28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[Spinal]

... though it has been quite a few years.

We're spanning time.

[The Mike]

It was only 2 pages ago, megladon8. Why must you hurt me?

If by "hurt" you mean "to damage or decrease the efficiency of (a material object) by striking, rough use, improper care, etc.", then....well, I don't know.

[Spun Lepton]

If by "hurt" you mean "to damage or decrease the efficiency of (a material object) by striking, rough use, improper care, etc.", then....well, I don't know.

If by "to damage or decrease the efficiency of (a material object) by striking, rough use, improper care, etc." you mean "the crab dinner" then I will have the salmon special, please, waiter. By the way, this fork is dirty.

[BuffaloWilder]

Speaking of, I've got a short-film length screenplay I'm willing to whore out to anyone who has the mocksy to try and do it. And, a few others on the way.

With A Mentality (http://pc.celtx.com/project/2SKwDSo9hfJD).

[Qrazy]

What? The Brown Bunny is excellent. I still need to see Buffalo '66 though, actually.

If by excellent you mean a piece of crap then yes, it is that.

edit: Heh I wrote that before reading all the 'if by' comments. Nice. And by nice I mean lame and by lame I mean potato salad.

[MacGuffin]

If by excellent you mean a piece of crap then yes, it is that.

No, by excellent, I mean excellent.

[Sycophant]

Guys, I'm with Winston* here. Stop.

[BuffaloWilder]

No, by excellent, I mean excellent.

Yes, if by excellent you mean pseudo-ruminatory driving scenes for almost two hours, and then a blowjob.


Starring Vincent Gallo.

[Qrazy]

No, by excellent, I mean excellent.

But by 'mean' you mean 'do not mean', right?

[Spinal]

Yes, if by excellent you mean pseudo-ruminatory driving scenes for almost two hours, and then a blowjob.



If this is all you thought the film was, you missed a lot.

[Ezee E]

Like Meg, I love Buffalo '66, but hate The Brown Bunny.

Freeway 2 is a must for Gallo fans.

And I met the man at the Denver premiere of The Brown Bunny. Talk about into yourself, the man did a Q&A for 90+ minutes.

[Raiders]

http://www.clipartof.com/images/emoticons/xsmall2/2219_twitching.gif

[BuffaloWilder]

If this is all you thought the film was, you missed a lot.

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Film/Pix/pictures/2007/08/31/ebert460.jpg

[balmakboor]

I really enjoyed Brown Bunny, until it turned needlessly ugly in the end. Then I kinda started to hate it.

[Winston*]

Ebert liked the revised cut of that movie.


http://www.clipartof.com/images/emoticons/xsmall2/2219_twitching.gif

That's the best smilie I've ever seen.

[BuffaloWilder]

Ebert liked the revised cut of that movie.

I might have to take a look at that, then.

Hmmm

[Spinal]

Ebert liked the revised cut of that movie.


Yep. (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040903/REVIEWS/409020301/1023)

[Philosophe_rouge]

I liked the Brown Bunny too.

[BuffaloWilder]

Yep. (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040903/REVIEWS/409020301/1023)

This was funny:


Critics who saw the film last autumn at the Venice and Toronto festivals walked in expecting the disaster they'd read about from Cannes. Here is Bill Chambers of Film Freak Central, writing from Toronto: "Ebert catalogued his mainstream biases (unbroken takes: bad; non-classical structure: bad; name actresses being aggressively sexual: bad) ... and then had a bigger delusion of grandeur than 'The Brown Bunny's' Gallo-centric credit assignations: 'I will one day be thin but Vincent Gallo will always be the director of 'The Brown Bunny.' "

Faithful readers will know that I admire long takes, especially by Ozu, that I hunger for non-classical structure, and that I have absolutely nothing against sex in the cinema. In quoting my line about one day being thin, Chambers might in fairness have explained that I was responding to Gallo calling me a "fat pig" -- and, for that matter, since I made that statement I have lost 86 pounds and Gallo is indeed still the director of "The Brown Bunny."

[balmakboor]

I might have to take a look at that, then.

Hmmm

If you've seen the DVD, you've seen the revised cut. I think the cut Ebert initially panned only played at Cannes.

[BuffaloWilder]

If you've seen the DVD, you've seen the revised cut. I think the cut Ebert initially panned only played at Cannes.

Oh, my.

[MacGuffin]

I think I may watch Fireworks for the first time right now. It will be my first Takeshi "Beat" Kitano movie and I'm expecting no less than a masterpiece.

[balmakboor]

I just watched The Red and the White. Very striking movie that I'll certainly watch again in the next day or two. My first impression was that it's like a more stately and visually elegaic version of Paths of Glory.

[Ivan Drago]

I love the production process of being on set and seeing the script get made into a film, but postproduction makes me not even want to see the finished product at times.

My short has also been seen on here. Yxklyx (I believe) rated it higher than Crash on his year's end list. :)

He gave it two stars

Eh when I made my film this past spring I had the most fun with postproduction. Thank you Final Cut Pro.

[Boner M]

I got my photo taken with Tsai Ming-Liang today! It's a really dorky one too. I'll post it when my friend forwards it.

His new film is good too, albeit probably inaccessible to all but his devoted followers. Thoughts on that one (and others) to come.

[trotchky]

Buffalo '66 is good. I have zero interest in The Brown Bunny.

And yes, Vincent Gallo is a dick.

[lovejuice]

I got my photo taken with Tsai Ming-Liang today! It's a really dorky one too. I'll post it when my friend forwards it.
lucky bastard. he must be so proud to have his photo taken with boner of matchcut fame.

[Watashi]

I want my photo taken with boner. :sad:

[number8]

I dunno, I think I liked Brown Bunny more than Buffalo '66, but neither are particularly great.

[MacGuffin]

I think I may watch Fireworks for the first time right now. It will be my first Takeshi "Beat" Kitano movie and I'm expecting no less than a masterpiece.

Okay, maybe a little less (I should stop overhyping movies for myself from now on), but still a wonderful movie. Which of his should I check out next?

[MacGuffin]

Boner, is Face more The Wayward Cloud or Goodbye Dragon Inn?

[Spinal]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/verabluehead.jpg

Anyone seen this crazy Mexican film, Vera?

This old man gets trapped when a cave collapses and, as he lays dying, he has some sort of bizarre hallucinatory trip where he sees things crumbling all around him like fruit and livestock and then this bald, blue-skinned androgynous humanoid shows up that might be the Angel of Death or might be an alien or might be some kind of android because it is able to show him visions of the material world through projections in its chest. There's very little dialogue. It's like the opening sequence of There Will Be Blood remade as a stand-alone feature by Fernando Arrabal. It gets somewhat laborious from time to time, so don't get too excited. But it certainly has its fair share of captivating bizarre imagery for those who like 'off the deep end' cinema.

[Stay Puft]

Okay, maybe a little less (I should stop overhyping movies for myself from now on), but still a wonderful movie. Which of his should I check out next?

I'd go back to the start with Violent Cop, or hit up Sonatine, probably his best yakuza film. Kikujiro will be more rewarding, I think, if you're already familiar with Kitano's yakuza characters (Sonatine, Boiling Point). And you'll definitely want to work through the majority of his filmography, at least hitting all the major stops, before jumping into Takeshis' and beyond.

[BuffaloWilder]

Blog below. Hitchhiker's Guide. You know what to do.


Seacrest, out.

[BuffaloWilder]

So, over in the Upcoming Film section, somebody brought up Tommy Wiseau's opus, The Room. And, maybe someone here can tell me - where is he from, exactly? I can't place the accent.

[Boner M]

Boner, is Face more The Wayward Cloud or Goodbye Dragon Inn?
I haven't seen GDI (I know, I know) so I can't say. It's probably the least accessible film of his that I've seen, and Tsai even introduced the film telling the audience that he'd prefer them to fall asleep in the theatre instead of walking out like they did last night (apparently only half the audience was left in the theatre after the previous screening). It's even more immersed in the world of the films and art he loves (esp. Truffaut, with Jean-Pierre Leaud and Fanny Ardant playing themselves) than his previous work, and the central dichotomy is less connection/disconnection than artifice/reality, which means it's a lot less emotionally engaging as well.

However, I saw it as Tsai being quite critical of its own conception and the self-reflexivity that appears throughout his work. There's a repeated motif of people shutting themselves off from reality - represented by Lee Kang-Sheng's mother dying as his production becomes increasingly awry - whether it be the numerous scenes of people walking through the underground sewers and tunnels of Paris, or Laetitia Casta's character constantly covering windows up with electrical tape, and at one point covering a mirror with it before weeping after her reflection disappears... the theme is quite blatantly stated by Ardant when she says something to the effect of "it's better to impose oneself than to conceal it", just as the film itself has reached a peak of impenetrability. It's an intellectually stimulating film more than anything, and I'd surely like to discuss it with more of Tsai's fans if they get the opportunity to see it.

[Russ]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/verabluehead.jpg

Anyone seen this crazy Mexican film, Vera?
I've seen it. Yeah, it is pretty out there. Would love to see a better print than that crappy Facets DVD (which was full-frame, despite having a widescreen trailer with which to compare, and the sound synchronization was off about a full second), unless they corrected these faults, which I doubt.

[Qrazy]

Okay, maybe a little less (I should stop overhyping movies for myself from now on), but still a wonderful movie. Which of his should I check out next?

Watch Dolls or the new Zatoichi because Sonatine and Violent Cop suck.

[Sycophant]

I disagree with what Qrazy says sucks, but you may want to watch Kids Return next--one of his best (in which he does not act), if you can put up with a shitty DVD transfer. Sonatine is actually pretty great, though you may want to wait while since it's got a lot of at least superficial similarity to Fireworks. Zatoichi is a good recommendation for a possible next place to go, too.

[Raiders]

Kids Return and A Scene at the Sea are also great films.

Because it is inevitable:

Hana-bi [****]
Kids Return [****]
A Scene at the Sea [****]
Kikujiro [***½]
Sonatine [***]
Dolls [***]
Zatoichi [**½]
Violent Cop [**½]
Brother [**]

I really need to see his three most recent films: Takeshis', Glory to the Filmmaker and Achilles and the Tortoise.

[MacGuffin]

Watch Dolls or the new Zatoichi because Sonatine and Violent Cop suck.

I'm not going to take this advice because it feels different from everything else I've heard.

[MacGuffin]

I think I'll probably watch Violent Cop next.

[MacGuffin]

I haven't seen GDI (I know, I know)

It's my favorite of his of the things I've seen.

Rebels of the Neon God ***
The Hole *1/2
What Time Is It There? ***
The Skywalk Is Gone **1/2
Goodbye Dragon Inn ****
The Wayward Cloud *
I Don't Want to Sleep Alone **

[Qrazy]

I'm not going to take this advice because it feels different from everything else I've heard.

Don't care. I'm right. They're wrong.

Or watch Kids Return, A Scene at the Sea or Kikujiro because I haven't seen them so they could be good.

[MacGuffin]

Don't care. I'm right. They're wrong.

I knew you'd see it my way!

[balmakboor]

Rebels of the Neon God **
The River ***
The Hole ***1/2
What Time Is It There? ***1/2
Goodbye Dragon Inn ***
I Don't Want to Sleep Alone **1/2

[Stay Puft]

I'm not going to take this advice because it feels different from everything else I've heard.

Actually, Zatoichi is a great suggestion. It would be more rewarding if you're familiar with the previous serials, but it works great on its own (I had only seen the first two Zatoichi movies when I watched it).

I still say Kikujiro would be more rewarding with previous experience with Kitano's yakuza characters, which is the thought process behind my original suggestions. Kitano is most famous internationally for exactly these films, so it seems like a good idea to get acquainted with them early. I actually saw most of Kitano's films in chronological order, though, so perhaps it's a bit difficult for me to seperate them. Waiting before jumping into Sonatine is also a good suggestion - maybe you want to check out Violent Cop and Boiling Point first, though maybe the latter would be difficult to track down (and has a terrible DVD transfer).

I was wary of suggesting Kids Return, just because it was actually the second Kitano film I saw (one of the only ones I watched out of order, along with Zatoichi) and it did not really work for me. I enjoyed it a lot more after I had worked through more of his films and knew a bit more about Kitano.

[soitgoes...]

Don't care. I'm right. They're wrong.


Actually you're wrong this time.

[Qrazy]

Actually you're wrong this time.

Nope.

[Stay Puft]

Violent Cop - ***
Boiling Point - **1/2
A Scene at the Sea - ****
Sonatine - ***1/2
Kids Return - ***
Hana-bi - ****
Kikujiro - ****
Brother - **1/2
Dolls - ***
Zatoichi - ***1/2
Takeshis' - ****
Glory to the Filmmaker! - ***
Achilles and the Tortoise -**1/2

[Stay Puft]

And, yeah, A Scene at the Sea is great. My favorite of his early films, actually (pre-accident). So that's a good suggestion. Probably my favorite Joe Hisaishi score, too.

[Stay Puft]

I just realized I haven't seen Getting Any? Huh. I totally skipped one.

[Eleven]

Hana-bi - 8
Zatoichi - 7
Takeshis' - 7.5
Glory to the Filmmaker! - 6
Achilles and the Tortoise - 5.5

So there's lots I need to fill in, although I know all about his personas and whatnot. But I think his recently-completed artistic trilogy has a lot of interesting ideas and will become more important the more I investigate his back catalogue.

[baby doll]

What the hell?

Kikujiro (1998) / ***1/2
Brother (2000) / **1/2
Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman (2003) / ***1/2
Takeshis' (2005) / *

[Sycophant]

I just realized I haven't seen Getting Any? Huh. I totally skipped one.

You should totally watch it. It's a weird film in that it's funny from beginning to end, but its episodic nature makes the last (still quite funny) segment or two exhausting and almost unbearable.

Also, I agree with Stay Puft's rationale for holding off on Kikujiro, which is my second favorite Kitano after Fireworks. Though, curiously, Kikujiro was my first Kitano.

And golly, can we stop with the "I'm right," "No, you're wrong," "No, you're wrong 'cause I'm right," "Nuh-uh, I'm right--you're the one that's wrong" back-and-forths? There seems to be a lot lately. I know I'm probably the last one who should get to complain about barebones posting like that, but it's starting to give me a headache.

[Qrazy]

You should totally watch it. It's a weird film in that it's funny from beginning to end, but its episodic nature makes the last (still quite funny) segment or two exhausting and almost unbearable.

Also, I agree with Stay Puft's rationale for holding off on Kikujiro, which is my second favorite Kitano after Fireworks. Though, curiously, Kikujiro was my first Kitano.

And golly, can we stop with the "I'm right," "No, you're wrong," "No, you're wrong 'cause I'm right," "Nuh-uh, I'm right--you're the one that's wrong" back-and-forths? There seems to be a lot lately. I know I'm probably the last one who should get to complain about barebones posting like that, but it's starting to give me a headache.

Maybe.

But no.

[Sycophant]

Ranked, in order, without number rankings or ratings:

Fireworks
Kikujiro
Takeshis'
Kids Return
Zatoichi
To Each His Cinema short
Sonatine
Boiling Point
Achilles & the Tortoise
Violent Cop
Dolls
Getting Any
Glory to the Filmmaker!
Brother

I believe that all of the above are good films, while the everything above Sonatine are pretty much all great films..

I've seen A Scene at the Sea as well, but fell asleep near the end, so I don't feel I have a valid opinion on it.

[Spaceman Spiff]

On Gallo:

I love Buffalo '66. Cinematic misanthropy really cooks for me, I find. Especially when portrayed through the somewhat avant-garde/grainy lens.

On Kitano:

He's pretty much the man. I tend to prefer his more 'straight' films, as it were then his flights-of-fancy, but you can't go wrong either way (well maybe you can with Brother which was just boring, I thought). I think he beats up a kid in Violent Cop. That was great.

[Qrazy]

In typical Cassavetes fashion Minnie and Moskowitz was truly bizarre and meandering but simultaneously vibrant and compelling. It may also be his funniest film because the overall flow of the story although not light per se, certainly keeps things more optimistic than his work tends to be.

[Derek]

Ranked, in order, without number rankings or ratings

Here's a list of Kitano films I've seen without number rankings or ratings and in no specific order:

Sonatine
Achilles and the Tortoise
Hana-bi
Zatoichi

[Winston*]

The guy who plays Tao in Gran Torino is pretty much the worst actor I have ever seen.

[Winston*]

Here's a list of Kitano films I've seen without number rankings or ratings and in no specific order:

Sonatine
Achilles and the Tortoise
Hana-bi
Zatoichi

Here's a list of Miike films I've seen:

Audition
Ichi the Killer
One Missed Call
Sukiyaki Western Django
The Bird People in China

[D_Davis]

Here is a list of some films I've seen:

The Master Gunfighter
The Boxer From Shatung
Mac and Me
Beyond the Valley of the Ultravixens
The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb

[Russ]

Here's a grocery list:

Eggs
Bread
Milk
Beer
Frozen quesadillas

[Derek]

In typical Cassavetes fashion Minnie and Moskowitz was truly bizarre and meandering but simultaneously vibrant and compelling. It may also be his funniest film because the overall flow of the story although not light per se, certainly keeps things more optimistic than his work tends to be.

Yeah, it's weird and wonderful. Love that scene where they're dancing in the parking lot.


The guy who plays Tao in Gran Torino is pretty much the worst actor I have ever seen.

Yeah, the part when he was banging on the basement door begging to be let out was possibly the worst acting moment of 2008.

[Derek]

And thanks for getting the joke guys.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Mac and Me

Paul Rudd's a fan too. (http://videogum.com/archives/i-love-paul-rudd/paul-rudd-dances-seductively-w_035781.html)

[chrisnu]

In typical Cassavetes fashion Minnie and Moskowitz was truly bizarre and meandering but simultaneously vibrant and compelling. It may also be his funniest film because the overall flow of the story although not light per se, certainly keeps things more optimistic than his work tends to be.
I agree. It became a bit too meandering for me, particularly after they went to the dance hall; it became emotionally repetitive, I thought. The same feelings between the two shown all over again, without any additional wrinkles. Real people behave that way, but it makes for a movie experience that can get a little frustrating. I loved the conversations with the side characters: Minnie's older friend, the guy in the diner, and Zelmo. Thank God I don't have a mother like Seymour's. Wow.

[Ezee E]

The guy who plays Tao in Gran Torino is pretty much the worst actor I have ever seen.
Loved how Clint framed the scene in hopes to cover up his ridiculous emotional output. Bet he was pissed at that casting director.

[Amnesiac]

Has anyone here seen O (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0184791/), the (semi) recent Othello adaptation set in a contemporary South Carolina high school?

[MacGuffin]

Has anyone here seen O (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0184791/), the (semi) recent Othello adaptation set in a contemporary South Carolina high school?

Yeah, and it was a piece of shit.

[Amnesiac]

Yeah, and it was a piece of shit.

... I didn't really think so. But that's not an unpopular opinion.

[number8]

Oh, we're rating Kitano now? Cool. It's been too long for some of them for me to give a grade, but as for rankings:

1. Violent Cop
2. Fireworks
3. Kikujiro
4. Boiling Point
5. Zatoichi
6. Kids Return
7. Dolls
8. Brother

All of them good to great. Not a bad movie in the bunch. I kinda lost touch after Zatoichi, but I should really get around to seeing his more recent works.

[balmakboor]

Finally got around to Tetsuo the Iron Man tonight. What a crazy terrific little burst of creativity. Sort of cyberpunk as envisioned by a guy who must've overdosed on Eraserhead and The Evil Dead. Knowing that this thing exists explains a lot about what I recently watched in Tokyo Gore Police.

[origami_mustache]

Weekend:
The Third Generation

[MacGuffin]

Weekend:
Tetro

Where is this playing this weekend? I thought it was only Thurs., Fri. at the Landmark.

[number8]

Finally got around to Tetsuo the Iron Man tonight. What a crazy terrific little burst of creativity. Sort of cyberpunk as envisioned by a guy who must've overdosed on Eraserhead and The Evil Dead. Knowing that this thing exists explains a lot about what I recently watched in Tokyo Gore Police.

The world needs more Tetsuo lovers. You get a rep.

[origami_mustache]

Where is this playing this weekend? I thought it was only Thurs., Fri. at the Landmark.

Oh crap I was assuming it was playing there for more than just those 2 days.

[MacGuffin]

Oh crap I was assuming it was playing there for more than just those 2 days.

Well, it might be. I'm hoping it's more for two days. But they have no screenings listed on their website past today. Let me know if you find anything, of course. Directors like this deserve more than two days on one screen in a major city.

[megladon8]

1.) Zatoichi - 8
2.) Violent Cop - 7.5
3.) Sonatine - 5

[BuffaloWilder]

Michael Schaak's Felidae - there's a review coming up, but what are Match-Cut's thoughts?

[Ezee E]

I wonder if we can start implementing a simple "Do you like it or not" poll for new movies that come out. The claim that Up is hated upon, makes me wonder what the exact percentage is.

[MacGuffin]

I wonder if we can start implementing a simple "Do you like it or not" poll for new movies that come out. The claim that Up is hated upon, makes me wonder what the exact percentage is.

Kind of like what RT did (does?) in the forums?

[Ezee E]

Kind of like what RT did (does?) in the forums?
Perhaps. Its been years since I've actively participated there, much less even took a look at it.

Just recently saw the new look. Yuck, ours is better, and we're not worth millions of dollars.

[BuffaloWilder]

Don't make this place like RT. M-C has a flavor, all it's own.

[Ezee E]

It wouldn't really change the site. Just show insane MC is.

[BuffaloWilder]

It wouldn't really change the site. Just show insane MC is.

Ah.

Then again, Wats did just compare Spinal's dislike of Up to having his dog get shot in the face. Intentionally hyperbolic, I'm sure. Still.

[MacGuffin]

It wouldn't really change the site. Just show insane MC is.

Did RT really spend millions of dollars? I'm hoping this is exaggeration. But yeah, I would support the implication of a poll with options like "I loved this movie" "I liked this movie" "I thought this movie was okay" "I didn't like this movie" or "I hate this movie" for whenever somebody posts a thread about an individual movie. I find myself asking about the consensus for any given movie around here and it would be really easy to search for a movie, look at the poll results. So yeah, good idea.

[Ezee E]

Did RT really spend millions of dollars? I'm hoping this is exaggeration. But yeah, I would support the implication of a poll with options like "I loved this movie" "I liked this movie" "I thought this movie was okay" "I didn't like this movie" or "I hate this movie" for whenever somebody posts a thread about an individual movie. I find myself asking about the consensus for any given movie around here and it would be really easy to search for a movie, look at the poll results. So yeah, good idea.
RT hasn't spent millions of dollars, but the website is worth millions.

[BuffaloWilder]

My quickest review ever - Felidae is up, at the blog below.

[Spinal]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/johnny-got-his-gun-film.jpg

Johnny Got His Gun is haunting, powerful stuff. A World War I soldier is hit by a mortar shell and loses his arms, his legs and most of his face, leaving him little more than a brain trapped in darkness with his memories, fears and suppositions about what might be going on around him based on what he can feel. The great thing about the film is the way the flashbacks simulate a mind in great distress due to both trauma and the effect of sedatives. The soldier remembers conversations that probably took place, but also imagines others that never could have been - with an anachronistic Christ, his dead father and also his old girlfriend. The film's subject matter is ultra-grim, but the tale never drags because the film making itself - particularly the writing - is bold and alive. Anti-war film, surrealistic nightmare, extreme absurdist consideration of the relationship between mind and body ... it's all of these things. A must see.

[MacGuffin]

Weekend:
The Third Generation

Okay, they updated it now on the Landmark Theaters website. It's playing through the weekend and on.

[Winston*]

My quickest review ever - Felidae is up, at the blog below.

Can't you just post your stuff here as well? You don't get any advertising revenue from your Wordpress blog, so trying to get us to go there is just an unnecessary annoyance.

[Melville]

Hunger was pretty amazing. So many unforgettable images: the prison guard smoking in the snow, the riot police officer crying behind the wall, the cleaning of the urine-drenched hallway, the prisoner and the priest in silhouette. The sound design and visual compositions were incredibly forceful, which, in combination with the bare-bones narrative, minimal dialogue, and relentlessly visceral filth and suffering on display, made for one of the most grueling films I've seen. It seemed to implicitly support the IRA, which I can't really get behind, but other than that, it was superb.

[baby doll]

It seemed to implicitly support the IRA, which I can't really get behindSo you're pro-British?

The film seemed pretty even handed to me; not only does the priest articulately make the case against the hunger strike (and for negotiations), but even when we hear the radio snippets of Thatcher talking, she doesn't come off like a tyrant.

[BuffaloWilder]

Can't you just post your stuff here as well? You don't get any advertising revenue from your Wordpress blog, so trying to get us to go there is just an unnecessary annoyance.

I could, but I figure - hey

[Ivan Drago]

Ah.

Then again, Wats did just compare Spinal's dislike of Up to having his dog get shot in the face. Intentionally hyperbolic, I'm sure. Still.

Well who didn't see that coming?

And eh...all I see is the new "Community" on RT instead of the forums. They must still be getting worked on. Either way it looks like shit.

[number8]

On the Community homepage. Johanna G's review of Phantom Menace is the highest rated review of the day. I wonder why...

http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/profiles/92/708392/8934a2f62758f8aa_g.jpg

[EvilShoe]

On the Community homepage. Johanna G's review of Phantom Menace is the highest rated review of the day. I wonder why...

Review or GTFO.

[Yxklyx]

That's cool. Netflix has started receiving and sending out DVDs on Saturday - at least in my area.

[Melville]

So you're pro-British?
Not supporting the IRA makes me pro-British?


The film seemed pretty even handed to me; not only does the priest articulately make the case against the hunger strike (and for negotiations), but even when we hear the radio snippets of Thatcher talking, she doesn't come off like a tyrant.
I think that the set-up of the film, in which the IRA prisoners stand up for their cause in the face of ruthless, systematic abuse, makes the IRA seem implicitly admirable and tends to diminish the fact that they killed innocent civilians.

[Ezee E]

Only liked The Good Thief out of the three I've seen from Neil Jordan. Anyone recommend Mona Lisa, Michael Collins or The Company With Wolves?

[Mal]

Review or GTFO.
:)

[Qrazy]

Not supporting the IRA makes me pro-British?


I think that the set-up of the film, in which the IRA prisoners stand up for their cause in the face of ruthless, systematic abuse, makes the IRA seem implicitly admirable and tends to diminish the fact that they killed innocent civilians.

Well they do have the scene of the IRA killing the guard in front of his mother but I agree that the film primarily focuses on the IRA and their struggle and ultimately gives more weight to their side. I also liked the film less than you do for reasons I articulated elsewhere.

[Qrazy]

Only liked The Good Thief out of the three I've seen from Neil Jordan. Anyone recommend Mona Lisa, Michael Collins or The Company With Wolves?

Mona Lisa is OK, but I wouldn't recommend it.

[soitgoes...]

Only liked The Good Thief out of the three I've seen from Neil Jordan. Anyone recommend Mona Lisa, Michael Collins or The Company With Wolves?Haven't seen Mona Lisa, but the last two I would recommend.

[Melville]

Well they do have the scene of the IRA killing the guard in front of his mother but I agree that the film primarily focuses on the IRA and their struggle and ultimately gives more weight to their side. I also liked the film less than you do for reasons I articulated elsewhere.
Link?

The mother was completely unaware of her surroundings, so that scene didn't really do much to make the IRA seem any worse; given the beatings that the guard dished out earlier in the film, the retaliatory assassination can almost be read as justice being served. Also, I should have said that because it provides almost no external context, the set-up of the film makes the IRA seem implicitly admirable and tends to diminish the fact that they killed innocent civilians. The lack of context makes the film more powerful in its unflinching focus on the unfolding events, but it also kind of heroicizes the IRA prisoners.

[number8]

http://www.uberpix.net/wp-content/main/2009_06/george-lucas-now-and-then.jpg

[Stay Puft]

Anybody familiar with the Thin Man series? I'm going to assume a downhill trajectory, extrapolating from experience with the first two. I did enjoy them, but sequel has serious problems that I could see ruining the entire thing. I'm not sure I could tolerate four more if they continue in that direction (obnoxious pet humour, sequel pandering).

[Qrazy]

Link?

The mother was completely unaware of her surroundings, so that scene didn't really do much to make the IRA seem any worse; given the beatings that the guard dished out earlier in the film, the retaliatory assassination can almost be read as justice being served. Also, I should have said that because it provides almost no external context, the set-up of the film makes the IRA seem implicitly admirable and tends to diminish the fact that they killed innocent civilians. The lack of context makes the film more powerful in its unflinching focus on the unfolding events, but it also kind of heroicizes the IRA prisoners.

Well I don't know about that. The guard was humanized. The film opened on him, we saw him waiting to have to perform the beating (in order to facilitate grooming) and his emotional fall out after the beating. We also saw him eating alone, etc. He did not seem to enjoy his role in all of this and so I would not read his death as justice served.

http://www.match-cut.org/showthread.php?t=1420&highlight=hunger

[Melville]

Well I don't know about that. The guard was humanized. The film opened on him, we saw him waiting to have to perform the beating (in order to facilitate grooming) and his emotional fall out after the beating. We also saw him eating alone, etc. He did not seem to enjoy his role in all of this and so I would not read his death as justice served.
I wouldn't read it that way either (hence the "almost" in my statement), and I agree that the movie did a good job of showing the guard as a person put in an impossible situation (a situation which can be read as a microcosm of Northern Ireland as a whole, I suppose)...but you must admit that the beating was unduly fierce.

On an unrelated subject, did anybody understand the joke that the guard tells near the beginning? I had a hell of a time understanding the characters' dialogue.

[megladon8]

Anybody familiar with the Thin Man series? I'm going to assume a downhill trajectory, extrapolating from experience with the first two. I did enjoy them, but sequel has serious problems that I could see ruining the entire thing. I'm not sure I could tolerate four more if they continue in that direction (obnoxious pet humour, sequel pandering).


Nope.

After the Thin Man is one of the very best films of its time, and better than the first one.

But yeah, from #3 on, they start to get worse.

[Robby P]

Wait, Dalton Trumbo directed Johnny Got His Gun? That's really interesting. Especially that he waited, what, 30 some years to make it.

[Robby P]

Also, I'm trying to think of great World War I movies and the only ones I can come up with off the top of my head are 'All Quiet on the Western Front' and 'Paths of Glory'. What are some others?

[Qrazy]

Also, I'm trying to think of great World War I movies and the only ones I can come up with off the top of my head are 'All Quiet on the Western Front' and 'Paths of Glory'. What are some others?

Gallipoli, Grand Illusion, Lawrence of Arabia, A Very Long Engagement

[Spinal]

Also, I'm trying to think of great World War I movies and the only ones I can come up with off the top of my head are 'All Quiet on the Western Front' and 'Paths of Glory'. What are some others?

Dr. Zhivago

Also, not a film, but Black Adder Goes Forth is pretty awesome.

[number8]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/Flyboys_Final1Sheet2.jpg

[angrycinephile]

I live in Sweden and believe it or not but here the DVD tagline for Flyboys is "Pearl Harbor for men"

Probably the greatest tagline of all time.

[number8]

I have to agree.

[Yxklyx]

Also, I'm trying to think of great World War I movies and the only ones I can come up with off the top of my head are 'All Quiet on the Western Front' and 'Paths of Glory'. What are some others?

The Blue Max
Dawn Patrol
Hell's Angels

I liked them all.

[Philosophe_rouge]

Anybody familiar with the Thin Man series? I'm going to assume a downhill trajectory, extrapolating from experience with the first two. I did enjoy them, but sequel has serious problems that I could see ruining the entire thing. I'm not sure I could tolerate four more if they continue in that direction (obnoxious pet humour, sequel pandering).
I've seen them all, none are that great aside from The Thin Man and After the Thin Man. I wouldn't honestly recommend the others, though there are worse ways to spend your days.

[Stay Puft]

I've seen them all, none are that great aside from The Thin Man and After the Thin Man. I wouldn't honestly recommend the others, though there are worse ways to spend your days.

Yeah, I could see myself enjoying them as "comfort viewings" (like how Qrazy described Tora-san), as I rather enjoyed the antics of Nick and Nora, but I found the humour in the sequel sometimes cloying, sometimes obnoxious. If every sequel is derivative of the same basic concept and panders like that, I'm not sure I'd care to waste my time. Perhaps I'll take a break for now and check out the third one on a proverbial rainy day.


After the Thin Man is one of the very best films of its time, and better than the first one.

I don't think I can wrap my head around this. The second one is still a lot of fun, I grant, but I just see the first one as such a better crafted film. Part of that is the way the narrative is constructed. It's so light on its feet it's hard to get a bearing at first (e.g. It uses a sudden temporal leap to dislocate narrative trajectories); this mirrors the non-committal attitude of Nick, who himself is introduced as a minor player. There's great humour derived from our identification of Nick as a detective, and our expectations of his abilities to recontextualize the narrative as such, and his subsequent unwillingness to perform any such narrative duty, because he enjoys the current mood of the film too much. And when it becomes inevitable, he simply improvises.

Having a sequel focus entirely on Nick and Nora removes some of what made them interesting in the first place, and their active pursuit of a solution is more conventional, less compelling than the first film's state of narrative play (it's telling that the sequel actually features the villain confessing to his crimes, when that's completely beside the point in the original and so simply does not happen). And there are other details, like the dog, which I could tolerate in the first film, but which actually has a subplot in the sequel. It's obnoxious, it's pandering, it's a waste of time.

The first film is better crafted in other ways, such as the lighting. James Wong Howe's contributions here are sorely missed in the sequel. Etc.

[MacGuffin]

The guy who plays Tao in Gran Torino is pretty much the worst actor I have ever seen.

I'm thinking this may be the films' only real major flaw. I'm not really one to nitpick on acting, but it's the scene Derek mentions where he is pounding on the gate for Walt to let him out that almost becomes comedic in how exaggerated it became. I also got a little annoyed with the overacting of that characters' sister, who spoke in the same joking tone for almost the first entire half of the movie, and this became a little annoying as well. Some may say it fit her character, but I think that is underrating the movie; I say it's just bad acting. Again, I'm not one to really care about acting, but here it affects parts of the movie.

[Boner M]

Well, my film festival experience was certainly consistent.

[Watashi]

Well, my film festival experience was certainly consistent.
Nice. Glad to see someone else not too taken away with Soderbergh's latest.

I really want to see Black Dynamite.

[Bosco B Thug]

I'm thinking this may be the films' only real major flaw. I'm not really one to nitpick on acting, but it's the scene Derek mentions where he is pounding on the gate for Walt to let him out that almost becomes comedic in how exaggerated it became. I also got a little annoyed with the overacting of that characters' sister, who spoke in the same joking tone for almost the first entire half of the movie, and this became a little annoying as well. Some may say it fit her character, but I think that is underrating the movie; I say it's just bad acting. Again, I'm not one to really care about acting, but here it affects parts of the movie. Kid was pretty bad. Clint probably picked him off the streets, and he never wanted to act really. Let's hope.

But at least his character didn't make me feel like Daniel Plainview and want to slap someone silly. Anyone else react somewhat vehemently to the Priest character? Everything he said just irked me.

[MacGuffin]

Kid was pretty bad. Clint probably picked him off the streets, and he never wanted to act really. Let's hope.

But at least his character didn't make me feel like Daniel Plainview and want to slap someone silly. Anyone else react somewhat vehemently to the Priest character? Everything he said just irked me.

I thought the priest was a pretty awesome character, actually. I think he had a lot of depth. I don't know if I'd put him next to Dano's priest in There Will Be Blood, but he's very close.

[Boner M]

Nice. Glad to see someone else not too taken away with Soderbergh's latest.

I really want to see Black Dynamite.
It's frequently gorgeous to look at, but needed a warmer and less dead-eyed presence than Sasha Grey for its themes to really hit home (her acting is competent, but Anna Karina she ain't).

[Bosco B Thug]

I thought the priest was a pretty awesome character, actually. I think he had a lot of depth. I don't know if I'd put him next to Dano's priest in There Will Be Blood, but he's very close. Been a while since I've seen the film, so I don't remember exactly what the character says. But going by memory, I'm hoping the film was purposefully trying to make him someone who gives the most useless advice and adds zero to anything. Being young and green and all.

[Milky Joe]

Also, I'm trying to think of great World War I movies and the only ones I can come up with off the top of my head are 'All Quiet on the Western Front' and 'Paths of Glory'. What are some others?

There's also the remake of All Quiet done in the 70s, which might not be great but is worth watching, especially if you're looking for films about the Western Front. I'm still waiting for a film that accurately portrays it, though it might not even be possible (my dream is an HBO mini-series, but it will never happen).

There's also Regeneration, which is about the relationship between Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. Also not great, but worth watching.

Oh yeah, and Joyeux Noel, about the Christmas truce.

[trotchky]

Nice. Glad to see someone else not too taken away with Soderbergh's latest.

I really want to see Black Dynamite.

I haven't seen it, but I think it sounds insulting.

Out of curiosity, are any of her clients ugly or creepy? Are STDs ever seriously discussed? How about rape?

[Boner M]

Out of curiosity, are any of her clients ugly or creepy? Are STDs ever seriously discussed? How about rape?
No to the latter two questions, but film critic Glenn Kenny plays a creepily slimy sex blogger/reviewer, although his role is mostly comic and Chelsea's sexual encounter with him is kept offscreen. It's a pretty chaste film overall, although granted it uses prostitution as a jumping point for an exploration of the global financial crisis and the fakeness of human connection in the business world. It uses non-chronological editing potently, eliding a lot of the details and constantly shifting our perceptions of the relationships and interactions between Chelsea and her clients/partners, but altogether it feels a little half-assed and unsatisfying, offering up topicality and a canny understanding of the zeitgeist but not much else. The final scene's great, though.

[BuffaloWilder]

You know something I just noticed, about the final chase scene in The Road Warrior? There's a minor continuous continuity gaffe, that starts about three minutes in - the clouds alternate between, well, being there and not being there.

Huh.

[MacGuffin]

Been a while since I've seen the film, so I don't remember exactly what the character says. But going by memory, I'm hoping the film was purposefully trying to make him someone who gives the most useless advice and adds zero to anything. Being young and green and all.

Yeah, definitely. He eventually learns more from Walt than he teaches Walt.

[trotchky]

No to the latter two questions, but film critic Glenn Kenny plays a creepily slimy sex blogger/reviewer, although his role is mostly comic and Chelsea's sexual encounter with him is kept offscreen. It's a pretty chaste film overall, although granted it uses prostitution as a jumping point for an exploration of the global financial crisis and the fakeness of human connection in the business world. It uses non-chronological editing potently, eliding a lot of the details and constantly shifting our perceptions of the relationships and interactions between Chelsea and her clients/partners, but altogether it feels a little half-assed and unsatisfying, offering up topicality and a canny understanding of the zeitgeist but not much else. The final scene's great, though.

Glen Kenny is in this? lol, no wonder Armond White hated it.

[right_for_the_moment]

Since I'm watching Eastern Promises right now on HBO, I decided to take a gander at MC's revised 2007 consensus. I was surprised to find that it received exactly one vote and that one in the fifth spot no less. Granted it was a great year but still, why is it held in such low regard here? I found it just as interesting as A History of Violence before it, particularly in its continued exploration of fragmented identity, cultural traditions, and violence as well as the responsibility that accompanies these themes. Similarly, Cronenberg reveals so much about Viggo Mortensen's character and his relationship with Naomi Watt's in the way that their interactions are lit.

[MacGuffin]

Get an avatar, man. Wouldn't want people to skip over your posts because you don't have one.

[MacGuffin]

Check this (http://rateyourmusic.com/films/chart?year=1994) out. Sátántangó is ranked higher than Pulp Fiction on RYM's top movies of 1994 list.

[trotchky]

Check this (http://rateyourmusic.com/films/chart?year=1994) out. Sátántangó is ranked higher than Pulp Fiction on RYM's top movies of 1994 list.

True, but that might have something to do with it only having 48 ratings whereas Pulp Fiction has over 1,000.

[MacGuffin]

True, but that might have something to do with it only having 48 ratings whereas Pulp Fiction has over 1,000.

Well, yeah, but still. I'm finding the RYM lists much more suitable for figuring out which movies I should have probably seen but haven't, as oppose to IMDb, which only makes incoherent lists when you use the power search function.

[Winston*]

I figure anyone who sits through the entirety of a 9 hour Hungarian arthouse film probably has a good chance of digging that shit.

[right_for_the_moment]

Get an avatar, man. Wouldn't want people to skip over your posts because you don't have one.
Advice noted :)

[BuffaloWilder]

Get an avatar, man. Wouldn't want people to skip over your posts because you don't have one.

He's right, you know.

Just hope and pray that yours is something sexy, like mine.









:sad:

[soitgoes...]

Also, I'm trying to think of great World War I movies and the only ones I can come up with off the top of my head are 'All Quiet on the Western Front' and 'Paths of Glory'. What are some others?
Besides the others that have been mentioned, add The Big Parade.

[Pop Trash]

Since I'm watching Eastern Promises right now on HBO, I decided to take a gander at MC's revised 2007 consensus. I was surprised to find that it received exactly one vote and that one in the fifth spot no less. Granted it was a great year but still, why is it held in such low regard here? I found it just as interesting as A History of Violence before it, particularly in its continued exploration of fragmented identity, cultural traditions, and violence as well as the responsibility that accompanies these themes. Similarly, Cronenberg reveals so much about Viggo Mortensen's character and his relationship with Naomi Watt's in the way that their interactions are lit.

I was surprised by the lack of Eastern Promises love too. It's not his best film by any means, but after watching it three times, the typical Cronenberg themes stuck out a lot more than the first time I saw it. Like most of Cronenberg's films it improves on multiple viewings. I think the the only reason it didn't make it on my top ten list was that there seemed to be a surplus of agressive, often violent, macho, male oriented films in 2007 (Jesse James, No Country, TWBB, Grindhouse, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, this, others) and I wanted to at least have a few other types of films in my top ten. Plus, that was a particularly strong year and some things had to get cut.

[balmakboor]

Check this (http://rateyourmusic.com/films/chart?year=1994) out. Sátántangó is ranked higher than Pulp Fiction on RYM's top movies of 1994 list.

That's gotta be the strangest top 100 I've come across. Some movies I like, some movie I dislike. A few movies I love, but only one (!!!) that is in my top 100 (Pulp Fiction).

The ones I haven't seen (please rate and suggest which are must sees and which are must avoids):

Satantango (I started it once but only disc one was available at the time)
The Kingdom
Shallow Grave
Faust
Once Were Warriors
Cemetary Man
Death and the Maiden
The Crow
Little Odessa
La Cite de la Peur (what ever that is)
Wild Reeds
71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance
Amateur
Nightwatch
Il Mostro
Killing Zoe
Streetfighter II
The Search for Nihil Baxter
Care of Your Scarf Tatiana
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Giorgino
Ladybird Ladybird
Through the Olive Trees
L'enfer
Queen Margot
PCU
Lisbon Story
Blue Sky
Surviving the Game
Fist of Legend
The Sum of Us
Butterfly Kiss
Cold Water
Barcelona

[balmakboor]

We watched Shaolin Soccer as a family last night. My younger daughter is a soccer goalkeeper and is obsessed with Avatar. She always tells me she wishes she could do amazing things like Aang and fantasizes that she's superhuman when she makes great stops as a goalie. So, I thought the movie would be right up her alley.

Well, she loved it. Now she wants to take up kung fu and become a Shaolin goalie.

My wife fell asleep. My 17-year-old was texting her boyfriend the whole time.

I liked it quite a bit. Stephen Chow has been a great way to introduce my kids to Chinese (and otherwise foreign) movies. My younger daughter also liked CJ7 and told me she wants to see Kung Fu Hustle because one of the older boys on the swim team has been telling her about it.

[baby doll]

Well, my film festival experience was certainly consistent.Have you posted any thoughts about Tony Manero on the old interweb? Glad you liked it, but it appears significantly less so than I did. (I gave it the full four stars, when I saw it back in April.)

[Boner M]

Have you posted any thoughts about Tony Manero on the old interweb? Glad you liked it, but it appears significantly less so than I did. (I gave it the full four stars, when I saw it back in April.)
Thoughts coming soon.

[baby doll]

Satantango (Béla Tarr) / **1/2 (but you should probably check it out for yourself)
The Crow (Alex Proyas) / saw this in junior high and thought it sucked then
Wild Reeds (André Téchiné) / **** (one of my all time favorites)
71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (Michael Haneke) / ***1/2 (minor Haneke)
Amateur (Hal Hartley) / I need to re-watch this, but wasn't a huge fan at the time (I prefer The Unbelievable Truth and Trust); still, anything with Isabelle Huppert is probably worth checking out
Through the Olive Trees (Abbas Kiarostami) / I haven't seen this, but if you can you should
PCU (Hart Bochner) / I loved this when I was nine
Cold Water (Olivier Assayas) / I haven't seen this, but by reputation, it's one of Assayas' best and one of the major films of the 1990s
Barcelona (1994) / ***1/2

[Russ]

That's gotta be the strangest top 100 I've come across. Some movies I like, some movies I dislike. The ones I haven't seen (please rate and suggest which are must sees and which are must avoids)

The Kingdom/ Riget - Must see. Von Trier comparing favorably to Lynch (circa Twin Peaks) -- see it for Ernst-Hugo Järegård's sublime and hilarious performance.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d9/Ernst.hugo.riket.jpg

[Qrazy]

Satantango: Must See
Faust: Must See
Death and the Maiden: Solid Polanski Thriller
The Crow: OK saw it a decade ago.
Nightwatch: Crap, don't watch it.

[Russ]

Nightwatch: Crap, don't watch it.
The first half of Bornedal's film is excellent.

The second half is very much Crap. Shame the two halves couldn't be reconciled.

[Spun Lepton]

The first half of Bornedal's film is excellent.

The second half is very much Crap. Shame the two halves couldn't be reconciled.

Whoa, I thought I was the only one who held this opinion.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I've only seen the first 3 hours of Satantango. I was digging it until the entire hour with the overweight doctor who doesn't really do anything. I always get sidetracked as well, just as I'm about to continue.

[Qrazy]

The first half of Bornedal's film is excellent.

The second half is very much Crap. Shame the two halves couldn't be reconciled.

Oh I thought we were talking about Bekmambetov's film but the inclusion of Shallow Grave in the top 100 suggests that you are correct... there seem to be a lot of McGregor fans on the site.

I'm pretty sure I've seen Bornedal's film as well though and I think I agree with your assessment.

Also I thought we were talking about the original Faust. Svankmajer's film is OK but definitely not a must see.

[Qrazy]

Oh and IMDB top 100 is better than RYM top 100.

[megladon8]

I don't think I ever want to see Satantango.

[MacGuffin]

Oh and IMDB top 100 is better than RYM top 100.

What I posted earlier isn't their top 100, this (http://rateyourmusic.com/films/chart?page=1&chart_type=top&type=film&year=all-time&include=both&limit=none&countries=) is. If, after looking at that, you still feel the IMDb top 100 is a better list, I'm afraid I'm going to have to call bullshit.

[MacGuffin]

I don't think I ever want to see Satantango.

Your loss.

[megladon8]

Your loss.


Not really.

[MacGuffin]

Not really.

Actually, you probably won't like it, so you're probably right. Sorry.

[Qrazy]

What I posted earlier isn't their top 100, this (http://rateyourmusic.com/films/chart?page=1&chart_type=top&type=film&year=all-time&include=both&limit=none&countries=) is. If, after looking at that, you still feel the IMDb top 100 is a better list, I'm afraid I'm going to have to call bullshit.

Alright, that's better. A lot of the films on that 90s list suck.

[MacGuffin]

Alright, that's better. A lot of the films on that 90s list suck.

Well, it was only 1994.

[right_for_the_moment]

Wtf I don't see Star Trek or Slumdog anywhere on the RYM list. Oversight I guess

[Derek]

Wtf I don't see Star Trek or Slumdog anywhere on the RYM list. Oversight I guess

Too many pretentious artfag lovers who can't appreciate modern mainstream cinema or who lie about their tastes to look cool.

EDIT: And Harakiri is the only one in the top 100 I haven't seen. Been meaning to see it for a while, so top of the queue!

[balmakboor]

What I posted earlier isn't their top 100, this (http://rateyourmusic.com/films/chart?page=1&chart_type=top&type=film&year=all-time&include=both&limit=none&countries=) is. If, after looking at that, you still feel the IMDb top 100 is a better list, I'm afraid I'm going to have to call bullshit.

Ahh, that explains a lot. Now I don't think it's such a silly site.

[right_for_the_moment]

Too many pretentious artfag lovers who can't appreciate modern mainstream cinema or who lie about their tastes to look cool.

EDIT: And Harakiri is the only one in the top 100 I haven't seen. Been meaning to see it for a while, so top of the queue!
Apparently, but I am a man of the people as I'm currently watching Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.

On second thought, I may have to reconsider the man part of that sentence :sad:

[Ivan Drago]

That poster of Come And See that's on the RYM list page is AWESOME.

[MacGuffin]

Best intro to Tarkovsky: Andrei Rublev or Stalker?

[megladon8]

Best intro to Tarkovsky: Andrei Rublev or Stalker?


My first (and only so far) was Solyaris.

It was good. Not nearly as good as Soderbergh's.

[right_for_the_moment]

Best intro to Tarkovsky: Andrei Rublev or Stalker?
I saw Stalker first and was blown away. I went in knowing nothing about the film or Tarkovsky so I guess it worked fine as an intro for me

[Qrazy]

Best intro to Tarkovsky: Andrei Rublev or Stalker?

I think Stalker is slightly more accessible.

[Qrazy]

Too many pretentious artfag lovers who can't appreciate modern mainstream cinema or who lie about their tastes to look cool.

EDIT: And Harakiri is the only one in the top 100 I haven't seen. Been meaning to see it for a while, so top of the queue!

lol artfags.

Harakiri is great, as is Kobayashi in general.

[Qrazy]

My first (and only so far) was Solyaris.

It was good. Not nearly as good as Soderbergh's.

No.

[Derek]

Harakiri is great, as is Kobayashi in general.

I loved the first two parts of The Human Condition (Netflix pulled the third before I could rent it), so I'm looking forward to getting around to more of his films.

[Ezee E]

Stalker is MUCH better than Andrei Rublev. Still has a dull second hour though.

That is a neat list. I wonder if I'd like Satantango.

[right_for_the_moment]

I was surprised by the lack of Eastern Promises love too. It's not his best film by any means, but after watching it three times, the typical Cronenberg themes stuck out a lot more than the first time I saw it. Like most of Cronenberg's films it improves on multiple viewings. I think the the only reason it didn't make it on my top ten list was that there seemed to be a surplus of agressive, often violent, macho, male oriented films in 2007 (Jesse James, No Country, TWBB, Grindhouse, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, this, others) and I wanted to at least have a few other types of films in my top ten. Plus, that was a particularly strong year and some things had to get cut.
Interesting, I didn't think of that, but it's probably the case

[Ezee E]

2007 is just an amazing year. The fact that Eastern Promises didn't hit my top five is amazing, as it could easily top a year.

[megladon8]

No.


Good answer.

Your superior intelligence humbles me.

[Qrazy]

Stalker is MUCH better than Andrei Rublev. Still has a dull second hour though.

That is a neat list. I wonder if I'd like Satantango.

You wouldn't.

[Qrazy]

Good answer.

Your superior intelligence humbles me.

Nice, and I wasn't even trying to imply anything about superior intelligence. I was suggesting superior taste but if you want to compliment my intelligence as well then that's cool too.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Christopher Lee is now a knight. (http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/2498395/Christopher-Lee-honoured/)

This after being a count, a lord, a sith, a wizard, a judge, a pharoah, and about two hundred and fifty other things.

I can't believe that he's still alive, and I can't believe that he managed to work his way into some of the most popular franchises in history - and outshine the special effects completely.

Respect.

http://www.double-whammy.com/photos/ChristopherLee.jpg

Out of all his performances, my favorite is probably his work on The Wicker Man as the charismatic Jim-Jones-type Lord Summerisle. A runner-up would be The Devil Rides Out, where he did a great job as a protagonist, the learned Duc de Richleau.

[The Mike]

Yeah, saw that Friday. He's one step closer to being recognized as God. :cool:

[number8]

I think movies and politics should always go hand-in-hand. Is this wrong?

[The Mike]

I think movies and politics should always go hand-in-hand. Is this wrong?

As long as they're similar to They Live, yes.

[megladon8]

I would rather tongue my own balls than talk (or be talked at) about politics.

So no, I don't agree.

[Winston*]

Pretty sure megladon8 would rather tongue his own balls than a lot of things.

[megladon8]

Pretty sure megladon8 would rather tongue his own balls than a lot of things.


They are very tongue-able.

[Winston*]

I'm sorry for my previous post, Match Cut.

[megladon8]

I'm sorry for my previous post, Match Cut.


No you're not.

[Winston*]

No you're not.

I'm sorry for so many things, megladon8. So many.

[megladon8]

I'm sorry for so many things, megladon8. So many.


As long as you're not sorry for last night, I can accept your apology.

[MadMan]

:lol:

And I need to see myself more Christopher Lee, ASAP. Dude's an awesome actor.

[number8]

I would rather tongue my own balls than talk (or be talked at) about politics.

So no, I don't agree.

You liked The Dark Knight and Iron Man. Both movies are political.

[Winston*]

As long as you're not sorry for last night, I can accept your apology.

Last night I watched three episodes of The Wire and then went to bed, so no I suppose I'm not sorry for that.

[megladon8]

You liked The Dark Knight and Iron Man. Both movies are political.


Yes, but also explore moral, ethical and philosophical ideas. Which I find much more interesting.

I find the political ideas presented to be evocative, but to clarify what I meant, I would never engage in a conversation with someone regarding political policies.

Your statement that movies and politics should always go hand-in-hand is similar to baby doll's statement a long time ago that a film is not good unless it raises political questions and concerns. A statement with which I disagree completely.

[Ivan Drago]

...so we're going into page 1000 with witty banter about tongueing (sp?) balls?

Interesting.

[number8]

The moral and ethical dilemmas in both movies stem from a political standpoint. In Iron Man's case, his moral awakening is pretty much a real-world political quandary. In The Dark Knight, Batman's ethical crossing is a political debate, and an obvious one to boot. In fact, the entire film is one long political argument.

I think of the great films of recent years, even the popcorn ones, and the great ideas and/or conflicts in them are from a political stance (The Incredibles, The Bourne movies, Hairspray), a personally motivated political move (Tropic Thunder, There Will Be Blood, The Fountain), or at least evokes a certain political idealism (I'm Not There, Let the Right One In, Wall-E).

[Ezee E]

...so we're going into page 1000 with witty banter about tongueing (sp?) balls?

Interesting.
I wouldn't have it any other way.

[number8]

...so we're going into page 1000 with witty banter about tongueing (sp?) balls?

Interesting.

It's TONGUING. Jeez!

[megladon8]

It's still not the most interesting aspect of the stories in these films as I watch and then reflect on them.

I found Batman's ethical dilemma itself to be more interesting and challenging as it was presented in the story itself, than to look at it as a Homeland Security-inspired moralistic stance taken by the filmmakers to reflect society's distrust of the governing forces. I am aware of its real-world implications and the way that both The Dark Knight and the other films on your list hold up a mirror for us to look into, but as I said it's just not the most interesting part of the story to me.

Honestly I've lately found myself getting so angry, depressed and otherwise bothered by how much terrible news there is out there bordering on fear-mongering (papers, magazines, internet, television, radio) that I just don't enjoy searching for real-world implications in movies at this point in my life.

If that makes me a less intelligent/observant filmgoer, then, well, maybe I should just go back to tonguing my balls.

[number8]

Well, I'm not saying that everyone should get it for them to be appreciated. I'm saying when these filmmakers include or draw inspirations from those political ideas, very interesting conflicts emerge, and that elevates the stories to greater levels, whether you notice the parallels or not.

In fact, this is the whole premise behind the science-fiction genre. You take a real political strife and extrapolate it to fictional and more epic questions. That's why PKD and Asimov stories are so fucking good, because they ask these things.

EDIT: And Battlestar Galactica, y'allz.

[megladon8]

Well, I'm not saying that everyone should get it for them to be appreciated. I'm saying when these filmmakers include or draw inspirations from those political ideas, very interesting conflicts emerge, and that elevates the stories to greater levels, whether you notice the parallels or not.

In fact, this is the whole premise behind the science-fiction genre. You take a real political strife and extrapolate it to fictional and more epic questions. That's why PKD and Asimov stories are so fucking good, because they ask these things.


Okay but are these always political? Maybe I'll have to concede here that when I originally replied to your statement, my thought of "politics" was a little limited.

I was thinking of the discussion of levels of government, of policies, voting, by-laws and politicians themselves. Which I find incredibly uninteresting. The kind of stuff you'd read in a "politics" section of a newspaper.

But if you're talking about a broader idea, including social, philosophical and moral implications, then sure, I agree. That's what makes a film like The Mist so great - one I believe both you and I loved, if memory serves. Its creation of a micro-society in the grocery store and the depiction of unimaginable stress and how that affects our morals and ethics was fascinating.

But, again, not what I was thinking when the word "politics" was brought into play, so I'll admit defeat and perform harikiri.

[Watashi]

I always wondered why Barty loved Brad Bird films as much (and sometimes even more) as me. Brad Bird is a Libertarian.

So yes, I do agree with 8 that politics and films should go hand in hand.

Hell, pretty much every film has some form of politics in it. Even The Mighty Ducks 3.

[number8]

Well, I'm talking about the entire wide spectrum of political debates, and the way the world is, those things do fall under discussions of government: religion (which The Mist tackled wondrously), abortion, stem cell research, homosexuality, foreign relations, immigration, privacy... These are all politics and policies that are argued, voted and fought for.

[number8]

Hell, pretty much every film has some form of politics in it. Even The Mighty Ducks 3.

I like whoever it was that said, "The notion that movies should not have a political opinion is in itself a political opinion."

[BuffaloWilder]

I always wondered why Barty loved Brad Bird films as much (and sometimes even more) as me. Brad Bird is a Libertarian.

So yes, I do agree with 8 that politics and films should go hand in hand.

Hell, pretty much every film has some form of politics in it. Even The Mighty Ducks 3.

He is also an Objectivist.

Herm.

[number8]

He is also an Objectivist.

Herm.

Rat cooks good food. Critic say no, or yes. Food is still, and always will, be good. Critic possibly pedophile. Must investigate further. Hurm

http://mattwisdom.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/rorschach.jpg

[MadMan]

On Icine I've encountered people who strongly dislike The Incredibles because of its libertarian ideals and opinions that it expresses. Me I don't really dive into politics heavily when it comes to movies, and I don't particularly see politics in every movie. But I love talking politics, and getting into discussions that politics sparks. Political debate is also great as well, even I find it tiresome sometimes.

PS: 1000th page. Wahoo :pritch:

[BuffaloWilder]

Rat cooks good food. Critic say no, or yes. Food is still, and always will, be good. Critic possibly pedophile. Must investigate further. Hurm

http://mattwisdom.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/rorschach.jpg

I have just now finished laughing at this.

Do more.

[eternity]

On Icine I've encountered people who strongly dislike The Incredibles because of its libertarian ideals and opinions that it expresses. Me I don't really dive into politics heavily when it comes to movies, and I don't particularly see politics in every movie. But I love talking politics, and getting into discussions that politics sparks. Political debate is also great as well, even I find it tiresome sometimes.

PS: 1000th page. Wahoo :pritch:
People meaning Juss and Lucy.

[MadMan]

People meaning Juss and Lucy.I thought that Witless Wonder also took issue as well. Me, I have no problem with some libertarian ideals, and I thought The Incredibles was one of the best of 2004.

[The Mike]

Movies = Drama.
Politics = Drama.

Thus, Movies = Politics.

It's science.

[Qrazy]

What do sprinklers, dwarves, cock fights, nightmares, Hollywood, psychotic laughter, sex, dream-like lighting and Homer Simpson have in common? The new David Lynch film perhaps? Nope. Schlesinger's The Day of the Locust, made in 1975, same year as Altman's Nashville and the comparisons are immense. This film had to be a formative experience for Lynch... so many of his pet themes and motifs are jammed into this one. It's not a perfect film, but it's a damn interesting one.

Oh and Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach) plays an insanely obnoxious little girl in the film.

[Qrazy]

Well, I'm not saying that everyone should get it for them to be appreciated. I'm saying when these filmmakers include or draw inspirations from those political ideas, very interesting conflicts emerge, and that elevates the stories to greater levels, whether you notice the parallels or not.

In fact, this is the whole premise behind the science-fiction genre. You take a real political strife and extrapolate it to fictional and more epic questions. That's why PKD and Asimov stories are so fucking good, because they ask these things.

EDIT: And Battlestar Galactica, y'allz.

Don't really agree. The ethical ideas at the root of the political issues/parallels are what are primarily interesting and enduring. Asimov, PKD and whoever tying their ideas to current political issues is all well and good (and valuable) but it is the far reaching issues (ethical, epistemological, metaphysical) underlying the specific political (legislation, war, movement, etc) issues that is especially compelling. So I agree when you say the extrapolation is interesting but I don't think the generalized issue needs to have a specific real world (contemporary) parallel.

[BuffaloWilder]

Oh and Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach) plays an insanely obnoxious little girl in the film.

http://www.watchmencomicmovie.com/images/kovacs.jpg

I'm going to burn your eye out with a cigarette.

[number8]

I have just now finished laughing at this.

Do more.

Aw, come on. Pressure. You know it won't be as funny as the first. But fine.


People are scared of the special few. Even playing field is nonsense. Quit? Embrace mediocrity? Hurm. Joking, of course. No. Never compromise. Not even in the face of lawsuits.

http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr91/diplodocuscore/rorschach.jpg

[Qrazy]

Anyway this is just another wide scope/narrow scope debate. If we're using politics to mean any facet of all interpersonal relationships than yes, all films make a political statement. But I don't really see the value in using this definition of the term. Classifying a Brakhage film as political (using a wide scope definition of the term) would be technically true doesn't really strike me as useful. Most of his films take a phenomenological approach in terms of content but the fact that they are films makes them interpersonal to a certain degree.

[The Mike]

What do sprinklers, dwarves, cock fights, nightmares, Hollywood, psychotic laughter, sex, dream-like lighting and Homer Simpson have in common? The new David Lynch film perhaps? Nope. Schlesinger's The Day of the Locust, made in 1975, same year as Altman's Nashville and the comparisons are immense. This film had to be a formative experience for Lynch... so many of his pet themes and motifs are jammed into this one. It's not a perfect film, but it's a damn interesting one.

Oh and Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach) plays an insanely obnoxious little girl in the film.
I had to read this like thrice before I realized you weren't talking about Watchmen.

Maybe I shouldn't read posts from the bottom first.

[number8]

By the way:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Jj9C-44i7Lw/R1qvMidwoDI/AAAAAAAAAig/SIKOW9oBDqE/s400/PDVD_017.BMP

http://savecapitalism.files.wordpress .com/2009/01/atlas_shrugged_cover.jpg

[BuffaloWilder]

It seems I'm starting to enjoy French film criticism more than American-made stuff, on the whole. With the exception of Roger Ebert, Manohla Dargis, Variety, Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt, and Michael Phillips. I'm not quite sure why.

Herm.

Oh, and a few of the writers from Cinemablend.

[megladon8]

That's a pretty generic Atlas pose. Not necessarily a reference to Ayn Rand.


http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/4748/300pxsupermanasatlas.jpg

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/4449/atlasawardlg.gif

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/5849/greekdietyatlascarrying.jpg

http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/2674/superman677coverfull.jpg

[number8]

Well, yeah, unless you count the film's glaringly objectivist message. It's a visual nod, not the link in itself.

[number8]

Mmm, although, admittedly, Moore tackled Ayn Randian philosophy in Watchmen, and The Incredibles took a lot of cues from there.

[BuffaloWilder]

Mmm, although, admittedly, Moore tackled Ayn Randian philosophy in Watchmen, and The Incredibles took a lot of cues from there.

Moore's wasn't an endorsement, though.

My problem isn't with Bird, or The Incredibles, by itself. Rather - just Objectivism in general. I have a distaste for it, but that's just me.

[number8]

Moore's wasn't an endorsement, though.

But not a complete dismissal, either. It's just a study of what happens when Objectivism (Rorschach) is pitted against Relativism (Ozymandias). Who is right if completely left to the reader. Perhaps Bird read it and sided with Rorschach.

[lovejuice]

But not a complete dismissal, either. It's just a study of what happens when Objectivism (Rorschach) is pitted against Relativism (Ozymandias). Who is right if completely left to the reader. Perhaps Bird read it and sided with Rorschach.
rand is fast becoming the second most mentioned lady on match-cut after megan fox.

anyway, why do you catagorize rorschach as objectivism? i don't really agree with ozymandias as relativism either.

[number8]

anyway, why do you catagorize rorschach as objectivism? i don't really agree with ozymandias as relativism either.

Well, the squid scenario. Rorschach believes that right is right and wrong is wrong. There's no grey area. No compromise. Ozymandias, however, is about the greater goal, where what others think of as mass murder, he thinks of as the path to global peace. There is no one true good to him.

[number8]

God, I love talking about Watchmen. I could keep that thread going for a year.

[BuffaloWilder]

rand is fast becoming the second most mentioned lady on match-cut after megan fox.

anyway, why do you catagorize rorschach as objectivism? i don't really agree with ozymandias as relativism either.

Myself, because that's where the inspiration for his worldview came from - there, and the 'what-if?' scenario of a real-life Batman, per his own admittance.

[Watashi]

This conversation has actually just made me want to watch The Incredibles again.

I'd love to do a Watchmen/Incredibles double feature.

[number8]

If I have two sets of eyes, I would watch The Incredibles while reading Watchmen.

[lovejuice]

Well, the squid scenario. Rorschach believes that right is right and wrong is wrong. There's no grey area. No compromise. Ozymandias, however, is about the greater goal, where what others think of as mass murder, he thinks of as the path to global peace. There is no one true good to him.
fair enough. still i have a hard time imagining rand approve of someone like rorschach. the character is too anachistic. ozymandias on the other hand might be more howard-roarkish. world peace is his highest objective goal and in order to achieve that he's not above sacrification.

[number8]

fair enough. still i have a hard time imagining rand approve of someone like rorschach. the character is too anachistic. ozymandias on the other hand might be more howard-roarkish. world peace is his highest objective goal and in order to achieve that he's not above sacrification.

I suppose you could also interpret them being two extremes of Randian philosophy.

But I think also what The Incredibles ultimately cribs the most from Atlas Shrugged that was also present in Watchmen is the idea that the gifted should be left to their full potential, or else the world suffers without them. The Incredibles outright supports it, but in Watchmen it's... heh... relative. It presents that same philosophy, but contrary to Incredibles, the heroes in Watchmen grows immoral when they pursue objectivism to its fullest. I think Randian philosophy just applies really well to superheroes in general.

The first to do this, by the way, was Steve Ditko's The Question (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question_%28comics%29)--which is where Moore got Rorschach's philosophy.

[Qrazy]

I'd classify Ozy as Machiavelli meets Mill and Rorschach as I don't know Kant meets a sociopath. He won't tell the lie but he will drop people down elevator shafts.

[BuffaloWilder]

I'd classify Ozy as Machiavelli meets Mill and Rorschach as I don't know Kant meets a sociopath. He won't tell the lie but he will drop people down elevator shafts.


http://www.watchmencomicmovie.com/images/kovacs.jpg

And burn you with a cigarette.

[number8]

By the way, wanna know why even now, when I read Rorschach, I can't hear Jackie Earle Haley's voice? It's because I hear Jeffrey Combs' voice instead.

Witness the awesome. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-aeSAsrsew#t=2m58s)

[Milky Joe]

By the way, wanna know why even now, when I read Rorschach, I can't hear Jackie Earle Haley's voice? It's because I hear Jeffrey Combs' voice instead.

Witness the awesome. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-aeSAsrsew#t=2m58s)

Goddamn I love that show.

[Mysterious Dude]

I just realized that Superman had to catch that globe off the top of the Daily Planet building quite a few times. That's some dangerous architecture.

[MacGuffin]

I just watched part one of Stalker and it's amazing. Gonna go watch the second part, but just wanted to say how amazed I am so far and how I can't believe I hadn't watched a Tarkovsky movie until right now.

[Qrazy]

I just watched part one of Stalker and it's amazing. Gonna go watch the second part, but just wanted to say how amazed I am so far and how I can't believe I hadn't watched a Tarkovsky movie until right now.

Yep, still my favorite filmmaker, lo these many years.

[trotchky]

By the way, wanna know why even now, when I read Rorschach, I can't hear Jackie Earle Haley's voice? It's because I hear Jeffrey Combs' voice instead.

Witness the awesome. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-aeSAsrsew#t=2m58s)

Wow that was really good. I'm going to have to watch Justice League Unlimited now.

[Qrazy]

Coming Home and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas have very similar soundtracks.

[Watashi]

Yeah, The Question is awesome.

[MadMan]

Even though I gave Watchmen and The Incredibles the same rating, the latter is the better movie by a decent amount. And a double bill featuring both would rock.

[BuffaloWilder]

Even though I gave Watchmen and The Incredibles the same rating, the latter is the better movie by a decent amount. And a double bill featuring both would rock.

The Incredibles, while I'm no real huge fan of Pixar, is a well-made film. There is creativity, at the very least.

Not so, with Zack Snyder's Watchmen. I do not like him. Nor have I liked any of the other two of his films that I've seen.

:frustrated:

[MacGuffin]

I seem to recall a large discussion about Stalker on here, but I can't find it. If anybody knows the discussion I speak of, please do post a link if it is not too much trouble or tell me which thread I could find it in.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I just viewed Babel for the first time. So here you all go:

Babel
I approached Babel believing that it was going to discuss modern clashes of culture. Perhaps this was my mistake (predicated on the Biblical title), but I can't help feeling let down by the film. It's effectively acted, with some stellar performances by unknowns like Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza, but few of the conflicts in the film emerge from sympathetic beginnings. Two Moroccan kids think it wise to shoot at Americans. An illegal immigrant travels back to Mexico with the two American kids she's babysitting. A sad Japanese girl removes her panties and shows off the goods to some punks. These shaky-cammed vignettes "hyperlink" with a minimum of resonance (oh, so that's his gun!), content to wallow in mostly-independent tales of grief. The implication may be that pain is universal, but there's something more troubling in each of these stories: basic human stupidity. C+

NOTE: After suffering so thoroughly in this film, The Mist, and The Dark Knight, someone desperately needs to get Nathan Gamble a role where he plays one of those plucky kids who defeats adult spies with the help of a wise-cracking hamster.

[Winston*]

Timecrimes is stupid. Crazy stuff happens because crazy stuff has happened. Where does that get you? In a stupid circle that's where. Time travel is stupid.