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Interesting New Yorker piece (though I don’t agree with everything) about Noah Baumbach and his wonderful films.

This meant that my generation was making movies—taking what mattered to us and putting it onscreen, for all to see and hear and contemplate. We were young people entering the world—entering adulthood—and it was thrilling.

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Waiting for Shiny Days

I’m replaying School Days HQ to tide me over, but I desperately want to play Shiny Days. I’m hoping that this week Jast USA will finally release the download version; I don’t think I can wait much longer.

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I’m dying to hear Every Open Eye, September 25 can’t come soon enough.

It builds upon the post-millennial pop they established on Bones; it’s a rejection of rock guitar machismo in favor of synth-pop confection that hinges on determined, incisive lyrics. Their music straddles boiling, glitchy earworms and nuanced, minimal throwbacks, before pirouetting away from both camps in favor of big-sky wildness.

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Between Destiny and Fate, the Truth Lives Forever

James Franco gets a lot of flak for pretty much every thing he does or say, but he really is a talented actor and this trailer for Every Thing Will Be Fine looks sort of interesting.

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The Lust Lives in the Dark and May Never Show

I’ve always been a huge fan of theatrical rock songs and few bands do it as well as The Dear Hunter. From what I’ve heard so far of Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise it seems to deliver spectacularly in that area. 

It takes me back to the days of Razia’s Shadow and that’s by no means a bad thing.

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We Love Who We Love

Chris Evans’ directional debut Before We Go looks really interesting in a Richard Linklater sort-of-way, which I really dig. I also have an affinity towards actors turned directors.

A woman misses the 1:30 train from New York to Boston and a street musician spends the night trying to help her make it back home before her husband does. Throughout the night they learn a lot about one another and eventually find a romance.

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Incredible piece on one of the most important films of the past couple of decades, one that’s a cultural landmark really.

Groundbreaking in its time for its realism and uncensored depiction of youth, the film—directed by Larry Clark, written by Harmony Korine, and produced by Gus Van Sant—continues to provoke 20 years after its release with its shocking subject matter and accurate—often depressingly so—portrayal of kids.

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Don’t Leave Home Again

These guys’ self-titled record is still phenomenal to this day. They really should make another one.

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Quiet Moments, Big Impact

One of my favorite things about Dontnod’s Life Is Strange is the way in which moments are constantly allowed to live, to breathe and ultimately make an impact. 

Some sections or dialogue do fall somewhat flat, but it more than makes up for it with its big heart — it means well throughout and it does pretty much nail nostalgia for days past, the little details that make up our youth.

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Fascinating article if you’re a fan of Joe Swanberg and his remarkable career.

Similarly, Swanberg has drastically transformed his work. He began his career a mere decade ago, in his mid-twenties, with films in which he and his friends played characters based on himself and his friends (among them was Greta Gerwig, whose first major role was in his 2007 film “Hannah Takes the Stairs”). It’s hard to believe that it has been only a decade; it’s a decade of revolution, in which an entire generation of independent filmmakers working with, parallel to, and in the same vein as Swanberg has transformed the very relationship between actor and director, has shifted the notion of performance.

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Obsessive Friendships

Still from Breathe (Respire), Mélanie Laurent’s second time as a director.

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This New Yorker article by Richard Brody makes me want to watch the film even more; I’m a sucker for well-written (and dialogue heavy) screenplays.

Yet “Mistress America” is a masterwork of literary cinema in the other, qualitative sense: it isn’t merely about literature; it’s a work of brilliant writing, one of the most exquisite of recent screenplays. While watching the film, I wanted to transcribe the dialogue in real time for the pleasure of reading it afterward (and I hope that the screenplay, which Gerwig and Baumbach co-wrote, will be published as a book). The center of its writerly wonder is Brooke’s wild verbal whimsy.

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Sing Your Song. Dance Your Dance. Tell Your Tale.

Two days ago I started reading Frank McCourt’s famous memoir Angela’s Ashes and I’m enjoying it a lot so far, however morbid that may sound. 

Although I’m told there’s immense sadness to be found in the book (which there is so far), it’s also interesting just how much beauty there is, both in his writing, but also in the way things unfold or sentiments presented — tragedy and beauty, co-existing at the same time.

I’m very interested to see how I’ll feel by the end of the journey. It seems to get a lot more under your skin than, say, The Book Thief, which I recently finished. I liked the latter, but ultimately I felt a bit indifferent, maybe because I was constantly aware that what I was reading was fabricated. 

No, it can’t just be that, fiction has the power to move you also, which I’ve experienced dozens of times.

Maybe events and the people present in The Book Thief were just a bit too neat or timely, even the sadder parts. It wanted to manipulate me and didn’t disguise it very well. It may be a bit unfair to compare non-fiction and fiction, but in the end it’s all about whether or not a story, whether real or not, stays with you or has the ability to make you think for days on end — and I have a feeling this one might have a shot at doing just that.

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I'm Going Down With A Rosary

I really liked Foxing’s The Albatross, but this first track from their upcoming Dealer (pre-order here) is downright beautiful.

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A Bloody Halloween

Can’t wait for Corpse Party: Blood Drive to be released on PS Vita in October. As much as I loved the 2D environment, a change of scenery will be fun I think.

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Room: A Behind-The-Scenes Look

One of the films I’m most excited about is Room, starring Brie Larson and based on the novel by Emma Donognue, which I have yet to read although it sounds very interesting. 

Emma is keeping a development diary of sorts over at Emma’s Corner, which so far has seen two short, but fascinating videos posted: one about being new on a film set and one showing a bit more about the production side of things as well.

For some reason it makes me really happy to see an author taking an interest in how a film based on their work is shaping up as it happens. It reminds me a bit of John Green’s involvement with the two films based on his work that’s already out. 

I know she probably doesn’t interfere much (and shouldn’t as some things probably work a lot differently on film as opposed to in writing), but it’s still very nice to see.

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Watch Me Like A Dark Cloud

Great song and video with a positive message. I love the color grading used throughout the video, it gives it a very hazy, nostalgic look, which only adds depth to the story.