So much new stuff. Been slacking, again. Got a The Aither tattoo on the 8th, my first in a parlor and my first with color (yellow, and on the next session white ink). Finishing up three projects at once, if that's possible (of course it is).
Everyone should watch all of Bruce LaBruce's films. Life of Crime (HBO doc) – 7/10 – a really important and daring work. Horrifying yet oddly tender in parts. Fantasia (rewatch) – 10/10 The Mule – 8.5/10 – Eastwood seems set on remaking A Perfect World, or for that matter, following up film essays on The Ox Bow Incident, but that's cool Cry Macho – 7/10 – Good, fun, colossal, all-encompassing, Eastwood written all over it, but ultimately underwhelming Chasers – 6/10 – Fun, sexy and effective army comedy. I wonder why Hopper directed this. He also plays a great feature part in it. I think it celebrates several aspects of life he embraced and their triumph over a military institution – of course I'm talking about some muted form of sexual liberation. L.A. Johns – 6/10 – worth it if just for Debbie Harry as a madam and the amazing editing The Crush (rewatch) – 9/10 – great homages to Lolita, hilarious, melodramatic, realistically unbelievable, everything one wants from its kind. The Craft: Legacy – 7.5/10 – surprisingly good followup. David Duchovny is the best.
As Life of Crime: 1984-2020 clarifies, “criminals” are not necessarily “bad” by nature. Often, they are victims, too: Victims of their circumstances, infirmities and addictions. Consequently, neither isolated incidents of criminal behavior nor an entire “life of crime” can be merely chalked up to bad people or bad decision-making skills. There are too many other variables to consider.
“Nevertheless, the general public doesn’t always appreciate that, and its opinion of criminals and the ones who defend them is often negative. I’m in my second decade defending defendants, and I can’t count the number of times friends, family and even strangers have questioned how I’m able (or why I choose) to associate with criminal clients. Honestly, I don’t give two licks what they think. I know they’re coming from a place of ignorance. After all, to quote the great Clarence Darrow: “To be an effective criminal defense attorney, an attorney must be prepared to be demanding, outrageous, irreverent, blasphemous, a rogue, a renegade and a hated, isolated, and lonely person—for the few love a spokesperson for the despised and the damned.” (https://www.abajournal.com/columns/article/life-of-crime-and-a-career-defending-the-same) https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/honor-mike-mcgraths-drawings/