RandomCha

Two cool movies opening at the Siskel on Friday. Both of ’em are worth your time. Daytime Drinking is like Jarmusch remaking After Hours, and Objectified is the followup to Helvetica.

Daytime Drinking [2008]

1. He throws the cell phone into the water. Then, a moment later, he looks down at his empty hand. Realization.
2. He pretends to sleep. She mutters, "Son of a bitch." He opens his eyes, says, "Excuse me?" She is silent. He closes his eyes again. She mutters, "Asshole."
3. "The first drink was for your cold, the second is to get drunk."

Objectified [2009]

1. Japanese toothpick.
2. "Last but not least, good design is as little as possible."
3. The concept of "design dissolving in behavior."

Lost in Translation [2003]

1. A grip, wearing latex gloves, holds two tumblers of whiskey. Comparing them.
2. He shakes his hands out before answering the phone.
3. "So goodbye, and enjoy my jacket, which you stole from me."

Away We Go [2009]

1. “Are we fuck-ups? … We have a cardboard window. I think we might be fuck-ups.”
2. A jet airplane reflected in a bank of windows. It crosses the screen from right to left.
3. She does a melancholy pole dance to the Velvet Underground’s  “Oh! Sweet Nuthin’.”

2 kids from Indiana are making their own horror movie. For $500.

Definitely reminds me of my own teenaged moviemaking years. I wrote and directed a sci-fi flick called Desperation in junior high. Teens always seem to flock to horror and sci-fi … why is that? Well, because those genres both embrace elements of fantasy, and outsized imaginations, and often have misfit characters.

It’s gonnna be way more fun to watch their movie, The Unhuman, than some crappy Eli Roth/Lion’s Gate gorefest. Long live shoestring filmmaking!

The Girlfriend Experience [2009]

1. She’s browsing through a rack of dresses near the back. She sees him outside the boutique, with another girl, and turns away. Whether to hide herself, or from jealousy, or because she’s hurt, who can say?
2. "So. How do you like what I haven’t done with the place?"
3. "It’s very important that you vote for McCain. Very important. The state of Israel must go on," he says while taking off his pants.

Naqoyqatsi [2002]

1. Falling into the pattern.
2. The woman never quite gets around to eating the hamburger.
3. Skydivers pouring out of the airplane like cereal from a box.