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Reviews
In a Spiral State (2009)
Where do I start?
I like that line at the beginning of this super crazy movie (if you can call it a movie, because it's not built like any kind of conventional movie for the most part). Where do you start when talking about this really? I mean for someone looking for a thrillride or a fun time this is totally not the right ticket. I mean for some people like me and maybe some of my buddies it's a cool and unique ride, but for most people this is gonna be way too trippy or hard to follow. What made me like it enough to want to talk about it at all is how truly different it is from pretty much anything I've seen in the last 10 years. It has no name actors in it, it feels like reality television then flips on it and gets strange, it has really hypnotic visuals and good music. There's a lot of other stuff like the sheer diversity of the cast and their looks. The girls in the movie are super hot, and in a way that's so not Hollywood. I don't know. The kicker for me that makes me hope other people out there like this too, is that it felt like a new kind of midnight movie or cult film. SPOILER: The parts with the angels esp. when they approach the actual director of the movie you're watching is freaking awesome. But the scene that will forever make this so weird and special is the one where the young girl bumps into the two imaginary characters/homeless angels and the whole conversation gets super deep and also robotic. I recommend it if you can actually find it. Good extras on the DVD too esp. the short film The Tunnel and the commentary
Trash (1970)
Easily one of the most important art films ever made
Yes, it's offputting and very grungy. Yes, it's also very amateurish in a lot of places, but the concept behind it alone is revolutionary especially at the time the film was made. Also the way these guys were making movies and how Warhol influenced the movies is really interesting and also very inspiring. I mean these guys were doing it completely by their own rulebook and predated what we now consider to be underground movies. It's also way before any of the cinema of transgression stuff of Nick Zedd or Richard Kern and much better made. The most amazing part of this film in some ways is the casting. Warhol's menagerie of people, and Morrissey's humanistic eye together created the first window into the world of fringe dwellers in America and a distinct kind of offensive reality that made way for so many shock jock movies later on. It also pushed and provoked people into dealing with homosexuality and alternative lifestyles in general along with rampant drug use and psychological problems. All of this made something special called TRASH.