28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[B-side]

Star Trek was blissfully bombastic. It's the very definition of blockbuster. Abrams played with the archetypes so well. The lights, the lens flares, the camera work... delicious. I especially loved the camera shot that establishes Spock in front of the Vulcan council. It starts out on an angle and sweeps all the way to the front of him slowly turning to sit in front of him horizontally. I'm tempted to say I really loved it. Bana as Nero was completely one-dimensional, though. I'd be a bit more forgiving if his character weren't so utterly forgettable. Pine was a ton of fun. Quinto was the highlight. Perfectly played performance. Loved Nimoy's role.

[B-side]

As for my weekend, hopefully I'll be watching some of these:

Morning Patrol (Nikolaidis, 1987)
Aelita (Protazanov, 1924)
The Earrings of Madame de... (Ophuls, 1953)
The Voice of the Moon (Fellini, 1990)
The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Pasolini, 1964)
Beyond the Clouds (Antonioni, 1995)

[baby doll]

Star Trek was blissfully bombastic. It's the very definition of blockbuster.

I haven't seen Star Trek, but as for the larger issue, is this really how we're defining blockbusters? Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I like to think of blockbusters as a big, ambitious movies on subjects presumed to be of interest to a wide audience with broadly melodramatic storylines. Some of my favorites are D.W. Griffith's Intolerance and Orphans of the Storm, Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen (Nee-bell-loon-gen) and Metropolis, Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, and more recently, Baz Luhrmann's Australia.

[MacGuffin]

Innocence (Hadzihalilovic, 2004)

Did you post thoughts on this? I'm gonna go through Gaspar Noé's filmography again myself this weekend probably in preparation for the insanely promising Enter the Void (has anybody seen those screenshots?), and he's married to the director of this. I've only seen a bit from the beginning, but it certainly looked promising. I don't think I finished it though because I was too tired or something.

[Qrazy]

I haven't seen Star Trek, but as for the larger issue, is this really how we're defining blockbusters? Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I like to think of blockbusters as a big, ambitious movies on subjects presumed to be of interest to a wide audience with broadly melodramatic storylines. Some of my favorites are D.W. Griffith's Intolerance and Orphans of the Storm, Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen (Nee-bell-loon-gen) and Metropolis, Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, and more recently, Baz Luhrmann's Australia.

I'll kick you in the nuts.

[B-side]

I haven't seen Star Trek, but as for the larger issue, is this really how we're defining blockbusters? Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I like to think of blockbusters as a big, ambitious movies on subjects presumed to be of interest to a wide audience with broadly melodramatic storylines. Some of my favorites are D.W. Griffith's Intolerance and Orphans of the Storm, Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen (Nee-bell-loon-gen) and Metropolis, Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, and more recently, Baz Luhrmann's Australia.

I'd say Star Trek fits that ideal for the most part. It's certainly big. Ambitious? Depends on how you define it. It's not doing anything new, but one could say bringing such a franchise back like Abrams did is pretty ambitious. Subjects of wide appeal? Absolutely. Space: the final frontier. Broadly melodramatic storylines? Definitely.

[Derek]

I haven't seen Star Trek, but as for the larger issue, is this really how we're defining blockbusters? Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I like to think of blockbusters as a big, ambitious movies on subjects presumed to be of interest to a wide audience with broadly melodramatic storylines. Some of my favorites are D.W. Griffith's Intolerance and Orphans of the Storm, Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen (Nee-bell-loon-gen) and Metropolis, Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, and more recently, Baz Luhrmann's Australia.

I prefer Edison's Electrocuting an Elephant and the Lumières Exiting the Factory. Fucking epic.

[MacGuffin]

I'll kick you in the nuts.

I was waiting for you to respond to that post. Reminds me of the time when you asked baby doll which movies he hadn't seen from the 1000 Movies list and he responded by literally listing in paragraph format (with directors, and date of release), every movie he hadn't seen.

[D_Davis]

I prefer Edison's Electrocuting an Elephant and the Lumières Exiting the Factory. Fucking epic.

KIDS

[Sycophant]

I'll kick you in the nuts.

Kickin' it oldschool in the FDT, y'all.

[B-side]

Did you post thoughts on this? I'm gonna go through Gaspar Noé's filmography again myself this weekend probably in preparation for the insanely promising Enter the Void (has anybody seen those screenshots?), and he's married to the director of this. I've only seen a bit from the beginning, but it certainly looked promising. I don't think I finished it though because I was too tired or something.

I don't know that I've really posted any serious thoughts, and I think by now the statute of limitations has happened as it's beginning to fade. I can say, however, that it's a great film. The director maintained such terrific mood and tonal control. It's bound to divide people what with the child nudity, the lack of any big revelatory expositions, etc. It's a pure mood film and the atmosphere is incredible. I can't wait until she does another feature.

I saw some of those screenshots from Noé's film. Gorgeous. I've seen nothing from him, sadly. I'll definitely be rectifying that sooner rather than later. I might download my first today.

[B-side]

I liked Star Trek more than Australia, definitely.

[soitgoes...]

I haven't seen Star Trek, but as for the larger issue, is this really how we're defining blockbusters? Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I like to think of blockbusters as a big, ambitious movies on subjects presumed to be of interest to a wide audience with broadly melodramatic storylines. Some of my favorites are D.W. Griffith's Intolerance and Orphans of the Storm, Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen (Nee-bell-loon-gen) and Metropolis, Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, and more recently, Baz Luhrmann's Australia.

A blockbuster is something that does well, exceedingly well, at the box office. Those films you listed are epic, not blockbusters. Jaws is generally considered the first, but that isn't necessarily correct as Gone with the Wind should also be considered as one too.

[Derek]

I was waiting for you to respond to that post. Reminds me of the time when you asked baby doll which movies he hadn't seen from the 1000 Movies list and he responded by literally listing in paragraph format (with directors, and date of release), every movie he hadn't seen.

Actually, responding with a list like that isn't all that crazy since many of us here are listoholics anyway. Ignoring the fact that Jaws essentially started the rise of the Hollywood blockbuster along with the prevalence of multi-plexes and phrases like "summer movie season" is simply being obtuse and contrarian just for shits and giggles.

[MacGuffin]

Brightside: For Noé, it's best to watch his movies in order, from what I've heard. The Butcher makes an appearance in every one of them and the only one I haven't seen is Carne. Myself, I need to rewatch all of them to earn a better understanding of what he is trying to do thematically; I already know he's a near master of formalism, even if what is onscreen is utterly nauseating.

[BuffaloWilder]

I liked Star Trek more than Australia, definitely.

This is not strange. Australia was - well, it was Australia.

[MacGuffin]

Actually, responding with a list like that isn't all that crazy since many of us here are listoholics anyway. Ignoring the fact that Jaws essentially started the rise of the Hollywood blockbuster along with the prevalence of multi-plexes and phrases like "summer movie season" is simply being obtuse and contrarian just for shits and giggles.

I just thought it was a bit odd to respond in such a way, especially considering the comment.

[B-side]

Brightside: For Noé, it's best to watch his movies in order, from what I've heard. The Butcher makes an appearance in every one of them and the only one I haven't seen is Carne. Myself, I need to rewatch all of them to earn a better understanding of what he is trying to do thematically; I already know he's a near master of formalism, even if what is onscreen is utterly nauseating.

Yeah, I just started downloading I Stand Alone. Do you have links to good quality streams of any/all of his shorts?

[B-side]

This is not strange. Australia was - well, it was Australia.

Well, it was kinda in response to baby doll liking Australia. I didn't hate it, but it was kinda meh.

[MacGuffin]

Yeah, I just started downloading I Stand Alone. Do you have links to good quality streams of any/all of his shorts?

No, sorry.

[BuffaloWilder]

Well, it was kinda in response to baby doll liking Australia. I didn't hate it, but it was kinda meh.

That was my response to it, as well. I enjoyed the second half a lot more than the first, though.

[B-side]

No, sorry.

Ahh. Darn. I just got done reading this article on Noe. Rather informative. It talks about him utilizing the "cinema of attractions" techniques and ideas of directors like Eisenstein. The "cinema of attractions" belief set seems to be the cinematic equivalent of Brecht's "epic theater". I wonder which was theorized first as it would be pretty odd to think they were developed with no knowledge of the other.

[MacGuffin]

Ahh. Darn. I just got done reading this article on Noe. Rather informative. It talks about him utilizing the "cinema of attractions" techniques and ideas of directors like Eisenstein. The "cinema of attractions" belief set seems to be the cinematic equivalent of Brecht's "epic theater". I wonder which was theorized first as it would be pretty odd to think they were developed with no knowledge of the other.

Yeah, it's a great article. Also look out for Rosenbaum's review of I Stand Alone. That's also a good one.

[Sven]

What's the point of the pronunciation guide for Nibelungen? Similarly, a while back, what was the point of telling us that the footage playing during Kingsley's narration in A.I. was "B roll"?

I think I'm starting to see this alleged pompousness of yours that everyone goes on about. I think you're great, make no mistake, but you've got to tone down the smarty-pantsiness a bit.

[Ezee E]

Yeah, if anyone around here has links to Noe's shorts, it would be well appreciated.