Leaderboard

Figured I would do some quick updates now that I have seen all of the above (plus one I didn't originally plan on seeing): Parasite was this year's Palme D'or winner at Cannes, was directed by Bong Soon Ho from Korea (The Host). It is a scathing dark comedy about class and poverty and well worth watching. It will apparently be Korea's entry for Best Foreign Film for this year's Oscars, so it shouldn't be too hard to find. Bacurau is a Brazilian film, I believe it also won a jury prize at Cannes, and it's also a dark comedy that sort of mashes up The Most Dangerous Game with Gilbert Hernandez' Palomar stories from Love and Rockets. Udo Keir has a memorable guest role. Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes is a documentary made to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Blue Note Records, arguably the most important American record label - certainly in its early days. Obviously it helps if you care about jazz to watch this film. There is a lot of great vintage footage of the label's many stars including Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, and many more. I've loved jazz for most of my life but I didn't really know a lot about the founding of Blue Note and its struggles and reinvention in the 80s and 90s. Well worth watching if you are interested in the music or if you just enjoy a well-made music documentary. Monos is a harrowing, beautifully shot film about child soldiers in South America who are tasked with guarding an American female doctor who is being held for ransom. Probably the roughest of the films in this year's "extreme films" program at the festival, because obviously the reality of child soldiers is awful. Deerskin is a wry satire of toxic masculinity by French director Quentin Dupieux (Rubber). It stars Jean Dujardin from The Artist as a middle aged man whose marriage has recently ended and is coping with it by spending all of his money on something he has always wanted: a 100% deerskin fringed jacket. As he scams his way in the small French town where his staying, he convinces the locals that he is shooting a film and becomes not just obsessed with his own jacket, but with the idea that no one else should wear a jacket, even if it means they have to die. And finally, Blood Quantum was a very entertaining and gory zombie picture made in Quebec by indigenous director Jeff Barnaby. It's obviously a challenge to make an entertaining and fresh film about zombies after 50 years of them, but Barnaby pulls it off. The main innovation storywise is that the Red Crow tribe are immune to whatever is infecting everyone else, so we see a lot of the kind of plot threads that you would expect from a horror film through the lens of indigenous people. Barnaby wrote, directed and scored the movie and is clearly a fan of John Carpenter (in fact, he was at the screening wearing a They Live t-shirt). In terms of its effects and tone it reminded me of early Sam Raimi and early Peter Jackson. It's the best Canadian-made horror film I can remember seeing since Ginger Snaps. So all in all, it was a good week at the festival. I recommend all of these movies if you get a chance to see them.

@PollyDarton: “And, thus, perched as a bird as I was, I was granted the eldritch avian insight necessary to allow me to reach into the profound thaumaturgical well-spring of C&O consciousness and compose the perfect post.”

Funny story. I wrote that post 13 feet in the air. I was doing a photoshoot that needed a birds-eye-view and so I had to climb this rickety scaffolding and once I was up there I was NOT coming down until the shoot was over. So while I had time to kill I wrote the Aluoette post. I guess it's not that funny and barely a story... but you guys get the jist.

The other thing about it that I’m surprised no one brought up: There’s a real chance that it was part of a payment to a scammer. They frequently want to be paid in gift cards, as cash and electronic payments are more traceable. If that’s the case, then either a scammer didn’t get paid/fully paid, or lost some of their ill-gotten gains. No big deal

Well deserved, that movie is some Joe Eszterhas-level trash. (In fact I just looked it up because I wondered if he wrote it, but he did not. He did however write both F.I.S.T. and Flashdance, wtf!)

On a scaffold, you say?

WHOOOOO! DISCLOSURE!!!!! I am not the mystery celebrity Paul mentioned, but I did endorse this film! It’s a slow build, but it’s hilarious, utter trash, if you enjoy films where every guy acts like they’re in their tweens! Plus more 90s VR!!!! i think it is still on HBO.

Thank you guys! Yep... 2nd in a row! I feel so lucky from my winnings of nothing. And naysayers (my parents) laughed at me for taking French... well who's laughing now!?

Re: Google Play $ You might talk to teachers, or parents of school kids. Lots of schools are strapped for cash. Maybe a teacher could use some of the money on educational films or something.

Conspiracy theory: Jason Mantzoukas is Michael Bay. He *is* on Twitter.

I’ve always wanted to watch Disclosure. I’m pretty psyched about this

I remember kind of liking Disclosure when it came out but, from what I remember of it, it's going to be a tough rewatch. Congrats, Polly. This is twice in a row, right?