been married to a woman who helped him through drug addiction and other self-descructive tendencies to find a happy and contented life. Until the past came to collect.

It's a common noir theme for a reformed man or woman to suddenly be haunted or ambushed by their past--one of the great classic noirs is even called Out of the Past. Maybe this concept was never more literally realised than it is by Looper.

But the story isn't simply about a reckless Joe versus a mature Joe. Older Joe may in fact be worse for the fact that he has a sense of responsibility and reverence--he has commitment to something now that could make him do worse things than he ever did when he didn't care.

Emily Blunt plays the mother of a gifted child and much of the movie takes place on her farm. Her character reflects the haunted past theme in a more traditional sense--she gave her son to her sister when she led a more reckless lifestyle but is now trying to make good since her sister's death. With this and Edge of To-morrow, Blunt seems to be establishing herself as a name in the time travel movie game.

Aside from Gordon-Levitt's prosthetics, the only complaint I have about the film is all the lens flares. With this movie, Johnson makes J.J. Abrams' lens flare-o-ramas seems like matte paintings. But I can easily forgive the film for this when it so successfully complicates the tragic hero story by the end.

No Pequod was Steve (the Bus)

Maybe if Henry David Thoreau had a bunch of kids he took with him to live in the woods, and he lived in the 60s, it might have been something like 2016's Captain Fantastic. Though the film is set in the present day, there's a definite vibe of the 60s in this nice film about a bearded Viggo Mortensen bringing up his kids in the forest. Its a road movie about questions a parent faces regarding how protective he ought to be of his children.

The film's writer and director, Matt Ross, has said in an NPR interview, "the film is not about alternative living communities. That's sort of the backdrop for the beginning of the movie. I think if the movie is about anything, it's really about the choices we make as people, specifically as parents." But he goes on to describe living in an alternative living community in which his mother occupied a role similar to that of Mortensen's character, Ben, in the film. While Mortensen's hair, beard, and suit, and the association with hippies, suggest the 1960s (and maybe, in unfortunate coincidence, Charles Manson), Ross' childhood experiences come from the 80s and he denies with some curious passion that his family were hippies. The details of Ben's scheme for his family are left vague and the perspective of the opposite point of view, represented by Jack (Frank Langella), Ben's father in law, are similarly non-specific. Ben believes in directly answering any questions about life and death his kids ask, he doesn't shield them from the slaughter of animals they eat, and he rigorously trains them in survival skills. Jack is the kind of rich guy who lives in a big house, can call the cops and know people at the station by name, and have them arrest who he wants. If Ben shows up for his wife's funeral, Jack's daughter, Jack says he'll have Ben arrested.

Ben explains at the beginning of the film to his six sons and daughters quite candidly that their mother has committed suicide after suffering from bipolar disorder for some time. This frankness is humourously contrasted with the nervous, normal sidestepping Ben's sister, Harper (Kathryn Hahn), and her husband, Dave (Steve Zahn), attempt to do at dinner in Harper and Dave's home. When Ben shows how much better educated his youngest daughter is than Harper and Dave's typically ignorant teenage sons, it seems like Ben has the right idea.

The movie tells you how to write a review when one of Ben's daughters is reading Lolita and he tells her not to give him the plot or to use vague words like "interesting" in discussing it. So I'll heed the good advice and move on from plot description--plot is not the film's strong point, anyway, particularly in the last act where seemingly very important things are jumped over. Particularly the relationship between Ben and Jack, which inexplicably goes all over the place--one moment Jack wants to arrest Ben, the next he's inviting him to stay. Ben's philosophy of hypereducation is pretty inconsistent, too. His kids have detailed knowledge of medicine and physics but when his wife's funeral is held against the wishes expressed in his wife's will, Ben's only solution is to storm the event and make a scene rather than taking more effective legal action. Ben's eldest son, Bodevan, pretends to be a religious home-schooled kid when a cop pulls them over, but then literally becomes the stereotype of the sheltered home-schooled kid when he meets a girl and almost immediately proposes marriage to her. It's a bit broad and it's hard to get traction on Ben's parenting ideas when the results are so inconsistent in the kids. The biggest problem in the film is the absence of the mother--her death does motivate the plot but it's hard to judge her and Ben's parenting when we get only hints of what the family environment was like when she was around. This is a crucial problem when the film is at its heart about decisions in parenting. Ben and his kids always feel a little distant.

In Sheila O'Malley's review of the film, she says, "'Captain Fantastic' treats the situation (and Ben) so uncritically and so sympathetically that there is a total disconnect between what is actually onscreen and what Ross thinks is onscreen." I think there's some truth to this though Terry Gross, in the NPR interview, specifically brings up to Ross the contradiction in the fact that Ben is an authoritarian teaching free thought and Ross says this contradiction is intentional; "He's not the protagonist, and he's not the antagonist. At times he is both, as are other characters." Although the film is in kind of an ideological bubble, certain to be appreciated more by liberals than conservatives (despite a surprising heterocentrism when Ben defines sexual intercourse for one of his children), I think there is enough charm in the aesthetic of Ben and his family and their adventures. There's a pop smugness in the kids being surprised at all the fat people in the U.S. and Ben's casual mockery of religion and consumerism but watching the kids wielding hunting knives and spouting detailed anatomical knowledge is very charming. Mortensen's performance is of course very good and he and the kids have a wonderful chemistry.

Into the Camera

This is the cat who's successfully pissed on all the doors in my building so I guess he's the new landlord. I hope I don't have to pay the rent in fish.

Looking through my camera, I'm reminded I've said very little about my trip to Tennessee. Well, there's not much to say. I hadn't been in seventeen or eighteen years. I thought maybe with age I would have matured to the point where I could appreciate Tennessee but, no, I still really, really hate the sense of sprawling stagnation and resentment that seems to pervade the atmosphere. I did really like the hospital, though, which was like a city in itself, located in a narrow valley with lots of beautiful trees on the hillsides, it was several buildings and the route from the parking lot to my grandmother's hospital room was wonderfully confusing, involving multiple elevator trips. I am a lover of the great indoors, I must say. Even the cafeteria was good, I had some very nice roasted yellow squash for lunch.

I took no pictures in Tennessee. I did take quite a few over Charlotte, North Carolina, where my flight connected for both the trip out and the trip back.

I'm sure I looked like a complete newbie, taking photos through the windows. I didn't care--I was fucking flying, man. In the sky.

I'd never been to Charlotte. I suppose I can't say I've been properly even now. But it was a really nice airport--big, though people are quick to share their stories of bigger airports when I exhibit the pleased awe I felt at the long terminals, bland eating establishments, and views of gigantic planes outside enormous windows. It is nice to know I have so many airports yet to experience.

Here's a picture from the San Diego airport, early in the morning before I left:

And here's the Coronado bridge when I came back. I was never so happy to see downtown San Diego.

The white roof is the convention centre, four days after the end of Comic Con.

My sister's cat, Saffy, luxuriating in a reasonable spot the day I returned:

Twitter Sonnet #900

In brains too low to sink the jugular
A voyage passed the ape's too stuttered tongue;
Mistakes invited smooth a cellular,
A wire eating air while songs were sung.
A vanguard gripe can ghost a falcon's coin.
Abated brittle hansom cabs combine.
Jean's Marais rests below the beastly groin.
A boil blanched to coax a grin's resign.
Insistent title pages peer again.
The cricket ball constantly rolls in roots.
A falling green shampoo will say, "Amen."
The crowded chapel sang like stones in boots.
The treacle well explodes with love for rocks.
The greatest trees will come to work in socks.

No Casual Pleasure

I'm finding it a little difficult to begin talking about 1971's Good Little Girls (Les Petites Filles modèles) after noticing three of its stars committed suicide. One of them, Bella Darvi, the very year the film was released. The movie is an entertaining but unremarkable erotic comedy. Featuring a plot with no particular forward momentum, it contents itself with a beautiful woman and her daughters and their idle sexual games in a country manor. There's a compulsion to look for some kind of correlation between the film and the suicides. Aside from the rough and dangerous lifestyles that may have attended being involved with the erotic film industry in Europe of the 1970s, I can't see much to indicate a connexion between the deaths. Two of the women had some success in Hollywood and major European films before going to erotic films so perhaps they saw themselves as being in a hopeless decline.

Michele Girardon, who committed suicide four years later at the age of 36, had a role in Howard Hawks' Hatari! ten years earlier. She plays the matriarch, Madame de Fleurville, who appears in a sex talk show of sorts. At various times in the film, she speaks to a camera and offers advice on sex. "When one takes up golf or flute playing, one takes lessons, as far as I know," she says in one of her monologues. "You consult the manual. That's how one becomes a champion or a virtuoso. In sexual relations, the more the partners work on their technique--and fingering--the better they will be."

Extending her philosophy to her own family, she instructs her two daughters to read aloud from erotic books they find in the library. One of the daughters, Camille, is played by Marie-Georges Pascal who later became a television star in France and committed suicide in 1985 at the age of 39. The other daughter, Madeleine, was played by an actress named Jessica Dorn about whom I can find no information. I hope to-day she has a nice home in Paris where she delights younger people with tales of working in erotic cinema in 70s.

The two girls don't have a lot to do until Madame de Rosbourg (Darvi) comes to stay at the manor with her own daughter, Marguerite (Cathy Reghin). Bella Darvi is the reason I sought this movie out after seeing her steal 1954's big Hollywood production, The Egyptian, from everyone else in the film, including Gene Tierney and Jean Simmons. According to Wikipedia, she was still paying off gambling debts the year before Good Little Girls was released and she committed suicide the year the film was released after several previous unsuccessful attempts. She was 42.

I didn't even recognise her right away--her striking straight black hair in The Egyptian is replaced by blonde hair. She does little other than sit next to Madame de Fleurville for most of the film, not having an interesting scene until the end when she takes her top off at a party after a famous artist spills wine on it. She coolly asks a servant to frame the garment.

In one of the funnier moments, a woman nearby after Darvi removes her top complains about being at a party where women get naked. The woman speaking is herself wearing only jewellery, a running gag in the film about high fashion.

Those who've seen the new Absolutely Fabulous movie might recognise this gag. In the new movie, a woman at a fashion show unselfconsciously wears a gown that plunges in the back to below her bare buttocks. The oldest version of this gag I've seen is in Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 film Pierrot le Fou. I can't say I'm sick of it.

Neither Darvi or Girardon appear naked in Good Little Girls, though, suggesting to me that the two women really did feel like they were appearing in a kind of film that was beneath them. Which is too bad for a lot of reasons. Good Little Girls is far from a masterpiece but it is charming and sort of relaxing. Far from a hardcore fuck party, it's more of a drowsy fantasy, a sensual day in the country.

Top Ten Movies of Eternity, Part Two

And here's the rest of the list. I hadn't seen enough movies from the 1910s and 1920s to make proper top ten lists for every year so I've done lists for groupings of years.

A lot of years were really tough to narrow down to a list of ten. Some years, particularly in the late 50s and early 60s, had an uncanny number of great films. Anyway, here's the list:

1914 - 1920

10. Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914) 9. Mickey (1918)
8. Intolerance (1916)
7. Shoulder Arms (1918)
6. The Mark of Zorro (1920)
5. Gertie the Dinosaur (1914)
4. The Rink (1916)
3. Sunnyside (1919)
2. The Golem (1915)
1. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

Honourable mention: The Tramp

1921 - 1925

10. A Woman of Paris (1923)
9. Ben-Hur (1925)
8. Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (1924)
7. The Idle Class (1921)
6. Phantom of the Opera (1925)
5. The Gold Rush (1925)
4. Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
3. Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache (1924)
2. The Battleship Potemkin (1925)
1. The Kid (1921)

Honourable mention: The Love Light (1921)

1926 - 1929

10. Diary of a Lost Girl (1929)
9. The Circus (1928)
8. The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)
7. Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928)
6. Woman in the Moon (1929)
5. The Man Who Laughs (1928)
4. The General (1926)
3. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
2. Pandora's Box (1929)
1. Metropolis (1927)

Honourable mentions: Un Chien Andalou (1929), Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927), The Black Pirate (1926)

1930

10. Sunny
9. Paid
8. Hell's Angels
7. Anna Christie
6. Feet First
5. Animal Crackers
4. L'Age d'Or
3. The Blue Angel
2. The Blood of a Poet
1. Morocco

1931

10. Dance, Fools, Dance
9. Night Nurse
8. Mata Hari
7. The Public Enemy
6. Dracula 5. Little Caesar
4. The Smiling Lieutenant
3. Frankenstein
2. M
1. City Lights

Honourable mention: The Sin of Madelon Claudet, Safe in Hell

1932

10. Blonde Venus
9. The Sign of the Cross
8. I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
7. Million Dollar Legs
6. Island of Lost Souls
5. Grand Hotel
4. Trouble in Paradise
3. Scarface
2. Shanghai Express
1. Vampyr

Honourable mentions: Freaks, The Mummy, White Zombie

1933

10. Alice in Wonderland
9. The Private Life of Henry VIII
8. Apart From You
7. Baby Face
6. Dancing Lady
5. Queen Christina
4. She Done Him Wrong
3. Design for Living
2. Duck Soup
1. King Kong

Honourably mentioned for Hedy Lamarr's nude scene and historic first non-pornographic on screen orgasm: Ecstasy

1934

10. Zouzou
9. Twentieth Century
8. We're Not Dressing
7. The Gay Divorcee
6. The Black Cat
5. The Thin Man
4. A Story of Floating Weeds
3. The Scarlet Empress
2. Crime Without Passion
1. It Happened One Night

Honourable mentions: Cleopatra, Gambling Lady

1935

10. Naughty Marietta
9. Roberta
8. Princess Tam Tam
7. Werewolf of London
6. The Ghost Goes West
5. Captain Blood
4. A Night at the Opera
3. Bride of Frankenstein
2. Top Hat
1. The 39 Steps

1936

10. Follow the Fleet
9. Camille
8. Osaka Elegy
7. Mary of Scotland
6. Dodsworth
5. The Charge of the Light Brigade
4. Dracula's Daughter
3. My Man Godfrey
2. Swing Time
1. Modern Times

Honourable mention: Rembrandt

1937

10. Nothing Sacred
9. Conquest
8. Kid Galahad
7. Marked Woman
6. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
5. Dead End
4. The Old Mill
3. A Day at the Races
2. Lost Horizon
1. Shall We Dance?

Honourable mention: Stella Dallas

1938

10. Four Daughters
9. Angels with Dirty Faces
8. Carefree
7. The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse
6. Room Service
5. Jezebel
4. Holiday
3. The Lady Vanishes
2. The Adventures of Robin Hood
1. Bringing up Baby

1939

10. Ninotchka
9. Gone with the Wind
8. Five Came Back
7. Only Angels Have Wings
6. Stagecoach
5. Gunga Din
4. Jamaica Inn
3. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
2. The Wizard of Oz
1. The Rules of the Game

Honourable mentions: The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums, Each Dawn I Die, Destry Rides Again, Beau Geste

1940

10. Rebecca
9. They Drive by Night
8. The Shop Around the Corner
7. The Sea Hawk
6. Fantasia
5. The Grapes of Wrath
4. The Thief of Bagdad
3. The Great Dictator
2. His Girl Friday
1. The Philadelphia Story

Honourable mentions: The Mark of Zorro, Strange Cargo

1941

10. Dumbo
9. Sullivan's Travels
8. How Green Was My Valley
7. Cottage to Let
6. High Sierra
5. Suspicion
4. Ball of Fire
3. The Maltese Falcon
2. The Lady Eve
1. Citizen Kane

Honourable mentions: Genroku chushingura, You'll Never Get Rich, 49th Parallel

1942 10. To Be or Not to Be
9. Yankee Doodle Dandy
8. Bambi
7. The Black Swan
6. Johnny Eager
5. The Male Animal
4. Saboteur
3. The Magnificent Ambersons
2. Cat People
1. Casablanca

Honourable mentions: In This Our Life, Son of Fury

1943

10. The Outlaw
9. Background to Danger
8. Watch on the Rhine
7. Sanshiro Sugata
6. The Leopard Man
5. I Walked with a Zombie
4. Ossessione
3. Day of Wrath
2. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
1. Shadow of a Doubt

1944

10. A Canterbury Tale
9. The Woman in the Window
8. Gaslight
7. The Uninvited
6. Ivan the Terrible, Part One
5. Meet Me in St. Louis
4. Phantom Lady
3. Laura
2. Arsenic and Old Lace
1. Double Indemnity

Honourable mentions: The Curse of the Cat People, The Three Caballeros, The Most Beautiful

1945 10. The Men who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
9. The Lost Weekend
8. Brief Encounter
7. The Picture of Dorian Gray
6. Isle of the Dead
5. Spellbound
4. I Know Where I'm Going!
3. The Body Snatcher
2. Dead of Night
1. Detour

Honourable mention: Rome, Open City

1946

10. No Regrets for Our Youth
9. My Darling Clementine
8. The Big Sleep
7. Black Angel
6. Paisan
5. Gilda
4. Green for Danger
3. The Stranger
2. Beauty and the Beast
1. Notorious

Honourable mentions: A Matter of Life and Death, Duel in the Sun

1947

10. Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman
9. Brighton Rock
8. Hue and Cry
7. Body and Soul
6. Nightmare Alley
5. Monsieur Verdoux
4. Kiss of Death
3. The Lady from Shanghai
2. Out of the Past
1. Black Narcissus

Honourable mentions: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Possessed

1948

10. Spring in a Small Town
9. The Woman in White
8. London Belongs to Me
7. Fort Apache
6. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
5. Macbeth
4. Key Largo
3. Drunken Angel
2. Bicycle Thieves
1. The Red Shoes

Honourable mentions: They Live By Night, Portrait of Jennie, Rope, Kiss the Blood off My Hands, The Naked City, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

1949

10. Gun Crazy
9. The Heiress
8. On the Town
7. Le Silence de la mer
6. Bitter Rice
5. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
4. Kind Hearts and Coronets
3. Stray Dog
2. The Third Man
1. Late Spring

Honourable mentions: White Heat, Samson and Delilah

1950 10. Treasure Island
9. In a Lonely Place
8. Harvey
7. Orphée
6. Night and the City
5. All About Eve
4. The Asphalt Jungle
3. Sunset Boulevard
2. Stage Fright
1. Rashomon

Honourable mention: King Solomon's Mines, Caged, Stromboli, The Furies

1951 10. On Dangerous Ground
9. Laughter in Paradise
8. The Thing from Another World
7. Ace in the Hole
6. Strangers on a Train
5. An American in Paris
4. The African Queen
3. The Day the Earth Stood Still
2. The Tales of Hoffmann
1. Meshi

Honourable mentions: Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, Anne of the Indies, David and Bathsheba, Susana, Alice in Wonderland

1952

10. The Lusty Men
9. Moulin Rouge
8. Pat and Mike
7. Monkey Business
6. Subida al cielo
5. The Life of Oharu
4. High Noon
3. Singin' in the Rain
2. The Quiet Man
1. Ikiru

Honourable mentions: Clash by Night, Lightning, Don't Bother to Knock, The Holly and the Ivy

1953

10. The Naked Spur
9. The Big Heat
8. The Bigamist
7. Gate of Hell
6. The Wild One
5. Pickup on South Street
4. Ugetsu Monogatari
3. Roman Holiday
2. Summer with Monika
1. Tokyo Story

Honourable mentions: Older Brother, Younger Sister, Niagara, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

1954

10. The Belles of St Trinian's
9. Johnny Guitar
8. Rear Window
7. Late Chrysanthemums
6. Robinson Crusoe
5. Secret of the Incas
4. On the Waterfront
3. Dial M for Murder
2. Sabrina
1. Seven Samurai

Honourable mentions: Journey to Italy, Sound of the Mountain, Gojira, Sansho the Bailiff, Naked Alibi, French Cancan

1955

10. It Came from Beneath the Sea
9. The Trouble with Harry
8. Rebel Without a Cause
7. Taira Clan Saga
6. Kiss Me Deadly
5. Death of a Cyclist
4. Floating Clouds
3. The Night of the Hunter
2. Les Diaboliques
1. To Catch a Thief

Honourable mentions: Lola Montes, I Live in Fear

1956

10. Street of Shame
9. The Wrong Man
8. Lust for Life
7. Baby Doll
6. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
5. Yield to the Night
4. The Man Who Knew Too Much
3. Forbidden Planet
2. The Killing
1. The Searchers

Honourable mentions: War and Peace, Giant, Back from Eternity, The Green Man

1957

10. Funny Face
9. Wild Strawberries
8. The Bridge on the River Kwai
7. Night of the Demon
6. The Long Haul
5. Nights of Cabiria
4. Love in the Afternoon
3. Throne of Blood
2. The Lower Depths
1. The Seventh Seal

Honourable mentions: Paths of Glory, Witness for the Prosecution, The Prince and the Showgirl

1958

10. Gigi
9. Tread Softly Stranger
8. The Ballad of Narayama
7. Passport to Shame
6. En cas de malheur
5. Ivan the Terrible, Part Two
4. Touch of Evil
3. Ashes and Diamonds
2. The Hidden Fortress
1. Vertigo

Honourable mentions: King Creole, Equinox Flower, Bell, Book, and Candle

1959

10. Rio Bravo
9. Floating Weeds
8. Too Many Crooks
7. Sleeping Beauty
6. Darby O'Gill and the Little People
5. Suddenly, Last Summer
4. Pickpocket
3. Some Like It Hot
2. The 400 Blows
1. North by Northwest

Honourable mentions: The Nun's Story, Ben-Hur, Anatomy of a Murder

1960

10. Jigoku
9. The Apartment
8. Eyes Without a Face
7. The Naked Island
6. The Bad Sleep Well
5. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
4. L'Avventura
3. Breathless
2. La Dolce Vita
1. Psycho

Honourable mentions: Ocean's 11, Peeping Tom, Spartacus, Daughters, Wives, and a Mother, Black Sunday, Little Shop of Horrors, Testament of Orpheus

1961

10. West Side Story
9. A Woman is a Woman
8. La Notte
7. Last Year at Marienbad
6. Mother Joan of the Angels
5. Viridiana
4. Through a Glass Darkly
3. Breakfast at Tiffany's
2. Yojimbo
1. The Misfits

Honourable mentions: Accattone, The Children's Hour, Taste of Fear

1962

10. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
9. Sanjuro
8. Eclipse
7. Winter Light
6. Lawrence of Arabia
5. Lolita
4. Vivre sa vie
3. The Exterminating Angel
2. Carnival of Souls
1. Jules and Jim

Honourable mentions: The L-Shaped Room, Ride the High Country, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam

1963

10. Youth of the Beast
9. The Haunting
8. Billy Liar
7. The Pink Panther
6. Charade
5. Nippon konchūki
4. Contempt
3. 8 and a Half
2. The Birds
1. High and Low

Honourable mentions: The Sword in the Stone, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

1964

10. A Hard Day's Night
9. Diary of a Chambermaid
8. Kwaidan
7. Onibaba
6. Band of Outsiders
5. Daydream
4. Pale Flower
3. Gate of Flesh
2. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
1. Mary Poppins

Honourable mentions: The Woman in the Dunes, Cheyenne Autumn

1965

10. Cat Ballou
9. Red Line 7000
8. She
7. Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
6. Alphaville
5. Doctor Zhivago
4. I Knew Her Well
3. Repulsion
2. Pierrot le Fou
1. Red Beard

1966

10. Spur der Stein
9. Django
8. Black Girl
7. The Stranger Within a Woman
6. Blowup
5. Tokyo Drifter
4. The Face of Another
3. Chimes at Midnight
2. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
1. Persona

Honourable mentions: Alice in Wonderland, How To Steal a Million, Georgy Girl, 7 Women

1967

10. Two or Three Things I Know About Her
9. Bonnie and Clyde
8. Frankenstein Created Woman
7. In Cold Blood
6. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
5. Two for the Road
4. Branded to Kill
3. Cool Hand Luke
2. The Fearless Vampire Killers
1. Le Samourai

Honourable mentions: Wait Until Dark, Commissar, Belle de jour

1968

10. The Lion in Winter
9. Rosemary's Baby
8. The Odd Couple
7. A Midsummer Night's Dream
6. Kuroneko
5. Night of the Living Dead
4. The Great Silence
3. Bullitt
2. Once Upon a Time in the West
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey

Honourable mentions: Barbarella, The Devil Rides Out, Witchfinder General

1969

10. The Magic Christian
9. Audmi Aur Insaan
8. Love Is Colder Than Death
7. The Oblong Box
6. Do Raaste
5. Midnight Cowboy
4. La Piscine
3. Take the Money and Run
2. Age of Consent
1. Kes

Honourable mention: The Cow

Top Ten Movies of Eternity, Part One

It's funny how a task that seems like it'll take an hour ends up taking seven. After Caitlin mentioned about a week ago she was coming up with a list of favourite movies for every year I decided I wanted to do the same thing. Going through Wikipedia's lists by year of movies released, as well as using my own blog due to too frequent inaccuracies on Wikipedia's lists, I started compiling a list of all movies I could remember having seen by year. To-day I had that whole list so I thought it would take me a few minutes to whittle each year down to ten picks. Huh. The best laid plans of mice and men.

So I've decided to give the list in two parts. To-day I present 1970 to 2015:

1970

10. The Dunwich Horror
9. There's a Girl in My Soup
8. Equinox
7. The Phantom Tollbooth
6. And Soon the Darkness
5. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
4. Dodes'ka-den
3. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
2. Deep End
1. The Vampire Lovers

1971

10. W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism
9. The Blood on Satan's Claw
8. THX 1138
7. Macbeth
6. Get Carter
5. Death in Venice
4. Walkabout
3. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
2. Vanishing Point
1. A Clockwork Orange

Honourable mentions: Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Countess Dracula

1972

10. Tales from the Crypt
9. Pakeezah
8. Female Convict 701: Scorpion
7. Fist of Fury
6. Frenzy
5. 1776
4. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
3. Aguirre, the Wrath of God
2. Cries and Whispers
1. The Godfather

Honourable mentions: Cabaret, Sleuth

1973

10. Touki Bouki
9. Cleopatra Jones
8. Sex & Fury
7. Lady Snowblood
6. Sleeper
5. Mean Streets
4. Amarcord
3. The Wicker Man
2. The Spirit of the Beehive
1. The Hourglass Sanatorium

Honourable mentions: American Graffiti, Coffy, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Robin Hood, Lemora

1974

10. Flesh for Frankenstein
9. A Woman Under the Influence
8. Blood for Dracula
7. The Street Fighter
6. School of the Holy Beast
5. The Conversation
4. Young Frankenstein
3. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
2 .Chinatown
1. The Godfather Part II

Honourable mentions: Blazing Saddles, Caged Heat, The Night Porter, The Sugarland Express

1975

10. Coonskin
9. Dersu Uzala
8. The Magic Flute
7. Shivers
6. Jaws
5. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
4. Picnic at Hanging Rock
3. The Mirror
2. Barry Lyndon
1. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Honourable mention: The Yakuza, Winstanley

1976

10. Carrie
9. Murder by Death
8. Freaky Friday
7. To the Devil a Daughter
6. Rocky
5. Robin and Marian
4. In the Realm of the Senses
3. The Man Who Fell to Earth
2. Mr. Klein
1. Taxi Driver

1977

10. Ballad of Orin
9. Sorcerer
8. Jabberwocky
7. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
6. Rabid
5. Suspiria
4. House
3. Annie Hall
2. Eraserhead
1. Star Wars

Honourable mention: The Hobbit

1978

10. Battlestar Galactica
9. Halloween
8. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
7. Grease
6. Pretty Baby
5. Drunken Master
4. Dawn of the Dead
3. National Lampoon's Animal House
2. The Eyes of Laura Mars
1. Superman 1979

10. Mad Max
9. The Jerk
8. Meatballs
7. The Warriors
6. Apocalypse Now
5. The Brood
4. The Castle of Cagliostro
3. Nosferatu the Vampyre
2. Monty Python's Life of Brian
1. Alien

Honourable mention: The Tin Drum

1980

10. Bad Timing
9. Caddyshack
8. The Fog
7. The Blues Brothers
6. Superman II
5. Kagemusha
4. The Shining
3. Raging Bull
2. The Elephant Man
1. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Honourable mentions: Popeye, Airplane!

1981

10. Polyester
9. Stripes
8. Escape from New York
7. The Evil Dead
6. Excalibur
5. Thief
4. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
3. Scanners
2. Time Bandits
1. Raiders of the Lost Ark

Honourable mentions: The Howling, Gregory's Girl

1982

10. Fast Times at Ridgemont High
9. The Year of Living Dangerously
8. The Draughtsman's Contract
7. Poltergeist
6. The Thing
5. The Last Unicorn
4. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
3. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
2. Fanny and Alexander
1. Blade Runner

Honourable mention: The Dark Crystal

1983

10. A Christmas Story
9. Flashdance
8. Something Wicked This Way Comes
7. Mickey's Christmas Carol
6. The Hunger
5. The Dead Zone
4. Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
3. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
2. Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
1. Videodrome

Mildly approving mention: Scarface

1984

10. Broadway Danny Rose
9. Conan the Destroyer
8. Blood Simple
7. The NeverEnding Story
6. The Terminator
5. The Company of Wolves
4. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
3. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
2. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
1. Ghostbusters

Honourable mentions: Gremlins, Splash

1985

10. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
9. Witness
8. The Breakfast Club
7. Tampopo
6. Phenomena
5. Legend
4. Pee-wee's Big Adventure
3. Back to the Future
2. Ran
1. Brazil

Honourable mentions: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Young Sherlock Holmes

1986

10. Laputa: Castle in the Sky
9. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
8. Project A-ko
7. Little Shop of Horrors
6. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
5. The Fly
4. Pretty in Pink
3. Labyrinth
2. Aliens
1. Blue Velvet

Honourable mentions: Peggy Sue Got Married, Vamp, Platoon

1987

10. RoboCop
9. Spaceballs
8. Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise
7. The Dead
6. Cobra Verde
5. Evil Dead II
4. Predator
3. Full Metal Jacket
2. Raising Arizona
1. The Princess Bride

Honourable mentions: Prince of Darkness, Planes, Trains and Automobiles

1988

10. Willow
9. Beetlejuice
8. The Last Temptation of Christ
7. Akira
6. Dead Ringers
5. Grave of the Fireflies
4. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
3. My Neighbor Totoro
2. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
1. Alice (Neco z Alenky)

Honourable mentions: Dangerous Liaisons, Scrooged, The Blob

1989

10. Dead Poets Society
9. When Harry Met Sally...
8. Say Anything...
7. The Killer
6. Mystery Train
5. Do the Right Thing
4. Tetsuo: The Iron Man
3. Kiki's Delivery Service
2. Batman
1. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Honourable mentions: Yaaba, UHF

1990

10. Predator 2
9. Ju Dou
8. Total Recall
7. The Grifters
6. Edward Scissorhands
5. Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
4. Dreams
3. Wild at Heart
2. Miller's Crossing
1. Goodfellas

Honourable mention: Gremlins 2: The New Batch

1991

10. Beauty and the Beast
9. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
8. Delicatessen
7. Rhapsody in August
6. The Silence of the Lambs
5. The Fisher King
4. Barton Fink
3. Thelma & Louise
2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
1. Naked Lunch

Honourable mentions: The Addams Family, Dead Again

1992

10. Candyman
9. Braindead
8. El Mariachi
7. Army of Darkness
6. Bad Lieutenant
5. Batman Returns
4. Reservoir Dogs
3. Porco Rosso
2. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
1. Bram Stoker's Dracula

Honourable mentions: Alien 3, Honeymoon in Vegas

1993

10. Jurassic Park
9. The Age of Innocence
8. Farewell My Concubine
7. What's Eating Gilbert Grape
6. The Wedding Banquet
5. Schindler's List
4. True Romance
3. The Nightmare Before Christmas
2. Naked
1. Groundhog Day

Honourable mentions: Darr, M. Butterfly

1994

10. To Live
9. The Secret of Roan Inish
8. Interview with the Vampire
7. Ed Wood
6. Exotica
5. Chungking Express
4. Clerks
3. Heavenly Creatures
2. Eat Drink Man Woman
1. Pulp Fiction

Honourable mentions: Natural Born Killers, Hoop Dreams

1995

10. Heat
9. Casino
8. Kids
7. Desperado
6. Babe
5. Clueless
4. Ghost in the Shell
3. Fallen Angels
2. The Usual Suspects
1. 12 Monkeys

Honourable mentions: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, The City of Lost Children, Dead Man, Party Girl, 301/302, Strange Days, Sense and Sensibility

1996

10. Mars Attacks!
9 .Shall We Dance?
8. Pusher
7. Trainspotting
6. Bound
5. Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
4. Arcane Sorcerer
3. Breaking the Waves
2. Crash
1. Fargo

Honourable mentions: From Dusk Till Dawn, The Pillow Book, The Truth About Cats and Dogs, Star Trek: First Contact

1997

10. Mimic
9. Jackie Brown
8. Chasing Amy
7. Abre los Ojos
6. As Good as It Gets
5. The Butcher Boy
4. The End of Evangelion
3. The Ice Storm
2. Lost Highway
1. Princess Mononoke

Honourable mentions: Private Parts, Kundun, Event Horizon

1998

10. Run Lola Run
9. Zero Effect
8. Dark City
7. Elizabeth
6. Ring
5. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels
4. Croupier
3. Rushmore
2. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
1. The Big Lebowski

Honourable mentions: Saving Private Ryan, Love & Pop

1999

10. The Sixth Sense
9. The Matrix
8. Sleepy Hollow
7. eXistenZ
6. Boys Don't Cry
5. The Straight Story
4. Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
3. Audition
2. Fight Club
1. Eyes Wide Shut

Honourable mention: The Talented Mr. Ripley

2000

10. Snatch
9. X-Men
8. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
7. Baise-moi
6. In the Mood for Love
5. Quills
4. Dancer in the Dark
3. Memento
2. American Psycho
1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Honourable mentions: Shiki-Jitsu, Battle Royal

2001

10. Millennium Actress
9. Storytelling
8. Iris
7. Ghost World
6. The Man Who Wasn't There
5. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
4. Amelie
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2. Spirited Away
1. Mulholland Drive

Honourable mentions: Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Others, Vanilla Sky, Donnie Darko

2002

10. Russian Ark
9. 28 Days Later
8. Spider-Man
7. Bowling for Columbine
6. Secretary
5. Gangs of New York
4. Devdas
3. One Hour Photo
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
1. Spider

Honourable mentions: Insomnia, The Pianist

2003

10. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
9. Once Upon a Time in Mexico
8. Coffee and Cigarettes
7. X2 (X2: X-Men United)
6. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
5. The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai
4. Hulk
3. Lost in Translation
2. Oldboy
1. Kill Bill: Volume 1

Honourable mentions: Zatoichi, Bad Santa

2004

10. Fahrenheit 9/11
9. Spider-Man 2
8. Howl's Moving Castle
7. Dead Leaves
6. Mean Girls
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
4. Hellboy
3. Shaun of the Dead
2. Kill Bill Volume 2
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Honourable mentions: The Aviator, Swades, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

2005

10. Gespenster
9. Broken Flowers
8. Match Point
7. Brick
6. The Proposition
5. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
4. The Descent
3. Tideland
1. Brokeback Mountain

Honourable mentions: Munich, Grizzly Man, A History of Violence, MirrorMask, Hostel, Serenity

2006

10. Volver
9. Clerks 2
8. Idiocracy
7. A Good Year
6. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
5. Marie Antoinette
4. The Prestige
3. The Departed
2. Pan's Labyrinth
1. Paprika

Honourable mentions: An Inconvenient Truth, Hard Candy, Superman Returns, Art School Confidential

2007

10. Across the Universe
9. Planet Terror
8. Children of Men
8. Sicko
7. Ratatouille
6. Death Proof
5. Rescue Dawn
4. Eastern Promises
3. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
2. Lust, Caution
1. No Country for Old Men

Honourable mention: Hostel: Part II, Across the Universe, Enchanted

2008

10. There Will Be Blood
9. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
8. Zack and Miri Make a Porno
7. Jodhaa Akbar
6. Let the Right One In
5. Burn After Reading
4. Wall-E
3. Tropic Thunder
2. Rebuild of Evangelion: You Are (Not) Alone
1. The Dark Knight

Honourable mentions: Iron Man, Jerichow, The Ramen Girl

2009

10. Star Trek
9. Capitalism: A Love Story
8. Paranormal Activity
7. Sherlock Holmes
6. A Serious Man
5. Mother
4. My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?
3. Valhalla Rising
2. Inglourious Basterds
1. Ponyo

Honourable mention: The Uninvited, Knowing

2010

10. Enthiran
9. The Solitude of Prime Numbers
8. Rebuild of Evangelion; You Can (Not) Advance
7. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
6. Never Let Me Go
5. True Grit
4. Inception
3. Shutter Island
2. Winter's Bone
1. Chloe

Honourable mentions: Black Swan, Rammbock, Trollhunter, Machete

2011

10. Source Code
9. Take Shelter
8. The Enemy
7. Super 8
6. Midnight in Paris
5. Bridesmaids
4. A Separation
3. A Dangerous Method
2. Melancholia
1. Drive

Honourable mentions: Another Earth, Sons of Norway, Your Highness

2012

10. The Wall
9. Thale
8. Life of Pi
7. Moonrise Kingdom
6. Kahaani
5. Barbara
4. The Borrower Arrietty
3. Cosmopolis
2. Prometheus
1. Django Unchained

2013

10. Byzantium
9. The Garden of Words
8. Devil's Pass
7. The Counsellor
6. The World's End
5. A Field in England
4. Mama
3. Shield of Straw
2. The Wolf of Wall Street
1. The Act of Killing

Honourable mention: The Place Beyond the Pines

2014

10. The Grand Budapest Hotel
9. Snowpiercer
8. The Wind Rises
7. Only Lovers Left Alive
6. Ida
5. The Zero Theorem
4. The Babadook
3. Nymphomaniac
2. Under the Skin
1. The Tale of Princess Kaguya

2015

10. The Hateful Eight
9. It Follows
8. Ex Machina
7. Green Inferno
6. Bone Tomahawk
5. Bande de Filles
4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
3. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Maps to the Stars
1. Crimson Peak

Honourable mention: Mr. Holmes

Twitter Sonnet #899

Essential sorbet tax ascents to claims.
A forged sherbert clicked for cliques encased.
Who takes the total temper wrenched the blames?
Who says the legs can't run when Pan's abased?
If heaven's flute demands the beads of crowns
A ransom paid in slithered wings upturns
The piqued expectations of worthy downs
Invited in the pushy fail safe urns.
Somewhere in rafters rotted through the facts
A falling key reflects a blackened set.
Reverting to the last resort of wax
A cape was culled for calling flight a bet.
A longer list would crack the back of boars.
The movie boat'll founder without oars.

The Glass is Half Trek

Here it is Saturday, the day I normally blog about Doctor Who, and I haven't listened to or watched any Doctor Who in two weeks. I didn't have anything from Comic Con about Doctor Who to talk about where it usually has such a big presence. I saw a couple girls dressed as the Eleventh Doctor, one guy dressed as the Tenth, and one guy dressed as the Fourth, but that was all. The BBC America booth was running the clip introducing the new companion from earlier this year over and over.

I've found myself in a Star Trek frame of mind. The past couple weeks I've been watching from the middle of the fourth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, picking up with "The Wounded", an episode that remains a nice, carefully written story about soldiers adjusting to peace with the enemy, the episode marking the introduction of the Cardassians. It prominently features Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien on the heels of his marriage to Keiko (Rosalind Chao) in "Data's Day", the previous episode. So each episode of the show wasn't entirely stand alone and O'Brien's story turned out to be one of the most long running and interesting in Star Trek history, the character introduced in The Next Generation before going to Deep Space Nine. His marriage to Keiko and the birth of their child being a story woven from minor incidents in larger plots. Meaney's understated and effective performance is a big part of why it works so well. And unlike any major character in the long history of Doctor Who on television, he's Irish *cough*.

I also watched the episode "Clues" which I thought a Doctor Who audio play had ripped off but it turns out, according to Wikipedia, "Clues" bears a strong resemblance to an episode of Red Dwarf, a show I've never seen. So it was another instance of Star Trek generously borrowing from a British series it assumed its American audience wouldn't be familiar with.

Since I've been compulsively thinking of everything in terms of Cavaliers and Roundheads in the English Civil Wars, it occurred to me that Doctor Who would be a Cavalier and Star Trek would be a Roundhead, Irish relations notwithstanding. You can be the Doctor's companion if he thinks you're charming and you ask, you have to graduate from an academy to be Picard's companion. Though of course, as John Milton griped about at length, Parliament in the 1650s became just as susceptible to being manipulated by favours and cronies. The Doctor always seems to like it when he happens to get a companion with a lot of technical skill and training. I don't think any Doctor liked a new companion as quickly as Three took to UNIT scientist Liz Shaw, normally he has to be gradually won over.

Dead Keep On Walkin'

Since last I wrote here about The Walking Dead, I finished season four and have gotten about halfway through season five. Four was my favourite season of the series so far, with ideas of rough, undead frontier justice tempered by melancholy and bitter hope. Season five has been more uneven so far, moving from episodes that awkwardly retread season four to episodes that follow up on season four's ideas in an interesting manner.

Spoilers after the screenshot

The show continues to have trouble writing female characters who grapple with the same moral challenges as the male characters, the one exception being Carol. Season Four's "The Grove" is a highlight of the series but enhanced considerably when not taken in isolation. Carol seems to be descending further into a distinctive Hell--there's a horrible logic in the fact that she has gone from an abused woman to a mother who loses her child to finally having to face the fact that she needs to kill children. In episode six of the fifth season, she tells Daryl how she feels like she's had several identities that have each been burned away. Even the coldly pragmatic woman capable of murder she became in the prison lacked adequate psychic defence for this world.

In the same scene, she tells Daryl that he seems like a man now, presumably distinguishing him from the childlike idealist he was when he first bonded with Carol in season two. We know what's changed--he's fallen in love with Beth in a delightful episode from season four, "Still", which nonetheless was written by someone who clearly knows very little about moonshine. Beth has her first taste of alcohol in the episode, a skinny young woman downs glass after glass of moonshine like it's water and can still have soul searching conversations with Daryl. A woman twice Beth's weight would've blacked out by then, or at least gotten violently sick, from something half the strength moonshine tends to be.

For a show with a reputation for harsh reality, Daryl and Beth's story is in a pretty high atmosphere. Two of the most physically attractive and taciturn characters on the show, it's nice enough watching the two bask in their mutual prettiness a while. But Daryl opening up over several drinks feels quite credible and, like Carol later observes, he does seem like a little kid stepping cautiously into an adult world he's avoided by living in the woods for so long, letting his older brother take the lead. But the show decides to end on this tantalising edge, first in "Still" and then later in "Coda". Beth is snatched away each time before Daryl can actually explore these new feelings, the second time permanently. I suspect the writers just didn't have the confidence to explore this territory. In the end, it's actually a lot easier to write about having to make the horrible decisions about life and death. Ending the relationship on the first flush of chivalric feeling allows them to end on a fantasy high note--awkward but valiant Daryl and sweet, innocent and chaste Beth (she doesn't seem particularly interested in Daryl one way or another).

Beth wasn't a very complex character but she was sweet and her singing as part of the "more" than surviving developed in her conversations with the doctor in "Slabtown" was a nice element to the show. But "Coda" ends with another premature ending to promising material by killing both Beth and Dawn whose relationship was just beginning to become complex and interesting. The fact that so little about their deaths made sense--why would Beth do what she did? Why would Dawn try to have this hopeless pissing contest?--makes the moment all the more frustrating.

The one disappointing thing about season four to me was Michonne's back story where we learn that before the apocalypse she was kind of a yuppie. I would so much rather she had some over the top history of training with a kendo master on Mount Fuji for years or something--something to support her skill with the blade. Oh, and of course, season four ends with her being captured and getting her sword taken away. Again. I'm hoping this will be the grand finale of this cycle since they made such a big deal out of her getting the weapon back this time.

Ripper in Colour

Sherlock Holmes versus Jack the Ripper. How hasn't anyone thought of it before? Well, of course it has been thought of, more than once, but never with such jollity as 1965's A Study in Terror. I doubt there's a movie about a Jack the Ripper with a sprightlier tone. To say it undermines the tension and comes off extremely awkward would be an understatement. And yet, John Neville makes a delightful Sherlock Holmes and Anthony Quayle is wonderful in a supporting role.

I don't think I've ever seen Sherlock Holmes in anything so cheerful as this shiny, double breasted waistcoat. No grim and foggy Victorian London here, this movie dwells in bright colours and is quite charmed by its prostitutes.

Every prostitute is gorgeous with perfect skin and hair and with personalities like the quirky, promiscuous supporting character on a sitcom. Barbara Windsor plays Ripper victim Annie Chapman as a guileless sweetheart who's gently rebuffed by a few fellows at the slaughterhouse.

None of the murders are shown or described in much detail. Knowing anything about them going in--for instance, by having read From Hell--makes all the glee and disposable humour seem kind of manic. But it's hard not to respond to a twinkle in John Neville's eye and Anthony Quayle's moralistic Scottish police surgeon is oddly captivating.

The film comes up with an identity for the Ripper. The puzzle Holmes solves to find it out isn't as clever as anything Conan Doyle thought up but the film does use a pretty effective red herring.

Twitter Sonnet #898

A honker quells the mouth below the seat.
The wings of gold were copied right in time.
If mercy brings a little thing it's beat.
We all can think of mice the way we mine.
The shred of peel acclaims the drop to eat.
A nickel's worth of cream obscures the brain.
In bones collected by the cap, a seat.
In thoughts accrued in hats or lion's mane.
A circle question pleads careening past.
A cry, a glimpse, bemoans the dust of paint.
Tattoos in lieu of shirts stick to the mast.
Returning Hoovervilles dissolve the saint.
Forgotten raisins can decrease the Counts.
Increasing Dukes defend the Earl amounts.

Beyond and Back Again

Unity might be a liability or a strength. This is the strongest theme I detected in 2016's Star Trek: Beyond which begins with Kirk contemplating leaving his friends for a vice admiralty and Spock doing something similar. Thanks to screenwriter Simon Pegg, it's an improvement as far as writing goes over the overly emotional first two films in the reboot universe, though director Justin Lin fumbles every action scene with weird framing and too many things close to the camera. But an improved role for McCoy and Pegg's great sense at writing for himself as Scotty made me really enjoy this film.

Also, Pegg shrewdly wrote a really hot girlfriend for himself in Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), a mysterious alien woman stranded on a distant world. She and Scotty have the meetcute where she kicks ass to defend him and he awkwardly nurses his pride with good natured self-deprecation. Caitlin mentioned on her blog a while back she'd heard the character was inspired by Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone, which I can see, though I was reminded more of Leela on Doctor Who, the unselfconsciously adorable yet self-sufficient savage. I like how she calls him "Montgomery Scotty".

McCoy in this film is finally given lots of time to be the classic foil for Spock, though while McCoy Prime had to deal with Spock's apparent lack of emotion, this McCoy has an incredibly sensitive and sort of adolescent Spock to deal with. Karl Urban's practical and irascible doctor is a wonderful counterpoint to this Spock who always seems ready to follow his heart into trouble.

Chris Pine as Kirk almost feels like a supporting character as he's generally concerned with moving the plot along. Uhura (Zoe Saldana) has the meaty dialogue with the villain, Krall (Idris Elba) about unity. Uhura's point that the Federation is stronger because it features so many people working together is undermined by Krall who demonstrates how empathy can be a hindrance. Then, later in the film, the unity of Krall and his allies, who seem to have been modelled on the space monsters from the third episode of Top o Nerae 2, is used against them by the crew of the Enterprise proving . . . him right? At this point the film seems to give over to being a pure action movie. Oddly, the villain ends up having an awful lot in common with the character played by Peter Weller in the previous film.

Still, the rapport was a massive improvement in this film. McCoy dealing with Spock's wound despite his resistance, Scotty being charmed by Jaylah's guilelessness, it was all very attractive. If the next film were entirely about Scotty, McCoy, and Jaylah, I'd be happy.

Absolutely Intense Signifiers

Whether it's Archie Bunker or Gul Dukat, no matter how despicable a character might be, if they're well written or performed, sooner or later you're going to start to like them. Because people are people, not villains, and if you want to write people properly you can't keep them in that box. The problem is, if you start to like a character too much, you forget that the fact that they were despicable was part of what got your attention in the first place. See Scorpius on Farscape or Merle on The Walking Dead--in both cases, though, the stories involving the characters weren't bad after some of their more reprehensible qualities dissolved. 2016's Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie returns us to the world of decadent antiheroes Patsy Stone and Edina Monsoon and for the most part their tastelessness has been as blessedly preserved as Patsy's face. The film stumbles when it indulges in sentimentality for the characters which manifests in fairly typical slapstick gags. But moments like Patsy telling a Rebel Wilson she's wetting herself in a threatening tone or Edina off-handedly telling an assistant to fix her "broken" credit cards make this an enjoyable trip.

According to Wikipedia, Margaret Cho has denounced the film for "yellowface", for having a white actress, Janette Tough, playing an Asian character, a fictional fashion designer named Huki Muki. I'm not sure why Cho is so sure the character is meant to be Asian--given cross dressing, cosmetic body modification, and disguise are a big part of the film, it's not unreasonable to think it's a white character identifying as Asian. In fact, the film has an unambiguous satire of Rachel Dolezal, the white woman who claims to be black in an apparent attempt to identify with black American cultural history. Her spouse is a transwoman in the early stages of transition, the barely suppressed joy with which she discusses her spouse's upcoming genital removal makes one wonder how much the fellow actually wants to transition. I was reminded of Mrs. Jellyby from Charles Dickens' Bleak House who is obsessed with sending aid to a distant community in Africa while she completely neglects her own family.

Mark Gatiss appears in one of the film's most unlikely cameos as a publisher to whom Edina is trying to sell her memoirs, which consists mostly of pages with "blah blah blah" written over and over. Edina can't understand why this book is not considered acceptable for publication. Edina has worked in PR all her life so it makes sense that to her selling the product is far more important than the product itself. Or rather, the sell is the product.

Obviously, this is very broad satire but the world of high fashion depicted in the film as Patsy and Edina make cutthroat grabs for fame and fortune makes the film a sort of companion to this year's The Neon Demon. Yet the humanity of the characters is much more in evidence as when Patsy's asked why she goes to so much trouble to help Edina she replies that it's "fun". There's a real lust for life in the characters that supports Saffy's oddly emotional karaoke scene in a drag queen bar and a cover of Bob Dylan's "This Wheel's On Fire", the show's theme song, performed for the film by Kylie Minogue.

A chase scene in the south of France and drama involving the possible murder of Kate Moss feel pretty run of the mill but otherwise Jennifer Saunders, who plays Edina, has a written a screenplay that's a refreshing parody of politically correct hypocrisy reminiscent of John Waters but with a little more heart. Joanna Lumley as Patsy, though, gets most of the best material and her seducing a wealthy baroness while wearing a ridiculous false moustache is one of the film's highlights that leads to an update of a famous gag from Some Like It Hot that suggests society has not only come full circle but is drifting quite away from any solid shape.

Comic Con Report, volume 9

Dia de Muertos de Comic Con. Okay, let's see if I can't cram everything I have left into one last report. If you want to know anything else, and you think I might know it, don't hesitate to ask.

Don't fuck with the Beatles, man.

I was handed this pretty nice, for being on newsprint, pamphlet on Alex Ross art when I wandered into the middle of a panel about investing in art. Two guys, neither of whom were Alex Ross, offered opinions to the audience about buying and selling art, mostly by Alex Ross.

One guy from the audience stood up to complain they were talking about Alex Ross too much which really seemed to ruffle the panellists' feathers. "I respectfully beg to differ, sir!" said the guy on the right and gave him a quick run down of other artists they'd discussed. I don't know why it bothered the guy in the audience so much that they were devoting most of their time to Alex Ross but it was kind of nice to hear someone complain about something other than characters being sexualised. There certainly doesn't seem to be much of that in the works of Alex Ross which mainly seem to go for smug and peeved.

I do kind of dig how all his art is reminiscent of 1950s magazine ads. I like this retro Avengers art despite Loki's massive nostril.

This year does seem to be the highest point of wariness I've detected in Con goers as regards sexuality. I think it was reflected in the cosplay which generally seemed to have a lot less cleavage and skin than previous years, but there were plenty of stalwart holdouts.

Not that I can't appreciate a gorgeous costume without lots of skin. Some of the hand made steam punk and fantasy costumes were really beautiful, as always.

This fellow looked fine completely naked:

I said in one of my first reports I made a point of talking to comics artists and writers this year, and of buying their comics. The one I enjoyed most was Boston Metaphysical Society; I spoke with Madeleine Holly-Rosing, the writer. The comic is a really sweet, rather old fashioned adventure mystery in a steampunk world.

I also bought the first issue of Mavi, a comic by Eva Cabrera and Claudia Aguirre, which intrigued me because its first part was about pirates in the 1670s, like my comic. I spoke with Cabrera about the pros and cons of doing research for a comic. She and Aguirre had done no research because, she explained to me, it was basically a fantasy story. The art is nice and the story is a fun. I can't seem to find a web site for the comic but here's Cabrera's Deviant Art page.

The story really doesn't seem researched, the art and writing feel very much like manga and few references are made to the time and place. It's a 1670s that exists in the popular mind. I noticed that not researching 17th century sailing vessels seems to make the artist want to draw ships with enormous empty decks.

Well, I think that covers 2016 Comic Con from my end. Please check out your favourite massively successful blog or news site for the big stories and more pictures of cosplayers.

Twitter Sonnet #897

A blob of green inside the car recalled
The bags of wind that Santa hid in wheels
Attached to fo'c'sle planks of wood installed
Behind the ears of patched potato grills.
Engaged the jealous Lobster Newburg brides
Descend the stair of sumptuous collapse
To take the lead in logic's jousting tides
Before the tank reclaims the cup's relapse.
A void revanched Comanche phones at night:
The day avasts the plum inside the ant:
A hill reminds the brain it goes to light
The candle thought to being stars we can't.
When googly eyes append the marigold
A paper's Leach redeems its Archibald.