Meta tags:
description=discrete musings on various unconnected things;

Headings (most frequently used words):

the, with, islands, of, meaning, interview, john, maringouin, forbidden, lies, scott, pilgrim, vs, world, paradise, red, chapel, when, we, were, boys, and, everything, is, going, fine, kati, an, true, false, short, online, circo, tightrope, twitter, updates, archives,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (302), and (130), his (51), that (50), with (49), film (23), for (23), but (23), its (22), this (21), from (18), one (18), circus (16), they (16), tino (13), not (13), like (12), scott (12), self (12), two (12), own (12), some (12), comment (11), boys (11), kati (11), 2010 (11), who (11), their (11), noah (11), red (10), #chapel (10), brügger (10), circo (10), even (10), her (10), when (9), tightrope (9), world (9), jacob (9), man (9), leave (9), family (9), through (9), between (9), state (9), into (9), all (9), were (8), gray (8), pilgrim (8), march (8), new (8), these (8), just (8), have (7), everything (7), final (7), act (7), only (7), point (7), too (7), which (7), are (7), more (7), was (7), north (7), director (7), year (7), true (6), false (6), almereyda (6), has (6), life (6), audience (6), here (6), after (6), she (6), how (6), work (6), what (6), extent (6), about (6), can (6), first (6), meaning (5), paradise (5), july (5), tragic (5), something (5), represents (5), finds (5), movie (5), clear (5), upon (5), him (5), seemingly (5), art (5), though (5), group (5), cultural (5), does (5), regime (5), korean (5), name (4), islands (4), soderbergh (4), mads (4), home (4), forbidden (4), wright (4), going (4), fine (4), sees (4), sense (4), jaque (4), past (4), finally (4), off (4), future (4), also (4), people (4), lives (4), other (4), editing (4), any (4), pop (4), makes (4), end (4), words (4), beginning (4), itself (4), human (4), still (4), reality (4), scenes (4), wonder (4), most (4), don (4), another (4), out (4), same (4), commentary (4), whole (4), you (4), small (4), becomes (4), personal (4), them (4), half (4), camera (4), before (4), our (4), second (4), privilege (4), video (4), asks (4), than (4), represent (4), doesn (4), forces (4), wordpress (3), com (3), comments (3), log (3), already (3), yes (3), men (3), fix (3), goodman (3), running (3), greene (3), michael (3), kim (3), jong (3), john (3), maringouin (3), goldthwait (3), movies (3), lies (3), schock (3), 2011 (3), despite (3), however (3), much (3), conclusion (3), less (3), feels (3), cycle (3), subject (3), matter (3), prism (3), eventually (3), society (3), high (3), line (3), parties (3), relative (3), considering (3), almost (3), acts (3), onscreen (3), plays (3), perhaps (3), over (3), begins (3), three (3), word (3), easily (3), role (3), performer (3), yet (3), festival (3), captures (3), obvious (3), nostalgia (3), may (3), moments (3), conflict (3), make (3), day (3), last (3), each (3), both (3), videos (3), fantastic (3), sad (3), related (3), present (3), entirely (3), school (3), pool (3), free (3), floating (3), adolescent (3), portrait (3), order (3), worldview (3), whose (3), kids (3), choir (3), colin (3), large (3), social (3), become (3), irony (3), totalitarian (3), things (3), sincerity (3), korea (3), toward (3), being (3), danish (3), culture (3), inception (3), get (2), started (2), site (2), required (2), content (2), sign (2), subscribed (2), subscribe (2), account (2), now (2), blog (2), susan (2), littenberg (2), steven (2), spalding (2), simon (2), jul (2), sean (2), price (2), williams (2), sarah (2), stumbled (2), robert (2), ibáñez (2), nossell (2), glastonburykids (2), lie (2), edgar (2), bruno (2), borat (2), anna (2), broinowski (2), aaron (2), august (2), twitter (2), familial (2), genuinely (2), abrupt (2), heartbreaking (2), emerges (2), sacrificed (2), potential (2), thrown (2), intimate (2), piece (2), fiction (2), nonetheless (2), views (2), tension (2), identify (2), call (2), heritage (2), himself (2), title (2), refers (2), potentially (2), camerawork (2), newfound (2), meanwhile (2), framing (2), lack (2), alienation (2), vérité (2), subversive (2), idea (2), spectacle (2), entire (2), duration (2), defiance (2), complicated (2), cinematography (2), air (2), ironic (2), distance (2), themselves (2), featuring (2), actually (2), birthright (2), bit (2), heavy (2), handedly (2), comic (2), performers (2), promise (2), ends (2), greatest (2), consequences (2), decision (2), stay (2), completely (2), suggest (2), spell (2), inevitable (2), scene (2), gut (2), inevitably (2), take (2), could (2), tradition (2), down (2), wife (2), necessarily (2), perception (2), without (2), hard (2), played (2), hand (2), turning (2), somewhat (2), ever (2), really (2), films (2), mean (2), say (2), relatable (2), comedy (2), inherent (2), meet (2), center (2), single (2), seems (2), troupe (2), time (2), will (2), works (2), yields (2), different (2), helps (2), appreciation (2), ideas (2), someone (2), wherein (2), comedian (2), provides (2), collection (2), short (2), revelation (2), dose (2), face (2), james (2), mom (2), offering (2), appropriate (2), youth (2), ending (2), terrible (2), moment (2), lends (2), necessary (2), weight (2), canny (2), structure (2), narrative (2), conversations (2), nicely (2), recall (2), documentary (2), shot (2), days (2), follow (2), largely (2), infused (2), friend (2), ease (2), nature (2), universe (2), events (2), violence (2), against (2), humor (2), whom (2), primarily (2), autobiographical (2), footage (2), discussion (2), able (2), good (2), remains (2), show (2), mined (2), comedic (2), wholly (2), inseparable (2), impossible (2), reflexivity (2), apparently (2), inner (2), mind (2), transparent (2), keen (2), experience (2), marked (2), suggests (2), such (2), suggesting (2), kind (2), begin (2), portions (2), among (2), status (2), classmates (2), experiences (2), increased (2), awareness (2), playing (2), games (2), during (2), struggles (2), question (2), ask (2), cynical (2), questions (2), companion (2), hierarchy (2), arts (2), produce (2), action (2), approach (2), slowly (2), friends (2), regard (2), argue (2), oblivious (2), few (2), alien (2), grant (2), immunity (2), authority (2), examines (2), joke (2), pranksters (2), weren (2), gave (2), head (2), anti (2), feel (2), attack (2), actual (2), selected (2), material (2), agenda (2), used (2), exploitation (2), paralleled (2), ideology (2), postmodern (2), behind (2), desire (2), many (2), little (2), doubt (2), product (2), well (2), there (2), quotes (2), seem (2), bad (2), higher (2), whether (2), competition (2), effects (2), media (2), cake (2), separate (2), interview (2), discrete (2), musings (2), various (2), unconnected (2), design, website, email, write, loading, collapse, bar, manage, subscriptions, view, reader, report, privacy, núria, norma, khouri, cera, bobcat, big, river, archives, tweets, kylepuetz, updates, critical, appraisal, worth, pride, instilled, close, bonds, forged, decides, mourns, dissolution, loss, identity, dislocation, somber, figure, hopelessly, antiquated, inverse, woman, trappings, uncertain, meticulous, great, regards, completion, complex, elegiac, sadness, disintegration, generational, comes, herself, stuck, parents, broader, modern, husband, trying, adapt, wire, attempt, straddle, irreconcilable, shaky, unstable, decidedly, assured, evokes, disequilibrium, extracts, fleetingly, run, exists, margins, screen, smattering, muted, sparse, applause, imparts, lonely, atmosphere, emphasizes, rest, nuria, extremely, skeptical, value, near, remarkable, restraint, resolutely, opposed, very, masterful, viewer, denied, visual, access, active, expectations, tight, cinematic, withholding, further, lush, vibrant, colors, vividly, imbue, pageantry, foster, gently, grandiosity, implied, craft, dog, riding, horseback, natch, pathetic, trap, sorts, potent, darkly, imagery, trapped, chains, cages, grinning, brightly, imperiled, better, worse, forever, promises, certain, sounding, rather, curse, triumph, insidious, stranglehold, befall, understandable, cunning, use, motif, inescapable, young, girl, confesses, knows, should, reflected, struggle, correctly, pales, comparison, follows, fallout, wrenching, recalls, contemplate, etymology, derived, latin, ring, arenas, performances, place, refer, altar, unexamined, obeisance, inheritance, brother, tatcho, leaves, settle, left, carry, business, century, burden, loves, embraces, responsibilities, wholeheartedly, wrote, blurb, objective, lens, grittier, grimier, forcing, issue, tend, dubious, fading, meager, reward, although, globalization, development, undoubtedly, relic, romantic, vision, trade, fostered, existed, definitely, conventional, saying, demean, pleasures, typical, variety, charming, characters, expository, voiceover, upfront, dramatization, struggling, attempts, uphold, responsible, enterprise, beset, opposing, factions, ivonne, increasingly, justifiably, voices, concerns, ability, provide, father, model, success, living, connection, proud, profit, unfairly, month, columbia, host, documenting, escapades, mexican, traveling, would, defined, relationship, came, roughly, deal, startlingly, similar, themes, compete, attention, circuit, unfortunate, stand, require, reference, exercise, contrast, strikingly, sensibilities, methods, develop, particular, strengths, enjoy, news, part, shorts, program, watch, eponymous, making, amateur, hit, youtube, fucking, online, additionally, contextualize, shimmery, ethereal, aesthetic, offered, luscious, injecting, defiant, rose, tinged, inexorable, forward, principal, bizarrely, inappropriate, arms, posits, transition, adulthood, momentous, teary, pomp, circumstance, song, marks, friction, conceptions, looming, responsibility, ambivalence, invokes, recognition, realize, best, times, delight, until, passed, mirth, rooted, everyday, joyful, experimentation, heart, melancholy, reproval, folly, wasted, due, scope, ultimately, slight, fortunately, benefits, powerhouse, casually, missed, brief, introspection, emotional, preceding, minutes, elucidates, grounding, jumps, evoke, skipping, record, periodic, reemergence, younger, hopes, lost, recovered, flow, ebb, understated, score, facets, converge, imperfect, desultory, memory, skill, manages, convey, minor, masterpiece, span, chronicles, alabama, teenager, genthner, approaches, graduation, points, arise, fiancé, carolina, peacefully, exist, backseat, singalongs, trips, mall, shunning, momentum, terrific, foremost, tenderly, wrought, treatment, angst, frivolity, chris, boeckmann, hazy, builds, fundamentally, entropic, accidents, serendipitous, publicly, chronicled, describes, ascribing, chaos, story, fall, indulges, arbitrary, proves, tragically, unable, impose, onto, accident, achingly, fond, remembrance, fallen, comrade, scathing, unrivaled, knowledge, fended, cruel, random, blows, exhibiting, see, doing, universally, editor, deftly, assemble, countless, appearances, previously, collaborated, filters, subjects, sex, mortality, inimitable, structured, chronologically, compiled, shows, interviews, spans, entirety, career, patchwork, crafted, party, appears, parse, fate, mentioned, hinted, foreknowledge, full, impact, intrude, made, essentially, anatomy, sui, generis, decades, details, construct, monologues, blurred, begot, encyclopedic, embarrassments, turmoil, mechanics, nothing, safe, deprecation, key, coy, admission, secrets, underscores, impossibility, reducing, laundry, list, quirks, interesting, focusing, indelibly, outsider, evoking, uneasy, mixture, scouring, walls, schools, voyeurism, distanced, pursuit, occasional, angle, spying, unseen, vantage, romanticizes, innocence, ignorance, confirms, unbridgeable, separation, says, lingering, alto, soloist, gradually, pans, former, star, stares, usurper, poignant, eloquent, elegy, confronted, limitations, awkward, exchange, surreally, scale, barbershop, tipping, class, consciousness, earlier, recipient, natured, ribbing, cradle, privileged, rebellion, suddenly, exposed, precise, position, later, quo, having, reasserted, rejoined, did, violently, exile, happened, shrugs, isn, let, hook, implores, liminal, transitory, periods, fosters, thoughtless, solipsism, mournful, albeit, subtlety, focus, supplies, seclusion, once, crowd, retreats, cameo, golding, handed, overt, shifting, code, exchanges, casualness, laden, discomforting, quickly, arbitrarily, manifests, physical, demonstrated, martial, inchoate, darwinian, cruelty, looms, always, threatening, materialize, lord, flies, bifurcated, sliced, middle, offers, collage, practices, lockers, classes, bouts, juvenile, mischief, moves, breezy, casual, onset, takes, radically, centers, boy, reason, anathema, royal, george, college, quality, specific, airlines, credit, cards, discuss, girls, schoolmasters, warn, disappointment, simple, doctor, horror, drowning, sea, heightened, expectation, least, unaware, brilliance, elicits, pangs, empathy, readily, disconcertingly, environment, catches, glimpses, painfully, familiar, process, growing, performance, been, irrevocably, compromised, result, challenging, disappoint, testament, corrupting, influence, experiment, might, punch, set, discover, pretty, special, colorful, political, doc, playfully, juxtaposes, directorial, dictatorial, gonzo, assault, deserving, target, deeply, beast, critically, brandishing, weapon, received, comparisons, sacha, baron, cohen, unlike, fully, commit, company, regularly, break, character, reactions, elicit, terribly, wrong, allowed, fraudulently, evince, incredulity, pranks, causing, proponents, capitalism, abandon, liberal, pandering, congratulation, punctuates, reaps, fruitful, results, inviting, troubling, deadpan, endorsement, help, perpetuate, allowing, feed, isolated, populace, bullshit, open, mindedness, pluralism, aware, complicity, morally, culpable, come, american, demonstration, commemorating, date, old, war, compliance, bear, moral, scruples, underlying, rests, sentiment, probably, sympathize, project, attempted, subversion, corrupt, simply, sustained, dangerous, culturally, ingrained, form, case, coercive, conformity, smirking, nihilism, appear, flattering, light, rejecting, needed, skepticism, motives, efficacy, ruse, prepares, members, joined, collaborators, theatre, job, audiences, mrs, pak, escort, changes, intended, legitimately, independent, tastes, introduces, transparently, pro, delivers, alterations, smiling, persistence, demonstrates, motherly, attitude, simultaneously, weird, chilling, soon, address, disposes, disabled, citizens, mouthpiece, sneak, right, under, nose, consists, comedians, replete, whoopie, cushions, gratuitous, acoustic, rendition, oasis, wonderwall, aggressively, unfunny, avant, garde, convention, ace, hole, proclaimed, spastic, speech, motor, troubles, bely, sharpness, censors, garbled, those, confiscated, nightly, check, government, understand, ongoing, committed, steeped, preservative, rhetoric, island, believed, sanctuary, pervasive, reach, snark, land, domineering, fascistic, architecture, authoritarian, governance, enters, ostensibly, communism, sympathetic, sketch, eager, corroborate, majesty, dear, leader, actuality, trio, evident, terribleness, seek, expose, lock, step, enforcement, homogeny, insidiously, polite, facade, painted, herein, quixotic, laudable, conquer, uncontrollable, fittingly, vignette, drunk, monologue, admiring, napoleon, conquering, spirit, vignettes, involve, children, testing, depth, becoming, submerged, food, overwhelmed, flock, pigeons, battling, plastic, sheath, protecting, onslaught, rain, considers, urge, reservations, intend, chronicle, humanity, creative, adventurous, enterprising, impulse, integral, unsuccessfully, vehicle, woes, luck, why, happen, sunday, extraneous, toddler, picked, adult, around, pantomime, rocket, pleads, together, conflicting, attitudes, control, resignation, constraining, tends, dealing, larger, evidenced, visit, yellowstone, prompts, intangible, appeal, violent, natural, assumes, post, katrina, orleans, city, celebrating, wake, imperilment, juxtaposition, swinging, sticks, consumed, fire, firefighters, mutual, witness, play, destruction, latter, legitimated, veneer, composed, ten, years, captured, travels, difficult, describe, certainly, presence, felt, thematically, cohesive, loose, limbed, called, thesis, essay, whereas, experimental, documentaries, bunch, clips, tone, unfolds, steady, accumulation, personality, distilled, component, birth, tangle, series, anecdotes, solely, tackling, easy, forget, effervescent, fun, picture, possessing, fewer, six, cleverly, executed, exciting, fight, eye, confident, amusingly, sensibility, wry, surprisingly, sticky, exhilaratingly, uninhibitedly, hyperreal, early, fantasy, hodgepodge, manga, game, clichés, fueled, coke, zero, discomfort, partner, sexual, history, gives, rise, imagined, league, antagonistic, aggrandizing, hero, fair, generation, inextricably, mediated, showing, detrimental, actions, current, flames, dissects, attendant, myopia, coincidence, parallels, fundamental, narcissism, abide, neither, criticism, nor, endless, parade, exclusionary, inside, jokes, consider, classic, negative, saturation, while, continually, riffing, eat, shoves, your, throat, warns, calories, laugh, track, accompanies, banter, roommates, enemies, explode, coins, battle, vegans, endowed, powers, super, saiyans, book, panels, actors, collide, abruptly, insertion, fade, dissolve, warning, must, perpetually, dreaming, extension, fanboy, contingent, crowned, thinking, person, blockbuster, summer, color, surprised, earns, rightful, claim, throne, inserted, wickedly, funny, attire, skewered, cultish, provincialism, british, laughs, discordant, sight, visited, hapless, evil, townies, protagonists, cultivated, apathy, genesis, zombie, outbreak, enervating, omnipresent, shaun, dead, wicker, hot, fuzz, live, found, click, read, reviews, kyle, puetz, rss, skip,

Text of the page (random words):
me of a rocket higher higher he pleads together these quotes represent two conflicting attitudes toward the forces out of our control resignation toward and defiance of the forces constraining us the human desire painted herein as both quixotic and laudable to conquer the uncontrollable fittingly plays a large role no wonder one vignette yields an half drunk monologue admiring napoleon s conquering spirit considering how many of the vignettes of people involve children testing the depth of a pool before finally becoming completely submerged offering food to and being overwhelmed by a flock of pigeons battling the plastic sheath protecting it from the onslaught of rain it s clear that almereyda considers this urge as something inherent and i have little doubt that perhaps with some reservations that almereyda does not intend his title to be cynical his movie is not just a chronicle of humanity s creative adventurous enterprising impulse after all but a product of it as well leave a comment march 31 2010 the red chapel north korea is a state so committed to its totalitarian ideology so steeped in its own self preservative rhetoric that it s become a cultural island and if mads brügger is to be believed perhaps the last sanctuary from the pervasive reach of postmodern irony and snark into this alien land of domineering fascistic architecture and authoritarian governance enters the red chapel ostensibly a communism sympathetic comedy sketch group eager to corroborate the majesty of dear leader kim jong il in actuality a trio of danish pranksters who through the self evident terribleness of their act seek to expose the lock step enforcement of cultural homogeny behind north korea s insidiously polite facade the red chapel consists of brügger the film s director and two danish korean comedians simon jul and jacob nossell and their act replete with whoopie cushions and a gratuitous acoustic rendition of oasis wonderwall is so aggressively unfunny as to represent an avant garde attack on comedic convention the troupe s ace in the hole is jacob a self proclaimed spastic whose speech and motor troubles bely his mind s sharpness and also grant him immunity from the north korean censors his danish is so garbled that those who confiscated the footage nightly to check for anti government material weren t able to understand the subversive nature of jacob s ongoing commentary as the red chapel prepares for an actual audience its members are joined by two state selected collaborators the first is a theatre director whose job is to make the show relatable to north korean audiences the second mrs pak becomes their ever present escort he slowly changes the material at first intended to be a legitimately independent work to meet north korean tastes i e introduces a transparently pro state agenda she delivers his alterations to the group with a smiling persistence and demonstrates a motherly attitude toward jacob that is simultaneously weird chilling and sad jacob it soon seems clear is being used by the regime in order to address the perception that the state disposes of its disabled citizens and the state s exploitation of jacob is paralleled with brügger s own exploitation of the comedian as a mouthpiece used to sneak his own agenda right under kim jong il s nose things come to a head at an anti american demonstration commemorating the date the mean old u s started the korean war and mads compliance with the regime finally becomes too much for jacob to bear have you no moral scruples mads he asks the director and underlying his question rests a sentiment with which most can probably sympathize eventually brügger s project doesn t feel like the attempted subversion of a corrupt totalitarian regime but simply a sustained attack on sincerity itself a dangerous culturally ingrained form of sincerity in this case but a kind of sincerity nonetheless even in the face of north korea s coercive conformity brügger s smirking nihilism does not appear in too flattering a light rejecting both jacob provides some needed skepticism to the motives and efficacy of brügger s ruse the red chapel has received a few comparisons to sacha baron cohen s work but that s not entirely appropriate unlike borat or bruno the red chapel doesn t fully commit to its joke brügger and company regularly break character onscreen in order to argue or comment upon the reactions they elicit this approach can go terribly wrong in the yes men fix the world it allowed the pranksters to fraudulently evince incredulity that their pranks weren t causing the proponents of capitalism to abandon their worldview which gave the whole an air of liberal pandering and self congratulation like yes men the red chapel punctuates its joke with a dose of reality but its self reflexivity reaps more fruitful results by inviting some troubling questions does brügger s deadpan endorsement of the totalitarian state help perpetuate the regime by allowing it to feed its isolated populace a line of bullshit about the state s cultural open mindedness and pluralism and if so does the self aware irony of brügger s complicity with the regime make him any less morally culpable by the time of the performance the red chapel s act has been irrevocably compromised and the final result is less than challenging something that may disappoint some but works as a testament to the state s potentially corrupting influence on the arts though in the end the experiment might not represent the gut punch the performers set out to discover the red chapel is still pretty special a colorful and transparent political doc that playfully juxtaposes directorial and dictatorial authority a gonzo assault on a wholly deserving target and a deeply ironic beast that critically examines and comments upon its own brandishing of irony as a cultural weapon 1 comment march 22 2010 when we were boys the boys of royal st george s college argue the quality of specific airlines and credit cards with the same oblivious ease as they discuss girls and video games and their schoolmasters warn them of the disappointment they ll produce if they become a simple doctor the horror in other words these kids are drowning in a sea of heightened privilege and expectation and at least in the beginning of when we were boys they re seemingly unaware of it the brilliance of boys lies in how it finds and elicits pangs of empathy with a group of boys with whom few could readily identify even in this disconcertingly alien environment director sarah goodman catches glimpses of the painfully familiar all the privilege in the world can t grant them immunity from the complicated process of growing up when we were boys structure is bifurcated sliced in half between the final middle school year and the first year of high school to produce a portrait of adolescent alienation the first year goodman captures the group in action she offers a vérité collage of choir practices conversations at lockers between classes bouts of juvenile mischief pool parties the camera moves with a free floating wonder and the whole feels breezy and casual but upon the onset of the second year the film takes a radically different approach and slowly centers on a single boy noah just as his friends for no obvious reason begin to regard him as a social anathema the film s newfound focus on noah supplies an increased awareness of his seclusion once largely inseparable from the crowd noah finds the camera his only companion for large portions of the day and retreats into himself the cameo of golding s lord of the flies obvious but not heavy handed makes overt the shifting of a social code as noah s exchanges with his classmates marked with casualness in the first year become laden with a discomforting tension quickly and seemingly arbitrarily a social hierarchy manifests itself a physical hierarchy too as demonstrated in a martial arts scene and an inchoate darwinian cruelty looms always threatening to materialize the second half begins with an awkward exchange in a surreally up scale barbershop suggesting noah s tipping point into a kind of class consciousness you begin to recall the earlier portions when noah was the recipient of some good natured ribbing even in this cradle of privilege noah is apparently among the most privileged and wonder to what extent noah s new status among his classmates represents a rebellion against the weight of that privilege suddenly exposed by new experiences and increased self awareness of their precise position in the world the conclusion a year later finds the status quo having reasserted itself for noah he s rejoined by his friend colin playing video games as they did during the beginning but noah still struggles with his violently abrupt exile what happened noah asks colin at one point and colin shrugs off the question the audience isn t let off the hook so easily though what is it the film implores us to ask about these liminal transitory periods of our lives that fosters this thoughtless solipsism more cynical and mournful than glastonburykids it asks the same questions albeit with a bit more subtlety most interesting though is despite focusing on these kids when we were boys is indelibly marked as the work of an outsider with the camerawork evoking an uneasy mixture of nostalgia that free floating scouring of the walls and schools and voyeurism the camera s distanced pursuit of the boys an occasional angle that suggests we re spying on them from an unseen vantage point as such the film romanticizes the relative innocence ignorance of youth even as it confirms the audience s unbridgeable separation from it the last shot of the choir says it all after lingering on the new alto soloist the film gradually pans over to the choir s former star as he stares at his usurper and here when we were boys becomes a poignant eloquent elegy for the days before we were confronted with our own terrible limitations leave a comment march 19 2010 and everything is going fine spalding gray was a sui generis performer who for two and a half decades mined the details of his life to construct comedic monologues that blurred the line between fiction and reality he was a man whose life and art were wholly inseparable an impossible self reflexivity begot an apparently encyclopedic account of an entire life one in which everything embarrassments personal turmoil even the inner mechanics of his own mind was seemingly transparent and nothing was safe from his keen sense of self deprecation seemingly is the key word here as gray s coy admission that he has his own secrets underscores the impossibility of reducing the human experience to a laundry list of events and quirks in and everything is going fine director steven soderbergh and editor susan littenberg deftly assemble countless appearances of gray with whom they previously collaborated on soderbergh s gray s anatomy as he filters the subjects of art sex family and mortality through his inimitable worldview structured chronologically the film is primarily compiled from his shows and interviews and spans the entirety of gray s career it s an autobiographical patchwork as crafted by another party more intimate footage from personal videos also appears and it lends nicely to a discussion about to what extent one is able to parse the man and the performer gray s final fate is not mentioned onscreen only hinted at which makes some foreknowledge necessary to get the full impact of the ending still soderbergh s decision not to intrude was a good one like the art in which gray made a name and everything is going fine remains essentially a one man show eventually and everything builds to a portrait of a man at ease with what he sees as the fundamentally entropic nature of the universe a man who views accidents as serendipitous events to be publicly chronicled and describes his art as ascribing order to chaos but his it becomes clear is the story of a fall after the universe indulges in a final act of arbitrary violence against him his art proves tragically unable to impose meaning onto this accident achingly personal and everything emerges as a fond remembrance of a fallen comrade someone who with scathing humor and unrivaled self knowledge fended off life s cruel random blows by exhibiting them for all to see and in doing so related something universally human leave a comment march 16 2010 kati with an i shot almost entirely in the span of three days kati with an i chronicles the life of alabama teenager kati genthner as she approaches her high school graduation small points of conflict arise will her fiancé james follow her to north carolina can she peacefully co exist with his mom but they largely take backseat to a collection of singalongs pool parties and trips to the mall shunning narrative but infused with momentum by director robert greene s terrific editing kati foremost represents a tenderly wrought and free floating treatment of adolescent angst and frivolity and in the words of my friend chris boeckmann a fantastic hazy portrait of a moment due to its small scope kati ultimately feels somewhat slight for much of its duration fortunately kati benefits from a powerhouse ending one casually related easily missed revelation and a brief terrible moment of introspection that not only lends a necessary emotional weight to the preceding 80 minutes but even elucidates the canny structure of the film by grounding the conclusion in the present the relative lack of narrative small jumps in scenes that evoke the skipping of a record the periodic reemergence of home videos featuring a younger kati s hopes for the future conversations lost and recovered by the flow and ebb of the nicely understated score all of these facets converge to recall the imperfect desultory turning of memory considering the skill with which greene manages to convey this kati represents a minor masterpiece of documentary editing the revelation additionally helps contextualize the shimmery ethereal aesthetic offered by sean price williams luscious cinematography as injecting a dose of defiant rose tinged nostalgia in the face of the future s inexorable forward march a principal s bizarrely inappropriate call to arms posits the transition to adulthood as momentous james mom s teary offering that pomp and circumstance is a sad song marks the same as tragic and kati plays with the friction between these two conceptions of looming responsibility with an appropriate ambivalence yet its whole invokes in me the sad recognition that you don t realize the best times the moments of greatest promise and delight until they ve already passed for all its small moments of mirth rooted in the everyday and its joyful experimentation in editing kati is at heart a melancholy reproval to the folly of wasted youth leave a comment march 16 2010 true false short online in even more true false news goldthwait home movies part of the shorts program someone to watch over wherein the eponymou...