Friday, December 29, 2023

Thursday, December 28, 2023

Noirsville Tune of the Week

Aural Christmas Noir from Tom Waits close your eyes and enjoy.

Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis

Hey Charlie I'm pregnant
Living on 9th Street
Right above a dirty bookstore
Off Euclid Avenue
I stopped taking dope
And I quit drinking whiskey
And my old man plays the trombone
And works out at the track
He says that he loves me
Even though its not his baby
He says that he'll raise him up
Like he would his own son
And he gave me a ring
That was worn by his mother
And he takes me out dancin'
Every Saturday night
Hey Charlie, I think about you
Every time I pass a fillin' station
On account of all the grease
You used to wear in your hair
I still have that record
Of Little Anthony and The Imperials
But someone stole my record player
Now how do ya like that?
Hey Charlie, I almost went crazy
After Mario got busted
I went back to Omaha
To live with my folks
But everyone I used to know
Was either dead or in prison
So I came back to Minneapolis
This time I think I'm gonna stay
Hey Charlie, I think I'm happy
For the first time since my accident
I wish I had all the money
We used to spend on dope
I'd buy me a used car lot
And I wouldn't sell any of 'em
I'd just drive a different car every day
Dependin' on how I feel
Hey Charlie, for chrissakes
Do you want to know the truth of it?
I don't have a husband
He don't play the trombone
I need to borrow money
To pay this lawyer
And Charlie, hey
I'll be eligible for parole
Come Valentine's Day

Wednesday, December 27, 2023

La Cite Des Enfants Perdus (1995) Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Bizarre Kid Noir & a Christmas Noir.

Below is part of a review I did for this film that is somehow de-linked I'll have to comb through the back pages to find it. But this post is a temporary link. True link here

Here is a fantastical visual display of style combined with the highest studio stagecraft arts creating a very fascinating film. It has a Rube Goldberg-ish modus operandi that is part Sci-Fi, part Fantasy, part Steampunk i.e. The Wild Wild West (TV Series 1965–1969), part Head/Graphic Comix artist influence (i.e. Jean Giraud, Jordi Bernet, R. Crumb, Spain Rodriquez, Caro himself, etc., etc.) part Sergio Leone in the grotesque close ups. I also see a bit of Dicken's Oliver Twist, and films Seconds (1966), The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962), and La Strada (1954).with a dash of another French Kid Noir, L’enfer des anges (1939) in the mix.

There is so much coming at you that it's not humanly possible to take it in at one time because you are just not expecting it. It's like trying to tell somebody what it's like to be hit by a wave who has never been to a beach. Yeah, you can imagine what its like but you are not expecting a total assault on your senses. You have no concept that the water is going to weigh so much that it will knock you on your ass nor of the force of the spinning turbulence on your body, nor the crashing pounding sound of the surf, or the feel and after-taste of salt water. It's overwhelming even when you are prepared.

In La Cité des enfants perdus you are getting hit with a complex story, with fantastically weird characters, and a plethora of visuals, immensely interesting visuals and short vignettes that may or may not be important to the story. Stuff like a few second sequence of a reference to the blind leading the blind, or an elaborate burglary involving a mouse attracted to grated cheese with a string tied to its tail. The mouse pulls a magnet trolling for the key to the door. One getting drunk and hitting on a B-Girl in a dive bar. A raft of mice floating into the backstage doorway of a burlesque house. And they delightfully go on and on and on.