28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[dreamdead]

Yeah, I'll also give Max Payne a whirl at some point, 'sos. After I get to a certain de Palma film that I've long ignored. :sad:

So if it wasn't for that awkward and ill-paced courtroom mess, I think Welles' The Lady from Shanghai would be pretty much aces. The justifiably wonderful closing is awesome, and Hayworth makes for a good femme fatale, constantly alternating white and black clothing just as she alternates sides. The whole idea of her being a contemporary siren, as some critics have contended, rings true in my viewing. Yet that whole courtroom scene is just so spastic and buffoonish, even if it's treading in commentary on fame in the courtroom, that the film suffers immensely at that point.

[Boner M]

Hey Derek, thoughts on Two Lovers?

[Derek]

I'm not sure why you get this knock and I don't. I run counter to consensus quite a lot.

Again, there is a difference between expressing your surprised excitement of a supposedly undervalued film and using that film to define cinema. The former can be used to convey your appreciation for the film and try to pass it on to others. The latter comes across as provocation even if your post was humorous in tone. I mean, I'm pretty sure Armond expected some reader responses when he said "If you don't like Mission to Mars, you don't like cinema."

FWIW, I think anyone who puts Speed Racer in their top 100 in off their rocker as well. And I am more interested in actually seeing Max Payne as well.

[Sven]

Again, there is a difference between expressing your surprised excitement of a supposedly undervalued film and using that film to define cinema.

Oh, heavens to Betsy.

[Derek]

Hey Derek, thoughts on Two Lovers?

The promise of James Gray, present only in brief flashes of the other two films of his I've seen, finally comes to fruition here. He creates a palpable sense of time and place and there's not a second of this film that doesn't feel distinctively like New York. The muted color palate, understated performances, gently elegiac tone and the tenderness of Gray's camera all coalesce into a surprisingly dense complex portrait of one man's grief and suffering without dragging the audience down into his despair. It runs the full gamut of emotions, but builds the characters first so that his interactions with his parents are comical, not comic relief, his juggling of the two women an externalization of his inner struggle, not merely a plot device. It's beautiful and poetic, almost effortlessly so.

[Bosco B Thug]

It's just hard to give the benefit of the doubt to modern studio fare, not to mention Moore's The Omen remake was completely forgettable.

[Derek]

not to mention Moore's The Omen remake was completely forgettable.

You're being kind. It was in my 10 worst for that year, but my interest in Max Payne is piqued, at least to see exactly what it was that got Sven's blood moving.

[Sven]

It's just hard to give the benefit of the doubt to modern studio fare, not to mention Moore's The Omen remake was completely forgettable.

This is a difficulty with which I can sympathize. However, both you and I know that modern studio fare has been successful many, many times at creating interesting things. I'm saying that this overly-cautious skepticism should not transfer to jabs at well-established peers. At least, not undeservingly (meaning, by those who ought to familiarize themselves with the subjects that they feel okay dismissing offhand).

This truly is the last thing I will say on the matter. Best to move along. I have a nasty headache and am going to go attempt a remedy and possibly watch a film. I'm on vacation!

[Sven]

at least to see exactly what it was that got Sven's blood moving.

The movie looks good, and its staging is very crafty. Awesome effects, interesting handling of a fairly bizarre subject. Great action sequences. I will thoroughly bitchslap anyone who will not at least concede on that point.

[Bosco B Thug]

You're being kind. Yes, you're right, it was awful.

Skeptical about Max Payne, Sven, but hey, you do realize I'm on your said - against the world, it seems - in the position that Ghosts of Mars is more good than bad (and undeniably intelligent).

[Sven]

Ghosts of Mars is more good than bad (and undeniably intelligent).

This has put me in a better mood, thank you.

[Qrazy]

Regarding Max Payne, I was interested in seeing it based on the trailer, but then was convinced that it wasn't worth my time. Maybe I'll try to check it out.

Ditto. I have fond memories of the game so I could see myself at least enjoying it on nostalgia alone.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Yes, you're right, it was awful.

Skeptical about Max Payne, Sven, but hey, you do realize I'm on your said - against the world, it seems - in the position that Ghosts of Mars is more good than bad (and undeniably intelligent).

I like it too. "Dumb," but in a calculated, throwback-y way. My only real problem with the film was that it needed more Pam Grier.

[number8]

I like you, Sven. And not even in an ironic Bret Michaels kinda way.

[Sven]

Now, on the less needy side of things, a rundown of the films I watched for my Supernatural Films course and a brief word or two about my response (*=rpt):

The Exorcism of Emily Rose - Not an offense on the eyes, but on the concept of ethics certainly.

*Cat People - I like it, don't quite love it. I'll get to see it yet again NEXT semester in a Lewton/Tourneur class.

Portrait of Jennie - Most excellent film, though I didn't quite buy Jennifer Jones as anyone younger than 30, so her as a pre-teen was kind of horrifying.

Night Has a Thousand Eyes - Low-key ESP noir, wonderfully juggling the two genres visually and thematically.

*Don't Look Now - OMG, every time it gets better. This is a goddamn spooky movie.

The Man Who Could Work Miracles - HG Wells comedy about a man who gets godlike powers and wondering what to do with them. Quite droll, and as per usual with high concept fantasy, handles its ponderous subject interestingly.

*Carnival of Souls - Probably the best movie of the semester. This is a great, great movie. Candace Hilligoss totally schools Janet Leigh. That's right.

*The Ghost and Mrs. Muir - A bit dry. Beautifully shot. The best part was getting to meet Carey Harrison, one of Rex's sons. Fine man, that one.

The Uninvited - I fucking loved this movie. Hot damn, that ending where he just chucks the candelabra?! I was like "Fuck, yes!" Maybe this was the best one...

The Haunting - Very impressive technically. I love the visual/audio battle between the house's overbearing presence and her mental state captured through her voiceover. It was good.

Night of the Demon - This is also a film that I'm tempted to drop uncharacteristically harsh words to describe its awesomeness. Love that demon!

(*)Dead of Night - Super fun. It captures that horrifying ambiguity between dream logic and reality just as well as Lynch. Thinking about it now, most of the films this semester were pretty excellent.

*The Last Wave - So much better this time. A real grower... I was pretty petrified by the end.

[MacGuffin]

The Last Wave by Peter Weir? That's a supernatural movie?

[balmakboor]

Interestingly, in the light of this discussion, I just watched The Lost World: Jurassic Park and loved it. Am I alone on this?

No. I think it's messier but much more interesting than the first Jurassic Park.

[Sven]

The Last Wave by Peter Weir? That's a supernatural movie?

It involves foresight.

[balmakboor]

I just watched The Butcher Boy and it's a terrific movie.

Btw, wasn't that prominently featured lake the same one that was prominently featured in Zardoz?

[MacGuffin]

It involves foresight.

Oh, okay. I've never seen it, I was just curious.

[Sven]

Oh, okay. I've never seen it, I was just curious.

I think you'd like it, actually. It's very deliberate, very heady.

[MacGuffin]

I think you'd like it, actually. It's very deliberate, very heady.

I think I've seen it at my library, so after I get back from vacation, I'll see if they have it or put it in my queue. I'll let you know what I think when I watch it, either way.

[transmogrifier]

Is it just me, or has Svensos become even more Armond Whitean these days? Their opinions are virtual carbon copies of each other.

[dreamdead]

Alright, between this rave and Boner's old top 50 selection, Carnival of Souls is now bumped to the top of the queue. Expecting low budget greatness.:)

[transmogrifier]

It gets very tedious, watching a thrilling, rejuvenating film, wanting to express that to people, only to receive responses from people who have obviously not seen it implying how ridiculously CRAZY my opinion is (I'm not talking about you, Wats). This happens frequently. Even in Spinal's supportive comment, there is a hint of "I can't believe I'm agreeing with this craziness."

I mean, don't you guys know me by this point? This "OMG!" regression is really old. I know it's mostly in good fun, and that's mostly how it plays. But it's getting way monotonous.

I would probably embrace your more contentious decisions more if they hadn't come directly from the NY Press. :)

[Watashi]

Alright, between this rave and Boner's old top 50 selection, Carnival of Souls is now bumped to the top of the queue. Expecting low budget greatness.:)
:|

[Boner M]

:|
Don't worry Wats, I'll get 'round to seeing all the films you've loved recentl- oh... right.

[dreamdead]

:|

D'you want me to watch Kit Kittridge?

::hugs::

[B-side]

So Walkabout was great. Roeg's editing style and embracing compositions lend the film a rather primal feel to bring to the forefront the turbulent emotions raging through the mind of a young adult. Roeg's sexualization of his characters feels complimentary rather than exploitative, and he does it in rather unique ways.

[Ezee E]

Max Payne had a great look to it. I almost saw it. If it gets on Instant Watch, I'll check it out.

[The Mike]

*Carnival of Souls - Probably the best movie of the semester. This is a great, great movie. Candace Hilligoss totally schools Janet Leigh. That's right.

*The Ghost and Mrs. Muir - A bit dry. Beautifully shot. The best part was getting to meet Carey Harrison, one of Rex's sons. Fine man, that one.

(*)Dead of Night - Super fun. It captures that horrifying ambiguity between dream logic and reality just as well as Lynch. Thinking about it now, most of the films this semester were pretty excellent.
I love these. Very interested in some of the others (especially The Uninvited!)

[Sven]

Is it just me, or has Svensos become even more Armond Whitean these days? Their opinions are virtual carbon copies of each other.

...and your insults have gotten progressively less and less imaginative. You used to be snappy and sharp, but lately you've felt like little more than a squishy grapefruit.

If you'll do even a modicum of research, you will see that this isn't even remotely true. Yes, there is apparently a style of filmmaking that both he and I like (gonzo, expressive, over-the-top), but I would probably say that if anything, your constant bullying is much more resembling of White than any overlap he and I have in taste. Now that I think of it, you're also much more vocal about your individual pet loves (always comparing the tastes of others to yourself), which is also totally White. Perhaps you ought to take a second to reconsider things. Or at least, you know... drop this White fixation that you have because you're beginning to sound truly monotonous.

[Ezee E]

Chaplin might be the perfect mold of the stereotypical bio-pic. Downey before Robert Downey was neat to see at least.

[transmogrifier]

...and your insults have gotten progressively less and less imaginative. You used to be snappy and sharp, but lately you've felt like little more than a squishy grapefruit.

If you'll do even a modicum of research, you will see that this isn't even remotely true. Yes, there is apparently a style of filmmaking that both he and I like (gonzo, expressive, over-the-top), but I would probably say that if anything, your constant bullying is much more resembling of White than any overlap he and I have in taste. Now that I think of it, you're also much more vocal about your individual pet loves (always comparing the tastes of others to yourself), which is also totally White. Perhaps you ought to take a second to reconsider things. Or at least, you know... drop this White fixation that you have because you're beginning to sound truly monotonous.

Jesting, joking, teasing. It's what I do. Basically, your recent views on Max Payne, Crank and Winterbottom are so completely out of the AW playbook, I couldn't resist (plus, you know, Altman, De Palma, Jackson etc etc).

I certainly don't think you are relentlessly blinkered and prejudiced like he is, and you're a much, much, much better writer (clear, understandable, consistent criteria), so I guess the comparison isn't all that accurate.

One thing I will take exception to though - I never judge anything through the prism of what others have thought of it. I compare taste with others on a general basis, cos I think that's part of the fun of being in a communal free-for-all messageboard, and I don't think we can be to precious about it. Can we?

[transmogrifier]

...and your insults have gotten progressively less and less imaginative. You used to be snappy and sharp, but lately you've felt like little more than a squishy grapefruit.

Or at least, you know... drop this White fixation that you have because you're beginning to sound truly monotonous.

Oh, and nothing I wrote about you is as painful and personal as what you write here.

:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry: :cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::D

[lovejuice]

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
i'm disappointed. it's a good movie, but not great. and no, i didn't just watch it. this is a kinda "chick movie" that i pride myself of being a connoisseur of sort.

bottomline is it's worth watching in a non-offensive way.

[Bosco B Thug]

Now, on the less needy side of things, a rundown of the films I watched for my Supernatural Films course and a brief word or two about my response (*=rpt): Oh man I'd have loved that class. I'm currently meh on The Uninvited, but CatPeopleDontLookNowCarnivalof SoulsTheHauntingNightoftheDemo n represents cinema at its heights, all compiled like that.


So Walkabout was great. Roeg's editing style and embracing compositions lend the film a rather primal feel to bring to the forefront the turbulent emotions raging through the mind of a young adult. Roeg's sexualization of his characters feels complimentary rather than exploitative, and he does it in rather unique ways. Spot-on. I love its full-blooded sexual look, and how well it comments on the social divide displayed.

[B-side]

Spot-on. I love its full-blooded sexual look, and how well it comments on the social divide displayed.

Yeah, definitely. It really kicks into gear about 45 mins in and it's pretty much excellent from then on out. I feel like I could say something regarding the subversion of gender roles with the girl being the mature, clear-headed one leading a boy across the outback rather than a man leading a hysterical woman. I was surprised at how well the split in the tree worked amongst Roeg's montage of sexuality and brutality. Certainly a unique object to use to sexualize a film.:P

[Sven]

Oh, and nothing I wrote about you is as painful and personal as what you write here.

:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry: :cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::D

You just caught me in a bad mood. Apologies all around. Usually I can take playful jabs for what they are.

Going to see Public Enemies today. We'll see whose side of the fence I come down on: Armond's or trans's.

[Sven]

I'm currently meh on The Uninvited

This seemed to be the majority opinion of the people in the class as well, which I cannot understand. It was like Wuthering Heights meets The Thin Man. Milland is so great and understated. The effects and atmosphere are spooky without giving up any of its humor. And I fucking loved that ending. I was right there with him. I just about cheered.

[Dukefrukem]

Anyone else wish we lived on Mars where a day is: 24 hours, 40 minutes? That extra 40 minutes would be so unbelievably helpful.

[Ivan Drago]

Anyone else wish we lived on Mars where a day is: 24 hours, 40 minutes? That extra 40 minutes would be so unbelievably helpful.

Go outside.

[/kidding around of course]

[Dead & Messed Up]

The Exorcism of Emily Rose - Not an offense on the eyes, but on the concept of ethics certainly.

I don't understand this. Can you elucidate a bit?


*Cat People - I like it, don't quite love it. I'll get to see it yet again NEXT semester in a Lewton/Tourneur class.

It gets better on re-views, I think. Although its status as the best Lewton picture is up for debate, especially with films like The Leopard Man and Curse of the Cat People in contention.


*Carnival of Souls - Probably the best movie of the semester. This is a great, great movie. Candace Hilligoss totally schools Janet Leigh. That's right.

Not my favorite, but low-key and involving. I don't know that Hilligoss schools Leigh, but she showcases a real skill here, which was sadly never put to much use afterward.


The Uninvited - I fucking loved this movie. Hot damn, that ending where he just chucks the candelabra?! I was like "Fuck, yes!" Maybe this was the best one...

Definitely need a re-view of this.


The Haunting - Very impressive technically. I love the visual/audio battle between the house's overbearing presence and her mental state captured through her voiceover. It was good.

God, how I love this movie. The use of sound is possibly the best in all of supernatural cinema. Those thuds getting louder and louder and louder! Gah.


Night of the Demon - This is also a film that I'm tempted to drop uncharacteristically harsh words to describe its awesomeness. Love that demon!

Another great one...


(*)Dead of Night - Super fun. It captures that horrifying ambiguity between dream logic and reality just as well as Lynch. Thinking about it now, most of the films this semester were pretty excellent.

Possibly my favorite "anthology" picture, followed closely by Kwaidan.

I'm glad you loved so many of these movies. Many of them number among my very favorite horror films, and a few rank among my favorite films, straight-up.

[Sven]

I don't understand this. Can you elucidate a bit?

I found it a deeply unethical picture, religiously (Catholics: good, Methodists: baaaaaad) and legally (Wilkinson's sentencing of "time served" as a having-and-eating-your-cake satisfaction), and felt that the filmmakers stacked its ponderings on demonology versus scientific logic a bit too freely, needing to milk cheap thrills out of what should be an unspeakable situation.

BUT, it's a very entertaining movie, technically well-shot. And it has Campbell Scott, so...

[lovejuice]

Anyone else wish we lived on Mars where a day is: 24 hours, 40 minutes? That extra 40 minutes would be so unbelievably helpful.
back in my undergrad days, i did some stupid research on mars atmosphere. my advisor has this clock in his office which runs according to mars time. you can't really tell a different though.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I found it a deeply unethical picture, religiously (Catholics: good, Methodists: baaaaaad) and legally (Wilkinson's sentencing of "time served" as a having-and-eating-your-cake satisfaction), and felt that the filmmakers stacked its ponderings on demonology versus scientific logic a bit too freely, needing to milk cheap thrills out of what should be an unspeakable situation.

BUT, it's a very entertaining movie, technically well-shot. And it has Campbell Scott, so...

Hrm. Although Wilkinson's easy-way-out is a compromise, I think Derrickson and co. purposefully leave their opinion out of it. They want the audience to formulate an opinion on what's happening, and where their allegiances lie. I was with Campbell Scott pretty much every step of the way.

Still, I liked the film so constantly jumping between the uncanny and fantastic explanations. In a way, it feels like a spiritual successor to those 60's classics like The Haunting and The Innocents (though it lacks their craft and singularity of purpose).

I also thought Jennifer Carpenter did a great job.

[Sven]

I think Derrickson and co. purposefully leave their opinion out of it. They want the audience to formulate an opinion on what's happening, and where their allegiances lie. I was with Campbell Scott pretty much every step of the way.

I very much disagree. I witnessed Campbell Scott as a snarling, irredeemable character, willing to compromise his personal beliefs for the mundanity of human law. I was with him too, but he was clearly the rash, inconsiderate villain of the film. There was also an enormous deal of sympathy towards demonic explanation. I think Linney's arc was meant to be that of the viewers, which would definitely demonstrate their opinion.

[Watashi]

Sven always has the cool film classes.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I liked Ghost Town. Fun little film, with more laughs than I expected.

That is all.

[Derek]

I liked Ghost Town. Fun little film, with more laughs than I expected.

That is all.

Sweet, I've heard the same thing from others. I love Gervais so I might go ahead and give this a shot.

Look forward to hearing about the next film you see in August. :)

[Kurosawa Fan]

Look forward to hearing about the next film you see in August. :)

:lol:

Too true. And in such detail!

[Watashi]

At least the films that KF sees are getting progressively better.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I very much disagree. I witnessed Campbell Scott as a snarling, irredeemable character, willing to compromise his personal beliefs for the mundanity of human law. I was with him too, but he was clearly the rash, inconsiderate villain of the film. There was also an enormous deal of sympathy towards demonic explanation. I think Linney's arc was meant to be that of the viewers, which would definitely demonstrate their opinion.

I thought him neither snarling nor irredeemable. Both of them compromise their personal beliefs for the sake of their case - Linney doesn't have any faith, but she can't wait to utilize others' to win her case. I also liked how the film cared enough to showcase that the two lawyers don't hate each other; they're shown as friends at the beginning, and their rivalry in the courtroom rarely gets personal.

Interestingly, I looked it up just now: Derrickson is a believer, but his co-writer, Paul Harris Boardroom, is a skeptic. Derrickson believed the pairing would result in a balanced film.

[Sven]

Derrickson believed the pairing would result in a balanced film.

I really don't think they succeeded in that regard. But hey...

[Sycophant]

God help me, I've added every Tinto Brass film I could to my Netflix queue (save Caligula--is that any good?). Also, realized I kind of forgot to explore Japanese pink films like I wanted to, particularly Wakamatsu, so threw a few of those on, too.

[Grouchy]

God help me, I've added every Tinto Brass film I could to my Netflix queue (save Caligula--is that any good?). Also, realized I kind of forgot to explore Japanese pink films like I wanted to, particularly Wakamatsu, so threw a few of those on, too.
Awesome. I look forward to your comments.

Funny story about Wakamatsu with minor spoilers. I went to see Go, Go Second Time Virgin at the film festival and there was a Q&A with director afterwards. Since the film ends with a string of fast pop culture images including a photo of Sharon Tate and Polanski I asked him what was the point of that. They translated the question to him and he went: "That's Sharon Tate, it's an actress from the '60s". I explained I knew who she was, I wanted to know why he had put her picture in there. When the translator told him his answer apparently was: "I don't remember. This movie is very old".

[Rowland]

Watched Tokyo Drifter today, which happens to be my first exposure to Seijun Suzuki. I hope my choice was merely ill-advised, because the picture was fairly wretched. 100% at RT? Is there any consensus in these parts?

[Spinal]

Watched Tokyo Drifter today, which happens to be my first exposure to Seijun Suzuki. I hope my choice was merely ill-advised, because the picture was fairly wretched. 100% at RT? Is there any consensus in these parts?

Wow, I totally agree. The appeal of that film eludes me.

[Rowland]

I also rewatched Deep Red last night, which is still pretty great besides some unfortunate pacing issues. If ~15 minutes had been cut from this, it'd flow considerably better, and the synth/prog-rock score is sometimes distractingly inappropriate. All in all, a slightly disappointing revisit, especially since I used to exalt it as Argento's magnum opus. I'm no longer so sure that he ever produced an out-and-out masterpiece, since even his best pictures contain sloppy elements, and yet they also remain teeming with creative inspiration.

[eternity]

In the Loop is overrated.

[Sven]

Watched Tokyo Drifter today, which happens to be my first exposure to Seijun Suzuki. I hope my choice was merely ill-advised, because the picture was fairly wretched. 100% at RT? Is there any consensus in these parts?

Are you for real? This is easily one of the best films I've ever seen. Teeming with wit! exuberance! colors! music! Why films with abstracted New Wave sensibilities like Shoot the Piano Player and Contempt get all the glory is befuddling, because I thought the imagination on display here, from scene to scene, with its creative tableaus, enticing pacing, wild compositions... it totally outclasses the rest.

[Derek]

Are you for real? This is easily one of the best films I've ever seen. Teeming with wit! exuberance! colors! music! Why films with abstracted New Wave sensibilities like Shoot the Piano Player and Contempt get all the glory is befuddling, because I thought the imagination on display here, from scene to scene, with its creative tableaus, enticing pacing, wild compositions... it totally outclasses the rest.

Because Shoot the Piano Player and Contempt are full of wit, exuberance, colors (in the case of the later), great music and have thematic depth and intelligent commentary about life and cinema. Plus, you know, they're actually fucking comprehensible. I am shocked at your befuddlement.

[Rowland]

Are you for real? This is easily one of the best films I've ever seen. Teeming with wit! exuberance! colors! music! Why films with abstracted New Wave sensibilities like Shoot the Piano Player and Contempt get all the glory is befuddling, because I thought the imagination on display here, from scene to scene, with its creative tableaus, enticing pacing, wild compositions... it totally outclasses the rest.Seemed like a fairly mundane, overly wordy yakuza screenplay filtered through a sensibility with little understanding for coherent storytelling. Granted, the occasional surreal flourish or artfully mounted tableau slightly mitigates the tedium from the inexplicable deluge of scenes wherein people sit around endlessly chattering about this or that character/mob/agenda/whatever, but they are overwhelmed by glaringly transparent color symbolism, flat drama, sloppily choreographed action set pieces, haphazardly applied jump cuts, murky lighting, a peculiar sense of humor (which only kinda-works during the infectiously oddball bar fight), and the same increasingly annoying theme repeating over and over, with several equally irritating sung tunes breaking the tedium.

So yeah, not for me.

[Spinal]

Plus, you know, they're actually fucking comprehensible.

That was my biggest complaint. The film made no goddamn sense.

[Duncan]

Hmm, I haven't seen it in a few years, but I remember it making sense. Some jarring editing, maybe, but the plot seemed pretty coherent to me.

[Sven]

Because Shoot the Piano Player and Contempt are full of wit, exuberance, colors (in the case of the later), great music and have thematic depth and intelligent commentary about life and cinema. Plus, you know, they're actually fucking comprehensible. I am shocked at your befuddlement.

Hey, man, take it easy. I wasn't dissing those movies. I was just saying that they have glory which could probably be more democratically spent.

And yes, the plot is perfectly sensical. Are you sure you guys aren't thinking of Branded to Kill?

Rowland: disagree, disagree, disagree, disagree, disagree. "Transparent color symbolism" isn't even a thing. The film is color coded... how is that, in itself, something to dis' it for? Plus, even if the semantic meaning of the colors IS "transparent" (whatever that means--perhaps you meant "too obvious"?), the richness of the colors, and the schemes in which they are applied are no less aesthetically miraculous.

And I thought the film's action was structured wonderfully. And that's not the kind of thing I ignore.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Rowland: disagree, disagree, disagree, disagree, disagree. "Transparent color symbolism" isn't even a thing.

This made me laugh really hard. Probably because it's true, and I "wtf'd" as well when I read it initially. You get rep.

[Winston*]

If the colour symbolism was transparent, wouldn't that make it harder to discern?

[Sven]

If the colour symbolism was transparent, wouldn't that make it harder to discern?

I was trying to work that into my response, but couldn't figure out how to word it. Thx for grabbin' that one.

[Winston*]

Notable actors' offspring that a superior in talent to their parents, who've you got?

[Sven]

Notable actors' offspring that a superior in talent to their parents, who've you got?

Jeff Bridges - Lloyd Bridges (though don't get me wrong... the dude had it)

[Spinal]

Notable actors' offspring that a superior in talent to their parents, who've you got?

Bryce Dallas Howard

[Melville]

I agree with Rowland. I don't remember Tokyo Drifter being incomprehensible, but I definitely remember it being boring. And I don't see what was wrong with Rowland's phrasing ("transparent color symbolism").

[Dead & Messed Up]

Notable actors' offspring that a superior in talent to their parents, who've you got?

Kate Hudson > Goldie Hawn

If we're talking purely about talent and not execution of said talent.

[B-side]

Watched Tokyo Drifter today, which happens to be my first exposure to Seijun Suzuki. I hope my choice was merely ill-advised, because the picture was fairly wretched. 100% at RT? Is there any consensus in these parts?

If it's a lot like Tattooed Life, I'll likely be indifferent to it.

[transmogrifier]

Kate Hudson > Goldie Hawn

If we're talking purely about talent and not execution of said talent.

Disagree. Watch Hawn in Everyone Says I Love You - she could have been quite the comedianne in her autumn years, but she seems to have disappeared.

[number8]

Saw $9.99. It's... all right.

[Derek]

Hey, man, take it easy. I wasn't dissing those movies. I was just saying that they have glory which could probably be more democratically spent.

Huh? I was joking with the "I'm shocked at your befuddlement" line.


And yes, the plot is perfectly sensical. Are you sure you guys aren't thinking of Branded to Kill?

No, I'm definitely thinking of Tokyo Drifter and while it's been a while since I've seen it, I remember having no clue what was going on a lot of the time.

[Boner M]

I think I've had the same reaction to the four Seijun Suzuki films I've seen; they're playful and vibrant and jazzy on a set-piece-by-set-piece basis, but they have no sense of rhythm or pacing as a whole. You could take every scene from Youth of the Beast, Branded to Kill and Tokyo Drifter, jumble them together at random, and stitch the results equally haphazardly into three new separate films, and I'd probably have the same opinion of each new film as I did of the originals.

[Rowland]

"Transparent color symbolism" isn't even a thing. The film is color coded... how is that, in itself, something to dis' it for? It loses its potency for expressiveness when it grows thudding in its blatancy. The love interest's bar and clothes are yellow, the villain's lair is purple, red = bad, etc. Suzuki's color coding merely came across to me as a simple-minded device in a movie that wasn't working anyway. Maybe if he had applied it in more clever, stirring, or even baroque ways, it may have transcended the simplicity of its meaning. As is, the aesthetic came across to me for the most part as fairly commonplace, as far as the application of saturated hues is concerned. The only instance of this that really grabbed me was the shifting backdrop used when a gangster's girl is inadvertently shot during a standoff early in the picture.


"transparent" (whatever that means--perhaps you meant "too obvious"?)From dictionary.com:

Transparent

4. easily seen through, recognized, or detected: transparent excuses.
5. manifest; obvious: a story with a transparent plot.
6. open; frank; candid: the man's transparent earnestness.

Thanks for mocking me for using a word in a fairly common manner though, guys.

[lovejuice]

I also rewatched Deep Red last night, which is still pretty great besides some unfortunate pacing issues. If ~15 minutes had been cut from this, it'd flow considerably better, and the synth/prog-rock score is sometimes distractingly inappropriate.
it's my favorite argento too, and easily somewhere in my top ten or top twenty. i kinda agree that it has some pacing issue, but since the movie is never that long, the problem doesn't break the film. i all out disagree about the music though. considered its time, the 70s, it's the best use of music in horror film.

still by your standard, 79 is a pretty high score though.

[Rowland]

i kinda agree that it has some pacing issue, but since the movie is never that long, the problem doesn't break the film.Over two hours is pretty long, maybe the longest running time of Argento's oeuvre. I just felt that the narrative lost some sense of propulsive urgency in the second half, where the lead's sleuthing could have been cut down a bit.
i all out disagree about the music though. considered its time, the 70s, it's the best use of music in horror film.Flat-out disagree with you there, I can think of many superior uses of soundtrack in horror cinema from that era, including Morricone's unfortunately overlooked scores for the Animal trilogy.

still by your standard, 79 is a pretty high score though.Indeed it is. My score used to be in the 85-90 range though, hence my mild disappointment. Still, it's an awesome movie.

[lovejuice]

Over two hours is pretty long, maybe the longest running time of Argento's oeuvre. I just felt that the narrative lost some sense of propulsive urgency in the second half, where the lead's sleuthing could have been cut down a bit.

wow, i have never realized it's actually that long. you got a point here, but how's about the fact that you can't judge a detective film too well on its second viewing? i remember my first experience to be tensed and clouded in this aura of mystery.

one of my favorite scenes happens during the second half and has no corpse.
when the guy discovers the child painting under the wall. after that he walks away, and we realize there is even more paintings hidden there. the use of silence is in contrast with the banging score just a few moment ago. great stuff.

[Cult]

So, I really, really liked Irma Vep. I've been impressed with every Assayas I've seen so far.

[lovejuice]

So, I really, really liked Irma Vep. I've been impressed with every Assayas I've seen so far.
i only watched summer hours and like it dearly. i should see more.

[right_for_the_moment]

i only watched summer hours and like it dearly. i should see more.
Me too

[Boner M]

Late August, Early September should be seen by all Summer Hours fans. Aside from those two, I've only seen his 'hip' films (Irma Vep, demonlover, Boarding Gate, Clean). I hear Cold Water is his masterpiece, though it's impossible to find anywhere.

[right_for_the_moment]

Late August, Early September should be seen by all Summer Hours fans.
Queued, thx.

[Rowland]

I've only seen Clean and Boarding Gate, the former graced with astute direction, mindfully modulated performances, and an absence of sentimentality in its portrayals of both the rocky road to redemption and the global pop-market landscape, whereas the latter seemed rather flat to me, its subtext of corporate manipulation and the system's naively willing participants comparatively half-baked and unconvincing.

[kuehnepips]

I agree with Rowland. I don't remember Tokyo Drifter being incomprehensible, but I definitely remember it being boring. And I don't see what was wrong with Rowland's phrasing ("transparent color symbolism").

Ouch.

Pup! Get your sexy ass in here! Pronto.

[Skitch]

Boarding Gate should be in my mailbox when I get home.

[B-side]

Re-posted from my blog:


Robert Bresson uses Dominique Sanda as his vessel in this tale of the romance between a meek, intellectual woman and the archetypal modern man. If you’ve any knowledge of Bresson’s style, you know he’s a man strictly opposed to any excess or histrionics. He’s a man of gazes, body language and suffering silence. All are used to full effect here and necessarily so as this is a story built almost entirely on and around the titular couple. Bresson spoke of his distaste for theatrical cinema and the symbiotic relationship between images and sound, and both are reflected vicariously through Elle. She, like him, seeks to differentiate herself from the norm. Bresson sought to de-dramatize film. She wants to escape the intrinsice patterns of life, which obviously includes her marriage. In Luc’s world, though, such notions of perfectly unique lives are less and less evident. Luc is a business man. He is largely concerned with the financial, reflecting the changing world. Elle’s calm, studied persona is contrasted with the loud, pervasive cars typical of Luc’s world. After Luc insists she marry him, and marital issues of infidelity are confronted, Elle seems to more or less submit to her fate as the bored, disaffected housewife. The film is told largely through flashbacks detailing the turbulent relationship that lead to Elle’s suicide. A Gentle Woman is my 3rd Bresson so far and definitely my favorite. More often than not, Bresson’s minimalistic style fails to truly communicate to me the tormented soul of his characters, nor the profound ideals of the man himself in an incredibly interesting manner. No doubt Bresson has charmed the likes of critics and the classic film lover with his trademark “bare essentials” approach to film-making, but I’m not quite ready to hop on the love train yet. I’m working my way toward finding the best approach for his films, and I’m certainly a lot closer than I was this time last year.

If you love Bresson, you'll love A Gentle Woman.

[Sven]

Huh? I was joking with the "I'm shocked at your befuddlement" line.

It just seemed like you were thinking that I was insulting the French pictures, which I was not trying to do.

[Sven]

It loses its potency for expressiveness when it grows thudding in its blatancy. The love interest's bar and clothes are yellow, the villain's lair is purple, red = bad, etc. Suzuki's color coding merely came across to me as a simple-minded device in a movie that wasn't working anyway. Maybe if he had applied it in more clever, stirring, or even baroque ways, it may have transcended the simplicity of its meaning. As is, the aesthetic came across to me for the most part as fairly commonplace, as far as the application of saturated hues is concerned. The only instance of this that really grabbed me was the shifting backdrop used when a gangster's girl is inadvertently shot during a standoff early in the picture.

You're speaking a different critical language from me entirely, brother. This could be that when it comes to things like color and composition, function and aesthetic are far more important to me than artistic or thematic meaning. There's this one shot towards the end that takes place in a (I think) yellow room that features a bright red circular stage prop, resembling a gunshot wound. So incredible.


From dictionary.com:

Transparent

4. easily seen through, recognized, or detected: transparent excuses.
5. manifest; obvious: a story with a transparent plot.
6. open; frank; candid: the man's transparent earnestness.

Thanks for mocking me for using a word in a fairly common manner though, guys.

I apologize for the backhand. I still can't quite wrap my mind around the concept AS A CRITICISM because do you like the film Punch Drunk Love? Or The Godfather? Or, how 'bout Suspiria? Films with very easily tranlated color schemes. The "obviousness" or "easily seen through" meaning of the colors has never been classified a detriment in these cases, so I'm wondering why it's a bad thing in Tokyo Drifter's case.

[NickGlass]

Saw $9.99. It's... all right.

I'm a big fan. Flawed, perhaps, but its absurdity serves a purpose. It reminds me of a Miranda July work.


Late August, Early September should be seen by all Summer Hours fans.

Yes, please. Thank you.


Aside from those two, I've only seen his 'hip' films (Irma Vep, demonlover, Boarding Gate, Clean).

I've seen Irma Vep and Clean and the chilliness of both hardly compares to the compassion and fluidity of Summer Hours. Score one for austerity (and, no, I don't find Clean "austere").

[dreamdead]

Any fan of Assayas should definitely seek out Late August, Early September. Just a marvel of evolving relationships, slowly studied and unfolding.

Continued my recent run of older classics with Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde. So much fun to watch, and a much more solid take on the transition from classic to modern Hollywood than Easy Rider. It contains prescient examples of female yearning and sexuality, especially when contrasted against Clyde's frequent impotence, and captures the spirit if not always the visual style of the French New Wave. Gene Hackman's performance here is a true revelation, and some of the shots (specifically the fortuitous wide-shot of the clouds covering Bonnie and Clyde as they run through the cornfields) have an evocative yet austere grace to them. And how yummy is Dunaway here. Woahs. As a transitional piece of Hollywood filmmaking, I can't think of much that's better...

[D_Davis]

Seemed like a fairly mundane, overly wordy yakuza screenplay filtered through a sensibility with little understanding for coherent storytelling.

If I remember correctly, this is kind of the point. Suzuki was growing tired of making standard yakuza flicks, and thus he took a very typical, cliche-filled screenplay and made a bizarre, sometimes incoherent, often-times surreal esoteric gangster film as a sort of F-you to the film studios.

Suzuki was purposefully messing with the aesthetics and the rhythm of the yakuza genre, breathing new artistic merit into a genre that had become stale and tired. In many ways his approach to these films mirrored that of Chang Cheh's when that director introduced the venom mob to the kung fu pian.

[D_Davis]

I tried to watch 300 last night. Stayed awake for about 40 minutes. That movie is lame.

[Dukefrukem]

I tried to watch 300 last night. Stayed awake for about 40 minutes. That movie is lame.

Agreed. I haven't rewatched it since I saw it in theaters... and I own it on Blu-ray.

[Rowland]

features a bright red circular stage prop, resembling a gunshot wound. Yeah, I thought it looked like a statue of a man holding up a doughnut. :lol:


I apologize for the backhand. I still can't quite wrap my mind around the concept AS A CRITICISM because do you like the film Punch Drunk Love? Or The Godfather? Or, how 'bout Suspiria? Films with very easily tranlated color schemes. The "obviousness" or "easily seen through" meaning of the colors has never been classified a detriment in these cases, so I'm wondering why it's a bad thing in Tokyo Drifter's case.How it's applied and context, I suppose. If the movie had been working for me otherwise, perhaps the color schemes would have held more aesthetic or emotional resonance. Nevertheless, I still felt that they weren't employed in a manner all that striking, barring a moment or two like the one I cited. Most of it was merely rooms bathed in a single color, like the yellow bar or the purple nightclub, or color coded outfits that the characters wear for the entire movie. Granted, I love Punch Drunk Love, which you correctly cite as using a similar technique, so I dunno. Boils down to how the individual components cohere or something, I imagine. I do recall thinking that the technique almost came across at points as a desperate ploy to help us keep track of which character was who and where they were, since the narrative was such a slipshod morass.

[Rowland]

If I remember correctly, this is kind of the point. Suzuki was growing tired of making standard yakuza flicks, and thus he took a very typical, cliche-filled screenplay and made a bizarre, sometimes incoherent, often-times surreal esoteric gangster film as a sort of F-you to the film studios.

Suzuki was purposefully messing with the aesthetics and the rhythm of the yakuza genre, breathing new artistic merit into a genre that had become stale and tired. In many ways his approach to these films mirrored that of Chang Cheh's when that director introduced the venom mob to the kung fu pian.Yeah, I had the impression that he was intentionally making an esoteric movie, but I didn't find his individual spin on the genre with this particular film edifying or entertaining in many ways. Rather, it almost struck me as smug, if not bordering on incompetence, in that I rarely felt like Suzuki knew what he was striving for, or intended to impart. And mind you, I love the idea of a prismatic, jazzy reinterpretation of a staid genre, but I didn't find this attempt at such satisfying at all.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I tried to watch 300 last night. Stayed awake for about 40 minutes. That movie is lame.

I wish you were really close to a giant pit right now.

The kicking and declarations of what Sparta is would commence.

[Mara]

Has anyone seen the Director's cut of Dark City? Is it better enough to warrant a new watch?

[Dead & Messed Up]

Has anyone seen the Director's cut of Dark City? Is it better enough to warrant a new watch?

Yes.

EDIT: In addition to losing the opening narration/crawl/whatever, many more character moments are expanded and allowed to breathe. The editing's still frenetic, but it feels fuller, better-paced, more complete. The effect is initially small but cumulative.

Also, it's an awesome movie anyway.

[Cult]

I've only seen Clean and Boarding Gate, the former graced with astute direction, mindfully modulated performances, and an absence of sentimentality in its portrayals of both the rocky road to redemption and the global pop-market landscape, whereas the latter seemed rather flat to me, its subtext of corporate manipulation and the system's naively willing participants comparatively half-baked and unconvincing.

Even as my least favorite of his, I loved Boarding Gate. But I also just really enjoy Assayas' sleazy, slick, international urban aesthetic--and I loved the performances. It was pretty sweet to see Michael Madsen again in a good role. I also enjoyed the grimy, pulpy neo noir plot, even if I didn't take it too seriously. I think so far I would rank what I've seen like this:

demonlover
Irma Vep
Summer Hours
Clean
Boarding Gate

He's becoming a favorite of mine.

[Mara]

In addition to losing the opening narration/crawl/whatever, many more character moments are expanded and allowed to breathe. The editing's still frenetic, but it feels fuller, better-paced, more complete. The effect is initially small but cumulative.

Also, it's an awesome movie anyway.

Thanks. My feeling about the original was positive, but not ecstatic. I'll have to check out the new cut and see if it affects me more.

[Sven]

If the movie had been working for me otherwise, perhaps the color schemes would have held more aesthetic or emotional resonance.

I am convinced this is the case, and that your criticism of the transparency of its color schemes is a mere deflection, because I do not think it holds any water.

If it's any consolation, I really couldn't get into Branded to Kill for reasons of its esotericism and my thoughts Pistol Opera practically mirror yours about Tokyo Drifter. However, Tokyo Drifter was the one that I saw the most recent, so maybe I'd like the others on a rewatch, which I'd like to do.

[Spinal]

Oddly, I don't find Pistol Opera to be much more coherent than Tokyo Drifter and yet, I liked it. Something about that trippy underworld vibe appealed to me.

[Sven]

Oddly, I don't find Pistol Opera to be much more coherent than Tokyo Drifter and yet, I liked it. Something about that trippy underworld vibe appealed to me.

So oddly appropriate that responses to him are so disparate. Guess that's what he wants, probably.

[Ivan Drago]

Agreed. I haven't rewatched it since I saw it in theaters... and I own it on Blu-ray.

Yeah...it's awesome at first but it gets repetitive after a while.

[balmakboor]

My niece in Seattle directed a music video for her high school video production class and it's pretty decent. She's the one seated on the right middle of the sofa who says, "Just look at them. They're so bomb." She wanted to show it to me while I was visiting last week but their Internet connection was too slow and the dvd was locked up in the school.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxyqbdubs4w

[Boner M]

Weekend:

Stroszek on the big screen
Pather Panchali
Fists in the Pocket
The Kid (Chaplin, obv)
Mother (Joon-Ho Bong's latest!)
maybe Bruno

[right_for_the_moment]

Late August, Early September is on its way to me

[trotchky]

Hard Eight was better than I remembered. Philip Baker Hall was excellent. John C. Reilly was the weakest link. It was also interesting to find that PTA has been using sound to get inside his characters' heads from the very start. Reminded me of GVS' (that's Gus Van Snat's) approach in Elephant.

[origami_mustache]

Weekend:

Stroszek on the big screen
Pather Panchali
Fists in the Pocket
The Kid (Chaplin, obv)
Mother (Joon-Ho Bong's latest!)
maybe Bruno

I want this to be my weekend.

[B-side]

Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958) - 5.5

Has anyone given you shit for this yet?

[Grouchy]

Porco Rosso is the second Miyazaki film I've seen and it breaks the mold of what I assumed to be a Miyazaki film - sub-Alice stories about little boys and girls discovering magical worlds. This is completely different, a wartime fantasy that's irreverent, smart and poetical. I loved that it is never quite clear exactly why has Marco became a pig, although a hint is given that he's living (and flying) on borrowed time. The excitement of the flying scenes, particularly the competition near the end, is hard to find in almost any other movie. Porco is also such a compelling protagonist - a cynical pig living in a world not his own anymore. The ending, which came as a total surprise for me, is the very definition of bittersweet.

He Got Game is typical Spike Lee. Very good, long as all hell, unsubtle. Denzel Washington is awesome in this, selling us into liking his character but correctly portraying his anger and disgusting qualities. The movie has an epic running time but it would be hard to call it boring.

[B-side]

Porco Rosso is the second Miyazaki film I've seen and it breaks the mold of what I assumed to be a Miyazaki film - sub-Alice stories about little boys and girls discovering magical worlds. This is completely different, a wartime fantasy that's irreverent, smart and poetical. I loved that it is never quite clear exactly why has Marco became a pig, although a hint is given that he's living (and flying) on borrowed time. The excitement of the flying scenes, particularly the competition near the end, is hard to find in almost any other movie. Porco is also such a compelling protagonist - a cynical pig living in a world not his own anymore. The ending, which came as a total surprise for me, is the very definition of bittersweet.

Yup. I'm still not sure what to make of the political stuff, though. A nice addition for sure, but I'm unclear on Miyazaki's stance.

[Grouchy]

Yup. I'm still not sure what to make of the political stuff, though. A nice addition for sure, but I'm unclear on Miyazaki's stance.
Please expand on that. I took the movie as critical of fascism and imperialism in general.

[Russ]

Borrowed from another site:

Head Bangin' Auteurs: http://www.cinefilevideo.com/products-page/

[D_Davis]

My niece in Seattle directed a music video for her high school video production class and it's pretty decent. She's the one seated on the right middle of the sofa who says, "Just look at them. There's so bomb." She wanted to show it to me while I was visiting last week but their Internet connection was too slow and the dvd was locked up in the school.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxyqbdubs4w

That's pretty good. It's amazing what kids get to do these days because of the cheap tech available; I love how it puts creative ability into the hands of anyone who dreams of making something. That is awesome. That song and video are pretty funny.

[Dukefrukem]

My niece in Seattle directed a music video for her high school video production class and it's pretty decent. She's the one seated on the right middle of the sofa who says, "Just look at them. They're so bomb." She wanted to show it to me while I was visiting last week but their Internet connection was too slow and the dvd was locked up in the school.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxyqbdubs4w

I enjoyed that video. Laughed a few times too. I wish this technology was readily available when I was in high school. I would have had so much fun with this stuff.

[balmakboor]

http://1linereview2.blogspot.com/2009/07/all-films-5-votes.html

This guy's project turned out pretty well. I guess, no matter how you approach it though, you still get the same films at the top.

I must really be out of step with the masses too. Out of all of that, I'm still the only Slacker supporter and one of only three WR supporters.

[Sycophant]

Weekend:
The Trial (Welles)
The Stranger (Welles)
Public Enemies
Away We Go
The Hurt Locker

Depending on whether or not I get my Netflix rentals out in time:
Thin Man
Max Payne

Mostly, I'm excited for next weekend, when I'll be back-to-backing Moon with Whatever Works.

[Qrazy]

I think I've had the same reaction to the four Seijun Suzuki films I've seen; they're playful and vibrant and jazzy on a set-piece-by-set-piece basis, but they have no sense of rhythm or pacing as a whole. You could take every scene from Youth of the Beast, Branded to Kill and Tokyo Drifter, jumble them together at random, and stitch the results equally haphazardly into three new separate films, and I'd probably have the same opinion of each new film as I did of the originals.

Gate of Flesh and Story of a Prostitute do not fall prey to these complaints.

[soitgoes...]

Weekend enjoyment to be had by me:

Khrustalyov, My Car!(German)
Diary of a Suicide (Stanojevic)
Music in Darkness(Bergman)
Sawdust and Tinsel (Bergman)
Crazed Fruit (Nakahira)

[Qrazy]

If I remember correctly, this is kind of the point. Suzuki was growing tired of making standard yakuza flicks, and thus he took a very typical, cliche-filled screenplay and made a bizarre, sometimes incoherent, often-times surreal esoteric gangster film as a sort of F-you to the film studios.

Suzuki was purposefully messing with the aesthetics and the rhythm of the yakuza genre, breathing new artistic merit into a genre that had become stale and tired. In many ways his approach to these films mirrored that of Chang Cheh's when that director introduced the venom mob to the kung fu pian.

Indeed, the seeming incomprehensibility is very much a device on Suzuki's part. Still I think all three films (Branded to Kill, Youth of the Beast, Tokyo Drifter) are comprehensible, they're just intentionally off kilter. Personally I enjoy all three because I think they're fun loving films. They have a sense of humor and beautiful use of color. I would say they are meandering but not unfocused. I'm not in love with any of them but I don't dislike them and I'm certainly not indifferent. They have their flaws but their energy overcomes these flaws. Although I suppose that their jumbled quality does weaken them somewhat... which is perhaps why I prefer Gate of Flesh and Story of a Prostitute.

[Qrazy]

Porco Rosso is the second Miyazaki film I've seen and it breaks the mold of what I assumed to be a Miyazaki film - sub-Alice stories about little boys and girls discovering magical worlds. This is completely different, a wartime fantasy that's irreverent, smart and poetical. I loved that it is never quite clear exactly why has Marco became a pig, although a hint is given that he's living (and flying) on borrowed time. The excitement of the flying scenes, particularly the competition near the end, is hard to find in almost any other movie. Porco is also such a compelling protagonist - a cynical pig living in a world not his own anymore. The ending, which came as a total surprise for me, is the very definition of bittersweet.

He Got Game is typical Spike Lee. Very good, long as all hell, unsubtle. Denzel Washington is awesome in this, selling us into liking his character but correctly portraying his anger and disgusting qualities. The movie has an epic running time but it would be hard to call it boring.

Miyazaki Recs (http://www.match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=174948&postcount=62)

I like Porco Rosso more than that ranking suggests. And yeah only Totoro, Spirited Away, Ponyo, and Howl's fall prey to your initial concerns about Miyazaki.

[dreamdead]

Lee Myeong-Se's Nowhere to Hide has such a directional flourish that it's easy to forgive the simplicity and perfunctory of the cop/killer narrative. Though the film manages to fashion a fascinating lead in Park Joong-Hoon, who frequently ends up looking more deranged than the murderers he's pursuing, the rest of the characters are sidelined (though they do indeed register) in favor of the magnificence of the set pieces, which are truly exceptional. Anticipating the poetic grandeur that Zhang Yimou offered in Hero/House of Flying Daggers, here the seasons all cycle through and suggest the omnipresence of this battle between good and evil, as hero and villain continue to do battle. I like the way in which Lee invokes The Third Man's final moments in this narrative, even if the result is changed. Truly kinetic filmmaking here, and any lover of good directing in action narratives owes it to themselves to check this out.

[Mara]

Half an hour into East of Eden. Does it ever stop being melodramatic nonsense?

[Grouchy]

Convoy is low-tier Peckinpah but, you know, I still have to see a film directed by this guy that's not a lot of fun in at least some level. The actors, at least, seem to be having a ball here, with Kris Kristofferson as the ultimate Christ figure, although a twist towards the end releases the burden from him. I can see this was part of a trend of outlaw trucker films, but this is so reflexive on its story and committed to the counter-culture of the '70s it doesn't leave much room for other entries on the same themes to do something. Most of the film appears to have been directed by James Coburn anyway while Bloody Sam was to drunk and depressed to leave his trailer.

[Sven]

Kris Kristofferson as the ultimate Christ figure, although a twist towards the end releases the burden from him.

I fail to see how one can be a Christ figure without the burden part.

[Rowland]

Sergio Martino's Torso (or as its preferred original Italian title, The Bodies Bear Traces of Carnal Violence), a fabbo synthesis of giallo, slasher, and sexploitation, is finally being re-released in a few weeks thanks to Blue Underground. The last act in particular is brilliant, comprised entirely of a nearly wordless sustained cat-and-mouse set piece that is among the most purely suspenseful sequences I've seen in a thriller. The rest is a delirious melange of 70's euro-horror conventions dripping with stylish atmosphere, visceral carnage, and lurid sleaze that is also among the most unhinged of its kind, all the while remaining infused with a remarkable grasp of the principles of suspense. Consider it highly recommended to fans of such things. You know who you are.

[Boner M]

Gate of Flesh and Story of a Prostitute do not fall prey to these complaints.
We'll see about that.

[Derek]

You Only Live Once (Lang, 1937) ***½

Kudos for the sensible rating.

[transmogrifier]

Lee Myeong-Se's Nowhere to Hide has such a directional flourish that it's easy to forgive the simplicity and perfunctory of the cop/killer narrative. Though the film manages to fashion a fascinating lead in Park Joong-Hoon, who frequently ends up looking more deranged than the murderers he's pursuing, the rest of the characters are sidelined (though they do indeed register) in favor of the magnificence of the set pieces, which are truly exceptional. Anticipating the poetic grandeur that Zhang Yimou offered in Hero/House of Flying Daggers, here the seasons all cycle through and suggest the omnipresence of this battle between good and evil, as hero and villain continue to do battle. I like the way in which Lee invokes The Third Man's final moments in this narrative, even if the result is changed. Truly kinetic filmmaking here, and any lover of good directing in action narratives owes it to themselves to check this out.

Die Bad is much better. Check it out if you haven't already.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Sergio Martino's Torso (or as its preferred original Italian title, The Bodies Bear Traces of Carnal Violence), a fabbo synthesis of giallo, slasher, and sexploitation, is finally being re-released in a few weeks thanks to Blue Underground. The last act in particular is brilliant, comprised entirely of a nearly wordless sustained cat-and-mouse set piece that is among the most purely suspenseful sequences I've seen in a thriller. The rest is a delirious melange of 70's euro-horror conventions dripping with stylish atmosphere, visceral carnage, and lurid sleaze that is also among the most unhinged of its kind, all the while remaining infused with a remarkable grasp of the principles of suspense. Consider it highly recommended to fans of such things. You know who you are.

I remember Eli Roth praising this to the heavens at one point, which made me curious. Thanks for the review - I'll definitely add it to my queue now.

[Rowland]

The latest Harry Potter is the first Hollywood blockbuster this summer that I can say I'm really excited for. Even at their worst, the movies in this franchise have been reasonably charming and not entirely without interest, while the best entries are flat-out stellar as these things go. Order of the Phoenix was wonderful, so I'm excited to see what its director does with his second go-around, especially given the unwieldly nature of the book it's based upon.

[Dead & Messed Up]

The latest Harry Potter is the first Hollywood blockbuster this summer that I can say I'm really excited for. Even at their worst, the movies in this franchise have been reasonably charming and not entirely without interest, while the best entries are flat-out stellar as these things go. Order of the Phoenix was wonderful, so I'm excited to see what its director does with his second go-around, especially given the unwieldly nature of the book it's based upon.

I was thinking about this today, mostly because of my amazement at how consistently entertaining the films have been, and how good the young actors have grown into their roles. In addition to the pleasure of having family entertainment that nicely balances whimsy and darkness, there's a 7 Up quality to seeing Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint become better, more natural actors with each segment.

I like these films more than Lord of the Rings.

[Rowland]

The first two acts of 1953's The War of the Worlds are spotty, with brief flashes of inspiration amidst a great deal of flat, dated material, but the last act surprises with its visceral intensity and apocalyptic pessimism. This must have been terrifying for its time, so it's just a shame about the absurd conservatism that is shoehorned into the climax of the picture, rendering its potential for lingering power distinctly muted. I find this adaptation's structure more interesting than that of Spielberg's attempt, in that it oscillates between macro and micro perspectives in a manner that effectively imparts a multi-dimensional immersion into the burgeoning invasion while building to the outright collapse of society that occupies the third act. Nevertheless, Spielberg's War of the Worlds, for all its many flaws, remains a significantly superior effort on the whole.

[Mysterious Dude]

The Sacrifice is the first film by Andrei Tarkovsky that I've really liked. I liked Solaris and The Mirror, but didn't really understand them all that well. Andrei Rublev and Nostalghia I found tedious. Somehow, The Sacrifice just worked for me.

One could argue that God's role in this film is similar to His role in Dreyer's Ordet, but I think Tarkovsky's God is a bit more cruel than Dreyer's.

[B-side]

Please expand on that. I took the movie as critical of fascism and imperialism in general.

Right. I definitely got that. I meant more the European-American relations. The American guy is largely the money-obsessed foil, but he's undoubtedly talented. He has a Southern accent, though, which makes me think Miyazaki's critiquing shallowness and the like above all else.

[Boner M]

Kudos for the sensible rating.
Yeah, it's wonderful. I read KF's review and I suppose I can see in hindsight how contrived it all is, but I was really just carried away by the expressiveness of Lang's direction and the two wonderful performances at its centre. The reprise of the line from the prison escape over the final shot was a perfect touch.

[soitgoes...]

Lorna's Silence (Dardenne Bros., 2009) 70

Thoughts? About what I'd rate it using your scale.

[Winston*]

He has a Southern accent, though.

In the Japanese dub?

[B-side]

In the Japanese dub?

I watched the English dub.

[Winston*]

I watched the English dub.

Which makes trying to make auteury statements based on accents kind of odd, no?

[B-side]

Which makes trying to make auteury statements based on accents kind of odd, no?

I'd imagine Miyazaki had say in the accent.

[soitgoes...]

Bergman's Music in Darkness has the feel of a studio mandated film, made by him only to further himself in the Swedish film industry. While established director Molander got to work with Bergman's own script, Woman Without a Face, Bergman got to adapt something he wanted no part of. The story is that of class struggle. A rich young man gets blinded during a Swedish military exercise, and ends up falling for a servant girl. More melodrama ensues as their stations flip. The film isn't necessarily predictable, which does keep it entertaining, and as usual it is always interesting to see very Bergmanian touches even this early in his career (faith rears its head, and Bergman's famous way of pairing faces on different planes is evident). An enjoyable enough 85 minutes for me, though to be honest this is one of his worst films I've seen.

[Grouchy]

I fail to see how one can be a Christ figure without the burden part.
Exactly. Up until the last scene he's a Christ figure. I didn't mention this before but that final twist pretty much sucks.

BTW, you left me hanging with the Killer Elite discussion on the VHS thread.

[Grouchy]

Right. I definitely got that. I meant more the European-American relations. The American guy is largely the money-obsessed foil, but he's undoubtedly talented. He has a Southern accent, though, which makes me think Miyazaki's critiquing shallowness and the like above all else.
Well, the American guy for me is a skilled pilot but, unlike Porco, he's in it for the glory and the paycheck instead of the freedom and adventure Porco and the other pirates seem to crave. He also has a lot less class than the Europeans. I doubt that's a political statement. Sonds more like using country of origin to define a villain.

Like Winston, I doubt Miyazaki had anything to do with the Southern accent.

[dreamdead]

The Sacrifice is the first film by Andrei Tarkovsky that I've really liked. I liked Solaris and The Mirror, but didn't really understand them all that well. Andrei Rublev and Nostalghia I found tedious. Somehow, The Sacrifice just worked for me.

One could argue that God's role in this film is similar to His role in Dreyer's Ordet, but I think Tarkovsky's God is a bit more cruel than Dreyer's.

I need to still see Nostalghia and Ivan's Childhood, but I'll happily second your impression here. It builds methodically and gracefully, and carries over many of the overarching symbolism of his earlier work, but here it receives payoff in a twisted, albeit purely symbolically logical, way. The tracking shots of the burning house are beautifully abstract, and Tarkovsky's willingness to hold back any kind of unequivocal statement on faith, even though the entire ending is predicated on one's reading of faith into it, allows it to work fluidly. Because of Ordet I end up underrating this film at times, but it is simply a marvelous film.

[B-side]

Well, the American guy for me is a skilled pilot but, unlike Porco, he's in it for the glory and the paycheck instead of the freedom and adventure Porco and the other pirates seem to crave. He also has a lot less class than the Europeans. I doubt that's a political statement. Sonds more like using country of origin to define a villain.

Like Winston, I doubt Miyazaki had anything to do with the Southern accent.

Possible anti-American sentiment aside, it's still a great film.:)

[Eleven]

NPR's "Tell Me More" had Armond on last night (although I heard it this morning) to talk about stereotypes in Transformers and Bruno (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106419777). There was another guy being interviewed, but really, it's hard to remember what anyone else says when Armond Dangerous is busy calling Trans a "work of art" and praising its "aesthetic qualities."

[B-side]

Getting Puffball and A Woman is a Woman for weekend viewings. It's been quite a while since I've seen any Godard, and my past experiences have been mixed, so I figured I'd jump back in with some playful Godard.

[D_Davis]

Sergio Martino's Torso (or as its preferred original Italian title, The Bodies Bear Traces of Carnal Violence), a fabbo synthesis of giallo, slasher, and sexploitation, is finally being re-released in a few weeks thanks to Blue Underground. The last act in particular is brilliant, comprised entirely of a nearly wordless sustained cat-and-mouse set piece that is among the most purely suspenseful sequences I've seen in a thriller. The rest is a delirious melange of 70's euro-horror conventions dripping with stylish atmosphere, visceral carnage, and lurid sleaze that is also among the most unhinged of its kind, all the while remaining infused with a remarkable grasp of the principles of suspense. Consider it highly recommended to fans of such things. You know who you are.


I like this film a heck of a lot.

[Mara]

So, every few years I bring this up in the hopes that someone will help me.

There's a film that I saw when I was very young that freaked me out, and there's some imagery in it that I've never gotten over. I've always wanted to watch it again to try and sort it out.

Please remember that I was about five years old when I saw this, and I may not have understood it very well. Here's what I remember.

It was in black and white.

The main character was a woman, I think blonde, who was a murderess. As I remember, she liked to kill people with an axe, and I'm pretty sure once she used a guillotine. It seemed to me that she pretended not to be killing people by putting wood over their necks and chopping at that. (I may be confused, here.) It also seemed that other people knew she was killing people, but pretended not to notice.

It may have been a period piece. I seem to recall a scene in a saloon, or similar.

At the very end, the woman is standing at the edge of a cliff over a river, like she's going to jump. A man says, "Wait! I need to tell you who you are!" and she says, "I know who I am" and commits suicide.

I've done every google search I can think of through the years to try and find this thing. My only hope is that one of you cinephiles may have encountered it.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I watched Creature from the Black Lagoon last night (thoughts in the Sangre thread), and I enjoyed it, but I realized that the disc also has Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us. In addition, I have Eyes Without a Face and Repulsion waiting on my desk.

I think it's time for a movie marathon this weekend. Haven't done one in a while.

[The Mike]

So, every few years I bring this up in the hopes that someone will help me.

There's a film that I saw when I was very young that freaked me out, and there's some imagery in it that I've never gotten over. I've always wanted to watch it again to try and sort it out.

Please remember that I was about five years old when I saw this, and I may not have understood it very well. Here's what I remember.

It was in black and white.

The main character was a woman, I think blonde, who was a murderess. As I remember, she liked to kill people with an axe, and I'm pretty sure once she used a guillotine. It seemed to me that she pretended not to be killing people by putting wood over their necks and chopping at that. (I may be confused, here.) It also seemed that other people knew she was killing people, but pretended not to notice.

It may have been a period piece. I seem to recall a scene in a saloon, or similar.

At the very end, the woman is standing at the edge of a cliff over a river, like she's going to jump. A man says, "Wait! I need to tell you who you are!" and she says, "I know who I am" and commits suicide.

I've done every google search I can think of through the years to try and find this thing. My only hope is that one of you cinephiles may have encountered it.
This seems like something I've either seen or read about. I'll have to ponder.

My first thought was William Castle's Strait Jacket, but that doesn't seem to match up entirely. http://www.coolcinematrash.com/movies/straitJacket.htm

[Mara]

My first thought was William Castle's Strait Jacket, but that doesn't seem to match up entirely. http://www.coolcinematrash.com/movies/straitJacket.htm

I actually found this while googling. It's not the film I was thinking of, but it looked cool enough to Netflix.

[Sycophant]

I watched The Prosposal. It was alright. I was in the mood for something like it, and I like Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds and Betty White. So.

[BuffaloWilder]

ts been 12 years since the infamous Batman & Robin movie came out. Its famous for all the wrong reasons. Described as the worst super hero movie of all time. Well until the likes of Hancock and The Spirit came out. Also the movie that destroyed the Batman franchise directed by the infamous Joel Schumaker. What people do not realize is Batman & Robin was based off the silver age Batman. You know the light toned Batman.

Now i'm defending this movie. It was the 12 best movie of 1997 and their was a good amount of movies to come out in 1997. Also it did good at the box office. But see looking at the movie. Over and over again i think it was decent. Now hear me out. It was based off the silver age Batman even Warner Bros said this. So of course the characters were gonna be light toned.And people say the movie was campy was not complete campy. Alfred getting sick and dying was not something funny. Bruce still in pain about his parents death was not funny. The family between Bruce, Dick and Alfred breaking up cause of argument and illness was not funny. Now i know somethings were stupid like most of the jokes but Gotham City looked Gotham to me. The gargoyles, furutistic style look and come on Schumaker Gotham better then Nolans which just looks like Chicago.

But anyways and i know this is long bear with me here but it was a decent movie. 12th best of 1997. So it was one of the best in 1997. It made good money at the box office so it did good at the box office. Made alot of money actually. So was not a bad movie. Spirit was terrible that movie bobmed at the box office. Batman & Robin did not bomb at the box office. Hancock failed at the box office Batman & Robin did not. Superman 3 and 4 failed at the box office and people say that movie was better then Batman & Robin. And like i said Batman & Robin did better then all them movies at the box office. Also it was the 3rd highest opening movie of 1997. So it was decent in my eyes and i know friends who liked the movie thought it was okay for what it was.

P.S. 1960s television show was golden! Another thing this movie was based off of. Now please i'm not crazy or insane in my opinion think this is a decent flick. For what it was. A silver age Batman people. This was not the Miller era Batman or Bob Kane era Batman.

I almost didn't post this.

[balmakboor]

I almost didn't post this.

If you had said "silver age Batman" one more time I would've thrown my laptop out the window. And I'm glad you didn't because I'm light on money right now.

On a side note, I've never seen Batman & Robin, but it was showing once while I was in Sears and I started watching and was actually having fun with it. Then I left.

[trotchky]

Maybe this belongs in the political thread, but I watched Alex Jones' The Obama Deception and it was a lot less bad than I expected. Like Michael Moore at his best, Jones is a fantastic entertainer, and I'll be damned if one scene set in a hotel isn't the most suspenseful and exciting thing I've seen in a film this year, all achieved through a sing long take on a handheld camera of a dude (Jones) talking to somebody on a phone in his hotel room while the fire alarm blares in the background.

Jones is at his most convincing (and, to my mind, accurate) when he covers the shittiness of the Federal Reserve, but for every lucid point there's another that's equally absurd. The fact that he actually finds a name for the Illuminati, in the form of The Bilderberg Group, in this one makes his conspiracy theorizing that much more fascinating, whether or not it's complete horeshit. Jones is right in calling out the Federal Reserve as being thoroughly corrupt and The Bilderberg Group as consisiting of some truly monstrous people, but with this newfound specificity comes equal and opposite boldness in his end-of-times prophesying, which is thankfully stomachable for much of the film for its sheer entertainment value but ends up dominating its themes by the end; unfortunate, because there are a lot of very real points that could shine through were it not for the doomsday haze.

When the predicable "domestic concentration camps are being readied!" line is posited alongside "the banker bailout bill was pushed through Congress under threat of marshal law," it's hard to know what to think of this guy. It's also a little unsettling to me that Jones isn't above recruiting religious fanatics, racists, and libertarians for his cult-of personality, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to buy an "END THE FED" t-shirt off infowars.com

[B-side]

Re-posted from my blog:


http://i28.tinypic.com/20f53rm.jpg

“I can’t tell if this is a comedy or a tragedy but, either way, it’s a masterpiece.” I’m almost tempted to agree with Emile(Jean-Claude Brialy) on the masterpiece part. The former portion is definitely true, and Godard’s wonderful film plays with your mind as much as it induces laughter and pleases the eyes. Godard, not content to simply make light of genre tropes, dedicates an equal amount of time to bringing forth the subtle, yet important, ways in which the musical too often categorizes and refuses to reach beneath the contrived super-happy surface. A Woman is a Woman stars Anna Karina as Angela, a woman wanting a baby that her husband doesn’t seem to want. Naturally, as would be par for the course in a classic Hollywood musical, the love triangle ensues along with a gag or 2 that would make Chaplin blush. Much like the picture above, Godard is constantly winking at the audience in this film, and not an ounce of it feels disdainful or unpleasant. The critique is there, but it’s buried in a series of scenes that either had me smiling or laughing out loud.

I have some reservations about Godard, and most of those seem to revolve around his films’ critical nature. Though Godard often intends his films to feel alienating in a certain sense when it comes to the aforementioned more critical works, it seems to push me away from him and read him as a bit disdainful and overly critical. That said, I’ve not much experience with the man and most of my reservations are going on hearsay and speculation, so I’m diving back into his work with a new, more open approach.

A Woman is a Woman managed to balance critical Godard with a fun Godard, one that loves exposing the underbelly of pre-conceived gender roles and Hollywood idealism. No easy feat, that is, but given the film’s short running time of 84 mins, the beautiful Anna Karina and the charismatic lead males and that subversive wink strewn throughout the film by a Godard fully in his element and fully self-aware, it’s pulled off so well and is just a blast to watch.

[soitgoes...]

Sawdust and Tinsel sure is pessimistic.

Even for Bergman.

Still it's the best film I've seen in about a month. I fear it might be the last Bergman film I've left to see that has a chance to be great.

[balmakboor]

Maybe this belongs in the political thread, but I watched Alex Jones' The Obama Deception and it was a lot less bad than I expected. Like Michael Moore at his best, Jones is a fantastic entertainer, and I'll be damned if one scene set in a hotel isn't the most suspenseful and exciting thing I've seen in a film this year, all achieved through a sing long take on a handheld camera of a dude (Jones) talking to somebody on a phone in his hotel room while the fire alarm blares in the background.

Jones is at his most convincing (and, to my mind, accurate) when he covers the shittiness of the Federal Reserve, but for every lucid point there's another that's equally absurd. The fact that he actually finds a name for the Illuminati, in the form of The Bilderberg Group, in this one makes his conspiracy theorizing that much more fascinating, whether or not it's complete horeshit. Jones is right in calling out the Federal Reserve as being thoroughly corrupt and The Bilderberg Group as consisiting of some truly monstrous people, but with this newfound specificity comes equal and opposite boldness in his end-of-times prophesying, which is thankfully stomachable for much of the film for its sheer entertainment value but ends up dominating its themes by the end; unfortunate, because there are a lot of very real points that could shine through were it not for the doomsday haze.

When the predicable "domestic concentration camps are being readied!" line is posited alongside "the banker bailout bill was pushed through Congress under threat of marshal law," it's hard to know what to think of this guy. It's also a little unsettling to me that Jones isn't above recruiting religious fanatics, racists, and libertarians for his cult-of personality, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to buy an "END THE FED" t-shirt off infowars.com

Yeah, your comparison to Michael Moore is very apt. I saw Jones' Endgame: Blueprint for Global Enslavement and it was certainly never dull, even at nearly three hours. He gets right in there and uses a megaphone to taunt the evil Bilderbergs as they get out of limos and go in and out of their secret annual meeting. He throws every idea he can dredge up into the film trying to convince. And that's probably where he diverges from Moore.

Sometimes Moore goes to far. His finals scenes in Bowling for Columbine and Sicko were unnecessary and actually worked against both his thesis and, especially with the Charlton Heston bit, tore away at his well-earned audience sympathies. But he does overall show a good deal of restraint and genuine editing skill.

Jones doesn't show any restraint at all. He just piles up every noodle-brained bit of information he can find and hopes that the viewer will sort through it all and do the work for him. Pick out the good stuff and build a strong argument out of it while ignoring the loony or contradictory stuff.

I think Jones has probably the most frightening conspiracy ideas out there and the ones that would be most devastating if they were true. And if he had a better editor, he would have a lot more people worried than he has so far managed.

[Mara]

So, every few years I bring this up in the hopes that someone will help me.

There's a film that I saw when I was very young that freaked me out, and there's some imagery in it that I've never gotten over. I've always wanted to watch it again to try and sort it out.

Please remember that I was about five years old when I saw this, and I may not have understood it very well. Here's what I remember.

It was in black and white.

The main character was a woman, I think blonde, who was a murderess. As I remember, she liked to kill people with an axe, and I'm pretty sure once she used a guillotine. It seemed to me that she pretended not to be killing people by putting wood over their necks and chopping at that. (I may be confused, here.) It also seemed that other people knew she was killing people, but pretended not to notice.

It may have been a period piece. I seem to recall a scene in a saloon, or similar.

At the very end, the woman is standing at the edge of a cliff over a river, like she's going to jump. A man says, "Wait! I need to tell you who you are!" and she says, "I know who I am" and commits suicide.

I've done every google search I can think of through the years to try and find this thing. My only hope is that one of you cinephiles may have encountered it.

I've got to give this up. I've been combing the internet for hours. Maybe I made it up.

[BuffaloWilder]

Why is DVDActive such a terrible, terrible site? I mean, seriously - Jesus Christ.

[Derek]

"Why is DVDActive such a terrible, terrible site? I mean, seriously." - Jesus Christ.

I read your post like this. Much funnier. :)

[BuffaloWilder]

I read your post like this. Much funnier. :)

Was Jesus doing this, when you read it?

http://ddflowers.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/angry-jesus.jpg

[thefourthwall]

Peter Greenaway's The Belly of an Architect is a beautiful, symmetrical film. The main character Stourley Kracklite, played nicely by Brian Dennehy, is an architect putting together an exhibition in Rome on obscure French architect Boullée, who he writes postcards to and increasingly identifies with over the course of the film. The film is an orgy of Roman architecture and a study of forms. Kracklite is hardly ever shown in close ups, just in perfect archways from long shot, generally with a lackey or statue on either side. As Kracklite has debilitating stomach pains the films studies his destruction, his paranoia (some of it justified), his obsession with bellies, his illness, and his wife's disturbing relationship with another architect who is trying to undermine Kracklite in the exhibition. Like The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, Greenaway boldly uses colors and form to create amazingly painterly compositions.

[The Mike]

I ask a serious question of you cinephiles: Let's say you're getting married. Someone you know primarily via working together on an internet movie site, and doesn't know your fiancee at all, comes to your wedding as invited and gives you the gift of the Flash Gordon SE DVD.

That's cool, right?

[transmogrifier]

Don't know about the other stuff, but the choice of Flash Gordon means the answer has to be a resounding "No!"

[Dead & Messed Up]

Don't know about the other stuff, but the choice of Flash Gordon means the answer has to be a resounding "No!"

No, the answer is AH-AAAAAAAAAAAH, HE'LL SAVE EVERY ONE OF US!

[Sven]

... I think that's pretty freakin' awesome.

[BuffaloWilder]

I ask a serious question of you cinephiles: Let's say you're getting married. Someone you know primarily via working together on an internet movie site, and doesn't know your fiancee at all, comes to your wedding as invited and gives you the gift of the Flash Gordon SE DVD.

That's cool, right?

No. It is not.

:lol:

But, no.

[Derek]

I ask a serious question of you cinephiles: Let's say you're getting married. Someone you know primarily via working together on an internet movie site, and doesn't know your fiancee at all, comes to your wedding as invited and gives you the gift of the Flash Gordon SE DVD.

That's cool, right?

If it has the Brian Blessed commentary, YES. Otherwise, no.

[thefourthwall]

I ask a serious question of you cinephiles: Let's say you're getting married. Someone you know primarily via working together on an internet movie site, and doesn't know your fiancee at all, comes to your wedding as invited and gives you the gift of the Flash Gordon SE DVD.

That's cool, right?

Are you the groom or the coworker in this scenario? What's the concern--that this individual is not buying something off the registry? As a bride-to-be, I see no problem with it.

[balmakboor]

http://blogs.laweekly.com/style_council/2009/06/28/COMPARE_madhatter.jpg

[BuffaloWilder]

You know, in preparation for both that essay I was going to do (which has been scrapped, pretty indefinitely - particularly because a few French critics have taken the words right out of my mouth) and the 'round-table' thing that Sven and I are trying to get going, I went back and watched most of Miller's major films - the four I consider his best, plus Thunderdome. And, I noticed something, about Happy Feet -

- while it doesn't hew too strictly to the three-act structure, it does seem to set itself up in three 'parts,' and I think it would have been interesting if Miller had used a device similar to what he did with the Babe films and their chapter headings - given each of these 'parts' a title, and so on. It even seems to set itself up for this, with the use of fade-to-blacks at certain key moments.

It doesn't take away anything from the film itself, but it was just something I thought about. Also interesting - some of the stuff I came across while doing a little roaming around. The early concept art (http://www.istartedsomething.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/happy-2.jpg) for this film seems to show it being even more naturalistic - in a sense - than what the final film was. Now this - and the excised subplot I'd mentioned a looong while back - I might write something up about.

[The Mike]

Are you the groom or the coworker in this scenario? What's the concern--that this individual is not buying something off the registry? As a bride-to-be, I see no problem with it.
I'm the buyer. It was a situation where I barely know the guy, so I figured I'd just get him something that he'd identify with me and that we could discuss later.

Considering the preacher's sermon was about movies the couple loves and how their life, like these movies is all about the people and their shared stories....well, I'm not sure how the gift will work out. :lol:

[trotchky]

http://blogs.laweekly.com/style_council/2009/06/28/COMPARE_madhatter.jpg

Peter Newell's illustrations are much more frightening than Tim Burton's over-the-top creepiness.

[B-side]

This is likely to earn me a stoning, but Allen's love triangles are wearing on me and I've only seen about 1/4 of his filmography. We've got Woody Allen's neurotic, but brilliant, character with a series of odd phobias and quirks, then you've got either him or whoever else in a love triangle. I love Allen's sense of humor, he's arguably the funniest person in Hollywood. And he can do drama, we know this. I guess what I'm asking is, does anyone else grow weary of Allen's series of love triangles? Annie Hall is still my favorite of his that I've seen, with Hannah and Her Sisters following.

[soitgoes...]

This is likely to earn me a stoning, but Allen's love triangles are wearing on me and I've only seen about 1/4 of his filmography. We've got Woody Allen's neurotic, but brilliant, character with a series of odd phobias and quirks, then you've got either him or whoever else in a love triangle. I love Allen's sense of humor, he's arguably the funniest person in Hollywood. And he can do drama, we know this. I guess what I'm asking is, does anyone else grow weary of Allen's series of love triangles? Annie Hall is still my favorite of his that I've seen, with Hannah and Her Sisters following.
I think that's just a part of it being a Woody Allen film. Certain aspects, some you've hit on, scream Woody Allen when you're watching his films. one is his relationship quandaries. I guess it's personal taste. I think it can be said for most artistic directors when you see enough of their films. There is always going to be a certain level of repetition. What's the saying by Renoir? Something along the lines of a filmmaker makes one film his whole life then he breaks it into pieces and makes it again.

[B-side]

I think that's just a part of it being a Woody Allen film. Certain aspects, some you've hit on, scream Woody Allen when you're watching his films. one is his relationship quandaries. I guess it's personal taste. I think it can be said for most artistic directors when you see enough of their films. There is always going to be a certain level of repetition. What's the saying by Renoir? Something along the lines of a filmmaker makes one film his whole life then he breaks it into pieces and makes it again.

I don't know, maybe it was the films I watched. I watched Hannah and Her Sisters, then Crimes and Misdemeanors, then Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Now that I think about it, Match Point is an awful lot like Crimes and Misdemeanors. I downloaded Husbands and Wives. We'll see how that plays out.

[soitgoes...]

I think that what makes Allen so enjoyable for his fans is that his screen persona is just sort of a cinematic ideal of himself. He almost always plays some version of a writer. He is neurotic. He is with a woman who is much more attractive than him, and he worries about it. In real life he has shown to be not the most monogamous of partners. Again I think this stems from his own insecurities. He talks in his films as he talks in real life. Heck, even when he isn't in his films his actors talk like he does. Instead of wearing his emotions/life on his sleeve, he puts them on celluloid.

[B-side]

I think that what makes Allen so enjoyable for his fans is that his screen persona is just sort of a cinematic ideal of himself. He almost always plays some version of a writer. He is neurotic. He is with a woman who is much more attractive than him, and he worries about it. In real life he has shown to be not the most monogamous of partners. Again I think this stems from his own insecurities. He talks in his films as he talks in real life. Heck, even when he isn't in his films his actors talk like he does. Instead of wearing his emotions/life on his sleeve, he puts them on celluloid.

Hm. I like that.

[balmakboor]

Peter Newell's illustrations are much more frightening than Tim Burton's over-the-top creepiness.

Yeah. I don't know what to think about Burton's project yet. I think these designs look pretty cool actually, but then I thought the same about his designs for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and we all know how that turned out.

[Ezee E]

No idea why, but I never looked forward to the Willy Wonka remake. Alice, however, is one of the more anticipated movies for me next year.

[Chac Mool]

Has anyone seen any of the following four, and if so, what did you think?

Ip Man (Wilson Yip, 2008)
Dream (Kim Ki-Duk, 2008)
Lesbian Vampire Killers (Phil Claydon, 2009)
Love Exposure (Sion Sono, 2008)

Thoughts forthcoming.

[NickGlass]

I think that what makes Allen so enjoyable for his fans is that his screen persona is just sort of a cinematic ideal of himself. He almost always plays some version of a writer. He is neurotic. He is with a woman who is much more attractive than him, and he worries about it. In real life he has shown to be not the most monogamous of partners. Again I think this stems from his own insecurities. He talks in his films as he talks in real life. Heck, even when he isn't in his films his actors talk like he does. Instead of wearing his emotions/life on his sleeve, he puts them on celluloid.

"You know, you know how you're always tryin' t' get things to come out perfect in art because, uh, it's real difficult in life."

[Pop Trash]

Lesbian Vampire Killers (Phil Claydon, 2009)


With a name like Smuckers, it has to be good.

[Sycophant]

Um, so Orson Welles's The Trial was quite something. I fear my experience was a bit tainted, since I was paying way too much attention to what was on screen that related to what was in the book, which I just couldn't keep in check. A second viewing is probably in order. Still, quite something. Pity the DVD was shit.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Oh yeah! I got two awesome posters today:

http://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/9/b70-4813

http://www.best-horror-movies.com/image-files/se7en-horror-movie-poster.jpg

I'm thinking I want one more for my room and I should be set.

[MadMan]

Thanks to a cable company loophole, I get a rather fuzzy but still viewable version of TCM. For now, I'll take it.

Hey now Flash Gordon is campy cheesy awesome. The Queen soundtrack alone is worthy of praise, and it has some rather trippy, cool set design and wonderful visuals. Sure the acting mostly sucks, the story is really silly, and I can't believe I've seen the movie twice. But that's what you can really expect from something based on an old 1930s low budget serial, I suppose.

[trotchky]

Oh yeah! I got two awesome posters today:

I recently got some film-related posters, as well. They are:

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/2580/2046posterw.jpg

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/3663/144308.jpg

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/5718/48575.jpg

[trotchky]

I'm tempted to add Memento to that "best of the '00s" list. Great, great movie, and it makes me hunger for more Nolan. Following, Insomnia, and The Prestige: which of those is the best?

[eternity]

I'm tempted to add Memento to that "best of the '00s" list. Great, great movie, and it makes me hunger for more Nolan. Following, Insomnia, and The Prestige: which of those is the best?

The Prestige.

[Pop Trash]

I'm tempted to add Memento to that "best of the '00s" list. Great, great movie, and it makes me hunger for more Nolan. Following, Insomnia, and The Prestige: which of those is the best?
I would say Following but I think I'm in the minority. His Insomnia remake isn't bad (a smudge less good than the original) but again, I think I'm in the minority.

[Skitch]

Watched Noises Off! this weekend. Haven't seen it in probably a decade, and I'm thilled to report, its as hilarious as I remember. It doesn't seem to me that many people have seen this fine piece of comedy...anyone? Thoughts?

[lovejuice]

Watched Noises Off! this weekend. Haven't seen it in probably a decade, and I'm thilled to report, its as hilarious as I remember. It doesn't seem to me that many people have seen this fine piece of comedy...anyone? Thoughts?
can't remember much about it, but i recall the movie to be pretty funny. you should seek out good bye mr. mcdonald, a japanese film which is very similar in concept. also hilarious.

[Skitch]

can't remember much about it, but i recall the movie to be pretty funny. you should seek out good bye mr. mcdonald, a japanese film which is very similar in concept. also hilarious.

Hmmm. Netflix doesn't seem to have it, dammit. I must search elsewhere. Thanks!

[lovejuice]

Hmmm. Netflix doesn't seem to have it, dammit. I must search elsewhere. Thanks!
wow, i'm stupid. the actual title is "welcome back, mr. mcdonald." haha

[Mara]

Watched Noises Off! this weekend. Haven't seen it in probably a decade, and I'm thilled to report, its as hilarious as I remember. It doesn't seem to me that many people have seen this fine piece of comedy...anyone? Thoughts?

I could probably recite this whole film from memory. It's extremely rewatchable.

"Good thing I can't see far with this leg."

If you ever get a chance to see a stage production, it's a trip.

[D_Davis]

Ip Man (Wilson Yip, 2008)


It's just okay. I was hoping for something more serious and heartfelt, something more like Fearless, but instead it's more like any number of the Wong Fei Hung films in that it really just uses an historical martial arts master in a standard kung fu pian. Donny Yen is great to watch, though.

[B-side]

Is it odd that I have zero interest in seeing Drag Me to Hell? It just looks like yet another stupid PG-13 horror film. The trailer was terrible. But then there's the ridiculously high Tomatometer and the generally rather positive reception. I is confused.

[Skitch]

wow, i'm stupid. the actual title is "welcome back, mr. mcdonald." haha

There we go! Added to queue. Thanks again.

[D_Davis]

wow, i'm stupid. the actual title is "welcome back, mr. mcdonald." haha

Hilarious movie.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Is it odd that I have zero interest in seeing Drag Me to Hell? It just looks like yet another stupid PG-13 horror film. The trailer was terrible. But then there's the ridiculously high Tomatometer and the generally rather positive reception. I is confused.

...


It's hilarious, repulsive, scary, gross, and hilarious...I can't remember the last time I had so much fun in a theater.


...pure Raimi bliss.


This movie is a breath of fresh air and has principles way way ahead of most other horror movies we're getting nowadays.


This was way too much fun.


Yeah, that was pretty great.


It's certainly the, well, Raimi-est of Sam Rami's movies since probably Army of Darkness.


Schlocky goodness.


The narrative disturbed me on a spiritual level...I guess I didn't like it.

[D_Davis]

I didn't like Drag Me to Hell.

So no, there is no reason to see it.

;)

(as if you couldn't tell, I am in the minority here on this one.)

[Dead & Messed Up]

I didn't like Drag Me to Hell.

So no, there is no reason to see it.

;)

(as if you couldn't tell, I am in the minority here on this one.)

You're now a part of the critical response.

[Grouchy]

I have no idea why it gets such a bad rap, but The Hudsucker Proxy has just jumped near the top of my favorite Coen films. It's certainly one of their most intelligent scripts right next to Barton Fink. The whole movie is such a directorial triumph - every single shot advances the narrative in some level or expands the importance and personality of a character or situation. It's not the only time that the Coens have attempted a new reading of the screwball comedy genre but it's their most succesful in that it both makes fun of the genre staples but makes them work at the same time, like in the scene where the two romantic leads meet at a bar and two patrons with a gastritis problem narrate the scene for the audience instead of us hearing the actual dialogue. Pure fucking genius. The basement scenes and the structure of the office building are so integral and memorable it has no reason to envy the likes of Brazil. I'm in love with this film. It's crazy, funny and genuinely moving, specially due to the performances. Charles Durning, for example, makes a huge impression with his limited screentime. The ability of the Coens to produce satire and empathy at the same time is very commendable. I wish they'd work this closely with Raimi again, because their styles combine wonderfully. If any of you still haven't seen this, it's an instant recommendation.

Coraline was another nice surprise. I wish I'd seen it in 3D but since the only version available was dubbed I passed on it - I now regret it. It's exactly what you'd expect - Neil Gaiman by way of Henry Selick. But the technical marvel achieved here has to be experienced. I wish more parents took their kids to see stuff like this which is actually exciting and scary instead of shit like Ice Age 5: Approaching the Middle Ages.

[Ivan Drago]

Yeah, The Hudsucker Proxy is great. Not counting the mezzanine.

And might I add that Bromfenbrenner is the greatest last name of a fictional doctor...ever.

[Grouchy]

Yeah, The Hudsucker Proxy is great. Not counting the mezzanine.

And might I add that Bromfenbrenner is the greatest last name of a fictional doctor...ever.
I'm partial to the name Mussburger. MUSSBURGER!

Favorite dialogue:

"Did you have the special this morning?"
"Far from it".

[Sycophant]

Now that I've seen most of Preston Sturges's filmography, it's probably time to watch Hudsucker Proxy again.

[Qrazy]

We'll see about that.

They might fall prey to other complaints! Just not those. :)

[Qrazy]

The first two acts of 1953's The War of the Worlds are spotty, with brief flashes of inspiration amidst a great deal of flat, dated material, but the last act surprises with its visceral intensity and apocalyptic pessimism. This must have been terrifying for its time, so it's just a shame about the absurd conservatism that is shoehorned into the climax of the picture, rendering its potential for lingering power distinctly muted. I find this adaptation's structure more interesting than that of Spielberg's attempt, in that it oscillates between macro and micro perspectives in a manner that effectively imparts a multi-dimensional immersion into the burgeoning invasion while building to the outright collapse of society that occupies the third act. Nevertheless, Spielberg's War of the Worlds, for all its many flaws, remains a significantly superior effort on the whole.

I didn't like the original much. The worst part for me was the alien creature design.

http://davidszondy.com/future/Dystopias/WW3.jpg

[Qrazy]

The Sacrifice is the first film by Andrei Tarkovsky that I've really liked. I liked Solaris and The Mirror, but didn't really understand them all that well. Andrei Rublev and Nostalghia I found tedious. Somehow, The Sacrifice just worked for me.

One could argue that God's role in this film is similar to His role in Dreyer's Ordet, but I think Tarkovsky's God is a bit more cruel than Dreyer's.

You'll most likely like Stalker and probably Ivan's Childhood as well.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I didn't like the original much. The worst part for me was the alien creature design.

http://davidszondy.com/future/Dystopias/WW3.jpg

Thing looks Simon Says as designed by David Cronenberg.

http://www.digitalrendezvous.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/simonextreme.png

[Winston*]

What's up with that mayor in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three? It's like he's in a Zucker brothers movie. Movie's great otherwise, Walther Mathau, that dude will get things done.

[Qrazy]

What's up with that mayor in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three? It's like he's in a Zucker brothers movie. Movie's great otherwise, Walther Mathau, that dude will get things done.

Great final scene. Matthau's expression is priceless.

[Pop Trash]

What's up with that mayor in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three? It's like he's in a Zucker brothers movie. Movie's great otherwise, Walther Mathau, that dude will get things done.

I'm pretty sure he's supposed to be Mayor Kotch who really did act like that in real life.

EDIT: Maybe not since Kotch wasn't elected Mayor until 1978, regardless, he's supposed to be a Kotch type

[Mara]

Watched Noises Off! this weekend. Haven't seen it in probably a decade, and I'm thilled to report, its as hilarious as I remember. It doesn't seem to me that many people have seen this fine piece of comedy...anyone? Thoughts?

You inspired me to give this another shot, since I haven't watched it in a couple of years.

The cast is still great, but I'm astonished how many tragedies happened to the cast. Christopher Reeve had his spinal injury, and then early death; John Ritter suffered his heart attack and died, and Denholm Elliot died of AIDS right after this film was finished.

And Nicollette Sheridan got really ugly.

[The Mike]

Is it odd that I have zero interest in seeing Drag Me to Hell? It just looks like yet another stupid PG-13 horror film. The trailer was terrible. But then there's the ridiculously high Tomatometer and the generally rather positive reception. I is confused.

It's not odd, it's wrong.

[Amnesiac]

I just watched The Thin Blue Line for the first time. Pretty haunting and engrossing... the candor of the interviewees was kind of fascinating. And there's that peculiarity of style, that kind of eerie and elegiac tone that can also be found in Gates Of Heaven that has led me to view Morris' documentaries as being somehow strange. A style that is never bland or prosaic... never sensationalistic or excessively visceral... but bizarrely captivating in its plaintive and taciturn nature. There is, of course, a level of excitement and intrigue, as one would expect there to be considering TTBL's subject matter, but there's also this disturbing self-effacement before the mystery of human beings and their skilled propensity for cruelty, their efficiency when it comes to creating (and becoming ensnared within) systems that only serve moral atrophy and dispassionate self-preservation...

I should definitely see more of his work. I'm not sure which I'll watch next, though.

[Russ]

I should definitely see more of his work. I'm not sure which I'll watch next, though.

I recommend this:


http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/948/w468m552196121.jpg

[Amnesiac]

Is that Vernon, Florida? If so, that actually happens to be the only other Morris DVD I own.

[Russ]

Is that Vernon, Florida? If so, that actually happens to be the only other Morris DVD I own.
Yes, it is.

[D_Davis]

Vernon, FL is awesome.

So is his interview series, First Person.

[balmakboor]

I just watched The Thin Blue Line for the first time. Pretty haunting and engrossing... the candor of the interviewees was kind of fascinating. And there's that peculiarity of style, that kind of eerie and elegiac tone that can also be found in Gates Of Heaven that has led me to view Morris' documentaries as being somehow strange. A style that is never bland or prosaic... never sensationalistic or excessively visceral... but bizarrely captivating in its plaintive and taciturn nature. There is, of course, a level of excitement and intrigue, as one would expect there to be considering TTBL's subject matter, but there's also this disturbing self-effacement before the mystery of human beings and their skilled propensity for cruelty, their efficiency when it comes to creating (and becoming ensnared within) systems that only serve moral atrophy and dispassionate self-preservation...

I should definitely see more of his work. I'm not sure which I'll watch next, though.

I read once that part of Morris' approach is to look like he is listening to his interview subjects, but to never actually listen to them. It makes them more likely to keep on talking.

Below is also a good interview with him about his invention the Interrotron:

http://www.errolmorris.com/content/eyecontact/interrotron.html

It's a device that allows his subjects to look him in the eye and look into the camera at the same time.

[Amnesiac]

Below is also a good interview with him about his invention the Interrotron:

http://www.errolmorris.com/content/eyecontact/interrotron.html

It's a device that allows his subjects to look him in the eye and look into the camera at the same time.

Yeah, I had heard about this before. I'd like to see it in action... that is, get a look at the actual set-up.

[Spun Lepton]

Watched Noises Off! this weekend. Haven't seen it in probably a decade, and I'm thilled to report, its as hilarious as I remember. It doesn't seem to me that many people have seen this fine piece of comedy...anyone? Thoughts?

I've seen the stage production at least four times. It's one of my favorite plays, and if you have the right group of people doing it -- it's side-splitting. The movie is good, but too hurried. As a play, it's pretty long. I've seen 2.5 to 3-hour versions of it. The filmmakers managed to cram most of the jokes into the movie, too.

I guess what I'm saying is if you like the movie, you should keep an eye out for any local productions of the play.

[balmakboor]

Yeah, I had heard about this before. I'd like to see it in action... that is, get a look at the actual set-up.

http://obicreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/errol-interrotron.jpg

[Raiders]

I haven't really liked Morris' last two films, but that takes nothing away from the brilliance of his first three. Still haven't seen any of his '90s work.

[Amnesiac]

http://obicreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/errol-interrotron.jpg

Thanks. But, unless I'm mistaken, why is Morris shown being behind the camera and in front of it instead of having a different camera-man? Weird way to stage the photograph as opposed to something like this...

http://www.appuntidigitali.it/site/wp-content/uploads/interrotron1.jpg

...Which makes the process a lot clearer.

[Bosco B Thug]

Is it odd that I have zero interest in seeing Drag Me to Hell? It just looks like yet another stupid PG-13 horror film. The trailer was terrible. But then there's the ridiculously high Tomatometer and the generally rather positive reception. I is confused. It's two times better than you think it will be, but also two times worse than everyone else is making it out to be.

Scream isn't very good, as I had previously thought. I was somewhat surprised.

[B-side]

It's two times better than you think it will be, but also two times worse than everyone else is making it out to be.

So it's as good as I think it will be?:confused:

[Bosco B Thug]

So it's as good as I think it will be?:confused:
Damnit Brightside, my math makes sense... I think. You're expectations are 1/3 the quality of DMtH, and the critical reception is 2x the quality level of the film, which is... um, somewhere in between.

[Spinal]

It's astonishing how good Bob Fosse is at his second best talent.

[B-side]

Damnit Brightside, my math makes sense... I think. You're expectations are 1/3 the quality of DMtH, and the critical reception is 2x the quality level of the film, which is... um, somewhere in between.

Right. Well, in other news...

Another day, another great Godard film.

[Grouchy]

M. Butterfly is not one of Cronenberg's top efforts, but it's a pretty good movie. The biggest issue is that the real-life case (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Boursicot) the story is based on (which I hadn't heard about until after seeing this) is so bizarre and hilarious it's kind of weird seeing it portrayed in earnest. It's a fascinating subject for sure, though, and a perfect fit for Cronenberg's usual interests. It's plain to see that he's more interested in the sexual confusion and denial part of the story than in the political and social statements of the original play.

Although this has a man posing as a woman for most of the plot, it doesn't really use it as a twist a la Crying Game. First of all, because unlike Jaye Davidson, John Lone is a fairly famous actor - he was the lead in The Last Emperor. And secondly, because Cronenberg confirms what's fairly obvious in subtle dialogue hints. This makes the movie particularly clever, since unlike in Crying Game, you can either be fooled as the main character is or not. Depends on how much attention you're paying.

By the way, Jeremy Irons is a great actor and all, but why is he so crazy about roles with sexual obsession? This, Damage, Lolita, even Chinese Box were all, if not similar, pretty comparable roles.

http://sarcastig.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/big-sleep.jpg

I then watched a classic, The Big Sleep. Huge studio film and, like I knew beforehand, the biggest kicks come from the Bogart-Bacall coupling. I didn't know this had suffered re-shoots to enhance the chemistry and cut down on the complicated plot. It's an interesting piece of trivia. The actors are all amazing, and besides the obvious stars, it's always cool to see character actors like Elisha Cook Jr. in small roles. By the way, that trick with the glasses and the high-pitched voice Bogie does in the bookshop is fucking hilarious. The great thing about Chandler novels is that they barely need to be adapted to work on the screen, even down to the awesome dialogue, but the small stuff Hawks and Faulkner added here and there is neat. One thing that didn't sit so well with me is the change in the ending. The one in the book has Marlowe uncovering the killer in a shocking and tense scene. In the movie he reveals it in an off-hand dialogue and shares the last shot with Bacall's femme fatale. That more or less summarizes the movie, though, and is part of why it's so memorable. Hawks was obviously more into in the sexual tension and cool banter than the mystery.

[Boner M]

Oh man, may possibly be seeing Jeanne Dielman, Antichrist and The White Ribbon in the next two weeks on my trip to the Melbourne Film Festival. Along with Un Certain Regard winner Dogtooth, Everyone Else, Funeral Parade of Roses (1969), Clozout's recovered Inferno and Hong Sang-Soo's Like You Know it All.

If things go to plan, this will be the greatest cinematic week of my life. Donations, people?

[Winston*]

Oh man, may possibly be seeing Jeanne Dielman, Antichrist and The White Ribbon in the next two weeks on my trip to the Melbourne Film Festival.

Hey, I may be seeing these films in the next two weeks on my trip to the Wellington Film Festival. Well, probably not the first one.

[Boner M]

Well, probably not the first one.
Is it showing there? Jump at the opportunity to see it! A merely casual cinephile friend saw it at the Sydney fest and loved it.

[Winston*]

Is it showing there? Jump at the opportunity to see it! A merely casual cinephile friend saw it at the Sydney fest and loved it.

We'll see. It is very long, and the plot synopsis does have the word monotonous in it. Also it's on at the same time as a TV Family Guy marathon.

[Boner M]

Also it's on at the same time as a TV Family Guy marathon.Usually I wouldn't defend a film I haven't seen, but I can guarantee a 4-hour Belgian minimalist feminist tract about the oppressive living conditions of a housewife-prostitute offers more entertainment value than one episode of Family Guy.

[Winston*]

Usually I wouldn't defend a film I haven't seen, but I can guarantee a 4-hour Belgian minimalist feminist tract about the oppressive living conditions of a housewife-prostitute offers more entertainment value than one episode of Family Guy.

But does it offer more cutaway pop culture references?

[Boner M]

But does it offer more cutaway pop culture references?I've heard there's a scene where Delphine Seyrig peels potatoes for a single 5 minute take, sighs, and then says "this is more oppressive than the time I had to be Dom Deluise's personal groomer", and then there's a cut to a 5 minute take of her trimming Dom Deluise's beard, while Dom Deluise keeps telling her that he wants it shorter, shorter, shorter, shorter (etc), and it's like OMFG DOM DELUISE HOW RANDOM.

[Ezee E]

It's astonishing how good Bob Fosse is at his second best talent.
Yup. Loved this movie as well.

I wonder why I didn't care for Cabaret as much. Maybe it's more Liza than anything else.