MOVIE ORGY!

I usually watch a lot of movies. There was a period of time where I'd made it such a ritual in my life to stagger through a few minutes of a movie before I fell asleep at night, I became unable to sleep without the constant presence of some sort of cinematic vision on screen. I would try and try but without the smash cuts and lingering tracking shots of a film I'd be wide awake, my own thoughts tumbling about in my mind.

Of course though in regards to my filmic intake, it ebbs and flows. A lot of the time I'm obsessive, striving to watch two or three movies a day, and others I'm a movie sloth, finishing one film over the course of weeks and weeks. Right now, I'm at a near peak in terms of movie consumption. I've been blowing through Criterion films and documentaries like candy and it's been, well, fucking exciting. I thought I'd share some of the non-Criterion films I'd been watching, you know, to perhaps talk about a few films we've all actually seen.

1. Plagues and Pleasures on The Salton Sea dir. Chris Metzler

This is great little documentary about an area of California referred to as the Salton Sea. It's an accidental sea created by salty run-off that at one point was considered to be the French Riviera of the state. Unfortunately due to pollution and ignorance the lake turned in to a salty sort of fishy-death trap. This film follows the Sea's history while showcasing the residents who continue to live near its barren shores. John Waters, he of Flamingo fame narrates. It's quirky and wacky and there's a lot of fish and bird death. I found it quite entertaining.

2. American Swing dir. Matthew Kaufman & Jon Hart

This film has the makings of an excellent documentary. It's the story of a truly sex-tastic, well, swinger's club in New York City called Plato's Retreat and the owner who battled police and censorship to allow it to thrive. Sounds fascinating right? Well, this documentary was not. It was interesting but moved at an inconsistent rate and couldn't figure out if it wanted to be a film about sex in the '70s, censorship in general, or just a story about a bunch of people who really enjoyed getting it on. There are great interviews, but I found the film only slightly entertaining when I was expecting far more.

3. Milk dir. Gus Van Sant

I already talked about this film two days ago, but it's a part of the filmic orgy so I'll bring it up again. This is a good film that should've been great about an amazing figure and an amazing movement. I wanted to be more inspired, but it definitely opened the floor for some great discussion at my house. Regardless, the acting is fantastic, and Sean Penn certainly deserved this Oscar.

4. Made In U.S.A. (481) dir. Jean Luc Goddard

This is actually on it's way to becoming a Criterion film, but I saw it at the amazing Castro Theatre as a part of its road show. I'll blame a taxing road trip and the beauty of the theatre, but I slept through most of this oddball take on the American crime film. It was strange, and the parts I caught were quite interesting, but I can't have a full take on the film as I was curled up in Slumberland for the majority of it.

Four films! That's a shit-ton and that's while finishing a record four Criterion films in a week. I'm positively assured to not hit this mark again as I have two hours of Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (82) to slog through this weekend, but still, not bad right?

Friday: Variety Lights (81)