87 - Paris, je t'aime

With a cast that included Steve Buscemi, Natalie Portman, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Emily Mortimer, I definitley wanted to try this "buffet" :)

With a string of 20 stories though.....it did feel a little exhausting....even though the whole thing altogether lasted as much as a regular movie. I guess if you think about it....if you watch something from Inarritu (Amores Perros, Babel) or Soderbergh (Traffic), you get really focused on anywhere from 4 to 5 stories or plots......how about 20? Even though it was just a sequence of one after another, the format is probably what I wasn't used to......but hey, I aint complanin' :)

The common thread is the location of Paris, but this collection of stories really explores anything and everything about affection.

86 - Permanent Vacation

Ok ok...back to the Jim Jarmusch track. This movie has the same feel as Stranger Than Paradise...but in color....and like STP, you just can't help but enjoy the "stills" possible with the scenes Jim created for this story. John Lurie only has a small part and I have to admit I've gotten really used to him that I wished he had a bigger role somehow.

Plus....I get to see Barney (Frankie Faison) in a small but critical role :)

85 - Spun

I just can't seem to find the uniqueness in this film. You can certainly do a lot to expose the lives of drug addicts and everything around them, like Requiem for a Dream or Permanent Midnight, but it does not seem to work for me in this one. The only actor who seemed to be able to carry his character was Mickey Rourke....everyone else looked as if they were playing a fantasy.....I mean, unless you can run with the craziness like Benicio Del Toro and Johnny Depp did in Fearing and Loathing in Las Vegas or Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting, you're not really depicting a drug addict (I think). Even all the mixed elements felt stolen (addict spins, animation, 70s cops...)

84 - Down by Law

I've reached a point of addiction and now seeking out all of Jim Jarmusch's work. Down by Law is another excellent piece of work in black and white. Tom Waits' DJ riffs were amazing and John Lurie complemented him really well. And let's not forget the third "stooge": Roberto Benigni! I love how Jim used his struggle with english to amplify subliminal messages.