28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[BuffaloWilder]

The only thing on there that's surprising is Lost In Translation.

[Pop Trash]

The only thing on there that's surprising is Lost In Translation.

Why? It seems like it would be up his alley. Plus didn't he date Sofia Coppola for awhile?

I'd be curious to hear his defense of Anything Else. I haven't seen it, but isn't that considered the nadir of Woody Allen's recent films? And that is saying something since this isn't exactly Woody's best decade for filmmaking.

I agree with him about Unbreakable. I have a friend who hates Shyamalan and it's getting increasingly difficult for me to defend him myself, but Unbreakable is a great movie and Tarantino is right on in his assessment of it. It's a great deconstruction of superhero motifs.

[Rowland]

A very... fanboy-ish list, but kudos to him for the courage of his convictions. I mean seriously, it take cajones to list Anything Else as one of your twenty favorite movies from the last 15+ years.

[Pop Trash]

Anybody know when he recorded that video? Was that this year?

[Philosophe_rouge]

I know in my film courses, my teachers always HATED vehemently both music videos and slide shows, and yet, this is one of my favourite short films. Obviously, the strength of the music raises the somewhat simple storytelling a few notches, but it's still quite possibly the best slideshow I've ever seen;

http://www.nfb.ca/film/ballad_of_crowfoot/

[Boner M]

I somehow can't help but love Tarantino after watching that video. Maybe because his Unbreakable comments reminds me of Eli Tenenbaum:

'Well, everyone knows Custer died at Little Bighorn. What this book presupposes is... maybe he didn't."

Weird that he didn't include Chungking Express.

[Rowland]

I can't get behind the Battle Royale love, which, despite a large quantity of ideas and amusing satire, came across to me as obnoxiously melodramatic and haphazardly plotted (I'd like to see the non-DC).

Otherwise, I love Audition, Fight Club, Lost in Translation, Memories of Murder, and Unbreakable, I like The Host, JSA, The Matrix, Shaun of the Dead, and Speed a lot, I'm indifferent to Team America, it has been too long since I've seen Boogie Nights, and the rest I haven't seen.

[Watashi]

I really want to see Anything Else now.

[trotchky]

Tarantino seems like someone who really understands movies and their craft as one inseperable, profound object. I'm more excited to see Inglorious Basterds after watching that. Dude knows what he's doing.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Wow. Quentin's list is full of awesome movies - go figure. I love his passion for Unbreakable and Shaun of the Dead, a passion I certainly share.

[Amnesiac]

Ditto on the Unbreakable passion.

I wonder if Shyamalan is ever going to pursue that sequel idea. He brought it up shortly after the movie released, then dropped it, then brought it up again somewhat recently I believe. I'm not sure it's the best idea to pursue but I can't say I'm not curious about how he would tackle it.

And Tarantino's words on Speed made me look back on my first viewing rather fondly. He's pretty much right. I wouldn't go so far as to put it on my top 20 list but it really was a pretty fun movie to watch way back when it first came out.

Battle Royale was okay but it didn't really inspire too much of my interest or admiration. It deserves a re-watch somewhere down the line.

[B-side]

Wow. Meshes of the Afternoon is fantastic. I'd seen it before a while back long before I was into experimental film, but seeing it now was like seeing it for the first time.

[Boner M]

Wow. Meshes of the Afternoon is fantastic. I'd seen it before a while back long before I was into experimental film, but seeing it now was like seeing it for the first time.

It's great indeed, but I might prefer At Land by a hair. Guess I just dig sand dunes.

[B-side]

It's great indeed, but I might prefer At Land by a hair. Guess I just dig sand dunes.

Well, that's up next. I've decided to do a big blog entry on her entire filmography, not including Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti as she apparently never got to put any of it together. Her third husband and his wife did, but they aren't her, and word is it doesn't feel like what she would've created.

[Skitch]

The Mutant Chronicles was a very strange, conflicted film. The first half was gorgeous to look at...I was thinking it had potential for 'gem in the rough' status...the second half was terrible SyFy original material.

[B-side]

Pretty sure Deren is one of my favorite film-makers now.

[dreamdead]

On the basis of Fernando F. Croce's putdown of (500) Days of Summer even as he praises Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, I checked out the latter. And I can see where one can highlight the positives in N&NIP: the handling of gay identity in a positive light, the tender love story that's wrapped around the edges, and Cera and Jennings' performances, but even with all of that it's fascinating to consider how slight the film is. Though it explores the cityscape and nightlife in NYC, its party-first demeanor seems sophomoric and somehow neglects the complexity of these teenagers slipping into adulthood. These are two individuals who lack any true exploration of their adult selves, talking around that aspect rather than engaging in it. It's the rare film where I yearn to see the next day of their lives and see how they respond to a commitment of self, rather than the far more trivial party-mindset they have here. And the bubblegum bits feel crass and unneeded here, like leftover gross-out scenes from the American Pie series. Interesting, but never as thoughtful as 5DoS at its best.

[Raiders]

Pretty sure Deren is one of my favorite film-makers now.

Meshes and At Land are brilliant films, perhaps the pinnacle of experimental (and silent) filmmaking; however her subsequent films on choreography, movement and performance, despite their craft, have never really captured my interest.

[Qrazy]

It's been a while since I last saw the film, but it was not the death of a man that reminded me of Wavelength but this bit in particular:



To clarify, I wasn't trying to say that they are especially or 100% similar or anything like that but was merely noting that Tarkovsky's description reminded me of Wavelength in a general sort of way. That is, the idea of seeing something in the far distance that is seemingly banal yet oddly mysterious due to its very distance (however, since Aubier's film is only 10 minutes, this affect is surely not as accentuated as it is in Wavelength). And the whole notion of coming ever closer to that far off detail, and the languid camera movement frustrating (or galvanizing) the viewer's growing curiosity. And the attention to the passing of time, as well the notion of learning more information about the ostensibly banal detail (Wavelength, it's the portrait, and in Aubier's film, a dead man) as that time passes.



Again, it's been a while since I've seen it (about 2 years) but I don't remember enjoying it all that much either. However, given its focus on the integrity of time and its patient unfolding (the term is still awfully vague to me, but would this film's use of unfolding time be a successful example of what Tarkovsky calls 'time-pressure'?), I'm inclined to think Tarkovsky might like it. However, I vaguely recall some visual play with filters, fade-ins, and elliptical cuts and Tarkovsky might not appreciate something so arguably showy/empty. My memory of the film is very vague, however.

Also, thanks for the reply and the title. I'll look into it.

I just don't think structuralist cinema in general is probably Tarkovsky's cup of tea, I like some of it though. Wavelength is one that I'm glad I saw but I enjoyed it's ideas more than many elements of it's execution.

I also want to check out the Pascal Aubier film. I just watched Lipstick on youtube.

[Qrazy]

This Walter Hill fellow, he's okay in my book.

Despite it's flaws I think Hard Times might be my favorite from him. Give that one a look if you haven't had a chance yet.

[Sven]

Despite it's flaws I think Hard Times might be my favorite from him. Give that one a look if you haven't had a chance yet.

Innnnnnnteresting. It's one of my least favorites, though I like it. I find it a strange choice. Care to comment further?

Oh, and Rowls, re: Another 48 Hours, I really dig it. I'd probably put it about par with the first, though it is rather more of a stretch. Some really weird things with form, I think.

[baby doll]

I really want to see Anything Else now.

It's good, but Allen has made much better films in the same period. I prefer Bullets Over Broadway, Match Point, and even Whatever Works.

[Qrazy]

Innnnnnnteresting. It's one of my least favorites, though I like it. I find it a strange choice. Care to comment further?

Oh, and Rowls, re: Another 48 Hours, I really dig it. I'd probably put it about par with the first, though it is rather more of a stretch. Some really weird things with form, I think.

Well in general I prefer the 70s era aesthetic to the late 70's/80's (I'd include The Warriors into the 80s aesthetic category). I've seen...

1. Hard Times
2. Southern Comfort
3. The Driver
4. The Warriors
5. Brewster's Millions

For starters I love James Coburn. The fighting is superb, the exploration of the lifestyle singular and the depiction of the time period compelling. Aside from a couple of cliches the love story is the only particularly sour note in the film but even that relationship is handled in a unique fashion.

[Sven]

Well in general I prefer the 70s era aesthetic to the late 70's/80's (I'd include The Warriors into the 80s aesthetic category). I've seen...

1. Hard Times
2. Southern Comfort
3. The Driver
4. The Warriors
5. Brewster's Millions

For starters I love James Coburn. The fighting is superb, the exploration of the lifestyle singular and the depiction of the time period compelling. Aside from a couple of cliches the love story is the only particularly sour note in the film but even that relationship is handled in a unique fashion.

Very cool. It is certainly a film that needs more love than it gets, so it's cool that you've got that going on. Coburn is one of my five favorite actors of all time, so we share that attraction. I found the movie to be a bit flat, a bit slow... perhaps I was expecting something tighter and more action-oriented, instead of the introverted character piece that it is. I will watch it again, I'm sure.

Speaking of Coburn, have you seen Duck, You Sucker? He's so good in it. It might be my favorite Leone, though TG,tB,atU is in the running.

[Qrazy]

Very cool. It is certainly a film that needs more love than it gets, so it's cool that you've got that going on. Coburn is one of my five favorite actors of all time, so we share that attraction. I found the movie to be a bit flat, a bit slow... perhaps I was expecting something tighter and more action-oriented, instead of the introverted character piece that it is. I will watch it again, I'm sure.

Speaking of Coburn, have you seen Duck, You Sucker? He's so good in it. It might be my favorite Leone, though TG,tB,atU is in the running.

I didn't mind it's pacing but you're right that here and there it is a little flat. But I find this occurs predominantly during the romance and particularly when Coburn is not on screen. Another thing I liked about Hard Times was the overall trajectory of the film or rather the character of the 'villian'.

[

Show Spoiler

I appreciated that he was a man of his word.

]

I have seen Duck, You Sucker? and we share the love for that one too. Jean. Jean. Jean. Although I prefer TGBU and OUATIW I think Dynamite edges out America, although I'd have to rewatch both to know for sure. The other two Dollars films come are my least favorite although I still enjoy them.

Speaking of Coburn I need to finish up Peckinpah's filmography and check out Major Dundee. I wasn't huge on Pat Garret and Billy the Kid but Coburn is indeed great as Pat Garrett. The last thing I saw from him was A High Wind in Jamaica. It's a lesser Mackendrick but as a huge Mackendrick fan it's still a pretty good film. I think I'll look into Hudson Hawk, The Loved One and Ride Lonesome next. They aren't exactly starring roles but they seem like they could be good films.