DVDs Adored

this is the pathetic remains of my DVD collection. Five years ago i had three times as many...all movies i loved, no, "oh i'll just buy something to watch tonight." no. i loved them all, but had to sell them. unemployment took all my cds too.

this collection is what remains and while it is pathetic, it is also kind of beautiful because these are the ones i COULD NOT BEAR to sell. i went hungry instead.

lost in translation: beautiful from the get-go. the dialogue, or what some say is a detrimental lack of dialogue is perfect. it's more based on reality than most movies in that way. having grown up with sofia coppola, yet having never known her, i can say from simple osmosis that this movie is completely authentic to her, the way she speaks, moves...one of the best scenes in cinematic history is when scarlett and bill murray are laying on a bed, fully clothed, resting after a night of partying...and she's facing him in a c-shape, while he lies flat on his back. she asks about marriage. she asks if it gets easier. he says no. and yes. the conversation is so natural, it's incredibly intimate in the way it invites you, the watcher, to watch even closer...it feels almost like cheating. the last shot of the scene has her bare toes curl up against this leg and he puts his hand on her foot. CUT! scene over. total perfection. absolutely gorgeously done. and i was really super proud of sofia when she won the oscar.
FAVORITE LINE(S):
Charlotte: "25 years. That's uh, well it's impressive.

Bob: Well you figure, you sleep one-third of your life, that knocks out eight years of marriage right there. So you're, y'know, down to 16 and change. You know you're just a teenager, at marriage; you can drive it but there's still the occasional accident."

Kurt Cobain About a Son: a first-of-it's-kind documentary. the movie consists of two elements. 1.breathtaking cinematography of washington state and the geography where Kurt grew up. 2.kurt narrating the whole movie. his narration is taken from interviews with michael azerrad, a respected rock writer. kurt obviously trusted him and talked A LOT. hearing his voice over the scenery is super effective, fascinating, impressive, sad AND hilarious at times. kurt was a very funny guy. a top film in my book.



Corporate Ghost: Sonic Youth The Videos - not even a DVD i watch more than once a year if that...still very enjoyable. i mainly keep it for the Mildred Pierce video starring Sofia Coppola (lucky bitch) and the 100% video starring her ex-husband Spike Jonze (hot).



Magnolia. jesus there aren't enough words to describe this epic character study straight out of the beautiful mind of PT Anderson, writer and director. the fact that he didn't win every top prize for this one, is simply mind-blowing. i think he might have an enemy on the academy judgement squad. and elsewhere too. clear discrimination. there is no way anyone could watch this 3-hour sprawl and not realize it's incomparable genius. philip seymour hoffman, as always is just unreal in his character immersion. a lot of people won't watch the film because of the horrific tom cruise. LAME. not only does the character "tom cruise" disappear, but the character he performs, Frank TJ Mackey, that PT created is...well, like nothing you've ever seen, like something unbelievable to behold, like you won't ever forget his scenes. Same with Julianne Moore, but in a totally different way. Magnolia was also the last film performance by Jason Robards and it tears your heart out. FAVORITE LINE(S):
"And it is in the humble opinion of this narrator that this is not just "Something That Happened." This cannot be "One of those things...” This, please, cannot be that. And for what I would like to say, I can't. This Was Not Just A Matter Of Chance. Ohhhh. These strange things happen all the time."

"NO, it is NOT dangerous to confuse children with angels."

Heavenly Creatures: ahhh, peter jackson. no one could ever guess that peter jackson made this movie AND those Lord of the Ring flicks. seriously. creatures is psychotic in a very subversive way. kate winslet's first movie, and you won't believe your eyes or ears. she's freaking brilliant. she plays it to the max. good move. a stunning film. intense from frame one. you sit and stare and are shocked at what you see in a movie that looks like nothing out of the ordinary at all. HA HA on you. FAVORITE LINE: "All the best people have bad chests and bone diseases. It's all frightfully romantic."


Freddy Got Fingered: when i really get into hating people, one of the reasons is the universal panning and total cluelessness the world exhibited towards this movie. it's painfully funny. if you're into non-sequitor humor there is absolutely no better a film (save for Life of Brian or other python stuff). if there was an oscar given out to funniest, most senseless and yet smartest non-sequitor comedic movie...Freddy would win if the Pythons weren't involved. FAVORITE LINE: "You can't hurt me, not with my cheese helmet!"




The Good Girl: written by one of my favorites, Mike White. the good girl is melancholy and real...it gives you an exact feeling of a worst nightmare: the total tedium and dread that accompanies realizations of how easy it can be to make the wrong decisions about big choices - where to live, and what to do. and then for some, the feeling of absolute relief that maybe they made the right choices because their lives aren't nearly as annoying as the characters' in this empathetic, and sometimes really funny, film. mike white clearly gets that you have to laugh at the most horrible of things sometimes. Zoe Dechanel is a stand-out character as a hilarious store clerk who convinces old ladies to wear tons and tons of makeup, just to kill time. FAVORITE LINE(S): "I was looking at you in the store and I liked how you kept to yourself. I saw in your eyes that you hate the world. I hate it too."

"It's French, from France. It's called Cirque du face."

Punch-Drunk Love: another brilliant movie that some people won't see simply because they can't imagine Adam Sandler in a dramatic role. too bad for them. he's incredibly stirring as a super neurotic, lonely guy who finally meets a woman who gets him. PT, as always, uses sound to control you. when sandler and emily watson finally kiss, the slow swell of music that's been very very quietly picking up is so overwhelming that when their lips touch, the emotional well you didn't even know was building, suddenly explodes out of your chest and heavy, fat hot tears come pouring out of your face. SO powerful. god. i gotta go watch it right now. OH, there is another sweet technique PT came up with in collaboration with the late artist Jeremy Blake - large sweeps of color called Scopitones that weave in and out of scenes that make you feel like you're standing in the brightest sunlight and it's caught you off guard and you can barely see but you know the world is still moving around you. it's a combination of digital art and film in a way that i've never seen. but of course, this is PT Anderson! i never owned my own copy of Boogie Nights, or his second film would be in this stack as well. the ex got it in the divorce. one more note about Punch-Drunk - the always unbelievable Philip Seymour Hoffman. that guy is the best contemporary actor i can think of. FAVORITE LINE(S): "I didn't ask for a shrink - that must've been somebody else. Also, that pudding isn't mine. Also, I'm wearing this suit today because I had a very important meeting this morning and I don't have a crying problem."

"I have so much strength inside of me. You have no idea. I have a love in my life. It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine."

The Pixies: Live and Videos - i love it for the live part. they were so strong and great. kim never stops smiling. they fucking shred and that's all there is to it. i consider this medication in DVD form.


Downtown 81: starring Jean-Michel Basquiat. he walks around NYC randomly talking to people. it's incredibly boring. but what a treat to get to see the sweet, sensitive, talented jean-michel in actual motion. i feel privileged. also of note: john lurie has a two-second spot. jean-michel is walking down the street and runs into john lurie. they say hi and then pass and that's it. i find myself starved for more lurie circa 1981. HOT HOT HOT. i was so meant to be in NYC in the late-70s, early 80s but i was born ten years too late to catch the undeniably cool scene happening then. maybe i could have even met thurston moore and beat kim gordon to the punch. and become a famous painter and lived in a real warehouse and taken dexedrine while listening to chaotic punk rock at CBGBs. Downtown 81 reminds me of my fantasy life.

Fishing with John: there is no way to quantify john lurie. he's funny as shit. a total non-sequitor spewer with no shame. he does what he wants to do and it's always extra funny because he's like 6'7" and falls and dances his way over the surface of the earth. "Fishing" is the result of a tall geek with a crazy creative idea he made happen. not something you'd expect from an avant-garde jazz composer and player (the Lounge Lizards). John's crazy idea is to invite his odd celebrity friends like dennis hopper, willem dafoe, jim jarmusch and tom waits to go fishing with him in remote locales like costa rica, thailand, jamaica etc. hi-jinks, silliness and plenty of bitching ensue. john brings a lot of joy to the word with his music (the show theme song is very special) and his own free-form creative lunacy. This DVD will put you in a good mood. another little DVD Rx. best for weekend mornings. FAVORITE LINE(S): see video



Monsturd: the very first purposefully stupid movie i ever liked. Also went to high school with these guys. they were infamous for many reasons. one of them would come to school dressed as a nun (and later got caught smoking pot in said nun costume). the other as David Letterman. they made high school infinitely more interesting.


Chuck and Buck: what can i say? this is the most uncomfortable-to-watch movie ever. again written by the great Mike White...with a perfectly matched score. "Ooodly ooodly ooodly fun fun fun. yeah." the film employs mostly non-actors. vital. a character study you've never seen before in the protagonist Buck, also played by Mike White. sickeningly hilarious.

Annie Hall: another obvious love. woody and diane. i was introduced to woody allen and annie hall specifically by my first boyfriend in college. we felt intensely related to the characters. he was short, ambitious, hilarious and neurotic. i was tall, thin, insecure and smiley. later, with other boyfriends and maybe my ex-husband it was pointed out again to me that we are just like them. honestly, i'd have to say only the first boyfriend really fit the woody bill (ha, i said woody bill) if only because he was the only jew of the lot.
FAVORITE LINE(S): see video, first two jokes.



Free Tibet: What a lineup. sonic youth, beck, cibo matto, yoko ono, the beastie boys, bjork...too many to count. magically i had a backstage pass. for six hours i hung out with these people listening to bands play from the side stage. i talked to bjork and yoko ono and sonic youth. i was afraid of everyone else. especially beck when he caught me staring. his huge blue eyes fixed on mine and i had to slowly walk away. a tremendous day in every aspect, one i felt i worked my whole life to gain. funnily enough, an old coworker of mine was back there, as well as the aforementioned ex-high school classmate sofia coppola. what weird and beautiful day. at one point i danced right in between dave grohl and thurson moore. sometimes i can't believe that ever happened. The DVD has all the live performances and a huge history on the country of Tibet and it's people. oh, lest i forget, i also got to talk to real tibetan buddhist monks. they were so kind and soft and sweet and gentle and wonderful to be around. the entire day was a full mind-blow. right out of every orifice.

FAVORITE LINE(S): Sonic Youth, seen below at 3:14.