Thursday, December 30, 2021

RAY's TOP FILMS 2021

 


 




Nightmare Alley
 
 
Epic noir narrative that is closer to the stunning roman noir  
by William Lindsay Gresham
than was the original film version with Tyrone Power
I regret that it ends on the book's bitter dialogue
before he becomes a geek, whereas one of the most chilling moments 
in the 1947 film was Tyrone howling in madness at the end
Kate Blanchett's face in the scene were she's putting the knife in
is a nightmare in itself all the way to grotesque
She looks carved like a carousel horse or 
like the wooden doll's head of Russian Xmas witch Baba Yaga
like Madam of Waylon and Madam  
In a swanky art deco world with lots of snowy scenes 
there isn't an Xmas tree in sight

 


End Credits with "pickled punk"

 

 

 

Nightmare Alley:
Vision in Darkness and Light

 

Naturally as  a life-long Noirist
 I went again to see the black & white version on the silver screen 
This time at the venerable Grand Lake Theater on a bier screen
Coincidentally it was the night that the Noir City Festival was to begin
Postponed this year due to an ominous Omicron outbreak 
Less than 20 people attended this Friday night premiere in a large theater
The film is beautiful in b&w which is not
 to say it looks entirely like original era films noir 
When Stanton leaves his burning homestead 
we see him in perfect focus close up
and the house burning in the background is also in complete focus
-- 21st century HD digital universal focus I suspect
Other little tell-tale sins like the daytime sky being bright white
resembling art film like Bergman 
or drive-in movies like Night of the Living Dead 
That said there are numerous moments made numinous by b&w--
unconscious memories of ferris wheels in old movies on TV
On the whole I would say the color version is superior 
I ot to revisit and re-cement the experience
in a different modality of perception--
 like a newsreel of a fever dream

 

As I made my way to the EXIT
I noted that the end credits were in color

 


 




 

 
 

 The Velvet Underground

 

Luxurious split screen multi-media experience
of one my top five bands of their era 
A fascinating survey of the sixties NYC art scene
and the Velvet Underground's place in it
with uneven emphasis on the first two albums
Sterling and Moe are underappreciated
and Doug Yule barely mentioned at all
and he was not interviewed for the film
Criticism aside it's mandatory for any
lover of the VU and of art rock on the dark side

 
 

 End credits with Lou Reed

 

 

 


 


No Time To Die
 
 
Note the film's release date, the poster is from March 2020
it was up for over a year as the theater remained closed 
No Time to Die was finally released
in October 2021 after a year and and a half in the can 
 
Everything it should be wit the great assets
of Lea Seydoux and Rami Malek
Daniel as always been up to t
he job 
despite my reservations about is
good looks;
he is not exactly conventionally handsome
more like a troglodyte troll doll version of 
James Bond

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Dune

 

At this point on my path I can't understand most
of the dialogue in today's feature films as heard 
on state-of-the-art  DOLBY systems
Not a problem at home on my ear buds
The sound of the voice in t
he theater is too broad -- 
my ears hear it but can't focus what is articulated
Particularly when the camera doesn't show
the face of the person speaking

Fortunately I had seen the David Lynch version of Dune
so I could generally follow most of the action
Sweeping special effects, interesting design and art direction 
The three main roles are adequately filled
although I much preferred Lynch's Baron Harkonnen
A big budget yawn fascinating in its
grim way 



 
End Credits with Spice storm 
 
 
 

 


 

Summer of Soul


A recovered project of a series of weekend concerts 
in New York City in 1969
featuring prominent Black musical acts of the day
It was shot as a TV special that never saw completion
Called the Black Woodstock and released with the implication 
that it was equal to that marathon concert and film 
but it was neglected or even intentionally repressed by the Man
But Woodstock was shot on film and this was a video production
The sound and image are a bit diluted
Compare Sly and the Family Stone's appearance 
in each of the respective films
And far too many contemporary interviews
stepping on half of the acts shown for bland commentary
That said, there are some very felicitous moments
Nina Simone performance is brilliant,
Mahalia Jackson handing the mic to Mavis Staples,
Some mild scoffing toward Sly's white drummer 
when he walks on stage
only to see him straighten out any doubt
Copasetic scene in a crowded inner city park







 
 
 
The Tragedy of Macbeth
 
 
 


An extraordinary film that might
have been a true masterpiece in film history
Mick Lasalle of the SF Chronicle best makes the point
in his admirably contrarian review:
"Denzel Washinghton and Frances McDormand misfit 
in otherwise remarkable Tragedy of Macbeth"
The Macbeths were an ambitious couple in their prime
So obviously Denzel & Frances who are both in their 60s 
are just too old for their roles 
Denzel recites Shakespeare's blank verse
as if it were a modern script, casually
but one can't really "method act" Macbeth and
it only adds to the unintelligibility of his dialogue,
Both leads recite nearly all their lines 
at a pillow-talk volume level 
as if constantly afraid of being overheard,
Then there's the issue of casting black actors
as the various Scotsmen involved
Clan allegiances are confusing to say the least 
not to mention racial overtones-- I blame Hamilton
The British and Irish actors unlike the American stars
all seem to understand the importance
of articulating the Bard's words clearly
oterwise it's all just a blur
They seem to always get it right 
Alex Hassell as Thane of Ross nearly steals the show
 
Caveats aside, what bravura film-making
Cinematography, art direction, set design, 
all in shimmering Bergmanesque black and white 
Deceptively minimalist architecture and decoration
form a maze of entrapment and madness
The three witches are all performed by Kathryn Hunter
a phenomenal contortionist-actress with a devil's mannish voice
(She performs Samuel Beckett's demanding works on stage)
Appearing here in incredibly innovative scenes of the macabre 
she is pure tour-de-force

A supernatural Symbolist, 
chiaroscuro Expressionist version
of the Elizabethan origin of the thriller noir
Try for the largest screen you can muster



 
The film ends 
in a mad rush of crows










The Power of the Dog



(comments to follow)









Alternate reality
Pre-release poster






30 December 2021



Wednesday, December 29, 2021

New Museum of Afro-Futurism

 

 

 

 

 
Black Baby Jesus
 
 
 
 
 Street view
 
 Afro-Fururist museum 
consists of display window galleries
available from periperal sidewalks
at all times of day or night
 
 
 

 

Vodoun past resurfaces in
Future New Orleans 
as envisioned in Oakland



 
Papa Legbot
 
 

 
The Future is Black





Madame Marie Laveau
late of Bourbon Street




 Jumping Jack Flash
on Congo Square



 
 I've never seen anyone inside
It seems to be more of a ritual interior
by nature
 


 
The Future of
Street Fashion
 
 

 
Mammie Loa
 

 
Joyful noisey
 

 
 
So far-out she's gone
 
 
 
Into the Afro-Future



 
It's not a game 
 

 
Played with toys 



 
Well, not just a game
played with toys



 
 
Afro-Futurism 
it's a thing
 
 
 
 
 
 
24 December 2021
 
 
 

 

Monday, December 27, 2021

Orbiting the Center


 

 

Urban Yuletide
Psycho-geography
of Oakland Center

 

 

 
 
The most Christmas sound heard today
Bells tolling from the old time tower 




 
From 8th to 18th and back
on an aleatory quest for rolling papers 



 
An eye open for Holiday eye-candy
 
 

 
City Center somber & deserted
 

 
Corporate Christmas 
predominates
 
 
 
 
Incandescent empty space
 
 
 
 
Pandemic measures drag on
 
 
 
Line for vaccinations on Xmas Eve
 
 

 
Not to be too macabre about it
 
 

 
Squad car blinking
outside an eldritch hotel
Must be Santa
 
 

 
Mural on the windowless back wall of a building
no doubt were another edifice once stood 
It used to be of a white knight first-responder
I suppose it changes periodically
 


 Front of the same groovy building
like many of them-- occupied by lawyers


 
Street tree sky clouds chandelier window 



 Land of ice and even snow

 
Blade runners
 

 
 People's Republic of Oakland


 
 The Sharks
local mob 
 

 
Mural of extravagant hands
 

 
Screen memory
 

 
 
Weird world in here 



 
 Weird through and through
inside and out
 
 



 
Boarded-up theater
 

 
That's Oakland for you
 

 
In my naivete
I await a renaissance
 
 
 

 
This wasn't always Stinky...
Must have changed hands 



 
Here's a humble soul showing good cheer
 
 

 
 A swanky uptown tavern
 
 
 

 
A delightful and dainty display 
Must be a jewelry store or some such
 
 

 
Nothing says Noel
like a study pair of cruel shoes
 

 
 It's a refined dildo and porn emporium
Well I'll be
 

 
 It's a spiritual thing--
yoga and yabyum
yoni and lingam
the whole jewel in the lotus
 
 
 
 
 


So Ray comes full circle
Scored 3 packs of my preferred rolling papers
gave a guy spare change
Smoked along my route
And finished my last block home
in a brief cloudburst






24 December 2021