Chinatown, Koyaanisqatsi, and more
I've been trying to become more cinematically literate recently, mostly by reactivating my Netflix account and renting a bunch of movies I probably should have watched, but haven't. One of my favorites from this is Chinatown. Jack Nicholson plays a private detective hired to follow the head of the LA Department of Water and Power; fisticuffs, infidelity, and general neo-noirness ensue. Quite possibly one of the best detective pictures I've ever seen.

I also saw Koyaanisqatsi, which got a lot better about a beer and a half into the picture, although there are bits that I like even when I'm entirely sober. More than anything, I see it as a period piece--what life was like and what people were thinking during the late '70s and early '80s. It also has what I think may be one of my favorite shots of all time, the time-lapse of the moon going behind the building about 47 minutes in. No special significance, it's just pretty. I haven't seen Baraka, but it's on my list.

To Kill A Mockingbird was another good one. There are two kinds of American lawyers--those who admit they wanted to be like Atticus Finch, and liars. I'll allow I'm one of the former, and probably better get back to studying for the bar exam right about now . . .

Also, while it's off topic, my favorite television show of all time is probably Arrested Development. You could probably make a lot of money starting a company that picked up the really good shows Fox cancelled.
(tellum0 is spelled with an 'o', Fri 18 Jul 2008, 2:51, Reply)