Tag Archives: Lars von Trier

Memories of Murder + The House That Jack Built

Posted on April 25, 2021 by Alice Thirteen
Memories of Murder + The House That Jack Built

Punishing cinema gets criminal. Memories of a Murder subvert the ringer trope. What makes this Bong Joon-ho film truly upsetting. South Korean cinema creeps up on Double Feature in a retrospective of the films covered so far. The unrated cut of The House That Jack Built and the MPAA fuckery that caused it. A report from the sold-out one-night-only showing of Lars von Trier’s uncut killing spree. Art is Murder. No, you’re thinking of The Smith’s song. Getting away without rolling the eyes. How The House That Jack Built provokes in new ways. The stories about Lars and how they feed into the controversial film. Always remember: fuck Hulu. Continue reading →

Love + Nymphomaniac

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Alice Thirteen
Love + Nymphomaniac

The longest orgasm in podcast history. What is the line between art and pornography? An unpopular opinion. Sex is a dangerous thing. It changes your life. Consent, monogamy, a depression trilogy fuck-epic and the intersection of love and sex. Sexual exclusivity as the default. Nymphomaniac’s two parts should be viewed as a single film. Biological acceptance versus emotional consent. Starting with consent and finishing without it. Infidelity and experimentation. Continue reading →

Melancholia + Persona

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Alice Thirteen
Melancholia + Persona

Considering identity and withdrawal. Finally, a trip through Melancholia in another chapter of Lars von Trier’s Depression Trilogy. Hopefully that one guy still listens. Sometimes the obvious metaphor is the right metaphor. Who’s the real victim of the swell party? What Melancholia shows regarding the cognitive divide between those with depression and those without depression. Different backgrounds create different knee-jerk reactions. Naked Kirsten Dunst wins everything. Keifer Sutherland jumps into a tree. The von Trier kinship. Persona as that one film that inspired all student films. Just how obscure is Ingmar Bergman? An early example of taking advantage of / completely subverting the media of film. Persona as described to another human – or attempted, anyways. Continue reading →

The Celebration + The Idiots

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Alice Thirteen
The Celebration + The Idiots

The Dogme95 primer pays off! Two films from an obscure movement. Official Dogme95 No. 1: The Celebration. A film that refuses to tell you how to feel. Fear of the unreliable victim. Justified breakfast. What happens when Dogme95 plays by the rules. The perfect conclusion. By the way, there’s totally spoilers in this show. Official Dogme95 No. 2: The Idiots. Lars von Trier re-enters a trilogy. Life with the soft of mind. A defense of being obnoxious. The future of America’s culture wars. If it feels good, do it. Attempting to evaluate someone’s life with minimal context. No one should suffer (an apparently controversial opinion). Let people do what they need to do. Continue reading →

Antichrist + Red White and Blue

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Alice Thirteen
Antichrist + Red White and Blue

Sex and violence double feature! The beginning of Lars von Trier’s depression trilogy. Joy and suffering. Shock value and what remains hidden under the surface. Notes on talking animals. Art as therapy. Willem Dafoe is once again a character that’s terrible at his job. Red White and Blue, straight out of Austin Texas. People in Los Angeles are bored of other people in Los Angeles. A different kind of color theory. Use a fucking condom! Meta through inventive filmmaking. The new crop of horror-inspired independent films. A brief followup on Lexi Love. Continue reading →

Breaking the Waves + Julien Donkey-Boy

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Alice Thirteen
Breaking the Waves + Julien Donkey-Boy

An exploration of Dogme95. The rules of Dogme95 are crucial. The rules of Dogme95 are as follows.
1. Very locate. Much local prop.
2. Wow! Such location. Very sounds.
3. Much shaky.
4. So colour! Wow. Much basics light.
5. Not filter. Much forbid.
6. Not action. Such no murder. Wow!
7. So forbid temporal displacement! Very believe.
8. Much not genre.
9. Wow! Very millimeters. Such 35.
10. Much direct. Not credit. Wow. Continue reading →

The Machinist + Dogville

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Alice Thirteen
The Machinist + Dogville

Darker dramas featuring protagonists played by actors Double Feature likes (but doesn’t often think about), who are in this particular instance obscured on the covers of their respective films by a thin brown material that is likely a fabric of some kind. Note: those are not necessarily the covers associated with this episode of Double Feature, as better selections may have been made. It’s also possible that this is being read in the future where cover art has somehow been deprecated, or in an environment that does not use art for some reason. Well, really the future is a kind of environment, so perhaps that’s redundant. If this is being listened to in a grim future where art is no longer a human concept, or is in some way banned, we’re glad you still have Double Feature. Hey, wasn’t Christian Bale in a movie like that? Continue reading →

Dancer in the Dark + Purple Rain

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Alice Thirteen
Dancer in the Dark + Purple Rain

A music heavy episode with Björk and Prince! The strange relationship a listener has with an artist. The brand Björk vs the person Björk. Artist packaging. A singer’s voice. Lars von Trier as a director and as a co-worker. Tension. Why handheld? Why not really handheld. The box. Direct instructions: put Udo Kier in everything, and do it now. Peter Stormare sings. Another Björk mystery! David Morse. The money, the lie, and the ethicacy. Dancer in the Dark is amazing, and, separately, a consideration on principles and message. Purple Rain has Prince in it! Just your normal, average guy. Morris Day and The Time. The ultimate foil. Sexism and genres. Rebecca Romijn, especially where you don’t expect her. What kind of heavy is Purple Rain. Making a movie to promote your album. Continue reading →