OT: Crazy
by mikeA on Nov 11, 2007 11:04 PM PST
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PrintI went to the city to see "No Country for Old Men" this afternoon. It was extremely violent and suspenseful (in a good way), and the violence was still reverberating as we left.
So, I got out to the sidewalk and walked for half a block when an unmarked police car with sirens on top sped around a corner onto the sidewalk right in front of me, so that I had to step back. Three guys rapidly jumped out of the car, they all drew their guns (at me! given the angle), screamed FREEZE!, and then ran by me, guns still drawn, and tackled some guy in the middle of the street, yelling "YOU THINK WE'RE FUCKING AROUND?!!" From what I gathered, someone had gotten shot at the metreon (not the theater where I was), as there were ambulences and 30+ police cars, and they taped off the entrance. The guy they arrested struck me as being under 20 years old. Let me tell you: when a car screeches up in front of you, and several guys with guns drawn rush towards you, even though that was a 2-second experience, it is damn creepy.
Left me shaken for awhile. Scary and sad.
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I warned you about your
smart ass ways. Amazing the detail the human mind can remember in only two seconds.
Yikes.
Definitely scary and sad. Glad they weren't after you.
turns out someone died
which does not surprise me.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...
these things are a lot more real when you're there. Just fucked up. I'm glad I didn't see the actual shooting.
By the way,
I was only teasing you in the above comment. First hand experience of sudden violence certainly has the ability to change a persons perceptions. Glad you weren't hurt.
I once saw a guy who a group of thugs poured gasoline on and torched. It took him several hours to die...and it was Godsend when he did. They were never caught. The dude had just rode into town on a train and didn't know anyone in the area. Just a random thrill killing I suppose.
yeah, I know
It's (sort of) a part of your job, and it has to be tough when things like that happen. I got a scare, but I didn't have to witness (let alone deal with) any blood, or have to try to deal with the person who did it; you have had to do some of those things I imagine, so no worries about teasing or anything like that...
Yeah, it does....
Everyday. It's odd to think that somewhere, right now, something really fucked up is happening. Tomorrow it will be a blurb in the paper and the majority of people will go on like nothing of significance has occurred. I suppose people are incapable of truly understanding an event until they have experienced it first hand.
No need for regrets. Thing about experiences like the one you just had is that after a while words really don't bother you all that much anymore.
Besides all that, you're entertaining and I get the impression you really don't mean any harm.
Exactly
It's crazy, isn't it, how effortlessly we keep these sorts of things at arm's length.
The sheer numbing proliferation of these stories sometimes seems to wring all meaning from them; we learn to settle into a sort of semi-complicit anaesthetization (socioeconomic stratification certainly helps this along), where violence, cruelty, poverty, etc. exist as words on a computer screen or syllables woodenly mouthed by local TV anchormen, but never as the actual awful, intractable things they are. It's all background noise, and muffled at that.
Occasionally that distance is shattered (as it was for mikeA today), and it's pretty jarring. Especially when you realize how routine it all is.
One teenager casually murders another. Jesus.
and you know what abstracts them even further?
Statistics.
that is very well put.
In my line of work I witness the results of violence, cruelty, and poverty on a daily basis and it makes one maddeningly aware at times. I love being able to tune out of everything while running or biking. But at times when interacting with people who are not so aware and tied into the semi-complicit anaesthetization and even rationalize some sort of social darwinist justification. That is more maddening than being maddeningly aware.
by Athletics fan and runner on Nov 12, 2007 10:37 AM PST up reply actions
Has to be hard
I'm sure you wonder, sometimes, if the awareness is worth the madness. Because the two are probably inextricable.
Well
I am putting in notice today and I am will be living in Canada within 5 weeks.
The end of my time at the facility has come.
I will work at one like it again some day, but right now I need a mental break. I have just witnessed way too many tragic lives crash into things.
by Athletics fan and runner on Nov 13, 2007 4:44 AM PST up reply actions
Eloquently written.
What strikes me is the aftermath of an experience. The instant an event moves past the abstract, you're perception is permanently altered. Certain features stand out in memory... akin to a surreal horror that you watch play out with no real emotional involvement at the time. To this day, I vividly recall the ER staff intubating the victim. The smell of raw gasoline permeated the room instantly. Recalling the event causes me to imagine that I smell gasoline to this day. The sight was gruesome beyond description and the accompanying odor indescribable. The guy was coherent and talking initially, but as the shock wore off and nerves not totally seared awoke, the screams became as inhuman and monstrous as his hideous disfigurement. Death was all but inevitable, and sadly, when it claimed its prize, I felt shamed because I was more relieved for myself than I was for him. And I wasn't alone.
At
At my (soon to be former) work there is often a sense of relief when a particularly damaged client leaves. Not for the sake that he/she is getting better but rather for the sake that s/he will not be acting out their personal tragic struggle on the various staff members that have been assaulted. I know that it is not the same but you are not the only one who seeks to preserve self in a situation such as that. I have done it myself.
I have witnessed way too many suicide attempts and assaults on staff and now I need to heal myself mentally, emotionally, spiritually ect...
by Athletics fan and runner on Nov 13, 2007 4:50 AM PST up reply actions
That was Javier Bardem
They finally caught that crazy psycho fucker.
by Philip Christy on Nov 12, 2007 12:02 AM PST reply actions
so where would you rank it
among the other coen films?
a friend of mine likes to say ...
... there are "the Coen Brothers," and then there are "those guys who made Fargo."
Judging by the preview
It seems more Blood Simple-ish than anything else. Is that a reasonable comparison?
fargo is #3 for me
#1 is a big tie between lebowski, hudsucker, miller's crossing, barton fink and blood simple.
#1: Miller's Crossing
Hudsucker
Raising Arizona
OBWAT
Lebowski
Fink
Blood Simple
< long conceptual gap >
Fargo
<even longer conceptual gap>
[everything else]
should have put obwat in the big tie
I like Fargo a lot more than the rest, but I can easily see people thinking the opposite. I'm not sure why everyone likes Blood Simple. I found it pretty tedious.
For my part
I'm not sure why you guys all like Hudsucker so much - I much prefer the noir stuff.
speaking for myself ...
... I like it for the same reason I like 2001, Singin' in the Rain, The Untouchables, and Out of Sight: it's an utterly flawless, insular machine.
I'll be the first to concede that Hudsucker doesn't really "work" as a "comedy" (though I find it hilarious).
Huh
What do you mean by "insular machine"?
Self-contained, maybe? But in what sense?
Possibly: Coherence. Narrative organization. All the elements (plot, character, metaphor, etc.) fitting together, like puzzle pieces snapping into place. Everything in it's right place. Perfect internal logic.
That?
You probably like most of Kubrick and most of Soderbergh, then. And Alfred Hitchcock. And Fincher.
While I like all those guys (a lot), they do leave me cold sometimes. I think, occasionally, their preoccupation with craft stanches their ability to actually render an evocative piece of art. You're left admiring the film, but not actually feeling anything. The stylization is so pronounced, the momentum so calculated, the characters so tightly bound in service of the "machine", that there's no oxygen left over for that audience-art emotional reciprocity that makes you care about what you just saw. The movie makes you react, but not emote.
The Untouchables aside (that is a great movie), I think DePalma is almost always guilty of this, to the point of incompetence.
Seven would probably fight quite neatly into your group of four. And Chinatown. That is, if I'm understanding the insular machine thing.
I've tried responding to this 5 times ...
... and every time, my draft post gets longer and more convoluted.
Short answerlets:
- For the most part, I can't stand Kubrick because he's such a humorless prick. I wish for the sake of cinema and humanity that the original director of Clockwork Orange had been retained: Ken Russell
- Fincher ... hit and miss. I actually loved Alien 3 and couldn't stand 7
- Polanski ... is uniformly brilliant.
- Soderbergh ... is mostly brilliant. He's kinda jumped the rails of late (The Good German was unwatchable -- like a bad von Trier imitation [and I loathe von Trier]), but his golden period was perfect
- Hitch -- of course. The more airless and artificial, the better (which means, of course, that Vertigo remains his masterpiece, but for precisely the opposite reasons everyone usually thinks of it as such)
- I'm one of the staunchest DePalma defenders you'll run across. Yeah, he's made some bad films, but even his worst have better sequences than any other director could achieve.
I'm tempted to call your Bordwell/Thompson precis of Hitch/BDP as being representative of the "Joe Morgan School of Film Criticism," but that would be (as Hitch and BDP are always accused of doing) going too far.
The Untouchables, for example, is a purely mythic film (and I am NOT a Jungian) -- the characters are entirely within the realm of genre, stereotype, and cast-association. There ain't no "humanity" in that picture -- yes, you do have an emotional reaction to it, but only because of the pure mechanics of it. I agree that it's BDP's best, but not because it more closely approaches the Ron Howardesque character-via-sloppy-narrative-shortcuts-and-Vorkapich-effect.
um, wow
Utterly non-ironic wow. That's really, REALLY interesting.
Any < ahem > Kirchikian <ahem> insights?
I never worry
about being long-winded or convoluted. I just sort of assume it's inescapable.
1] I find Ron Howard films uniformly grotesque.
2] I guess my point wasn't adequately articulated, if you thought I was implying that the only alternative to "dry perfection" was cheap, sloppy emotional manipulation (ala Opie). Or perhaps I did express my point reasonably well, and you simply chose to construct a silly dichotomy in service of a Joe Morgan joke. Hard to say.
3] Pursuant to #2, I was trying to say that some films, by directors I mostly like, were occasionally stilted to the point of disconnecting themselves from the audience. You seem to have read it as a blanket denunciation, but it wasn't (except of DePalma, I suppose).
4] Re: DePalma ... he's just so ... obvious. On the nose. Kind of dumb. I don't know how it's possible to sit through Dressed to Kill, or Snake Eyes, or even Scarface without rolling your eyes several dozen times. You could say he's winking at us, and maybe that's true, but he could do it with a bit more intelligence.
5] I have no idea who Bordwell is.
6] I also have no idea who Thompson is. Or Vorkapich.
7] After six bullets, I'm still tremendously offended at the inference that Ron Howard is in my aesthetic wheelhouse. I feel like I need to take a shower. Though I fear this is a stain that will never wash off.
8] Chinatown is my favorite film of all time, so please don't accuse me of unfairly deriding Roman Polanski, but "uniformly brilliant"? Bitter Moon, Death and the Maiden ... not terrible, but I think you're wielding the superlatives a bit loosely.
9] I was trying (clumsily, no doubt) to distinguish between reaction and connection. There is a difference, as between caricature and naturalism. And I'm not equating "connection" with "forcibly extracting tears from the audience while music swells in the background and we all learn important lessons about life, loyalty, and perseverance". Please. Nor am I suggesting that the artistic architecture you describe above is without value.
10] Once you have nine bullets, you have to have ten. But I don't actually have anything else to say.
mine is pretty much the same
note i put fargo third, i would just break up your #1 group into two groups:
-miller's crossing, hudsucker, lebowski, fink, blood simple
-raising arizona, obwat
fargo at #3
-the ladykillers
-the man who wans't there (because of the final third) and intolerable cruelty at the bottom
No love for Oh brother?
Its my favorite right there with Fargo, i haven't seen their earlier films tho.
Am i the only one who doesn't like The Man who wasn't there, Billy Bob was good, and it was really well shot, but the plot was just bleh.
MUCH love for OBWAT!
Can't agree with you on "The Man...," though. I suppose since it was so well shot (and featured a very lovely Scarlett J.) and set such a conistent tone, I just completely overlooked any weaknesses in the plot.
by PositionPlayerProd on Nov 12, 2007 3:59 PM PST up reply actions
I think the ladykillers is underrated
its probably their least funny comedy, and their less "Coen" movie, but Tom Hanks was hilarious, and it had some good gags. If it wasn't a Coen movie, it would have been better received.
Good point
But since it IS a Coen Brothers production, as you point out, it's like how the Yankees must feel about making the post-season via the Wild Card.
So, yes, it probably would've been fine as some director's debut...
by PositionPlayerProd on Nov 13, 2007 9:30 AM PST up reply actions
I'm surprised
none of you have mentioned "The Man Who Wasn't There". I thought that was outstanding.
I liked "Intolerable Cruelty" a lot, though I know it's not very popular. BUT OF COURSE! I AM THE CONCIERGE!!!
by EddieVegas_NRAF on Nov 13, 2007 4:18 PM PST up reply actions
I'm very glad you're okay.
I also just wrote a huge comment about how much I worry about my teenager finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time when random shit happens, but I can't make it coherent.
Oy teenagers ...
You worry about the boys (I'm so glad mine are in their mid-twenties now), you worry about the girls (that joy is still to come, although Lily is 2 going on 16 sometimes).
by green star oakland on Nov 12, 2007 10:08 AM PST up reply actions
I'll worry about him when he's in his 50's, too.
"Are you minding your cholesterol? And did you quit smoking yet? And your robot hasn't been programmed to kill you, has it?"
That made me laugh because...
Just yesterday my daughter who is 29 came over to visit and told me she was flying to NY again on business Wednesday. Even though she makes a terrific living... I took her over to Macy's and bought her a new coat because I was worried she would be too cold. They become adults but the Mother thing is always there.
It brings up a verry important lesson:
ALways carry your business card. ;-)
Glad you're okay, mike. I'd have soiled my uniform.
mikeA, don't listen to TDF
If you had clearly identified yourself as a lawyer, the cops and the punk they were after would have turned their guns on you.
sticking to the movie theme ...
... how come you didn't title your diary after this?
Why must you tempt me so?
What creeps me out most
about these stories is realizing that so many people are walking around places like movie theaters, at 7:00pm, carrying loaded guns. I'd rather not know that. Most of all, I'd rather it not be true.
moving to canada
Makes that feeling go away...
a little bit.
by Athletics fan and runner on Nov 13, 2007 4:52 AM PST up reply actions
update on the story
New sfgate article here.
Ironically enough, given the invocations of the more blood-soaked side of the Coens' oeuvre, it sounds as if the chase was right out of Raising Arizona:
"I drew my weapon. He turned and ran down the traffic lane. He turned again, but there were so many people around. He fled. I chased him up into Bloomingdale's. It was quite a chase. He was knocking things over."
"Son, you got a panty on your head."
lol
mikeA didn't say if the cop was reading JUGGS
"YOU THINK WE'RE FUCKING AROUND?!!"
reminded me of: "You think ve are kidding und making mit de funny stuff?"
I'd be fine with them cutting off Dan Tchjonson
wow
no country for old men's 93 metascore places it 14th (below superman 2, pan's labyrinth, and sideways) on this bizarre top scores list:
http://www.metacritic.com/film/highs...
yeah i shouldn't have even mentioned superman 2
for that reason.
but the top scores just show how bad even the best movies have been over the last 5-6 years after a mini-golden age from the late 90s to 2001 or so.
well, it's pixar
they make movies for kids that are entertaining enough for adults to watch them without wanting to commit suicide. i took my little cousin to that one and we were both entertained, so i'm fine with it being so high.
I think 3-4 of my favorites the last 5 years
have been documentaries, which doesn't say much for that time period.
hah, that actually is the case for me i think
but then i really love documentaries.
meh
Great docus, yes, but the contemporary genre is pretty tired.
hmmm
capturing the friedmans, grizzly man, the endurance, the kid stays in the picture, spellbound, wordplay, word wars, touching the void, the bridge, dig... um, heart of darkness on dvd next week.... and of course the 25th anniversary re-release of pumping iron.
also
how about documentaries on the days of quality filmmaking like easy riders, raging bulls and a decade under the influence...
meh
The books were more interesting and complete.
That's one thing that bugs me -- why do a docu out of a nonfic book that's more interesting and more complete than you could possibly achieve with a film?
of course that's true and always the case
but, for example, the book version of the commanding heights may be a more detailed account of post-WWII economics, but only in the documentary do you get video interviews with bill clinton and gorby.
yeah, i did too
that's obviously not a complete list, just examples
for the most part, point granted
There's a few on that list I haven't seen, and one that I thought was pretty worthless (Wordplay) -- but there are a lot of really mediocre docus out there b/c of the success of the good ones. They're good investments -- cheap to produce, and a relatively undiscerning audience.
So it goes.
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