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| view of Minneapolis skyline at Target Field |
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| Kansas City Monarchs - Negro League |
Sometimes you just have to go out and live life instead of watching it on a screen, and that's my excuse this week. Minneapolis has been reveling in the glow of baseball's All-Star Game. Even if you didn't like baseball (and I do), it was hard not to get caught up in the crowds and the excitement and seeing your adopted city on the national news, for something besides -20 degree temperatures. I'm lucky enough to work downtown and pretty close to Target Field, and I was luckier enough to get tickets to the Futures Game and Celebrity Softball game.
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| Snoopy - FanFest |
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| Panic! At the Disco |
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| Adrian Peterson - MN Vikings |
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| Maya Moore - MN Lynx |
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| Derek Jeter - New York Yankees - All-Star Parade |
7/8/14 The Piano, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, 1993
I kind of feel bad saying this but I hated this movie. I found Holly Hunter's character, Ada McGrath, annoying, soooo annoying, and Anna Paquin's Flora McGrath a little less annoying, occasionally funny, but not sure it was Oscar-worthy. The movie is set in the mid-1800s in New Zealand and Ada McGrath is a mute who loves to play the piano. She communicates the best with her daughter, Flora, who often interprets for her. Ada enters an arranged marriage with Alistair Stewart (Sam Neill) and becomes very distressed when she is unable to bring her piano to her new home; it languishes for a bit on the beach, and then eventually George Baines (Harvey Keitel) brings it to his house with the story that he wants to learn to play and wants Ada as his teacher. Baines and Ada enter into an unusual relationship, which ultimately ends her marriage. I am not sure how this beat out
Philadelphia for the best original screenplay, but it did. This movie didn't move me at all, I did not feel invested in any of the characters or the story. That's really all I have for you.
7/12/14 Nosferatu, 1922
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| Trylon Microcinema, Minneapolis, MN |
Nosferatu - we've probably all seen clips from the movie, usually a scene of Count Orlok (Max Schreck) up close and scary. I know I have, and I had the chance to see it in a theater,
Trylon Microcinema in Minneapolis with live accompaniment by local band, Fate's Palette who scored the film. I have never been to a microcinema, so that was also part of the experience. The theater holds 50 people and the screen is way bigger than my television but not as large as a regular movie theater, but it worked for the size of the room. You may have a microcinema in your city and they probably play movies that you will not see anywhere outside of a fringe fest, so check them out.
Nosferatu is a silent movie directed by F.W. Murnau (
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans) and is re-telling of the Count Dracula story. I thought it would be scarier than it was, so I was a little relieved, but it had an element of suspense and the make up for Count Orlok was very creepy; of course since this made over 90 years ago, a lot of the make up was very basic or comedic in the case of Herr Knock. There is very little dialog in terms of the intertitles, much like
The Last Command, the narrative is accomplished in the action. As an historical film, it was interesting because it was restored from different film versions, including the safety film. It was a great experience to see a film this way, with a live band and an appreciative audience (except for the one person who has to 'whisper' through the whole thing). Hey lady, we can hear you.
7/12/14 The Missing Picture nominated Best Foreign Film, 2013
The Missing Picture is a film about the Khmer Rouge, the followers of the Communist Party in Kampuchea (known more commonly as Cambodia) which was led by Pol Pot, one of the most evil dictators in the 20th century. Rithy Panh directed and wrote the movie which uses archival film footage as well as clay figures to tell his story. I think this was a novel way to tell a story. The problem is this is a very complicated story and if you are not familiar with the history of southeast Asia, the colonization by the French of places like Vietnam and Kampuchea, the fight for separation including the Vietnam War and the bombing of Cambodia, the events may or may not resonate with you. Certainly some of the horrific incidents that Panh shows or narrates should strike a chord, but putting it all in context may be hard. For a dramatic telling of this era (1960s-1970s), check out
The Killing Fields starring Sam Waterston and Haing S. Ngor; I saw it in 1984 when it premiered and probably should watch it again. That will move you.
Blogger's Note: I don't know what my problem was, but I originally called
The Missing Picture a documentary, which in some ways it definitely is, but it was nominated for Best Foreign Film, not Best Documentary. My apologies for any confusion. I'm going to take a nap now.
