Weekly Cinemeh

Welcome back to weekly cinemeh, this week's theme was a heavy one: David Lynch Films. Unfortunately, time constraints and a poorly timed sickness of Eshi and Eshi's SO made this only a two movie week, though we did see a third movie, but it was not a David Lynch film. David Lynch is one of my favorite directors/writers. His use of sound and visuals is unique and powerful and his tendency to make odd people the focus of his work is something I thoroughly enjoy.

1: Mulholland Drive
This is one of my favorite films. I don't want to talk too much about it because it is a great experience and it is good to go in with no knowledge about it beforehand. That being said if you haven't seen it yet, go watch it and then continue reading, I will wait. Its a fantastic mystery and amazes me every time I watch it. The acting is top notch and the visuals/script/soundtrack demand to be picked apart and analyzed, not out of some grotesque curiosity, but because it is a treat to do so. This was the first movie that I ever saw that elicited a need to understand it on a deeper level, and its fucking amazing. I know this gets said a lot about films, and it is certainly true about most films, but every time I see the movie I understand something different about it.

Eshi: David Lynch takes great joy in fucking with people, and this film does all of that. After finishing it all I could think of was how everything fit together and how I could be worthy of this story. I'm not entirely sure if its better to watch sober or not, but I'm sure there is something to be gained either way. 

2: Blue Velvet
Much like Twin Peaks, this is a mystery that explores the darkness that lies beneath picturesque small towns. Also like Twin Peaks, Kyle MacLachlan plays a person at the center of a mystery, but instead of being an FBI agent, he is the son of a hardware store owner who comes home from college to help his father recuperate from a stroke. This movie is a wonderfully tense mystery that also remains darkly comic throughout. Dennis Hopper's character is hilarious and terrifying all at once, and I will never be able to look at him in the same way again. Its a good movie that shows that David Lynch is a master of creating atmosphere.

Eshi: I fucking loved Blue Velvet. There is a full length Heineken ad like, half an hour in that I completely forgave just because of how it was set up. Easily half of the cast is straight up bear-fucking banaynays in this movie and it handles it extraordinarily well. I will advise watching this with the brain bleach close at hand though, if for no better reason than you're going to need something to get that fucking song out of your head.

3: Suicide Kings
This was initially a palate cleanser, but ended up being the last movie we saw this week. It is a movie about a bunch of rich kids who kidnap a mobster to force him to use his connections to help one of the groups kidnapped sister. Christopher Walken is amazing (and really, when is he not) as a retired/semi-retired mobster who ends up piecing together the mystery surrounding the kidnapping. Its a fun movie, with a good sense of humor that displays a good example of why you shouldn't fuck with some people.

Eshi: I feel bad that this movie both had nothing to do with David Lynch, and was our last movie. That said, it was a delight. Fucking Christopher Walken is my hero.

Honorable Mentions:
Twin Peaks:
I mentioned this with Blue velvet, but it deserves its own entry. Twin Peaks is a great television show that deserves to be watched. The fact that they are restarting it soon means that more and more people will be going back to watch the original series again, and that is a good thing. The only disappointing thing about the new Twin Peaks is that David Lynch isn't tied to it anymore thanks to a budget dispute. Hopefully Showtime gets him to sign back on. Its a good series full of fun characters and some fucked up mystery. Anyone who hasn't seen it should give it a try, and for people who have, give it another watch, its worth it.

Eshi: Fuck yeah Twin Peaks.