tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32094341193393794002024-10-25T03:37:28.131-04:00rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.comBlogger146125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-73365171872037649452017-06-04T13:06:00.004-04:002017-06-04T13:07:36.370-04:00

Race is an important aspect of American history and culture. It is the driving force in the nation’s development as millions of immigrants have come to the country in search of a new life and also the source of its original sin as the nation was born from the ashes of dead natives and the bodies of an enslaved and marginalized population. “The Secret of Spoons” is a very obvious episode about

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-50798606061541577302017-05-12T00:53:00.000-04:002017-05-12T00:54:34.736-04:00

Published in 2001, post the Y2K mass hysteria and only months away from 9/11, “American Gods” is a unique novel; equal parts fantasy tale and travelogue, with just a smattering of social satire. To briefly summarize the story, “American Gods” is a journey into the American firmament wherein modernity has made the old gods as obsolete as the telegraph or landline phones. Fast-forward to

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-16458320288299990562016-12-15T20:47:00.000-05:002016-12-15T20:47:01.452-05:00

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what I love most about the 2012 French animated feature Ernest & Celestine. Be it the story, animation style, or voice acting this little gem of a film can match any Pixar, Disney, or DreamWorks corporate concoction blow for blow, all in less time and with less cloying sentimentality. Inspired by the works of Belgian author and illustrator Gabrielle

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-90991995054317600262016-06-04T02:30:00.000-04:002016-06-06T06:59:25.964-04:00

Asghar Farhadi’s fifth feature, A Separation (2011), is a naturalistic drama that seeks to tie the microcosm of the family, the individual, and religious institutions with the macrocosm of society at large. This is established in the opening scene as bands of light, moving horizontally, illuminate the screen, making us privy to a montage of documents being xeroxed. From birth certificates to

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The aesthetics of traditional Japanese art are unique on the world stage due to the country’s history of isolation and assimilation. Be it ceramics, woodblock printing, architecture, or poetry Japanese artists have never been afraid to absorb and imitate various external influences, all the while still keeping the work inherently Japanese. Of course, because of this constant osmotic flow of

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-72986469521471674812015-07-26T08:42:00.000-04:002015-07-26T08:42:15.322-04:00

The Confession (1970) Director: Costa-Gavras Number of viewings: 1 Comments: Powerful and sad thriller. State of Siege (1972) Director: Costa-Gavras Number of viewings: 1 Comments: The second Costa-Gavras film I've seen, and I continue to be impressed by the director's work. George Clooney's political thrillers seem to borrow heavily from Costa-Gavras's films.

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-40512118843284204772015-07-24T19:43:00.000-04:002015-07-24T19:43:16.835-04:00

Ride the Pink Horse (1947) Director: Robert Montgomery Number of viewings: 1 Comments: Unusual film noir. It's not set in the city, the cinematography is fairly bright, and has an upbeat ending. The juxtaposition of an American in the middle of a foreign environment. As in most noir the film is a dissection of American capitalism. How far would you go for riches?

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-9734695883738634922015-07-20T12:13:00.000-04:002015-07-20T12:13:12.890-04:00

Violator (2014) Director: Dodo Dayao Number of viewings: 1 Comments: This film scared the shit out of me. I'm glad I got to see the film on the big screen. A laptop cannot do justice to the sound design in the picture. The appropriation of religious imagery adds a lot to the horror and dread that permeates throughout the picture. Each act is punctuated by suicide.  Horsehead (2014)

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Poison Berry in my Brain (2015) Director: Sato Yuichi Number of viewings: 1 Comments: Loved it!! A funny rom-com that doesn't do the cliche thing of trying to build a story on a quirky girl stuck between choosing the "right" man to be happy with. It instead asks a more important question "are you happy with yourself?" The romance angle is the least important part of the film. In Poison Berry

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-8990736171384602012015-07-18T10:00:00.001-04:002015-07-20T11:30:54.103-04:00

Neko Samurai 2: A Tropical Adventure (2015) Director: Takeshi Watanabe Number of viewings: 1 Comments: She's back! Cute and cuddly Tamonojo returns! This sequel has more cat goodness. Great fun. The Master Plan (2015) Director: Alain Darborg Number of viewings: 1 Comments: The second heist film I've seen at the fest. The film reminds me more of Bob le Flambeur than Ocean's 11.&

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-83531232758738150772015-07-18T09:19:00.000-04:002015-07-18T09:19:30.555-04:00

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Director: Stanley Kubrick Number of viewings: ~5 Comments: I have always had an ambivalent feeling towards this film. I hated it during my first viewing and over time I've grown to love it, but even though I now believe this film to be an essential Kubrick the film's length precludes me to doze off in some scenes. Moonwalkers (2015) Director: Antoine

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-6079545034165941092015-07-12T05:28:00.000-04:002015-07-12T05:28:18.387-04:00

Ruined Heart: Another Lovestory Between a Criminal & a Whore (2014) Director: Khavn de la Cruz Number of viewings: 1 Comments: A pop crime film music video. Sensory overload. Beauty and ugliness freely mixing with one another. 

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-12768331642421381872015-07-09T09:06:00.000-04:002015-07-09T09:06:31.526-04:00

That Thing Called Tadhana (2015) Director: Antoinette Jadaone Number of viewings: 2 Comments: Brilliant. Favorite Romantic comedy of the year. Jadaone takes a very well-worn genre and, though not reinventing the wheel, adds fresh life into it. You actually root for the two leads to get together. Beautiful cinematography. 

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Secretly Greatly (2013) Director: Jang Cheol-soo Number of viewings: 1 Comments: Fairly typical action film.The North Korean backstory will be a familiar trope for fans of South Korean cinema. The apartment complex stand-off was an exciting action set piece. Sanchu Uprising: Voices at Dawn (2014) Director: Juichiro Yamasaki Number of viewings: 1 Comments: Visually a mix of Masahiro

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-74764325745115021902015-07-04T09:16:00.000-04:002015-07-04T09:16:18.035-04:00

Lifted (2006) Director: Gary Rydstrom Number of viewings: ~4 Comments: A funny Pixar silent short. Nothing really extraordinary about it. Ratatouille (2007) Director: Brad Bird Number of viewings: ~3 Comments: Great food film. An inspiring film that I could watch every few months a year and still be excited to watch it. Patton Oswald should do more voice work in animation.

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-33421480986130789972015-07-03T07:18:00.000-04:002015-07-03T07:18:51.946-04:00

Godzilla (2014) Director: Gareth Edwards Number of viewings: 1 Comments: If Pacific Rim (2013) hadn't existed this film would be far more impressive. The fight between Godzilla and the MUTOs in San Francisco was pretty exciting though. In Time (2011) Director: Andrew Niccol Number of viewings: 1 Comments: Fantastic film. Loved the world-building. Niccol's is a true auteur.

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-88312709535791763862015-07-02T10:17:00.002-04:002015-07-02T10:17:40.031-04:00

Pacific Rim (2013) Director: Guillermo del Toro Number of Viewings: ~5 Comments: Saw this again with the Guillermo del Toro commentary. I don't understand why more people don't love this film more. It is both an ode to mecha and kaiju films and also an original work of genre cinema. Way Back Home (2013) Director: Pang Eun-jin Number of viewings: 1 Comments: A Kafkaesque true story.&

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-6153274449106834962015-06-27T12:34:00.000-04:002015-06-27T12:34:44.301-04:00

Seven Weeks (2014) Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi Number of viewings: 1 Comments: The funeral dirge soundtrack is haunting. Obayashi loves color filters: red, orange, blue, purple, green, etc. etc. The film is long and the circular narrative fits with the story. Death and rebirth. Our memories are a way of keeping the past alive. To forget may be comforting, but in the act of forgetting our

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-23164934750591984222015-06-26T09:09:00.000-04:002015-06-26T09:09:48.544-04:00

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) Director: George Miller Number of viewings: 1 Comments: Favorite action film of the year so far. I hope the franchise continues if this is the direction George Miller is taking it. The almost 2 hour runtime flew by so fast. Modern action filmmaking should start with this film. CGI in service of the story and action. While We're Young (2014) Director: Noah

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-56337135289360099832015-06-25T09:48:00.001-04:002015-06-25T09:48:50.751-04:00

Massacre Gun (1967) Director: Yasuharu Hasebe Number of viewings: 1 Comments: Nikkatsu Noir. Baroque shots and expressionistic lighting. An entertaining masculine bromance between Jo Shishido and Hideki Nitani's character.

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-23387074286338702132015-06-23T09:58:00.001-04:002015-06-23T09:58:16.828-04:00

La Dolce Vita (1960) Director: Federico Fellini Number of viewings: 3 Comments: The good life, bursting with all sorts of pleasure but ultimately empty. The film is long and watching it can get exhausting, but still one of my favorites. A brutal film with a sad ending.

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-3907889106035285002015-06-21T08:21:00.001-04:002015-06-21T08:21:13.645-04:00

It's Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong (2014) Director: Emily Ting Number of viewings: 1 Comments: Godawful. White guy teaching Asian girl how to get in touch with her Asian roots. Jamie Chung's character is so helpless in this film. Not even close to approaching Linklater's Before trilogy. So many cliché shots. Terrible on the nose dialogue. I Alone (2015) Director: Sho Tsukikawa

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-48906876760744766982015-06-19T07:37:00.003-04:002015-06-19T07:41:38.005-04:00

Roma (1972) Director: Federico Fellini Number of viewings: 2 Comments: Visually baroque film essay on Rome. Episodic structure. Erotic, grotesque, and thought-provoking. As usual, this film is a fictional autobiography of Fellini's life. 

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-85963584997855789512015-06-18T08:37:00.001-04:002015-06-18T08:37:43.378-04:00

Round Trip Heart (2015) Director: Yuki Tanada Number of viewings: 1 Comments: Fascinating film, but began to lose interest after awhile. Nothing particularly special or memorable about this film. Loved Yuko Oshima and Koji Ookura's performances though. City (2010) Director:Kim Ye-young & Kim Young-geun Number of viewings: 1 Comments: Poetic short film that literally illustrates the

rex baylonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00346158441683332923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209434119339379400.post-59335812777920995442015-06-17T08:38:00.000-04:002015-06-17T08:38:02.467-04:00

See You Tomorrow, Everyone (2013) Director: Yoshihiro Nakamura Number of viewings: 1 Comments: A touching film. Ending made me tear up a bit. Love the way the film ended, neither happy or sad. It just closes. Maybe in a few years we will return to Satoru's story. Gaku Hamada is becoming my favorite male actor in Japan, at least of the new crop of male actors.

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