28 Film Discussion Threads Later [Archive] - Page 232

EyesWideOpen

12-18-2011, 08:25 PM

You know what? The Village is actually a pretty great movie. Is it a bit too self-serious, which overly hypes and takes some punch out of the rather silly scare moments? I guess. But it makes sense if you think of it as showing the inherent folly of the elders' plan. For one thing, Shyamalan's stilted dialogue is for once appropriate- the children in the village are closed off from the outside world, are suffering from poor health and are slightly dumb. It's pretty funny, and I think it's meant to be funny. It's a wonderfully directed movie, of course- the walk through the woods in particular is phenomenal filmmaking. The film's major criticism, which is that the twist is stupid, I just don't get. What's stupid about it (I said so myself (http://match-cut.org/) almost 3 years ago and now I have no idea why)? It works perfectly as a cautionary modern fairy tale of sorts. Not a perfect movie, but hugely satisfying.

Thank you.

Scar

12-18-2011, 08:29 PM

Did anyone else around here find Cowboys and Aliens entertaining?

ledfloyd

12-18-2011, 09:15 PM

Clarify. I want to see Cold Fish very soon.
for most of it's runtime it isn't that bad, but the last half hour or so is maybe the most aggressively misogynistic thing i've ever seen. i'm pretty sure he's going for satire, but it doesn't come off at all, for me anyway. it's hard to go into detail without spoiling major plot points, unfortunately.

i think EWO said he enjoyed the film so i'd be interested in hearing his take on it. i was just kind of disgusted with it, it's so ugly and hateful.

eternity

12-18-2011, 09:18 PM

Did anyone else around here find Cowboys and Aliens entertaining?
Not even a little bit.

Scar

12-18-2011, 09:20 PM

Not even a little bit.

Shocking.

MadMan

12-18-2011, 09:27 PM

Did anyone else around here find Cowboys and Aliens entertaining?I did, but I felt there was a really good movie somewhere in there. Hidden, really. Should have just scrapped the whole stupid alien thing (I don't care that it was adapted from a comic book or graphic novel, I don't know any fans of it so they could have gotten away with deviating from the source material). I would say its one of the most disappointing movies I've seen this year.

EyesWideOpen

12-18-2011, 09:30 PM

I did, but I felt there was a really good movie somewhere in there. Hidden, really. Should have just scrapped the whole stupid alien thing (I don't care that it was adapted from a comic book or graphic novel, I don't know any fans of it so they could have gotten away with deviating from the source material). I would say its one of the most disappointing movies I've seen this year.

Other then the basic premise the movie had nothing to do with the source material.

Dead & Messed Up

12-18-2011, 10:02 PM

You know what? The Village is actually a pretty great movie. Is it a bit too self-serious, which overly hypes and takes some punch out of the rather silly scare moments? I guess. But it makes sense if you think of it as showing the inherent folly of the elders' plan. For one thing, Shyamalan's stilted dialogue is for once appropriate- the children in the village are closed off from the outside world, are suffering from poor health and are slightly dumb. It's pretty funny, and I think it's meant to be funny. It's a wonderfully directed movie, of course- the walk through the woods in particular is phenomenal filmmaking. The film's major criticism, which is that the twist is stupid, I just don't get. What's stupid about it (I said so myself (http://match-cut.org/) almost 3 years ago and now I have no idea why)?

The twist is so troublesome in terms of how the secrets could possibly be maintained. Indeed, the plot holes are so many that M. Night shows up in the flesh in the finale of the film to try and tie up all the loose ends. I think the themes are intriguing, but the film itself is a pretty big cheat.

Rowland

12-19-2011, 01:19 AM

for most of it's runtime it isn't that bad, but the last half hour or so is maybe the most aggressively misogynistic thing i've ever seen. i'm pretty sure he's going for satire, but it doesn't come off at all, for me anyway. This is a pretty common complaint about the film (Mike D'Angelo considers it the worst release of 2011 for this very reason). I didn't care for the film, but not because of any supposed misogyny. If anything, the film is aggressively nihilistic in a more generalized misanthropic sense, in that nobody comes out looking good by the end.

Philosophe_rouge

12-19-2011, 02:08 AM

I like all of Sion Sono's films that I've seen, excepting Cold Fish, which I HATE. I think it is nihilistic, but the women still fare worse than the male characters. It's not only gross and hateful, but dull and SO LONG.

ledfloyd

12-19-2011, 02:14 AM

This is a pretty common complain about the film (Mike D'Angelo considers it the worst release of 2011 for this very reason). I didn't care for the film, but not because of any supposed misogyny. If anything, the film is aggressively nihilistic in a more generalized misanthropic sense, in that nobody comes out looking good by the end.
i suppose you could argue this is true of everyone in the film, but the women in particular seemed to me nothing more than oversexualized caricatures.

EyesWideOpen

12-19-2011, 02:18 AM

The feeling I got from the film and then stated in the Sono interview on the disc was that it's a satire and not supposed to be taken seriously. I laughed quite a bit during the film.

Philosophe_rouge

12-19-2011, 02:19 AM

The feeling I got from the film and then stated in the Sono interview on the disc was that it's a satire and not supposed to be taken seriously. I laughed quite a bit during the film.
Sono's films are all funny, this one had no bite for me. Laughter is subjective I suppose, but man, did not find it amusing in the least.

Kurosawa Fan

12-19-2011, 12:41 PM

NickGlass

12-19-2011, 04:50 PM

The feeling I got from the film and then stated in the Sono interview on the disc was that it's a satire and not supposed to be taken seriously. I laughed quite a bit during the film.

At what point did you feel like he was providing critique, though? Satires are usually provide, you know, wry commentary and insight. I agree that the scenarios are so audacious that laughter wouldn't be totally inappropriate, but I did not sense any deconstruction that justified the way women were portrayed (and abused, etc.).

StanleyK

12-19-2011, 07:10 PM

The twist is so troublesome in terms of how the secrets could possibly be maintained. Indeed, the plot holes are so many that M. Night shows up in the flesh in the finale of the film to try and tie up all the loose ends. I think the themes are intriguing, but the film itself is a pretty big cheat.

It's true that there were plot holes, but they're not that outlandish that they threaten my suspension of disbelief, much less my overall enjoyment of the film (the Night cameo is indeed pretty lame, though).

StanleyK

12-19-2011, 07:11 PM

Damn, The Class is a great movie. It reminded me of The Wire in how it manages to create such a compellingly morally ambiguous scenario with fully realized, neither vilified nor sanctified characters. Like with The Wire, I do wish it were more formally accomplished, but it's otherwise so entertaining and intelligent that I'm almost willing to let that slide.

Philosophe_rouge

12-19-2011, 07:15 PM

I was really loving My Man Godfrey. It was really funny, well-acted, and picking on the spoiled/"entitled" is always relevant and a worthy topic for a comedy. I was fully prepared to post heaps of praises for a film not enough people talk about when they mention classic comedies. Then it stumbled into a bizarre, audience-satisfying ending, and I was left scratching my head. Not sure how the film can justify Godfrey ending up with such a solipsistic child. Either way, while damaging overall, the ending doesn't completely spoil the fun I was having up to that point. A bit didactic, but still very funny and definitely worth seeing. William Powell is awesome.
This used to be a favourite of mine, but a recent rewatch had me somewhat disappointed in the same way. Still wonderful, and the cast is great. William Powell is indeed awesome, too often forgotten when it comes to remembering great actors. I am not sure I've ever seen him turn in a bad performance, he is effortless in his grace, he seems to work very well with other actors, playing off of their performances to create some wonderful kind of unity on screen.

ledfloyd

12-19-2011, 07:39 PM

The feeling I got from the film and then stated in the Sono interview on the disc was that it's a satire and not supposed to be taken seriously. I laughed quite a bit during the film.
i can see that that's what he's going for, but it just felt like he missed the mark to me.

Li Lili

12-19-2011, 07:48 PM

I'll see it very soon.

I just saw Demonlover, which is quite a strange film. Not as fun as Irma Vep, but probably meatier. It's certainly very effective in pointing out the creepiness and exploitative nature of some pornography; there were a couple of scenes where I was close to throwing up. Horribly shot action scenes aside it's also very formally accomplished. It's certainly interesting how different this and Irma Vep are to Summer Hours, which I've heard is closer to Clean.
I only like Clean by Assayas, and mainly because of Maggie Cheung, pity that we don't see her on screen anymore...
Still, Clean is better than his other films.

Hugh_Grant

12-19-2011, 08:10 PM

I only like Clean by Assayas, and mainly because of Maggie Cheung, pity that we don't see her on screen anymore...
Still, Clean is better than his other films.

I *heart* Carlos. Great rewatchability for a five-hour movie.

NickGlass

12-19-2011, 08:29 PM

I only like Clean by Assayas, and mainly because of Maggie Cheung, pity that we don't see her on screen anymore...
Still, Clean is better than his other films.

Really? I love Maggie Cheung (and Assayas), but I think it's his weakest of the six I've seen. I feel like Assayas's idea for Clean sort of got away from him and the filmmaking becomes less and less compelling as he starts to dig for the emotional core of the film.

TGM

12-19-2011, 08:34 PM

So I finally got around to seeing Clerks for the first time. I've seen Clerks II several times, and really enjoy it. The first one, though, didn't really do it for me. It's okay, and I likely would've enjoyed it more had I not already heard all the jokes going into it, but I didn't think it was all too great. It's humorous, though the sequel is way, way funnier.

However, this movie does give me more appreciation for Clerks II, as I can definitely see where Kevin Smith took all the things that worked and expanded them to their full potential, leaving out all the things that didn't quite click. And I was also getting a bit of a backwards kick as I noticed where several of the nods he makes in Clerks II originated from. All in all, not bad, and not as good as the second, though it's definitely a nice little companion piece.

Qrazy

12-19-2011, 09:39 PM

The sequel is one of the worst pieces of crap I have ever seen in my life. The first film is passable (just barely).

Spun Lepton

12-19-2011, 10:55 PM

StanleyK

12-20-2011, 12:09 AM

Really? I love Maggie Cheung (and Assayas), but I think it's his weakest of the six I've seen. I feel like Assayas's idea for Clean sort of got away from him and the filmmaking becomes less and less compelling as he starts to dig for the emotional core of the film.

Just saw it and I largely agree with this, except I didn't find the filmmaking to be compelling to begin with- it's a rather inelegantly shot film, and edited with little regard to the effectiveness of its cuts. A little disappointingly normal after the batshit but fun Demonlover, and a huge step down from the vibrant Irma Vep. I did think that the story started finding its emotional footing towards the end, and Cheung is tops, but overall it's not that good.

Also Clerks II is one of my least favorite films ever and reprehensible on every level.

Spinal

12-20-2011, 12:50 AM

It's amazing that we still talk about Kevin Smith in the year 2011.

MadMan

12-20-2011, 12:57 AM

I like both Clerks movies, and I'm glad he didn't make a third one.

transmogrifier

12-20-2011, 01:04 AM

Clerks II is amazingly bad. Clerks is like The Wild Bunch compared to that shit.

TGM

12-20-2011, 01:07 AM

Keep in mind it was made for an incredibly meager budget. Smith really didn't have a whole lot at his disposal. When I caught it on its initial run, that was part of its appeal.

And this is coming from somebody who views Smith's entire career as pretty rocky.

Yeah, taking that all into account does contribute a bit to why I didn't rag against this movie as much as I otherwise probably would have.

But yeah, I'm not a big Kevin Smith fan, I've really only liked Dogma and Clerks II.

Dead & Messed Up

12-20-2011, 01:27 AM

Clerks II was not to my liking. I dig Chasing Amy and Dogma and Red State. The rest runs the range from guilty pleasure to offensively bad.

Watashi

12-20-2011, 01:33 AM

Everything Kevin Smith has done has been astonishingly bad.

Even his most "respected" film, Chasing Amy, deeply offends me.

Dead & Messed Up

12-20-2011, 01:35 AM

Everything Kevin Smith has done has been astonishingly bad.

Even his most "respected" film, Chasing Amy, deeply offends me.

For why?

Watashi

12-20-2011, 01:53 AM

For why?
Not a personal level, but a movie-loving level. The film tries to be Smith's mature look at relationships and it fails at conveying one original thought that previous (and better) movies have done. It's been 10 years since I've seen it, so I don't have any specific examples, but I remember how juvenile Smith's filmmaking was.

Dead & Messed Up

12-20-2011, 02:04 AM

Not a personal level, but a movie-loving level. The film tries to be Smith's mature look at relationships and it fails at conveying one original thought that previous (and better) movies have done. It's been 10 years since I've seen it, so I don't have any specific examples, but I remember how juvenile Smith's filmmaking was.

What would some of those movies be? I'd be curious to see them.

Watashi

12-20-2011, 02:13 AM

What would some of those movies be? I'd be curious to see them.
Well, pick a random Woody Allen film from 70's/80's. Also Hal Hartley's Trust and Cameron Crowe's Say Anything.

Dead & Messed Up

12-20-2011, 02:22 AM

Well, pick a random Woody Allen film from 70's/80's. Also Hal Hartley's Trust and Cameron Crowe's Say Anything.

I haven't seen much Allen, but I assumed you were going to list movies with more emphasis on sexual identity. Obviously Say Anything is a fine model for a traditional romance, but I thought Chasing Amy's virtues were non-traditional. Especially when I decided on a second viewing that Alyssa's the hero and Holden's the villain.

Spinal

12-20-2011, 05:00 AM

Qrazy

12-20-2011, 06:56 AM

Hrm, color me a little surprised at all of the positive energy thrown at X-men First Class. It's not a bad film. The script is okay. But I found every single action set piece utterly unremarkable and many of the vfx frankly just bad.

Rowland

12-20-2011, 07:11 AM

I wasn't exactly a huge defender of the film, but what I liked about it wasn't so much the script, action, or special effects, as much as its lightness of touch and lack of pretense (it was at its weakest when feigning an outsider pose). It was the first X-Men movie, for all its flaws, that I thought was fun.

Kurosawa Fan

12-20-2011, 12:14 PM

Safety Last! was so good! Can't believe I waited this long to see it. Watched it with my son and we laughed a lot. And I audibly gasped a couple times in the closing sequence. Funny, I've seen the famous clock clip many, many times but never knew what happened right after that. Good stuff.

YES! A long time ago, this made that top 100 list of mine. It's right up there with Seven Chances and The Circus for silent comedies. Such a fun, exciting film.

Li Lili

12-20-2011, 03:25 PM

Raiders

12-20-2011, 03:35 PM

Safety Last! was so good! Can't believe I waited this long to see it. Watched it with my son and we laughed a lot. And I audibly gasped a couple times in the closing sequence. Funny, I've seen the famous clock clip many, many times but never knew what happened right after that. Good stuff.

It's a wonderful feat of filmmaking, but I think Lloyd's best film is definitely Girl Shy. Less of a gag gilm, it's a more charming film overall and the remarkable finale is potentially the most exhilerating and humorous "chase," or race, scene ever. Amazing stuff.

Spinal

12-20-2011, 04:23 PM

Thank you, Martin Scorsese, for opening my eyes to a bygone era. I was walking blindly through my life taking those early movie pioneers for granted. This Christmas, I'm going to volunteer at my local film preservation center.

Ezee E

12-20-2011, 04:50 PM

Morris SchÃ¦ffer

12-20-2011, 06:58 PM

http://s3.amazonaws.com/coolproduction/ckeditor_assets/pictures/4712/original/thismustbetheplaceposter.jpg?1 324396440

StanleyK

12-20-2011, 08:01 PM

Lady in the Water is a bad film, but not quite as bad as I remembered. I can even sort of get how someone might like it; if you ignore the atrocious dialogue, the aggressively blunt metaphors for storytelling, its facile moralizing, Shyamalan's immaturity in making the critic character and his ego-stroking, then what you're left with is his immaculate compositions, effective editing, and another amazing score by James Newton Howard. I was even close to being moved by its big emotional moment, which is well shot and well acted but ultimately botched through a laughable monologue. In fact there were a few moments where I thought "this is actually a half-decent movie", but then I remember any scene involving the critic or 'the cookbook' or somebody opening their mouths to speak and I just can't give this a positive rating. Very frustrating.

MadMan

12-21-2011, 02:33 AM

This reads very sarcastic... But I'm not sure. :lol:Well he gave The Muppets movie a *1/2. So I guess his rating for Hugo shouldn't be too surprising.

I imagine I'll like both movies, but I think I like things too much so maybe I'll try and go into both films wanting to hate them.

EyesWideOpen

12-21-2011, 03:32 AM

The Artist, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and A Dangerous Method all open near me on friday. Add those to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Tintin, Outrage, We Bought a Zoo and The Descendants which I want to see and I'm gonna be busy at the movies for the next two weeks.

Yxklyx

12-21-2011, 03:51 AM

Not a fan of Assayas - OK films but definitely not enough to warrant watching something lengthy like Carlos.

Sven

12-21-2011, 04:01 AM

Getting the urge to rewatch some Kitano films lately. Discussion revisit: recommendable Kitanos.

The only one I haven't seen is Achilles and the Tortoise. What's the consensus? The only ones I did not so much like are Getting Any?, which has some glorious highs and is not uninteresting or bereft of laughs, and Scene at the Sea, a film possessing a rhythm with which I could not synchronize. Other than that, it's more or less a wash--every other film, no matter if it's silly, violent, or pensive, I wouldn't hesitate to call the satisfying work of a master. I'm particularly smitten with his editing, which he uses to great, punctual effect, whether through visceral demonstrations of violence or flourishes of creative chronal unfolding.

Most of me wants to immediately embrace Kikujiro as the most definitive, but I recognize my sentimental attachment to that one. But Takeshis, even just thinking about it, knocks me on my ass. I've never seen a movie so simultaneously crazy and graceful. I like his silly(ish), out-there films like that one and Kantoku Banzai, mostly for their brazenness. And then there's Kids Return I've only seen once, but was a revelation.

My favorite of his Hisaishi soundtracks is probably Sonatine's.

EyesWideOpen

12-21-2011, 04:11 AM

I really need to watch/rewatch all his films. I've never been disappointed. So far I've seen Violent Cop, Boiling Point, A Scene at the Sea, Sonatine, Fireworks, Kikujiro, Brother and Zatoichi.

Qrazy

12-21-2011, 04:32 AM

Couldn't stand Violent Cop or Sonatine. I liked Zatoichi and Fireworks.

Sven

12-21-2011, 06:22 AM

Just convinced K to rewatch Zatoichi with me. Excellent, excellent, excellent. I love that he showcases the non-movie talents of performers and artists. Dancers and illustrators and singers and comedians and athletes, etc etc etc. His emphasis on performance is reflected in his concern with process, too, fixating with things like the gambling and strolling sequences (not even to mention the graceful swordplay) on the controlled moment of action. The cross-cutting between the younger and older Naruto boy practicing his geisha routine is one of the best scenes from any of his films.

Sven

12-21-2011, 06:23 AM

Couldn't stand Violent Cop or Sonatine.

Care to venture your reasoning? I can see not liking Violent Cop, as it does have a sour, acquired taste. But Sonatine is beautiful.

Qrazy

12-21-2011, 07:15 AM

Care to venture your reasoning? I can see not liking Violent Cop, as it does have a sour, acquired taste. But Sonatine is beautiful.

Pretty sure we had this conversation a few years ago. So I refer you to the backlogs of match-cut. :)

Sven

12-21-2011, 08:08 AM

Pretty sure we had this conversation a few years ago. So I refer you to the backlogs of match-cut. :)

Hmmm. I searched. Surprised you didn't search first. Nothing. You have historically trash-talked it to others, though, without getting into reasoning. But in 2010's September, I did get a response from MacGuffin about it. Was that you? I always suspected he was fake.

Also, you say Violent Cop "sucks" and you "couldn't stand" it, but you also call it "thoroughly average," while conceding that it excels with its genre elements. So even if I did recover a dialogue we may have had about it, I don't think I'd be able to comfortably rely on it as representative of any current thoughts you may have about it. My suspicion is that you had me search the databanks because it's been too long to recall the film adequately enough to get into it. In which case, I strongly recommend a revisit.

Dukefrukem

12-21-2011, 02:05 PM

http://blastr.com/assets_c/2011/12/FandomInfographic-thumb-330x641-79389.png

Derek

12-21-2011, 04:15 PM

Qrazy

12-21-2011, 04:34 PM

Hmmm. I searched. Surprised you didn't search first. Nothing. You have historically trash-talked it to others, though, without getting into reasoning. But in 2010's September, I did get a response from MacGuffin about it. Was that you? I always suspected he was fake.

Also, you say Violent Cop "sucks" and you "couldn't stand" it, but you also call it "thoroughly average," while conceding that it excels with its genre elements. So even if I did recover a dialogue we may have had about it, I don't think I'd be able to comfortably rely on it as representative of any current thoughts you may have about it. My suspicion is that you had me search the databanks because it's been too long to recall the film adequately enough to get into it. In which case, I strongly recommend a revisit.

Nah, I thought I had gone into it. Raiders clearly deleted the post in an act of mod fury.

But anyway...

I recall Violent Cop possessing the same features as any bad film. It is stylistically uninteresting and dramatically clumsy. I do not find Kitano's shot compositions or editing rhythms interesting in the slightest. Other than that the film possesses a great deal of violence and posturing, and not much of anything that I find cinematically interesting. I don't find Fireworks that well shot either but it's saving grace is the attitude it takes and/or the tone it expresses. In that one, the reflections of the characters combined with Hisaishi's score and the Fireworks pictures are extremely expressive.

With Sonatine ditto the complaints of Violent Cop but throw on the fact that the structure of the film doesn't work at all for me. I found moments such as that hopping around on the beach sequence intensely cheesy. Rather than reflective I found the entire second half of the film simply tedious.

Sven

12-21-2011, 04:47 PM

Awesome. I appreciate the response, even if it is chasmically different from my own.

Sycophant

12-21-2011, 06:46 PM

My experience of watching Achilles and the Tortoise was a lot like my experience watching Getting Any? (and kind of like Kantoku Banzai! for that matter), in that while I enjoyed it, it wore on me to the point of exhaustion. However! I remember it more fondly than either of those, and I think it's a really strong film, that I've been meaning to revisit, along with the rest of Kitano's art-about-art trilogy.

D_Davis

12-21-2011, 07:00 PM

Last night I was treated to a screening of the only known 35mm print of The Boxer's Omen, a nearly lost Shaw Brothers classic found a year or two ago along with a ton of other films beneath the floorboards of an old Chinese theater in Vancouver, BC. Holy fuck. What a serious dose of psychedelic voodoo Buddhist insanity that was. It makes Hausu look like Oscar-bait. I guess it's on DVD, but that hardly compares to seeing it screened on 35mm at 2am in a crowded theater. I recommend that experience.

Such an awesome flick. Surprisingly well shot. For me it's like the Shaw Brothers version of El Topo. Truly a one of a kind experience.

Li Lili

12-21-2011, 07:34 PM

I like Kitano's films very much too!
I can't say which one is my favourite, but I did love Kids Return, Scene at the Sea, a few years ago, they were my favourite. Years ago (oh... I sound like an oldy! :cry: ), the ones I liked the least were Getting Any ? and Boiling Point, but perhaps if I revisit them I may change.
I saw Outrage a few months ago, I thought it was ok, closer to his previous yakusa films. Takeshis was really good too and liked very much Dolls. I have got a copy of Achilles and the Tortoise, but still haven't got round to watch it.

In order of preference it would be :
Hana-Bi, Kids return, A scene at the Sea, Dolls, Sonatine, Takeshis, Zatoichi, Brother, Outrage, Kikujiro, Violent Cop, Getting Any, Boiling Point

Raiders

12-21-2011, 07:34 PM

Interestingly enough, I have Takeshis' at my house. I haven't seen a Kitano film since Zatoichi.

ledfloyd

12-21-2011, 08:15 PM

i heard bad things about outrage and passed up an opportunity to see it earlier this year. the only kitano i've seen is zatoichi and i wasn't overly impressed with it.

MadMan

12-21-2011, 09:14 PM

http://blastr.com/assets_c/2011/12/FandomInfographic-thumb-330x641-79389.pngI despise Pokemon and Twilight, but the rest of those on there are a-okay with me.

Sonatine is on my instant viewing queue. I tried watching it, but fell asleep 20 minutes in, so I'll have to give it another chance. I really should avoid watching foreign movies late at night.

B-side

12-22-2011, 06:02 AM

Anyone here seen any of Cam Archer's work? Shit Year is on KG now, and it looks amazing. Boner? Russ? Seems like your guys' kind of guy.

Qrazy

12-22-2011, 06:32 AM

Anyone here seen any of Cam Archer's work? Shit Year is on KG now, and it looks amazing. Boner? Russ? Seems like your guys' kind of guy.

Is he the former King of Cambodia? No? Then I don't care.

B-side

12-22-2011, 06:36 AM

Is he the former King of Cambodia? No? Then I don't care.

I thought the same thing at first, but it turns out that some directors who actually have films available to the public in a format that isn't a 14th generation, re-recorded VHS initially recorded on a Super 8 camera off of a bad TV broadcast interrupted several times by dictatorial decree are actually worth pursuing. Yeah, I was surprised, too.

Qrazy

12-22-2011, 07:15 AM

I thought the same thing at first, but it turns out that some directors who actually have films available to the public in a format that isn't a 14th generation, re-recorded VHS initially recorded on a Super 8 camera off of a bad TV broadcast interrupted several times by dictatorial decree are actually worth pursuing. Yeah, I was surprised, too.

This seems unlikely. More likely you were misled by propaganda from Trương Tấn Sang.

B-side

12-22-2011, 07:19 AM

This seems unlikely. More likely you were misled by propaganda from Trương Tấn Sang.

He's the standing member of the Secretariat of the Vietnamese Communist Party Central Committee!

MadMan

12-22-2011, 07:43 AM

:lol:

Paris, Texas (1984) is rather excellent and features great acting, cinematography, and a rather understated score. I love how Wenders frames his compositions, and I think this one is better than Wings of Desire although that movie is great, also. This one might take a few days to digest, and I seem to have run into a lack of desire to review/writer's block, so any thoughts will probably come sometime next year.

StanleyK

12-22-2011, 02:06 PM

Wendy and Lucy was fairly underwhelming. Compared to Old Joy, Reichardt doesn't really do anything special with editing or camerawork; the only sequence that struck me was the long pan across the kennel at the dog pound, which had a strange sort of ethereal quality to it. Whatever other powerful moments the film has depend on Williams' remarkable performance. She makes this rather simple film have a good deal of emotional resonance.

Qrazy

12-22-2011, 03:55 PM

He's the standing member of the Secretariat of the Vietnamese Communist Party Central Committee!

And as you well know Vietnam and Cambodia were never the friendliest neighbours!

Qrazy

12-23-2011, 06:49 PM

What do you guys think of self-conscious compositions? I don't mind them personally.

Ex:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare11/a%20ivans%20childhood%20dvd%20 review%20andrei%20tarkovsky/1%20ivans%20childhood%20dvd%20 review%20andrei%20tarkovsky.jp g

And I can't find the shot but that image in Woman in the Dunes of the lead framed behind the slats of a window simulating the bars of a jail.

Derek

12-23-2011, 09:06 PM

Qrazy

12-23-2011, 09:23 PM

So much of their effectiveness depends on the context, not just within the film but also the quality of the material, acting, etc. on display. That is to say I think there are many incredible self-conscious shots in great films, yet when they show up in bad films, they are usually infuriating. That shot in Woman in the Dunes works beautifully as does, for example, the ending shot of Bresson's Pickpocket, yet the "prison bar shot" has felt forced and heavy-handed in more films than it actually works in.

I agree but I have heard others criticize them in and of themselves. For instance I've heard criticisms of that shot in Ivan's Childhood being that type of composition that only a young filmmaker would make and that Tarkovsky would later grow out of that type of blatant symbolism. Tarkovsky may even have said something to that effect himself in Sculpting in Time, I can't quite recall.

dreamdead

12-24-2011, 12:01 AM

Oh, internets. You are magnificent. Film Studies vis-a-vis Ryan Gosling (http://filmstudiesryangosling.tumblr. com/).

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwb9dxzTSp1r8nskeo1_128 0.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ6IHW SU3BX3X7X3Q&Expires=1324774840&Signature=bG61RAe54wSppY%2F4Db zJ2IqM%2BcU%3D

ledfloyd

12-24-2011, 12:09 AM

i wasn't expecting a whole lot out of weekend but i'll be damned if it didn't knock me on my ass.

Sven

12-24-2011, 04:30 AM

I am currently fuming about being scammed out of a very expensive Effi Briest DVD that I used to own. :frustrated::evil:

Derek

12-24-2011, 04:44 AM

I am currently fuming about being scammed out of a very expensive Effi Briest DVD that I used to own. :frustrated::evil:

How can you be scammed out of something you no longer own??

Sven

12-24-2011, 04:57 AM

How can you be scammed out of something you no longer own??

Because now "Carlos" has it. I was telling a present tense story about a past tense situation.

Derek

12-24-2011, 05:16 AM

Because now "Carlos" has it. I was telling a present tense story about a past tense situation.

Oh, you didn't realize how expensive it was 'til now. For shame, Sven, for shame.

Sven

12-24-2011, 02:37 PM

Oh, you didn't realize how expensive it was 'til now. For shame, Sven, for shame.

Of course I knew how expensive it was. Carlos eBay scammed me, and now I don't have the DVD or any money to show for it. Please do not shame me--I'm the victim.

Kurosawa Fan

12-24-2011, 02:47 PM

Of course I knew how expensive it was. Carlos eBay scammed me, and now I don't have the DVD or any money to show for it. Please do not shame me--I'm the victim.

I ask not to shame you, but for my own education: how does one get eBay scammed? I've sold a few things on there, and I always have the money before I send the item, either in my Paypal account or having cashed a check/money order. I once clicked a link that was messaged to me and had my auction cancelled, losing all the bids, so I'd love to know if there are new scams out there to avoid.

Sven

12-24-2011, 03:02 PM

Well, it was my fault. 100%, absolutely. But the guy's still dishonest and I still got scammed. Massively expensive DVD. Guy buys it (on half.com, a less involving spinoff of eBay), requests media mail. Media Mail does not require you to send tracking information. But it is wise to do so anyway, in case it "gets lost" or whatever. So I think to myself "make sure to get tracking on this". Package gets shuffled around with a bunch of other DVDs and I forget. I send it First Class, because it's cheaper and faster. Three to four days later, guy emails me saying "please send tracking info on it." I don't have it. Weeks later, he demands refund.

Basically, he sent me that request right around the time he would've received the package, noticed that it didn't have tracking, and knew he could claim that he didn't get it. A side story: this guy also, months ago, demanded, with threats of reporting me to the site, a partial refund for a DVD that was listed "Like New" but had some slight scuffing on the plastic case.

So anyway, yes. My fault. His feedback shows a history of refund demands, with lots of sellers warning about him in responses to negative feedback he's given them over untimely refunds. Unfortunately, eBay no longer permits sellers to give negative feedback about buyers (which is utterly ridiculous), so the guy has no real noticeable red flags unless you do more research than is necessary (or reasonable if you are a higher quantity seller like I am).

Lesson: TRACK YOUR PACKAGES. Their shipping reimbursement doesn't cover the cost of tracking, but for expensive items, do it or you may lose it. Also, word your initial Match Cut posts complaining about it correctly--Derek may shame you otherwise.

EyesWideOpen

12-24-2011, 03:05 PM

I got burned on selling a $200 book even with delivery confirmation. I highly recommend using signature confirmation for any high price items.

Sven

12-24-2011, 04:05 PM

I got burned on selling a $200 book even with delivery confirmation. I highly recommend using signature confirmation for any high price items.

Ouch. Mine was not nearly so bad. Mind if I ask you to elaborate? Was it one of your comic books?

EyesWideOpen

12-24-2011, 04:47 PM

Ouch. Mine was not nearly so bad. Mind if I ask you to elaborate? Was it one of your comic books?

It was a out of print Daredevil omnibus hardcover that sold for $200. The guy only paid for media mail shipping but I went ahead and shipped it priority with delivery confirmation. The book was delivered two days later and within one hour of the book showing as being delivered he emailed me saying he hadn't received the book and what was I going to do about it. Which immediately said off red flags that he was scamming me. Most people in that situation would have said maybe the mailman couldn't deliver it or accidently left it at a neighbor but he immediately put me to blame and wanted to know what I was gonna do. I told him that the item showed as being delivered and that at that point it was out of my hands (knowing that he had the book). He filed a complaint and even with delivery confirmation they sided with him saying that wasn't proof enough it was delivered. I responded saying "if evidence from a government agency that the item was delivered isn't good enough for you I don't know what is" and they responded saying I should have gotten signature confirmation. They refunded his money and he got to keep the book.

Sven

12-24-2011, 09:31 PM

Oh man. I would have been even more furious than I am now. I would've killed the closest living thing.

MadMan

12-25-2011, 09:51 AM

Charlie Chaplin's Limelight (1952) is a really great film, and one of his best efforts. I loved Buster Keaton's cameo, and the film nicely balances both humor and drama. Older Charlie Chaplin is remarkably just as great as his younger self, and its fascinating to see him near the end of his career. Also this can be included among the numerous movies that have a famous star dying at the end. His death was rather tragic, and the final shot is rather poetic.

Rowland

12-25-2011, 06:27 PM

You know Red Letter Media? Most widely known as the source of those epic feature-length pans of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, they've now released one for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (http://blip.tv/redlettermedia/indiana-jones-kotcs-review-part-1-of-2-5843147), and barring some lousy humor (the Mr. Plinkett routine has become pretty stale), it's incisive and hilarious as usual.

[ETM]

12-25-2011, 07:10 PM

I just watched all of it and it's pretty spot on.

Sven

12-26-2011, 04:56 AM

I didn't expect to like Cowboys & Aliens, but I didn't think it was going to be THAT terrible. What a boring movie.

Dead & Messed Up

12-26-2011, 06:28 AM

Sven

12-26-2011, 03:51 PM

I tried to not do that thing of where I'm constantly sneaking glances at them to see how they're responding. It's hard to not do that.

My brother in law does this to me and I hate it.

Ezee E

12-26-2011, 04:15 PM

Why not ask after the movie?

Qrazy

12-26-2011, 04:52 PM

Finally finished the Spielberg canon minus the two new ones and frankly Always wasn't that bad. I guess I"m just an unabashed fan of the man. It's certainly a chick flick and one of his most unashamedly sentimental works but it still possesses his trademark formal style and skill. Certainly not a great film but I can now say I don't think the man ever made a truly terrible one.

Spun Lepton

12-26-2011, 04:53 PM

Why not ask after the movie?

I have this habit, too. It's not a conscious decision.

Sycophant

12-26-2011, 04:56 PM

ledfloyd

12-26-2011, 04:58 PM

I have this habit, too. It's not a conscious decision.
yeah, it's weird, i get anxious if i'm watching a movie and/or listening to music with someone and i think they're hating it. it can even affect my enjoyment of it, like i'm hearing/seeing everything they hate about it. it mostly happens with my dad. who is pretty vocal about his disapproval of anything that doesn't feature steven seagal or don henley.

Qrazy

12-26-2011, 04:59 PM

yeah, it's weird, i get anxious if i'm watching a movie and/or listening to music with someone and i think they're hating it. it can even affect my enjoyment of it, like i'm hearing/seeing everything they hate about it. it mostly happens with my dad. who is pretty vocal about his disapproval of anything that doesn't feature steven seagal or don henley.

Yeah, in certain contexts it can definitely tamper my love of a film watching it someone who isn't as into it.

transmogrifier

12-26-2011, 06:36 PM

Certainly not a great film but I can now say I don't think the man ever made a truly terrible one.

Amistad and especially 1941 certainly disagree with this statement.

Qrazy

12-26-2011, 07:07 PM

Amistad and especially 1941 certainly disagree with this statement.

Neither is good but neither is terrible in my opinion. 1941 doesn't grate on me nearly as much as it does on some and I think there are a handful of genuinely funny moments sprinkled throughout. The trajectory of Amistad is stupid as hell but again there is still a competence to the filmmaking. There is a fluidity to the exchange of dialogue and flow of images that remains constant in all of his work. Amistad's 'Give us Free' bit is certainly way over the top but the film as a whole is not dramatically incompetent even if it is treacly and preachy.

MadMan

12-27-2011, 12:36 AM

Rewatched The Social Network with the fam. Mom loves it, dad likes it, bro and sis seemingly liked it.

I tried to not do that thing of where I'm constantly sneaking glances at them to see how they're responding. It's hard to not do that.

Still love the flick.I only do that when I haven't seen the movie before. Also your post reminds me that I bought TSN at Target cause it was only $10.00.

1941 will probably not get another chance anytime soon, but I have a feeling I would like Amistad. War Horse looks awful, but I really want to see Tintin.

Dead & Messed Up

12-27-2011, 06:44 AM

My brother in law does this to me and I hate it.

Understandably.

Why not ask after the movie?

Because clearly I'm insecure.

I have this habit, too. It's not a conscious decision.

yeah, it's weird, i get anxious if i'm watching a movie and/or listening to music with someone and i think they're hating it. it can even affect my enjoyment of it, like i'm hearing/seeing everything they hate about it. it mostly happens with my dad. who is pretty vocal about his disapproval of anything that doesn't feature steven seagal or don henley.

Glad I'm not completely alone on this one.

Sven

12-28-2011, 02:17 AM

I used to really enjoy sharing movies I liked and had meaning to me with friends and family. Then I made a few too many people (especially family) sit through movies they didn't enjoy. It made me anxious, and I'd often try to monitor people's reactions throughout. And now I try not to be the one to suggest movies for joint viewings.

I'm sorry if I contributed to this. In hindsight, I think I may have been quite an ass sometimes.

But on the other hand, you have definitely recommended some great films as well. If not for you, I would be ignorant of the excellence of Kiyoshi Kurosawa.

Sven

12-28-2011, 02:18 AM

who is pretty vocal about his disapproval of anything that doesn't feature steven seagal or don henley.

Haha. Your dad sounds awesome.

Spun Lepton

12-28-2011, 03:35 PM

Best Worst Movie for those who don't know, is a documentary about Troll 2's ironic underground success. I've seen Troll 2 and can verify that it's wonderfully bad, the king of so-bad-it's-good.

The doc starts off amicably enough, but runs out of gas about an hour into it. We're treated to some behind-the-scenes stories, we get to meet much of the cast and crew, but the focus is mostly on George Hardy, who played the father. He seems like a good guy, and his initial reaction to Troll 2's cult success is enjoyable. But, as we follow his adventures I was left wishing there were more to the doc. More behind-the-scenes stories. More focus on the other actors. Stephenson clearly likes George the most.

There is only a fair amount of the film dedicated to Troll 2's director, Claudio Fragasso. His reaction to the cult success is the most interesting. He appears at once happy and offended by the audience reaction. He says he loves how it creates an emotional reaction, but then turns around and takes a fairly derisive tone toward the fans. He frequently insults the actors, all of whom have accepted Troll 2's intense badness. Even after reality has slapped him in the face, he continues to believe Troll 2 is a good film.

Overall, Hardy can't carry the entire film, which is somewhat short-sighted on Stephenson's part.

5/10

StanleyK

12-28-2011, 08:29 PM

Qrazy

12-28-2011, 08:30 PM

I don't really see it as Pulp Fiction wannabe at all. I think it's a very strong work although certainly not a timeless masterpiece for the ages.

transmogrifier

12-28-2011, 08:42 PM

What's the consensus here on La Haine? I tried looking for some discussion but I didn't find anything. I thought it was good but not particularly great (I might have been unfairly indisposed towards it because IMDB top 100 + Pulp Fiction wannabe style), but it does have some nicely directed sequences.

It's my third favourite film of all time. And I can't even begin to comprehend how in any way shape or form this could be considered a "Pulp Fiction wannabe". I hope that's not your description, because it is one of the least accurate things I've ever seen used to describe a film.

They both have guns in them, I guess. And music.

Derek

12-28-2011, 08:56 PM

I agree it's not at all like Pulp Fiction and not nearly as good either. Still, it's a solid film with a few electric scenes and a great performance by Cassel. It's a shame Kassovitz couldn't muster much of a directing career afterwards.

transmogrifier

12-28-2011, 09:02 PM

Dead & Messed Up

12-28-2011, 09:03 PM

Saw it in college. Barely remember it.

Raiders

12-28-2011, 09:07 PM

Yeah, what happened to him? Gothika, FFS?

Not to mention the Vin Diesel vehicle, Babylon AD.

transmogrifier

12-28-2011, 09:11 PM

Not to mention the Vin Diesel vehicle, Babylon AD.

It's best we don't mention that.

He was good as the lead in A Self-Made Hero.

StanleyK

12-28-2011, 11:15 PM

I had heard that it was a Pulp Fiction wannabe (the timeframe was just right for it), and the gunshot sound effects and flashy scene transitions didn't help my disposition much. I do agree that the films are not that similar, but I can see how someone might say they are.

Grouchy

12-29-2011, 04:49 AM

Not to mention the Vin Diesel vehicle, Babylon AD.
Gothika is shit but I actually kind of enjoyed that one. It's a mess but it has its moments.

transmogrifier

12-29-2011, 08:31 AM

Just seen A Canterbury Tale - wonderfully evocative of the weight of history on the follies of the present, and the vice-like grip of nostalgia. Uses a shaggy dog story to frame both the resilience and lingering disappointments/regrets/worries of war-time rural England. Beautifully directed, the last 25 minutes are lyrical and provide a well-earned catharsis.

Powell and Pressburger were simply awesome.

B-side

12-29-2011, 10:28 AM

Arirang. Kim Ki-duk's ultimate vanity project is an autobiographical docu-fiction film where Kim attempts to reconcile his status as internationally-known director with his current station in life experiencing immense guilt for a near-death experience on the set of his 2008 film, Dream, deceit by trusted colleagues and the subsequent existential re-examination. My main concern going in was that this was going to be silly and narcissistic. And it kinda is, but it feels too easy to dismiss Kim's work here and all of the emotion he so clearly put into it. If ever there were a film about purging demons, this is certainly it. Kim splits himself into multiple personae, interrogating and mocking himself for his guilt-riddled, rustic self-isolation. There is a sense of humor here, and an essential element of self-awareness. Arirang is Kim taking the criticism he hears the most, that his films are rough and technically poor, and turning it into a template for a return to basic cinematic truth; a man and his camera. It's no surprise, then, that Kim made the film entirely by himself without a single instance of artificial extra. All the light is natural and nobody acts as the film's lone human presence is Kim himself. Lengthy ruminations on life and Kim's views thereof soon become kinda insufferable until Kim edits out to show himself chuckling at his own misery on a TV screen. He creates scenarios that justify his nervous speeches, and that he responds as he did to the criticisms he's received, give one a sense of an insecure man sincerely thankful for his success, but at a critical crossroads that requires a metaphorical "killing" with a custom made gun to truly move on.

StanleyK

12-29-2011, 05:52 PM

elixir

12-29-2011, 06:01 PM

StanleyK, since you still seem to be checking out Assayas, if you access to it, you should really watch Cold Water (L'eau Froide).

MadMan

12-29-2011, 06:22 PM

Miller's Crossing (1990) is not so much a gangster movie as it is The Coen Brothers creating a rather complex and engaging drama that just happens to in this case feature gangsters. Its arguably their most violent movie, but the more serious elements are properly balanced with rather bleak humor that's often quite funny and makes the more shocking aspects even more interesting. Even though I wouldn't place this in their top tier (and yet its a great movie-I think that speaks to how talented they really are) I think its a bit of a shame they never made another movie quite like this one. In some ways I suppose No Country For Old Men and Fargo are close, and oddly enough I feel that Burn After Reading might also be somewhat similar.

ledfloyd

12-29-2011, 08:45 PM

Boarding Gate was great. It's half Godard-style conversations between Argento and Madsen and half visceral chase scenes (and this time Assayas got the hang of how to shoot action), and never less than fully exciting.
yes! finally someone agrees with me. it's one of my favorites of the last decade, and possibly my absolute favorite assayas. but cold water gives it a run for its money, so i second elixir on that recommendation. late august early september is up there too.

StanleyK

12-30-2011, 12:34 AM

StanleyK, since you still seem to be checking out Assayas, if you access to it, you should really watch Cold Water (L'eau Froide).

I do intend to go back and watch his lesser known films, like that or Late August, Early September and Sentimental Destinies.

yes! finally someone agrees with me. it's one of my favorites of the last decade, and possibly my absolute favorite assayas. but cold water gives it a run for its money, so i second elixir on that recommendation. late august early september is up there too.

It's my favorite right now too, but I have my hopes up for Summer Hours.

StanleyK

12-30-2011, 12:35 AM

Trouble Every Day is more proof that 'People Doing Things Silently' is the best kind of cinema there is. Most of the film's running time is devoted to the character's actions and to visually expressing their desires. There's very little dialogue- and, in fact, the film's wordiest scenes (where Shane is looking for Leo and in a couple of confounding flashbacks) are its weakest, and they sort of disrupt the film's rather sublime elliptical flow. Denis is now 2 for 4 with me; I hope L'Intrus tips the scale towards the positive side.

Spinal

12-30-2011, 06:21 AM

Grouchy

12-30-2011, 07:55 AM

http://www.shockya.com/news/wp-content/uploads/dead-man-walking.jpg

Dead Man Walking - Here's a film that's unarguably well made, but which thematically I find a bit off. Tim Robbins being an actor, he has populated the film with incredible performances and characters all around. But I think the film's position towards death penalty is muddled and insecure at best. And I think that's because Robbins tries way too hard to find a hopeful message at the end of the rainbow when he should've sticked to realism. The murdered couple's families want the killer dead to find closure into their lives, and that's really all that the script ends up saying about the subject. A good film, but it could and should have gone a lot deeper into its themes. It avoids a lot of Hollywood traps, but it didn't deliver enough food for thought. At least not for me.

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story - Not much to say about this one. A case of Heineken and a joint made me enjoy it a lot more than its worth. But Stiller is a hilarious motherfucker all the same.

Un Cuento Chino (A Chinese Tale) - Ricardo DarÃ*n stars as his usual schtick of a grumpy but honest man who finds love despite his best efforts to hide from it. The screenplay for this dramedy is Syd Field perfection, but it pains me when I watch a movie and I can accurately predict absolutely everything that will happen in it. The production values are superb, though.

Dukefrukem

12-30-2011, 12:57 PM

Here's my list before I submit my nominations to the MCies. (In order of most appealing) Thoughts on the order? Any I need to see immediately?

Drive
Melancholia
Shame
The Descendents
The Iron Lady
Moneyball
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
The Ides of March
War Horse
Hugo
The Skin I Live In
Albert Nobbs
We Need to Talk About Kevin
J. Edgar
50/50
Midnight in Paris
The Artist
Cars 2

Raiders

12-30-2011, 12:58 PM

http://www.shockya.com/news/wp-content/uploads/dead-man-walking.jpg

Dead Man Walking - Here's a film that's unarguably well made, but which thematically I find a bit off. Tim Robbins being an actor, he has populated the film with incredible performances and characters all around. But I think the film's position towards death penalty is muddled and insecure at best. And I think that's because Robbins tries way too hard to find a hopeful message at the end of the rainbow when he should've sticked to realism. The murdered couple's families want the killer dead to find closure into their lives, and that's really all that the script ends up saying about the subject. A good film, but it could and should have gone a lot deeper into its themes. It avoids a lot of Hollywood traps, but it didn't deliver enough food for thought. At least not for me.

Perhaps I don't understand what you mean? What more reason for the grieving families would you like? The "justice" of the death penalty, balancing the scales and the closure it supposedly provides, is pretty much the justification used in its favor. The anger and vengeance they feel, and that they direct at Sarandon and accuse her of taking a side, is a product of the sick power the very existence of the death penalty gives us.

The film, I think, also uses Penn's final words, wishing directly to the families that his death brings them comfort, as a bit of a dagger. It is a film that doesn't deal with Christian platitudes but embraces the very belief that compassion, forgiveness and looking somewhere other than in your rear-view is what ultimately brings the sought-after "closure." The final scene with the victim's father praying with Sarandon is the entire raison d'etre of the film. Not necessarily the Christian belief of it, but the turning of the focus away from anger and vengeance.

Dukefrukem

12-30-2011, 02:30 PM

Derek

12-30-2011, 02:58 PM

Recently re-watched Airplane!

"The fog is getting thicker."
"... and Leon is getting larger!"

Is this a reference to something? Or is it just supposed to be a non sequitur? I think it's hilarious, but possibly the oddest joke in the film.

I always assumed it was just a non sequitur as that same character randomly appears on-screen and says/does something ridiculous several other times in the film to annoy Leon.

Mysterious Dude

12-30-2011, 03:34 PM

Recently re-watched Airplane!

"The fog is getting thicker."
"... and Leon is getting larger!"

Is this a reference to something? Or is it just supposed to be a non sequitur? I think it's hilarious, but possibly the oddest joke in the film.
I have a hypothesis! The first line is a line from the film Zero Hour (the origin of quite a lot of Airplane's dialogue (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051221/quotes)), and the writers added the second line to make it funny. I don't know for sure, though.

Grouchy

12-30-2011, 05:15 PM

Perhaps I don't understand what you mean? What more reason for the grieving families would you like? The "justice" of the death penalty, balancing the scales and the closure it supposedly provides, is pretty much the justification used in its favor. The anger and vengeance they feel, and that they direct at Sarandon and accuse her of taking a side, is a product of the sick power the very existence of the death penalty gives us.

The film, I think, also uses Penn's final words, wishing directly to the families that his death brings them comfort, as a bit of a dagger. It is a film that doesn't deal with Christian platitudes but embraces the very belief that compassion, forgiveness and looking somewhere other than in your rear-view is what ultimately brings the sought-after "closure." The final scene with the victim's father praying with Sarandon is the entire raison d'etre of the film. Not necessarily the Christian belief of it, but the turning of the focus away from anger and vengeance.
I'm sorry, I didn't make myself clear at all. I think the film takes a middle of the road position towards capital punishment, where it gives us every valid argument both pro and against it and it leaves us to judge for ourselves, with the parents of each murdered person representing one of the two views. That's all well but I wish it had ultimately taken a side, and despite the last scene, I don't think it did.

It's a great film all the same. It just left me that impression of being something created in a way so as not to give out an opinion.

Personally I always thought the lethal injection is a thing of supreme cruelty. It numbs your muscles so that the audience don't have to endure you showing you're suffering while it bursts your lungs from within. If you must execute people and you have to choose a humane way, why not just shoot them? Why create something so elaborate and sadistic?

MadMan

12-30-2011, 06:24 PM

Ebert's take on the boxoffice failures (http://www.rogerebert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111228/COMMENTARY/111229973)

I can definitely agree with:

3. The theater experience. Moviegoers above 30 are weary of noisy fanboys and girls. The annoyance of talkers has been joined by the plague of cell-phone users, whose bright screens are a distraction. Worse, some texting addicts get mad when told they can't use their cell phones. A theater is reportedly opening which will allow and even bless cell phone usage, although that may be an apocryphal story.They just need to ban cell phones from movie theaters, period. People fail to realize that these are businesses, and there are goddamn rules. When I worked at a movie theater the other ushers and me all wished we could just take people's cell phones and break them as a warning to the rest of the annoying users who didn't get the hint.

4. Refreshment prices. It's an open secret that the actual cost of soft drinks and popcorn is very low. To justify their inflated prices, theaters serve portions that are grotesquely oversized, and no longer offer what used to be a "small popcorn." Today's bucket of popcorn would feed a thoroughbred.Amen. Seriously. I kept hearing the lie that refreshment prices keep ticket prices down. However, from what I heard at my previous job, most of the absurd refreshment prices went to pay our salaries, but I was always skeptical of that claim.

6. Lack of choice. Box-office tracking shows that the bright spot in 2011 was the performance of indie, foreign or documentary films. On many weekends, one or more of those titles captures first-place in per-screen average receipts. Yet most moviegoers outside large urban centers can't find those titles in their local gigantiplex. Instead, all the shopping center compounds seem to be showing the same few overhyped disappointments. Those films open with big ad campaigns, play a couple of weeks, and disappear.I completely agree with this wholeheartedly because I live in an small city in Eastern Iowa. If I ever leave this state it will be mostly to find a job, but also mostly to find a decent movie theater.

Dukefrukem

12-30-2011, 06:32 PM

There isn't a movie I go to where someone doesn't whip out their cell phone and it illuminates the whole theater. Someone even did it in the front row of MI4 in IMAX.

StanleyK

12-30-2011, 06:33 PM

It's my favorite right now too, but I have my hopes up for Summer Hours.

Well, it wasn't as entertaining as Boarding Gate, but it's definitely a very good film. A radical shift in both form and theme, from fast-paced thrillers about double-crossing to a quiet, long-takey meditation on the emotions and values we place both on inanimate objects and our relationships with other people. It takes quite a while to get to the emotional climaxes and they're quite subdued when they happen, and all that makes them feel more earned.

eternity

12-30-2011, 09:41 PM

50/50
Another Earth
Another Happy Day
Beginners
Bellflower
Cedar Rapids
Contagion
Drive Angry
Everything Must Go
The Future
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
The Help
Immortals
Insidious
In Time
Jane Eyre
Melancholia
Rampart
Sleeping Beauty
Straw Dogs
Super
Terri
Tyrannosaur
Warrior
Win Win

StanleyK

12-31-2011, 01:45 AM

O Sangue was the first film I saw in 2011, and just for the hell of it I decided to make it the last one of the year too. It's just as excellent a capper as it was a kick-off. I love its slightly ethereal feel which continually grows until its dreamy ending sequences, perfectly evoking the main character's stunted emotions and how that rubs off on everyone around him. Beautiful and beautifully directed.

Happy 2012, y'all!

Barty

12-31-2011, 06:48 AM

Amen. Seriously. I kept hearing the lie that refreshment prices keep ticket prices down. However, from what I heard at my previous job, most of the absurd refreshment prices went to pay our salaries, but I was always skeptical of that claim.

It's not a lie. Nearly ounce of profitability at movie theaters comes from concessions.

MadMan

12-31-2011, 09:13 AM

It's not a lie. Nearly ounce of profitability at movie theaters comes from concessions.Alright. That makes perfect sense, although granted I would usually question what I was told by my employers at the time, so I had to wonder.

transmogrifier

12-31-2011, 11:10 AM

Inglourious Basterds - 70

A slightly higher rating than my only other viewing (68), mainly because the three scenes that pop really pop the second time around (for the record: 1. Opening scene, 2. Dinner with Strudel and Cream, 3. Basement). But it is still hamstrung by elementary errors: who on Earth expected Eli Roth exiting from the tunnel to be anything other than comical? Who decided to give Pitt an accent that reduces his whole performance to some sort of pantomime extravagaza? Who thought to allow Mike Myers to extend his Austin Powers dress-up nonsense? Why make the climatic showdown between Shosanna and the thorn in her side so damn cheesy and laughable?

Nowhere near Tarantino's best, but still has its charms.

Li Lili

12-31-2011, 01:53 PM

I went to see at the theatre the Irish film, The Guard, first featuire by John Michael McDonagh (brother of the director of In Bruges, which I thought it was a good comedy by the way).
The film stars Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle as an FBI agent and is set in the Connemara. I'm pretty sure some of you have already seen it.
It's good black comedy using all kind of stereotypes and clichÃ©s referring to Irish culture. I won't describe it or quote anything as it may ruined the film (by the way, it's best not to watch the trailer or any clip because they give away a lot!
It's quite a sarcastic comedy, very well acted (Gleeson and Cheadle are very good in it) with... let's say some stupid characters! Some very funny moments...
I recommend it.

B-side

12-31-2011, 03:02 PM

Nowhere near Tarantino's best

Disagree. I think it's his best. And I'm pretty sure you took the film more seriously than you should have.

transmogrifier

12-31-2011, 06:36 PM

Disagree. I think it's his best. And I'm pretty sure you took the film more seriously than you should have.

Remember, I like the film. So not sure why you need to write me off as someone who can't watch a movie in the "right" way.

Grouchy

12-31-2011, 06:42 PM

I'm conviced In Bruges is an underrated treasure of comedy. Future generations will be smarter and it will resurface as a cult film.

MadMan

12-31-2011, 09:52 PM

I'm conviced In Bruges is an underrated treasure of comedy. Future generations will be smarter and it will resurface as a cult film.Right now I give it a 90, but I have a feeling a rewatch would result in my rating going up. It just barely misses cracking my Top 10 for 2008. I was surprised at how well the film balances comedy with drama, and the ending is amazing. Its got an incredibly smart script.

Also I think trans failed to pick up on Inglourious Basterds' comedy aspects.

who on Earth expected Eli Roth exiting from the tunnel to be anything other than comical?I'm pretty sure everyone expected it to be comical, and I imagine that was QT's intent. Its funny how the Bear Jew is built up to be this incredible badass when really he is in fact just some nutjob armed with a bat. I loved his entrance because it was in fact hilarious.

Who decided to give Pitt an accent that reduces his whole performance to some sort of pantomime extravagaza?I read Pitt's performance as QT poking fun at the classical "Macho man military leader of the group," and its wonderfully over the top. Once again, I think you missed the point. Pitt trying and actually butchering an Italian accent was one of the funniest parts of the film.

Who thought to allow Mike Myers to extend his Austin Powers dress-up nonsense?Well I'll agree that I didn't care for that part, either, but I don't think it seriously impacted the movie at all.

Why make the climatic showdown between Shosanna and the thorn in her side so damn cheesy and laughable?I failed to find it cheesy or laughable. I'm glad you liked the movie, but your review for some reason focuses on a lot of negatives.

transmogrifier

12-31-2011, 11:52 PM

I didn't fail to pick up on the comedy aspects. I just didn't find them funny. The movie succeeds where it goes for tension and/or character revealed through dialogue, particularly in those three scenes I mentioned above.

In fact, I think the whole film is basically those three scenes. The rest is just filler.

transmogrifier

01-01-2012, 02:34 AM

City of Ember - 59

Pure plot mechanics mostly sold by the young actors. Diverting as a narrative, but has no resonance at all in the end because Kenan doesn't pause for characterization and doesn't bother to establish the community of Ember; instead it is just a bunch of people that the two kids run into, meaning its hard to invest in the endgame. Murray is completely wasted, playing one of the most colourless characters of his career.

JCVD - 37

Great idea, terrible execution. Two great scenes (the opening and the direct to camera monologue) and lots of evidence that JCVD has actual depth as an actor, but the entire film looks like crap and the hostage drama centre is a poorly-choreographed bore, with shitty pointless villians and a storm of hollow noise trying to substitute for urgency outside...

B-side

01-01-2012, 06:38 AM

Remember, I like the film. So not sure why you need to write me off as someone who can't watch a movie in the "right" way.

That wasn't really what I meant. I just don't understand your questions. You're questioning why somebody made something funny in a manner that would seem to me that you'd rather he have done in with an entirely straight face. Tarantino isn't re-writing real history, he's re-writing the theatrical and cinematic world of history.

Irish

01-01-2012, 04:50 PM

But it is still hamstrung by elementary errors: who on Earth expected Eli Roth exiting from the tunnel to be anything other than comical? Who decided to give Pitt an accent that reduces his whole performance to some sort of pantomime extravagaza? Who thought to allow Mike Myers to extend his Austin Powers dress-up nonsense? Why make the climatic showdown between Shosanna and the thorn in her side so damn cheesy

I believe the answer to these questions is "Dude, it's Quentin Tarantino."

Self restraint isn't his forte. (Is Avary out of jail yet?)

Irish

01-01-2012, 04:56 PM

That wasn't really what I meant. I just don't understand your questions. You're questioning why somebody made something funny in a manner that would seem to me that you'd rather he have done in with an entirely straight face. Tarantino isn't re-writing real history, he's re-writing the theatrical and cinematic world of history.

That's almost the entire problem with this film -- QT wants all the cake.

The opening absolutely demands you take it seriously. It sets a tone & expectation. But then he's got Roth and Pitt running around the sets like a couple of homicidal Looney Tunes characters. Doesn't work both ways.

Hyperbolic analogy: Sorta like splicing Hogan's Heoes into Schindler's List and peddling it as action adventure entertainment.

Li Lili

01-01-2012, 09:27 PM

I'm conviced In Bruges is an underrated treasure of comedy. Future generations will be smarter and it will resurface as a cult film.
Yes, it was good, I think The Guard is in the same level of comedy (also Gleeson plays in both).

Dukefrukem

01-01-2012, 11:08 PM

Drive is awesome.

Drive
Melancholia
Shame
The Descendents
The Iron Lady
Moneyball
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
The Ides of March
War Horse
Hugo
The Skin I Live In
Albert Nobbs
We Need to Talk About Kevin
J. Edgar
50/50
Midnight in Paris
The Artist
Cars 2

Ezee E

01-02-2012, 12:25 AM

2011 Completion after list:
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Tintin
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Young Adult
Midnight in Paris
The Skin I Live In
War Horse
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
My Week With Marilyn
A Separation
Warrior
Take Shelter
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Chac Mool

01-02-2012, 01:59 AM

I'm conviced In Bruges is an underrated treasure of comedy. Future generations will be smarter and it will resurface as a cult film.

They're shooting midgets!

I've seen it thrice, and it gets better every time.

And, for the record, so does Inglorious Basterds. I find it pretty much perfectly pitched between slapstick comedy and horror.

transmogrifier

01-02-2012, 02:14 AM

Three Monkeys (2008) - 73

A beautiful sequence of elegantly composed shots intercut with numerous sweaty, grimy close-ups, charting a rather standard story of the upheaval in a family of three after the father agrees to take the rap for a crime he didn't do in exchange for money from his boss.

It's stately and curiously drained of passion (and there are certainly no narrative or character surprises), but it ultimately works because the close-ups serve to reflect the isolating effects of grief, guilt, suspicion and anger - the world goes on but you seem trapped in a self-made fog of internal monologues.

And it's pretty to look at, which shouldn't be sniffed at when we are consistently served up similarly slight stories with all the visual panache of a home-made wedding video (e.g. The bland, flat Legends of the Fall). The final shot is a stunner, depicting how our own individual crises are minute compared to both the society we are raised in and nature.

ledfloyd

01-02-2012, 03:22 AM

my 2011 list:

Margaret
Take Shelter
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Le Havre
The Rum Diary
Into the Abyss
The Descendants
The Artist
A Dangerous Method
House of Pleasures
Shame
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Dukefrukem

01-02-2012, 03:31 AM

Apocalypto (2006) - 50s

The story is OK and some of the set pieces are interesting, I would have liked to seen more at the pyramids, but I didn't like how this film was shot. I wish Gibson used more style with his framing. It feels like this was show with a regular camera. (I don't know the proper terminology). I can tell he did a lot of research based on dialog and the way the camera rests on certain scenes, but I was not immersed in the time period. Something always felt off.

Dead & Messed Up

01-02-2012, 03:54 AM

That's almost the entire problem with this film -- QT wants all the cake.

The opening absolutely demands you take it seriously.

I don't know. Certainly the opening scene functions with an intensity the subsequent scene can't even hope to match, but Waltz's Hans Landa is so larger-than-life that he feels as much a comic figure as he does a villain. The pipe, the milk, the sheer joy of his work. The opening demands engagement, but I don't think it demands an expectation of seriousness or some sort of banal "reality."

Sven

01-02-2012, 04:12 AM

I thought the opening scene was totally self-deflating. We've seen that scene a million times already.

Dukefrukem

01-02-2012, 09:31 PM

Drive
Melancholia
Shame
The Descendants
The Iron Lady
Moneyball
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
The Ides of March
War Horse
Hugo
The Skin I Live In
Albert Nobbs
We Need to Talk About Kevin
J. Edgar
50/50
Midnight in Paris
The Artist
Cars 2

MadMan

01-02-2012, 09:33 PM

I thought the opening scene was totally self-deflating. We've seen that scene a million times already.It felt pretty new to me :P

QT backlash has grown stronger over the years, and as a fanboy it greatly amuses me.

Qrazy

01-02-2012, 10:52 PM

transmogrifier

01-02-2012, 10:58 PM

It felt pretty new to me :P

QT backlash has grown stronger over the years, and as a fanboy it greatly amuses me.

I don't think there is a backlash at all. Bloggers creamed all over Inglourious Basterds. It was The Tree of Life of, what, 2009?

It must be said, though, that his first two films are still his best.

Raiders

01-02-2012, 11:41 PM

Enemy Mine was much better than I expected it to be. What happened Wolfgang, what happened. Innerspace and Explorers were both okay but about as mediocre as I expected them to be, pretty much Spielberg-lite.

This post is so backwards from my own opinion that it boggles my mind. Dante's films are terrific, whereas Petersen's is so, so silly.

transmogrifier

01-03-2012, 02:09 AM

Last Year at Marienbad - 69

I don’t think the story is as impenetrable as its reputation suggests – or at least, the film is welcoming enough to allow the viewer to imprint a reasonable narrative (at least in terms of character motivation and overall premise) that can serve to guide you through the dream-like, gliding editing, mannered acting and gorgeous mise-en-scene.

It takes a while to settle into the groove of the film, as you become familiar with the rules of engagement, and of course, you are still left with a nagging feeling that there may in fact be no ultimate point to the film, except to create a one-of-a-kind mood piece to contrast with the prevailing (mainly Hollywood) genre trappings of the typical doomed romance story of the time. But then, is there anything particularly wrong with that, if it is done as well as it is here? And considering the film still generates debate in the critical community all these years later about what it all means, perhaps that’s the ultimate success, individual viewing experiences be damned.

MadMan

01-03-2012, 02:15 AM

I don't think there is a backlash at all. Bloggers creamed all over Inglourious Basterds. It was The Tree of Life of, what, 2009?I've encountered a significant amount of people in the Internets who bash QT these days. Also even though they get the same rating Tree of Life is better than Inglourious Basterds imo. Malieck is a far more interesting director than QT, and I can say that with confidence despite only seeing two movies from him.

It must be said, though, that his first two films are still his best.Pulp Fiction is his best film, yes, but Reservoir Dogs is middle tier.

Last Year at Marienbad (http://madman731.blogspot.com/2010/12/last-year-at-marienbad-1961-alain.html)

Ezee E

01-03-2012, 03:25 AM

The thing about Last Year in Marienbad is that I just wanted to play the match sticks game.

Ivan Drago

01-03-2012, 03:35 AM

2011 Completion After List:

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Contagion
50/50
The Ides of March
Red State
The Rum Diary
Anonymous
In Time
J. Edgar (maybe)
A Dangerous Method
Carnage
Happy Feet 2
The Descendants
The Artist
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Tintin
War Horse

Ezee E

01-03-2012, 03:36 AM

Why a maybe on Contagion Drago? Especially when there's others that are far more deserving of that.

Contagion is very good.

Ivan Drago

01-03-2012, 03:45 AM

At the time of its release, it seemed really generic from the previews. The positive buzz is encouraging though, but while I'll give it a chance, I won't be expecting much from it.

Qrazy

01-03-2012, 03:46 AM

This post is so backwards from my own opinion that it boggles my mind. Dante's films are terrific, whereas Petersen's is so, so silly.

All three are silly.

Petersen's has major structural problems but the middle core of the film is great. Great mattes, creature and set work, a compelling friendship, unexpected plot developments. It only somewhat falls apart by the end. Quality Quaid performance.

Innerspace is lame as hell, so little time is dedicated to actual innerspace. We're just watching Short bumble around in poorly constructed action set pieces. The bad guys are uninteresting, the fairly interesting premise horribly squandered.

Explorers was much more enjoyable although everything about the film feels so Spielberg-esque except not done as well so that put me off. I do like the overall narrative arc of the film but meh. I probably would have enjoyed it more had I seen it when I was much younger.

The biggest two differences between these particular Petersen and Dante films is that P treats violence with some gravity while D does not. I also just find P's visual world building much more compelling.

B-side

01-03-2012, 04:01 AM

People should stop saying backlash.

MadMan

01-03-2012, 04:10 AM

People should stop saying backlash.I'm backlashing against this post.

elixir

01-03-2012, 04:14 AM

Dead Poets Society is one of the worst films I've seen in some time. For the first 90 minutes, it's your run-of-the-mill, sentimental Hollywood pablum, but then *that* incident occurs and it becomes unbearably cloying and artificial. Nauseating stuff. I can't believe people actually find this shit inspiring.

I like For a Few Dollars More marginally more than the previous entry in the trilogy, but I still am having trouble getting on Leone's wavelength. Lots of dynamic sequences though, and of course the music is undeniable.

elixir

01-03-2012, 04:17 AM

Oh, and I'm having trouble figuring out what quite to say about it, but La Vie Nouvelle is incredible stuff. Remarkable sound design, as great as Lynch or Joe. Incredible sensuality, worthy of Denis. Darkness, shaky cam, and out of focus shots have never been so beautiful. An unknowable horror so unnervingly evoked. There's the thinnest of plot strands, lots of experimentation, and it's an experience that truly deserves the word "visceral." This one will remain with me.

D_Davis

01-03-2012, 04:23 AM

Super 8 was pretty good, but everything ended up just shy of great. In the end I was frustrated by it because of how close to great it got, but something held it back. I never felt emotionally connected to any of the characters, the suspense felt flat, and I was never really excited by the action or the mystery.

Qrazy

01-03-2012, 04:25 AM

Does anyone know how that common special effect is done where the camera travels through a glass window in an unbroken take?

Ezee E

01-03-2012, 05:14 AM

Does anyone know how that common special effect is done where the camera travels through a glass window in an unbroken take?
CGI more then likely. What cases are you talking about?

Qrazy

01-03-2012, 05:27 AM

CGI more then likely. What cases are you talking about?

Well I'm currently watching Sphere so that's one but I think I've also seen it in Panic Room and a number of other places.

Sven

01-03-2012, 05:30 AM

0dLAh2nREz8

Ezee E

01-03-2012, 05:39 AM

Well I'm currently watching Sphere so that's one but I think I've also seen it in Panic Room and a number of other places.
Irreversible and Panic Room came to mind. Those are definitely CGI shots. Not sure about the Sphere one.

And :lol: Sven. That was great.

Watashi

01-03-2012, 06:46 AM

elixir

01-03-2012, 06:49 AM

Just that and Fistful. I'll get to the rest soon enough. I think I may like them more.

Qrazy

01-03-2012, 06:53 AM

I'm a little surprised at how slaughtered Sphere was by critics. It's really not that bad, has a lot going for it.

Watashi

01-03-2012, 06:57 AM

Just that and Fistful. I'll get to the rest soon enough. I think I may like them more.
I'm not a big fan of the two Dollars movies. I'd probably rate them a 6 as well, but Good, Bad, and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West are essential viewings.

I would save Once Upon a Time in America last because I think it's Leone's finest film.

Rowland

01-03-2012, 07:22 AM

I'm a little surprised at how slaughtered Sphere was by critics. It's really not that bad, has a lot going for it.I used to love it back around 2000 or so; as a budding cinephile, it was one of my first contrarian causes. I doubt I'd be so enthusiastic if I revisited it today, but I still carry some fond, probably nostalgic feelings for the film.

Sven

01-03-2012, 08:28 AM

I used to love it back around 2000 or so; as a budding cinephile, it was one of my first contrarian causes. I doubt I'd be so enthusiastic if I revisited it today, but I still carry some fond, probably nostalgic feelings for the film.

My story almost exactly.

transmogrifier

01-03-2012, 08:33 AM

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul - 67

Neatly observed and deeply felt on a scene by scene basis, it all seems just a little bit too blunt and a little bit too broad overall. The racism on show is somewhat cartoonish, making the (potentially interesting) thawing of some of the attitudes in the second half less believable, unbalancing the film as a whole.

In fact, the whole idea of self-interest and pragmatism overcoming bigoted beliefs (as depicted by the shopowner), and whether this is the first step towards a more tolerant society, is touched upon but never really developed, leaving the relatively simple relationship drama, which is not terrible by any means, but hardly awash in original insight.

Fassbinder does have a knack for framing to emphasize the isolation felt by the central couple (doorways, a sea of benches etc), and the wearing down of Ali's genial optimism in the face of such overwhelming hostility is affecting, especially given his otherwise rigid posture. Even water will wear away rock given enough time.

Watashi

01-03-2012, 08:33 AM

Sphere is shit.

B-side

01-03-2012, 08:36 AM

The racism on show is somewhat cartoonish

Intentional.

transmogrifier

01-03-2012, 08:44 AM

Intentional.

Yeah, but it didn't resonate with me. Most of the things I don't like about movies were intentional decisions on the parts of the filmmakers :)

transmogrifier

01-03-2012, 08:45 AM

I've seen Sphere and literally cannot remember a single thing about the movie except who was in it.

Dukefrukem

01-03-2012, 12:01 PM

2011 Competition List

I'm finding it hard to locate Shame.

Drive
Melancholia
Contagion
Shame
The Descendants
The Iron Lady
Moneyball
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
The Ides of March
War Horse
Hugo
The Skin I Live In
Albert Nobbs
We Need to Talk About Kevin
J. Edgar
50/50
Midnight in Paris
The Artist
Cars 2

Dead & Messed Up

01-03-2012, 04:42 PM

I've seen Sphere and literally cannot remember a single thing about the movie except who was in it.

It's basically Solaris underwater, but more talky. I think it's about neck-and-neck with Event Horizon for beginning with a compelling and intriguing sci-fi premise about our place in the universe and then squandering it on sub-par thrills and retreats into trite genre cliche.

Qrazy

01-03-2012, 04:57 PM

It's basically Solaris underwater, but more talky. I think it's about neck-and-neck with Event Horizon for beginning with a compelling and intriguing sci-fi premise about our place in the universe and then squandering it on sub-par thrills and retreats into trite genre cliche.

Nah, Event Horizon is much worse. The final cross cutting sequence in Sphere is fairly compelling. And the film has much more on it's mind then anything in Event Horizon. For instance much of the science jargon in the film is actually accurate, although not all of it.

In terms of the sub par thrills I was thinking about this while watching the film. It certainly does not ramp up the tension very robustly or successfully like something like Alien. I think this may have been a conscious and for me at least partially successful decision though. People do die and the context in which they die is a manifestation of their fears, however the tone of the scenes in which they die is a bit more removed, a bit more matter of fact. This actually kind of makes sense in the context in which it is happening given the overall story.

It certainly does retreat into genre cliche though. It's by no means a great film, I just think that in the sci fi genre it's a competent, middle tier work.

Dead & Messed Up

01-03-2012, 05:03 PM

Compels me to barf.

Qrazy

01-03-2012, 05:45 PM

Compels me to barf.

Good talk.

MadMan

01-03-2012, 06:32 PM

I'm a heavily biased fan of Sergio Leone's so naturally I love his Dollars trilogy. However, I'm starting think that Once Upon a Time in America might be his best film. The only one I have left from him is Duck You Sucker. I'm not really counting that swords and sandals epic he had to step in to direct-you might as well consider Piranha II part of James Cameron's filmography if you are going to do that.

Rowland

01-03-2012, 07:06 PM

I recognized how many holes, cheats, and absurdities Sphere's narrative was contrived with (the business with Jerry and how Hoffman solves it is complete nonsense when you scrutinize the details), but I mostly enjoyed the film for what struck me at the time as an appropriately somnambulistic atmosphere, cerebral tone, and compellingly dynamic direction by Levinson given his reputation as a hack director, however superficial this may all have been with hindsight. Elliot Goldenthal's soundtrack (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBogchUtEj4) for (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuQF-0jw1wU&feature=related) the (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xaca2k_elliot-goldenthal-terror-adagio-fro_music) film is great as well if you appreciate his style.

Rowland

01-03-2012, 08:23 PM

I did a little digging, and discovered a review I wrote for Sphere when I was 13. Enjoy!

Wow! What a movie! This has got to be one of the most underrated movies of the past decade. I cannot begin to comprehend how anybody could hate this movie and give it a two or less star rating! It's unbelievable! This movie truly is a treat. Haunting, exciting, intense, thought-provoking, just a wonderful film. The story is extremely interesting, Barry Levinson did a great direction job, the score is truly haunting and fits the mysterious atmosphere of the film perfectly, and the actors are for the most part terrific.I will admit the movie isn't perfect. It has one mistake in particular that is annoying but most people won't notice it unless they are searching for it. The story also has holes in it, but I think they were put there to make you think and to let you lead to your own conclusion about the mysterious things that take place. This is truly a great movie and massively underrated. Watch out for some of the most intense and unbelievable plot twists and scenes of recent film. Two parts in particular are magnificent and unforgettible! A definte must-see! Just sit back, relax, and absorb yourself into the plot.

Watashi

01-03-2012, 08:27 PM

I don't see much difference from current-day Rowland.

Rowland

01-03-2012, 08:31 PM

I don't see much difference from current-day Rowland.Yeah, probably. Some good an additional 13 years have made. :lol:

Qrazy

01-03-2012, 08:32 PM

I don't see much difference from current-day Rowland.

That's not fair man. He uses fewer exclamation marks now.

Rowland

01-03-2012, 08:36 PM

Sorry, I'm getting a kick out of this. One more, because I'm a masochist and it hurts so good:

First of all, i must state quite simply; this is probably the greatest most epic horror movie EVER. I have never been more scared during a movie then I was during this. Sorry, but halloween, Jason, Freddy, and all their clones just dont frighten me. This is TRUE horror, suspense at it's greatest. It is IMHO Nicholson's greatest performance, he is PERFECT. And the set design is UNBELIEVABLE! Ok, now for all you people who think this movie doesn't compare to the book or whatever, first off the bat, the book hardly scared me, if anything i thought King's book was cheesy. This movie frightened me and put me in a state of awe that the book couldn't touch. OK, this movie was not supposed to be exactly like the book. If it was, King would have written the screenplay. He didn't, Kubrick wrote the screenplay. They are very different in their morals and in their beliefs of human nature. This movie is more realistic then the book. And yes, even at the beginning of the movie Jack is supposed to have that glimmer of insanity, he is an unstable person recovering from alcoholism. BUT he is still a good father and husband.There are so many themes I could touch on, but I won't even bother. Just know that this is a completely different entity then King's 'masterpiece', as all you people call it (haha).It is much superior. Kubrick truely is a genius.....

Watashi

01-03-2012, 08:40 PM

Was this on RT?

Rowland

01-03-2012, 09:20 PM

Was this on RT?
Nope, these are from elsewhere on the internets, about a year or so before I discovered RT.

MadMan

01-03-2012, 10:11 PM

Rowland you are a lot braver than I am. I actually have old reviews I wrote in high school, and I'm too damn scared to look at any of them. Not that I'm any better of a writer since then, but at least I know now not to give away most of the plot of a movie and focus more on theme instead.

Lucky

01-03-2012, 11:03 PM

There are so many themes I could touch on, but I won't even bother.

Hah, I think this part was my favorite. Truly.

Ezee E

01-03-2012, 11:37 PM

It got rejected out of people's own fears, but a RT Back in the Day thread would be hilarious.

Lucky

01-04-2012, 12:15 AM

Well, that'll do it. Thanks for sticking with me. I'm flattered that although you may not have agreed with some of my choices, you were interested enough to read on with my opinion. I am also happy with the fact that a few of you started out hating my list but warmed up to me a little bit. I had a lot of fun doing this and I appreciate seeing all of the comments here. Thanks for giving the newbie a chance..

In summary:

25. Daredevil
24. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
23. Adaptation
22. Se7en
21. A Night to Remember
20. Shrek
19. Best in Show
18. X2
17. The Dark Crystal
16. The Princess Bride
15. The Green Mile
14. Psycho
13. City of God
12. To Kill a Mockingbird
11. 21 Grams
10. Lady and the Tramp
9. Kill Bill
8. Interview with the Vampire
7. Moulin Rouge!
6. Grave of the Fireflies
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
4. The Godfather
3. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
2. Donnie Darko
1. Vertigo

I think only 4 or 5 of those would still make the list if I made this today. Embarrassing.

I can't believe this crap is still out in cyberspace somewhere...I also can't believe how much I'm procrastinating right now...

Rowland

01-04-2012, 12:28 AM

Another brave soul. *applauds*

Dukefrukem

01-04-2012, 12:37 AM

I think only 4 or 5 of those would still make the list if I made this today. Embarrassing.

I can't believe this crap is still out in cyberspace somewhere...I also can't believe how much I'm procrastinating right now...

Daredevil??

Ezee E

01-04-2012, 12:47 AM

I forgot my RT e-mail/password.

MadMan

01-04-2012, 02:08 AM

Right now I'm gambling on being unable to find any posts from my early RT days. Especially my early posts in the FDT thread when it was first created. I hear they fixed the search feature though, which doesn't bode well for me.

Qrazy

01-04-2012, 02:19 AM

2006 Qrazy's Top 50 from RT. I'd shuffle a few but I'm still comfortable with this list overall.

Here are 50 films I love... kind of an approximate top 50 since I"ve never compiled an official list... in no particular order.

Andrei Rublev (Tarkovsky)
La Dolce Vita (Fellini)
Contempt (Godard)
Sansho the Bailiff (Mizoguchi)
2001: A Spade Odyssey (Kubrick)
Citizen Kane (Welles)
Playtime (Tati)
Rashomon (Kurosawa)
The Apartment (Wilder)
La Notte (Antonioni)
Au Hasard Balthazar (Bresson)
Metropolis (Lang)
La Strada (Fellini)
Shoot the Piano Player (Truffaut)
Faces (Cassavetes)
Days of Heaven (Malick)
Vertigo (Hitchcock)
Godfather Part II (Coppola)
Chinatown (Polanski)
Raging Bull (Scorsese)
Manhattan (Allen)
In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar Wai)
Schindler’s List (Spielberg)
Brazil (Gilliam)
Seventh Seal (Bergman)
Stalker (Tarkovsky)
JFK (Stone)
Fitzcarraldo (Herzog)
Grapes of Wrath (Ford)
The General (Keaton)
City Lights (Chaplin)
The Rules of the Game (Renoir)
Umberto D (De Sica)
Wages of Fear (Clouzot)
Bridge on the River Kwai (Lean)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Hill)
Hiroshima Mon Amour (Resnais)
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (Leone)
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Jackson)
Do the Right Thing (Lee)
Passion of Joan of Arc (Dreyer)
The Decalogue (Kieslowski)
Maltese Falcon (Huston)
Red Shoes (Powell)
Tokyo Story (Ozu)
Adaptation (Jonze)
Memento (Nolan)
On the Waterfront (Kazan)
Woman in the Dunes (Teshigahara)

The bolded would be bumped and replaced with the same directors...

Throne of Blood
Happy Together
The Virgin Spring
Sherlock Jr.
Amadeus
Floating Weeds

And I would certainly add some Aleksei German, Kusturica, Tarr, Mackendrick and some others.

MadMan

01-04-2012, 02:24 AM

I did save a previous Top 10 from my RT Journal:

1. Apocaplyse Now(1979)
Truly an amazing, haunting, great performances driven film, with tons of classic scenes-chief among them the atonishing destruction of a village. Also chock full of so many great lines, I couldn't list them all. And Lt. Willard is one of the best anti-heros in cinema. One hellava a journey into the heart of darkness.

2. Casablanca(1942)
Yeah, this is a typical Top 10 choice, one that many say is overrated. I strongly disagree, and I find it to such a magical movie that it would be a crime to exclude it. Bogart and co. shine, with Bogart's world wary Rick the best out of a wide cast of a characters.

3. Once Upon A Time In The West(1968)
This should be required viewing for all movie fans. Barely inching out "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" for best western of all time, Leone's masterpiece takes its place among the grandest of epics, chock full of machosim, a stunning beauty, revenge, all set to Monicone's stunning score.

4. Dr. Strangelove(1964)
"Dr. Strangelove" is the best satire I have ever seen, and one of the funniest movies I've viewed as well. Peter Sellers showcases his comedy chops by playing 3 people, the funniest among them being Strangelove ("Mein Furher! I can walk!"). And I will never forget Sterlin Hayden's paranoid Jack D. Ripper, or the craziness of George C. Scott, or the hilarious Texan twang of Major Kong, played by Slim Pickens. Once again, another movie with too many great lines to pick from.

5. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly(1966)
"OUATITW" may be the best western, but "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" is my favorite. An unforgettable story of 3 hard, brutal men seeking $200,000 in gold that's buried in a cementary. Containing a Oscar worthy performance from Eli Wallach, Monicone's best score (imo), and the best gunfight scene of all time, GBU is one for the ages.

6. The Empire Strikes Back(1980)
Thank god Lucus didn't direct this one-even though he did do a great job with A New Hope, and a good job with Jedi, he most likely would have screwed this movie up. The darkest one of the trilogy, and also a movie featuring great ensights into human nature, ESB is also a gigantic space opra (of course, that's what all the movies all), and an example of how the sci-fi gene can produce great cinema.

7. Nostrafu(1922)
For an old silent movie from the 1920s, "Nostrafu" was pretty damn creepy. The credit for that goes to the title character, a bald version of Dracula with a thin body, long pointy fingernails, and a face that only a mother could love. Man, the part where Nostrafu slowly comes up onto the deck of the ship, while the ship captain ties himself to the steering wheel, sent chills down my spine. My only complaint about the whole movie is that it is too damn short! But then, the best movies usually are.

8. Rushmore(1998)
Heartbreaking. Beautiful. Poetic. Comical. All are words that I think of when "Rushmore" comes to mind, because it a movie about all those things. Max Fischer is one of the most mischevious rascals I have seen on screen, with Billy Murray's Blume achieving a blend of humor and sadness. Another quotable movie, and on my Top 10 of the 90s.

9. On The Waterfront(1954)
Ah Brando....the man described as the greatest actor of all time, and I have only seen one of his movies (I know, I must get cracking). Still, through "On The Waterfront" I see his excellent method acting on display, with him surrounded by other marvolous actors such as Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, Rod Steiger, and actress Eva Marie Saint. "I coulda been a contender...instead of a bum."

10. The Wizard of Oz(1939)
Now I don't care much for musicals, but I could never hate a movie full of so much life, magic, and wonder as this one. Everyone of course knows the story, the songs, and the characters. And the special effects and places like The Emerald City and The Witch's castle still capture my imagination 70+ years after they were first filmed. And I will always love the flying monkeys

Not a bad list, all things considered. The commentary is reflective of me back in high school: youthful enthusiasm and plenty of positivity. Whatever happened to that, I donno.

Derek

01-04-2012, 02:37 AM

Not a bad list, all things considered. The commentary is reflective of me back in high school: youthful enthusiasm and plenty of positivity. Whatever happened to that, I donno.

Weren't you positive on like 95% of what you saw this year? I'd say that's more than enough positivity to keep you going. :)

MadMan

01-04-2012, 02:41 AM

Weren't you positive on like 95% of what you saw this year? I'd say that's more than enough positivity to keep you going. :)Heh. I'm not eternity or anyone who goes out of their way to see just about anything. Maybe in the future when I have money I'll go see Alvin and the Chipmonks 15: Electric Buggalo so I can bash it, but until then I'll try and steer towards movies I have a good chance of enjoying.

Winston*

01-04-2012, 03:03 AM

Why is Jude Law doing an Australian accent in Contagion? Nothing in the dialogue suggests anything particular Australian about his character. Any time he was on screen all I could think of was how great Jude Law must feel about himself with every word he speaks. "Look at my acting. Look at it" he says with a smug internal grin.

Qrazy

01-04-2012, 03:49 AM

Rowland

01-04-2012, 05:15 AM

Polytechnique (Villeneuve, 2011) ***:cool:

Ivan Drago

01-04-2012, 05:45 AM

I'd like to forget almost all the posts I made on RT when I was 13-15.

transmogrifier

01-04-2012, 07:38 AM

Ballad of a Soldier (1959) - 67

One of those films that drifts along, seemingly satisfied with being a gentle humanist observation of human behaviour in trying conditions. As such, it can be a little clunky at times - such as the initial meeting between the young soldier on his way home on leave and the girl on her way to see her fiance, which is awkwardly staged and rather broadly performed by the otherwise winning actors - and lacking in a genuinely cohesive artistic vision.

But the there are little moments that make the journey worthwhile - the soldiers in the train car sharing cigarettes and joking about our heroes exploits, and the galvanizing effect that has on an injured, self-pitying soldier along for the ride; the hardening of a the expression when it becomes obvious a wife left at home hasn't been just waiting around for her husband to return - and the destination is remarkably affecting, casting the previous 80 minutes in a more positive light.

B-side

01-04-2012, 07:42 AM

Relatively certain that film will be the only Georgian film most people ever see.

Chac Mool

01-04-2012, 12:59 PM

Raiders

01-04-2012, 01:08 PM

Relatively certain that film will be the only Georgian film most people ever see.

It's Russian.

Spinal

01-04-2012, 03:31 PM

Relatively certain that film will be the only Georgian film most people ever see.

That and Gone with the Wind.

Derek

01-04-2012, 03:55 PM

That and Gone with the Wind.

Don't forget about Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Kurosawa Fan

01-04-2012, 06:56 PM

Okay, I normally don't pause a movie in the middle to post about it, but what the FUCK is with the constant pop music running in the background of every scene in Clockers? It's incredibly distracting, and is killing any enjoyment I'm getting out of the film. What the hell was Spike Lee thinking? Does anyone have an explanation for this?

Qrazy

01-04-2012, 08:14 PM

Wolfgang Petersen's Shattered is a great film for people who like crappy De Palma thrillers.

Sven

01-04-2012, 08:29 PM

soitgoes...

01-04-2012, 09:14 PM

Qrazy

01-04-2012, 09:27 PM

I'm slowly working my way chronologically through Woody Allen's films, rewatching most of them. I watched Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* last night, and with the exception of the last segment I thought it to be one of the worst things of his I've seen. But oh man, that last bit was brilliant, making the film as whole worth watching.

Is the last bit the Gene Wilder bit? Because that is by far the best. I agree with your overall assessment, I remember nothing else about the film.

Here's what I have left to see from him.

Midnight in Paris (2011)
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010)
Whatever Works (2009)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Cassandra's Dream (2007)
Scoop (2006)
Melinda and Melinda (2004)
Anything Else (2003)
Hollywood Ending (2002)
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
Small Time Crooks (2000)
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
Celebrity (1998)
Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Don't Drink the Water (1994) (TV)
Shadows and Fog (1991)
September (1987)
Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971) (TV)

I only plan on watching the bolded ones unless someone has great things to say about the others.

I've seen parts of Hollywood Ending, Melinda and Melinda and Small Time Crooks I think.

soitgoes...

01-04-2012, 09:30 PM

Is the last bit the Gene Wilder bit? Because that is by far the best. I agree with your overall assessment, I remember nothing else about the film.
No, I didn't care for the Wilder bit, though it is the second best segment (not saying much since the rest is garbage). The end one was the inner workings of a man leading up to sex.

transmogrifier

01-04-2012, 09:34 PM

Is the last bit the Gene Wilder bit? Because that is by far the best. I agree with your overall assessment, I remember nothing else about the film.

Here's what I have left to see from him.

Midnight in Paris (2011)
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010)
Whatever Works (2009)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Cassandra's Dream (2007)
Scoop (2006)
Melinda and Melinda (2004)
Anything Else (2003)
Hollywood Ending (2002)
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
Small Time Crooks (2000)
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
Celebrity (1998)
Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Don't Drink the Water (1994) (TV)
Shadows and Fog (1991)
September (1987)
Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971) (TV)

I only plan on watching the bolded ones.

I've seen parts of Hollywood Ending, Melinda and Melinda and Small Time Crooks I think.

Everyone Says I Love You is one of his very best movies. Small Time Crooks and Scoop are way underrated.

Hollywood Ending, September and Curse of the Jade Scorpion may be his three worst.

Qrazy

01-04-2012, 09:38 PM

No, I didn't care for the Wilder bit, though it is the second best segment (not saying much since the rest is garbage). The end one was the inner workings of a man leading up to sex.

Bah. Bah I say.

ledfloyd

01-04-2012, 09:40 PM

Is the last bit the Gene Wilder bit? Because that is by far the best. I agree with your overall assessment, I remember nothing else about the film.

Here's what I have left to see from him.

Midnight in Paris (2011)
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010)
Whatever Works (2009)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Cassandra's Dream (2007)
Scoop (2006)
Melinda and Melinda (2004)
Anything Else (2003)
Hollywood Ending (2002)
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
Small Time Crooks (2000)
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
Celebrity (1998)
Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Don't Drink the Water (1994) (TV)
Shadows and Fog (1991)
September (1987)
Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971) (TV)

I only plan on watching the bolded ones unless someone has great things to say about the others.

I've seen parts of Hollywood Ending, Melinda and Melinda and Small Time Crooks I think.
everyone says i love you, vicky cristina barcelona and midnight in paris are definitely worth your time. i have a soft spot for anything else, but i seem to be the only one. the rest of those (the unbolded) are entirely forgettable.

soitgoes...

01-04-2012, 09:40 PM

Here's what I have left to see from him.

Midnight in Paris (2011)
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010)
Whatever Works (2009)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Cassandra's Dream (2007)
Scoop (2006)
Melinda and Melinda (2004)
Anything Else (2003)
Hollywood Ending (2002)
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
Small Time Crooks (2000)
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
Celebrity (1998)
Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Don't Drink the Water (1994) (TV)
Shadows and Fog (1991)
September (1987)
Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971) (TV)

I only plan on watching the bolded ones unless someone has great things to say about the others.

I've seen parts of Hollywood Ending, Melinda and Melinda and Small Time Crooks I think.A lot of those are the ones I have left to see. As trans said, Everyone Says I Love You is probably the essential one, but I wasn't so hot on it. Mighty Aphrodite is good. Shadows and Fog is good to watch to see how a film with such a strong, deep cast can pull off a truly mediocre movie. I think there's something for everybody in his last six of seven films. You probably won't like them all, but I'd bet one or two of them will work for you.