movie, stills, and quips :*
BOY, DO I LOVE MOVIES!
I like to watch all kinds of movies. The critically acclaimed... cult classics, blockbusters... box-office flops, hidden gems... whatever. I'm curious, is all.
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I also have a habit of taking screenshots when I watch movies. I started doing it-- taking screenshots-- whilst watching "critically acclaimed" cinema on my laptop...there's some real quality paintings in movies if you look for 'em...And then I started seeing paintings in almost everything I watched. I take a lot of screenshots these days...I see a lot. At times, I peep a lot, and deep even more. This would be a problem if I didn't have a hard drive. This compulsion is, only sometimes, productive for me.
I'd love to work in movies some day...
Don't tell my parents!
Back to the screenshots...
They're like little souvenirs I keep in ticky tacky boxes (folders).
...more Tarnation (2003)
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Tarnation was an exceptionally hard watch, for me. Immaculate in form and execution, devastatingly deft...
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I used to play-act like young Jonathan...That's about the only thing I'd say Jonathan and I would have in common if we were ever to compare childhoods...But, I'm sad to say I also opted for similarly heart-wrenching, totally improvised "material" as well...Maybe it's because I watched Dateline with my mom too young-- bonding-- or because I've always been "mature for my age". Either way, kids are far more perceptive than we give them credit for...I'd also like to note a constant gripe I have with psychology as an institution. I'm gonna try and summarize my general disagreement with the DSM V and its disciples with this anecdote: While researching serotonin serotonin syndrome, I read that one of the many symptoms of schizophrenia is obsessive pattern recognition...a compulsion to find patterns in things...et cetera. I suppose acting on a theory you have before it's been peer-reviewed is risky in this climate, but...crazy? I don't know...that just seems harsh. All bad things come in 3's...like c words...the bad ones are:
But then what is the scientific method if not a systematized way of getting permission to act on an idea you have? Perhaps only governing bodies are aloud to tout the old line "the means justify the end" or "by any means necessary!", but when you are the governed...When you are among the governed you are the mean. And as apart of the average, ya just gotta follow procedure, my guy! There's...look there's just too many of you for you to allll be doin' whatever it is that you want ya know?! yaaaayyy, I finally cleaned up my desktop! I can share more movie screenshots with ease! Hallelu!    I wanna show you ZOO... now... ZOO is a documentary about... um well it's about bestiality. i'm so sorry. i'm just telling you, so if you decide "wow those screenshots are beautiful! i'd love to watch that"-- because i'll tell you where! (to watch)-- you'll know what you're getting yourself into. I decided to watch it after watching a YouTube video that compiled some of the best/ most unbelievable documentaries ever made? I think that's what the compilation was of. had to be something exciting like that for me to click (sadly) and i'll say: the visual language of the movie is really smart...imo. you'll see-- hopefully-- in the screenshots but they chose to shoot everything with mostly b-roll (no A24) which you know...smart choice given what we're trying to talk about. and the light quality. oh wow. wow wow wow wow wow but it's a crazy fucking story. and like all (controversial) docs, they make attempts at humanizing the actors in this niche (taboo) sex community. i didn't come for that, so i let that roll off of me. i don't want to condemn those people, because who am I? I clicked on the video, I knew what it was about. I was curious. They argue on the side of curiosity as well, so. I don't agree, but I also see no point in rallying against their decisions, here, on this blog. Because I doubt anyone from the movie ZOO follows this blog...and even if they did. i doubt a blog post would suffice as "help". so the screenshots:             maybe this is too much all at once? maybe this is exactly what you want-- format-wise. i'm not sure. here's a few more. just to be safe.      like this bus exterior contrasted with this bus interior? wow. very evocative in my opinion. again, not that i ever got to the point of full sympathy for these men...i just peeped the deft cinematography and caps off! cool visual storytelling, heinous story to tell if you ask me. animals should be left alone. not abandoned. i mean, i want them to be cared for and respected. but beyond that, yeah just leave 'em the fuck alone, i'm sorry. Pipeline Masters (2006?) i think it's '06...?     woooow. look at these BLUES BABY!! MORE!  i mean.... it's shots like these that make me really tired of 4k realness...like this camera quality really lets the richness of these blues shine! because their "richness" is in the way the blues so seamlessly feed into one another....how cerulean becomes royal becomes seafoam becomes what looks like white. and that's just ocean, wait 'till you look up at SKY...light washed denim turns to lavender...? with some white clouds? GO-LLY. more more more more AGAIN!!!      Surfing "HOLLOW" Days...oof wow...'cause the bruhs are riding the "hollow" of the beast. I haven't finished the doc yet...because I got distracted, but i have plans on finishing today! But my favorite part, thus far, was hearing about bruhs like Gerry Lopez talking about their spiritual/ intimate relationship with the wave (Banzai Pipeline, Hawaii). they started with talking about board innovations, the physics of the wave, the physics of Normal surfing, etc. etc. which i loved. love material concerns, practical improvements, and the like. but when they started talking about SPIRIT. it was the touch of the wave's cheek for me. "he just tickled her cheek and, it was like foreplay, and she just opened up for him." ^that's re: riding the Pipeline. Get piped, bruh.    yeah. we love a diptych though!  oh, but shouts to our Latinx pioneer Gerry Lopez!!! get 'em Gerry! Get it, all of the surf pioneers! I don't wanna blame individuals...it's a system! These guys shredded. And i'm sure emerging out of Banzai, alive, might feel like coming out of a vacuum, like you're innovating in a vacuum, even? now, through instagram (mostly), i've been introduced to the very "Colorful" history of surfing pioneers. I shouldn't have been surprised...but I WAS. My family is Black, born out of trans-atlantic fuckery. We live with a legacy of not being able to swim, but without the constant awareness that this lack of skill is not an individual, nor collective, pitfall. It was designed. To keep us plot-bound, hoe-bound, permanently bent. When in reality. Our ancestors walked on water. They made friends with the rip tide. They swam into the heart of it all...and stood. and not just mine. i'm sure your ancestors, too, found a way to stand amongst the uproar. unfortunately, i just haven't read about them yet. and that's also by design. and when they couldn't stand, when my family was packed like sardines and shipped like exports ... they jumped. i don't think swimming was on the mind. i don't think captives that willed themselves to be tossed amongst waves rather than auctioned by Whites cared about conquering the tide then. i think they understood the importance of being consumed by something larger than them. something wholly holy. to be seen by the sea. and taken in. Maroon...the color of my blood...my will to jump. my will to swim. oh god. well here's Midsommar  LIGHTING! come through! a painting, dammit! wait hold on. focus your attention to this: WINDOW DUST:  my dream...is to keep focusing...and practicing and then ONE DAY i will be able to Effectively paint dust particles beaming through a window nothing. would be sweeter.    this was really good ("THAT'S MY OPINION" -Tamra Judge). subtle. psychiatry is the one where you need to go to med school for a little bit. so you can prescribe drugs with standardized acumen. but PSYCHOLOGY is just the study Of mind and different therapy modalities to help ease mental angst. I mean psychiatry engages with these pedagogies too...but the end is drugs. Being able to prescribe them. "You know I'm nuts because I'm a modern woman interested in understanding the mind...but I have no interest in honing my understanding of pharmaceuticals. I just wanna talk...just wanna learn. Sans Zoloft..." "yeah that's fuckin' crazy dude. You should totally do the job where drugs are involved...you might see actual progress in your patients-- I mean clients-- oops." my mom is a licensed marriage and family therapist. just gonna leave this here... YEEHAW, LET'S RUN!   death's come to town...  amen!  we congregate. not scary, at all, 'cause we're white, yeah? well historically...yeah. l. o. l.  omfg ewww the awesomeness of natuuureee. too graphic, chill A24!!!!      obviously this was my favorite part. looking back on my screenshots...kind of MAD because I made some pretty bad (obvious) selections. After rewatching it, I watched a lot of YouTube commentary videos on Midsommar...and then i started to realize the subtle commitment to numerology and Pythagorean spiritual throughout. But I don't have the visuals to back it up!! Like the yellow hut that the visitors weren't allowed into...really nice YELLOW triangle Yellow, historically, has represented wisdom. also the importance of 3. Dani is a Gemini (3rd sign of the zodiac) Pythagoras, you already know, was obsessed with 3's (triangles, duh! the most powerful geometric shape in the universe!) Love triangle between Dani, Initiated Ginger, and Christian Dani lost her 3 family members at the start of the movie the numerology keeps coming Christian's trip to Sweden was initially going to be him, and his three friends (four total). Four represents stability (think of the sturdy square). But then, Dani joins the trip, taking our traveller count up to FIVE. FIVE, in numerology, represents a challenge. an obstacle to overcome perfect time for transforming... it is Spring after all... 3 represents childlike play. The unbridled enthusiasm possessed by children. But Dani lost 3 family members in the beginning... Her family of four...has now become 1...and with that subtraction, comes the death of Dani's inner-child. She is now forced to grow up, to create her own stable four. Dani starts this Midsommar journey...in a state of searching. Gemini Season gives way to Cancer Season...the 4th sign of the zodiac...and a sign native to the moon...the moon being that unconscious power which rules the tides of our inner, emotional worlds. by struggling along with this group of 5, Dani is seeking the energy of 4. let's look at the Harga life cycles all the ages will add up to 9. Pelle explained the age groupings as follows: 0-18 18-36 36-54 54-72 traditional numerology ends at 9 9 represents "the ending of a cycle; completion, but not finality. 9 absorbs answers from spiritual wisdom. 9 is humanitarian at heart." i could keep going but i truly filled like 7 pages of a notebook with Midsommar numerology, and other alt. spirituality links so... I'm a little over it, lol. Also, I'm hungry. Gonna go eat. ...some PUBES!!! Miiiighty Wind Time, dun du-du dun- dun, Miiiighty Wind Time, dun du-du dun-dun...Oh...I was...singing A Mighty Wind to the tune of "I Want Candy" if you...couldn't get the melody from my phonetic...humming? What? Idk, yeah. I'm scheming on an audio "element" for...moments like this. Yeah. i um... would like to show you some screenshots from A Mighty Wind (2003) yeaaaahhhh. I love this ensemble-- the folks that brought you Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, idk probably more, HOPEFULLY more. I need more of this ensemble. Nothing. god dammit, i am so serious Nothing brings me more joy...than this troupe of actors. you'll just...you'll see:    THIS is my humor. THIS is the genesis of ALL ***Hollywood- centric humor (the Bible). I do not mean to belittle the Bible-- nope, I derive no yucks from superiority- based humor, so I'm not here to chuckle at a book of hymnals nor the hands holding said text, aight?!-- BUT I DO MEAN TO SAY THAT THE BIBLE SETS UP SOME REALLY FUNNY STORIES. I MEAN COMEDIC GOLD. so two people are hatched in a garden. one's got titties, the other's got testes. They're jolly as shit, fuckin' and suckin' all day (hey Red Scare) UNTIL Ya boy Adam asks, Evie, "Yo, ma! Where you run off to when we done? I thought you said I was the only cuh knew how to keep all them holes occupi--oh my!" And just then, as Adam falsely proclaims himself the conquerer of all of Evie's crevices/ orifices... Evie turns her head, brushes her long locks back and away from her face to reveal: a muh-fuckin' ear. "Oh my god, bitch! You got a whole nother hole you ain't told me bout? Who gon fill that shit, cuh?!?!!?!" "Oh don't worry bout it, the snake got me." See Evie a fast learner, because she really could've shown Adam that she had TWO whole ears up under that lace front but... She ain't tryna ruin a man, damn. She just tryna let him know what's up...and how fucked up his concept of her was. Pfft.... Um, how dare ye let me get distracted? Back to the shots, bitch!      ok. i'm not kidding. when i first saw this scene, i almost soiled my bathwater.  this. man. oh, this man? yeah, he can rap on my chamber door any ol' time. Yessir. Quickly: I wanted to put that "It was the _ for me" joke/ tik tok trend here, BUT THEN I REALIZED RECENTLY (maybe an inaccurate realization, I'm just out here in a the jungle with a Merriam Webster pocket- sized boy, so...) THAT THE JOKE IS THAT YOU'RE ROASTING YOUR FRIEND. LIKE YOU'RE SAYING A BUNCH OF SHIT THAT YOU DOOOON'T LIKE ABOUT THE FRIEND BUT THAT'S ALSO WHAT MAKES THEM YOUR FRIEND.... Like i saw one "it's the alcohol addiction for me tehehehehe" and then...fuck HAHAHAHA I USED THAT JOKE RE: SOPHIE'S PASSING hahahahaha which, i think is still appropriate because we did have a trying relationship...in the beginning anyway. SOPHIE IS MY DOG, BY THE WAY. She passed recently...but she still is...in my heart, anyway. But yeah, I stand by the caption. "It was the growing up together for me" Yeah...because at times I did wonder why we got a dog, because I remember being pretty open about my fear of dogs...Like if a dog barked at me through a fence, I would teleport to the other side of the street, like... SHOOK. So yeah. Getting Sophie was so fucking confusing because I liked her, always thought she was cute as shit, but that bitch TERRIFIED ME FOR LIKE MONTHS. MONTHS MONTHS MONTHS, and maybe I was avoidant with her for like a year, idk, who is to say?! (Truly, who can tell me?!) But all in all, the gratitude I feel toward Sophie is... indescribable. cool, cool, cool. so, uh... what's next up, um? do you see the TV guide anywhere...do you mind...I. Hunh...hey you know I think you might actually be sitting on i--the--the TV guide. Yeah, yeah...oh shit yeah! Cool, there it is! thanks dude. alright, alright, alright. so.... looks like we gooooot.... ... OH SHIT! We got Ad Astra (2019)! right? wait... y'all seen this shit before? mmm...if you have...i don't think you saw it here. so. SHOOOTS, ma boy!  THIS IS NOW. look to the stars NOW. RIGHT. THE FUQ. NE-OOWWWW!!!        so, so sorry! should've advised you to take some deep breaths before viewing these shots/ stills from Ad Astra. so much. FALLING in this film. I KEEP ON FALLIN'...iiiIIIiiIIIIIiiiiIIInnnnnn aaaaaaaaand outtalove with YOU here's an earthward descent to keep the heart racing rise and shine, folks!       faaaaAAAAa faaaAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaa FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaa IIII Keeeeep on FALLIN (the choir part)  alright. too much falling. let's get into the space architecture. the shit's beautiful. OH! Let's start with a ~depth of field~ shot (depth of field used to be Cinema's Thing! but then HBO shows said haha we're Home BOX OFFICE, bitch, we bringin' depth of field to the silver screen!! Which. I. Love.) BUT...I'm noticing some lazy deployments of the "depth of field trick" i mean... it's a BEAUTIFUL shot but begs the question: Why is this in 5k majesty? What am I supposed to do with that? For what... For plot? Or for screenshots?  OH SHIT! Nice visual allusion to the insignificance of man and his striving, when looking at the big picture (the whole ass galaxy). EEEEEEEE, look how tiny these rovers be! At this scale! Sheesh! SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE but also...maybe leave it alone? Idk i'm torn and ill-informed. DUH!     you know what? not all buildings. hahahahahahahhahaa, i'm just fuckin' with you. but sincerely, Tower of Babel anyone? Let's think about that tower in her most bare form--forget about the cultural/ linguistic implications of the story. God said: the higher you climb, the farther you will fall. God said: you needta get right with the earth before you try climbin' skyward to have a kiki with me. God said: you gettin' too big for ya britches, bunk. so yeah. not all buildings...just some architects. peep the MO, even BEFORE you deep the blueprint. ****SPOILY, SPOILY, SPOILY*****  eeeeeee, we love a mutiny. i mean, not really, i actually love HARMONY. (and Harmony by Elton John, look it up, give her a listen!) Anyway... Ruh ROh. to say the least... eh...a few more, then i'm movin' on to the next flick. let's look at the isolation chamber/catharsis room/ cool-down chamber: ooooo, ahhhh    alright, included these shots for obvious reasons. i'm ending the "screenshot recap" here, however, for...maybe not so obvious reasons. Enter my muh-fuckin opinion: This shit was BAD. Like really, not good. The cinematographer did a great job, but I don't care how good the thing looks if my own neural network could have predicted the plot... I said this on an Instagram story once, so I'm gonna type it here so my thought lives on (after 24 hours of air-time) Ad Astra is an Oedipal drama of intergalactic proportions. Despite the vastness of stage, the drama which compels the actors to speak is...sincerely lacking in originality. Spoilers ahead: Brad Pitt is the emotionally unavailable son of Tommy Lee Jones. Tommy Lee Jones...okay, so we already have a sense of the budget for this film-- Brad Pitt is the protag, and Tommy Lee is the ancillary antagonist. Oh, I should also mention that this antagonism is just alluded to throughout the movie. We get short clips of Tommy-- I mention this because I think it's insane to drop such bank on a reputable actor to have them cough up like 10 lines in an almost three hour movie. Tommy, like Brad, is a famous astronaut. He is a genius, he cannot tolerate the stupidity nor the human drives of those on earth. He hates his family...because they're not as smart and are the thing that keeps him earth-bound (grounded). Well mother-fuck the ground, Brad. Fuck you, and your stupid mom. Okaaaay. So we get that at the end. But we understood that dynamic from the very beginning...because Brad Pitt doesn't like to talk. He is such a silent astronaut. You would think he's trying not to wake the martians. I mean: DEAD INSIDE. This man is so dead inside. Cannot bring himself to think critically about his disintegrated relationship back home, refuses to cut the cord between him and his abusive father (emotional absue/neglect), and endeavors himself to re-enact the torturous actions of...? PAPA. Ladies and gentleman. We did not need to go to space for this. Houston, we got a major content problem. changing the channel because i bore easilyyyy well... yes, AND. YES, I bore easily, AND distributors are getting less discerning about the content they help disseminate. Furthermore, the objective of the aforementioned distributors is: to keep my ass bored, but hoping for pure entertainment. hoping is exhausting...when you build the hope up too high! remember Tower of Babel?! God, that ho again... Yeah well, build your hopes a lil shorter and you just might be able to move in to your dream home...in your lifetime! Bitch, I didn't say it would be while you're young...I said LIFETIME. (not like the network, dingus!) oooo, here's some CitizenFour, for your troubles:         just divine.       Paris, Texas...? NO! State-sponsored surveillance, get your shit together. hahahahaahaahahaaha      scary pieces of pappperrrrrr     just some transition mugs.    oh... maybe you're wondering what I'm "looking for" when watching movies and taking screenshots? if you are: cool! yeah, i'm looking for: COMPOSITION COLOR MOVEMENT one of the perks of screenshotting movies WITHOUT PAUSING is that you can capture (sometimes) subtle blurs that suggest movement. And while things like that may not make for a super legible photo, I find blurry film stills are great aT teaching me how to make movement (more) legible in painting. ALSO I'll just take a screenshot of a moment I know I'm gonna wanna see again...but won't be able to recreate myself. I mean this seems OBVIOUS, maybe, BUT. Artists will sometimes ask peers or friends to pose for them so they can get a sense of the real movement of the action, yada yada. And I am NOT OPPOSED TO THAT PRACTICE...But I also know I'm preoccupied with EXTREMES. And I do not feel right asking my friends to indulge me in my preoccupations. I WOULD ask someone to hold an excruciating pose for far too long...if I didn't have screenshots. Lol. SORTED.        If memory serves, a Hollywood director was sent out to film this. Cinematic to say the least. I wish I could remember the specifics of this movie so I could recount them with confidence.   more mugs Aight now shot!  Apparently this is the only shot I took. Let's take a look at my ocean beauties file...maybe we can have shots, plural.  a man among orcas. now let's get this straight: I have enormous respect for our oceans. But I will keep my distance. Is it a dream of mine to witness an orca breech? Yes. Do I have the proper constitution to be a deep sea diver? Absolutely not. I am a land animal, through and through. But if the boat big enough I might just fuck around and hop on board for the expedition.      could you IMAGINE, just looking up and seeing this? i wonder just how quiet the ocean floor is. Wow. If God is willing and da Creek Don't Rise (2010) We've been living in an interesting political time. But the fuckery is not new. Let's take a look at the city of New Orleans in the mid 2000s. Yes "Katrina New Orleans". The greatest natural disaster in US history followed by a great failing of the US government to heal this city. Shots:             The leveling of a vibrant city brought the attempted leveling of the people's spirit. Long neglected housing projects were evacuated and demolished. Long standing, and beloved by the community, Charity Hospital was deemed a total lost and set to be abandoned. In the wake of these political moves, federal purchasing of many community homes to build a new hospital continues to threaten residents with displacement. Just heart breaking. The ineptitude of FEMA, the malicious political machinations...all of which is not surprising but abhorrent all the same. |
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