As perfect a movie as Iâve ever seen. Changed my life the moment I saw it from the barrel chairs of Metrograph with angel Terrence Davies there to speak. A love song to his mother, the movies, and the home in which he grew up. Loaded with a phantasmagorical sound design and mix matched only in emotional impact by the music of Burial.
Ok, itâs about a Tokyo toilet cleaner. And he barely speaks. But bear with me. Itâs a film that is luminous with beauty from a director nearing the end of his life (Wim Wenders is in his eighties.) And it says so much about what is important in life, and what isnât ⌠Relinquishing complication, I think, is the key. Plus the quietness of simplicity. And the ability to cleave to a simple life - if you possibly can. And having the courage to be singular; to not care what others think of you (the ultimate freedom.) Lessons, lessons, all the life lessons. I still think about the gift of this film, months after I was immersed in it. I left the cinema ⌠cleansed.
Beyond compare. The entire film is just shot after shot, scene after scene, so profoundly beautiful it's almost too much to bear. It's one of the few films that have moved me so much that I am aware of how my heart feels as I'm watching the film. There's very little dialogue, it could be a story from the Gospels. Linda Manz is incredible, so powerful and so funny - one sequence in the film features an unrelated monologue played over the action which is just a recording Terrence Malik made of Linda Manz explaining her understanding of the book of revelation. Terrence Malik is the biggest Christian ever and I think his films are so special because he's trying to convey ideas like grace and redemption and you can tell from the sensitivity with which he captures the world and people that this is the vision of someone who sees the world as Creation.
An amazing movie that is a little bit over 3 hours long (something I wish I had known when I went to watch it alone at Metrograph on a Sunday night). The scenes are beautiful and above all of that, a really meaningful movie. Itâs an epic story about a young boy in Taiwan set in the early 1960s. I replay the scenes in my mind constantly and itâs become something that Iâm constantly reflecting on about how to tell a violent story, beautifully.
The saving grace of my workouts, and a massage chair all in one hand. Over time this thing has actually become an incentive in of itself for me to workout because I so eagerly look forward to using it after going ham and abusing myself. Itâs a good bonding device for me and my girlfriend too, a 2021 alt to the âbackscratchersâ of the boomer generation. For me itâs the best kind of gun.
Ever since I got sober 12 years ago and quit smoking shortly after, Iâve craved nicotine. Six years removed from my final cigarette I hit my friendâs Mango Juul Pod at a wedding and Iâve been back and hooked ever since. In a way I enjoy vaping more than I ever did smoking tobacco because it doesnât make me smell like a degenerate and I can hit it anywhere I go. After some taste tests, I adopted Cool Cucumber like it was my newborn son. Over the past two or three years the fun Juul flavors have all been banned (Cool Cuke included) and I, like many others, have had to venture into the wild west of smoke lottos to find flavored disposable alternatives. Most are disgusting but you donât know what youâre going to get until you drop $8-$15 and take the first puff. Air Bar Luxâs are built better, hit better and taste better than any disposable vape youâll find at the shop - the Dyson, the iPhone 4S of nicotine delivery systems.
Even though Vincent Gallo might not agree, Soderbergh has hit some unbelievable highs in his career (Oceanâs Eleven, The Girlfriend Experience, Traffic), and apart from Twin Peaks: The Return, a film director has never goated television as hard as The Knick. Performances of the life from Clive Owen and Eve Hewson and my favorite TV score of all time -- big shouts to Cliff Martinez.