Movies Watched -- The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

102 minute running time so the right length. Gritty low-level crime life in Boston during the grim early 1970s … George V. Higgins was a prosecutor who had a good ear for how these petty criminals talked and was able to write a book based on it … the dialogue is great as a result … loved Mitchum since Night of the Hunter and many say this many be his best performance ever … score is very early 70s, sounds like all the TV shows I grew up with … the bleakness of this one sets it apart (although bleak was par for the course in the early 70s).

This is a green-go, recommended movie. The dialogue, Mitchum, the supporting actors, the location shooting in Boston, crime doesn’t pay … it all works to make a winner. Also I was glad to see in the bonus material that several scenes had been cut out, which is of course almost always a blessing. Yates talks in the commentary about the necessity of having an editor outside oneself (the director), who can see what’s unnecessary and make those much-needed cuts.

Get the man a beer

Tell Me Real, Do You Feel Anything?

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Only six years late to seeing this … she’s Australian of Maltese descent (born 1995. a Millennial) … has mastered the technology enough to create a one man band … I like her feral energy and appreciate the time she has spent perfecting her act:

50 Documentaries You Need To See (listed chronologically)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

I sorted the Guardian’s list for them:

  1. Man with a Movie Camera, Dziga Vertov, 1929

  2. Le Sang des Bêtes, Georges Franju, 1949

  3. Night and Fog, Alain Resnais, 1955

  4. Le Joli Mai, Chris Marker and Pierre Lhomme, 1963

  5. Up series, Michael Apted, 1964

  6. The War Game, Peter Watkins, 1965

  7. The Hour of the Furnaces, Octavia Getino and Fernando e Solanas, 1968

  8. Gimme Shelter, Albert and David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin 1970

  9. Primate, Frederick Wiseman, 1974

  10. The Battle of Chile, Patricio Guzmán, 1975, 1976, 1979

  11. Gates of Heaven, Errol Morris, 1978

  12. Global Report, Peter Armstrong, 1981

  13. Streetwise, Martin Bell, 1984

  14. Shoah, Claude Lanzmann, 1985

  15. Sherman’s March, Ross McElwee, 1986

  16. The Thin Blue Line, Errol Morris, 1988

  17. Close Up, Abbas Kiarostami, 1990

  18. Loss Is to Be Expected, Ulrich Seidl, 1992

  19. Pandora’s Box, Adam Curtis, 1992

  20. Hoop Dreams, Steve James, 1994

  21. China: Beyond the Clouds, Phil Agland, 1994

  22. Salaam Cinema, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, 1995

  23. Lessons of Darkness, Werner Herzog, 1995

  24. When We Were Kings , Leon Gast, 1996

  25. Little Dieter Needs to Fly, Werner Herzog, 1998

  26. Buena Vista Social Club, Wim Wenders, 1999

  27. The Gleaners and I, Agnès Varda, 2000

  28. Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore, 2002

  29. The Five Obstructions, Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth, 2003

  30. Capturing the Friedmans, Andrew Jarecki, 2003

  31. Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer, Nick Broomfield And Joan Churchill, 2003

  32. Some Kind of Monster, Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky, 2004

  33. The 3 Rooms of Melancholia, Pirjo Honkasalo, 2004

  34. The Power of Nightmares, Adam Curtis, 2004

  35. Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog, 2005

  36. Iraq in Fragments, James Longley, 2006

  37. When the Levees Broke, Spike Lee, 2006

  38. Sisters in Law, Kim Longinotto, 2006

  39. Waltz With Bashir , Ari Folman, 2008

  40. Man on Wire, James Marsh, 2008

  41. Into Eternity, Michael Madsen, 2010

  42. Five Broken Cameras, Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi, 2011

  43. Pina, Wim Wenders, 2011

  44. Stories We Tell, Sarah Polley, 2012

  45. Solar Mamas, Jehane Noujaim and Mona Eldaief, 2012

  46. The Queen of Versailles, Lauren Greenfield, 2012

  47. Blackfish, Gabriela Cowperthwaite, 2013

  48. Tales of the Grim Sleeper, Nick Broomfield, 2014

  49. Virunga, Orlando von Einsiedel, 2014

  50. Amy, Asif Kapadia, 2015

Movies Watched -- Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

101 minute running time so the right length but I disliked the main rich kid brat so much that it was hard to watch this one … I like the idea of hiding the Jewish kids in a Catholic school, but I wasn’t thrilled in the end with this movie.

“Malle … age eleven … watched a Gestapo official enter the classroom of his Fontainebleau school and summon a fellow pupil by an unfamiliar, Jewish name.“

Hot for Schubert


All These Men I'm So Much Better Than (Acoustic)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

An acoustic version of Olivia Dean’s “Be My Own Boyfriend” … she’s so beautiful and has a great voice and is super cool… girl you look so gosh-darned good tonight … I can do whatever whenever the heck I want!

Movies Watched -- The Battle of Algiers (1966)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

In French (mainly) … 121 minute running time so maybe a little bit too long, but I enjoyed this one and will give it a green-go since I’m in a generous mood … ahead of its time, depicting French colonialism in Africa and terrorism, er, revolutionaries, and independence movements … not sure why I liked it so much, but it just held me … it doesn’t sugarcoat anything, including the savagery on both sides. Recommended.

Fatiha, child bride

Ferraris Through the Years

Added on by C. Maoxian.

All photos stolen from Bring A Trailer listings … click to enlarge … which is the most beautiful and the ugliest? I think the F355 is still my favorite….

Jeni's Butterscotch Popcorn Review

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Final installment in my series of Jeni’s ice cream reviews: Butterscotch Popcorn.

I thought I had saved the best for last since I love popcorn, but I couldn’t taste any popcorn here. Maybe my taste buds have been blow out by the previous eight pints of Jeni’s. The butterscotch was good, I guess the idea was to replicate Cracker Jack or Crunch ‘n Munch, but it didn’t really work.

Cutesy side story

Maybe it was a problem of having high expectations? Anyway, once again it’s a good gimmick flavor to try once in a scoop shop. I wouldn’t buy it again for $12 (plus $15 shipping).