The Perry Bible Fellowship - Nicholas Gurewitch (2007)

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie - John Cassavetes (1976)

Ben Gazzara's black-hole of entertainment must go on. He bleeds across the stage to ensure that Mr. Sophistication's talent-void will be played out in front of a boozed-up, breast-obsessed audience. Ostensibly a noir, but really an elaborate allegory for Cassavetes own creative struggles. In this world, money is always the final factor, no matter what your creative vision. Timothy Carey's mug silhouetted in red spotlights gives you the Adams Family creeps. The rushing, roaring sounds of the city abate only when the bookie is murdered in his own hot tub.

Fibber McGee and Molly - My Old Mandolin (3-21-1944)

One of the best integrated floor wax commercials I have ever heard.

A Wedding - Robert Altman (1978)

This was funnier than I thought it would be. Much of M*A*S*H is played out here across class and gender lines.

Out of the Gutter: Contemporary Graphic Novels by Women - Hillary Chute

Trauma begets repetition. Graphic novels abet the same.

Cartooning: Philosophy & Practice - Ivan Brunetti (2007)

This is an embellished syllabus for Brunetti's course on cartooning. Refreshing to see a book like this illustrated all in a single style. Instructive even if you aren't an artist and aren't doing the exercises.

Insert with Comic Art #9

No Child... - Nilaja Sun (2007)

At the American Repertory Theater

Worn Tuff Elbow - Marc Bell (2004)

Crumb-style figures, Mad Magazine-style chicken fat, and a Bone-style mix of fantasy/non-fantasy. Submerged malice towards the Starbucks crowd. 200% moisturization.

Ricky Jay Plays Poker - Ricky Jay (2006)

Watch closely....

Blade Runner: The Final Cut - Ridley Scott (2007/1982)

Worth seeing on the big screen at the Coolidge. All of the minutiae of Doug Trumbull's production design and special effects pop in your face. Besides a significant "father"/"fucker" swap and a couple of goalie masked strippers, there aren't too many revelations in this newest cut.

Screened at Coolidge Corner Theater

I'm Not There - Todd Haynes (2007)

Not really a bio-pic. More of a thought-pic. The actors put on faces that explore different facets of the man: activist, star, poet, edge-surfer, Americana-ist. Using a variety of real and surreal names is a fantastic way to 'lift and separate'. What's up with all of the explicit 8 1/2 references? I'm not catching the parallels between an incredibly prolific song writer and a movie director who can't get his creative juices up.

Screened at the Kendall Square

Babes on Broadway - Busby Berkeley (1941)

Mickey Rooney's shivering enthusiasm and Judy Garland's quivering talent put on a show through Berkeley's kaleidoscopic lens. Rooney character is not a pleasant person, but he learns his lesson more than once over the course of the film.

Hide your eyes from Mr. Bones and Mr. Tambo in the finale.

The Great Gildersleeve - Gordon Douglas (1942)

One of the great voices, Harold Peary, stars as his radio character, Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, one of the great names. Unlike many other based-on-radio-show movies, this one makes extensive use of aural humor.

The Crime Doctor's Warning - William Castle (1945)

1945 seems kind of early for the Freudian fad and the beatnik scare, but Warner Baxter is here playing the psychiatrist skulking through an artists' colony of proto-beats. You can tell the bad guy because he is the only one exploring the non-representational with his medium. A suitably creepy ending in wax.

The Lawless Breed - Raoul Walsh (1953)

Rock Hudson learns his lesson. Lee van Cleef dies early. John McIntire gets to play both of Hudson's elder relatives, one on either side of the cloth.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead - Sidney Lumet (2007)

A crushed rear bumper is the half-smile of the bad seed, following his own progeny's trail of slime. Lumet manipulates time on the macro scale, but also uses some 70s style micro-scale editing blips.

Screened at the Somerville Theater

Head - Bob Rafelson (1968)

The Monkees get inside your head with this meandering dog's breakfast of skits, light shows, psychedelics, and (a few) songs. The Monkees are at their most meta, referring repeatedly to their manufactured image and personas. ("The money's in. We're made of tin. We're here to give you more!") Repeatedly the director, the writer (Jack Nicholson, yes that one), the camera people and various back lot sets appear on screen giving us a Brechtian shot in the eye.

Armored Car Robbery - Richard Fleischer (1950)

Huge sedans roar through the piers and burlesque theaters of L.A. Men with pitted faces double cross their double crossers. Sweat pours from faces and blood from bellies. Justice is served.

The Rosenbach Company - Ben Katchor & Mark Mulcahy (2007)

A pop opera based on the lives of America's preeminent rare book dealers in the first half of the 20th century. Music by Mulcahy (Polaris) and artwork by Katchor (Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer).

The Rosenbach Company - Ben Katchor & Mark Mulcahy (2007)

A pop opera based on the lives of America's preeminent rare book dealers in the first half of the 20th century. Music by Mulcahy (Polaris) and artwork by Katchor (Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer).

Night and the City - Jules Dassin (1950)

with commentary by Glenn Erickson

Sherlock Holmes - Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce (4-30-1945)

The Black Museum - Orson Welles - The Jack Handle (1952)

A story of a murdering American service man stationed in London. Based on a true story.

Murder by Contract - Irving Lerner (1958)

Way low budget hit-man drama plays like Mad Magazine. Two wise cracking handlers watch the hired gun come up with smart ideas for killing like attaching high voltage wires to a television antenna. Who knew women cost twice as much to kill? ("You never know which way they're going to move...")

No Country for Old Men - Ethan & Joel Coen (2007)

Screened at the Kendall Sq

The Lineup - Don Siegel (1958)

A docu-noir in the mold of T-Men and Dragnet filled with a cornucopia of truly vicious thugs working on their English grammar while pushing wheel chairs off balconies, using silencers in steam baths and taking 10 year olds hostage. The hitman's 'handler' obsessively collects 'famous last words' for his upcoming novel. Plenty of police procedural and crime labs. Opens with a frighteningly realistic car wreck and ends on an curving elevated highway to nowhere (shades of Speed).

Quote of the movie: "Women have no place in society, they don't appreciate the need for violence"

The ACME Novelty Library #16 - Chris Ware (2005)

Don Martin's Droll Book - Don Martin (1992)

The Lower Depths - Akira Kurosawa (1958)

The Third Man - Carol Reed (1949)

Barefoot Gen Vol. 1 - Keiji Nakazawa (1976)

The Black Diamond Detective Agency - Eddie Campbell (2007)

Sicko - Michael Moore (2007)

Screened at MIT

Donnie Darko - adapted and directed by Marcus Stern (2007)

Duffy's Tavern - A Testimonial Dinner for Archie with Rudy Vallee (11-5-47)

You Bet Your Life - Groucho Marx (1-24-54)

Dungeon Parade 2: Day of the Toads - Joann Sfar, Lewis Trondheim, Manu Larcenet (2007)

The Settlers of Catan - Klaus Teuber (1995)

Darcy won (10pts). I came in last (5pts). Also playing were Pat, Tracy and Millicent.

The Squirrel Mother - Megan Kelso (2007)

Wordplay - Patrick Creadon (2006)