28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[MadMan]

Weekend:

*Re-Animator(1985)-Second viewing, a friend of mine has never seen it. He's in for a treat.
*Poltergeist(1982)-This better be as good as people say it is.
*Texas Chainsaw Massacre(1974)-A second viewing....in Blu Ray!

And um whatever else my friend has on Blu Ray. Its gonna be a horror movie marathon tomorrow night for Halloween. Good stuff.

[Scar]

*Texas Chainsaw Massacre(1974)-A second viewing....in Blu Ray!



Don't expect to be blown away with the video quality.

:lol:

[balmakboor]

Weekend:
*Poltergeist(1982)-This better be as good as people say it is.


Allow me to lower your expectations a bit. I loved this back in the day. I revisited it a few months ago and, while it is a very interesting take on a suburban family, it is over-produced, overly reliant on now hokey special effects, dated, and ultimately a bit silly as a horror film. I now see it as a very mixed attempt to merge two very different directorial sensibilities.

It's nice that you are pairing it with Hooper's masterpiece.

[D_Davis]

One of my biggest movie pet peeves:

People who walk into a movie with 30 minutes left, and complain because it doesn't make any sense.

There are enough people who do this to make is a pet peeve?

[Ezee E]

There are enough people who do this to make is a pet peeve?
Yeah. I've never seen it in a theater. Maybe a roommate who walks in in the middle of the movie, but even then...

[Raiders]

Allow me to lower your expectations a bit. I loved this back in the day. I revisited it a few months ago and, while it is a very interesting take on a suburban family, it is over-produced, overly reliant on now hokey special effects, dated, and ultimately a bit silly as a horror film. I now see it as a very mixed attempt to merge two very different directorial sensibilities.

It's nice that you are pairing it with Hooper's masterpiece.

Allow me to re-elevate your expectations. I think the two sensibilities merge rather flawlessly and the special effects still hold up very good today.

[Mysterious Dude]

My biggest movie pet peeve:

When people bitch and moan during the movie about it being boring, and then scream "THANK YOU!" or "THANK YOU JESUS!" after it's over. This happens a lot in my Race and Racism in American Cinema class - when we were watching a 5-minute clip of a Martin Scorsese interview about Gangs of New York, the people around me were doing just that. They did the same thing when we were watching an 8-minute clip of The Birth of a Nation. It's five to eight minutes of your life, good fucking God.
In one of my classes, we were watching Tati's Playtime, and in the middle of it, there was a fire alarm. As we were leaving, I heard someone say, "Saved by the bell! This is horrible cinema!" Philistine.

[D_Davis]

Yeah. I've never seen it in a theater. Maybe a roommate who walks in in the middle of the movie, but even then...

In the theater I see it happen sometimes. But it's usually just movie-hoppers messing around. Kids making jokes or something. I can't imagine someone doing that and then saying that on purpose. That's just crazy!

[Duncan]

I've been late to a show once, then gone into the wrong theater, then had a conversation something along the lines of "This movie doesn't make any sense," with my friend. Then we left and went to the right theater. Good story, huh?

Anyway, maybe that's what happened.

[MadMan]

In one of my classes, we were watching Tati's Playtime, and in the middle of it, there was a fire alarm. As we were leaving, I heard someone say, "Saved by the bell! This is horrible cinema!" Philistine.That reminds me of how I attempted to watch that movie at around 1 or 2 am cause it was on TCM. That was not a good idea. Better luck next time, I guess. I liked Mr. Hulot's Holiday, though, so does that count for something?


Don't expect to be blown away with the video quality.

:lol:Really? I can't expect it to be worse than the actual SE DVD copy, which I obtained last year. The quality of that DVD was pretty solid, actually.

I will take both Raiders and fasozupow's comments on Poltergeist into account. I'll post thoughts, of course.

[D_Davis]

Allow me to re-elevate your expectations. I think the two sensibilities merge rather flawlessly and the special effects still hold up very good today.

I think the movie rules.

[megladon8]

Three great horror movies for Halloween. Session 9, An American Werewolf in London and, of course, Halloween.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I watched Saw III because it was on. What a steaming pile that was.

[Sven]

Bone-man, love your Night and the City rating. That movie is terrifying.

[dreamdead]

Finally saw Burnett's Killer of Sheep. It was dandy. Nice counterbalance to the conventional portrayal of African-Americans in the '70s, offering a full panorama of representation, from thieves to hard workers. I like the formal shifts between everyday urban decay that's devoid of music and then those scenes that are imbued with a nostalgic balance back to classic songs. It retains an artistry that's never overwhelming nor nihilistic, and the film's humanism is likely its greatest strength (the scene with the car motor was especially affecting). This is a film that knows how to finish with a marvelous ending.

I feel as though Chameleon Street should be likewise viewed soon to further establish my knowledge of African-American cinema...

[SirNewt]

somebody actually did it, somebody actually fucking did it.

http://www.match-cut.org/images/misc/titleimage.jpg



awesome

[Bosco B Thug]

Hostel still exhibits a sober sort of plangency with its cinematic decor - from an ambitiously layered script to a sober eye for cinematography to moments of earthy, depressive gravity that pepper the film - but this second viewing (after three years since seeing it on its opening weekend) revealed the problems with the film lies in Roth's callow sense of dramatic pacing. The film has sparkling moments of sensitivity, but they often seem too short, too concise. Instead of being woven into the film, they are just glimmers of the dramatic sense Roth has a director, scattered smack in between moments that are rote and expositional. He doesn't realize that a great film breathes even the most purely utilitarian scenes with some ascendant aesthetic/dramatic sensibility united with the thematic core of the film, and thus creates a unified "great" whole - which this film is not, unfortunately. And he doesn't know how to give a buffer to his attempts at grace to allow them to breathe and proliferate with meaning.

This makes the film's just sort of sloppy. It's going from restrained to loud-mouthed, or emotionally striking to emotionally mundane, in, like, a second is really frustrating.

Still a relative fan of the film, despite the new evaluation.

May, on the other hand, is really frickin sophisticated sometimes. Very awesome. You get the sense it could be thoroughly analyzed with various theories of film and, needles to say, psychoanalytics. One can even presume it is true, that McKee is in a direct performative with those lofty theories of the cinematic mechanism, perspective, and its acquisition of human sight, what with all the expressionistic and experimental stuff he does in this film.

[megladon8]

What a deal! (http://www.amazon.ca/Signal-Jacob-Gentry/dp/B001662FKK/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1225588208&sr=8-1)

[Philosophe_rouge]

I'm such a sucker for musicals, State Fair (1945), was delightful. Small story, small people, big heart... I feel cheesy just saying it, but it's true. My heart is pounding right now with youthful optimism and romance. Seriously a joy :pritch:

[chrisnu]

Homicide: Season 1/2
:pritch:

The first two seasons are just brilliant.

[Derek]

Hunger was great, more thoughts to come eventually.

Tomorrow @ AFI Fest:

Before the Fall (Gutierrez)
Tokyo Sonata (Kurosawa)
A Christmas Tale (Desplechin)

[Boner M]

Quick shots:

Tulpan - Thoroughly charming flick that comes frustratingly close to turning its mixture of enthnographic docu-naturalism and threadbare narrative into something transcendent. That said, any film that manages to turn a graphic, 10-minute unbroken take of a sheep birth into something sheerly joyous is doing it's job right, I suppose.

Spontaneous Combustion - Completely nonsensical script, a bizarro-dreadful Brad Dourif performance, and FX of the Flames added electronically by Channel 6 variety. Completely baffled that this is one of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's favorite films; the man has a sharper eye than me, at least.

Night and the City - I'm at the point when the fatalistic arcs of any noir are becoming less enticing than the stylistic grace notes, sense of place, or extraterraneous details, all of which Dassin delivered in spades here. A remarkably tactile wrestling scene nicely bifurcates the film just like the heist in Rififi did, whereupon everything afterwards carries a fascinating-trainwreck quality that Dassin milks for maximum expressionistic grandeur. Richard Widmark is awesome, looking like the lovechild of Keith Carradine and Klaus Kinski, and acting more like the latter. Gene Tierney's role - tacked on by studio demands - is kinda useless, but her final scene with Widmark more than makes up for it.

[Ezee E]

:pritch:

The first two seasons are just brilliant.
It's funny seeing scenes that were completely reused in The Wire.

And Clark Johnson sure got big after this show.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I'm such a sucker for musicals, State Fair (1945), was delightful. Small story, small people, big heart... I feel cheesy just saying it, but it's true. My heart is pounding right now with youthful optimism and romance. Seriously a joy :pritch:

My wife loves this film. I was... less enthused.

[Sycophant]

For Halloween, my friends and I watched both Bill & Ted's movies back to back.

Excellent Adventure holds up to my memory, a wonderful, simple film with a lot of positive energy that's joyous from beginning to end. A lot of great gags and it left me with all kinds of warm fuzzies.

Bogus Journey (my first viewing) holds up to its reputation, a steaming pile of shit with one or two decent jokes, that feels like three rejected episodes of a retarded B&T TV series.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Bogus Journey (my first viewing) holds up to its reputation, a steaming pile of shit with one or two decent jokes, that feels like three rejected episodes of a retarded B&T TV series.

Is it difficult, being so wrong? It must take a supreme effort, but you make it look easy.

:P

Its Hell is one of the best in all of cinema, Sadler is awesome as the Reaper, Bill and Ted are as endearingly stupid as ever, and Station rules.

The Reaper compares scythes at a store! Come on!

[Watashi]

Bill and Ted and "warm fuzzies" do not belong together in a sentence.

[Sycophant]

Bill and Ted and "warm fuzzies" do not belong together in a sentence.Explain why not?

[Sven]

You made your little sister cry!

[Kurosawa Fan]

For Halloween, my friends and I watched both Bill & Ted's movies back to back.

Excellent Adventure holds up to my memory, a wonderful, simple film with a lot of positive energy that's joyous from beginning to end. A lot of great gags and it left me with all kinds of warm fuzzies.

Bogus Journey (my first viewing) holds up to its reputation, a steaming pile of shit with one or two decent jokes, that feels like three rejected episodes of a retarded B&T TV series.

I'm with you all the way.

[The Mike]

Sadler is awesome as the ReaperThis is all I really needed to convince me it's totally not Bogus.

Both movies are definitely among the greatest of all time.

[D_Davis]

You've got an excellently huge Martian butt!
Station.

[Sycophant]

There's a mean-spiritedness in the second B&T film that undercuts the basic theme of being excellent to each other in the first film. It falls into a lot of the awful "bigger and better and darker" thinking that mars sequels. To top it off, it has an incoherent plot structure. It never should have been made. Death was fun for a while, and was certainly the highlight, but by the end, he was a drag, too.

[Grouchy]

Q: The Winged Serpent is my first Larry Cohen film, and I can appreciate why the guy is so respected as a writer even if the film itself is not all that awe-inspiring. But, hey, he improvised the script in a week! What he is, is a great actors director. Michael Moriarty gives an incredible, layered performance as an ex-junkie using the attack of the monster for his own profit, and I didn't know David Carradine and Richard Roundtree had it in them to act like this - specially Shaft. The story is a little meandering, but it shows a deep understanding of monster lore - I was specially thrilled with the concept that there's no actual difference between a God and a monster, except the latter can be killed. The killings were all a lot of fun. The movie has sloppy editing and some very odd musical choices, but it's all in good fun. I think every director should do a giant monster movie at one point of his career as well as a living dead one.

[The Mike]

Q: The Winged Serpent is my first Larry Cohen film, and I can appreciate why the guy is so respected as a writer even if the film itself is not all that awe-inspiring. But, hey, he improvised the script in a week! What he is, is a great actors director. Michael Moriarty gives an incredible, layered performance as an ex-junkie using the attack of the monster for his own profit, and I didn't know David Carradine and Richard Roundtree had it in them to act like this - specially Shaft. The story is a little meandering, but it shows a deep understanding of monster lore - I was specially thrilled with the concept that there's no actual difference between a God and a monster, except the latter can be killed. The killings were all a lot of fun. The movie has sloppy editing and some very odd musical choices, but it's all in good fun. I think every director should do a giant monster movie at one point of his career as well as a living dead one.
Great analysis. I too was really impressed by the acting, Moriarty especially.

[origami_mustache]

I don't think I can handle much more of this banner.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I don't think I can handle much more of this banner.

Hush up.

[Spinal]

I don't think I can handle much more of this banner.

Reppified.

[Bosco B Thug]

Spontaneous Combustion - Completely nonsensical script, a bizarro-dreadful Brad Dourif performance, and FX of the Flames added electronically by Channel 6 variety Well, yeah, but...

You weren't at all moved by the way Hooper creates emotional parameters between characters with striking cinematic triangulations (i.e. Melinda Dillon's character sequestering herself away from a group of military men and falling into the path of a blowing electric fan), or the way he slowly and surely builds sequences (three showstoppers: the opening nuclear test, Dourif's call to the telepsychic, and that climactic sequence where Dourif's girlfriend becomes victim to a silent besetment by unknown forces, set into motion by the song "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" on her radio), or dynamically communicates moods (the strange fatalism of the down-the-hallway shot of girlfriend trying to help Dourif in the bathroom, freaking out due to the futility of it, or the surreal shot-reverse shot of girlfriend and the power plant in the distant landscape - a gorgeous landscape shot btw - as she is out on her balcony near the end), or etc? I also like the general use of radio, and the use of fire to allude to chemical emulsions...

Silence will be preferred over a curt "No.". :) But yeah, Dourif is terrible and the movie makes less and less sense until it finally farts out at the end...


Q: The Winged Serpent is my first Larry Cohen film, and I can appreciate why the guy is so respected as a writer even if the film itself is not all that awe-inspiring. But, hey, he improvised the script in a week! What he is, is a great actors director. Michael Moriarty gives an incredible, layered performance as an ex-junkie using the attack of the monster for his own profit, and I didn't know David Carradine and Richard Roundtree had it in them to act like this - specially Shaft. The story is a little meandering, but it shows a deep understanding of monster lore - I was specially thrilled with the concept that there's no actual difference between a God and a monster, except the latter can be killed. The killings were all a lot of fun. The movie has sloppy editing and some very odd musical choices, but it's all in good fun. I think every director should do a giant monster movie at one point of his career as well as a living dead one. I was going to claim that Q is actually one of his most polished films, but I realized I didn't know that for sure. All his films are very much Cohen-y like that. :lol: They are great, though, glad you liked this one. They're never not provocative (Q definitely has strong commentary, as you point out, and its probably a contender for his most focused film, I can say that kinda confidently), and there's definitely some sort of polish to his craft, in some hard-to-pinpoint way.

[SirNewt]

Night and the City - I'm at the point when the fatalistic arcs of any noir are becoming less enticing than the stylistic grace notes, sense of place, or extraterraneous details, all of which Dassin delivered in spades here. A remarkably tactile wrestling scene nicely bifurcates the film just like the heist in Rififi did, whereupon everything afterwards carries a fascinating-trainwreck quality that Dassin milks for maximum expressionistic grandeur. Richard Widmark is awesome, looking like the lovechild of Keith Carradine and Klaus Kinski, and acting more like the latter. Gene Tierney's role - tacked on by studio demands - is kinda useless, but her final scene with Widmark more than makes up for it.

Yes, one of his best films. Truly a director who was able to make far too few films in his long life/career. This film was a huge leap in quality for Dassin. I guess he just had to get far enough from Hollywood to really show his skill.

[megladon8]

I don't think I can handle much more of this banner.


Yeah, I say we use my gorgeous From Russia With Love banner.

Seriously, it's incredible. Awe-inspiring even. I should be a graphic artist.







Well I thought it was nice.

[Boner M]

Silence will be preferred over a curt "No.". :) But yeah, Dourif is terrible and the movie makes less and less sense until it finally farts out at the end...
:lol: Yeah... sorry. I generally find your readings interesting and valuable. Honest! But in this case I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe the only interesting angle was the fact that Dourif is introduced as he screws up his lines during a high school play. Dunno how that ties in thematically with the rest of the film, but it certainly makes his acting more palatable. He made Wahlberg in The Happening look like Brando...

[Winston*]

I say we don't use your From Russia with Love banner as it is way too easily misinterpretable by glancing co-workers.

[megladon8]

Grouchy, I strongly suggest you see Larry Cohen's God Told Me To.

Great movie.

[Ezee E]

I see no banner.

[soitgoes...]

I see no banner.But the banner sees you!

[Bosco B Thug]

:lol: Yeah... sorry. I generally find your readings interesting and valuable. Honest! But in this case I don't know what you're talking about. Haha, okay, I'll just be glad and take this. :) My appreciation of the flick is primarily for its craft and visualizations; I'm pretty much almost in agreement that its ultimately unsalvageable when it comes to its storyline and narrative.

Joshua improves with 2nd viewing, but there's still some point somewhere at the halfway mark where it frustratingly goes from constructively humane to deflatingly delineative and spelled-out. I think this story would have opened up to a lot more possibilities if the movie didn't try so hard to be a horror movie. The decline of the film begins when Rockwell and Joshua gain their antagonism for ach other in the 2nd half. We end up watching a sardonic battle of wits, which, while an amusingly depraved depiction of a Father-Son relationship, cuts short the psychological insights and abiguities the first half offered us. The ending is much more clear-cut than I remembered, too, resulting in a "Gasp! And the puzzle pieces fall into place!" ending which, again, acts as a thematic muffler.

And also, I've come to the viewing that Rockwell's character really didn't deserve any of Joshua's resentment. Josh is just an ungrateful and pampered brat. This fact aligned me against Joshua, which really isn't constructive personally - this movie should be about empathizing with the morally inchoate child, and not about being impressed by a prodigy child's ability to dump the chumps. A clever premise, but its a disappointing path taken after the pretty spectacular first half of the film.

[Yxklyx]

Q: The Winged Serpent is my first Larry Cohen film, and I can appreciate why the guy is so respected as a writer even if the film itself is not all that awe-inspiring. ...

Kinda meh. The monster effects were hokey. The lead actor did a very admirable job. Carradine I thought was awful. I'd have liked it a lot more if he didn't sound like he was disinterested in what he was doing. My favorite part was the Kite/Monster foreshadowing followed by Kite/Monster attack. Others here would probably like it more than I.

[MadMan]

Poltergeist was quite good. I enjoyed the film a lot, and I thought that the FX held up somewhat well, although parts of it were quite dated. Lots to like about this film, especially since it goes pretty crazy in the last half, and there were some great moments. Primarily the famous "Face ripping" and "Tree attacking" scenes, coupled with the scariest part of the film which was that damn clown popping up and dragging the kid underneath the bed. I hate that clown. He's evil.There's really not much else to this movie, but its so well made and features some good creepy elements that I can't help but praise it as being quite effective. 88

[Spinal]

There's really not much else to this movie, but its so well made and features some good creepy elements that I can't help but praise it as being quite effective. 88

There is sooo much more to the movie than the effects and the scares. All of it works so well because of the way the family interactions are portrayed. The suspense is intense because you really get the sense that these people love each other and care about each other. When I watched it as a kid, I identified with the children and their sense of being vulnerable in the safety of their home. When I watched it later as a parent, I liked the film even more because I identified with the parents and the helplessness they feel in not being able to protect their babies. One of my favorites.

[Mysterious Dude]

When I watched it later as a parent, I liked the film even more because I identified with the parents and the helplessness they feel in not being able to protect their babies. One of my favorites.
Have you ever seen Testament, Spinal? I think you ought to. It also has a family. And a nuclear war.

[Spinal]

Have you ever seen Testament, Spinal? I think you ought to. It also has a family. And a nuclear war.

I have not. Queued and moved near the top. Thanks for the recommendation.

[transmogrifier]

Best banner yet. Encapsulates Match Cut better than anything before.

[Derek]

Best banner yet. Encapsulates Match Cut better than anything before.

I imagine that's the same face you make while reading Armond White. Get an avatar, hippie.

[Boner M]

A Christmas Tale (Desplechin, 2008) 88
Can't freakin' wait for this.

[Derek]

Can't freakin' wait for this.

It's amazing! I really wasn't expecting this to top Kings & Queen, but it did. Desplechin is an absolute master at playing comedy and drama off each other and scene after scene astounded me with its unique tone and cinematic inventiveness. How he manages to so effortlessly make a film so epic yet so achingly personal, so vicious yet heart-warming, dare I say feel-good, is beyond me. Desplechin and Mathieu Almaric are definitely both among my favorite working directors and actors respectively. I'll write more on this soon, but I'm exhausted and have a couple other things I need to work on first. There's a lot to chew on to say the least.

[Rowland]

Fuck, I hate computers sometimes. I just wrote a long spiel on Sunshine, and when I was about to hit Submit Reply, my mouse spazzed out and I accidently hit another link, so I lost the entire thing. Bah, I'll try again tomorrow...

[Rowland]

Black Sunday (Bava, 1960) 50
Yeah, I don't get what the big deal is with this one. It's disappointing that this is commonly cited as his masterpiece, so it's the single movie of his most people have seen, when I'd rank it as one of his mid-tier efforts at best.

[transmogrifier]

I imagine that's the same face you make while reading Armond White. Get an avatar, hippie.

A pretty good approximation, actually. Well, alternating between that and laughing my ass off.

Avatars are shallow and derivative of, well, bigger pictures

[Derek]

Yeah, I don't get what the big deal is with this one. It's disappointing that this is commonly cited as his masterpiece, so it's the single movie of his most people have seen, when I'd rank it as one of his mid-tier efforts at best.

Aside from the cinematography, there's really not much to latch onto with this one. I have Kill Baby...Kill! at home and Blood and Black Lace coming soon, so don't worry, I'll give Bava a fair shake. :)

[Derek]

A few quick hits since I'm already behind the eight-ball:

Black Sunday (Mario Bava, 1960)

Stilted acting and choppy, convoluted plotting marr this otherwise gorgeous debut. The achievements of cinematography on such a low budget are certainly impressive, but it's nothing more than a serviceable gothic horror diversion good for Halloween night.

The Seventh Victim (Mark Robson, 1943)

Like the other Val Lewton films, the horror is often found in the unseen or unknown, however in The Seventh Victim that evil is not grounded in the supernatural or fantastical, but in seemingly typical and ordinary individuals. It's not entirely surprising to see a film of this time confront the notion of vast evil manifestign itself through mankind, but Robson also skillfully balances the terror of the inexplicable with Mary and others' tireless quest to rescue Jacqueline from its grasp. That it was deemed unnecessary to show even a glimpse of any of the Satanic cult's ceremonies speaks to the filmmaker's trust in the audiences imagination to fill in the blanks; a trust which pays off in spades with the exceptionally disturbing sequence where the cult members continuously urge Jacqueline to drink the poison. Evil lurking in the mind's of men has rarely been so bone-chilling.

CJ7 (Stephen Chow, 2008)

Surprisingly uneven and dramatically inert especially in the final act, due to the odd choice to never fully develop a relationship between Dicky and CJ7. Chow's visual flourishes and creative use of CGI also feel out of place, as if shoehorned in simply to breathe some life into the film. It felt like a natural extension of the world and characters in Kung Fu Hustle, but scenes such as Dicky kung fu fighting his gym teacher after spending much of the film being bullied by others left me scratching my head.

[Boner M]

Hey Raiders, I noticed your Furies rating seems a little lower than I'd expect from a Mann fanboy like you. I thought it certainly gave indication of the man's brilliance as a director, looked fantastic, had some memorable scenes (the scissors!), and Stanwyck was in top form, but somehow it felt less than the sum of it's parts. None of the relationships depicted were truly compelling for some reason, and I just shrugged when it ended. I also got annoyed that word "Furies" seemed to occupy every sentence of dialogue.

Hopefully you can offer some less boring thoughts.

[balmakboor]

Poltergeist was quite good. I enjoyed the film a lot, and I thought that the FX held up somewhat well, although parts of it were quite dated. Lots to like about this film, especially since it goes pretty crazy in the last half, and there were some great moments. Primarily the famous "Face ripping" and "Tree attacking" scenes, coupled with the scariest part of the film which was that damn clown popping up and dragging the kid underneath the bed. I hate that clown. He's evil.There's really not much else to this movie, but its so well made and features some good creepy elements that I can't help but praise it as being quite effective. 88

My favorite scare moment is a silhouetted shot of the boy. It is truly grotesque and creepy. Reminded me of Leatherface's father. What I liked the least was the out of control final act special effects.

As I said earlier, I'm in agreement with Spinal in that the movie's true triumph is its depiction of the family.

[Ezee E]

I should watch Poltergeist again. Loved it as a kid, even the sequel. Hated the third one though.

How much of it is Spielberg responsible for?

Also, anyone seen Anderson's Transsiberian? I figure some of the horror gurus have. It's out on DVD this week.

[balmakboor]

I should watch Poltergeist again. Loved it as a kid, even the sequel. Hated the third one though.

How much of it is Spielberg responsible for?

The answer to that question is the same as "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?" Personally, I see a little bit of Hooper and a lot of Spielberg both at his best and at his worst.

[Raiders]

Also, anyone seen Anderson's Transsiberian? I figure some of the horror gurus have. It's out on DVD this week.

Yeah, I saw it in theatres. Not bad, not great either. I had some issues with a lot of what happens near the end, but it's probably a better film than I originally gave it credit for. I would like to see it again.

[D_Davis]

How much of it is Spielberg responsible for?


I think this is a much debated issue. To me it feels all Spielberg, and contains many of his trademark touches. I haven't noticed anything about Hooper that sets him apart from any other director, so I could not readily identify anything of his in the film. Granted I've only seen a few of his movies (TCM, Lifeforce, Poltergeist, Eaten Alive, and Spontaneous Combustion), so maybe he does have a defining style.

I imagine this being similar to a Tsui Hark produced film, in which he usually has almost complete creative control and hires a "director" only as a kind of day-to-day manager on the set, simply because he is working on too many other projects to give his undivided attention to one thing.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I think this is a much debated issue. To me it feels all Spielberg, and contains many of his trademark touches. I haven't noticed anything about Hooper that sets him apart from any other director, so I could not readily identify anything of his in the film. Granted I've only seen a few of his movies (TCM, Lifeforce, Poltergeist, Eaten Alive, and Spontaneous Combustion), so maybe he does have a defining style.

Hooper's defining style is hard to pin down. Aside from his wonky sense of humor, I've never figured it out. And while Poltergeist's darker spirit would suggest Hooper's influence, Spielberg wasn't at his most optimistic in the early 80's. That period also gave us more mischievous, darker Spielbergian flicks like Temple of Doom and Gremlins.

[Grouchy]

I was going to claim that Q is actually one of his most polished films, but I realized I didn't know that for sure. All his films are very much Cohen-y like that. :lol: They are great, though, glad you liked this one. They're never not provocative (Q definitely has strong commentary, as you point out, and its probably a contender for his most focused film, I can say that kinda confidently), and there's definitely some sort of polish to his craft, in some hard-to-pinpoint way.
I'm definitively interested in the guy, and even though his movies are damn hard to find, I'll make it a point to at least watch the It's Alive! trilogy and, on meg's rec, God Told Me To. While I wasn't totally balls-out crazy about Q, I still loved parts of it and the general idea of perverting the monster movie genre with characters that don't necessarily want to save mankind.

I saw Sion Sono's Exte - Hair Extensions. I'd previously seen Suicide Club, which I hated, and Strange Circus, which I loved. This sort of sits in the middle ground. It's almost completely a satire due to its obsessive focus on hair (a staple of Asian ghosts) and a character who starts the film as your typical pervert morgue attendant and ends it as a fourth-wall-defying clown dressed in a US flag and providing some completely absurd gags. But Siono deliberately jumps tones as if he's trying to give Miike a run for his money - the movie's scares deliver, and this is actually a very intense entry in the body horror genre. The CGI is not always quality, but Siono knows how to frame a good shot and he exploits every possibility of killer hair available. Chiaki Kuriyama is cleverly cast against type as a surrogate mother, and the script finds a very human element both in the ghost's past and in the character of a young kid abused. This has it all - strong drama, gory killings and completely goofy stuff. It might not be as deeply disturbing as Strange Circus, but it definitively has something to say about the continuity of violence and abuse.

And, finally, I saw to Javier Fesser shorts. I think MatchCut in general is not really into Spanish cinema aside from Buñuel and Almodóvar, but it'd be a shame if you guys didn't see the works of this insane guy. El Secdleto de la Tlompeta (Secdlet of the Tlumpet) is a unique short, that finds in the frantic piling up of bizarre characters and a completely surrealistic voice-over text a way of spending 17 minutes of goofiness without in any way telling an actual story. Aquel Ritmillo (That Little Beat) is a more straight-forward short, but still filled with surreal comedy and a strange, brutal kind of tenderness.

[Bosco B Thug]

I think this is a much debated issue. To me it feels all Spielberg, and contains many of his trademark touches. I haven't noticed anything about Hooper that sets him apart from any other director, so I could not readily identify anything of his in the film. Granted I've only seen a few of his movies (TCM, Lifeforce, Poltergeist, Eaten Alive, and Spontaneous Combustion), so maybe he does have a defining style.

I imagine this being similar to a Tsui Hark produced film, in which he usually has almost complete creative control and hires a "director" only as a kind of day-to-day manager on the set, simply because he is working on too many other projects to give his undivided attention to one thing. He most certainly does have a defining style and it's brilliant. :P

I'm afraid I can't make any definitive claims about Poltergeist (which I love and whole-heartedly wish to attribute to Hooper, although apparently statements of cast and crew point majorly toward Spielberg, to my very very deep chagrin).

Well, I'll make two statements on this: 1) The film's warm and mystical sensibility (which I do appreciate) Spielberg can have, and 2) By way of syllogism... A: All (most) Tobe Hooper films are filled with an animated sense of morbidity, coupled with striking visual emotionality. B: Poltergeist is a film filled with an animated sense of morbidity, coupled with striking visual emotionality... and Hooper was to some capacity involved with it. Thus, C: Poltergeist is a Hooper film.

The horror scholar guy John Kenneth Muir makes the claim for Poltergeist as being mostly Hooper's film by citing the pervasive cynicism and mordant humor of the film is not at all a Spielberg trait. I don't know if I totally buy that this proves Hooper is most responsible for the film in question, but it's true about Spielberg's ouevre.


Hooper's defining style is hard to pin down. Aside from his wonky sense of humor, I've never figured it out. And while Poltergeist's darker spirit would suggest Hooper's influence, Spielberg wasn't at his most optimistic in the early 80's. That period also gave us more mischievous, darker Spielbergian flicks like Temple of Doom and Gremlins. His camera is fluid and dynamic - a detached, playful, often roaming entity. Eaten Alive is Altmanesque-y brilliance. His sound design is often ambitiously layered and expressionistic. Visually he is very experimental, such as in the dreamy (albeit a bit awkward) opening act of Lifeforce, the avant garde editing of the original TCM, the Joe Dante-y cartoon aesthetic of Invaders from Mars, and, my pet specificity, the crotch/face superimposition at the beginning of Eaten Alive. Also, he is very good at sweeping action, which is what saves his more generic recent work. And, as mentioned, animated morbidity and the provision of strong, artful emotional details.

[megladon8]

Deleted scenes from Halloween (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW6_h4qqp6E).

[megladon8]

Ugh...Big Trouble in Little China is absolute shit.

What the hell do people see in this movie that it has such a following?

One of the very worst scripts I have ever encountered.

[Raiders]

Ugh...Big Trouble in Little China is absolute shit.

What the hell do people see in this movie that it has such a following?

One of the very worst scripts I have ever encountered.

I don't care a whole lot for it either, but the film's charms are rather easily spotted. Not a whole lot of it should really be taken seriously.

[Rowland]

TCM is brilliant, Funhouse is aesthetically inspired and clever as an extrapolation of Frankenstein-ian themes, and his recent direct-to-video effort The Toolbox Murders is a better riff on the Argento-ian giallo than most of the Italian director's recent works.

I know it isn't popular around here, but I maintain that Big Trouble in Little China is a blast, and a clever fusion of Chinese mysticism and American brutism as approaches to the action genre, satirizing how we view Hong Kong action movies without disrespecting them. The special effects work is awesome as well, and the whole thing is so good-natured that it charms its way past many negative counterpoints I can imagine being leveled against it.

[Scar]

Big Trouble in Little China is quite charming.

EDIT: Rowland is better at this then I am.

[megladon8]

I don't care a whole lot for it either, but the film's charms are rather easily spotted. Not a whole lot of it should really be taken seriously.


I realize this, but it doesn't give the film a free-ticket to be retarded.

Here's pretty much the whole movie...


Random Chinese lightning guys do something impossible.

JACK BURTON: Holy shit! That was impossible!

WANG CHI: It was the Chinese Hell of Convoluted Explanations. You wouldn't understand because you're a westerner.

Five minutes pass. Another random encounter with magical Chinese lightning guys.

JACK BURTON: Holy shit! That was impossible!

WANG CHI: It was the Chinese Hell of Terrible Dialogue!

[Watashi]

A Zed and Two Noughts. Hmmm... I don't think I liked this one.

[Ezee E]

A Zed and Two Noughts. Hmmm... I don't think I liked this one.
Your first Greenaway?

I haven't been too impressed by him just yet, but I love the look of that movie.

[Sven]

I realize this, but it doesn't give the film a free-ticket to be retarded.

Here's pretty much the whole movie...


Random Chinese lightning guys do something impossible.

JACK BURTON: Holy shit! That was impossible!

WANG CHI: It was the Chinese Hell of Convoluted Explanations. You wouldn't understand because you're a westerner.

Five minutes pass. Another random encounter with magical Chinese lightning guys.

JACK BURTON: Holy shit! That was impossible!

WANG CHI: It was the Chinese Hell of Terrible Dialogue!

This is truth. And yet, the film is awesome. I can't account for it (save the charm that people are talking about). Rowland, as much as I love his approach, is a bit off in my estimation. There's really very little respectful about its handling of Chinese mysticism, which is entirely bastardized

[megladon8]

Is anyone else angered by WB's plans to remake Forbidden Planet? They already have a writer working on the script.

I think the movie is still perfectly good to this day. Actually, it's gotten better with age. Seeing it today shows just how advanced a lot of its ideas were at the time it was made.

Leslie Nielsen 1, Hollywood 0

[Grouchy]

Big Trouble in Little China is the shyte. Absolute fucking genius. I don't really see anything wrong with the script, except I bet it basically wrote itself once Carpenter had the protagonist and the villains.

http://blog.ugo.com/images/uploads/bigtrouble_screenshot.jpg

[balmakboor]

Your first Greenaway?

I haven't been too impressed by him just yet, but I love the look of that movie.

Greenaway makes gorgeous and fascinating movies that put me to sleep. I do love TC, TT, HW, and HL and Drowning by Numbers a lot though. Oh, and The Falls was great for a while, but eventually wore me down.

[Sycophant]

Is anyone else angered by WB's plans to remake Forbidden Planet? They already have a writer working on the script.

I think the movie is still perfectly good to this day. Actually, it's gotten better with age. Seeing it today shows just how advanced a lot of its ideas were at the time it was made.

Leslie Nielsen 1, Hollywood 0
Haven't seen the original. However, the damnable "writer" attached is the J. Michael Straczynski, creator of Babylon 5--which I think is generally held in pretty high regard--and writer of Eastwood's Changeling.

Obviously, it's being remade because WB believes it could be a lucrative venture. I don't think, though, that remakes are necessarily put out to outshine, replace, or improve upon their source material. Rather, it's an opportunity for a different creative team to explore a similar plot and theme. Who knows? This remake could be great.

[Raiders]

I'll step up, then. A Zed & Two Noughts is a masterful film.

[Spinal]

Is anyone else angered by WB's plans to remake Forbidden Planet? They already have a writer working on the script.

I think the movie is still perfectly good to this day. Actually, it's gotten better with age. Seeing it today shows just how advanced a lot of its ideas were at the time it was made.

Leslie Nielsen 1, Hollywood 0

Wouldn't it be silly to object strongly to a remake of a film that itself borrowed heavily from another source? It's like the time when Coolio got all up in arms about Weird Al doing a parody of "Gangsta's Paradise".

[MadMan]

Spinal I saw some of the family elements in Poltergeist, but I thought that was fairly obvious so I decided to cover some of the other elements. That I also felt were a bit stronger, and that I liked more. Maybe one day when I have kids the movie will mean more to me in that regard.

The Seventh Victim(Mark Robson, 1943) bored the hell out of me. I saw some good in it, but the rest really didn't strike me as anything special.

I unapologetically love Big Trouble in Little China(1986). I think the script is good and much of the dialogue is hilarious/awesome. The movie is great fun, and Kurt Russell and John Carpenter clearly had fun making it. To me Jack Burton is mocking the tough guy macho persona that he had in the other John Carpenter films. And it works.

[balmakboor]

I'll step up, then. A Zed & Two Noughts is a masterful film.

It's been about 20 years for me since ZOO. All I really remember is a lot of symmetrical compositions, animals decaying in time lapse, and a whole helluva lot of snails.

[Yxklyx]

The Mist was very poor - good ending though. I liked Cloverfield quite a bit.

[Sycophant]

The Mist was very poor - good ending though. Curious. For me, the ending is what transformed it from "very poor" to "tremendously awful."

[Winston*]

The Mist was very poor - good ending though.

Okay film, horrible ending IMO.

[Spinal]

Spinal I saw some of the family elements in Poltergeist, but I thought that was fairly obvious so I decided to cover some of the other elements. That I also felt were a bit stronger, and that I liked more.

That's totally fine. It is indeed an extraordinarily suspenseful film. Glad you enjoyed it. :)

[Watashi]

It's been about 20 years for me since ZOO. All I really remember is a lot of symmetrical compositions, animals decaying in time lapse, and a whole helluva lot of snails.
Pretty much.

Nyman's score is terrific though.

[Ezee E]

Okay film, horrible ending IMO.
That one.

[Raiders]

Pretty much.

Seriously? Sheesh.

[Yxklyx]

Poltergeist was too clean and neat during a rewatch. Even though there were some creepy things going on I never felt for the safety of anyone.

Maybe I thought the ending was good because I was just happy to see The Mist end.;)

[megladon8]

The Mist was the best film of 2007.

[Sycophant]

The Mist was the best film of 2007.
Norbit also came out in 2007.

Snap!

[Yxklyx]

The Mist was the best film of 2007...

...in another dimension.

[Ivan Drago]

Why the fuck was Selena on the syllabus for my Race and Racism in American Cinema class? I'm still trying to figure it out because, like Falling Down, racism isn't a prominent issue in the film at all. Not only that, but it would kill some of the actors to show an emotion, the writing/dialogue is horrid, and there is little to no conflict in the movie whatsoever. So congratulations, Rollerball (2002), you are no longer the worst movie I've ever seen.

[Ezee E]

The Mist was the best film of 2007.

Hmm...

Seriously? Sheesh.

[balmakboor]

I guess I'll have to see The Mist sometime. It seems that every other time I'm on here I'm either reading all out praise or eternal condemnation.

I need to see Cloverfield too. I re-watched Diary of the Dead (twice actually) for Halloween. God I love that movie. Best thing Romero has done. It made me want to watch everything out there that uses the first-person camcorder footage approach.

[megladon8]

...in another dimension.


Last Excellent Film Seen:
Planet Terror (2007, Robert Rodriguez)

:rolleyes:

[Ezee E]

:rolleyes:
No eyeroller needed. Planet Terror rocks, espcially when seen in its Grindhouse version.

[Yxklyx]

:rolleyes:

Planet Terror is a cinematic masterpiece and would be on my top 100 films list if I had one.

[Ivan Drago]

Planet Terror is a cinematic masterpiece and would be on my top 100 films list if I had one.

It's my #2. But then again all of Grindhouse is.


No eyeroller needed. Planet Terror rocks, espcially when seen in its Grindhouse version.

Yeah I was surprised when I saw that they kept the missing reel card on the DVD like it was in theaters.

[Sycophant]

While I wouldn't drop the word "masterpiece" on Planet Terror, it's a magnificently composed piece of schlocky horror/gore and is a blast to watch. I'd rather watch it six times back to back than be in the same room as a DVD of The Mist.

I'm in hyperbole mode tonight!

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

Planet Terror is a cinematic masterpiece and would be on my top 100 films list if I had one.

I generally vibe with your tastes, so I am compelled to check this out (although I think it will end with an eye-rolling smiley icon as well.)

[megladon8]

Grindhouse was fun in a packed theatre.

But both movies kinda suck.

[Russ]

The Mist was the best film of 2007...


I re-watched Diary of the Dead (twice actually) for Halloween. God I love that movie. Best thing Romero has done.


Planet Terror is a cinematic masterpiece and would be on my top 100 films list if I had one.



http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/6329/bizarrodp1.jpg


God, me love Match-cut!!

[MadMan]

That's totally fine. It is indeed an extraordinarily suspenseful film. Glad you enjoyed it. :)Yep. I wish I had noticed Jerry Goldsmith's score though. It seemed rather low key. Kind of like how Morricone's score for The Thing really blends into the film a lot. But also helps set the mood.

I have not seen The Mist. But Planet Terror, however good a film it is, is not a masterpiece. Neither of the Grindhouse films are. Both are quite good, though.

Oh and I liked Diary of the Dead a lot. But its not Romero's best imo.

[Spinal]

Yeah, there is a lot of crazy going on in here right now. I'm getting a little light-headed.

[D_Davis]

Jingle all the Way is the best Holiday movie ever made, and it truly is the reason for the season.

[Watashi]

Jingle all the Way is the best Holiday movie ever made, and it truly is the reason for the season.
Finally, some truth in this thread.

[MadMan]

Jingle all the Way is the best Holiday movie ever made, and it truly is the reason for the season.I'm sure your joking, but I have no idea regardless. Anyways I thought that movie was funny. Arnuld versus the drunken reindeer=priceless.

[Rowland]

Is anyone else angered by WB's plans to remake Forbidden Planet? They already have a writer working on the script.

I think the movie is still perfectly good to this day. Actually, it's gotten better with age. Seeing it today shows just how advanced a lot of its ideas were at the time it was made.Forbidden Planet has already been unofficially remade plenty of times in the form of movies borrowing its ideas (which aren't all that esoteric in the realm of Sci-Fi), and while the original has clever ideas extracted from dominant pop psychology of the time, I didn't find it all that exceptional as a film.

[Ezee E]

I'm sure your joking, but I have no idea regardless. Anyways I thought that movie was funny. Arnuld versus the drunken reindeer=priceless.
...

[MadMan]

...Um yeah, considering some of the posts made around here, I think questioning whether or not he's joking is kind of yah know, warranted. :rolleyes:

And Forbidden Planet is a decent film. It did have an impact on sci-fi, yes, but I didn't find much more than a movie with some enjoyable moments and some halfway decent FX. Robbie the Robot sure is cool though.

[BirdsAteMyFace]

Why the fuck was Selena on the syllabus for my Race and Racism in American Cinema class? I'm still trying to figure it out because, like Falling Down, racism isn't a prominent issue in the film at all. Not only that, but it would kill some of the actors to show an emotion, the writing/dialogue is horrid, and there is little to no conflict in the movie whatsoever. So congratulations, Rollerball (2002), you are no longer the worst movie I've ever seen.The worst film you've ever seen gets a '3'? That seems awfully generous.

[Spinal]

I don't think Falling Down is a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it's pretty clear that race is a major theme.

[Grouchy]

Yeah, you guys are all fucking deranged.

The Mist, though, might not be the #1 of 2007, but it should sit in any respectable Top10. 'NUFF SAID.

[Sycophant]

The Mist, though, might not be the #1 of 2007, but it should sit in any respectable Top10. 'NUFF SAID.
Nuff said? What's so good about it? It was hammy, schlocky, ill-paced, poorly-acted, and misguidedly mean-spirited.

I can't remember if there was another film that was worse that year (okay, fine, Enchanted), but I don't hesitate to say it's among the very least of the 2007 films I've seen.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Forbidden Planet has already been unofficially remade plenty of times in the form of movies borrowing its ideas (which aren't all that esoteric in the realm of Sci-Fi), and while the original has clever ideas extracted from dominant pop psychology of the time, I didn't find it all that exceptional as a film.

I find it great fun. It's more of an in-the-moment classic, bouncing from one great image to another great idea until it's over. It reminds me a bit of Harryhausen's output of the time: energetic, effects-heavy fun with deeply bland characters.

The Krell matte shots are still breath-taking.

[Dead & Messed Up]

While I wouldn't drop the word "masterpiece" on Planet Terror, it's a magnificently composed piece of schlocky horror/gore and is a blast to watch. I'd rather watch it six times back to back than be in the same room as a DVD of The Mist.

I'm in hyperbole mode tonight!

I watched a bit of Grindhouse again last night - the double feature on Netflix-on-demand - and I remain firmly convinced that the whole "Grindhouse" idea was better exploited by Tarantino and Rodriguez in From Dusk Till Dawn. It's quicker, more clever, and more energetic.

I still love all the trailers, though. More movies need those. The idea of a double-bill of Don't and Thanksgiving still makes me chuckle.

[Rowland]

So, the last page... um, yeah.


II re-watched Diary of the Dead (twice actually) for Halloween. God I love that movie. Best thing Romero has done. It made me want to watch everything out there that uses the first-person camcorder footage approach.Wow. I'd say it's easily the worst of his Dead movies. Didactic (even by the standards of the Dead series), poorly acted (again, even by the standards of the Dead series), and wholly unconvincing in the execution of its first-person modus operandi. This was particularly disappointing for me since so many critics whose views I respect were celebrating it as a return to form after Land of the Dead, which I actually prefer.

[The Mike]

Carpenter and Russell have talked about how the whole point of the Burton/Wang Chi stuff was that Burton thinks he's a hero while the more humble Chi actually is the hero. I think it's one of the many things that gives the film its unmistakable total awesomeness.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

Jingle all the Way is the best Holiday movie ever made, and it truly is the reason for the season.

oh hells no, you are forgetting Snow!

http://i33.tinypic.com/a9nvqr.jpg

Synopsis says "the incredibly true story of the one woman who went black and did go back."

[Rowland]

Carpenter and Russell have talked about how the whole point of the Burton/Wang Chi stuff was that Burton thinks he's a hero while the more humble Chi actually is the hero. I think it's one of the many things that gives the film its unmistakable total awesomeness.
Yep, its lead protagonist acts in essence as the klutzy buddy character to the story's real hero, Wang Chi, which is in of itself a clever subversion of 80's attitudes towards Asians in American pop cinema.

[Dead & Messed Up]

So, the last page... um, yeah.

Wow. I'd say it's easily the worst of his Dead movies. Didactic (even by the standards of the Dead series), poorly acted (again, even by the standards of the Dead series), and wholly unconvincing in the execution of its first-person modus operandi. This was particularly disappointing for me since so many critics whose views I respect were celebrating it as a return to form after Land of the Dead, which I actually prefer.

What did you think of the final twenty or so minutes, where the film was shot via security cameras? I actually dug that part. It was very Resident Evil.

But I otherwise agree with you. Its message was way too on-the-nose, and few of the characters had any interest. I don't know if it's as bad as Day of the Dead, but I can't understand any Romero fan who wouldn't call it disappointing.

[MadMan]

Carpenter and Russell have talked about how the whole point of the Burton/Wang Chi stuff was that Burton thinks he's a hero while the more humble Chi actually is the hero. I think it's one of the many things that gives the film its unmistakable total awesomeness.Exactly. I can't remember how many films that's sort of thing has happened in. I don't think its too many.

[Rowland]

What did you think of the final twenty or so minutes, where the film was shot via security cameras? I actually dug that part. It was very Resident Evil.It was clever, but I didn't think enough was done with it, and by that point, the movie had basically lost me. Still, there was enough manic energy in its narrative (so many locations for a low-budget movie), goofy humor, and clever gorehound moments to keep it watchable throughout.

[Dead & Messed Up]

"What is that, Egg? Magic potion?"
"Yeah."
"Good, I thought so. What do we do, drink it?"
"Yeah."
"Good, I thought so."

That climax is something else, too. There's that brief montage where Carpenter reminds us of every character in the film, up to then. Lo Pan, the Storm Gods, the soldiers, the gang members, the Eyeball thing, and the Old Ape-Man Guy all go by, and you slowly realize how fucking ridiculous the movie has become. And this is after a twenty-foot-long angler fish burst out of a cave and ate a guy.

[megladon8]

Nuff said? What's so good about it? It was hammy, schlocky, ill-paced, poorly-acted, and misguidedly mean-spirited.

I can't remember if there was another film that was worse that year (okay, fine, Enchanted), but I don't hesitate to say it's among the very least of the 2007 films I've seen.


Try greatly acted, perfectly paced, and not mean-spirited at all.

Sometimes I wonder about you.

[Winston*]

I am Legend - Good for the first hour (flashbacks and horrible CGI aside), then falls apart. Justification for the title at the end was stupid. I like how Will Smith has stopped being so Will Smithy in his movies lately, even if the movies aren't hot, I'll probably see the next genre thing he does.

[megladon8]

I am Legend - Good for the first hour (flashbacks and horrible CGI aside), then falls apart. Justification for the title at the end was stupid. I like how Will Smith has stopped being so Will Smithy in his movies lately, even if the movies aren't hot, I'll probably see the next genre thing he does.


Have you read the book?

I was greatly pissed at how the movie destroyed the meaning of the title. In the book it has great "oomph" to it, yet in the movie it's a throwaway line at the end of the film.

And yes, the CGI was horrid, and completely unnecessary. The creatures were nearly identical to the crawlers in The Descent. In fact, the latter were more complex in design - yet they were done with make-up and costumes. And they were more effective for it.

I Am Legend has potential to be one of the definitive genre works in film, yet after 3 attempts, still no one has gotten it right.

[Bosco B Thug]

I re-watched Diary of the Dead (twice actually) for Halloween. God I love that movie. Best thing Romero has done. It made me want to watch everything out there that uses the first-person camcorder footage approach. I'm with you, man, even if I don't love the film like you do. As for Cloverfield, just don't expect any attempts at complexity from it and you might find it effective.

I haven't seen The Mist since its opening weekend. I need to get on that, I hate the sense of feeling your opinion on a film recede into nullity.

Read an essay about how The Haunting is an allegory for repressed lesbianism. Meh, what's great about The Haunting is that there actually is a lesbian in the film who clearly isn't repressed or wishy-washily allegorical.

[megladon8]

I'll chime in and say that I also really liked Diary of the Dead.

It's no Dawn or Night, but it's the best since those.

Romero's still the man to go to for zombies.

[Scar]

Quick two cents:

The Mist is ridiculously awesome. Love watching it in black and white.

Cloverfield is awesome.

Big Trouble in Little China is off the wall awesome.

Diary of the Dead is a fucking pile.

Falling Down was entertaining when I saw it many years ago, but needs a rewatch.

[megladon8]

Yes! I loved The Mist in black and white as well, Scar.

Didn't you find the effects looked better that way? I love the movie and all, but I admit the CGI was spotty.

It wasn't photo-realistic or anything in the B&W version, but it was certainly an improvement.

Awesome, dude:)

[Scar]

Yes! I loved The Mist in black and white as well, Scar.

Didn't you find the effects looked better that way? I love the movie and all, but I admit the CGI was spotty.

It wasn't photo-realistic or anything in the B&W version, but it was certainly an improvement.

Awesome, dude:)

I didn't have too much of an issue with the effects in color, but in black and white they definately did look better.

[balmakboor]

So, the last page... um, yeah.

Wow. I'd say it's easily the worst of his Dead movies. Didactic (even by the standards of the Dead series), poorly acted (again, even by the standards of the Dead series), and wholly unconvincing in the execution of its first-person modus operandi. This was particularly disappointing for me since so many critics whose views I respect were celebrating it as a return to form after Land of the Dead, which I actually prefer.

I'll address each of your points:

Didactic -- I agree. It's very blunt about the points it is making. Even more than most Romero zombie movies although Land of the Dead is a very close second. I do like the points he's making and find them worth making. It says essentially the same things about the New Media that Redacted did, only better. (It also has a political message very similar to Spielberg's War of the Worlds.) It would be worth an experiment to show this and Land to the first 100 people you run across in a typical mall and then ask them what political ideas they expressed. I would expect a lot of dumb stares. He may need to get even more didactic if he wants people other than really smart movie people like we have here to get his message.

Poorly acted -- I actually think Dairy is the best acted of Romero's zombie films, by far. It is the only one that I would even consider well-acted. I side with Robin Wood on this point. He and I feel so strongly for the young people in the movie that we give a definite "YES" to the movie's final question.

Unconvincing as first-person cinema -- Every time I watch it, I'm dazzled by how he worked everything out without a single glaring mistake. He found very clever ways to get the coverage he needed to tell his story effectively. Romero's commentary is excellent as they usually are and it points out some of the cheats he had to make.

Land of the Dead -- I also like Land of the Dead. I do think it is Romero's weakest zombie movie, but still pretty damn good. His major mistake was losing sight of the development of his female protagonist. He got that right back in spades though with Diary.

Diary has the most striking ending in his zombie movies since Night.

[Ezee E]

I remember the end of Diary being a surprising one, but forgot what it was. Remind me please.

[balmakboor]

I remember the end of Diary being a surprising one, but forgot what it was. Remind me please.

Similar to Night, some Joe hunter types are out drinking and shooting at zombies for fun. A woman zombie is hanging from a tree by her hair and they blast her body away with a shotgun leaving just the top half of her head hanging from the tree.

The woman narrator then asks, "Are we worth saving?"

[thefourthwall]

My screen name was almost "sixdemonbag" in reference to Big Trouble in Little China. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who loves it, albeit I struggle to articulate good reasons for it beyond I've loved it since I was 8. The concept of who the hero is intrigues me, Burton is a bit too accepting of the role.

[Ezee E]

Similar to Night, some Joe hunter types are out drinking and shooting at zombies for fun. A woman zombie is hanging from a tree by her hair and they blast her body away with a shotgun leaving just the top half of her head hanging from the tree.

The woman narrator then asks, "Are we worth saving?"
Ah right.

Despite it not being set up very well, that's the best part of the movie.

Although I guess Night didn't really set up its shocker either.

I think each Dead movie has gotten progressively worse each time. I still need to see "Day"

[balmakboor]

Ah right.

Despite it not being set up very well, that's the best part of the movie.

Although I guess Night didn't really set up its shocker either.

I think each Dead movie has gotten progressively worse each time. I still need to see "Day"

I rank all five Romero zombie films pretty much too close to call. Each has its own unique strengths and weaknesses. I guess if I had to rank them I'd say:

Diary > Night > Day > Dawn > Land

But that's misleading. Land has some of my favorite moments and the best sense of the zombies being a community. Dawn is the only one that ever gave me nightmares. Day is the worst acted. Night is the least complex. And Diary is the most blunt.

[Kurosawa Fan]

My turn!

The Mist - Fucking terrible. That ending couldn't have been worse.

Cloverfield - A fun night at the theater. Not sure if it's anything more than that. I'm afraid to revisit it for fear of being disappointed.

Big Trouble in Little China - Kick. Ass.

Falling Down - Another "too afraid to revisit" film. I really liked it when I was 14 (the first time I saw it), but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't feel the same way anymore.

[Rowland]

Similar to Night, some Joe hunter types are out drinking and shooting at zombies for fun. A woman zombie is hanging from a tree by her hair and they blast her body away with a shotgun leaving just the top half of her head hanging from the tree.

The woman narrator then asks, "Are we worth saving?"I had to roll my eyes at this. The redneck stuff is so overplayed by this point (did you see the shitty NotLD remake he wrote?), and the tear in the zombie's eye was laughable.

[The Mike]

The Mist was fantastic, but the ending was its only problem. Completely took the tone of the film to a place it was never meant to go. I was floored by the in theater experience, but have been too afraid to revisit it.

Ditto for Cloverfield, which was a blast at the time, but now just sits on my shelf and waits for a re-view.

[Scar]

When I picked up Cloverfield, I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy it as much. As the party scene played out, I really got worried. Then the shit hit the fan, and I was like a pig in shit.

That basically sums up my theatre experience as well!

[Ezee E]

When I picked up Cloverfield, I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy it as much. As the party scene played out, I really got worried. Then the shit hit the fan, and I was like a pig in shit.

That basically sums up my theatre experience as well!
Yup. Same here. Especially when the characters actually had a silly love story involved.

[balmakboor]

I had to roll my eyes at this. The redneck stuff is so overplayed by this point (did you see the shitty NotLD remake he wrote?), and the tear in the zombie's eye was laughable.

I agree that the redneck thing has lost its meaning. It was a ready symbol for "the right wing" when he first employed it and I suppose it can still function as such, but when I typed "Joe Hunter" earlier I was too much reminded of how "Joe Plumber" and "Joe Sixpack" and "Hocky Mom" seemed useless stereotypes to me recently. Romero is a radical from a different era which works against him -- and is also something I love about him.

The tear didn't bother me and the imagery of that scene is very memorable.

I haven't seen his authored remake of Night. I always heard it was pretty bad, so it has always been outprioritized by other things. I've never seen any of the TCM sequels or remakes either for the same reason.

[Grouchy]

Nuff said? What's so good about it? It was hammy, schlocky, ill-paced, poorly-acted, and misguidedly mean-spirited.
Hammy - No, I don't think so. It has some of the most human depictions of people in danger I've ever seen on a Hollywood movie. It all rang very true to me.

Schlock - Well, it's partly a homage to '50s B-movies, hence the version in black and white. So, yeah, it's great schlock.

Ill-Paced - I'm afraid you'll have to back that up because I just don't see it. It's the finest script by Darabont I've seen, and that includes perfect pacing.

Poorly Acted - By whom? Not Marcia Gay Harden, who should've been nominated to 50 different awards for her work here. Thomas Jane was an excellent leading man, and Toby Jones was goddamn spectacular. In fact, I think the casting is one of the film's greatest strenghts.

Mean-Spirited - As I said before, I think I've seen very few Horror movies with as clear-minded and realistic depiction of fear and paranoia as this one. If that's mean-spirited, well, maybe you should not try to like a Horror film.

But I assume you're mainly talking about the ending, so...

I think this film is a lot like The Birds, in that there are very few satisfactory ways to end it since the threat is set up as too massive to be destroyed. Darabont could've gone with a similar ending to the Hitch movie, which is completely open and uncompromised. I think he chose wisely and made an ending which is bitter, almost evil, but filled with irony and intelligence. After all, the whole point is that mankind is even more wretched than the monsters.

[Scar]

First time I saw The Mist, one of my first thoughts was that someone should put a bullet in that bible thumping bitches head, 'cause if things get bad, she'll start getting followers....

[Grouchy]

Just saw Boxcar Bertha. Even in a work-for-hire like this you can tell that Scorsese can't make a movie that's not absolutely personal. I'm not only talking about the incredibly obvious Christ imagery in the ending, I'm also talking about the whole storyboarding of that scene and its incredible mean streak. I was also surprised that, for a movie famous for being Corman-sponsored exploitation, it has very little enjoyable sex and violence - I bet Roger wasn't pleased. Even knowing that Carradine and Hershey actually had sex on set, there's nothing in the scene that makes it stand out from countless other simulated sex moments. Still, I liked it. There are many inspired touches and moments, and you can tell Marty was just bursting with energy and the desire to make a movie just by watching the extended initial credits.

Also, Barbara Hershey is a honey.

[Wryan]

Big Trouble in Little China is awesome.

I Am Legend still needs a really solid faithful adaptation of the book.

The Mist was pretty great, I thought.

[SirNewt]

Does anyone else find themself looking up the Gran Torino trailer from time to time. I never noticed that Eastwood steps on a guys face in it before, awesome.

[The Mike]

Does anyone else find themself looking up the Gran Torino trailer from time to time. I never noticed that Eastwood steps on a guys face in it before, awesome.

I do now. :eek:

[Winston*]

Have you read the book?


I have read the book. It is a good book and I liked it.

[Wryan]

Necessary?

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51eY0LCk1ML._SS500_.jpg

Not that I dislike Waterworld. Far from it actually. It's Hopper's film.

[Ivan Drago]

Cloverfield - Fucking awesome.

Falling Down - I posted my thoughts on this earlier in this thread. Needless to say, they weren't positive.

[SirNewt]

Necessary?

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51eY0LCk1ML._SS500_.jpg

Not that I dislike Waterworld. Far from it actually. It's Hopper's film.

Could this have been good if someone like George Miller directed?

[Dead & Messed Up]

Could this have been good if someone like George Miller directed?

Funny, how Hollywood took most of Miller's ideas and made them worse in Waterworld. It was too self-important, too long, too somber, too dull. Dennis Hopper was the only guy who knew what kind of movie he was in.

"Well, if it isn't the gentleman guppy. He's like a turd that won't flush."

(Do traditional toilets even exist in a world comprised entirely of water?)

[megladon8]

I'm honestly beginning to think that the city of New York is conspiring against me to make sure that nothing good plays while I'm there.

I've mentioned before how it seems every time I go there, all the good stuff mysteriously vanishes for however long I stay, and literally the day I leave they start playing great stuff again.

Recently they played Herzog's Nosferatu, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and The Seventh Seal. Three of my favorites.

Also while I was there in the summer, the night I left they played Blade Runner.

I'm going again in December, and guess what they're playing during the week I'm going to be there? Nothing.

I swear, the night I leave they'll play a double feature of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

[Ezee E]

Ask Sven, cause you just might not be looking hard enough.

[Derek]

I'm going again in December, and guess what they're playing during the week I'm going to be there? Nothing.

Yeah, this seems almost impossible. Have you checked MoMA, Film Forum, BAM, Walter Reade, The Quad, etc.?

[Watashi]

Hey Derek, did you ever post your thoughts on Let the Right One In?

[megladon8]

Yeah, this seems almost impossible. Have you checked MoMA, Film Forum, BAM, Walter Reade, The Quad, etc.?


I don't mean they're literally playing nothing.

Nothing of interest to me.

Yes, I've checked all the places. My girlfriend lives there, so she keeps me updated.

[Boner M]

I don't mean they're literally playing nothing.

Nothing of interest to me.

Yes, I've checked all the places. My girlfriend lives there, so she keeps me updated.
Did you read up on the stuff you haven't heard of? I saw some gems on my trip in July that I'd never heard of before.

[Duncan]

I'm a firm believer that there are at least 5 movies worth seeing playing in New York at all times.

[Scar]

I'm a firm believer that there are at least 5 movies worth seeing playing in New York at all times.

Do pornos count?

[Wryan]

Do pornos count?

Would give new meaning to that guy who gets up in the middle of the movie and says, "Excuse me, this is where I came in."

[NickGlass]

I'm a firm believer that there are at least 5 movies worth seeing playing in New York at all times.

This is very, very true.

Just because you haven't heard of some of the films does not mean they're not particularly interesting (and, in your comment, it seems you're only interested in seeing films that you already love).

EDIT: For example, Wendy and Lucy and Fellini's Amarcord are playing for the greater part of December at the Film Forum. They're both worth seeing (the latter more than the former).

[balmakboor]

I'm a firm believer that there are at least 5 movies worth seeing playing in New York at all times.

A friend hands me the movie section from the NY Times every once in a while and I'd say that number should be closer to 25.

[Dukefrukem]

did anyone see that Michael Crichton passed away? :(

[Wryan]

Yes. Pretty annoying to say the least. I may have to read Sphere and let a few tears fall.

[MadMan]

did anyone see that Michael Crichton passed away? :(I just heard in my class today. Quite sad indeed. I'm a huge fan of the book Jurassic Park.

[origami_mustache]

Haven't read anything from him since my sophmore year in high school, but The Great Train Robbery was fantastic. I also enjoyed Jurassic Park and Eaters of the Dead.

[Dukefrukem]

Timeline was my guilty pleasure... the book was, as usual, much better than the movie.

[megladon8]

I'm not just interested in seeing stuff I already love. I'd love to see a Fellinni film in theatres.

My problem is finding stuff that both me and the girlfriend can see together. A lot of that stuff just doesn't interest her in any way.

And I see her so rarely, I'm not about to go spend a day in at the movies without her.

[Ezee E]

seeing that stuff on the big screen has a much different effect though. Especially if you got to see a Fellini film, some of which I think are more accessible then we'd think.

[Watashi]

Role Models is getting surprisingly good reviews. I think I'll see it this weekend.

[The Mike]

The Crichton thing is muy sad. Makes me want to watch Runaway again ASAP.

[megladon8]

I love Dagon.

Third time seeing it, and it's still awesome. One of my favorites by Gordon.

Going to rewatch Castle Freak next.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Yes. Pretty annoying to say the least. I may have to read Sphere and let a few tears fall.

Sphere was one of the first books I fell in love with. At his best, Crichton could effortlessly combine intelligence and thrills, and even though I grew less interested in his output as the years went by, it's sad to see him go.

I do still think that his best book is Jurassic Park; it comes within shouting distance of Frankenstein.

[Lucky]

Where has dissent been? I sorely miss the Upcoming DVD threads.

[Boner M]

Weekend:

Vive L'Amour (Tsai)
Police (Pialat)
The Red and the White (Jancso)
A Touch of Zen (King)
Diary of a Country Priest (Bresson)
The Banishment (Zvyagintsev)

Might throw in Doomsday if all this arty languor becomes too much.

Also rented a taped-from-TV cassette of A Brighter Summer Day in my library, but it's been severely cut down to about 2 hours (!)... will try not to give into the desire to see it in any form.

[Spinal]

I've got The Edge of Heaven at home.

[Boner M]

I've got The Edge of Heaven at home.
I think you'll really dig this one. I thought it was alright, though I wanna revisit it as I think I might've been quick to write it off based on my weariness of criss-crosser narratives.

[Watashi]

I've got the remaining 8 hours of Shoah and Role Models.

[Derek]

More AFI Fest this weekend. Most likely:

Achilles and the Tortoise (Kitano)
A Quiet Little Marriage (Perkins)
Afterschool (Campos)
24 City (Jia)
The Class (Cantet)

[soitgoes...]

Weekend choices:

The Heroic Ones (Chang)
Sweetie (Campion)
The Fate of Lee Khan (Hu)
Golden Swallow (Chang)
The American Friend (Wenders)
Devil's Doorway (Mann)

Something from the above probably.

[Philosophe_rouge]

Weekend
Lou Reed's Berlin (2007)
Yolanda and the Thief (1945)
South Pacific (1958)
Bye Bye Bird (1963)
It's Always Fair Weather (1955)

Hopefully get around to most of these.

[MadMan]

Weekend:

*Dr. Who Season 3
*Night of the Hunter(1955)
*Godzilla vs. Mothra(1964)
*Annie Hall(1977)
*La Jetee(1962)

[origami_mustache]

Weekend:
Cocteau's Orphic Trilogy
24 City

[Yum-Yum]

Weekend:

Peeping Tom
The Pom Pom Girls
Party Doll A Go-Go! Part 2


arty languor

I loved him in Beer League.

[Morris Schæffer]

Sphere was one of the first books I fell in love with.

Same here. It made me realize that, after the high school area during which reading was a bloody chore, books could be as fun and addictive as a great blockbuster.

RIP

[Ezee E]

No movies this weekend as I'll be going to a conference for EMS.

[balmakboor]

I've seen Saw and Scenes from a Marriage in the past two nights. ("seen, "saw", "scenes" -- say that 10 times fast). I actually, surprisingly kinda liked Saw. My teenage daugther has been urging me to see it for a month since she started watching them with her boyfriend. I loved (if that's the right word) the scene where the woman had the contraption on her head and the twist ending was pretty cool, although I'd pretty much guessed it halfway through the movie.

Scenes from a Marriage is just amazing. Normally, I would hang on to it and watch it again in a few days. But I decided to pick it up in a bit and watch the TV cut as well.

Next up:
The Coca-Cola Kid
O.C. and Stiggs
Bruiser

Call it my three little seen movies marathon.

[Raiders]

Weekend:

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
The Order of Myths
Let the Right One In

[Sven]

The Coca-Cola Kid
O.C. and Stiggs

CCK is very strange.
OC & S is exceptional and one of my favorite Altman films. I told him so. He was very pleased.

[Raiders]

Sven-sos, you're a big Steven Weber fan, right? You may want to check out Choose Connor. A reductive film and certainly not worth it on its own, but it does have plenty of teh Weber.

[Amnesiac]

Hopefully going to see I've Loved You So Long this weekend. Really looking forward to it.

[Ivan Drago]

Might see Appaloosa.

[Cult]

I think you'll really dig this one. I thought it was alright, though I wanna revisit it as I think I might've been quick to write it off based on my weariness of criss-crosser narratives.
Yeah, it could have easily been Babel or something, but it was so masterful--not to mention moving and well acted--that it didn't feel cheap or gimmicky at all to me. Hope you like it, Spinal.

[Sven]

Sven-sos, you're a big Steven Weber fan, right? You may want to check out Choose Connor. A reductive film and certainly not worth it on its own, but it does have plenty of teh Weber.

It looked interesting. I will put it on my radar now.

[balmakboor]

CCK is very strange.


I loved Sweet Movie and WR is seriously one of my top ten all time favorites. I was on youtube the other day and came across the trailer for CCK and thought it looked great. I also loved the way Montenegro looked.

I saw O.C. many years ago and remember liking it. Been meaning to get around to it again for a long time. Have you seen Come Back to the Five and Dime...? I remember loving that. It would make a great Criterion.

[Pop Trash]

Teeth, like Zack and Miri Make a Porno, squanders a great high-concept idea. It starts out well enough with a build-up to the sex (really date rape) scene where our protaganist gets to use her vagina dentata to gory effect. But the last half seems to spin its wheels and the movie never seems to know where to go after the big reveal. The main character has a bizarre swich from virginal Christian to sadist and is ultimately too two-dimentional in either form. Her brother is also a typical two-dimentional creepy antagonist. I think it would have been more interesting to have at least one sympathetic male sex partner to make her situation more complex. All of the men are portrayed as horny dolts. It's like feminism for dummies.

That said the filmmaker does display a nice knack for visual symbolism. There is the to be expected vaginal imagery (caves, rings) but there was also the nucular power plants in the backgroud of the town which was something I didn't get until later (the nuke plants as a possible cause of the mutation)

Overall: 6/10

[dreamdead]

Hou's Flight of the Red Balloon is a quiet, understated reverie. Not too much "happens," but it is calming and a leisure to view throughout. My worry, though, is that Hou is getting a bit too meta in his narratives, as the Asian sitter for Binoche's son has just a few too on-the-nose statements about cinema and its purpose. That will be decided with his next film, though; this was largely enchanting.

Wang Xiaoshuai's Drifters, meanwhile, is a thoroughly fascinating Chinese picture that deserves more attention. Chronicling Young Brother, a man who's escaped to America and been deported back to China, this film studies how vital his life abroad, seen vis-a-vis his alienation to all but his estranged son, is to situating his life now. The Chinese elders seeks to monopolize his past by getting him to tell the community about how hard American (that is, capitalistic) society is to the Chinese, and Young Brother remains passive to any such propaganda, coding his life in the aimlessness of the everyday. Wang builds to the transcendent moment, though, in his construction of Young Brother's interactions with his son late in the film, when the trauma of not seeing his son evaporates; Wang evokes a powerful picture of how much life Young Brother still possesses. Wang's film uses its circularity to project a powerful distillation of the nonconformist individual in society.

[Stay Puft]

Wang Xiaoshuai's Drifters, meanwhile, is a thoroughly fascinating Chinese picture that deserves more attention.

Finally, someone has my back! :pritch:

I love this film. Long Duan is somehow more and more captivating the more detached he gets. Every scene he looks like he's about to just collapse and fall out of his chair. It's great.

It's been over a year since I've seen it now so I can't really respond in great detail. I'll have to revisit it soon.

EDIT: I remember my feelings about the ending, though, suggesting that it was a very powerful critique - that this isn't really a film about America in any way, and that Young Brother's choice was not a good one. There's nothing promising in its circular nature. If he felt it necessary, it was a choice made for him - a product of society that reproduces America as "possibility" while trying to say the opposite, which places the entire concept outside of the specific, national problem that the film addresses.

Maybe.

[balmakboor]

Teeth, like Zack and Miri Make a Porno, squanders a great high-concept idea. It starts out well enough with a build-up to the sex (really date rape) scene where our protaganist gets to use her vagina dentata to gory effect. But the last half seems to spin its wheels and the movie never seems to know where to go after the big reveal. The main character has a bizarre swich from virginal Christian to sadist and is ultimately too two-dimentional in either form. Her brother is also a typical two-dimentional creepy antagonist. I think it would have been more interesting to have at least one sympathetic male sex partner to make her situation more complex. All of the men are portrayed as horny dolts. It's like feminism for dummies.

That said the filmmaker does display a nice knack for visual symbolism. There is the to be expected vaginal imagery (caves, rings) but there was also the nucular power plants in the backgroud of the town which was something I didn't get until later (the nuke plants as a possible cause of the mutation)

Overall: 6/10

Oh man, I couldn't agree with you more about Teeth.

I don't really think Zack and Miri squandered a great concept though. I don't think it was much of a concept to begin with. But I laughed anyway.

[The Mike]

Weekend Ideas:

Role Models
49th Parallel
The Three Musketeers ('48)
Stuck
Robot Jox
Vice Squad
Radioland Murders

And hopefully some Hitchcocks with my homies.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

Also rented a taped-from-TV cassette of A Brighter Summer Day in my library, but it's been severely cut down to about 2 hours (!)... will try not to give into the desire to see it in any form.

NO! DO NOT WATCH THAT!

[Boner M]

NO! DO NOT WATCH THAT!
Turned out to be a misprint on the tape cover - it's actually 3 hours. Temptation rising...

[Winston*]

I really regret missing A Brighter Summer day on the big screen a few months ago.

[megladon8]

I so love Clue: The Movie.

MRS. WHITE: Lunatic! He didn't actually seem to like me very much; he had threatened to kill me in public.

MISS SCARLET: Why would he wanna kill you in public?

WADSWORTH: I think she meant he threatened, in public, to kill her.

[megladon8]

Castle Freak is...all right. I guess.

It has some of the most disturbing, disgusting gore/violence I've ever seen.

The whole production just reeks of "DTV" (which it is), but for the most part it is actually pretty good DTV horror shlock.

Certainly not in Gordon's upper tier, but it's passable.

[Grouchy]

Teeth, like Zack and Miri Make a Porno, squanders a great high-concept idea. It starts out well enough with a build-up to the sex (really date rape) scene where our protaganist gets to use her vagina dentata to gory effect. But the last half seems to spin its wheels and the movie never seems to know where to go after the big reveal. The main character has a bizarre swich from virginal Christian to sadist and is ultimately too two-dimentional in either form. Her brother is also a typical two-dimentional creepy antagonist. I think it would have been more interesting to have at least one sympathetic male sex partner to make her situation more complex. All of the men are portrayed as horny dolts. It's like feminism for dummies.

That said the filmmaker does display a nice knack for visual symbolism. There is the to be expected vaginal imagery (caves, rings) but there was also the nucular power plants in the backgroud of the town which was something I didn't get until later (the nuke plants as a possible cause of the mutation)

Overall: 6/10
Pretty much exactly how I feel about the movie.

[Derek]

Turned out to be a misprint on the tape cover - it's actually 3 hours. Temptation rising...

Why not join Karagarga and just download the full-length version?

[Boner M]

Why not join Karagarga and just download the full-length version?
Maybe.

[Bosco B Thug]

Teeth, like Zack and Miri Make a Porno, squanders a great high-concept idea. It starts out well enough with a build-up to the sex (really date rape) scene where our protaganist gets to use her vagina dentata to gory effect. But the last half seems to spin its wheels and the movie never seems to know where to go after the big reveal. The main character has a bizarre swich from virginal Christian to sadist and is ultimately too two-dimentional in either form. Her brother is also a typical two-dimentional creepy antagonist. I think it would have been more interesting to have at least one sympathetic male sex partner to make her situation more complex. All of the men are portrayed as horny dolts. It's like feminism for dummies.

That said the filmmaker does display a nice knack for visual symbolism. There is the to be expected vaginal imagery (caves, rings) but there was also the nucular power plants in the backgroud of the town which was something I didn't get until later (the nuke plants as a possible cause of the mutation)

Overall: 6/10 Yeah, ditto others that you've pretty much nailed the film. The first half of the film was really excellent - restrained yet suggestive, really moody, and surprisingly somber.

[Derek]

Maybe.

I understand the hesitance to gaining access to every film released on DVD anywhere in the world, but if you decide you're clinically sane, PM me and I'll send you an invite. :)

[SirNewt]

Memorizing magnificence of Melville, I just watched "La Samourai".

[Derek]

KF will especially appreciate this mocking of Four Christmases (http://elusivelucidity.blogspot.com/2008/11/mirror-and-vortex.html).

[Kurosawa Fan]

KF will especially appreciate this mocking of Four Christmases (http://elusivelucidity.blogspot.com/2008/11/mirror-and-vortex.html).

Awesome. :lol:

[Raiders]

KF will especially appreciate this mocking of Four Christmases (http://elusivelucidity.blogspot.com/2008/11/mirror-and-vortex.html).

I don't get it. What song is that from?

[Winston*]

Death at a Funeral wasn't very good but it was at least funnier than Be Kind Rewind.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I don't get it. What song is that from?

It's from "Walk Into the Mirror" by Stephen Malkmus.

EDIT: It's a B-Side. Click here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoYBKD0h7MI).

[Qrazy]

Death at a Funeral wasn't very good but it was at least funnier than Be Kind Rewind.

I agree with your former statement but disagree with your latter statement.

[megladon8]

Bought a copy of Dead of Night off of Amazon, but I think it's fake.

The cover looks like it was printed off a laser printer, and the company who makes the DVD is "Nostalgia Family Video".

Also it was shrink-wrapped with one of those home shrink wrapping machines.

[Winston*]

I agree with your former statement but disagree with your latter statement.

Be Kind Rewind was terrible. Felt like they went from scripting to editing in a week and a half. Last half hour was a Sesame Street episode.

Death at a Funeral at least had Alan Tudyk.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Bought a copy of Dead of Night off of Amazon, but I think it's fake.

The cover looks like it was printed off a laser printer, and the company who makes the DVD is "Nostalgia Family Video".

Also it was shrink-wrapped with one of those home shrink wrapping machines.

I've checked a few times. As far as I know, it's only available on DVD as a double-bill with Queen of Spades.

[megladon8]

I've checked a few times. As far as I know, it's only available on DVD as a double-bill with Queen of Spades.


So in other words...it's probably fake.

[origami_mustache]

hooray for the new banner and demise of the old!


Be Kind Rewind was terrible. Felt like they went from scripting to editing in a week and a half.

The continuity was very poor in this...not sure if that was the editor's doing or the director's blocking, but it's not really something I've noticed with Gondry's other films. His short in Tokyo was thankfully very smooth and restored my faith in him. It also seemed Gondry handled the actors well in his latest film, as I was impressed with the acting in Interior Design despite the fact that they were speaking in Japanese.

[MadMan]

Annie Hall=Why the hell didn't I see this sooner? Amazing.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

Just watched Reygadas' Silent Light. I totally agree with the "criticisms" of it being Ordet-lite. The payoff I could see coming and since they didn't have the Jesus figure, it was really unfounded in the film and felt very inferior to Ordet, where I was more invested in the father character and the death and also the conflict of spirituality was greater in Ordet. In Silent Light, the theme of spirituality seemed glossed over the film with no real purpose except to bring the Dreyer homage at the end. Boo.

Ordet = one of the greatest films of all time.

Silent Light = a cheap knock off with a regional change and some Tarkovskian camerwork.

Also, did anyone catch Johan's father wink at the camera during the first scene he is in? wtf?

[SirNewt]

hooray for the new banner and demise of the old!


What exactly are the requirements on a banner? And where might I submit a cool one?

[MadMan]

La Jetee was um, interesting to say the least. It did make me want to see 12 Monkeys again, as I haven't viewed that movie in a long time. What I saw was good, but I'm not sure what to really fully think of the entire thing.

[Spinal]

Be Kind Rewind was terrible. Felt like they went from scripting to editing in a week and a half. Last half hour was a Sesame Street episode.

This is insulting to Sesame Street.

[Qrazy]

Be Kind Rewind was terrible. Felt like they went from scripting to editing in a week and a half. Last half hour was a Sesame Street episode.

Death at a Funeral at least had Alan Tudyk.

Meh I felt that Be Kind Rewind bordered on cloying with it's sentiment but Death at a Funeral was just pure cliche in it's comedic approach.

[Kurosawa Fan]

What exactly are the requirements on a banner? And where might I submit a cool one?

800x200 pixels. There's a thread in the Maintenance Forum to post banner ideas.

[The Mike]

49th Parallel was really impressive. Kinda played as a British Hitchcock/Grand Illusion hybrid. I really liked the cast and the direction, and the abrupt ending was appropriate.

Anyone got any more Powell recs? Only other thing I've seen is the much different Peeping Tom.

[Raiders]

49th Parallel was really impressive. Kinda played as a British Hitchcock/Grand Illusion hybrid. I really liked the cast and the direction, and the abrupt ending was appropriate.

Anyone got any more Powell recs? Only other thing I've seen is the much different Peeping Tom.

The whole Powell & Pressburger canon is pretty worth it, in particular The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus.

[Philosophe_rouge]

49th Parallel was really impressive. Kinda played as a British Hitchcock/Grand Illusion hybrid. I really liked the cast and the direction, and the abrupt ending was appropriate.

Anyone got any more Powell recs? Only other thing I've seen is the much different Peeping Tom.
Raiders is right, as far as I'm concerned it's hard to steer wrong when approaching the Powell/Pressburger cannon. The Red Shoes is essential, their best work, but almost equally good if I were you I'd queue up:

'I Know Where I'm Going!'
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Black Narcissus
A Canterbury Tale
The Small Back Room

[dreamdead]

Clueless was good fun all around. The quality writing managed to take stock, stereotypical characters and weave them in new directions. Not too much happens cinematically (by which I mean to suggest that it's more vital for its reworking of Austen and teen archetypes in its writing), but the film still registers as a good critique of excess consumerism and a celebration of individuality.

Clouzot's The Wages of Fear, meanwhile, was marvelous, and further demonstration of Clouzot's mastery with pacing. Its meticulous build-ups, its delivery of tension, and its Marxist politics are all powerfully conveyed. Few moments have registered as simply and knowingly as the film's coda, where a simple celebration of survival is undermined, leaving us quietly alienated and devastated. Amazing display of the natural order punishing Mario for his momentary euphoria. This rating will likely rise as the film settles in my mind.

[dreamdead]

I love this film. Long Duan is somehow more and more captivating the more detached he gets. Every scene he looks like he's about to just collapse and fall out of his chair. It's great.

EDIT: I remember my feelings about the ending, though, suggesting that it was a very powerful critique - that this isn't really a film about America in any way, and that Young Brother's choice was not a good one. There's nothing promising in its circular nature. If he felt it necessary, it was a choice made for him - a product of society that reproduces America as "possibility" while trying to say the opposite, which places the entire concept outside of the specific, national problem that the film addresses.


I'll be getting to Summer Palace soonish, so I'm looking forward to seeing more of Long Duan's work. This is the first of his that I've seen.

Concerning Wang Xiaoshuai''s Drifters, you make some solid points about the circularity of Young Brother's journey not really being portrayed as a positive. Certainly there is little to celebrate as the closing ambient score echoes the tragedy that begins the film. Yet the very fact that Young Brother ventures away from his hometown again suggests a sense that this liminal space between China and America is the only comfort he can find anymore. And his acceptance of his girlfriend accompanying him suggests the idea that there is a new transitional moment for him. Yet this itself, as you note, is still an evading of the central problem about his stasis without his son. The few bright spots in Young Brother's character all reside within his interaction with his son, and here again he's without his son. As such, how empty or fully are we to view his final choice in the film? Wang's ambiguity is so powerful here; I'll likely be watching the film again in the next year (might fit into a dissertation topic), so these are all good ideas to linger on for the next viewing.

[The Mike]

The whole Powell & Pressburger canon is pretty worth it, in particular The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus.

Thanks (to you and Rogue). My local Hastings just pruned its rental shelves, so they had a copy of The Red Shoes that I snatched up just now. I will definitely look into the others too.

I also grabbed Welles' The Lady From Shanghai; Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress and Stephen Chow's CJ7...all four for a total of $23. God, I love that place.

[Rowland]

Death at a Funeral wasn't very good but it was at least funnier than Be Kind Rewind.Good lord, no. Death at a Funeral was painful. And yes, I know that Be Kind Rewind can be a bit hard to take at its most sentimental, but unlike that blustering feature-length British sitcom, Be Kind Rewind has actual thematic and aesthetic ambitions that it achieves quites admirably if you attune yourself to its free-wheeling, Capra-esque wavelength, and as opposed to the graceless pandering of Death at a Funeral, it respects the cinematic medium as an artform capable of inspiration and everybody as a potential vessal for artistic ambition.

[Raiders]

Finally saw Casino Royale in preparation for the next one this weekend, and it was quite good. Definitely liked the interplay between Craig and Green, and it feels very much like a genesis of the character. The end of the film essentially announced the death of the man and the beginning of the soulless murderer (though hopefully with less grating swagger than in previous incarnations). With the final incantation of his name coupled with the gloomy "lesson" he learned over the phone with M, the film juggles a successful blockbuster and crowd-pleasing ending with a somewhat sobering reality for the character's future.

[Qrazy]

Clueless was good fun all around. The quality writing managed to take stock, stereotypical characters and weave them in new directions. Not too much happens cinematically (by which I mean to suggest that it's more vital for its reworking of Austen and teen archetypes in its writing), but the film still registers as a good critique of excess consumerism and a celebration of individuality.

Clouzot's The Wages of Fear, meanwhile, was marvelous, and further demonstration of Clouzot's mastery with pacing. Its meticulous build-ups, its delivery of tension, and its Marxist politics are all powerfully conveyed. Few moments have registered as simply and knowingly as the film's coda, where a simple celebration of survival is undermined, leaving us quietly alienated and devastated. Amazing display of the natural order punishing Mario for his momentary euphoria. This rating will likely rise as the film settles in my mind.

Hrm I found the coda to be fairly over done personally, end it at the oil fields I say... perfect final image.
He doesn't need to lose his life for it to resonate that he's already lost anything of real value.

[dreamdead]

Hrm I found the coda to be fairly over done personally, end it at the oil fields I say... perfect final image.
He doesn't need to lose his life for it to resonate that he's already lost anything of real value.

In many ways The Wages of Fear's ending is overdone. I like it, though. Taken as an operatic-like coda, it subverts the traditional survival story and emphatically underscores the idea that these men cannot last under such conditions. It's about more than losing everything of value. Either Mario becomes deadened to the world and surrenders to his status as slave-workers for the capitalist system, or he places such emphasis on highlighting his individuality that he renounces any consideration of safety. It carries a sense that Mario hasn't looked over the truck before he leaves, something that his elder had done when they first left, and so the film highlights that the factory doesn't really prize his safety after he's delivered their product. His use-value, to pull a Marxist term, is no more, so they don't need to guarantee his safety.