Sean Conway is a pretty familiar name, dude.Quoting MadMan (view post)
Sean Conway is a pretty familiar name, dude.Quoting MadMan (view post)
Really dude?Quoting Boner M (view post)
Sure why not?
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (Rian Johnson) - 9
STRONGER (David Gordon Green) - 6
THE DISASTER ARTIST (James Franco) - 7
THE FLORIDA PROJECT (Sean Baker) - 9
LADY BIRD (Greta Gerwig) - 8
"Hitchcock is really bad at suspense."
- Stay Puft
I liked it obviously, but a lot of that like is for Labed's performance. I think she is wonderful as Marina. I do agree that Tsangari doesn't have a clear view of what she wants to present or at least doesn't convey her view to the viewer. I'm confused as to the significance of the industrial shots. I take it as maybe a parallel between Marina's sexual awakening and Greece's industrial awakening? Then again this doesn't make much sense, and seems to be adding to much gravitas to the film. I liked the idea of the film as an anthropological study of a girl having to make her way in life, and the need for extraneous shots are unnecessary. The kooky interludes of her "aping" various animals was at times amusing and sometimes distracting to the narrative, again that kookiness isn't necessary for the anthropological POV Tsangari is striving for. I I don't know if Tsangari will be a major voice in world cinema, but she will be for her country, which is great. I look forward to seeing what she does next, but I'm more excited to see Labed in Alps.Quoting NickGlass (view post)
I'd rate it the same. Better than the novel, for sure.Quoting Watashi (view post)
Here's the Attenberg trailer for those not in the know yet.
[youtube]2582qyfXOSs&feature=related[/youtube]
The aesthetic seems bland.Quoting soitgoes... (view post)
The Princess and the Pilot - B-
Playtime (rewatch) - A
The Hobbit - C-
The Comedy - D+
Kings of the Road - C+
The Odd Couple - B
Red Rock West - C-
The Hunger Games - D-
Prometheus - C
Tangled - C+
I see what you mean and you even make it sound good. Even if it's all thematically sound though, my problems with the basic execution and tone remain.Quoting Melville
True, lately I've been mostly fixated with cinematography, choreography and editing, all mostly basic in here. Performances and dialogue weren't particularly remarkable- as I said, it comes off as too contrived and phony. I see how could you think it's funny but it may just be a far too bleak humor for me.Quoting Melville
Yeah I did feel like the film is set in an alternate reality, one where the world likely is, in fact, ending in a few years. That in some way complicitly legitimizes Thewlis' behavior; as much as it's lamenting nihilism, I feel that Naked hypocritically also indulges in it.Quoting Boner M
So, transferring from the 2011 thread, anyone here seen any of Hideaki Anno's live action stuff? Love & Pop in particular looks really interesting.
Recently Viewed:
Thor: The Dark World (2013) **½
The Counselor (2013) *½
Walden (1969) ***
A Hijacking (2012) ***½
Before Midnight (2013) ***
Films By Year
Everything I love about the Coen brothers (potent imagery, unique dialogue, screwy sense of humor, a plot which minimizes exposition and lets the viewer do the heavy lifting, and a story so complex and thematically dense as to appear inscrutable- it's only lacking a long wordless sequence) is in The Man Who Wasn't There, a reimagining of the film-noir world where the source of trouble isn't dames or thugs, but the hero's own sense of insignificance in a world operating way above his comprehension. Easily one of their best movies, and probably the best-looking one.
Say what?Quoting Boner M (view post)
Dude, I spelled that one right. Your joke makes little or no sense to me. Congrats.Quoting MadMan (view post)
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And everybody wants to be special here
They call your name out loud and clear
Here comes a regular
Call out your name
Here comes a regular
Am I the only one here today?
[img]popular Madman-related jpg[/img]Quoting MadMan (view post)
Yeah, I was really surprised by how much I liked it. Haven't read the book but I thought the muted tone worked in its favor. The understated melancholy & pervasive gray skies & overall rendering of regret and time's inexorable passage... I dunno, it just really struck a chord for me. Mulligan's performance is one the best in recent memory.Quoting Watashi (view post)
I think I may try and rerank everything on criticker again. Maybe I'll even try out of 100...
First 150 movies ranked. Here is my top tier:
Tier 10 Films
Alien (1979) 100
Children of Men (2006) 100
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's … (1975) 100
Psycho (1960) 100
The Thing (1982) 100
The Departed (2006) 99
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 97
Dr. Strangelove or: How I L… (1964) 97
Minority Report (2002) 97
Collateral (2004) 96
The Descent (2005) 96
Born on the Fourth of July (1989) 95
Akira (1988) 94
Fight Club (1999) 94
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) 94
The Iron Giant (1999) 94
And what delivers solid entertainment more consistently than Georgian cinema!Quoting Brightside (view post)
True, but it uses Suicide, so it can't be half-bad.Quoting Qrazy (view post)
I tried to think of something witty to respond with, but I can only come up with serious responses, and those are no fun.Quoting Derek (view post)
Last 5 Viewed
Riddick (David Twohy | 2013 | USA/UK)
Night Across the Street (Raoul Ruiz | 2012 | Chile/France)*
Pain & Gain (Michael Bay | 2013 | USA)*
You're Next (Adam Wingard | 2011 | USA)
Little Odessa (James Gray | 1994 | USA)*
*recommended *highly recommended
“It isn't easy to accept that suffering can also be beautiful... it's difficult. It's something you can only understand if you dig deeply into yourself.” -- Rainer Werner Fassbinder
twitter | next projection | criticker | frames within frames
Go read my western thread, beyotch :PQuoting Boner M (view post)
Going back through all of my viewing lists made since 2006, I'm starting to think that maybe using the 10 scale again is a good idea. But the 100 scale is mindless fun. The **** scale is just too restrictive, but its fun to use when rating CDs.
BLOG
And everybody wants to be special here
They call your name out loud and clear
Here comes a regular
Call out your name
Here comes a regular
Am I the only one here today?
I've seen all 3 of his live action features. All about 5 to 6 years ago, though, and I'm afraid I can't talk too much about them. They're on my list of things to watch/rewatch this summer.Quoting Raiders (view post)
Love & Pop. I liked this a whole lot when I saw it. The aesthetic is interesting (a lot of it looks like the closing credits for His and Her Circumstances). It's a pretty inventive film that feels at home next to Evangelion.
Shiki-jitsu. I liked this quite a bit when I saw it, though less than L&P. In some ways, I found it unsatisfactory, and its psychology was a strange mixture of being simultaneously too pat and too arcane. Yet it's definitely worth watching. Recommend doing so after L&P.
Cutie Honey. It's a bubblegummy adaptation of a classic titillating magical girl anime. Anno busts out his old school, minimal-framerate anime action chops and applies them to the live-action medium with mixed results. It has an emotional core that I found surprisingly successful.
Indeed! The use of music in Attenberg is top-notch.Quoting Derek (view post)
I'm writing for Slant Magazine now, so check out my list of reviews.
Hopefully I'll have the energy to update my signature soon.
Millennium Actress was okay but the blurring of the lines between reality, fiction and fantasy wasn't nearly as well handled as in Perfect Blue. Here their overlapping is too neat, too clear and obvious, resulting in the emotional climax of the film, a montage intersecting all the planes of the story, being unengaging and overwrought. I also don't recall Kon's previous effort having a side-character doubling as comic relief and exposition man, like the cameraman here, to make sure I wasn't too confused. I did like the way this film subtly criticizes its two protagonists' pathetic obsessions by making Chiyoko's films, which they got so weepy about, a bunch of phony 'important' love stories (similar to how old Rose's tale in Titanic, emulating a bad wish-fulfillment romance novel, is obviously embellished so that everything makes her look as good and saintly as possible); it could have stood to criticize them a bit more, actually, since I still got the feeling that her devotion ultimately gets the story's sympathy. It's overall enjoyable and a little bit interesting, but clunkily executed and inert on a visceral level.
You know what actor I really enjoy and respect, despite the fact that he has never been in a very good film? Liev Schreiber. I mean, his modest mid-90's indie comedies are sweet, but--looking over his filmography--I really question his choices. There's not one noteworthy film, really.
I'm writing for Slant Magazine now, so check out my list of reviews.
Hopefully I'll have the energy to update my signature soon.
Nice. Love him in Scream 2.. And I really like Manchurian Candidate, moreso then the original even.Quoting NickGlass (view post)
Really? I find that opinion certifiable. The original is so dreamy and effective, while the remake is just a heavy-handed showpiece of actors chewing scenery.Quoting Ezee E (view post)
I'm writing for Slant Magazine now, so check out my list of reviews.
Hopefully I'll have the energy to update my signature soon.
The Given Word takes a solid premise, and then, get this, it keeps building on it. From a butting of heads between catholic secularism and human willpower, to an examination of the deep roots of religion and social unrest in a melting pot culture. As a drama, it carries itself intelligently and allows us to connect with it, presenting an array of characters all with strong motivations and none clearly marked as good or bad, its protagonist as magnificent in his stubbornness as he is pitiable. As a thriller, it keeps expertly ratcheting up the tension, bringing more trials for Zé on a steady pace that leads to an explosive, Do the Right Thing-style climax. Stylistically, it's a lean, economical film; deceptively simple, each shot and cut carries maximum weight and impact. I guess you could say it's a pessimistic movie, but I think its heart is with the folks dancing and capoeira-ing in the church steps, the people who understand that religion and culture are just one of many facets of life and know not to take them deathly seriously. The best film I've seen this year so far, everyone watch it ASAP.
Well I mean, if he hasn't been in anything noteworthy at all then he probably hasn't had much opportunity to do so, unfortunately for him.Quoting NickGlass (view post)
The Princess and the Pilot - B-
Playtime (rewatch) - A
The Hobbit - C-
The Comedy - D+
Kings of the Road - C+
The Odd Couple - B
Red Rock West - C-
The Hunger Games - D-
Prometheus - C
Tangled - C+