Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives [2010]
1. “Ghosts are not attached to places but to people, the living.”
2. Rows of lighted screens illuminate the field.
3. To shake off the hypnotism of the television, they go to dinner. In an alternate reality they’re still there watching television.
My book reading, which also features David Kodeski, is only two days away! If you love movies and/or libraries and/or live in Chicago, I hope to see you there. I won’t be wearing pancake makeup next week, but here’s what I look like when I do.
2010: The Year We Make Contact [1984]
1. The Russian word for chicken (koo-reet-sa).
2. “Thank you for telling me the truth.”
“You deserve it.”
3. On a new planet, a new monolith.
This Is the End [2013]
1. “I tried to save Aziz!”
2. Cuddling Scarface-style.
3. The Exorcism of Jonah Hill.
Not quite up to the brilliance of Pineapple Express, but still a wildly creative concoction. And surprisingly scary! It’s so dense with jokes I think I missed the majority of them. Begging for repeat viewing.
The Man Who Would Be King [1975]
1. He uses the floor of the traincar as his watermelon spittoon.
2. “Kiss my royal arse.”
“Not royal. Holy.”
3. Their laughter literally saves them.
Before Midnight [2013]
1. “Everyone is dragged through their parents’ lives.”
2. She does her Marilyn Monroe impression.
3. Her untouched cup of tea. An oily sheen on the glasses of wine. Rumpled bedclothes.
Missing [1982]
1. “Does the light bother you?”
“No. Not at all.” She yanks another pillow over her head.
2. She awakens during the night. A white horse is galloping down the street, pursued by a jeep full of soldiers. They shoot at it with rifles and machine guns. She watches for a moment and then slips back into sleep.
3. He looks up. There are bodies piled on top of the skylight.
Me on Chicagoist
