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mygreatadventurehasbegun · 1 year

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My Personal Ranking of James Stewart’s movies.

A while ago, I did three separate posts ranking Cary Grant’s, Audrey Hepburn’s and Claude Rains’ films (at least of the ones I’ve seen), and I realized that there are a couple more actors that I wanted to do this for...actors whose filmography I’ve tried to work through, and to see as much of their work as I can. With 102 credits, it will be a long time before I see all of James Stewart’s work, but here’s my personal ranking of the films I have seen.

And this is based mostly on my enjoyment of the movie, not just his performance...though his performance may have been the deciding factor if I needed a “tie breaker”.

14. Ziegfeld Girl

Now, I actually saw this movie for the first time last night and I was pretty excited to see it. A young James Stewart in a movie with Judy Garland and there are Busby Berkley musical numbers? This is going to be great! Ummm...I have to admit that sadly, I was pretty bored. This movie is 2 hours and 12 minutes, and they could have easily cut 10 minutes and not lose anything. And Stewart is only in 25 minutes of the movie. His scenes are great, and it’s always nice to see Judy Garland in any movie, but the three separate storylines just didn’t flow well together and I found myself checking the time a lot. The most interesting thing about it for me was that it was Stewart’s last film before WWII, and that some people think you can see Gene Kelly in the background of one of the numbers.

13. The Greatest Show on Earth

Speaking of overly long movies...this one is a two hour movie stretched out to three...but it’s Cecil B. DeMille, and I don’t think he ever made a movie that wasn’t a long epic with a cast of thousands. And while a lot of the circus stuff did not age well, a lot of it is still very impressive to watch. Gloria Grahame learned how to work with elephants, Cornel Wilde and Betty Hutton did their own trapeze work, and the train crash sequence still holds up. And James Stewart plays a clown! You never see him out of his clown makeup, as his character is hiding from the law...and it’s kinda fun to see him act silly and do some more gag-type humor. But this is another case where his scenes are some of the more interesting ones, but he’s just not in the movie all that much.

12. You Can’t Take It With You

This one is ranked a bit lower because I’ve only seen it once! So, if I ever get around to watching it again, it may move up the ranks. But it’s a fun, light comedy that is perfect for someone like Frank Capra. And he’s really adorable in this movie.

11. Harvey

Another case of me only seeing this movie once years ago...but this is also a really sweet movie, and Stewart is great as the “pleasant” Elwood P. Dowd, who is best friends with a giant rabbit.

10. Rope

This is a very interesting movie. The first time I saw it, I didn’t really like it...but after a few more viewings, I’ve grown to appreciate it more. It’s not my favorite Hitchcock movie, and not his best collab with Hitchcock, but it is technically impressive with some decent tension.

9. Anatomy of a Murder

Now, I’ve only seen this movie once...even though I do own the Criterion Blu-Ray...it’s just a very long movie and it’s tough to find the time. But it’s a very engaging legal drama and Stewart is excellent as the defense lawyer of a man on trial for murdering his wife’s rapist.

8. The Man Who Knew Too Much

So, this is a remake that Hitchcock made of one of his mown movies...and Hitchcock preferred this one, saying that “the first was made by an amateur, and the remake by a professional.” I personally like them both about the same, liking some things more in the original, some in the remake...but James Stewart was the perfect choice to play the father of a kidnapped child. He and Doris Day have very nice, easy chemistry...they do feel like a married couple who are just so comfortable together.

7. Rose Marie

So, this isn’t really a James Stewart movie...not in the way you would think. This is a Nelson Eddy/Jeanette MacDonald movie, where James Stewart appears in one scene. This was his second movie, and he is about 21 years old and just so cute...He plays Jeanette Macdonald’s younger brother who is on the run after murdering a Mountie. I remember watching this movie when I was like, eight...so this was probably my introduction to James Stewart, before I even knew who he was.

6. Shenendoah

I just re-watched this movie about a week ago and James Stewart is so fucking good in it...if you want to see his definitive curmudgeon performance while he also makes you cry, you don’t need to look any farther than Shenandoah. Stewart plays a Virginian farmer during the Civil War who has basically not chosen a side. He doesn’t support the Confederates because he’s opposed to slavery, but he also doesn’t support the North because he’s opposed to war. He just wants to sit out the war and tend his farm with his seven children...but then his youngest son gets taken prisoner by the Yankees, and he goes off to try and find him. It’s a deeply layered performance and I’m honestly surprised that he wasn’t nominated for it...it’s also the movie where you get to hear him say the phrase: “a spare tit”, which is weirdly hilarious to me.

5. It’s a Wonderful Life

Now we’ve made it to his most well-known movie...what can I saw about It’s a Wonderful Life that hasn’t already been said? It’s so iconic and such a huge part of so many people’s Christmas traditions...and his performance is so incredible... George Bailey goes on such a massive emotional journey, and he is captivating to watch.

4. Vertigo

This movie is so mesmerizing...it’s definitely one of Hitchcock’s masterpieces. Stewart’s character Scotty is actually fairly unlikable for the majority of the movie (there are so many moments that just make me go “ick”), but his performance is so layered, you can’t keep your eyes off of him. And that scene between him and Kim Novak in the tower is one of my favorite scenes in any Hitchcock movie. It is so intense, and there have been plenty of times that I haven’t rewound the movie to re-watch the scene.

3. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

If I had to pick James Stewart’s best performance, I would have to pick this movie. It is an absolutely incredible, and it is too bad that he didn’t win his Oscar for this movie (though many people think that his win the next year was a consolation prize). Jefferson Smith is a patriot...wide-eyed, innocent and always believes the best in people...but he slowly gets ground down as he learns that Washington DC is not a great as he thought. People are dishonest and untrustworthy...he learns it the hard way, but he still has some fight left in him, and he’s the kind of person that just has to try. And his scenes in the Senate between him and Claude Rains are outstanding.

2. Rear Window

This was the first Hitchcock movie I ever saw, and what a great way to start! It is such an interesting murder mystery, and for so long, you’re not even 100% sure that it is a murder mystery...but Jeff is so invested in finding out the truth that you have to stick with him until we know for sure. And the fact that it takes place all in one room and you never get bored is a testament to how engaging the story and James Stewart as Jeff are.

1. The Philadelphia Story

I love this movie so much. It interesting, when I made my Cary Grant countdown, this movie ended up at number one there, too. But I think it comes down to just how much fun this movie is...the characters are likable and interesting; the dialogue is razor sharp and the actors all have terrific chemistry. Especially James Stewart and Katharine Hepburn. That scene with them after the party could be a short film all on its own and it would still be perfect. And the scene between a drunk Mike and sober Dexter never fails at making me cackle. I think that this movie is a good recommendation for someone who is looking for more Old Hollywood movies to watch.

And there you have it! If you’ve made it to the end of this long post, congratulations. :)

There are a couple more of his movies I would like to check out, like Vivacious Lady and Bell, Book and Candle...maybe I’ll make an addition/update to this countdown.

Also, I never realized until I looked at his filmography, just how many westerns this man starred in...he made around 20 over the course of his career, which is so interesting to me, since he’s not the first person I think of when I think “westerns”...but anyway...thanks for reading!

#james stewart #the philadelphia story #mr smith goes to washington #rear window #vertigo #shenandoah #it's a wonderful life

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possessionisamyth · 8 months

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not gonna lie felt bad for Dylan in DI for a short time however it turned into boo fucking hoo very quick

it was so why not focus on Maria? why not focus on Jill (it makes no sense Jill charging in recklessly at the start Leon turns up and she lets him take charge)

can't wait to rewatch it whenever that maybe (got the dvd wrong region code of fucking course and i don't know how to make dvd do it)

Okay. After watching the movie several times, I definitely feel more equipped to answer this question (which I own the blu-ray of but am watching totally legally online in another place when I don't want to set up the dvd/blu-ray player).

When Death Island dropped, and everyone was throbbing over Leon, I was annoyed by many of the missed opportunities to make the movie entertaining in order to focus on "realism" like they have been with the remakes and with Inifinite Darkness. Yet, the biggest dropping of the ball was with Jill Valentine, and we gotta talk about Jill so that we can talk about why Dylan sucks ass fails as a character foil to her. However, let's do a little definition first so we're on the same page.

The narrative purpose of a character foil is that when these two characters are on screen interacting with each other, their differences become highlighted. You got Romeo and Mercutio, Betty and Veronica, Chris and Wesker, these characters are foils that we can easily recognize without putting any real thought behind it. We can clock their motivations and the patterns they execute to reach their goals and see where all those little funky lines cross. They can be friends, antagonists, or enemies, but their purpose is to bring out the other characters good and bad traits to deepen our understanding of them.

Jill Valentine is a character that is an active player. She doesn't let things passively happen to her. She gets shit done. She's very hands on about everything. We see it in Resident Evil 1 where you play as her route, and if you play Chris' route the only thing holding this woman back is the cell Wesker trapped her in wherein she has no tools to utilize whatsoever. We see it in Resident Evil 3 where Carlos often takes a backseat to Jill pushing the narrative forward until she's infected and needs help only to pick up where she leaves off as soon as she gets that cure. We see it in the Lost in Nightmares DLC where she's keeping pace with another active character, Chris, and ends the fight by sacrificing herself. In Resident Evil 5 where she's just been saved from mind control, she's actively yelling and shoving at Chris to leave her and save the world when Chris doesn't want to after getting her back. We see it in all of Revelations 1 in juxtaposition to Chris' route. Jill is our Ripley in Alien , she is our Sarah Conner in Terminator, and so on.

Dylan Blake is a passive character. Death Island showcased this to us much more heavy handed than they needed to, but we got the picture. He accepts orders to evacuate important people and kill civilians warily but with no real fight behind it. He cried out on the ground when his friend killed the rest of their infected teammates after failing to wrestle the gun away. Doesn't get up and try again. He's active in saving himself after his friend got infected, but that's it. He hires people to kidnap a guy to build robots for him. It's heavily implied the virus in the bots is one of Glenn Arias' weapons meaning he didn't even make the damn thing. He doesn't commit to suicide and hasn't for 17 years because Russian Roulette absolves him of any fault when he fails. (Something they stole from the movie Bullet Train btw.) He could've shot Claire to teach Jill a lesson, but that decision would be too active for his character. He talks about cleaning the slate with no plans to stick around to see if the slate gets cleaned. Even as a giant bloody poopoo monster he's just swinging his body around listlessly until things break. Unlike every other antagonist or villain we've had up to this point, Dylan is the most hands off when it comes to this schtick. He is the guy that says "I'm going to do this thing, but whatever happens next is out of my hands" as if he's not responsible for glassware breaking after snatching away the tablecloth.

On a surface level, you'd think after both of them went through Raccoon City that Jill and Dylan are perfect foils of each other. Which they would be if Jill wasn't immediately shuffled into the passive role herself as soon as Leon came on screen. Examples of this? Well, we can watch the movie together, and I'll point them out scene by scene, but for the sake of answering your question here I'll try and bullet point them. Of which I will also be listing things people have already complained about because they all take place in Alcatraz.

-Why does Jill keeps losing/not using her gun?

-Jill struggles with zombies the same as others despite enhanced strength and non-existent aging from the virus.

-Jill struggles with lickers.

-Jill doesn't shoot Dylan during his monologue.

-Jill doesn't shoot or fight Maria during Dylan's monologue.

-Jill doesn't shoot Dylan during his second monologue before he kills himself despite seeing the gun he holds that injects viruses.

-Jill is responsible for hand flare to get Dylan's attention, not driving the car or giving her the big gun. She has to yell at him when his mind is basically not even there anymore.

-Jill has the bag of bombs that is supposed to off him and drops it after setting off one under water.

"But Jill is fighting in those scenes." Yeah, but Leon has to save her ass by giving her a gun. Leon has to kill all the lickers. Leon has to info dump about Alcatraz, a place the BSAA should've collected intel on like they always do before missions. A place Jill would've researched herself if she were allowed to be herself. Leon had to give her the opportunity to run from Maria. Jill just yells at Dylan for most of his nonsense even when he loses and is trying to run away as a giant bloodied poopoo monster. Is this the behavior of an active character after we see her at the start go into that house by herself to look for civilians, and later deny Chris his friendship speech in the shooting range? Is this highlighting her normally active traits against Dylan, a person who just lets things happen around him? Short answer: No. Long answer: Hell fucking no. If Jill is not doing the same thing as everyone else in the scene, her actions are reduced to passiveness matching Dylan's and not contrasting them! They don't even put Dylan into more active positions when Jill is made passive, so what the fuck is the point of this guy?! We hate him. That wasn't hard to do. Where's the rest of it? Where is the rest-?!?!?!

Listen, I'm not saying Jill needed to shoot Claire to inhibit her and possibly buy the scientist more alive time, but I am saying Jill needed to be firing at someone because it's not like Dylan would've handed her the cure if she kept him alive. Plus, Rebecca was already making a cure. So-?!?!? It's not like Dylan wouldn't have snapped his fingers sooner to make Maria act had Jill first gotten a good shot in his kneecap. If we want to highlight anything, why isn't Jill's brash actions leading to screw ups in contrast to Dylan's passive actions showing how he's winning and thus strengthening his spiel about all of them being pawns? I'm not expecting the world from a CGI Resident Evil movie. I know the quality to expect, but we have done better before this. I was more satisfied with Rebecca doing her smart thing in Vendetta despite the weird wedding dress scene of her on the table. I was more satisfied with Ada doing her spy thing in Damnation. I was more satisfied with Claire doing her thing in the first 20 minutes of Degeneration. But Death Island? For Jill? As a summation?

Jill Valentine has been used and abused by Wesker. She's been away from the BSAA for 6 years. She's been tossed aside by Capcom game wise. And in what's supposed to be the movie about her getting back on her feet, she gets sidelined because the director and writer were too busy furiously jerking off Leon Scott Kennedy to give her more than the bare minimum script wise in order to "achieve this goal". They didn't achieve the goal by the way. The little fist bump between Chris and Jill was not fucking earned in the slightest.

However if you truly want to know how dirty they did her overall, I can show you by simply comparing her famous rail gun scene depiction. In the original Resident Evil 3, the rail gun was a gigantic machine no one could lift unless they were a giant. For the Resident Evil 3 Remake, they changed it to something she can lift. In Death Island, they decided to do a callback to that rail gun from the Resident Evil 3 Remake as it's her pivotal final fight against Nemesis. They had her turn this iconic weapon, her iconic weapon, against Dylan.

Now anon, look at this big ass rail gun she gets in the Resident Evil 3 Remake where she barely flinches with the recoil. This is 1998. She is not buffed up by the T-Virus. It's a strap metaphor. This gun is two Jill's long, it's heavy as shit, and the camera angles tell us how hefty it is when we play the game.

Now, look at this fucking peashooter they have her struggling to heft around in Death Island. This is shorter than her. You could argue that because it relies on a generator and is portable, it's made of a heavier metal than the one on the charger in the Remake. It's still bullshit that she gets thrown back by the recoil considering she's buffed up from that T-Virus that doesn't let her age compared to how little she struggled with a bigger gun with a stronger recoil in the Remake.

Things that would've fixed this movie? Stop giving Leon all the lines. Make Jill the one that has clever thinking with the gasoline in exchange for Leon finding their exit out of the tunnels. Make Jill fight Maria during Dylan's monologue to emphasize that she's wasting time while her friend's are dying, thus making her take action role look futile compared to Dylan's passivity OR at least have her try to shoot and it fails by her gun jamming. Give Jill her gun back with one bullet in it after Maria wins the fight to then try and make her choose to kill Claire. Let her fire it once at someone and it do nothing. Liven up that Russian Roulette motif. Let the running away be her choice, not something Leon has to give her the opportunity to take. Let Jill have one flashback to any other fucking game which highlights how her usual method of decision making led her to failure before the Dylan showdown. Let her shoot Dylan as he shoots himself reiterating the foil contrast before the last big fight. Cut Leon and Chris' quirky little dialogue so Jill can have several more lines that would make the final shout at Dylan more hard hitting.

As for Maria, when we roll back that footage in Vendetta, she should've been beating the shit out of Chris in Death Island for killing Diego. It could've made the movie better with any of my changes of Jill VS Dylan by adding Chris VS Maria since Chris and Jill always do everything together.

#resident evil #re #resident evil death island #death island #death island spoilers #resident evil death island spoilers #jill valentine #anonymous #heh nothing personal kid #sorry if this is longer than you wanted anon #re analysis

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libriaco · 10 months

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De bello gaddico

«Cos'è?», mi chiede mia moglie quando le passo davanti, ammiccando verso il libro che ho in mano e di cui ha appena letto il titolo, «La tua autobiografia?». Sorrido storto; mi fermo e le porgo il volume. «Bonaventura Tecchi? E chi è?» «Ma dai, non lo conosci?», le chiedo a mia volta e il mio sorriso diventa beffardo. «Se non me lo vuoi dire...», si sta irritando; io gongolo: è lei l'intellettuale di famiglia, io sono solo l'informatico. Dò l'affondo: «Ma come, non ti ricordi neppure che di lui parla Gadda?» È lei che, in tempi remoti, cominciando dal Pasticciaccio, mi ha fatto conoscere l'Ingegnere in blu. Silenzio. Il suo sguardo è vuoto. Le snocciolo le due o tre cose che so di Bonaventura Tecchi e le ricordo che, nel Diario di guerra e di prigionia, Gadda descrive con brevi tratti Tecchi e Ugo Betti, suoi compagni di sventura, catturati anche loro dopo la rotta di Caporetto. «La baracca 11C nel lager di Celle...». Giro il coltello nella piaga. Colpita, e immemore di questi particolari del "Diario" gaddiano, mi restituisce il libro senza profferir parola. Potrei andare a prendere il volume del De Bello Gaddico (così chiamo il “Diario...”), che ha letto e abbondantemente annotato per un esame di letteratura, ma sarebbe una dichiarazione di guerra; ho appena vinto una scaramuccia e mi accontento cos��.

B. Tecchi, Gli egoisti [1959], Milano, Bompiani, 1965

C. E. Gadda, Giornale di guerra e di prigionia [1955-1965], Milano, Garzanti, 2002

#Tecchi #Gadda #Betti #Grande Guerra

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semyas-ii · 7 months

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2nd viewing notes on episode 10

-It sounds to me like Pawn Swan implied he knows he used to be Choose Goose.

-I love him. So cosy.

-Poor island guy.

-Marshall had the right idea, Marcy could've just drank the red out of Scrabby. -Cake over extending herself and Fionna cheering her on is of course a reference to the episode where the Hot Dog guards cheer Jake on to stretch so far he dies. Fionna thankfully knows better than that now. -You know, maybe there is a world out there where Simon got on the bus with Betty. -Also Simon giving the world to Fionna is about how our world should also belong to the people who live in it and equally, not to some specific old people with one foot in the grave (like it does now).

-FINALLY they kiss (the butterly is Betty reincaranet I believe, like Golbetty's four blu eyes)

-Dunno where Jay and Little Destiny were just before getting here but I don't think they were in their home world anyway looking that those clothes. Point is, I don't think they abandoned Jay's siblings (I don't think Farmworld Finn is dead either).

-I'm guessing the apple symbolism is gonna come back in future AT stuff, it's everywhere (assuming we get more). I guess it might also symbolise friendship? I think it was probably chosen because of Tree Trunk's apple orchard and how she used to bake apple pies for everyone (her voice actress, Polly Lou Livingston, died in 2021)

-Hairy bum-face P.S. Scrabby/Prismo ftw

#adventure time #fionna and cake #fionna & cake #fionna & cake spoilers #fionna and cake spoilers

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adamwatchesmovies · 11 months

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Carrie (1976)

Carrie is more frightening, and more relevant than ever. Although there are a few (two) rough spots, the cast is perfect, the imagery is iconic and the characters resonate like they were written for the screen yesterday. You couldn’t imagine anyone taking another crack at this story and making it work as well as director Brian DePalma.

Shy, lonely Carrie (Sissy Spacek) is constantly tormented at school and suffers an even worse fate at home thanks to her mentally unstable religious zealot of a mother (Piper Laurie). After a particularly harsh round of bullying, two of Carrie's classmates (Amy Irving and William Katt) and her phys-ed teacher, Miss Collins (Betty Buckley) take pity upon the girl and invite her to prom night. They don't know Christine "Chris" Hargensen (Nancy Allen) and her boyfriend, Billy (John Travolta) are planning on ruining the evening. Meanwhile, Carrie discovers that she possesses telekinetic abilities.

The screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen nails its characters. You don’t get much more of an underdog than Carrie. At first, she's so reserved and broken that she’s almost a non-entity. When this invitation to prom comes her way, you think "This could be the one thing that turns it all around". Carrie is getting cruelly stomped on by pretty much everyone there is but the worst of them all is Chris. There’s no reason for her to dislike Carrie as much as she does; Chris has looks, friends and a boyfriend that’s wrapped all around her finger. She could just let the poor girl be but refuses to. You can’t wait to see her get knocked down to where she belongs.

Just when you think things couldn’t get any worse for Carrie, you meet her mother, Mrs White. This mom’s a whole other bag of crazy, the kind of person everyone in town knows about and dislikes. She’s always ranting and raving about these poisonous ideas. It takes about 10 seconds for you to realize there’s no getting through to her no matter what kind of angle or tactic you use. Better to just politely walk away and be done with the madwoman as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, Carrie does not have that option. Piper Laurie brings an intensity to the role that’ll have your blood boiling. She dominates the screen like a mountain and all Carrie can do is shrink and obey.

It takes a while for Sissy Spacek’s character to crawl out from the hole she’s been forced into, which is why the actress’ look is key to bringing Carrie to life. You completely believe her in every scene she’s in because she’s got such an unusual look to her. She isn’t ugly but she looks like she’s never smiled in her life without getting slapped five seconds later. You see this young woman and your mind extrapolates an entire childhood of misery.

And then, Carrie begins to discover her abilities… that’s when things change completely. Most people probably already know the film’s big scenes, the ones that come right at the end and confirm that you are indeed watching a horror movie. If, for a second, you can ignore what you already know, Carrie feels like a different kind of picture. It’s a high school drama that could end with a sweet sort of romance. This tone threatens to trick you into believing that you’re watching something else, particularly with the funny little scenes where the boys are going shopping for their tuxes and Carrie is getting ready for the prom. You see how this story COULD end, which makes the conclusion - stylishly shot with great uses of the color red - feel that much bigger.

Even if you “know” what happens to Carrie, you don’t actually know the movie unless you’ve seen it front to end. It’s a horror film that plays with you. It gives you hope and then smashes it to dust. The performances are fantastic and the characters so real you latch onto them instantly. It’s a great horror film that you can never forget. (On Blu-ray, March 5, 2020)

#Carrie #movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #Brian De Palma #Lawrence D. Cohen #Stephen King #Sissy Spacek #Amy Irving #Betty Buckley #Nancy Allen #William Katt #John Travolta #P.J. Soles #Piper Laurie #1976 movies #1976 films

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streamondemand · 1 year

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'Singin' in the Rain' – Gene Kelly's gotta dance on HBO Max

‘Singin’ in the Rain’ – Gene Kelly’s gotta dance on HBO Max

Singin’ in the Rain (1952) has been hailed as the greatest American musical ever made. It’s certainly one of the most fun, a knockabout reimagining of the transition from silent to sound movies: lousy history but a blast of singing, dancing, romancing energy and color. Gene Kelly is Don Lockwood, the vaudeville schlub turned movie stuntman and finally matinee idol. His introduction is brilliant,…

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#Adolph Green #Arthur Freed #Betty Comden #Blu-ray #Cyd Charisse #Debbie Reynolds #Donald O&039;Connor #DVD #Gene Kelly #HBO Max #Jean Hagen #Kathleen Freeman #Millard Mitchell #Nacio Herb Brown #Stanley Donen #VOD

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popentertainment-moviereviews · 7 months

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CLERK (2021)

Featuring Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Brian O’Halloran, Joey Lauren Adams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Stan Lee, Mark Hamill, Justin Long, Penn Jillette, Richard Linklater, Judd Nelson, Jason Reitman, Michael Rooker, Scott Mosier, Grace Smith, Donald Smith, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, Harley Quinn Smith, Walt Flanagan, Bryan Johnson, Vincent Pereira, John Pierson, Janet Pierson, Trevor Groth, Betty Aberlin, Brian Quinn, Joe Quesada, Mark Bernardin, Raquel Castro and Lily-Rose Depp.

Directed by Malcolm Ingram.

Distributed by Mercantile Instinct. 115 minutes. Not Rated.

“When we made Clerks, I didn't even dream about going to a film festival,” Kevin Smith told me a couple of years ago on the red carpet at the Philadelphia Film Festival screening of the documentary on his life called Clerk. “We were dreaming about going to the independent feature film marketplace. I didn't think the film was festival-worthy, let alone Sundance. While we were making that film I never once thought, ‘Oh my God, what if somebody makes a documentary about me one day?’ That’s mind bending.”

Yes, Kevin Smith has had a long, strange trip in the last thirty or so years. This film, directed by former film journalist turned documentarian and Smith’s long-time friend Malcolm Ingram, gives a pretty good overview of the life of the head of the View Askewniverse.

As noted above, this film has been making the rounds of film festivals for a couple of years (which explains why Clerk ends on Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, not Smith’s more current film Clerks 3), but now it is being released on video. (For hard copy fans, VHS and Blu-Ray copies of Clerk will only be available for purchase via Mercantile Instinct's website – www.mercantileinstinct.com.)

Clerk takes a good look at Smith’s life – an aspect which fraught right off the top because his professional career is so wide-ranging, in subjects, in different mediums and even in quality. (After all, this is the guy who wrote and directed Yoga Hosers and Tusk.)

The most interesting part of the film, somewhat naturally, looks at Smith’s early filmmaking career, and how he was learning as he went on making such classics as Clerks and Chasing Amy (as well as some more problematic films like Mallrats and Dogma).

Looking at his halting steps towards film stardom – as shared by Smith and members of his regular troupe like Brian O’Halloran and Jason Mewes (surprisingly there is no appearance by Jeff Anderson) as well as some of the then-unknown actors Smith helped to break (including Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Joey Lauren Adams) – makes for some intriguing looks behind the scenes.

However, while his career as a writer/director (and sometime actor) pretty much peaked in those early years, he has worked in an interesting if sometimes disappointing group of films ever since. (He briefly retired from filmmaking after a traumatizing experience working with Bruce Willis in Cop Out.)

However, in the mid-late period of his career, Smith has branched out and reinvented himself as the ultimate fan boy creator, taking on such diverse interests as comic books (creating and selling), opening and running stores (including reopening the original Clerks store), social media, podcasting and finding what seems to be his true calling as a public speaker, doing long lectures and Q&As on his passions and his career.

Of course, one of the great dramas of his life happened after one of those appearances, when Smith had a major heart attack and came close to ending. It has led to many changes in Smith’s lifestyle – a great loss of weight, a new seriousness of purpose and a decision to throw himself more fully back into filmmaking. (In Clerk, Smith acknowledges that he did not want to die and have Yoga Hosers be his last film.)

Still, in the long run, Smith is happy with the path his life has taken.

“I'm sure if I go back in time and tell the young me like, ‘Hey, keep this up. They're going to make a documentary about you,’ he’d be like, ‘What did we do? Who did we kill? Why did that happen?’” Smith laughed to me when I spoke with him at that red carpet interview. “Just you live long enough and fucking they make a documentary about you. But yeah, there's a lot of things I would love to tell that kid. I wouldn't change a fucking thing, because all of his choices led to this moment for me, which absolutely rocks.”

Clerk shows many of the moments which absolutely rocked him.

Jay S. Jacobs

youtube

#Clerk #2023 #Movie Review #Kevin Smith #Jay S. Jacobs #Youtube

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