This week happened to be relatively un-notable. Besides the fact that I found myself, surprisingly, without a rewatch to mark down I made a lot of time for non-work things. I got home early, due to being in training, and did a lot of writing, which hopefully in the coming weeks can share. I even got around to watching some much sought after films, including a short Bowie documentary (mentioned below).
I think however the thing that punctuated the week the most were the Oscar nominations. I’ve said little on the topic because I don’t like to jump into these things that I’m not really a part of. However, I want more importantly to talk about the measure that the Academy JUST put in place after all of the uproar about the whole thing as new regulations for voters. I’m not sure if this will solve the true problem since the problem at hand isn’t just a lack of representation at an awards ceremony, but in the whole market. Minorities make up a very small percentage of films per year produces in America, and that’s even if you include the independent films market. While cost of technology is low people still aren’t getting these stories out there. The only true way to get this going (besides starting your own studio and distribution scheme to self promote these stories) is for us (the viewer) to go and watch these movies at their source, the theatre. The problem with that though, in my view, is that many of these are not that great movies.
It’s not that a feel that these stories are inherently bad, I just feel that, like all of Hollywood, there’s a lot of bad things and a lot of mediocre things, with a cream of great sitting there for us to discover; however, when we’re talking about one or two films a year vs. a score in the other side of the arguement it’s a slow crawl to get these films noticed as “performing” in that business world. At this rate the only way they get made is if you stuff a Kevin Hart in the corner and agitate him enough that he hits that special Kevin Hart note. What I’m saying is that I’m sad for this state of affairs, I wish there were more stories from this side of the market that I was genuinely interested in and I could point you to and say make that be the one you vote for, instead I feel as though the solution of just going regardless is wrong as well, because that then involves you suffering through boring narrative and bad comedy for the most part.
But, hey, that’s just me thinking out loud.
This week’s serving of films is as follows:
New To Me
River of No Return (1954) – This is my second Mitchum film, and damn does he belong in the west.
Legend (2015) – Tom Hardy doesn’t make up for the mediocre film this is
The Hateful Eight (2015) – Everything is my happiness, it’s over the top in every way
David Bowie – Five Years (2013) – More Bowie music please.
Foxy Brown (1974) – Coffy won me over, this makes me question my desire to watch more of this genre
The Piano (1993) – I continue to re-iterate, women direct sexier scenes than men.
Mississipi Grind (2015) – As mediocre as you expect, but with gambling problems.
The Tally
| Total Films Seen Released in 2016 | 1 |
| Total New To Me Films in 2016 | 21 |
| Total Films Seen in 2016 | 28 |
The Five Years documentary I think is one of the most quintessential docs on Bowie ever as it breaks down Bowie in his creative zenith to his most successful period and then brings an epilogue of what he had been doing in the last few years. I’m already thinking about doing a project devoted entirely to Bowie for next month to not just explore all of his studio albums but also uncover rarities, B-sides, and other gems that I’m sure many haven’t heard of. For me, his work from 1969 to 1983 is pretty much Bowie’s Golden period with Black Tie White Noise and Outside being his finest work in the 90s and then returning to full glory with Heathen and everything else since then.
I was sort of surprised just how great it was.