A Fond Farewell

Hi listeners and friends,

It's unfortunate to have to say this, but it seems this rendition of The Brooklyn Film Theorists podcast has reached a conclusion. As can be expected from your hosts, we parted amicably - our schedules have become too divergent and despite our fondness for each other's company, it was becoming unfathomable to record shows on a week by week basis. Rick and I will surely work together again in some capacity and for the time being, enjoy the twenty five episodes we've put together during the 8 months we were on the air.

Much thanks and love goes out to Rob Christman and Mic Blaque, two talented producers who've put in time, energy and spirit into making these episodes happen.

I'll be taking the blog down shortly in order to rework it visually and make sure all the episodes are up on ITunes in the right order. They should be up permanently in a few weeks. Feel free to drop me a line with any questions at cinefile88@gmail.com.

Take care,

Mark

Episode 25: "Bellflower"/"13 Assassins"

This week, Mark and special guest Cody Robison talk Sundance hit "Bellflower", a "mumblecore grindhouse" film and Takashi Miike's "13 Assassins", notable for the hour-long battle sequence that closes out the film. "13 Assassins" is now on Netflix Instant Play.

Episode 24: "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest" feat. Chaz Kangas

This week, Rick gives his blessing to Mark and guest Chaz Kangas' discussion of the documentary "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest".

Check out Chaz's album "A Personal Reference" right here .

Episode 23: "Transformers 3"/"The Destructors"

This week on BKFT, Rick and Mark tackle Michael Bay's newest fightin' robot extravaganza and talk about a little-known 70s thriller "The Destructors".

Nostalgia for our Youth

Whenever I go out recently, people that find out that I'm a "movie guy" always recommend JJ Abrams Super 8. Inevitably, I have to tell them that I am not a fan of the film and I already  reviewed it on the podcast that I cohost (Episode 21, Super 8/ If I want to Whistle, I Whistle.) As always, the other people become defensive and tell me that they enjoy the film on the level of it being a good summer blockbuster. This line of reasoning is classic Roger Ebert; basing a film's merits around what genre it belongs to. In the case of Super 8, many people, particularly in the Generation X and Y ("millenials") age brackets, yearn for a throwback family adventure film such as Goonies or Back to the Future (which I hope to host an entire podcast about later this summer) that they grew up with in the 1980's. Simply put, Super 8 is not that film. It is entertaining on a summer time mattinee level, but the characters are instantly forgettable, with only Elle Fanning's leaving any lasting impression, which is more a statement on the talented young actress. What sets Richard Donner's Goonies apart is it's hilarious and touching characters and it's tightly wrapped story. There might be an actor in the movie known as Chunk, but the story has no fat to it. It moves along at a brisk pace, walking a tight balance between scenes of emotional discovery for the children and family friendly action sequences.
So the next time you see me out, I'm glad to discuss one of the major passions in my life- films- but please, no more Super 8 arguments. I yearn for the type of coming of age adventure films I loved growing up. And when I see one, I'll let you know.

Episode 22: "Black Death"/"Green Lantern"

This week on BKFT, Rick and Mark theorize on "Black Death"'s take on religion and contemplate reasons for the failure of "Green Lantern".

That Just Happened

Jenn (disgustedly), "Oh my God, they're coming out with a Step-up 4?"
Me, "Unless John Chu is on board, I'm not seeing it."

Episode 21: "Super 8"/"When I Want To Whistle, I Whistle"

This week, Mark and Rick talk whether the big budget Spielbergian magic of "Super 8" works, and discuss the merits of the little-seen Romanian film "When I Want To Whistle, I Whistle".

Corrections

Whenever you speak in a live recording format, there is always the chance you may say something out of context or forget a vital piece of information. For me, I have at least one major fuck up per episode that I wish I could take back. Recently there were two glaring statements I made that I need to correct.

The first is on Episode 19, Hangover part 2 and Tree of Life, when I stated that the cinematographer of Tree of Life, the extremely talented Emmanuel Lubezki, performed as a steadicam operator on his films. As my friend and working AC/DP Alberto Mojica pointed out to me, this simply is not true. Lubezki performs much of the handheld camera work himself and uses other people to operate the steadicams. However, he does pull focus from a wireless remote for many of the steadicam sequences.

A second glaring mistake I made is when I claimed on Episode 20, The Brooklyn College FIlm Festival and X Men: First Class, that Brooklyn College needed to create a separate Best Documentary Award for the festival to celebrate the numerous non-fiction films students produce. The problem with this suggestion is that there already is a Best Documentary category and it was won this year by the heartfelt film Deconstructing Your Mother, directed by Ja'Tovia Gary. When I made the suggestion on air, I was making a statement about the nature of documentary filmmaking in general and how it differs greatly from narrative filmmaking, unless of course your are Werner Herzog, but that's a different blog post. When people critique documentaries, they are often quick to allow for obscene camera zooms or poor image quality as long as the overarching storyline tugs on the old heart strings. That's fine, as I am a huge fan of direct cinema, cinema veritae and other forms of non-fiction films. Yet, at the same time I feel if narrative films are to be judged on harsher terms for their formalistic elements, such as sound quality, editing pace and image quality, then narrative and documentary films should be screened and judged with only the other types of films in those categories.

Thanks again and I'll talk to your soon.

Episode 20: Brooklyn College Film Festival/"X-Men: First Class"

Episode 20 of BKFT is in the books, as Mark and Rick wrap up the 29th annual Brooklyn College Film Festival and discuss who is the true lifeblood of a film set with guests Alex Susse and Cal Robertson. And "X-Men: First Class".

Episode 19: "The Hangover Part II"/"Tree of Life"

This week on BKFT, Rick and Mark smirk occasionally throughout "The Hangover Part II", and Mark has a surprise for Rick on their discussion of "Tree of Life".

Episode 18: "Vanishing on 7th Street"/"Blue Valentine"

This week, Mark and Rick present a list of favorite car chases and take on the supernatural thriller "Vanishing on 7th Street" and the somber relationship drama "Blue Valentine".

A Se7en Vibe for Fincher's Remake?

When it comes to early trailers of films, I'm usually against watching them, but this I have to share. I found out about it through the The Daily Notebook twitter page and even though I have not read any of the books, I am intrigued by David Fincher's vision for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In particular, this footage makes me recall Fincher's early pyschologically gripping masterpiece, Se7en.

However, I'm not sure if the trailer has enough cuts in it? If the goal was to give the viewer a seizure, then the editor of the trailer sadly failed.



As for the atrocious Led Zeppelin cover, I am doing my best to ignore it and simply revel in Fincher's return to the thriller genre.

Episode 17: "Bridesmaids"/"Fast Five"

On a special episode of The Brooklyn Film Theorists, Rick invites his fiancee Jen to talk bridal films and "Bridesmaids" with him. Then, Rick and Mark run circles around "Fast Five".

Episode 16: "Meek's Cutoff"/"I Love You Phillip Morris"

This week on The Brooklyn Film Theorists, Mark and Rick discuss the highs and lows of Kelly Reichardt's "Meek's Cutoff" as well as the controversial romance "I Love You Phillip Morris".

"Fast Five" Capsule Review

If a viewer can overcome an implausible story & throwaway one-liners, then that viewer will relish the adrenaline rush that director Justin Lin serves up in Fast Five. Be warned: stereotypes are manipulated and reinforced with the subtlety of a jackhammer at dawn, but the action scenes are intense and the shot selection admirable. ***

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Episode 15: Werner Herzog/"Cave of Forgotten Dreams"

This week, The Brooklyn Film Theorists return with an in-depth discussion of Werner Herzog and his newest film, "Cave of Forgotten Dreams". Featuring the smooth soul vocals of Frank Joseph Baran.

Music: "SideKicks-N-FlyKicks"
Artist: O.I.S.D.

An Excellent Character Actor

Even though I'm in the middle of watching Werner Herzog's epic tale of a stoic strongman in Germany at the onset of World War II, Invincible (2001), I wanted to take a moment and point out how great Udo Kier is at playing the creepy, mysterious man in films. Despite only uttering a handful of lines in many of the films he appears in, Kier steals every scene he's in with his piercing and disturbing gaze. The speech he delivers in Invincible, where he critiques the Nazi's lack of style to Joseph Goebbels, perfectly captures how many Germans must have felt about the Fascist party. Another of his surprisingly memorable acting turns for me is as the wealthy businessman in one of my favorite films from my youth, Tom Shadyac's ridiculous Jim Carrey vehicle Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994). Kier's brief appearance onscreen left a distinct impression with me even though his character served no real purpose to the overarching story line of the film.

This line from, Paul Morrisey's cult 1974 vampire film, Blood for Dracula, exemplifies how Kier delivers the cheesiest lines with the utmost sincerity.


Here is another ridiculous scene from an excellent Gus Van Sant film, 1993's My Own Private Idaho, where Kier forgoes all subtly to create a bizarre moment that has typified his acting career.


Simply put, Kier may never be considered an excellent actor in the vein of young Al Pacino or Marlon Brando, but he is a great character actor who will pop up in the oddest film at the oddest moment.

Television Films

Watching a film on television is so disruptive. The only truly effective movies I watch on television are films that are played on movie specific channels, such as TCM. That is not to say that I cannot appreciate a film on IFC or AMC, but I always feel like I want to buy or netflix the film, if it was good to begin with.

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Episode 14: "Scream 4"/"The Exorcist"

This week on The Brooklyn Film Theorists, Mark sits it out as Rick and special guest Top $ Raz take on "Scre4m" and "The Exorcist".