Mark's Movies Mark D

Yes, it's Network. Could you expect anything else after Medium Cool? Maybe. But you'd be wrong. It's Network. Let's look at this documentary... errr fictional satire from the mind of Paddy Chayefsky and executed with the deft touch of Sidney Lumet.
I realize there's an entire laundry list of things that could have been touched upon which I did not. Again, an injury is limiting my computer time. Computer time includes recording and editing so I need to be economical with both. The character of Diana Christensen is probably one of the most interesting because of how she's written but, also, because the romance plot is actually a larger part of the movie than I sometimes realize. So she's got screen time and there's plenty of time to examine her. And I think that, choosing her, to represent what she represents is maybe a bit... biased. Hackett could have easily been that, too, or there could have just been a dude. I know that they, for economy, combined Max's love interest with Max's rival and it works but she's one of the very precious few women in this movie--which is also probably documentarian as well. Maybe bringing this lens to bear on this specific point is fruitless. But it wasn't brought in the podcast.
I think I did completely forget to mention the other two academy awards. Faye Dunaway takes it and there's a really good photo of her the next day looking real blase. It's called "The Morning After" and it's the kinda photo that would make me want to be a magazine photographer. Getting to wake up in the morning and do shoots like that is the dream. The other Academy Award was given to Chayefsky for the screenplay which, if you've seen the movie, is no great surprise.

If you have the opportunity to watch this prior to listening, I would want that for you. But it's probably not streaming anywhere. I mean, someone might have uploaded the entire film to YouTube but you never know.
Yeah, I'm just digging through my own movie history at this point. Finding the origins of the origins. I've had some physical issues that prevent me from being on a computer for extended periods of time so yeah, there were some things that made it through the edit, and yeah, there were some things that I would normally talk about that I didn't. But I think I get to the heart of the matter well enough.

Yeah, it's back. It's an episode. Check it out. Definitely had a hot take on this one.

Hey everyone, just looking back on 2022 for a second. Just taking a breath.
"Late Night Radio"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
I think I only mentioned Hearts in Atlantis for 3 movies this year? That feels like a low number but that's what my data is telling me.
Dazed and Confused, Bull Durham, and High Fidelity.
Maybe the transcriptions are off.

The squad from High Fidelity are at it again? in what is the kinda prequel, in a meta production sense, and a really great movie in my eyes. It makes me feel good. The cast really brings it, the movie is fun, and I think it set up some conventions or archetypes that carried forward into movies we see today (I think, at any rate).
This is the first time I actually make something that sounds like it's in car so if you're in a car it's double messed up. A bold strategy, Cotton. I didn't talk about the action at all. I realize that. The action isn't huge but it's good. They've got Cusack doing the most he possibly can which might have actually been all of it (I can't remember at the moment--it's been absolutely nuts this entire past month and the month before). Makes it feel good. It's not too serious, not too goofy. Groundedly whimsical.
There's a lot of daytime in this movie. I think they intentionally wanted it to feel more like a high school reunion movie that has an assassin in it than an assassin movie taking place at a high school reunion. The big action scene is set in the middle of the day. It's cool. It really genuinely is.
If I had to choose a favorite little shot I would choose the one set in Debi's bedroom when Martin is leaving. She tells him "you're a fucking psy-cho" and does like a hand talking thing. That was an improvised gesture--she previously saw John and Joan doing that to each other between setups. That's one great part but the opposite shot, John's kinda manic wild "don't rush to judgement on something like that" is just very unique and fits perfectly. Unhinged but just under the surface.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgGTP5Cevrs - (2948) Benny "The Jet" Urquidez • Highlight - YouTube
"Cool Rock", "Blue Ska"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
I love the movie. It's worth a look. A lot of nostalgia for this one. Check it out. I'm @coolmarkd on twitter for as long as it lasts.

Top 5 hackiest tropes in media analysis and presentation:
* Cribbing aspects of the media itself
* Talking about how you can do a thing but haven't and then, in the edit, do the thing.
* Not actually organizing thoughts into coherent and structured form
* Being late and making it rushed
* Starting a Top 5 list and then running out of things so you have filler
Yeah, I'm Mark and this is 2000's High Fidelity. Let's get this Hamletesque Annie Hall-like romcom on the road. To be fair the Annie Hall comparison brings a lot of baggage with it that is undeserved. But it's more the deconstruction from a male-centric point of view that I mean. And also the main character slowly losing their mind. The Hamlet link is a reach--I just like alluding to it. Makes me feel like I learned something in school.
I feel like I really had Things To Say here but this month has been absolutely destructive to me. No thoughts head empty. So I'll leave you with it. Oh, right! I didn't mention how "High Fidelity" is the opposite of the infidelity that occurs and how that concept is defined. I won't though. I'm exhausted.
Smooth Lovin' Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
If you want to reach me, I'm @coolmarkd on Twitter.