Vettel Blog

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Vettel — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:42:45 GMT

Single, 30-something moral Catholic is looking for a wife.
Moral Catholic spies a bland blonde in church, whom he decides he'll marry.
Moral Catholic won't sleep with some 'seductive, worldly' brunette he's just met, despite her repeated attempts.
Lots of talking, not alot of it interesting.
Moral Catholic drives around town, looking for blonde.
He eventually finds her; she seems bored/shy/distracted in his presence.
That's basically it.
I really don't want to sound like the dopey American here, but I like Jean-Louis Trintignant, I like French movies made in the 60's (generally speaking), but I fell asleep during this shit.

Overrated.

Vettel — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:30:42 GMT

Believe me, I like alot Francois Truffaut's work, but this is one film I find highly overrated. I saw Shoot the Piano Player, not expecting much, and enjoyed it much more than repeated viewings of Jules and Jim.

Cocaine is a helluva drug.

Vettel — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:17:42 GMT

Want to see Robert DeNiro act like a goofball and inexplicably trail Liza Minnelli, of all people, like a lovesick, sax-playing puppy?
Want to see Martin Scorsese waste 2+ hours of your life, and numerous reels of film, on this ode to 40's musicals?
It's not a horrible movie, but you can picture all the principals involved (especially Marty n' Liza), as soon as "Cut!" is called, scurrying off to 54 to congratulate each other on that day's shooting.
"This is sniiiiiiiiiff fantaaaastic, Marty!"
"Yeah, I know! This is gonna sniiiiiiiff be better than Taxi Driver and Mean Streets combined!! This is gonna blow everyone away!"

Amusing if you have an hour and a half to kill.

Vettel — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 20:25:00 GMT

This film, or at least the version I saw, has the shoddy, grainy quality, film school camera pans and zooms, wince-inducing dubbing, and laughably syrupy fake blood of the typical 60's spaghetti western. I might also add that I'm a female in my mid-20's and there's probably few other cinematic genres that will get me to sleep with more efficiency than a western. Sorry. Sergio Leone was a genius? Um, sure. John Ford's talent, legendary? Ok, I'll take your word for it. That said, there's something about this movie that captures my interest - Klaus Kinski (the Bad Guy, naturally) is amusingly smarmy and creepy, yet without the usual KInskian displays of mania and psychotic aggression. The female lead - virtually the only female in the film - is played by a black woman, doe-eyed Vonetta McGee, who is lovely and displays a sympathetic resourcefulness and strength. Jean-Louis Trintignant is the Silence of the title, and despite having no dialogue, he does convey emotion (particularly sensitivity) a bit beyond the 'strong, silent cowboy' caricature. Maybe it's the French thing. Also, - if you'll allow me to get completely shallow for a moment - despite not being in Leading Man mode (a la A Man and A Woman) here, the cowboy stubble and unwashed hair suits him. That helps, as does the lovely Ennio Morricone score. Points as well for having an (probably scandalous, for 1968) interracial coupling whose swift consummation has no real basis in logic.
This is probably a better film to watch while under the influence of something. I'm just hazarding a guess.

It's no 'Kids'

Vettel — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 09:08:00 GMT

But it did hold my attention, surprisingly. I'm not too sure why. Seeing the aimless Floridian pothead youths that reminded me of my more innocent days? Seeing what's become of Leo Fitzpatrick (aka 'Telly the Virgin Surgeon' from Kids)? Knowing that it was based on a true story? I don't know. No character is terribly likeable in this film, particularly the round-faced, to'- eyebrowed, and knocked up Lisa (Rachel Miner, ex-Mrs. Macaulay Culkin), who seems to be the driving force behind this murder, and yet is the least willing to dirty her hands.
There was a goofy, somewhat pathetic innocence about Michael Pitt's character that I could appreciate, as well as dumpy cousin Derek, and even Bijou Phillips' uberslut (does she portray anything else?) Ali, who, in the end, seems to get a flash of morality.
Thanks to Larry Clark (who brought us the superior Kids, though I'm not one to compare films, particularly ones that are explicitly based on true-life events as this is), there are copious shots of sweaty Floridian teen sex, a bit of Rachel's lack of grooming skills downstairs (though perhaps that was a creative choice on her part), some unfairly brief miliseconds of male nudity (come on, Lar, let's keep this equally exploitative!), a split-second glimpse of Bijou's labia majora peekin' out of coochie cutters, and a whole bunch of this one chick Heather's (I don't care enough to see what actress played her. Sorry.) utterly retarded faces (a combination of "I'm gonna suck you so hard..." mixed with "Oww...this whole thinking thing kinda hurts...I am so rolling right now!" which is so appropriate because, after all, the film takes place in Florida.
Anyway, all in all, I don't know, it did hold my interest, so I guess I can recommend it if you're bored and have nothing else to do.

Disregard the fact

Vettel — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 20:24:32 GMT

that all your pathetic pothead roommates watch and rewatch this, sitting in front of the phantasmagoric visuals in (partially drug-induced) awe, and then in their (slightly) more sober moments declaring, "Dude....that movie is fuckin' awesome!"
The style and visuals are unmistakably Gilliamesque, though I beg to differ from those who panned the film, claiming it strayed too far from the book. The words and situations are all basically Hunter S. Thompson's, in addition to Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro's undeniably amusing characterizations. Incidentally, if you've happened to see any footage of Thompson in his younger days, you can't deny that Depp did a remarkable job - not wanting to repeat an endlessly used cliche, but it's as if he really did become the younger, though no less depraved (endearingly so), Hunter Thompson.

The Story of Your Life, 7 Years Later

Vettel — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 20:02:37 GMT

Overall, an interesting, sometimes compelling look at an array of several people within differing British social classes, beginning from age 7 (for me, the most interesting entry in the series). Subsequent chapters (the filmmakers return to the subjects every 7 years) rely a bit too heavily on past footage to help explain each person's story - good if you've missed a previous installment, but if you're all caught up, and just wanting to see the latest, your fast-forward button will definitely get overused. Definitely a view-worthy documentary.