The telos of this website, its abiding purpose, is a record of the things that I have read and watched. For the reasons undergirding this project see my comments on cultural consumption.
June 23rd
— The Asphalt Jungle (1950), 112 min.
Directed by John Huston; written by John Huston and Ben Maddow, based on the novel The Asphalt Jungle by W. R. Burnett.
Starring Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire, and Marilyn Monroe.
Released in the United States on May 12, 1950.
“Don’t bone me!”
Sterling Hayden and Sam Jaffe are so beautiful in this film.
Honestly, everyone in this film is beautiful. The person introducing this film claimed that every person was perfectly cast and honestly I think that may be so. Not hyperbolic.
And I had no idea that the Jean Hagen was the same actress from Singing in the Rain!
June 25th
— The Great Devonian Controversy: The Shaping of Scientific Knowledge among Gentlemanly Specialists
Written by Martin J. S. Rudwick.
Published by University of Chicago Press (1985), 528 pp.
Progress: Prologue.
God this is a beautiful freaking book.
June 26th
— Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022), 87 min.
Directed by Kyle Balda, Brad Ableson, and Jonathan del Val; written by Matthew Fogel, from a story by Brian Lynch and Matthew Fogel.
Starring Steve Carell, Pierre Coffin, Taraji P. Henson, Michelle Yeoh, Alan Arkin, Julie Andrews, Russell Brand, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lundgren, Danny Trejo, and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Released in the United States on July 1, 2022.
First 75 minutes with M because of course the Minions are a formative effect on Lucian’s upbringing and it’s important that she know something about this. Predictably, her complaint is that she’s about to have a seizure because of the frenetic editing. And she’s right.
This made me think about the N+1 article that talked about how Netflix films are made to be watched “in the background” and so narrative hints are added liberally to make sure the attention-poor can still follow along as they do other things …
— Hoarders (2024), “Bob“
Directed by George Butts; written by Marcus Goodwin and Matt Wilkins.
Aired on A&E on January 15, 2024.
Viewed on Netflix and therefore broken into two different episodes.
June 27th
— Goldfinger (1964), 110 min.
Directed by Guy Hamilton; written by Richard Maibaum and Paul Dehn, based on the novel Goldfinger by Ian Fleming.
Starring Sean Connery, Honor Blackman, Gert Fröbe, Shirley Eaton, Tania Mallet, Harold Sakata, Bernard Lee, Martin Benson, Cec Linder, Austin Willis, Lois Maxwell, and Desmond Llewelyn.
Premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on September 17, 1964.
Watched the first 30 minutes on the Criterion Channel. These first 30 minutes include the scene where Goldfinger has the beautiful woman murdered who’d been helping him cheat at gin, after she was corrupted by Bond. That image of her spraypainted in gold is sort of famous.
— Party Down (2009), “Celebrate Ricky Sargulesh”
Directed by Bryan Gordon; written by John Enbom.
Starring Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Jane Lynch, Ryan Hansen, Martin Starr, Lizzy Caplan, and Steven Weber.
Aired on Starz on May 8, 2009. Season 1, episode 8.
— Hoarders, 15.2 “Bob”
Second part of the same episode as it’s available on Netflix.
— The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), 169 min.
Directed by Peter Jackson; written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro, based on the novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien.
Starring Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, and Andy Serkis.
Premiered at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand, on November 28, 2012.
Watched the first two hours with M.
June 28th
— My Ántonia
Written by Willa Cather; introduction by Jane Smiley.
Published by Vintage (2018), 288 pp.
Progress: 25 pp.
— Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), 128 min.
Directed by Shawn Levy; written by Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, and Shawn Levy.
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Aaron Stanford, and Matthew Macfadyen.
Premiered at the David H. Koch Theater in New York City on July 22, 2024.
Originally saw this in Orlando with my sister and brother-in-law. This time watching with Lucian and M (although M had her back turned, was working). Perhaps a sign of bad parenting, allowing 15-year-old to consume?
The funniest part is when DP asks Gambit if his dialogue coach was the Minions. And Channing Tatum is straight throughout …
June 30th
— River of No Return (1954), 91 min.
Directed by Otto Preminger; written by Frank Fenton, based on a story by Louis Lantz.
Starring Robert Mitchum, Marilyn Monroe, Tommy Rettig, Rory Calhoun, and Murvyn Vye.
Released in the United States on April 30, 1954.
Watched with the sound off most of the time.
Actually I really like Otto Preminger films, particular Advise and Consent, which I think is brilliant (and casts both Charles Laughton and Henry Fonda). This is a film I hadn’t seen.
I think it’s kind of a strange Preminger film. I cannot think of another Western he made, although one might reasonably argue this is not a Western. It’s an Anthony Mann kind of Western, perhaps? Of course, here there’s little love for the setting. It’s purely instrumental.
— The Man Who Found Time, 5 pp.
July 1st
— Law & Order (1990), “Silence”
Directed by Ed Sherin; written by Michael Duggan, Michael S. Chernuchin, and René Balcer.
Starring Paul Sorvino, Chris Noth, Dann Florek, Michael Moriarty, Richard Brooks, Steven Hill, George Martin, Reed Birney, Richard Levine, and Justine Miceli.
Aired on NBC on April 28, 1992. Season 2, episode 21.
I’ve started to grow sort of bored with L&O. It’s a show that I watch frequently but do not include in my recordings. But this episode was different.
It mostly about a councilman who’s murdered and whose father tries to coverup the fact that he was a closeted gay and he was being blackmailed.
I guess I thought it was interesting the lengths to which men went to conceal their sexual orientation. But those words, sexual orientation, fail to grasp the web of associations and their social force they wield, transforming and ruining lives.
Of course, there is nothing earth-shattering about this, I guess, except that today that history seems somewhat concealed, that we have forgotten about how dangerous it once was to be outwardly gay.
But I was also intrigued by the fact that the editor of the Out magazine wouldn’t reveal his source, even though it was the case that the source was using him to blackmail and then punish a closeted gay person.
These days, such First Amendment protections are under attack. But here was a case in which someone was calling on their defense, even though the end was contrary to their own political agenda.
— Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), 133 min.
Directed by Jon Watts; written by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Jon Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers.
Starring Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Bokeem Woodbine, Tyne Daly, Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr.
Premiered at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 28, 2017.
Had watched this before but forgotten that I’d watched it before. TBH, kind of boring, really. I mainly chose it because I thought that Lucian would enjoy it.
July 2nd
— A Blueprint for Murder (1953), 76 min.
Directed and written by Andrew L. Stone.
Starring Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, Gary Merrill, Catherine McLeod, Jack Kruschen, and Barney Phillips.
Limited theatrical release in the United States beginning on July 24, 1953.
In some respects an interesting film, albeit with a dreadful, horrible ending in which the audience never receives the confession of the killer. Instead, all of that occurs through voice over, resolving the story.
So I guess it’s not surprising it didn’t get an actual premiere. They were like, this one is in the can, let’s be done with it!
July 3rd
— The Man Who Found Time, 10 pp.
— Babygirl (2024), 115 min.
Directed and written by Halina Reijn.
Starring Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Sophie Wilde, and Antonio Banderas.
Premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 30, 2024.
M implored me to watch this with her. Okay, there was not really any begging necessary. She enjoyed this film and wanted to share it with me and it’s “feminist” content.
July 4th
— Party Down (2009), “Stennheiser-Pong Wedding Reception”
Directed by Bryan Gordon; written by John Enbom.
Starring Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Ryan Hansen, Martin Starr, Lizzy Caplan, Jennifer Coolidge, Kristen Bell, George Takei, and Ken Jeong.
Aired on Starz on May 22, 2009.
— The Man Who Found Time, 70 pp.
At least 30-40 pages about Bonnie Prince Charles’ mini-rebellion and then finally to the Scottish Enlightenment and Joseph Black in particular
— Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq (2013), 91 min.
Directed and written by Nancy Buirski.
Starring Tanaquil Le Clercq, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Jacques d’Amboise, Allegra Kent, Arthur Mitchell, and Barbara Horgan.
Premiered at the 51st New York Film Festival on September 30, 2013.
July 5th
— The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013), 161 min.
Directed by Peter Jackson; written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro, based on the novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien.
Starring Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, and Orlando Bloom.
Premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on December 2, 2013.