2010 New Release Database

[Philosophe_rouge]

Uncle Boonme - Yay
Another Year - Yay

[Philosophe_rouge]

Agreeing with you is less of a rarity, but always nice either way.

<3

[Mysterious Dude]

The Misfortunates - yay

[B-side]

Let Me In - yay

[Philosophe_rouge]

Never Let Me Go - yay

[soitgoes...]

Animal Kingdom - yay

Jacki Weaver is awesome. The rest is hit or miss.

[baby doll]

Jackass 3 in 2D - nay

It feels weird naying a film in which little people get into a bar fight and little cops show up on the scene, but I think there's a fundamental difference between this film and the not unsimilar Brüno that accounts for why the latter is so much funnier than this movie, which is amiable but never hysterically funny. In Brüno, the humor is always at some one's expense (largely, these American yahoos and their lack of sophistication), while here, everybody's in on the joke. And when they do take it to the streets, as in the pervy grandpa sequence, the joke doesn't go anywhere; it never gets beyond the concept of a pervy grandpa making out with his granddaughter. I can accept a comedy being hit-and-miss, but this one never really hits.

[Boner M]

Devil - nay

Tak Fujimoto shoots the hell out of this thing, but ya can't polish a turd, etc.

[Ivan Drago]

Paranormal Activity (2nd) - mild yay

[eternity]

Just in case it got/gets lost in the shuffle:

Paranormal Activity 2 - nay

[B-side]

Howl - yay

[Weeping_Guitar]

Wild Grass - nay

[eternity]

The Girl Who Played With Fire - nay

[transmogrifier]

The Social Network - yay

Shallow, but well-made and entertaining.

Scott Pilgrim VS. The World - nay

Well-made, but shallow and tiring.

[Boner M]

The Social Network - yay

Shallow, but well-made and entertaining.
More agreement! :eek:

[eternity]

Monsters - nay

[baby doll]

The Social Network - yay

Shallow, but well-made and entertaining.

Scott Pilgrim VS. The World - nay

Well-made, but shallow and tiring.So, not to derail the thread or anything, but if one film can be shallow and entertaining, and another shallow but tiring (I like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World more than you did, and would rather watch it again than The Social Network, but I agree that it starts to wear out its welcome near the end), it stands to reason that a film could also be deep and tiring, shallowness and depth being independent of how entertaining or tiring a film happens to be. Therefore, there must be other variables (narrative structure, tone, style, etc.) that determine whether or not a film is enjoyable. There's nothing of depth in L'Année dernière Ã* Marienbad, Red Psalm, or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; they contain no hidden allegories or subversive political meanings, but they're still great films. On the other hand, Christoper Nolan's The Dark Knight is up to its neck in meaning and significance, yet no one seems to have noticed that, as an action movie, it stinks: There's way too much talk talk talk, and the action sequences fall far short of the kind of action filmmaking I grew up on--movies like Terminator 2 and Speed, which were at least spatially coherent.

[EyesWideOpen]

It's "The Square" not "Square". But anyways a Yay.

[eternity]

It's "The Square" not "Square". But anyways a Yay.

Me too. The Square - yay

[Philosophe_rouge]

Paranormal Activity 2 - yay

[TripZone]

Heartbeats - I don't know. Nay, I guess. It was cute, though.

[EyesWideOpen]

Red Riding: 1974 - yay

[baby doll]

Heartbeats - I don't know. Nay, I guess. It was cute, though.TripZone - nay

[Watashi]

Conviction - hell nay

[TripZone]

TripZone - nay

That's been done.

[Briare]

There's nothing of depth in L'Année dernière Ã* Marienbad, Red Psalm, or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; they contain no hidden allegories or subversive political meanings, but they're still great films. On the other hand, Christoper Nolan's The Dark Knight is up to its neck in meaning and significance, yet no one seems to have noticed that, as an action movie, it stinks: There's way too much talk talk talk, and the action sequences fall far short of the kind of action filmmaking I grew up on--movies like Terminator 2 and Speed, which were at least spatially coherent.

I fail to find much sense in any of this. Eternal Sunshine lacks depth? What? Let me know if I got this wrong- you know its possible but depth is now exemplified by political messages and hidden allegories? Not by real, naked emotion and tough questions? I don't know about you but the simple question "who would you be without your memories?" has more depth to it than nearly anything else I've ever seen in a movie.

That said, Conviction gets a nay from me too. How bland.

[Boner M]

That's been done.
So has Heartbeats.

[Stay Puft]

The Exploding Girl - yay

[EyesWideOpen]

Red Riding: 1980 - yay

[Ivan Drago]

Jackass 3D - Yay
You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger - yay

[baby doll]

I fail to find much sense in any of this. Eternal Sunshine lacks depth? What? Let me know if I got this wrong- you know its possible but depth is now exemplified by political messages and hidden allegories? Not by real, naked emotion and tough questions? I don't know about you but the simple question "who would you be without your memories?" has more depth to it than nearly anything else I've ever seen in a movie.If by depth you simply mean emotion, then obviously Eternal Sunshine has that, and you don't have to go looking very hard for it--it's right there in the performances. As for posing philosophical questions, it's a good question to ask, but asking it seems to me largely irrelevant to Kaufman's achievement as a screenwriter and what Gondry is doing stylistically.

[Rowland]

Date Night - not as bad as expected, still nay

[TripZone]

Film Socialisme - yay

[Watashi]

Red - yay

[Lazlo]

The Girl Who Played With Fire - Nay.

Replaces the boring ridiculous exploitation of the first with boring procedural. Couldn't be more bland. It's just... there.

[Derek]

The Other Guys - yay

[soitgoes...]

The Kids Are All Right - Nay
Grown Ups - Nay
Human Centipede - Nay

[TripZone]

Why even bother, soitgoes?

[soitgoes...]

Why even bother, soitgoes?I don't know. Grown Ups is me being stuck in a hotel room late night with friends with poor taste (we did watch Jaws the following night FWIW). Human Centipede is me having a girlfriend who will watch anything horror, and me not quite understanding the love this genre gets. The Kids Are All Right is the best of the three, but I don't get the love it has gotten here. I'd give up on film if it weren't for the wonderful films I saw last week.

[Rowland]

Centurion - yay

Better than Doomsday, The Descent still the dude's best work.

[Philosophe_rouge]

Wild Grass - yay

[Rowland]

Due Date - yay

[EyesWideOpen]

Red Riding: 1983 - yay

[Kurosawa Fan]

Exit Through the Gift Shop - Yay

[Raiders]

I honestly don't think I can give a "yay" or a "nay" to Due Date. It's got some damn funny moments and a lot of the comedy actually feels almost absurdist, but the ending really shows how disappointingly phony most of the film feels in retrospect. To use an obvious comparison, there isn't one tenth the soul or earned happiness in this film as there is in something like Planes, Trains and Automobiles. It's funny sketches tied together with not nearly enough heart to make it work. And Downey is rather disappointingly dull with only a couple shining moments (his barrage of "I will rip you apart" lines when offering a ride to Galifianakis is his best moment).

Alright, I convinced myself... nay.

[Lazlo]

Alice in Wonderland - Nay

[eternity]

Heartbeats - I want to like you, Xavier Dolan, but nay

[Rowland]

What I liked most about Due Date was how viciously it undercut the heart it only half-heartedly strove for anyway, by design I think. You're almost right about the absurdism, but I'd say Zachareck has it right by likening its most unnerving, even dangerous moments to an experimental theater piece. There was too much broad material that didn't work for me to fully endorse the film, but I liked it enough for a minor yay.

[B-side]

The American - nay

[origami_mustache]

Act Da Fool - yay
Catfish - yay
Certified Copy - yay
Cop Out - nay
Enter The Void - yay
Exit Through The Gift Shop - yay
Greenberg - yay
Hot Tub Time Machine - nay
The Human Centipede - nay
I'm Still Here - yay
Inception - yay
Love Exposure - yay
Life During Wartime - very soft yay
Micmacs - soft yay
Night Mayor - yay
Scott Pilgrim vs The World - yay
Survival of the Dead - nay
Toy Story 3 - yay
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past' Lives - yay
Youth In Revolt - nay

[Philosophe_rouge]

A Film Unfinished - yay
Inside Job - yay

[Philosophe_rouge]

looking at the first page, i didn't see Vampires Suck, though there is a voted listed for me.

[origami_mustache]

The Fighter - nay

[Watashi]

The Fighter - nay
Is it as bad as the trailers make it out to be?

[soitgoes...]

The Other Guys - Nay

It's like all the funny was spent in the first twenty minutes.

[soitgoes...]

Machete - Yay

More fun than The Other Guys. Who knew?

[Boner M]

Machete - Yay

More fun than The Other Guys. Who knew?
Oof, not me. Boringest 'stupid-fun' movie in forever.

[origami_mustache]

Is it as bad as the trailers make it out to be?

most of it is, although I thought the fight sequences were excellent.

[NickGlass]

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench: Yay

Charming in an amateurish fashion. Although it is quite transparent, and feels like a "quasi" mash-up of multiple (sub)genres--such as the musical, French New Wave, mumblecore--but its style and sentiments are authentic.

I was also immensely amused by the Boston setting, which is used well (if, as a former Boston dweller would know, geographically inaccurate); oh, and I ended up recognizing a few of the actors due to being a casting director for a bunch of my friends college films.

[origami_mustache]

Cave of Forgotten Dreams - yay

[Dukefrukem]

Jackass - Yay (only if you're seeing it in theaters with 3D) Nay otherwise.
Losers - Yay

[Rowland]

Cropsey - nay

[eternity]

Fair Game - yay
Tamara Drewe - nay

[Boner M]

Fair Game - neighhhhhhh
Alamar - yayayayay, film of the year?!

[TripZone]

Alamar is so beautiful <3

[Mysterious Dude]

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench - yay
Alamar - yay

Saw them both at a film festival in April. Didn't think they would qualify. But since others are voting for them, I might as well, too.

[Rowland]

Mother - Not as enthused as I was hoping, but still a very solid yay

[Derek]

Oof, not me. Boringest 'stupid-fun' movie in forever.

Ditto.


Cave of Forgotten Dreams - yay

Argh, why'd they have to schedule this at the same time as Poetry. Not cool.

[MacGuffin]

Argh, why'd they have to schedule this at the same time as Poetry. Not cool.

Did you end up buying a package? Granted, I wouldn't be able to get all that time off work, but I think their "free tickets" thing is utter bullshit, not least of all because they are sold out within an hour.

[origami_mustache]

Argh, why'd they have to schedule this at the same time as Poetry. Not cool.

Yeah, I had tickets to Poetry too and I really wanted to see it.

[Derek]

Did you end up buying a package? Granted, I wouldn't be able to get all that time off work, but I think their "free tickets" thing is utter bullshit, not least of all because they are sold out within an hour.

Yeah, damn them for having "free tickets" so thousands of people can see great international films without digging into their wallets in this shitty economy. Seemed like people were also getting tickets into most films through the rush lines an hour before every show.

I had a press pass so at least I didn't have to worry about the hassle, but it didn't really seem like much of problem for most people from what I could tell.

[soitgoes...]

Alamar - yay

[NickGlass]

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: Yay.

Well, that was good fun.

[origami_mustache]

Yeah, damn them for having "free tickets" so thousands of people can see great international films without digging into their wallets in this shitty economy. Seemed like people were also getting tickets into most films through the rush lines an hour before every show.

I had a press pass so at least I didn't have to worry about the hassle, but it didn't really seem like much of problem for most people from what I could tell.

It was handled better this year than last year since they released the tickets a little at a time and saved more to be released the day before. I ended up getting tickets to everything I wanted to see except for Black Swan.

[Ivan Drago]

Catfish - Yay

[Raiders]

I had a press pass

You work for a publication?

[Kurosawa Fan]

Toy Story 3 - yay

[Rowland]

Shirin - nay

A compelling conceptual idea that would have made for a fine installation piece, but stretched out to 90 minutes it grows borderline interminable. If you're aware of Kiarostami's modus operandi in advance, you can pretty much theorize to your heart's content without even watching the film, which is exactly as advertised, so unless watching all of the actresses' faces or the intellectual ramifications of the project provoke an emotional response while viewing, I don't personally feel it's worthwhile. Made me sleepy more than anything, truth be told.

I'm considering this a 2010 release because it had no US theatrical showings, so its premiere is on DVD.

[Derek]

You work for a publication?

Not print, just online (http://www.tinymixtapes.com/). It's really not all that hard to score a press pass to any but the biggest film festivals (Toronto, Cannes, etc.).


It was handled better this year than last year since they released the tickets a little at a time and saved more to be released the day before. I ended up getting tickets to everything I wanted to see except for Black Swan.

Yeah, the gradual roll-out seems to have worked a lot better, since it gives people a few chances to get the tickets they want.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - Yay

[Raiders]

Animal Kingdom - nay

Woefully underwritten characters and a bare, dull narrative with a central figure that is so bland and blank I would have sworn most of the time he was autistic. Slooooow compositions don't add weight when what's on screen is so rote. Jacki Weaver is the sole highlight in this dreary film.

[StanleyK]

Red - fuck nay.

Just lazy situational irony, which is largely a lazy form of humor to begin with.

[right_for_the_moment]

-- YAY - yay --
Certified Copy
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Le quattro volte
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
Hahaha
The Social Network
Love and Other Drugs
Oki's Movie
Boy
The Town
The King's Speech
Some Days Are Better Than Others

-- NAY - nay --
The Human Resources Manager
It's Kind of a Funny Story
Catfish
Red
Enter the Void
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

[Boner M]

-- YAY - yay --
Oki's Movie

-- NAY - nay --
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
boooo.

[right_for_the_moment]

Oki's Movie wasn't great, not as good as Hahaha, which I saw right before it, but it was still structurally interesting imo and more polished visually than I expected. I don't know how much you disliked it, but I thought it was a strong enough entry into Hong's oeuvre. I like what Sicinski wrote about him - that if you're going to keep making the same film over and over, make it a good one.

Uncle Boonmee was my fourth movie of the day and the theatre seats were beginning to feel a little uncomfortable so I'll admit that I didn't see it under ideal viewing conditions. Nevertheless, I just found it pretty tedious. Gorgeously shot and lit, but not really amounting to much beyond a string of bizarre happenings that one could vaguely relate to Buddhism/reincarnation and Thai politics (actually, the more overtly political parts toward the end were among the most interesting to me). Of course, given it's reputation along with that of it's director (first I've seen from him), I willing to admit that I could have missed the boat entirely. Idk if there's a thread for it here, but I couldn't find a single review that really shed light on the film. I was impressed, however, by the use of depth in the compositions and the low-contrast lighting. Ultimately I guess, while I like water buffalo, I don't like them thaat much..

[right_for_the_moment]

Yeah, the gradual roll-out seems to have worked a lot better, since it gives people a few chances to get the tickets they want.

If they fixed their website so that it wouldn't crash at 10:00am every morning it would have been swell. Still, I ended up getting to tickets to everything that I wanted/had time to see and it seemed like most people had a lot of success with the rush line. Free is great imo!

[EyesWideOpen]

Monsters - yay

[baby doll]

Trash Humpers - nay, disappointingly

For starters, the old people masks look fake, which is especially obvious whenever they encounter any actual old people. And as Michael Sicinski pointed out in his review of the film, real seniors aren't this mobile. I guess I wanted a more realistic movie about trash humping rednecks.

[eternity]

The American - yay

[TripZone]

-- YAY - yay --
Love and Other Drugs

-- NAY - nay --
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

oh my GOD

[B-side]

Trash Humpers - nay, disappointingly

For starters, the old people masks look fake, which is especially obvious whenever they encounter any actual old people. And as Michael Sicinski pointed out in his review of the film, real seniors aren't this mobile. I guess I wanted a more realistic movie about trash humping rednecks.

:confused:

[Boner M]

The Last Exorcism - mild yay

Rocks the mockumentary gimmick for the most part, actors are top-notch, few parts scared the shit outta me, ending blows chunks.

[dmk]

Blue Valentine- YAAY.

[B-side]

Blue Valentine- YAAY.

I'm excited.

[Boner M]

Yeah I'm hopin for BV (and Black Swan, I guess) to enliven an otherwise barren prestige season.

[Winston*]

The Social Network - Mild yay, I guess.

Weird that this is the best reviewed movie of the year. It's not even the best social networking themed movie of the year (Summer Wars).

Fish Tank - Yay

Though not as yay as I would expect given my affinity for miserable films about the British working class.

[NickGlass]

Yeah I'm hopin for BV (and Black Swan, I guess) to enliven an otherwise barren prestige season.

I'm afraid to say I think your Blue Valentine reaction will be similar to mine, which is essentially a middle-of-the-road shrug of general positivity. "Yeah, sure, raw performances, obvious relationship juxtaposition, and some obnoxious supporting characters."

[Ezee E]

I'm afraid to say I think your Blue Valentine reaction will be similar to mine, which is essentially a middle-of-the-road shrug of general positivity. "Yeah, sure, raw performances, obvious relationship juxtaposition, and some obnoxious supporting characters."
This is partly why I didn't go to the Denver Film Festival to see it. I'll see it when it's a little cheaper.

[Stay Puft]

Cropsey - nay

Holy sensationalism, Batman. A potentially interesting true crime case muddled in nonsense.

[Rowland]

Cropsey - nay

Holy sensationalism, Batman. A potentially interesting true crime case muddled in nonsense.This disappointed me as well. The true crime case was interesting enough to hold my interest, and they came close to exploring some really interesting thematic ideas, but they kept focusing on Rand when a more disturbingly philosophical story only crept around the edges, teasing us with a better movie than these wannabe-journalist filmmakers really seemed interested in delivering.

[Stay Puft]

Yeah, exactly. There's a lot of interesting sociological stuff surrounding the case, but they don't engage with any of it in a meaningful way.

I mean, the film turns into an episode of Paranormal State or something at one point, and I'm just like... what the hell. There's nothing insightful or penetrating about the approach in the film, it's just nonsense.

[Rowland]

I mean, the film turns into an episode of Paranormal State or something at one point, and I'm just like... what the hell.Even that had potential, had it dawned on them that their escapades were no different than the kids they stumble upon and maybe linked that with the sensationalistic prism through which much of the town frames the Rand mythology, but they weren't self-aware enough for that.

[soitgoes...]

Hahaha - yay

[Philosophe_rouge]

Megamind - nay

[Raiders]

The Social Network - yay

God... I couldn't even say much wrong with this film and I only moderately enjoyed it. I'm in a bit of a funk overall (not necessarily quality-wise, but I'm just not excited about much in terms of films). I need something to really change it up. I have Carlos on my DVR. I think I'll make time for that.

[Spinal]

Hot Tub Time Machine has 19 out of 27? What is wrong with you people?

Please add my nay.

[Derek]

Hot Tub Time Machine has 19 out of 27? What is wrong with you people?

Please add my nay.

:pritch:

[B-side]

Hot Tub Time Machine has 19 out of 27? What is wrong with you people?

Please add my nay.

I'm a bit surprised by that statistic myself.

[TripZone]

Think of all the people who didn't see it, would never, and would clearly give it a nay if they did see it.

[Irish]

I'm not particularly interested in the movie's rating (although I did enjoy it as disposable entertainment).

Mostly, though, I can't resist the impish, annoying-younger-brother urge to cancel out Spinal's vote.

Hot Tub Time Machine - YAY.

[Rowland]

:pritch:For reals.

[Rowland]

South of the Border - minor yay

[baby doll]

Les Herbes folles - yay

[soitgoes...]

Inside Job - yay

[NickGlass]

Tiny Furniture: A modest, clever-in-a-totally-obvious-but-occasionally-not-so-obvious yay

[TripZone]

Harry Potter - yay

[soitgoes...]

Hadewijch - yay

[TripZone]

Hadewijch - yay

Loved it. Is Match-Cut going to take it as 2010, though?

[soitgoes...]

Loved it. Is Match-Cut going to take it as 2010, though?That's for Match-Cut to decide I guess. I'd love to hear some thoughts, as there aren't many out there yet. I posted some in the Hadewijch thread in the Upcoming Films section.

[Rowland]

Mid-August Lunch - yay

[MacGuffin]

Just noticed we have origami_moustache as "nay" for Enter the Void when in fact he voted "yay".

[baby doll]

Inside Job - yay

[EyesWideOpen]

Harry Potter - yay

[Ivan Drago]

Harry Potter - Yay

[Rowland]

Unstoppable - nay, surprisingly

[soitgoes...]

GasLand - yay

[Winston*]

Jackass 3D - Yay

[Watashi]

127 Hours - yay

[baby doll]

So apparently Undertow (http://chuck-a-luck.blogspot.com/2010/09/aff-1-you-will-meet-tall-dark-wookie.html) gets a New York release this week (at least according to Mike D'Angelo), presumably at the Quad. Nay.

[Henry Gale]

I've kind of lost track of what I have or haven't officially voted for in here, but:

Catfish - yay
The American - yay
Harry Potter 7.0 - yay
Easy A - nay, despite some genuinely good moments

[Irish]

Ip Man - yay
I am Love - yay
Robin Hood - yay
Scott Pilgrim vs the World - nay

[Philosophe_rouge]

Incendies - yay

[Stay Puft]

Triangle - nay

Well, more of a meh. But whatever.

[baby doll]

Fair Game - yay
Incendies (http://chuck-a-luck.blogspot.com/2010/09/aff-4-some-are-born-to-endless-night.html) (even if it doesn't get a US release this year, it's practically a shoe-in for Best Foreign Language film, and I don't mean that as a compliment) - mild yay

[Boner M]

Fair Game - yay
Gross.

[Philosophe_rouge]

Fair Game - yay
Incendies (http://chuck-a-luck.blogspot.com/2010/09/aff-4-some-are-born-to-endless-night.html) (even if it doesn't get a US release this year, it's practically a shoe-in for Best Foreign Language film, and I don't mean that as a compliment) - mild yay
I think Bier or Biutiful have a better shot.

[baby doll]

I think Bier or Biutiful have a better shot.Maybe, but I'm positive it will at least get a nomination. Uncle Boonmee probably not.

[baby doll]

Gross.I think this movie has more in common with Carlos than you'd like to admit. This being an American film there's definitely more personal drama (and while these scenes were more or less well done, I can't say that I was ever that intrigued by the Wilsons' marriage), but for the most part, this is as anti-psychological as mainstream cinema gets. And how 'bout that art direction? This film makes contemporary Washington look as grey as the dystopian Britain of Terry Gilliam's Brazil.

[Philosophe_rouge]

Maybe, but I'm positive it will at least get a nomination. Uncle Boonmee probably not.
I think it's better than Boonme

[baby doll]

I think it's better than BoonmeCome on, large parts of this are straight out of D.W. Griffith's Orphans of the Storm: The mother getting pregnant by a man her family disapproves of so much that they kill him; putting up the baby for adoption, but marking him so that she'll be able to recognize him years later (in Griffith's film it was a necklace that identified the child). And didn't you think the ending was just a little too dramatically perfect?

[Philosophe_rouge]

Come on, large parts of this are straight out of D.W. Griffith's Orphans of the Storm: The mother getting pregnant by a man her family disapproves of so much that they kill him; putting up the baby for adoption, but marking him so that she'll be able to recognize him years later (in Griffith's film it was a necklace that identified the child). And didn't you think the ending was just a little too dramatically perfect?
I like it for the very reason that it is "dramatically perfect". The Griffith comparison works (nothing wrong with that, though it's definitely a lesser work), I just find the re-invention of an Oedipal story fascinating and engaging. If we're going to compare it to Griffith, and narrative perfection, I'd venture to say that Intolerance works far better. Especially the image of the "Eternal Mother", as originally brought to life by Gish, transformed to be less like the Virgin and more (yes, obviously) like Jocasta. I have always thought the idea of the Oedipus Complex was lacking, for the simple reason that the mother figure is neglected as being integral to universality of the story. Here she is far more important than the child, though the sequence isn't broken. She is the eternal mother in that, she is defined time and time again as a matriarchal figure and is hopeless to save her children and equally doomed by them. Though I don't think as engaging or inventive as Maelstrom, I am consistently fascinated by Villeneuve's quest-like narratives that see his protagonists' on the quest for mythic truth. His characters are searching to fill a void in the unconscious, and not only does he use quite overtly traditional/mythic narratives, but employs engaging visual patterns that are equally reminescent of stories from the so-called "collective unconscious".

[baby doll]

I like it for the very reason that it is "dramatically perfect". The Griffith comparison works (nothing wrong with that, though it's definitely a lesser work), I just find the re-invention of an Oedipal story fascinating and engaging. If we're going to compare it to Griffith, and narrative perfection, I'd venture to say that Intolerance works far better. Especially the image of the "Eternal Mother", as originally brought to life by Gish, transformed to be less like the Virgin and more (yes, obviously) like Jocasta. I have always thought the idea of the Oedipus Complex was lacking, for the simple reason that the mother figure is neglected as being integral to universality of the story. Here she is far more important than the child, though the sequence isn't broken. She is the eternal mother in that, she is defined time and time again as a matriarchal figure and is hopeless to save her children and equally doomed by them. Though I don't think as engaging or inventive as Maelstrom, I am consistently fascinated by Villeneuve's quest-like narratives that see his protagonists' on the quest for mythic truth. His characters are searching to fill a void in the unconscious, and not only does he use quite overtly traditional/mythic narratives, but employs engaging visual patterns that are equally reminescent of stories from the so-called "collective unconscious".Interesting thoughts. However, I think the difference between this film and Maelström (which I agree is still his best film) is that the earlier film doesn't get into any real world political subjects, so I'm more accepting of fanciful coincidences. Here, it seemed like he was really bending over backwards to make the story fit a particular thesis he wanted to advance about the war in Lebanon.

[Philosophe_rouge]

Interesting thoughts. However, I think the difference between this film and Maelström (which I agree is still his best film) is that the earlier film doesn't get into any real world political subjects, so I'm more accepting of fanciful coincidences. Here, it seemed like he was really bending over backwards to make the story fit a particular thesis he wanted to advance about the war in Lebanon.

That is true, and I do think Incendies' political "involvement" is problematic. It never really struck me as attempting to advance any message about the war in Lebanon, then again, I am woefully ignorant. It's not unusual that mythic circomstances tend to invoke extreme situations, war notwithstanding, however due to the fact that war is complex and really terrible. It doesn't bother me at least at this moment though... I will more than likely rewatch the film at some point, and re-think that approach.

Just rewatched Maelstrom though... it should be a crime for a film to be this good.

[Boner M]

I think this movie has more in common with Carlos than you'd like to admit. This being an American film there's definitely more personal drama (and while these scenes were more or less well done, I can't say that I was ever that intrigued by the Wilsons' marriage), but for the most part, this is as anti-psychological as mainstream cinema gets. And how 'bout that art direction? This film makes contemporary Washington look as grey as the dystopian Britain of Terry Gilliam's Brazil.
I thought the art direction was lazily rather than artfully drab, all of a piece with the strained seriousness of the whole thing. As for the Carlos comparison, well, Assayas has a pulse. Here's my review I wrote for my local alt-weekly:
If you primarily go to the movies to: a) read wikipedia, and b) have your liberal leanings confirmed by Important Movie Stars, then Fair Game is the film for you. It’s a dutiful recap of the saga of CIA agent Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts), detailing her vengeful outing by White House officials, after her husband (Joe Wilson, played by Sean Penn) leaked details of the Bush Administration’s fabrication of details about WMD’s to justify the war on Iraq.

Truth be told (ha!), Fair Game isn’t terrible, and for the first half, it offers a reasonably engaging accumulation of various facts related to the case, with Watts giving her usual steely turn as Plame. If nothing else, it’s a gratifyingly strong female role in a Hollywood climate lacking in them. Unfortunately, director Doug Liman (of zippy entertainments like Go and Swingers) adopts a sloppy, tired docudrama aesthetic that makes one yearn for the formal precision of All the President’s Men. This unimaginative approach manages to diffuse much of the righteous anger that the story naturally provokes.

In the second half, the focus turns toward the strain that the fiasco places on Wilson/Plame’s marriage. But with little prior development of them as people, things turn dramatically DOA. Then Penn glowers wistfully at the Whitehouse (Oh, What Once Was!), gets up on his soapbox for a final spiel, and the muted colour scheme brightens up, ensuring everything will end up fine. There’s no doubt that Fair Game was made with the best of intentions, but ultimately its argument for a just and ethical US government is that there’ll be less films like Fair Game.

[Rowland]

The Oxford Murders - mild yay

The 10% at RT is understood and perhaps deserved, and yet De la Iglesia's latest is rather likable for its off-key sensibilities and mathematical/philosophical-centric approach to standard whodunit tropes. Also, Elijah Wood plays a veritable babe magnet, which is no less inexplicable in the film than it sounds, but it's weirdly compelling to witness.

[soitgoes...]

Easy A - mild yay

[Rowland]

Ip Man - mild yay

Sturdy martial arts movie, modestly stirring in spite of an excess of po-faced sentimentalism and hollow propaganda.

[baby doll]

Everyone Else - Most difficult nay of the year. By any objective standard, this is a well made film, and I suppose I'll have to take another look at it. But it just felt to me overly narrow in its focus on the relationship between these two affluent, white western Europeans. It's like the best Mumblecore movie ever made.

[NickGlass]

Everyone Else - Most difficult nay of the year. By any objective standard, this is a well made film, and I suppose I'll have to take another look at it. But it just felt to me overly narrow in its focus on the relationship between these two affluent, white western Europeans. It's like the best Mumblecore movie ever made.

I don't really understand how your criticisms (?) diminish the quality of the film; the scenario is deceptively simple, and the central relationship is brilliantly realized in the way the details and behavior function on both a singular and universal level.

Oh, and they're not very affluent--in fact, class conflict is a central theme.

[baby doll]

I don't really understand how your criticisms (?) diminish the quality of the film; the scenario is deceptively simple, and the central relationship is brilliantly realized in the way the details and behavior function on both a singular and universal level.

Oh, and they're not very affluent--in fact, class conflict is a central theme.By the time the class issues even come up, the movie's like half over. It just seemed so narrowly focused on these two particular people that it didn't resonate on a universal level. So how much you like the movie really depends on how interesting you find the central couple, and personally, I didn't find them very interesting.

[NickGlass]

By the time the class issues even come up, the movie's like half over. It just seemed so narrowly focused on these two particular people that it didn't resonate on a universal level. So how much you like the movie really depends on how interesting you find the central couple, and personally, I didn't find them very interesting.

Yes, by that time the movie is nearly half over. And there's another meaningful--and shape-shifting--half to go. Are you really disregarding a major theme because it is only addressed in the second half?

I think it's not only about how interesting you find the couple (either the central or the uber-bourgeois secondary), but how identifiable (whether you relate to, or even recognize, these characters/representations) you find them. You didn't recognize their behavior, or their dynamic, or the shifts in mood? I suppose it makes sense that it left you cold, then. It's very interesting, though, that I have friends who dislike the film because the characters are so true and identifiable; they did not enjoy essentially reliving their own tumultuous relationships.

I found it so keenly observed; I was compelled by Ade's ability to convincingly depict such complex--yet plausible--psychology.

[Irish]

Centurion - Nay

[baby doll]

Yes, by that time the movie is nearly half over. And there's another meaningful--and shape-shifting--half to go. Are you really disregarding a major theme because it is only addressed in the second half?

I think it's not only about how interesting you find the couple (either the central or the uber-bourgeois secondary), but how identifiable (whether you relate to, or even recognize, these characters/representations) you find them. You didn't recognize their behavior, or their dynamic, or the shifts in mood? I suppose it makes sense that it left you cold, then. It's very interesting, though, that I have friends who dislike the film because the characters are so true and identifiable; they did not enjoy essentially reliving their own tumultuous relationships.

I found it so keenly observed; I was compelled by Ade's ability to convincingly depict such complex--yet plausible--psychology.Maybe I'm going through a phase where I'm just not that interested in psychologically driven stories (lately I've had a serious hankering for the brute materialism of a Bruno Dumont), but this seemed to me keenly observed to a fault. Even when the class issues belatedly come into the film, the focus is so much on these particular people that it takes some serious mental contortions to read it as any kind of larger statement about what's going on in EU generally right now--unless we're supposed to conclude that every white German yuppie at heart really just wants a girl more like everyone else. Sure, there were a couple moments where I was like, "Yeah, that's happened to me," but so what? I expect more from cinema than just a mechanical reproduction of real life.

[dmk]

harry potter and the deathly hallows: part i - nay

[baby doll]

I Am Love - Man, this movie is a mess (messy succession issues, infidelity, lesbian daughters, cultural identity, globalization, Italy's fascist history, giant close-ups of pastries, Petulia-like flashbacks, gratuitous nods to Vertigo, Tilda rockin' it in haute couture), which is fine, except that it only starts to get interesting at the very end when things go totally bonkers. So nay.

[Irish]

So nay.

Refined tastes, but so misguided. :cry:

[ThePlashyBubbler]

Catching up:

Mother - YAY
The Kids are All Right - Yay
I Am Love - Nay
Carlos - yay
Shutter Island - mild yay
The Father of My Children - mild nay
Scott Pilgrim - Yay
Animal Kingdom - nay
A Prophet - mild yay
The Social Network - nay
Inception - yay

[Briare]

127 Hours - yay
Toy Story 3 - yay

Watched Winter's Bone yesterday, what an awesome show that is.

[eternity]

Breaking Upwards - nay
Holy Rollers - nay

[baby doll]

Holy Rollers - nayI also nayed this, but I did sort of like it, and it's held up better over time than some movies I yayed.

[eternity]

I also nayed this, but I did sort of like it, and it's held up better over time than some movies I yayed.
It would be awesome if that ends up being the case.

[Boner M]

Secret Sunshine - YAY

Finally getting an end-of-year US release from IFC.

[soitgoes...]

Secret Sunshine - YAY

Finally getting an end-of-year US release from IFC.

A huge yay from me then.

Harry Potter - yay

[Rowland]

Harry Potter - yay
The Disappearance of Alice Creed - yay

[baby doll]

Secret Sunshine - YAY

Finally getting an end-of-year US release from IFC.I also yay this.

[Eleven]

Time to unload.

8: The Mormon Proposition - mild nay
The American - yay
Best Worst Movie - yay
Bluebeard - yay
The Book of Eli - nay
Centurion - nay
Chloe - mild yay
A Closed Book - mild nay
The Crazies - yay
District 9: Ultimatum - mild yay
Easy A - mild yay
Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl - yay
The Eclipse - mild yay
Edge of Darkness - nay
The Expendables - mild nay
From Paris with Love - nay
Get Him to the Greek - yay
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - nay
Girl who Played with Fire - nay
The Good, the Bad, the Weird - yay
Greenberg - yay
Green Zone - mild nay
The Housemaid - nay
Howl - yay
The Human Centipede - nay
I am Love - yay
I'm Still Here - yay
Inception - mild yay
Inspector Bellamy - mild yay
Iron Man 2 - mild nay
Kick-Ass - nay
The Killer Inside Me - yay
Love Exposure - yay
MacGruber - mild yay
Machete - yay
Monsters - mild nay
The Most Dangerous Man in America - yay
A Nightmare on Elm Street - oh hell nay
The Oath - yay
Oceans = yay
Pirahna 3D - mild yay
Predators - mild nay
Rec 2 - mild nay
The Runaways - mild yay
Samson & Delilah - yay
Salt - nay
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - yay
The Secret of Their Eyes - mild yay
Splice - yay
Survival of the Dead - mild nay
Sweetgrass - yay
Winter's Bone - yay
Wild Grass - yay

[TripZone]

I can't even fathom ever watching most of those.

[soitgoes...]

I can't even fathom ever watching most of those.
I'm a "fan" of watching the occasional crappy film. I play those as if I were watching a mindless TV episode.

[Ivan Drago]

The Human Centipede - Nay

[Ezee E]

You kill me Eleven.

[MacGuffin]

Another yay for Secret Sunshine.

[Eleven]

I can't even fathom ever watching most of those.

Aw, but you're helping me keep The Housemaid's Matchcut-ometer to 0%. We're like joint survivors of a trainwreck.

Besides, I have all of the movies I really want to see still on tap; your Social Networks, your Certified Copies, your Films Socialism...

[TripZone]

I'm a "fan" of watching the occasional crappy film. I play those as if I were watching a mindless TV episode.

Well, I can't watch mindless television either :\
The act of being mindless makes me feel dirty.

In theory I get it, you're a film fan and so even bad stuff is moving images, but uuurgh I cannot do it myself.


Aw, but you're helping me keep The Housemaid's Matchcut-ometer to 0%. We're like joint survivors of a trainwreck.
I liked it more than the original! :P
But I didn't like it.

[soitgoes...]

Well, I can't watch mindless television either :\
The act of being mindless makes me feel dirty.

In theory I get it, you're a film fan and so even bad stuff is moving images, but uuurgh I cannot do it myself.
Eh, disappointment in a movie I really look forward to seeing is sometimes worse than watching a film I know I'm not going to like, but then end up thinking it's okay. I watch enough films where I don't feel like I'm neglecting anything. I'm going for breadth here.

I liked it more than the original! :P
But I didn't like it.I haven't seen the remake, but if you didn't like the original then for shame!

[TripZone]

Eh, disappointment in a movie I really look forward to seeing is sometimes worse than watching a film I know I'm not going to like, but then end up thinking it's okay. I watch enough films where I don't feel like I'm neglecting anything. I'm going for breadth here.
I haven't seen the remake, but if you didn't like the original then for shame!

I liked the first half or so of the original. Well-shot, at least. Then HYSTERIA.

[Ezee E]

The Expendables - big nay

Would've been better if they were all just hanging out in the bar with Mickey Rourke. Although I liked Terry Crews' mega shotgun.

[Irish]

Easy A - Nay

Emma Stone is pitch perfect but she's trying to keep up with a bad song.

All the kids talks like they're 30, the movie is too self-aware and artificial (directly referencing John Hughes, multiple times, in a teen movie is just lazy).

While yeah, it's a lighthearted comedy and all .. I found it almost offensive how the movie purposefully shies away from the real ugliness of its premise. Instead of trying to say something real, it goes for quick witty banter and one-off jokes.

[Ezee E]

Easy A - Nay

Emma Stone is pitch perfect but she's trying to keep up with a bad song.

All the kids talks like they're 30, the movie is too self-aware and artificial (directly referencing John Hughes, multiple times, in a teen movie is just lazy).

While yeah, it's a lighthearted comedy and all .. I found it almost offensive how the movie purposefully shies away from the real ugliness of its premise. Instead of trying to say something real, it goes for quick witty banter and one-off jokes.
You're emerging as a valuable poster here Irish.

But possibly because you just agree with me.

Anyway, do high schoolers even know who John Hughes is? He seems like someone that may only apply to people a generation or two back.

[soitgoes...]

Anyway, do high schoolers even know who John Hughes is? He seems like someone that may only apply to people a generation or two back.
It seems infinitely more plausible than a high schooler who prefers the silent version of Scarlet Letter over one that came out in the 90's.

[Ezee E]

It seems infinitely more plausible than a high schooler who prefers the silent version of Scarlet Letter over one that came out in the 90's.
Fair enough. Although I'd actually believe that Emma Stone's character would be capable of having that opinion.

Did other characters reference Hughes? I forgot.

The parents bugged me the most in that movie, despite having great actors behind them.

[soitgoes...]

Fair enough. Although I'd actually believe that Emma Stone's character would be capable of having that opinion.

Did other characters reference Hughes? I forgot.

The parents bugged me the most in that movie, despite having great actors behind them.No it was just her until the end when "guy with a heart of gold" references three Hughes films at once, but that can be explained away that he got the idea because Stone's character told the world about those three Hughes films. If Emma Stone's character could have the opinion that the silent Scarlet Letter is better than the Demi Moore version, then why is it strange that she would know about John Hughes?

Lisa Kudrow was the worst part IMO. She was her Friends character only meaner. Plus the part where she threatened that no one would believe Emma Stone over her was laughable. Sure, I'm certain no one would believe a girl who could probably medically prove she was A) a virgin and B) didn't have chlamydia.

[Ezee E]

I thought other characters referenced Hughes besides Stone, so I take that criticism back.

Yeah, the whole Kudrow angle in general was awful.

[Irish]

You're emerging as a valuable poster here Irish.

But possibly because you just agree with me.
:D


Anyway, do high schoolers even know who John Hughes is? He seems like someone that may only apply to people a generation or two back.
I'm not sure. He seems to cast a long shadow. A few months ago, I saw a documentary about his and his work made by twenty-nothings, and they interviewed a bunch of kids who were not only well versed in Hughes work, but enthusiastic about it.


Did other characters reference Hughes? I forgot.
The movie overtly references 80s movies (with a focus on Hughes) about a half dozen times -- they even include clips from these movies. It also references them covertly, for instance playing something by the Psychedelic Furs on the radio when two characters are sitting in a car talking to one another. Then the ending is a mishmash of references: Can't Buy Me Love, The Breakfast Club, and Say Anything.

[Irish]

The parents bugged me the most in that movie, despite having great actors behind them.
Couldn't agree more. Love the actors, laughed at the jokes, but man those characters were like super-supportive-BFF-Stepford parents.

It was all that kind of thing -- every adult in this movie (outside of Kudrow) is super understanding and supportive of everything the protagonist does, to a ridiculous level.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 1 - Yay

[Irish]

The Expendables - Big yay.

Explanation here (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=303558&postcount=226).

[Rowland]

District 9: Ultimatum - mild yay
The Eclipse - mild yay
Excellent, someone else has seen these. You didn't like them as much as I did (both qualify as solid yays on my scale), but at least you liked them more than not.


I can't even fathom ever watching most of those.I dunno, I've read enough praise from some respectable quarters to deem most worth giving a shot. Of course I'm saying that as someone who's seen most of them, so I may just be defending myself.

[TripZone]

Well, I enjoyed Easy A very much.
Genuinely witty. Stumbles a few times (that she would find a foreign cinema "eww" seemed inconsistent to me, for one thing). And the last part felt terribly rushed for some reason. It's funny Ezee E criticises the scenes with the parents because they were the standout bits for me. Extremely charming. Most of the jokes throughout exist as jokes, diegetically, in the world of the film. The characters are making jokes. I often admire comedies like that. The Scarlet Letter appropriation was rather clumsy, however. I mean the self-conscious side to it. Maybe that's just because I expected more from the fact that it was being taught in the class and it'd have greater significance. But as they say, the students only watched the Demi Moore version.

Whatever, Emma Stone is a very talented comedian.

[eternity]

I watched something last night that I was going to give a confident yay to.

Today I don't remember what it was.

I must have been mistaken in my judgment of this phantom film.

[Philosophe_rouge]

Somewhere - yay

[baby doll]

Unstoppable - Fair to middling. If I were Leonard Maltin, I'd give it two and a half stars. It's definitely a solid piece of craftsmanship, and I was never bored by it, but it feels like everyone involved (and Scott and Denzel Washington in particular) was just going through the motions of a fairly routine action picture.

Poor Rosario Dawson spends the entire movie on the sidelines, and Kerry Washington looks great in a Hooter's uniform for about thirty seconds. Her character is so underwritten and marginal that we never even learn why she's supposed to be mad at her father; at one point we learn that she has a date for that evening, which is supposed to be a threat to Washington's patriarchal authority (she's a grown woman!), and then the movie forgets about this completely.

Also, I'm not sure how saving the day is supposed to fix Whitey McWASP's marriage to Blondie McGee since he's still a jealous ass-hole. Speaking of which, the movie seems to exist in some fantasy America where racism doesn't exist (which isn't to say that everyone gets along; in fact, I can't think of another movie where everyone was so systematically and unnecessarily rude to one another), yet at the same time, it's unfathomable that what's-his-name might have a black girlfriend. If we've learned nothing else from Maury Povich, it's that working class America is interbreeding at a faster rate than anyone anywhere during any period in history.

And I know that Hollywood movies like to reinforce the same point through various channels, but this movie is so filled with redundancies that it defies plausibility. When has local media ever been this on the ball about anything? They know right away as soon as we do what's happening on the train.

[Irish]

Kids Are All Right - reluctant nay. I went in really wanting to like this. I had trouble connecting to the characters and never bought into the movie's biggest plot turn. The cast is firing on all cylinders but the movie lacks a certain focus, gliding from one group of characters and the next and then back again. That works when those characters are written with some depth (see: Greenberg) but not when they are line drawings of familiar archetypes and played by movie stars trying to build performances with little support from the material.

How to Train Your Dragon - Yay! Packed with familiar kid-movie trops and sporting a hell-bent linear plot but what a fun story. I'm still stunned Dreamworks managed enough restraint to lay off the pop-culture references and general stupidity that has plagued most of their efforts.

[Rowland]

Unstoppable
Sounds like an overly nay reaction, so welcome to the club.

I gotta say, I was really annoyed when the solution winds up being the most obvious idea that everyone involved should have thought to attempt from the very beginning. Granted, they lamely try to work around this by showing the two dopey rail-guys fail at pulling it off early on, but seriously, Kirk makes it look easy at the end. That's right assholes, how about just driving next to the head car and hopping on? Was that so difficult?!

Also, the epilogue that mocks the one guy for having to resort to the fast-food industry for employment struck me as rather mean-spirited, and hypocritical for a movie that espouses a pro-blue-collar attitude and even has Denzel's daughters work at Hooters.

[baby doll]

Also, the epilogue that mocks the one guy for having to resort to the fast-food industry for employment struck me as rather mean-spirited, and hypocritical for a movie that espouses a pro-blue-collar attitude and even has Denzel's daughters work at Hooters.My favorite part is that they're supposed to be putting themselves through college by working at Hooters. Needless to say, we never find out what they're studying.

[baby doll]

By the way, do you think Hooters payed for that product plug?

[Boner M]

Due Date - nay

Never really hits the mark. At least it's better than that Hall Pass looks. Jesus.

[B-side]

Life During Wartime - eh, yay, I suppose

[Watashi]

Winter's Bone - yay

[dreamdead]

Due Date - nay

Bland and one-note characters, with little true humor.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Mother - Yay

[eternity]

Winter's Bone - yay

[Irish]

The Losers - nay

[StanleyK]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 - weaksauce yay.

I'm disappointed it wasn't a strong yay. The series had been progressively getting a bit better with each installment; this one bucked the trend.

[Stay Puft]

Skyline - nay

I kinda enjoyed this, I guess, but the special effects seemed to be the whole point. The story is a bunch of nonsense justifying a nonsensical twist ending. These movies are only truly enjoyable insofar as there is a strong conceptual basis driving the experience. When the plot is rummaging through cliches and the aliens function arbitrarily, there's just no reason to care.

Also, I liked that the movie seemed to get straight to the point, that is until "15 Hours Earlier" followed by fifteen minutes of boring exposition. And if the special effects are the point, what's the point? I swear every film production is working from the same damn screenplay these days.

[Lazlo]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - Yay

[balmakboor]

Megamind - nay

[EyesWideOpen]

Best Worst Movie - Yay

[Rowland]

THE EXPLODING GIRL - 4 out of 6
nay - Rowland, Ezee E

Awesome. Was this movie boring or what? And honestly, using the girl's epilepsy as the sole source of suspense struck me as almost exploitative.

[MadMan]

The Expendables-A very stupid but entertaining movie filled with explosions style Yay.

[Boner M]

Awesome. Was this movie boring or what? And honestly, using the girl's epilepsy as the sole source of suspense struck me as almost exploitative.
Except it didn't use it as a source of suspense.

[Rowland]

Except it didn't use it as a source of suspense.It didn't explicitly, but it introduced the epilepsy early on, explains that it is brought on by emotional turmoil, and then leaves us in anticipation. If not suspense, it is certainly the only pervasive element of tension in the film.

[Ezee E]

It didn't explicitly, but it introduced the epilepsy early on, explains that it is brought on by emotional turmoil, and then leaves us in anticipation. If not suspense, it is certainly the only pervasive element of tension in the film.
Agreed.

And it was very, very boring. I can handle some of those movies, but there's just not much to get interested in here. A vibrating spider? Okay.

[Lazlo]

Clash of the Titans - Yay for outlandish and ridiculous spectacle.

[Watashi]

Harry Potter - yay

[Stay Puft]

It didn't explicitly, but it introduced the epilepsy early on, explains that it is brought on by emotional turmoil, and then leaves us in anticipation. If not suspense, it is certainly the only pervasive element of tension in the film.

The way that plays out in the film is a bit clumsy, sure (yes, there's obvious foreshadowing and an obvious overall story arch), but I don't see suspense or tension. Other than the actual sequence, which is an immediate response to the phone call from her boyfriend, the film takes the time to understand the way the character's life is impacted by epilepsy and also gives her a lot of room to be a character who is not necessarily defined by epilepsy.

Also, 90 minutes of Zoe Kazan is boring? To each their own!

[Rowland]

The way that plays out in the film is a bit clumsy, sure (yes, there's obvious foreshadowing and an obvious overall story arch), but I don't see suspense or tension.It's just about all the film gives us to chew on, so it winds up being the film's sole source of tension by default, especially given the title. In a film that is largely about watching stultifyingly inarticulate kids attempt to communicate and quotidian detail awash in urban anomie, we can't help but anticipate this Girl to Explode.

Other than the actual sequence, which is an immediate response to the phone call from her boyfriend, the film takes the time to understand the way the character's life is impacted by epilepsy and also gives her a lot of room to be a character who is not necessarily defined by epilepsy.What is she defined by then? We see her teach something, she awkwardly breaks up with a long-distance boyfriend, she hangs around with indie friends, and she walks around a lot... that's about it. The supposedly budding romantic relationship with her longtime friend isn't even convincing enough to carry much dramatic weight, given that they have little apparent chemistry.


Also, 90 minutes of Zoe Kazan is boring? To each their own!Absolutely, her character was boring. She's a complete cipher, defined almost entirely by her epilepsy, with little in the way of intellectual or emotional shading. The film never gives us a reason to care, unless we're a guy who wants to fuck her because she's cute in that airy mumblecore way.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Everyone Else - Yay

[Ezee E]

Yeah, Zoe Kazan is someone that is quite forgettable. I see nothing to rave about acting or looks wise.

[Ezee E]

FYI. Page 39 needs to be readded. My internet dropped out as I updated, and it didn't go through. I'll update soon.

[Stay Puft]

It's just about all the film gives us to chew on, so it winds up being the film's sole source of tension by default, especially given the title. In a film that is largely about watching stultifyingly inarticulate kids attempt to communicate and quotidian detail awash in urban anomie, we can't help but anticipate this Girl to Explode.

Okay, yes, clumsy foreshadowing and metaphor and all that granted, but my point is that I do not think it was exploitative or even using the epilepsy as a source of dramatic tension. I do not think the epilepsy was "dramatized" in any such way. I mean, the actual episode is given less screen time and emotional significance than the scene on the roof afterwards with the pigeons or whatever. That's a more important scene as it points to a new possible future. Whether or not you enjoyed chewing on such scenes, they exist. There is more in the film than just epilepsy.

And I don't think the title functions so simply, either. After all, the girl does not actually explode, not emotionally, not externally. She never confronts a lot of her problems. And her epileptic episode is confined to a specific sequence of events later in the film and it is not the most significant event in the film, and not the ending (the point of the seizure as the obvious outcome of her reaction to the break-up, or more specifically that follow-up phone call, is that it does not express anything). The film does not exclusively build there and it certainly does not stop there.


What is she defined by then? We see her teach something, she awkwardly breaks up with a long-distance boyfriend, she hangs around with indie friends, and she walks around a lot... that's about it. The supposedly budding romantic relationship with her longtime friend isn't even convincing enough to carry much dramatic weight, given that they have little apparent chemistry.

That's the wrong question, it's not what I mean. But obviously, yes, there is all of those things in the film. Her relationship with her boyfriend informs a lot of the emotional content in the film, and I think Zoe's performance communicates underlying problems or concerns that exist prior to the phone conversations. The other relationship only figures into the story as a possible future, as I said above, but I think the affection they share for each other throughout is obvious. These are things that happen in the film that do not necessarily have to do with her condition.

What I was trying to say is that her condition does not define her exclusively. There is a conflict, of course, between not wanting to be identified as a medical condition, and the reality of that medical condition informing your life. I think the film respects that conflict, certainly I think Zoe's performance respects that conflict. The film observes all the details of her life with equal tonal significance, nothing is singled out or overstated. We have moments where she lives her life seemingly free from any concern of medical conditions, and then we have a moment where she cannot take a bath because nobody else is home. The film intentionally weaves these kinds of scenes together, and I think the intended effect is to show that these details inform her life, but do not define her on their own.


Absolutely, her character was boring. She's a complete cipher, defined almost entirely by her epilepsy, with little in the way of intellectual or emotional shading. The film never gives us a reason to care, unless we're a guy who wants to fuck her because she's cute in that airy mumblecore way.

Hoho, I deserved that I suppose, but let me be clear if I haven't already. I think Zoe Kazan is a great (or at least greatly promising) talent, and she owns this film. Her performance is basically the reason the movie worked for me, and I think she does communicate a detailed emotional interiority. I identified with her emotional state on some level, if that matters, and I suppose that was reason enough for me to care.

(And is this what the kids call mumblecore? I was pretty sure I hate mumblecore. Why am I defending this movie.)

[eternity]

Trash Humpers is included on the first post, so put me down for a Yay.

[Rowland]

Hoho, I deserved that I suppose, but let me be clear if I haven't already [...] (And is this what the kids call mumblecore? I was pretty sure I hate mumblecore. Why am I defending this movie.)That may have come across as more harsh than I intended, I was just joshin' ya. And yeah, my use of the mumblecore term was in jest, as I actually like many of the films labeled as such, Aaron Katz being my favorite talent to emerge from the scene.

Oh yeah, and I completely forgot about the rooftop scene with the birds, thanks for reminding me. :lol: As for your other points, I'll defer that how the film normalizes her condition was one of the few elements that worked for me, which is why I was so put off by what I perceived to be its exploitation for easy tension and lame symbolism in the service of an unremarkable, wholly unconvincing adolescent kinda-sorta love story.

[soitgoes...]

Wall Street - Nay nay nay

[StanleyK]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 - weaksauce yay.

I'm disappointed it wasn't a strong yay. The series had been progressively getting a bit better with each installment; this one bucked the trend.

In fact, could you please put me down as a nay for Harry Potter instead? Reflection has been most unkind on it.

[Lazlo]

Get Him to the Greek - Yay

[baby doll]

Wall Street - Nay nay nayI don't think I hated it as much as you did, but talk about an unnecessary movie. It's basically the same as every other Oliver Stone film, using a topical subject (in this case, the collapse of Lehman Brothers) as a vague excuse for another one of his Oedipal melodramas. I'm like, Okay, I get it Oliver: Daddy didn't love you. Now would you please quit your bellyaching?

[Irish]

Winter's Bone - yay, with reservations

So beautifully and carefully done in almost every aspect, I don't have the heart to give it a nay.

Obvious standout is Jennifer Lawrence in the the lead, but I was struck dumb by John Hawkes' performance as Teardrop. This is a guy who's been around forever and almost always plays to a certain gentle comedic type. To see him here as a withered, mean spirited junkie was astonishing.

The more I think about the movie, the more my reservations grow. It's got a good, interesting plotline, but I'm mystified why (and how!) you'd create such a strong, willfull & amazing heroine and then undercut her in the second and third acts with arbitrary plot elements. In other words, why didn't the movie let such a determined girl solve her own problems instead of playing around with deus-ex style sleight of hand?

[Irish]

Ghost Writer - nay

Greenzone - nay

[soitgoes...]

I don't think I hated it as much as you did, but talk about an unnecessary movie. It's basically the same as every other Oliver Stone film, using a topical subject (in this case, the collapse of Lehman Brothers) as a vague excuse for another one of his Oedipal melodramas. I'm like, Okay, I get it Oliver: Daddy didn't love you. Now would you please quit your bellyaching?
I didn't like it, I wouldn't use the word hate though. It was a completely unnecessary film. I imagined Oliver Stone wrote down on a blank sheet "Wall Street 2." Underneath in big bold underlined letters is the word "EVOLUTION." Everything is play off this word. Everything is so painfully obvious, the floating bubbles. When life for Shia and everyone peaked I leaned over to my girlfriend and said, "Now everything will come crashing down." Sure enough 5 seconds later Stone shows us the economy crashing down. Carey Mulligan looks like a 5 year old who had her stuffed animal taken away. Shia was miscast. Michael Douglas looks olddddddd.

[Spinal]

Vincere - yay

[Derek]

Frozen - mild yay
Everyone Else - yay
Easy A - nay
Due Date - a guilty yay
127 Hours - nay
The Town - yay
Catfish - a pleasantly surprising yay
Winter's Bone - mild nay

[Rowland]

I'm relieved to see that I'm not as alone in my mixed feelings towards Winter's Bone as I anticipated I'd be when I logged in my mild yay for it a few months back.


Frozen - mild yay
Due Date - a guilty yayOnly a mild yay, but I'm just satisfied you gave Frozen a shot and liked it more than not, however slightly. And my yay for Due Date was pretty guilty as well, but it worked in some surprising ways, and Downey is a terrifically compelling presence in such a film.

EDIT: Ezee, I just noticed you listed Derek as nay for the above quoted films. Not to disrespect your tremendous work maintaining this thread, I just like being less lonesome in my positions. :lol:

[Rowland]

The Expendables - mild yay
The Disappearance of Alice Creed - yay
Harry Potter - yay
Ip Man - mild yay
The Oxford Murders - mild yay

[Spinal]

Catfish - a pleasantly surprising yay


Nice.

[Watashi]

EDIT: Ezee, I just noticed you listed Derek as nay for the above quoted films. Not to disrespect your tremendous work maintaining this thread, I just like being less lonesome in my positions. :lol:

Since when is ** a yay anyway? Winter's Bone has a ** rating and that's a nay. :confused:

You people with your nonsensical pretentious ratings.

[Rowland]

Since when is ** a yay anyway? Winter's Bone has a ** rating and that's a nay. :confused:

You people with your nonsensical pretentious ratings.I've gotten used to Derek's rating scale, but it can give the wrong impression at a glance. Note how according to this (http://www.cinematicreflections.com/ratingscale.html), ** reflects mixed feelings, so it makes sense to lean slightly yay or nay, even if one can't determine which way by observing the rating alone.

For the record, my rating scale is pretty traditional. **½+ is positive, ** and below is negative.

[Dukefrukem]

Put me to next to MadMan on Nightmare on Elm St please

[eternity]

The Exploding Girl - nay

[StanleyK]

Devil - nay, but a milder one than I predicted.

[Stay Puft]

Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Süss - nay

Interesting material in this documentary, but far too superficial. A bit sensationalistic (that musical score, get it out of here) and relies too much on talking head perspectives of living relatives, without offering an understanding or appreciation of the qualitative benefits and limitations of that approach. Or to put it another way, the film doesn't really contextualize many of the interviews in a meaningful or substantial manner. Ends up boiling the subject down to a simplistic worldview.

[soitgoes...]

Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Süss - nay

Interesting material in this documentary, but far too superficial. A bit sensationalistic (that musical score, get it out of here) and relies too much on talking head perspectives of living relatives, without offering an understanding or appreciation of the qualitative benefits and limitations of that approach. Or to put it another way, the film doesn't really contextualize many of the interviews in a meaningful or substantial manner. Ends up boiling the subject down to a simplistic worldview.That's a shame. I'm looking forward to this one.

[Adam]

Animal Kingdom - yay

Lead character's passiveness was tough to swallow in the beginning (good on the directer for having the correct impulse to at least play that for morbid laughs early on), but his whole transformation into a man of action was genuinely electric storytelling. Didn't really mind the stock-type characters or genre tropes, because the filmmaking's so exciting. The biggest annoyance is Michôd's insistence to hit you over the head again and again with the already obvious meaning behind the movie's title; most especially in a longish monologue delivered by Guy Pearce reminiscent of Mark Ruffalo's at the end of You Can Count On Me. Still very satisfying/thrilling stuff

[Derek]

I'm relieved to see that I'm not as alone in my mixed feelings towards Winter's Bone as I anticipated I'd be when I logged in my mild yay for it a few months back.

Yeah, I remembered you were fairly lukewarm when you first saw it. Aside from the performances, I really can't see what the big deal is here. Most of the first half is fairly mechanical as she goes from house to house asking questions. There was never anything particularly engrossing about her search and every stop seemed like an obvious attempt to show a touch of local color, but it was often forced and unnatural. And I agree with Irish's reservations about the ending, which actually renders much of the rest of the film rather moot. Overall, it plays a bit too much like a Sundance workshop product.


Only a mild yay, but I'm just satisfied you gave Frozen a shot and liked it more than not, however slightly. And my yay for Due Date was pretty guilty as well, but it worked in some surprising ways, and Downey is a terrifically compelling presence in such a film.

Frozen was a tight little thriller - a little ridiculous at times, but genuinely chilling as well. [/Gene Shalit]

Downey was good and it was interesting to see him go from his typical suave, cocky persona to one so frazzled and unsettled by Galiafinakis.


That's a shame. I'm looking forward to this one.

It's pretty disappointing given the potential of the subject, though not a complete waste.


Nice.

However slightly, I have to admit I too prefer this to The Social Network. I was expecting a bit more of a stunt, but the way it naturally peeled back the layers of deception really got at the heart of internet communication, both in the ways it has changed the way we relate to one another and in what it reveals about our vulnerability. Engrossing stuff for sure.

[dmk]

jackass 3d - yay

[B-side]

jackass 3d - yay

taser hallway ftw

[dmk]

taser hallway ftw
second favourite segment.

but that airplane... i need to do that asap.

[Boner M]

Another Year - yay

Me as credits rolled: :cry:

[TripZone]

Another Year - yay

Me as credits rolled: :cry:

I forget, are you currently in Australia? Because I want to see Another Year.

[Boner M]

I forget, are you currently in Australia? Because I want to see Another Year.
Indeed I am; this was a critics' screening, 2 months prior to release. Didn't see David and Margaret at this one, but I usually do.

[TripZone]

Indeed I am; this was a critics' screening, 2 months prior to release. Didn't see David and Margaret at this one, but I usually do.

Do they watch movies together? That would be weird.