Saturday, November 22, 2008

Massive Halfie plus Earache & Dog Sentence Amalgamator

* Chelsea Martin and Brandon Gorrell made a new print zine called GREAT, before it was called THIS IS STUPID I LOVE YOU. I am in it, Brandon culled an away message I had on Gmail one day for use. The paper says GREAT on it and has ribbon like an award I feel like I win an award when I think about Chelsea and Brandon both as separate entities and together as a publishing locus of penile rupture. It also has gots: Sam Pink, Gene Morgan, Aaron Petrovich, Zachary Schomburg, Daniel Spinks, Chris Killen, Krammer Abrahams, as well as several other bitchass motherfuckers. I think you can order it or will be able to soon, email Chelsea or something. (ACTUALLY IT IS $4, HERE IS HOW TO ORDER.)



* If you missed buy IN THE RAPE YEAR OF THE GHETTO TODDLER THE HOUSES WILL AWAKEN straight from ML Press, there are still some available at Powell's, my color is neon pink because the ghetto toddler has a pink star appear on his forehead while a large woman is outside pissing on his house, the house is in the ghetto (this is not directly revealed in the chapbook, if you call it a 'chap' in front of me I will cut your dick or other applicable appendage off with a teacup lip), I feel ready to become the ghetto toddler in 09, originally the titular character was something much more offensive but I decided to 'be nice,' the original titular narrator is now semi-appearing in the ms with Sean Kilpatrick, I love the ML press series, I bought a 6 month subscription, it is 'off the chain' and also off the chain w/o quotes around it, get out a red pony and red it bitch





* BE KIND REWIND is literally in my mind the shittiest movie ever put on tape, made particularly even worse in that it was created by Gondry, who up to then had seemed so promising. Really, if you want to see a film so dialed in you can hardly stand not to turn it off and yet are compelled to keep watching to see how low it grows, this is the one, it is almost unbelievable, this from the guy who made ETERNAL SUNSHINE, I do not understand.

On the other hand, I really liked SYNEDOCHE NEW YORK, sometime during the first half I found myself thinking 'this is one of the greatest films I have seen in ten years, it is new,' all through there are random scenes of dreamlike hysteria and excellent dialog, it really had a kind of energy to it that made me feel excited to be in the presence, eventually, though, as Charlie Kaufman seems to be apt for, he kind of turned certain things into 'big ideas' and spent too long mining his own brilliance and explained away things that could have been so much bigger if they had been turned inward on rather than explicating, the idea 'we will all die' was repeated directly as if that direct message is not already understood. The idea of dying soon is already contained in the film's hysteria w/o it being laid out, and the meta-meta-meta turning to such resorts to me felt like a mistake. Still, though, this is at least a very good movie especially among the reams of shit that have been coming out lately, I left the theater for once feeling like I had gotten something for my money.

Phillip Hoffman's performance as well is among the best I have seen from him, the things required of him to perform the character were at time amazing, one scene where he is talking to an old semi-lover later in their life with his right leg shaking and acting as if it made me feel something. I also laughed aloud throughout this film more than any I can remember in a long time. WHY DO PEOPLE WANT TO EXPLAIN AWAY THE INEXPLICABLE? MOST OF LIFE IS NOT EXPLICABLE. Charlie Kaufman and other filmmakers could do well to watch the interview with Michael Haneke in the bonus features of THE SEVENTH CONTINENT, in part of which he discusses how random images were shown to five year olds who could still souse out their own meaning from them, how storytelling can only progress if the audience is given their own chance to absorb and configure, etc, etc. Michael Haneke is far ahead. Still, SYNEDOCHE NEW YORK is a great piece of work, if still partly digressive. I would like to be able to reedit this movie. I would cut about 20 minutes out of it and it would be doubly better and maybe a masterpiece. All films should come with the option to be reedited by the viewer, though in that case most films would be fully edited to 1-2 second scenes, making the film a total of 18 seconds. I can think of a few that would remain fully in tact, and some that should go on forever.





* I feel tired again, but then today I got the new NY Tyrants in the mail and felt a fucklot better about life, I am going to spend the rest of tonight in the crypt with it, and talk more soon





* No Colony 2 is in the works, we have assembled a small group of works so far that are stellar and thus cutting dicks and other equipments for new necessary length, we are a bit behind on subs but catching up, rejection letters will be brief and sometimes telling, depending on if Ken is sassy or I am pissed off, or if you just clearly haven't paid attention to the kind of stuff we want, we are going to tell you about how to eat a diamond D. We are 'getting handy' or something. We love you, I think.

25 comments:

Unknown said...

Blake I can't find your contribution on Great. When I click on your name it takes me back to your blog.

BLAKE BUTLER said...

hi didi, 'great' is print :)

Ravi Mangla said...

Yeah, Be Kind Rewind was pretty shitty. Did you ever see the other Gondry one, Science of Sleep?

BLAKE BUTLER said...

i saw science of sleep. it was ok, definitely not the trainwreck that be kind rewind is. it is unfortunate when directors can direct but can't write. he should stick to doing other people's scripts.

Mike Young said...

i like science of sleep more and more. i am a science of sleep apologist. i think the biggest misreading people have of that movie is that they think it's uncritical of the main dude's immaturity, that it's a farce, but i think it's very tragic and self-aware

dine in your hair

dance in your hair

BLAKE BUTLER said...

you Would like that movie Wouldnt you mike

Ken Baumann said...

I agree with Blake on Be Kind and Science. Both bad. Bad. Be Kind Rewind was, wow, I don't know.

I've been a sasshole lately.

Anonymous said...

Blake, you might think about seeing Synecdoche again. I found it a little hard the first time, even though I had read the script, but I've seen it three times now, and the ending destroys me each viewing. Oh, Phillip. Even when you know what's coming, it still hurts.

I understand the death thing not working for you. Maybe I just saw it at the right time, but it's really one of my favorite film experiences in a long while.

What did Kaufman explain that should've been left vague? Nothing springs to my mind.

BLAKE BUTLER said...

hey brian

dont get me wrong, i really liked it.

i didnt like the over tendency towards repeating 'death comes to everyone' particularly the 'there are no supporting roles' line and then the repeat of it.

the first scene that broke me off of thinking it was incredible was ** SPOILERRRRR******
when caden's first replica jumps off the building, and his RETARDED speech and the weird look of it, it was just a little too pointed and obvious to me.

from there he kind of jumped out of the weird energy of the first half, the random scenes and insanity, into a more obvious decline as in his other films. it began to feel 'like kaufman' to me. whereas the beginning was so new and raw.

overall, though, again: i really did like the film a lot. its just flawed to me.

BLAKE BUTLER said...

which brian is that

Brandon Hobson said...

Got your In the Rape Year story by ML press--enjoyed reading it. Looking forward to No Colony 2 as well. Have you picked up Evan Dara's new book, The Easy Chain?

BLAKE BUTLER said...

thanks brandon. writing it was a 1 hour challenge to myself. i am glad you seen

i havent bought the dara yet but i have heard good things. good things?

Anonymous said...

I'm Brian from Washington state. I don't know what other Brian's there are. I don't really know you very well. I've only posted on here a few times. And I'm tiny.

Brandon Hobson said...

Another book recommendation: Manuel Puig's Eternal Curse on the Reader of These Pages. Wicked good book.

Mike Young said...

i Would bitch i Would

BLAKE BUTLER said...

i havent read that puig though i read and liked kiss of the spider woman. that title is to be envied. i think its on my 'to read' shelf. i will pick into it up.

mike, you you

kristina born said...

phillip cries, doesn't he? i can't stand to see phillip cry.

jereme said...

"WHY DO PEOPLE WANT TO EXPLAIN AWAY THE INEXPLICABLE? MOST OF LIFE IS NOT EXPLICABLE."

well i can tell you why i think hollywood does it.

i hated school as a child. i found it boring and silly. so much importance on theoretical nonsense. the worst was being in a class of 30 kids. the teacher had to slow his pace down to help the 'slow learners'. the teacher would come around and check on every one and kind of skip me. at first i was confused and kind of angry and felt devalued by the teacher.

i questioned the teacher one day. her response was 'oh you are way ahead of the class and understand this subject. sit tight while i help every one catch up.'

a tacit understanding of 'jereme must tolerate the others while they catch up' began.

i was expected to sit and be bored because others could not grasp concepts i easily understood.

i was being punished.

usually 1-3 kids in a class learn quickly. the rest either get most of it, kind of get it or don't get it at all.

hollywood works the same way for pure monetary reasons.

your brain function is not the majority. people like you don't fill up entire theaters.

you are being punished. you are not near mediocre.

it is a shame hollywood is nothing more than a corporate marketing scheme.

the days of melville and truffaut saying 'fuck you' to the film system and making what they want are gone.

it is such a fucking shame.

BLAKE BUTLER said...

k, he is an effective crier yes :)

j, fo sho

Matt DeBenedictis said...

Be Kind Rewind was a bag full of dicks covered in AIDS jelly. I didn't miss In The Rape Year...I loved it.

sam pink said...

i am glad you exist blake butler.

BLAKE BUTLER said...

LET'S FUCK

p said...

yeah be kind rewind was indeed mind-blowingly fucking shitty. I couldn't believe it was so shitty. why would anyone do that?

I think I was intending to submit to NO COLON 2. I should really start "doing things" again.

BLAKE BUTLER said...

peter please do

p said...

no colony. although no colon is fucking rad too