Category: Medias

Last Christmas, my daughter became obsessed with Vince Guaraldi’s lyrical “Lucy and Linus”, which led to Brubeck and then Davis, Parker, and Coltrane.

One night in January, I woke up at 2:44 and couldn’t fall back asleep.
I listened to a podcast and watched a video about World War 2 aviation.
Then, this album.

My friend had just recommended this as one of Coltrane’s best.

He’s right.

Coltrane plays on a razor’s edge, running the line between melody and dissonance.
The album starts fast, contradicts itself with crushing moments of slow quiet before returning to vigorous speed.
The songs push a glorious cacophony, rescuing themselves with breathtaking audacity after extended flirtations with raw disintegration.

I don’t know music well enough to write a proper critique, but I know myself.
I rarely have patience for just listening to music.
That night I did.
All 37 minutes.

It didn’t solve my insomnia.

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Nine months later, we’ve been using youtube for our dinner music. This evening, the algorithm proposed Giant Steps and the boy picked it out. I was a little surprised, but I shouldn’t have been. Bartok’s “From a Diary of a Fly” has been his favorite for weeks.

We listened to the entire album all as he buzzed around as a bee and jumped on the sofa. Kids go through phases pretty fast. I hope this phase sticks.

Finally watched the movie.
I’ve owned the DVD for years but never got around to it.

Now we’re in the streaming era.
Somehow the movie came up over dinner, and I pulled it up on Kanopy.

It took a couple meals
What a ride!

A wordless journey of wilderness to modernity —
A nostalgic modernity that is heading towards the half century mark.

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Highly recommended. I’ll be checking out the sequel.

Youtube has trained my mind to reject anything that isn’t a thrill a minute, so I was surprised that the methodical pace did not bother me.
The monumental demolition of Pruitt-Igoe may have helped keep my attention from flagging in the middle.

Of course, any mention of this movie must include a link to Gifaanisqatsi generator.

Ribald.

Silly.

Stylish.

They Live with cartoon gore.

A decent way to burn an evening on Netflix, if you dig animation.

Watched this last week.

Just a popcorn flick, but fun enough for a Friday night.

Paper thin characters and predictable plot, but cheap thrills with strong nostalgia vibes between the music and wide shots of LA.

They’re courteous enough to avoid cliffhangers, but they drop enough nuggets to justify a sequel.

I’d watch it.

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I heard about Day Shift from to this Netflix sponsored Corridor Crew youtube episode on stunt-driving. It was the most interesting thing that came out the movie.

After watching the brutal classic Jin Roh, I wanted to watch Okiura’s other other full length film.

It’s a good film, but not original. It follows the standard Ghibli template, especially My Neighbor Totoro. It has a strong girl protagonist, quirky world, idyllic Japanese country setting, and climaxes with a family emergency.

Even if formulaic, we had fun. The kids needed a moment in acclimating to the methodical pacing of anime, but they enjoyed it as well.

My only critique of the film is the rendering of Momo’s mother. She looked so young, it always felt like she was Momo’s older sister, which was distracting throughout the movie.

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If the kids ask for it, I’d watch it again. The backgrounds are gorgeously rendered and the ghosts are funny. It scratches the Ghibli itch without paying for to HBO Max. A Letter to Momo is more enjoyable than Ghibli’s recent offerings, but it doesn’t reach the perfection of their classics.

We’re watching Stephen Malinowski’s “Music Animations” on Youtube over dinner.

It’s great for seeing the structure of fugues.

But he ranges far beyond the baroque, and our dinner concerts have exposed us to a wider range of classical music.

Last night, the boy joyfully marched around to Sousa.

She’s repeatedly enjoyed the dissonance of Bartok’s From the Diary of a Fly.

And of course I’d be remiss if I did not mention the Goldberg Variations.

Malinowski’s website includes pages listing some initial recommendations, a list of youtube highlights, and how-to, all worth a visit.

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I was first introduced to his work at an Edward Tufte seminar while still in college. Soon after, I bought one of Malinowski’s early DVD’s. Even though it’s now all available for free, I’m happy to have supported his work before he became cool.

His patient labor over the decades (he barely monetizes his videos!) is a tantalizing sample of the optimistic internet we all expected in the 90’s.

Maybe the rest of us will get there someday.

Jin-Roh is a story of power, love, and belonging.

For a film based on an ultra-armored police unit, the pacing is contemplative, with atmospheric lingering shots, even during a riot.

Of course, there are moments of intense violence. But it’s ultimately about a man finding his place in society – an authoritarian society whose peacekeepers struggle with their humanity.

I’d write more, but I don’t dare spoil it. Highly recommended.

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The movie is part of a wider fictional universe, but it doesn’t require any prior knowledge, though it helps to know that it’s set in an alternate history post World War 2 Japan that had allied to the Americans but lost to the German occupation.

Jin-Roh is a classic along better known anime films such as Ghost in the Shell and Perfect Blue. In a DVD world, I most would have bought a copy of it. Nowadays it’s free on tubi.tv. That said, I’ve been told to avoid the widely panned Korean live-action adaptation.

A fun buddy movie between a man, girl, and massive red beast.

It’s appropriately popular in the Netflix Kids section, though I suspect it will fade with time, like The Little Prince movie.

I enjoyed the ride, even if imperfect.
The beats were predictable (understandable, given the intended audience).
Less forgivable, some plotlines felt rushed while other threads were left hanging.

However, my biggest quibble is with the coda.

Hard to say much without spoiling the film. So I’ll stop here.

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I doubt the kids will ask to watch it again. I wouldn’t veto such a request, but I won’t propose it either. If still unsure, watch the trailer. It’s a fair representation.