28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[Irish]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdgk3ERKdug

^ this for skitch only (nobody else watch)

[PURPLE]

As much as I admire Wajda's Ashes and Diamonds, Kawalerowicz's Mother Joan of the Angels, and Zanussi's Illumination, I'm not sure I'd want to live in communist Poland (or, for that matter, Thatcher-era England).Neither do I. It's irrelevant, thankfully.


In any case, the premise that state-subsidized filmmaking automatically leads to aesthetically freewheeling masterpieces strikes me as dubious at best. Canada's National Film Board is hardly a hotbed of avant-garde experimentation, and most of the Eastern Bloc films you cite appeared during periods of relative liberalization (e.g., the Prague Spring produced some great films in a short period, but the key phrase here is "short period").I never said anything about automatic, so I don't see why I need to respond to this.


Furthermore, one could point out that the masterpieces of the Japanese New Wave, which were contemporary with the Czech, Polish, and Russian films you cite, were made within a purely capitalistic system: Imamura, Oshima, Shinoda, and Yoshida all got their start as contract directors for vertically integrated studios, and even after forming independent production companies and partnering with the ATG distribution company, their careers were still completely at the mercy of the free market.I never said good films couldn't be made in a free market system, so thankfully I don't need to respond to this either. Of course, the complete collapse of the Japanese arthouse film scene which forced prominent filmmakers into making pinku films makes my point for me, but, again, it's irrelevant.


Also, I'm curious how your enthusiasm for socialist art squares with your loudly professed belief in Romantic individualism. There's nothing more bourgeois than the idea of the artist as a uniquely creative individual (as opposed to an ordinary labourer, which is how Dziga Vertov saw his man with a movie camera), and the Soviet filmmaker who is most associated with this Romantic conception of the artist, Tarkovsky, died in exile.I don't know what you're talking about with regards to Romantic individualism, nor do I think that art that is funded through the government is fundamentally different "socialist art", so I also don't understand the distinction. I also understand that Tarkovsky dying in exile from an authoritarian government doesn't seem to have anything at all to do with the US publicly funding films.

Strange post, as usual, full of so many red herrings and strawmen. Bizarre.

[PURPLE]

I didn't think you were. I was responding to Purple's bizarre claim that Eastern Bloc countries were throwing wads of cash at filmmakers to use however they wished.https://books.google.com/books?id=FXdxDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Read a book for once in your life. The proof is in the actual history of an actual nation's actual film industry and its actual filmmakers, not your baseless assumptions.

[Skitch]

^ this for skitch only (nobody else watch)

Better than the original. :D

[baby doll]

Neither do I. It's irrelevant, thankfully.

I never said anything about automatic, so I don't see why I need to respond to this.

I never said good films couldn't be made in a free market system, so thankfully I don't need to respond to this either. Of course, the complete collapse of the Japanese arthouse film scene which forced prominent filmmakers into making pinku films makes my point for me, but, again, it's irrelevant.

I don't know what you're talking about with regards to Romantic individualism, nor do I think that art that is funded through the government is fundamentally different "socialist art", so I also don't understand the distinction. I also understand that Tarkovsky dying in exile from an authoritarian government doesn't seem to have anything at all to do with the US publicly funding films.

Strange post, as usual, full of so many red herrings and strawmen. Bizarre.Perhaps it would be useful to look at your original post to better understand your argument, since you've made no effort to clarify it here. Your original post began with the claim, "The Red is what we [the United States] need." At the end of your original post, you rephrase this claim as, "Red is the color of great and daring art." Therefore, I take your basic claim to be that the United States needs state-subsidized filmmaking, and more broadly, that such a system produces more artistic films than a purely capitalist system.

You don't provide a reason to support these claims, but you do cite as evidence the example of Polish system, which you say is "particularly interesting." You then assert the Polish film industry formed units of filmmakers that were "essentially entirely self-directed." Is this in fact true? It would be remarkable if it were in light of the overall history of Eastern Bloc filmmaking, and it would help your argument if you could point to a specific passage in the book you referenced that supports this assertion. Still, you would need to provide a reason why self-directed film units are inherently superior to closely supervised ones.

Furthermore, it's still not clear how the evidence of such a system existing in communist Poland would support your basic claims. Even supposing the Poles did form self-directed film units, it is not self-evident that state subsidies for American filmmaking would lead to a similar system or that such a system would produce similar results (i.e., a handful of art house classics) if implemented in the US.

With regards to what I take to be your larger claim, namely that state subsidized film industries are superior to their capitalist counterparts ("Red is the color of great and daring art," not green), you have provided neither a reason nor evidence for it beyond a handful of well-regarded films and filmmakers. In other words, the evidence you cite is not representative of the total bulk of state-subsidized film production. Indeed, they couldn't very well be representative and extraordinary at the same time, which suggests that the argument you are attempting to advance--i.e., that this small number of exceptional films is representative of Eastern Bloc filmmaking as a whole and therefore the Polish system offers a model to be emulated elsewhere--is fundamentally incoherent.

[baby doll]

the complete collapse of the Japanese arthouse film scene which forced prominent filmmakers into making pinku filmsOne factual addendum to my previous post: The most prominent Japanese filmmakers I'm aware of who were "forced" into making pinku eiga are Suzuki Seijun (Gate of Flesh, 1964), Oshima Nagisa (Pleasures of the Flesh, 1965), Masumura Yasuzo (several films including Red Angel, 1967), and Wakamatsu Koji (several films including Sex Jack, 1970). All of these films appeared before the collapse of the Japanese studio system in the early 1970s, and the independent ATG continued to co-produce and distribute films into the mid-1980s (including Wakamatsu's pinku eiga Ecstasy of the Angels, 1972, as well as films by Masumura and Oshima). Certainly Pleasures of the Flesh appeared at a low point in Oshima's career after the poor box office figures for his early independent productions, but he quickly bounced back with a string of masterpieces including several distributed by the ATG (Death by Hanging, Boy, The Man Who Left His Will on Film, Ceremonies). Masumura and Suzuki were both contract directors for major studios when they tried their hands at the genre. Red Angel is generally considered one of Masumura's very best and Gate of Hell was a relatively prestigious A-picture for Suzuki whose films for Nikkatsu were largely B films. Wakamatsu first established himself as a director of pinku eiga and his best known films are all in this genre. In short, directing pinku eiga did not mean having to abandon one's artistic ambitions altogether, nor did it represent the end of the road for any of these directors' careers.

[Peng]

Filling in my unseen Scorsese on his chronological watch (and hoping these two are not too hot a take). After this, only "Life Lessons", Kundun, and Bringing Out the Dead left as his fictional narratives I've not yet seen, among the rewatches.

The Color of Money (1986)

I’m generally a cinematic-over-story guy, but The Hustler vs The Color of Money provides a fascinating example of how every preference has a limit. The sequel is superior in many respects, especially stylistically; this is not one of Scorsese’s more personal films (despite some slight overlap in its view of masculinity) but his direction and Schoonmaker's editing elevate this so much, adding cinematic thrills to the physical and psychological aspects of pool hustling, and giving visual boost to many stray details and dialogue of hard-edged pleasure in Price’s script. But the core story here is just less powerful than The Hustler, which has a more focused character study and builds mercilessly to a devastating third act that leaves a more lingering, haunting aftereffect. Still, for its minor reputation in Scorsese’s filmography, this sequel is closer in quality to the original (which I love) than I first expected. 8/10

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

Admire the conceptual ambition more than love the actual execution, even if the latter isn't lacking so much as I feel the more restrained direction (by Scorsese's standard) doesn't elevate this humanizing attempt. There's still too much of the familiar beatific left in the overall structure that a less sedate style would help the more human depictions of this story to register stronger for me. The "last temptation" and the last scene are both such emotional knockouts to end on though. 7.5/10

[baby doll]

So I took a glance at Marek Haltof's Polish Cinema: A History, which can easily be accessed in its entirety from b-ok.org (https://b-ok.cc/book/4984153/af3270). From what I've skimmed, the focus is mostly on films and filmmakers rather than an institutional history. Each chapter is divided into sections organized around directors or groups of directors (e.g., "The Polish School Phenomenon"), exemplary films ("Ashes and Diamonds and Nobody Is Calling"), representations of historical topics ("Representations of World War II"), and style ("Neorealist Influences").

I did not find much in Haltof's book about the film units per se. The relevant section appears to be in chapter five, which covers the post-Stalinist period (1955-63), and begins on page 120, under the heading "Organizational Changes." According to Haltof:


The revival of Polish cinema in the late 1950s was helped by several organizational changes that had already begun before the Polish October. Starting in May 1955, the film industry in Poland was based on a film units (Zespoły Filmowe) system, a new and efficient way of managing film production. Each film unit was composed of film directors, screenwriters, and producers (along with their collaborators and assistants) and was supervised by an artistic director, with the help of a literary director and a production manager. Film units were considered state enterprises, yet had some rudimentary freedoms; thanks to them, many Łódź Film School graduates quickly achieved strong positions in the national film industry.

As should already be evident, in Haltof's telling, the film units had considerably less artistic freedom than Purple has implied. Later, on page 158, Haltof writes:


Toward the end of the 1950s, communist authorities had been sending many signals that the relative freedom of expression would no longer be tolerated. The party was disappointed with the messages and themes permeating Polish films and with the “westernization” of Polish filmmakers. As a result, the autonomy of film units was gradually limited, and stricter control of films was administratively implemented. Although the Main Office for Control of the Press, Publications, and Public Performances (Główny Urząd Kontroli Prasy Publikacji i Widowisk) was responsible for media censorship in general, censorship was frequently much harsher at the film units level.

And on page 171:


After 1968, the communist authorities tightened censorship, criticized “commercialism,” and called for films reflecting the true spirit of socialism. They also reorganized the existing film units to introduce a more centralized organization of the film industry.

Things did perk up a bit in the 1970s. Also on page 171:


The December 1970 workers’ strikes in the Baltic ports, which were violently suppressed by the communist authorities, led to the downfall of Gomułka. The more pragmatic Edward Gierek became the new party leader and introduced some minor economic reforms. With the help of foreign loans, he focused on economic investments and consumer goods. The first half of the 1970s also brought changes to film practice in Poland. Another reorganization of the film units granted them more artistic freedom. As Bolesław Michałek and Frank Turaj write, “Top management was composed of—miracle of miracles in any country or field—people of genuine professional accomplishment, who enjoyed the confidence of the cinema community. This was indeed why the seventies became such a thoroughly successful time for Polish film.”

Notice here that the successes 1970s Polish cinema are not attributed to socialism per se, or even the film unit system, but the climate of economic liberalization and the individual competence of the state bureaucrats then in charge of the industry. None of this suggests, however, that Polish filmmakers had unlimited artistic freedom as they were still accountable to the state bureaucracy.

More historical detail about the film units can be found in Dorota Ostrowska's essay "An Alternative Model of Film Production: Film Units in Poland After World War II" in A Companion to Eastern European Cinemas, which Haltof cites in his bibliography and is also available from b-ok.org (https://b-ok.cc/book/2151005/66c7e9). According to Ostrowska, shooting in Poland was largely unsupervised but screenplays and finished films had to be approved by the National Film Board. Furthermore, as Ostrowska writes on page 460,


in the mid-1970s there was a debate in the Artistic Board regarding the low number of films concerning contemporary topics and portraying people in situations from everyday life. The participants in the debate admitted openly that “many filmmakers and scriptwriters avoid contemporary topics because they don’t want to make a false step” (Kawalerowicz in NZK, 1975 : 45). This statement was a de facto admission of the existence of self-censorship among the filmmakers, but it was also testimony to how frank the debate was.

The bottom line seems to be that filmmaking in post-Stalinist Poland involved a series of complex negotiations between individual filmmakers and state apparatuses, which enabled filmmakers to achieve a certain degree of artistic autonomy within a fairly closed society.

[PURPLE]

To those interested, read the book excerpts without reading baby doll’s commentary. I know I didn’t read the commentary.

As for whatever else you said, I don’t care to converse with you about anything. Have a nice life.

[baby doll]

To those interested, read the book excerpts without reading baby doll’s commentary. I know I didn’t read the commentary.

As for whatever else you said, I don’t care to converse with you about anything. Have a nice life.That's too bad, I was rather enjoying this. And now that we at least agree on what the historical evidence is, it seems to me that we're in a better position to understand how it supports, or doesn't support, your basic claims: namely, that America "needs the Red," and "Red is the color of great and daring art."

The latter claim is directly contradicted by the Polish filmmakers' admission of self-censorship, which indicates they couldn't afford to be too daring. Of course, as in other repressive nations (e.g., Iran), filmmakers can learn how to navigate the system to their advantage, but then you could say the same about filmmakers working in purely capitalistic systems. In an interview on the region 2 DVD of Illumination, Zanussi talks about making films that were ideologically ambiguous enough to be palatable in Poland as well as Western Europe, and according to Ostrowska, Zanussi's film unit is the only one that still exists to this day on account of his business savvy (463-464).

As to the former, it's still unclear how the evidence of the film unit system relates to the claim. Even if the reasoning is that the film unit system has certain distinct advantages over other production models, it's unclear how that supports the claim "We need the Red," since not all socialist countries adopted a film unit system. Even if we were to rephrase the claim to make it narrower, say "America needs a film unit system," we'd still need a reason why film units are inherently superior to other production models irrespective of the bureaucrats overseeing production. If contemporary commercial American filmmaking strikes us as an artistic wasteland and contemporary Japanese cinema is but a pale shadow of its former glory (which is how it appears to me), I would argue this has less to do with the potential for artistic creation within a purely commercial film industry per se than the specific way in which the major studios have been organized since the 1960s and the influence of television on norms of staging and cutting and audience tastes. (Incidentally, the influence of television is less pronounced in contemporary Japanese cinema, where one can still find complex staging in normal commercial films, e.g., the family dramas of Yamada Yoji.)

[Ivan Drago]

Hey Irish, did you ever get a new Letterboxd account and if so, what is it? I've gotten a few new followers lately and was curious if any of them were yours. :)

[PURPLE]

We all know that you enjoy talking to yourself.

Please talk to yourself now about your favorite Polish, Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian films made after the Wall fell.

[transmogrifier]

We all know that you enjoy talking to yourself.

Please talk to yourself now about your favorite Polish, Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian films made after the Wall fell.

Honestly, stop being a dick.

[Pop Trash]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA5UqUyFmT0

[baby doll]

We all know that you enjoy talking to yourself.

Please talk to yourself now about your favorite Polish, Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian films made after the Wall fell.Again, the evidence you cite is insufficient to support the sweeping claims you've made (to repeat: America "needs the Red," and "Red is the color of great and daring art"). Even if we both agree that, notwithstanding the post-1989 films of Béla Tarr, László Nemes, and perhaps a few others (to say nothing of such ambiguous cases as the international co-productions of Krzyzstof Kieślowski), there has been a sharp decline in Central European filmmaking since the end of communism, you still have not demonstrated that it was the end of communism that brought about the decline. (It would be similarly unpersuasive to attribute the successes of Romanian cinema since 2005 exclusively to the advent of capitalism in Southeastern Europe.) After all, Cuban cinema has been moribund since the late 1960s despite the persistence of socialism, and to the best of my knowledge, there has been no appreciable increase in the quality of Venezuelan cinema since the coming to power of Hugo Chavez. A few cherry-picked examples don't make an argument.

[Irish]

Hey Irish, did you ever get a new Letterboxd account and if so, what is it? I've gotten a few new followers lately and was curious if any of them were yours. :)

I haven't yet, so none of those people are me! :)

[origami_mustache]

film of the decade?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maAFcEU6atk

[Ezee E]

film of the decade?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maAFcEU6atk

Def watched it more than any movie this decade.

[Irish]

1207431870713077765
Yikes

[Skitch]

I blame Last Jedi haters :D:D:D

[Dukefrukem]

Anyone see Aeronauts (on Amazon Prime)?

[Ezee E]

Anyone see Aeronauts (on Amazon Prime)?

Saw it in Telluride.

There's a couple good sequences, but there's a reason Amazon hasn't made an awards push for it. Probably looked great on paper and a great pitch.

"The movie Gravity... but in 1900's England... with a reunited Oscar couple... and more British!"

[Grouchy]

So I'm back to doing a series of film shows this January in Buenos Aires. The month's theme is summer movies, since it's summer in the South Pole. This is my slate for Tuesdays:

7/1/20 - Purple Noon
14/1/20 - Y Tu Mamá También
21/1/20 - The Swimmer
28/1/20 - Do the Right Thing

What do you think of it?

[origami_mustache]

I don't want to start a Star Wars hate thing here, but I think the new trilogy must be some sort of conceptual art piece mocking the absurd overuse of deus ex machina in corporate cinema.

[Ezee E]

I don't want to start a Star Wars hate thing here, but I think the new trilogy must be some sort of conceptual art piece mocking the absurd overuse of deus ex machina in corporate cinema.

You'll need to build a case here in that Johnson/Abrams are that far ahead of things ;)

[MadMan]

film of the decade?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maAFcEU6atk

That was excellent.

[Irish]

Got off my duff and signed up for a *new Letterboxd account: https://letterboxd.com/t__bomba/

I went to Duke's account and followed everybody I thought was from Match Cut. If I missed you, lemme know. (Obviously, you're not obligated to follow back.)

[Dukefrukem]

Yaaaaaay

[Irish]

I'm blocking you the second you tweet about Boston sports ;)

[Dukefrukem]

I'm blocking you the second you tweet about Boston sports ;)

Heh, hey, 2 out of my last 4 tweets were Movies/TV related. I would say if my SportsTweet ratio goes above 3:1, that's grounds for blocking.

[Lazlo]

Got off my duff and signed up for a *new Letterboxd account: https://letterboxd.com/t__bomba/

I went to Duke's account and followed everybody I thought was from Match Cut. If I missed you, lemme know. (Obviously, you're not obligated to follow back.)

Sweet, glad to see you on there. Add me, I'm Lazlo and/or Griffin Van Malssen. Just followed you.

[Lazlo]

A few Letterboxd stats highlights for 2019 for me:

454 films watched (including multiple viewings; it's 442 individual films)
8.7 per week

Most watched actors:
Tom Cruise - 18 films
Harrison Ford - 15
Willem Dafoe - 14
Samuel L. Jackson - 13
Patrick Stewart - 11
Bruce Willis - 11
Bill Murray - 9
Keanu Reeves - 9
M. Night Shyamalan - 9
Jason Schwartzman - 9

Most Watched Directors:
M. Night Shyamalan - 12 films
Wes Anderson - 12
Paul Schrader - 10
David Lynch - 10
Quentin Tarantino - 9
Martin Scorsese - 5
Bryan Singer - 5
Steven Spielberg - 4
Robert Rodriguez - 4
Tim Burton - 4

Good times!

Expanded look: https://letterboxd.com/lazlo/year/2019/

[Dukefrukem]

Oh I didn't know anyone could actually see that page other than the user, which is why I took screenshots and posted in the 2019 thread.

Damn impressive lazlo- 454 films watched. Only 177 for me- my third lowest ever.

Here's mine; probably pretty boring for you all: https://letterboxd.com/dukefrukem/year/2019/

[Irish]

3 films a week is pretty significant tho.

Your first / last / most viewed films were interesting (although I guess not terribly surprising in your case haha).

[Dukefrukem]

Can you believe the wife had never seen the Indiana Jones, Matrix and Riddick films? Me neither.

[Irish]

Can you believe the wife had never seen the Indiana Jones, Matrix and Riddick films? Me neither.

Presumably your wife isn't a teenage boy or a big nerd. So I get why she'd never seen those movies. (Especially something like "Riddick.")

Btw, glad you liked "Nightingale"! You're the only other person I know who's actually seen the damn thing.

[Dukefrukem]

Yeh it was really hard to watch with those beginning scenes as a new parent. And just when you didn't think you could hate a character anymore....

[Skitch]

Yeh it was really hard to watch with those beginning scenes as a new parent. And just when you didn't think you could hate a character anymore....

I don't know what happens in Nightingale, but gear yourself for more of that reaction. I adored Under The Skin, best of 2014 I said, fantastic cerebral sci-fi, cant wait to watch it again...and every time I'm ready to press play I remember the scene on the beach. With the toddler. Its damn near unbearable. It makes me shake, especially my hands. Then I damn near go in to full on anxiety attack.

[Dukefrukem]

I don't know what happens in Nightingale, but gear yourself for more of that reaction. I adored Under The Skin, best of 2014 I said, fantastic cerebral sci-fi, cant wait to watch it again...and every time I'm ready to press play I remember the scene on the beach. With the toddler. Its damn near unbearable. It makes me shake, especially my hands. Then I damn near go in to full on anxiety attack.

Lucky for me, I thought that was the most overrated movie MC has ever been obsessed with. Close second Spring breakers. Third Tree of Life. But I don't ever have to worry about watching that movie again. :)

[Skitch]

Spring Breakers and Tree of Life were both pretty well rubbish imo

Point being, little scenes like that can grab you by the throat in this new stage of life.

[Dukefrukem]

Totally. I watched Mother! for the first time in 2019 too. HUGELY impactful on me.

[baby doll]

Spring Breakers is one of the most formally adventurous American films of the past decade (https://lesamantsreguliers.wordpress.c om/2014/02/26/the-end-of-st-petersburg-florida-harmony-korines-spring-breakers/). Under the Skin is fine but made me wish I were watching a real Kiarostami film (https://lesamantsreguliers.wordpress.c om/2014/09/15/cet-obscur-objet-du-desir-jonathan-glazers-under-the-skin/). My feelings about The Tree of Life are pretty well known on this forum.

On an unrelated note, my Letterboxd stats can be found here (https://letterboxd.com/sukiyakiramen/year/2019/).

[Ezee E]

All of you did the upgraded Letterboxd account?

[baby doll]

All of you did the upgraded Letterboxd account?It seemed pointless to dutifully log every movie I see for a year and not get the year-end stats. And it's only twenty bucks. I won't starve.

[Irish]

I didn't get the super-pro account or whatever because I'm too cheap.

Gotta say it's been fun to see people's ratings/ reviews come across the homepage as they see new stuff.

ETA: Although I might need a Matchcut-to-Letterboxd translator, from real name to handle, because I'm bound to forget who is who. (Except for Duke, who conveniently goes by "Dukefrukem" on every platform ever created. :D)

[Skitch]

Totally. I watched Mother! for the first time in 2019 too. HUGELY impactful on me.

There you go. Another one I want to rewatch but damn THAT snap sound i almost pulled my hair out the first time.

[Skitch]

I'm too cheap for pro as well. Plus I'm a year and a half behind on letterboxing...I'll catch up one of these days.

[Dukefrukem]

ETA: Although I might need a Matchcut-to-Letterboxd translator, from real name to handle, because I'm bound to forget who is who. (Except for Duke, who conveniently goes by "Dukefrukem" on every platform ever created. :D)




On an unrelated note, my Letterboxd stats can be found here (https://letterboxd.com/sukiyakiramen/year/2019/).

Totally. Had no idea this guy, Michael Sooriyakumaran, following me was Baby Doll. Would have been following him a long time ago.

We tried something a while back but it's incomplete. http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?3588-Real-Name-Handle-E-mail-Thread

And yeh I have the LB upgraded account. I dont might paying for something that i use as much as LB. Film is essentially a hobby and worth $50/year.

[Dukefrukem]

How soon do we need to contact number8 to create a 2020 movie and TV forum?

And does anyone have access to change the damn banner?

[TGM]

I thought you had access to all of that stuff now? o.O

[Dukefrukem]

No. I've never had access. It says I'm an "admin" but all i have the ability to do is move, rename and delete threads. No banning ability (which is probably a good thing)

[Skitch]

I'm ready to make any banner any one wants. *cracks knuckles*

[TGM]

Always thought it was a bit of a shame how you’d make so many awesome banners, only for so so few to actually ever wind up getting used. :(

[Ezee E]

I did have access to change banners, but that changed a while back, otherwise would be changing it frequently.

[MadMan]

Got off my duff and signed up for a *new Letterboxd account: https://letterboxd.com/t__bomba/

I went to Duke's account and followed everybody I thought was from Match Cut. If I missed you, lemme know. (Obviously, you're not obligated to follow back.)
I followed you, although I don't use that site as much as I should.

[MadMan]

No. I've never had access. It says I'm an "admin" but all i have the ability to do is move, rename and delete threads. No banning ability (which is probably a good thing)

Whew I'm safe for now.



*Runs away*

Also I would enjoy seeing a new banner every now and then.

[Irish]

How soon do we need to contact number8 to create a 2020 movie and TV forum?

And does anyone have access to change the damn banner?

Absolutely appreciate number8's hosting but it's also been a couple of years & if he's not coming back then he should turn over full admin privileges to Ezee.

(Who has been banning the occasional spammer? I thought that was one of you.)


We tried something a while back but it's incomplete. http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?3588-Real-Name-Handle-E-mail-Thread

This actually helped! Now I know who Ivan Drago really is!! ! :D

[Dukefrukem]

Found this post by him (removed the link). No goatse but he basically did it.



I think when I leave I'm just gonna post goatse and bounce. I'm not that committed, you guys.

[Skitch]

Always thought it was a bit of a shame how you’d make so many awesome banners, only for so so few to actually ever wind up getting used. :(

Its all good. Apparently a fair amount of my banners were not hi-res enough (I know nothing of web design or programming).

[Ezee E]

I'll reach out if nobody has already. Duke/Irish, let me know if you did plz.

[Ezee E]

FYI, I reached out to number8 and he said he'd look into it this evening. More to come.

[MadMan]

Hey Duke I finally watched The Peacemaker on Netflix. I liked it a lot-much of it would have been at home on the show 24. I am a sucker for 1990s action movies. Clooney and Kidman have great chemistry together. Also I had no idea it was directed by a woman. Neat.

[Skitch]

Oh wow I didnt know it was directed by a woman. That's great. That flick is badass. I wish we had more movies with Clooney being a stone-cold badass.

[Dukefrukem]

Glad you liked it. And you didn't know it was directed by a woman? Don't you guy read my threads? That was one of my clues! (http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?5944-The-Top-18-MERICAN-90s-Action-Movies)

[TGM]

Figured I’d cross-post this here, in case anyone misses it in the other thread. But I just posted my Top 15 Movies of the Decade list. Check it out. :) https://cwiddop.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-top-15-movies-of-decade-2010-2019.html

Thoughts? Comments? Complaints?

[Dukefrukem]

Figured I’d cross-post this here, in case anyone misses it in the other thread. But I just posted my Top 15 Movies of the Decade list. Check it out. :) https://cwiddop.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-top-15-movies-of-decade-2010-2019.html

Thoughts? Comments? Complaints?

Controversial! Frozen and Frozen II back to back.

I don't think I would put any super hero movies on my list but Inception and Mad Max would certainly be on mine.

edit: correction. The first Avengers is on mine.

[TGM]

Thanks for the feedback! :)

I’m actually surprised to hear that about the superhero movies though. Figured you’d have some of the other MCU on your list too. I recall you being super high on Age of Ultron for instance.

[Dukefrukem]

Thanks for the feedback! :)

I’m actually surprised to hear that about the superhero movies though. Figured you’d have some of the other MCU on your list too. I recall you being super high on Age of Ultron for instance.

2015 was a weak year in cinema.

[Skitch]

2015 was a weak year in cinema.

Mad Max, The Martian, Sicario, Hateful Eight, Straight Outta Compton...The Shaun the Sheep movie lol

[baby doll]

Mad Max, The Martian, Sicario, Hateful Eight, Straight Outta Compton...The Shaun the Sheep movie lolThe Assassin, Cemetery of Splendour, The Club, Evolution, The Exquisite Corpus, The Forbidden Room, Frenzy, I, Dalio (or The Rules of the Game), The Lobster, Mistress America, Mountains May Depart, Night Without Distance, Our Little Sister, Son of Saul, Taxi.

[Dukefrukem]

Still a weak year... relative to other years guys. Sure there was a few good films in the year. Jeeze.

Nitpicking but the Lobster got a 2016 release here.

[Skitch]

Still a weak year... relative to other years guys. Sure there was a few good films in the year. Jeeze.

Nitpicking but the Lobster got a 2016 release here.

...and was terrible! :D

I wasn't trying to bust your balls, Duke. If a weak year gives me a Fury Road, I'll take it every now and then.

[TGM]

I thought 2015 was second only to 2016 probably the strongest year in film of the decade. :p

[Skitch]

Figured I’d cross-post this here, in case anyone misses it in the other thread. But I just posted my Top 15 Movies of the Decade list. Check it out. :) https://cwiddop.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-top-15-movies-of-decade-2010-2019.html

Thoughts? Comments? Complaints?

BvS love, I like it! And agree with your criticisms.

[Dukefrukem]

I thought 2015 was second only to 2016 probably the strongest year in film of the decade. :p

2012 called...

2016 was a strong year though.

[baby doll]

Nitpicking but the Lobster got a 2016 release here.Considering how many films never get a commercial release in the US ever, it seems unnecessarily limiting to only consider films that open theatrically in New York and Los Angeles. It's a bit like choosing the best novels of the year based on what you can buy in an airport bookstore in Topeka, Kansas.

[Ezee E]

Considering how many films never get a commercial release in the US ever, it seems unnecessarily limiting to only consider films that open theatrically in New York and Los Angeles. It's a bit like choosing the best novels of the year based on what you can buy in an airport bookstore in Topeka, Kansas.

Nah, on Amazon, anyone in New York and Topeka can get the same books at least.

[MadMan]

Oh wow I didnt know it was directed by a woman. That's great. That flick is badass. I wish we had more movies with Clooney being a stone-cold badass.

Clooney is pretty good at playing a badass, as From Dusk Till Dawn also indicates.

[MadMan]

Glad you liked it. And you didn't know it was directed by a woman? Don't you guy read my threads? That was one of my clues! (http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?5944-The-Top-18-MERICAN-90s-Action-Movies)

I read your thread, I just forgot okay!

[origami_mustache]

I think I am going to see Ford v Ferrari this weekend.
Bret Easton Ellis had it in his top 10 films of the year and I follow his podcast and generally agree with his opinions despite weighing rankings very differently.
I haven't heard anything one way or another on this film, but it seems like something better suited for a theatrical viewing.
Anyone have any thoughts on it?

[Skitch]

I've heard nothing but good things.

[Lazlo]

It's great! Probably the best racing ever in a narrative film. Bale is terrific, a real career high point in my mind. Cinematography and sound are top notch.

[Peng]

Before last year I had only seen two Pedro Almodóvar films (The Skin I Live In and Julieta), and I figure before watching Pain and Glory would be a great time to catch up on unseen Pedro. Apart from the big ones, there's really no rhyme or reason to what I choose to watch (or to write about). Here's what I've watched so far, off and on, for the past half year:

Matador (1986) - 6/10

Law of Desire (1987) - After the stylishly watchable but increasingly silly giallo riff of Matador, this one feels nimble in comparison, modulating its tones so well between campy melodrama tropes and real depth of feelings, in which the latter only reveals its full force sneakily in the film's final stretch. 7.5/10

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) - Such a fun and colorful farce. The delicious screwball pacing also masks one certain plot point stealthily among the exhilarating whirlpool of comedic/melodramatic situations, until it lands back gracefully in a quiet final scene, reverberating back on the whole film gorgeously and deeply. 8/10

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989) - 7/10

The Flower of My Secret (1995) - As far as director's "transition" work goes, this one has a generous helping of warm empathy and plot-oriented pleasures to go along with Almodóvar's first dip into relatively serious territory. A tender, affecting surprise. 7.5/10

Live Flesh (1997) - Lurid, twisty fun. But although the shifting perspectives and sympathies keep you on your toe (this is a truly unpredictable thriller), I feel like the characterization is either too skimpy or rushed over in favor of the plot turns, so that this lacks the undercurrent emotions to cohere all different passages together. One character especially is crucial leading into the climax and its epilogue, but I feel like they remains a cipher so that when their turn of passion comes, the whole third act turns deflating and doesn't land emotionally at all. The margin pleasures that are very trademark Pedro (like a brawl being broken up by both parties turning to cheer for a soccer goal on TV) still keep this lively enough though. 6.5/10

All About My Mother (1999) - Its plot mechanics grind loudly (if often devastatingly, thanks to Cecilia Roth's tremendous performance) a bit early on, but after all characters and their relationships are established, the film slows down into a warm, wonderful, and generously empathetic register. Under all the director's usual surface melodrama plot and colorful florid touches, the undercurrent emotion reigns tender and almost meditative, which makes for a nicely involving cinematic frisson. The scene where many different generations of women, of different backgrounds, sit down and bounce off each other may mark one of my favorite Almodóvar's filmmaking so far. 8.5/10

Now onto his most acclaimed period, the 00s

[origami_mustache]

It's great! Probably the best racing ever in a narrative film. Bale is terrific, a real career high point in my mind. Cinematography and sound are top notch.

Yeah, this was good stuff. Loved Bale, Damon is well casted, the production values are excellent, the real story is interesting, and I think racing in general is a good setup for a Hollywood film. Although, formulaic, it is well done and about as good as an adult big budget studio film can be. I also enjoyed the meta aspect in that the film itself is crafted by a team of executives in the same way the Ford car is built to beat the Ferrari car, but needs the soul and vision of talented and human individuals to excel. It reminded me of solid 90s dramas where it hits all the marks you'd expect in a good way with classical story-telling film language, character building moments, and set-ups and payoffs.

[Ivan Drago]

Hey guys, remember way back on the RT forum where The Third M?n declared Commando the greatest movie of all time?

He wasn't wrong.

[MadMan]

Hey guys, remember way back on the RT forum where The Third M?n declared Commando the greatest movie of all time?

He wasn't wrong.

I remember him. Not sure what happened to him. Also Commando rocks.

[Wryan]

If there's a deaf character in a movie, the protagonist can sign. Every time.

[Ivan Drago]

I remember him. Not sure what happened to him. Also Commando rocks.

I know people complain about the logic holes in the Fast and the Furious movies these days, but NOBODY batted an eyelash for movies like this back in the day. Ahnuld pulls aluminum siding off outside walls of a barn like it's a magnet on a refrigerator and he and the pilot he kidnapped survived a car crash into a telephone pole despite the latter NOT HAVING A SEAT. It's glorious.

[Dukefrukem]

Didn't he rip the seat out of the car too so he could sit down and not be seen by the guy he was following>?

[Skitch]

Didn't he rip the seat out of the car too so he could sit down and not be seen by the guy he was following>?

Yeeep.

[Irish]

Go in blind and just read this entire thread. It's a helluva great story.

https://twitter.com/jbenton/status/1218362598309212160

[transmogrifier]

I refuse to read Twitter stories. The formatting is eye aids.

[MadMan]

I have a large stack of seemingly good movies I need to watch. So what do I do instead? Watch Transporter 2 on Hulu. That was one hell of a fun dumb movie.

[dreamdead]

I watched Demon Seed because it's part of the Criterion Channel's 70s Sci-Fi offering this month, and what a bonkers film. It says something that in the mid-70s the threat wasn't human exploitation of computers to access private thoughts/matters but rather the corruptibility of the computer itself. I can't say that Julie Christie acquits herself, but who can legitimately be a good foil to a computer that wants to impregnate you. There's about four absolutely silly sequences here (her child client's meltdown, her rationalization of the impregnating plan, the decapitation, the absurd shock ending) that makes this worth all the silliness required.

Next up is Paul Schrader's Hardcore, which will hopefully be better. on all accounts.

[Milky Joe]

It says something that in the mid-70s the threat wasn't human exploitation of computers to access private thoughts/matters but rather the corruptibility of the computer itself.

Another good flick along these lines is Colossus: The Forbin Project.

[StuSmallz]

Just wrote something about Jurassic Park, and long review (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/film/jurassic-park/) short, it's no surprise that the film got as big as it did, not just in terms of money grossed, with the way it rampaged all over the box office like an angry T-Rex, and became Spielberg's 3rd movie to be the highest-grossing film of its time, but also in the way it redefined, for better or worse, the way the movie industry uses special effects to this day, creating a modern classic that, like its tagline says, is an adventure that's "65 million years in the making", but whose Chicxulub-sized impact will likely be felt on Hollywood for just as long after.

[Dukefrukem]

Just wrote something about Jurassic Park, and long review (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/film/jurassic-park/) short, it's no surprise that the film got as big as it did, not just in terms of money grossed, with the way it rampaged all over the box office like an angry T-Rex, and became Spielberg's 3rd movie to be the highest-grossing film of its time, but also in the way it redefined, for better or worse, the way the movie industry uses special effects to this day, creating a modern classic that, like its tagline says, is an adventure that's "65 million years in the making", but whose Chicxulub-sized impact will likely be felt on Hollywood for just as long after.

Your intro paragraph rings home. I begged my parents to take me and we decided to make it a family outing. What furthered the excitement was at the time, McDonald's had started their "super size me" marketing program which spawned from the Jurassic Park product placement. Those giant french fries with the T-Rex printed on them will be burned into my memory forever. I was 9. Dinosaurs were the coolest thing I know existed.

[Wryan]

I don't think it would ever happen, but a part of me would love to see some director make an old-fashioned theatrical serial. A long miniseries-like story that we can see pieces of each weekend at a theater for 10 weeks or so. Maybe each lasts an hour and change, prices for tickets being 50% the normal. Yes I'm aware I just essentially described a TV show. But that lacks the communal electricity that can come with the best movie theater experiences. I believe GoT had some episodes play in theaters. Something like that, done on a huge moviemaking scale that can only be appreciated in a theater with a big crowd, would be a nice change of pace. I don't think any studio would do it, and I'm not sure modern audiences would care. But I think it'd be fun.

[Skitch]

Your intro paragraph rings home. I begged my parents to take me and we decided to make it a family outing. What furthered the excitement was at the time, McDonald's had started their "super size me" marketing program which spawned from the Jurassic Park product placement. Those giant french fries with the T-Rex printed on them will be burned into my memory forever. I was 9. Dinosaurs were the coolest thing I know existed.

Pre-emptive: Grew up very conservative, wasn't allowed to watch anything R rated or remotely horror.

I was in the middle of a five week camping trip with my family, and I was 14. I hadn't been around a tv in weeks. I loved dinosaurs growing up. I loved (and was mildy terrified) by Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend. I had/have insomnia. I had night terrors about random things. Dinosaurs were one of them. Our family journey was out west through the states, then back through the father-land (Canada). So near Vancouver I finally convinced them to break for a movie. We bought tickets, and as we were walking in I asked my mom,
"So what is this about?"
She said, "I don't know, dinosaurs or something."
Me: "Oh great, I have nightmares about dinosaurs."
Mom: "Oh crap, really?"
Me, laughing: "Don't worry mom, I'm sure it will be like Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, so it will be fine."

Spoiler: It was not like Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend. I nearly shit myself at the goat/T-Rex scene.

[Lazlo]

Last year my podcast ran a series of battles to determine the best movie of the decade. We made it through 2018 and went into a holding pattern waiting for 2019 to wrap up. Well, the time has come! There's one more bracket to run before we get to the big decade-wide battle and we need your votes! The first round kicked off today leading up to the championship on Saturday. So click through and pick your favorites at one or all of these outlets. We'd sure appreciate it!

https://www.facebook.com/starringpod/
https://twitter.com/starringpod
https://www.instagram.com/starringpod/ (Vote in our story)

New battles posted every morning!

[Ezee E]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV1767i8X4Q

Been watching a few random Interstellar scenes, and I think people took that movie for granted.

[MadMan]

I love that movie so much and I still think it is Nolan's masterpiece.

[TGM]

Yes.

[Dukefrukem]

Question:

At what point in a film's development, do you consider the film a influenced by the parent company?

For example- when Disney bought Pixar back in 2006, there are likely several films in development at Pixar but released after the purchase date(two of Pixar's best likely... Ratatouille and Wall-E were released after). I dont consider them a Disney product.

[Lazlo]

Question:

At what point in a film's development, do you consider the film a influenced by the parent company?

For example- when Disney bought Pixar back in 2006, there are likely several films in development at Pixar but released after the purchase date(two of Pixar's best likely... Ratatouille and Wall-E were released after). I dont consider them a Disney product.

They were still being distributed and financed by Disney. In Steve Jobs' biography they talk about Disney having a lot of influence all the way back to the original Toy Story. Pixar was never making these things in a vacuum and then delivering Disney a finished product.

[Dukefrukem]

They were still being distributed and financed by Disney. In Steve Jobs' biography they talk about Disney having a lot of influence all the way back to the original Toy Story. Pixar was never making these things in a vacuum and then delivering Disney a finished product.

I suppose. I knew about the Disney/Pixar partnership but didn't realize Disney had creative teams in there too.

To keep this discussion going, what about the Marvel films?

Deal was made in 09 to acquire Marvel Entertainment, several films already in development. Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor(2011), Captain America(2011) and the Avengers(2012).

[Ezee E]

I suppose. I knew about the Disney/Pixar partnership but didn't realize Disney had creative teams in there too.

To keep this discussion going, what about the Marvel films?

Deal was made in 09 to acquire Marvel Entertainment, several films already in development. Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor(2011), Captain America(2011) and the Avengers(2012).

Started to feel one-note and predictable at around Phase 2.

[StuSmallz]

Just wrote something about The Hunt For Red October; long review short, (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/film/the-hunt-for-red-october/1/) "it's no surprise that McTiernan brought his crafty eye to the murky waters of ths submarine thriller, taking the cinematic skills he learned on his previous efforts and honing them to an even sharper point, as he immerses us deep in the world of political intrigue and military fetishization that Tom Clancy created with his novel, as almost every character is either an intelligence agent, a backstabbing politician, or member of the armed forces, spouting highly technical military lingo and hatching a scheme to outsmart the other side at every turn, which gives the film a propulsiveness that the rest of the Jack Ryan films, which generally felt like fairly anonymous Hollywood action/thrillers, just never matched".

[Dukefrukem]

Just wrote something about The Hunt For Red October; long review short, (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/film/the-hunt-for-red-october/1/) "it's no surprise that McTiernan brought his crafty eye to the murky waters of ths submarine thriller, taking the cinematic skills he learned on his previous efforts and honing them to an even sharper point, as he immerses us deep in the world of political intrigue and military fetishization that Tom Clancy created with his novel, as almost every character is either an intelligence agent, a backstabbing politician, or member of the armed forces, spouting highly technical military lingo and hatching a scheme to outsmart the other side at every turn, which gives the film a propulsiveness that the rest of the Jack Ryan films, which generally felt like fairly anonymous Hollywood action/thrillers, just never matched".

It's been a very long time since I've seen this. I may need to rewatch.

[Skitch]

Just wrote something about The Hunt For Red October; long review short, (https://letterboxd.com/stusmallz/film/the-hunt-for-red-october/1/) "it's no surprise that McTiernan brought his crafty eye to the murky waters of ths submarine thriller, taking the cinematic skills he learned on his previous efforts and honing them to an even sharper point, as he immerses us deep in the world of political intrigue and military fetishization that Tom Clancy created with his novel, as almost every character is either an intelligence agent, a backstabbing politician, or member of the armed forces, spouting highly technical military lingo and hatching a scheme to outsmart the other side at every turn, which gives the film a propulsiveness that the rest of the Jack Ryan films, which generally felt like fairly anonymous Hollywood action/thrillers, just never matched".

Agreed. I adore this film. Favorite Jack Ryan entry, favorite submarine movie.

This is one of my favorite shots:
https://i.imgur.com/nZCmPY6.jpg

[Wryan]

Attack life like Frank Langella attacked Skeletor.

[megladon8]

Attack life like Frank Langella attacked Skeletor.

Does not compute.

[Dukefrukem]

Does not compute.

Masters of the Universe reference?

[TGM]

Seeing how Frozen II has ended its theater run in my town, meaning I likely won't be able to see it again in theaters anytime soon, I suppose it's time update my multiple theater viewings list.

x9:
Frozen II

x5:
La La Land

x4:
Dredd
Independence Day
Interstellar

x3:
Avengers: Endgame
The Dark Knight
Guardians of the Galaxy
Inside Out
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Van Helsing

x2:
300
The Amazing Spider-Man
Aquaman
The Avengers
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Captain America: Civil War
Coco
The Counselor
Crimson Peak
Deadpool
Deadpool 2
Drive
Four Brothers
Frozen
The Greatest Showman
Inception
Lincoln
Logan
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Neon Demon
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
The Punisher
The Raid: Redemption
The Raid 2
Sicario
Side Effects
Spider-Man
Spider-Man 3
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Tangled
Titanic
Transformers
War of the Worlds

What all movies have you all seen multiple times in the theater? And how many times?

[Lazlo]

I think 3x is the most I've done. Off the top of my head:

A Star is Born (2018)
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
Gravity
Mad Max: Fury Road

That's pretty much all I can think of and I'm pretty sure there's no four-timers.

There's a lot I've seen twice in theaters.

EDIT: 9 times for Frozen II is unreal dude.

EDIT 2: Forgot about all three The Lord of the Rings movies which I saw at least twice in their initial runs and at least twice in re-release special events.

[Dukefrukem]

I definitely saw Independence Day and the Matrix four times in theaters. Incredible experiences for both films.

[TGM]

EDIT: 9 times for Frozen II is unreal dude.


It’s just so good. X)


I definitely saw Independence Day and the Matrix four times in theaters. Incredible experiences for both films.

I actually never saw any of The Matrix films in the theater. >.>

[megladon8]

Batman Begins and the first X-Men I saw 5 times each.

[megladon8]

Masters of the Universe reference?

I figured that, but I can't make sense of the actual sentence.

[Wryan]

Attacked as in attacked the role, as in he put everything into that shit. :D

[Dukefrukem]

Batman Begins and the first X-Men I saw 5 times each.

Oh that's right. The First X-men I saw three times. Was amazed they put those characters on screen decently.

[megladon8]

Oh that's right. The First X-men I saw three times. Was amazed they put those characters on screen decently.

Agreed.

I think we forget today how big of a deal it was that X-Men was so good.

[megladon8]

Attack life like Frank Langella attacked Skeletor.

Ohhhhhhh. Now I get it.

I was halfway to thinking you had your keyboard stuck on another language setting or something :D

[Dukefrukem]

Agreed.

I think we forget today how big of a deal it was that X-Men was so good.

I still think it's the best one. Even if the villainous plot is very close to laser beam in the sky-ish.

[megladon8]

Younger me was fascinated when I read that Singer modeled the plots after the original Start Trek films.

Raimi did the same thing, basing the plots of the Spidey flicks on the Superman movies.

[Skitch]

x4 = The Matrix & The Dark Knight

[baby doll]

I saw I'm Not There. four times in theatres in three different cities (Toronto, Halifax, and twice in Busan). Some movies I've seen twice in theatres, off the top of my head: Adieu au langage and The Grand Budapest Hotel (Hong Kong), An Autumn Afternoon (Busan and Toronto), Before Sunset and Crimson Gold (Toronto), Brick (Halifax and Busan), Independence Day and The Matrix (Halifax), and Saved! (Toronto and Halifax). I can't remember now if I saw Persepolis twice in theatres or only once.

[dreamdead]

Independence Day (4x)
The New World (2x)
Tree of Life (2x)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2x)
Parasite (2x)

[Skitch]

Jurassic Park may have been 4x as well.

[TGM]

I love how many of us saw Independence Day so many damn times in the theater. :cool:

[Irish]

Only done it a few times.

- "Aliens" (1986). Packed crowd, huge screen, great sound. Went in cold. Saw it again a week or so later. Helluva experience.

- "The Phantom Menace" (1999) twice during opening weekend with 2 different groups of friends. I fell asleep the second time.

- Every "Blade Runner" re-release and special cut (1992, 1997, 2007 ... etc).

I'm kinda surprised you guys have gone back so often.

[megladon8]

Words cannot express my jealousy at seeing both Aliens and Blade Runner in the theater.

[Ezee E]

I still think it's the best one. Even if the villainous plot is very close to laser beam in the sky-ish.

It wasn't AS big of a letdown as Phantom Menace, but I remember being pretty disappointed, solely due to how dumb Sabretooth was and the "toad" joke near the end, among other things. But setting up Wolverine was certainly a pleasure to see.

It wasn't until X2 that I got excited on how things went.

[Dukefrukem]

Words cannot express my jealousy at seeing both Aliens and Blade Runner in the theater.

It helped that Alien and Aliens had the best marketing slogan ever. Terrifying. I can't imagine seeing that in a dark room with other people.

Though kinda on the same element, Blair Witch Project was memorable for me.

[megladon8]

It helped that Alien and Aliens had the best marketing slogan ever. Terrifying. I can't imagine seeing that in a dark room with other people.

Though kinda on the same element, Blair Witch Project was memorable for me.

Hellz ya. Alien must have been straight up terrifying at first release.

And I'm also jealous you saw Blair Witch. I really wanted to, but I was just at that age where my parents weren't quite ready to let me go to a horror movie.

I could watch whatever I wanted are home, but theatres they were stricter.

[Skitch]

I saw BWP. I was super prepared to be skeptical of its bullshit....and it still scared the crap out of me. I didnt realize how much until months (maybe years) later when I randomly found myself walking through the woods with a flashlight. All I could do not to run.

[transmogrifier]

4 x:

Titanic

3 x:
Boogie Nights
Memento
LOTR: FOTR
LOTR: TTT
LA Confidential

Most recent movie I have seen more than once at the theater is Before Sunset (2004)

[Dukefrukem]

I think I saw Blair Witch Project twice in theaters actually... it struck a nerve where I needed to go back and look close at what was in the pile of sticks and so I could rewatch that ending.

[megladon8]

I think I saw Blair Witch Project twice in theaters actually... it struck a nerve where I needed to go back and look close at what was in the pile of sticks and so I could rewatch that ending.

I pulled an awful prank on a guy I was in Jiu Jitsu with back when it came out.

The movie scared him so bad that he had nightmares for weeks and couldn't stop talking about it. One summer night he left his car window rolled down at the dojo parking lot, and I put a pile of rocks on the driver's seat and a stick figure on the windshield

[TGM]

I saw The Blair Witch Project in the theater. Missed the first X-Men in theaters, though.

[TGM]

And I believe Scream 2 was my first R rated horror film I was allowed to go see in the theater.

[origami_mustache]

I saw The Rock in theaters x3 haha and it was def my favorite movie ever for a while. Also saw Con Air twice shortly after.

Jojo Rabbit was trying so hard to be funny and not landing it was sad and also very one note with the brainwashed naive kid...Scarjo's accent was so bad, and that ending was super cringe...ultimately felt like a waste of time for me.

The King was pretty solid. I enjoyed Robert Pattinson as an arrogant bratty French Prince, Timothée Chalamet carries his weight, Ben Mendelsohn and Joel Edgerton are always welcome additions for me as well.

Kamikaze 1989 was so fun and wacky and enjoyable and sad watching Fassbinder's last performance. Worth it alone for the wardrobes and production design.

The Art of Self Defense was entertaining enough to watch through similarly to Jojo Rabbit, but in the same vein, too cartoony and lacking enough of a satirical payoff for any of it to exist.

I can't believe I never saw The Point before. I wish I had cool parents haha. This was amazing.

[Grouchy]

Yeah, I don't think I've ever gone more than twice to the same movie. Last time was probably Mad Max: Fury Road. I remember I did it for Batman Begins (back when I sort of liked Nolan, still the best of that trilogy though), Spiderman 2 and The Incredibles.

[Peng]

I think my theatrical max is only a third time, in high school (for a Thai film). Otherwise, they're all x2. My four most recent second-theatrical-watches ones are... (looking it up) Little Women, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and Mission:Impossible - Fallout.

[Dukefrukem]

And I believe Scream 2 was my first R rated horror film I was allowed to go see in the theater.

You didn't sneak in like me?

[Scar]

First R rated movie in theaters: T2. My folks were in Canada fishing, and I lobbied all week for my aunt to take me (12) and my nine year old brother.

[Scar]

Oh, and I think I saw Jurassic Park and True Lies four times a piece.

[Dukefrukem]

First R-Rated movie I went to was Die Hard with a Vengeance. My father took me. And boy was I happy.

After that, my friends and I would just buy tickets to R-rated movies and no one ever stopped us from going in. Movies like Scream, Species 2, Scream 2, Eraser, the Rock....

I was 12 and no one at the theaters gave a shit.

[Peng]

I'm not much of a watched-in-theater guy yet in my elementary and middle school years, outsides Harry Potter. First R-Rated film: Silent Hill when I was 15. And most weirdly because my younger sister and her friends wanted to see it and my parents ordered me to accompany them, lol. But that was fun, certainly better than the next one, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem...

[Skitch]

I begged to go to theater every weekend. It was a big deal when I would finally get to go. First R-Rated in theater was....Leprechan lol. Once I got my license I went damn near every weekend. Snuck into a lot of movies too. They used to be so lax that if you went to consessions and bought food you could just walk right in. They rarely checked for tickets.

[Lazlo]

First R-rated movie in the theater was The Peacemaker. Went with my dad; need to revisit that movie some time. That was 7th grade. From then on I did a ton of sneaking into R-rated stuff. Once got caught in a lie about what movie I was seeing. Told my mom I was going to The Replacements but my friend and I snuck into The Cell instead. My mom saw my friend's mom at the store the next day and my friend had been honest about what movie we'd seen with her mom. So the moms chatted and my spot got blown up. Mom got home and asked me to tell her about the movie I'd seen. I knew what The Replacements was about so I rattled off the premise. Then my mom was like, "That's not what movie you saw, though." Whoops! Don't recall getting in too terrible amount of trouble though.

[TGM]

I begged to go to theater every weekend. It was a big deal when I would finally get to go. First R-Rated in theater was....Leprechan lol. Once I got my license I went damn near every weekend. Snuck into a lot of movies too. They used to be so lax that if you went to consessions and bought food you could just walk right in. They rarely checked for tickets.

Yeah, some of the bigger films I've mentioned missing here, such as X-Men or The Matrix, was because my family just didn't go to the theater all the time when I was growing up. I remember when the Star Wars movies were being re-released in back to back weeks in the 90s, I went to A New Hope, then the next week, all my friends saw Empire, and the week after, they saw Jedi. My family didn't finally get around to Empire until over a month later. Jedi was already out of the theater before I could see that one.

But yeah, as soon as I hit high school and got my own car, that's when I started seeing just about every damn thing, lol. :p

My theater didn't just let us walk in, but back then, it was inside a mall, and they did not care at all if you brought food inside. We regularly grabbed food and drinks from the mall's food court and walked right in with them. Sucked when they finally cracked down on letting people bring in their own food.

[TGM]

You didn't sneak in like me?

Not back then, no. Later on though, every once in a while I might sneak around to do double and triple features. X)

[Dukefrukem]

First R-rated movie in the theater was The Peacemaker. Went with my dad; need to revisit that movie some time. That was 7th grade. From then on I did a ton of sneaking into R-rated stuff. Once got caught in a lie about what movie I was seeing. Told my mom I was going to The Replacements but my friend and I snuck into The Cell instead. My mom saw my friend's mom at the store the next day and my friend had been honest about what movie we'd seen with her mom. So the moms chatted and my spot got blown up. Mom got home and asked me to tell her about the movie I'd seen. I knew what The Replacements was about so I rattled off the premise. Then my mom was like, "That's not what movie you saw, though." Whoops! Don't recall getting in too terrible amount of trouble though.

Great movie.

[Ezee E]

I used to use doublefeaturefinder in the day. Website was able to let you know what "second" movie you could go into after your first ended.

I had a lot of time on my hands.

[MadMan]

The first R rated movie I saw on the big screen was Three Kings (1999). There is a small list of movies I have seen twice in theaters. I have never seen a movie more than twice on the big screen. I prefer to watch new stuff in theaters.

[Morris Schæffer]

Agreed. I adore this film. Favorite Jack Ryan entry, favorite submarine movie.

This is one of my favorite shots:
https://i.imgur.com/nZCmPY6.jpg

Lensed by Jan 'Speed' De Bont, it's a good looking film and pretty rewatchable. And isn't Basil Poledouris' Russian navy hymn just an extraordinary piece of film music?

[Morris Schæffer]

The first R rated movie I saw on the big screen was Three Kings (1999). There is a small list of movies I have seen twice in theaters. I have never seen a movie more than twice on the big screen. I prefer to watch new stuff in theaters.

I wonder what mine was. Probably Beverly Hills cop 2. 11 at the time. Three Kings rocks!

[Morris Schæffer]

First R rated movie in theaters: T2. My folks were in Canada fishing, and I lobbied all week for my aunt to take me (12) and my nine year old brother.

Sorta same thing happened to me. My grandma, she's 91 now and doing well, was a huge film nut back in the day when her eyesight was not failing her. She took me and a friend to T2. Sans brother, but we rectified that a few years back when they released t2 in 3d.

Most times I saw a movie in theaters? Return of the king 3 times. Executive Decision also 3.

[Skitch]

Lensed by Jan 'Speed' De Bont, it's a good looking film and pretty rewatchable. And isn't Basil Poledouris' Russian navy hymn just an extraordinary piece of film music?

Its outstanding. Well damn, it's time to watch this flick again.

"It was PAGANINI. Pavorati is a tenor, Paganini was a composer."

[Mysterious Dude]

First R-rated movie in theaters that I can recall: Saving Private Ryan, at age 14. Saw The Matrix, The Blair Witch Project and Sleepy Hollow in theaters the following year.

[Ezee E]

Think mine was Good Will Hunting at 14.

[Dukefrukem]

Think mine was Good Will Hunting at 14.

That was teh first movie I went to that they re-released for the Oscars and I remember thinking: "Wait, movies can come back to the theaters?"

[Wryan]

Saw Birds of Prey. It was quite shaggy and brassy, with some good action. It was better than Suicide Squad, but that's about it.

[megladon8]

Watched Lynch's Dune last night.

It's closer to the prequels than any decent sci film space opera.

Feels pretty close to being objectively bad.

[Grouchy]

I used to use doublefeaturefinder in the day. Website was able to let you know what "second" movie you could go into after your first ended.

I had a lot of time on my hands.
That's awesome. I used to do the same thing, just spent a lot of time browsing the newspaper and scribbling timetables.

[Skitch]

What is your all time favorite movie? Gun to your head. Don't make it boring with prattling on about not having one, or too many, or its silly to do such things (obviously it is), but right now, today, what is your top pick?

Mine is no surprise.
<-----------------------

[Grouchy]

What is your all time favorite movie? Gun to your head. Don't make it boring with prattling on about not having one, or too many, or its silly to do such things (obviously it is), but right now, today, what is your top pick?

Mine is no surprise.
<-----------------------
https://elholocaustodepabloalekssander 234115323.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly2.jpg

[Skitch]

Oh nice. I have the Man With No Name trilogy on blu-ray, been sitting on my shelf unwatched for too long...

[TGM]

What is your all time favorite movie? Gun to your head. Don't make it boring with prattling on about not having one, or too many, or its silly to do such things (obviously it is), but right now, today, what is your top pick?

Mine is no surprise.
<-----------------------

Had a whole thread discussing this topic not too long ago: http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?7605-Your-Favorite-Movie-of-All-Time

But yes, as with you, mine is similarly unsurprising. ;)

[Skitch]

I forgot about that. Oh well, just trying to drum up some convo.

[Grouchy]

What is your all time favorite movie? Gun to your head. Don't make it boring with prattling on about not having one, or too many, or its silly to do such things (obviously it is), but right now, today, what is your top pick?

Mine is no surprise.
<-----------------------
I swear there was no pun intended with "gun to your head".

[Dukefrukem]

What is your all time favorite movie? Gun to your head. Don't make it boring with prattling on about not having one, or too many, or its silly to do such things (obviously it is), but right now, today, what is your top pick?

Mine is no surprise.
<-----------------------

https://www.imfdb.org/images/thumb/b/b6/Boomstick1.JPG/600px-Boomstick1.JPG

[Irish]

I forgot about that. Oh well, just trying to drum up some convo.

Variations on firsts & favorites:

- What's the first movie that made you think, "Hey, some people made this. It didn't just exist. There's a human personality behind it"?

- What's the first movie you ever walked out of?

- What's the first television show you ever saw that made you think television could be more than entertainment?

(I stole some of these from Chaz Ebert. Credit where credit due)

[Dukefrukem]

Variations on firsts & favorites:
- What's the first movie that made you think, "Hey, some people made this. It didn't just exist. There's a human personality behind it"?


https://www.imfdb.org/images/thumb/b/b6/Boomstick1.JPG/600px-Boomstick1.JPG



- What's the first movie you ever walked out of?


https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/portrait_300x450/2011/12/final_destination_5_-_p_2011.jpg



- What's the first television show you ever saw that made you think television could be more than entertainment?


https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Falishagrau so%2Ffiles%2F2016%2F01%2FX-Files-pose-1200x800.jpg

[Skitch]

- What's the first movie that made you think, "Hey, some people made this. It didn't just exist. There's a human personality behind it"?
Thats a tough one. I hate to name a movie released so late, but maybe Good Will Hunting? I'm sure theres something earlier.


- What's the first movie you ever walked out of?
I don't remember the first, but I distinctly remember walking out of Godzilla (1998), Employee of the Month, and Edge of Darkness (only other people in the theater were permitted to bring in a toddler and a baby in a baby carrier). Oh and Twilight.


- What's the first television show you ever saw that made you think television could be more than entertainment?
That episode of Knight Rider where he gets married and his wife gets shot and killed fucked me up as a kid.

[Grouchy]

Ditto for The X-Files. I don't think I'd ever walked out of a movie in theaters until I went to Sion Sono's Love Exposure at a film festival, arrived late and had to sit in the front row. I basically couldn't fathom watching four hours of movie like that so I walked out and never sought it again for some reason.

As for the "makers behind the movie" question, my aunt is a big cinephile and had a lot of books on cinema at her house, so I basically knew guys like Humphrey Bogart existed before I watched the movies they were in. She had a huge coffee table Bogart book with black and white photographs that I loved before being able to read.

[TGM]

Technically the first movie I walked out on was the high frame rate version of The Hobbit, but that's just because the format was bothering my eyes, and I did wind up seeing it in its standard version later that same week.

First and to date only movie I ever walked out of due to quality reasons was the second Fantastic Beasts. I just, I just didn't care, about anything. And upon realizing this maybe 20 or so minutes in, yeah, just sorta casually got up and left. And from what I've heard from people who did finish it, I missed precisely nothing.

[Dukefrukem]

Guys. I know it's only February, but you can stop looking. I already found the worst film of the year in the Guy Pearce led Disturbing the Peace.

[Irish]

Guys. I know it's only February, but you can stop looking. I already found the worst film of the year in the Guy Pearce led Disturbing the Peace.

Scale of 1-to-"Bye Bye Man", how bad is it?

[Dukefrukem]

Funny thing is, I would watch the Bye Bye Man again with someone who hasn't seen it; as a Mystery Science Theater 3000 type of viewing. Same way with the Room.

I would NOT watch this again. It was painful.

[Skitch]

I havent heard of the movie but find it a tough sell that Guy Pearce is in anything that is "worst".

[Yxklyx]

Am I a square for liking Water's Hairspray more than his earlier films?

[Peng]

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

"...He dies!?" Probably one of Affleck’s best roles.

Only retained Goop’s utter radiance and scene of Dench’s surprise grand entrance from last viewing (also her waiting a delicious beat for someone, anyone, to help her cross that damn puddle). Paltrow is still as good as I remembered, making a trickily light role look effortless, witty and so charming. Only real problem, and it's significant, is Joseph Fiennes, who is only just okay and, apart from their chemistry, obliterated by Paltrow every scene together. It’s not a problem in Elizabeth the same year, because he’s perfectly utilized there as a supporting role who kind of tags along to be in the presence of Blanchett’s magnificence (and is it a pointed commentary that even Weinstein’s insane awards machine couldn’t sweep him up along with them back then?). Might even entertain the idea of Firth and Fiennes swapping roles, even with the miscast potential of the former, just for a more evenly matched romance. Also, I can’t hear the score now without thinking of Whoopi Goldberg in full queen make-up at her Oscar entrance. 7.5/10

[Ivan Drago]

Realized I'm late to the conversation about how many repeat theater viewings I've had.

x2:

12 Years A Slave
Amy
Annihilation
Ant-Man
Apollo 11
Aquaman
Arrival
Avengers: Endgame
A Star Is Born (2018)
Batman Begins
The Beach Bum
Beautiful Boy
Birdman
Blair Witch
Blindspotting
Booksmart
Call Me By Your Name
Captain Underpants
Casino Royale
Cloud Atlas
Cloverfield
Crazy Rich Asians
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Deadpool
The Disaster Artist
Drive
Eighth Grarde
Everybody Wants Some!!
Ex Machina
First Reformed
The Florida Project
A Ghost Story
Gone Girl
Good Time
Green Room
Guardians of the Galaxy
Gravity
The Hangover
The Hateful Eight
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1
Hereditary
If Beale Street Could Talk
Inception
Interstellar
It: Chapter One
It Comes At Night
Jackie
John Wick
John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum
Kedi
Krampus
Lady Bird
The Lobster
Logan
Manchester By The Sea
mid90s
Midsommar
mother!
No Country For Old Men
Once
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Parasite
Paterson
The Peanut Butter Falcon
Personal Shopper
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Phantom Thread
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stoppin’
Power Rangers
Ratatouille
Ready Player One
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Room
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Shame
Silence
Slumdog Millionaire
The Social Network
Sorry To Bother You
The Spectacular Now
Spider-Man 3
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
Spring Breakers
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Superbad
Swiss Army Man
There Will Be Blood
The Favourite
The Tree of Life
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
TRON: Legacy
Tropic Thunder
Uncut Gems
Under The Skin
Vox Lux
Watchmen
Widows
The Witch
Wonder Woman
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

x3

1917
Anomalisa
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Black Swan
The Dark Knight
Joker
Mandy
La La Land
The Lighthouse
Roma
Star Trek (2009)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

x4

Blade Runner 2049
Climax
Moonlight

x5

Mad Max: Fury Road

x9

.............The Room

I'm prepared to explain myself over some of these.

[MadMan]

Guys. I know it's only February, but you can stop looking. I already found the worst film of the year in the Guy Pearce led Disturbing the Peace.

Heh I can always trust you to find that one movie.

[Dukefrukem]

I havent heard of the movie but find it a tough sell that Guy Pearce is in anything that is "worst".

I double dog dare you to watch it and report back. $6 to rent on Amazon.

https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/disturbing-the-peace-2020

[Skitch]

I double dog dare you to watch it and report back. $6 to rent on Amazon.

https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/disturbing-the-peace-2020

Ugh, throwing 6 bucks down the shitter for a bad review...okay, I'll just take your word for it. :p

[Dukefrukem]

Hey, if you like Pearce that much... :)

[megladon8]

Weren't a few people here singing praises for Lockout?

I never saw it because the trailer looked awful.

[Peng]

The Wild Bunch comes awfully close to dethrone Army of Shadows as my top of 1969, which is no small feat because the latter is one of my all-time favorites. One of the most complicated and provocative explorations of a film's own genre ever. "If you're like some animal, you're finished. We're finished. All of us." 5/5

[Skitch]

Weren't a few people here singing praises for Lockout?

I never saw it because the trailer looked awful.

It's fun trash

[Dukefrukem]

It's not that fun and a major disappointment the way the trailer portrays the film.

[baby doll]

The Wild Bunch comes awfully close to dethrone Army of Shadows as my top of 1969My current list for the year:

Katzelmacher (Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
Funeral Parade of Roses (Matsumoto Toshio)
Boy (Oshima Nagisa)
L'Armée des ombres (Jean-Pierre Melville)
A Passion (Ingmar Bergman)
The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah)
Z (Costa-Gavras)
Law and Order (Frederick Wiseman)
Model Shop (Jacques Demy)
Medium Cool (Haskel Wexler)

I need to re-watch The Damned, Fellini Satyricon, Ma nuit chez Maud, Que la bête meure, and Une femme douce.

[Irish]

This is the second time in a week I've seen someone mention "Medium Cool." I really, really need to track down a copy.

[Peng]

My current list for the year

I also just watched Law and Order yesterday. My second Wiseman after Hospital, and by necessity of subject matter it's not as unified as that one. Incredible though that Wiseman made such a damning portrait of police brutality through pure pointed observation way back in 1969, with Nixon's "make America right again" a chilling cap-off to the whole film.

Watched these two back-to-back in part because I watch too little of 1969 and want to fill in the gap. Currently:

1. Army of Shadows
2. The Wild Bunch
3. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
4. Z
5. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
6. Law and Order
7. Topaz

[transmogrifier]

The Wild Bunch comes awfully close to dethrone Army of Shadows as my top of 1969, which is no small feat because the latter is one of my all-time favorites. One of the most complicated and provocative explorations of a film's own genre ever. "If you're like some animal, you're finished. We're finished. All of us." 5/5

My favorite film of all time. Almost perfect. "If they move, kill 'em."

[Grouchy]

This is the second time in a week I've seen someone mention "Medium Cool." I really, really need to track down a copy.Was I the first one?

[Yxklyx]

This is the second time in a week I've seen someone mention "Medium Cool." I really, really need to track down a copy.

Netflix DVD has it.

[megladon8]

Dark City holds up really well.

And the ending psychic battle is just as bad as ever!

[Dukefrukem]

AGREED!

[Skitch]

Dark City holds up really well.

And the ending psychic battle is just as bad as ever!

Great flick. Will never forget that theater viewing. Me and my buddy had theater alone. I was fucking around with production stuff at the time, so I put on a cassette recorder just to see what it would sound like. I captured a good chunk of the films audio that I later used to fall asleep to.

Edit: that sounds like I felt it was boring lol. Not at all. The cassette made me feel like I was there...the score is strong...I would close my eyes and I was there. It was like, magical. Wisked to dreamland, in that theater, watching the movie

[Irish]

Great movie.

The original "Dark City" dvd used to have a feature-length commentary from Roger Ebert on it. I don't know if new releases still do. It was one of the few commentaries he did before he died.

[megladon8]

Yes! And it's a great commentary track!

Glad someone else appreciated that. Its far from being the first movie to pop in my head when I think of something Ebrrt would do a commentary for. Super cool that he was struck so hard by the movie.

Also - I think 90s Jennifer Connelly may very well be one of the most beautiful women ever in film.

[megladon8]

Great flick. Will never forget that theater viewing. Me and my buddy had theater alone. I was fucking around with production stuff at the time, so I put on a cassette recorder just to see what it would sound like. I captured a good chunk of the films audio that I later used to fall asleep to.

Edit: that sounds like I felt it was boring lol. Not at all. The cassette made me feel like I was there...the score is strong...I would close my eyes and I was there. It was like, magical. Wisked to dreamland, in that theater, watching the movie

I actually find that super cool. Love that you have that memory.

I used to fall asleep to some pretty crazy stuff, myself :)

[Ezee E]

Great movie.

The original "Dark City" dvd used to have a feature-length commentary from Roger Ebert on it. I don't know if new releases still do. It was one of the few commentaries he did before he died.

He has around five and they're all fantastic.

[Skitch]

Oh man I have to check that out, I had no idea.

[Grouchy]

One of them must surely be for Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.

[Ezee E]

One of them must surely be for Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.

Yup.
https://letterboxd.com/travissmcclain/list/commentary-by-roger-ebert/

[MadMan]

Dark City holds up really well.

And the ending psychic battle is just as bad as ever!

I like that one a lot. I watched it last year, I believe. Or was it 2018? I can't recall.

[MadMan]

Yes! And it's a great commentary track!

Glad someone else appreciated that. Its far from being the first movie to pop in my head when I think of something Ebrrt would do a commentary for. Super cool that he was struck so hard by the movie.

Also - I think 90s Jennifer Connelly may very well be one of the most beautiful women ever in film.

She at one point was the big thing in Hollywood. I loved her in RFAD.

[megladon8]

I'm about to watch A.I.

I've seen it maybe twice, and the last time was not long after it was first released on DVD.

I'm a bit anxious.

[megladon8]

She at one point was the big thing in Hollywood. I loved her in RFAD.

Yeah she was incredible in that. And have you seen House of Sand and Fog?

[Skitch]

I'm about to watch A.I.

I've seen it maybe twice, and the last time was not long after it was first released on DVD.

I'm a bit anxious.

It's a hell of an experiment. Equal tones of Speilberg and Kubrick, fully succeeding at neither. Nostalgia for both filmmakers, a wildly dark third act, and a crazy strong performance for a child actor carry me through to a positive score, but I hardly argue those that disagree.

[Dukefrukem]

Pretty much hate that movie. Only seen it once.

[megladon8]

Could very well be one of Spielberg's best.

Wow-zah.

[Ezee E]

It's got potential, but definitely in the hands of the wrong director.

From Kubrick's notes, the kid was suppose to be a sort of half-finished robot, not at all fully real looking. Spielberg was working for it to be a real robot as well, but it never worked out. The closest we got, and Kubrick even connected with Chris Cunningham on it, was the "All is Full of Love" video by Bjork.

That would've made it quite something.

[Skitch]

Could very well be one of Spielberg's best.

Wow-zah.

I agree.

[MadMan]

Yeah she was incredible in that. And have you seen House of Sand and Fog?

No but I need to.

[Skitch]

Wow. A.I. pops up on tv. I select the channel. It's the flesh fair scene. I watch it. Nope I'm out. I'm not psychologically ready for the emotional devastation trip of this flick just now

[megladon8]

Yeah, that movie hurts.

[Skitch]

Yeah, that movie hurts.

It may be THE best performance by a child actor.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Wow. A.I. pops up on tv. I select the channel. It's the flesh fair scene.

Brutal scene. Brutal movie. I can't say I love it, but I have to give it props for making me feel sick without anything gross ever actually happening.

[Irish]

Pretty much hate that movie. Only seen it once.

^ exactly this, for me.

Several thousand years of written & acted human drama & 2 film geniuses decide to create a protagonist incapable of making a choice. Any choice.

I will never understand how anyone tried to make a commercial film out of any version of that script.


From Kubrick's notes, the kid was suppose to be a sort of half-finished robot, not at all fully real looking. Spielberg was working for it to be a real robot as well, but it never worked out. The closest we got, and Kubrick even connected with Chris Cunningham on it, was the "All is Full of Love" video by Bjork.

The weirdest thing is that K spent years obsessing over the movie & it's based on an ~800 word short story (~2 pages, printed). It must have a read-time under 2 minutes. It's a pretty good story but there's no movie there.

[Grouchy]

I absolutely love that movie. It might be an uncomfortable hybrid of sensibilities but it's wildly ambitious, often brilliant sci-fi. The robot dump scene has haunted me for ages.

[Ezee E]

The weirdest thing is that K spent years obsessing over the movie & it's based on an ~800 word short story (~2 pages, printed). It must have a read-time under 2 minutes. It's a pretty good story but there's no movie there.

For sure. Just an idea that manifested for him I guess. I mean he had storyboards and a full-script ready to go, with his ideas of cgi at the ready. Not a Napoleon-level like obsession, but definitely was an idea he wanted to do.

His vision of the ending is even more heartbreaking than the perceived "happy ending" that Spielberg gave.

[Dukefrukem]

"happy ending" that Spielberg gave.

Which is the worst part of the film.

[Ezee E]

Which is the worst part of the film.

Have you read how Kubrick was going to shoot it?

[Dukefrukem]

Have you read how Kubrick was going to shoot it?

At one point... We had a huge discussion about it on the original Axis site.

[megladon8]

Actually, the "happy ending" and much of the emotional stuff in the film was from Kubrick.

The flesh fair and much of the darker material was from Spielberg.

[Ezee E]

Actually, the "happy ending" and much of the emotional stuff in the film was from Kubrick.

The flesh fair and much of the darker material was from Spielberg.

Right, but Kubrick had a much different "look" for his ending.
Gigolo Joe was going to be more of a "G.I." as well for Kubrick, and the sexuality was going to certainly be turned up. Cars were driving into open mouths and whatnot.

[Philip J. Fry]

It may be THE best performance by a child actor.
Specially for the level of difficulty.

[Wryan]

lol

https://www.indiewire.com/2020/02/rian-johnson-apple-bad-guys-iphones-movies-1202213693

[Dukefrukem]

lol

https://www.indiewire.com/2020/02/rian-johnson-apple-bad-guys-iphones-movies-1202213693

SPOILER ALERT!

[megladon8]

Right, but Kubrick had a much different "look" for his ending.
Gigolo Joe was going to be more of a "G.I." as well for Kubrick, and the sexuality was going to certainly be turned up. Cars were driving into open mouths and whatnot.

Cars drive into open mouths in the final product too.

[Ivan Drago]

A.I. is my personal favorite Spielberg movie, and in my top 10 of all time.

I also haven't revisited it since the first watch because it wrecks me just thinking about it.

[Dukefrukem]

23rd for me.

1. Jaws 1975
2. Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1977 ★★★★★
3. Jurassic Park 1993 ★★★★★
4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989 ★★★★★
5. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982 ★★★★★
6. Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981 ★★★★½
7. Saving Private Ryan 1998 ★★★★½
8. Minority Report 2002 ★★★★
9. Catch Me If You Can 2002 ★★★★
10. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 1984 ★★★★
11. Hook 1991 ★★★★
12. The Adventures of Tintin 2011 ★★★★
13. Schindler’s List 1993 ★★★★
14. Duel 1971 ★★★½
15. The Lost World: Jurassic Park 1997 ★★★
16. The Post 2017 ★★½
17. Munich 2005 ★★½
18. Ready Player One 2018 ★★½
19. Lincoln 2012 ★★½
20. Empire of the Sun 1987 ★★½
21. War Horse 2011 ★★½
22. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 2008 ★★½
23. A.I. Artificial Intelligence 2001 ★★½
24. Bridge of Spies 2015 ★★
25. The BFG 2016 ★★
26. War of the Worlds 2005 ★★
27. The Terminal 2004 ★½

[Skitch]

The Terminal is underrated.

[Peng]

Escaping the other thread's slander...

5/5
Schindler’s List
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Jaws
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Raiders of the Lost Ark

4.5/5
Jurassic Park

4/5
Minority Report
Catch Me If You Can
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
The Sugarland Express
Saving Private Ryan
War of the Worlds
The Post
Lincoln
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Empire of the Sun

3.5/5
Munich
Duel
Bridge of Spies
The Color Purple
Amistad
The Terminal
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
The Adventures of Tintin
Ready Player One

3/5
War Horse
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Hook
The BFG
Always
Twilight Zone: The Movie, “Kick the Can”

2.5/5
1941
Something Evil

[baby doll]

If you insist...


Spicy
Duel (1971)
Schindler's List (1993)
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Warm
Jaws (1975)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Minority Report (2002)

Mild
The Sugarland Express (1974)
Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Cold
War of the Worlds (2005)
Munich (2005)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
The Adventures of Tintin (2011)
War Horse (2011)

Frozen
The Terminal (2004)

It's been too long since I've seen E.T., Always, Hook, Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Amistad, or Saving Private Ryan to assess their level of spiciness.

[Skitch]

I'm surprised you have A.I. so high.

[StuSmallz]

Not to go off on a random rant here, but a lot of the lingering negative reactions I'm still seeing directed at movies like A Quiet Place solely based on their plot holes/implausibilities strike me as being motivated by this "gotcha!" mentality that's sprouted up online since the late 2000's, especially after CinemaSins got big (hurl), where people completely ignore underlying filmmaking craft in favor of harping on surface-level holes. Yes, AQP does have a few such holes in it, but they do not fundamentally ruin the film, and I say that not out of some personal bias to the film because I happened to like it personally, but because I've never seen any movie that was ruined because of plot holes, because plot and premise are mere means to an end, because they're irrelevant in light of the ultimate sensations that movies bring to us as viewers, and film is an art, not a science, so movies do not have to be perfect, clockwork-precision machines on a plot level, or even anywhere close to that, and acting like any of them should have to be that, especially a high-concept work like AQP, is just fundamentally misunderstanding the medium, IMO.

[transmogrifier]

I disagree. Plotting is as much a cinematic craft as anything else, and it is just as valid to fault a film (or praise a film) for that as for any other component of a film. You are free, like anyone else, to prioritize/deprioritize certain components based on personal preference/interest but claiming that others are "misunderstanding the medium" for what they value just sounds like gatekeeping to me.

[Grouchy]

The Terminal is underrated.
The Terminal is an awful, awful movie.


I disagree. Plotting is as much a cinematic craft as anything else, and it is just as valid to fault a film (or praise a film) for that as for any other component of a film. You are free, like anyone else, to prioritize/deprioritize certain components based on personal preference/interest but claiming that others are "misunderstanding the medium" for what they value just sounds like gatekeeping to me.
There's an excellent Patrick H. Wilems video addressing this:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9HivyjAKlc

By the way, every once in a while YouTube throws some CinemaSins video at me, I watch some of it and remain completely mystified that someone out there finds those guys even remotely funny.

[TGM]

A video he made for the sole purpose of then doing a follow up video on The Last Jedi that allowed him to blindly praise the film without having to acknowledge all the poor scriptwork and the ridiculous amount of plot inconsistencies it presents to the series. :rolleyes:

[Peng]

*looking at the series in poster's avatar*

[Grouchy]

A video he made for the sole purpose of then doing a follow up video on The Last Jedi that allowed him to blindly praise the film without having to acknowledge all the poor scriptwork and the ridiculous amount of plot inconsistencies it presents to the series. :rolleyes:
Eh, I think he's correct in both videos. The Last Jedi is by far the greatest Star Wars film after the OT.

[baby doll]

I'm surprised you have A.I. so high.I don't think it's all that surprising, especially when you consider that it's the closest Spielberg has come to making an arthouse film, both in terms of its episodic plot construction, and more significantly, the ambivalent and often downright contradictory emotions it elicits in the viewer.

Incidentally, I have little patience with people who construct their own idea of what Kubrick's version would've looked like as a kind of Platonic ideal and then fault the movie "betraying" their idea of Kubrick's vision. We don't know what Kubrick's version would've looked like because he didn't make the film, and I can't imagine a bigger waste of time than jerking off to preproduction materials for a film that doesn't exist.

[Skitch]

Incidentally, I have little patience with people who construct their own idea of what Kubrick's version would've looked like as a kind of Platonic ideal and then fault the movie "betraying" their idea of Kubrick's vision. We don't know what Kubrick's version would've looked like because he didn't make the film, and I can't imagine a bigger waste of time than jerking off to preproduction materials for a film that doesn't exist.

I agree.

[Grouchy]

Incidentally, I have little patience with people who construct their own idea of what Kubrick's version would've looked like as a kind of Platonic ideal and then fault the movie "betraying" their idea of Kubrick's vision. We don't know what Kubrick's version would've looked like because he didn't make the film, and I can't imagine a bigger waste of time than jerking off to preproduction materials for a film that doesn't exist.
Eh, I think defending Kubrick's vision against Spielberg's rendition is indeed a bit silly, but the activity in bold actually sounds like quite a useful learning experience for anyone interested in how films get made from the page to the final product.