I watched Killer of Sheep last night, along with three shorts by Charles Burnett. The full-length movie is just astonishing, a mostly plotless (although not entirely) view of working class African-American culture in the US in the early 70s. It's been compared quite a bit to the Italian neorealistic movies of the 40s and 50s, but I thought it was quite a bit warmer and funnier than, say, Bicycle Thieves. Closer in spirit to Renoir and Vigo. I think it was an influence on David Simon and The Wire, too. Anyway, although it was sorta released in 1977, it didn't have a major theatrical release until last year, and it ended up topping a bunch of critics' best-of lists, for good cause. Highly recommended.

The shorts were good, too. Several Friends played like a dry run for Killer of Sheep. The Horse was so damn good that I thought it had to be based on a Faulkner short story I'd never read. It wasn't, but it was good enough to be. When It Rains is so easygoing and pleasant that it's no wonder Jonathan Rosenbaum called it one of the greatest short films of all time.

I mention all of these because TCM is showing all four, plus the full-length My Brother's Wedding (which I haven't seen yet) tomorrow in the afternoon and overnight. It's incredibly moving cinema, beautifully shot and featuring scenes that you will most likely carry with you through your entire life, and even more amazing for how long it has taken to find an audience.

Cloverfield set some records:

[link]

We're only three-quarters of the way through the four-day Martin Luther King holiday frame, but already the mystery-shrouded monster movie Cloverfield has emerged as the clear-cut winner — and it has broken some pretty big records along the way.

With an estimated $41 million gross so far, the J.J. Abrams-produced film is now the top MLK weekend opener ever (the previous champ, Along Came Polly, yukked up $32.5 mil — in four days).

Good tip, Cor. I've already got my TiVo set but now I'm really excited to see these.

I just saw Cloverfield and it was okay by me. The shaky camera did not bother me, nor did the creepy things in the tunnel. and I say that because apparently Jilly and I share a phobia. Totally did not bother me, because they had already been seen before, so I kinda knew what they would be. What bugged me more was the extended scene in the subway station where nothing happened!

I do have a question for those who've seen it: what exactly happened to Marlene? Did she explode or did she turn into something and get shot?? That was the only thing I was unclear on.

quester, I liked that scene because of the call from Rob's mom where Hud didn't know how to react. Also, it sort of amused me in that I wondered whether they shouldn't just stay there as long as possible, even though that would make for a very unexciting movie.

I saw Atonement this weekend, and HOLY SHIT, JAMES MCAVOY.

Um, the rest of the movie was pretty good, too. But James McAvoy, MY GOD.

I also looked back on his credit and realized that he was in Band of Brothers. Apparently all my fictional boyfriends appeared in that series one way or another?

he's amazing, isn't he Vortex? he's my current boyfriend.

I saw Cloverfieldagain today and had the more traumatizing realization that the parasites in the subway tunnel were making a gibbering sound very similar to the Zuni fetish doll from Trilogy of Terror. I'm afraid to watch it a third time, in case it turns out the stonework they were crawling over included a Weeping Angel! Run, Jilli, run!

now I'm really excited to see these.

You won't be disappointed.

I saw Atonement this weekend, and HOLY SHIT, JAMES MCAVOY.

Um, the rest of the movie was pretty good, too. But James McAvoy, MY GOD.

Oh, yes. Although, I did cry like a little bitch at the coda. My heart, she went crack.