Weekly Recap 8/12 - 8/18

Blame the terseness of this week's recap on move-out week being the worst of things. I realize no influential policymakers frequent this site, but I'll say it anyway: For a city that relishes in the fact that it's so damn progressive, Madison's 'homeless day' is some seriously medieval bullshit.

8/16/12 The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

I hadn't watched this since it came out in theaters eight years ago. Maybe that explains why I forgot how great it is. Greengrass' shaky cam isn't nearly as nauseating as its parodies have conditioned me to believe, and Damon's a total BAMF, but the best part? That "Extreme Ways" exclamation point at the end. 'Get some rest, Pam. You look tired.' *CUE MOBY*

I'll be milking this for the foreseeable future, though I can see it going horribly wrong with my office's Executive Director:

-Hello, John.
-Who said that? Wh- what the hell are you doing behind my plants?
-No, don't turn around. Pretend like you don't see me.
-Give me my binoculars back. And what do you want?
-Get some rest, John. You look tired. *CUE iPHONE MOBY*
-You're fired.

Would still be worth it.

8/18/12 Lost Highway (1997)

To say a Lynch film is like a dream is akin to claiming a car accident is 'kind of like life in a way.' As impenetrable as his films tend to be, that strikes me as a pretty cheap cop out and missing the point of what he's trying to say. I'm sure there is a point here somewhere.

Lynch uses classical elements in non-traditional ways and it's pretty awesome: fades, dissolves, theatrical staging, out of body experiences, hallucinatory spats of lustful murder. Mulholland Dr. was enigmatic during my first time, so it's no surprise Lost Highway goes the same route on an initial viewing. Probably on a second one, too. And maybe a third.

8/18/12 ParaNorman (2012)

I might swear off anything that vaguely resembles Tim Burton altogether. Sorry, Neil Gaiman, but you're unfortunate collateral. ParaNorman, the adolescent chronicle of a zombie-obsessed social outcast who's actually cool with seeing dead people, has an awesome premise that it ignores after its first twenty minutes.

Laika's animation style still looks fantastic. In particular, there's some gorgeous witchery-induced clouds in the climax that resemble dyed pantyhose swirling in pools of water. I'm really struggling for praise here because I expected more from the same studio that made Coraline. Then again, that's a film whose third act bored the heck out of me. ParaNorman's got that going on, too. Just with like, all three acts.