Diamonds at your feet...
Well, I survived the dread beast Valentine and even ended up getting a few e-cards from some of y'all. Thanks bunches. I really do appreciate it when you guys read all my angst and don't dismiss it out of hand. I mean, we all got angst right?
I'm reading a book Chris Jay lent me called No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. You may recall that I posted it was being made into a film by the Cohen Bros. earlier this month. Well, the book has Cohen Brothers written all over it. It really doesn't resemble anything else McCarthy has written before. It is much more straight forward than any of his other novels, with very little of the flights of prose he normally takes. It's also the first book of his I have read that I can say I enjoyed on a pure, cool-story level. He isn't really interested in telling a story so much as creating a mood. This newfound narrative strength makes other parts of his writing style suffer. The run on sentences that dot the pages don't have the same impact when they are simply conveying exposition. It feels like lazy writing more than anything. But he knocks it out of the park with the interludes within the mind of SHerrif Bell. There is a laconic ease to the prose in these passages that is a joy to read. I know Sherrif Bell, I may even be related to him. It was nice to see him in a novel. I can't wait to see how this works on the big screen.
Speaking of movies-the Peckinpah box set is truly amazing. With the exception of The WIld Bunch I had never seen any of the movies inside in widescreen. Peckinpah really Knew how to compose his shots and the grand natural world he captures in these Westerns is not diminished on your TV. If you don't like Westerns you'll like Peckinpah. If you do like Westerns you'll like Peckinpah. Folks used to think he was a nutjob with a camera, foaming at the mouth for more blood and booze but time has been kinder to him than a lot of those other so-called great directors from the 1960s. I'm just glad they put this sucker out for all the world to see.
It's a funny thing about all these rereleases of cult films on DVD. I used to scour the video shelves or pour through catalogs trying to find the weird and wonderful amidst Jurassic Park and JFK. Now anyone can find these things by looking online or trotting over to Blockbuster (where I recently picked up Marat/Sade on DVD. How cool is that?) I'm not as special as I used to be. Nopt that there is anyone I know outside Ryan Sarnowski who can touch me when it comes to film obsession. But the movies I watch used to be treasures I hunted for. When the diamonds are just lying on the ground for you to pick up are they any less precious? That analogy doesn't really work when you discuss the nature of "Art". The value should be intrinsic to the piece (in my opinion) and just because you have twelve Picasso's doesn't mean you have to love him less. I don't know exactly what I'm getting at here. So let's leave it at that.
Lunchtime is almost over and I wnat to get back to my book. Take care of yourselves, 'cause God knows I can't.
I'm reading a book Chris Jay lent me called No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. You may recall that I posted it was being made into a film by the Cohen Bros. earlier this month. Well, the book has Cohen Brothers written all over it. It really doesn't resemble anything else McCarthy has written before. It is much more straight forward than any of his other novels, with very little of the flights of prose he normally takes. It's also the first book of his I have read that I can say I enjoyed on a pure, cool-story level. He isn't really interested in telling a story so much as creating a mood. This newfound narrative strength makes other parts of his writing style suffer. The run on sentences that dot the pages don't have the same impact when they are simply conveying exposition. It feels like lazy writing more than anything. But he knocks it out of the park with the interludes within the mind of SHerrif Bell. There is a laconic ease to the prose in these passages that is a joy to read. I know Sherrif Bell, I may even be related to him. It was nice to see him in a novel. I can't wait to see how this works on the big screen.
Speaking of movies-the Peckinpah box set is truly amazing. With the exception of The WIld Bunch I had never seen any of the movies inside in widescreen. Peckinpah really Knew how to compose his shots and the grand natural world he captures in these Westerns is not diminished on your TV. If you don't like Westerns you'll like Peckinpah. If you do like Westerns you'll like Peckinpah. Folks used to think he was a nutjob with a camera, foaming at the mouth for more blood and booze but time has been kinder to him than a lot of those other so-called great directors from the 1960s. I'm just glad they put this sucker out for all the world to see.
It's a funny thing about all these rereleases of cult films on DVD. I used to scour the video shelves or pour through catalogs trying to find the weird and wonderful amidst Jurassic Park and JFK. Now anyone can find these things by looking online or trotting over to Blockbuster (where I recently picked up Marat/Sade on DVD. How cool is that?) I'm not as special as I used to be. Nopt that there is anyone I know outside Ryan Sarnowski who can touch me when it comes to film obsession. But the movies I watch used to be treasures I hunted for. When the diamonds are just lying on the ground for you to pick up are they any less precious? That analogy doesn't really work when you discuss the nature of "Art". The value should be intrinsic to the piece (in my opinion) and just because you have twelve Picasso's doesn't mean you have to love him less. I don't know exactly what I'm getting at here. So let's leave it at that.
Lunchtime is almost over and I wnat to get back to my book. Take care of yourselves, 'cause God knows I can't.
posted by Billy Vidrine @ 10:11 AM
2 Comments:
At 2:11 PM,
Sammy said…
it's kind of how kelly clarkson is super popular and was jump started by american idol, but i still think her newest album is the greatest pop album of the decade so far.
At 5:11 PM,
Chris said…
Bill, god damnit. I have a show booked opposite you guys and the Big Pos. Do me a favor, at least, and tell folks that our show starts at 8:00. That would be awesome. Oh, Bill, I have e-mailed the script to three potential Chloes. We'll see what happens.
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