A personal diary keeping people abreast of what I am working on writing-wise.

Wednesday, November 02, 2011

MUSEUM MILE: Comics Art Mob, November 12 in Boise, Idaho

Joëlle Jones and I are heading out to Boise, Idaho, with our friend Erik Henriksen to participate in the Comics Art Mob event they are having at the Boise Art Museum on November 12. This is connected to the "Comics at the Crossroads" art show that the Maryhill Museum in Washington had earlier this year. It's been in Boise for a while, and amongst the collected art is Joëlle's cover for Spell Checkers vol. 1 and also a page from You Have Killed Me.



You can see a full rundown of all the events at the BAM page, but of particular note:

noon – 1 p.m.
Meet the Artists Book-signing

Meet artists Joelle Jones and Jamie S. Rich and have your copy of the recently released Spell Checkers 2, Vol. 2 signed.
Regular BAM admission

2 – 5 p.m.
Make It A Career: 3-Hour Master Session

(for participants 17 and older)
Hear from collaborative team Joelle Jones and Jamie S. Rich and learn more about drawing, writing, publishing and pursuing a career in comics.
$15 (BAM members and BSU students w/ ID)
$25 (non-members)


All three of us will be part of other activities, but if you can make any, those are the ones!

Come by and say hello.

Current Soundtrack: The Beach Boys, The Smile Sessions [much better than the Brian Wilson version, which I find cold and unengaging]


Thursday, October 27, 2011

THE WINTER OF MIXED DRINKS



NEW IN THEATRES...

* The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, a documentary showing a certain portion of history through a different lens.

* The Rum Diary, Bruce Robinson returns to moviemaking for a somewhat disappointing Hunter S. Thompson movie with Johnny Depp.

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* The Four Feathers, classic adventure from the Kordas. (Also at DVD Talk.)

Also, a second look at these movies on Blu-Ray:
* Dazed & Confused
* Kuroneko

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Cape Fear, Scorsese's potent remake with Robert De Niro and Nick Nolte.

* Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, a black action comedy. The true Santa Claus returns!

* Taylor Swift: Journey to Fearless, the three-part TV show is one-half concert, one-half promo documentary.



Current Soundtrack: Project Runway finale

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

Thursday, October 20, 2011

YOU'RE THE ONE WHO MADE MY DREAMS COME TRUE

Dan Christensen has put together two collages of random images from the first third of our Oni Press graphic novel. We've been working on this together for a while now, and while official news is still a ways off, we're too enthusiastic to hold it all in.



Check Dan's blog for the rest of the tease. We're both super stoked with how this is turning out, and I think it's really going to surprise people when they start seeing it sometime next year. If you're wondering what to expect, just go listen to some Bobby Vinton and you'll start to get an idea!

Current Soundtrack: The Kinks and My Life Story in the "Common People are People" room on Turntable FM
HEY, DON'T FALTER



NEW IN THEATRES...

* Take Shelter, the movie where Michael Shannon goes crazy and the world seemingly follows his lead.


UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* Harakiri, Masaki Kobayashi's stunning 1962 film starring Tatsuya Nakadai as a samurai with a dark plan.

* Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom, Pasolini's notorious ode to human cruelty and degradation. (Also at DVD Talk.)

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Bad Teacher: Unrated Edition, a superb cast can't prevent this from being one of the least funny movies you'll see this (or any) year.

* Buster Keaton - Short Films Collection: 1920-1923, 19 comedy gems on three discs.

* His Way, a breezy documentary about music promoter/movie producer Jerry Weintraub.

* Great Italian Directors Collection, a boxed set of three films, including the first by Antonioni, a mid-60s Monicelli, and the anthology film Boccaccio '70.



Current Soundtrack: The Joy Formidable, The Big More




e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

Thursday, October 13, 2011

BIRDS FLEW BACKWARDS



NEW IN THEATRES...

* The Big Year, it's called birding, not birdwatching, and it's awful either way. Wilson, Black, Martin--the new comedy nightmare team.

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* I Am Waiting, Koreyoshi Kurahara's debut film leads the Nikkatsu Noir boxed set.

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest, the story about the influential rap group is also the best music documentary in a long, long time.

* Rescue Me: The Sixth Season and the Last Season, the fire fighter bromance ends.



Current Soundtrack: Björk, Biophilia




e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

Monday, October 10, 2011

TEMPUS FUGUE-IT

I always enjoy being interviewed by Tim O'Shea, and this latest round of questions for his "Talking Comics with Tim" column is no exception.

We chat all about Spell Checkers vol. 2 and look ahead to volume 3 and what else I have going on.

Give it a read right here.



By the way, if you read the book and liked it, please consider posting a quick review on Amazon. Ratings help sell more books. If you don't have the comic yet, some dude is selling a "used" copy on Amazon for $115. What the hell?!

Current Soundtrack: The Chet Baker concert DVD Candy


Friday, October 07, 2011

MARCH OF THE SWIVELHEADS



NEW IN THEATRES...

* The Ides of March, a political drama from he-that-can-do-no-wrong, George Clooney. Starring Ryan Gosling.

* Restless, Gus Van Sant's latest attempt to go back to high school. Insert words "emo" and "twee" now.

Portlanders may also want to check out the local premiere of the documentary Guilty Except for Insanity at Cinema 21 this weekend. Get times here.

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* Carlos, the epic cinematic biography of Carlos the Jackal, from irascible auteur Olivier Assayas.



* The Complete Jean Vigo: L'Atalante, the lone full-length masterpiece by the influential French director.

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Bored to Death: The Complete Second Season, the continuing adventures of Jason Schwarztman as the pulpy, humorous avatar of author Jonathan Ames.

* Dumbo: The 70th Anniversary Edition, the stellar new upgrade for the little elephant that could.

* I'm a Cyborg, But Thats OK, an inconsistent oddity from Park Chan-wook.

* Tomorrow is Forever, a post-war snooze with Orson Welles and Claudette Colbert doing their best to be mellow in all the drama.

* True Adolescents, a surprising indie comedy starring Mark Duplass as the cliche 30s rocker on his last legs.



Current Soundtrack: Dean Martin, "Sway;" Xavier Cugat, "The Lady in Red;" Enoch Light, "Autumn in New York;" Duffy, Endlessly



e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

Friday, September 30, 2011

THIS IS THE NIGHT: BELIEVE THAT MAGIC WORKS

Don't forget, myself, Joëlle Jones, and Nicolas Hitori de will be signing at Bridge City Comics in Portland from 6 to 8pm tonight. Details here.

If you need more incentive to come, I just found out that Nico will have a limited number of these prints on hand:



Come on. You know you wanna.

Current Soundtrack: Longpigs, "Dozen Wicked Words" and Gene, "Olympian" in the Common People are People room on Turntable.fm


Thursday, September 29, 2011

AND WE MOVE LIKE ACTORS



NEW IN THEATRES...

* 50/50, as unserious as cancer. Or as serious as cancer. Kind of both. Great work from Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, and an all-around solid cast.

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* Les cousins, the sophomore effort from Claude Chabrol is an interesting but hollow inverse of his debut. (Also at DVD Talk)

* The Phantom Carriage, a creepy silent ghost story from Sweden, ca. 1921. (Also at DVD Talk)

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Boccaccio '70, four Italian film directors team for a 1962 anthology film telling individual stories of modern romance.

* The Inspector General, this whitebread Danny Kaye musical is only offensive in how unfunny it is.



Current Soundtrack: Brett Anderson, Black Rainbows



e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

Friday, September 23, 2011

TELL ME MORE ABOUT MY EYES

Thanks to everyone who came out to Comics Underground last night. We had a great time, and there was some truly awesome readings. Alison Hallett and Erik Henriksen did a fantastic job organizing it and I hope they keep doing it and make it a regular event.

Spell Checkers vol. 2 is on sale next Wednesday. In the meantime, you can hear my audio commentary for the first scenes and read the pages over at Stumptown Trade Review. Check it out here.

You'll want to open up one window with the pages and another with the audio and read along with my babbling. Hear the creative process at work, unvarnished and unfocused!

Or, if you're sick of listening to me talk, Joëlle Jones answers some questions over on the Cosmic Treadmill.

And if you live in Portland and weren't able to come out last night, you have another chance to meet myself, Joëlle, and Nico:



Click on the image for the full press release.

WHAT: Spell Checkers Vol. 2 Release Party with Jamie Rich, Joelle Jones and Nico Hitori De
WHEN: Friday, September 30 from 6pm - 8pm
WHERE: 3725 N. Mississippi Ave.

Bridge City Comics is proud to announce our Spell Checkers Vol. 2 Release Party on Friday, September 30, 2011 from 6pm - 8pm! This event is free to the public.

In attendance will be the creative team of Portland locals Jamie Rich, Joelle Jones and Nico Hitori De! They will be signing copies of Spell Checkers Vol. 2 but sketches will be left to the discretion of the artists. Come join us for a night of fun, comics, try to stump Jamie Rich at 80's music trivia!

Bridge City Comics will have copies of Spell Checkers Vol. 2 on hand for purchase during the event, as well as a copies of Spell Checkers Vol. 1 and assorted other titles from the creative team.

Bridge City Comics is located at 3725 N. Mississippi Ave in North Portland. Please call 503-282-5484 or e-mail info@bridgecitycomics.com for more information.




Current Soundtrack: Wild Flag, Wild Flag

ALL THE CURRENCY WE'VE SPENT



NEW IN THEATRES...

* Moneyball, a surprisingly deep drama about the inner workings of baseball. (Note: One of the screenwriters was Aaron Sorkin. Did you know that?)

* Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure, a fascinating, thought-provoking look at one of the most infamous pre-internet viral sensations.

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* Le beau Serge, the debut film from French innovator Claude Chabrol.

* The Complete Jean Vigo Part 1, covering the influential, developmental films of the great director from the early days of sound cinema.

* My Life as a Dog updated for Blu-Ray.

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Hung: The Complete Second Season, Thomas Jane returns as everyone's favorite lovelorn hustler.

* The Super Hero Squad Show: The Infinity Gauntlet, vol. 1. You know. For kids.



Current Soundtrack: Birdman w/ Nicki Minaj & Lil Wayne, "Y.U. Mad;" various form Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds; Anthony Jeselnik, Shakespeare



e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

Thursday, September 22, 2011

READER MEET AUTHOR!
TONIGHT: COMICS UNDERGROUND!


Portlanders, come on out tonight! Myself, Nicolas Hitori de, and Joëlle Jones are joining our friends and colleagues to celebrate comics and read aloud from our books. I'll be lending my voice to Greg Rucka's performance, and I think Joëlle Jones will be reading with Kelly Sue DeConnick, as well. Plus, our friend Natalie Nourigat!

Here. Go to the site, check all the updates. It was totally fun last time, and it will be even better with this crew, I swear. We will be performing a selection from Spell Checkers vol. 2, and there should also even be early copies for sale!



Comics Underground is a staged reading—only the performers read dialogue from their own comics, with images projected above them. Performers provide their own soundtracks, sound effects, live music—whatever they want, really. It’s in a bar, it’s pretty informal, and the last one featured extemporaneous guitar accompaniment and broken-window sound effects courtesy of a bottle scrounged from behind the bar.

Here’s a bit more info on this edition’s guests:

• Writer Jamie S. Rich and artists Joëlle Jones and Nicolas Hitori De collaborate on the Oni Press-released mean-teen-witch comic Spell Checkers. They’ll be reading from the new volume, and Rich will also present some autobiographical work.

• Writer Kelly Sue DeConnick has worked on a number of Marvel Comics titles, including the well-received Osborn miniseries. She’ll be presenting a comic from a recent anthology about New York venue CBGB, published by Boom! Studios.

• Artist Natalie Nourigat is a member of Periscope Studio and creator of Between Gears and Over the Surface. She’ll be reading some original autobiographical comics.

• Greg Rucka has written Stumptown, Whiteout, Queen & Country, The Punisher, and much more—as of right this moment, he hasn’t decided yet what he’ll be reading, but we’re pretty sure he’ll pull together something great.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

DOG ON WHEELS



NEW IN THEATRES...

Portland is lucky enough to have Cinema 21 showing the original 3D version of Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder this week. To go along with it, the Portland Mercury asked me to pick some other Hitch films for home viewing, and I did so by taking a tour of his trailers. Read the column online here.

* Drive, the best movie Paul Schrader never made. Ryan Gosling stars, all Alain Delon-like, in this violent tour-de-force by Nicolas Winding Refn.

* The Lion King 3D, an old favorite shown in a bad new light.

* Straw Dogs, a competent but pointless remake. Rod Lurie is no Sam Peckinpah. (Hey, I reviewed the original once, too.)



UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* Orpheus, Jean Cocteau's arthouse poem, still rock 'n' roll after more than 50 years. (Also at DVD Talk.)

* Resurrected capsule reviews of Young Mr. Lincoln and La bete humaine.

* If... updated for Blu-Ray.

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Breakfast at Tiffany's, the quintessential Audrey Hepburn film is now on Blu-Ray.

* Road to Nowhere, Monte Hellman returns to the director's chair for a disjointed potboiler.



Current Soundtrack: James, Millionaires; Das Racist, Relax




e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

ON SALE SEPTEMBER 28!

Photographic evidence that the book exists!

Spell Checkers, vol. 2: Sons of a Preacher Man is out in two weeks.



Yes, it was supposed to be out on September 20, but there was a shipping snafu at the printer. Apparently they kind of forgot to send the books anywhere after they were printed. D'oh! But have no fear, just a temporary delay.

Nico is already drawing vol. 3, so hopefully the next installment will be here even sooner than expected!

Current Soundtrack: Damon & Naomi, False Beats and True Hearts


Thursday, September 08, 2011

THE KIDS ARE SICK AGAIN



NEW IN THEATRES...

* Attack the Block, the ultimate summer movie shows up just in time for fall. (Unless you were lucky enough to get it in your town earlier, of course...)

* Contagion, in which Steven Soderbergh makes sure you'll never touch yourself again. On the face. ON THE FACE!!! But seriously, this movie is awesome.

* Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life, a biopic of Serge Gainsbourg from French cartoonist Joan Sfarr. It can't quite sustain its inventiveness, but I liked it all the same.

* Higher Ground, actress Vera Farmiga tackles feminism and faith in her directorial debut.

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* The Warped World of Koreyoshi Kurahara, an Eclipse set collecting five of the Japanese films from the 1960s. (Also at DVD Talk.)



THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* David Holzman's Diary: Special Edition, Jim McBride's seminal indie movie from the late 1960s.

* A Fistful of Dollars, the stylistically explosive beginning of the Leone/Eastwood "Man with No Name" films.

* If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, a thought-provoking documentary about controversial radicalism.

* Let's Do It Again, a musical remake of The Awful Truth starring Jane Wyman and Ray Milland.

* One Minute to Zero, Robert Mitchum makes love to Ann Blyth and hits the snooze button in this Korean War drama.



Current Soundtrack: John's Children, "Smashed Block;" Serge Gainsbourg, Serge Gainsbourg (Best Of)

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

WHERE DEM GIRLS

Great roundtable interview over at CBR, conducted by Steve Sunu and featuring myself, Joëlle, and Nico talking about Spell Checkers volume 2.

Rich elaborated on how he's handling the characters this time around and noted that he's grown "more comfortable" with them. "Writing the gals is like putting on a favorite pair of shoes, and it comes much more naturally. My affection for them only grows, and the more I settle into their world, the more the characters surprise me. I know that sounds pretentious, but I am a fan of the happy accident and writing by instinct, and to keep the shoe metaphor going, I often compare writing to walking. Once you put a foot forward , the natural move to follow is putting the next foot in front of that. Sometimes, if you just see where the journey takes you, you stumble into some interesting things. There is a flashback in chapter 3 with Cynthia that was a total surprise for me when I wrote it, it had not been planned, but it works to flip around certain story elements and tropes and challenge how the reader has been perceiving events and characters up until then."


Seriously. Read the whole thing.

Current Soundtrack: Fabolous, The Soul Tape


Monday, September 05, 2011

TEMPTATION INSIDE YOUR HEART: 52 Alternatives - September comics for your consideration

The pioneering Sequential Tart website has picked 52 comics coming out in September that are not part of the DC Comics line-wide relaunch. Spell Checkers has made the list! We are #49, which is where we fall alphabetically. Otherwise, all recommendations are created equal!

#49. Spellcheckers: Sons of a Preacher Man (Oni Press)

Writer Jamie S. Rich and artist Joelle Jones always deliver an excellent and nuanced read. The first Spellcheckers was a delicious mash-up of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Mean Girls. If you haven't read the first one, don't fret, at $11.99 a book you can pick up both easily! (Erin)




Current Soundtrack: The Velvet Underground, Peel Slowly and See disc 3

Friday, August 26, 2011

BOY RACER, WE HAVE TO KILL THIS PRETTY THING



NEW IN THEATRES...

* Colombiana, with Zoe Saldana as an assassin kills everyone. EVERYONE!

* Our Idiot Brother, a surprisingly genial, if slack-paced comedy bolstered by a strong cast, including Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Rashida Jones, and more.

* Senna: You will enjoy a documentary about car racing. No lie.

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* Cul-de-sac, an odd but intriguing hostage picture from Roman Polanski. (Also at DVD Talk.)

* High and Low, this unimpeachable masterpiece from Akira Kurosawa details the before and after of a kidnapping.

* The Man Who Fell to Earth, hit his head, stopped making sense, looks a lot like Ziggy Stardust.

A new anniversary print is playing this week at Cinema 21 in Portland.



* Secret Sunshine, an unpredictable, compelling drama from Korean director Lee Chang-dong.

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Batman: The Brave and the Bold - Season Two, Volume One, another excellent collection from the ongoing animated serial.

* Daguerreotypes, a 1975 documentary from Agnes Varda, capturing the local color in the neighborhood she still calls home.

* The Muppets Take a Manhattan, third time is not a charm for the venerable comedy troupe.

* One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich, a trio of Russian-themed documentaries, including Chris Marker's tribute to Andrei Tarkovsky.

* The Purple Gang, a 1950s gangster picture with a young Robert Blake as a Detroit tough guy.



* Strike: Remastered Edition, the first feature from Soviet cinema pioneer Sergei Eisenstein.

* Win Win, a well-meaning family drama that falls short of its intended mark. Starring Paul Giamatti.

* Young Justice: Season One, Volume One, the first four episodes of the teen-themed superhero cartoon.



Current Soundtrack: Various, though mostly '60s Deeper Cuts on Turntable.fm

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

Thursday, August 25, 2011

CATFIGHTS AND SPOTLIGHTS

Comics Continuum features Spell Checkers, vol. 2: Sons of a Preacher Man on their TV show this week. They were kind enough to interview me at Comic Con. I even look mostly awake!



My part starts about 20 minutes in.

Current Soundtrack: Larry and the Bluenotes, "Night of the Sadiest" in the '60s Deeper Cuts room on Turntable.fm


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

SPELL CHECKERS VOL. 2 PREVIEWS

Hey, all!

Spell Checkers, vol. 2: Sons of a Preacher Man is at the printer and due out in about a month. Previews are starting to show up online. You can, for instance, go to Amazon and view their "Look Inside" option and see the beginning of the book, and while there, preorder a copy. This is especially helpful for those who don't have a comic book store near them.

You can also order it from any existing bookstore, or a comic book store in your area. Use the Comic Book Shop Locator to find a store near you. Here is the Oni Press page for the book. ISBN: 978-1-934964-72-9.



Current Soundtrack: The Very Best of the Lightning Seeds on Spotify


Thursday, August 11, 2011

IMAGE FANTOME: IF YOU SAID JUMP IN THE RIVER I WOULD...

...because it would probably be a good idea.

A couple of panels from my project with the awesomely talented Natalie Nourigat.



Current Soundtrack: Sinead O'Connor, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got




LEAVE MY KITTEN ALONE



NEW IN THEATRES...

* The Future: Miranda July is as kitten as a cat, but I'm not as smitten as that.

Read Alison Hallett try to get to the bottom of it all at the Mercury. Alison Hallett is like a cinematic timelord. To the future!

UPDATED TO CRITERION CONFESSIONS...

* Leon Morin, Priest, a quiet turn from Jean-Paul Belmondo in this wartime drama from Jean-Pierre Melville. (Also at DVD Talk.)




* Life During Wartime, in which Todd Solodnz continues to kick against the pricks.

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Park Benches, a disconnected French comedy that never comes together. Dammit, Catherine Deneuve, why were you in this?!

* Three Hours to Kill, a solid 1950s Western, playing with a deadline a la High Noon.


The Original Paw Paw



Current Soundtrack: Monarques, "Angel Eyes;" Eric B & Rakim, "In the Ghetto;" Best Coast, "Our Deal;" UTFO, "Roxanne Roxanne" at the Oni Press Editorial room on Turntable.Fm

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

IMAGE FANTOME: You Know That I Gotta Say Time's Slipping Away

Tiny sneak preview of a Brtipop-themed autobio short I wrote and that Nico is currently drawing:



Stay tuned!

Current Soundtrack: Suede's remastered A New Moring, reconfigured for Brett Anderson's alternate track listing



F(ile) U(nder): STFU - You Drive Me Ape, You Big Gorilla

When we left the screening for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and it became quickly evident that I was the only one who didn't go bananas over it, I actually said, "I'm gonna get some mail about this one."

Sure enough, since the movie opened, I've gotten a trio of e-mails, presented here in order, unedited, no names to protect the....

#1

I read your review of 'Rise of the Planet of the apes i think this is a wounderfvl movie cant wait to see it


Hold on, I don't get it? Have you seen it or haven't you?

#2

...you are obviously someone who doesn't enjoy foreplay and just wants the banging to commence. Others appreciate the back-story and wait patiently until the cartoon mayhem ensues.

So I guess that you would also recommend walking about 30 minutes after the start of "Saving Private Ryan." because the first scene has nothing to do with looking for Ryan.


I almost wrote this guy back and just said, "And obviously you are someone who has never slept with me." Interesting, of these three, this is the only one from a dude.

#3

I love the way you reviewers think your opinion rises above the typical Movie goer. Even though you have never made a film yourself. You need to just relax and enjoy the film for what it is "ENTERTAINMENT" which this film delivers. Despite Franco, I still enjoyed this film


This last one is a pretty typical letter, hitting points most reviewers hear all the time and ignoring the actual substance of the piece. In fact, it hits the trifecta: you think you're better than me (I don't), you've never made a film (you're right, I haven't, and neither have you), and it's not great art, it's just supposed to be entertaining. Sure, and did you notice that my main point is actually complaining about not being entertained enough?

My guess is that when a person writes this kind of letter, it's because he or she so quickly adopts the stance of, "He's saying I'm wrong," that there is no consideration of the fact that our opinions can exist in the same space. Our only difference is that someone gave me a platform to express it. Blame that guy for raising me up. He did it! Otherwise, I'd just be writing on here, my free blog, the same service available to anyone.

And I guarantee you, were these folks having a conversation with an actual film director, and he (or she) said, "Well, I make movies for a living..." as part of his argument, they'd be all, "Oh, welllll, Mr. Big Shot Hollywood!"

I wanted to write back to the last person with one simple link, this great satirical essay by Bobby "Fatboy" Roberts: "An Imaginary Conversation Between Two Guys Waiting for the Bus After Leaving a Movie Theater."

But I didn't. Why poke the primates? That's how revolutions start!

Current Soundtrack: Arctic Monkeys, "Piledriver Waltz" and others in the Confessons of a Pop Fan room at Turntable.fm

Thursday, August 04, 2011

YOU DRIVE ME APE, YOU BIG GORILLA



NEW IN THEATRES...

* Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I found it really boring for about the first 2/3, but everyone else loves it. I'm right, of course, but make up your own mind. :)

THIS WEEK IN DVD/BD REVIEWS...

* Blind Alley, a mild 1939 crime drama from Charles Vidor. The psychology has aged poorly, but Chester Morris' performance as a troubled killer still smolders.

* Dark Days - 10th Anniversary Edition, a well-done reissue of the documentary chronicling homeless people living in New York's subway tunnels.



Current Soundtrack: Pulp, "Wickerman;" Discodeine, "Synchronize [Radio Edit] (Featuring Jarvis Cocker);" and Pet Shop Boys "Always on my Mind" at the Confessions of a Pop Fan room on Turntable.Fm

e-mail = golightly at confessions123.com * Midi-Confessions123 * Criterion Confessions * Live Journal Syndication * ComicSpace * Last FM * GoodReads * The Blog Roll [old version] * DVDTalk reviews * My Books On Amazon

All text (c) 2011 Jamie S. Rich