Sundae Monday Hates the iPhone

I haven't talked about David Lynch much lately. Too many movies this year, not enough reviewings of INLAND EMPIRE. I guess that happens sometimes. But much as he won everyone over last year by hanging out with a cow. Now he comes back with his thoughts on the iPhone, amusingly edited as if it were an iPhone commercial. Though you have to give credit to the man. He's right on the money with this one.

He Used to Be Such A Good Director...

This post is definitely NOT an entry into the Bizarro Blog-A-Thon hosted by Piper at Lazy Eye Theatre. I believe everything I say in this post, and whatever you do, you should not go to the hub of the Blog-A-Thon, because it is an incredibly boring read.


It's hard to deny David Lynch's place among the greatest living directors. This is the man who gave us Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, The Straight Story, and Mulholland Dr.. No matter how you cut that, it's impressive. Lynch has become a master at telling linear stories in a non-linear manner, culminating in the masterpiece of the new millenium, Mulholland Dr. However, Lynch has taken it a bit too far. His latest work, INLAND EMPIRE suffers from what everyone accused Tideland of: auteurism unchecked. This leads to various problems with the film, and serious questions about both Lynch and his very vocal supporters.

I would go into a plot description, but any attempt beyond the film's tagline of "A Woman In Trouble" is an exercise in futility. The film meanders between an undefinable number of "plots" that revolve around Nikki Grace (Laura Dern) and a cursed film production. Dern, over the course of the film, plays a number of roles, at least 4 by my count, through we never know which one she is playing at any given time.

Dern has received great praise for her performance in this film, but the only positive thing I can say is that she managed to survive the movie. This isn't meant to be a slight against Dern, who has done some great work, and some of that for Lynch (Wild at Heart comes to mind), but the film butchers any sort of consistency she could have given to the role. It hardly seems possible that any of the characters Dern plays could exist as aspects of one whole character, as some would claim.

One of the great successes of Mulholland Dr. was the presence of an omnipotent being at its core. No matter how odd the film got, we could feel that Lynch was carefully controlling everything we saw. Everything is there for a reason, and Lynch's camera never leaves that in doubt. Such a presence is lacking in INLAND EMPIRE, and that greatly damages any faith I could put in the film. Knowing the construction of the movie (Lynch shot scenes immediately after writing them, only later beginning to connect them into a whole) only weakens my trust in Lynch. The film doesn't play by any rules, as Mulholland Dr. does, and the freedom, while admirable as an experiment, doesn't cohere properly into a solid movie.

The quality of the images doesn't do the movie any favors, either. Lynch says that he will never return to film again, and that is unfortunate. The images are grimy and, though atmospheric, they take away from the overall impact a film like this could have. INLAND EMPIRE seems allergic to sunlight, and that feels much more a result of Lynch's use of digital video than any symbolism he may have intended.

INLAND EMPIRE is an embarrassment to David Lynch, and it should be to anyone who truly loves his work. Lynch has gone off the deep end, and he shows no signs of coming back. Please do, Dave. I miss the control you once possessed over your worse instincts.

Bizarro Sundae Monday

Piper over at Lazy Eye Theater has declared a Bizarro Blog-A-Thon. As of this point, every entry in the blog-a-thon has been in praise of a film/actor who is generally disliked. I hope to take this the other way. I plan to take David Lynch's INLAND EMPIRE down a peg, despite the fact that it was my number 1 for 2006. I will try to make the best argument I can without resorting to cheap sarcasm in an effort to better appreciate a film I already love. That is what I hope these bizarro days can bring out in people: the ability to reevaluate a film or actor so that they can better appreciate the film on its own terms.

But enough pompous speeches. BIZARRO!!!



And no Bizarro video collection would be complete without a little Sealab 2021.

Sundae Monday

I am sorry, dear readers, for I have lied to you. Well, I did not realize that what I was saying was untrue, but I have proven myself wrong. A couple of weeks ago, I stated that I was anticipating The Simpsons Movie more than anything else this year. Only a few days after that, I was reminded of something I wanted more. In fact, I literally started salivating at the thought. That's right, folks. This week marks the DVD release of the Best Film of 2006, INLAND EMPIRE. I really want to see the film again, this time more removed, as well as David Lynch making quinoa. The whole thing is very exciting for me, so I present some random David Lynch videos to hopefully excite you too.

First, David wants you to clean up New York before the rats take over.



Next, David welcomes you to the Third Place.



The famous Red Room Dream from Twin Peaks . . .



. . . and of course, like everything else in pop culture, the Simpsons parody.