28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[Winston*]

Where I really think critics missed the boat on Happy Feet 2 is in failing to appreciate its innovative structure, the way it underscores its theme of community through its form. It veers away from formula and to great effect.

The film has a strong, clear thematic throughline that both serves and is served by its global warming message. It's obvious a lot of though was put into it, but it seems to be seen as some sort of slapdash follow up because its not Pixar.

[Raiders]

I watched WALL-E yet again not too terribly long ago and re-affirmed it as the second greatest animated film of all time (behind The Man Who Planted Trees). Amazing achievement. If they continue on with the direction they are taking, Pixar will never come close to that again.

[Dukefrukem]

I watched WALL-E yet again not too terribly long ago and re-affirmed it as the second greatest animated film of all time (behind The Man Who Planted Trees). Amazing achievement. If they continue on with the direction they are taking, Pixar will never come close to that again.

I feel Up is more enjoyable than WALL-E but both movies are in my top 100.

Cars 2 is the only Pixar full length film I haven't seen yet. I do hope the trend turns around soon.

Someone here posted their timeline. Wasn't it a bunch of sequels?

[Dead & Messed Up]

Wall-E was on TV the other day, and I was lucky enough to flip to it just as the space-dance started. It took ten seconds for my eyes to moisten.

[dreamdead]

Barry Levinson's Diner struggles for the first hour to become something more than a bunch of disenfranchised white twentysomething guys bitching about how no one understands them. And while this synopsis is a gross simplification, it also pinpoints how minor the story that Levinson tells is when one considers the social and political history of 1959. Minorities exist on the margins of the film, but they receive little consideration from the script. Ultimately, Levinson orchestrates a few noteworthy moments out of his narrow focus, though, aided by Mickey Rourke and a luminescent Ellen Barkin. These two capture something of the gender crisis that transpired in that time period, and highlight how the film could have been stronger with a tighter focus. The Kevin Bacon and Steve Guttenberg material, though, detracted and limited the scope.

[Qrazy]

Ehh, seems to me like you wanted the film to be something that it isn't. It's a very focused coming of age film, not a robust exploration of that time in history.

[dreamdead]

Ehh, seems to me like you wanted the film to be something that it isn't. It's a very focused coming of age film, not a robust exploration of that time in history.

It's true that I did want the film to be set up differently. Nonetheless, the film doesn't situate its strengths properly. Barkin and Rourke are the strongest players here. And even Daniel Stern's character has potential. But the film avoids any real engagement with the female characters. Stern and Barkin would have been an interesting movie, not just a three-minute scene. The ridicule that the fiancee suffers for making the wife-to-be take a NFL test is understood, and it's clear that Levinson is mocking his small-mindedness. But the male camaraderie goes to the extreme and doesn't showcase the female characters nearly enough.

Would you argue it's strong enough to warrant the 1,001 Films... placement? Or would you just contend that it's ok?

[D_Davis]

Happy Feet 2 > All Pixar Films

Anything > all Pixar Films

/burn

[Qrazy]

It's true that I did want the film to be set up differently. Nonetheless, the film doesn't situate its strengths properly. Barkin and Rourke are the strongest players here. And even Daniel Stern's character has potential. But the film avoids any real engagement with the female characters. Stern and Barkin would have been an interesting movie, not just a three-minute scene. The ridicule that the fiancee suffers for making the wife-to-be take a NFL test is understood, and it's clear that Levinson is mocking his small-mindedness. But the male camaraderie goes to the extreme and doesn't showcase the female characters nearly enough.

Would you argue it's strong enough to warrant the 1,001 Films... placement? Or would you just contend that it's ok?

I'd say it's a lot better than many of the films on that list so I'd keep it on there. Whether or not it's actually a top 1000 film is harder to say, maybe top 2,000. But yeah I like it a lot more than many films of it's type. It is male-centric but so many of these coming of age films are.

Many of your criticisms are reasonable but there's a certain genuine quality about the film that succeeds overall.

[transmogrifier]

After hating Happy Feet:

Not watching Happy Feet 2 > Watching Happy Feet 2.

Personally, if all the Pixar movies except Finding Nemo and Wall- E disappeared, I wouldn't particularly care.

[Winston*]

Personally, if all the Pixar movies except Finding Nemo and Wall- E disappeared, I wouldn't particularly care.

If some interventionist deity starts removing selected animated films from existence for no clear reason, I think I'd be alarmed.

[transmogrifier]

Or I became President of the World and banned all Pixar films bar those two.

Much more realistic.

[Watashi]

Or I became President of the World and banned all Pixar films bar those two.

Much more realistic.

Well, it's a good thing this scenario will never happen.

[soitgoes...]

Well, it's a good thing this scenario will never happen.

Well he is a transmogrifier so...

[Spinal]

I'm attempting a double feature tonight. Moonrise Kingdom and Looper. Game on.

[MadMan]

I still refuse to see Happy Feet. I hate to do this, but based on that trailer the movie looked like shit.

Finding Nemo and Wall-E are both awesome, with Wall-E being Pixar's best film. So if those were the only two left, that would be fine with me. I'd miss Up and the Toy Story movies from time to time, I guess....

[Dukefrukem]

I still refuse to see Happy Feet. I hate to do this, but based on that trailer the movie looked like shit.

Finding Nemo and Wall-E are both awesome, with Wall-E being Pixar's best film. So if those were the only two left, that would be fine with me. I'd miss Up and the Toy Story movies from time to time, I guess....

Cmon. you don't want to listen to Robin Williams for 2 straight hours?

[dreamdead]

Well, Frank Borzage's The Mortal Storm was just devastating. Amazing to see that critical of a film being distributed in 1940. It announces its anti-Nazism intent and just hammers relentlessly at attempts to justify the supremacy of the Aryan race. And Margarat Sullavan is justifiably brilliant in this--it is thoroughly her film, not Jimmy Stewart's. This was convincing both as a warning and as a call to arms that Europe's War should in fact also be the world's war. Moreover, it knows how to stage a flashback properly, letting dialogue filter back in during the coda as the camera focuses on an empty family dinner table, recording the after-affects of the war.

This might be the best film I'll see this year.

[Spinal]

I still refuse to see Happy Feet. I hate to do this, but based on that trailer the movie looked like shit.

Trailers are really poor indicators of a film's quality.

[Raiders]

Well, Frank Borzage's The Mortal Storm was just devastating. Amazing to see that critical of a film being distributed in 1940. It announces its anti-Nazism intent and just hammers relentlessly at attempts to justify the supremacy of the Aryan race. And Margarat Sullavan is justifiably brilliant in this--it is thoroughly her film, not Jimmy Stewart's. This was convincing both as a warning and as a call to arms that Europe's War should in fact also be the world's war. Moreover, it knows how to stage a flashback properly, letting dialogue filter back in during the coda as the camera focuses on an empty family dinner table, recording the after-affects of the war.

This might be the best film I'll see this year.

ritch:

[dreamdead]

ritch:

Indeed. You (and Russ, I think) are right to champion it. Though I'll always love The Shop Around the Corner for sexytime Stewart/Sullavan flirtation, this film is far more honest and brutal in its depiction of human weakness--and thus, is likely a more important film to come out that year. It records how communities are willing to foster a rationale for any amount of brutality, but also demonstrates the strength of those willing to struggle. It records it all, but I think the masterstroke is to end with Sullavan's brothers. The growing sense of difference they display is more powerful than a last image of Stewart.

I wonder a bit about Sullavan's attempt to bring her father's manuscript along, since her mother should have warned her about how seditious his beliefs were, but am willing to accept that this is a case where no one is able to see the extremity of suppression that will be employed by their own "people."

[ledfloyd]

Reservoir Dogs in the theater tonight was fun, even if it is one of my least favorite Tarantinos. The script is good and the structure is clever, but from a formal standpoint it is, except for one or two key sequences, rather bland.

Also, scratchy prints of the trailers for Mean Streets, Mother Jugs & Speed, and The Duellists prior to it were a nice treat.

[Russ]

Indeed. You (and Russ, I think) are right to champion it.

Hmm...I've not seen Borzage's The Mortal Storm, but it sure sounds interesting. I'll add that one to the "list".

[BuffaloWilder]

Happy Feet 2 > the last two decades of film cinema.

[MadMan]

Trailers are really poor indicators of a film's quality.

Not always. Besides the reviews also convinced me I would hate it. Ones that I read on this site, btw.

Cmon. you don't want to listen to Robin Williams for 2 straight hours?

I like Robin Williams, but unless its two hours of him doing awesome standup aka his Broadway show, the answer is "Hell no."