The Act of Killing (Oppenheimer 13) - A
Stranger by the Lake (Giraudie 12) - B
American Hustle (Russell 13) - C+
The Wolf of Wall Street (Scorsese 13) - C+
Passion (De Palma 12) - B
A teensy bit underwhelming. Haneke takes the subject matter utterly seriously and respectfully, and so here is a Haneke film - believe it or not - with no surprises.
Beyond the inherent merit of Haneke tackling this deeply moving subject of aging with his unsentimental sense of humanity, the script he's written is a bit of a wash.
The Act of Killing (Oppenheimer 13) - A
Stranger by the Lake (Giraudie 12) - B
American Hustle (Russell 13) - C+
The Wolf of Wall Street (Scorsese 13) - C+
Passion (De Palma 12) - B
I'm actually afraid to watch this for some reason.
I was actually not emotional devastated, but then I did feel at a general emotional reserve yesterday. Or the film was just too along the beaten track to really shake me.Quoting eternity (view post)
This was pretty disappointing. It's good, though, you all will appreciate it. But it doesn't go anywhere and it's so simple... platitudinous.
The Act of Killing (Oppenheimer 13) - A
Stranger by the Lake (Giraudie 12) - B
American Hustle (Russell 13) - C+
The Wolf of Wall Street (Scorsese 13) - C+
Passion (De Palma 12) - B
me too, even though haneke's films never seem to affect me as much as he seems to wish they would.Quoting eternity (view post)
Your grades confuse me...Quoting Bosco B Thug (view post)
Also, "platitudinous"? Where/how?
I liked the film more than I'm letting on. But, I expected to love it, and I'm in cautionary mode for Haneke fans: it's rather un-Haneke-like.Quoting Boner M (view post)
There's a comment at the bottom of Fernando F. Croce's (who was even more unmoved) write-up at MUBI that pretty much mirrors my feelings:
It's just such a simple chronicle of this woman's decline, and the final scenes left me shrugging. Funnily enough, I disagree with both Croce and the commenter in that I find the problem is not Haneke's style, which I think is full of humanity - particularly in this film. But I agree that he's failed to make this story equipped or inspiring to him. I read your comment in the old Amour thread and I agree the
[]
is quite a misstep. I'll even say that his two metaphors here - that sequence and the pigeon - work to sink the film.
As for "platitudinous," when I'm futilely waiting for the film to shake things up a little beyond "Loving husband attends to the steady decline of his ailing wife," even Haneke's prickly social interactions are going to start seeming a little "stripped from the pages of the screenplay to Away From Her."
The Act of Killing (Oppenheimer 13) - A
Stranger by the Lake (Giraudie 12) - B
American Hustle (Russell 13) - C+
The Wolf of Wall Street (Scorsese 13) - C+
Passion (De Palma 12) - B
Ahh, gotcha. Can't really argue re: its lack of insight on a prosaic level, especially since it didn't hold up as well on second viewing (possibly because of the recent Haneke twitter parody account being fresh in my mind) but it rests on the shoulders of its performers who give it a lived-in quality that offsets the potentially airless austerity. The final scenes are really what make it for me (pigeon included, which I maintain is supposed to be taken at face value rather than metaphorically; ie, a desperate attempt to feel tangible life in one's hands).
Lol.Quoting Boner M (view post)
That's definitely the preferable reading. I'll still call it a rather trifling story element.
In other news, I haven't spent much time watching/reading interviews with Haneke, but this one makes him seem like a total sweetheart.
The Act of Killing (Oppenheimer 13) - A
Stranger by the Lake (Giraudie 12) - B
American Hustle (Russell 13) - C+
The Wolf of Wall Street (Scorsese 13) - C+
Passion (De Palma 12) - B
i'm pretty much in bosco's corner on this one. admirable, but not much more than that.
This movie is an advertisement for why we should aspire to die early.
From Slant's review.
Pretty sure I can think of one more infamous.
Schwarzenegger isn't that bad.Quoting Winston* (view post)
Ratings on a 1-10 scale for your pleasure:
Top Gun: Maverick - 8
Top Gun - 7
McCabe & Mrs. Miller - 8
Crimes of the Future - 8
Videodrome - 9
Valley Girl - 8
Summer of '42 - 7
In the Line of Fire - 8
Passenger 57 - 7
Everything Everywhere All at Once - 6
Haneke sure manages to pull out the rugged feelings that occur on the final days of someone. Predictable, sure, but that's understandable considering the opening shot of the movie. To watch the inevitable occur is still brutal.
Not for the faint of heart. The final scenes are probably more affective then anything in a long time, and it's never overplayed.
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Ends in a very Haneke way to me.
Huge Haneke fan, but this movie scares me. Not sure when I'll be up for it.
Coming to America (Landis, 1988) **
The Beach Bum (Korine, 2019) *1/2
Us (Peele, 2019) ***1/2
Fugue (Smoczynska, 2018) ***1/2
Prisoners (Villeneuve, 2013) ***1/2
Shadow (Zhang, 2018) ***
Oslo, August 31st (J. Trier, 2011) ****
Climax (Noé, 2018) **1/2
Fighting With My Family (Merchant, 2019) **
Upstream Color (Carruth, 2013) ***
Yeah, I'm kind of with Bosco here as well, though perhaps slightly more positive. A surprising lack of visceral impact as the story progressed. The moments that did tear me up only magnified how seldom those moments were occurring. And maybe that's part of the exercise here. This moment in life is about endurance, not emotional breakdown. Brilliant performances from all involved, especially Riva, whose quiet rage as her health fails her gave the film its pathos. Her life as a spectacle gave the film something of a voyeuristic feel, strengthened by the opening and closing shots. Probably my least favorite of Haneke's recent output, but still well worth experiencing.
Quoting The Bad Guy (view post)^ The immediately above is so true, though.Quoting Kurosawa Fan (view post)
Not that I think people shouldn't be scared, it being about what it's about, but this just went down so smoothly that I was shocked when it ended. It's certainly not a Von Trierian wringer (goes without saying, of course... Haneke and Von Trier are two very opposed filmmakers).
The Act of Killing (Oppenheimer 13) - A
Stranger by the Lake (Giraudie 12) - B
American Hustle (Russell 13) - C+
The Wolf of Wall Street (Scorsese 13) - C+
Passion (De Palma 12) - B
This is coming to the indie theater in town at the end of the month. Its Best Picture nomination caught my interest, but I'm not sure if it'd be my thing.
Last Five Films I've Seen (Out of 5)
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse (Mackesy, 2022) 4.5
Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (Crawford, 2022) 4
Confess, Fletch (Mottola, 2022) 3.5
M3GAN (Johnstone, 2023) 3.5
Turning Red (Shi, 2022) 4.5
Tokyo Story (Ozu, 1953) 5
615 Film
Letterboxd
Well, this is perfection.
Been thinking about it for days, and it almost reisdes in my mind as a quiet nightmare that I can remember perfectly and haunts me in a very real and somberly beautiful way. Not sure I can really see how "It didn't hit me hard enough!" would be a criticism here.
We know the outcome of it from the very opening scene, and the film's slow, destined lurch towards it is infinitely more effective and moving to me than if it had found ways of hitting more concisely gutwrenching moments. The film shouldn't be called anything but "Love" because its the key contextual device to reminding us of what it's really trying to say. And that's such a stark contrast to what anyone but Haneke would likely be trying to convey with this material.
It's not a film about death, even as an inevitability. It's about dealing with losing one's purpose in their life when they begin to see the thing they live for most disappearing from them (with nothing else to potentially take solace in its place but a similar fate).
****
Last 11 things I really enjoyed:
Speed Racer (Wachowski/Wachowski, 2008)
Safe (Haynes, 1995)
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Parker, 1999)
Beastie Boys Story (Jonze, 2020)
Bad Trip (Sakurai, 2020)
What's Up Doc? (Bogdanovich, 1972)
Diva (Beineix, 1981)
Delicatessen (Caro/Jeunet, 1991)
The Hunger (Scott, 1983)
Pineapple Express (Green, 2008)
Chungking Express (Wong, 1994)
:|Quoting Bosco B Thug (view post)
Yeah, don't understand. Found this almost unbearably claustrophobic.Quoting Derek (view post)
"Smoothly" not in that I'm an ice cold soulless bastard, but in that, while it had its desired effect, it was simultaneously ho-hum. Haneke's script didn't drive anything emphatic enough or novel enough home for me.
The Act of Killing (Oppenheimer 13) - A
Stranger by the Lake (Giraudie 12) - B
American Hustle (Russell 13) - C+
The Wolf of Wall Street (Scorsese 13) - C+
Passion (De Palma 12) - B
I loved this. The only other Haneke I've seen is The White Ribbon. Looks like I need to see more.
TV Recently Finished:
Catastrophe: Season 1 (2015) A
Rectify: Season 3 (2015) A-
Bojack Horseman: Season 2 (2015) A
True Detective: Season 2 (2015) A-
Wayward Pines: Season 1 (2015) B
Currently Playing: Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise (replay) (XB1) / Contradiction (PC)
Recently Finished: Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (PS4) A+ / Life is Strange: Ep 4 (PS4) A / Bastion (replay) (PS4) B+
For that reason alone, it must be Taro Aso's favorite movie of 2012.Quoting eternity (view post)
Just because...
The Fabelmans (Steven Spielberg, 2022) mild
Petite maman (Céline Sciamma, 2021) mild
The Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh, 2022) mild
The last book I read was...
The Complete Short Stories by Mark Twain
The (New) World