Zelig. Woody Allen. 1983.

OK, looking at Allen’s career:

Allen did a couple of less-funny movies after a series of smash hits ending in Annie Hall, and this is his first pure comedy movie after that excursion? Is that correct?

Anyway, it’s a pretty odd movie: It’s a mockumentary that mixes real documentary footage with new shots aping the style of the 30s about the subject matter.

I remember not particularly liking this when I saw it in the 80s, and I found it even less engrossing now. It’s just not… funny.

Inland Empire. David Lynch. 2006.

By Emacs! What a magnificent movie! I have no idea what it’s all about, but there wasn’t a nanosecond of that movie that I didn’t love watching what’s in front of me. I usually type these things during the boring parts of movies, or when getting more wine, but I was so completely riveted by this movie that I’m typing this afterwards.

My guess it that Lynch didn’t quite know what he was going to make when he started to film it, and it sort of developed from there. But everything makes perfect sense in a sort of associative way. I think that’s a major part of Lynch’s genius: His scenes make emotional sense even if you can’t quite make out how they make logical sense.

I probably have more problems making out what’s going on than most people, because my memory for, like, names, faces, words, things, concepts, and, er, names, is very very bad. And in this movie where people sort of appear … where it makes sense, I’m sitting here going “is that… that guy? No, that’s that guy! Who’s that guy then?” a lot of the time.

But Laura Dern, man. Without her, there wouldn’t have been a movie here at all. She totally carries it, and is completely marvellous throughout.

And I wonder about Lynch’s decision to use digital video for this thing. I mean, back in 2006, digital video basically sucked, and that leaves you with a grainy, bandy experience today. But it does give you something kinda special, because it allows Lynch to film using natural lights and drive the camera way into the faces of the actors.

For good and bad, but mostly good.

And I just absolutely adore the end title sequence: After a pretty harrowing three hours, we get an absolutely, totally joyful ending to it all. It’s Lynch taking care of us all.

And Agnes B., of course.

I guess this might well be Lynch’s final movie, but it’s a good way to go out.

(And then we got the wonderful Twin Peaks coda.)

Prospect. Christopher Caldwell. 2018.

This is a grungy sci-fi movie. It kinda uses its (presumably) very low budget to its advantage: It’s basically about Lo-Tech Gold Miners… In… Spaaaace. Everything looks cheap and dirty, but accidentally on purpose.

But it also means that most of the movie is some morons walking around in a forest with some swirly pollen CGI-layered on top. Since the characters aren’t very compelling it’s a bit tedious.

That is doesn’t really make that much sense either doesn’t help.