BOOK
6/2

Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity (Audiobook) by David Lynch - 8.0
Lynch reads his book on meditation and how it ties into his filmmaking process. He doesn’t really get into details on how to meditate or anything, just talks about it’s advantages and how it has helped him personally. But he mostly talks about making movies. He goes through every stage, from coming up with ideas, to making everything coalesce, and basically covers pre- to post- production, telling stories about each of his films along the way. He’s a great speaker, who is very informative, occasionally funny, and unbelievably succinct. He talks a little about the meanings behind his films (apparently Lost Highway is all about O.J. Simpson), and how people interpret them, and one of my favorite parts is when (while talking about Mulholland Drive), he says, “The box and the key. I have no clue what these things mean.” So, you know, don’t try too hard trying to figure out his movies, because sometimes not even he knows the answers. If you’re a fan of David Lynch, but not interested in the meditation stuff (I wasn’t really), I definitely still recommend the book, or the audiobook if you’re also a fan of his voice.
TV
6/11
The Office Season 2 (Greg Daniels, Roku) - 9.5
This show is really amazing and hilarious. I cannot get enough of Michael Scott’s crush on the temp (B.J. Novak).
6/19
RuPaul's Drag Race Season 2 (Fenton Bailey/Randy Barbato/Tom Campbell/RuPaul Charles, VH1) - 7.5
Better than the first season, but still not as amazing as it potentially could be. I don't expect all drag queens to be as amazing as this, but I do expect them to not be boring. And I just have zero interest in "serious" queens. At least there were opportunities this time for some of them to show their comedic side. Also, I thought it was weird that almost all of them had like a counterpart from the first season. Jujubee = Ongina, Raven = Shannel (I literally cannot tell the difference between these two), Mystique = Pork Chop, Pandora Boxx = Tammie Brown. You can see pictures of the Season 1 people at the bottom of this page and the Season 2 people at the bottom of this page. Oh, and also, I don't like RuPaul all that much. It's hard to say if I would ordinarily think he lacks charm or fabulous-ness, or if it's all due to horror stories I've heard about him being a total cunt from people who had to work with him. If there's another season, I'm sure I'll keep watching. But seriously, cast someone from fucking San Francisco already.
6/22
The Office Season 3 (Greg Daniels, Roku) - 9.0
This is a great show!
6/28
The Office Season 4 (Greg Daniels, Roku) - 9.5
I don’t know which I love more. Michael’s crush on Ryan, or his anti-crush on Toby. Neither one ever gets old. The episode with the dinner party at Michael’s and Jan’s house was incredible.
6/29
Party Down Season 2 (Rob Thomas/John Enbom/Dan Etheridge/Paul Rudd, Roku) - 9.0
The final season of Party Down. So sad. I gotta say, this season was less funny than the first. There was a lot of depressing, serious stuff about the crew failing to live out their dreams. I did like that, though. The cast continued to be amazing, and I'm love with all of them. Megan Mullally's character was fucking adorable.
Rewatches (links go to previous reviews)
6/5 - Troll 2 (1990, Claudio Fragasso, Projected DVD, Lumiere) - 10.0+
6/11 - Jennifer's Body (2009, Karyn Kusama, DLP, Castro) - 9.5
Stand-Up
6/12 - Louis C.K.: Chewed Up (2008, Louis C.K. & Shannon Hartman, Roku) - 8.0
6/18 - Richard Pryor: Here and Now (1983, Richard Pryor, Roku) - 8.0
Shorts
6/5 - Darkness/Light/Darkness (Rewatch, 1989, Jan Svankmajer, Youtube) - 8.5
Clay body parts construct themselves into a person in a small room.
6/5 - You Killed Me First (Rewatch, 1985, Richard Kern, DVD) - 9.0
An angsty punk girl (a brilliantly compelling actress named Lung Leg) is frustrated with her family, and eventually kills them.
6/5 - Stray Dogs (Rewatch, 1985, Richard Kern, DVD) - 8.5
Some guy follows an artist home, enters his house, and starts cutting off his own limbs.
6/5 - Woman at the Wheel (Rewatch, 1985, Richard Kern, DVD) - 7.0
A woman goes on dates with some assholes who never let her drive, so she kicks them out of the car, and at the end, she finally gets to drive and she crashes.
6/5 - Thrust In Me (Rewatch, 1985, Richard Kern & Nick Zedd, DVD) - 8.5
Nick Zedd in drag kills herself, and then Nick Zedd out of drag shows up at her house and sticks his dick in her mouth.
6/13 - Cooking with Gerry (1989, Reed Farrington, Youtube) - 9.0
An awkward Asian man tries to demonstrate how to cook turkey shrimp fried rice.
6/13 - Cooking with Gerry 2 (2010, Jay Cheel, Vimeo) - 9.0
20 years later, the same awkward Asian man tries to demonstrate how to make poutine. I don’t think either of these shorts would mean anything, or be funny, to anyone who doesn’t listen to the Film Junk podcast, but if you do, these are really great.
6/19 - Day & Night (2010, Teddy Newton, 35mm, Balboa) - 9.0
Preceded Toy Story 3. Two creatures, one made up of day and the other made up of night, meet each other, and are at first fearful of one another, but then learn to appreciate each other’s differences. Gets a little heavy-handed when a radio broadcast spells out the film’s message, but it’s still cute and extremely innovative visually.
Cartoons
I started writing down descriptions of the cartoons I'm watching (again, mostly on . They're not really reviews, just something to help me remember them better, but I thought I might as well include them.
Swing Shift Cinderella (1945, Tex Avery, Youtube) - 8.0
The Wolf from Little Red Riding Hood sleazes after Cinderella instead, and tries to get away from the Fairy Godmother, who is sleazing after him.
Dudley Do-Right: Saw Mill (1960, Youtube) - 8.5
Dudley Do-Right’s girlfriend or fiance or wife (I can’t remember) is kidnapped and going to be sawed in half, so she sends him a letter asking for help.
Disney: Susie the Little Blue Coupe (1952, Clyde Geronimi, Youtube) - 8.0
Weirdly sad story about a car being bought, used up, stolen, junked, etc.
Car of Tomorrow (1951, Tex Avery, Youtube) - 7.5
A bunch of gags about ridiculous traits that cars in the future will have.
Goofy: Motor Mania (Rewatch, 1950, Jack Kinney, Youtube) - 7.0
Goofy is a decent person who becomes a maniac once he’s put behind the wheel. I’m pretty sure this was shown when I went to traffic school.
Mickey Mouse: Traffic Troubles (1931, Burt Gillett, Youtube) - 7.0
Mickey drives a cab and lots of weird shit happens.
One Cab's Family (1952, Tex Avery, Youtube) - 9.0
A baby car is born in the “motor’nity” ward (I love it) of a hospital, and as it gets older, it wants to be a fast hot rod rather than a taxi.
Donald Duck: Donald's Tire Trouble (1943, Dick Lundy, Youtube) - 7.0
Donald changes a flat tire.
Disney: In the Bag (1956, Jack Hannah, Youtube) - 8.5
A park ranger tries to trick all the bears into picking up all the trash around the park, and one bear in particular gets stuck with most of the work.
The Animal Movie (1966, Grant Munro & Rob Tunis, Youtube) - 8.0
A little boy interacts with various animals. Very cute and sweet.
Van Beuren's Tom & Jerry: Pencil Mania (1932, John Foster & Vernon Stallings, Youtube) - 7.5
Two guys (Tom & Jerry) draw shit that comes to life. Some great gags.
Sylvester and Elmer Fudd: Back Alley Oproar (1948, Friz Freleng, Youtube) - 7.0
Elmer Fudd is trying to get some sleep, but Sylvester is intent on tormenting him and it ends with Elmer Fudd killing himself (seriously).
Flip the Frog: Ragtime Romeo (1931, Ub Iwerks, Youtube) - 7.5
Flip impresses his girlfriend by playing piano outside her apartment complex.
Pluto: Cat Nap Pluto (1948, Charles A. Nichols, Youtube) - 8.0
Pluto is trying to take a nap, but Figaro the kitten wants to play with him.
You Can't Shoe a Horsefly (1940, Dave Fleischer, Youtube) - 7.0
A young horse is trying to sleep, but is tormented by a horsefly.
Yogi Bear: Slumber Party Smarty (1958, Hanna/Barbera, Youtube) - 7.5
Yogi is trying to hibernate, but is disturbed by a baby duck.
Puss in Boots (1934, Ub Iwerks, Youtube) - 8.0
After a guy helps save some kittens, the cat the kittens belong to helps him save the princess from an ogre, so he can become a prince.
Tom & Jerry: The Zoot Cat (1944, Hanna/Barbera, Youtube) - 8.0
Tom makes himself a zoot suit to impress a lady cat.
Mickey Mouse: Mickey's Rival (1936, Wilfred Jackson, Youtube) - 8.0
Mickey meets Minnie’s ex, Mortimer, who is a dickish prankster, but charms Minnie. When a bull comes after them, though, Mickey is the one who sticks around to defend her.
Oswald Rabbit: Beach Combers (1936, Walter Lantz, Youtube) - 7.5
Some ducklings try to steal a picnic basket from a rabbit and it’s dog, and the ducklings’ black brother outsmarts everyone.
Crazy Mixed-Up Pup (1954, Tex Avery, Youtube) - 8.5
A man and his dog get run over, and the ambulance guy mixes up their plasma, so they start acting like each other.
Little Audrey: Butterscotch and Soda (1948, Seymour Kneitel, Youtube) - 8.5
Little Audrey goes into candy withdrawal and starts hallucinating.
Goofy: Fathers Are People (1951, Jack Kinney, Youtube) - 5.0
Goofy has a kid and takes cares of it.
Summertime (1935, Ub Iwerks, Youtube) - 5.0
Summer starts happening.
Daffy Duck: Muscle Tussle (1953, Robert McKimson, Youtube) - 7.0
A guy with big muscles moves in on Daffy’s girlfriend, so he takes a formula that he thinks has made him strong.
June Top 10
1. The Karate Kid
2. Best Worst Movie
3. Innocent Blood
4. Mother
5. Toy Story 3
6. Bullies
7. Trash Humpers
8. A League of Their Own
9. The Karate Kid Part II
10. Splice
June Top 10 Shorts & Cartoons
1. Day & Night
2. Cooking with Gerry
3. Cooking with Gerry 2
4. One Cab's Family
5. Crazy Mixed-Up Pup
6. In the Bag
7. Saw Mill
8. Butterscotch and Soda
9. Swing Shift Cinderella
10. The Animal Movie
Recent Comments