Willesden Green, The Kinks

I remember being really in to the Kinks in high school and then visiting London the summer after senior year with my friend Danny. He got sick one day, and so I decided to head out on my own to check out Willesden Green, in honor of this track. The reason I thought of the Kinks today was that WALKABOUT was shot in Australia, and one of my favorite Kinks albums is ARTHUR, a concept album about Australia and how Brits were seeing it as this Shangri La at the time. This track isn't from the album, but I roundaboutly discovered it when I put the great compilation album KINK KRONIKLES on, after I couldn't find ARTHUR. This track is from KINK KRONIKLES.

WALKABOUT (1971) - dir Nicolas Roeg

For me, much more impressive and impactful than 2001: A Space Odyssey. Much more understanding, I suppose, of humanity. Not concerned about the world beyond, in a scientific way, but yes in a spiritual way. This is one of the most important movies I've ever seen thus far in my young life.

The Long Goodbye (1973) - Robert Altman

HERMAN HESSE

MY RELIGION: HIPPIES & HIP HOP

HIP HOP IS FOR US WHAT JAZZ WAS FOR OUR FATHERS

Back in the days when I was a teenager Before I had status and before I had a pager You could find the Abstract listening to hip hop My pops used to say, it reminded him of be-bop -A Tribe Called Quest, "Excursions"

PART 3 - USA / BRITAIN

Here's the English language movies I've seen in the theatres this year. I'll start it off with the ones I saw in BA, and finish with what i've seen in my two months back here in Chicago. Watch out for the best of the year list(s) coming tomorrow and Thursday. BUENOS AIRES MEEK'S CUTOFF I've seen "wendy and lucy" and also "old joy" which i thought were great, uncomfortable and intimate personal stories. This is her newest film which I saw at BAFICI, the Buenos Aires International Film Fest. It was slow, and I'll admit I was bored a decent amount of the time. But it raised issues and probed at questions that you don't often get to think about watching movies. And that was cool and admirable and brave. Cheers, Kelly. Keep making that ole feminist shit that's not too preachy or mean-spirited but it's just a triumph for the underdogs. And keep the old west alive, albeit unconventionally! PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN - STRANGER TIDES It's Hollywood fare, and mediocre fare at that. But there's one impressive scene that involves dolphins and an almost always dazzling and charming Johnny Depp as Captain jack. It does lag, and it's probably a C+, but it was worth seeing, and I saw it for free, which made me leave the theatre not feeling guilty. Not bad. Can't complain. BLUE VALENTINE Hey, I'm not gonna lie. I really liked this movie. It was quirky but confident in its quirkiness. I read an interview with the director where he had Cassavetes' films like twenty times. It's definitely got that raw, up close and personal Cassavetes vibe. And the performances are really gripping. Williams and Gosling have impeccable chemistry. I saw it twice in the theatres. At the great Cine Lorca on Corrientes. Good memories. And a great movie. One that sets the bar for twenty first century indie fare. RABBIT HOLE I don't remember this one too well. But I remember I was moved. And that's not easy. Definitely worth a viewing, maybe not on the big screen but back home for sure. I don;t think you can go wrong with Nicole Kidman. ANOTHER YEAR I'm still thinking about this one. The relationships are so real, the characters so well fleshed out. THe ending quarter of the movie I thought fell kind of flat, but besides that I thought it was great. Impeccable acting performances and strong emotions. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HOLLOWS: PART 2 "Welcome to 21st Century Hollywood at its best." That;s the quote I mcame up with after leaving the theater here. Warner Brothers made its mark at the beginning of the film, and throughout the fun and dazzling magical ride of mortals and monsters, I smiled and cringed and left wanting to perform magic spells with my friends. PLANET OF THE APES: RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES This one actually packed a good amount of worthwhile philosophy in to the first half, and an overwhelming amount of CGI animal mayhem in the second half. Half intellectual exploration and half over the top action caper. This one definitely had its moments. The ape riding on the horse on the GOlden Gate Bridge. Classic status. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS OK, I didn't love Woody Allen's latest. But it didn't hurt that I got high and rode on the old fashioned Buenos Aires subway car, purely coincidentally, while getting to the movie. I saw Owen Wilson in the Dallas airport before I left for BA, and that was cool. I like Owen Wilson, and I like him in this movie. If anything, it inspired me to want to be among the early/mid twentieth century literary giants, which can only be a good thing, right? Since I was in Argentina, I thought of Borges, and wanted to chill with him. TREE OF LIFE Um, I almost rebelled against going to see this. It just looked so, entitled? But, I went and I was a bit bored and even snickering a bit in the beginning of the film, over its serious grandeur and lame narration. But it grew on me, mostly for the great performances by the kids and by Brad Pitt. The Sean Penn part was not very necessary I thought. At least I didn't buy in to it. I didn't understand its purpose. And let's give credit where credit is due - goddamn that movie looked beautiful. CHICAGO BLACKTHORN Sam Shepard holds his own as being the lone cowboy Butch Cassidy in this Spanish directed film that asks the question, "What if Butch Cassidy survived in Bolivia?" Interesting premise. And wonderful Bolivian landscapes that reminded me why I love that country, having spent significant time there in 2007. MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE I suppose this would classify as an indie darling right alongside "Blue Valentine." It's really well done, subtle, and thrilling. Keeps you on the edge of your seat, and does so with style and awkwardly compelling shots, premise and editing. Top notch young directing. Young, beautiful girls to boot (maybe a creepy old man comment, but it's true. that helps the movie!) Great movie with a maybe disappointing ending, depending on how you look at it. MONEYBALL I'm a baseball fan, so I wanted to see this. My aunt had seen it and recommended it. Surprisingly compelling for the subject matter. And one of the few flicks where I actually noticed that the editing was really strong. Taking a subject like the business of baseball and making it highly entertaining is tough, and the film had a great rhythm. Jonah Hill was sometimes hard to take seriously, but he did a great job. A very satisfying picture, and you learn a lot about the business of baseball. And two others that I did not like at all. I found them boring and just not that interesting. J. EDGAR and THE DESCENDANTS. Not worth the effort of a taxing write up. Also, saw the reprint of RAIDERS OF THE LAST ARK. Fun, but definitely adolescent wet dream type of stuff. A Spielbergian/Lucasian case of imagining your ideal childhood heros and putting them up on screen. Don't get me wrong, Spielberg and Lucas at their best are straight up masters of the Hollywood film medium. But this was one was quite ridiculous. Fun ride if you just take it for what it is, I guess.

PART 2 - INTERNATIONAL CINEMA

Today's list is films I saw in the theaters this year that were not from the US, Argentina or Britain. Buenos Aires is full of wonderful, funky art house theatres, where I got to see a wide variety of stuff. I saw a couple of these upon my return to the states, in the fine city of Chicago. HAEVEN (IN A BETTER WORLD) - DENMARK This was the Academy Award winner this year for best foreign language film. A powerhouse of beautiful images, intense storylines and enjoyable pacing. I saw it with Spanish subtitles. The trailer here is with English. LA PIEL QUE HABITO (THE SKIN I LIVE) - SPAIN I saw Almodovar's last one in the theatres too, "Broken Embraces." I was blown away by that one, and this new flick just takes it a step further. Many things he does here are literally unbelievable. A complex, creepy, fucked up storyline that only ALmodovar could pull off in good taste. LE HAVRE - FINLAND / FRANCE I'd seen one of Aki Kaurismaki's films. My good friend in college turned me on to him. I'd heard so many glowing reviews that I knew it was a must see in the theaters. Sure enough, highly charming and intimately played. A fine wine of a character study and, moreso, an unlikely friendship story. Good times, and ya leave the theater with some joy in your heart. TAMBIEN LA LLUVIA (EVEN THE RAIN) - SPAIN / BOLIVIA The first big budget film shot entirely in Bolivia, was about the COchabamba water war. Living for a time in Cocha, it was thrilling to see the city on the big screen, portrayed so grittily as the center of the big water riots in 2000. I was lucky enough to be in Cochabamba when it came out, and actually attended a panel of sorts that included one of the films' stars, Luis Tosar. Also, got to see the film in Santa Cruz with Hernan Meyer, one of the stars of my own film, NO WAY TO SAY GOODBYE. He definitely had a first hand perspective and it was cool to hear his take on it. CARLOS aka CARLOS THE JACKAL - FRANCE / GERMANY Saw this one on my birthday with a bunch of friends in BA. Was really stoked. Walked away half impressed. I enjoyed the worldiness of it, the globetrotting aspect. Also, there were some worthwhile badass scenes. But overall, a B rating. I saw the "short" theatrical version, which was 140 minutes. SOUL KITCHEN - GERMANY A visiting friend from the US tipped me off about this one. Hot director Faith Akin directs a fun, wild picture dripping with cool music and funny characters. A tasty desert of a film. Well made, sweet but not to sweet and a lot of rich flavor. I AM LOVE (EL AMANTE) - ITALY Tilda Swinton is great in this, but my favorite part of the film was the food. It was like food was sexy to the director, he focused on it like a sex scene or something. Not to mention, there was a great sex scene in this one. Sexy, subtle, delicate. Muah. and two older films (not released in the past year) MACARTHURS CHILDREN (1984) - JAPAN Never before have I seen such a carefully composed film. Each shot you can tell was perfectly composed. Slow, yes, but worth it. Plot is a bit cumbersome. There are some funny moments but the careful composition is what I took away from this one. CINEMA PARADISO (1988) A classic I should've seen a while ago. Sentimental, joyous, a lot of heart. But a bit boring and overtly simple I thought. So sue me.