L’Avventura

Films Watched: August, September and October 2013

And now it’s time for some minor blog maintenance. 2013 continues to be the year I am not really blogging. 2013 also continues to be the year I’m not really watching movies. My grand total stands at an abysmal 91. What can I say? Muddled Brain is a weird thing. But. But! Now that it is Oscar season, I’m starting to watch movies again. Here is what I saw in August, September, and October.

The Impossible (dir. J.A. Bayona, 2012)

Tsunamis! Destruction! Sad British children! Emotions! Fine, The Impossible often had me in tears. You win this round, Watts. Continue reading “Films Watched: August, September and October 2013”

So It Goes: Still Blogging

It’s August 28.

I started this blog post just after midnight on August 11. At the time I was on the last bus to New Jersey after seeing Blue Jasmine. I’m was and still am completely obsessed with Cate Blanchett’s performance. She’s getting another Oscar. But that’s not the point of this post. In fact I’m not really sure where I’m going with this. Bear with me. Continue reading “So It Goes: Still Blogging”

30 Day Film Challenge: Day 11

A Film by Your Favorite Director

My first Antonioni film was, I think, Blow Up. I wasn’t crazy about it. Now I realize that it is probably one of those movies I saw too young and should watch again.

Everything about how I see movies changed when I saw L’Avventura. If there was ever a reason to see movies in theaters, L’Avventura would be it.

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A Binary Day Top 10

Since it is October 10, 2010, I feel inspired to write some sort of top ten list. About what though, I’m wasn’t quite sure at first. I could, as my friend Kim, write about the top ten worst sequels. But that would require me to have seen certain sequels. I even considered writing about movies that have something to do with numbers. Of course, that means I would have to include A Beautiful Mind, a film I detest so that list just was not happening.

Then it dawned on me. This past week, I began going through my first blog posts and editing them. I’ve noticed, among other things, that my writing skills were horrible, my proofreading skills were lacking, and every movie was one of my favorites. I had a severe inability to dislike or critique anything. Today things are different. At least I hope four years of college and a Film Studies degree have noticeably improved the quality of this blog.

In the over five years since I have been a blogger, I have never written a definitive top ten list of my favorite movies. I’ve posted and commented on plenty of other movie lists but never my own. I have my reasons. “Joanna, what are your ten favorite movies?” is a question I hate to answer because it puts me on the spot to think of something creative and insightful. On top of that, my cinematic interests and thus my list is are always changing. What I loved years ago, I could rewatch and hate today. With all of this in mind, here it is. My top ten favorite movies and why I love them.
Continue reading “A Binary Day Top 10”

I saw Antonioni’s L’Avventura last night and much of the cast was at the screening. I’ve seen L’Avventura before but not in a theater. I’m now convinced that movie theaters were invented for this film. While it is great on a small screen, Antonioni’s long, drawn out shots that depend entirely on compostition are more impactful when seen on the big screen.

The best part of the screening was a sequence in which Monica Vitti walks out onto a porch. This shot is the poster for this years festival and when the audience realized this, everyone clapped. If there is one thing I will miss about Cannes it is how the audience claps for everything, EVERYTHING. It doesn’t matter if what is great, like this shot, is in the middle of the film, somebody always claps.