David Lynch, Inland Empire & Another Missed Opportunity

Inland Empire, the latest film from David Lynch, and his most experimental work since Eraserhead, was playing in Bethesda up until last Sunday. I never got around to it. Like a dumbass. Seeing Lynch movies in the theater is imperative mainly because of his use of sound. I don't have the setup in my apartment that makes the earth shake when a guy gets tackled on the TV or makes things shake of the table when I watch The Battle for Mexico City on volume 11, so the DVD won't provide the best environment possible. I had the opportunity to get to the theater and see this and blew it. There was actually one night where I planned on doing it, as the First Lady (not a Lynch fan) had a prior commitment and I didn't have to be into work early the next day. What did I do? I watched 8 back-to-back episodes of Weeds. Not a bad plan, but not as good as catching a Lynch movie in the theater. I think part of it is the city mentality of things appearing to be further away than the really are, simply because the Beltway blows and there is construction everywhere these days. While I've tackled a bigger road trip than going to Maryland to catch a movie, this one became a bridge too far. And I hate myself for it.

My self-loathing aside, there is an interview with David Lynch at the Onion A.V. Club. It is a great read and another great interview from what is quickly becoming one of my favorite all purpose entertainment sites. David Lynch recently wrote a coffee-table book called Catching the Big Fish. I've read about half of the passages and I think that any fan of his films, or simply a fan of art or music in general will enjoy it.