From One Second to the Next

Herzog made a strange little documentary about the dangers of texting while driving. It’s available here:

http://www.wernerherzog.com/index.php?id=128

Grizzly Man (Completist Series – Werner Herzog)

Banjo is missing!

This is the second film in our completist run of Herzog films. We talked about it a lot last night after we viewed it so I’m not going to recreate that conversation here. If you haven’t caught up with this film, you probably should.

Next up we are going to watch Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht. After that we will hopefully be viewing some additional Herzog films during the Four from Herzog series that is running this fall in Madison, WI.

Gut reaction: 4/5

The Act of Killing

I’m a gangster; a free man.

I’ve been anticipating this film since I first heard that Werner Herzog and Errol Morris were executive producers on it. It opened at Madison’s Sundance 608 this weekend and I was able to catch the late Saturday show after my daughter was asleep. At this point, I can’t really write much about it. There are fine summaries all over the internet that explain the context and the controversies involved.

I think The Act of Killing is a great film and one that should be watched by many more people than will be able to see it in theaters. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have an MPAA rating and it is only showing in 29 theaters in the United States. 

Gut reaction: 4.5/5

 

Woyzeck (Completist Series – Werner Herzog)

I’d rather have a knife in my body than your hand on me.

This is the first film that we watched in our Werner Herzog completist series. It’s really awesome. It’s dark, funny and weird. That a great combination. I wasn’t sure what to expect with early Herzog, but this was every bit as good as the films of his I have seen. I’m excited to continue down this path.

Here is a trailer for the film.

Next we are going to watch Grizzly Man. I’ve seen it before, but I really like it.

Gut reaction: 4/5

Into the Abyss

Hold still and watch the birds. Once you get up into your life like that, and once you feel good about your life, you do start watching what the birds do.

I expected something very different. I was a little disappointed.  That’s the problem with expectations.