28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[D_Davis]

Bah! Jason X is hilarious fun.

Jason X rules. Not as much as Freddy Vs. Jason, but it is damn fun.

[EvilShoe]

Jason X is terrible, but it has Cronenberg and therefore can't possibly be the worst horror movie ever made.

[megladon8]

Jason X rules. Not as much as Freddy Vs. Jason, but it is damn fun.


I agree completely.

Freddy vs. Jason is hilarious, pure fun and entertainment.

Jason X was knowingly retarded, and was all the better for it.

It's also worth noting that the only reason Jason X was made was to get the Jason character over to New Line so that they could make Freddy vs. Jason.

[EvilShoe]

Call me old-fashioned, but I don't think we should applaud a movie for being "knowingly retarded".

[D_Davis]

It's also the last one to have the real Jason - Kane Hodder.

I can watch Jason X or FvJ just about any time and have a ton of fun.

[megladon8]

Call me old-fashioned, but I don't think we should applaud a movie for being "knowingly retarded".


I'm not applauding it for that, I'm simply saying it doesn't have any allusions to being a good movie.

It's fun and funny as hell.

[Sycophant]

Call me old-fashioned, but I don't think we should applaud a movie for being "knowingly retarded".Isn't that another term for a specific branch of camp?

Not that I'm all that into camp.

[D_Davis]

Call me old-fashioned, but I don't think we should applaud a movie for being "knowingly retarded".

Speak for yourself. House of the Dead also rules. One of the best bad movies of all time. Have a group of guys over, throw on HotD - instant fun.

[EvilShoe]

I find bad (especially horror) movies to be more enjoyable when the filmmaker at least thinks he's making a good movie.

Uwe Boll vehemently defends House of the Dead at times, so I don't think it counts as "knowingly retarded".

[megladon8]

Speak for yourself. House of the Dead also rules. One of the best bad movies of all time. Have a group of guys over, throw on HotD - instant fun.


Yep, I also find House of the Dead to be hilarious fun.

Alone in the Dark, however...ugh...that really is one of the worst movies ever.

[D_Davis]

Yep, I also find House of the Dead to be hilarious fun.

Alone in the Dark, however...ugh...that really is one of the worst movies ever.

Yeah - Alone in the Dark is the opposite of fun.

[megladon8]

Yeah - Alone in the Dark is the opposite of fun.


Man, we're agreeing a lot today!

Are the planets in allignment or something??

[Qrazy]

Starman is not good.

[Ivan Drago]

All this talk of Uwe Boll movies reminds me - I might go see In The Name of the King on Saturday. Just because.


Starman is not good.

The David Bowie song or the Carpenter movie? ;)

[Morris Schæffer]

Starman rather impressed me as well when I saw it a long time ago.

[lovejuice]

Starman is not good.


The David Bowie song or the Carpenter movie? ;)

huh, i thought the carpenter movie is called Superstar. ;)

[Qrazy]

huh, i thought the carpenter movie is called Superstar. ;)

That's the film about the anorexic conservative rock star who turns out to be an alien right?

[Qrazy]

All this talk of Uwe Boll movies reminds me - I might go see In The Name of the King on Saturday. Just because.


Rent In the Name of the Father instead.

[origami_mustache]

http://jurgenfauth.com/wp-content/uploads/Eraserhead.JPG

I finally saw Eraserhead. It's a bizarrely hilarious and dreamlike mind-fuck with great cinematography and even more impressive sound design. The atmospheric industrial drones, rumbles, static, and hissing of the steam really drives the film. The orchestration of the room tones, background noises, and fx all mesh to create a rhythmic soundtrack that acts as score, sounding like a Black Dice album, or even Merzbow at times. Just as the images employ oneiric recall tactics, so do the sounds. Although The Elephant Man remains my favorite Lynch film, Eraserhead showcases his original visionary style and talents, and is likely his most significant work.

[megladon8]

Anyone seen the Spanish crime film The Aura?

[Winston*]

Anyone seen the Spanish crime film The Aura?

I have. It's only okay.

[megladon8]

I have. It's only okay.


Hmmm...may rent it someday :)

Not sure if they're representative of the actual look of the film, but the photo section of its IMDb page has some beautifully composed shots.

[Ezee E]

Anyone seen the Spanish crime film The Aura?
I missed this at a film festival either a year or two ago. I thought it was from Argentina though.

I wanted to see it because of the photos they printed in the festival booklet.

[Mal]

The Diving Bell and Butterfly is like an old love note discovered in a shoe box from your past. Julian Schnabel's direction, much matured since the other film I've seen from him Basquiat, wavers between the past, present, and dreams of Jean-Dominique Bauby, our boxed-in hero who allows us to experience his life. Although the composition takes some getting used to at first, it's easy to accept this surreal perception through Bauby as soon as his plight is diagnosed. I was at times reminded of Russian Ark, where a dream-like environment is used to express history- this is Bauby's history and his feelings, all presented to us in ways that we can easily identify with. Although I had some minor quibbles with the content, Schnabel magically allows us to grasp the beauty of life through Bauby, beyond and within his restricted senses, in masterful and refreshing ways.

[Rowland]

Fracture (Hoblit, 2007) 4.0YES. I'm amazed that this was as well-received as it was. It's such an empty movie, dispiritingly so with the banal twist and ending scenes. I was psyched for it after reading so much praise from the critical community about how smart it supposedly was, and instead I got this movie that is absolutely unconvincing and unimaginative. Even the lauded performances didn't impress, with an overly twitchy Gosling and Hopkins coasting through his usual schtick. It wasn't even preposterous enough to be a respectable guilty pleasure.

[Rowland]

I "like" House of the Dead as well. Mind you, I gave it a one-star rating, as it is wholly devoid of any real value, but man... that cemetery shootout is a corker, in a retarded kinda way. And yes, Alone in the Dark is just boring as hell.

[EvilShoe]

YES. I'm amazed that this was as well-received as it was. It's such an empty movie, hilariously so with the banal twist and ending scenes. I was psyched for it after reading so much praise from the critical community about how smart it supposedly was, and instead I got this movie that is absolutely unconvincing and unimaginative. Even the lauded performances didn't impress, with an overly twitchy Gosling and Hopkins coasting through his usual schtick. It wasn't even preposterous enough to be a respectable guilty pleasure.
I remember sitting there in the theater (it was part of a film quiz, I had no choice!) at least expecting a crazy twist. There was none.

My girlfriend had trouble breathing halfway during the movie, and we went outside for roughly 10 minutes. She said it was the heat that had gotten to her, but I'm not buying it.

[Sven]

Starman is not good.

I would like you to explain, plz. Kthx!

[Derek]

YES. I'm amazed that this was as well-received as it was. It's such an empty movie, hilariously so with the banal twist and ending scenes. I was psyched for it after reading so much praise from the critical community about how smart it supposedly was, and instead I got this movie that is absolutely unconvincing and unimaginative. Even the lauded performances didn't impress, with an overly twitchy Gosling and Hopkins coasting through his usual schtick. It wasn't even preposterous enough to be a respectable guilty pleasure.

Yup, I have no idea how this was so well-received. It's pure fluff, yet like you said, not nearly ridiculous or imaginative enough to even become enjoyable. The fact that the entire film rests on the premise that Hopkins is somehow certain that his wife's lover will be the first cop on the scene at that no one else will enter until his devious plan is set in action is infuriating. Of course, parsing the plot holes in this film could take us all week, so suffice it to say that they could be tolerated if the film weren't so bland and safe. There's nothing remotely surprising and even Gosling and Hopkins can't really do much with the material. It was interesting to see this so soon after rewatching Hoblit's other twisty-turny courtroom thriller Primal Fear, which despite my fond memories, rests on the same ridiculous plot twists and a fairly one-note performance from an otherwise strong actor. At least that one still had some entertainment value to it.

[Rowland]

I don't remember Primal Fear looking like a CSI episode. Did they share a similar esthetic, or is that just how Hoblit's style has evolved over the years?

[Yxklyx]

I missed this at a film festival either a year or two ago. I thought it was from Argentina though.

I wanted to see it because of the photos they printed in the festival booklet.

It's ok. I gave it a 7/10. Nine Queens is much better. It's sad that the director died.

[Derek]

I don't remember Primal Fear looking like a CSI episode. Did they share a similar esthetic, or is that just how Hoblit's style has evolved over the years?

No, aesthetically they're pretty different, but narratively and performance-wise, they're remarkably similar. Primal Fear is definitely superior, but unfortunately, it doesn't hold up at all.

[MacGuffin]

Next viewings (in no real set order yet):

Vendredi soir (Claire Denis) [rewatch]
Black Book (Paul Verhoeven)
La Belle noiseuse (Jacques Rivette)
Silent Shout: An Audio Visual Experience (Marius Dybwas Brandrud)

[Sven]

Black Book (Paul Verhoeven)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/Random%20good%20pictures/ag-burns.jpg

[MacGuffin]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/iosos/Random%20good%20pictures/ag-burns.jpg

I'm 98% sure I'll like it. I haven't seen Schindler's List, but I've heard it's that with more female breasts. Plus, Verhoeven's interview in Cinema Scope was excellent.

[Rowland]

I'm 98% sure I'll like it. I haven't seen Schindler's List, but I've heard it's that with more female breasts.Uh, no. Punch whoever said that. And just to clarify, there are male breasts too. ;)

I liked Lust, Caution more, which shares many similarities with this movie.

[MacGuffin]

Uh, no. Punch whoever said that. And just to clarify, there are male breasts too.

Well, to be fair, they called it Schindler's List meets SS Girls... I guess I just assumed... it was a Netflix review...

[Sven]

I'm 98% sure I'll like it. I haven't seen Schindler's List, but I've heard it's that with more female breasts. Plus, Verhoeven's interview in Cinema Scope was excellent.

Yeah, actually Schindler's List probably has more breasts in it than this one, not to mention that Spielberg's film is far more, umm... emotional? Verhoeven's is more espionagey.

And everything that Verhoeven says is excellent. You should listen to his commentaries. Nobody, except maybe John Carpenter when partnered with Kurt Russell and a six-pack, does better commentaries.

[Rowland]

And everything that Verhoeven says is excellent. You should listen to his commentaries. Nobody, except maybe John Carpenter when partnered with Kurt Russell and a six-pack, does better commentaries.Francis Ford Coppola does amazing commentaries.

Any particularly notable ones by Verhoeven spring to mind?

[MacGuffin]

Yeah, actually Schindler's List probably has more breasts in it than this one, not to mention that Spielberg's film is far more, umm... emotional? Verhoeven's is more espionagey.

And everything that Verhoeven says is excellent. You should listen to his commentaries. Nobody, except maybe John Carpenter when partnered with Kurt Russell and a six-pack, does better commentaries.

He didn't do the commentary for the original unrated Basic Instinct DVD. Instead, we got some feminist critic who did the commentary.

[Sven]

Francis Ford Coppola does amazing commentaries.

I will check this out.


Any particularly notable ones by Verhoeven spring to mind?

The best commentary I've ever heard, bar none, is the Starship Troopers commentary, with him and Ed Neumeier (who did the script). I'd reeeeeaaaaally love a Verhoeven Showgirls commentary.

[Ezee E]

Yeah. Black Book is more Hitchcock in WWII then Schindler's List. Still great though. It'll get my vote for Best Actress for teh Houten.

[transmogrifier]

Yeah. Black Book is more Hitchcock in WWII then Schindler's List. Still great though. It'll get my vote for Best Actress for teh Houten.

Take out the last 20 minutes or so, and I would have liked the movie a lot more. The chocolate foreshadowing is groan-inducing.

[Watashi]

I think you should watch Schindler's List over Black Book.

[Rowland]

Take out the last 20 minutes or so, and I would have liked the movie a lot more. The chocolate foreshadowing is groan-inducing.Indeed. The last act really threw me for a loop with all of its increasingly stifling machinations.

[Qrazy]

Good Morning was terrific, my fourth Ozu. I was happy I enjoyed it so much after being rather disappointed with Late Spring. Although my problems with Late Spring had nothing to do with it's aesthetic, I think I prefer Ozu's color outings to his black and white works. As I've found this to be the case I'm going to check out An Autumn Afternoon next.

[soitgoes...]

Good Morning was terrific, my fourth Ozu. I was happy I enjoyed it so much after being rather disappointed with Late Spring. Although my problems with Late Spring had nothing to do with it's aesthetic, I think I prefer Ozu's color outings to his black and white works. As I've found this to be the case I'm going to check out An Autumn Afternoon next.
Interesting. I found Late Spring to be among his best works, which is saying a lot since I rate many of his films so highly. Good Morning was one of my least favorite of his. Still good, but somehow a lesser film. Late Autumn is his best color film that I have seen. It has quite a bit of humor, but it stars Setsuko Hara which I believe you said you didn't care for in Late Spring. Not sure if you just didn't like her in that movie or if its a general thing. Either way I think you must be :crazy:.

[soitgoes...]

I'm 98% sure I'll like it. I haven't seen Schindler's List, but I've heard it's that with more female breasts. Plus, Verhoeven's interview in Cinema Scope was excellent.
If its boobies you're after, go for La Belle noiseuse. So much nakedness wrapped in a great film. Emmanuelle Béart. *drools*

[Ezee E]

Play Misty For Me is pretty good. It's strange seeing it come from Clint Eastwood because I'd never think he'd direct a movie like that, much less star in one as well. It is a bit overlong, with a pointless 15-minute scene at a concert that consists of about 12 minutes of music.

Evelyn is great as the stalker that won't go away.

Oh yeah, I think I may go to the Raiders Rosenbaum scale now.

[soitgoes...]

It is a bit overlong, with a pointless 15-minute scene at a concert that consists of about 12 minutes of music.

This kinda killed the film for me. It completely took me out of the story. Otherwise it would've been a decent flick.

[Russ]

Evelyn is great as the stalker that won't go away.She was great in AD too

[Ezee E]

She was great in AD too
whoa? That's her? Awesome. I did not know that.

[soitgoes...]

She was great in AD too
I never knew that was the same person. Cool.

[Sven]

I loved the bit at Monterey.

It's a very good movie. I'd say one of his best. That, Pale Rider, Perfect World, Unforgiven.

[Bosco B Thug]

This kinda killed the film for me. It completely took me out of the story. Otherwise it would've been a decent flick. Yeah, it's a pretty awful scene, but it's also kinda charming that the now-classy prestige director Eastwood wasn't above the gratuitousness we'd expect from from 70s genre flicks.

[megladon8]

I loved the bit at Monterey.

It's a very good movie. I'd say one of his best. That, Pale Rider, Perfect World, Unforgiven.


I've seen a surprisingly small number of Clint Eastwood's directorial works.

But I always love finding someone else who loves Unforgiven. I think it's a genuine masterpiece.

[Ezee E]

I loved the bit at Monterey.

It's a very good movie. I'd say one of his best. That, Pale Rider, Perfect World, Unforgiven.
Psaw. Josey Wales!

[Sven]

Psaw. Josey Wales!

Call me crazy (redundant at this point), but I only find that film moderately successful. It works as a western, but it is rather long and monotonous at times. There's no poetry.

[Raiders]

I'll take High Plains Drifter above all of them. That there is one beautiful and haunting western.

[megladon8]

I wasn't an enormous fan of The Outlaw Josey Wales, either.

High Plains Drifter is much better.

[Marley]

Anyone know if Kaidan (1964) is any good?

[Raiders]

Anyone know if Kaidan (1964) is any good?

Meh. "Hoichi the Earless" was pretty memorable, the rest not so much.

[Sven]

I'll take High Plains Drifter above all of them. That there is one beautiful and haunting western.

It's good, but I'm not so sure it pulls off the haunting dreaminess as well as Pale Rider does. In my mind, Pale Rider is like a better remake. HPD is a little too blunt to be dreamy. But I like it. ***1/2

[transmogrifier]

Call me crazy (redundant at this point), but I only find that film moderately successful. It works as a western, but it is rather long and monotonous at times. There's no poetry.

Substitute "western" for "mood piece", and "long" for "obvious" and you'd have my thoughts on No Country for Old Men exactly.

[Marley]

Meh. "Hoichi the Earless" was pretty memorable, the rest not so much.

Okie dokie.

I rented it tonight on a whim because of the awesome cover-art and the premise sounded intriguing to say the least. Japanese horror film from the 60's? I'm so there.

[Raiders]

Okie dokie.

I rented it tonight on a whim because of the awesome cover-art and the premise sounded intriguing to say the least. Japanese horror film from the 60's? I'm so there.

Check out Jigoku for superior 60s Japanese horror.

[Philosophe_rouge]

28 Weeks Later was thoroughly engaging, always tense, recurrently effective as an approximation of the demoralizing atrocities of ill-defined militarism, fear, and warfare (whether in war, in the blood = the virus, or in the family)... but garddangit if that wasn't one of the most sloppiest, slap-dash, and ineptly put-together big-budget mainstream film I've ever witnessed. The director and editor seemed to only function on two modes: haphazard montage of beautiful imagery (a good thing ruined!) and incomprehensible action sequence.

Too overcooked and overdone to be really good, but I'm thinking I should bump it up to a 6 because it strikes me as a too somber and serious The Host.
I thought the opening scene was incredible, but it quickly dissolved into video game mode and I lost most interest. There are some great moments but overall it was meh.

[megladon8]

Check out Jigoku for superior 60s Japanese horror.


I'll also throw Onibaba in the mix.

Still very scary, and beautifully filmed.

[Marley]

Check out Jigoku for superior 60s Japanese horror.

Hopefully the place I rent from carries it. Sounds a little obscure.

Thanks Raiders.

[Watashi]

Secret of NIMH was a lot darker than I remembered. Still a pretty good film that doesn't feature any hokie songs or comic sidekicks.

[Spinal]

Secret of NIMH was a lot darker than I remembered. Still an pretty good film that doesn't feature any hokie songs or comic sidekicks.

This is a rare opportunity where I get to say that you've rated an animated film too low. But it does have a comic sidekick.

[soitgoes...]

I'll take High Plains Drifter above all of them. That there is one beautiful and haunting western.
Yes. This is the correct answer.

[Boner M]

weekend

Nightmare Alley
The War Zone (rpt)
American Gangster / Lust, Caution / I Am Legend (at least one of 'em)

[chrisnu]

Picked up The Thin Red Line in the bargain bin today. I'll probably see that and one of these three: Persepolis, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, or The Savages.

[soitgoes...]

Weekend:
Election(2005)
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On

[Winston*]

One of these:

Movies
No Movies

[Sycophant]

No Movies
If you go with this one, please let me know what you think.

[transmogrifier]

If you go with this one, please let me know what you think.

Overrated. No sense of rhythm or pacing - drags for long periods, with unsympathetic characters, and far too many POV shots.

[Boner M]

Mike Leigh has a new film premiering at Berlin next month, entitled Happy-Go-Lucky, with Sally Hawkins. Yay.

[dreamdead]

Weekend:

36th Chamber of Shaolin
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Violent Cop

[Yxklyx]

Weekend:

36th Chamber of Shaolin
Once
Paprika

[D_Davis]

Weekend:

36th Chamber of Shaolin


Awesome.

[Rowland]

Anyone know if Kaidan (1964) is any good?I'm in the minority, but my favorite story is actually the second one, as it is easily the most striking visually. Hoichi the Earless is overlong and obvious.

[Rowland]

28 Weeks Later I missed this post... well, that's too bad. I still think it's easily last year's best horror movie. As for the direction/editing, it struck me as exhilarating and poetic in equal measures.

[Ezee E]

Weekend:
Cabaret (I've had it for a month now. Oops)
Code Unknown
The Osterman Weekend (unless one of the "Very Long Waits" suddenly ships)

Charlie Wilson's War
The Orphanage

[Sycophant]

Weekend

Days of Heaven
Tokyo Story (I swear I'll watch it this time)
I'm Not There
Margot at the Wedding
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Dororo (I don't swear, but I want to)

[Sven]

Mike Leigh has a new film premiering at Berlin next month, entitled Happy-Go-Lucky, with Sally Hawkins. Yay.

Excellent! I was thinking about whether or not Leigh's got anything in the pipes just the other day.

[Ivan Drago]

Weekend:

In The Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale

[lovejuice]

No Movies


If you go with this one, please let me know what you think.


Overrated. No sense of rhythm or pacing - drags for long periods, with unsympathetic characters, and far too many POV shots.

weird, it gives me a real hard-on. are we watching the same thing?

[Raiders]

Weekend:

Caged Heat
Melvin and Howard
There Will Be Blood
Youth Without Youth

[Philosophe_rouge]

Weekend
There Will Be Blood (hopefully)
This Film is Not Yet Rated
Others I haven't decided on yet.

[megladon8]

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (part 4) is easily my favorite of the series so far - better than the original, even.

It's fun, it's silly, it's gory, it has hot 80s women getting naked.

[Duncan]

Interesting. I found Late Spring to be among his best works, which is saying a lot since I rate many of his films so highly. Good Morning was one of my least favorite of his. Still good, but somehow a lesser film. Late Autumn is his best color film that I have seen. It has quite a bit of humor, but it stars Setsuko Hara which I believe you said you didn't care for in Late Spring. Not sure if you just didn't like her in that movie or if its a general thing. Either way I think you must be :crazy:.
I love the girl that plays Yoriko in Late Autumn. I think the reason the film works as well as it does is because of her.

[Mr. Valentine]

weekend:

3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Big Bang Love, Juvenile A
The Orphanage

[Ezee E]

That Dungeon Siege movie is 160 minutes. That's a bit too long for awesome badness.

[Qrazy]

Interesting. I found Late Spring to be among his best works, which is saying a lot since I rate many of his films so highly. Good Morning was one of my least favorite of his. Still good, but somehow a lesser film. Late Autumn is his best color film that I have seen. It has quite a bit of humor, but it stars Setsuko Hara which I believe you said you didn't care for in Late Spring. Not sure if you just didn't like her in that movie or if its a general thing. Either way I think you must be :crazy:.

I don't know whether or not it was just the character or her in general. I'll look into Late Autumn to see. Good Morning was a bit light, but still concise and thematically potent. I'd agree that Tokyo Story and Floating Weeds are denser, but I still enjoyed Good Morning a great deal.

I tend to have one film for certain great directors where I feel that despite formal excellence, their approach to the content completely misses the mark... or at least some element of the film just strikes me as so utterly absurd, grating or just flat out wrong, that I can't enjoy the film. With Bergman it's Autumn Sonata (primarily as a result of the absurd depiction of the invalid sister). With Bresson it's Mouchette (the laughable suicide attempts). There are other examples but they're not coming to mind right now.

[Qrazy]

Anyone know if Kaidan (1964) is any good?

Don't listen to Raiders, it's amazing. Kobayashi in general is amazing. Harakiri is his best, then Kwaidan. Samurai Rebellion has some of the best cinematography in any samurai film. And The Human Condition trilogy while somewhat flawed is an amazing achievement, both in terms of scope and outlook.

[Qrazy]

Yes. This is the correct answer.

The correct answer is Eastwood makes terrible films.

[megladon8]

The correct answer is Eastwood makes terrible films.


Whaaaaa???

Unforgiven...terrible??

[Duncan]

With Bresson it's Mouchette (the laughable suicide attempts). Well, I didn't find the suicide attempts laughable, but I did find something totally off about the very last shot. It's just of the water where she rolls in. I think it's about twenty seconds long, but I swear there's only five seconds of footage. It's played forward, then backward, then forward, then backward. It totally wrecks the temporal continuity. The light reflects all wrong. I can't be certain though. Maybe it really is 20 seconds of footage. Or maybe the effect was intentionally disorienting. Didn't work for me.

[origami_mustache]

weekend:
Yi Yi
Man Bites Dog
My Friend Ivan Lapshin?

[Rowland]

Flanders is the first Dumont movie I've seen, and it's nothing if not hypnotic (frequently bordering on surreal) in its formal austerity and anthropological in its vision of humanity at its basest as just another species in the animal kingdom. Still, it also strikes me as oppressively reductionist, but I can't tell if this is merely the direct function of operating on an aggressively existentialist scale or not. Or maybe his estimation of the human species really is that low. :frustrated:

[Qrazy]

Whaaaaa???

Unforgiven...terrible??

Ok, not all terrible but I find the average total of his films to be such. I don't find Unforgiven to be the masterpiece so many others hail it as.

[Qrazy]

Well, I didn't find the suicide attempts laughable, but I did find something totally off about the very last shot. It's just of the water where she rolls in. I think it's about twenty seconds long, but I swear there's only five seconds of footage. It's played forward, then backward, then forward, then backward. It totally wrecks the temporal continuity. The light reflects all wrong. I can't be certain though. Maybe it really is 20 seconds of footage. Or maybe the effect was intentionally disorienting. Didn't work for me.

It's definitely footage rolled backward and forward (Welles does something similar at the end of Chimes at Midnight), whether or not it was intentional, I don't know. I would guess that it wasn't intentional and was a result of a lack of footage, but again I don't know. That element didn't bother me that much.

[Ivan Drago]

That Dungeon Siege movie is 160 minutes. That's a bit too long for awesome badness.

I can take it.

I bet Uwe Boll will say this to himself during the premiere:

"This is the one. This is the one I'll be remembered for." :lol:

[Spinal]

Weekend:

In The Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale

Are you the one who still hasn't seen Raiders of the Lost Ark?

[D_Davis]

That Dungeon Siege movie is 160 minutes. That's a bit too long for awesome badness.

It sure is. I was there at 80-90 minutes, but there is no way I'll sit through that.

[Stay Puft]

Don't listen to Raiders, it's amazing. Kobayashi in general is amazing. Harakiri is his best, then Kwaidan. Samurai Rebellion has some of the best cinematography in any samurai film. And The Human Condition trilogy while somewhat flawed is an amazing achievement, both in terms of scope and outlook.

Yup, it's good - and Kobayashi is simply great. Samurai Rebellion is probably my favorite, largely on account of the cinematography. The framing in that movie is fantastic. Few chambara films can touch it.

I'd agree with Raiders that Hoichi the Earless is the superior segment of Kwaidan, however. The rest are good (that ghost in the tea cup segment is so awesome, though I'm not sure if it's for the right reasons), but Hoichi is the centerpiece.

[Raiders]

Don't listen to Raiders, it's amazing. Kobayashi in general is amazing. Harakiri is his best, then Kwaidan. Samurai Rebellion has some of the best cinematography in any samurai film. And The Human Condition trilogy while somewhat flawed is an amazing achievement, both in terms of scope and outlook.

This... Eastwood bashing... Mouchette bashing... Late Spring bashing...

Why haven't I banned you yet?

[Melville]

I don't particularly care for most of Eastwood's films, but Unforgiven is a masterpiece. And Mouchette is pretty great itself, suicide attempts and all--although I'll have to check out that final shot again to see what I think of it.

[Qrazy]

This... Eastwood bashing... Mouchette bashing... Late Spring bashing...

Why haven't I banned you yet?

My effervescent personality?

[Stay Puft]

That Dungeon Siege movie is 160 minutes. That's a bit too long for awesome badness.

Where did you get this? I was just looking this up and I'm only seeing 120 minutes. I'd certainly reconsider at 160 minutes, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

[Qrazy]

Where did you get this? I was just looking this up and I'm only seeing 120 minutes. I'd certainly reconsider at 160 minutes, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I'm sure Bolling ball will release that extended ed. director's cut in the not too distant future, no worries on that front.

[Wryan]

Lady in the Water is a fucking mess. Some interesting moments though and Giamatti is good, but it's still a weird-ass mess.

[Rowland]

Lady in the Water is a fucking mess. Some interesting moments though and Giamatti is good, but it's still a weird-ass mess.Auteurism at its most emboldened doesn't get much uglier than this.

[Ivan Drago]

Are you the one who still hasn't seen Raiders of the Lost Ark?


.........






Yes.

I haven't forgotten about it, though. ;) Plus I'm seeing Dungeon Siege strictly for the camp value.

[Bosco B Thug]

Anyone know if Kaidan (1964) is any good? It's a beautiful and consistently creepy movie... but also really long and slow-paced and with as much thematic heft you can expect from an anthology horror film (not much).


I thought the opening scene was incredible, but it quickly dissolved into video game mode and I lost most interest. There are some great moments but overall it was meh. Yeah, pretty much. The beautiful imagery of desolation worked to gloss-over the film instead of grounding it in the microcosm it wanted to present.


I missed this post... well, that's too bad. I still think it's easily last year's best horror movie. As for the direction/editing, it struck me as exhilarating and poetic in equal measures. Really?? Right, I recall it's gotten on its fair share of top 10 lists. Which made me really want to like it. I could see it trying really hard to resonate but I thought the film really blew the execution.

[Qrazy]

Well Rouge, I finally got a hold of and viewed Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.


I did not like it.

I could hash out a full review and go over my issues with the film, but it will probably end up being pretty bile-fueled and uncomplimentary... so unless you want me to, I probably won't. I appreciate the rec though. I did enjoy Henry Spofford the Third's cameo bits. Those unsuspecting old man meets precocious youngster semi-pedophilic jokes, always get a chuckle out of me.

[Raiders]

I thought the constant jumping between the calm desolation and the chaotic attacks of 28 Weeks Later brought about some of the best use of epileptic camera action I've seen yet.

[Ezee E]

I should give my first negative rep to Drago for not seeing Raiders and seeing more then one Uwe Boll movie before it.

[Rowland]

I thought the constant jumping between the calm desolation and the chaotic attacks of 28 Weeks Later brought about some of the best use of epileptic camera action I've seen yet.He also harnesses his chaotic cinematography towards some terribly expressive ends. How he captures the visceral, almost dreamlike violence that "the kiss" immediately incurs is downright haunting. One of the year's more indelible setpieces, that was.

[Qrazy]

Yup, it's good - and Kobayashi is simply great. Samurai Rebellion is probably my favorite, largely on account of the cinematography. The framing in that movie is fantastic. Few chambara films can touch it.

I'd agree with Raiders that Hoichi the Earless is the superior segment of Kwaidan, however. The rest are good (that ghost in the tea cup segment is so awesome, though I'm not sure if it's for the right reasons), but Hoichi is the centerpiece.

Yeah I'd agree with you guys about Hoichi being the most memorable, but I also think the opening bit, although somewhat familiar on a story level is so powerful formally (particularly that shot down the hall after the reveal) that it completely compensates for any narrative predictability.

I love the tea segment too. Although usually I prefer films to have a more synthetic, holistic structure, I found Kobayashi's use of the truncated storyline actually the most chilling element of the film. I got chills when the laughter cut off and this approach to narrative had me thinking for a long while after the film about the nature of writing, loss, history, recollection, fragmentation and the application of supernatural associations as a means of connecting the dots between fragments of the past. I disagree with whoever said the segments possess thematic shortcomings. Their episodic nature works in the film's favor. This is how ghost stories are told... fragmented, halting, but unified by disquiet.

[Philosophe_rouge]

Well Rouge, I finally got a hold of and viewed Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.


I did not like it.

I could hash out a full review and go over my issues with the film, but it will probably end up being pretty bile-fueled and uncomplimentary... so unless you want me to, I probably won't. I appreciate the rec though. I did enjoy Henry Spofford the Third's cameo bits. Those unsuspecting old man meets precocious youngster semi-pedophilic jokes, always get a chuckle out of me.
I'm happy you saw it, but I don't demand a review :P I especially don't mind since I loved yours so much. We should start another film swap soon though. This one seems to have run it's course.

[EvilShoe]

I thought the constant jumping between the calm desolation and the chaotic attacks of 28 Weeks Later brought about some of the best use of epileptic camera action I've seen yet.
I rather liked that as well.
I was just disappointed with some of the story choices. (Especially since some of them were just too contrived.)

[Spinal]

I should give my first negative rep to Drago for not seeing Raiders and seeing more then one Uwe Boll movie before it.

Well, at least I'm beginning to see how such a thing is possible. Misplaced priorities. :)

[Qrazy]

We should start another film swap soon though. This one seems to have run it's course.

Indeed, it's high time.

[Winston*]

If I was rockyrules, I'd be like "Y'know what, today I'm going to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark" and then I'd go to the videostore be like "Do you have a copy of Raiders of the Lost Ark?" and they'd be like "Yes, we do have a copy of Raiders of the Lost Ark, would you like to rent it?" and I'd be like "Yes" And then I'd take the DVD home and be like, watching it.

[Spinal]

If I was rockyrules, I'd be like "Y'know what, today I'm going to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark" and then I'd go to the videostore be like "Do you have a copy of Raiders of the Lost Ark" and they'd be like "Yes, we do have a copy of Raiders of the Lost Ark, would you like to rent it" and I'd be like "Yes" And then I'd take the DVD home and be like, watching it.

But what if you got there and noticed that EuroTrip was also in stock. You'd have some thinkin' to do then, wouldn't ya?

[Rowland]

If I was rockyrules, I'd be like "Y'know what, today I'm going to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark" and then I'd go to the videostore be like "Do you have a copy of Raiders of the Lost Ark" and they'd be like "Yes, we do have a copy of Raiders of the Lost Ark, would you like to rent it" and I'd be like "Yes" And then I'd take the DVD home and be like, watching it.And after that, he'd go watch its superior sequel, The Last Crusade. :cool:

[Winston*]

But what if you got there and noticed that EuroTrip was also in stock. You'd have some thinkin' to do then, wouldn't ya?
In the world where I am rockyrules, every movie in the video store is Raiders of the Lost Ark.

[Spinal]

In the world where I am rockyrules, every movie in the video store is Raiders of the Lost Ark.

In a world ...

... where every DVD contains the same film ...

... one man ...

... will do what it takes ...

... overcome the odds ...

... and along the way ...

... learn a little bit about life ...

... love ...

... and melting Nazis ...

... Winston* is rockyrules ...

... rockyrules is Ivan Drago ...

... with a special appearance by Rainn Wilson as the video check-out guy ...

WATCHING RAIDERS

a Michel Gondry film

Sometimes the films we love best ... were right under our noses all along ...

[Ezee E]

In the world where I am rockyrules, every movie in the video store is Raiders of the Lost Ark.
His mom is a Nazi and won't let him have it.

[soitgoes...]

In a world ...

... where every DVD contains the same film ...

... one man ...

... will do what it takes ...

... overcome the odds ...

... and along the way ...

... learn a little bit about life ...

... love ...

... and melting Nazis ...

... Winston* is rockyrules ...

... rockyrules is Ivan Drago ...

... with a special appearance by Rainn Wilson as the video check-out guy ...

WATCHING RAIDERS

a Michel Gondry film

Sometimes the films we love best ... were right under our noses all along ...
Don LaFontaine's voice actually announced this to me in my head as I read this.

[DSNT]

Weekend:

Atonement
3:10 to Yuma

[Rowland]

Don LaFontaine's voice actually announced this to me in my head as I read this.I heard the voice for the Rob Schneider trailers from South Park. :lol:

[soitgoes...]

I heard the voice for the Rob Schneider trailers from South Park. :lol:
Rob Schneider is a Stapler.:lol:

[number8]

I heard Jim Cummings' voice.

[Bosco B Thug]

He also harnesses his chaotic cinematography towards some terribly expressive ends. How he captures the visceral, almost dreamlike violence that "the kiss" immediately incurs is downright haunting. One of the year's more indelible setpieces, that was. Everything with the father is gold. My favorite scene is his confrontation with his kids and the way he steps back at a comment he really shouldn't be put off by. Nothing quite matches the drama in this early part of the film, though the ending is effective.

Oh, also, I was disappointed we didn't get Doyle's wink that was in the trailer. Perhaps it wouldn't have worked in the film's context, but it was very poignant in the trailer (with no context at all!).

Watched Red Road. Very effective 3/4th as a mystery and what I felt would be a subversive character study, but the truth of the mystery and the final 4th was sort of weak, imo.

[dreamdead]

Knocked off two today. Liu's 36th Chamber of Shaolin is every bit as exciting as Daniel Davis has made it out to be. While the beginning is just a teensy bit disjointed to me, once San Te gets to his training, the energy never lets up and the emotional pull of him trying to transcend his weaknesses becomes quite involving. Because of the political and historical context, there's an understanding of what's at stake, and lesser films lack this specificity (and understanding of the moral codes behind martial arts). Between the Buddhist aphorisms and the fluidity of Liu's direction, the film generates a singular focus and makes training sequences truly mean something. Loved the long takes in the action sequences, and also loved that ending. So joyous, so complementary. Great stuff.

Secondly, Kitano's Violent Cop. While lacking some of the emotional context and superlatives that make his later work so fascinating, this one works as a solid genre entry that effectively knows how to punctuate scenes with sudden, visceral violence. The baseball bat was horrifying when it was utilized, and the ending shoot-out had a gravitas to it that enveloped the action. It's the singular reason, I think, why I dislike the coda just a bit. If it's to suggest that the old moral order has been slain, then I can understand. Otherwise, though, even as it perpetuates the sense of nihilism present in the climax, it negates some of the core emotions established.

[megladon8]

You pretty much echo my thoughts on both films, dreamdead :)

[number8]

The shooting of the schoolgirl in Violent Cop always gets me. There's something disturbing yet at the same time absurdly funny about the way it's shot.

[megladon8]

The shooting of the schoolgirl in Violent Cop always gets me. There's something disturbing yet at the same time absurdly funny about the way it's shot.


Didn't Kitano love this kind of twisted, morbid humor? I have noticed this kind of stuff in all of his films.

I have always thought that part at the beginning of The Departed when Costello executes those two people on the beach then says "Huh...she fell funny" felt like something Kitano might have done. Though he probably wouldn't have had the character say it, he'd just look at the body in a strange position, then show the shooter smirking.

[Sven]

The shooting of the schoolgirl in Violent Cop always gets me. There's something disturbing yet at the same time absurdly funny about the way it's shot.

The one coming out of the theatre? Yeah, that part's effed up. But if you think about it (and I wish I could claim these ideas as my own, but I just read a huge essay on Violent Cop by Casio Abe), it's a pretty integral factor in Kitano's re-establishing himself as a film presence. His killing of a movie-goer readjusts movie audience expectations of his benign television personality.

Dreamdead, I highly recommend you pick up the book Beat Takeshi v. Takeshi Kitano. It is excellent. Maybe a bit to stringently analytical for my tastes, but I think you'd totally dig it.

[Ivan Drago]

If I was rockyrules, I'd be like "Y'know what, today I'm going to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark" and then I'd go to the videostore be like "Do you have a copy of Raiders of the Lost Ark?" and they'd be like "Yes, we do have a copy of Raiders of the Lost Ark, would you like to rent it?" and I'd be like "Yes" And then I'd take the DVD home and be like, watching it.


But what if you got there and noticed that EuroTrip was also in stock. You'd have some thinkin' to do then, wouldn't ya?

If Raiders and Eurotrip were the only movies in a video store, I would take Raiders. No question. And yeah Spinal you're right, I go for the camp other than what's really important. :)

And Winston...Rockyrules is dead. It's Drago now. Ivan. Drago.

So...I know. I know I still have to see Raiders of the Lost Ark. I'm aware of it. Then why don't I rent it? We'll never know...or will we? :cue Twilight Zone theme song:

[Ezee E]

Didn't Kitano love this kind of twisted, morbid humor? I have noticed this kind of stuff in all of his films.

I have always thought that part at the beginning of The Departed when Costello executes those two people on the beach then says "Huh...she fell funny" felt like something Kitano might have done. Though he probably wouldn't have had the character say it, he'd just look at the body in a strange position, then show the shooter smirking.
But the quote totally fits the character.

[number8]

The one coming out of the theatre? Yeah, that part's effed up. But if you think about it (and I wish I could claim these ideas as my own, but I just read a huge essay on Violent Cop by Casio Abe), it's a pretty integral factor in Kitano's re-establishing himself as a film presence. His killing of a movie-goer readjusts movie audience expectations of his benign television personality.

Cool. The scene stayed with me mainly because the shot of the poor girl getting her head blown off occurs a split second after the "hero" literally dodges a bullet. Kitano gives you two different emotions in one second. His character sort of challenges the facade of the anti-hero, because like you said, he's coming off his likable comedian personality and into this violent scum character. You can't see him totally as a bad guy because of that baggage. In that one instant, he makes you cheer because he disarms the villain, and in the same breath, he's responsible for the killing of some random chick. On top of that, the fact that Kitano doesn't follow up on the girl makes her disposable, and for some reason that makes it shocking and humorous.

[dreamdead]

The one coming out of the theatre? Yeah, that part's effed up. But if you think about it (and I wish I could claim these ideas as my own, but I just read a huge essay on Violent Cop by Casio Abe), it's a pretty integral factor in Kitano's re-establishing himself as a film presence. His killing of a movie-goer readjusts movie audience expectations of his benign television personality.

That's what I figured, though I didn't extend the analysis into a theatre-goer. But there was so much emphasis on Kitano's body language here that I assumed he was trying to counteract an expectation of the tv persona. That type of perversion of the expected also echoed when he was beating up the mob killer in the police station, with those random cuts spliced into the partner standing guard outside. It's just a visceral jolt.

Actually, after watching this one, I realize that I'll have to revisit Sonatine soon and see if my familiarity with Kitano as a filmmaker makes a generally positive film into a superlative experience.



Dreamdead, I highly recommend you pick up the book Beat Takeshi v. Takeshi Kitano. It is excellent. Maybe a bit to stringently analytical for my tastes, but I think you'd totally dig it.

Interesting. I had checked this book out a few months ago and come away underwhelmed because it wasn't analytical enough for me, though admittedly my fixation on Hana-Bi and the book's lack of explicit study on that film kinda made me write it off. I'll revisit it soon and see what's changed, especially since I think I've knocked off a few other Kitano films since I first perused it.

Depressing, since this book and one critical article are the only "scholarly" research one Kitano in English thus far...

[MacGuffin]

iosos: What was with the picture response of Burns yesterday?

[Sven]

That's what I figured, though I didn't extend the analysis into a theatre-goer. But there was so much emphasis on Kitano's body language here that I assumed he was trying to counteract an expectation of the tv persona. That type of perversion of the expected also echoed when he was beating up the mob killer in the police station, with those random cuts spliced into the partner standing guard outside. It's just a visceral jolt.

It's awesome that you say that, because from Abe's perspective, Violent Cop is, like, aesthetically Kitano's most accomplished work. He goes into great detail specifically on Kitano's body language (his walk in particular) and he speaks of the cuts to the partner standing guard.

That book is mostly a large thesis arguing the relationship between the two halves of the Kitano persona, so it doesn't really dive deep into the films themselves except in relation to how Kitano is communicating himself. Which is at times aggravating and illuminating. And I love how much importance he puts on Kikujiro.

[Sven]

iosos: What was with the picture response of Burns yesterday?

Eeeeeexcellent.

[MacGuffin]

Eeeeeexcellent.

Oh yeah. I'm excited. I don't know whether I should watch that tonight or rewatch Vendredi soir. I also want to get some Mass Effect gaming in.

[EvilShoe]

Seeing National Treasure 2 later on. :pritch:
Any word on how Nicolas Cage-tastic it is?

(I have free tickets, don't judge me.)

[megladon8]

Seeing National Treasure 2 later on. :pritch:
Any word on how Nicolas Cage-tastic it is?

(I have free tickets, don't judge me.)


Consider yourself judged.

[EvilShoe]

Consider yourself judged.
I know it won't be as funny as Wicker Man, but I'm hoping for it to be on par with Next.

[transmogrifier]

Seeing National Treasure 2 later on. :pritch:
Any word on how Nicolas Cage-tastic it is?

(I have free tickets, don't judge me.)

The movie is dedicatedly stupid, but Cage?

http://www.chromewaves.net/images/interface/20070503overTheTop.jpg

[megladon8]

I know it won't be as funny as Wicker Man, but I'm hoping for it to be on par with Next.


I haven't seen either of those :(

I think Next is potentially more frightening than The Wicker Man, with that hairdo.

[EvilShoe]

I haven't seen either of those :(

I think Next is potentially more frightening than The Wicker Man, with that hairdo.
Next has one of the best twists ever.
EVER.

And Nicolas Cage spouting random facts about shamans and stuff.

Trans, that's great to hear!

[megladon8]

Next has one of the best twists ever.
EVER.

And Nicolas Cage spouting random facts about shamans and stuff.

Trans, that's great to hear!


What's Next's twist??

[number8]

What's Next's twist??

About 2/3 of the movie ends up being him looking into the future, so he just tries something different and the movie ends.

[megladon8]

About 2/3 of the movie ends up being him looking into the future, so he just tries something different and the movie ends.


Wow...that's really lame.

So pretty much a variation on the "it was all a dream" cliché

[EvilShoe]

Wow...that's really lame.

So pretty much a variation on the "it was all a dream" cliché
Yes, but Cage-style.

[transmogrifier]

Short Cuts:

The Kingdom

Neat, cut-and-dried packaging for an issue the movie doesn't have the intelligence to address completely. Seems Syriana-phobic, resolutely straight-ahead and clear in storyline, characterization (they don't even bother with a double-crossing Arab! Color me shocked) and themes. Never boring, but curiously lacking in any reason to exist, beyond a couple of kinetic set pieces.

Harry Potter 5

Finally figured out what's wrong with this series: MacGuffin overload. It seems that each film has to be centred around some esoteric object (or objects) that are oh so vitally important to the increasingly convoluted back story and mythology (it's becoming a bit of a parody of itself, every ten minutes or so some new chant, secret handshake, second cousin twice removed appearing out of the woodwork to provide exposition that I presume the books manage to weave more deftly into the narrative), but what it does is dials down any investment in the characters or their conflicts. It's like watching two kids fight over a piece of candy: amusing for a couple of minutes, but then kind of boring, so you take the candy for yourself. LOTR, which seems to be questioned more and more by the day had the mother of all MacGuffins, but it was smart enough to leave it at that - the rest of the trilogy consists of characters who just want to fucking destroy each other, or screw each other (assuming they can ever escape from shampoo commercial hell), or whatever. And another thing: it's really hard to care when every single damn movie chooses to end with a damn deux ex machina, with some random character showing up magically. In a world where everything is magical, nothing is magical.

Positives: slightly better directed than the previous four (a bit more art trying to sneak its way in) and have you seen that friggin cast lately?

Shoot 'Em Up

Shoots itself in the foot (ha!) by gunning (hee!) to be both a parody and time-honored classic of the action genre, but its aim (hmph!) is somewhat off, and it rifles (hurgh!) into no man's land. Paul Giamatti is a blast (hfffp!), and Monica Bellucci is a hooker, and some of the action scenes are fun in that "Oh, that was fun" way. Keeps on being holstered (hggvvff!) by interminably stupid backstories that may be part of that parody attempt, but they backfire due to being interminably stupid, as is generally the way.

No Country For Old Men

Atmospheric, well-crafted, but fashionably pessimistic with three characters that go nowhere and do nothing, and a pretty trite theme (the world is crappy, no the world was always crappy, oh yeah). Bardem is being mammothly overrated by pretty much everyone - this is Tommy Lee Jones' film, but its a pity he is forced to say so much remarkably ridiculous homespun wisdom. The narrative construction is unusual, and will probably benefit from a second viewing, but it seems to me that the Coen's chickened out a little by showing the body (you know which one) and having Jones there, when it would have been more successful to really sideline it. I don't know.

Knocked Up

If you are going to have the lead character be surrounded by a bunch of immature friends for most of the movie, it's a good idea to give them one funny thing to do or say. Still, I liked the Rudd/Mann subplot a lot. The Vegas sidetrip is moronic, though.

[Raiders]

this is Tommy Lee Jones' film, but its a pity he is forced to say so much remarkably ridiculous homespun wisdom.

You think? He hardly has any "wisdom." He often exists on the periphery (which seems his intention) and only at the end does he come to the realization of his own uselessness in stopping the forces of nature. Yeah, he has a couple monologues, but they don't really seem to be giving much wisdom as much as they are rambling thoughts in a character searching for meaning and comfort in the barren landscapes.

[Rowland]

No thoughts on American Gangster, trans? It's refreshing to see someone like it, as it was generally dismissed around here. I felt it was an entirely respectable procedural, albeit one that is somewhat lacking in personality.



Harry Potter 5

Finally figured out what's wrong with this series: MacGuffin overload. It seems that each film has to be centred around some esoteric object (or objects) that are oh so vitally important to the increasingly convoluted back story and mythology (it's becoming a bit of a parody of itself, every ten minutes or so some new chant, secret handshake, second cousin twice removed appearing out of the woodwork to provide exposition that I presume the books manage to weave more deftly into the narrative), but what it does is dials down any investment in the characters or their conflicts. It's like watching two kids fight over a piece of candy: amusing for a couple of minutes, but then kind of boring, so you take the candy for yourself. LOTR, which seems to be questioned more and more by the day had the mother of all MacGuffins, but it was smart enough to leave it at that - the rest of the trilogy consists of characters who just want to fucking destroy each other, or screw each other (assuming they can ever escape from shampoo commercial hell), or whatever. And another thing: it's really hard to care when every single damn movie chooses to end with a damn deux ex machina, with some random character showing up magically. In a world where everything is magical, nothing is magical.A reasonable criticism. The series is seriously overloaded with minute crap. Every time a new book was released, I had to refamiliarize myself with the previous books just so I could keep track of everything. I'm not hardcore enough to memorize all that shit. Thankfully, what I like about the books (and likewise the two movies that are actually good) transcends this overzealous writing. Heck, this movie's satire of authoritarian education is downright stinging, reflecting what I perceive to be many of the ills in the American education system, so it's timely in that respect.


No Country For Old Men
a pretty trite theme (the world is crappy, no the world was always crappy, oh yeah)Heh. When you put it that way, it sounds trite. I'd articulate it as a pitch-black expression of the disillusionment and subsequent identity crisis currently rocking the US. No Country is a movie deeply rooted in the American zeitgeist.

Knocked Up

If you are going to have the lead character be surrounded by a bunch of immature friends for most of the movie, it's a good idea to give them one funny thing to do or say. Still, I liked the Rudd/Mann subplot a lot. The Vegas sidetrip is moronic, though.Agreed. The friends in this movie, in direct contrast with those in The 40 Year Old Virgin, were a total drag, and yes, the Rudd/Mann subplot was its saving grace.

[D_Davis]

What's Next's twist??

They took a decent PKD story, and turned it into a terrible film!

[Ivan Drago]

But seriously, if you guys think I'm nuts for seeing two Uwe Boll movies before Raiders of the Lost Ark, you'd think my roommate should be in an insane asylum. He hasn't seen Pulp Fiction, any Kubrick films, or any Scorsese films. Which reminds me, of all the characters Harrison Ford has played, the first movie that comes to his mind when he thinks of Harrison Ford is Six Days, Seven Nights. He didn't even know who Han Solo was! And he's a CINEMA MAJOR!!!! :frustrated:

[Rowland]

Reverse Shot's 11 Offenses of 2007

Southland Tales
300
Juno
Transformers
Hostel Part Two
The Golden Compass
Hannah Takes the Stairs
28 Weeks Later
The Kingdom
Introducing the Dwights
Across the Universe

Write-ups here (http://www.reverseshot.com/article/reverse_shots_11_offenses_2007 ).

[jesse]

Derek, can you direct me to some thoughts on Regular Lovers, or offer a few (two stars?!?).

P.S.- And how the hell did you get a DVD of Dans Paris? A screener?

[Duncan]

Heh. When you put it that way, it sounds trite. I'd articulate it as a pitch-black expression of the disillusionment and subsequent identity crisis currently rocking the US. No Country is a movie deeply rooted in the American zeitgeist. I agree that the US is going through an identity crisis at the moment, but I think a pitch-black expression of it is fundamentally wrong. As far as I can tell, the electorate wants optimism, hope, and change. Those are all contrary to anything in NCfoM.

[Rowland]

I agree that the US is going through an identity crisis at the moment, but I think a pitch-black expression of it is fundamentally wrong. As far as I can tell, the electorate wants optimism, hope, and change. Those are all contrary to anything in NCfoM.I suppose that depends on your point of view. Besides, I never meant to imply that the movie is some sort of connect-the-dots allegory for what our electorate wants. If you want to get overly literal about it, maybe one could argue that it's about what has given rise to this newfound obsession with "change" that the candidates are spewing. Enough with the lies of the past, the electorate wants something new. Most people can't articulate what exactly, but they know they want it.

[Raiders]

I think the film articulates one man's identity crisis that can be seen as a larger social (not political) idea that the "old days" were somehow more peaceful and more wholesome. It also hints at the way he (and likely society) shuns the evil in order to keep a vision of ourselves that doesn't actually exist (he makes a point to never get too involved in the case until his act of faux-heroism). Think Lynch's Blue Velvet, which shows that the beating heart of suburbia is not the WASP facade they show. The desolated plains isolate Jones and it is only when he ventures to the motel that he must truly face the evil he pretends he can ignore.

[Qrazy]

But seriously, if you guys think I'm nuts for seeing two Uwe Boll movies before Raiders of the Lost Ark, you'd think my roommate should be in an insane asylum. He hasn't seen Pulp Fiction, any Kubrick films, or any Scorsese films. Which reminds me, of all the characters Harrison Ford has played, the first movie that comes to his mind when he thinks of Harrison Ford is Six Days, Seven Nights. He didn't even know who Han Solo was! And he's a CINEMA MAJOR!!!! :frustrated:

You should slit his throat in his sleep. It's an inevitability anyway.

[Rowland]

I think the film articulates one man's identity crisis that can be seen as a larger social (not political) idea that the "old days" were somehow more peaceful and more wholesome. It also hints at the way he (and likely society) shuns the evil in order to keep a vision of ourselves that doesn't actually exist (he makes a point to never get too involved in the case until his act of faux-heroism). Think Lynch's Blue Velvet, which shows that the beating heart of suburbia is not the WASP facade they show. The desolated plains isolate Jones and it is only when he ventures to the motel that he must truly face the evil he pretends he can ignore.I meant it as a sort of social trauma as well, but it can be naturally extrapolated into the political as well. We have grown to realize that we may not be the America we thought we were, a disillusioned malaise that is in many respects the result of our political disarray. Can you blame so many people for clinging desperately to the candidates they believe will bring about genuine "change"? Any other election, Ron Paul would never have made the waves that he has been thus far.

[Philosophe_rouge]

But seriously, if you guys think I'm nuts for seeing two Uwe Boll movies before Raiders of the Lost Ark, you'd think my roommate should be in an insane asylum. He hasn't seen Pulp Fiction, any Kubrick films, or any Scorsese films. Which reminds me, of all the characters Harrison Ford has played, the first movie that comes to his mind when he thinks of Harrison Ford is Six Days, Seven Nights. He didn't even know who Han Solo was! And he's a CINEMA MAJOR!!!! :frustrated:
How does that even happen?

[Ivan Drago]

How does that even happen?

I don't have a clue.

[Sycophant]

Shoot 'Em Up

Shoots itself in the foot (ha!) by gunning (hee!) to be both a parody and time-honored classic of the action genre, but its aim (hmph!) is somewhat off, and it rifles (hurgh!) into no man's land. Paul Giamatti is a blast (hfffp!), and Monica Bellucci is a hooker, and some of the action scenes are fun in that "Oh, that was fun" way. Keeps on being holstered (hggvvff!) by interminably stupid backstories that may be part of that parody attempt, but they backfire due to being interminably stupid, as is generally the way.
I agree with you wholeheartedly on this one.

Yes. With my whole heart.

[Rowland]

Versus the Audience: AVPR and Fanboy Cinema (http://mattzollerseitz.blogspot.com/2008/01/versus-audience-avpr-and-fanboy-cinema.html)

I'm reminded of the "isn't fun enough?" debates that come up every now and then.

[Qrazy]

I don't have a clue.

*gestures emphatically with knife*

[Qrazy]

I agree with you wholeheartedly on this one.

Yes. With my whole heart.

I somewhat agree as well, but I think the film's biggest problem is that it's just so formally sloppy. There's as much cinematic technique on display here as there is in the average taco commercial... the one's without the dog.

[lovejuice]

Versus the Audience: AVPR and Fanboy Cinema (http://mattzollerseitz.blogspot.com/2008/01/versus-audience-avpr-and-fanboy-cinema.html)

I'm reminded of the "isn't fun enough?" debates that come up every now and then.

haven't watched clerk 2, but that scene is not funny at all. what happens to you, kevin smith?

[number8]

I don't think Shoot 'Em Up is parody. It's an action movie with boisterous humor, as is the case with a lot of my favorite action movies (Commando comes to mind).

[Sycophant]

Versus the Audience: AVPR and Fanboy Cinema (http://mattzollerseitz.blogspot.com/2008/01/versus-audience-avpr-and-fanboy-cinema.html)

I'm reminded of the "isn't fun enough?" debates that come up every now and then.I sympathize with this guy. And as one who used to be much more of a fanboy, I certainly understand his disdain for fanboys--is there anything to hate more than what you once cast off?

Anyway, fun is often enough, but "fun" isn't always fun.

[D_Davis]

Nothing kills fun like fandom does.

[Ivan Drago]

Nothing kills fun like fandom does.

Unless you're part of the fandom. I know I will be when The Dark Knight rolls around.

[Qrazy]

I sympathize with this guy. And as one who used to be much more of a fanboy, I certainly understand his disdain for fanboys--is there anything to hate more than what you once cast off?

Anyway, fun is often enough, but "fun" isn't always fun.

One can certainly despise the outlook, but it seems absurd to despise the individuals engaged in fanboy-hood, particularly if one has once been such an individual. It ought to be easier to empathize with their particular malady and to help cure them of it through tender loving corporal punishment.

[D_Davis]

Unless you're part of the fandom. I know I will be when The Dark Knight rolls around.

I find that it's often times the hardcore fandom that forgets about having fun because they are too tied up in the trivial minutia of what they like.

I'd be a rich man if I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say something like, "Only Mark Hammel can play the Joker right in Dark Knight!" or "Heath Ledger's voice is all wring!" or "Superman's cape is obviously two inches too short, and his boots are too red!"

Or when the opposite happens: "I don't like Norbit, but I'm such a fan of Eddy Murphy."

I think that hardcore fandom often leads to either dismissing something because the fan is so attached to the thing and doesn't approve of changes (a false sense of ownership in the property), or passionately liking something without really thinking about why one likes it.

I guess the second example doesn't really kill the fun, but the first sure does.

It's like this. I like kung fu films, but I am not a "fan" because I definitely don't like them all. Shoot, I bet I don't even really like 3/4 of them. Many of them are crap. I think that sometimes "fans" forget that it is okay to not like everything in a certain genre or what not.

[megladon8]

I think I pretty much sit in the middle.

I'm a fanboy of many things - Batman and Superman, for instance - but I'm hardly blind to faults.

At the same time, I'm nowhere near being the type with a "false sense of ownership" - like one infamous review of Batman Begins which I read back when it came out, where the reviewer disapproved of Thomas Wayne not having a mustache.

Anyways...

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning was bad, but not nearly as bad as I expected.

It raises tons of questions which can never be answered. Why is Tommy now a perfectly-toned martial arts master? Why do they let kids in a halfway house use axes?

And seriously, in the last movie I was getting tired of watching people get thrown/jump through windows. Now it's getting ridiculous. I really hope this isn't a shtick which remains through the whole series.

It has a few interesting kills, but also a few that are quite boring and unorginal.

So, to reiterate, it was bad, but not as bad as I thought it would be.

[transmogrifier]

I think the film articulates one man's identity crisis that can be seen as a larger social (not political) idea that the "old days" were somehow more peaceful and more wholesome. It also hints at the way he (and likely society) shuns the evil in order to keep a vision of ourselves that doesn't actually exist (he makes a point to never get too involved in the case until his act of faux-heroism). Think Lynch's Blue Velvet, which shows that the beating heart of suburbia is not the WASP facade they show. The desolated plains isolate Jones and it is only when he ventures to the motel that he must truly face the evil he pretends he can ignore.

I think this is fundamentally true, but unfortunately it doesn't translate well when shoehorned into this particular story. It comes across as a character who doesn't do anything for the case, happens to find a body, realizes that he was right about how bad the world is, and then retires to escape from it even more? I get that he is paralyzed by some crisis of the soul, or something, but that crisis is not particularly cinematically rendered, leaving us with a main character who does and changes very little, and, in a film that is basically a languid chase, it leaves a huge hole in the center for me.

[Rowland]

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning was bad, but not nearly as bad as I expected.

It raises tons of questions which can never be answered. Why is Tommy now a perfectly-toned martial arts master? Why do they let kids in a halfway house use axes?

And seriously, in the last movie I was getting tired of watching people get thrown/jump through windows. Now it's getting ridiculous. I really hope this isn't a shtick which remains through the whole series.

It has a few interesting kills, but also a few that are quite boring and unorginal.

So, to reiterate, it was bad, but not as bad as I thought it would be.Considering that you're all about the kills and boobs, I'm surprised you didn't note how this has more kills than any entry in the series up to this point, and breasts of assorted shapes and sizes.

Anyway, I think A New Beginning is underrated, by the standards of the Friday the 13th series. Even the mystery element amuses me, in a Scooby-Doo kinda way, and how about that murder setpiece with the screwing couple in the woods?

[megladon8]

Considering that you're all about the kills and boobs, I'm surprised you didn't note how this has more kills than any entry in the series up to this point, and breasts of assorted shapes and sizes.

Sure it has a lot of kills, but most of them are pretty boring "person gets stabbed" type kills.

I like originality :)

And boobs - I can take 'em or leave 'em. There were definitely some nice ones here, though.



Anyway, I think A New Beginning is underrated, by the standards of the Friday the 13th series. Even the mystery element amuses me, in a Scooby-Doo kinda way, and how about that murder setpiece with the screwing couple in the woods?

Yeh Jen and others told me this was just about the worst one in the series, and I totally disagree.

So far I'd say the second was the worst.

[Rowland]

So far I'd say the second was the worst.Absolutely. And there are worse to come.

[origami_mustache]

You should slit his throat in his sleep. It's an inevitability anyway.

...or just drink his milkshake.

[Ivan Drago]

...or just drink his milkshake.

Why? Am I sick with something?

[baby doll]

Weekend:

Smooth Talk (Joyce Chopra)

[Philosophe_rouge]

Pan and Scan :( I hate VHS sometimes...

[Sycophant]

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry was better than I'd expected.

I mean, it was still bad, but that's primarily because most of the jokes didn't work and it's just overall not that funny (however, Kevin James is actually a pretty decent actor--who knew?) and most of the written jokes with potential just aren't delivered/captured well.

[Rowland]

Drama/Mex, a Mexican movie received with a decidedly lukewarm reception last year, is pretty fantastic. It reminds me of an Iñárritu movie, only free from most of the histrionics, condescension, and pretension that often mar his work. And boy is it lovely, exhibiting rich textures, a strong compositional eye, and an intuitive sense for expressive movements in its jittery handheld cinematography. Writer/director Gerardo Naranjo somehow manages to incorporate topics ranging from teenage prostitution to suicide and (I suspect) even incest into his narrative without indulging in sensationalism. Instead, he has made a movie that is breezy, compelling, and in spite of its less appealing quirks (including the cliché where unrelated characters frequently cross paths in a chronologically fractured narrative), honest.

[Boner M]

Drama/Mex, a Mexican movie received with a decidedly lukewarm reception last year, is pretty fantastic. It reminds me of an Iñárritu movie, only free from most of the histrionics, condescension, and pretension that often mar his work. And boy is it lovely, exhibiting rich textures, a strong compositional eye, and an intuitive sense for expressive movements in its jittery handheld cinematography. Writer/director Gerardo Naranjo somehow manages to incorporate topics ranging from teenage prostitution to suicide and (I suspect) even incest into his narrative without indulging in sensationalism. Instead, he has made a movie that is breezy, compelling, and in spite of its less appealing quirks (including the cliché where unrelated characters frequently cross paths in a chronologically fractured narrative), honest.
I wrote pretty much the same thing a few months back, and it's grown on me the more I reflect. Don't get the negative reception at all (35% on RT?!).

[Winston*]

I was watching the Wicker Man on TV and the bees in the eyes were nowhere to be found. WTF?

The final scene reveals the entire film to be a metaphor for Nic Cage passing the overacting torch to James Franco.

[EvilShoe]

National Treasure 2 was disappointing. I was expecting more crazy Cage.

Impressive non-visuals as well. You'd expect at least one fine moment in a "big" movie like this (perhaps accidentally?), but not even that.

[Mr. Valentine]

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry was better than I'd expected.

I mean, it was still bad, but that's primarily because most of the jokes didn't work and it's just overall not that funny (however, Kevin James is actually a pretty decent actor--who knew?) and most of the written jokes with potential just aren't delivered/captured well.

Alexander Payne did work on the screenplay so i'm sure their was some potential in there.

[MadMan]

Psaw. Josey Wales!That film is damn underrated among westerns. I actually thought Pale Rider was decent at best-I prefer the original. High Plains Drifter is pretty awesome as well, and is also fairly underrated as well. Unforgiven is of course a masterpiece. I haven't seen any of his work from this decade aside from Space Cowboys-I should really rectify that.


John Carpenter's Starman is some amazing cinema. I was surprised to see that Bridges was nominated for Best Actor because I didn't think the Academy would have the balls to nominate such a humorous, yet emotionally complex performance. Karen Allen has never looked more hotter.Having become a big fan of Carpenter over the past year this is high up on my priority rental list.


That's entirely too much thinking for such a lame film.Pretty much. Grease hate makes the world go round.

Drive by thoughts:

Ocean's 13 was a good deal of fun, and was better than the sequel but still below the original. Even though Al Pacino was basically wasted in this film, the film's creators wisely left out the stupid in jokes that were the worst aspect of the sequel, and just let the cast do their thing. Plus Ellen Barkin was smoking hot for her age-wowza. Surprisingly enough most of the really funny bits came from the two brothers played by Casey Affleck and Scott Caan. I'm not ashamed to admit I would go see a 4th film, but I'm not sure if they'll even do another one anyways.

Sicko is so far the most powerful film I've seen from 2007. Moore smartly sticks to small appearences in this flick, choosing instead to let the health care horror stories starkly speak for themselves. It was a rage inducing, at times humor laced, very emotionaly journey and so far its the best film I've seen from him. Its also the only film I've seen from 2007 to so far get a 10.0 from me, although granted I haven't dived into the potential Oscar/Golden Globe nominees yet.
For a guy who's views I don't always agree with and who at times includes a bit too much leftist slants in his movies I've liked all of his work so far. For me Michael Moore does the good work of bringing certain important topics and issues to the fore and sparking discussion, and that's truly what counts.

[ledfloyd]

i watched SHORT CUTS last night. last time i saw it i hadn't read any of carver's fiction. changing that has upped my appreciation of it immensely. the way he deftly weaves his stories together is nothing short of masterful. this movie had me in a trance for 188 minutes. i never thought of getting off the couch. i rolled over once cause my leg was slightly numb. altman's one-two punch of THE PLAYER and SHORT CUTS. is almost as potent as THE LONG GOODBYE and CALIFORNIA SPLIT. and robert downey jr. is the best.

[Spinal]

altman's one-two punch of THE PLAYER and SHORT CUTS. is almost as potent as THE LONG GOODBYE and CALIFORNIA SPLIT.

Those were the first two Altmans I saw and they're still my favorites.

[Rowland]

Ocean's 13 was a good deal of fun, and was better than the sequel but still below the original.
Bah. 12 > 11 >>> 13

[Sycophant]

Ocean's 13 was a good deal of fun, and was better than the sequel but still below the original. Even though Al Pacino was basically wasted in this film, the film's creators wisely left out the stupid in jokes that were the worst aspect of the sequel...
I'm with Rowls in that 12 is the best, then 11, but i wouldn't use nearly so many greater-thans to express that this is the weakest in the series. Oh, and I totally thought the in-jokes in 12 were a crucial part of its charm.

I'm still totally in love with Soderbergh's gimmicky, show-off camerawork in Thirteen, though.

[Rowland]

I'm still totally in love with Soderbergh's gimmicky, show-off camerawork in Thirteen, though.I thought his cinematography in 13 was pretty uninspired. Lots of stationary shots, zooms, and pukey textures. I suppose one could argue that this suits the film's tonal recalibration, but in my eyes this shift was misguided.

[Sycophant]

I thought his cinematography in 13 was pretty boring. Lots of stationary shots, zooms, and pukey textures.I thought there were lots of pretty colors, and usually only really two colors on screen at a time. *shrugs*

[Rowland]

I wrote pretty much the same thing a few months back, and it's grown on me the more I reflect. Don't get the negative reception at all (35% on RT?!).That score may have to do with how few critics actually saw it. The average score at Metacritic is higher, though still a bit below what it deserves.

[number8]

I was watching the Wicker Man on TV and the bees in the eyes were nowhere to be found. WTF?

It was never in the movie. It was a deleted scene.

[chrisnu]

It was never in the movie. It was a deleted scene.
It's also incorporated into the unrated version on DVD! :pritch:

[Qrazy]

Ocean's Twelve is an awful god damn movie, so if thirteen is worse than that, count me out.

[Ezee E]

Yeah, AvP: R is pretty lame. Do we really care about these cliche storylines for the characters? In the first fifteen minutes I could tell you would die, who would live.

Also, "Gunnison" must be the biggest mountain town ever from some of those aerial shots. I can accept the fact that it's completely different then the true Gunnison, but no mountain town is that big. Much less with sewers, bums, and so on.

Everything else just looked horrible, like a low-budget DVD movie. Bad sets, costumes, and horrible effects.

Ugh, what a disappointment.

[megladon8]

Sorry about the disappointment, E.

While it certainly wasn't a good movie by any means, I thought it was a huge improvement over the first movie, which would be among the ranks of the "worst movies I have ever seen".

My biggest gripe with AvP: R was that it was way too damn dark.

But I thought the costumes and sets were pretty sweet. That whole 5 minute opening which sets up the Predator coming to Earth to investigate was cool.

[Ivan Drago]

Yeah, AvP: R is pretty lame. Do we really care about these cliche storylines for the characters? In the first fifteen minutes I could tell you would die, who would live.

That was one of the gripes I had with the movie, too. I paid to see Aliens and Predators kick the crap out of each other, not cliche storylines for the characters!

[Ezee E]

Sorry about the disappointment, E.

While it certainly wasn't a good movie by any means, I thought it was a huge improvement over the first movie, which would be among the ranks of the "worst movies I have ever seen".

My biggest gripe with AvP: R was that it was way too damn dark.

But I thought the costumes and sets were pretty sweet. That whole 5 minute opening which sets up the Predator coming to Earth to investigate was cool.
Although Aliens and Predators work good on video games and comic books, they are something that just don't work well on screen together. Both monsters are good on their own, but to be effective, they have to have a very different approach. The Aliens are better as these characters hiding in the walls, vents, impossible to find, but they find you. The Predators are more of a mind-game on how to beat them.

Oh well. I should've known.

[megladon8]

That was one of the gripes I had with the movie, too. I paid to see Aliens and Predators kick the crap out of each other, not cliche storylines for the characters!


Are you saying there was no/not enough alien-predator action?

Because if there was anymore, it would have just been a fighting movie with zero dialogue or plot.

It was loaded with action!

[megladon8]

Although Aliens and Predators work good on video games and comic books, they are something that just don't work well on screen together. Both monsters are good on their own, but to be effective, they have to have a very different approach. The Aliens are better as these characters hiding in the walls, vents, impossible to find, but they find you. The Predators are more of a mind-game on how to beat them.

Oh well. I should've known.


Yes, this is true.

And that's why these movies inherently suffer from an identity crisis. They don't know whether to be an alien movie, or a predator movie.

Paul W. S. Anderson completely messed it up by turning it into a slasher with aliens and predators.

At least this one felt more like a predator movie.

[Ezee E]

Yes, this is true.

And that's why these movies inherently suffer from an identity crisis. They don't know whether to be an alien movie, or a predator movie.

Paul W. S. Anderson completely messed it up by turning it into a slasher with aliens and predators.

At least this one felt more like a predator movie.
Which is obvious from the getgo, but at least with the previous Predator movies (even #2) they don't go for an ensemble of characters that belong in the Aliens movies.

And usually sets and stuff don't bother me, but why the heck is there a sewer in the mountains for bums? Do these filmmakers realize that it would never happen? Bums have a lot more then aliens to worry about in the winter up in the mountains.

[megladon8]

Which is obvious from the getgo, but at least with the previous Predator movies (even #2) they don't go for an ensemble of characters that belong in the Aliens movies.

And usually sets and stuff don't bother me, but why the heck is there a sewer in the mountains for bums? Do these filmmakers realize that it would never happen? Bums have a lot more then aliens to worry about in the winter up in the mountains.


I think right there you've put more thought into the plot and logic of the film than anyone who made it :)

I see your point...I honestly didn't think of that while watching it...nor after watching it...until now...:S

I definitely loved seeing that annoying blonde girl get speared to the wall, though. That was great.

[MacGuffin]

So, Black Book was one of the best movies of 2007.

[baby doll]

So, Black Book was one of the best movies of 2007.More than that, it's the best thing Verhoeven's done since Basic Instinct.

[MacGuffin]

More than that, it's the best thing Verhoeven's done since Basic Instinct.

Yes, indeed.

[baby doll]

Yes, indeed!Then again, I'm waiting for some one to point out that Showgirls, Starship Troopers and Hollow Man aren't exactly prime Verhoeven to begin with. I guess a better way of putting it is that it's his best movie after Basic Instinct (not that I don't love The Fourth Man and Total Recall).

[MacGuffin]

Then again, I'm waiting for some one to point out that Showgirls, Starship Troopers and Hollow Man aren't exactly prime Verhoeven to begin with. I guess a better way of putting it is that it's his best movie after Basic Instinct (not that I don't love The Fourth Man and Total Recall).

They aren't, even if Showgirls comes close. This and Basic Instinct are his only masterpieces, and I'd say this is better. I liked Total Recall, but after much contemplation, was left underwhelmed by the stupidly excessive nature of Starship Troopers (yeah, yeah, I know, I know... it's a Paul Verhoeven movie, but I don't care, it was fucking annoying and constantly, pointlessly repetitive). Hollow Man was Hollywood fare. This one just seemed to get everything right; I want to go back and read Cinema Scope's interview with Paul Verhoeven in that one issue. As of now though, I'm still thinking about it; I don't really know why I liked it so much in particular, but if you look at my Match Cut awards ballot, you can get a general idea. I was extremely generous towards it because it was a wonderful movie of epic scope.

[transmogrifier]

I don't think I am made for a world where Basic Instinct is considered a masterpiece.

[Spinal]

I don't think I am made for a world where Basic Instinct is considered a masterpiece.

I've learned not to flinch at this statement, but it's taken quite some time.

[megladon8]

So The Bourne Ultimatum is still fantastic on a second viewing, and it sends one of the best action series' of all time off with a bang.

But I have to say I still have a bit of an issue with the camerawork - it's better in this installment than it was in The Bourne Supremacy, but it's still not perfect. I think there is enough realism and atmosphere in the dialogue and action to not need that extra bit of "look how real this is" by using shaki-cam.

And it really is just the camerawork I take issue with. I think the colour palette and the ever-so-slightly flushed out real-world lighting is great.

And seeing it a second time I noticed a lot more bookending between this and the first film in the series. Pieces of dialogue and certain images echo those of the first film effectively.

It's a great series.


EDIT: Also forgot to mention that I appreciate how the series used some lesser known European actors throughout. Not just to boost their career, but it also gave it a better feeling of realism, which is obviously what it was striving for.

Martin Csokas, Paddy Considine, Clive Owen, Karl Roden. At the times that each film was made, each of them were fairly unknown in the American market. These roles could have easily been filled by A-list stars (or at least more recognizable actors) for the purpose of name-dropping in posters and trailers. I respect that they opted not to do that.

[Winston*]

I only liked the first Bourne film.

[megladon8]

I only liked the first Bourne film.


Why did you not like the other two?

[MadMan]

Bah. 12 > 11 >>> 13Just when I thought we were starting to see eye to eye on things....*shakes head* :P

Also not even *** for Wayne's World? Not cool, dude ;)

To me AVP 2 was big dumb fun, nothing more nothing less. Anyone going in expecting a good film has a line of thinking that I don't understand.

[Winston*]

Why did you not like the other two?
I think Paul Greengrass's humourless REAL approach is ill-suited to the material and his one note shaky cam direction is head ache inducing. And I don't think theres not enough plot there to last a trilogy; the second one's a rehash of the first one with less Franka Potente, the third one is a rehash of the first two with no Franka Potente, tired attempts at topicality and a lamely inserted backstory with Julia Stiles.

[megladon8]

To me AVP 2 was big dumb fun, nothing more nothing less. Anyone going in expecting a good film has a line of thinking that I don't understand.


While I understand and (for the most part) agree with this, I also empahtize with people who believe "big dumb fun" can be well made.

because it's true.

AvP: R was big dumb fun made pretty crappily.

I still had a great time with it, though. It was very intentionally campy and stupid - how anyone could possibly think that "but the government would never lie to us!" line was done seriously is completely beyond me.

But it could have been a lot better, regardless of whether they wanted to make a campy or genuinely great movie.

[megladon8]

I think Paul Greengrass's humourless REAL approach is ill-suited to the material and his one note shaky cam direction is head ache inducing. And I don't think theres not enough plot there to last a trilogy; the second one's a rehash of the first one with less Franka Potente, the third one is a rehash of the first two with no Franka Potente, tired attempts at topicality and a lamely inserted backstory with Julia Stiles.


I liked the ambiguous relationship with Julia Stiles.

I actually think that was one of my favorite scenes in the whole movie - when Bourne and Nicky are sitting in the diner and he asks her why she helped him and she says "it was harder for me...with you."

That's all we really get, but it's enough. I really liked the way it was handled.

[Qrazy]

They aren't, even if Showgirls comes close. This and Basic Instinct are his only masterpieces, and I'd say this is better.

I'm going to assume here that you haven't seen any of his films prior to Basic Instinct which are all significantly better than Basic Instinct... and are simply fond of merit-less hyperbole. Oh, and he's never made a masterpiece... although Turkish Delight comes closest.

[MacGuffin]

I'm going to assume here that you haven't seen any of his films prior to Basic Instinct which are all significantly better than Basic Instinct... and are simply fond of merit-less hyperbole. Oh, and he's never made a masterpiece... although Turkish Delight comes closest.

No, I haven't. Turkish Delight has a very long wait on Netflix, and I really want to see it.

I like hyperbole, but I try not to use it very much. However, here, again I don't really have anything to say regarding Black Book yet, and it's been too long since I've seen Basic Instinct to really support my statement, so I can't help but use hyperbole in this situation to express myself to how I see does fit my feeling towards the films.

Anyways, I just finished part one of La Belle noiseuse, and am debating whether I should watch part two now (it's 12:53 AM here right now), or save it for later today and play some Mass Effect.

[Sycophant]

Days of Heaven = pretty goddamned great

[Winston*]

Memories exceeded expectations. Fantastic animation and music. Segments are ordered from best to worst but the last one's still pretty cool, love the Raymond Briggsy art style.

[Boner M]

Just saw 2 Days in Paris, which if nothing else confirms my suspicion that Adam Goldberg's reaction shots are enough to carry a 100 minute film and rescue it from Deply's cloying neuroses, whose persona extends to the film's form in the most grating way imaginable. I guess she's established herself as a distinctive cinematic voice, and (very) occasionally her techniques (voiceovers, superimpositions) have a naivety that's oddly poignant, but it all feels so inconsequential that I felt awkward when the credits started rolling.

[MacGuffin]

Will En la ciudad de Sylvia ever see a North American DVD release (please say yes)?

[Rowland]

All this Verhoeven talk and nobody brings up Robocop? That's twice the movie Black Book is.

[MacGuffin]

All this Verhoeven talk and nobody brings up Robocop? That's twice the movie Black Book is.

I don't think I've seen it all the way through, and if I did then I don't remember the whole thing.

[origami_mustache]

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/images/manbitesdog6.jpg


I'm about 30 pages too late on the Man Bites Dog discussion, but it prompted me to view the film sooner. I found it to be absolutely hilarious. I agree with the one-note accusations, and the concept was probably better suited for a short film, but it's basically a cleverly disguised cheap student film influenced by the work of the new wave filmmakers and especially Godard. I mean sure the character's are deplorable, but I enjoy my comedy black. I found the killer's pontificating about architecture, music, poetry, painting, homophobia, racism, etc. to be amusing. I also loved the Brechtian filmmaking jokes: using the zoom lens to find the hiding victim and the abrupt silence after the sound man is shot

[Li Lili]

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/images/manbitesdog6.jpg


I'm about 30 pages too late on the Man Bites Dog discussion, but it prompted me to view the film sooner. I found it to be absolutely hilarious. I agree with the one-note accusations, and the concept was probably better suited for a short film, but it's basically a cleverly disguised cheap student film influenced by the work of the new wave filmmakers and especially Godard. I mean sure the character's are deplorable, but I enjoy my comedy black. I found the killer's pontificating about architecture, music, poetry, painting, homophobia, racism, etc. to be amusing. I also loved the Brechtian filmmaking jokes: using the zoom lens to find the hiding victim and the abrupt silence after the sound man is shot
I saw it years ago in the mid-90s. At that time, everyone were still talking about this film, it was funny indeed, some particular morbid humor, the film film made also Benoît Poelvoorde more known. I liked the joke on "Little Gregory", but I doubt everyone would get it as it was based on a real-life murder case, which made quite of a scandal.
But I'm pretty sure now, I would find it dated, or unfunny.

[Ezee E]

While I understand and (for the most part) agree with this, I also empahtize with people who believe "big dumb fun" can be well made.

because it's true.

AvP: R was big dumb fun made pretty crappily.

I still had a great time with it, though. It was very intentionally campy and stupid - how anyone could possibly think that "but the government would never lie to us!" line was done seriously is completely beyond me.

But it could have been a lot better, regardless of whether they wanted to make a campy or genuinely great movie.


Yeah, as mentioned earlier, big dumb fun can certainly work in a movie like Shoot 'Em Up where it all works, mostly cause the characters make it work. Here, everyone is dead serious. As mentioned, both the aliens and predators were misused.

The first AvP works for the first hour or so until the humans team up with the predators. Then it all goes to hell.

[Li Lili]

I watched Blue Cha Cha by Cheng Wen-tang, a Taiwanese film from 2005. It was surprising to see Lu Yi-Ching, a regular actress of Tsai's films (she played in all his films apart in I Don't Want to Sleep Alone). She's different from his films.
Blue Cha Cha follows a young woman who just came out of prison. She goes and sees an old inmate (Lu Yi-Ching) who welcomes her and helps her to get back into living in society and helps her to deal with love and relationships with others. The film is a portrait of these two women of two different generations, linked by their strong friendship. The mood of the film is quite soft and delicate, it was also nice to hear some old 60s Taiwanese pop songs, but perhaps it needed a bit more strength.

I'm starting watching some Mikio Naruse's films again.

[dreamdead]

Rewatched The Awful Truth. It grows in my esteem more with every viewing. This one would make a top 50 if I were to start over on a list.

Miike's The Happiness of the Katakuris is amusingly bizarre. However, the opening claymation sequence had a group of us expecting madcap genius rather than the film's understated drama with overstated musical sequences. The Richard Sagawa character is delightfully overdone, which is fun, but I still haven't seen a Miike film as consistent as Dead or Alive or especially Audition. The mother's song during the mansion sequence is quite nice, as is the karoke sing-along, but it never quite achieved anything special in my eyes, though it was never less than fun.

Also saw the British dry comedy Keeping Mum. It's pretty good, certainly a solid and consistent entry in the "old women knocking off villains" routine (not that I could name another one), and Maggie Smith and Kirsten Scott Thomas carry the film with strong performances. Rowan Atkinson doesn't make me want to hurt things, which is nice, and the drama carries through the film nicely. Again, nothing special, but nice enough.

[Qrazy]

Rewatched The Awful Truth. It grows in my esteem more with every viewing. This one would make a top 50 if I were to start over on a list.

Miike's The Happiness of the Katakuris is amusingly bizarre. However, the opening claymation sequence had a group of us expecting madcap genius rather than the film's understated drama with overstated musical sequences. The Richard Sagawa character is delightfully overdone, which is fun, but I still haven't seen a Miike film as consistent as Dead or Alive or especially Audition. The mother's song during the mansion sequence is quite nice, as is the karoke sing-along, but it never quite achieved anything special in my eyes, though it was never less than fun.

I have trouble conceiving of Dead or Alive as consistent but alright. Speaking of The Awful Truth, I recently watched An Affair to Remember, also by McCarey. It's not nearly as funny as Awful Truth, but it's a pleasant little film in it's own right, worth checking out.

[Sycophant]

There are few movies I enjoy more than Happiness of the Katakuris. It's positively a joy for me to watch. It's also the first of Miike's films I've seen, but I still think it holds up as an excellent example of the man's talents, particularly in how it leaps around tonally.

[Spinal]

For a film that is reportedly so alive and zany, I thought The Happiness of the Katakuris was thunderously dull. Couldn't get into it at all. The best part about it is the DVD cover.