MIX/VHS | Week 062
Week 062
Let's mix it up! The MIX/VHS crew of contributors sure have no idea how to make you an amazing salad, because unfortunately, none of us have gone to salad school. BUT! We do have another great mix of your new favorite things to watch here for you to dig in to! Start your weekend early and enjoy this crisp, tasty list from us!
Jimothy Lacoste // Subway System
WATCH IT HERE!
First off, this guy has an INCREDIBLE name. Secondly, this song is INCREDIBLY catchy. I randomly found this video on YouTube and found myself returning to it a few times since then. Lacoste's lyrics are funny, sincere and melodic as we see the Englishman stroll through train cars singing his song in front of waves of people who are as clueless as you'd expect. I don't think the passengers knew what was going on. You might not know what's going on either, but at least I gave you a heads up.
- Alek
Borg vs. McEnroe
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE!
If you’ve already seen Battle of the Sexes (2017) and looking for an alternative sports/tennis-related film, I would suggest Borg vs. McEnroe (2017), directed by Janus Metz. Set in the late-70’s and early 80’s, the film recounts the infamous Wimbledon match between Swedish champion, Björn Borg (played by Sverrir Gudnason) and American “bad boy” player, John McEnroe (played by Shia Labeouf, who, I believe, could not be suited more perfectly for this role). While the film does a good job recounting the events that led up to this match, it delves more into the psyches of these two individual men, their childhoods and their commitments to perfection and success. While the film lags a bit in the beginning, it delves into the extreme anxiety and pressure that is thrust on many professional athletes, especially from an early age. A unique, well-constructed narrative, Gudnason gives a stand-out performance as Borg that provides the viewer with some speculations concerning the player’s sudden and, arguably, mysterious decision to retire at the height of his success - aged 26 — in real life.
- Zoe
MacGruber - Sensitivity Training
WATCH IT HERE!
SNL has been re-releasing all of their classics on YouTube lately, and I have found myself going through hours and hours of classic sketch comedy. But something about MacGruber makes me laugh harder than ever. The sketches are so tightly written, shot, edited, performed, and all-together, some of the best work SNL has ever done in way of comedy. In this sketch, MacGruber deals with difficult self-realizations, and must confront them head-on.
- Jake
Michael Bay - What Is Bayhem?
WATCH IT HERE!
This is the first video essay I can remember watching, and it taught me a lot not only about the nature of film criticism and auteurship. Unlike most video essays I've seen, this one analyzes the works of a director whose critical reception has been shaky at best, but who nevertheless has established a unique film style of huge explosions and overstimulation. Zhou phrases all of this more eloquently than I can, so just watch his take on Bayhem.
Zhou is an excellent video essayist, and you can watch more of his stuff on his youtube channel.
- Morgan
David Lynch - The Director, The Artist , The Man
WATCH IT HERE!
Bizarre is a word I find people using to describe the films and behavior of David Lynch. And while yes, some of the interactions shown in this video of behind-the-scene on his film Inland Empire are definitely goofy, what I think is so genuinely great about seeing this man direct his art is how absolutely dedicated and invested he is in his vision. How he balances not compromising that vision with collaboration and connecting with his crew and actors on a human level. He's just a good man making art. He's endearing as all get out and I hope you crack a smile while watching him be 100% himself.
- Spencer
Discovering Bigfoot
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE!
My roommates and I like to unwind some nights with films about crypto-zoological creatures. At some point we watched Discovering Bigfoot, which one of my roommates found deep in the Netflix menus, and our understanding of the world changed forever. If Todd Standing can't convince you that Bigfoot is real, then no one can convince you that Bigfoot is real. Just look at this actual snapshot from the film that Todd Standing insists is a real Sasquatch and not just a man in a suit which is what it looks like but TRUST ME it's Bigfoot. Watch the trailer and then the film and open your eyes to the real world.
- Peder
Phantom Thread
WATCH A CLIP HERE!
Sumptuous sets, lavish costumes, and a razor-sharp, high-wire score all find their perfect part in the story of the fussy, demanding dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock. Messr. Woodcock is the mother’s boy par excellence–he has a lock of his deceased mother’s hair sewn into his jacket. But his safe routines and work habits are threatened with the arrival of his noisy new muse, Alma. (A name that, rightly or wrongly, conjures the alma mater: literally “kind, nourishing mother.”) There’s a lot to unpack here, and you’re welcome to help do so at tomorrow’s round table discussion – where we’ll attempt to sort out this tale’s tangled threads.
- Matt
Like this mix? Tell us what you think in the comments below, and let us know what you’re recommending for us to watch this week!