Category Archives: cinema

more movies

Les Bas-fonds (The Lower Depths) (1936). Not much coherent plot, but some engaging characters. The director Jean Renoir said he made a point of moving the story to the banks of the Marne, but didn’t say why he kept the … Continue reading

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more meaningless zeros

A quirk in DVD subtitles: a phrase like “ten minutes before seven” is consistently rendered as 10 minutes before 7:00. Why not go all the way and make it 6:50? I am amused to find that 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 … Continue reading

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a perverse incentive in customer service

Awhile ago I worked out that, if you want to watch a different disc every evening using Netflix, your quota (the number of discs you have out at a time) needs to be at least five: three for the mail … Continue reading

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I watch stuff

I’ve been relatively quiet here since I stopped listing my Netflix rentals. I could do that some more.

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an international art

In the opening scene of Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation, a Hungarian Jew plays a Japanese impersonating a German, speaking English in Arabia.

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what’s in a name?

“You enjoyed Lost in Austen, didn’t you?” “Sure. I also enjoy Austen in Lost.”

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deathist movie

In Renaissance (2006) there’s a Big Sinister Corporation whose advertising tagline is “Health, Beauty, Longevity.” Oo, scary! I don’t think we’re ever told what Avalon sells (vitamins? cosmetics? medical treatment?) but it doesn’t matter. The noirish visual style suffices to … Continue reading

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