J.R. Jenks' Blog: Soaking It In: Crooklyn

Saturday, December 29, 2007

0:16:00 Glue-sniffing scene takes us into an altered reality.
0:28:30 I can't hear "Hey Joe" without thinking of Weird Al.
0:30:20 David Cassiday, teen heartthrob.
0:49:20 I have got to get this soundtrack. It comes in two parts: 1 and 2.
0:55:40 Another trip into an altered reality; this time as a fevered dream.
0:58:50 The dog is named Muttley. (Heh. If this were an Ingmar Bergman film the dog would be named Gegga.)
1:07:45 Another altered reality. This time it's not glue-sniffing or fever; it's Virginia.
0:55:50 I love the the-what-now? expression on Troy as her cousin is singing along with the white-bread Christian TV show.
1:26:00 Queenie provides a horrible cautionary tale about being crushed by Southern living.
The altered-reality scenes come and go towards the end of the film. It's hard to distinguish what's real and what's not after Momma goes.

The cousinnephew summary:

Spike Lee is a very impressive director, judging on what you see here.
Incredible film work at the beginning. During the opening credits, you notice the camera work he did with the kids counting off and running. The camera's on a crane, then on a movie car. He has enough takes that when the girls are. He must have done at least four different angles for the girls-slapping-hands. Did an overhead shot of the rope jumping. Shows that these people all know each other.
Did their own custom opening titles, which made a statement about the time period.
In the household they do a lot of moving shots, though the dinner scenes seem to be stand-stills.
The camera follows the mother behind the stairs.
Acting was pretty incredible for the amount of youth. The kids were great actors.
It had such a realistic home/family feeling to it. It seemed so natural.
(Asked what he'd emulate or avoid in his own filmmaking:) I'd capture his style of doing different kinds of moving shots.
The editing was really pretty impressive.

J.R. Jenks' Blog