28 Film Discussion Threads Later

[Sven]

Speaking of Frankenheimer in the 60s, The Train is pretty awesome too. Burt Lancaster getting Arthur Penn fired and then hiring Frankenheimer was absolutely the right decision.

The Train is fantastic, but I can't help but lament the absence of a Penn version. I like Penn, and he was undoubtedly gonna make an interesting movie.

[DSNT]

I need to rewatch Seconds. All I can remember about it is that the first half is creepy and the second half is absurd.

I'd agree with that, but creepy and absurd in a good way .. It is the type of flick that grabs you on a second viewing. It is also one of the more underrated Criterion releases. They did a fantastic job with it.

The Train is fantastic, but I can't help but lament the absence of a Penn version. I like Penn, and he was undoubtedly gonna make an interesting movie.

Penn's version would have been interesting for sure, but I think not as powerful and thrilling as the final version. He pretty much had only done TV by that point, and this was an ambitious production. Plus if he hadn't gotten canned, he probably wouldn't have done Bonnie and Clyde. My favorite of his is Night Moves.

[Sven]

Penn's version would have been interesting for sure, but I think not as powerful and thrilling as the final version. He pretty much had only done TV by that point, and this was an ambitious production. Plus if he hadn't gotten canned, he probably wouldn't have done Bonnie and Clyde. My favorite of his is Night Moves.

A fine point. Night Moves blew my mind.

[Kirby Avondale]

I'll start with Frailty because the explanation is necessarily succinct. I didn't have a clear sense of what the film was about prior to entering the theatre and I was quite floored by the strangeness that transpired. I remember carrying around certain images for a very long time. I never revisited it and, at this point, I can only recall small bits and pieces. I know that the part that really disturbed me occurs near the end, but my memories of this are quite vague: the moment in question follows the key revelation of the film and it features a malevolent character appearing somewhere near clotheslines. That's all I can remember. This was the cinematic image as sinister interloper: a horror the mind wants to repel as soon as it is perceived. I haven't come across many online discussions of the film, so I'm not entirely sure about its reputation. I'm only certain that I felt like I had crossed the threshold into theretofore unfelt levels of discomfiture. That could just as easily apply to the remaining examples, as well.

[

Show Spoiler

To be fair, I find it far more unsettling (deeply so) when Powers Boothe isn't a bad guy.

]

[Russ]

Everyone loves a list.

So, a question I posed at another forum was if there was a consensus for the best cinematic years of the 2000s? (Like, for the 70's, the consensus choice is usually 1975)

I responded that 2004 really rocks my world, followed closely by 2001 and 2000 (I could probably make a case for any of the three).

Yours?

[Dead & Messed Up]

Everyone loves a list.

So, a question I posed at another forum was if there was a consensus for the best cinematic years of the 2000s? (Like, for the 70's, the consensus choice is usually 1975)

I responded that 2004 really rocks my world, followed closely by 2001 and 2000 (I could probably make a case for any of the three).

Yours?

I know quite a few like 2007, not least of which for the trifecta of No Country, Zodiac, and There Will Be Blood.

[Irish]

Probably 2003. I remember having a lot of fun at the theater that year.

The last two years have been exceptionally good.

And there were dark times-- when everybody was talking about stuff like Hugo and The King's Speech and The Artist.

[DSNT]

2001 for me. There's Mulholland Drive, Spirited Away, Pulse, The Fellowship of the Ring, Amelie, In the Bedroom, Y Tu Mama Tambien, The Piano Teacher, Ghost World, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra ... and so many more.

[baby doll]

I could pick just about any year from the 2000s at random and come up with a list of terrific films, but I'll throw out 2000 as a particularly remarkable year for Chinese cinema (Devils on the Doorstep, In the Mood for Love, Platform, Yi Yi), 2008 as a strong year for Latin American cinema (Los Bastardos, The Headless Woman, Tony Manero), and 2009 as a good year for European cinema (Dogtooth, Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl, Police, Adjective, Un prophète, Vincere, The White Ribbon).

[baby doll]

And there were dark times-- when everybody was talking about stuff like Hugo and The King's Speech and The Artist.

Any year, defined in terms of "what everybody was talking about" was a lousy year. 2010 also had Arrietty the Borrower, Carlos, Copie conforme, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Film socialisme, The Ghost Writer, Greenberg, Hereafter (yes, Hereafter dammit!), Mysteries of Lisbon, Post Mortem, The Strange Case of Angelica, and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, and 2011 had L'Apollonide—Souvenirs de la maison close, A Dangerous Method, The Deep Blue Sea, Le Gamin au vélo (my favorite film of the decade so far), Hors Satan, Impardonnables, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Margaret, Melancholia, A Separation, The Turin Horse, and We Need to Talk About Kevin.

[Izzy Black]

My favorite one-two punch is 2000 - 2001 (general release dates only)

2000:

1. Beau travail (Claire Denis)
2. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai)
3. The Yards (James Gray)
4. The Captive (Chantal Akerman)
5. Time Regained (Raoul Ruiz)
6. In Vanda's Room (Pedro Costa)
7. Code Unknown (Michael Haneke)
8. Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier)
9. Fidelity (Andrzej Żuławski)
10. Freedom (Sharunas Bartas)

HM: Sexy Beast (Jonathan Glazer), Little Otik (Jan Svankmajer), Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee)

2001:

1. Millennium Mambo (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
2. The Piano Teacher (Michael Haneke)
3. Gosford Park (Robert Altman)
4. Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr)
5. A Fine Day (Thomas Arslan)
6. Trouble Every Day (Claire Denis)
7. Va savior (Jacques Rivette)
8. Fat Girl (Catherine Breillat)
9. Lovely & Amazing (Nicole Holofcener)
10. Waking Life (Richard Linklater)

HM: What Time Is It Over There? (Tsai Ming-liang), Comedy of Innocence (Raoul Ruiz), In Praise of Love (Jean-Luc Godard)

[Stay Puft]

My favorite one-two punch is 2000 - 2001 (general release dates only)

Same. You've already covered a bunch of my favorites and I'd toss in Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000), Mulholland Drive (2001), Millennium Actress (2001) and so on. Those back to back years provided an endless supply of riches.

[MadMan]

Love the mention of Frailty, as that film is beyond creepy. I remember watching it on a nice afternoon and looking through the blinds I felt the world as being a little darker because of that movie. Its one of my favorite viewing experiences, right up there with the overcast fall day upon which I viewed The Blair Witch Project. Mitty you also rock for mentioning Are You Afraid of the Dark?, although I don't think I've seen the episode you discussed in your post.

As for me my favorite modern years are 2003, 2004 and 2009.

[Izzy Black]

Same. You've already covered a bunch of my favorites and I'd toss in Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000), Mulholland Drive (2001), Millennium Actress (2001) and so on. Those back to back years provided an endless supply of riches.

I forgot about Vertical Ray of the Sun! Such a great time for cinema : D

[Izzy Black]

[

Show Spoiler

To be fair, I find it far more unsettling (deeply so) when Powers Boothe isn't a bad guy.

]

Indeed, but I definitely find it most unsettling when McConaughey's character is vindicated. It's very much an Old Testament God we're dealing with here. It brings to mind Trier's Breaking the Waves.

[Ivan Drago]

For me, 2001 is my favorite modern year. Three movies from that year are in my top 10 of all time (Mulholland Dr., A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Donnie Darko).

[Marley]

Does anyone happen to have an extra invite to KG? My old account there doesn't work for some reason. :frustrated:

[Pop Trash]

For me, 2001 is my favorite modern year. Three movies from that year are in my top 10 of all time (Mulholland Dr., A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Donnie Darko).

THIS. SO MUCH.

EDIT: I do have to say I really like 2007 as well. 2003 is my least favorite.

[Gittes]

Love the mention of Frailty, as that film is beyond creepy. I remember watching it on a nice afternoon and looking through the blinds I felt the world as being a little darker because of that movie. Its one of my favorite viewing experiences, right up there with the overcast fall day upon which I viewed The Blair Witch Project.

Nice description. I love reading specific, evocative accounts of notable spectatorial experiences.

I remember being really drawn to the fascinating novelty of The Blair Witch Project. I was totally intrigued by the promotional rhetoric and was immediately attracted to the promise of this new experience, whose allure lied in its vague claim to supposed authenticity (this is how I reacted to the commercials, not what I actually think about the film itself, which is obviously a work of fiction whose power relies on its engagement with the trappings of documentary cinema).

I bought the VHS and that's how I first viewed the film. I should revisit it sometime. Perhaps I'll do this in October. If my younger critical faculties are to be trusted, the ending was remarkably terrifying. Also, for whatever reason, one of the lines from the film, screamed with considerable urgency by one of the characters, is embedded in my memory: "Tell me where you are, Josh!"

Mitty you also rock for mentioning Are You Afraid of the Dark?, although I don't think I've seen the episode you discussed in your post.

Great show. The title sequence alone was something I dreaded as a kid.

[Raiders]

I find the concept of a "favorite year" rather strange given the randomness involved (decades and movements, yes, single year... not really), but looking at the greatest concentration of great films, for me it probably 2004, though 2000 could also be the answer.

Films in my top 100:
1. TROPICAL MALADY
2. 2046
3. DEAD MAN'S SHOES

Great films:
4. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
5. NOBODY KNOWS
6. BORN INTO BROTHELS
7. THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU
8. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE
9. THE PLACE PROMISED IN OUR EARLY DAYS
10. BEFORE SUNSET
11. UNFORGIVABLE BLACKNESS: THE RISE AND FALL OF JACK JOHNSON

Really good:
12. KUNG FU HUSTLE
13. THE WHITE DIAMOND
14. THE AVIATOR
15. I HEART HUCKABEES
16. VERA DRAKE

And I could even go on... Collateral, Shaun of the Dead, Howl's Moving Castle, Undertow, Bad Education... all of which are damn fine films and could be in the top ten in other recent years.

[Russ]

Other very good to great 2004 films include:

Mind Game
Palindromes
The Taste of Tea
Hotel
Calvaire
The Incredibles
Survive Style 5+
Star Spangled To Death

Truly an insanely awesome year for cinema.

[Morris Schæffer]

Beauty and the Beast 3D bluray!! That was breathtaking on my 55 inch Panasonic.

[Dukefrukem]

Favorite year for me would be 1954 or 1968.

[Dukefrukem]

Thoughts on the 100 Most Iconic Shots of All Time?

It's Spielberg heavy but hard to argue with a lot of them. The most surprising to me is the upside down Spider-man shot.

[dreamdead]

Steven Sodebergh's Schizopolis might be the first of his films that I wholeheartedly embraced. Rather odd given how much that film works to distance and alienate emotional connection, but that Brechtian quality makes the architecture of the writing that much more empathetic. At times the low budget aesthetic works against it, reducing it to a smarter Office Space, but I was thoroughly impressed. I even liked Soderbergh as an actor here.

"Can you tell the computer's not on?"