28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[Spun Lepton]

After viewing Palindromes, I think I can safely say Todd Solondz hates America more than Lars von Trier.

Todd Solondz seems like a generally unpleasant man, and in one interview I read, he claimed to hate filmmaking. Then he came out with two more films. I stopped paying attention to him right around then.

[megladon8]

Clearly, Todd Solondz IS cinema.

[hey it's ethan]

Todd Solondz seems like a generally unpleasant man, and in one interview I read, he claimed to hate filmmaking. Then he came out with two more films. I stopped paying attention to him right around then.
In the published screenplay of Happiness, there's an introduction from I forget who...but anyway he said something along the lines of "Todd could go make a bunch of Hollywood movies, but even with all the fame and fortune he'd still feel as miserable at the end of the day as always."

I thought that was kind of awesome.

[Boner M]

in one interview I read, he claimed to hate filmmaking. Then he came out with two more films. I stopped paying attention to him right around then.
I think his hatred of filmmaking is apparent in the shoddiness of the films themselves.

[Raiders]

Last Chants for a Slow Dance was pretty darn good. Tom Blair is a pretty great actor and apparently Jon Jost is a pretty good singer. He also is a great economical filmmaker, though I think he may have been too eager to make a feature-length film. Too many lengthy interludes over black screens or static shots (four minutes of honky-tonk scored passing car lights?) and some tighter editing could have made a great 60-minute film. Nonetheless, there's some potent material here, particularly the climactic fall into criminal, base behavior. I also liked that it gave poignancy to the preceding, and seemingly random, flip through a wanted-poster rolodex. It's a pretty haunting look at how easily immaturity and selfishness can lead into criminality, particularly in the vast nothingness of the American west as viewed by Jost. It's a sad modern look at the roaming "free spirit" of the classic western; now saddled with two kids, a wife and a floundering economy.

I'll have to check out some more of his stuff soon.

[Ezee E]

I understood that 2012 wasn't liked, but I didn't realize how boring it would be. Good lord.

[Watashi]

2012 is pretty much the opposite of boring.

[Boner M]

2012 is pretty much the opposite of boring.
For the first two hours, yes. At 7 hours, no.

And glad you liked the Jost, Raiders. The more I think of it, the more it feels like the deadbeat American cousin of Vivre sa vie.

[Rowland]

I just finished 2012 myself, and I actually liked it a fair bit, and not in an ironic way either.

[Spun Lepton]

In the published screenplay of Happiness, there's an introduction from I forget who...but anyway he said something along the lines of "Todd could go make a bunch of Hollywood movies, but even with all the fame and fortune he'd still feel as miserable at the end of the day as always."

Dear Mr. Solondz,

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3064/2901258170_47d571ef9d.jpg

:D

[Ivan Drago]

I understood that 2012 wasn't liked, but I didn't realize how boring it would be. Good lord.

Dude. A limousine drives through a falling skyscraper.

Yellowstone National Park explodes.

And who could forget...

"That's a big plane!"
"....It's Russian."

It's so stupid but so teh AWSUM!!!!!1

[ledfloyd]

has anyone seen tourneur's nightfall? i watched it tonight and thought it was great. i liked it alot more than out of the past.

[Morris Schæffer]

Last night I caught Ten Things I hate About You on the telly. Surprised at how much I liked it. A cool, spontaneous cast, Larry Miller, funny dialogue. Heath Ledger!

[B-side]

In the Company of Men was pretty brutal stuff. Glad it didn't fall into typical romcom territory toward the end. Not sure "glad" is the right word for something so relentlessly unpleasant, but it's good stuff. Eckhart was fantastic.

[balmakboor]

Watched Howard the Duck this morning on instant watch. Never seen it before. It was surprisingly okay. It has aged well and now fits snuggly into the whole '80s vibe that produced things like Weird Science and Ghostbusters. It lost my interest during the final act as pretty standard plot machinations settled in. But, still, far from a wasted morning.

[Yxklyx]

has anyone seen tourneur's nightfall? i watched it tonight and thought it was great. i liked it alot more than out of the past.

On DVD now? Wish Netflix would carry it. Not much of a fan of Out of the Past.

[Qrazy]

Have you ever seen Marguerite Duras' India Song? I saw it recently and, for some reason, am thinking you might like it. Complete divergence of sound and images, it would seem, until one relates thematic ties to each element (ie, the distancing of the visual narrative and the viewer, standing in for the class divide and distancing of French colonials and India nationals - and especially each other). Interesting techniques are used which, of course, won't be everyone's cup of tea.

Cool, I was actually going to watch it recently until my computer crapped out. It's on 1001 Movies to See Before you Die so I'll definitely be watching it at some point for the race... which after the death of my computer I will be almost certainly losing.

[EyesWideOpen]

I never though I'd read the phrase "Howard the Duck has aged well". It hadn't aged well the day after it was released.

[Spun Lepton]

Howard the Duck would go perfectly as a double-feature with Avatar.

"Movies that Hint at Beastiality."

[soitgoes...]

Cool, I was actually going to watch it recently until my computer crapped out. It's on 1001 Movies to See Before you Die so I'll definitely be watching it at some point for the race... which after the death of my computer I will be almost certainly losing.

Oh shit, that sucks. Well a consolation is that I have a couple weeks of backpacking scheduled this summer, and as far as I know they don't have outlets in the forests, so depending on how long you are without a computer all might not be lost. And here I thought I was putting the hurt on so good you just gave up.

[ledfloyd]

On DVD now? Wish Netflix would carry it. Not much of a fan of Out of the Past.
it's not, but it really should be.

[Wryan]

White Heat on TCM's The Essentials, starting right now.

Goddamn right.

[balmakboor]

I continued my bad science fiction movie binge on instant watch today with Battlefield Earth. Talking about another movie that's aged really well. The rapport between Travolta and Whitaker is surprisingly absorbing. And that chick with the tongue. Wow!

Yeah, I'm kidding. I'd never seen it before. I knew I was in trouble when I paused it to take a bathroom break and there was still almost an hour to go. I thought for sure it had to be almost over. It felt like I'd been watching for over two hours already. I never did finish it. I did like the chick with the tongue though.

[MadMan]

White Heat on TCM's The Essentials, starting right now.

Goddamn right.One of the best crime movies, ever. Plus the ending is badass, not to mention mirroring the dawn of the nuclear age. "TOP OF THE WORLD, MA! TOP OF THE WORLD!"

[Dead & Messed Up]

20 Million Miles to Earth (Nathan Juran, 1957)

The best thing about 20 Million Miles to Earth is that the ravenous Ymir creature rocks a 'stache that would make Wilford Brimley jealous. There are other good things, like an utterly arbitrary face-off between the Ymir and an elephant, and an appreciable international flavor to the story. Funny, how the three countries working together (the USA, Japan, Italy) were in the world's largest war a decade earlier. Here, they unite against a rapidly-growing Venusian humanoid. Like all stop-motion giants, the Ymir has a dogged interest in dumbly rampaging through city streets and scaling monuments (here, the Colosseum), and it's up to an intrepid team of boring people to stop him. Oddly, despite repeated statements about electricity being the only weapon against it, they're able to take it out with a rocket launcher. Guess they hit its weak point for massive damage.

C+

http://www.wexarts.org/db/fv/3091_20MillionMiles_GS_383.jpg

[Skitch]

Couple controversial opinions for the masses...

1. I generally hate cookie cutter rom-coms. I don't demand realism in films, but in this genre I do. Hence, I prefer the ones with extremely flawed characters. Catch & Release is a pretty good one

2. The Gamers: Dorkness Rising is one of those extremely low budget crapfests you would normally know to fast forward through within 30 seconds of the film beginning, but it was actually quite hilarious. More for the D&D type gamer than the vid gamer. But I quite enjoyed it.

[Bosco B Thug]

I know there's a number of people who are big fans of Joseph Losey's M, such as Raiders here, and who see it as a undiscovered masterwork, and I can see why. It's almost that undiscovered masterwork, just not quite, IMO.

There's greatness sprinkled all throughout M, and the film finally starts getting its head on straight for what is definitely a powerful, masterful final act... but honestly I found much of what preceded the final 20 or so minutes often stilted and awkward. Technically, it pales in comparison to the original, which is just so dexterous and convincing. The grittiness of Lang's film is lacking here. Lang pulled off a roughened world of criminals and throngs as if a seasoned one himself - Losey's vision, in comparison, is a bit more square and nerdy-melodramatic. Surely enough, it is a Hollywood studio production, but it's too bad it shows as much as it does. I felt rarely convinced by the remake's racketeers, hysterical public, or even its murderer (although David Wayne finally gets to knock it out of the park in the finale).

Thematically, the film takes M's cynical insinuations and amplifies them into loud, impassioned statements. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, because the film does this very well and very interestingly. Lang's film implicates "business-model" society chugging along as usual, but Losey's M makes this point a riskily high-minded humanist statement by almost asking us to acquit the child-killer, even adding a motivation to his compulsion to kill as a need to save the children from the adult world. It also adds, in over-elaborated remake fashion, a prominent supporting character arc - a lawyer who's victim of the deadened sensitivity of the adult world - who finds redemption in defending the babykiller. These additions may sound sort of like the eye-rollingly overt additions of a remake, but they are executed maturely.

Has anyone seen Losey's The Sleeping Tiger? Losey's more at his The Servant-level game, and it's already a very, very Servant-like psycho-drama... about an interloper in an unstable household dynamic, go figure. Hopefully I'll get some thoughts down on that one soon.

[Raiders]

Has anyone seen Losey's The Sleeping Tiger?

No, but I definitely need to. That and The Prowler.

Good thoughts on M by the way. I can agree to an extent with some of your quibbles, but it is also the kind of systematic-yet-impassioned studio film I have a huge soft spot for.

[dreamdead]

Shane Meadows's Somer's Town doesn't aspire to be nearly the devastating journey into England's past as his This is England sought, and it is this lack of context that occasionally makes the former film feel slight. Certainly a coming of age story does not carry with it the legacy of decades of racism toward England's Others, but Somer's Town does succeed in bridging more of that cultural gap, as Thomas Turgoose (lead actor from TiE) here becomes a kind of referent back to the discrimination from the past film. Here, though, Meadows explores the growing acceptance between Brits and the immigrants now entering their country for work. At times it achieves a kind of innocent Jules and Jim quality, and the greatest misstep that the film takes is in an unspecific switch from black and white to the coda; such a transition either suggests fantasy (which would make the film suck) or escape from the limitations of a doldrum lifestyle (which is more interesting, if not a tad overdetermined). Generally good stuff.

I really should get around to Dead Man's Shoes soon.

[Philosophe_rouge]

I've seen the Sleeping Tiger, its' pretty great, though it's still not on the same league of his greatest work that came in the 1960s. Dirk Bogarde is incredible though, he has so much dynamic energy and adds an incredible amount of nuance and contradiction to an inherently simple narrative. It's definitely a film worth seeing.

[balmakboor]

Next batch of Criterions have been announced. I'm happy to say Mystery Train is one of them. Yay!

[MadMan]

Well my streak of watching movies that don't suck ended last night, as friends choose to rent Boondocks Saints II. And I sat there and watched it, maybe out of curiosity, perhaps because I was also too tired to move at 3 am in the morning. Reminds me of Bad Boys II, in that its a crappy sequel to a decent movie that rehashes most of the first movie while not doing anything else particularly original. Plus why the hell was Peter Fonda in this? I have no idea...

[Sycophant]

I want this thread's title to change.

1995 Pride & Prejudice is Firthtastic. I loved it.

The Last Unicorn is pretty dull. I never thought I'd see a movie that seemed to aspire to Ralph Bakshi and fall so short.

[Qrazy]

The Loneliness of the Long Film Discussion Thread

[Sycophant]

The Loneliness of the Long Film Discussion Thread

I like this. I like this a lot.

[Mara]

1995 Pride & Prejudice is Firthtastic. I loved it.

WOOOOOO!


The Last Unicorn is pretty dull. I never thought I'd see a movie that seemed to aspire to Ralph Bakshi and fall so short.

BOOOOO.

Oh, and Bakshi makes the most aggressively ugly, sophomoric, and nonsensical films I've ever seen. My poor, poor eyes.

[Skitch]

I want this thread's title to change.


Indiana Jones and The Last Film Discussion Thread.

[Wryan]

The Last Film Discussion Thread in Paris.

[Spun Lepton]

Heehee ... Armond White was banned from a critic's screening of 100 Percent. Enjoy the schadenfreude!

http://themovieblog.com/2010/03/armond-white-is-denied-greenburg-screening

[Russ]

Me and You and Every Film Discussion Thread We Know

[Spun Lepton]

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Film Discussion Thread

[Ezee E]

Film Discussion... in 3D.

[Watashi]

Film Discussion Thread II: This Time, It's Not Film Discussion Thread 1.

[Skitch]

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Film Discussion Thread

:lol:

When This Thread Hits 88 MPH...You're Gonna See Some Serious Film Discussion

[Spun Lepton]

We're Gonna Make 'Em a Film Discussion Thread They Can't Refuse

You Talkin' to Me, Film Discussion Thread?

You Had Me at Film Discussion Thread

This is Not the Film Discussion Thread You're Looking For

They're Discussing Her and Then They're Going to Discuss Me, Too! FIIILLLMMMM DIIIIISCUSSSIIIOOOONNNN THREEEEAAAAAD!!!!!!@3!#

[Derek]

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Film Discussion Thread

My Film Discussion Thread...or How I Got Into an Argument with Qrazy

Don't Tell Mom the Film Discussion Thread is Dead

Wet Hot American Film Discussion Thread

Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Film Discussion Thread

O Film Discussion Thread, Where Art Thou?

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Film Discussion Thread

Film Discussion Thread, or The 120 Days of Sodom

Film Discussion Thread: The Wrath of God

FDT: Mysteries of the Organism

FDT: The Gospel According to St. Qrazy

[chrisnu]

Film Discussion Thread II: This Time, It's Not Film Discussion Thread 1.
Win!

[Winston*]

Eternal Sunshine of the Postless Film Discussion Thread.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Night of the Living Thread...of Film Discussion

[Dead & Messed Up]

Right Said Film Discussion Thread.

[Winston*]

Revenge of the Nerds

[hey it's ethan]

The Day The Film Discussion Thread Stood Still
The Squid and the Film Discussion Thread
Film Discussion Thread in Sine Your Pitty on the Runny Kine

[Wryan]

Me and You and Every Film Discussion Thread We Know

Great one.

[Spun Lepton]

Film Discussion Thread, I'm Sorry I Pimp-Slapped You into that China Cabinet.

[Wryan]

The Film Discussion Thread Attacks!

[Spun Lepton]

The Film Discussion Thread Up and R-U-N-N-O-F-T

[Yum-Yum]

The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became a Film Discussion Thread

[megladon8]

The Film Discussion Episode IV: A New Thread

[Raiders]

Le fil avec la discussion du cinema

[Mara]

Dr. Film: Or, How I Learned to Stop Discussing and Love the Thread

[megladon8]

Le fil avec la discussion du cinema


That's a little too babydoll for my tastes.

[Sycophant]

Oh, and Bakshi makes the most aggressively ugly, sophomoric, and nonsensical films I've ever seen. My poor, poor eyes.

I think American Pop is beautiful, and while it didn't strive for the more classical beauty of The Last Unicorn, I think Wizards is far more interesting (and a much better film).

Note that this should not be considered a slam against Rankin-Bass in general. I love a good deal of their stuff and their aesthetics.

Hearing Jeff Bridges just kind of being in this movie was weird.

[Raiders]

That's a little too babydoll for my tastes.

... that was the joke. :sad:

[Spun Lepton]

That's a little too babydoll for my tastes.

No, there's not enough pretention.

[Mara]

... that was the joke. :sad:

I got it.

I mean... je comprends la blague.

[The Mike]

Wet Hot American Film Discussion ThreadActually, I was totally gonna say this. Good work!

[The Mike]

The Man with the Golden Film Discussion Thread

Encounters at the End of the Film Discussion Thread

Film Discussion Thread 2: High Voltage

[balmakboor]

FDT and the Holy Grail

[Boner M]

Film Discussion Thread, or The 120 Days of Sodom
How has no one singled this out yet?!

[Spinal]

FDT: Legacy

[Boner M]

The Emperor's New Groove was lots of fun. A Chuck Jones mallet to the head of Disney sentimentality. "Why do we even have that lever?"

[Wryan]

The Emperor's New Groove was lots of fun. A Chuck Jones mallet to the head of Disney sentimentality. "Why do we even have that lever?"

Glad you liked it. It really does age like Lebowski, tho. Better with more viewings. Funny as hell in all conditions.

[Wryan]

And I'd like to throw another vote of support for Wet Hot American Film Discussion Thread.

[soitgoes...]

I Come with the Film Discussion Thread

Go, Go Second Time Film Discussion Thread

[Russ]

Confessions of a Dangerous Film Discussion Thread

[transmogrifier]

The Film Discussion Thread....Shit, I'm Still Only in the Film Discussion Thread

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Film Discussion Thread

Nobody Puts the Film Discussion Thread in a Corner

Get Your Stinking Paws Off Me, You Damned Dirty Film Discussion Thread

What We Have Here Is A Failure to Communicate

[soitgoes...]

Hello.

[Spinal]

And I'd like to throw another vote of support for Wet Hot American Film Discussion Thread.

Not a fan.

[Ezee E]

I like the Sodom one.

[Spun Lepton]

Not a fan.

Seconded.

[Spun Lepton]

Film Discussion II: Electric Thread Boogaloo

[Spun Lepton]

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Film Discussion Thread

Didn't read the thread, I take it?

[transmogrifier]

Didn't read the thread, I take it?

No, it hasn't been my strong suit in the past few months.

[Derek]

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Film Discussion Thread

The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Film Discussion Thread

Four Weddings and a Film Discussion Thread

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Film Discussion Thread

Film Discussion Thread: Men in Tights

Throw Momma from the Film Discussion Thread

Bill and Ted's Bogus Film Discussion Thread

Film Discussion Thread: The Final Nightmare

The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Film Discussion

[Derek]

Here are trans!! :pritch:

[balmakboor]

Obviously, I'm partial to the Sodom one as well.

[Watashi]

In the Mood for Film Discussion Thread

I Don't Want to Sleep With Film Discussion Thread

Film Discussion Thread Doesn't Live Here Anymore

Film Discussion Thread Goes to Africa

Dr. T and the Film Discussion Thread

How Film Discussion Thread Got Its Groove Back

The Men Who Stare At Film Discussion Thread

[Spinal]

Yes It's True Film Discussion Thread Is Literally Jesus

[megladon8]

How Film Discussion Thread Got Its Groove Back


I really like this one.

[Boner M]

F2lm Discussi3n Th4ead

[Spinal]

FDT: Diary of Some Wimpy Kids

[Spinal]

F2lm Discussi3n Th4ead

http://www.cinemablend.com/images/news_img/4272/4272.jpg

EXTREEEME!!!

[Russ]

Crouching Film, Hidden Discussion Thread

[Watashi]

James Cameron's Film Discussion Thread

[Spun Lepton]

Y'all Know Me Know How I Earn a Living I'll Catch This Bird for You But it Ain't Gonna Be Easy Bad Fish Not Like Going Down the Pond Chasing Bluegills and Tommycods This Shark Swallow You Whole Little Shaking Little Tenderizing and Down You Go And We Gotta Do it Quick That'll Bring Back Your Tourists Put All Your Businesses on a Paying Basis But it's Not Gonna Be Pleasant I Value My Neck a Lot More Than Three Thousand Bucks Chief I'll Find Him For Three But I'll Catch Him and Kill Him For Ten But You've Gotta Make Up Your Minds If You Want to Stay Alive Then Ante Up If You Want to Play it Cheap Be on Welfare the Whole Winter I Don't Want No Volunteers I Don't Want No Mates There's Just Too Many Captains On This Island Ten-Thousand Dollars For Me By Myself For That You Get the Head the Tail the Whole Damn Film Discussion Thread.

[Spinal]

Film Discussion Thread: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

[megladon8]

Film Discussion Thread: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire


:lol:


Winner.

[Russ]

Shucks. I was just getting ready to submit

Precious Film Discussion: Based on a ...

Was trying to finish the rest, and Spinal beat me to the punch.

[EyesWideOpen]

Film Discussion Thread: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

That gets my vote!

[The Mike]

The Film Discussion Thread Who Shot Liberty Valance

28 Film Discussion Threads Later...

The Film Discussion Thread Saga: New Moon

Arsenic and Old Film Discussion Thread

The Film Discussion Thread with Crystal Plumage

Film Discussion Thread by Film Discussion Thread West

Film Discussion Thread II: Thread by Dawn

[bac0n]

Spinal vs. Qrazy vs. Boner: Giant Film Discussion All-Out Battle

[Derek]

Spinal vs. Qrazy vs. Boner: Giant Film Discussion All-Out Battle

If we're gonna bring Boner into this, it's only going to make the process of renaming this thread longer and harder than it needs to be.

[Ivan Drago]

I'm Not Discussing Film, But That's OK

[Watashi]

My film teacher is a big Fassbinder fanatic and showed us Ali: Fear Eats the Soul today. Never seen it before. Devestating stuff. I was surprised how much the rest of the class liked it.

[B-side]

Film Discussion Thread: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

Haha, yes.

[Adam]

Sic transit gloria. Glory fades. I'm the Film Discussion Thread.

Bring Me the Head of the Film Discussion Thread

Stop the Film Discussion Thread I Want To Get Off

Joe Versus the Film Discussion Thread

[Skitch]

The Sisterhood Of The Travelling Film Discussion Thread

Film Threads: The Film Discussion Thread Of Fate

[trotchky]

Clerks 2 was simultaneously less bad and just as bad as I remember it. The awfulness of most of the jokes holds a particular charm. See, I grew up with Kevin Smith's movies; I was a "Kevin Smith buff" before I was a "film buff." Since then I've grown to hate the guy, but my adolescent fixation on him combined with recent "what the fuck am I doing with my life"-syndrome makes me sympathetic to the film's clumsiness and its "it's okay to refuse to grow up" theme. My life might suck, but so does the movie, and there's certain comfort in that.

You might have heard of a little flick called Frownland. Hey, apparently it's on DVD now. I should get on that, because it's one of the best movies of whatever year it was released. Anyway, the director's sister directed this little flick called Yeast. Both flicks are part of a micro-trend I affectionately term "the new grindhouse," movies where the exploitative element is in the depiction of people's daily lives. These movies' (see also Damon Packard's Reflections of Evil) voyeuristic thrills are far more subtle than sex and violence: they're the way human beings mistreat each other as part of their mundane day-to-day existences, set against a backdrop of Eraserhead-esque urban hell. Real life has never held such misanthropic pleasure.

[Boner M]

My film teacher is a big Fassbinder fanatic and showed us Ali: Fear Eats the Soul today. Never seen it before. Devestating stuff. I was surprised how much the rest of the class liked it.
A few years ago, we were supposed to watch Ali but our teacher opted for Fox and his Friends as a last minute replacement. You'd think that male nudity wouldn't be a big deal for 20-something males, but apparently, it still is.

[Raiders]

Say 'Hello' To My Little Film Discussion Thread!

The Film Discussion Thread: This Time, it's Personal.

The Film Discussion Thread: Bigger, Longer and Uncut

The Film Discussion Thread: Using Wire Hangers Since 2003

The NeverEnding Film Discussion Thread

[bac0n]

If we're gonna bring Boner into this, it's only going to make the process of renaming this thread longer and harder than it needs to be.

Fine.

Spinal vs. Qrazy vs. Derek: Giant Film Discussion All-Out Boner

[Spinal]

OK, great. So plenty of brainstorming. PM me your favorite three new thread titles and I'll change it to the most popular one later tonight. How about that?

[Sycophant]

Good lord, that brainstorming went on forever. So now I will present my only suggestion:

My Heart Is That Eternal Film Discussion Thread

[Mara]

Clever, Insightful Phrase Ending in Film Discussion Thread

[Chac Mool]

Thoughts on The Exorcism of Emily Rose?

[kuehnepips]

Thoughts on The Exorcism of Emily Rose?

Nah, too strange for the new title.

[kuehnepips]

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn

[Spinal]

I was taught that there should be no judgment in brainstorming.

But now that that's over, man, some of those suggestions were horrible.

[Ezee E]

I was taught that there should be no judgment in brainstorming.

But now that that's over, man, some of those suggestions were horrible.
I only read the ones that were replied to.

[Skitch]

Thoughts on The Exorcism of Emily Rose?

S'okay.

[Spun Lepton]

Thoughts on The Exorcism of Emily Rose?

*snore*

[Spinal]

OK, great. So plenty of brainstorming. PM me your favorite three new thread titles and I'll change it to the most popular one later tonight. How about that?

Only two responses so far. Not that invested or do you just trust me that much?

[Spun Lepton]

But now that that's over, man, some of those suggestions were horrible.

Turning one of Quint's longer speeches from Jaws into a thread title was genius, I have no idea what you're talking about. And that guy who did it? Handsome and popular. With a HUGE schvonshticker.

[Raiders]

Only two responses so far. Not that invested or do you just trust me that much?

I can just change it.

:P

[Spinal]

I can just change it.

:P

It's true. Dictatorships work so much more efficiently than democracies.

[megladon8]

I sent my picks!

[Derek]

As a show of my general mistrust of Spinal, so did I.

[Skitch]

Only two responses so far. Not that invested or do you just trust me that much?

I felt the good ones were obvious. Swing away, sir.

[megladon8]

Going to have to voice my extreme disappointment in what was chosen.

[balmakboor]

:frustrated::crazy::eek:

[Philosophe_rouge]

As far as discussing the discussion of film discussion and possible names to call said film discussion, I have to say, I don't enjoy this thread of film discussion's film-namesake in the least. Just saying.

[Watashi]

Going to have to voice my extreme disappointment in what was chosen.
It's just the title of a thread. Who cares.

[Spun Lepton]

Sooo, we used an Inspector Gadget quote for the title? :)

Seriously, though, what's it from?

[number8]

I'm pleased.

Then again, I really like the movie it's based on.

[Derek]

Sooo, we used an Inspector Gadget quote for the title? :)

Seriously, though, what's it from?

http://modculture.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/08/23/gogo.jpg

...which is why it's funny.

[soitgoes...]

Nice. I finally feel like I contributed to this site.

[Spinal]

I am going to have to split all of these posts off into the Film Discussion Thread Title Discussion Thread.

[Grouchy]

I think I've told this story a lot of times, but when I watched Go Go Second Time Virgin at the Buenos Aires film festival, I asked Wakamatsu about the meaning of the pop culture images near the end.

At first he seemed confused and thought I was asking who was Sharon Tate. Then he answered that he'd made the movie too long ago and he had no idea why he had chosen those images.

EDIT: Not intended against the film, I thought it was great fun.

[MadMan]

I am going to have to split all of these posts off into the Film Discussion Thread Title Discussion Thread.That thread will end up being longer than this one :P

Perhaps the new title will inspire me to actually see the movie its based off of. I doubt it.

[D_Davis]

I like the title, too. It's always been one of my favorite movie titles. Very evocative, lyrical, and memorable.

[Derek]

Perhaps the new title will inspire me to actually see the movie its based off of. I doubt it.

Madman posts that negate themselves are my favorite kind of Madman posts. :)

[Bosco B Thug]

I've seen the Sleeping Tiger, its' pretty great, though it's still not on the same league of his greatest work that came in the 1960s. Dirk Bogarde is incredible though, he has so much dynamic energy and adds an incredible amount of nuance and contradiction to an inherently simple narrative. It's definitely a film worth seeing. Bogarde's seems like such a shameless performer. Get some more great performances of his under my belt, he'll become a favorite.

The Sleeping Tiger's melodramatics also suffer a bit from a sort of stiltedness as in M, but also like M, it really goes somewhere by the end.

That's all I got, so I'll link to Croce (http://www.cinepassion.org/Reviews/s/SleepingTiger.html). He's right on about the "conscience" line and the spiraling ending.


Re: the thread title change... Match-Cut and the rape-drama theme... has no one mentioned this yet, or is the joke just that implicit?

[soitgoes...]

Re: the thread title change... Match-Cut and the rape-drama theme... has no one mentioned this yet, or is the joke just that implicit?
The FDT title has nothing to do with the film's content, at least that's not what occurred to me when choosing it. I've always thought the film's title was one of my favorites and wanted to use it because it would work. Japanese titles from the 60s and 70s in general are great, as are gialli films.

[Spinal]

I can change the thread title more often if you guys want. What's a good period of time? A month? Two weeks? Every hour on the hour?

[Scar]

I can change the thread title more often if you guys want. What's a good period of time? A month? Two weeks? Every hour on the hour?

Every time MadMan watches a horror movie.

[Skitch]

Going to have to voice my extreme disappointment in what was chosen.

No kidding. Apparently I was wrong that the good ones were obvious. Oh well, its only a thread title, and it wouldn't be Match-Cut if it wasn't pretentious as hell.

[Raiders]

No kidding. Apparently I was wrong that the good ones were obvious. Oh well, its only a thread title, and it wouldn't be Match-Cut if it wasn't pretentious as hell.

It's pretentious because you haven't seen it or heard of it?

[Skitch]

It's pretentious because you haven't seen it or heard of it?

Happy St Patty's! Probably just ignore me today. :)

I really don't care, its just a thread title. There just were far better. Its casual, sir.

[Derek]

It's pretentious because you haven't seen it or heard of it?

Let's be honest, Raiders. We went with this thread title because we want to look cool and different, not because we really like it.

[Spun Lepton]

We Changed the Horror Thread Title When Skitch Whined

:D

[Skitch]

Let's be honest, Raiders. We went with this thread title because we want to look cool and different, not because we really like it.
And all three of you that have seen it agree with you. Hooray. If I cared I would have voted. If I cared I wouldn't have said, twice, that I didn't care. Shit, if I can't bitch on the internet, where can I?

Bitch.

I'm loaded dude, I'm just fuckin' about :)

[Skitch]

We Changed the Horror Thread Title When Skitch Whined

:D

:lol:

[Spinal]

Go, Go Second Time Virgin is actually a pretty trashy film. Not pretentious at all. I say this as a fan.

[Bosco B Thug]

The FDT title has nothing to do with the film's content, at least that's not what occurred to me when choosing it. I've always thought the film's title was one of my favorites and wanted to use it because it would work. Japanese titles from the 60s and 70s in general are great, as are gialli films. Never seen or heard of the film, but I laughed when I read the real title. Then I went straightaway to IMDb to see if it was, in fact, a rape film. And it was!

[number8]

Go, Go Second Time Virgin is actually a pretty trashy film. Not pretentious at all. I say this as a fan.

Yeah, it's pretty obvious here who haven't seen it. It's more in common with a gonzo cult movie.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Yeah, I dug the movie. Especially the reveal about the boy's character.

[hey it's ethan]

I like Jim Sheridan but man oh man was Brothers terrible. Maguire, Portman and Gyllenhaal all do fine work but the film is so cornball and heavy-handed at every single possible turn. It also commits the worst crime that a melodrama can commit; not saying anything and just being an exercise in Oscar clips.

[Philosophe_rouge]

I like Jim Sheridan but man oh man was Brothers terrible. Maguire, Portman and Gyllenhaal all do fine work but the film is so cornball and heavy-handed at every single possible turn. It also commits the worst crime that a melodrama can commit; not saying anything and just being an exercise in Oscar clips.

I haven't seen it, but i thought the original was one of the worst movies i've ever seen.

[balmakboor]

Yeah, way to go. Name this thread after a movie that sounds really interesting -- and that isn't available on Netflix.

[Spun Lepton]

Yeah, way to go. Name this thread after a movie that sounds really interesting -- and that isn't available on Netflix.

On Match-Cut, there can be no other way.

[MadMan]

Every time MadMan watches a horror movie.Heh. I'm amused considering I watched The Crazies remake this month. It just didn't crack my Top 10 for Viewing on the year, but it was very good-a review of it is due, eventually. So I guess we changed the thread on time, eh? :P


Madman posts that negate themselves are my favorite kind of Madman posts. :)I aim to please.

Hey Spun, your Black Dynamite rating is pleasing to the eye. Hilarious movie.

[Spun Lepton]

Hey Spun, your Black Dynamite rating is pleasing to the eye. Hilarious movie.

WHO THE HELL IS INTERRUPTIN' MY KUNG-FU?!

[MadMan]

WHO THE HELL IS INTERRUPTIN' MY KUNG-FU?!Your knowledge of scientific biological transmogrification is only outmatched by your zest for kung-fu treachery!

[B-side]

This Bruno Dumont guy is impressing me.

[Watashi]

I'm loving my film class.

We watched The American Friend today.

Holy damn! That film kicks so much ass.

[Winston*]

I'm loving my film class.

We watched The American Friend today.

Holy damn! That film kicks so much ass.

Dennis Hopper is so good in that.

[Boner M]

Weekend:

Halloween 2 (2009)
Jandek on Corwood
The Life of Oharu (belated 2nd viewing, 35mm print!)

[Winston*]

Did anyone see Bigger Faster Stronger*? The film maker's all conflicted over whether to do steroids because he thinks it might be cheating. I think a better reason he should have for not doing steroids is that his steroid-addled brothers look like monsters.

[soitgoes...]

Did anyone see Bigger Faster Stronger*? The film maker's all conflicted over whether to do steroids because he thinks it might be cheating. I think a better reason he should have for not doing steroids is that his steroid-addled brothers look like monsters.
That and the tumors.

[Ezee E]

I'm loving my film class.

We watched The American Friend today.

Holy damn! That film kicks so much ass.
Yeah, pretty good one.

[Sycophant]

How did Match Cut get stuck with this reputation of pretention and artsnobbery? It seems to me we discuss horror and superhero and A-list Hollywood movies more than we do practically any other kind of cinema.

[Russ]

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/4073/canofwormsahead.jpg

[Mysterious Dude]

Yeah, I think a 57-page thread about Avatar (and a 92-page thread about The Dark Knight) gives lie to Match-Cut's supposed snobbery.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Yeah, I think a 57-page thread about Avatar (and a 92-page thread about The Dark Knight) gives lie to Match-Cut's supposed snobbery.

I've grown to really like the environment here - those two threads you mention feature very intelligent, thought-out responses and arguments regarding the films in question. Damn near any other forum, you'd have to sift through the fanboyism.

And as for the "snobbish" films...well, the posters here have incidentally led me to films like Eyes Without a Face, Wings of Desire, Rashomon, and Memories of Murder, so I'm not seeing a problem here.

[[ETM]]

Yeah, I think a 57-page thread about Avatar (and a 92-page thread about The Dark Knight) gives lie to Match-Cut's supposed snobbery.

*decides not to touch the can of worms after all*

[number8]

How did Match Cut get stuck with this reputation of pretention and artsnobbery? It seems to me we discuss horror and superhero and A-list Hollywood movies more than we do practically any other kind of cinema.

I think it goes back to the big RT drove out back in the old forums. Of all the RT posters that came here, we retained the more intelligent posters and turned others off. The "snobby" rep just stuck, even though it's obviously not true, unless smart discussions = pretentious.

[number8]

For what it's worth, I try my best to dumb this place down. For giggles and shit.

[Sycophant]

FYI, even though I've seen the film and liked it a lot, I like this thread title because it's catchy and fun sounding. It's also not like the movie hasn't been discussed here a few times.

Also. Last thread title was from I Spit on Your Grave.

I think changing every three to four months would probably be good?

[[ETM]]

I say - Go, Go, Power Film Discussion Thread.

[Mara]

;249035']I say - Go, Go, Power Film Discussion Thread.

Go-Go Film Discussion Thread.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/maragirl/80507635.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/maragirl/Go_Go.jpg

[[ETM]]

Ouch. My wide gamut monitor is not yet properly calibrated, and the second image has caused me irreparable eye damage.

[Russ]

Optimistic Forward-Looking Snap Judgments to Which Those Who Disagree Can Get Their Elitist Asses Out of Here and Feel Free To %!$!& Themselves And So On...

Heh. When did the Upcoming Films descriptor change? (maybe I'm behind the times, but I just noticed)

[Sycophant]

Heh. When did the Upcoming Films descriptor change? (maybe I'm behind the times, but I just noticed)

10 months ago or so. http://match-cut.org/showthread.php?p=159194&highlight=forward-looking#post159194

[Russ]

Whoops! :)

[Sycophant]

I routinely miss details like that.

[Spinal]

In an effort to up Match Cut's snob factor, I will attempt to use the word 'jejune' at least once a day.

[Mara]

In an effort to up Match Cut's snob factor, I will attempt to use the word 'jejune' at least once a day.

That's one of those words where I recall the first time I ever encountered it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/maragirl/critic.gif

[Fezzik]

And as for the "snobbish" films...well, the posters here have incidentally led me to films like Eyes Without a Face, Wings of Desire, Rashomon, and Memories of Murder, so I'm not seeing a problem here.

Yep. If not for Match Cut, I probably never would have discovered the greatness of Kar-Wai Wong or Akira Kurosawa.

[Spun Lepton]

How did Match Cut get stuck with this reputation of pretention and artsnobbery? It seems to me we discuss horror and superhero and A-list Hollywood movies more than we do practically any other kind of cinema.

I was joking.

[Ezee E]

I was joking.
Only not really.

[Spun Lepton]

Only not really.

I only meant it if you took offense to it, Ezee.

[Derek]

In an effort to up Match Cut's snob factor, I will attempt to use the word 'jejune' at least once a day.

Wow, great word, fantastic choice. I call 'hirsute'.

[baby doll]

Some suggestions for future thread titles: Will Success Spoil the Film Discussion Thread?; Beyond the Valley of the Film Discussion Thread; In a Year of 13 Film Discussion Threads (or alternatively, The Bitter Tears of Petra von Film Discussion Thread).

[Sycophant]

Will Success Spoil the Film Discussion Thread?
This one needs to be remembered.

[ledfloyd]

This one needs to be remembered.
absolutely.

[Yxklyx]

Shouldn't the new thread name have a new thread?

[Sycophant]

I like that we have over 40,000 messages in this one thread. To a perverse degree.

[Ezee E]

I like that we have over 40,000 messages in this one thread. To a perverse degree.
But you wanted a split Avatar thread.

[B-side]

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Film Discussion Thread).

I laughed.

[BuffaloWilder]

we ain't goin' broke mario we already there

[Philosophe_rouge]

This one needs to be remembered.

agreed, my favourite suggested so far.

[Ezee E]

Watched Precious. I'm surprised it caused such a stir, maybe because it was pretty well shot?

There's a huge chunk of the movie that is completely boring to me. This is also the part of the movie that is rarely discussed. The only time the movie felt alive is when Mo'Niquie is on screen, which explains why she got the Oscar.

Ah well. Not as bad as I was predicting, and definitely not as outrageous.

[Boner M]

Halloween 2 contains passages of such brilliantly hallucinatory nightmare imagery (most definitely NOT the final scene, though) that I wish its occasional power wasn't ultimately defeated by such a crummy narrative & performances that bring to mind unwelcome memories of the botched attempts at Cassavetes-style method hysteria in Alpha Dog. Still pulling for Rob Zombie, tho.

[B-side]

Halloween 2 contains passages of such brilliantly hallucinatory nightmare imagery (most definitely NOT the final scene, though) that I wish its occasional power wasn't ultimately defeated by such a crummy narrative & performances that bring to mind unwelcome memories of the botched attempts at Cassavetes-style method hysteria in Alpha Dog. Still pulling for Rob Zombie, tho.

I got some enjoyment out of the first one. I take it I'll probably feel similarly about this one?

[Boner M]

I got some enjoyment out of the first one. I take it I'll probably feel similarly about this one?
I feel the same way about both of them. Neither are good films, but they showcase some great filmmaking. They're at least proof that franchise cash-grab sequels be a potent blank canvas for a bizarro personal vision, although Crank 2 demonstrated that better recently.

[B-side]

I feel the same way about both of them. Neither are good films, but they showcase some great filmmaking. They're at least proof that franchise cash-grab sequels be a potent blank canvas for a bizarro personal vision, although Crank 2 demonstrated that better recently.

Nice. I wanna see both of those, actually. I was pretty excited for Crank 2 back before it got released, then everyone started crapping on it and I lost some interest. But after seeing you and Rowland praise it, I'm thinking I should see it soon.

[B-side]

OK, so, why did the Jackass crew thank Luis Buñuel in the credits of Jackass 2?

[Winston*]

OK, so, why did the Jackass crew thank Luis Buñuel in the credits of Jackass 2?

Is eye slicing one of the stunts in that movie?

...

I hate dogs IRL, but I was totally tearing up watching Wendy and Lucy.

[B-side]

Is eye slicing one of the stunts in that movie?

No, but Steve-O does put a leech on his eye.

[Winston*]

No, but Steve-O does put a leech on his eye.
That could be it. Wait, is exposing the plight of impoverished Mexican children a stunt in that movie?

[B-side]

That could be it. Wait, is exposing the plight of impoverished Mexican children a stunt in that movie?

:lol:

[ledfloyd]

I hate dogs IRL, but I was totally tearing up watching Wendy and Lucy.
i've never understood the 'i hate dogs' crowd. it seems so odd a thing to hate to me.

[Spinal]

The Onion: We Almost Go Inside the Mind of Tim Burton, But Then We Were Like 'Eh' (http://www.theonion.com/content/magazine/we_almost_go_inside_the_mind?u tm_source=onion_rss_daily)

[D_Davis]

I'm going to watch some movies this weekend!

:pritch:

OMG

14 Blades and Confucius

Haven't seen a new HK flick since...Red Cliff.

[D_Davis]

The Onion: We Almost Go Inside the Mind of Tim Burton, But Then We Were Like 'Eh' (http://www.theonion.com/content/magazine/we_almost_go_inside_the_mind?u tm_source=onion_rss_daily)

:lol:

[kopello]

I saw my first Fassbinder yesterday morning, The Marriage Maria Braun. I was kind of bored during the first hour but I seemed to like it more in the second half, also the film just gets better the more I think about it (loved that ending scene in the house). I'm still trying to soak in what the film was saying about German society in a post-WW2 era, but so far I think I really liked it.

I have the rest of the BRD trilogy here so hopefully I'll finish it over the next few days. Where should I go next in his filmography? I was thinking Ali or Chinese Roulette. Any recs?

[Grouchy]

Hating dogs? I guess there are people for everything.

http://www.spiritualteachers.org/images/fountain.jpg

And Aranofsky will never stop amazing me. The Fountain is incredible filmmaking. I loved that it was so straight-forward and simple, yet so profound. It doesn't even have a hint of sophistication or tricky writing - a very honest story, expertly told. It avoids most of the traps that could be found in these "paralell times" type of films by not making a visual reference out of every silly detail, and trusting the audience to stick with the film long enough for the pieces to start coming together. I also have to say that, while Weisz is one of my favorites, this is the only time I've seen good or even notable acting from Jackman. I guess Aranofsky also brings the best out of actors.

I admired the outer space stuff so much I inmediately went to Wikipedia to see how it's done, and I thought it was fucking brilliant. The makers are completely right - no matter how good the CGI, it's a technique in progress. It will inevitably get old. But HD photographies of a petri dish will never get old. Now that's what I call smarts at work.

In short, I think I might even have found a new favorite movie.

[balmakboor]

Where should I go next in his filmography? I was thinking Ali or Chinese Roulette. Any recs?

Anything but Chinese Roulette. Ali would be good. I hold Martha in high regard. Fox is great. And, after you've seen 8 or 10, definitely watch Berlin Alexanderplatz.

[balmakboor]

Hating dogs? I guess there are people for everything.

http://www.spiritualteachers.org/images/fountain.jpg

And Aranofsky will never stop amazing me. The Fountain is incredible filmmaking. I loved that it was so straight-forward and simple, yet so profound. It doesn't even have a hint of sophistication or tricky writing - a very honest story, expertly told. It avoids most of the traps that could be found in these "paralell times" type of films by not making a visual reference out of every silly detail, and trusting the audience to stick with the film long enough for the pieces to start coming together. I also have to say that, while Weisz is one of my favorites, this is the only time I've seen good or even notable acting from Jackman. I guess Aranofsky also brings the best out of actors.

I admired the outer space stuff so much I inmediately went to Wikipedia to see how it's done, and I thought it was fucking brilliant. The makers are completely right - no matter how good the CGI, it's a technique in progress. It will inevitably get old. But HD photographies of a petri dish will never get old. Now that's what I call smarts at work.

In short, I think I might even have found a new favorite movie.

Absolutely!

Btw, did you (or did anyone else) see this on Bluray? The DVD is so murky. Just wondering if the Bluray looks better.

[Grouchy]

Btw, did you (or did anyone else) see this on Bluray? The DVD is so murky. Just wondering if the Bluray looks better.
No, I downloaded what appears to be a DVD.

[Ezee E]

Now that I have a new computer, I might be able to do what I've been wanting to do for a while, which is a radio show with Match Cut people. Preferbly along the lines of something like Around The Horn or Pardon the Interruption.

Anyone know of any good programs or "conference call" programs? I thought iChat could work for this, but I'm not positive yet.

Any help is appreciated!

[Henry Gale]

Btw, did you (or did anyone else) see this on Bluray? The DVD is so murky. Just wondering if the Bluray looks better.

While the movie is definitely amazing and quite possibly my favourite film of the last decade, I have the HD-DVD from years back and it's essentially a crisper version of the same, fairly muted DVD transfer. I'd assume that because they were released side by side at the time and the formats were almost identical, the Blu is no different.

But it's still the best version you'll find unless Aronofsky gets his Criterion wish fufilled one of these days.

[Derek]

Now that I have a new computer, I might be able to do what I've been wanting to do for a while, which is a radio show with Match Cut people. Preferbly along the lines of something like Around The Horn or Pardon the Interruption.

Anyone know of any good programs or "conference call" programs? I thought iChat could work for this, but I'm not positive yet.

Any help is appreciated!

I'm in! Not sure who I'll be, but Qrazy is Mariotti and Sven is Woody Paige, that much we know. Maybe I'll be Cowlishaw and obscure French cinema will be my NHL.

I've done conference calls on Skype before, but I don't know if that works with more than 3 parties.

[Ezee E]

I'm in! Not sure who I'll be, but Qrazy is Mariotti and Sven is Woody Paige, that much we know. Maybe I'll be Cowlishaw and obscure French cinema will be my NHL.

I've done conference calls on Skype before, but I don't know if that works with more than 3 parties.
And being able to record these conference calls as well.

[Grouchy]

I do think most of the early scenes in The Fountain are deliberately darker and tone-deaf than what we're accostumed to see in movies.

But I'm sure that's not what you guys are talking about.

[Derek]

And being able to record these conference calls as well.

I'm assuming there's a separate program that could be used to record the conversations. Wouldn't any sound recorder program potentially work? Davis or Bacon would probably know about something for that aspect.

[Spinal]

Qrazy is Mariotti and Sven is Woody Paige, that much we know.

:lol:

[hey it's ethan]

I saw that L'avventura was streaming for free on The Auteurs last night and despite the 2 1/2 hour runtime meaning that I wouldn't be able to go to bed until 12 on a school night...I pressed play.

What followed is easily one of the ten best films I've ever seen. A flawless depiction of ennui and alienation that chilled me to the bone and emotionally drained me. I read in Ebert's Great Movie essay that he couldn't connect with the film the first time he saw it because he was only 18 but I'm the same age and I was totally knocked flat by how much it related the feelings I've been going through lately.

[Henry Gale]

Purple Rain is such a flamboyantly badass movie.

For someone that wasn't lucky enough to have been born before the 80s, the film is a completely satisfying time capsule of an era that is only somewhat painted by great hits of its day and half-heartedly alluded to in the majority of today's movies set there. It may help that I've listened to and loved the album on and off for the last couple of years, but I still think that no matter what you think of the music, it's an exciting and sincere enough to revel in for two hours. It's so well shot, well paced, charming and suprisingly controlled in the most important musical sequences.

There are a bunch plot turns that are kind of questionable, but that the movie at least attempts to justify. (The Kid's completely unnecessary smackdown of Apollonia, trying to show him becoming more like his father, but just evaporating any connection we had to him as a character for a while.) But this is also Purple Rain, soooo... criticizing that is probably the furthest thing anyone who watches it will likely want to get out it anyway.

[hey it's ethan]

Purple Rain is indeed hella-dope. Sure, the movie is pretty cheesy and melodramatic but goddammit when "The Kid" play the title song...I tear up.

[Grouchy]

Wow, The China Syndrome is a fucking fantastic thriller. Great acting all around, but the highlight of the film is Jack Lemmon and his desperate final scenes. I'm a sucker for this type of drama in which a person has to stand up and fight a gigantic system (The Insider is a personal favorite) and this one worked very well for me. The lack of non-diegetic music really does wonders for suspense, and I wish they'd got rid of the opening song too. '70s Hollywood at its finest.

By the way, I'm almost certain I saw Luis Guzmán standing by the water cooler near the end in the visitor's room. I paused it and I think that's Guzmán (he has no lines), but I'm not really sure. If someone has access to the film right now, can I get a second opinion? He's all through the part where Lemmon is making his demands, behind the chairman of the company.

[Melville]

I just realized that I wrote a review of Koyaanisqatsi for my aborted top 100 list last year, and I never posted it here. I think I had just started reading Gravity's Rainbow at the time, and it evidently induced a mania for long-winded gibberish.

In fast motion the escalators vomit people, not one at a time as if it were first one person up and over then onto the next, but as a continuous stream, time dissolving people into a single organic mass—even as, outside, in the darkling night of the cityscape, this alchemical time transmutes automobiles into red streaks of headlights, the resultant plasma comprising no longer merely inert objects of technology, but objects of the same biology as those escalator-vomited people, part of a contiguous whole—and this fast-motion stream is infinite (without beginning or end, with no offer of rest, but only life, connected, systematic and obscene), and it carries us, trembling and nauseous, up with it, as we see within it humans and technology as an organized mass, individuals as technologized life subsumed, mitochondrial, under the adumbrative biology of Humanity, a biological process proceeding in the streets and towers of the City, the biosphere of glistening glass and metal—one biosphere among many, among a multitude of worlds scattered bewondering over the surface of the Earth, but even as the film reveals these other worlds (jumping betwixt them, creating of them a melding of moonlight and music, ominous, oppressive and revelatory) the escalator and the streams of headlights in the night remain effervescent, inescapable, a question mark embedded in the triadic junction between humans and Humanity and the natural world, a junction the meaning and definition of which remains elusive as a Snark—and we are made to ponder the city of glistening glass and metal and the streams of people and streaks of red light it houses, and yes, this great organism of ours is overwhelming: we are not reassured of our place in it, nor of its place in the natural world; we are left only to wonder at this great spectacle we have wrought.

[balmakboor]

I do think most of the early scenes in The Fountain are deliberately darker and tone-deaf than what we're accostumed to see in movies.

But I'm sure that's not what you guys are talking about.

I saw it twice in the theater and the ancient part of the story in particular seemed darker on DVD. I also remember reading DVD reviews at the time of release that moaned quite a bit about that along with other general comments about poor quality. It's still a great movie experience on DVD though. I've watched it three times that way.

[balmakboor]

A recent tweet informed me that the deluxe 3 disc Bluray of Wizard of Oz is on Amazon for $17.00. In case anyone is interested.

[Sxottlan]

Caught a bit of Snow Falling on Cedars for the first time in years on one of the movie channels. I remembered being really surprised by how much I liked it when it was in theatres. I hadn't expected to. Great cinematography by Robert Richardson as usual.

I wish I had kept the DVD. It was one of the first I had bought, but then had it in mind I would regularly trade in DVDs like I did PS2 games. I only did it that once.

[BuffaloWilder]

Match-Cut podcast?

I'm in

[Winston*]

Any dreamy Asian film fans got links to good thoughts on Last Life in the Universe written by Match Cutters or otherwise? I would like to read them. Interesting film.

[B-side]

Your Friends & Neighbors is a better, more polished film than In the Company of Men, though they're only really comparable as back-to-back films from the same director. The characters are all nearly fully realized, and the impact left from this one feels more long-lasting as it doesn't use overt misogyny as a crutch and instead focuses more on aged bitterness and acting on impulse. Once again, the dialogue is pitch-perfect, as is the acting. LaBute's characters rarely feel written. There's nuance here, where I'm not sure there was much to speak of in In the Company of Men. And Patric is hilarious.

[kuehnepips]

Caught a bit of Snow Falling on Cedars for the first time in years on one of the movie channels. I remembered ....

I loved the book; I'll see the movie soon.

[dreamdead]

Any dreamy Asian film fans got links to good thoughts on Last Life in the Universe written by Match Cutters or otherwise? I would like to read them. Interesting film.

From the old site, I saved my review when I wrote about it in my top 50... cut n pasted below. Forgive the slightly crappy writing from 2006. I'll go into deeper discussion on any point you want, though.

---

Few films on my list exist because of their collaborative nature, since most derive from a single auteur. Yet Thai director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang’s Last Life in the Universe (2003) is the exception, allowing four divergent creative voices to prefigure into the film’s construction. Beyond Pen-Ek, we have the dominant yet understated performance of Asano Tadanobu, the cinematographic artistry of Christopher Doyle, and the anarchic third-act presence of Takashi Miike. What is significant, though, is that these disparate influences embody the film’s mise en scène with minute exactness, weaving the age-old “opposites attract” genre together with a bittersweet rumination on life, symmetry, and chance.

Kenji (Asano Tadanobu) is a librarian who avoids any and all relationships and instead cleans everything around his apartment with mechanical precision. Noi (Sinitta Boonyasak) drifts through the day smoking pot and leaves behind a cluttered, emotional mess. When tragedy unites them, they enact an odd pairing as a combatant against their collective overwhelming sorrow. Yet this pairing is localized and given enough characteristics that classic clichés become imbued with something more profound.

This is a funny film, but the humor of the film is often dark, since Kenji wants to commit suicide, thinking that death rather than life “is bliss.” As a result, there are recurrent fantasy sequences where Kenji imagines his own death, and it is here that the film marks Kenji’s psychopathology. Yet his interest is piqued around Noi, even though he continues to reveal a pathological mindset, holding conversations with Noi even as he projects Noi’s dead sister, Nid, onto her body. This intersection between the two sisters creates a thematic element that doubles with Kenji’s own life, and Nid’s appearances become psychologically valuable to understanding Kenji’s inner-state.

It comes as no surprise that at the very core of Kenji’s need for cleanliness lies a need to cleanse his past. Though the narrative outwardly makes no mention of this fact, Kenji’s dragon tattoo on his back hints at a larger trauma where he was part of the yakuza, much like his murdered brother early in the film. Fascinatingly, this narratological renunciation gives a hint of Kenji’s paralysis. As such, his interest in the redemption found in Noi exists not just at the level of romantic interest, but at the more profound level of psychological recovery from his respective earlier paralyses.

The aspect of cleanliness, which of course has its debts to Shakespeare and Freud, comes to fruition in the film’s climax. While others might feel that Miike’s presence derails the film’s structure, I see his introduction into the narrative as explicitly bringing to the fore the past that has long been suppressed. Kenji can either relinquish the past and begin a new life or he can expose himself and commit inner-suicide. Pen-Ek handles the final decision with enough irony that we understand the tragic humor, yet the actions are always fully humane and in character. As a result, the ending overwhelms with its wistful hope, understanding as it does that hope is the last thing that Kenji can cling to. What’s important, though, is that he does choose hope.

[dreamdead]

I saw that L'avventura was streaming for free on The Auteurs last night and despite the 2 1/2 hour runtime meaning that I wouldn't be able to go to bed until 12 on a school night...I pressed play.

What followed is easily one of the ten best films I've ever seen. A flawless depiction of ennui and alienation that chilled me to the bone and emotionally drained me. I read in Ebert's Great Movie essay that he couldn't connect with the film the first time he saw it because he was only 18 but I'm the same age and I was totally knocked flat by how much it related the feelings I've been going through lately.

Yeah, I've never really been in tune with Antonioni's other works, but this one uses architectural space so well as a shorthand into character's psychological states. And the disinterest in looking for the lost is comically sad. Quietly wrenching.

[BuffaloWilder]

Sent in an article to Bright Lights Film Journal early in the week - past the "it's in the pipeline" email the editor sent me, I haven't gotten much of any word on its progress.

Should I start getting frazzled?

[Skitch]

I love the Fountain, yes the dvd looks murky, it looked better in the theater.

[B-side]

Bigger Than Life is quite good. I've always loved James Mason, and this is probably the best performance of his I've seen. Also, the film kinda seemed to dip into a critique of republican social ideals. Then there's the jab at Lincoln at the end. Hm.

[Watashi]

Bigger Than Life is quite good. I've always loved James Mason, and this is probably the best performance of his I've seen. Also, the film kinda seemed to dip into a critique of republican social ideals. Then there's the jab at Lincoln at the end. Hm.
This movie has just jumped straight to #1 on Barty's queue.

[B-side]

This movie has just jumped straight to #1 on Barty's queue.

Does Barty watch movies? I have this impression of him sitting alone in his basement, surrounded by Obama = Hitler posters, foaming at the mouth and muttering anti-governmental nonsense to himself.

[Watashi]

Does Barty watch movies? I have this impression of him sitting alone in his basement, surrounded by Obama = Hitler posters, foaming at the mouth and muttering anti-governmental nonsense to himself.
We don't have a basement, but the rest is spot-on.

[B-side]

We don't have a basement, but the rest is spot-on.

We?

[Watashi]

We?
I live with Barty.

[Boner M]

B-Side, your comments on Your Friends & Neighbours seem to be more positive than those of Bigger Than Life. Please amend this.