the groundhog day project

When a movie talks to you like today's title, you have to listen. (In case you're new, my name is Robert. Today's film is, yet again, Sing Street .) It's like it's asking me to talk about something different, less nasal-gazing, manic-depressive, woe is me bullshit. More talk about the movie itself... Actually, one particular piece of the movie. A very small piece. But, an important piece. Since this is a film built on a musical foundation, any bit of music matters. And, I want to focus in on one in particular: when Conor first tells Raphina that he's in a band, she demands, "Sing that song off the radio. You know, the one by a-ha." Conor only manages the first two lines of the chorus to "Take on Me." Just "Take on me / Take me on." But, it is an interesting evocation, that reference, since Sing Street is built around music videos as well as music and "Take on Me" is known for its video. Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone , 14 M...

I wanted to write a review of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice for my other, far less regular movie blog (the one where I actually review movies sometimes), but kept feeling it would end up being a list of nitpicks about the nitpicks (not that I am above nitpicking ) and I didn't feel like writing that sort of thing-- plus, I already had a movie scheduled for today- Before Sunset --but oddly, or maybe not so oddly, something I wanted to say in that nonexistent review dovetails into something worth saying in regards to this movie, both within its story and without its confines (i.e the way the audience might react to it). That is, what you want out of something or out of someone is a far cry from what you should expect. Or, it should be. I mean, Internet reviews and comic book nerds are harping on Batman v Superman yet the audience (and I realize this is just anecdotal evidence) where I was seemed to love it, applauded at the ending and everything. The thing is, so much of ...

A couple things... First, back in my Day 52 - if you only had one day to live entry, I explained how this blog is about me as much as it is about... then, I was talking about Groundhog Day , but I suppose whatever movie I’m watching this particular week fits. So, today, this blog is as much about me as (if not more so than) it is about Singin’ in the Rain . I’m of two minds about blogs at the moment (and only at the moment, future me, looking for something to quote in your master’s thesis): 1) blogging is an entirely selfish enterprise. Clearly, I don’t do this for the audience, though I know there is a small group of dedicated folks who check in regularly or semiregularly. If I wanted a bigger audience, I’m sure there would be some way to promote this blog much more than I do now. Just last week, my numbers jumped for a couple days; between Schulman’s “ The Accidental Swami “ and it being Groundhog Day, people were looking up my blog. And, maybe they were intrigued, but that doesn’...