Mike Goes To Movies

Pierrot le Fou (1965) TLDR: Despite being a 'classic' and perhaps one of the quintessential European New Wave films, Godard's Pierrot le Fou is the antithesis to today's contemporary mainstream movie-going experience. It is an entertainingly goofy affair yet also baffling and often indecipherable. It is both an homage and also a commentary on the medium of film, and one that requires a good deal of contemplative afterthought to ponder what exactly it is you've just watched... I will admit that Pierrot is the first film by the legendary Jean-Luc Godard that I have seen. While I knew his status as an auteur and as one of the best of his craft, I didn't quite know his 'style' going into this film. As anyone who has seen some of Godard's will know, within twenty minutes or so, I was taken for quite the turn - I quickly felt like I was part of Ferdinand and Marianne's chaotic joy ride through the European countryside filled with romance, crime, non-se...

Adaptation (2002) ADMIT ONE to the mind-bending, meta world of Charlie Kaufman's psyche. This film is the epitome of what I will refer to as the intellectual's mindfuck . It is like what Dazed and Confused or Pineapple Express are to stoners, but for the thinkers out there. Adaptation is equally trippy as these films, but in a very different and more cerebral way. I will try to briefly explain what the film is about, however, for those that are unfamiliar with it, I imagine you will quickly think to yourself, "what in the fuck..." Adaptation is stated to be based on the real novel The Orchid Thief by Susan Orleans but the film is really about Charlie Kaufman's struggle to adapt the novel into a complete screenplay. So, yes, the film is about the writing of... the actual film. This film, as such, is one of the most meta stories you will find out there, and that is much of the fun and complexity of it. The audience has to contend with constantly trying t...