I seem to eat up this guy's armchair, critical film essays. This one got me thinking about David Lynch more than I have in a few years:



So what do you think of fragmented narratives, dream logic, monstrous babies, meandering television mysteries, unexplained main character swaps and oxygen huffing Dennis Hoppers (oh and Elvis kicking Nicholas Cages)?

Haven't checked his recent stuff, but enjoyed most of his work, even if sometimes don't know what I am watching really.

Like Lost Highway; after that wtf jail scene it was too late to not like the movie. It was fascinating.

Nc

Even his worst movies have at least one incredible scene, and they usually have more than that. (It’s also true that his best movies usually have a clunker or two.) Emphatic not crap.

Mulholland Dr. is probably my favorite, with Twin Peaks (all of it), Blue Velvet, Eraserhead, and The Straight Story nipping at its heels.

Most underrated is The Straight Story, especially if you have kids. It’s also a good one to reference when it comes to Lynch’s “emotional” scenes, as several scenes in this movie kick you right in the gut. It helps you realize that several of his “emotional” scenes are detached and ironic, such as the aftermath of the auto accident in Twin Peaks: The Return, when the bystanders look like they came from a Hallmark movie.

I have nostalgia for them as an early exposure to weirdness in cinema, and still consider his Dune, Blue Velvet, Eraserhead and Elephant Man to be good films. But he’s steadily become a crap filmmaker despite those waffles. With the exception of The Straight Story, which is unremarkable, everything he does and has done for decades is unfinished and has a “fuck it, it’s good enough” vibe, going back to Fire Walk With Me and Wild At Heart.

Not crap. I don't love all of his films but most are good to great.

He does a weather report every Friday (and on some other days) on KCRW in LA.

https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/davi ... er-19-2021

Probably a cliché for him to be my favorite director, but he is. Can watch his movies again and again. Hoping that the series he's apparently working on ends up getting made. Easy NC

Seems like a good place for this:

NC for Eraserhead, Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks (waffles for the back half of the 2nd season), Fire Walk With Me, The Straight Story, Mullholland Dr, and TP: The Return. Love all of those to varying degrees.

I have not really liked Dune (though their are some amazing visuals), Wild at Heart, Lost Highway, or Inland Empire, but each of those has at least some scene or performance that is great. It took a long time for FWWM to work for me, so wouldn't be surprised if I was wowed by one of those next time I gave them a rewatch (and I've only seen Lost Highway and Inland Empire once each, respectively).

If TP: The Return is the last thing we get from him, that's a pretty great capper to a super weird career.

biscuitdough wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 9:17 am But he’s steadily become a crap filmmaker despite those waffles. With the exception of The Straight Story, which is unremarkable, everything he does and has done for decades is unfinished and has a “fuck it, it’s good enough”

I suppose that's a challenge to making "It means what you want", dream logic films. The traditional tropes of story arc, character development, pacing and resolution aren't always there to drive decision making. I imagine it's more like making an abstract painting where the already challenging reach for "done" is made even more abstract and intuition-driven.

I really like most of his work. He was my favorite for quite a while. Inland Empire wasn't great, but he really killed it on The Return. I unabashedly love his Dune.