movie wrap up

paro's new film 'partners in crime' dwells on love and theft. the love of art and people. the love of collecting, knowing, understanding, dissecting, organising art and then distributing freely to who you love or want to be loved by. piracy as a part of that mix-tape culture that i remember from my teens. recording static filled top 40 songs from voice of america and then making copies for shyam and babu; choosing pieces specifically for that one person who you know it was meant for. i loved most of the characters but felt a little sorry for the one dimensional experts' (though they did do their best to be caricatures themselves). they seemed to lie outside the arc of the film. i really enjoyed the film- i only wish that the love story would have stayed uninterrupted.

unlike 'rip- a remix manifesto' who spoke instead of the love of music itself- its form and evolution. the 'creative process' that steals, shuffles, remixes and makes new. 'girl talk's mad collage like mashups that make khichdi out of everything from britney spears and kanye west to nirvana and the beatles form the spine of the film. the music is great.

the sappy wooden and, quite frankly, awful, douglas sirk film of a William faulkner novel 'the tarnished angels'. lovingly shot in cinemascope black and white and set in new orleans during mardi gras. much is made of the parallels between the grotesque masks and the grotesque emotional games played by the characters with each other. rock hudson plays a journalist besotted by a family of flying racers- the husband and the wife.

'le prophete' is a prison drama set in a french prison that centres around a young arab man as he rises from a lackey to the prison mob to being an all powerful ringleader. an action drama film that works. 'the wedding banquet'- ang lee's sweet romantic comedy about gay men and a pretend marriage.

and then hollywood on tv- the 'toy story' trilogy back to back: to infinity and beyond- i had strange nightmares that didnt allow me to sleep. not all blue skies and brightness - are they? sad lonely toys always running after owners who leave them in dangerous circumstances and then forget about them. 'the generals daughter' - it is so comforting to know that the man you suspect in the first five munites of a supposed murder mystery turns out to be the killer. john travolta hams his way through what are supposed to be the dark mysterious sexual undercurrents within a co-ed military camp. some homosexuality, sado masochism and rape while he romances the very straight madeline stowe. 'the battle of shaker heights' in which shia lebouf is virtual battle mad until he connives with a richer smart friend to take revenge on a bully. darker than usual for an american teen film. another might have been plugged dark teen film was 'the last song'- miley cyrus is ranty dad hating teen (she blames him for the divorce- ah... ) until his untimely sickness and eventual death makes her appreciate him. ugh. and more and more....