Welcome to the Weekly Movie Thread, where we talk about film. What have you seen, new or old? Come in and talk about it!
Yesterday, director David Lynch celebrated his 74th birthday. Which means we all celebrated it the David Lynch way… by watching a Netflix short film called What Did Jack Do?, where he talks to a monkey and does a weird extended “Why did the chicken cross the road” joke — complete with a musical number.
Film hs been said got be the art form that is most similar to dreams. If that’s the case, a Lynch film is like experiencing a nightmare. It could be, at this moment, slightly comedic. Like, say, a singing monkey. Or, I don’t know, some goodie-two-shoes who thinks he can crack a big case by posing as a bug exterminator. But there’s always something unsettling about them. That, at any moment, any semblance of reality is going to fall apart and fall apart hard.
Maybe it’s his odd anachronistic ticks, which seem vaguely familiar but always just a little out of reach from your memory.
Or maybe it’s that unsettling sound design, which lets uncomfortable moments of silence (with a faint rumbling here and there) escalate the suspense.
Or maybe it’s that brief cut to horrible imagery that keeps you on your toes.
Whatever it is, I’m usually far more uneasy while watching a David Lynch film than when I’m watching most horror movies. Like, a character only has to speak after a long moment of silence and suddenly I’m jumping. They’re movies where you always want to look away… but you can’t because everything is so beautifully filmed.
You want to keep watching even if you don’t understand it.
Also he made Dune and The Elephant Man.
No kidding, when I was in college during freshman orientation, we were asked to name our favorite movies. Most everyone had named something like Star Wars. Indiana Jones, maybe. I remember specially naming The Elephant Man. I may have been a poser trying to seem avant garde, though.
Today’s prompt: What is your favorite David Lynch film?
Also…. Don’t forget to list your TOP 10 FILMS OF THE DECADE (2010-2019) at the Avocado Sight & Sound!
And also the Snubbies!
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