28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[Bosco B Thug]

Is some porn art? Someone explain it to me if I'm being ignorant.


Thoughts on Stalker, Bosco? Erm, I'm afraid I've got nothing. I was really bad. I watched the film with a disgraceful disinterest in understanding the film or putting what they were saying together. I even let some subtitles that went by too fast pass without rewinding.

Pro: I found it thoroughly un-boring. Con: it's kind of an action-y movie, plot-wise, and then there's sprinklings of dude-humor (being a story about the wracked interiority of dudes)... and the ensuing mix is kinda funky, mixed with Tarkovsky's abstract-everything. And like I said, I just kinda let all the content pass without thinking twice about it. Mostly my problem, but I'll give myself some credit and dock the film for not slapping me in the face for accepting airheadedness (intimidated, as I was, by lofty philosophy). Beautiful filmmaking, though!

[B-side]

Is some porn art? Someone explain it to me if I'm being ignorant.

I don't see why not. Media crafted for your enjoyment. Fits the narrow definition most people abide by pretty easily.


Erm, I'm afraid I've got nothing. I was really bad. I watched the film with a disgraceful disinterest in understanding the film or putting what they were saying together. I even let some subtitles that went by too fast pass without rewinding.

Pro: I found it thoroughly un-boring. Con: it's kind of an action-y movie, plot-wise, and then there's sprinklings of dude-humor (being a story about the wracked interiority of dudes)... and the ensuing mix is kinda funky, mixed with Tarkovsky's abstract-everything. And like I said, I just kinda let all the content pass without thinking twice about it. Mostly my problem, but I'll give myself some credit and dock the film for not slapping me in the face for accepting airheadedness (intimidated, as I was, by lofty philosophy). Beautiful filmmaking, though!

Happens to the best of us. Wasn't your first Tarkovsky, was it?

[Bosco B Thug]

Happens to the best of us. Wasn't your first Tarkovsky, was it? Nope, seen Solaris and The Mirror. Threw my arms up in similar fashion with The Mirror, even more so, but it was, nevertheless, engrossing on all accounts. Neither of these two grasp as much for narrative straws, I'd say.

[Ezee E]

Weekend:
Predators
The Wolfman
A Single Man
The Secret Invasion

[B-side]

Nope, seen Solaris and The Mirror. Threw my arms up in similar fashion with The Mirror, even more so, but it was, nevertheless, engrossing on all accounts. Neither of these two grasp as much for narrative straws, I'd say.

I prefer Mirror to both of the others. It was my favorite film for a while way back when. I need to rewatch Solaris. It's currently my least favorite of his, but it's also been quite a while since I saw it.

[Qrazy]

I did too, which is odd considering all the other Oshima films I've seen are formally audacious.

Nice, I'm really glad that one's an outlier, I'm excited to pursue more of his filmography.

[B-side]

The Man Who Left His Will on Film is good.

[transmogrifier]

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Food has already been done, and better, by Ratatouille, and the lead character looked awfully similar to the lead character in that movie, though obviously not as sharply drawn (there is a sadness in the oval eyes of the stunningly sketched restaurateur of Ratatouille that the regular eyes here can't even begin to hope to dream to emulate). Clouds and weather are passe after the gorgeous vistas of the exquisite Up, which also featured an animal that had its thoughts decoded into English, the effervescent, amazingly hilarious dog. Buzz Lightyear was a more graceful flyer than the flying car as well. And fat people were done in Wall-E.

So, in summary, 68/100.

[number8]

Boy, I hate satire.

[kopello]

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/9425/thinredline.jpg


wowowowowow

[number8]

Wow.

[MacGuffin]

Too bad the line is neither thin nor red.

[Raiders]

Too bad the line is neither thin nor red.

I think it is not a line but meant to look like an open book.

[D_Davis]

What are your favorite sex scenes in a non-pornographic film?

Mine - Mind Game and Out of Sight

[number8]

Oh, hands down, Lust, Caution.

[BuffaloWilder]

What about Roy Stuart's creepy, creepy Glimpse videos? People call those arty, for some reason.

[Russ]

I love the "sex under the headlights" scene in Lost Highway.

[Grouchy]

I'm another fan of In the Realm of the Senses. Dismissing it as porn seems to me a really short-sighted thing to do.

Since I've seen it recently, I'm gonna answer the question with Showgirls - either the sticky lap dance or the pool scene. Lust, Caution is a good one, too.

[BuffaloWilder]

I'd call it porn - not a debasement, because hey, I like porn well enough. That's not trivializing the movie any - I just didn't think it was all that good, as porn or even otherwise.

[MacGuffin]

I've always thought the word "porn" referred to something titillating, which is why I never fully understood the term "torture porn" as a valid argument--wouldn't that just mean you're admitting to being turned on by the violence you're against?

[Sycophant]

"Torture porn" originated as a pejorative term for such films because the intention of the speaker, I believe, sees the motivating reason for such films' existence as titilating their audience.

[Spinal]

Not sure what's up with the mostly positive reviews for Despicable Me, which is slight and unexceptional. The best thing that you can say about it is that it is palatable and not openly irritating. So it's got that, I guess. Carell's lead character pales in comparison with a similar villain who appears on TV daily - The Disney's Channel's Dr. Doofenshmirtz (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH2mcTfkPq4&feature=related) from Phineas and Ferb. The adorableness of both the minions and the orphans is overplayed and it is not long before the film reaches for sentimental moments that are largely unearned. No real reason to see this one unless you have a young child who has been bludgeoned by the marketing campaign.

[Spinal]

The art-titillation dichotomy is really silly. Lots of great art is titillating.

[Mysterious Dude]

I've always thought the word "porn" referred to something titillating, which is why I never fully understood the term "torture porn" as a valid argument--wouldn't that just mean you're admitting to being turned on by the violence you're against?
I think the term is intended to accuse others of being turned on by the violence.

[D_Davis]

I thought sex-porn were films in which the whole point of the film was to show sex, and so torture-porn is used to accuse a film of having torture as it's only point of interest.

I think the best examples of torture porn are films like A Chines Torture Chamber, or There's a Secret in My Soup - two films of the sex/torture sub-genre of HK CATIII films.

[Sven]

wowowowowow

Do not like. Looks like a poorly bound book.

[Sycophant]

I think the term is intended to accuse others of being turned on by the violence.

This is what I was trying to say, but better.

[Ezee E]

Can't go wrong with Femme Fatale.

[baby doll]

My Neighbor Totoro makes me really hot. I'm what you'd call a "furry."

[Ezee E]

For the small amount of movies I've seen this year, there's a disturbing trend in movies not being able to tell a satisfying ending. The Crazies, Predators, Iron Man 2 all essentially wrap it up with the idea that there could, should, or will be a sequel. This is unsettling to me.

[Sxottlan]

Don't know if it's been posted here yet, but here's the cover to the Criterion version of The Thin Red Line:

http://criterion_production.s3.amazon aws.com/release_images/2968/536_box_348x490.jpg

I love how it kind of looks like the binding of a big two page picture in a book.

[Sven]

I love how it kind of looks like the binding of a big two page picture in a book.
You really love it? Because the more I see it, the more I'm convinced that it is retarded.

[Sven]

Not a bad concept, though what about that movie conveys "bookness" so much that they had to include it in their design? If anything, it's the least bookish adaptation of a book I've ever seen.

Abysmal execution.

[Spinal]

Gotta side with Sven here. Not feeling it.

[Derek]

Not a bad concept, though what about that movie conveys "bookness" so much that they had to include it in their design? If anything, it's the least bookish adaptation of a book I've ever seen.

Exactly.


Abysmal execution.

And this too. Why make it off-center? I would've liked it without the binding though.

[Ezee E]

I liked the previous shot that we thought was the cover more. This is still nice, but the "binding" sorta hurts the beautiful shot.

[Sxottlan]

Not a bad concept, though what about that movie conveys "bookness" so much that they had to include it in their design? If anything, it's the least bookish adaptation of a book I've ever seen.

Abysmal execution.

I dunno. I guess with a title like that, you need to have a line in there somewhere.

[Sven]

And this too. Why make it off-center? I would've liked it without the binding though.

But why are they all so calmly walking toward the explosions?

[B-side]

The line ruins an otherwise great picture.

[Sven]

Something like this poster could have rocked:

http://www.dramastyle.com/images/3/3/Thin_Red_Line_3937_poster.jpg

Though, as E said, the original cover shot was definitely nice, though the mood of the film is arguably better achieved in the picture of this new one (what with the evocative sky color and peaceful greens punctuated by the explosions).

[BuffaloWilder]

My Neighbor Totoro makes me really hot. I'm what you'd call a "furry."

*high fi -* waitaminute, Totoro?

You just made me wonder if there's Totoro Rule 34 out there.

why

[B-side]

Oh, B-Wild. That's your name now. B-Wild. Get used to it. I don't back down on nicknames.

[[ETM]]

Don't know if it's been posted here yet, but here's the cover to the Criterion version of The Thin Red Line:

http://criterion_production.s3.amazon aws.com/release_images/2968/536_box_348x490.jpg

I love how it kind of looks like the binding of a big two page picture in a book.

I like this. Probably the most original design I have seen in quite some time. The "binding" is off center because it is perfectly balanced with the photo as it is. I like the idea behind it too - it has nothing to do with books... to me, it speaks of the part of the picture that gets lost in the binding on those two page spreads. No matter how it's printed, there's always a part missing, or hidden inside. I like how the title and the director's name is sinking into the divide, the essential, defining information is in the partially missing area.

I have only one complaint and it's the overall low contrast of the photo, a bit forced, probably so they can add the logo and the text on the left in a white overlay.

[Qrazy]

I also like it.

[Sven]

;271571']to me, it speaks of the part of the picture that gets lost in the binding on those two page spreads.

But it's only the words that get lost. The picture itself remains visibly either unchanged or so minutely changed that it does not matter. And that is an eyesore.

I hate the cover more and more. I hope this is the last time I feel compelled to comment on it.

[Sven]

Oh man. From Paris With Love. So good!

[Watashi]

I love the cover.

Absolutely beautiful.

[Sven]

Nobody has explained the Aguirre-esque oblivious march toward doom.

[Rowland]

Oh man. From Paris With Love. So good!I'm happy then that my praise persuaded you to give it a shot.

[Sven]

I'm happy then that my praise persuaded you to give it a shot.

K was hoping that Rhys-Meyers would be carrying the cocaine-filled vase through the whole movie. Though its final scene was definitely worth it. Again, terrific movie.

[Spinal]

I hate the cover more and more.

Me too. It ranks among the worst they've ever done.

[Watashi]

Not sure what's up with the mostly positive reviews for Despicable Me, which is slight and unexceptional. The best thing that you can say about it is that it is palatable and not openly irritating. So it's got that, I guess. Carell's lead character pales in comparison with a similar villain who appears on TV daily - The Disney's Channel's Dr. Doofenshmirtz (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH2mcTfkPq4&feature=related) from Phineas and Ferb. The adorableness of both the minions and the orphans is overplayed and it is not long before the film reaches for sentimental moments that are largely unearned. No real reason to see this one unless you have a young child who has been bludgeoned by the marketing campaign.


Anyone who hates this movie can only be a Pixar shill.

http://www.nypress.com/article-21414-dispicable-me.html

[Watashi]

Me too. It ranks among the worst they've ever done.
The cover could be a picture of Terrence Malick taking a shit and it would still be firmly placed in my DVD shelf.

I think you're overreacting over such a meaningless image.

[Spinal]

This is a very welcome rebuttal to Pixar sentimentality.

Flat-out false. It surpasses Pixar in that department. The film uses a big-eyed toddler orphan with a ponytail sticking straight in the air. I mean, come on.

[Spinal]

I think you're overreacting over such a meaningless image.

Just calling it how I see it. I don't recall another Criterion cover being so aesthetically unpleasing.

[Watashi]

Flat-out false. It surpasses Pixar in that department. The film uses a big-eyed toddler orphan with a ponytail sticking straight in the air. I mean, come on.
Face it, Spinal. You're a Pixar shill.

I always knew it.

[Watashi]

Just calling it how I see it. I don't recall another Criterion cover being so aesthetically unpleasing.
I went through the list just now and there's tons of just bland photoshopped images (most of them are fairly old). At least this one is trying to be creative and unique.

I like the old cover better too. The artist also designed my other two favorite Criterion covers, Days of Heaven and Paris, Texas.

[Watashi]

Just calling it how I see it. I don't recall another Criterion cover being so aesthetically unpleasing.

Whenever someone brings up bad DVD covers, I always have to post it:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4156TZ2WZEL.jpg

[Sxottlan]

I had to chuckle at when they finally reveal what the mission is, we're seeing it through a cocaine-induced haze so that we don't actually hear it.

Rhys-Meyers can actually pull off a pretty good American accent.

[Sxottlan]

I like the old cover better too. The artist also designed my other two favorite Criterion covers, Days of Heaven and Paris, Texas.

Are we talking the old 20th Century Fox cover or did Criterion have something different earlier? I only ever saw a bland placeholder.

[MadMan]

Madman has outdone himself. He is truly... mad.Nah.


It works by MadMan saying it.You liked The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Good job.


How's that work?*SIGH* Favorite movie and what I think the best movie are, well, they're not the same thing. I thought that was obvious. I'm tired of explaining myself, so I might just start responding by posting random images.

PS: Slowly....ROTK is the best movie in the trilogy. However, FOTR is my favorite movie in the series. They're not the same thing. Read through it again. For clarity. Hurray.


First time I watched FOTR, I loved the Wringwraiths up until the point that Vigo shows up and drives them all away. They lossed a significant amount of 'bad ass' points during that scene.

Made me sad.I think they still remain badass, but its just a reminder that Aragon is the kickass king of men, and therefore will beat down anything or anyone in his path.

I don't believe in weekend viewings anymore.

[Skitch]

K was hoping that Rhys-Meyers would be carrying the cocaine-filled vase through the whole movie. Though its final scene was definitely worth it. Again, terrific movie.
Yaaaaaaay!

[Skitch]

*SIGH* Favorite movie and what I think the best movie are, well, they're not the same thing. I thought that was obvious.

I thought it was pretty clear as well.

*shrug*

[Sven]

I think you're overreacting over such a meaningless image.

I don't know why you'd be so down on a guy for reacting critically towards something that you admit has no meaning.

[[ETM]]

But it's only the words that get lost. The picture itself remains visibly either unchanged or so minutely changed that it does not matter. And that is an eyesore.

That's just... I don't know why I bother.

[Skitch]

There's only one way to settle this: monkey knife fight.

[[ETM]]

http://bolstablog.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/monkey-knife-fight.jpg

[Skitch]

:lol:

I'll be avataring that asap.

[Sven]

;271628']That's just... I don't know why I bother.

Is that not a distraction? The way the letters fold, but the image does not?

[Kurosawa Fan]

Is that not a distraction? The way the letters fold, but the image does not?

I'm with you. That defeats the purpose of the meaning ETM attributed it. The cover, image aside, doesn't work at all. It was an interesting idea that should have been tossed when the final product was presented.

[[ETM]]

Is that not a distraction? The way the letters fold, but the image does not?

The fold is flattened towards the bottom, like when you press it to see as much of the image as possible, but you don't care what I think anyway, nor will you ever see it the same way.

[Sycophant]

*SIGH* Favorite movie and what I think the best movie are, well, they're not the same thing. I thought that was obvious. I'm tired of explaining myself, so I might just start responding by posting random images.

PS: Slowly....ROTK is the best movie in the trilogy. However, FOTR is my favorite movie in the series. They're not the same thing. Read through it again. For clarity. Hurray.

I know better than to do this, but your pissiness makes me want to prod you. Obviously we understand what you're saying. What we don't get is how you parse the Lord of the Rings movies to divide "best" and "favorite." If you think one is better, why don't you prefer it? And if you prefer one, why do you think another one is better? Popular thought around here does not embrace this dichotomy. I certainly have a tendency to contest the idea that best and favorite should be two separate things.

Anyway, I think we've been over this with you. I find your position basically incomprehensible.

[Qrazy]

I know better than to do this, but your pissiness makes me want to prod you. Obviously we understand what you're saying. What we don't get is how you parse the Lord of the Rings movies to divide "best" and "favorite." If you think one is better, why don't you prefer it? And if you prefer one, why do you think another one is better? Popular thought around here does not embrace this dichotomy. I certainly have a tendency to contest the idea that best and favorite should be two separate things.

Anyway, I think we've been over this with you. I find your position basically incomprehensible.

I clarified this distinction quite well in a thread a little while ago, but I don't remember which thread I clarified it in... alas.

[Spinal]

Yeah, I know how the argument goes. And while I can sorta kinda understand it when you're talking about Citizen Kane vs. Die Hard 2, I'm absolutely bewildered why one would bother to make the distinction between two Lord of the Rings films.

[Russ]

I'm absolutely bewildered why one would bother to make the distinction between two Lord of the Rings films.
i dunno, it's probably not that much different than preferring the first book of the trilogy (which I do) to the others.

[Spinal]

i dunno, it's probably not that much different than preferring the first book of the trilogy (which I do) to the others.

Do you call that one your favorite and the last one the best? That's the point of contention.

[Russ]

Damn. These important things ya'll find to argue about.

[Qrazy]

Yeah, I know how the argument goes. And while I can sorta kinda understand it when you're talking about Citizen Kane vs. Die Hard 2, I'm absolutely bewildered why one would bother to make the distinction between two Lord of the Rings films.

Why? I personally consider Fellowship both my favorite and the best... but for instance when I think of Star Wars I could easily envision someone who prefers Return of the Jedi but recognizes Empires Strikes Back is the best.

[Spinal]

Damn. These important things ya'll find to argue about.

Indeed. Let's discuss something important. Like how much of a bad human being Mel Gibson (http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2010/07/world-exclusive-audio-mel-gibsons-explosive-racist-rant-listen-it-here) is.

[Skitch]

Why? I personally consider Fellowship both my favorite and the best... but for instance when I think of Star Wars I could easily envision someone who prefers Return of the Jedi but recognizes Empires Strikes Back is the best.

*raises hand* that'd be me, sir.

I really don't see what's so difficult to understand here, fellas.

He thinks ROTK was the best made, and FOTR his favorite. Perhaps he prefers the connections of the troupe and the creation and outset of the journey, rather than the struggle and strife and conclusion, even if it employs a more solidified structure as a film.

Perhaps.

This is why I can't make lists of top films unless I break it down to rediculous titles with lots of qualifiers.

[Spinal]

*raises hand* that'd be me, sir.

I really don't see what's so difficult to understand here, fellas.

He thinks ROTK was the best made, and FOTR his favorite. Perhaps he prefers the connections of the troupe and the creation and outset of the journey, rather than the struggle and strife and conclusion, even if it employs a more solidified structure as a film.

Perhaps.

This is why I can't make lists of top films unless I break it down to rediculous titles with lots of qualifiers.

The basic problem is that if 'a more solidified structure' doesn't make for a more enjoyable, satisfying film for you personally, then you shouldn't use it as a criterion. You're trying to assume an objective stance and take a guess what someone else finds important in a film. Unless you're a film scholar, I see no reason to do that.

[Sven]

;271635']but you don't care what I think anyway, nor will you ever see it the same way.

Come on, dude.
This is just rude.
I never showed you this attitude.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Come on, dude.
This is just rude.
I never showed you this attitude.

He's just sore.
He saw much more.
His view of the contrary is quite poor.

[Skitch]

The basic problem is that if 'a more solidified structure' doesn't make for a more enjoyable, satisfying film for you personally, then you shouldn't use it as a criterion. You're trying to assume an objective stance and take a guess what someone else finds important in a film. Unless you're a film scholar, I see no reason to do that.

No no no, please don't misunderstand, I was not taking that stance. I was just throwing random things out there that one could possibly use as starting points for backing up ones opinion in a 'favorite v best' type argument.

I personally few LOTR as one film.

[Ezee E]

He's just sore.
He saw much more.
His view of the contrary is quite poor.
Don't you make me roar.

[[ETM]]

Come on, dude.
This is just rude.
I never showed you this attitude.

Yeah, sorry. I happen to do this for a living (this as in design CD and DVD packaging among other things) and I'm sensitive to criticism of attempts at something different in that area. God knows I tried to pull off certain things but nothing could get past the suits who "know what people like". I suppose they have a good point.

Anyway - it's a thankless area of graphic design as things are expected to be done a certain way and there's very little room for creativity, so I applaud Criterion for trying. A quick search shows my appreciation of the design is largely shared so all may not be lost, as they say.

[Bosco B Thug]

But it's only the words that get lost. The picture itself remains visibly either unchanged or so minutely changed that it does not matter. And that is an eyesore. Haha, I was going to comment that the picture does fold in as well, but then I reread your post.

I think it's kinda cool, but having not seen The Thin Red Line, is there really no blatant premise or thematic point in the film that calls for this concept? I know some have given nice interpretations, but if there's nothing really concrete (like a monologue going, "Life is like... reading a book," or strong book imagery in the film), I agree it's an odd piece of tomfoolery.

[Spinal]

The only possible connection I can think of is that there's lots of inner monologues in voiceover and people typically associate inner monologues with novels. Still think it doesn't fit the film.

[MacGuffin]

I agree with Spinal, Sven and Derek. For me, the cover simply isn't very nice to look at. The line really fucks it up, aesthetically. I preferred the original.

[Qrazy]

The basic problem is that if 'a more solidified structure' doesn't make for a more enjoyable, satisfying film for you personally, then you shouldn't use it as a criterion. You're trying to assume an objective stance and take a guess what someone else finds important in a film. Unless you're a film scholar, I see no reason to do that.

Tangential example... Anna Karenina was a great book, I liked it a lot but it's not one of my absolute favorite books. Why? Predominantly because the aristocracy annoy me. I recognize this is not a great reason to like a book less per se and thus I don't fault the book for it. The book deserves it's acclaim and yet I don't love it as much as a few other less literarily compelling novels.

I can respect a piece of art but not love it. Now the term 'best' is still highly debatable and possesses a great deal of subjective weight... but despite these subjective entanglements there can still be a distinction between best and favorite.

[Scar]

Put me in the camp of great idea, bollocks execution.

[[ETM]]

They should just stick with the floating heads for everything so everything is at least equally crappy.

[Watashi]

Speaking of cool-looking covers, the Insomnia Blu-ray cover is quite Criterionesque.

http://images.blu-ray.com/movies/covers/10698_front.jpg

[MacGuffin]

Now that is an awesome cover.

[Watashi]

Now that is an awesome cover.
It reminds me of Alan Wake and Silent Hill.

[MacGuffin]

It reminds me of Alan Wake and Silent Hill.

I may just be a sucker for that style where the picture is made up of a bunch of little dots. Severely underused in graphic design and quite aesthetically pleasing.

[[ETM]]

Srsly? Man with a gun, huge text right in the middle?

[Qrazy]

;271729']Srsly? Man with a gun, huge text right in the middle?

I'm with ETM.

[Grouchy]

Yeah, it's just as a still from the crucial scene of the movie with a title. I much prefer the Thin Red Line one.

[MacGuffin]

I think you guys are forgetting that sometimes simplicity makes for a better cover.

[Grouchy]

Well I'm not saying it's a bad cover, though. It conveys the feel of the movie pretty well.

[Qrazy]

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000065U1Q.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Simply the best. Better than all the reeeeest.

[MacGuffin]

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/4544/evildead2.jpg

[[ETM]]

I think you guys are forgetting that sometimes simplicity makes for a better cover.

I could find dozens of covers with that exact layout. It's a less obnoxious "floating heads".

[MacGuffin]

;271741']I could find dozens of covers with that exact layout. It's a less obnoxious "floating heads".

A Google search led me to discover that the cover adopts the style of Pointillism. Please do show me five covers that do the same thing and then I'll understand your point.

[[ETM]]

A Google search led me to discover that the cover adopts the style of Pointillism. Please do show me five covers that do the same thing and then I'll understand your point.

Mentioning Pointillism is pointless (pun intended) in this matter. I was talking about the basic layout. And that's not Pointillism, merely large grain simulating the fog, which is cool, but it's still an image of a man with a gun with the large title slammed across the middle. It's a good example of that, I don't mind the cover, but it's nothing out of the ordinary.

[MacGuffin]

:frustrated: This argument is pedantic and boring.

[Skitch]

I always crave simplicity in covers. Criterion Armageddon and The Rock being examples. I don't know why, but I love those ultra-simple looks.

[megladon8]

I really like that cover for Insomnia.

I am not huge on the cover for The Thin Red Line, but it's nothing offensively bad.

[number8]

Oh, I agree that The Thin Red Line cover is an odd choice for the movie, but it's extremely well done from a graphic design standpoint. It'd just look uneven without the line.

I'm gonna say bad concept, phenomenal execution.

[Qrazy]

I really hope Bright Star was better than The Piano because The Piano was fucking terrible.

[B-side]

I really hope Bright Star was better than The Piano because The Piano was fucking terrible.

I disagree, but I am confused as to why it's so highly lauded. Naked Holly Hunter.:pritch:

and Harvey Keitel.:D

[Qrazy]

I disagree, but I am confused as to why it's so highly lauded. Naked Holly Hunter.:pritch:

and Harvey Keitel.:D

It's so bad dude. The scene where a young Anna Paquin gets blood spurted in her face is lolworthy.

[Watashi]

It's so bad dude. The scene where a young Anna Paquin gets blood spurted in her face is lolworthy.
You don't deserve that title under your username.

[Qrazy]

You don't deserve that title under your username.

Did you want more adjectives or something?

[B-side]

It's so bad dude. The scene where a young Anna Paquin gets blood spurted in her face is lolworthy.

I don't remember much in the way of details. I just remember Keitel being his typically awesome self and naked Holly Hunter.

[Spinal]

The Piano is pretty much a perfect film. Well shot. Well written. Well acted. Unique and powerful.

[Qrazy]

I don't remember much in the way of details. I just remember Keitel being his typically awesome self and naked Holly Hunter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP6FXB6lPwc

[Spaceman Spiff]

Holy shit. So I'm halfway through Possession, and Isabelle Adjani is pretty much the most perfect woman I've ever seen. Has that right amount of ferality to her that I love in them. I'm sick.

Why can't I meet a girl like her? I need to go to France.

This movie is awesome.

[B-side]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP6FXB6lPwc

I didn't really mind that.


Holy shit. So I'm halfway through Possession, and Isabelle Adjani is pretty much the most perfect woman I've ever seen. Has that right amount of ferality to her that I love in them. I'm sick.

Why can't I meet a girl like her? I need to go to France.

This movie is awesome.

Right on. Good flick.

[Qrazy]

I didn't really mind that.



Not my problem.

[B-side]

Not my problem.

I'll make it your problem.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I kinda feel bad for Dr. Grant though. Especially since this Heinreich guy is such an unbelievable chode. And is it just me, or is this score just a slight reworking of The Godfather's theme?

EDIT: Woah! Look at that! hahahah! So much blood. This movie's great.

[Boner M]

Holy shit. So I'm halfway through Possession, and Isabelle Adjani is pretty much the most perfect woman I've ever seen. Has that right amount of ferality to her that I love in them. I'm sick.

Why can't I meet a girl like her? I need to go to France.

This movie is awesome.
My thoughts exactly. Actually got an Adjani film to watch tonight; One Deadly Summer.

[Qrazy]

I'll make it your problem.

You already have.

[Ezee E]

Yeah, The Piano is pretty great. Don't see what's lol-worthy about that scene at all either.

[Qrazy]

Yeah, The Piano is pretty great. Don't see what's lol-worthy about that scene at all either.

Ok, next time we go out for dinner I'll squirt some ketchup on your blouse and we'll see if you chuckle or not.

[Ezee E]

Ok, next time we go out for dinner I'll squirt some ketchup on your blouse and we'll see if you chuckle or not.
We discussed this. On our dates, you wear the blouse.

[Mysterious Dude]

Speaking of cool-looking covers, the Insomnia Blu-ray cover is quite Criterionesque.

http://images.blu-ray.com/movies/covers/10698_front.jpg


A Google search led me to discover that the cover adopts the style of Pointillism. Please do show me five covers that do the same thing and then I'll understand your point.

Pointillism? I'm pretty sure they just used the "film grain" filter in Photoshop, and I don't think I've ever seen that particular filter used more lazily.

I like this better:

http://www.andyfilm.com/sevenups06.jpg

[Spinal]

I recommend Queen Margot and Camille Claudel for the Adjani lovers. She is indeed amazing. Top 5 all-time film actress in my opinion.

[Spinal]

Kind of let down a little by Blue Beard. Seemed pretty slight compared to her other films. Hopefully, it'll settle well as I let the pieces fall into place, but I was kind of left thinking, "Is that all?"

[B-side]

Kind of let down a little by Blue Beard. Seemed pretty slight compared to her other films. Hopefully, it'll settle well as I let the pieces fall into place, but I was kind of left thinking, "Is that all?"

It's definitely not her best, but I enjoyed the feminist twist.

[Ezee E]

Curious why The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo got mostly good reviews. I think it's one of the worst of the year. Spinal is right in its "pageyness." It basically follows the already mediocre book word-for-word, but basically cuts out anything that could really be suspenseful. The big scenes with Lisbeth are so quick that you never really get a good feeling of her, and that was something I was hoping the movie could do well in.

I hope Fincher does something else, or drastically changes the script for this. Otherwise, he's wasting his talent.

[Sven]

Ok, next time we go out for dinner I'll squirt some ketchup on your blouse and we'll see if you chuckle or not.

I love how you seem to want to be taken seriously sometimes.

[Sven]

Wayne's World worked for me again, even after seeing it for the umpteenth time. I'd never watched it with alcohol in me before though, so that could explain it.

[Qrazy]

I love how you seem to want to be taken seriously sometimes.

Is there supposed to be some meaning in this sentence?

[Derek]

Is there supposed to be some meaning in this sentence?

Subtext: You're a silly man sometimes and you complain about minor issues when hating on great films.

Sub-subtext: Update your friggin' signature or have the decency to simply not have one!

[MacGuffin]

I dunno, I think I have to side with Qrazy here. If I saw a drama about a mute woman that featured a scene where Anna Paquin gets squirted on with ketchup I'd lose my shit too.

[Sven]

I don't know if I'd call The Piano "great," though I definitely like a lot about it. But yeah, complaining about a visually strange moment in a visually strange film is... I dunno. Weird, I guess.

[Qrazy]

Subtext: You're a silly man sometimes and you complain about minor issues when hating on great films.

Sub-subtext: Update your friggin' signature or have the decency to simply not have one!

So I want to be taken seriously because I made a joke? Right...

On a more serious note though that scene in The Piano is not a minor issue. It's the emotional center of the film and it's absolutely ridiculous (a big part of this is the blood splatter but also the way it's cut in general). Although granted it's ridiculousness is later upstaged by a woman nearly being drowned by her own piano. Talk about an unharmonious relationship.

[Sven]

Quote from an article that a friend linked to:


Though liberals only make up 20% of the population, they’re still able to pull off [convincing the world that a belief in a moral code is what’s abnormal because all the cool kids are into a collective degeneracy] because conservatives took their eye off the ball and allowed the Left to infest the institutions in charge of documenting and portraying who we are as a society. Unfortunately, these socialist engineers aren’t stupid and figured out almost immediately that with a near-monopoly on sound and image they could make a majority of the population feel like the minority; with the goal in mind of using peer pressure to shape our culture into a godless orgy of anything goes hyper-sexuality.

Hmmm...

[Spinal]

That scene in The Piano is utterly gut-wrenching when watched in context. Even in a poor quality Youtube video, there is much to admire ... Hunter's reaction, the signature music, that perfect billow of the dress as she falls to the ground. Nothing less than one of the great moments in film.

[Derek]

I don't know if I'd call The Piano "great," though I definitely like a lot about it. But yeah, complaining about a visually strange moment in a visually strange film is... I dunno. Weird, I guess.

I wouldn't call it "great" per se either, but I'm with you on the weird complaint.


So I want to be taken seriously because I made a joke? Right...

Well, Sven probably should've quoted from earlier on, but the harping on a minor issue with one shot and then calling a film a piece of shit is kinda lol-worthy in itself.


On a more serious note though that scene in The Piano is not a minor issue. It's the emotional center of the film and it's absolutely ridiculous (a big part of this is the blood splatter but also the way it's cut in general).

I should clarify; it is a minor or non-issue to essentially everyone who has seen The Piano and is not Qrazy. Within the context of the film, it fits fine.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Cyrus was like a war, with convincing, real performances vying against the awful rack-zooms and find-the-subject cinematography of the Duplass brothers. John C. Reilly puts in fine work, Marisa Tomei is believable in a damn near impossible role, and Jonah Hill plays some emotions I didn't ever expect to see from him. But the faux-documentary style of people shaking the camera and ostensibly capturing some sort of ephemeral "reality" of the moment goes against the nature of the tight, controlled narrative. The film's worth a viewing, but probably only one viewing.

B-

[B-side]

Buffalo '66 was pretty great. Loved the color palette. Loved the playful staccato editing. Loved the picture-in-picture flashbacks. Loved the camera work. The emotional catharsis was pitch-perfect, and felt like it came at exactly the right time. Reminded me of Godard at times.

[Spinal]

... a godless orgy of anything goes hyper-sexuality ...

I want to live in the world of this guy's paranoia.

[Boner M]

I really dug Cyrus, mostly cos of the performances. The intro of Hill's character where he's playing the synth composition is one of the funniest scenes I've seen in a while.

Don't recall being bothered by the camerawork, except at the beginning.

[Qrazy]

THE PIANO SPOILERS



Well, Sven probably should've quoted from earlier on, but the harping on a minor issue with one shot and then calling a film a piece of shit is kinda lol-worthy in itself.

I guess if one has their head up their ass that's what it seems like I"m doing. :P But rather I am calling a film a piece of shit and then tangentially picking out one little thing that I found especially stupid as a casual conversation piece. I am not using that one instance to buoy my entire argument. I think based on the thoroughness of my argumentation at other times and for other issues this would be clear. I could launch into a diatribe about why The Piano sucks on more levels but I don't really see the point. I don't particularly enjoy writing at length about films I dislike. But just for you I will expand on some of the things I dislike about the film.


I should clarify; it is a minor or non-issue to essentially everyone who has seen The Piano and is not Qrazy. Within the context of the film, it fits fine.

Although granted my quibble was obviously a minor one in the greater scheme of the film, and of course you are right that when I spoke about rear projection in the case of Make Way for Tomorrow I wasn't explicating why I actually find the film lacking in a larger sense. However, in this particular case (The Piano) I did just explain how something that was a minor issue actually did manage to undermine a significant emotional moment and I further expanded on a similarly silly moment that happens a little down the road. Both major scenes of violence (emotional centerpieces) in the film are completely asinine.

In the later scene the film then proceeds in excruciatingly awful slo-mo as the protagonist manages to cast off the shackles of her piano and flop like a dying fish back onto the boat. Earlier in the film we witness the slow, boring build up, of the central 'relationship'. That is to say we witness a woman being cajoled into sex and as so many women seem to fall in love with their immediate sexual partner we witness the 'love' that 'blossoms' between them. Although there's no genuine emotional depth to this relationship we are still I suppose supposed to care that the 'relationship' is continuously undermined by the obnoxious little brat Holly Hunter calls a daughter. Oh true, I forgot the part where the seeds of 'love' were first planted. When Keitel and Hunter went to the beach and she played the same song on The Piano for five hours. Ah I also forgot all that brilliant content with the Maori and the film's attention to detail with it's peripheral characters. I really feel I got to know that old white woman and Maori native number 3, these are complex, revealing characterizations.

Sweetie was great. An Angel at My Table and The Piano were both really, really poor. They're humourless, they're tedious and they have little to say aesthetically or thematically about the narratives they're examining.

[Bosco B Thug]

I appreciate peremptory quips as a constructive way to usher in convo about a topic. Opinions are a bitch and sometime's it's best to start simple.

Qrazy re: The Piano, though = pshhh. Thanks for ruining that blood splatter for me forever.


Although granted my quibble was obviously a minor one in the greater scheme of the film, and of course you are right that when I spoke about rear projection in the case of Make Way for Tomorrow I wasn't explicating why I actually find the film lacking in a larger sense. However, in this particular case (The Piano) I did just explain how something that was a minor issue actually did manage to undermine a significant emotional moment and I further expanded on a similarly silly moment that happens a little down the road. Both major scenes of violence (emotional centerpieces) in the film are completely asinine.

In the later scene the film then proceeds in excruciatingly awful slo-mo as the protagonist manages to cast off the shackles of her piano and flop like a dying fish back onto the boat. Earlier in the film we witness the slow, boring build up, of the central 'relationship'. That is to say we witness a woman being cajoled into sex and as so many women seem to fall in love with their immediate sexual partner we witness the 'love' that 'blossoms' between them. Although there's no genuine emotional depth to this relationship we are still I suppose supposed to care that the 'relationship' is continuously undermined by the obnoxious little brat Holly Hunter calls a daughter. Oh true, I forgot the part where the seeds of 'love' were first planted. When Keitel and Hunter went to the beach and she played the same song on The Piano for five hours. Ah I also forgot all that brilliant content with the Maori and the film's attention to detail with it's peripheral characters. I really feel I got to know that old white woman and Maori native number 3, these are complex, revealing characterizations.

Sweetie was great. An Angel at My Table and The Piano were both really, really poor. They're humourless, they're tedious and they have little to say aesthetically or thematically about the narratives they're examining. The only defense I can pose for The Piano right now is it seems you found little inspiring about Hunter's character. Which can be helped, IMO, if you give a little less weight to her relationship to the men. Then again, that can't help Campion's style if it rubs you the wrong way.

I shat bricks over The Piano, though. I wanted to marry it.

[Sven]

But rather I am calling a film a piece of shit and then tangentially picking out one little thing that I found especially stupid as a casual conversation piece. I am not using that one instance to buoy my entire argument. I think based on the thoroughness of my argumentation at other times and for other issues this would be clear.

I'm very sorry that it feels like you have to explain this, being as it is so self-evident.


I did just explain how something that was a minor issue actually did manage to undermine a significant emotional moment and I further expanded on a similarly silly moment that happens a little down the road.

You didn't explain how anything did anything, nor did you expand on any moment beyond simply mentioning it.


In the later scene the film then proceeds in excruciatingly awful slo-mo as the protagonist manages to cast off the shackles of her piano and flop like a dying fish back onto the boat. Earlier in the film we witness the slow, boring build up, of the central 'relationship'. That is to say we witness a woman being cajoled into sex and as so many women seem to fall in love with their immediate sexual partner we witness the 'love' that 'blossoms' between them. Although there's no genuine emotional depth to this relationship we are still I suppose supposed to care that the 'relationship' is continuously undermined by the obnoxious little brat Holly Hunter calls a daughter. Oh true, I forgot the part where the seeds of 'love' were first planted. When Keitel and Hunter went to the beach and she played the same song on The Piano for five hours. Ah I also forgot all that brilliant content with the Maori and the film's attention to detail with it's peripheral characters. I really feel I got to know that old white woman and Maori native number 3, these are complex, revealing characterizations.

Sarcastic plot summary does not compelling criticism make.

I don't love the film, so I don't know why I've decided to take on this particular discussion, though I know I do tend to respond to sweeping condemnation, particularly of such an unclear variety. When one chimes in with a pithy dismissal of a well-loved film, others like myself get curious and want more perspective. I understand, though, if it's just a matter of being unwilling to engage in specificity with a text in which you are not interested.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I really dug Cyrus, mostly cos of the performances. The intro of Hill's character where he's playing the synth composition is one of the funniest scenes I've seen in a while.

The intensity of his gaze, man. I was laughing hard too, cause his music briefly reminded me of Daniel Davis's stuff.


Don't recall being bothered by the camerawork, except at the beginning.

There are times when it's not as pervasive, but the sudden zoom-in-zoom-out stuff irked me. It didn't "reveal" or "emphasize," it just occurred.

[MacGuffin]

The Black Cat (http://twitpic.com/23svsz) is coming soon from Criterion.

[RoadtoPerdition]

Wow, I Love You, Beth Cooper was surprisingly bad. And yes, I read already how awful it was, but jeez. It's gotta be the most the most cliche-ridden movie I've ever seen with the most obnoxious, unlikeable characters to ever "grace" the screen. Did anyone actually like this movie?

[megladon8]

Has anyone here seen the film Surveillance by Jennifer Lynch (daughter of David)?

It looks very...Lost Highway.

[Scar]

Wow, I Love You, Beth Cooper was surprisingly bad. And yes, I read already how awful it was, but jeez. It's gotta be the most the most cliche-ridden movie I've ever seen with the most obnoxious, unlikeable characters to ever "grace" the screen. Did anyone actually like this movie?

That movie was a gigantic pile of shit.

[Ezee E]

Has anyone here seen the film Surveillance by Jennifer Lynch (daughter of David)?

It looks very...Lost Highway.
Lost Highway meets Saw and The Strangers. I guess.

Pretty awful, but with a few touches of what could be a good director.

[number8]

No, but Boxing Helena was hilarious.

[D_Davis]

The intensity of his gaze, man. I was laughing hard too, cause his music briefly reminded me of Daniel Davis's stuff.


Heh...

[megladon8]

Sherlock Holmes was kind of a pleasant surprise. It was solid entertainment and much more clever than I had anticipated. I really enjoyed how they incorporated Holmes' detection skills into his incredible fighting abilities - I was afraid he was just going to happen to be a great fighter and that was a leap I was going to have a hard time making.

Downey Jr. and Law worked quite well together, and Mark Strong was suitably sinister as Lord Blackwood.

I enjoyed it. Nothing revolutionary, but I'm glad I saw it and I'd see it again.

[Qrazy]

I'm very sorry that it feels like you have to explain this, being as it is so self-evident.

You didn't explain how anything did anything, nor did you expand on any moment beyond simply mentioning it.

Sarcastic plot summary does not compelling criticism make.

I don't love the film, so I don't know why I've decided to take on this particular discussion, though I know I do tend to respond to sweeping condemnation, particularly of such an unclear variety. When one chimes in with a pithy dismissal of a well-loved film, others like myself get curious and want more perspective. I understand, though, if it's just a matter of being unwilling to engage in specificity with a text in which you are not interested.

I did much more there than summarize the plot, my issues with a number of the moments of the film are now quite clear, even if you disagree with my points.

But yes to the bolded so I probably won't go into much more detail than I already have for that reason.

[Qrazy]

I appreciate peremptory quips as a constructive way to usher in convo about a topic. Opinions are a bitch and sometime's it's best to start simple.

Qrazy re: The Piano, though = pshhh. Thanks for ruining that blood splatter for me forever.

:lol:



The only defense I can pose for The Piano right now is it seems you found little inspiring about Hunter's character. Which can be helped, IMO, if you give a little less weight to her relationship to the men. Then again, that can't help Campion's style if it rubs you the wrong way.

I shat bricks over The Piano, though. I wanted to marry it.

Yeah I found little inspiring about any of the characters or their relationships with one another or the piano. I wouldn't say her style rubbed me the wrong way per se (aesthetically). I found it fairly bland but it was fine overall. It was really the story, the characters and the events (blood splatter, piano attempted homicide, playing the same song at the beach for 5 hours) that blew the film for me. But fair enough, glad you got something out of it, to each their own.

[Ivan Drago]

The Black Cat (http://twitpic.com/23svsz) is coming soon from Criterion.

Is that what the hint is of in this month's newsletter?

[Sven]

I did much more there than summarize the plot, my issues with a number of the moments of the film are now quite clear, even if you disagree with my points.

That you have issues is quite clear. :)

[MacGuffin]

Is that what the hint is of in this month's newsletter?

No, according to criterionforum.org (http://criterionforum.org), the newsletter is hinting at Broadcast News. I imagine that The Black Cat will see a very small theatrical run since it's owned by Janus and they typically always tour their prints in LA, NY and Chicago arthouses, and then, as always, it will be released by Criterion.

[Qrazy]

That you have issues is quite clear. :)

:rolleyes:

Remind me to buy you that toy car you've always wanted when you turn eight.

[MacGuffin]

Can't we all just get along?

[Spinal]

Can't we all just get along?

Not until Qrazy apologizes to Anna Paquin.

[Sven]

:rolleyes:

Remind me to buy you that toy car you've always wanted when you turn eight.

Oh, come on. It was funnier than anything you attempted.

[Grouchy]

Shampoo was a pretty good dramedy and what was startling is that it was frankly boring me for the first twenty minutes and then suddenly it crept up on me and won me over. It's a quiet meditation on sex during the '60s by a group of people I can only assume knew exactly the kind of society they were depicting. Although everyone is very good in the movie my biggest praise goes to Jack Warden, who provides all the big laughs.

[Sven]

Although everyone is very good in the movie my biggest praise goes to Jack Warden, who provides all the big laughs.

Yes. One of my very favorite performers in a great performance. Your reaction to the film mirrors mine almost exactly.

[Rowland]

re: Surveillance
Pretty awful, but with a few touches of what could be a good director.This.

[MacGuffin]

Up until its last few acts, A Girl Cut in Two sustained my attention because of its hilariously over-the-top and pretentious characters, who Chabrol, being the intelligent director that he is, uses to his advantage in order to reveal upper-class frustrations. It's somewhat shallow, yet entertaining up to the point in which the movie takes a couple of unexpected turns that reveal depth to the characters that you think very well may have been there all along. It's not up to par with The Butcher and certainly not up to par with The Ceremony, but it's just another indication of why Chabrol is often cited as the French Hitchcock.

[Skitch]

Whoa...Brooklyn's Finest was pretty terriffic.

[Qrazy]

Oh, come on. It was funnier than anything you attempted.

In the mind of a child I"m sure that's true.

[Qrazy]

Not until Qrazy apologizes to Anna Paquin.

I find her to be an unattractive mediocre actress.

[Spinal]

I find her to be an unattractive mediocre actress.

Weirdest apology ever.

[D_Davis]

I'm sorry, I find her to be an unattractive mediocre actress.

There we go.

[Spinal]

I'm sorry, I find her to be an unattractive mediocre actress.

This house is clean.

[baby doll]

What does Anna Paquin's being unattractive have to do with anything? Anyway, I thought she was convincingly skanky in 25th Hour.

[number8]

Anna Paquin, unattractive?! That's like saying Antonioni was talented.

[Ezee E]

I'm guessing Qrazy's only seen her in The Piano to which I'll fully agree with his statement, but also find it kind of weird that it was brought up in the first place. Creep.

[Qrazy]

I'm guessing Qrazy's only seen her in The Piano to which I'll fully agree with his statement, but also find it kind of weird that it was brought up in the first place. Creep.

She's unattractive in all of her films but she's a mediocre actress in the X-men films, Finding Forrester, and the one episode of True Blood I've seen. And I don't remember her in Almost Famous, 25th Hour or The Squid and the Whale so I guess she's simply forgettable in those.

[Dukefrukem]

I broke out of my movie slump this weekend and watched THREE ... count em THREE MOVIES!

1. Monster Squad
2. The Crazies
3. Predators

Monster Squad is so good, I wish it was a bit longer and there were more 'Goonie like' discoveries.

[Sven]

In the mind of a child I"m sure that's true.

How does one respond to such a dearth of imagination?

With rhetoric, I suppose.

[Raiders]

You both have lame comebacks, so stop it already.

In other news, did I remember some people here saying they were attending the TIFF? I got the clearance from my wife so unless something unfortunate happens, I will likely be there for the last four or five days of the event.

[Qrazy]

How does one respond to such a dearth of imagination?

With rhetoric, I suppose.

So first you attempt to goad me into commenting in more detail about The Piano (by quoting a joke and claiming I want to be taken more seriously), then you off-handedly insult the lengthened comments I made for Derek, as I really had no interest in engaging in further discussion with you, and then once I do finally respond to you, you respond to my clarification with another insult. Your behaviour is pretty much the definition of childishness Armond Jr.

This strikes me as a good nickname for you because while you'll probably take it as a compliment (as he's clearly your hero) really it likens you to one of the biggest trolls and worst critics of all time. Except of course that you are his junior. Everybody wins!

[Sven]

This strikes me as a good nickname for you because while you'll probably take it as a compliment (as he's clearly your hero) really it likens you to one of the biggest trolls and worst critics of all time. Except of course that you are his junior. Everybody wins!

Now THIS was a good comeback.

Ouch.

[MacGuffin]

Enter the Void is coming to a theater near me late September!

[megladon8]

I'm debating whether or not it's worth buying the new Dragon Dynasty release of John Woo's The Killer.


Reasons why I shouldn't buy it...

-reviews say the transfer is insultingly bad
-the BluRay is cheaper than the DVD, but the BluRay is apparently worse


Reasons why I should buy it...

-never seen it before
-only edition available in R1
-apparently the only truly good edition of the movie is a French import that doesn't have English subs

[MacGuffin]

Check this (http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/killer3.htm) out if you haven't already, megladon.

[Winston*]

Enter the Void is coming to a theater near me late September!

Might see this next week.

[MacGuffin]

Might see this next week.

Lucky you, jealous me. Report back if you do.

[number8]

Kinda glad I have the Criterion edition of The Killer.

[Winston*]

Movies I've bought tickets for film festival for so far

Once Upon a Time in the West
Winter's Bone
A Prophet
The Illusionist
Four Lions
Exit Through the Gift Shop

Rest of the lineup.

25 Carat
A Film Unfinished
A Prophet
A Screaming Man
A Somewhat Gentle Man
A Town Called Panic
After the Waterfall
Agora
Ajami
Alamar
Amer
American: The Bill Hicks Story
Animal Kingdom
Animation For Kids 2010
Animation Now 2010
Around a Small Mountain
Asylum Pieces
Autour de Minuit
Babies
Beeswax
Bill Cunningham New York
Birdemic: Shock and Terror
Candyman
Carlos - Part One
Carlos - Part Three
Carlos - Part Two
Cell 211
Certified Copy
Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockabee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio
Collapse
Cooking History
Countryside 35x45
Cyrus
Draquila - Italy Trembles
Dream Home
Enter the Void
Exit through the Gift Shop
Extraordinary Stories
Farewell
Father of My Children
Four Lions
From Poverty Bay to Broadway
Gainsbourg
GasLand
Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould
Gordon Crook
Hahaha
His & Hers
Homegrown: Dramatic Digital Shorts
Homegrown: Quirky Stories
Homegrown: Works on Film
Honey
How I Ended This Summer
HOWL
I Am Love
I Killed My Mother
I Love You Phillip Morris
I Travel Because I Have To, I Come Back Because I Love You
I Wanna Be Boss
I Wish I Knew
I’m Glad My Mother Is Alive
In the Attic: Who Has a Birthday Today?
Inside Job
Jean-Michel Basquiat: Radiant Child
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Kawasaki’s Rose
La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet
Last Paradise
Learning from Light: The Vision of I.M. Pei
Lebanon
Like You Know It All
Lourdes
Love in a Puff
Love, Lust & Lies
Mammuth
Marwencol
Melody for a Street Organ
Michael Smither: Artist in Residence
My Dog Tulip
Ne change rien
Nostalgia For the Light
NY Export: Opus Jazz
Oceans
Oil City Confidential
Once Upon a Time in the West
Pianomania
Please Give
Poetry
Police, Adjective
Predicament
Presumed Guilty
Puzzle
Quarters
Revolucion
Russian Lessons
Salam Rugby
Sam Hunt: Purple Balloon
Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story
Secrets of the Tribe
Senso
Space Tourists
Splice
Strange Birds in Paradise: A West Papuan Story
Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields
Summer Wars
Sweetgrass
Teenage Paparazzo
The Arbor
The Concert
The Double Hour
The Free China Junk
The Ghost Writer
The Hopes & Dreams of Gazza Snell
The Housemaid
The Human Centipede
The Illusionist
The Invention of Dr Nakamats
The Killer Inside Me
The Loved Ones
The Marvellous Corricks
The Misfortunates
The Most Dangerous Man in America
The Night of Counting the Years
The Oath
The Peddler
The Portuguese Nun
The Rainbow Warriors of Waiheke Island
The Red Shoes
The Room
The Runaways
The Strange Case of Angelica
The Time That Remains
The Tree
The Two Escobars
The Wind Journeys
The Woman with the 5 Elephants
There Once Was an Island: Te Henua e Nnoho
To Die Like a Man
Trash Humpers
Triangle
Trimpin: The Sound of Invention
TrinityRoots, Music Is Choice
Turtle: The Incredible Journey
Two in the Wave
Under the Southern Cross
Undertow
Wah Do Dem
Waste Land
When You’re Strange
White Material
Winter’s Bone
Women without Men
Wound

[Kurosawa Fan]

I've heard nothing but good things about The Two Escobars. I have it recorded at home, but haven't watched it yet. Perhaps tonight.

[baby doll]

Movies I've bought tickets for film festival for so far

Once Upon a Time in the West
Winter's Bone
A Prophet
The Illusionist
Four Lions
Exit Through the Gift Shop

I've seen Ajami, The Ghost Writer, J'ai tué ma mère, and The Misfortunates, and they're all well worth checking out. (I'd even say that The Misfortunates is the most underrated movie of the year so far, and along with Exit Through the Gift Shop, one of the funniest.) I sort of liked Please Give, but it's not a high priority; even if you're really really into sub-Woody Allen comedy-dramas, this is pleasurable enough but feels a little half-baked in spots (i.e., pretty much anything to do with Amanda Peet's character). Seeing The Red Shoes in 35mm was pretty awesome, but the sound wasn't great. I saw Senso at a cinémathèque screening six years ago, and it bored me out of my mind; other people were constantly snickering, and Atom Egoyan walked out about half-way through.

Also, you should seriously consider checking out the films by Olivier Assayas, Pedro Costa, Claire Denis, Abbas Kiarostami, Harmony Korine, Lee Chang-dong, Gaspar Noé, and João Pedro Rodrigues just because those guys are all awesome. Like seriously awesome, as in among the most interesting living filmmakers awesome. Plus Beeswax, La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet, Lebanon, I Love You Philip Morris, Le Père de mes enfants, Police, Adjective, and A Screaming Man all look really good, and any documentary about Basquiat is probably worth checking out (provided it wasn't directed by Julien Schnabel). And though I didn't like the one Hang Sang-soo film I've seen, I'd considering seeing Like You Know it All and Hahaha if I were you.

Do not see Gainsbourg (vië héroique) under any circumstance.

[MadMan]

I know better than to do this, but your pissiness makes me want to prod you. Obviously we understand what you're saying. What we don't get is how you parse the Lord of the Rings movies to divide "best" and "favorite." If you think one is better, why don't you prefer it? And if you prefer one, why do you think another one is better? Popular thought around here does not embrace this dichotomy. I certainly have a tendency to contest the idea that best and favorite should be two separate things.........followed by :frustrated: times :|=:rolleyes:

Favorite to me is not the same as best. Why the hell people think this is something I don't understand.


Anyway, I think we've been over this with you. I find your position basically incomprehensible.That's not my problem, really, seeing as I'm done explaining myself.


I thought it was pretty clear as well.

*shrug*Thank you, good sir.

So far, Stray Dog strikes me as a good movie, but I seem to not be in a rush to finish it. Not sure why, really-perhaps I'm not in the mood to watch it.

The Killer is one of the best action movies I've ever seen. Fat's performance rules, and the shootout at the end is expertly paced, tense and exciting.

[Morris Schæffer]

http://www.empireonline.com/images/image_index/150x180/42839.jpg

Haley Joel Osment has transformed into Owen Wilson!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[B-side]

After a 2nd viewing, I'm still not sure how I feel about Gummo. It's disgusting, repulsive, filthy, intimate, tender, funny and charming. There's violence beneath the surface sheen applied by idealistic folks to small town America, and in that sense the film is a kind of successor to Blue Velvet. Korine doesn't hate these characters, though. The juxtaposition of home video-style footage with film works wonderfully, and the voice-overs provide insight into the characters' psyches. These people aren't unrealistic, nor are they relegated to their archetypes, and thus are at times repulsive, tragic, and at others even charming. Despite the fact that Bunny Boy smokes as a kid and spits and pisses on traffic, he brings about a strange sense of peace when he enters the screen. As an avid animal lover, I can't say I was even remotely comfortable during even just the discussion of killing cats. It does feel as if Korine's going for the easy shock here and there, but he largely makes up for it in the more tender and palatable moments. This film can be downright unpleasant to watch, and not in a particularly creative or interesting way, but it's also occasionally poignant. I'm pretty sure I still prefer Julien Donkey-Boy.

[Rowland]

Trying to wrap my head around Edgar G. Ulmer's singularly perverse, hypnotic dirge, The Black Cat. I'm not sure all of it works, but then I'm not sure what exactly constitutes working in this bizarre film. And hey, Lugosi CAN give a good performance, a pleasant surprise.

[Skitch]

I have a review for Gummo....0/10.

[number8]

That's a rating, not a review.

[balmakboor]

I popped my Showgirls cherry last night. Now I need to figure out why it's considered a cult film by so many. I'm not really sure where Verhoeven thought he was going, but he definitely went there with total commitment. Because of that, I can't imagine how anyone could hate the movie. It's not "good" though either. I laughed out loud many times and I don't think I was supposed to. For some reason, I found the way Berkley munches hamburgers and fries to be great -- unintentional? -- comedy.

Eszterhas must really have a cynical view of Hollywood. (I haven't spent much time with his work, so maybe this is obvious.) It seemed to me that Nomi's progression from Midwestern girl with bad homelife to Los Angeles by way of some campy, creepy, sleezy imagining of Las Vegas is meant to be iconic and representative of the general corruption in the movie biz. Almost like he feels her lessons learned in Vegas are a necessary right of passage into movie stardom.

And yes, of course, the line asking her how it feels to not be "cum" on is priceless, mostly because it is delivered so matter-of-factly.

[balmakboor]

That's a rating, not a review.

That plus it's ridiculously wrong.

[Fezzik]

Not usually a fan of remakes, but...

Betty White pitched for "Oh God!" remake? (http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/divine-inspiration-warner-bros-pitched-betty-white-for-oh-god-remake/?_r=true&anonymousId=763435226640288952 3)

...that might be interesting.

[Fezzik]

Every month or so, the writing group here organizes an informal movie / television marathon. Once, we did just the entire run of Firefly, then we started watching stuff on a regular basis.

We've done a 'Cheesy 80s' movie marathon (Fright Night, and the discovery that Stephen Geoffreys became a hardcore gay porn actor afterwards, was the best memory of that day), an animated movie marathon, a "really bad movie" marathon (headlined by Josie and the Pussycats) and now I got asked to pick a theme and plan.

So we're doing classic films. Now, keep in mind MOST of the people in this group are 25 or younger. I'm over 10 years older than the rest of them, and I've seen a lot more movies than just about all of them. They asked me to pick movies, but had some criteria:

* A Hitchcock film
* A musical
* One with a "hall of fame" cast
* One Astaire - Rogers film

The last one is up to me.

This is what it looks like:

Hitchcock: Rear Window
Musical: Singin' in the Rain
HoF cast: The Philadelphia Story
Astaire/Rogers: Swing Time
My choice: Casablanca

Of those, the only ones set in stone are Casablanca and Swing Time (because I own them). There are room to change others. Any suggestions, or is that a solid line up for classic film neophytes?

Also, there might be a 6th film (the Hepburn-Bogart version of Sabrina) that someone else is bringing.

[MacGuffin]

You should try Laura and see what they think of Vincent Price.

[Mara]

I'd reconsider your musical choice. Singing in the Rain is good, but a little overrated. Even with a group of young people, chances are that someone has seen it before. Something like Cabaret may be better suited.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I'd reconsider your musical choice. Singing in the Rain is good, but a little overrated. Even with a group of young people, chances are that someone has seen it before. Something like Cabaret may be better suited.

I agree with this, though I'd go with All That Jazz.

[balmakboor]

The way "classic" is being used seems to be pushing things considerably pre-Fosse. My musical choice would be Meet Me in St. Louis although I think it crazy to consider Singin' in the Rain overrated.

[Ezee E]

Agreed with All That Jazz. I really hope that there's a Blu-Ray transfer of that (if not out already). It's sort of a precursor to what the musicals are like today, but outdoes them all with its frantic pace of editing and choreography. Probably my favorite musical, and a movie that keeps moving up my favorites list.

[Skitch]

that's a rating not a review.

You're right, my bad.

Gummo is an interesting film. Interesting in that it has not one single frame, sound, character, or moment of redeeming quality. I found not a single thing in that mess worth existing. It had no story to tell, not emotional expression to convey, and no purpose except perhaps attempting to shock or insult.


That plus it's ridiculously wrong.

Yes, my opinion is wrong.

[Raiders]

Singin' in the Rain has, in the span of four posts, gone from overrated to underrated. It is magnificent and I would not change it. I also don't think All That Jazz is that compatible with "classic films" which I got the impression was trying to be synonomous with "old" films. Also, Singin' in the Rain is very much about classic cinema and the way it was affected when sound was introduced.

[Qrazy]

Perhaps I'm wrong here but I think Mara means more so that because Singing in the Rain is so highly lauded it's very well seen. So perhaps something a bit more underseen would be worth checking out... you can't go wrong with The Young Girls of Rochefort.

[Bosco B Thug]

For some reason, I found the way Berkley munches hamburgers and fries to be great -- unintentional? -- comedy. I mean, it's practically intentional. She chomps at the things and chews like you'd imagine a brassy and brazen spitfire would, and it's pretty clear Verhoeven wanted her spitfire pitched at 11 throughout.

[Fezzik]

Perhaps I'm wrong here but I think Mara means more so that because Singing in the Rain is so highly lauded it's very well seen. So perhaps something a bit more underseen would be worth checking out... you can't go wrong with The Young Girls of Rochefort.

Two answer two of the questions sorta posed here:

Of these under-25 people, only one of the 6 has seen Singin' in the Rain. You'd be surprised how many of the younger generation don't normally see movies that are older than a few years. Hell, I once had a person tell me he refuses to see black and white movies because, and I quote "they made movies back then to pass time, not to entertain. i want to be entertained."

That's right, people, apparently, older films were made to keep people from dying of boredom, and that was it!

Luckily, THAT guy isn't in my writing group.

As for the second question...when they say classic, they talked about it beforehand and decided that wanted stuff no later than 1960.

I guess we could do a "Modern Classics" marathon next :)

[Qrazy]

I mean, it's practically intentional. She chomps at the things and chews like you'd imagine a brassy and brazen spitfire would, and it's pretty clear Verhoeven wanted her spitfire pitched at 11 throughout.

Have you seen Soldier of Orange or Tukish Delight yet? Because like... do so.

[number8]

Actual conversation.

"I refuse to see any film in black & white. They're all boring."
"I thought you loved Sin City."
"That's not the same."
"How so?"
"That's a cool kind of black & white."

[Bosco B Thug]

Have you seen Soldier of Orange or Tukish Delight yet? Because like... do so. Are you saying it'll give me some kind of Verhoeven perspective? I will, not particularly eager, but I see Verhoeven as a generally fun filmmaker.

But I just checked Netflix and they're both unavailable! I wouldn't have guessed.

[Qrazy]

Are you saying it'll give me some kind of Verhoeven perspective? I will, not particularly eager, but I see Verhoeven as a generally fun filmmaker.

But I just checked Netflix and they're both unavailable! I wouldn't have guessed.

Oh no, I just thought you liked Verhoeven a lot and those are his best imo.

[megladon8]

Actual conversation.

"I refuse to see any film in black & white. They're all boring."
"I thought you loved Sin City."
"That's not the same."
"How so?"
"That's a cool kind of black & white."


I hear and am in conversations like this all the time.

A guy I used to work with watched Citizen Kane after my recommendation, but couldn't get through more than an hour of it because "the acting was so terrible".

[baby doll]

Actual conversation.

"I refuse to see any film in black & white. They're all boring."
"I thought you loved Sin City."
"That's not the same."
"How so?"
"That's a cool kind of black & white."I hate people. They're the worst.

[kopello]

So I'm about an hour into Zulawski's On the Silver Globe (my first I've ever seen from him), and I can't decide whether the film is just so amazing it completely goes over my head or it kind of sucks. I'll just go with it's ambitious but cheesy. Maybe it'll get better, I was really digging the first 10 minutes or so.

[[ETM]]

A guy I used to work with watched Citizen Kane after my recommendation, but couldn't get through more than an hour of it because "the acting was so terrible".

I'd love to know what he considers good acting.

[balmakboor]

Yes, my opinion is wrong.

Yep, that's what I said.

[megladon8]

;272624']I'd love to know what he considers good acting.


Transformers

And I'm not even kidding.

[Derek]

Transformers

And I'm not even kidding.

Punch him in the face for me.

[megladon8]

Punch him in the face for me.


He's 10 years older than me and his movie collection looks like he's a 13 year old boy with ADHD.

[Watashi]

Haven't we already gotten the point addressed that general audiences outside of movie forums have really shit tastes in film?

I can only count on one hand the amount of people I can seriously talk about films away from the internet.

[megladon8]

Haven't we already gotten the point addressed that general audiences outside of movie forums have really shit tastes in film?

I can only count on one hand the amount of people I can seriously talk about films away from the internet.


Sure it's something we all know, but I still get unbelievably surprised sometimes.

It's like reading the Darwin Awards. I know they're all cases of people doing ridiculous, stupid things...but I still find myself stunned when reading them.

[Russ]

I can only count on one hand the amount of people I can seriously talk about films away from the internet.
Nonsense. Lots of regular folk love Pixar films.







:)

[number8]

I think those cases are more the rare extremes for me. Maybe because I tend to hang around more nerdy/artist/bohemian/hipster types, but the people I meet don't have out-and-out awful opinions like that. It's usually more of a case of liking Wes Anderson too much or something like that, which is blegh, but not outright philistinian idiocy.

My usual irritation involves people who would randomly invoke Citizen Kane specifically as an example of great cinema, when they so obviously have never seen Citizen Kane.

[B-side]

Gummo is an interesting film. Interesting in that it has not one single frame, sound, character, or moment of redeeming quality.

How do you define "redeeming"? It's not all unpleasant. There are moments of yearning, tenderness and care. Sure, they're found in places you generally wouldn't expect, but that's kinda the point.


I found not a single thing in that mess worth existing. It had no story to tell, not emotional expression to convey, and no purpose except perhaps attempting to shock or insult.

Of course it had a story to tell. And yes, there is plenty of emotion in the film. I agree that the cat-killing smacks a bit of easy shock value, but the beauty/tragedy lies in the subtext. I like what Walter Chaw said:


The characters in Gummo constantly engage in nihilistic reenactments of tragedies past: murdering cats, fighting one another, huffing glue, coupling desperately, and, in one especially surreal sequence, wrestling a chair. It's a keen and discomfiting chronicle of the fugue of frustrated aggressions seeking to redress themselves through sadistic action. More disturbing than any physical violence or petty cruelty, however, are the instances in Gummo in which creatures clearly unable to experience emotional intimacy make forlorn attempts to fill an only vaguely understood need. When a teen justifies the murder of an old woman with a romanticized rumination on the mercy of euthanasia, I was stricken not only by repugnance, but also a startling realization that the teen's justification serves as a yearned-for simulacrum of morality: the golem seeking a soul.

[transmogrifier]

A second viewing of Avatar wasn't kind. It is still visually impressive and well-edited, but the dialogue grates more (basically everything Sigourney Weaver says is annoyingly forced in a hard-nosed bantery kind of way), the plot drags more and the spiritual mumbo-jumbo is more irritating and lazy. It is a standard summer blockbuster dressed up in the sheen of "revolutionary" technology.

[B-side]

A second viewing of Avatar wasn't kind. It is still visually impressive and well-edited, but the dialogue grates more, the plot drags more and the spiritual mumbo-jumbo is more irritating and lazy. It is a standard summer blockbuster dressed up in the sheen of "revolutionary" technology.

Pretty much.

[Sxottlan]

There's an occasional real slick cool beauty to Robert Wise's The Andromeda Strain. Much of the film is actually quite experimental and abstract-looking with its early computer graphics and projections and multiple split screens. The cool design of the Wildfire lab is now reminiscent of The Dharma Initiative, both from the 70's. There's quite a bit of tech fetishism, which we now look back on with nostalgia.

Acting is a bit over-wrought, but it's an effective mystery that can even come across as a bit artsy.

[Skitch]

How do you define "redeeming"? It's not all unpleasant. There are moments of yearning, tenderness and care. Sure, they're found in places you generally wouldn't expect, but that's kinda the point.

I saw none of those things. I didn't see anything good at all. I completely understand that quality and beauty or meaning are found in the eye of the viewer. As for redeeming, I'm using it very generally, as I personally found nothing of value, emotionally, in any of it. I just saw shock value. Its akin to Faces Of Death to me.


Of course it had a story to tell. And yes, there is plenty of emotion in the film. I agree that the cat-killing smacks a bit of easy shock value, but the beauty/tragedy lies in the subtext. I like what Walter Chaw said:
At that would be what someone else could see. I just did not. I know I'm being unforgiving of this film, but I simply found only shock value. As opposed to Irreversible, where I see the story, and understand the several parts of horrid actions service the story. On the other side is Gummo's cat killing and mentally handicapped pimping...I'm sorry, I just do not see the value.

[Rowland]

A second viewing of Avatar wasn't kind. It is still visually impressive and well-edited, but the dialogue grates more (basically everything Sigourney Weaver says is annoyingly forced in a hard-nosed bantery kind of way), the plot drags more and the spiritual mumbo-jumbo is more irritating and lazy. It is a standard summer blockbuster dressed up in the sheen of "revolutionary" technology.Good, you finally caught on. I was beginning to wonder what the deal was with you ranking it above the Terminator movies in your signature.

[transmogrifier]

Good, you finally caught on. I was beginning to wonder what the deal was with you ranking it above the Terminator movies in your signature.

Most of James Cameron's other films suffer in the same way as Avatar, including the Terminator films. Aliens is so much better than anything else that he has done, it's not funny. Titanic is second by default because Cameron couldn't write his typical "tough guy" dialogue.

[Spaceman Spiff]

So I'm about an hour into Zulawski's On the Silver Globe (my first I've ever seen from him), and I can't decide whether the film is just so amazing it completely goes over my head or it kind of sucks. I'll just go with it's ambitious but cheesy. Maybe it'll get better, I was really digging the first 10 minutes or so.

You should check out Possession. Honestly, the best thing I've seen in years and years.

[Russ]

You should check out Possession. Honestly, the best thing I've seen in years and years.
Pretty much agree..

[Sven]

Ingmar Bergman hated Welles's acting. I would not call him a philistine.

[baby doll]

Ingmar Bergman hated Welles's acting. I would not call him a philistine.I get the feeling Bergman didn't like any filmmaker with a slightly leftist bent. Have you seen this interview with Bergman by John Simon (http://girishshambu.blogspot.com/2006/07/conversations-ingmar-bergman-and-john.html)? Practically the first words out of Simon's mouth are, "I hope you don't like Godard," and Bergman goes on to say that Bellocchio's China Is Near is "terrible" and "very homosexual." Then again, I gotta give the guy props for sticking up for Mouchette, even if he missed the boat on Au hasard Balthazar.

[Qrazy]

I get the feeling Bergman didn't like any filmmaker with a slightly leftist bent. Have you seen this interview with Bergman by John Simon (http://girishshambu.blogspot.com/2006/07/conversations-ingmar-bergman-and-john.html)? Practically the first words out of Simon's mouth are, "I hope you don't like Godard," and Bergman goes on to say that Bellocchio's China Is Near is "terrible" and "very homosexual." Then again, I gotta give the guy props for sticking up for Mouchette, even if he missed the boat on Au hasard Balthazar.

Ehh I don't know about this. I do agree that Bergman had a very narrow definition of what constituted great art though. He's all about naturalistic acting and fluid dream presentation. Both things I quite like as well but he seems to exclude a lot of other great directors based on their inability to meet this criteria.

[Raiders]

John Simon is the biggest dickhead ever.

[Grouchy]

The main reason to see the new Stephen Frears (Chéri) is Michelle Pfeiffer's acting. That woman is amazing with her expressions, and the director takes full advantage of that. Also, she's incredibly hot, and it's kind of frustrating that the movie is not all that sexual. But aside from her acting and allure, nothing very special. Nothing outright bad, either.

[Derek]

Ingmar Bergman hated Welles's acting. I would not call him a philistine.

Does he think Transformers has great acting?

[Qrazy]

Does he think Transformers has great acting?

No, but he did think Shia really upped his game in the second film.

He communicated this to me telepathically from beyond the grave.

[soitgoes...]

Why Bollywood? Why do you exist? I don't get it.

[baby doll]

The main reason to see the new Stephen Frears (Chéri) is Michelle Pfeiffer's acting. That woman is amazing with her expressions, and the director takes full advantage of that. Also, she's incredibly hot, and it's kind of frustrating that the movie is not all that sexual. But aside from her acting and allure, nothing very special. Nothing outright bad, either.I saw this movie last summer, and can barely remember it. Then again, that's pretty much the case with any Stephen Frears movie, though I tend to prefer his films when he sticks to British subjects (Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, Dirty Pretty Things, or in the case of High Fidelity, adapting a British novel to an American setting). Here, it's like he's trying to have it both ways, supposedly exalting in Belle Époque naughtiness while at the same time sanitizing it to suit middle-brow tastes. Michelle Pfeiffer looks less like an aging prostitute than a castaway from a Henry James adaptation. Where's the sleaze and syphilis?