(no subject)

So, I'm confused. Did Ray's mom clap for the death of Grace Jones, or has she been put off clapping because of it? Does 'haven't clapped since' mean that before it was okay to clap and after it's not, or that nothing has been as worth clapping for as that was?

A mark, a yen, a buck or a pound

Cabaret (1972), Bob Fosse. February 1, 7pm. View count: seven or eight, probably. Could be as many as ten.

Helvetica (2007), Gary Hustwit. February 3, 6pm. View count: One.

Cabaret is one of my dear old movies. My dad showed it to me when I was about fourteen, and, like Zardoz, it elicited a lot of confusion. But I realized what the deal was a couple of years later, and although now it's starting to seem a little broad, it's still strong enough to escape that. Its visuals are so German Expressionist (a movement I have a lot of love for) that even without the obvious references (the Dix painting recreated, the mylar reflections breaking up figures into brushstroke-like fragments) you can see the derivation in all the unsettling closeups and over-bright makeup, not to mention the color palette.
Liza Minelli is cast in a most ideal way, as a pathologically shallow club singer. Her character is horrible, and more of a drag queen than the actual drag queen in the movie, but she does her job.
The early 70s-style editing is wonderful, even apart from the thematic juxtapositions which are more obvious (but still pleasing); things are elided ruthlessly. Abrupt cuts away from things we already understand save the pacing and are so stylistically fun.
(arbitrary note: 'Money' was the first 'snappy patter' sort of song that I ever memorized. I still have it by heart. I think I audiotaped it off the television while watching Cabaret on video once.)

Helvetica was a fun thing, but I had hoped for more of an in-depth piece on the mechanics of Helvetica's creation. Instead it was more cultural, which was not uninteresting, but so, so subjective and even a little flaky in some instances. I enjoyed hearing respected designers' opinions of it, but the overall effect was a bit fluffy and information-free. I would have tried to show the environment Helvetica was created in/for in more depth; this was discussed, but only verbally, and not extensively.
This did, however, make me want to make some business cards.