Jason goes to the Niles Film Museum for THREE WORD BRAND

First a few shorts

FELIX MINDS THE BABY (1922): Felix the Cat, one of the earliest cartoon stars, is starving. He tries to steal a fish from the market, but is kicked out. He finds a dad who is tearing out what hair he has left trying to entertain his baby. The baby likes Felix, so Felix has a babysitting job that will get him fed. Of course, the baby is a little tough to handle, and wackiness ensues.

THE PERILS OF PAULINE, EPISODE 4: THE DEADLY TURNING (1914): I've seen this one a few times at Niles. Pauline enters an auto race, her enemies plot to make her crash, but of course she turns the tables and escapes while they crash.

I'M ON MY WAY (1919): Another Niles favorite. Harold Lloyd is about to marry Bebe Daniels, but spending a little time with Snub Pollard, his heavy-set wife Margaret Joslin (both of whom worked for Essanay here in Niles), and their unruly children drive him crazy and cure him of the marriage bug.

Then a quick intermission, and on to the feature.

THREE WORD BRAND (1921): The iconic square-jawed William S. Hart plays a triple role in an exciting western drama. Early on, he plays settler Ben Trego. As he's set upon by Indians, he sends his young twin sons off, where they end up in an orphanage. Years later, one of the twins is 'Three Word' Brand (Hart), a cowboy who operates a simple ranch. His nickname comes from his tendency to speak little--he's the "listenin'est man in the county." His neighbor is an unscrupulous rancher, rustling his cattle and conspiring with the powers that be on a water deal that would bankrupt the other ranchers. However, there's a new Governor named Marsden (Hart) coming into power, and in the super-coincidence world that so many silent films take place in, he happens to be none other than Brand's long-lost twin. And when he finds out, rather than introducing himself and expecting brotherly love and help, he hatches a plan--his ranch hand will take Governor Marsden on a hunting trip that will show him the devastation of the water deal. Meanwhile, Brand will go to the capitol and pose as the Governor, vetoing the deal. A little illogical, but a whole lot of fun nonetheless.

Next Saturday, one of my favorites--THE LOST WORLD. Wallace Beery in a thrilling adventure based on an Arthur Conan Doyle novel and featuring the pre-King Kong stop motion animation of Willis O'Brien.

Total Running Time (estimated): 103 minutes

My Total Minutes: 218,301

Jason watches MEGAMIND

It helped that I was drinking a beer and eating nachos at the time, thanks to the Bear Tooth Theatre in Anchorage, AK. I went with my brother, but his daughter/my niece was too much of a pill to come along, so rather than having a fun family movie event, it was just two late 30-something dudes watching a kiddy cartoon. Awesome

Anyway, as for the movie, there were some amusing moments. I can't say I was greatly impressed or disappointed. It didn't even crack the top three wide-release children's CGI cartoon I saw in 2010 (TOY STORY 3, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, and DESPICABLE ME).

Running Time: 95 minutes

My Total Minutes: 218,198

Jason watches TRON: LEGACY in IMAX 3-D

And I liked it in much the same way I liked the original. It's dazzling nerd-eye candy, it's fun, and it makes no sense. For years I've had a secret desire to apply for an IT job with the only qualifications on my resume being "watched TRON about 50 times."

There are clever ideas in this sequel--evolution of computer programs, fascism, Zen, crossing the border from the computer to the real world, father-son relationships, etc. Of course, they aren't fully developed and they make no sense, and in my geek bubble I don't give a damn. I know if I could step back and be objective, there's plenty to criticize and be disappointed with in TRON: LEGACY, but as it is I would watch it again.

Running Time: 127 minutes

My Total Minutes: 218,045

Jason watches 127 HOURS

And let's get this out of the way--yes, there's an explicit scene of Aron Ralston (James Franco) cutting his own arm off. It's bloody and intense, but just short of ridiculous.

This is based on the true story of Aron Ralston, outdoors-man and adventurer who got his hand pinned under a rock in a canyon and was trapped for 127 hours before he cut his hand off and walked to rescue. As for the movie, James Franco is impressive in a role that really calls for him to carry pretty much everything. It starts off at a breakneck pace as he's racing through the Utah desert on bike and on foot. He meets a couple of girls, goes swimming with them in an amazing underground lake, and then eventually takes off (after getting an invitation to a party the next night). And then everything stops when he gets trapped.

At this point you'd think the movie would slow down. He literally can't move, so up until the end the rest of the movie is either in his head or down in the canyon where he's trapped. But Danny Boyle seems physically unable to slow down, and has to throw about a million quick cuts, flashbacks, hallucinations, and various camera tricks at the audience. Yeah, it kept it from being boring, at the expense of being frequently annoying. Yes, it's a pretty amazing film, but I was left wondering what it would be like to see a more straightforward film just of a man trapped under a rock and dealing with it, without all the fancy shit. And yeah, that might be boring for 90 minutes, so maybe I'd like to see a 20 minute short of it instead, whatever. I don't know how to end this post.

Running Time: 94 minutes

My Total Minutes: 217,918

Jason watches BLACK SWAN

And let's get this out of the way first--yes, there's an explicit scene of Mila Kunis going down on Natalie Portman. It's hot, but tasteful, and not at all pornographic. And it's a very small part of the movie.

As for the rest of it, yeah, it's pretty great. It's a tight psycho-sexual drama, and there's some effectively heavy-handed use of visual themes of reflection and transformation. As for a story, it's the story of "Swan Lake," taking place in a troupe of ballet dancers preparing to perform "Swan Lake." Confession, I don't actually know the original story of "Swan Lake," but I trust that the synopsis given in the movie is accurate. And as theater director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) says, although it's been done to death, they're going to do it raw, visceral, and "real" (remember that). Natalie Portman plays Nina Sayers, a perfectionist ballerina, who is still a little innocent girl. Leroy promises that if he were only casting the Swan Queen, it would definitely be her, but the lead also has to play her evil, seductive twin the Black Swan. She gets the role after talking to him in private, which leads to all sorts of rumors and recriminations from the cast. More importantly, a new dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis) joins the cast. She's a free spirit from San Francisco, and although not as polished as Nina she easily gives herself over to the dance, and becomes her alternate. And friend, and rival, and object of desire, and tormentor.

Beautiful, great acting, and a polished, confidant direction, but I was at a bit of a loss to get what it all adds up to, or why I should care. There's the pretty obvious theme that to become the Black Swan (i.e., to become an adult, with all the sexual, fleshy degradation that entails) necessarily means the destruction of the innocent Swan Queen. But there's also a climax that suggests it's just as much about suffering for your art, which led me to wonder that if Darren Aronofsky actually believes in sacrificing for your art, why doesn't he kill himself? Oops--Spoiler Alert.

Running Time: 108 minutes

My Total Minutes: 217,824

Jason hosts bad movie night and watches IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Because this beloved Christmas classic needs to be taken down a peg, and I was just the drunken bastard to do it.

It takes way to long to get to the memorable part; Pottersville looks a hell of a lot more fun than Bedford Falls; it makes sport of suicide, molesting librarians, and a little girl looking at her "flower."And the grand finales celebrates teaching religion in school. Ah, simple times!

Running Time: 130 minutes

My Total Minutes: 217,564

Jason goes to the Niles Film Museum for WILD ORANGES

Plus, of course, a couple of shorts.

THE FORTUNE TELLER (1923): Another Koko The Clown "Out of the Inkwell" short, this time Koko plays with a fortune teller who is visiting the Fleischer studio. Some wackiness, some card tricks, good times.

CURSES (1925): Al St. John plays the baddie in this spoof of action serials that's a favorite here at Niles.

Then an intermission, and the main feature.

WILD ORANGES (1924): King Vidor directed this fine melodrama. John Woolfolk (Frank Mayo) lost his fiance in car accident, and will never love again. Instead he finds solace in the sea. Then he puts ashore on a remote island. Millie Stope (Virginia Valli) lives there with her grandfather. But they're not alone, there's also an escaped killer on the island. He has an eye for Millie, and he wants John to leave. He threatens them both, just as John falls for Millie. John tries to leave, but can't stay away, and returns for one of the best drawn out knock-down brawls I've seen on film.

Total Running Time (estimated): 104 minutes

My Total Minutes: 217,434