28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[balmakboor]

Is it a must to watch Brakhage's Dog Star Man in five separate segments? Because I have a 74-minute version and honestly I'm leaning towards watching it that way; I wouldn't be missing anything, right?

I'm pretty sure what you're calling the 74-minute version is just the five segments one after another. So, the question really is whether to watch it all in one sitting or take breaks after each segment. I recommend the latter for the first few viewings.

[StanleyK]

If you broke it into 5 segments then you'd have five shorter increments of boredom or you can take all your boredom in one giant sitting.

Yikes. Guess I'll break it up then; on further thought, I don't think I could stomach over an hour of Brakhage, even though I love the man's work.

[Bosco B Thug]

The Thin Red Line was an audacious mix of meander and tense extended battle sequences. Really good. If I prefer The New World, it's half a mere preference of TNW's more delineative plot (and shorter running time), and half real reasons, regarding things like the ratio of Malick's poetic passages working versus not-working. Anyway, to put it shortly, definitely has to be one of the most powerful depictions of the sheer meaningless of everything in combat. Jim Caviezel's Florence Nightingale of WWII soldiers is a great character.

[B-side]

Rented Halloween II DC based mostly on the good reviews from Rowland and some other trusted gents. Trying to get back into the film-watching game. Don't disappoint me, fellas. :P

Also grabbed Fonda's The Hired Hand, which our very own dmk claims is quite good.

[MacGuffin]

Rented Halloween II DC based mostly on the good ratings from MacGuffin and Rowland. Trying to get back into the film-watching game. Don't disappoint me, fellas. :P

I haven't seen the sequel yet. ;)

[B-side]

I haven't seen the sequel yet. ;)

Damn my passing glance. Maybe I was thinking of someone else.

[Rowland]

Well, for what it's worth, I think the sequel is a considerable improvement over the original, so hopefully MacGuffin will reach the same conclusion.

[B-side]

Well, for what it's worth, I think the sequel is a considerable improvement over the original, so hopefully MacGuffin will reach the same conclusion.

I didn't mind the original. I'd be rather pleased if this one were better. The screencaps you posted were nice.

[MacGuffin]

I've got my next three Netflix rentals decided on:

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
RoboCop
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi

[B-side]

I've got my next three Netflix rentals decided on:

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
RoboCop
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi

Can't go wrong with the first 2. Haven't seen Zatoichi.

[Sycophant]

Can't go wrong with the last two!

[Sven]

Fuck, you guys, all three are excellent.

[Derek]

I have never seen RoboCop. I need to fix that...

[Rowland]

Robocop is my favorite Verhoeven. Still haven't seen any of his pre-Hollywood work however.

[Sven]

Robocop is my favorite Verhoeven. Still haven't seen any of his pre-Hollywood work however.

I think you'd really dig The Fourth Man. I'm sure you've been told that.

[Chac Mool]

The Thin Red Line was an audacious mix of meander and tense extended battle sequences. Really good. If I prefer The New World, it's half a mere preference of TNW's more delineative plot (and shorter running time), and half real reasons, regarding things like the ratio of Malick's poetic passages working versus not-working. Anyway, to put it shortly, definitely has to be one of the most powerful depictions of the sheer meaningless of everything in combat. Jim Caviezel's Florence Nightingale of WWII soldiers is a great character.

Good thoughts, although I consider both to be great, great movies. The Thin Red Line is more thought-provoking (in the cloud-gazing, philosophical sense) but the cumulative emotional power of The New World's last third is unmatched.

[Russ]

Alan Rudolph's Trouble in Mind coming to DVD in December. Starring Keith Carradine, Kris Kristofferson, and Seattle. Oh, and Divine plays a mob boss. No more excuses! See this film. :cool:

[Dead & Messed Up]

Watched Where the Wild Things Are last night. Apart from the twee soundtrack and strange use of handheld camera, I thought the film was absolutely charming. The combination of CG keyframing and monster suits was just about perfect, the little kid actor did a great job, and I dug how the central conflict was essentially the kid confronting his own selfishness. Also, I thought it was true-to-life that one of the kid's first acts as King was to build a huge fort (with a lookout and tunnels and everything). Spot-on.

[Bosco B Thug]

Good thoughts, although I consider both to be great, great movies. The Thin Red Line is more thought-provoking (in the cloud-gazing, philosophical sense) but the cumulative emotional power of The New World's last third is unmatched. Both great movies, definitely. And I just realized I've finished off Malick's filmography! All pretty much masterworks to some degree.

The Thin Red Line is the more unconventional and risky. In that way, it is the better, more thought-provoking picture. The almost willy-nilly implementation of voice over throughout the film is very strange, but very well done. I take back my comment about Culloden with The New World, this felt like another Culloden.

[MadMan]

Watched Where the Wild Things Are last night. Apart from the twee soundtrack and strange use of handheld camera, I thought the film was absolutely charming. The combination of CG keyframing and monster suits was just about perfect, the little kid actor did a great job, and I dug how the central conflict was essentially the kid confronting his own selfishness. Also, I thought it was true-to-life that one of the kid's first acts as King was to build a huge fort (with a lookout and tunnels and everything). Spot-on.But I love the soundtrack :sad:
Other than that, great movie. Interesting how its not a kids movie, even though it was billed as such (obviously) to make more money. I recall wondering how they were going to turn a rather short kids book into a full length feature. And the voice cast here is excellent-I didn't even recognize Chris Cooper's voice.

[balmakboor]

Alan Rudolph's Trouble in Mind coming to DVD in December. Starring Keith Carradine, Kris Kristofferson, and Seattle. Oh, and Divine plays a mob boss. No more excuses! See this film. :cool:

I'd love to see that again. I was living in Seattle when it first came out and saw it at the Egyptian. Of course the whole town -- film buff-wise -- was on a major Rudolph kick at the time after the release of Choose Me.

[Skitch]

Watching 12 Monkeys. A movie with time travel. Where the main character tries to tell people he's a time traveller and no one believes him. In it, Bruce Willis says, "All I see are dead people.", and Brad Pitt says "So what are we then?! Consumers!". This was made before Sixth Sense or Fight Club.

*head explodes*

[balmakboor]

Hot damn! How did this sneak up on me?

"Mildred Pierce" an HBO mini-series by Todd Haynes

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1492030/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzgL7emRnXs

Wow I'm excited!

[soitgoes...]

What a surprise Accident turned out to be. A film where the interesting premise pays off. A guy and his team knock off people for money by making their murders look like accidents, only he suspects someone is doing the same thing to his team! With Johnny To's name attached as producer, I was expect an action packed extravaganza. Instead I was presented something much more cerebral, very much in the tone of The Conversation. I highly recommend seeing this.

[Sxottlan]

New Criterion announcement:

http://criterion_production.s3.amazon aws.com/release_images/3079/551_box_348x490.jpg

[Skitch]

Now that is a bitchin' cover. MINE.

[number8]

Woah, they got Mike Mignola to do a Criterion cover? Sah-weet.

[Winston*]

I liked Olivier as Richard III a bunch but I do not much care for him as Hamlet. Also, he's clearly older than the actress playing his mother, which is weird.

[Qrazy]

What a surprise Accident turned out to be. A film where the interesting premise pays off. A guy and his team knock off people for money by making their murders look like accidents, only he suspects someone is doing the same thing to his team! With Johnny To's name attached as producer, I was expect an action packed extravaganza. Instead I was presented something much more cerebral, very much in the tone of The Conversation. I highly recommend seeing this.

Why surprised? Boner and I both liked it also. :)

[Sven]

Woah, they got Mike Mignola to do a Criterion cover? Sah-weet.

With Kate Beaton, Seth, Ware, and others, it seems to be an angle that they are embracing more and more. Way gnarly cover, too. A new potential favorite.

[number8]

Yeah, I'm very digging the practice, obviously.

Actually, I wondered why WB doesn't get their DC contract artists to do limited edition DVD variants. I imagine it would help sales somewhat if they get Frank Quitely to do the Jonah Hex DVD or something.

[Ivan Drago]

With Kate Beaton, Seth, Ware, and others, it seems to be an angle that they are embracing more and more. Way gnarly cover, too. A new potential favorite.

Seth and Chris Ware did Criterion covers? Which ones?

[Sycophant]

Big fan of Tomine's Ozu covers, too.

[Sycophant]

Seth did Make Way for Tomorrow's beautiful cover.

[Sven]

I guess Ware has not done one yet, though I know he's done promotional stuff for films from the catalogue.

[MacGuffin]

Netflix skipped over Zatoichi. :(

[Ivan Drago]

Seth did Make Way for Tomorrow's beautiful cover.

I thought the style of characters looked familiar!

[EyesWideOpen]

No mention of Sean Phillips's Blast of Silence cover? For shame.

[number8]

No mention of Sean Phillips's Blast of Silence cover? For shame.

That was the best.

[number8]

Now that I think about it, it's not that recent of a trend. Jaime Hernandez did this 5 years ago:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5167VCEG2YL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

And I almost forgot that Mike Allred did Seduced and Abandoned:

http://criterion_production.s3.amazon aws.com/release_images/1133/350_box_348x490.jpg

[number8]

Fuck it, I'm going to find more and write a feature about this.

[Qrazy]

Fuck it, I'm going to find more and write a feature about this.

A feature about what, DVD cover art?

[number8]

A feature about what, DVD cover art?

By famous comic book artists, yes. Possibly with the story of how they got involved and why that particular movie.

[MacGuffin]

By famous comic book artists, yes. Possibly with the story of how they got involved and why that particular movie.

Sounds cool. You should check out Eric Skillman's blog (http://ericskillman.blogspot.com/).

[Qrazy]

By famous comic book artists, yes. Possibly with the story of how they got involved and why that particular movie.

Cool.

[Russ]

And even though he hasn't done any DVD or movie covers of which I'm aware, you would be well-served to track down a copy of Maurice Vellekoop's Vellevision (and if you like that, be sure and get his x-rated ABC Book - A Homoerotic Primer). Both highly recommended.

http://informationgoddess.ca/Comics&GraphicNovels/images/vellevision.gif

[soitgoes...]

Why surprised? Boner and I both liked it also. :)

Oh cool, I wasn't aware anyone else had seen it. It's kinda hard to do a search on a title that's one fairly popular word.

[MadMan]

No mention of Sean Phillips's Blast of Silence cover? For shame.His cover, plus my love of film noir and gangster movies, is why I bought that movie on Criterion this year. Great film, really underrated.


New Criterion announcement:

http://criterion_production.s3.amazon aws.com/release_images/3079/551_box_348x490.jpgI've never seen the movie, but that cover rules.

And those other DVD covers number8 posted are really cool. I've never heard of Seduced and Abandoned, though.

[EyesWideOpen]

I could see a Paul Pope Brazil criterion cover being amazing.

[B-side]

Halloween II is likely a small step forward from Zombie's original, and certainly better shot, at least from what I can recall of the first one's cinematography. Zombie's camera is intimate, yet distanced and observant. Some really cool stuff done with nighttime light. There are ideas here, namely the marketability of monsters, and others that someone like Rowland is probably more poised to expound upon, though I'm unsure most of them are terribly well conceived here, but I'm inclined to give Zombie credit for stepping it up with the sequel and going a little crazy with the fantasy sequences and whatnot. The dialogue hammers the moral dilemma of Loomis' profiteering home, and the teenaged protagonist isn't the most compelling person to follow, but Zombie infused the film with enough energy and style to keep me interested and entertained.

[B-side]

Toy Story 3 (Unkrich, 2010) **

I'm a bit late on this, but I'm pleased I'm not the only one that thought it was mediocre.

[Grouchy]

Is anyone really indignant?

And my God, that Cronos cover is awesome. A personal favorite film, too.

[Grouchy]

Somewhat disappointed by Snow Angels, my first David Gordon Green that isn't Pineapple Express. Well, disappointed is a bit much. I admired the filmmaking, the style, and obviously the acting, but I thought the script had way too much oversimplification of its characters, specially Rockwell's. It's a movie that takes an approach to itself that I found too solemn. If it was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, it'd probably be a fucking classic. Always nice to see Griffin Dunne. If the intention of the filmmakers was for me to empathize in any way with Kate Beckinsale's character, well, perhaps I wasn't as involved with the film as I should be, but no. Her character was irrationally cold and neurotic. It's a crude thing to say, I know, but it was a huge relief when she got punched in the face.

Also saw Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. Wow. I love these DTV movies. This was just a classic superhero epic and it proves that a great live action Justice League blockbuster could and should be made. I think it's probably even better than the Grant Morrison comic it's based on. At least he should be justifiably envious of the new dimensions they added to the Owlman character. Also, the Spectre and Jonah Hex shorts... Geek bliss.

I will finally note the uncanny Dwayne McDuffie gift for writing sexy one-liners:

"That will cost you one rib".
"This is how we do it... on Mars".
"Good 'un, mate"

[B-side]

http://i55.tinypic.com/2dqiq34.jpg

Tobacco Road is the first really good film I've seen in about a month. A tragicomedy if ever there was one. Funny, yet melancholy. Nice balance of the 2 by Ford.

[Ezee E]

The Square seems like something David Gordon Green directed, only set in Australia and without Tim Orr as DP.

Gets a little silly at the end, but it's pretty good until then and the lead actress is a hottie. And what a name! Claire Van der boom... Hope she does some US projects soon.

[B-side]

Just finished the first episode of Yuasa's new series, The Tatami Galaxy. It's pretty brilliant so far, though the dialogue is a mile a minute, so I find myself struggling to read through the subtitles and engage with what's on screen at times.

[Qrazy]

Just finished the first episode of Yuasa's new series, The Tatami Galaxy. It's pretty brilliant so far, though the dialogue is a mile a minute, so I find myself struggling to read through the subtitles and engage with what's on screen at times.

I like his other two series more but yeah Tatami is quite solid as well. The man has jib, and I like the cut of his chops.

[B-side]

I like his other two series more but yeah Tatami is quite solid as well. The man has jib, and I like the cut of his chops.

I'm digging the combination of distorted real life footage and wild animation. It's really funny, too.

[MacGuffin]

I decided it was time to give Joan Crawford a break for a while.

[chrisnu]

Can anyone recommend some good film adaptations of Greek mythology? The latest Clash of the Titans was interesting, given that I'd never seen any such adaptations previously, but in terms of storytelling, it was quite lackluster.

[Winston*]

Never saw Eagle vs. Shark, but Taika Waititi's follow up Boy was pretty great. First good New Zealand film I've seen in years. Come to think of it: first New Zealand film I've seen in years.

[Grouchy]

Can anyone recommend some good film adaptations of Greek mythology? The latest Clash of the Titans was interesting, given that I'd never seen any such adaptations previously, but in terms of storytelling, it was quite lackluster.
Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts is a lot of fun.

[transmogrifier]

Never saw Eagle vs. Shark

Boner's favourite film ever, I think.

[Hugh_Grant]

"Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11340336)

[EyesWideOpen]

"Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11340336)

I think that's a good fit.

[Qrazy]

Never saw Eagle vs. Shark, but Taika Waititi's follow up Boy was pretty great. First good New Zealand film I've seen in years. Come to think of it: first New Zealand film I've seen in years.

It's one of the worst films of recent memory.

[Ivan Drago]

"Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11340336)

I approve. Besides, the other option was Johnny Depp.

[Boner M]

Boner's favourite film ever, I think.
A miracle of modern cinema.

But seriously, Boy is pretty good and a major step up. Nice to see Wes Anderson style applied to non-white people.

[balmakboor]

Picked up a copy of Kenneth Anger's "Hollywood Babylon" for free from a discarded book pile the other day. Been reading it. Fascinating and fun stuff. Makes me want to spend more time watching Hollywood movies from the teens through the thirties. That Fatty Arbuckle guy. What a guy.

[Skitch]

The American was very Italian.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts is a lot of fun.

Yep. Also, the Harryhausen Sinbad pictures thieve a lot of their monsters and concepts from Greek myth, and the original Clash wrangles Laurence Olivier as Zeus, and you can't get a better Zeus than Olivier. Disney's Hercules is seriously screwy with its fidelity, but it's light-hearted enough that I don't much care. Cocteau's Orphee is great.

I'm psyched for Tarsem Singh's Immortals. It's some sort of wacky contemporary revisionist take, with Theseus leading a war against the Gods.

I love Theseus.

[soitgoes...]

That Fatty Arbuckle guy. What a guy.Is this because of the scandal?

[StanleyK]

It's not readily apparent, but Dr. Strangelove ties in with Kubrick's theme of dehumanization- namely, in how its men have substituted sex with women for sex with machines, not literally of course. The opening sets it up with the mating planes; then there's General Ripper, who chomps on his cigar and fires his very big gun while talking about how he never ejaculates (hence, I imagine, his paranoia- a guy could really go crazy like that); Major Kong rides the phallic H-bomb into the ground, and this triggers the climactic montage of bombs going off. Like in his next film, Kubrick warns not to get too comfortable with machines, lest you lose touch with your humanity. Along with the hilarious dark humor and stunning filmmaking that you can expect from him, Dr. Strangelove is a very rich film about sexual disfunction, and its terrible consequences, through the finest political satire I know of and one of the best comedies ever.

[soitgoes...]

Weekend (silent) films:

The Devil in the Heart, El Dorado and/or Man of the Sea (L'Herbier)
The Street (Grune)
The Treasure (Pabst)
The Haunted Castle (Murnau)
The Sheik (Melford)

[balmakboor]

Is this because of the scandal?

It's just a reaction to how Anger portrays him in the book and, yes, the scandal is mostly what Anger wrote about. Of course, from what I've read, Anger's "research" for the book was something like creative clairvoyance.

It's still a lot of fun though and the book's filled with great period photos, some quite lurid.

[balmakboor]

Come to think of it. Anger's book is almost the literary equivalent of his films about the milieu like Puce Moment and Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome. Each is certainly informing the other.

[soitgoes...]

It's just a reaction to how Anger portrays him in the book and, yes, the scandal is mostly what Anger wrote about. Of course, from what I've read, Anger's "research" for the book was something like creative clairvoyance.

It's still a lot of fun though and the book's filled with great period photos, some quite lurid.It's a shame that the scandal that destroyed his career and life still hangs over him, at least for those who have heard of him (I guess peace comes with obscurity?). I'm pretty sure that Arbuckle was thrown under the bus by the media, especially Hearst, in order to sell a sensational story to the public.

[B-side]

To absolutely no one's surprise, I enjoyed Trash Humpers. I guess I'm just a sucker for Korine's sideshow attractions, and this one continues his longstanding fascination with society's jilted outcasts. All, or at least a great majority, of the film's more tender moments are restricted to singing and dancing, which I suppose is appropriate given its galvanizing and broad-reaching abilities. The references to, and destruction of, television(s), and the merciless beating of a blonde, blue-eyed doll, takes on a symbolic quality of the desire to cut down the idealistic media model. Korine discourages semiotic readings of his work, but such a thing seems inevitable here given the material. Amusingly, the title works as a play on Korine's obsession with characters most people have deemed unworthy of film or TV, let alone sympathy. It's probably too long, even at a mere 74 minutes, but I wouldn't say it ever gets boring so much as a bit repetitious and tiring, which I suppose could be considered virtually the same thing. I think I slightly prefer the succinct and more ethereal and upbeat Act Da Fool, but Trash Humpers is like a car crash; you just can't look away.

[Ezee E]

So.... Repulsion huh... How come I've never seen any posts about this?

[Qrazy]

So.... Repulsion huh... How come I've never seen any posts about this?

You don't visit the thread frequently enough? :)

[DavidSeven]

So.... Repulsion huh... How come I've never seen any posts about this?

Hm. Consensus may have shifted over the years, but I seem to remember this being the most highly regarded of Polanski's works around these parts. But there's a chance I might have completely imagined that.

[MacGuffin]

Hm. Consensus may have shifted over the years, but I seem to remember this being the most highly regarded of Polanski's works around these parts. But there's a chance I might have completely imagined that.

I don't quite like it as much as Chinatown or Rosemary's Baby, but it is great.

[DavidSeven]

I don't quite like it as much as Chinatown or Rosemary's Baby, but it is great.

My preference is also for Chinatown, but I like Repulsion well enough.

[B-side]

Did you ever post anything about Trash Humpers, MacG?

[MacGuffin]

Did you ever post anything about Trash Humpers, MacG?

Not much. It's very different (admirably so) from Gummo in that it seems to be more like fantasy imagery out of a dream and for the most part, the movie is effective even if it doesn't straddle too far off from the basic formula. It ultimately works well in a very disturbing, unsettling way. I agree that even at seventy-something minutes, it's still a bit overlong.

[B-side]

Not much. It's very different (admirably so) from Gummo in that it seems to be more like fantasy imagery out of a dream and for the most part, the movie is effective even if it doesn't straddle too far off from the basic formula. It ultimately works well in a very disturbing, unsettling way. I agree that even at seventy-something minutes, it's still a bit overlong.

An hour probably would've been just as effective. Interesting that both the moments of horror and tenderness seem equally as organic to them and their behavior, yet ever-so-slightly removed. There's probably something to be made of Korine's interest in streetlights-as-spotlights and the elderly masks combined with their obsessive manhandling of babies, but I couldn't say much about it. Neat motifs nonetheless.

[dmk]

Trash Humpers (Korine, 2009) ***
Tobacco Road (Ford, 1941) ***

That's like the perfect double feature (although I'm aware you didn't watch both in the one sitting).

[balmakboor]

My daughter is always Netflixing these anime series and demanding that I watch at least the first disc with her. They've mostly all started to seem to be the same to me and those first discs have become a chore.

But last night I actually got hooked into one and am looking forward to the whole series. It's called Big Windup! Oofuri. It's about a totally insecure baseball pitcher who has just switched schools and is trying to fulfill his dream of being an ace starter.

Its best quality is that it's very smart both about baseball and about sports in general. So much of it's told from the perspective of the team's catcher.

[Ezee E]

I don't quite like it as much as Chinatown or Rosemary's Baby, but it is great.
I guess there's plenty of talk of people telling their love of the movie, just no actual discussion of the movie itself, which there is plenty to talk about.

The last shot of the movie, while it was highly obvious about her past already, is still a perfect shot. Not just because of the photo, but also the look that that the man gives as he's carrying her out. At first, he's doing what he's suppose to do, but there's that slight hesitation, the quick glance, that means once he's out of eyesight, another nightmare is going to happen for the main character. Another "hand from the wall" if you will.

This is one that I'll definitely have to revisit again as I assume it only gets better on reviews.

[Skitch]

30 minutes into Ip Man. Hoooooolllleeeeeee shhhhhiiiiiiiiittttt.

[Ezee E]

One question about Repulsion: Why do you think she cut open the customer's cuticle? I saw it coming just because, but not sure why she did it, except that it was necessary for the movie.

[Bosco B Thug]

Munich is erudite and well-informed and exquisitely political and all, but Johnny Guitar - now that's an anti-prejudice, anti-violence/retaliation film. Such a lovely film.

Week/end: Empire of the Sun, Eyes Wide Shut

[B-side]

Trash Humpers (Korine, 2009) ***
Tobacco Road (Ford, 1941) ***

That's like the perfect double feature (although I'm aware you didn't watch both in the one sitting).

I definitely felt like Tobacco Road was like a Depression-era Korine film. I'm glad you got me to watch it.

[StanleyK]

I liked A Man Escaped, but I think I would've liked it a lot more without the voice-over. Do we really need to be told everything that's happening on-screen?

[endingcredits]

I liked A Man Escaped, but I think I would've liked it a lot more without the voice-over. Do we really need to be told everything that's happening on-screen?

I disagree. The monologue in Man Escaped, especially his thoughts on whether to kill Jost or take him, is essential to the film.

[Chac Mool]

So I finally caught the much-lauded "The Lives of Others". My initial reaction was mixed -- great admiration for the intelligent script, knockout acting and confident, quiet direction tempered by a surprising lack of tension or emotional involvement. But, getting up the next morning, I was surprised to find myself still thinking about the characters, their sad fates and the grim realities of living in the Eastern Bloc in those days. Now, four or five days removed from the viewing, I find the film has grown on me still, and I remember it with more emotion than I felt while watching it. I don't know if this delayed reaction is intended or not, the sign of a great movie or a failing (or if it says more about me than the movie) but in the end, the fact remains that this is a good movie indeed.

[endingcredits]

I watched L'eclisse (Antonioni, 1962) last night. It's form of modernism didn't really resonate with me. Instead, it came across as standoffish and was too emotionally bare to be engrossing. Twice I snoozed through the middle and had to rewind. There were bits of the film I enjoyed, e.g., the stock market scene, and the last five or so minutes were brilliant, but the whole of it was meh.

[Bosco B Thug]

I watched L'eclisse (Antonioni, 1962) last night. It's form of modernism didn't really resonate with me. Instead, it came across as standoffish and was too emotionally bare to be engrossing. Twice I snoozed through the middle and had to rewind. There were bits of the film I enjoyed, e.g., the stock market scene, and the last five or so minutes were brilliant, but the whole of it was meh. I don't know how popular the opinion is, but I do think L'eclisse the distinct weakest of Antonioni's "trilogy." It seems the least engrossing of the three, yes. It's the vaguest plot-wise, whatever that criticism's worth.

[Skitch]

So after my rantings about the awfulness of Prince Of Persia, my buddy waited for dvd. Now all I'm hearing is how wrong I was and what a fun summer movie it was.

I hated it with a passion. What a piece of shit.

[Spinal]

So I finally caught the much-lauded "The Lives of Others". My initial reaction was mixed -- great admiration for the intelligent script, knockout acting and confident, quiet direction tempered by a surprising lack of tension or emotional involvement. But, getting up the next morning, I was surprised to find myself still thinking about the characters, their sad fates and the grim realities of living in the Eastern Bloc in those days. Now, four or five days removed from the viewing, I find the film has grown on me still, and I remember it with more emotion than I felt while watching it. I don't know if this delayed reaction is intended or not, the sign of a great movie or a failing (or if it says more about me than the movie) but in the end, the fact remains that this is a good movie indeed.

I'm not sure how a director could intend a delayed reaction. I think most of them want you to experience something significant in the moment. That said, I think there is definitely something utterly beautiful about the film's tragic elements and the central character's journey that lingers long after the film is over. Personally, I found it tense and emotional as I was watching it, but at least it worked on you eventually.

[Rowland]

So after my rantings about the awfulness of Prince Of Persia, my buddy waited for dvd. Now all I'm hearing is how wrong I was and what a fun summer movie it was.

I hated it with a passion. What a piece of shit.I didn't think it was that bad at all, especially as this summer's blockbusters have been concerned. *shrug*

[Spaceman Spiff]

Where exactly is Tommy Wiseau from? His wiki says that he was born in New Orleans and lived in France "a long time ago", but his accent is clearly not french.

I'm watching The Room for the first time at the moment. It's not all that funny, just really incompetent. Okay, Wiseau's "laugh" is kinda funny.

[megladon8]

I have a feeling Wiseau's accent is fabricated.

[Philosophe_rouge]

prince of persia was abysmal.

[Winston*]

Watched my first full movie on VHS today in probably more than half a decade. Very exciting, got to rewind it and everything.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I watch VHS all the time.

:confused:

[Qrazy]

I liked A Man Escaped, but I think I would've liked it a lot more without the voice-over. Do we really need to be told everything that's happening on-screen?

"Dumbo: Zero"

Dude just ignore the racism.

[Qrazy]

I watched L'eclisse (Antonioni, 1962) last night. It's form of modernism didn't really resonate with me. Instead, it came across as standoffish and was too emotionally bare to be engrossing. Twice I snoozed through the middle and had to rewind. There were bits of the film I enjoyed, e.g., the stock market scene, and the last five or so minutes were brilliant, but the whole of it was meh.

I'm a big fan of the film. The best part for me was when she watches the poles rattling at night. Beautiful moment. I think you'd probably prefer La Notte, it was my favorite form him for a while, although now I think I value each film in the 'trilogy' about the same but for varying reasons.

[B-side]

Dude just ignore the racism.

You keep saying this, but it's difficult when you keep doing monkey impressions every time you see a black character on screen. It's especially embarrassing in the theater.

[Qrazy]

You keep saying this, but it's difficult when you keep doing monkey impressions every time you see a black character on screen. It's especially embarrassing in the theater.

Oh what, so now it's racist to go to the theater wearing black face? Whatever dude.

[B-side]

Oh what, so now it's racist to go to the theater wearing black face? Whatever dude.

It wouldn't be as bad if you weren't speaking your strange version of jive in the meantime.

[endingcredits]

The best part for me was when she watches the poles rattling at night. Beautiful moment. I think you'd probably prefer La Notte, it was my favorite form him for a while, although now I think I value each film in the 'trilogy' about the same but for varying reasons.

I don't remember that at all. Either I didn't think it was that good or I wasn't awake for it and didn't rewind all the way back (most likely the latter). I ripped the dvd, so I'll go back to this after seeing the others in the 'trilogy'.

[Philosophe_rouge]

I find the more I see of antonioni, the more i love him. My first experience with him as indifference, my second was mild interest, by the third... i was completely entranced. I've revisited most of his work since and it all hits me like a truck, in the best possible way. I just rewatched L'Eclisse... god it gets me.

[Chac Mool]

I'm not sure how a director could intend a delayed reaction. I think most of them want you to experience something significant in the moment. That said, I think there is definitely something utterly beautiful about the film's tragic elements and the central character's journey that lingers long after the film is over. Personally, I found it tense and emotional as I was watching it, but at least it worked on you eventually.

I was thinking more in terms of instant gratification versus subtle but long-lasting impression. Many big-budget movies go for the instant stuff, trying to wow with intensity over quality. I fully admit to being caught in the moment, but the taste usually leaves the moment I step out of the theatres. Looking over some of my favorite classic movies, my reaction while watching them is more tempered, but their flavours and concerns are more insinuating, lasting long after the credits have rolled.

(That being said, my absolute favorites have both...).

[Dukefrukem]

prince of persia was abysmal.

hehe wasn't it?

[Grouchy]

I watched the G.I. Joe movie yesterday and, I gotta admit, I enjoyed myself. Weed is great for lowering standards.

[Dukefrukem]

I watched the G.I. Joe movie yesterday and, I gotta admit, I enjoyed myself. Weed is great for lowering standards.

It's fun isn't it? you know what you're gonna get with Sommers. It's a perfectly adapted G I Joe movie with the perfect amount of ninjas. It also breaks the chain of bad CGI usage in a Sommers movie.

[Grouchy]

It also breaks the chain of bad CGI usage in a Sommers movie.
I was agreeing with you totally until this - the CGI is pretty poor.

But then again, I tend to see any movie that uses CGI permanently as fake-looking.

[Dukefrukem]

I was agreeing with you totally until this - the CGI is pretty poor.

But then again, I tend to see any movie that uses CGI permanently as fake-looking.

The only poor CGI scene I can remember is the Eiffel Tower. The rest of the slow mo CGI shots are pretty convincing. I'm also comparing this to the CGI Mummy. CGI snake monster in Deep Rising and CGI in Van Helsing. Out of all those movies, G I Joe is the best.

[Skitch]

Hating on Prince of Persia, and loving on G.I. Joe. I love you guys. Thanks for making me feel better on a monday morning. :)

[Irish]

Has anyone seen Zhang Yimou's "A Woman, a Gun, and a Noodle Shop"? This is his remake of the Coen Bros "Blood Simple."

I was underwhelmed. The tone was all off. In one moment he's going for big slapstick comedy and the next moment contains gruesome, detailed violence. And the pacing was for shit.

Helluva difference from the guy who did Raise the Red Lantern and Qiu Ju all those years ago.

[Morris Schæffer]

I was checking out site blu-ray.com and came across this picture.

http://images.blu-ray.com/reviews/3288_3.jpg

Yeah, that's actually not Jason Bourne.

[D_Davis]

I watched the G.I. Joe movie yesterday and, I gotta admit, I enjoyed myself. Weed is great for lowering standards.

I had a blast watching GI Joe. +++++Tons of Fun +++++++Would Watch Again.

[number8]

I love Keanu Reeves' Herzog impression here, regarding him directing Bill & Ted 3.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1648158/20100917/story.jhtml

[MadMan]

I love Keanu Reeves' Herzog impression here, regarding him directing Bill & Ted 3.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1648158/20100917/story.jhtmlThat's hilarious. And of course I would go see a Bill and Ted 3 if it ever gets made. WYLD STALLYNS!

[megladon8]

I'd love to hang out with Keanu Reeves.

[Henry Gale]

Keanu often does stuff during press rounds that make me wish he was as consistently awesome in his movies as he is in life. It may help that this time he was talking about Bill & Ted and doing that amazing Herzog impression though.

[Rowland]

Hmm, going to see either Life During Wartime or Animal Kingdom tomorrow. I know which one has been better received, but still...

[StanleyK]

I disagree. The monologue in Man Escaped, especially his thoughts on whether to kill Jost or take him, is essential to the film.

His narration is just relaying information we're already processing visually. He doesn't reveal anything about himself through it, or even have any Malick-like philosophical musings; he's really just telling us what we see him doing. I find it superfluous and irritating.


Dude just ignore the racism.

I can't think of anything positive about it. Trite story, shit songs, nonsensical 10-minute drunken scene, just completely unengaging. By that point the racist-caricature crows aren't even close to being the worst thing about it.

[MadMan]

I'd love to hang out with Keanu Reeves.So would I. I'd tell him that he was awesome in A Scanner Darkly and Point Break.

[EyesWideOpen]

So would I. I'd tell him that he was awesome in A Scanner Darkly and Point Break.

As someone who just recently watched Point Break I can tell you that last part is most definitely not true. I like Reeves but that is top five worst performance worthy.

[Skitch]

As someone who just recently watched Point Break I can tell you that last part is most definitely not true. I like Reeves but that is top five worst performance worthy.
That seems a tad extreme.

[MadMan]

As someone who just recently watched Point Break I can tell you that last part is most definitely not true. I like Reeves but that is top five worst performance worthy.Nah, its not that bad. I stand by my statement.

AMC showing the Mad Max movies this week is awesome. If I have time I'll try and catch the third movie-its due for a re-watch. Seeing the first two again after viewing both this year is cool-I think that the second one is my favorite.

[Derek]

That seems a tad extreme.

Mostly because Keanu Reeves gives almost the same exact performance in every film he's ever been in, aside from the Bill & Ted and Parenthood where he plays a stoned version of himself.

But we are all mostly in agreement that Keanu Reeves is, for the most part, just plain awful, right?

[MadMan]

Just like I'm a die hard fan of Kevin Costner, I'm a fan of Keanu Reeves. I don't get the hate. The guy's not a bad actor. And I disagree that he's done the same performance in every movie-his performance in A Scanner Darkly is quite different from say, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Guess I'm alone in thinking so :| :P

[Derek]

AMC showing the Mad Max movies this week is awesome.

Are they still showing most of their movies in pan-and-scan? Mad Men and Breaking Bad are the only reasons I still watch the station.

[MadMan]

Are they still showing most of their movies in pan-and-scan? Mad Men and Breaking Bad are the only reasons I still watch the station.Yeah, but I've already seen the movies previously on Netflix Instant Viewing. I think the last movie I saw on AMC that was a first time viewing dates back to Fear Fest-it was probably The Dark Half.

[Qrazy]

Are they still showing most of their movies in pan-and-scan? Mad Men and Breaking Bad are the only reasons I still watch the station.

Given the fact that so many people have widescreen televisions these days why in god's name are stations still doing that?

[MadMan]

Pretty sure its out of laziness/they're being cheap. Why else does AMC show the old crappy copy of The Shootist when TCM has the updated, much clearer, remastered version? You'd think with all the money they get from commercials they'd be able to go from pan and scan to wide screen.

[Winston*]

But we are all mostly in agreement that Keanu Reeves is, for the most part, just plain awful, right?
I like him. He's like Mark Wahlberg: not a very good actor, but a certain inscrutable screen presence.

Went to see two anime movies. Summer Wars was really good. King of Thorn was pretty rubbish.

[Ivan Drago]

Reeves' best performance is in A Scanner Darkly.

[Sven]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/matchcut/Photoon2010-09-22at0946.jpg

[Qrazy]

I like him. He's like Mark Wahlberg: not a very good actor, but a certain inscrutable screen presence.

Went to see two anime movies. Summer Wars was really good. King of Thorn was pretty rubbish.

Rats, was hoping for good things.

[Philosophe_rouge]

I know some people who saw King of Thorn at Fantasia, said it was inarguably one of the worst films of the festival. I saw Summer Wars, and it was delightful. One of my favourites of the year.

[Derek]

I like him. He's like Mark Wahlberg: not a very good actor, but a certain inscrutable screen presence.

Wahlberg has given some awful performances, but he's also given a few excellent ones as well. Reeves has a much more limited range and no matter how good the material is, he's never been the highlight of any particular film.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Wahlberg has given some awful performances, but he's also given a few excellent ones as well. Reeves has a much more limited range and no matter how good the material is, he's never been the highlight of any particular film.

http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/Ku/mark-wahlberg-md.jpg

We need to isolate the variables!

[Derek]

http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/Ku/mark-wahlberg-md.jpg

We need to isolate the variables!

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:XujGOuW9EK1swM:ht tp://i461.photobucket.com/albums/qq334/rayindie/IhateyouTheHappening.jpg&t=1

[Spaceman Spiff]

In all seriousness, I really do love that movie. One of the best comedies of the past decade.

[Bosco B Thug]

http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/Ku/mark-wahlberg-md.jpg

We need to isolate the variables!
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:XujGOuW9EK1swM:ht tp://i461.photobucket.com/albums/qq334/rayindie/IhateyouTheHappening.jpg&t=1 That's commitment you see, people.

Soo, whoa. Empire of the Sun is top 5 Spielberg. Best film of his in the past 25 years. Spielberg's regal, unequivocal visualizations and fantastic adventure tropes are finally in service of knowing irony and hauntingly equivocal life lessons in Stoppard's paradoxical litany to born winners in war-time. Bale is good.

Glad to see this get some high marks in the Spielberg Concensus thread.

[Bosco B Thug]

Top 10 Spielberg according to Match Cut:

Schindler’s List – 8.8571 (28)
Jaws - 8.8167 (30)
Raiders of the Lost Ark – 8.7353 (34)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind - 8.1458 (24)
E.T. - 8.1296 (27)
Empire of the Sun – 7.9211 (19)
Sugarland Express – 7.75 (6)
Saving Private Ryan – 7.7222 (27)
AI: Artificial Intelligence – 7.7121 (33)
Munich – 7.7115 (26)

#6, pretty good. I think I still prefer Raiders and Jaws? Still need to see Schindler's, Close Encounters, Sugarland, and Saving Private Ryan.

[Skitch]

Mostly because Keanu Reeves gives almost the same exact performance in every film he's ever been in, aside from the Bill & Ted and Parenthood where he plays a stoned version of himself.

But we are all mostly in agreement that Keanu Reeves is, for the most part, just plain awful, right?

I'm not saying the guy has an Oscar worthy filmography like say, DiCaprio, but I hardly think he's been consistantly terrible. Sure he has some sincerely horrible performances (I do a spot impression of him from Dracula, it always makes the room laugh out loud), but he's shown some real chops. Most notably My Own Private Idaho and especially A Scanner Darkly. He has range, but I think he's kind of...well...a real guy. You have two scripts on your desk: one for a indy where you could show your talent, and one for a sci-fi flick where you kick everyones ass and are a genius hacker. Next day you have two more: one is a period piece with Sir Anthony Hopkins and another is a Fed who has to out surf King of the Roadhouses and your partner is Gary Busey.

:lol:

I mean, I have no desire to act, but the potential fun involved in such projects would be unavoidable.

[Yxklyx]

Mostly because Keanu Reeves gives almost the same exact performance in every film he's ever been in, aside from the Bill & Ted and Parenthood where he plays a stoned version of himself.

But we are all mostly in agreement that Keanu Reeves is, for the most part, just plain awful, right?

He plays a good stoner in I Love You To Death as well and he doesn't ruin Dangerous Liaisons. He reminds me a lot of Farley Granger (Strangers on a Train, Side Street) - looks a bit like him and acting is about on par.

[Watashi]

Both Nick Schager and Armond White loved Legend of the Guardians comparing it to classic animated movies like The Secret of NIMH.

Really looking forward to it.

[MadMan]

I'm not saying the guy has an Oscar worthy filmography like say, DiCaprio, but I hardly think he's been consistantly terrible. Sure he has some sincerely horrible performances (I do a spot impression of him from Dracula, it always makes the room laugh out loud), but he's shown some real chops. Most notably My Own Private Idaho and especially A Scanner Darkly. He has range, but I think he's kind of...well...a real guy. You have two scripts on your desk: one for a indy where you could show your talent, and one for a sci-fi flick where you kick everyones ass and are a genius hacker. Next day you have two more: one is a period piece with Sir Anthony Hopkins and another is a Fed who has to out surf King of the Roadhouses and your partner is Gary Busey.

:lol:

I mean, I have no desire to act, but the potential fun involved in such projects would be unavoidable.Well at least Skitch somewhat agrees with me. Wahoo.

[Rowland]

Damn, both Animal Kingdom and Life During Wartime opened last Friday, and they're both being booted out this week for Wall Street 2 and something called Mao's Last Dancer. I didn't get a chance to see either this week, and now I have one day left to maybe see Animal Kingdom if my schedule permits it; it's sharing a screen with Life During Wartime, which I know I won't have time to see. And of course, both Get Low and The Girl Who Played With Fire, neither of which I have any interest in, are being continued for yet another consecutive week. Fuck you local art house.

[Grouchy]

I like him. He's like Mark Wahlberg: not a very good actor, but a certain inscrutable screen presence.
This.

London River is an acceptable drama. Nothing spectacular, but a good film on prejudice. Really, its highlight is the actor from Burkina Faso who died this year. He's incredibly expressive without ever doing much.

[number8]

You know that part at the end of Universal Soldier where Dolph Lundgren is like, "You're dead, soldier," and Van Damme's all, "No. I'm alive!" and then kicks Dolph into a woodchipper?

When I was a little kid and I wasn't as adept at processing English in accents yet, and home video wasn't readily available to me, I misheard that exchange and for the longest time I remembered it as this:

"You're a bear, soldier."
"No. I'm a lion!"

And I thought it was the coolest dialogue ever.

[Skitch]

Well at least Skitch somewhat agrees with me. Wahoo.
I agree with you on Costner as well. I wonder if its an age thing. As in I was a certain age where Field Of Dreams and Dances With Wolves struck such a chord with me that I inherantly think he's cool and enjoy his movies?

[Boner M]

Weekend:

Wiseman's Hospital & Welfare
Hawks' Scarface
Midnight screening of Showgirls, maybe
The Passion of Joan of Arc w/ live score by UK dark-ambient band In the Nursery + intro by Jonathan Demme!!!

Stopping in NYC from TO was a very wise decision, methinks. Just saw On the Bowery at Film Forum yesterday, which was excellent.

[number8]

Heh. I was thinking of seeing Showgirls at the IFC too.

[NickGlass]

Weekend:

Midnight screening of Showgirls, maybe

I think I'm going to this, too, at the IFC Center. Let me know if you want to meet up. I have tentative plans for both nights, but Friday night may be better than Saturday.


Stopping in NYC from TO was a very wise decision, methinks. Just saw On the Bowery at Film Forum yesterday, which was excellent.

What screening? I was at the 7:40 showing. With beer, of course. And, yes, it was indeed excellent.

[Boner M]

The 3:20. LOL at Ray Carney in the accompanying doco.

Alright, Showgirls, Fri midnight?

[Ezee E]

Weekend:
Midnight Cowboy
The Ninth Configuration
Ondine

[NickGlass]

The 3:20. LOL at Ray Carney in the accompanying doco.

Everyone but Lionel, the director, was rather unbearable. I was drunk enough at that point, but, yes, when Ray Carney popped up I thought "Oh, brother." I bet that guy spends most of his days on eBay, looking to bid on household items that John Cassavetes once touched. I remember Carney introducing a small event screening of Linklater's Fast Food Nation in Boston, and making some comparison to Cassavetes. Eye Roll Nation.


Alright, Showgirls, Fri midnight?

Yeah, maybe, we'll see. I have a lot of messy, conflicting plans. I'll be in touch.

[Ivan Drago]

Weekend:

The Town
The American
The Blues Brothers

[baby doll]

Jean-Luc Godard supports internet piracy. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/technology/22iht-godard.html?_r=1&ref=movies) So where's my Film Socialisme torrent, bitch?

[Sven]

I hate having to explain to people when I express my love for Edward James Olmos that I have never seen an episode of Battlestar Galactica.

[number8]

I hate having to explain to people when I express my love for Edward James Olmos that I have never seen an episode of Battlestar Galactica.

Well, you know... Just do it.

[Sven]

Well, you know... Just do it.

Thanks for the 'zog tip, by the way. I totally overlooked that DVD release. The absence of it from my possession will be corrected tonite.

[Scar]

Weekend
Friday: Fly home, bourbon, friends, Inglorious Bastards

Saturday: Recover

[MadMan]

I agree with you on Costner as well. I wonder if its an age thing. As in I was a certain age where Field Of Dreams and Dances With Wolves struck such a chord with me that I inherantly think he's cool and enjoy his movies?I've watched Field of Dreams endless times, so I don't think with that movie its necessarily how old I was when I saw it. Dances With Wolves I viewed when I was a kid, but only recently have multiple viewings of it made me realize how good it really is. My favorite Costner movie though might actually be Tin Cup.

Weekend:

*Battle Royale (2002)-I'm bummed that the copy I got from Netflix doesn't have any special features.
*Paris, Texas (1984)-On Criterion

[dreamdead]

Weekend:
Lost: Season 6 Disc 4
World Trade Center
All in the Timing NIU theatre performance

[Yxklyx]

I don't know how popular the opinion is, but I do think L'eclisse the distinct weakest of Antonioni's "trilogy." It seems the least engrossing of the three, yes. It's the vaguest plot-wise, whatever that criticism's worth.

Wow, I don't know how to respond to this. L'eclisse is my favorite of his entire canon. It's the one that resonates most with me.

Watched Satoshi Kon's first 4 episodes of Paranoia Agent - it's very engaging - and I'm not into Anime much at all - looking forward to the rest of the series. Those "Prophetic Visions" are just like the Log Lady Intros from Bravo's Twin Peaks.

Weekend:
The Secret in Their Eyes
Germany Year Zero

[DrewG]

The Social Network was really, really fucking good.

That is all.

[endingcredits]

Weekend:
Edvard Munch (Watkins)
Lorna's Silence (Dardenne Brothers)
A Zed & Two Noughts (Greenaway)

[Bosco B Thug]

Wow, I don't know how to respond to this. L'eclisse is my favorite of his entire canon. It's the one that resonates most with me. Well, don't be too disgusted with me. ;) Antonioni's a consummate artist, where every one of his films is a towering work of personal and formal expression, including L'eclisse. So arguments can be made for each of his films on why they are "better" than the others, yet these arguments don't actually lessen the others in turn.

L'eclisse is filled with brilliance, but, to express it unsatisfactorily, I just think it spins its wheels more than the other two. Its more tableau-driven, less eventful story doesn't work as well for me as the more concrete dramas of the other two.

Weekend: Eyes Wide Shut, Wolfen, Blood Feast, Cowards Bend the Knee

[MacGuffin]

Weekend: Eyes Wide Shut, Wolfen, Blood Feast, Cowards Bend the Knee

Blood Feast is great exploitation filmmaking - one of those movies that really does a lot with so little!

[Bosco B Thug]

Blood Feast is great exploitation filmmaking - one of those movies that really does a lot with so little! The latter two are Netflixes delivered simultaneously. And then I discovered they're both mere minutes above an hour long! So sounds like a double-morsel feature of weird is in store.

Yep, I enjoyed Lewis' 2001 Maniacs for what it was, hoping for a similar small pleasure.

[Rowland]

I enjoyed 2001 Maniacs, but Blood Feast is interminable.

[Rowland]

Seeing The Complete Metropolis tomorrow, a Western New York opening night gala on the biggest digital theater in the area, soooo pumped.

[DrewG]

Seeing The Complete Metropolis tomorrow, a Western New York opening night gala on the biggest digital theater in the area, soooo pumped.

What theater?

[Derek]

Seeing The Complete Metropolis tomorrow, a Western New York opening night gala on the biggest digital theater in the area, soooo pumped.

Awesome. It's really amazing and so great to see all of the Thin Man subplot play out. Should be especially cool to see it in that atmosphere.

[Rowland]

What theater?Market Arcade, downtown Buffalo.

[Yxklyx]

Awesome. It's really amazing and so great to see all of the Thin Man subplot play out. Should be especially cool to see it in that atmosphere.

Aw man, first I've heard of this!

"a version has been assembled which not only contains all of the original footage (minus a few frames) but restores Lang’s sequencing."

[Ezee E]

Watching Midnight Cowboy and that damn Nilsson song is going to stick in my head forever.

I HATE that song.

[Sxottlan]

Guillermo Del Toro raids (http://www.awardsdaily.com/2010/09/a-very-small-robbery-guillermo-del-toro-raids-criterion-vault/) the Criterion Collection vault.

Lucky SOB.

[Winston*]

Can anyone recommend some good films from Weimar Germany?

[Yxklyx]

Can anyone recommend some good films from Weimar Germany?

- cream of the crop
M (Fritz Lang)
The Blue Light (Béla Balázs & Leni Riefenstahl)
Asphalt (Joe May)
Metropolis (Fritz Lang)
The Love of Jeanne Ney (Georg Wilhelm Pabst)

- very good
The Last Laugh (F.W. Murnau)
Pandora's Box (Georg Wilhelm Pabst)
Diary of a Lost Girl (Georg Wilhelm Pabst)
The Hands of Orlac (Robert Wiene)
Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler (Fritz Lang)
The Blue Angel (Josef von Sternberg)

Asphalt has the best seduction sequence ever put on film.

[soitgoes...]

Can anyone recommend some good films from Weimar Germany?I'd consider the following all pretty great:

Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler, Metropolis, M and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse - Lang
Faust, Last Laugh and Nosferatu - Murnau
Leibelei - Ophüls
Kameradschaft, Westfront 1918, Diary of a Lost Girl - Pabst
Blue Angel - von Sternberg
People on Sunday - Siodmak, Siodmak, Ulmer, Zinnemann
Asphalt - May
Berlin: Symphony of a Great City - Ruttmann
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari - Wiene
The Oyster Princess - Lubitsch

[Watashi]

Despite Zack Snyder entering PG territory, Legends of the Guardians still has his trademark stylized action all throughout and this time it doesn't feel distracting because it works in animation giving some coherence to all the frantic owl action.

It's story is a rote Star Wars/Lord of the Rings mish-mash with some interesting twists (a rare kids film that doesn't glorify being a hero), but it's main attraction are the awe-inspiring visuals. There are some really gorgeous moments to be found. It's one flaw is that there's just one pop song in the middle that brought the film to a sudden halt. I'd definitely recommend it to fans of early Don Bluth material.

[Derek]

Despite Zack Snyder entering PG territory, Legends of the Guardians still has his trademark stylized action all throughout and this time it doesn't feel distracting because it works in animation giving some coherence to all the frantic owl action.

You can trademark slow-motion?

[Watashi]

You can trademark slow-motion?
There's slow-motion and then there's Zack Snyder slow-motion.

He has a fetish for it, but out of all his films, animation suits it better.

[Ezee E]

Never knew Snyder even came out with a new movie. I did notice that the movie had some great looking visuals in its trailer, but the whole "Owls of Ga'Hoole" is the dumbest title I've ever seen.

[Ezee E]

And I'll back Wats up on the Snyder "slomo" technique. He overdoes it to the point that you can almost recognize it. The Legends of the Guardian may be an exception just because it was animated, but I bet when Sucker Punch comes out, one will notice.

[Chac Mool]

Stanley Donen's "Charade" may be one of the most entertaining films I've ever seen. It mixes mystery, comedy, action and love story flawlessly, benefits from terrific performances, is intimately attuned to its lush Paris setting and doesn't seem to have aged a day in 40 years. Wow.

[Bosco B Thug]

Stanley Donen's "Charade" may be one of the most entertaining films I've ever seen. It mixes mystery, comedy, action and love story flawlessly, benefits from terrific performances, is intimately attuned to its lush Paris setting and doesn't seem to have aged a day in 40 years. Wow. People aren't nice to Charade here, but I still cling to my young memories of it that are very much like yours above. So much of it has stuck in my brain even though I haven't seen it in several years.

[Grouchy]

Stanley Donen's "Charade" may be one of the most entertaining films I've ever seen. It mixes mystery, comedy, action and love story flawlessly, benefits from terrific performances, is intimately attuned to its lush Paris setting and doesn't seem to have aged a day in 40 years. Wow.
Yeah, fantastic film. Hollywood at its sexiest.

[Skitch]

Agreed, Charade is wonderful.

[Morris Schæffer]

Was Arabaseque from Stanley Donen? I've seen that one. A fun adventure.

[DavidSeven]

Charade is one of my favorite films. As Hollywood entertainment, it's perfect.

[B-side]

Youth in Revolt is funny. I laughed out loud, which doesn't happen too often with most alleged comedies. I'll smile, smirk, or maybe even chuckle a bit, but I rarely laugh out loud. Now that I've established myself as a curmudgeonly individual, I'd like to get onto discussing the specifics of the film, if you don't mind. Not that I have to prove myself to you anyway, silly internet nerd. Anywho, I was initially put off by the ads for this, kind of assuming it was another "Michael Cera plays the awkward teenager" comedy, but I was surprised to discover a rather funny wish-fulfillment adventure with Cera injecting enough caustic wit to please a lonely 65 year old man with 17 illegitimate Nicaraguan lovechildren like myself. Cera's alter-ego is pretty much a riot right from the get-go. It does occasionally feel as typical as I had initially feared, but the dialogue cracks and pops more often than not, which keeps it floating.

[dmk]

I found Youth in Revolt more sad than funny. Or maybe it's just the sadness I remember most. I like it a lot.

[Chac Mool]

Another recent rewatch: "Kill Bill" over two days.

The pastiche of archetypal scenes, genre tropes and references is a pleasure. The action scenes are exciting -- I was struck by how coherently QT, a talky filmmaker, staged certain fights (why can't all directors do that?). The dialogue is often artificial but always memorable, with crisp one-liners and meaty, rich monologues.

But for all that, the performances make the movie resonate. They give it its soul. This is particularly apparent in the second film -- consider the bruised, disbelieving fury coursing beneath Bill's charm in his first appearance in the chapel, or the seedy mix of opportunism and nostalgia in Bud's eyes (here's a man who has fallen very far, and who knows it, and who, worst of all, knows he's only going to keep falling), or the relish with which Esteban Vihaio, one of Bill's father figures, rolls his tongue around English words as he talks about cutting up one of his girl's faces (the merest glimpse, but an ugly one, of what Bill's childhood may have been like). The film's emotional charge, an mere undercurrent in Vol. 1 but slowly surfacing in Vol. 2, finds release in the final Chapter, whose bittersweet coda is that some things that are done cannot be undone (what a theme for a violent revenge movie!).

[number8]

Yes! The coherency of the action in Kill Bill is often overlooked because people focus on the pastiche and gore. It's really good action direction, and I remember watching a behind-the-scenes interview with him before the movie came out that that was exactly what QT was hoping to do. He said his first three movies were all about dialogue and images, but he wanted to do a straight-up action movie to see if he can direct an action scene like Cameron, Woo, etc. He called it his test.

[baby doll]

Charade is perfectly competent at what it sets out to do, but it's hardly ambitious, and the idea that some people consider it some kind of masterpiece (the apotheosis of Hollywood cinema as light, disposable entertainment?) continues to mystify me. I mean, it's not exactly Notorious, is it?

[Qrazy]

Charade is perfectly competent at what it sets out to do, but it's hardly ambitious, and the idea that some people consider it some kind of masterpiece (the apotheosis of Hollywood cinema as light, disposable entertainment?) continues to mystify me. I mean, it's not exactly Notorious, is it?

Well I mean Notorious isn't exactly "Insert the list of hundreds of Hollywood films I like more than Notorious".

[Grouchy]

Charade is perfectly competent at what it sets out to do, but it's hardly ambitious, and the idea that some people consider it some kind of masterpiece (the apotheosis of Hollywood cinema as light, disposable entertainment?) continues to mystify me. I mean, it's not exactly Notorious, is it?
You are dumb as a post.

[MadMan]

What I've seen of Youth in Revolt may have made me smile or chuckle, but I didn't laugh. I'll give it another shot, though.

Charade is delightful, and is something that (as much as I hate to say) Hitchcock would have directed back in his prime. Grant and Hepburn have excellent chemistry, but everyone forgets how awesome the rest of the cast is-Cogburn, Kennedy, and Mathau. Its got suspense, comedy, and action, all mixed in together. Not sure where the comparrisons to Notorious really lie, especially since as great as Notourious is I feel its a tad overrated-Hitchcock did far better.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I very much like Charade. I agree with baby doll (really?) that it's no masterpiece, but it's extremely enjoyable and entertaining. It's one of those films that is near impossible to watch and not smile the whole way through.

[baby doll]

Charade is delightful, and is something that (as much as I hate to say) Hitchcock would have directed back in his prime.Maybe a minor Hitchcock, like To Catch a Thief or North by Northwest--you know, one of those light comedy-thrillers that he churned out in between more adventurous films.

[Derek]

I hate Charade and find it the polar opposite of delightful. Thanks for Bosco for pointing out how many people here dislike it, which has clearly turned out to be the case. :|

Reminds me, I miss Jesse/Othello.

[Derek]

Maybe a minor Hitchcock, like To Catch a Thief or North by Northwest--you know, one of those light comedy-thrillers that he churned out in between more adventurous films.

It's more like Family Plot than either of those, but I far prefer Hitchcock's lighter fair like that one or The Trouble With Harry to Charade.

[Raiders]

I also dislike Charade, but then again I am somewhat ambivalent towards Hitchcock's North by Northwest which seems the model, only Hitch is far craftier than Donen.

[baby doll]

It's more like Family Plot than either of those, but I far prefer Hitchcock's lighter fair like that one or The Trouble With Harry to Charade.But here's the thing: I think The Trouble With Harry and Family Plot, despite their relatively light tone next to say The Wrong Man and Vertigo (also terrific films), are actually really ambitious in terms of their structure, where Hitchcock, or at least his screenwriters, seem to be playing with the overall shape of the narrative. The beginning of Family Plot is just brilliant, where you have these two story lines about two couples that seem at first totally unrelated.

[Winston*]

The Odessa Steps sequence is amazing but on the whole I think Strike! is a superior film to The Battleship Potemkin in making me want to cast off my capitalist oppressors. They throw a baby off a 3 story building, why would you do that?

[Bosco B Thug]

But here's the thing: I think The Trouble With Harry and Family Plot, despite their relatively light tone next to say The Wrong Man and Vertigo (also terrific films), are actually really ambitious in terms of their structure, where Hitchcock, or at least his screenwriters, seem to be playing with the overall shape of the narrative. The beginning of Family Plot is just brilliant, where you have these two story lines about two couples that seem at first totally unrelated. Family Plot's good, I'm sure we can all agree Hitchcock brings a little more to the table in general than Donan does.

Sorry MacGuffin, not too impressed with Blood Feast. But that 3 counts for something, and that's the experience of watching it in all its amusing incompetence and genuine off-kilter sensibility. If anything, you're right that it does a lot with so very little, and there's the sense that it does everything it wants to do without any compromises. And it was morsel-y, and didn't make me sit through thirty more minutes of nonsense like a Nightmare on Elm Street film.

Cowards Bend the Knee is gold - its story is a fabulously smart and searingly humorous discourse on karmic gendered neurosis and chaotic sexual instinct - but I'm just not in love with Maddin's style. Its constant inspiration compensates for me, though.

[Spinal]

The Room: The Video Game (http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/09/play_the_room_the_video_game.h tml)

[Rowland]

Some of Christopher Doyle's work for Neil Jordan's significantly flawed but more-rewarding-than-not Ondine:

(no spoilers, just condensing post size)
http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/2266/ondine2.jpg
http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/1233/ondine3.jpg
http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/2849/ondine4.jpg
http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/5608/ondine5.jpg
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/149/ondine6.jpg
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/8264/ondine7.jpg
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/435/ondine8.jpg
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/5167/ondine9.jpg
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/5067/ondine10.jpg
http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/2861/ondine11.jpg
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/4696/ondine12.jpghttp://img207.imageshack.us/img207/2273/ondine1.jpg

[B-side]

The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting (Ruiz, 1979) ***½

:)

Thoughts?

[NickGlass]

Some of Christopher Doyle's work for Neil Jordan's significantly flawed but more-rewarding-than-not Ondine:

(no spoilers, just condensing post size)
http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/2266/ondine2.jpg
http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/1233/ondine3.jpg
http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/2849/ondine4.jpg
http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/5608/ondine5.jpg
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/149/ondine6.jpg
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/8264/ondine7.jpg
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/435/ondine8.jpg
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/5167/ondine9.jpg
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/5067/ondine10.jpg
http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/2861/ondine11.jpg
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/4696/ondine12.jpghttp://img207.imageshack.us/img207/2273/ondine1.jpg


I appreciate you only posting pretty pictures and not actually indulging in its ludicrous characters and narrative twist. Sorry, I kind of hated it (http://www.thelmagazine.com/newyork/neil-jordans-fairytale-fail/Content?oid=1647837).

[Ezee E]

I'm now taking the opinion that Dustin Hoffman might have the longest stretch of great performances by an actor. I've missed a few of them, but from The Graduate to Hook, he's great in everything I see him in, even if the movie itself isn't great (to which Little Big Man might be the only one out of the bunch).

[Watashi]

I'm now taking the opinion that Dustin Hoffman might have the longest stretch of great performances by an actor. I've missed a few of them, but from The Graduate to Hook, he's great in everything I see him in, even if the movie itself isn't great (to which Little Big Man might be the only one out of the bunch).
He's great in Wag the Dog and I Heart Huckabees. He should do more comedy.

[Stay Puft]

I just have to post to say that I finally have Netflix Instant Streaming up here in Canada and it is glorious.

[Ezee E]

He's great in Wag the Dog and I Heart Huckabees. He should do more comedy.
He has plenty of good performances later too, but it's a similar dropoff to what DeNiro has, only it's supporting roles instead of main ones. Weird that he's only had one main role since Sphere (oi...).

Was Magorium comedy? That and the Meet the Fockers sequels, he's done plenty of comedy lately.

[Ezee E]

Watching Ghostbusters 2 and you know that you're a good actor when you can pull off the line, "The tub tried to eat Oscar," and not get a snicker out of it.

[Spinal]

The one bad Dustin Hoffman performance i can think of is Perfume, a film I otherwise like a lot. He seems miscast in that one.

[Qrazy]

The one bad Dustin Hoffman performance i can think of is Perfume, a film I otherwise like a lot. He seems miscast in that one.

I didn't find it to be a bad performance, just not a stand out one.

[transmogrifier]

Dustin Hoffman is one of those well-regarded actors, along with Sam Rockwell, Ben Kingsley, John Malkovich and Jeremy Irons, who I just can't warm to. They are all so obviously ""actors" in everything, and they all project an artificiality that just decompresses whatever film they are in.

Others probably include Clive Owen, Colin Farrell, Christian Bale....

[Stay Puft]

I just have to post to say that I finally have Netflix Instant Streaming up here in Canada and it is glorious.

I have discovered a potential problem.

The perceived convenience and availability of the service and its offerings may lead to my wasting even more of my time watching bad movies.

Case in point, I just watched (500) Days of Summer on a whim. I kinda feel like stabbing myself in the eyes right now.

[Watashi]

Dustin Hoffman is one of those well-regarded actors, along with Sam Rockwell, Ben Kingsley, John Malkovich and Jeremy Irons, who I just can't warm to. They are all so obviously ""actors" in everything, and they all project an artificiality that just decompresses whatever film they are in.

Others probably include Clive Owen, Colin Farrell, Christian Bale....
What actors do you like then?

[Qrazy]

Dustin Hoffman is one of those well-regarded actors, along with Sam Rockwell, Ben Kingsley, John Malkovich and Jeremy Irons, who I just can't warm to. They are all so obviously ""actors" in everything, and they all project an artificiality that just decompresses whatever film they are in.

Others probably include Clive Owen, Colin Farrell, Christian Bale....


No. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S24yQQMuCLk)

Midnight Cowboy Spoilers ^

[Scar]

I have discovered a potential problem.

The perceived convenience and availability of the service and its offerings may lead to my wasting even more of my time watching bad movies.

Case in point, I just watched (500) Days of Summer on a whim. I kinda feel like stabbing myself in the eyes right now.

Oedipus?

[Stay Puft]

Unintentional. Just saying I hated the movie. Ending induced a gag reflex.

I did enjoy picking out random television actors in the supporting cast. A shot of Zooey standing next to the actress who plays the prosecuting attorney from Bones, starring Zooey's sister, is a fun connection. That's about all I was focusing on for 90 minutes.

[balmakboor]

The one bad Dustin Hoffman performance i can think of is Perfume, a film I otherwise like a lot. He seems miscast in that one.

I was going to say the same thing. Those few Hoffman scenes pulled me right out of the movie.

[Winston*]

The one bad Dustin Hoffman performance i can think of is Perfume, a film I otherwise like a lot. He seems miscast in that one.

The lead guy in that movie was more miscast.

[Milky Joe]

Dustin Hoffman is one of those well-regarded actors, along with Sam Rockwell, Ben Kingsley, John Malkovich and Jeremy Irons, who I just can't warm to. They are all so obviously ""actors" in everything, and they all project an artificiality that just decompresses whatever film they are in.

Others probably include Clive Owen, Colin Farrell, Christian Bale....

:|

Hoffman is ten times the actor that any of those other people you mentioned are, barring maybe Ben Kingsley. And, as opposed to say De Niro and Pacino, is one of the only 'big name actors' who doesn't seem to me to be obviously an "actor." The guy melts into his roles as well as anybody.

[transmogrifier]

What actors do you like then?

I don't really follow actors all that much anymore. Auteur theory all the way!

[transmogrifier]

:|

Hoffman is ten times the actor that any of those other people you mentioned are, barring maybe Ben Kingsley. And, as opposed to say De Niro and Pacino, is one of the only 'big name actors' who doesn't seem to me to be obviously an "actor." The guy melts into his roles as well as anybody.

I like Pacino - he is theatrical and over-the-top a lot, but he always seems to be part of the film's universe. To me, Dustin Hoffman is like an alien in a foreign land - he never seems "right", even though he is not necessarily just playing Dustin Hoffman in every movie. I don't know, it's very subjective.

[balmakboor]

I liked Restrepo a lot.

[balmakboor]

I don't really follow actors all that much anymore. Auteur theory all the way!

But where would Ford be without Wayne? Hitchcock without Stewart? Fincher without Pitt?

[Derek]

But where would Ford be without Wayne? Hitchcock without Stewart? Fincher without Pitt?

Making the same great films with different, probably less talented, actors... :)

[Rowland]

:)

Thoughts?
I appreciate you only posting pretty pictures and not actually indulging in its ludicrous characters and narrative twist. Sorry, I kind of hated it (http://www.thelmagazine.com/newyork/neil-jordans-fairytale-fail/Content?oid=1647837).So I remember to respond later...

[Rowland]

I liked Restrepo a lot.I thought this was merely okay for what it is. D'Angelo's reason for walking out on the movie comes to mind, being that it's precisely what he expected it to be.

[Grouchy]

I gotta say, I think Dustin's performance in Midnight Cowboy is extraordinary, and one of my favorite charactes in cinema as a whole... and yet I have a skin phobia to Dustin Hoffman in most of his other movies. I can't really tell why, I think he's a very good actor, but he never became likeable for me, and I often sense he's phoning it in.

Eh, I also like him in Straw Dogs.

[Ezee E]

Most people haven't seen Lenny. And how could you not love his work in Dick Tracy?

[Qrazy]

I gotta say, I think Dustin's performance in Midnight Cowboy is extraordinary, and one of my favorite charactes in cinema as a whole... and yet I have a skin phobia to Dustin Hoffman in most of his other movies. I can't really tell why, I think he's a very good actor, but he never became likeable for me, and I often sense he's phoning it in.

Eh, I also like him in Straw Dogs.

Have you seen Schlondorff's Death of a Salesman? He devastates that role.

He's also quite good in Papillon although the film as a whole is a mixed bag.

[Rowland]

Is this just collective amnesia, or are we actively ignoring his performance in Sphere?

Seriously though, I recall him being quite solid in supporting roles for many mediocre movies, including Runaway Jury, Confidence, Wag the Dog, Sleepers... *shrug*

[Skitch]

You know what? I've enjoyed Dustin Hoffmans performance in every single film you guys have named so far.

I've never sat through all of Rain Man. No desire to either.

[Skitch]

Correction, there was nothing good about I Heart Huckabees, but i$ not holding that against Hoffman. ;)

[number8]

Dustin Hoffman was the least impressive thing about I Heart Huckabees.