In praise of actually "filmic" films

Hey everyone! It's summertime, which for me means lots of reading, gaming, and...movies! My 14 yo daughter (previously mentioned) has fully caught the theater bug, too. She can recite the AMC spiel by heart ("Light is our hero!") as well as Nicole's monologue.

Watching so many movies has given me hope—an antidote to doomerism (see previous). Specifically, it's been inspiring to see a growing desire (especially among younger folks, like said daughter) for authenticity. Not the bullshit social media kind, but the real kind. Let me explain.

The truly terrifying Obsession and spectacularly surreal Backrooms are both being heralded as transgressive indie moneymakers, which, yeah, but for me the keyword here is indie: a term that hasn't been uttered much since the '90's Miramax golden era. I feel like young people are finally once again starting to say, "Hollywood sucks, tech bro streamers suck, let's make our own shit, our way." Yay! Get your OCs out there! Turn that head canon into reality!

Meanwhile, Disclosure Day was a throwback-y film filled with well-intentioned ideas that, while cluttered and disjointed, did not diminish my love for Spielberg one bit. It still had a point of view, swung for the fences, and most importantly, felt immersive like a good filmic film should. Contrast with Send Help, which despite its super-fun concept was so overly bokeh-ed and beigified it felt like it'd been shot in a cheap soundstage to look good on phones, which it probably was. (This feeling of nowhere-ness is the hallmark of the modern, streamer-first aesthetic—its own kind of cultural backrooms void.)

By far the most immersive, filmic movie I saw was La Bamba (which I'd never seen before!). Along with the incredible performances, I could practically smell the cooking in the cramped kitchen and taste the warm dust of Pacoima, California. That's because this film was shot with normal, narrow apertures (you know, like our eyeballs), allowing me to scan every little detail in clothes and environments (you know, like we do in real life) to detect clues about personality, motivation, and foreshadowing. It felt incredibly rich, not bland-ed or bokeh-ed at all. I hear Jaws (which I've also never seen before!) is just as immersive; gonna watch that next.

Aside from authenticity, indie chutzpah, and immersive-ness, I gotta say Song Sung Blue gave me an especial shot of humanity. It went far beyond being "that Neil Diamond movie" to focus on ordinary people struggling to keep hope alive in abruptly dire circumstances (very Spielbergian, btw), in an unsentimental way that somehow was also...sentimental? But not bad? Anyway it was a refreshing change from all this billionaire worship lately. (Billionaires are famous for having lost their humanity; like, who cares?)

Song Sung Blue also celebrates creativity on a small scale—another refreshing change. So often, stories present creativity merely as a means to becoming a rock star, celebrity, or wealthy entrepreneur. But that's not true at all. Creativity is an end unto itself. It is the thing that makes us human, even if it's "just" playing cover songs at county fairs. Interesting detail: in the film, creativity is represented via a "blue eye" special effect, an admirable (if a little odd) touch.

Lastly, watch movies on Blu-Ray whenever you can. Omg the quality. No banding, better audio, no wifi required!

That's it for now. Chat soon!

(Btw subscribers, keep an eye out for an instagram channel invite soon.)

👋 dave