28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[B-side]

People should stop saying backlash.

[MadMan]

People should stop saying backlash.

I'm backlashing against this post.

[elixir]

Dead Poets Society is one of the worst films I've seen in some time. For the first 90 minutes, it's your run-of-the-mill, sentimental Hollywood pablum, but then *that* incident occurs and it becomes unbearably cloying and artificial. Nauseating stuff. I can't believe people actually find this shit inspiring.

I like For a Few Dollars More marginally more than the previous entry in the trilogy, but I still am having trouble getting on Leone's wavelength. Lots of dynamic sequences though, and of course the music is undeniable.

[elixir]

Oh, and I'm having trouble figuring out what quite to say about it, but La Vie Nouvelle is incredible stuff. Remarkable sound design, as great as Lynch or Joe. Incredible sensuality, worthy of Denis. Darkness, shaky cam, and out of focus shots have never been so beautiful. An unknowable horror so unnervingly evoked. There's the thinnest of plot strands, lots of experimentation, and it's an experience that truly deserves the word "visceral." This one will remain with me.

[D_Davis]

Super 8 was pretty good, but everything ended up just shy of great. In the end I was frustrated by it because of how close to great it got, but something held it back. I never felt emotionally connected to any of the characters, the suspense felt flat, and I was never really excited by the action or the mystery.

[Qrazy]

Does anyone know how that common special effect is done where the camera travels through a glass window in an unbroken take?

[Ezee E]

Does anyone know how that common special effect is done where the camera travels through a glass window in an unbroken take?

CGI more then likely. What cases are you talking about?

[Qrazy]

CGI more then likely. What cases are you talking about?

Well I'm currently watching Sphere so that's one but I think I've also seen it in Panic Room and a number of other places.

[Sven]

[youtube]0dLAh2nREz8[/youtube]

[Ezee E]

Well I'm currently watching Sphere so that's one but I think I've also seen it in Panic Room and a number of other places.

Irreversible and Panic Room came to mind. Those are definitely CGI shots. Not sure about the Sphere one.

And :lol: Sven. That was great.

[Watashi]

Dead Poets Society is one of the worst films I've seen in some time. For the first 90 minutes, it's your run-of-the-mill, sentimental Hollywood pablum, but then *that* incident occurs and it becomes unbearably cloying and artificial. Nauseating stuff. I can't believe people actually find this shit inspiring.

I like For a Few Dollars More marginally more than the previous entry in the trilogy, but I still am having trouble getting on Leone's wavelength. Lots of dynamic sequences though, and of course the music is undeniable.

What have you seen from Leone?

[elixir]

Just that and Fistful. I'll get to the rest soon enough. I think I may like them more.

[Qrazy]

I'm a little surprised at how slaughtered Sphere was by critics. It's really not that bad, has a lot going for it.

[Watashi]

Just that and Fistful. I'll get to the rest soon enough. I think I may like them more.

I'm not a big fan of the two Dollars movies. I'd probably rate them a 6 as well, but Good, Bad, and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West are essential viewings.

I would save Once Upon a Time in America last because I think it's Leone's finest film.

[Rowland]

I'm a little surprised at how slaughtered Sphere was by critics. It's really not that bad, has a lot going for it.

I used to love it back around 2000 or so; as a budding cinephile, it was one of my first contrarian causes. I doubt I'd be so enthusiastic if I revisited it today, but I still carry some fond, probably nostalgic feelings for the film.

[Sven]

I used to love it back around 2000 or so; as a budding cinephile, it was one of my first contrarian causes. I doubt I'd be so enthusiastic if I revisited it today, but I still carry some fond, probably nostalgic feelings for the film.

My story almost exactly.

[transmogrifier]

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul - 67

Neatly observed and deeply felt on a scene by scene basis, it all seems just a little bit too blunt and a little bit too broad overall. The racism on show is somewhat cartoonish, making the (potentially interesting) thawing of some of the attitudes in the second half less believable, unbalancing the film as a whole.

In fact, the whole idea of self-interest and pragmatism overcoming bigoted beliefs (as depicted by the shopowner), and whether this is the first step towards a more tolerant society, is touched upon but never really developed, leaving the relatively simple relationship drama, which is not terrible by any means, but hardly awash in original insight.

Fassbinder does have a knack for framing to emphasize the isolation felt by the central couple (doorways, a sea of benches etc), and the wearing down of Ali's genial optimism in the face of such overwhelming hostility is affecting, especially given his otherwise rigid posture. Even water will wear away rock given enough time.

[Watashi]

Sphere is shit.

[B-side]

The racism on show is somewhat cartoonish

Intentional.

[transmogrifier]

Intentional.

Yeah, but it didn't resonate with me. Most of the things I don't like about movies were intentional decisions on the parts of the filmmakers

[transmogrifier]

I've seen Sphere and literally cannot remember a single thing about the movie except who was in it.

[Dukefrukem]

2011 Competition List

I'm finding it hard to locate Shame.

Drive
Melancholia
Contagion
Shame
The Descendants
The Iron Lady
Moneyball
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
The Ides of March
War Horse
Hugo
The Skin I Live In
Albert Nobbs
We Need to Talk About Kevin
J. Edgar
50/50
Midnight in Paris
The Artist
Cars 2

[Dead & Messed Up]

I've seen Sphere and literally cannot remember a single thing about the movie except who was in it.

It's basically Solaris underwater, but more talky. I think it's about neck-and-neck with Event Horizon for beginning with a compelling and intriguing sci-fi premise about our place in the universe and then squandering it on sub-par thrills and retreats into trite genre cliche.

[Qrazy]

It's basically Solaris underwater, but more talky. I think it's about neck-and-neck with Event Horizon for beginning with a compelling and intriguing sci-fi premise about our place in the universe and then squandering it on sub-par thrills and retreats into trite genre cliche.

Nah, Event Horizon is much worse. The final cross cutting sequence in Sphere is fairly compelling. And the film has much more on it's mind then anything in Event Horizon. For instance much of the science jargon in the film is actually accurate, although not all of it.

In terms of the sub par thrills I was thinking about this while watching the film. It certainly does not ramp up the tension very robustly or successfully like something like Alien. I think this may have been a conscious and for me at least partially successful decision though. People do die and the context in which they die is a manifestation of their fears, however the tone of the scenes in which they die is a bit more removed, a bit more matter of fact. This actually kind of makes sense in the context in which it is happening given the overall story.

It certainly does retreat into genre cliche though. It's by no means a great film, I just think that in the sci fi genre it's a competent, middle tier work.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Compels me to barf.