New York Film Festival 2018 (forum)

[Chris Knipp]

For you, Oscar~
The new Criterion Collection entries in their August 2018 newsletter include Edward James Olmos' The Ballad of Gregoria Cortez, and the site also has an interview with Chloe Zhao talking about Terrence Malick's The New World, and Jeremiah Zagar, the director of the exciting new film We the Animals, listing his top ten favorite Criterion disks.

[oscar jubis]

Thanks Chris. I think it's very likely I didn't see "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez". I don't know about you but I cannot remember whether I watchED a movie in full or a trailer or only a part of the movie (perhaps because I watched it on TV and perhaps it had already started when I caught it, or because the TV broadcast version is shorter than the original cut. I look forward to it in this restored version.

As far as Malick is concerned, I am among those who embrace his use of characteristic swirling camera movements while the character's stream-of-consciousness is presented via voice-over. These are Malick's philosophical investigations (some mat call them ruminations). I have see different versions of THE NEW WORLD several times; love it. So I will check out this interview promptly.

I rewatched Jarecki's impassioned THE KING. A top 10 film of 2018 for me along with Jim McKay's EN EL SEPTIMO DIA and Martel's ZAMA.
I watched Alex Garland's ANNIHILATION and I liked the trippy visuals and the performances by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Natalie Portman but its dramaturgy falters and yields a film that constitutes a lesser achievement than the director's own EX MACHINA and recent Sci-Fi films by Cuaron and Villeneuve.

I re-watched Alfred Hitchcock's THE PARADINE CASE. It's very upsetting when you know enough to recognize precisely how David O. Selznick is getting in the way of a potential masterpiece and forces Hitchcock to make compromises for the sake of convention and the bottom line. Like SUSPICION AND REBECCA, It's not a bad film, of course, but it's not prime Hitchcock like other films he made in the 40s such as NOTORIOUS and STRANGERS ON THE TRAIN.

I continue to think that Alexander Payne's DOWNSIZING is very interesting and rewarding film. Plan to rewatch.

The remake of the Argentinian film "Rompecabezas" titled PUZZLE is solid and a pleasant experience to many, as I noticed from the showings in my theater.I don't have strong opinions about it, to be honest.

[Chris Knipp]

Thanks for your views and report. I haven't seen Gregorio Cortez, or En el septimo dia, or Annihilation.

Why are we talking about Terrence Malick? I loved The New World too, and Tree of Life, but lately with To the Wonder and Knight of Cups he has struck out, to the point of self-parody, and I've lost faith. Of course we like the mobile camera like Emmanuel Lubezki's for Cuaron, but we also like the Asian-style static one (Hou Hsiau Hsien). Depends on the individual use of it and its appropriateness to the film.

My Filmleaf review of The King will show as I think I said to you directly before, I sort of found it to be overambitious and overstuffed, though an impressive effort. An editing issue. There's material for a good film there, even if an editorializing, poetic one, rather than an informational one. I like docs that present hard fact like Dark Money or new intimate information that's factual but moving like To Be and To Have and My Architect.

I've seen many of Hitchcock's movies but not The Paradine Case. It sounds like a good display of Hitchcockian technique. Strangers on a Train isn't a Forties film but 1951.

Puzzle (my review) ends up being a watchable but blah, "meh" piece of work; I heard the original is great but didn't get to see it, so far. Irfan Khan is very cool but not Kelly Macdonald.

I still think Downsizing (I repeat) is a meandering, "meh" disappointment, again see my review.

I'm pretty good at remembering movies I've seen, but not every single one.

Have you seen Sorry to Bother You, Blindspotting and BlacKKKlansman? If not, drop everything and go see them.