Ezra I. James
Bio
Absurd essayist from the outskirts of Shambhala.
Stories (12/0)
I’ve Watched Over 200 Movies This Year: Here’s How They’ve Rewired My Brain
It all started when I realized how despite calling myself an avid movie watcher, I haven’t come close to sniffing the glorious number of 1,000 films to my viewing credit. I know more about movies as a concept than as an experience. Most of my knowledge comes from books and the goddamn internet. A similar realization about music last year resulted on an exploration of the many music genres I listened to. The results were a newfound appreciation on the art and its history, and it was with the success of this in mind that I decided to embark on this visual journey of what the auteurs call cinema. The goal is to watch 1,000 films by the end of the year; with 200 already on the board, I can either continue this aggressive focus or mellow down a little for what will amount to a big push come Summer. Can’t say I’ve decided what to do yet, but the clock is always ticking. I figured that in the meantime I can take a moment to reflect on the endeavor.
By Ezra I. James2 years ago in Geeks
Thank You, RedLetterMedia
The gang of RedLetterMedia is the closest thing to Nietzsche’s Ubermensch in the modern world. They represent everything holy and sacred in today’s internet culture, the very best it has to offer. For more than a decade they have entertained and inspired a generation of moviegoers to expand their horizons by providing fun and creative reviews of movies they’re particularly interested in. The gimmick has resulted in an avid following willing to support and defend everything they stand for. The world is a better place for their existence, and their success is proof of an actual chance that smart and thought provoking commentary is possible in an era where everything is stale and packaged together.
By Ezra I. James2 years ago in Geeks
The Importance of the Antikythera Mechanism
Picking a topic to discuss has always been a hard thing for me to do due to the number of interests I have. The closest oversimplification I can make to encompass all of them in one short phrase is history and its moods across time. The very concept of being confined to the limitations of time and space (and everything that happens in between) fascinates me to no avail. I feel as if humanity has always been haunted and influenced by the past; always looking further while constantly peeking back. There's something powerful and poignantly important about the synthesis of both the past and present.
By Ezra I. James2 years ago in FYI
Is The Sopranos the Most Rewatchable Show of All Times?
*This essay contains spoilers. * The Sopranos is currently in the middle of a cultural revival. Debuting in 1999 and concluding in 2007, it revitalized the dying genre of the TV drama, bringing a whole new level of nuance and sophistication never-before seen on the medium. No show has influenced television more in the 21st Century; it set the tone and style which would later influence practically every television series that came after. Its success was a in large part due to the hands-off approach HBO had on the making of the show, allowing creator David Chase the time and space to explore themes and stories that were rarely tackled to such a depth on TV.
By Ezra I. James2 years ago in Geeks
David Lynch's Best Advice: Find Your Space and Invent
Finding bliss and comfort in this world sounds more like a task than an inherent reality of existence. Lately you're probably getting a feeling that something tough and difficult is brooding in the corner, waiting to take your happiness away, or it already has. As the pressures pile on in your daily existence you begin to wonder how of if you're ever going to the space and time needed to work on your craft and become the professional you want to be, and this only makes things worse.
By Ezra I. James2 years ago in Geeks
What Makes The Shining So Endearing?
There are not many ways to describe why The Shining is a stunning masterpiece of the art of cinema. It is a film where even knowing the entire plot simply won't do it justice; you must experience the story for yourself to really understand its hypnotic quality. Such is the case that when one attempts to talk about the film they inevitably end up talking more about what's behind the imagery than the story itself.
By Ezra I. James2 years ago in Geeks
The Enduring Legacy of 'Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72'
It's a little past midnight and I am sitting alone in my new apartment. Two weeks have passed since the move here, and there's been plenty of time to get accustomed. The place is located at the back-end of a complex of four apartments; it only has one room and bathroom, with a small corridor leading to the kitchen, and it has a/c, which was a must in my book. The environment has been perfect to read and relax, the one thing that impossible for me to do in the place I used to live.
By Ezra I. James2 years ago in Geeks
Paris, Coffee, and Vices
A short anecdote on the history of Paris' coffeehouses has left me in a state of reflection. The amount of things one fine bean is capable of doing to humanity is mesmerizing. Coffee's impact in our civilization belongs in the same category as alcohol and herbal spices, and our behavior under its consumption has been the focus of constant speculations about the true purpose of its use ever since we started figuring out the basic chemical components of its composition.
By Ezra I. James2 years ago in Wander
Revisiting John Carpenter's The Thing in HD
After taking a brief pause on my early 20th century film marathon, where I watched classic such as The Passion of Joan of Arc, Vampyr, and a collection of the Marx brothers' films, I decided to take a trip down memory lane with a rewatch of the 1982 John Carpenter masterpiece The Thing.
By Ezra I. James2 years ago in Geeks
On William S. Burroughs
Plenty of things have been said about William Seward Burroughs over the course of his life and after. He was a shamble man with a box full of mysteries, a man that can't be admired nor respected but simply studied for the amount of chaos he produced with virtually everything he touched.
By Ezra I. James2 years ago in Horror
Dream Doctors
There are distant rumors among the strange lands of this world concerning doctors out in the open with the distinct ability of triggering dreams. Practitioners of this technique are known for their intense knowledge of hypnosis and hallucinogens. It is believed that through shamble meditation and constant drug use, their minds develop a mysterious 6th sense, the one scientists for centuries have been trying to uncover.
By Ezra I. James2 years ago in Fiction
The Many Saints of Newark Is Good, Actually
Four and a half months have passed since The Many Saints of Newark was released, the long awaited prequel of The Sopranos, the greatest television show ever created. Reactions were mostly mixed, with many praising what they saw while arguing the need for more. If there is one thing everyone appears to be universally criticizing the movie for is its run time. Some have said it should’ve been a miniseries while others (myself included) just wanted a longer story. But then there is another camp, those who disown the movie and consider it a complete mediocre pile of garbage. You can chalk this sentiment up to the inherent behavior of irrational fanatics following the current zeitgeist, people who didn’t get the show’s point in the first place, or a dose of expectations not abiding to reality. In reality, the truth, much like everything else in this forsaken life, is somewhere in the middle.
By Ezra I. James2 years ago in Geeks