Haines Logo Text
Column Archive
June 28, 2016:

THE STRANGE LITTLE DAY THAT WAS STRANGELY STRANGE

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, it seems to me that it is very late, perhaps because it is very late. I got distracted and was looking at photographs on the Internet and the next thing I knew was it is very late and these here notes should have been posted thirty minutes ago. And by the time I write these here notes they’ll be forty-five minutes late. And by the time I get to Phoenix she’ll be risin’.

It was a strange kind of day yesterday, in fact it was a strange little day that was strangely strange. I was up at six to announce the new CD, but I was really up at four after only two hours of sleep and I couldn’t fall back asleep so up I got. Then I went back to bed at seven, fell asleep at seven-thirty, and slept until twelve-thirty, which I do not like doing, but even then I only got seven hours of sleep all told. Once up, of course, I couldn’t do my morning ablutions because the damn morning had just gone the way of the dodo bird. Instead, I printed out orders, cast the third of our female performers for the August Kritzerland show, put out two asks for the ALS benefit, and then went and had an egg salad sandwich and a few onion rings.

After that, I picked up some packages, then came home. I printed out more orders and did some work on the computer and then the day was done. So, being that the day was done I sat on my couch like so much fish.

Last night, I began the arduous task of watching a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled Knight of Cups, the new motion picture by Terrence Malick. Now, I like most people, was a very big fan of Mr. Malick’s first motion picture, Badlands. It was unique, well made, and moved right along. Then he made Days of Heaven, which I admired but didn’t love. Then he famously didn’t make another movie for twenty years and when he did it was The Thin Red Line, which I didn’t care for at all. Then came The New World, which I had to turn off. That was followed by The Tree of Life, which was nice to look at and had a certain mood to it, but, you know, not my cup of tea. Then that was followed by some other film that I just refused to see. Why? Because Mr. Malick is just too outré for the likes of me. His films are slow, without any real narrative flow, and mood pieces and filled with his brand of what some call visual poetry. There are people who eat this stuff up – they don’t eat it up enough for these films to even make back 1% of their cost (they are huge money losers, in fact), and the people who love them feel that the people who don’t love them aren’t smart, don’t like poetic material, and simply do not understand the films. Well, sorry people who like Mr. Malick’s films, I’m smart, I like poetic films, and I understand what his films are about and I do not care. But, I gave his latest a try last evening. After forty minutes that seemed like three hours I had to shut it off. I’ll try to finish it tonight. It’s a very bad movie, in my opinion (IMO, in Internet lingo) – filled with ennui about people we know nothing about and for me could not care less about – you know, Hollywood people. It’s all filmed in LA but by a director who has no idea what LA really is, just his aging hipster view of it, so the locations and settings are everything you’d expect them to be. The music is mostly classical. There’s hardly any dialogue – just mumbling, whispering voice overs of great pretension. One wonders who Mr. Malick has in his pocket that doesn’t mind losing every penny of their dough. And now he seems to be on a mission to make a movie every year, as he’s completed a new one this year. However, Knight of Cups spent two YEARS in the editing room, so we probably won’t seen his latest for a couple of years. Anyone who takes two years to edit a film, well, it’s all rather silly and taking that amount of time certainly didn’t make the movie anything anyone wanted to see, which is why it grossed almost nothing.

After that, I did some more work on the computer, took a shower, and that was that.

Today, I’ll hopefully print out some more orders, I’ll try to finish casting the Kritzerland shows – we’ve asked one guy and depending on what that person says will depend on what other guy we ask. And I’ve asked someone to be our guest and do one song, so we’ll see if that works out. Hopefully I’ll hear back from my two asks for the ALS show and I’m really hoping at least one will say yes. At some point I’ll eat, hopefully pick up packages, assign songs and get sheet music, and then relax.

The rest of the week is more of the same – meetings and meals and casting and going and doing and eating, then seeing Mary Poppins on Saturday night with the Shermans.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, cast, eat, hopefully pick up packages, choose songs, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What do you think of the films of Terrence Malick and other directors like him? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to put the strange little day that was strangely strange behind me and hoping for a really fun day ahead.

Search BK's Notes Archive:
 
© 2001 - 2024 by Bruce Kimmel. All Rights Reserved