Jay’s Take: Jurassic World Dominion & Top Gun Maverick
Tag: loathing
Jay’s Take: Vortex
A relatively spoiler-free movie review.
France’s resident moviemaker/troublemaker Gaspar Noé (“Enter the Void”; “that movie where Monica Bellucci gets raped for ten minutes”) has a new movie out called “Vortex” . It’s one of the best new movies I’ve seen in the last 10 years. That’s a mean feat. Discuss:
Vortex is about a small family – an elderly couple, living alone; and their son – dealing with the late-stage dementia of the matriarch. And while in many ways it – aesthetically & thematically – slides nicely into the controversial director’s filmography at this point in his life (he’s turning 60 next year), it’s also unique amongst his back-catalogue. In this way and others, it’s sure to draw comparison with Michael Haneke’s 2012 movie “Amour” (also about an elderly couple and their offspring dealing with the deterioration of the wife). With Amour, a well-known & incendiary director took his unique cinematic language and translated it successfully to a serious, contemplative “chamber piece”. I’ve always wanted to call a movie a “chamber piece” and now I can. Twice! Vortex is a “chamber piece”: a serious-toned character drama in-and-around one location.
Continue readingJay’s Quick Take: Cabaret
A revisionist movie review.
“Cabaret”. It’s a classic, according to “industry experts”. It’s on every “Top 1000” / “See This Before You Die” list, and all the reviews on Plex have that little “tomatoe” icon. Director Bob Fosse is known for more than his four main theatrical features, from Cabaret-on, although at least two of those movies are actual, confirmed personal favorites (full disclosure: I haven’t seen “All That Jazz” yet). Shouldn’t “Cabaret”, then, be worth 5000-words-or-more? Surely? Meh. Surely it’s been done.
Continue readingsmells like a dirty sanchez
A poem.
you find yourself, reader,
in wicked spirit
being led by my dangled carrot into a modern family home
that to the modern teen, may as well be a modern garrote –
her room, her bed, her throne –
Mom thinks there must be something going on
cause the smell from the dining room downstairs
reeks like a bong:
“but how do you know that, Miss Antoinette? are you sure?
“it’s because of the parties to which i’ve been lured.
i haven’t actually smoked any. don’t be so perturbed –
“well how would you know it was weed
unless you were standing so close to them you could see?
then wouldn’t it be in the air that you breathe?
hmmm?
do you need me to get you a cup
into which you can pee?
“i didn’t have any, OK? JEEZ.
Continue readingpoor fish
A one-act play.
“A walk in the park becomes an earnest spiral of naive morality when a mother and her young daughter happen on a fisherman.”
THE SCENE
A suburban park surrounding a lake, during a mild day in early-Spring. Present Day.
THE CAST
A Man, 60s, spending his day fishing.
A Girl, under 10, who happens upon him.
Her Mom, late-20s/early-30s, her guardian.
*
LIGHTS UP. A MAN stands alone off to stage-left, facing away from the audience, casting off with an imaginary fishing rod. There are sounds of a public park: birds; wind; and the resting of water. There is a bench beside the man and on top rests his backpack, a cooler, and some other miscellaneous items: he is set up to be standing there for the day.
ENTER a little GIRL, clad in a one-piece rainsuit, jumping on-stage from stage-right into imaginary puddles with her yellow boots. Her MOM follows her. The girl is singing a little song.
MOM
Honey, don’t go off too far!
GIRL
I won’t!
The girl circles back to Mom. Near her, the girl falls on her bum. Mom helps her up.
MOM
Good thing we bought you this rainsuit!
GIRL
Mom, I’m going to be all wet!
MOM
You won’t. It’ll be like magic.
Stand here a second. Watch that man.
They watch the fisherman.
Continue reading
theory of a daskeman 