Lost Highway (1997) David Lynch

Lost Highway (1997)
Directed by David Lynch
Produced by Deepak Nayar, Tom Sternberg, Mary Sweeney
Screenplay by David Lynch, Barry Gifford
Cinematography by Peter Deming
Edited by Mary Sweeney
Casting by Johanna Ray, Elaine J. Huzzar
Music by Angelo Badalamenti
October Films
Universal UK Blu-ray
(color; 2:15)

The David Lynch Project Part VII

Here’s a statement that will probably be disputed among several readers: David Lynch’s films really aren’t that hard to understand. Oh sure, we may not know what every symbol or image represents (if anything), we may not know if a certain character is a real person or a representation of something else, on and on. Such things we can debate forever, but the basic stories of most of Lynch’s films are pretty clear if you understand one thing:

If a Movie Plays in an Empty Theater…

 

Recently on the podcast Maltin on Movies, Leonard Maltin had Paul Scheer as a guest on the show. One of the many things they talked about was the eternal question: If no one shows up for a movie theater screening, do they still run the projector? If the projectionist kills the movie after 10 minutes, what happens if someone walks in 15 minutes late?

Movies Watched in April 2016 Part II

Moving right along, picking up where Part I left off:

Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) Carl Franklin

Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Directed by Carl Franklin
Screenplay by Carl Franklin, based on the book by Walter Mosley
Produced by Jesse Beaton, Jonathan Demme, Donna Gigliotti, Gary Goetzman, Thomas A. Imperato, Walter Mosley, Edward Saxon
Music by Elmer Bernstein
Cinematography by Tak Fujimoto
Editing by Carole Dravetz
Costumes by Sharen Davis
Twilight Time Blu-ray (1:42)

The story may be typical noir, but the look, feel, and performances in Devil in a Blue Dress make it anything but typical. The film is based on the first book in the Easy Rawlins mystery series by Walter Mosley and it’s a pity no other books were adapted.

Bunny Lake is Missing (1965) Otto Preminger

Bunny Lake is Missing (1965)
Directed by Otto Preminger
Produced by Otto Preminger and Martin C. Schute
Based on a novel by Marryam Modell (as Evelyn Piper)
Screenplay by John Mortimer, Penelope Mortimer, Ira Levin (uncredited)
Cinematography by Denys N. Coop
Edited by Peter Thornton
Title designs by Saul Bass
Columbia Pictures
Twilight Time Blu-ray (1:47)

If you read almost any reviews of Bunny Lake is Missing, you’ll find that most critics praise the first two-thirds of the film, lamenting that the structure crumbles to ruins during the final half hour or so. I’m not so sure I agree with that assessment. I simply do not believe that Otto Preminger – a director so meticulous with camera angles, direction of actors, and absolute (i.e. tyrannical) control of his films – simply didn’t know what he was doing with the ending. I think he knew exactly what he was doing. Perhaps some of the problems stem from scenes that linger too long after the reveal of what really happened or, more likely, an ending whose familiarity is embedded into our cinematic consciousness after these many years.

Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985) Tim Burton

Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985) Tim Burton
Warner DVD – library (1:30)

I watched a lot of movies in the mid-80s, but Pee-wee’s Big Adventure wasn’t one of them. Maybe that’s because I was hearing “Tequila” on the radio every five minutes or watching one of my junior high band students doing the Pee-wee dance as they were walking down the halls. But after hearing about the new movie Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, I decided to try the original, 30+ years later.

Film Noir Releases in May 2016

Beef up your wallets now: May looks to be the biggest month for film noir Blu-ray releases so far this year. Get ready to dig deep…

Movies Watched in April 2016 Part I

April is shaping up to be a pretty solid month. Here’s the first 10 movies I saw in early April. More to come…

Liebster Awards

Many thanks to Keisha over at Cinema Cities for nominating me for a Liebster Award! I am honored and will do my best to follow the rules, although I’m going to follow Keisha’s lead and not write 11 things about myself. (I don’t have 11 interesting things to say about myself, anyway.)

Answer the 11 questions given to you

Write 11 things about yourself

Nominate up to 11 bloggers and give them 11 questions

=======================================

Nominated Blogs (apologies if you’ve already been nominated):

The Blonde at the Film

Cracked Rear Viewer 

Diary of a Movie Maniac

Everything Noir 

Mike’s Take on the Movies 

Vic’s Movie Den 

My 11 questions:

Love Comics? Come See Us!

I haven’t posted much comics-related news or reviews lately, but I did want to talk briefly about two upcoming events in Anne Arundel County, Maryland:

First, I will be presenting a program called “What Are Graphic Novels?” on Monday, May 9 at 7pm at the Severna Park Library. This program is aimed at adults (teens are also welcome) who either don’t know what graphic novels are or think of them only in narrow terms, i.e. “They’re just for kids” or “It’s just a bunch of capes and tights.” We want to show that there’s literally something for everyone.

We’re going to be (briefly) discussing the history of comics and graphic novels, how they have emerged into the culture (particularly in movies), and how they’re much more than just superhero stories. More importantly, we’ll take a look at how comics and graphic novels have helped struggling readers as well as people seeking to speak English as a second language. Plus we’ll have lots of great books you can check out at the event.

Second, the Anne Arundel County Public Library is having its first Comic Con on Saturday, May 14 at 10am at the Odenton Regional Library. “Spend the afternoon exploring comic books and literacy through panel discussions, interactive workshops, crafts for the kids and a costume contest.”

You can find out more information here. I’ll be at the con talking to several young readers, asking them about the types of books they’re reading, what they like, what they want more of, etc. I plan to put those mini-interviews together for an upcoming episode of The Comics Alternative for Young Readers, a monthly feature that I host with my good friend Gwen Tarbox. Although we’ve been discussing comics for young readers for several months now, this will be the first time we’ve actually heard from young readers themselves. Very exciting! I hope you can join us at both events as well as Free Comic Book Day at various AACPL libraries.