#cineamor

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Today would have been the 104th birthday of director Akira Kurosawa, born March 23rd, 1910. 

Here he is on the set of Seven Samurai. 

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'Ghostbusters' Star and Writer Harold Ramis Dead at 69

"Ghostbusters" star Harold Ramis has died at 69 years old, United Talent Agency confirms to ABC News. Ramis was known as much for his off-screen work writing and the "Ghostbusters" films, along with "Groundhog Day," and "Analyze This" as he was for playing Dr. Egon Spengler in front of the camera.

Harold Ramis, star of Ghostbusters, but fantastic writer and filmmaker in other places, has passed away. This is a very sad day for film and cinema.

See you later, Harold.

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The Tribeca firehouse at 14 North Moore Street is still operation as 8 Hook and Ladder. You may recognize this as the central location from the film Ghostbusters.

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Thoughts On Drinking Buddies

Drinking Buddies is a 2013 comedy film directed by Joe Swanberg, one of the rising stars in the "mumblecore" film movement, and what many will probably view as the first foray of the "mumblecore" genre in its most earnest sense into the mainstream eye. 

If you haven't seen Drinking Buddies, it's a film mostly about four friends and the way that they interact with each other. Kate, played Olivia Wilde, Luke, played by Jake Johnson, Chris, played by Ron Livingston, and Jill, played by Anna Kendrick round out the main cast and are supported here and there by smaller characters. Kate and Luke work at a brewery together, while Chris and Jill are in relationships with Kate and Luke, respectively. The plot itself is hugely slice of life, the dialogue natural and flowing, if at times awkward (with purpose). It wanders in some ways, but is held together by the drama that generates from Kate and Luke being, on paper, infinitely better for each other than Chris and Jill. If I went on, I'd sound like I was describing a soap opera episode, and I probably wouldn't be too far off. But thankfully, the movie plays out much more honestly and thoughtfully than any soap opera probably ever will. Not only because of the writing, and the likely ad-libbed dialogue in turn, but because of the way that the cast holds and carries their characters. 

It's an incredibly organic film, as a lot of the "mumblecore" genre aims to be, with most of the camera work being as bare bones as the rest of the film. But what to me has come off as cheap in some areas of other "mumblecore" films, Drinking Buddies is a true realization of the movement, or at least something very close to it, I imagine. 

In the way that Chris and Jill are respective mirrors of each other, Kate and Luke are mirrors as well. But the interesting part of this is that despite the fact that they are mirrors, they don't truly work with each other on a relationship level. The internal workings of the characters prevent them from wanting to be members of the clubs that welcome them the most. Woody Allen commented about it in Annie Hall, and here it plays out again. The character's expectations are their biggest conflicts, even when it seems that they're falling into where they would better off being. 

In fact, that may be one of the most important themes of the film: Getting what you get, but not necessarily getting what you expected. 

What the characters lack in foresight, they make up for in resolve. The stronger more outgoing Kate and Luke need the more complacent and anchored Chris and Jill's in their life, because they act as checks for the rougher parts of their personalities. This is where much of the heart of the film comes from in the end, and a lot of the reliability as well. 

Symbolically, we see reflections of the characters in their surroundings and where they are most comfortable. Luke and Kate are those to dive into the water, but Chris and Jill are more likely to sink into a remote patch of forest for no reason. Sub textually, their comforts are their worst enemies while also their best friends. This is true not only for their surroundings, but for each other as characters and people. 

Whether or not their rebuttal of the results of deviation from the norms for each of them actually pays off is a different story. But that's another strength of the film. It's earnest in this way. The viewer is given the chance to peer into something that they may not have the chance to see solved, because the characters might not get that chance either. The viewer is put on their level in this way. The results vary. It works for the film. Some may view this as a weakness, but to each their own. 

Kate says in the film, "That's the problem with heartbreak, to you it's like an atomic bomb and to the world it's just really cliche, because in the end we all have the same experience." 

The film really comes down to that idea of how experiences can intertwine and bring people together, apart, and then together again. It's the shared experience of having a drink together.

That's what it means to be Drinking Buddies.

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Drinking Buddies to me is a wonderful piece of modern film-making and shows an interesting piece of how film is evolving. As i said, it's earnest, organic, and at times pulls at you in a lot of ways. It does wander a bit, and this may be the closest thing to a weakness for me. 

I recommend the film whole-heartedly. 

Drinking Buddies can be found currently on Netflix Streaming as well as most other places you can get movies.