Film Diaries: August 2019

Film Diaries: August 2019

It’s been an eclectic month in movie consumption.

Hedgehog in the Fog

Directed by Yuri Norstein, Written by Sergei Kozlov

I cannot even express how much I love this short. I happened upon it because of a list of best animated movies and my mind was blown. Its peaceful but eerie, pretty existential, and the animation is some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. I could not recommend this more.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Written and directed by John Huston

Ah, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. This one will always have a special place in my heart. I’ve seen it a couple of times now and it continues to get better. Humphrey Bogart’s performance is one of his best…the music…the themes…it’s perfect. 

Do The Right Thing

Written and directed by Spike Lee

I can’t believe I hadn’t seen this until this week. One of my big thoughts is Ruth E. Carter KILLED IT on the costumes. You could write for hours on that aspect alone. It was also interesting to see Spike Lee as an actor, as the extent of his work that I have seen is “Blackkklansman.” Intense and funny all at once, this movie is undeniably powerful.

The Movies

CNN Miniseries

This series made my summer. Favorite episode? The Golden Age of Hollywood. The talking heads in it are amazing – everyone from Tom Hanks to Paul Thomas Anderson to Sharon Stone. It brought me a long list of movies I need to watch.

Saving Brinton

Directed by Tommy Haines and Andrew Sherburne

Watching this was like a warm hug from a grandparent. “Saving Brinton” is the surprisingly funny tale of one man’s quest to save old film he found in his house. It made me laugh and cry and honestly was one of the most unique documentaries I have seen in a while.