Andy Coolquitt
Blaffer Art Museum, Rachel Hooper, Dan Fox and Matthew Higgs
Book
Andy Coolquitt makes objects and environments that exist in symbiosis with human relationships....
Andy K (10821 KP) rated Aquaman (2018) in Movies
Jun 12, 2019
Having not known much about the character other than what has already appeared in the collective recent DCU films, I was eager to learn more about his origins and his universe.
His mother escapes her arranged marriage by coming to the surface and meeting a lighthouse keeper whom she grows to love and has their child. He will grow up to be the Atlantian who should be king but does not want the responsibility.
The film reminded me a lot of a Thor movie at times, just this time under water instead of an Asgard realm bereft with creatures big and small.
The real star of this was the underwater realm itself. The lighting, glowing and use of color was unlike any movie released to date I have seen and that says a lot. The visuals were not only groundbreaking and striking in their depth and complexity (which normally I rip on CGI puke movies), but served to compliment the actors and story in symbiosis.
I couldn't believe the number of negative reviews on IMDb for this film (although haters gotta hate everything these days). I think you can look past a little corny dialogue and let yourself get lost within the visual splendor that is Aquaman!
Reef Life: A Guide to Tropical Marine Life
Brandon Cole and Scott Michael
Book
From tide pools to coral reefs and the open ocean beyond lies a world abundant with an assortment of...
Ginkgopolis
5.5
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Tabletop Game
2212: Ginkgo Biloba, the oldest and strongest tree in the world, has become the symbol of a new...
BoardGames CityBuildingGames RareGames WorkerPlacementGames
Konstantin Melnikov & His House
Book
Konstantin Melnikov (18901974) is unquestionably one of the outstanding architects of the 20th...
Evo (second edition)
9.0
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Tabletop Game
In Evo, you play a nomadic people in symbiosis with a primitive reptilian species. You travel the...
Paul McCartney: The Biography
Book
The first biography written with Paul McCartney's approval and with access to family members and...
Andy K (10821 KP) rated Naked Lunch (1991) in Movies
Sep 28, 2019
Director David Cronenberg has always been known as someone who pushes the envelope of film storytelling to its limit. This is not more on display in maybe any of his films more than it is in Naked Lunch.
In 1952 New York, pest exterminator Bill Lee has an problem in his life. His wife, Joan, has begun using and is now addicted to his "bug powder" he uses in his job. She shoots it into her veins for her narcotics addiction. She is so full of the intoxicant she can even breath on cockroaches to kill them . Bill is arrested for his involvement and begins to trip himself.
His high continues as he now believes he is a secret agent who has been told he must murder his wife. He returns home and actually accidentally does so in a case of ironic accomplishment.
His trip takes him to North Africa where he meets a slew of bizarre and unsavory characters in his attempt to complete his ongoing "mission". He writes a series of articles using a typewriter which continually morphs into a giant cockroach. He finds another man who lets him borrow his typewriter in which his living typewriter is maimed and killed by Bill's device. Another man Bill meets may actually be a giant killer centipede in disguise!
If this doesn't make a lot of sense, I don't think it is really supposed to. Cronenberg's film, according to the writer/director himself, is an amalgam of not only the source material novel by William S. Burroughs, but also other works by the author and even some aspects of Burroughs' own life including the wife shooting incident.
Pretty much right from the start you know you are in for something very unusual when Lee starts having a conversation with his bug typewriter 15 minutes into the film. Then add another conversation with a giant "mugwump" sitting at a bar, a bug that bizarrely speaks in a voice from his bulbous anus and the fore mentioned giant centipede, you have a film in which you never are fully aware of what is real or what has become a drug-filled fantasy.
Cronenberg's fascination with the "body horror" style of film goes way back to some of his earlier films including The Brood and Scanners as well as They Fly remake. All his skill at creating one of a kind images are on full display here and you can't take your eyes off the screen as a result.
The entire cast really inhabit their roles including Peter Weller (who turned down Robocop 3 for this role) as Lee. His monotone, stoic delivery and minimalist physicality is perfect for this role. Throw in supporting performances by Ian Holm, Judy Davis and even Roy Scheider and you have found a perfect ensemble for this strange acid trip of a film.
The jazz soundtrack is also legendary including saxophone maestro Ornette Coleman off a score from Howard Shore. The improvisation and inconsistent melodies are a partnership with the unusual story taking place and form a symbiosis with the film.
You definitely leave the film wondering what you have just watched; however, sometimes that s a good thing. The director makes you think about what you have watched and decide for yourself the important elements what what is actually true.
I wish more films were like this!
